Hi guys!

Here is a new drabble for you. Sorry this took so long - I got distracted by working on other fics, school, personal stuff, etc. Thank you for your patience.

This one is set in early season three. It's not exactly sunshine and puppies, though. Again, sorry - I'll do better next time. :D

Thank you for your support. I hope you'll enjoy this one!

41. Stay there. I'm coming to get you.

The board member with the green tie is mid-sentence about the neurology department budget when Cuddy feels the first ripple of pain.

At the beginning, it feels like a regular, good ol' fashioned menstrual cramp.

But she knows that she isn't supposed to get those for at least another seven months.

Her realisation is interrupted by a repeat of the same cramp. Tenfold.

It's not a cry of pain that she muffles with a coughing fit – it's one of anguish. Fear. Terror.

Her nails dig into her palm until she draws blood while she waits for the meeting to end. The pain tears through her, wave after wave after wave. It feels like it will never stop.

When everyone finally stands up and starts shaking hands, she remains seated so that they don't see the pool of blood soaking her white skirt.

When the board members have left and the door falls shut behind them, Cuddy bends over the table and screams into her fist until bright white stars explode before her eyes, the pain ripping her abdomen apart.

She needs to get out of here.

There's no way she can stand up, less alone walk.

She needs someone she can trust, preferably someone who knows already about her IVF.

The list is short.

In an effort to distract herself from the pain, she wonders if a list is still considered a list when it comprises only one item – or, in this case, only one person.

Tentatively, she lets go of her stomach to get her phone from her purse. Her fingers are shaking and it takes her an interminably long time to dial his number.

"House," she says when he picks up. She's surprised by how much pain she hears in her own voice. House replies nothing, and she focuses on her breathing so the pain doesn't overwhelm her while she tries to speak. "Need your help."

"Stay there. I'm coming to get you," he tells her right away, and for a split second she wonders if it's her voice that tipped him off.

"I was in a board –" She doesn't get to finish that sentence, interrupted by a ripple of pain. "Conference room on the first –"

"I know."

Of course he does.

Impatiently she waits, and it can't have taken him more than five minutes to get there but to her it feels like an eternity.

"Can you stand?" he asks her as he makes his way towards her.

"Don't know," she replies in a groan, her forehead still glued to the conference table.

He rests his hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She turns to him and he hands her a Vicodin. "Take this. I need to get you to the ER."

She shakes her head. "No. No ER. Home. I'll be fine."

"You've lost blood. ER it is."

Reluctantly, she swallows the pill. He doesn't offer her any comforting words or gestures, save for taking her radial pulse, while they wait for the pain to dull so she can make it downstairs.

"Okay," she speaks up eventually. As she tries and stand up, House takes her right arm and wraps it around his shoulders. Gladly, she uses the support he offers to pull herself up. She tentatively takes a step once she's on her feet. Despite the Vicodin, she can feel a white hot line of pain in her lower stomach when she stands, but she can get to the basement if he allows her to lean on him – which he does by holding her waist.

Slowly, they head to the door.

What's left of the pain doesn't seem to be her biggest concern at the moment. Given the way she walks, he's inclined to think she's more worried about leaving a trail of blood behind them.

"It's fine. They'll clean it up." But she doesn't move any faster. He sighs. "Cuddy, this is a hospital. Building's full of sick people. You have dozens of patients who puke their guts out or shit their pants in the hallways daily. Blood is nothing."

"Right."

She unclasps her legs and looks away from the blood gushing freely down her thighs, resting her forehead against his shoulder. House squeezes her waist, prompting her to move forward.

How they manage to climb down the staircases leading to the ER, she'll never know. It's all a blur to her until she's lying on a gurney with her staff attending to her.

When they wheel her away, she looks back to see House standing in the hallway, waiting.