Okay kiddies, chapter 3 and 4!!

Thankyou to Silvar, 1985laurie, rollmetotheasylumNOW and mj0621 for your kind reviews. I'm glad you're all enjoying it - and yars...there will be the Huddyness :) hehe.

I'd like to welcome aboard the 134 readers - i hope that you all stick around...and that i pick up a few more readers!!.

Hope you enjoy!

Spoilers for season 2, and some of season 3. (i can't remember which eps frm S3, but Euphoria 1&2 for S2)

Disclaimers in 1st chapter.

Chapter 3

Regret.

A word that is flippantly thrown around in general conversation regarding the future, and seemingly big, important decisions. A word that really does not really hit home until you look back at decisions made, pondering the questions of 'what if'. Or, after spending the last hour not dissipating the mountain of monotonous paperwork on her desk, and rather arguing, in an impressively passive aggressive way, the facts of her life over the phone with her mother.

Cuddy wasn't going to complain – much. She had a fantastic job, an excellent salary, was independent and had a cozy home in a great neighborhood. Her sort of cat (Clio was her sister's kitten, but for some reason, after a week of cat sitting, Clio never returned home with her sister) kept her company, and she had a small but close group of good friends, who kept her up to date with the whole theme of socializing with people other than employees and Investors. There wasn't a man in her life – as frequently pointed out by her over-zealous when it comes to all things Yenta, Mother. An extreme advocate for 'My youngest daughter says she's too busy to bear me some grandchildren, not even one! Is that so much to ask, after 18 hours of labor, and years and years of nurturing and educating – not one Grandchild!' badgering.

The title of 'First Female Dean – second youngest EVER', worked wonders for the first few years – and now it was just a title, an excuse to hide behind at family reunions about why she didn't have a family of her own. To be frank, it was getting a bit old. You'd think relatives would settle for the fact that she was extremely successful. Sure they were proud, incredibly proud, yet still, in their older, wiser eyes – you weren't successful until you were married and walking/waddling around barefoot with a belly the size of a large watermelon. YAY for modernization and new times.

Did she regret working her ass off to get where she is today, sitting behind a huge, gorgeous and important desk, outrageously expensive outfits and shoes, brass nameplate on her office door with the two glamorized, and romanticized letters before and after her name. Dr. Lisa Cuddy, MD. She sighed. There was nothing glamorous or romantic about being a doctor. It was another job, another institution – another way to pay the bills. Sure walking away for the day knowing that you've saved a life feels great, and you're walking away on a high for days – until the ugly rearing of death and your role in not being able to save that life returns. So thank you Hollywood – 'for making my profession pretty and even more respectable. Thank you for glorifying what I and thousands of other's do everyday, year after year. Now if you'd just pour those profits into medical research and equipment funds, maybe we'll save a few more lives tomorrow.'

'Ugh', she pulled a pained face, dropping her pen onto the blotter, and rested her chin in her hand. Why was she so bitter about it all, she's got the top job – she's the Queen Bee of PPTH. Regret. Or more, her inability to deal, guilt and proneness to over-thinking and analyzing. Would things have been different had she continued to practice medicine full time, and run her own department – rather than striving for the best and running an Elite Teaching Hospital? Had she set her goals at something a little more sane, would she have had found the time to find herself a decent guy to play 'house' with and finally fulfill her mother and her relatives familial dreams for her. On the other hand, would she still be neck deep in work – spending more time in her office, than her home.

It wasn't as if she didn't want to have a family of her own. She was just too … busy. As she quietly watched a young boy try to reach up into the candy jar for more candy, only to be scolded by his mother, she felt a lurch in her chest, and a deep pang in her stomach.

She lowered a hand to her stomach and couldn't help but fall further into melancholia. She had stopped the fertility treatments, but was still feeling the effects of the treatments…hormonally. So much had happened over the last 6 months. House had discovered her little secret and desire, plans for the Cardiology wing had fallen through, House was shot, and she experienced one of the scariest most trying events in her life. An ectopic pregnancy. Life, just wasn't… fair. Nobody knew. When she found out that she was indeed pregnant, she was ecstatic but still didn't want get her hopes up, knowing that with her age, and family history, there could well be complications. So much had happened since House's return to work. First the deceit concocted by his bestfriend, followed like a sheep by herself, the pain in his leg returning, his sudden bout of self doubt , the tension in their friendship and Ezra and that little minx….what was her name – Ali, little Miss red thong hanging out from her jeans. And yet, he had the time to somehow figure out that she was pregnant – was pregnant.

She had distractions then, to keep her from dwelling. Now that things were reasonably quiet, despite the copious amounts of paperwork, and meetings and observations she had to sit through, it wasn't enough to keep her from dwelling. She rubbed her stomach slightly, where her child should have been growing, breathing in a shuddering breath.

"I guess it wasn't meant to be little one."

She thought about trying again, but fear of heightened health risks and the fear of another loss held her back. She couldn't go through all that again. Not now, so instead, she buried those hurts deep in the cavern of bottled emotion.

With a frustrated growl, she pulled herself out of her chair and self pity, deciding that she was going to go and find some frozen yoghurt and then vent some of her frustration on some poor med student. Making them squirm was fun, and they already cowered when she was observing their classes with eagle eyes and a piercing gaze. Then, perhaps pay a visit to her favorite target, and worthy sparring partner. House was sure to have skipped some clinic duty she could yell at him about, or upset some person and either not taking on a case or running some high-risk test behind her back.

Yes, that's what she would do.

A knock on her door startled her as she slid into her lab coat.

"Yes?" she called out crisply,

'Evil' Nurse Brenda, with an almost matching frustrated glower on her face stuck her head in the office, and in a harried voice rattled off,

"The company that delivers our linen has dispatched our new stock to Princeton General, and won't render their mistake until tomorrow-"

"Aren't we short of linen now?"

"Yes. And the lecture theatre is double booked, and Clinic is short staffed. Dr. House never showed up, and there's a problem with the plumbing on the 3rd floor."

Cuddy pinched the bridge of her nose, and walked back towards her desk. It looked as if she had new peoples to exercise some yelling therapy at,

"Right. On your way out, can you please tell my assistant to call maintenance, STAT, I'll deal with the linen and the lecture theatre. On your way out, can you please tell Dr, Wilson to stop hovering at the Clinic desk and go find out where House is or do his job. Oh, and Brenda, after you do that, go home and pack for your vacation. Your shift was over 10 minutes ago."

Brenda smiled at her friend and boss, "Thanks. I'll send you a post card from Maui."

"I'm pretty sure you won't be having any time. Make sure you don't leave that place without a diamond on your left hand. Or I'll be having words with Ben."

Brenda grinned as she left, and for a moment, Cuddy studied her friend and couldn't help but smile, there was a definite bounce in her step.

Why was it that she could set up her friends with decent men, and not find someone for herself, 'Gnah, no more wallowing Lisa, you have people to go and yell at!'

With that, she punched in the numbers for the linen company, and while she started to sort out that mess, and demand they get the linen by end of business today, she began to access the mainframe, extending House's weekly clinic hours by 2, and fixing up the double booking.

This was the life that she led. It may not have allowed for her to follow that whimsical childhood fantasy of the white picket fence package, but it kept her distracted from weighing issues, and there was never a dull moment. Little did she know, everything 'familiar' was about to go belly-up in complication and buried feelings.

Chapter 4

"House, where the hell are you?!"

Wilson hissed into the phone, looking over his shoulder, checking to make sure that Cuddy wasn't in the vicinity.

House was in his living room; the babies were lying on a blanket on the couch crying. In one hand, House had a diaper, the sticky tabs sticking to his fingers, and in the other, a bottle that he was trying to get the little girl to take.

Growling into the phone wedged between his ear and shoulder, he answered, "I am currently in the 4th circle of Hell."

Wilson paused, puzzled. Both at his reference, the crying in the background, and….was House making shushing noises?

"House…, what are you doing? What have you done?"

House had some how managed to get the diaper stuck to his elbow, and was having a hard time pulling it off, considering his other hand was pre-occupied with feeding a little monster. The little boy found House's struggle amusing and began to giggle, cooing.

"Yeah, of course you'd think it's hilarious. You've already managed to pee on me, you little bast-"

"House what the hell are you-"

House threw the diaper down and glared at the two babies in front of him. They were both staring back with their big, curious eyes.

"Last night, I did the unthinkable-"

"You ran over a pedestrian for being to slow at the crossing."

House rolled his eyes and continued to talk over the top of Wilson's jest, "I prayed."

Wilson paused, then repeated slowly, "You prayed."

"Parroting everything I say is just going to delay whatever it is I have to say."

Wilson was not deterred, "How much Vicodin did you take House?"

House sighed dramatically, "It's not all about the drugs Jimmy. And not nearly enough. I prayed for a distraction in the form of a leggy, curvy, voluptuous…babe. Carmen Electra or Angelina Jolie…or both. Not fussy. But instead, the guy who calls himself the almighty and powerful 'God', answered with Twins instead. And they aren't Swedish or legal either. 2 month old, dizygotic, pooping, drooling, crying, screaming, constantly hungry – did I mention pooping parasites."

He stopped, and glared at the babies, who grinned back up at him toothlessly. The little girl started giving signs that she needed to be burped, and the little boy, content without the pamper for now, grabbed at the baby rattle. House dropped a diaper over his little friend, just in case he felt the need to imitate the Manneken Pis again.

It took a moment for Wilson to process and translate this new information.

"You have…"

"Twin Parasites. One of each sex."

"How…"

"Long story"

"What are you going to do?" Wilson could not believe this.

"Foist them off on Cuddy until I can get legal to sort this out."

"I don't-"

"I don't get it either."

"Who in their right mind would – wait. You've had the babies since last night?"

"Since 3 in the morning. Wilson. Long story cut short. I woke up yesterday baby-less, I woke up this morning with Babies"

There was a knock at the door.

"Gotta go, that's the guy from the black market, apparently twins are selling really well. Thank God, for rich people and their inability to reproduce – hey…you think Cuddy will buy them off me? I've had my eye on a new entertainment system, and those arcade games for a while now."

Wilson was left with a dial tone. He didn't know what to say or do. He was in a complete daze, not knowing whether to believe House, or to be very worried…or both.

"Dr. Wilson, patient in Exam Room 3…. Dr. Wilson?" The nurse called him from the desk.

"Huh? Oh, thanks Valerie." He took the file from her and walked towards Exam Room 3, shaking his head…House…twins…House…with babies.

Should they be waiting for the Apocalypse?

:D I hope that you all enjoyed that!! i had alot of fun writing both chapters. Please let me know what you think :)

Next chapter, Cuddy meets the babies.

Prinnie