So, I decided to post another chapter. I finished this way earlier than I expected. What can I say, my creative juices were flowing (and they are STILL flowing).

ENJOY!

Where we left off:

House found out about the lawsuit that Cuddy initiated against Chase. The end of the last chapter, House received the subpoena to appear in court in three weeks.

~~
Grabbing his cane, House strode over to the door that separated his office and conference room and pulled it open, going inside.

Cuddy was still standing in the conference room, not moving. House poked his head out and looked at her.

"Do you need an invitation?" he sneered.

Restraining herself from strangling her boyfriend and employee at the next opportunity, Cuddy narrowed her eyes and followed him into the adjacent office, without glancing behind her to see Cameron and Foreman silently gawking at the pair of them.

When the door to House's office had shut completely, Cameron spoke.

"I think we should go down and help in the clinic."

Foreman didn't need telling twice. "Good idea."

Chapter 63:

"You're angry," Cuddy began softly.

They were in House's adjacent office next to the conference room. Cuddy sat in one of the chairs that were situated in front of the glass desk while House stood at the window, looking out over the parking lot below, with his back towards her.

It was Cuddy who, somewhat hesitantly, had broken the terse silence.

He gave no recognition to what she had just spoken aloud. Yes, he was angry. Why was she hiding this? And more importantly, why did she do it?

"Wow. Brilliant observation, Doctor Cuddy," House deduced with heavy sarcasm.

Without turning toward her just yet, he spoke again, this time his voice was low, and free of all sardonic commentary.

"Why?"

Cuddy hesitated. Who knew a one-worded question would be so loaded? She detected evidence of fear and anger in his tone. Anger, yes, that was to be expected, but fear?

Willing herself to open her mouth, she sucked in a quiet breath before speaking.

"I needed closure," she began, quietly.

House didn't do anything for a moment. When he did finally turn from the window and face her, she noticed the hand that gripped his cane was shaking. They locked eyes. Gray-green on piercing blue.

"So, you had to what? Go behind my back and press charges without talking to me about this first?!" he exclaimed, outraged. "I'm a part of this as much as you are! Goddamn it, Lisa!" He swore under his breath. "Why couldn't you just tell me?!"

Now that she could see his face more clearly, Cuddy could see that he was seething. Livid with rage. But, she didn't back down.

"You wouldn't understand," she whispered, almost on the verge of tears.

House rounded on her. Fast. For a moment, Cuddy had the fleeting image of him going to strike her, and she actually cringed.

House seemed to realize his sudden movement and stopped.

"Enlighten me," he replied, his voice monotone.

"In - In the beginning," Cuddy began, her voice quavering a bit, "I was okay. Or so I thought. I would go through days and nights telling myself I was alright and that I could… move past it if I just forgot about… what happened and just throw myself into work. And then there were other nights as I'm sure you remember, when the accident came at me full force…."

She stopped talking and looked up into his face.

"I – I faked everyone, including myself and even you, Greg." She paused. "And I'm sorry," she whispered.

Glancing down at her hands fiddling on her lap, she took a breath and continued, the quiver still evident in her voice.

"I called it a mistake. I still don't think Chase is a bad person. Things happen…As much as I said I can forgive him, I – I don't think I can anymore. Something in me snapped. I – I just…I need closure," she stressed, quietly.

No longer standing in front of her, House moved back over to the window once more.

"So I sought out someone who deals with personal injury cases," Cuddy continued after getting no response. "I didn't tell you because I honestly didn't know what would happen. I was instructed to wait until something happened, and that 'something' was you getting called as a witness."

House swallowed hard and looked at her, his eyes darting down to her pregnant belly then back up to her face, trying extremely hard to keep it all together but his concern for both her and their unborn son's wellbeing tore at him.

"Trial's in three weeks," he told her, "which means you'll be just over twenty-seven weeks -"

Cuddy interrupted him, knowing what he was getting at. "If I go into labor, I'll be surrounded by doctors from here." She stressed the 'If' part.

"I have to do this, Greg."

"Lisa, you don't have to do anything!" he finally responded, staring at her, quite angry at her unwillingness to see his position on the matter.

"You don't understand," she told him, coldly.

House didn't say anything and turned back to the window. She was right. No, he did not understand. What he understood was that he couldn't believe she would actually do what she did. And what's more: he was scared. He was scared for her for what she would go through re-living what happened. Yes, she was a strong woman, but just how strong? Strong enough to go through the whole ordeal all over again, but this time just through the memories? Re-living everything in detail? Was she strong enough for that?

Bringing himself out of his thoughts, he turned to face her.

"It won't be easy."

Staring at him, Cuddy was quiet for a moment. She realized that even though the man standing in front of her didn't understand all of her reasons for doing this, she had some hope that he understood at least part of what she was going through.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice breaking.

Standing, she walked over to him. He wrapped his un-injured arm around her and held her close, feeling her body mold into his warm embrace.

They stayed like that for about thirty seconds and then Cuddy pulled back, looking up at him.

"Part of me wondered what it would have been like if you refused."

"Lisa," House began, as he wiped her tears away with his thumb, "I'm your only witness. Hell, I'm still playing it in my mind, asking myself why it wasn't me at the light that night and not behind you…I want to kill Chase for what he did to you."

He paused, looking down at her. "Especially after his actions caused you to lose –" His voice caught. "…our other son or daughter." Clearing his throat, he moved away from her and looked down at the ground.

Cuddy gave him some time. He turned back to her after less than a minute.

"Who's your lawyer?". Although, he was sure he knew already.

She gave him a small smile. "Oh I think you know who is."

"Well, that was quick."

Not even ten minutes later, House and Cuddy were sitting in an office on the third floor of the hospital.

The man in front of them leaned back in his chair, surveying the paper he was given by the Dean of Medicine just moments ago.

John Greene laid the subpoena down on his desk and glanced at the two doctors sitting in front of his desk.

"You sure you want to go through with this?" he asked the Dean of Medicine.

Cuddy nodded. "Yes. As you said before, Greg's testimony will help."

"It will, yes," John told her. "Now, we do not have a lot of time, I'm afraid. I was able to move your trial up a few weeks. Not having a lot of time means we need to jump full speed ahead, fairly quickly."

"Which means," he added, 'the prep time will be a little intense because I need to know all of the details and facts that you two can remember." He glanced down at the subpoena. "A little over two weeks. This should be fine."

Glancing over across his desk at House who was turning his cane over in his hand and staring down at the carpeted floor, John spoke.

"Greg?"

House looked up.

"You're awfully quiet."

House shrugged. Cuddy turned her head and looked at him, concerned.

John leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, surveying the man in front of him, knowingly. He had seen this reaction before in his dealings with previous clients' when people close to them got involved in their cases.

"You don't want Lisa to do this." It was more of a statement rather than a question.
Silence.

John tried another angle. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What are you, my shrink now?" House sneered at him.

"Greg," Cuddy began softly, laying her hand on his knee. "Don't. John's only trying to - "

"Trying to what? Help me see that he understands my reasons for you to NOT testify in two weeks from now? Trying to give me one good reason why I shouldn't go down to New Jersey State prison right now and blow Chase's brains out?!" House shouted at her, "He can't because he doesn't understand anything!"

"You're right," John interrupted, as he leaned forward in his chair, "I don't understand what you and Lisa went through. However, Lisa needs to do this next step in order to continue to recover from what she and you went through last November."

"Something that you and I will never understand," John continued, as he surveyed House, "is when a mother loses a child, born or un born. Lisa understands because she has that maternal bond. More now than ever before. And, if to continue to heal through the miscarriage of her twin fetus, she has to find closure in what happened, and if that necessary closure is her going to trial, getting on that stand and facing Chase, then so be it."

He leaned back in his chair and took a breath before speaking again.

"And no, I'm not going to sit here and tell you it'll be easy. Because it won't. For either of you, I'm sure," he continued, looking at House, "But, to make sure Chase gets what he deserves, I need your help, Greg. You are Lisa's only witness to the accident. For her to come to terms with this, with her loss, she feels this is a necessity. I respect that. For her to fully be able to do this, I need you to testify as a witness to what you saw that night."

He stopped talking and held his breath, waiting for House's response.

"Those last few statements screamed 'overkill' and 'ass-kissing,' in my opinion," House finally replied, after a few seconds.

Cuddy laughed as she wiped her tears away with her hand. John looked at her curiously.

"That's his way of saying he'll do it," she confirmed to the lawyer, smirking.

Meanwhile, while House and Cuddy were sitting in John Greene's office, Stacy Warner was thirteen miles away in Trenton, finishing up talking to a client at New Jersey State prison.

This client was not hers directly, but a friend had asked if Stacy would cover for her and Stacy agreed. As she was talking to the guard, she watched the inmate get shackled in cuffs and be led out by another guard.

Stacy's eyes scanned the room. Men and women in dark blue prison garb conversed with men in suits.

Some were alone, waiting for their lawyers to appear or getting stood up by the one person who held their fate. Others were silent as they listened to what their lawyers had to say for them.

Glancing down the row of lawyers sitting facing their clients, Stacy quickly found who she was looking for.

Fortunately, she only had to wait a few minutes before that man in particular stood up, grabbed his briefcase and walked in the other direction. Seizing her chance when Steven Savoy, Chase's lawyer, was out of ear shot and before the inmate he had been speaking with stood up to leave, Stacy quickly excused herself and walked over to the lone inmate.

"Dr. Chase."

The inmate, who had been staring at his lawyer's backside as the man walked out of the room, glanced up and his mouth dropped open.

Stacy pulled a piece of paper out of her suit jacket pocket.

"I'm going to keep this brief and give you some advice," Stacy told him, her voice low and her eyes on the paper in front of her.

"Steven Savoy's number one client is Steven Savoy. Remember that," she told him before he even opened his mouth. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was watching her.

"He only cares about winning cases so he can get the money," Stacy continued.

Chase was silent for a second. "Why are you telling me this?" he finally asked. "And how did you know I was here?"

Stacy didn't respond.

"Any deal he's made with you, proceed with caution." Pausing, she finally looked down at him. "I'm telling you this because Savoy is known to treat his clients badly. And, as you are his client, I thought you should know that."

"…okay…" Chase responded, slowly, "but, judging from the fact that the first thing you didn't ask me was why I was here nor are you particularly surprised to see me… so that could only mean that you knew I was here, so…who told you? House or Cuddy?"

Looking around the room, Stacy quickly sat down across from Chase. "Neither," she told him.

Intrigued, Chase cocked a single blonde eyebrow, but said nothing. It was either a very convincing lie or she was telling the truth.

"Is that so?" he finally said to her.

"Chase, stop. You're terrible at this game. Don't try to be mysterious. I know you. I've worked closely with you."

"Fine," Chase replied coolly, convinced that she really was telling the truth. "So who told you?"

"That's really none of your business."

"Oh, now I really have to know."

"Well, you won't," Stacy said to him as she stood up. "I only came to give you advice about your lawyer, not to indulge your pea-brained mind.

"And since I'm here," she continued, "let me just say that what you did was the stupidest thing I have probably ever seen you do…I wouldn't want to live with myself if I were you - ."

"Save the lecture, okay Stacy?" Chase interrupted her. "I've berated myself enough already. I don't need any of it from you."

Squaring her shoulders back, Stacy looked down at him with disgust on her face. "Fine," she replied coolly. "But you should know that I can loosely relate to what you are going through - the guilt, the blaming yourself, the anger -"

Scoffing, Chase cut her off. "I hardly call comparing what you did to House with what I did highly relatable."

"They're not," Stacy told him. "Not by a long shot. But the feelings are the same. I hated myself for going against Greg's wishes even though I was his proxy, and I'm sure you hate yourself for drinking and driving. The guilt of your actions causing Lisa to go through what she did is gnawing at you -."

"Stop," Chase interrupted her. "You trying to make me feel something for what I did?! Well, I feel like shit for what I did. And I don't need you to tell me how to feel." He stood up and faced her directly.

"What you did to House is totally different than what I did to Cuddy. Never compare them."

The anger was quite evident in his face now. Stacy didn't back down. She and Chase stared at one another. Chase continued.

"And I appreciate you telling me about my lawyer and I'll take your words seriously, but right now, I think you should leave."

As she turned to leave the room after Chase had spoken those words, Stacy made eye contact with him one last time.

"Chase," she told him coldly, "you may feel like shit for a while because of what you did, but it is nothing compared to what both Lisa and Greg are most likely going through."

And without saying another word to him, Stacy snatched her black briefcase from the table and walked away towards the exit, her black high-heeled stilettos clanking across the stainless steel floor.

Thoughts?

I debated having Stacy visit Chase but I felt there were words that had to be said, especially since Stacy is one of Cuddy's good friends.

As of right now, Wilson knows nothing about John representing Cuddy. House and Cuddy also know nothing about John and Stacy knowing each other.

About the proposal that Cuddy made a while back to House about moving in with her? Stay tuned! That was put on the back burner for a while due to other stuff that came up (i.e. House's accident, the trial, etc.) but it will come up soon. (I'm thinking next chapter)

As for those who are curious, Cuddy is 25 weeks pregnant. At the time of the trial, she will be just over 27 weeks.