Chapter 42:

That same day around half past six in the evening, while everyone was on their way to the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's Forty-fifth Annual New Year's Eve Extravaganza, there were two doctors' still getting ready for the big event and were not even close to being in a hurry.

Letting the warm water run off his body, Gregory House enjoyed the feeling of standing underneath the shower head in the Cuddy residence, while a pair of soapy hands washed his backside.

"Do you do personal massages, too?" he joked.

"I usually charge a fee, but for you it's free," Cuddy teased him, as she moved her hands down to wash behind his thighs.

She squealed loudly, her voice echoing off the walls of the shower as House suddenly turned around and palmed her butt cheek with his hand.

Engulfing her lips hungrily in a wet sloppy kiss, House grinned against her mouth. "I like things when they're free," he murmured, as his tongue moved along the insides of her mouth.

Sliding his hand slowly down her wet naked body, he stopped at her breasts, teasing her erect nipple with his fingertip and later latching on with his tongue as he lowered his head down, causing a low groan to erupt from deep in Cuddy's throat as she moaned with pleasure.

Taking some soap in his two hands, House gently started to wash the front of her body, starting with her arms, moving to her perky, full breasts, and then to her baby bump, caressing every inch of her body to make sure she was clean.

Once he was finished, they reversed roles once more, as Cuddy finished what she was doing before House took over.

When she was done, House wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. Standing underneath the shower head, he repeatedly brushed his lips over and over again against hers.

"I love you, Greg," Cuddy whispered after they broke apart, as she inhaled the aftermath scent of the soap she had used on him.

Resting his forehead against hers, House tucked a strand of wet, loose curly black hair behind her ear.

Gazing into her dark green-gray eyes, he brushed his lips softly against hers.

"We should get ready. Don't want to miss our reservations," he said, reluctantly, as he traced his lips against her collarbone.

A short time later, House helped Cuddy out of the shower. Cuddy towel dried her hair after drying herself off.

"You still won't tell me where we're going?" she called out to House, who had gone into the bedroom to get his shirt.

"Nope," he called back to her, as he started to change into his newly-ironed button-down white dress shirt.

After pulling his pants on, he limped back into the bathroom to tidy up his facial hair.

"But I can assure you," he began, as he washed his face before taking out his razor and crème, "you will not be disappointed."

Chuckling to herself at House's opinionated attitude, Cuddy said nothing and continued to curl her hair into soft and thick bouncy curls.

Once that was done, she wandered into the bedroom and got dressed.

The simple black strapless maternity gown from Figure 8 Maternity that she had chosen to wear was simple, yet elegant, showing off her voluptuous breasts, her toned arm and back muscles, and her round baby bump.

After applying her make-up and putting earrings, and a bracelet on, she turned to go into the bathroom to ask House for his assistance in helping with her necklace, but there was no need since she saw him standing in the doorway with his shirt halfway buttoned and his mouth slightly gaped opened as he stared.

"What?" she said, her eyebrows raised at his expression.

He shook his head, unable to formulate what was going through his head at the moment, as he stared in awe of the beauty of the woman standing in front of him, the curve of her belly and her hips accented through the dress material.

"I'm assuming the reason as to why you're stunned into silence is a good thing?" she said coyly, as she walked up to him.

"Can you put this on for me?" she asked him, handing him the necklace he had given her for Christmas before turning around and sweeping her black curly hair up away from her neck.

Still in awe, House took the necklace from her and clasped it together around her neck. After that was done, he let his hands travel down her body as he bent his head down, his mouth making contact with her bare collarbone.

Gathering her close to his body in front of him, he whispered in her ear, "You look absolutely positively stunning."

"…and you're glowing," he added happily.

Beaming, Cuddy was silent for a moment, enjoying House's lips against her skin. "Thank you," she said, sincerely. Turning around to face him, she finished buttoning his shirt and then began to work on tying his black bow tie.

Once that was done, she reached up with her hand, cupping his jaw line as her fingers caressed his newly-trimmed scruff. "You're going to behave tonight, right?" she asked him, sincerely.

House smirked, knowing she was going to ask that. She always does. "Don't I always?" he told her, bashfully.

Smiling shyly, Cuddy said, "Because since you ARE dating the head honcho, your actions reflect on me…" she told him, letting her words trail off for effect, letting him formulate for himself what she wasn't voicing aloud.

House wrapped his arms around her. "Oh relax, preggo," he told her, "I'll be nice…"

"You say that now…" Cuddy snorted.

Chuckling to himself at her reluctance, House lightly guided his thumb repeatedly over her hip bone through the dress material. "You always doubt me," he joked as his light icy blue eyes twinkled as he gazed lovingly into her gray-green ones.

"There's a reason for that," she said coyly, still keeping her hand on his jaw line. Standing up slightly on her tiptoes, she drew him in for a kiss, in which he immediately responded to by pulling her as close as he could as their mouths connected; their tongues caressing each others' lovingly with ignited passion.

Very reluctantly, House broke off the kiss after a few moments', grabbed his cane from off the edge of the bed with one hand and took Cuddy's hand in the other, leading her out of the bedroom.

Walking into the door of Lahiere's Restaurant, an American and French eatery located in the heart of Princeton, House limped up to the maitre'd podium as Cuddy appeared right beside him.

"Good evening," the hostess behind the podium said to them brightly. "Do you have a reservation?"

"It's under 'HOUSE' for two," House said, in a gruff voice.

Consulting the book of reservations in front of her on the podium, the hostess smiled up at them. "…Yes, follow me please." She grabbed two menus from a shelf underneath the podium and motioned for House and Cuddy to follow her.

House placed his hand on the middle of Cuddy's bare upper back as they followed the woman to their table.

Twenty minutes later, House laid his fork down on his plate, which had a small remainder of the yellow fin tuna appetizer he and Cuddy had shared.

"Not bad right?" he said as he took as sip of his Johnny Walker black on the rocks, before wiping his lips with a peach colored linen napkin.

Cuddy smiled at him, as her eyes traveled swiftly down his face. "Check plus in my book so far," she commented.

House chuckled, his eyes sparkling. "You're body language tells me that comment translates to sex later," he quipped.

Leaning forward, Cuddy captured his lips in a soft kiss. "Why must everything to men translate into something sexual?" she mused, once they had broken apart.

"Dunno," House muttered, as he gazed into her eyes, getting lost in them. "It's just how we are…"

At this, Cuddy merely snorted with quiet laughter as she said coyly, "I LOVE how mature you're being right now."

Before House had a chance to respond, a waiter came over to take the rest of the order.

House ordered the Lamb Shank with a side of Russet fries with Lahiere's own homemade ketchup, while

Cuddy had the mixed baby lettuce salad appetizer for her dinner with a side of grilled asparagus.

Once the waiter had written down their order and walked away, Cuddy reached down for her purse, which sat at her feet.

"I thought I felt my phone vibrate," she said, as she looked through her purse. Finding her phone and pulling it out, she saw there were two missed calls from her sister, along with one text message also from Kate saying "WHERE ARE YOU?" all in capital letters.

Chuckling to herself, she looked back over at House. "It's Kate," she told him, "She wants to know where I am…I should probably call her…"

House waved his arm, signaling her that it was okay with him that she excused herself and took the call.

"Go…I'll still be here…"

Giving him an apologetic smile, Cuddy stood up and grabbed her purse, as she headed towards the ladies' room.

Standing in the hospital lobby, which had miraculously been transformed into a ballroom-like atmosphere, with a huge wooden dance floor and a stage, which held a five-piece band, Kate Cuddy was thoroughly engrossed in a conversation with Matthew Gomez, her boyfriend who worked as an attending in PPTH's ER department, and his boss, Dr. Charles Porter.

Showing a remarkable resemblance to her sister Lisa, Kate Cuddy was about half an inch taller but still with the raven curly black hair that they both seemed to inherit from their mother, Beth.

Her boyfriend Matthew Gomez knew from the second he laid eyes on her that she was a Cuddy sister, and he also knew that just by seeing how sharp and sexy Lisa was, he knew Kate couldn't be any different; and he was right.

Feeling her phone vibrate in the clutch that she held in her hand, Kate pardoned the interruption and retrieved her phone.

Matt leaned over and looked as the name 'LISA' flashed across the screen of the phone.

"You going to answer?"

Kate nodded, excused herself from him and Dr. Porter, and brought the phone up to her ear.

"Where the hell are you, Lisa?" she demanded, once she had gotten out of earshot of the loud noises and joyous celebration of the beginning New Year's Eve festivities.

Lisa Cuddy chuckled at the tone of her sister's voice. "Nice to hear from you too, Kate," she said, sarcastically.

"Ever since I got here, I must have gotten about twenty people asking me where you were and when you were showing up," Kate told her sister.

"See, this is why I hate being the big cheese," Cuddy joked, "…if you're not at your own event, people assume you're either not coming because you just don't feel like it or something is seriously wrong, and they keep bugging you…

At this, Kate chuckled. "Sucks being the head honcho, eh? Having to say yes to all those obligations…I guess that's why they pay you the big bucks." She paused. "So where are you?"

Choosing not to say anything for a moment, Cuddy quietly sucked in a breath, knowing full well that what she was about to say was either going to give her sister Kate the left-out pieces to the puzzle or confirm what she already knew.

"…Out to dinner," Lisa finally said, preparing herself for the worst.

Silence fell on the other end. Then finally, after what seemed like ages, Kate spoke, her voice noticeably devoid of all emotion as she spoke the two words that utterly disgusted her.

"…with Greg…"

Hearing the sudden coldness in her sister's voice, Lisa Cuddy winced, feeling a sudden sharp pain in her heart. Closing her eyes, she exhaled gradually. "Kate…" she began slowly.

Kate refused to back down. "Are you with him?" she demanded of her sister.

Keeping her eyes closed, Lisa silently counted to three before answering. "Yes," she whispered.

She heard Kate snort and give a small chuckle of disgust a moment later. "…you know, when Mom showed me the article about your accident in November, there was one tiny thing I couldn't wrap my head around, and it was him!"

She continued on, her voice getting lower, perhaps, her sister thought, because there were people around her.

"I thought it was just a one-time thing," Kate continued, "but when I was informed that you two have been together for quite some time before the accident even happened…I would have thought, Lisa, after what happened back in Michigan, when he just left without telling you ANYTHING, that would have followed you head instead of your heart."

Choosing not to say anything, partly due to the fact that if she had opened her mouth, Cuddy would scream at her sister; instead she exhaled slowly to compose herself, as she ignored the stabbing pain that spread through her chest as she heard the harsh words spoken by her sister.

When she did speak, however, her voice had changed tone drastically from understanding and level to harsh and bitter angry. "First of all, Kate," she stated through gritted teeth, "HE has a name…it's Greg…and second of all, this is the father of my CHILD who we are talking about, so I'd appreciate it if you would give him the respect he deserves—"

"The respect he DESERVES?" Kate exclaimed, cutting her sister off. "Lisa, he has to EARN my respect and so far, going by my book, he fucked it up twenty years ago!"

As she stood in the bathroom of the restaurant, Lisa Cuddy's eyes flashed angrily as she clutched the phone up by her ear as she listened to her sister's jarring words repeatedly wound her.

"Don't you think Greg's changed from all those years ago, Kate?" Lisa whispered in a hurt voice.

Swallowing, Kate then realized how much of an affect her words had on her sister.

"And Kate," Lisa added, as her voice began to get strained, "this is not twenty years ago, this is now…give Greg a chance, Kate, please…for me…please…"

Feeling her heart shatter as she listened to her sister's upset voice on the other end of the phone, Kate just simply stood there, as she heard her sister's pain-filled voice as she pleaded.

"Lisa…" she finally whispered, "Stop…I shouldn't said those things. I'm sorry…"

"Damn pregnancy hormones," she heard her sister murmur.

Suppressing a chuckle, Kate said, "Ah, the joys of pregnancy."

Lisa chuckled as she grabbed a paper towel from the silver dispenser tacked onto the wall to wipe her face with. "Doesn't get any better," she teased, "Listen, Kate, I'm going to go…Greg probably thinks I fell in or something…"

Kate laughed. "Yea, I should probably go too. Matt is probably looking for me."

"Oh-so his name is Matt?" Lisa interrupted, joking.

"Oh shut up," Kate told her, chuckling. "…I can't wait to see you later, Lisa. I miss you…"

Smiling shyly, Lisa brought her hand up to rub her stomach, for she had just felt her son kick within her womb.

"I miss you too, Kate," she said softly.

A short time later, Cuddy was sitting back at the table. While she was gone, House had the waiter hold their food until she got back.

"What, did you fall in?" House joked, once she had sat down.

She gave him an apologetic smile, but didn't say anything.

House took that gesture to mean yes, something did happen but she was not ready to share with him. Yet.

"You should eat," he said, maintaining a soft tone as he looked at her. He consulted his watch as he said, "It's almost 8:30."

Agreeing, Cuddy began to dig into her salad while House cut a piece of his lamb shank and took a bite.

"This is phenomenal!" he praised, after swallowing.

Cuddy chuckled as she shook her head. "You say that with every cut of meat…"

"No, but this is different," he reassured her.

She merely let out a forced chuckle and went back to her meal.

After a few minutes of silence, House asked in a soft voice, "Are you okay?" after noticing she wasn't really eating much.

Looking up from cutting a piece of her asparagus, Cuddy stared at him. "I'm fine," she told him, softly but firmly.

House gazed at her a few seconds without saying anything, although his mind was in overdrive. He knew she was lying. Something had just occurred in the bathroom moments ago that set her over the edge, although he wasn't quite sure what it entailed.

"Are you sure—" he started again.

"I told you, Greg. I'm fine," she hissed at him softly through gritted teeth, beginning to get inpatient.

Debating whether he should wait and deal with it later or confront it presently, he didn't want her to get any more agitated than she clearly was already, so he decided to let it go for the time being. "Okay," he said, in a semi-convincing tone, "but clearly something's bothering you…"

Cuddy exhaled softly, laid down her knife and fork on her plate and fixed him with a piercing stare. "…Just drop it, okay Greg?" she said to him, exasperated, "I'll tell you later," she stressed.

All he could do was nod and look back down, resuming his dinner, while his mind was mulling over all the possibilities that could have agitated the woman in front of her, regarding her own sister.

TBC...

Since I wrote this chapter, Lahiere's Resturant in Princeton closed. Shame.