Chapter 89:

"Tell your girlfriend she was right," Foreman told House over the phone on Monday morning.

"Tell her yourself," House replied, as he tossed a pair of jeans into an almost full suitcase that was lying on the bed as he finished packing for his trip to Las Vegas. "We'll be there in twenty minutes."

Just then, Cuddy entered the bedroom from the hallway, sipping her mug of tea. "You all packed?"

"Almost," House replied

"House, we don't have a case now," Foreman told him.

"Well then, find one! The place is full of sick people," House replied, annoyed before disconnecting the call and slipping his phone back into the front pocket of his jeans.

Limping into the bathroom, he packed his toiletries and tossed the bag into his suitcase.

Cuddy glanced at the suitcase. "That's all you're packing for four days?!" she questioned.

House raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not a woman. I pack light, you know."

Rolling her eyes at his response, Cuddy ventured into the bathroom to finish cleaning the mess he made.

They pulled into the hospital parking garage around a quarter to nine. Cuddy followed House up to his office, where Foreman and Cameron greeted her.

"You were right," Foreman told the Dean of Medicine. "It was Wolfrom's."

"You're kidding!?"

Foreman shook his head. "Nope. We found it last night."

"Started him with daily insulin injections and gave him Detrol for the urinary issues," Cameron added.

"Good," Cuddy replied.

"I still can't believe the final diagnosis ended up being Wolfrom's," she added, sinking into a chair and grabbing the file on the table, scanning its contents.

"Well, he's going to need constant monitoring with the diabetes that young," Cameron replied. "He'll be released this afternoon. He was lucky we caught it in time."

"Do we have a new case?" House asked.

"Trying to get one now," Foreman replied.

"What, you couldn't get one in twenty minutes? Try harder." And before Foreman could respond, he added, "Where's Chase?"

Foreman shrugged. "Late, I guess."

"When I said try harder, I meant now."

When his team had left in search of a new case, House limped into his adjacent office, with Cuddy following.

"Are those two weeks' worth of charts that you just dumped over there?" Cuddy demanded, pointing at a pile of manila folders that sat on the floor next to the wastebasket by House's computer.

House glanced up from sorting through his mail on his desk and looked over at the pile she was indicating.

"What are you, my mother?"

Cuddy smirked. "Nope. I'm just your boss and as your boss, if those charts don't get completed by the time I take you to the airport today, then you are getting additional clinic hours next week," she told him.

"What, am I going to get a spanking if I don't complete them or something?"

"Something like that."

As she proceeded to the doorway to leave, she turned back. "We're leaving here at one. Your flight is at 4:40, gets in at 7:30 their time. I'll give you an itinerary in the car."

House chuckled to himself as she left. It was definitely like her to already have a schedule. They hadn't even left yet and she had a plan in place.

When Cuddy had left, House sat down and tore open the mail he cared about. He thought about his upcoming trip to Las Vegas. He knew it would bring extremely good publicity to the hospital and he knew he had to go.

But he did have second thoughts.

And one of them was leaving Cuddy's side, when he didn't know if Brad would come back and do something, this time worse than he did before. Sure, she had people around to protect her if necessary - Wilson, John, Cameron, Foreman - but House knew he alone couldn't protect her if he needed to. And that was what made him uneasy.

Leaning back in his chair, he stared out the window. A moment from late last year came back to him as he reminisced.

It was late in the evening on a Tuesday in November. House's team had gone home - there was nothing more they could do - but he had stayed at the hospital, sitting in the dark in his recliner that sat in the corner of his office.

The only light in the room was the amber glow from an overhead desk lamp and the luminous glow of the moon as it shown through the window. The blinds were shut. The stillness of the office let him be in the solitude that he longed for.

House was in no mood to converse with anyone. The thought about getting his secret stash of bourbon tormented him, but he thought better of it and didn't get up to retrieve it.

His patient had died; they were treating a pulmonary embolism, but the patient had bled out on the table. It was too late to save her.

He was interrupted by the soft opening and closing of his glass door. He glanced over to see Cuddy standing in the doorway. After a long day, she was the only person he wanted to see.

Even after nearly five months, they still kept their personal relationship private and at work, the two acted as strictly boss and employee. As their interactions had been brief during the day, he longed for her.

"Hey," she whispered, advancing towards him.

He nodded. "Hi," he replied, his voice just as soft.

After locking the door behind her, she walked over to where he was sitting, pushed his legs over to the side of the footrest and sat down, facing him as she laid a hand on his calf. She started gently massaging his calf over his jeans. House admired her sleek, toned thigh, as her pencil skirt rode up when she sat down.

"I heard about your patient," she told him quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Not your fault."

"Could you stop being negative for two seconds?!" She paused. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine." Running his hand down his face, he leaned forward and grabbed her hand with his own.

"I've missed you."

"I know."

He scooted over in the ottoman and patted his good thigh with his hand. "C'mere."

Cuddy did as she was told and sat down on his thigh.

House wrapped an arm around her and she scooted closer to him, her head on his shoulder, taking in his scent, as they both relished the closeness of each other's company as he held her.

He felt better already. He kissed her shoulder.

"Your team go home?" Cuddy finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, no need for them to stick around."

Cuddy looked up at him, sensing he was hurting. She tried to reassure him.

"You did all you could. You know that, right?"

House didn't respond. His hand closed in a fist and then opened again as he exhaled, trying to relax. He stared down at his hand.

"We could have stopped the bleeding," he finally spat out, bitterly, angry at himself.

Cuddy swallowed hard. Placing her hand on his cheek, she drew him towards her. "Look at me."

She waited until she had his full attention. "You did all you could, Greg. That's all you could have done." She leaned forward and touched her lips to his.

Allowing himself to relax against her touch, House closed his eyes and slowly deepened the kiss.

Cuddy shifted her body and wrapped her arms around his neck as their mouths stayed together, hungrily yearning for each other.

Finally, she pulled back, leaning her forehead against his. Opening her eyes, she stared at his face encased in the moonlight as her fingers caressed the nape of his neck. She slowly exhaled, mentally preparing for what she was about to tell him.

"Greg?"

"Mhmm?" His eyes were still closed.

"I'm pregnant."

House opened his eyes and looked at her, not believing what he had just heard. "What?"

Cuddy bit her bottom lip as she made no effort to stop the beginning tears that started to trickle down her face.

"I'm pregnant, Greg," she repeated softly as her face broke into a smile.

House touched his hand to her face, wiping the tears away and cupping her cheek with his hand, as he stroked her cheek with his fingertips.

"Is it mine?" he joked, grinning.
Cuddy slapped him on the arm. "You're an ass."

House smirked. "I was joking." His hand stroked her cheek as he gazed into her eyes, still trying to comprehend what she had just told him.

"I love you," he finally whispered, surprising himself by speaking those three little words aloud.

She smiled shyly at him, her arms still around his neck.

Leaning forward, he kissed her with as much passion as he could give her.

Finally breaking apart, he rested his forehead against hers as his right hand found a stray curl that fell in her face. He tucked the loose strand behind her ear.

"You deserve this," he breathed softly.

Smiling through her tears, Cuddy felt her heart swell with his words.

"And I couldn't dream of sharing it with anyone else," she replied softly as her hand cupped his cheek.

"So," House began, smirking, "let's hope this kid gets all my genes and not your 'pain in the ass' ones."

Cuddy smacked him on the arm. "Shut up."

House smirked. Working his hand down along her body, he caressed her hipbone through her skirt as he leaned forward and lovingly grazed his lips along her collarbone, kissing the warm skin.

"...Greg..."

Sensing her insecurity, House paused what he was doing and looked up at her.

She waited until she had his full attention again before proceeding. Biting her bottom lip, she swallowed.

"Do you think we could do this?" she asked softly.

Hesitating, House looked at her. "Yeah," he whispered, sincerely, reassuring himself at the same time, "I think we can."

Pulling himself out of the memory he was revisiting, House took time to silently relish it before his thoughts were interrupted by a rapid knock on his office door.

Looking up, he saw Matthew Gomez, Cuddy's sister's boyfriend, standing in front of him.

"Hey," Matt said, grinning. "All set for Vegas?"

"For the most part. What brings you up here?"

"Kind of weird, isn't it? I'm up here and your team is downstairs looking for your next patient...anyway, I wanted to invite you and Lisa over Friday night. A couple buddies and I get together every other Friday for some poker, Holdem, whatever we feel like playing..."

"Poker and drinking? Count me in. Never miss a chance to lose some money," House replied cheekily.

"You'll be back from Vegas?"

"Yeah, that day sometime."

"Great. I'll have Kate call Lisa to confirm." He turned to leave, but House called him back.

"I'd be careful if I were you: Lisa's one mean poker player," House told him.

Matt turned, intrigued. "How mean are we talking about?"

House smirked. "You'll have to find out Friday night, won't you?"

After bidding good-bye to Wilson and John, House and Cuddy drove to Newark Airport. They didn't say much in the car, both of them dreading the inevitable moment when they had to part. Cuddy parked the car in the short-term parking garage across from Terminal C, where House's flight was scheduled to depart from.

Once they had gathered House's belongings, they made their way across the street, and walked into the airport to meet Stanley Gisner, the head neurologist at PPTH who was presenting House's case with him in Las Vegas.

"I checked you in online so you just have to go to security," Cuddy said, as they walked past check-in.

She checked her watch. "Stan should be here any minute."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Head of Neurology met them both in the corridor with his luggage, and after exchanging pleasantries, the three of them headed down the escalator towards security.

"Stan, can you give us a minute please?" Cuddy asked him, as they stopped at the entrance to the security line, which was starting to become crowded.

"Sure." Stan went to stand in line after showing the security officer his I.D. and boarding pass, giving House and Cuddy the privacy his boss had asked for.

"So this is it." House hooked his cane onto his arm and placed his hands on either side of Cuddy's waist, pulling her closer to him.

Cuddy smiled warmly up at him. "Until Friday."

"Until Friday," he repeated softly. He rested his forehead against hers, leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I love you," he whispered softly, as he placed his hand on the side of her belly.

"You'll do great." Cuddy wrapped her arms around his neck, not wanting to let go.

After a few quiet moments, Cuddy untangled herself from his embrace, cognizant of a few onlookers staring at them.

"Now, go or you'll miss your flight," she told him softly, her palm on the center of his chest, as she ignored the stares from innocent bystanders.

"Good luck. Let me know when you two land."

"I will," House replied softly as he traced her facial features with his eyes before he turned and limped slowly over to the line to meet up with his colleague, who had been watching the whole encounter from a distance.

Cuddy turned and headed up the stairs to the main corridor once she saw House limp over to where Stan stood.

As she continued outside the automatic double doors and across to the parking garage, she couldn't help but think: Did House think anything of the innocent bystanders watching them or did he not give their confused, intrigued looks a second thought?

She wasn't stupid: she knew people talked. When it first got around that her and House were dating late last year, Cuddy overheard one of the nurses in the clinic say that she, Cuddy, was not only dating one of her own employees but also someone who could pass to look old enough to be her own father. Her co-worker scoffed at the thought and chuckled.

Sure, there was no denying he looked older for his age, but to look THAT old? What did it even matter?' she thought. Cuddy was certainly not one to let what others say dictate her own life and she was not about to let them start to do so.

So what if he looked older for his age? No one understood their relationship like they did, and if that was what people wanted to talk about, then Cuddy wasn't going to stop them.

She did however think about that nurse's conversation on occasion: what people's perceptions would be if they go out in public and especially since she was pregnant...but the more she thought about it, the sillier it seemed to waste time dwelling on something so trivial.

She wondered what House would say if he had overheard the conversation that day in the clinic.

She shook her head, amused.

He probably would have nagged them about their choice of topic, and then made some snide remark about there being "more important things to discos" such as "doing their jobs" and "saving sick people."

He was usually shy when it came to expressing his affection towards her, mostly in front of strangers, so she was more than a bit surprised at the gesture inside of the airport. That's when she knew the few days' separation was going to be difficult for the both of them.

She had plenty to keep her busy at the hospital, until Wednesday morning, when she was planning to make the surprise flight to Las Vegas to see House speak and surprise him. She had confided in Stan Gisner, who was presenting with House, and told him of her plan. Stan had sworn to her not to say a word.

She was just hoping a certain doctor at Robert Wood Johnson would not pay her a unexpected visit during the two days she had left in Princeton.

As she drove down Route 1 back to Princeton, Cuddy called her sister to discuss plans for Friday night. After pulling into the hospital parking garage and disconnecting the call, she walked to her office, already counting the hours when she would feel House's arms around her, not giving a care in the world what anyone thought of her life choices.

Next chapter we will see House in Vegas. Thanks to all my readers who have stuck with me through this fic.