-1CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - The Unanswered Question

"House...HOUSE!"

The sudden calling of his name jolts him out of the nightmare. His eyes are wild and holds terror in them that even Cuddy can register the intensity of his nightmare.

"It's okay," Cuddy tells him reassuringly as she gently pats his shoulder.

"The woman...she was..."

"It's okay. It's just me - just us. Greg, how does your leg feel?" she asks, looking worried.

He looks at her baffled before he settles back down on the pillow.

"Wha ... my leg?" He is quiet for a moment as he ascertains if there is indeed pain in his leg.

"Yeah. You were screaming about pain. I assumed it was your leg. I just thought..."

House suddenly realizes he has been sweating and wipes his forehead, closing his eyes at the memory of the woman in the bed. 'What did that mean?' he asks himself. But he doesn't really want to know the answer.

"No, the pain is tolerable. Can I have some water?"

Cuddy nods and reaches for the water jug and plastic cup on the nightstand, pouring water into the cup and hands it to him. He enthusiastically empties it, as if he's been out in the desert for days.

"Hey, not so fast," she warns him. She takes the empty cup from him and places it on the nightstand.

"Greg, we're past the four hour mark. Think you can stand? Take a few steps?" Cuddy asks hopefully.

"Answer me something first." Cuddy reluctantly nods her head. "Do you still want me to uh...help you with the baby?"

She looks at him with sadness in her eyes. "We don't need to talk about that now. We need to get you up and about."

"No, I need to know now," he insists.

"Why? What's the urgency?"

"I...I just want to know."

Cuddy shakes her head emphatically. "After your walk."

"Since when have you been so stubborn?" he asks as he pushes the top sheet off him and slowly sits, with Cuddy's help.

"Uh, since I hired you," she answers as she puts her arm around his waist and supports as much weight of him as she can.

"Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting. You never let me have any fun. But I guess someone needs to keep me in..."

House cuts himself off mid sentence when he tries to put weight on his right leg. He softly groans and Cuddy holds onto him tighter.

"You waaaant me. You want my baaaabee," House jokes, trying to keep his mind of the pain shooting through his body.

"House, shut up," Cuddy replies as she holds him up as he takes more steps towards the door.

"Don't push yourself. You still have to let the drug run its course."

"Oh, but I wanted to run the Boston Marathon," he quips as he gets more bold and puts more weight on his leg.

"That's in February."

"Isn't it February?"

"No, it's September," she answers as they reach the bathroom.

"Okay, okay. I'm done," House begs as he suddenly feels lightheaded.

Cuddy helps House back to his bed but he doesn't lie down; he sits on the edge and looks at his leg.

"Well, that's a good start. We should try to get some food in you in about an hour. You hungry?" she asks with her hands on her hips triumphantly.

She notices he looks flushed, yet pale, and at first considers it's because of the exertion but then grows concerned. She reaches for the blood pressure cuff and only slightly turns away from him. By the time she sees him slide off the bed it is too late.

"Oh, House! I'm so sorry!" she says as she instantly kneels down to the floor and puts her hand behind his head. "Did you hurt yourself?"

He looks up at her, no worse for wear and says, "No, but I forgot you aren't wearing a dress. I was gonna cop a peek."

She playfully, but somewhat hard, smacks him on his arm.

Just then the door opens and Hildie and Alice come walking in.

"What happened?" Hildie cries out as she sees the two on the floor.

"Help me get him up," Cuddy orders the two nurses.

They rush to their side and the three women help House back into bed.

"You know, ordinarily I would like a foursome but not now. Maybe later?" he jokes, with a serious expression on his face.

Hildie blushes as Cuddy again reaches for the B.P. cuff and wraps it around his upper right arm until the Velcro attaches. She squeezes the pump until it's at the proper pressure and slowly releases it, keeping her middle finger on the inside of his wrist to get his pulse. After a few seconds she removes the cuff and places it back on the nightstand.

"It's a little high but under the circumstances acceptable. Do you have a headache?"

House simply shakes his head. "Just a little dizzy."

"Well, relax a bit - get your pressure back to normal. It could be because you haven't eaten."

Cuddy leaves it at that because she doesn't really want to answer the question that House asked a few minutes earlier.

"Ok, but you owe me," House says as the two nurses back off and sit in the two chairs at the end of the bed.

"Excuse me? YOU were the one trying to look up under my skirt!" Cuddy exclaims, the two nurses raising their eyebrows at her comment. Cuddy ignores them.

"You have to answer my question," he says with an evil grin.

She shakes her head and tilts her head toward the two nurses.

"It's okay. I'm sure they'll be curious to know if you'll still marry me."

"Hildie, Alice, can you excuse us for just a sec?" Cuddy tries to keep control of her voice but finds it difficult, and she gets a bit nervous at the blush that she swears has just spread over her face.

The two nurses walk out into the hallway.

"You're evil," Cuddy tells him, trying to keep a smile off her face.

He half smiles, the left side of his lip rise in a small curl. "Do you still want me to be your baby's daddy?"

Suddenly, her face becomes stark, bare, expressionless, unable to be read by House.

"No."