Hey all! Sorry this has taken SO INCREDIBLY LONG to update... from now on updates should be way more frequent! I hope you are still hanging in there with us on this one! ... AND CAN YOU BELIEVE BOMBSHELLS EPISODE? We're still in shock. UGH. Well, here is Ch. 5! Enjoy! and Review! xD

CH. 5

"I'm leaving."

"WHAT?"

"Unless you're the bionic woman, we need the unlock code to get you out."

"No. Don't leave me, please. Can't you just radio someone to come help?"

"I can't hear you. I'm walking away."

"HOUSE! You can not just leave me!"

"STILL walking away!" His voice was getting distant.

"NO!"

"I'm really far away now!"

With a sigh, Cuddy put her head against door as she weakly pounded her right fist against the metal surface. I'm doomed.

MEANWHILE…

15 years. I have worked in this bank for 15 years without a single problem. It was such a beautiful morning, things were running smoothly, with the exception of that older gentle man who couldn't fill out the deposit slip and then BANG! A robbery. Why me? Why on my day at work? Everything's moving so quickly. Out of nowhere this cripple appears with a sarcastic mouth as his weapon… crazy ass. And now he's gone… thank god the SWAT team followed him in. Laurie O'Callaghan was lost in her thoughts as she crouched behind the counter. What started out as her typical day, quickly turned into a nightmare.

"Psssst."

What was that? Where did it come from? Laurie surveyed her surroundings, but couldn't place the sound.

"Pssssst! Hey, ginger!"

Laurie looked up again and made eye contact with the cantankerous cripple.

"Do you have keys to the vaults?"

Laurie nodded her head. Oh god, he's a robber too!

"I'm not here to loot the bank, you idiot. However, there is something valuable that I need to take out."

Laurie just stared at him.

"For god's sake, Dr. Lisa Cuddy is trapped in vault 925 with a bomb, you know one of those things that explodes causing death and destruction? Yeah well, I'd like to get the dean back to her hospital in one piece, if you don't mind."

That was enough for her. The redhead quickly crawled towards House as she grabbed the keys from her pocket.

MEANWHILE…

How much time did she have left? Was House coming back? Yes. He wouldn't just leave me alone to die. I …. He will come back. Cuddy closed her eyes and let the tears that were threatening to fall, begin to streak her face. He had to come back.

"Cuddy, we're back. I'm here. We're going to get you out of this."

"House!" she gasped. "Thank you."

Laurie knew the vaults like the back of her hand. She knew them inside and out. She knew whom each vault belonged to, what they contained, and which keys unlocked which vaults. She could work this corridor blindfolded.

"Okay ginger, work your magic."

"My name is Laurie, thank you." She began thumbing through the keys.

"That's odd," she mumbled as she began to finger through the keys faster.

"What?"

"It's not here. 925 isn't here."

"What do you mean it isn't there? It couldn't have just sprouted legs and decided to go for a walk."

"House, what's going on?" Cuddy's voice trembled.

Ignoring Cuddy, House looked at Laurie, "Isn't there a bypass code or a master key?"

"The master key is behind the front desk."

"Then why are you standing here telling me? Go and get it, this woman's life is at stake!"

"House, the beeping is getting faster."

"Don't just stand there, GET THE KEY!"

Without another hesitation, Laurie was making a mad dash to the teller station. And within seconds she was unlocking the safe with the master key.

"This is it. House, go. Get out."

"Cuddy, don't be ridiculous. I'm not leaving without the Dean of Medicine, Wilson would never let me be."

"Really House, just go. It'll be okay. I'll…"

"Cuddy, give it a rest. I'm not leaving here without that supertanker of yours."

At that moment, House looked up to see Laurie sprinting towards them.

"Here she comes, Lisa."

Cuddy didn't process the full meaning of what House had just said. She only knew that he used her first name. He hadn't called her Lisa in over 10 years. She remembered the day when 'Greg' became 'House' and she became 'Cuddy.' Never in a hundred years would she have thought that they would ever be on a first name basis again. She had hoped…

Click.

The door opened.

Without thinking, Cuddy ran to House and wrapped herself around him.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. While I'm all for sharing our feelings, hugging, and pedicures, I'm afraid that we don't have time for that here."

House grabbed Cuddy's hand and limped with Laurie as fast as he could. Reaching the SWAT team, they noticed that the civilians and bankers were evacuated and had Rupert surrounded.

"YOU!" Rupert yelled, but this time, he wasn't looking at Cuddy, he was looking at House.

From that point on, Cuddy and Laurie would only remember the events that followed in slow motion.

Rupert reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small gun. He only needed one shot. One shot to pierce House's chest. They SWAT team got to him as the gun sounded. They were too late. Cuddy screamed as House fell to the ground. She knelt beside him placing his head on her lap while applying pressure to his wound. She looked away from House to witness Rupert surrendering willingly. Had he been after House this whole time? The SWAT team disabled the bomb and escorted Rupert off the premise.

"Call an ambulance. Tell them to take us to Princeton-Plainsboro, I'm the Dean of Medicine there," Cuddy called out as Rupert passed her, smiling.

Looking back to House, her eyes locked on his icy blues.

"I'm here. We're gonna get you to the hospital. You're going to be okay. Just, please, stay with me." She brushed the hair away from his forehead and gently stroked his face.

"Come on House, stay with me."

"Cuddy," he gasped. "Does it look like I'm going anywhere soon? Shot. Cripple. Not exactly in any shape to walk, let alone move."

Cuddy smiled at him. At least he was still House. He was still hanging on.

"Well, as long as you can't escape, I might as well remind you that you still have to make up your hours in the clinic."

"You evil woman," he was having a hard time breathing, he was fading, "how can you think about clinic duty at a time like thi-" he was gone.

"NO! HOUSE!" Cuddy began to cry.

"Come back! Please. Don't leave me." He barely had a pulse.

Cuddy could here the sirens approaching.

"STAY WITH ME!"