Longest chapter I've ever written, so make sure you're all in a comfy seat. Special thanks and Kudos to Gaya Solo, she is fantastic and gave me some awesome ideas for this chapter, most of the credit goes to her. Gaya, my friend, you rock. Don't know how long it'll be till I update next, but thanks to those of you who keep reading, and reviewing, and favoriting, you guys are awesome too! Anyways… on to the chapter. Enjoy!
*end of last chapter*
She lifted her head from his chest for a moment, the locking of eyes substitute for a handshake, "You got yourself a deal."
He shifted them so that they lay on their sides facing each other, his left arm looped around her waist, her head pillowed on his right. Her palm rested over his heart, feeling each beat beneath her hand as his warmth washed over her in a comforting shroud. The fingers of his left hand traced random patterns along the skin of her back. They had nearly dozed off when Cuddy broke the silence.
"Greg?"
"Hmm...?" He mumbled back, keeping his eyes closed.
"When do you want to break the news to the hospital? Can it be tomorrow?" A tinge of excitement leaked into her voice. He opened his eyes to meet hers.
"I was thinking about that actually." She raised a brow at him. "How about we wait about a week to drop the bomb? It's bound to be a shocker, hearing the dean's caught a double dose of preggo, out of wedlock at that."
She snorted with laughter, "Yes because this isn't the 21st century, and women are cast out of society with a scarlet letter sewn into their clothes. Honestly, Greg." Her laughter made him smile, and her quick wit caused a stirring in his nether regions, as it always did. He shifted down so he could more easily reach her throat, leaning forward to press a few sweet kisses to it before mumbling into her hair.
"Come on Lisa; let's just keep this to ourselves for a while."
Unable to resist him as always, she tilted her head back, allowing him better access.
"Hmmm… okay. But only if you promise it'll just be a week."
"Promise." He replied instantly, kissing and licking his way up the column of her throat and along her jaw line until he reached her lips, nibbling on the lower one, requesting entrance. Her lips parted immediately, allowing his tongue access into her mouth. Hers began to battle with his, the familiar fire he always started in her bursting into roaring, vibrant flame.
The love they made was hot, slow and intense, and they fell into sleep shortly afterwards, arms wrapped around the other, and Greg's hands placed protectively over Lisa's belly.
They arrived at PPTH by 9am, the usual for Cuddy and surely a record for House. Before the two went their separate ways, Greg wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear,
"Remember, we agreed to wait. No going back on your word."
She pressed herself against him, whispering in a low playful voice,
"What would you do to me if I did?"
He groaned at the feel of her soft, warm flesh,
"Oh you little minx, I'd just have to punish you. But not here."
She flashed him a sexy little smirk before a stern frown settled over her features,
"Fine. BUT!" She poked him in the chest, "You're not allowed to tell Wilson beforehand."
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest,
"Pouting doesn't become you, Cuddles." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and departed for the stairwell.
Two hours later, Cuddy exited was leaving her office to go to a board meeting when she saw the back of House's head as he exited the hospital, seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere. Spotting Chase she questioned,
"Why did House just leave the hospital like the place was on fire?"
He shrugged, his handsome face carrying a thoroughly disinterested expression,
"Don't ask me. He spent most of the morning in Wilson's office. He walked into his office about 45 minutes ago, and got right on the phone. Not 10 minutes ago he hung up and headed for the door. When I asked him where he was going, he said some nonsense about going to see a man about a dog, and told all of us to go do his clinic hours."
Cuddy sighed, not knowing what to make of what was surely one of House's big schemes,
"Thank you Dr. Chase. Go ahead finish his ours and then go to the ER. We're short staffed today." He nodded in assent and headed off in the direction of the clinic. Cuddy turned toward the elevators. Figuring out what House was up to would have to wait until after her meeting.
Lisa sighed as she left the conference room, thoroughly worn out by the three hour long meeting. She'd had to diffuse a particularly tense situation involving the budget committee for the new pediatric ward. Stepping out of the elevator and walking toward her office, wanting nothing more than to collapse on the couch, she saw Nurse Brenda speaking to a nurse in a stage whisper. She caught her fiancés name and changed her course. Her curiosity at Greg's actions earlier that day returned full force,
"So what's he done now?"
Brenda attempted to hide her smirk as she replied,
"Oh surprisingly nothing yet. About two hours ago he walked in the doors with a bunch of bags. Probably from a grocery store, but nobody saw what was inside. Who knows what he's up to."
The only thing Cuddy was sure of was that he was most certainly up to something, now she just needed to discover what it was.
"Thank you for telling me, I'll figure this out shortly, and hopefully prevent possible death and dismemberment."
Brenda nodded and then excused herself, heading to the ER where she was sure to spread the gossip further. Cuddy turned around and headed back to the elevator, stepping in and pressing the number for Greg's floor, unaware of the surprise she had in store.
Upon reaching Greg's office, she simply stared in shock for a moment. The current of passerby flowed around her as heads turned to stare at the once clear, now completely opaque walls of House's office. Smoke filtered beneath the door to the conference room, the air filters working at full capacity to clear the air of the hall and only just doing so.
She entered into the thick cloud of smoke to find House, Foreman, Chase, and Wilson all seated around the conference table, each with a cigar in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. Among all manner of snacks scattered across the tables surface, a glass that was obviously being used as an ashtray sat in the middle of the group, beside a bottle of scotch. After overcoming her shock, Cuddy spoke in an outraged tone,
"What the hell is going on in here?"
Greg had turned in her direction when she opened the door, and his eyes lit up with pleasure at the sight of her as he replied in a cheerful tone,
"Cuddles, my love muffin, I wanted to surprise you! I just told the ducklings here the good news. The missing blonde one took off when the celebratory cigars got lit, probably looking for you even now to snitch on us."
Cuddy wasn't sure if she should be upset by the alcohol and cigar smoke polluting her precious hospital or flattered and amused by Houses desire to spill the beans and terms of affection in front of his fellows. The woman who loved Greg House and the woman who loved her hospital engaged in knockdown drag out catfight in her head, the administrator in her gaining the upper hand as she crossed her arms,
"Seriously, House, cigars and booze in my hospital? And honestly James, I'm a little disappointed in you."
Wilsons head drooped like a scolded puppy and he sighed, trying to remember how exactly House had convinced him to participate in this.
*Flashback to approx. 5 hours earlier*
Wilson didn't immediately look up as his friend barged into his office, far too used to the behavior to be startled, even though he still felt strange not having the familiar thud of the cane to announce Houses approach. He finished his paperwork, knowing that House would either launch head long into a diagnoses or settle in until he had Wilson's complete attention before speaking. When the older doctor began to fidget in his spot on the couch Wilson took pity and looked up at him.
House was grinning from ear to ear as he blurted,
"Cuddy's pregnant. With twins."
Wilson froze in slack jawed surprise, his eyes wide and his body motionless, not sure exactly how to respond. House's huge grin turned into a smirk,
"Feel free to respond at any time."
Wilson shook himself before exclaiming,
"Wow. Wow! One for each."
"That's what she said. ha ha." House interjected with a lecherous grin. Wilson ignored the comment and got up from his chair, circling around his desk to give his friend a hug,
"Congratulations House. You're gonna be a daddy! Have you found out the sexes yet? Or is it too soon?"
House allowed Wilson to hug him for a few seconds before stepping away, grumbling,
"Thanks, and we won't know for a few more weeks, though I've got my money on boys. Now don't be a girl about this. I need your help." Wilson rolled his eyes, but indicated for House to continue. "I need you to call the nearest grocery store and have them arrange a bottle of scotch and couple bags of snacks, only the good stuff. Tell 'em to have it ready in 15 minutes for pickup."
Wilsons brows drew together, confusion in his chocolate brown eyes,
"Sure. But why not just have them deliver here?" It was Houses turn to roll his eyes.
"Because first off, I have other errands to run, and second, if they get sent here, Nurse 'big mouth bitch' Brenda will go blabbing to Cuddy." House stood and crossed the room, opening the door and calling back over his shoulder, "Oh, and you don't breathe a word to Lise, either."
*End of Flashback*
Wilson held up his hands in a gesture of surrender,
"Lisa I'm sorry. I helped with the scotch and food but that's it, I swear."
Cuddy couldn't help but forgive Wilson, knowing how easily House could manipulate a situation,
"Okay then. House you didn't answer my question, what's with the cigars and scotch?"
House's grin remained, loving the way she looked when she was pissed off like this,
" Lise, this is the way a guy celebrates this kind of news."
Cuddy scoffed, trying to hold onto some of her anger as amusement leaked through,
"Sure, in a 50's movie maybe, but not in a hospital. Who do you think you are, Cary Grant?"
House burst into laughter, and even Foreman cracked a small smirk, Greg adopted Grants accent,
"Well my darling, you know well enough that I'm much more handsome." Getting up, he snubbed his cigar in the makeshift ashtray and set down his scotch glass, before crossing to Cuddy and holding out his hand. "Come on; let's go to your office. I've got something to show you."
She was still upset about the smoke and alcohol in her hospital, but she was sure Wilson would take care of it now to free himself of some guilt. Her curiosity was now stronger then her anger, so she uncrossed her arms and placed her hand in his, allowing him to lead her out as they made their way to her office.
Once inside her office, Greg directed her to the couch and seated himself next to her, keeping hold of her hand. He sighed and spoke softly,
"I wanted to surprise you with something, and I knew you wanted the news spread, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone. I went to the apartment and picked up some of my good Cuban cigars, and on my way back, I picked up these." Using his free hand, he reached into the inner pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a small package.
Upon seeing the contents, she gasped in surprise, happy tears swimming in her eyes,
"Oh Greg, this is what you went out for?" In her hand she held a pack containing two light blue onesies both with the words, 'Guess Who's Who' in large white letters across the front. She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips, "Thankyou."
He kissed her back, a soft smile lighting his face,
"You're very welcome. But that was just part of what I went out for…" He reached into his jacket pocket again, this time pulling out a jewelry box. He opened the lid, exposing a shining silver heart pendant. Three sapphires were set on the heart's surface, near the bottom, and one directly in center. She knew immediately that the two represented the children growing even now in her womb, and the other of course represented him, the man whose place was set firmly in her heart.
"I love it. I love you."
He leaned in and kissed her again, pulling her hair back out of the way as he clasped the necklace around her neck.
"And I love you." Pressing his lips to hers again, he deepened the kiss, her tongue darting out to trace his lip before she suddenly pulled back.
"Did you tell everyone about the babies?"
He shook his head, stealing another kiss before replying, still unable to get enough of her taste,
"Nah, just boy wonder and the ducklings."
She tried to hide her disappointment,
"What about the rest of the staff?"
House responded with a knowing smirk,
"Oh I'm sure the rest of the hospital will be informed within minutes. Just wait and see."
Sure enough, not five minutes later a young man entered the lobby carrying no less than a dozen salmon colored roses and a group of balloons with 'babies on the way' emblazoned on them in brilliant eye catching red.
Approaching the front desk, Nurse Brenda signed for the delivery and the boy quickly left. A nosy nurse approached, curious.
"So who are those for?"
Brenda checked the name on the front of the card,
"Looks like they are for Dr. Cuddy. That's strange. Know where she is?"
The nurse shrugged, staring at the balloons floating above her head,
"Probably chasing House around the hospital. What's with the baby balloon? You don't thing she's…WAIT, check the card!"
Brenda opened up the card and gasped in shock.
"'Lisa, you are the love of my life. Thank you for being the mother of my children too. Love, Greg.' Oh my god we've got to head to the ER and spread the news! Come on I'll leave this on Cuddy's assistant's desk and we'll go together!"
Through the windows of Cuddy's inner office he watched the nurses talk, smirking as he watched his handiwork.
"Mission Accomplished, consider the news spread."
As usual, House was right. Within twenty minutes the entire hospital knew of Cuddy's pregnancy without her saying a single word. In ones and twos staff members leaked into the office, each offering congratulations. Groups of people passed in front of her doors, walking a bit too slowly and staring just a bit too hard to seem casual. High off of Lisa's happiness and his successful plan, House was in good spirits. The 3 glasses of scotch he had consumed earlier probably aided in his all around enjoyment of the moment.
"Say, now why don't we go home early today? You're obviously tired, and now that everybody knows, they surely won't mind if you lower your work hours. There also happens to be a rerun of Dirty Dancing on HBO in about forty minutes that's just calling our names. Come on, I mean nobody puts baby in a corner." He said with a wide grin, his eyes twinkling with humor.
Lisa found herself matching his grin with one of her own even as she rolled her eyes. She took his hand in her own and replied,
"Okay then Johnny, let's go home."
PHEW that was a long one. Hope everyone enjoyed, maybe leave a review on your way out. Thanks so much for reading