So there were quite a few messages in my inbox the past few days and I figured I should post this now rather than later (I would have done it this morning but I had to pick up my stuff from halls). I'm still surprised that, despite my lack of updates, you're all still interested, so thank you. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long but don't hold me to it. All I can promise is that I'll try.

"Doctor Cuddy!"

Cuddy turned as her name was called and let out a sigh as she saw it was yet another Nurse that wanted her to sign something. She glanced at her watch as she made her way to the woman to scan the chart held before her and signed off on it. She had been getting ready to pick up Alex from school when there had been a knock at her door and a patient walked in complaining about a doctor that surprisingly wasn't House.

"Thank you."

Cuddy gave a brief smile to the woman and then continued making her way to the main hospital doors, her head down hoping that nobody else would stop her.

By the time she reached the main doors, someone was walking in step beside her and the lack of paperwork caused her to raise an eyebrow at the man walking beside her out of the hospital.

"Let me guess," she started not bothering to look at Wilson as they made their way to the parking lot. "House sent you." She gave him a sideways glance and could see him begin to turn red.

"Is it that obvious?" He chuckled at Cuddy's expression and made his way to the passenger side of her car. "House's patient crashed. He asked me to go with you."

Cuddy let out a sigh. "How long is this 'Alpha Male' thing going to go on for?" She asked, unlocking the doors.

"With House? Never." Wilson smiled at her over the top of the car. "It's a good thing."

"Cuddy was about to get into the drivers seat when his words stopped her. "And how do you work that out?" She asked, sceptically.

"Because it means he cares." He gave her a moment to let her process what he said before speaking up again. "Shouldn't we be going?" he smiled.

As Cuddy pulled up outside the school, Wilson checked his watch after noticing that the school was practically deserted except a few other late parents.

"Where is he?" Wilson asked looking towards the doors.

"I told him that if I was ever late he should wait for me outside his classroom." Cuddy replied, opening the door. "You don't need to come with me, Wilson." She told him as he went to undo his seat belt. "I'll be five minutes." She reassured him, slamming the door behind her. Wilson watched her run up to the entrance and disappear through the double doors. He turned his attention to her car stereo and searched through the stations finally setting on some power ballad.

Several songs later, Cuddy and Alex still hadn't emerged from the building and Wilson was trying his best not to worry. He switched off the radio and as he reached over to take the keys from the ignition, he rationalised to himself that Alex was probably just showing her what he had done that day and going in would give him a chance to see some of Alex's work. He got out of the car and headed to the entrance. As he entered the school, he realised that although he'd picked Alex up from school plenty of times before, he had no idea where his classroom was. Just as he made a decision to go down the left hand corridor, he heard a set of heels from behind him. He turned and saw a teary and panicked Cuddy with a flustered looking man in tow.

Wilson hurried towards her, feeling the panic bubble up inside him fighting to surface. Cuddy practically threw herself into him once he was within reach.

"What the hell's going on?" He addressed the man as Cuddy sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and glared at the man stood in front of him who was now pulling awkwardly at his tie.

The man cleared his throat. "It would appear that Mr Johnson collected Alex today…His teacher was completely unaware of the situation between Doctor Cuddy and her husband," he added quickly seeing the fire rage in Wilson's eyes. "And Alex seemed more than happy to go with him…"

"Sshh, Lisa. We'll find him. Have you called the police?" He felt her head move up and down and the man in front of him confirmed her answer.

"I phoned them myself as soon as Doctor Cuddy informed me of the situation. As principal – "

"When are they getting here?" Wilson interrupted.

Cuddy pulled back and took a deep breath, trying her best to fight off more tears. She took a deep breath but as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, all that escaped was a choked sob and Wilson pulled her in once more.

"They said a car was on it's way. I'll wait outside for them." The principal hurried through the doors, relieved to be out of the steely glare of Doctor Cuddy's acquaintance.

Wilson did his best to comfort Cuddy, his arms wrapped around her shoulders and hers around his middle as she continued to cry in the deserted hallway.

"We'll send cars straight over to these addresses and put this picture out. The best thing you can do now is go home and wait for us to contact you." The female officer, Swanson, placed a reassuring hand on Cuddy's shoulder. "We'll do our best to find your son." And with that, she left the room, her partner, West, in tow.

Cuddy, Wilson and principal Mayer were sat in the latter's office, Cuddy slumped against Wilson's side.

"Come on." Wilson got to his feet, pulling Cuddy up with him. "Let's get you home." Wilson placed an arm around her and led her to the office door.

"Again, I'm really sorry this has happened…" Mayer piped up, solemnly.

Wilson ignored the man, his main concern being calm around Cuddy.

"House," Cuddy muttered once Wilson had pulled the door to the passenger side open and helped Cuddy inside.

He gave a nod. "I'll call him now." How the hell had he forgotten House?

"Tell him we've gone to look for Alex." Cuddy told him, stopping him from closing the door.

Wilson shook his head. "You heard Officer Swanson. You need to go home and wait for them – "

"I am NOT waiting around doing nothing while that…lunatic…has my son." Cuddy stated, wiping the tears away from her face and trying to get out of the car.

Wilson blocked her in. "Cuddy, you're in no fit state to drive anywhere and where would you even begin to look? The police are already looking in all the places you could think of." He crouched down to look her in the eye. "I'll call House and he can meet us back at his place. Then we can discuss the best course of action."

Cuddy nodded solemnly, her eyes watering but she held back the tears and settled in the car. Wilson stood up and closed the door, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He retrieved the last dialled number and hit send, walking around to the driver's side with his phone to his ear.

"Where the hell are you? I have a patient with suspected parotic cancer."

"House."

"What?"

"Alex is missing…"

There was silence on the other end of the phone and Wilson had to check that he was still connected.

"House?"

There was a deep intake of breath from the end of the line.

"Michael was seen collecting him. I'm taking Cuddy back to your apartment – "

"I'll meet you there." And with that, House hung up the phone.

Wilson took a deep breath, exhaling softly as he pocketed his phone. He got in the car and started the engine. After a moments silence, he placed a hand on Cuddy's knee which she seemed oblivious to as she stared out of the passenger side window, scrutinising the faces of the people she could see. Wilson let out a sigh as he continued to make his way to House's apartment.

Once House had hung up, he paged Foreman to meet him in the lobby and then made his way down there as quickly as possible, cursing that he had let Cuddy drive her car to work this morning.

"What is it, House?" Foreman asked tiredly. "Wilson's still not back and Taub's trying to biopsy – "

"I need you to take me home." House stated, making his way to the doors.

"House, we have a pa – "

"JUST DO IT!" House shouted, causing everyone in the lobby to turn their attention to him.

Foreman eyed him curiously for a moment before nodding. "Let's go."

House led the way to the car park but dropped back when he realised he didn't know which car was his employee's. Foreman made his way over to a black Audi, unlocking the doors, with a bleep while trying to figure out what could be wrong. The pair got in the car and Foreman started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

"What, no jokes about Hummers or blacked out windows or spinning rims?" Foreman asked, a smirk on his face.

House pulled his bottle of Vicodin from his pocket and poured two into his left palm. He replaced the bottle and stared down at the pills in his hand as his right hand rubbed his thigh. He wasn't sure if he actually needed the pills or if he was reacting to the news but either way, he tipped his head back and threw the pills into his mouth.

"I'd prefer it," House started, pausing to swallow the pills, "if you drove like you were being chased by the feds."

Foreman let out an amused snort and sped up slightly. "Is this something to do with the cuts and bruises on your face?"

House looked at his reflection in the wing mirror. The bruises had faded considerably and the cuts were healing, some bruising on his body still bothered him but he had had Wilson do an x-ray for him at the beginning of the week to rule out any broken ribs. He turned to look back out of the windscreen, ignoring Foreman's question.

"If I wanted to enjoy the scenery, I would have walked." He replied, annoyance clear in his voice. "Now go faster." He looked over at the speedometer. "You're barely doing 30…"

"I'm doing 35, House. In a 30 miles per hour zone. The choices are you get home as quickly as I can drive you, I get pulled over by the cops or we die. It's completely up to you." Foreman answered, speeding up slightly to beat a red light.

House nodded slightly and turned to look out of the window. "Just drive." He said softly, staring at the people they passed along the way.

As soon as Foreman turned into House's street, House undid his seat belt and only just waited for the car to come to a complete stop before opening the door.

"House." Foreman called as he too got out of the car, leaning on the roof of it. House continued walking, glancing back to show he was listening. "I hope everything's ok…"

House turned as he reached the door to his apartment complex and looked at Foreman. Not being one for words, he nodded in thanks and continued into the building as Foreman got back in his car and made his way back to the hospital.

"Thank God. I was about to call you." Wilson said as House let himself into the apartment.

"Where's Cuddy?" House asked.

"In the bathroom. Wait…what are you doing?" Wilson's eyes narrowed in confusion as House made his way to the bathroom.

"Cuddy!" House shouted, banging on the bathroom door. He stood back as the door opened and Cuddy stood in the doorway. Her eyes were red and watery and when she saw House, she wrapped her arms around him feeling the tears surfacing again.

House allowed her to hug him for a moment, his hands by his side and his posture stiff, before pushing her away.

"Come on." He told her, limping away from her and heading towards his closet. As Cuddy and Wilson shared confused looks, he opened the door and reached in, pulling out his motorcycle helmet. Wilson frowned as realisation dawned on him and he quickly made his way to stand between House and the front door.

"Move."

Wilson shook his head. "You're not going anywhere, House. The police are out looking for – "

House clenched his jaw and let out a snarl. "Get out of the way, Wilson. Cuddy, come on."

House took a step towards the door but Wilson stood firm. Behind him, House could hear Cuddy's footsteps as she made her way to stand next to him. "Either you move, or I make you move."

Wilson stood firm. He looked into Cuddy's eyes, seeing a new strength in them now that House was here and ready to do what she had wanted to earlier.

"What do you expect to come from going out there, on your bike and looking in random places? Cuddy already gave the police a list of places and they're checking them as we speak. When they've got news – "

"Dammit, Wilson." House exclaimed angrily. "I don't give a shit what the police are doing. I'm going out there and I'm going to find my son and kill the bastard that took him…" He looked down at his cane as a hand settled over his own then looked up into Cuddy's face.

"…our son." Cuddy corrected, looking back at him. They let their gazes linger for a moment before Cuddy turned to address Wilson. "We've got to go, Wilson. I can't just sit here waiting for the police to turn up. I need to do something…" She took a deep breath as her voice began to get shaky. "So unless you want House to show you a new place to store his cane, I suggest you move."

Wilson rubbed his forehead knowing that he was fighting a losing battle. He wished he could go out there and drive around looking for Alex. Go to the exact place where Michael and Alex were and give Michael another beating for putting them all through this. He looked up at House and Cuddy and let out a loud sigh.

"Okay," he muttered, standing aside. "I'll…I'll wait for the police…" He watched as the pair walked to the door. "Take your car, House. If you find him, three of you aren't going to fit on that damn bike." Wilson said tiredly, reaching out and pulling the helmet from his House's hands and then moving to the sofa to sit down, sighing once more as the door closed behind them.

Cuddy closed the door behind her and turned, walking straight into House's back.

"House. What…" She moved around him to see Michael letting himself into the apartment complex holding Alex's hand.

"Mommy!" Alex ran over to her and she crouched down, letting him jump into her. She buried her face into his neck and inhaled as tears made their way down her cheeks.

House was oblivious to what was going on behind him. He was too busy staring at the man before him, fire raging in his eyes. As Michael walked into the building to close the door behind him, House moved as swiftly, ignoring his leg, and pushed Michael against the wall, his cane pressed up against the man's throat.

"You son of a bitch!" House hissed in his face. He pushed his cane harder causing the man to choke, holding .

"What the…Alex." As soon as Wilson had heard the commotion in the hallway he had moved quickly to see what was happening and as he opened the door, he didn't know what shocked him more; Alex, currently being squeezed by Cuddy or House choking Michael with his cane.

Alex wriggled impatiently, and Cuddy drew back to look Alex in the face. "Michael took me for ice cream." He told her innocently and Cuddy could feel another sob fighting to escape. She held back however when she finally noticed what House was doing to Michael, the latter's face turning red as House hissed random curse words at him. She stood up and placed a hand to Alex's back, pushing him towards Wilson.

"James, can you take him inside?" She asked, wiping her face and feeling a sudden surge of anger.

Wilson bent down and picked Alex up, holding the back of his head so that he couldn't turn it, and backed into the apartment. "Maybe you should come inside too…" he suggested. He wasn't going to let House kill the bastard but he was going to make him suffer for a bit. When Cuddy didn't move, he put Alex down and directed him towards the TV before joining House and Cuddy back in the foyer, closing the door to behind him.

Michael clawed at the cane against at his throat, eyes wide and a pleading look in his eyes as he looked at Cuddy. "L…Li…Lisa." He managed to choke out. "Ple..Please…" He gasped.

House pushed harder, causing the man to rise further up the wall. "Wilson, take them inside." He said without turning around.

"House." Cuddy placed a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"In about," House paused as though in thought before continuing, "thirty seconds, you're going to pass out from lack of oxygen to the brain the, if I keep pushing…well, I'm sure you know." He spoke through gritted teeth as rage blazed in his eyes.

Cuddy could see the panic building up in Michael's eyes as she attempted, once again, to get House to let him go. As much as she would like Michael to suffer, she didn't want House to suffer the repercussions.

Suddenly, the apartment building door opened and Cuddy and Wilson watched helplessly as Officers West and Swanson entered the building and immediately rushed to the aid of Michael, dragging House away from him. House's cane clattered to the ground as the two police officers managed to push him against the wall with his hands behind his back. Swanson walked towards Michael, while West kept House pressed against the wall, and crouched down to where he was slumped, gasping for breath.

"Are you okay, sir?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder as she looked into his eyes.

Michael continued to gasp as House started shouting his objection to the officer's concern.

"That son of a bitch kidnapped my son!" House continued to struggle against the officer still pressing him against the wall.

"Sir," West said from behind him, "please calm down."

"I'll calm down when you get the fuck off me!"

"House," Wilson started. "Calm dow – "

"Sir," West interrupted him. "If you don't calm down, we're going to have to arrest you."

Swanson stood up straight from her spot in front of Michael and turned to face Cuddy.

"Is your son okay?" She asked, wanting to get this cleared up as quickly as possible.

Cuddy nodded. "He seems to be." Her eyes went over the woman's shoulder to see House still struggling against the large, muscular police officer. "Does he really need to be restrained?" Cuddy asked, looking back at Swanson again. "He's Alex's father. He was just reacting to the situation."

Swanson gave a curt nod. "I understand that but we walked in on him attacking a fellow civilian. We'll have to carry out an investigation – "

"Please, Officer Swanson, House was worried about his son. He thought he had been kidnapped…" Wilson joined in, trying to come to House's defence.

House had stopped struggling as a burning pain shot through his thigh. All the struggling and being pushed up against the wall had forced the cut through the Vicodin he had taken earlier and he was in dire need of a seat.

Michael had risen to his feet during everything and was keeping an eye on everything going on around him. He hadn't planned on nearly dying but he had been hoping to cause some trouble. It was time to get the police onside.

"Officer," he stated, gaining all the attention of everyone in the hallway. "You can let him go. I don't think anyone wants anymore trouble today." He said with his prize winning smile. He turned to face Cuddy and took a step towards her. Wilson took a step forward and he backed off again. "Lisa, I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was scare you. I missed Alex…" He paused before speaking softly. "I miss you…" He ignored Wilson's glare and continued. "I thought that as I used to pick him up, it wouldn't matter. I left a message with your assistant…She said she would pass it on…obviously she forgot."

House, who had been released from his hold but was being kept away from the rest of the group by West's arm, was watching Cuddy's face during Michael's speech.

"You're not actually going to listen to him are you?" He asked, not taking his eyes off Cuddy.

Cuddy bit her lip avoiding House's intense glare. She shook her head and was about to speak when Michael interrupted.

"I swear to you, Lisa. I didn't mean to cause any trouble." He turned to address Officer Swanson. "I don't want charges pressed against Greg –"

"Don't." House said warningly.

Michael ignored him and continued. "It was just a…misunderstanding. Can we just forget everything that happened here?"

West and Swanson exchanged glances before West spoke up.

"We witnessed this man choking you. We can't just turn a blind eye to that. We have to gather statements – "

"None of that's necessary," Michael interrupted. His eyes flickered to House before addressing West once more. "We were arguing and…I made the first move. Greg here was just acting in self defence."

House narrowed his eyes at the man as he spoke. Why was he trying to get rid of the police? If they hadn't turned up, he would have happily killed the bastard and then had Wilson get rid of the body. House watched as the two officers listened to what Michael was saying and his brow furrowed deeper as Swanson and West exchanged glances and nods.

"If this is true, I see no reason why we need to take it any further…" Swanson looked to Cuddy and Wilson for confirmation. They both hesitated before nodding and then looked pleadingly at House as Swanson and West looked for confirmation from him.

Just as House was about to tell them what really happened, he noticed the look on Cuddy's face and faltered. Only a few days earlier, she had refused to go to the police in order to save him and here he was about to undo all of that.

He gave a small nod, looking anywhere but at Cuddy. "Yes." He said softly. "It's true." His eyes landed on Michael and the smirk he had on his face behind the police officers who were seemingly convinced. House made a fist and clenched his jaw, attempting to stay clam.

"Well, then," West took a step toward Michael. "I suggest you and Doctor Cuddy come to some kind of amiable agreement about the care of the child so that this…misunderstanding doesn't occur again." He nodded at Swanson and they both left the building, closing the door behind you.

House went to take a step towards Michael, who still had a smirk on his face, but Cuddy stood between them.

"Go inside, House." She told him firmly.

He glared continued to glare at Michael before he looked down at Cuddy stood in front of him. "He's up to something, Cuddy."

"I think you," he pointed at Michael, "should leave. And the three of us," he turned back to House and Cuddy, "should go back inside. No doubt Alex has his ear to the door…"

House gave a slight nod, picked up his cane and he and Cuddy followed Wilson into his apartment.

"Lisa, wait." Michael grabbed a hold of her wrist to stop her from entering House's home.

Cuddy turned to look at him and shook her head. "Sign the papers and leave us alone."

Michael's face dropped but he still refused to let her go. "Please."

"Let go of her before I really do kill you this time." House warned.

"I just want to talk to –"

House shook his head and walked towards him. "No. Now let. Go."

Michael continued to look at Cuddy with a pleading look in his eyes.

"It's okay, House. Go inside." She said softly, not taking her eyes from the man that was still holding onto her wrist.

"Cuddy," House's voice warned. When she didn't move he looked between the two and moved to lean against the wall, bending his right leg against it and crossing his arms against his chest.

"Then I stay." He said simply.

"I just want to speak to my wife alone." Michael said, turning to look at House.

"Not gonna happen. So talk."

Cuddy met House's eyes. "It's fine. Just go inside and sit with Alex – "

"Wilson's in there."

"Go." She turned to Michael. "You, let go of me and go over there." She waved in the direction of the staircase with her free hand. Michael did as he was told and then looked at House, waiting for him to go inside.

Cuddy and House's eyes met once again. House moved and opened the door. "I'll be standing right there." He pointed to the floor right next to the door to make his point before disappearing inside.

Cuddy took a deep breath and turned back to Michael who had now taken a seat on the steps. It was a power play. By sitting down, he was making her seem like she was in control of the situation. She could tower over him and walk away if she wanted to. She knew he was trying to play her and she stored it in the forefront of her mind so she wouldn't get suckered in by his words.

"Now talk." She told him sternly.