I apologize for the delay in updating. Mercury has truly been in retrograde for me these past couple of weeks. Thanks for the reviews for Chapter 5. There will be one more chapter after this one.

"You fought," House said quietly. He was sitting next to Cuddy's ICU bed in the same chair Cuddy had sat in one year earlier, the same chair she had slept in as she held his hand throughout his recovery.

"I came back with you," Cuddy replied with a small smile.

"So you do remember what happened after the accident."

Cuddy turned her head slowly to look at House. His piercing blue eyes were trying to read hers.

"I do."

House breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the floor. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"What are you smiling about?" Cuddy asked gently. House continued to smile to himself for a few more seconds before responding.

"That random room, the replica of your office … for the first time in days I'm not actually crazy for believing it all happened." He paused and squeezed Cuddy's hand. "Unless of course you're just as crazy as I am."

"You think I need to go to Mayfield too?" she joked.

"Let's only go if they allow conjugal visits between patients." He squeezed her hand again as she chuckled.

"I still don't understand what was going on … were we in some sort of spirit world ..."

House inhaled audibly and let out a long sigh. "An old friend told me it's okay not to understand everything."

Cuddy propped herself up on her elbow as she tried to study House's face. "That's it? You're not going to berate me with your atheist logic for even thinking that a spirit world exists?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

"I don't know what was going on. I'm just glad it happened," he said quietly.

"That's … new … and different for you."

"Cuddy, I …" House stopped speaking, but his eyes continued to convey the current of emotion running through him at that very moment. She saw his vulnerability and brought his hand to her mouth, her eyes fluttering shut as she let her lips linger against his knuckles.

House looked down at the floor. "You were right, Cuddy. Maybe it all happened for a reason."

"And what reason is that?" she mumbled against his hand, which she placed against her cheek.

Before House could answer, Wilson stepped into the ICU and cleared his throat.

"I see that you two are recovering nicely," Wilson said a bit awkwardly.

House looked at him annoyed that his moment with Cuddy was being interrupted.

"Sorry, House. I didn't realize you were, uh …"

"It's fine, James," Cuddy said quickly. "When do we get out of here?"

"Right now, actually. The rest of the board and I have arranged for you to stay in a signature suite in the Mallinkrodt wing," Wilson replied. "Transport is here to take you, Lisa."

"Thank you." Cuddy smiled at House, who was starting to pout.

"When do I get to go to a signature suite?" House asked dejectedly, knowing that he didn't have quite as much clout around the hospital.

"The board did not make arrangements for you to have one of those suites, which is not surprising given how much trouble you have caused over the years …"

"I hate bureaucrats."

"But, luckily for you, I have arranged for you to stay in Cuddy's suite with her. There should be plenty of room for two hospital beds in there."

House's face brightened. Cuddy looked at Wilson with a surprised expression. Wilson nodded at both of them in return.

A young man entered the ICU and announced, "We're ready for you, Dr. Cuddy. I'm here to take you to your new room." Cuddy gave House and Wilson one last smile before she was wheeled out of the unit.

Wilson sighed. "Do you know how lucky you both are to have survived that crash?"

House grunted.

Wilson sighed again. "What's going to happen between you two now? She knows about your hallucination …"

"We're going to move in together."

" … Wow … Okay, are you sure that's a good idea right now?"

"You've been trying to play matchmaker with us for the past several months, and NOW you're trying to question whether we should be together?" House looked at his friend with hardened eyes.

"You've been through a lot in the past week or so. I just want to make sure that you're starting things when you're … stable."

"But I want her now," House whined in a childish voice. Wilson rolled his eyes. House looked away as he mumbled in a more serious tone, "I need her."

After a minute of silence, Wilson retrieved a carefully wrapped doughnut from the pocket of his white coat. He broke off a piece and offered it to House, who accepted it silently.

"Go get her, and this time make sure you're on the same page."

House nodded.

"VIP suite … cool!"

House was smiling to himself as he entered the private room in the Mallinkrodt wing by wheelchair, per hospital policy. His escort handed off his chart to the nurse.

Inspecting the large room, House whistled when he saw the plasma screen TV, refrigerator, and living room area. "It pays off to have friends in high places," he said, nodding his head in approval.

Cuddy was already resting comfortably in her bed. She tried to hide a smile when she heard House enter.

"So! Where am I sleeping?" he asked rather loudly as he got out of the wheelchair.

Cuddy pointed to the hospital bed adjacent to hers.

"Doesn't having two beds defeat the purpose of staying in a private suite? And isn't the purpose of staying in a private suite to do … private things?" House asked mischievously.

Cuddy chuckled. "Do you have a problem with the extra bed in here? If you do, I can have you stay elsewhere in the hospital," she threatened, in her administrator tone.

House limped across the room and crawled into her bed. "No need to do that. I'll be comfortable right here," he said cheerfully.

"House, what are you doing?"

"What?"

"Why are you in my bed?"

"Because I want to sleep with you. Duh."

"This bed is too small for both of us."

"It wouldn't be too small if your ass weren't so big," he quipped.

"Well, my big ass says you can get out of my bed now."

House frowned. "You don't mean that."

"What do you think I mean then?"

House leaned in closer and said, "You want me to stay right here and make love to you." He braced himself to receive an act of physical violence.

"If I did, I wouldn't be telling you to get out of my bed, now would I?" she replied smirking.

"You can't resist me," House said teasingly.

"Oh yes I can."

"Your lips say no, but your nipples say otherwise."

"You're the one who wants me if you're staring at my nipples."

"I always want you."

He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. He leaned in to kiss her but then stopped short just before reaching her lips. He hesitated, remembering that it had been months since their last physical kiss.

He opened his eyes to read hers. Cuddy stroked his face with her hand, the soft caress of her fingers soothing the scrapes on his skin.

Cuddy closed the gap between them, pressing her lips lightly against his … a tentative kiss that felt so familiar yet more electrifying in this realm. The softness of their lips merging sent a wave of warmth throughout her body.

Hungry for much more, House grabbed the back of her head and covered her mouth with his. He forced her lips open with his tongue. She inhaled deeply through her nose before she advanced her tongue against his, trying to taste as much of him as she could. He withdrew his tongue a bit and traced circles on the roof of her mouth, causing her to smile against his lips. She opened her mouth wider to invite his tongue deeper.

On cue his tongue darted in further. Cuddy grabbed his hair roughly, drawing him closer to her. She moaned softly as she felt his erection growing against her leg. House pushed her down on to her back and began grinding his cock against her inner thigh, never breaking their kiss. His right hand roamed up her side, causing her to flinch. She pushed against him, signaling to stop.

House broke away and looked down at Cuddy, who was wincing in pain. She cradled his head in her hands and looked at him apologetically. "I don't think I can do this quite yet. My ribs really hurt from the accident," she explained.

House nodded and dropped back down on to his side, giving her a soft kiss on the lips. He then took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. Cuddy smiled as she watched him tend to her fingers.

He looked up at her, feeling a surge of happiness knowing that she has accepted his affection. His eyes wandered to her neck, where she was sporting the remnants of a lesion that looked suspiciously like a love bite. He touched it lightly with his index finger.

"We never finished talking about moving in together," Cuddy said sweetly. "You're not still going to Tivo those awful shows …"

"Hey, hey, hey!" House interrupted, his voice going up almost an octave. "Don't knock them until you watch them, " he said feigning seriousness.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling. She scooted herself closer to him so that their bodies were touching. "What else do I need to know about your living habits?" she asked.

"I prefer the right side of the bed."

"That's easy. I prefer the left."

"I require my girlfriends to come to bed wearing only a thong."

"How inconvenient. I usually go to bed in the buff."

Although he knew she was only joking, House was speechless for a few seconds as he tried to imagine her wandering around her house naked. Seeing him staring at her with his mouth slightly open, Cuddy smiled to herself.

"Oh, and I don't know if you heard me say this before you got yanked out of that room, but no prostitutes are allowed in my house," she said sternly. "Don't even think about trying to arrange a threesome."

The image of Cuddy kissing and touching another woman caused House's mouth to open wider. "Are you sure you don't ever want to experiment? Thirteen could come over and please you … she prefers hot brunettes anyway. But Foreman would want to come over and watch, and I don't know …"

"To use your words, I already 'hit that,'" Cuddy snarked. She was trying her best to remain deadpan.

His mouth opened even wider. "You are more perfect than I could have ever imagined."

"Oh, you have no idea," she purred.

Their banter was turning him on again. He looked at Cuddy with lust-filled eyes. She smiled playfully at him. The intensity of his stare caused her clit to twitch with excitement.

"Maybe YOU could please me … gently," Cuddy whispered seductively. She guided House's fingers inside of her and looked at him, eyes drowning in desire.

"Are you sure?"

"The key word is gently."

Feeling her hot wetness coat his fingers, he quickly devoured her mouth with his and began moving his fingers around in circular motions, causing her to moan into his mouth.

He gave her one last kiss on the lips before heading south. Keeping his fingers in place, his mouth attacked her clit, causing her to gasp and moan. As his tongue swirled around her little nub, he made his fingers work faster and more furiously inside of her, applying more pressure to her front wall.

Cuddy's left heel was digging into House's back as she fought to maintain some control. Sensing her close to the edge, he sucked hard on her clit and rubbed his fingers hard and fast against her G-spot. Cuddy screamed into her pillow and grabbed House's hair as she felt her core contract violently.

Her ribs ached from the force of her orgasm, but she did not care. House came back up and nuzzled her neck. She cradled his head in her hands and exhaled into his hair.

"I don't have to Tivo 'The Hills' as long as I can still record 'Prescription Passion,'" House mumbled into Cuddy's neck.

"You can Tivo whatever you want if you repeat that performance every night," Cuddy said huskily.

"Done."

Their lips reunited in another kiss.