where we left off: The hospital CFO might die, so now Cuddy has even more stress to add to her daily already stressed life.

Rest assured, the baby is still healthy. Cuddy just needs to deal with all the happening of running PPTH smoothly. More drama to come!

Cuddy is still in week 30 of her pregnancy.

Enjoy.

Chapter 100:

Mark Leonard passed away around eight AM the next morning, hanging on throughout the night. His wife, Tara Leonard, remained beside her husband's bedside.

After receiving a phone call from Karen Simmonds, Cuddy arrived at the hospital that morning. Making her way up the elevators, she walked down the corridor to where Karen and Tara stood.

Embracing Tara, Cuddy offered words of condolences and comfort. "Tara, I'm so sorry. If you need anything or if there's anything I can do, let me know." Stepping away, she motioned for Karen to follow.

"How'd the meeting go with Mark's guy?" Karen asked Cuddy, as the two women stepped out of earshot.

Cuddy exhaled. "Okay, we covered a lot of ground. The merger is still on schedule for three weeks. Did you speak to the Board?"

Karen nodded. "Yes, met with them yesterday. I'll have to inform them of his passing. They said they want to speak with you."

"That's fine. We knew this might be quick. The good news is that the finances seem in good shape. No cover ups - this guy was good. I have a second meeting with Henry - he was Mark's 'go to' guy on the merger - he seems to know his stuff, which is wonderful because it makes my job easier," Cuddy replied.

"Well, that is certainly good news," Karen agreed. "If you need anything, let me know."

Cuddy nodded. "I will. Thank you."

Excusing herself after a couple of minutes, Cuddy made her way upstairs to the fourth floor. Stopping by House's office, she addressed Foreman.

"Mark passed away this morning."

"I checked on him last night before I left," Foreman told her. "He was still in the coma."

"Hello? In the middle of a differential here," House interrupted, whining impatiently.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "The death of my CFO takes precedence over your case. Sorry."

"So I guess we're canceling dinner later with Wilson then," House told her.

"Why would you think that?"

House shrugged. "Just thought you'd have to work - never mind -"

"No. If anything, I'd welcome the distraction," Cuddy said to him, "I'm basically living in my office until this merger is done."

"I'm not too keen on the idea of having my son born on the floor of your office," House joked, as he grinned.

Cuddy roller her eyes and turned to leave. "On that note, I'm going downstairs."

~~LATER THAT EVENING~~

"So this is long overdue," Cuddy began, after the waiter had walked away after taking the table's entree orders. She, House, Wilson and John were having dinner at Witherspoon Grill, an American style eatery in downtown Princeton.

"You're busy. It's alright," Wilson replied lightly. "I tried to catch you today, but Brenda your assistant basically told me to go away."

Cuddy chuckled. "I did that with everyone, so don't feel too singled out."

"I figured. I'm assuming it's the merger? Bad timing."

"Very," Cuddy told him, "But it's going well. I just have a lot to cover in the next two and a half weeks."

"I told her that my son better not make his grand entrance on her office floor," House chimed in, as he grinned. "And it'll be a bitch to clean."

Wilson and John chuckled.

"Hey, at least you'll be in a hospital," John responded, lightly.

Cuddy chuckled. "There's that, yeah."

"Anyway," she added, "John, how are you doing? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"Good. Work is...interesting," the lawyer responded, "Certainly a slower pace than what I'm used to than New York, but it's a challenge. I'm learning new things here and there. Actually, Stacy has been a huge help."

"Has she?" Cuddy was surprised.

"Yeah, sorry - didn't mean to catch you off guard."

"You didn't. I'm just surprised - I mean, I shouldn't be. She did one hell of a job while she was in your shoes."

John glanced at House, trying to gauge his reaction. "It doesn't bother you that we talk, right?" he asked slowly.

House, who had taken a sip of his scotch, set his glass roughly down on the table before answering. "No, why would it?"

John hesitated, noting his tone of voice changed.

House jerked his thumb in Cuddy's direction. "She and Stacy talk. Doesn't bother me."

"It did," interrupted Cuddy quietly, "before..."

"Well, yeah, that's because I didn't know you two used to talk," replied House.

Just then, Cuddy's phone rang. Digging through her purse, she found her phone, and glanced at the caller ID, before switching it to silent and placing it back in her purse.

House looked at her, questionably.

"Who was that?"

"Kate. I'll call her back later."

She looked at Wilson. "Anyway, how are you two?"

She had steered the conversation, hoping to get off the topic of Stacy, She knew House was getting slightly uncomfortable, although he would never admit it.

"Really good," Wilson began, glancing at John briefly.

"You seem happy," Cuddy commented.

"Who knew?" John replied, grinning, "Hey, I took a risk and it paid off. He could have rejected me."

Wilson smirked. "True."

"You DID know his track record, right?" House chimed in.

"I did, yes," John relied, cheekily.

"Then why -"

John shrugged. "I like risk."

"Well, that's dumb."

Cuddy looked at him, embarrassed. "Greg!" she scolded.

"No, Lisa, it's okay. I knew I was going to get some mockery," John replied. "Let's just say, I had a feeling I wasn't going to get rejected that night when we met for dinner," he continued.

"Well, if anyone took a risk, it was me!" Wilson chimed in, smartly.

"After three failed marriages, I was getting suspicious," House told him.

"Ha ha," Wilson replied, dryly, as he took a sip of wine.

"Any way, Lisa, your email blast today...about Mark..."

"Yeah, I was going to call the department heads in for an emergency meeting and tell everyone in person, but I was super busy, so I just sent the email."

'When's the funeral?"

"I'm not sure. Tara wants it as soon as Friday or Saturday, I think," Cuddy replied, "But I will let everyone know. I would plan on one of those two days."

"I assume you're pushing Michigan?"

Cuddy looked over at House. "Shit," she began, apolgetically, "I meant to tell you: I forgot to tell you: I talked to Jeffrey We'll either fly out next week, or wait until the merger is over."

"Isn't next week a little rushed?" House questioned.

Cuddy shrugged. "We'll see."

"Let's wait until after the merger. I'm not starting until the fall anyway. Also, what, after the merger, you'll be at what, 34 weeks? That's pushing it..."

He paused. "Wait and see how you feel before we make any commitments," he added quietly. "Better off waiting until the kid is here."

"Whoa, House, are you growing soft?!" Wilson joked as he grinned.

House scowled. "Oh shut up."

Just then, Cuddy's phone rang again.

She dug around in her purse, grabbed her phone and glanced at the caller I.D.

She looked up, apologetically. "Sorry, I should take this. It's the hospital."

Wilson waved a hand. "Go. Don't worry about it. We'll be here."

Excusing herself, Cuddy made her way toward the restaurant entrance to take the phone call.

Waiting for Cuddy to return, House, Wilson and John made small talk as they waited for dinner to arrive.

The end of the week came to a close. Mark's funeral was Friday afternoon. Reluctantly, House accompanied Cuddy to the service.

"I know funeral's aren't your favorite," Cuddy told him quietly, as they sat together in the church pew, "So, thank you."

House squeezed her hand. "You're welcome."

After the funeral service, there was a small gathering at Tara's house. Cuddy and House stayed for a little while, and then Cuddy had to get back to the hospital. She had another meeting with Henry Zigman regarding the financials for the upcoming merger with the Princeton University Medical Center.

House had finished his case earlier in the day, so he saw no reason why he had to go back to the hospital, so Cuddy dropped him off at the house.

"I'm not sure when I'll be home," she told him, "There should be leftover's in the fridge."

As she drove back to the hospital, she called her sister.

"Hey, I was wondering when you were going to call me back," Kate answered, on the third ring.

"Yeah, sorry, it's been a crazy week," Cuddy told her apologetically.

"So I've heard. Matt wants to talk to you about that by the way. I think he wants to apologize to you about that night in the ER."

"That wasn't his fault, Kate," Lisa told her sister softly. "The neurologist on call should have been there, and he wasn't. If anything, I shouldn't have lashed out at Matt. He was just doing what he thought was right."

"Just let him apologize, Lisa!" Kate replied, impatiently.

"Sure. I'm headed back into the hospital now. Funeral was today."

"Are you guys coming over for poker tonight?"

"I'd love to, but probably not. It depends on when I can get out of here later. Don't count us in."

"You need a break," Kate reminded her sister.

"I know. This has been one hell of a week. Worst timing ever. Things should start to calm down after three weeks."

"Just take care of yourself," Kate reiterated. "Even Rome wasn't built in a day."

She paused.

"I'll tell Matt you're going back to the hospital. I'm not sure if he left or not. If not, I'm sure he'll catch up with you later on sometime."

"That's fine. I just have a meeting in forty-five minutes," Cuddy told her. They disconnected the call as Cuddy pulled into the hospital parking lot, and parked in her reserved parking spot by the hospital lobby entrance.

Leaning back in her seat, she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths as she felt the beginnings of a stress headache coming on. She stayed like that for a few minutes before heading into the front entrance.

"I thought you weren't coming back in!" Brenda Lewis, head nurse, and Cuddy's assistant, was surprised when she saw the Dean of Medicine walk toward the office.

"I have a another meeting with Henry," Cuddy replied, "I was going to push it off, but you know, since I was out for a while today at the funeral, I really can't afford to do that. Duty calls."

"Brooks called while you were out."

Cuddy groaned. "I had a feeling he might. Anyone else on the Board call?"

"No, " Brenda replied, "just him."

"Did he say what it was regarding?"

"Nope, just said for you to call him," Brenda told her, as she followed Cuddy into the office.

"I'll call him back after my meeting." Cuddy sat down behind her desk and opened her laptop. "When Henry shows up, send him in. Anything else?"

Cuddy's assistant shook her head. "Nothing important." She left, closing the door behind her, giving her boss privacy.

Cuddy left the hospital at a quarter to nine in the evening that night. Her meeting with Henry from Finance was extremely productive, and she felt prepared for the merger that was set to happen in the next two-and-a-half weeks.

She was meeting with the hospital board on Tuesday morning to go over potential candidates for the Chief Financial Officer position. She had barely heard anything from Edward Brooks, one of the Board Directors who was heading the filtering of the resumes for the vacant position. As Dean and Chief Administrator, Cuddy had a say in the hiring of all higher-up positions. Brooks had promised to keep her in the loop, but she wondered if he barely spoke to her on purpose to make her look bad.

Determined to talk to him about that, she pushed the issue to the back of her mind for the time being.

On the way home, she called her sister, apologizing that she and House could not make it to poker night. She was exhausted. Kate understood.

Cuddy pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition. As she made her way out of the car and up the front steps, she stopped, reaching out to grip the railing firmly as she felt a tightening in her abdomen.

It was discomfort rather than pain.

Letting herself into the house after the discomfort had subsided, she went into the kitchen after kicking her shoes off, and poured a glass of water.

"Lisa?"

House frowned when he received no response.

Picking himself up off the couch, he grabbed his cane and headed into the kitchen, where he saw Cuddy standing by the sink, with a glass of water in one hand and her other hand resting on the side of her stomach.

"What's wrong?" he said hurriedly, limping over to her when he noticed her grimace.

"I need to lie down," she told him. "Just...uncomfortable..."

House was looking concerned. "Contractions?"

"I think it's just Braxton-Hicks."

"C' mere." House helped her walk to the living room and lay down on the couch. "See if that helps. If they get stronger, I'm calling Joe."

Cuddy nodded. "I called Kate and told her we weren't coming. I wasn't sure what time I was going to leave the hospital."

"I figured," House replied, as he sat down by her feet on the other end of the couch and grabbed the tv remote.

"How'd the meeting go?"

"Good. Made progress. I think we'll be on schedule for the merger." Cuddy stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.

"I have a meeting on Tuesday morning with the Board to go over this CFO mess," she continued, as she grabbed the pillow from behind her and laid her head down.

Concerned, House glanced at her.

"Are you -"

"It's fine," she reassured him, readjusting her body on the couch.

"Lisa, it's not fine. You're stressed, having headaches. You're extremely overworked, and now you're having contractions. You need to take it easy."

"I know you have a lot of shit on your plate right now, and yeah, it's shitty timing, but you have to listen to your body."

He paused, and then continued in a softer tone.

"I'm worried about you," he continued, quietly. "And our son."

"I can't suddenly drop everything. You know that," Cuddy replied, her voice slightly sharper than what he expected.

"But you can start to," he replied, gently.

"I can relax after the merger." She looked up at him. "What about Vegas?"

House shrugged. "We could always wait. I'm not starting until after the fall anyway."

"We'll have a baby," Cuddy reminded him cheekily.

"So? Wilson or your sister can probably watch him -"

"Or we could go before the merger -"

"I wouldn't advise that, given how much crap you have to deal with right now," House told her smartly.

Just then, Cuddy's phone rang.

"Shit, my phone is in my bag in kitchen."

House stood up and limped into the kitchen. He rummaged through Cuddy's bag.

"It's from an unknown number!" he called out.

"It's alright. I'll check later to see if they left a message," Cuddy replied, grimacing as she sat up, placing a hand on her abdomen as she felt another pang of discomfort. Leaning against the back of the couch, she closed her eyes, and exhaled slowly.

"Anything I can do?" House asked softly, as he held out a glass of water. "Here."

Cuddy opened her eyes. She accepted the glass of water from him, and sipped it slowly. "Thanks."

House sat down next to her, looking worried. He rubbed her back gently. "Are they getting stronger?"

Cuddy shook her head. "I don't think so, no."

"Any back pain? Pelvic pressure?"

She shook her head again. "No." She took another sip of water before setting it down on the coffee table, and leaned back against House, who had put his feet up and leaned back against the armrest.

"Thanks for coming again today," Cuddy said to him

"Least I could do."

"Yeah, but I know you don't like funerals," she replied.

House shrugged.

The two of them sat in comfortable silence. House was only half-listening to the television.

"You need to relax," he told her quietly, as if there had been no pause in the conversation. "You're in week thirty."

Cuddy glanced up at him, mildly amused. "What do you think I'm doing now?"

"I didn't mean -"

"I know what you meant," Cuddy replied. "After we get a CFO, I'll be relaxed."

"And after the merger," House reminded her. " When are you stopping working?"

Still glancing at him, she shrugged. "Dunno. Hadn't thought about it."

"See? This is what worries me!" House said, "The fact that you hadn't even thought about leave...look, I know you don't want to hear this, but once May hits, I think you should start to take some time off." He paused, gauging her reaction.

Cuddy didn't say anything. She bit her lip, thinking.

"I'm not telling you what to do, but I think it wouldn't hurt to give yourself a week or two, or hell, even three weeks off before the kid is here..."

He paused, grinning. "The hospital won't burn down in your absence. I'm sure Brenda will make sure of that,"

Leaning forward, he kissed her on the lips. Pulling back, he looked at her. He knew her wheels were turning.

"I'll think about it," she finally replied.

"Really think about it? Or are you just saying that to make me shut up?"

Cuddy chuckled, slapping him on the arm. "You're an ass!" She moved his arm, and stood up.

"I have to pee."

"Thanks for sharing," House responded, sarcastically.

She walked away, swaying her backside purely for his added benefit. House chuckled, and shook his head as he turned his attention back to the television.

To be continued...