Hi everyone!

Thank you sooo very much for the feedback you left last time! I can't tell you how glad I am that you enjoyed it.

Here's a new one - it's set at the end of Lockdown. (6.1... something?) I hope you will like it, too!

27. I'll see you later.

"Sorry I couldn't call earlier," Cuddy said into her cell phone. "A baby went missing at the hospital. We were on lockdown for a few hours."

"Well, you missed out on the amazing broccoli lasagna I'd cooked for our night off," Lucas replied. "Ate it all by myself."

"Couldn't you wait? It's only eleven."

"I was starving! And you didn't call, so I guessed you had a work emergency or something and it would take all night."

She sighed. "Well, I did find the baby, and it's kind of a crazy story actually, the nurse who was in charge of replacing the towels had a series of seizures all day and –"

"Uh huh," was her boyfriend's distracted reply. She pictured him sprawled on the couch, watching one of his dumb TV shows while he was talking to her. Which was just as well, since she didn't have it in her to explain to him the science of complex seizures and brain physiology.

"Anyway, I'll just grab something to eat on my way home."

"Okay. I waited up all night and I'm exhausted. I'll be in bed."

She didn't bother answering, and hung up. Shaking her head, she slipped her jacket on, pulled her hair out of the collar, and left her office. As she made her way out of the lobby, she caught a glimpse of House limping in the same direction as her.

"Wow," House exclaimed as their paths naturally merged together, like an old habit. In fact, bumping into each other as they walked out of the hospital had been quite common, until House had found out about Lucas. Cuddy took a deep breath, revelling in this now rare occasion to walk with him for a bit. "You look awful. Rough night?"

"Ugh, tell me about it. A newborn went missing."

"Ah, hence the code seven and everything."

"Yeah, actually, Nurse Adrienne – you know Nurse Adrienne?"

"Nope. Probably insulted her or her parents at some point, though."

"Right, well – she had a pilomotor seizure when we were looking for the baby." They pushed the door open and headed to the parking lot. "So I thought she must have had complex seizures all day and nobody had noticed, and that she'd inadvertently taken the baby when she changed the towels in the mom's room. Well, guess what? Found the baby in a laundry cart."

He nodded, looked at her with a smile. "Good catch. Super Administrator Cuddy saved the day again. You should be on my team."

She had a small laugh. "So where were you all night?"

"Coma ward," he shrugged. "Just watched TV."

"Right."

"Shame I wasn't locked in a supply closet with you, though."

They reached their cars. "I assume you won't be in till noon tomorrow?"

"You assume right. Gotta make up for all the extra hours you've made me put in tonight."

"Poor you, TV must have been exhausting," she chuckled, and only then did she realise that they'd somehow unconsciously invaded each other's personal space.

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds, and she felt herself reacting to the magnetic pull his body has always had on her.

House slipped his thumb under her chin and lifted her face towards him. "I'll see you later," he said, before dragging her lower lip down with his knuckle, and kissing it softly.

When she opened her eyes again, he was walking away.