I finished this chapter earlier than expected, so I decided to post it rather than wait.

Due to House's recent drug scare mix up, I thought it was appropriate to address his issues with his leg (thinking back on the conversation that he and Cuddy had last chapter or the chapter before)

Chapter 67:

Wednesday morning, House was in the physical rehabilitation unit of the hospital finishing up his regularly scheduled therapy appointment with Laura McGuire, who was overseeing his treatment.

"How's movement been?" Laura asked, as she gently brought House's left arm backwards towards her as she stretched his chest and shoulder muscles.

"Pretty good," he told her.

"Good. It seems to be a lot better."

House was seated on a padded table as Laura did various stretches with him as part of his rehab plan. Around him were various patients, all committed to the goal of receiving the highest quality of care available to them with aiding to their specific needs. It was largely outpatient but there were a few patients dressed in hospital gowns.

A few doctors and staff roamed the floor, talking with and assisting patients with exercises or any other specific needs, whether it be stretching, ice, ultrasound or the like.

"Overall, you seem to be doing a lot better," Laura commented, as she gave him a dumbbell after she stretched him. "I'm glad. Now, front shoulder raises. Same as before. When you're done, I'll ice you."

After he was done with his front lateral raises, Laura got him an ice pack. "When the timer goes off, come to my office for a few minutes. I want to chat for a bit."

"You seem to be recovering very nicely," Laura told House, as he was sitting in the physical therapist's office after his session.

"I'm assuming you are still wearing the sling at work and in public so you do not get banged about? And doing your stretches?"

"Stretches, yes. Sling, sometimes," House told her. "I've stopped wearing it at home and usually I don't wear it at night."

"Good," Laura replied. "Like I said, you are progressing very well. Really, Greg. I am not over emphasizing here."

Laura leaned back in her chair, observing her patient carefully. "Anything…on your mind?" she asked, rather hesitantly. She had noticed House more distracted when usual in the morning's session. "Just a question…"

She knew he got rather defensive when asked about certain topics involving his personal life.

"No," he replied, and then paused, looking at her.

"Actually, yeah," he said slowly.

"Anything I can help with?" Laura asked gently.

He hesitated, unsure of wanting to open himself up to his vulnerability.

"Greg, if you don't want to -"

"Stop!" House exclaimed, roughly, glaring across the desk at her. "Don't - I -"

He swallowed. "Sorry," he said quietly.

Laura waited patiently. "Greg, whatever this is, I'm not going to judge you. I'm here to help you."

Clearing his throat, House glanced down in between his legs as he studied the carpeted floor with great interest.

"…I – I want my leg to get stronger," he finally muttered, keeping his gaze on the floor. "I don't want to have to hobble around after my kid and – and have to explain to him why his dad is a drug addict addicted to painkillers – I can't even get down on one knee - forget it. I'm rambling…"

Laura sat there, stunned at his confession. She didn't really know specifics about his injury. She knew he had an injured thigh muscle and that he needed the aid of the cane and painkillers, but to see him open himself up this much, that was something in the short time she had been working with him that she had never seen him do.

"…I want to…cut back on the pills, but I'm in pain," he mumbled, still with his gaze on the floor, as he silently cursed himself for opening up and for being so vulnerable.

Finally glancing up, he noticed Laura smiling.

"I can help you," she told him. "And I'll be glad to…thank you for letting me in. I realize you don't put away the 'Keep Out' sign that's on your forehead very often."

"And this is a HUGE step for you," she added, quickly.

"None of this gets repeated," House told her, roughly.

"Client-doctor confidentiality."

They lapsed into silence. Laura gave him a minute.

"This isn't going to be easy," she finally told him. "But it'll help you tremendously. Have you ever had PT for your leg before?"

House scoffed. "Yeah, but I stopped going after one session. I relied on the Vicodin."

"You still do."

"Yes," House replied, suddenly ashamed, as he bowed his head.

"Sometimes," he said, his eyes on the floor. "I use the heating pad when the pain gets bad, but largely it's the pills."

"How often do you use heat?"

"Depends," he replied. "A lot of it has to do with stress level…some days are better than others…"

He suddenly scoffed, shaking his head. "Cuddy tells me some of it's in my head."

"Is she right?"

House looked up. "I don't know…yeah, I guess a little." He cleared his throat, as he started to be rather uncomfortable.

"But the pain is largely real," Laura confirmed, noticing his discomfort.

He nodded silently.

As she leaned back in her chair, Laura stared at the man seated in front of her desk. She saw his pain. Saw his struggle.

And she was determined to help him.

Clearing her throat, she began speaking. "I'm going to need to see some files, some documentation to give me an accurate background and history…"

"My surgery was done here," House told her quietly.

"Really? Well, that certainly makes my job easier. Now, your doctor, would he still be around?"

"She," House corrected her. "And yes, she is still at this hospital."

"Oh," Laura said, sounding rather surprised. "Okay, well would she be willing to talk you think?"

"I believe she would, yes."

Taking out a piece of paper and a pen from her desk drawer, Laura looked at him. "And who is she?"

House made eye contact with the woman before answering.

"Lisa Cuddy."

Laura stared at him, not sure if she had heard him correctly.

"Well," she finally stammered, "I certainly wasn't expecting that."

"Most people don't."

Leaning back in her chair, Laura chose her words carefully before speaking. "Okay, I guess I should talk to her then, shouldn't I? That is…if you aren't opposed to me doing so…"

"I guess," he mumbled.

Laura studied him. He was very difficult to read at the moment.

"Would you have any problem in me having Lisa involved in your treatment program?" she asked slowly, not knowing how he was going to react.

"She…has enough on her plate at the moment."

"What about on an 'as-needed' basis, then?"

House shrugged and mumbled again. "I guess."

"Greg, this is your treatment plan. I don't want to do anything that you are uncomfortable with…nevertheless, I am also suggesting…that it may help…"

"We can work on your shoulder and leg in the same session if you want. I want to take it slow, but not too slow," Laura continued. "…you realize I am going to have to see your leg."

House nodded. "Yeah," he whispered, looking away.

Laura hesitated, knowing how difficult this was for him.

"We'll take it one step at a time. I realize you're not big on letting those who don't know you particularly well to see your vulnerability. If it gets too uncomfortable, we can proceed in a different fashion."

House stayed silent.

"Just the fact that you came to me about this is extraordinary. It says a lot," she told him softly. "Trust me."

She paused, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she continued.

"Before Friday, I'll sit down and figure out how to begin your treatment plan, and we'll go from there. Sound like a plan?"

Half an hour after House left the physical therapist's office, Lisa Cuddy sat in her office down on the first floor of the hospital, reviewing a draft of the proposal to have PPTH merge with Princeton University Medical Center, which was finally set to finalize with all final questions answered and signatures drafted in three weeks.

As she was reviewing a document on her computer, the door to her office opened.

"Lisa, there's a 'Doctor Laura McGuire' here to see you."

Surprised, Cuddy glanced up at her assistant and then consulted her watch. She was extremely busy, but could use the break.

"Alright. Send her in."

As Laura walked into the Dean's office, Cuddy stood, and the two women shook hands.

Gesturing in front of her desk, Cuddy said, "Please, have a seat."

Laura sat down in one of the two chairs that were in front of the desk.

"What can I help you with, Laura?" Cuddy began in a professional manner. "How's Greg doing by the way?"

"He's doing quite well," Laura told her, smiling. "I am very impressed with the way his rehab is going…I actually came here to discuss a different issue…"

"Okay. What's up?"

Laura hesitated, not sure of how she wanted to break the news.

"…Greg wants to…strengthen his leg muscle…," she finally began slowly, unsure of how the woman in front of her would react.

Cuddy stared at her, absolutely dumbfounded. "What – he told you that?!"

Laura nodded. "Yes."

"Wow," Cuddy whispered softly. "I'd never thought I'd see the day," she said, more to herself than to Laura.

She cleared her throat after a few seconds, forcing her mind back into the present moment. "What did you say?"

"I told him I could help him."

"You do realize," Cuddy started to say, "that this is not going to be easy?"

"I'm aware of that, yes."

Laura paused and made sure she had Cuddy's full attention before proceeding.

"He also told me that you were willing to talk."

Cuddy understood what she meant. Standing up, she made her way over to the file cabinet that sat against the wall beside the sofa. Laura was watching her carefully.

"I keep every single one of my patient's files," she told the physical therapist as she unlocked the file drawer with a key that she retrieved from on top of the cabinet.

"Before a few years ago," she continued, opening the middle drawer, "they were all hardcopy."

Glancing through the row of manila folders, she tabbed through them until she found the one she was looking for.

Withdrawing a manila folder, she shut the drawer, holding the file in her hands.

"I haven't looked at this in four years," she whispered, staring at the front, where 'G. House' was displayed on the tab in the corner. She walked back to her desk and held the file out to Laura.

"Oh no," Laura told her quickly. "I can't expect you to -"

"If you are going to treat him," Cuddy interrupted, her voice a bit shaky, "you need to know the details, my diagnostic notes, et cetera. Take it."

Laura had no choice but to take the file from the woman's hands.

Cuddy nodded and went back behind her desk, sitting back down. "He really came to you about this?"

"Yes." Laura thought she saw Cuddy's eyes fill with tears, but then she blinked and they were gone.

"Thank you," she said softly. She stood up and walked to the door as she heard Cuddy speak.

"I would start with a massage if you can. His thigh is extremely tight and is constantly in spasm. And Laura?"

Turning around, Laura faced the woman, questionably.

"It's not pretty the first time you see it."

About an hour after Laura McGuire had left her office, Cuddy finally approached a stopping point in her work and after telling her assistant that she'd be back shortly, she left her office and made her way upstairs to House's office.

From the hallway, she saw that House wasn't in the conference room with Foreman and Cameron, who were both sitting at the glass conference table, both reviewing a file.

Sticking her head in the doorway, she asked if either of them had seen House.

"He grabbed his jacket probably about an hour ago and then left," Cameron told her.

"Did he say anything?"

"Nope."

"Well he couldn't have left," Cuddy mused. "Thanks."

She continued down the hallway, thinking. She turned around and headed towards the stairwell located next to the elevators as a thought struck her.

When was the last time he was up there?

When she reached the top of the stairwell, she took a deep wavering breath as she saw the roof access door propped open with a brick.

Sure enough, when she stepped over the threshold after pushing the door open wider, she saw him leaning against the balcony that overlooked the parking lot.

His back was towards the access door as he stared out into the Princeton skyline, his right arm resting on the concrete ledge while his cane leaned against the brick wall next to him.

He heard the door being moved, but didn't turn. He knew who it was.

Feeling Cuddy's presence as she stood next to him, House kept his gaze on a cloud in the sky as he pulled his jacket further around him as the wind started to pick up gradually.

"Did she come talk to you?" he finally asked, his gaze still focused on the sky.

"I assume you are talking about Laura," Cuddy stated. "And yes, she did."

For a while, neither of them spoke. Cuddy opened her mouth but then closed it a second later.

"Are you angry?" House finally asked, his voice soft.

"No," Cuddy replied, surprised at his question. "Why would I be angry?"

House shrugged, saying nothing and still not looking in her direction.

"I'm proud of you," Cuddy told him happily. "Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? For you to come forward and ask for help?"

"No…"

"Years," she whispered. "When you were talking about wanting to cut back recently, I knew that it wouldn't be long until you realized."

She reached out her hand and grabbed his hand that rested on the ledge. "I know you are feeling a lot right now, but what matters is that you want to do this, Greg. For you. I know this scares the hell out of you, but you can do it."

"You don't think I should wait until after the trial next Friday?" House asked, as he glanced sideways at her.

"No," Cuddy told him softly. "If anything, it'll help to keep your mind off it." She paused and moved closer to him. "It won't be easy."

"I'm aware," he whispered. "I just… I don't like being in pain." He turned to face her.

"I know," she told him softly. "I know you don't. And it absolutely kills me to see you on your bad days."

Placing her hands on his arms and squeezing his biceps, she looked up into his eyes. "Once you set your mind to something, you do it. I have no doubt in my mind that you'll do whatever it takes because you want to do this."

"I just…everything's coming up so fast: this, the trial…maybe it's a bad time -"

"Listen to me," Cuddy stressed. "We've both done our part with John. Okay? All we can do now is wait for next Thursday."

She paused as she felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Yeah, I'm nervous," Cuddy told him, breaking eye contact. "But I can't do anything about it right now…but what you can do is at least begin to be in less pain by starting therapy."

"We'll deal with next week when it comes, okay?" she continued softly as her voice trembled. "For now, we're doing everything we can."

"You're scared as hell for next week, aren't you?" House asked her suddenly.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"Just say what you remember. That's all you can do. That's all I can do as well."

As she listened to him, Cuddy knew that he was trying to help her, while reassuring himself as well. She knew that this was going to be hard talking about the accident and what happened, but she also knew that by going through the process of facing these fears would make her stronger, as she continued trying to let go of everything and focus on a future for herself, House and their unborn son.

TBC...

I thought for a while about bringing his pain issue up...and finally decided that House confide in Laura about it because I think he knows that she would be willing to help him. He connects with her for some reason. I'm speculating (and this is mere speculation) that being with Cuddy has...opened him up a bit more, dare I say it...

In this moment of stress and anxiety for House and Cuddy, I thought it also was appropriate to have the rooftop conversation that they did.

For all of you who are waiting, I'm thinking the issue of Wilson knowing about the trial will come up next chapter, so stay tuned. Do you think he is going to confront House or Cuddy or keep his mouth shut?