Chapter 38:

"So," Parker began, as he moved the ultrasound machine closer to the table, "how have you been feeling, Lisa? Nauseous? Headaches? Tired?" The endless questioning began.

"Pretty good actually," Cuddy told him, "the nausea is pretty much gone. I've been a bit tired though …although that's probably from all the stress…"

"Excellent," Parker said.

It took House a great amount of self control to stop himself from saying what was on his mind right then. 'If he says the word 'Excellent' one more time...', he thought to himself as he listened to the exchange between the overly excited (or House thought at least) obstetrician and Cuddy.

Much to his dismay, when House snapped out of his thoughts, Parker was still doing much of the talking.

". . . and you're especially going to be run down quicker than usual. Take it one day at a time. Don't rush it." He paused briefly and then added, ". . . I know you don't want to hear this, Lisa, but if it were me, I would start to cut back on my hours."

Cuddy bit her bottom lip. She was dreading the time when he was going to say those words.

"I know, I just . . . " Her voice trailed off as she couldn't find words to express the internal battle that she was fighting within herself about putting less hours into something she loved.

Parker seemed to understand what was going on as he watched his patient struggle to vocalize her fear. "I know it's going to be hard, Lisa," he said gently, "but if you start now, it won't be as hard to give up when it comes time in a couple months for you to deliver. By then, you'll be used to working shorter hours."

Noticing the look of uncertainty on Cuddy's face, he cracked a small smile. "Lisa, the hospital is not going to burn down in your absence while you're at home resting, if that's what you're worried about."

Cuddy looked up at him and grinned. "Well, you never know, with doctors' like Greg here on the loose. . ," she joked, jerking the side of her head at House, who scowled.

"I'm in the room, you know," House interrupted.

Parker chuckled softly. "Very true," he said, as if House hadn't interrupted. As he sat down on the stool beside him, he consulted the file in front of him that he was holding. "So ... waist line, 34 inches', good . . . BP looks good . . ." He glanced up. "Eating lots of fruits and veggies, I hope?"

Cuddy nodded. "Yes."

"Good," Parker replied, happily, "I want to you to try and incorporate some protein into your diet. You don't have to drastically change your meal plan, but just throw some chicken or egg on top of a salad or something like that," he encouraged.

He closed the folder, placing it on his lap and fixed the Dean of Medicine with a solemn look, his hands folded on the folder that was on his lap.

"I simply cannot imagine the stress that your job places on you," he began, "Therefore, I'm saying this again. I hate to sound like a broken record, Lisa, but in all seriousness, do NOT push yourself. Listen to your body." He paused, and then continued. "I know your job demands a hell of a lot of responsibility and obviously yes, it is important to you, but just remember, your health is just as important."

When he finished, Cuddy nodded in understanding. "I know," she replied softly.

"See? It's not just me," House suddenly piped up. He turned to Parker and said, for clarification, "I keep on telling her to make her health her priority."

"And you are quite right," Parker told him, in a voice House thought he reserved for a two year old. He turned to Cuddy and smirked. "At least he's good for something," he joked.

Cuddy grinned as House scowled darkly.

Reaching underneath the table, Parker pulled out a medium sized green bottle with a nozzle attached. "If you could unbutton your gown for me, Lisa . . "

As Cuddy unbuttoned her gown, exposing her baby bump, Parker flipped on the screen and took the wand in his hand. House moved closer.

"Okay Lisa. This is going to feel a little cool," Parker told her. "Just try to relax." He squirted a small amount of the topical gel from the bottle onto her exposed lower abdomen and gently moved the transducer across.

All three doctors' eyes were fixed on the small screen. Cuddy reached out and squeezed House's hand. Glancing down at her, he smiled.

"Congratulations, doctors. It's a boy!" Parker exclaimed, pointing at the screen.

Beaming, Cuddy wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. House bent down and kissed her on the lips. As he finished wiping her tears away, he whispered quietly so that only she could hear, "I love you."

Her face shining, Cuddy grinned and stroked his cheek with her hand. "I love you too, Greg," she choked out softly.

"You got quite a little squirmier in there, Lisa," Parker joked, smiling.
Cuddy and House both glanced back at the screen again and saw the movement. 'Yes, he is,' Cuddy thought to herself as she looked the image of her son fidgeting around on the monitor.

"Placenta is attached normally . . . he seems to be doing just fine, which is good," Parker continued.

"Biparietal diameter looks accurate," he muttered to himself as he stared intently at the monitor.

"Look at him," Cuddy breathed out, softly. "He's so tiny," she said, squeezing House's hand.

"Sure is," House agreed, squeezing back.

"He is about nine ounces', so yep. He's pretty tiny right now," Parker told them. "I could print out photos if you want."

Cuddy nodded. "Would you please?"

"Sure." Parker handed Cuddy a few tissues so she could clean herself up. "I'll do that before you leave."

As Cuddy finished wiping her abdomen, Parker turned off the monitor and turned to face his patient.
"There is one more test I would like to do," he began slowly.

Cuddy looked up at him questionably; so did House.

"Well, two, but one's just a blood test," Parker began dismissively.
"Amniocentesis. You might have heard of it?"

Both doctors' nodded, their eyes still glued onto Parker's, awaiting what came next.

"Yes," Parker continued, "this test is done to check for neural tube defects and genetic disorders." He paused and then continued more gently.

"Due to your previous miscarriage, Lisa, it is even more important that this test be done. We can look for signs of a second miscarriage if that were to happen and take care of it quickly."

During the time Parker was speaking, Cuddy bit her lip and cast her eyes downward, breaking eye contact.

House immediately reached out and squeezed her shoulder. She reached up with her hand and grabbed onto his.

Parker immediately mentally kicked himself; even though his intentions were purely medical, he could not imagine the memories that just resurfaced for his patient.

"Lisa, I'm sorry," he began slowly.

"No. It's okay Joe . . . Thanks." She cleared her throat and then spoke again a few moments later. "So, this test . . . it detects genetic disorders. So . . . if anything . . . if anything were to happen . . ." Her words hung dead in mid air as she tried to vocalize her thoughts without breaking down in tears.

"Yes," Parker told her gently, "it's about 99% accurate."

Cuddy glanced over at House before addressing Parker. "What do you think, Greg?"

House stared at her silently for a moment not saying anything. Perhaps, Cuddy thought, that he was making absolutely sure that he had her full attention before saying a single word.

"I think you should do it," he finally said quietly.

Cuddy swallowed as she held his gaze for a few more seconds before turning back to Parker.

"Let's do it," she ordered.

Parker smiled and stood up. "Great. I'll be right back."

Once he had left the room to gather the necessary supplies, Cuddy took this time to glance over at House, who was staring at the blank screen, not saying a word; he seemed to her as if he was a million miles away.

"Greg?" she said quietly.

House swallowed before turning his head and looking at her.

"You okay?" she asked gently.

"Yea., just… thinking. . ."

Cuddy reached her hand out. "C'mere," she said gently, her eyes on him. Once he was near the table, she reached up with her hand and caressed the scruff on the side of his face with her fingers.

"It's going to be okay," she coaxed quietly.

House didn't say anything and moved his hand down to rest on Cuddy's belly while he flipped the monitor back on and rested the wand on Cuddy's abdomen. The corners of his mouth were beginning to turn upwards into a grin.

He spread his fingers out on Cuddy's stomach, which was the closest contact he was going to get to his son.

'Their son.' He smiled at that thought. He felt a small hand cover his and squeeze.

Looking over at the woman carrying their child, House smiled at her. As he threaded her fingers through his own, he cupped her cheek with his other hand, running his thumb gently down her jaw line, caressing the smooth skin.

"I love you," he whispered. Leaning forward, he gently captured her lips in a lingering passionate kiss, the kind that left her breathless.

Once again, the ringing of Cuddy's phone filled the room. House broke apart from her and moved his mouth next to her ear. "Let it go to voicemail," he breathed quietly.

Making his way back down to her lips, he kissed her hard on the mouth. She responded by wrapping her arms around his back, caressing his strong muscles up and down his back as the kiss became more passionate.

A loud clearing of a throat caused them both to break apart from their ferocious lip lock and look around at the door, where Parker and a nurse were standing.

"I hate to break up the tonsil hockey, you two," Parker said, grinning as he stepped into the room, pausing to shut the door after the nurse, who followed behind carrying a metal tray with instruments covered with a blue sheet.

"S' okay," House said as he grinned, "more for me later." He immediately flinched as he felt Cuddy give him a blow to the arm.

"You better watch yourself there, mister," she warned him.

Chuckling softly at the banter between the two people in front of him, Parker wheeled the monitor closer to him and sat down on the stool, as he mentioned for the nurse to set the tray down beside him.

Once that was done, he looked over at Cuddy. "Alright, Lisa. I know you're very busy, so let's get this show on the road."

As she felt House squeeze her hand, she felt all the uneasiness that she first thought before the procedure leave her mind. She looked up at him briefly to see him giving her a reassuring smile and a nod.

"You can do this," he bent down and whispered in her ear. She glanced up at him and smiled, feeling her confidence build the moment he said these words.

Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly and waited for the procedure to begin.

For the next fifteen minutes, Cuddy lay on her back on the padded exam table with her belly exposed as a giant needle was inserted into the amniotic sac to gather some fluid containing fetal cells, for testing.

Her hand gripped House's hand the entire time as she felt various amounts of pressure throughout her lower abdomen. Not particularly wanting to see a giant needle sticking out of her, she closed her eyes throughout the entire duration of the test, letting Parker know to tell her when it was over and when the needle was safely out.

"Almost done," House said as he bent down and whispered in her ear.

"Lisa, I need you to hold your breath for me for a few seconds and then exhale slowly," Parker told her as he attached a syringe and began to carefully extract clear fluid.

After a few minutes, Parker succeeded in getting the needle out. "All done, Lisa. If you could just stay like this for a few."

Opening her eyes, Cuddy saw a nurse bending over her to place a white bandage over the site where the needle was inserted.

After being told that the test should be ready in a few hours, Cuddy had a quick blood test taken and then Parker left the room, letting his patient get dressed.

"I'll leave the photo's up front," he said, as he opened the door to let himself out.

Once the obstetrician had left the room, Cuddy changed out of the pale green hospital gown and slipped her pencil skirt back on, zipping the side up.

As House tied her halter top from behind, he pressed up against her back. When he was done tying her top, he let his hands reach around her middle and sit on her belly. His mouth traveled down to the back of her neck as he planted soft kisses on her skin.

Cuddy giggled, enjoying every second of him touching and caressing her skin with the tip of his tongue. She twisted her body around, and laid her palm on his cheek, caressing his scruff.

"I love you, Greg," she whispered, as she touched her lips to his, and forced her tongue inside his mouth.

House kissed her back. "I love how I can still make you giggle like a two-year old," he murmured against her lips.

"Mhmm," Cuddy mumbled, "and I love how you still act like one." She placed one hand on the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her, and kissed him on the lips.

Placing both hands on her face, House was silent as his eye's traveled down her face, tracing her features.

"I just want you to know," he said, sincerely, "that even when you're eight months pregnant and you're as big as a house, I'll still love you."

Cuddy chuckled softly. "You do know you just insulted me," she said to him, her eyes twinkling as they always did when the two of them bantered back and forth with one another.

"By saying that I'll be as big as a house," she clarified.

House smirked. As he reached over to the side to grab her black suit jacket and his cane, both of which were resting on the counter top, he smiled and said, "I wouldn't call that an insult." He handed her jacket over to her. "I could have used the 'Four Seasons Hotel' instead of a house."

Cuddy slapped his arm lightly and then slipped her jacket on over her crème colored halter.

"I sure hope the manager of the hotel knows what he just got himself into," she said, smirking mischievously as she turned her back on him and walked out the door.

Turning her head, she noticed that House was still standing in the same spot with his mouth agape.

"C'mon, Gimpy," she called out over her shoulder to him.

Scowling, House quickly limped after her, determining to punish her later that evening.

After they had stopped by the receptionist's desk to pick up a few copies of the ultrasound images, House and Cuddy walked towards the elevators.

"You hungry?" House asked, as he jabbed the bottom arrow elevator button with the tip of his cane.

"Mhmhm," Cuddy said.

When the elevator doors opened, Cuddy wasted no time; she pulled House inside, and immediately wrapped her arms around him, maneuvering him backwards so he was pinned up against the elevator wall.

Letting his cane drop to the floor with a clatter, House automatically brought his hands up to rest on either side of her hips.

"You're lucky it's empty," he murmured against her skin.

"I would have jumped you anyway," Cuddy replied without missing a beat as she closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of House lazily kissing her collar bone.

"Wow," House muttered, nibbling on her earlobe, "and I thought I was bad."

His mouth found her lips and he wasted no time in engulfing her lips in a passionate kiss as his lower body rocked against her pelvic bone.

Breaking off the kiss for air a few moments later, House smirked. "When I asked you if you were hungry, you weren't talking about the cafeteria food, were you?"

Wiggling her eyebrows, she chuckled softly. "Yes and no," she replied, in a sultry tone, her lips turning upwards into a sly grin as she went to kiss him again.

TBC... stay tuned for John Greene's interview. I'll make you wait a little for the hiring decision though...

Thanks to all my readers who have stuck with my story...nowhere near finished. :D House and Cuddy are going to have their hands full, that's for sure.