A/N: I am so sorry for the delay. This chapter picks up right where the last chapter left off. If you need a refresher, read the last chapter.
It is still Friday, the same day Chase started working for House again. House still leaves for Las Vegas on Monday afternoon for that conference.
Brad is in the shit house, to put it nicely.
Chapter 86:
After disconnecting the phone call with Joseph Parker, Cuddy's OB, House slowly turned toward Brad Kowalski, who was still being flanked on each side by Foreman and Chase, the two doctors' gripping Brad's upper arms tightly.
Not wanting to start a scene in public outside Cuddy's office, House limped up to Brad, keeping his voice low.
"What, you couldn't take the hint when I told you to back off last week, you little shit?" he spat out quietly, inches from the other doctor's face, "Apparently not."
Brad said nothing.
Giving the man a cold, lingering once-over, House raised his eyes to meet Brad's, locking into them.
"Your erection is disgusting. And you call yourself a respected doctor?!"
"She doesn't deserve you, House!" Brad finally spat out.
"Shut the hell up, Kowalski," House roared quietly, "Get the fuck out of here. If I ever catch you in this hospital again, I will make your life a living hell - If I ever catch you with just so much as LOOKING at her, I will find you and cut your nuts off."
As Brad was being escorted out by Foreman, House called him back.
"Oh and Brad, if anything happens to my son as a result of something you did, I will find you and rest assured, the end result will not be all sunshine and puppies."
Twenty minutes later, House quietly closed the door to Exam Room Five where Cuddy was currently occupying upstairs in the OB-GYN clinic, resting with an ice pack on her abdomen to control the swelling from the bruise she sustained as a result of Brad Kowalski's actions.
"She was lucky," Parker told him. "Physically, the worst is the bruise. I'll focus on getting her heart rate down."
As a precaution, Parker had suggested monitoring the heart rate of both Cuddy and the baby, given that Cuddy's heart rate was steadily starting to climb since Brad had entered he office that afternoon. House agreed.
Deciding to speak to his team first before Cuddy to find out exactly what had happened, House went down to his office, hoping his team was all there.
They were.
"What the hell happened?"
"Chase got there first. He can tell you better than I can," Foreman told him.
Not expecting that, House turned toward Chase, silently waiting for an explanation.
Chase told him that he was on his way back to the clinic. He had gone to the pharmacy to fill a prescription for a clinic patient when he passed Cuddy's office and thought he heard a yell and a loud crashing sound.
"That's when I stopped and heard a man's voice. When it didn't sound like you, I got suspicious," he told House. "Cuddy's assistant wasn't at her desk."
"That's because she was coming up here to tell me something didn't seem right," House replied. "Continue."
"I saw that the blinds on the doors were drawn and then I tried the door but it was locked. I noticed a key sitting on the corner of Nurse Brenda's desk, so I decided to give it a shot."
House closed his eyes. "I'm sure I'm going to regret asking this, but what did you see when you opened the door?"
Chase hesitated, noting the vulnerability on his bosses face.
When he failed to get a response, House re-opened his eyes. "Yes?"
"I'm not sure you want to hear this, but ... he, uh, stood on top of her with his belt undone and he was pulling his pants down, and that's when she shoved him away and then I grabbed him around the waist and shoved him against the wall," Chase told him.
Cameron's hands covered her mouth.
House made an unrecognizable noise that sounded like a whistle, and then slowly exhaled, running a hand down his face. "You're right. I didn't want to hear that." Turning his back on his team, he stared out the window.
Regaining his composure, House tried to hide the quiver in his voice as he asked, "And then what happened?"
"I slammed the guy against the wall and then you and Foreman showed up." Chase paused and looked at House's backside. "House, if I was there not even five minutes later -or anyone -"
House turned around. "Don't," he interrupted coldly. "I don't want to hear it. I think we all know what could have happened." He turned back to the window, seething.
He wanted to kill Brad for what he did. Who the fuck did he think he was?
For a while, no one said anything. House closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. Finally, Foreman spoke.
"So, who is this 'Brad' character?"
House opened his eyes but didn't turn around just yet. "He works as a pediatrician at Robert Wood Johnson in New Brunswick."
"Yeah, but who is he?"
House turned around. "I wasn't done," he replied coldly. "He is also a jealous ex boyfriend."
Foreman raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"Of Cuddy's?" Cameron asked softly, as she looked slightly mortified.
"No, of mine."
Cameron rolled her eyes.
"You know him?" Chase asked.
House's face darkened. "We've...met..."
Cameron had a look of sudden revelation on her face. "House, wait, this isn't the guy from last week? The one who you got into a fight with and then punched? And then Lisa was pissed at you?"
Foreman and Chase both looked at her, vaguely interested.
"How do you know about that?" House asked slowly.
Cameron rolled her eyes again. "Did you suddenly forget your girlfriend and I talk outside of work?" she told him.
"I didn't know she shared that with you."
"Well, she did. So, he's back?"
House stared at her, amused. "He is not 'back.' He just couldn't take the hint last week when I threatened him and told him to back off. Apparently, he doesn't like 'No' for an answer."
"So, how is she?" Cameron asked slowly.
Running a hand through his stubble, House exhaled before answering her. "Shook up, but that's to be expected...that asshole left a bruise the size of fucking Texas on the side of her stomach." He turned toward Foreman.
"You saw him leave, right?"
Foreman nodded. "Yeah," he replied, "Want a restraining order?"
House scoffed, shaking his head. "No. He's not coming back."
"And how can you be sure of that?"
"If he does, I'll kick his fucking ass," House said.
"House, you aren't the only one at risk here!" Cameron exclaimed. "The two of you, and your son -"
"You think I don't know that, Cameron?!" House exclaimed. "I have it under control." He exhaled quietly and limped to the door.
"And don't you guys have a dying boy to cure?" he sneered at them before leaving.
House let himself into the OB waiting room on the 3rd floor. Nodding at Rebecca, the nurse Parker had stationed at the front desk of the OB clinic - very strategically, since she was the only one of Parker's staff who knew about the Obstetric Dept. Head being Cuddy's doctor and so, she was also involved in the woman's care -, House proceeded down the hallway behind the desk. Stopping at the third door on the left, he knocked lightly and then let himself in, locking the door behind him.
"Hey," Cuddy called out softly from her place on the exam table. She was lying on her left side with pillows underneath her on the padded table.
House limped up to her, his eyes drawn to the ice pack lying on the right side of her abdomen.
"Hi," he replied quietly. His eyes locked onto hers. "How's the pain?"
"Better with the ice pack," she replied. She reached out and grabbed into his hand. "Still hurts a little."
Sitting down on the stool beside the exam table, House leaned his cane on the edge and then caressed Cuddy's hip, his eyes still locked into hers. He took note of the fact that she didn't flinch when he laid a hand on her.
Reaching her hand up, Cuddy caressed the side of his face, running her fingers through his scruff.
"I'm sorry," House whispered.
Cuddy looked up at him, questionably. "For what?"
"For not being there to pull that asshole off you."
"Greg, you can't be with me all the time. It's not your fault," she told him softly as she ran her fingers through his hair and down to the nape of his neck.
House leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers, closed his eyes and captured her lips in a gentle, lingering kiss.
Cuddy's arms stayed around his neck as she deepened the kiss. She needed to feel him.
Her hands slid down his back, gripping him tightly.
Breaking apart from the kiss, House buried his face in the side of her neck, as he sucked lovingly on her collarbone as they both relished in the closeness of each other's company, both ignoring the increasing beeping on the heart monitor.
"Greg, I need you," Cuddy whispered as her arms stayed tightly wrapped around his back.
House kissed her again. "I know." His hand grazed her cheek, caressing her jaw bone with his thumb as he rested his forehead against hers again and his piercing blue eyes locked onto her green-gray ones.
"I love you," he whispered.
Cuddy's breath hitched, the way it always did when he said those words to her. "I love you too."
Wiping away her tears with his thumb, House kept his forehead connected with hers. "That asshole is never coming near you again."
"Do you want to know what happened?" Cuddy asked softly, as her voice quivered.
"I already know the gist of what happened from Chase," House replied roughly.
"You know what he saw," she told him.
"True. When you are ready, you could tell me. Right now, I don't think that it's time." He lifted the ice pack off her right side and tossed it on the counter. He undid the snaps on the back of her gown before moving the gown away from her stomach so he could assess the damage himself.
"How bad is it?"
House shrugged as he ran a finger around the bruise. "Could be worse, but it's pretty ugly. If he kicks you there, it's probably going to hurt."
"Well, he hasn't yet, so fingers crossed," Cuddy replied, wincing as she glanced at his fingers tracing the area around her bruise.
His eyes still on her stomach, House spoke. "You know I got there as soon as I could, right?"
Cuddy lifted her eyes to meet his as she grabbed onto his bicep, gripping it tightly.
"Greg, I know that. I'm not blaming you. Stop blaming yourself. We both didn't know Brad was going to come here -."
"Yeah, but I should have known he was going to do something," House interrupted, roughly.
"You can't know everything," Cuddy replied, quietly.
House swallowed and looked at her. "Are you okay?"
"I am now," she whispered, as she grabbed his hand and held it against her stomach.
An hour later, House had gotten his ear talked off by Wilson.
"Why didn't you tell me Brad was still bothering you guys?
"Are you going to get a restraining order? You should for Lisa's sake. I'm sure John can help you with that."
"What if he comes back, House?"
Once he was able to escape Wilson's endless questioning - albeit, he was concerned but House was really in no mood to hear anything right now -, House escaped to the roof for some peace and quiet to think, and to let Cuddy rest.
A few nurses in the clinic overheard, so naturally it was bound to be all over the entire hospital by now, and House was in no mood to be questioned, so he went to seek solitude on the roof.
While House was on the roof basking in his thoughts in peace and quiet, his team was in the conference room, trying to figure out their most recent patient, the six year old boy, Colin, with worsening GI problems from the previous morning. He was now exhibiting signs of hearing loss and loss of peripheral vision, even though his mother says he's fine.
"House is right. This kid is losing his vision," Foreman stated, as he stared at the whiteboard.
"Well he usually is," Cameron replied, referring to House. "Colin still can't control his urine. Could be kidney stones..."
"What mom doesn't think her kid is sick? Next thing you know, she's going to refuse treatment for the kid," Chase amused.
"She's like any other mother. The worst happens to your kid and you don't think it's possible - you think that the doctor might have screwed up," Cameron replied. "Because oh no, your kid can never be sick, that's against the rules..."
Just then, the phone on House's desk rang.
"Hello?" Cameron picked up the phone.
"Hi Allison, It's Lisa."
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Okay, thanks. Could you do me a favor?"
"Sure. What's up?"
"Could you send Chase up here please? I am in Room Five. Tell him to let the nurse up front know that I want to see him. Her name is Rebecca."
Cameron looked over at Chase. "S-sure," she replied, hesitantly.
After disconnecting the call, Cameron looked over at her colleague. "That was Cuddy. She wants to see you."
"Right now?"
"Seemed like it. She's in Room five in the OB clinic upstairs."
Intrigued, Chase stood. "I'm assuming House doesn't know about that phone call?"
"I'm assuming not," Cameron replied.
"Well, he better not because if he does, I hardly think it will end well," Chase replied before walking out the door without looking at his two colleagues.
TBC... And don't worry: we WILL get to see House in Vegas, I promise.