18.

There were times when Lisa Cuddy found her job to be very rewarding. Then there were the other times. Often, these 'other times' had to do with House, and the dubious practices and general insanity that always seemed to follow in his wake. But not always.

For instance, she'd just spent the past half hour trying to talk down a patient as he made loud, vocal threats of legal action against the hospital, all because the diet he'd been placed on following gastric surgery didn't meet his vegan, macrobiotic needs (and thus discriminating against his belief system - not that she'd managed to establish what that actually was).

There were definitely times when it seemed like her day consisted of one trivial, tedious matter after another.

Arriving back at her office she pushed through the first set of doors and paused at her assistant's desk.

"Any calls?"

"Your mother again," Marla replied, handing over a stack of messages.

"Of course," Cuddy muttered, shuffling through them as she continued into her office.

She knew her mother meant well, and she didn't blame her for being upset, but now she kept calling, wanting to know every little detail. Her mother could be exhausting. There was a reason she only saw her a few times a year, limiting their contact to holidays and family affairs as much as possible.

"You're starting to show, aren't you."

She jumped, startled as his voice rang out in what she had assumed was her empty office. He was sitting on her sofa, feet on the coffee table, nose buried in a magazine, the cover of which featured a scantily clad model sitting on a motorcycle.

"You've been leaving your suit jackets on more than usual. Almost like you've got something to hide. If they haven't noticed anything yet, they will soon. People are going to start talking."

"What are you doing in here?" she asked, recovering and moving around her desk to sit. "Did Marla let you in?"

"The new bouncer's got a sweet tooth. I snuck in while she was at the vending machines."

"Do you actually want anything work-related? I'm not interested, otherwise."

"I'm just saying," he finally lowered his reading material to look at her, "the clock is ticking. You can't put it off forever."

"Well that's not what I'm doing." She shrugged. "But whatever. You can go now, I'm busy."

He didn't move. She turned to her computer but could feel his eyes on her, considering. "Still pissed, huh?"

She just shook her head. He'd already gotten the big reaction out of her he wanted. She wasn't going to reward him with another. Besides, she had an ace of her own up her sleeve and that was better than yelling at him any day.

"Well," she began, keeping her tone even and her attention on creating order out of her overflowing email inbox, "thanks to you my mother is going to be holding this over my head for the rest of my life - that she found out I was pregnant from a message a strange man left on her answering machine. But why would I be mad?"

"You don't want to throw some extra clinic hours at me? Drown me in paperwork?"

"I will if you want me to," she offered mildly, finally deigning to look up at him, though only to give him an indulgent smile.

He seemed slightly put-out as he planted his cane on the floor and pushed himself up off the couch. "Wouldn't do it anyway," he muttered, heading to the door.

"You are going to want to keep the twenty-third free, though," she added as he reached for the door. He paused and looked back, eyebrows lifted questioningly. "That's when your parents will be arriving in town."

He just blinked at her for a moment. "You did not," he denied, but she could see the uncertainty countering his usual confidence.

"You haven't talked to them today?" she asked innocently. "I have, just this morning actually. But I'm sure they'll be calling you to confirm." His expression was growing stormier by the second. She just kept smiling. "The 'spirit of familial cooperation', didn't you call it? We're all going to have dinner together, get to know one another, won't that be nice?"

He took a step away from the door, back towards her. "You know I'm just going to -"

"And before you get any ideas," she interrupted him, "yes, my mother will be there, too. She was already threatening to come anyway. I was going to get home one day and find her camped out on my doorstep - at least this way I'm not the only one suffering. You got everyone involved here," she reminded him, her tone hardening. "You want us all to be one big happy family? Well that's what you're going to get."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh, it is so on."

"Wait you're not upset about me going behind your back and inviting your parents to visit, are you? I thought you were all for that sort of thing."

He rolled his eyes in disgust. "So you figured out I wouldn't want to see my parents - that's some insight there. But here's a better one - you didn't even tell your own mother! For someone who's trying to make out how happy she is about her little bundle of joy, you haven't exactly been spreading it around."

She gave him a withering look. "Don't even bother trying to make this about my issues - this is about you not being able to ever leave anything alone. Well payback's a bitch, isn't it?"

"Payback's not the only one."

She laughed. "What are you going to do? Throw a temper tantrum? Call my mom again and tell on me? I think you should go now, House, try and maintain some dignity."

He ignored her last jibe and stepped to the side of the room, jabbing his cane towards the shelves that lined the wall.

"Remember the night you got that?" he said.

She realised he was pointing to one of the awards she kept on display. Specifically, the one she'd received the night she'd made the stellar decision to get drunk with House and take him home with her. It wasn't like she was going to forget it any time soon - and she told him so.

"Yeah, a nice story to tell the grandkids, isn't it?" he agreed in his most snide tone.

"What's your point?"

"The famous Cuddy guilt complex," he pronounced.

"Oh here we go."

"You don't want anyone knowing because you'll have to tell them about me. You'll have to account for your behaviour."

"It doesn't look good," she agreed. "But I really think you're over-estimating how much people care who I sleep with."

"Can't you just see it?" he mused. "Why yes, Dr House is the father. No, of course nothing untoward or unprofessional is going on between us. I don't know, seems kind of fishy, doesn't it? That Dr Cuddy, have you seen the way she dresses? If she's sleeping with one colleague - well now we know how she got the top job so young. It's all starting to make sense."

"You realise if I lose my position because of this, you're going to be just as screwed. There aren't many who'd put up with you the way I do. And half the time even I wonder why I bother."

"Right now I'm just enjoying the thought of always-professional Dr Cuddy trying to come up with an excuse for her highly unprofessional behaviour. The consequences don't bother me so much. Wilson calls me self-destructive. I think he just watches too much Dr Phil."

She sighed, growing impatient. Nothing he was saying was particularly revelatory, and at this point she just wanted to get rid of him. "Look, the monthly general meeting is next Wednesday - I'll be informing the board then, all right? That was always the plan, by the way, even before you started trying to bully me into it."

His eyes widened with interest. "So by next Thursday..."

"Yes, everyone and their dog will know. Happy?"

He didn't answer straight away, just looked at her levelly for a moment. "It's my dirty little secret, too."

She frowned slightly, unsure what he meant by that. "I'll admit I'm surprised you haven't blabbed it all over the hospital already. I guess you were keeping it up your sleeve to humiliate me with at a later date?"

He shrugged. "In this case I'm the boy who cried wolf. I could circulate a hospital-wide memo and no one would believe me - mean old House, trying to push Cuddy's buttons. No, it has to come from you."

"Great," she said flatly, throwing up her hands.

"Isn't it, though?"

Once House was gone she took a deep breath and let it out, glad to be rid of him and his endless insights. She relied on it, his confidence, his ability to be right, to always know. But sometimes she almost hated him for it.

And he was wrong anyway, she decided. She wasn't putting off telling people because she was ashamed of what had happened with him. The situation wasn't ideal, no, but she couldn't change that now and no matter what House said she didn't see this baby as a 'dirty little secret'.

Besides, the truth would come out one way or another - it was best just to be upfront about things right from the beginning, and then deal with whatever fallout there was as best she could.

If she wanted to put that off as long as possible, who could blame her?

She'd just wanted some more time, that was all. Big changes were coming and everybody knowing about it was going to make it seem all the more real. Having her mother on her case was one thing - she could dodge phone calls if she had to - but the hospital was her haven. She could bury herself in her job and everything else faded into the background.

But not for much longer.

With a shake of her head she pulled the computer keyboard towards her and got back to work. She would escape while she still could.

Wednesday rolled around and she found herself seated at her usual place at one end of the boardroom table.

It was all she could do to keep from fidgeting nervously. Wilson, seated two places down, wasn't helping - he kept sending her looks he probably thought were supportive. If she could have reached - and if the bulky frame of the chief of surgery hadn't been in the way - she would have kicked him.

They'd been at it for over an hour when Mike Ellis, their current board chairman, took off his glasses and gestured round the table. "Anyone else ready for a break?" he inquired casually, to general assent voiced from all sides.

A muttered 'hell yes' from Dr Payne - head of psych services and the one dedicated smoker amongst them - drew a smattering of laughter as well.

This was her chance - the mood was laid-back and everyone being eager for coffee and bathroom breaks meant there wouldn't be a lot of questions. She rose hastily.

"Just before everyone runs off, I have an informal announcement to make." She hoped her smile didn't appear as nervous as it felt as she looked down the long table at the expectant faces of her colleagues. She took a deep breath. "Well, I'll just come right out and say it - I'm pregnant. Three months," she added, as encouraging smiles and a few murmured congratulations were offered.

"Wonderful news, Lisa," Mike boomed from the other end of the room.

"Thank you," she replied graciously, but she was cringing inwardly. This was the part she was really not looking forward to. Reminding herself that she never backed down from a challenge, and that this really would be better in the long run, she forged ahead. "There's something I feel the need to add, as a courtesy to you all, and because I know how much trouble rumour and innuendo can cause in a situation like this. Dr House is the father."

She wasn't focusing on any one person but as she spoke she was aware of expressions of surprise from some, the smiles freezing on the faces of others.

Forge ahead.

She took a breath and continued. "I wanted to be open and straightforward about it - I feel I've earned your trust and confidence over the years, and I assure you I have nothing to hide. Dr House and I are not currently involved, and while that's all I'd prefer to say on the matter, if any of you have any specific concerns feel free to bring them to me and of course I'll be happy to address them." She finished there, maintaining her clear, confident, expression as she looked around the room.

No one said a word, until finally the chairman cleared his throat. "Well, we'll be sure to extend our congratulations to Dr House as well, then." His tone this time was ever so slightly dry.

Smiling mildly she replied, "I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

There was a muffled snort of laughter from Wilson's direction at that. She purposefully didn't spare him a glance, but reminded herself to glare at him later.

Dr Payne cleared his throat and got to his feet. "Someone said something about a break, didn't they?"

It broke the awkward tension around the table and others began to rise. The smoker was already on his way out the door, stopping only momentarily to touch her elbow with a brief 'congratulations' before he was gone.

"Good job," a low voice spoke in her ear. She looked over at Wilson, who had stepped up to her side with yet another supportive smile - though this one she actually appreciated.

"Don't think I laid it on a bit thick?" she replied under her breath, keeping a smile on her face as she nodded to other board-members as they passed.

"Nah."

"At least it's over with." Her smile turned rueful as the two of them made their own escape from the room.

"Must feel good."

"Actually I think I might throw up," she returned brightly.

'Well," he offered, "at least now everyone will know why."