Chapter Six

Last Resort

Thanks to mj0621, girlwithwingsoffire, RHSecretLove, Boys Don't Cry, DrusillaBraun, HouseAddiction and gabiroba for their reviews! Much appreciated!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to House. I know I've made this comment before, but I don't want to be sued. And I'm not making any money off this thing. I'm just an overly obsessed fan who has nothing better to do right now.

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House was shoved aside as doctors rushed a patient into the ER. The patient was convulsing and Stacy was rushing right behind them, tears streaming down her face.

He grabbed onto her arm and pulled her to him. She fought his hold as she tried to follow into the ER. His grip was tight and finally she stopped struggling. He slowly loosened his grip as Wilson ran up to them, seeing this commotion.

"House what the hell? I'm trying to get your discharge papers and then all this screaming?" Wilson asked.

"Don't blame me. Blame the siren over here." He complained, pointing at Stacy.

Stacy didn't retort with a smart aleck response. Just a sniffle followed by a wet tear. Wilson was immediately the one by her side, putting an arm around her shoulder and trying to quiet her.

"What the hell happened? Mark dump you?" House asked, as merciless as always.

She glared at him. "No. Cuddy just collapsed in the elevator. I don't know what happened. The doors opened and she was like convulsing." She yelled.

House stared. Then without another word made his way toward the ER. The doctors wouldn't let him in, but he shoved past them.

"Sir you can't go in there. One of our doctors is in there."

"I know moron. I can read the sign, but I'm a doctor." House retorted.

He froze when he saw Cuddy lying on the table. They had gotten her to stop convulsing, but couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Her heartbeat was back to normal and so was everything else about her. She didn't look like anything had happened and the doctors were baffled.

"Sir you can't be here." One of the doctors said.

House rolled his eyes. "I'm a doctor and it's obvious none of you know what's wrong with her, so let me figure it out."

"We've just sent out tests and finishing up here. We will know what's wrong with her." The doctor replied forcefully.

"Fine, but do you really want to make this a territorial thing? Because in case you haven't noticed, the lead cardiologist is dying on the table right behind you." House pointed out.

The doctors shook their head. "No way. Procedure says we can't let anyone not with this hospital treat her."

House slammed his cane against the wall. "Cuddy used to run the hospital where I work. She would have never let a life come below what protocol says. It's not fair if she dies while we're waiting on tests from an overcrowded MRI machine."

Before the hospital doctors could respond, he cut them off and continued.

"Even when you get the tests back, you're going to try a bunch of useless tests and treatments on her. Mercy Hospital has no diagnostic department. She needs a diagnostician. I'm the head of that department in New Jersey. She's got a clean bill of health until today. You will never figure it out. I have experience. I can." He argued.

"Sorry." The doctor said, lowering his eyes. "I can't allow you. She'll be my patient and you're going to have to leave."

House almost hit him but a security guard had just ran in, pulling him out.

"YOU MORONS! SHE'S GONNA DIE AND THEN I WON'T CARE IF I KILL ONE OF YOU BECAUSE NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO ME!" he roared.

At his yell, Cuddy began to stir. The doctors gathered around her, all asking her questions at once. She was confused and looked around.

"Was someone just in here?" she asked.

The doctors exchanged glances before shaking their heads. No use getting her worked up that a patient had just barged into her treatment room. Knowing Lisa Cuddy, she would've been angry.

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Stacy had gathered herself. She was holding a sleeping Jesse as she sat in Cuddy's room. Worry was written in both their faces as they watched the sleeping girl.

"I need to get out of here." Cuddy commented, reaching out to stroke her daughter's hair.

Stacy handed the child over into Cuddy's arms as she answered. "No way until we're sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. I was just tired." Cuddy said.

Stacy shook her head. "You were convulsing, Lisa. Okay doesn't define that. I haven't pointed this out, but you've lost a lot of weight."

Cuddy opened her mouth to complain but Stacy cut her off.

"If you just randomly collapse in the elevator, you could randomly collapse anywhere." She paused and then added. "You could collapse while carrying Jesse or if you two are alone together and no one finds you, what happens to her."

Cuddy gave in at that. She knew Stacy was right. She couldn't risk Jesse's health for her pride.

"What's wrong with me?" She asked.

"They don't know but they're running tests." Stacy said.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "The MRI machine is book until the end of the week. My CT scan will probably not show anything because I highly doubt my condition is neurological." She said, sounding more like a doctor than a patient.

She glanced at the window, watching the sun beat down mercilessly on the glass. "There's no way you can watch Jesse for so long and the nanny won't hang around that long either." She said, thinking outloud. "There has to be some way."

"There is." Stacy pointed out.

She could've grown horns and Cuddy wouldn't have looked at her so strangely.

"I mean, you want House to be either hands on or hands off with Jesse. Why not give him a chance right now to get to know her?" Stacy asked. "You really don't have any other choice. That baby cries unless it's me or you holding her at night. The interns won't babysit."

Cuddy thought it over. "I don't have a choice do I?" she asked.

Stacy shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you do."

"Fine. But check in on him as much as you can. He has a drug habit and if he wasn't House, I would've killed him rather than let him come so close to my daughter." Cuddy said.

Stacy nodded. "I'll check on her before and after work." She said.

Cuddy agreed to the terms. "Alright. Tell me to come and talk to me if he's still in the hospital. If not get Wilson to get him."

Stacy kissed Jesse on the forehead and then stood up and exited the room. Cuddy cradled her daughter close to her and held her tightly. Her mind raced through everything that could go wrong, but she could not talk herself out of allowing House to be with Jesse. It was a right that she could not deny and part of her thought; maybe just maybe if fate was willing, Jesse could finally reach into the part of House that had been lost so long ago.

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House hadn't left yet. He hung around the waiting room, trying to figure out the best way into the MRI room or at least some lab where he could get Cuddy's blood tested for himself.

Stacy found him trying to creep through the back exit.

"House, we need to talk." Stacy said.

"How did you find me?" he asked.

"Easy, I took a book out of Cuddy's book and followed the scent of arrogance." She muttered.

He leaned against the wall and began to twirl his cane, watching her. "What do you need?" he asked.

"Nothing." She replied. "However, Cuddy needs you to watch Jesse. We know you're her father, so I convinced her to trust you with that precious cargo."

House stared at her. "I don't want to." He said.

She stamped her foot. "Why the hell not? Don't you care about her? Don't you care the slightest about Cuddy?"

He looked at her and she caught the look in his eyes.

"You're scared." Stacy said. "You said all those things to drive her away because you're afraid of her."

"No I'm not. I just don't like kids." He said.

Stacy rolled her eyes. "Fine whatever. You will like Jesse though. Sometimes I wonder how I never knew before Cuddy told me. She acts just like you sometimes. Crying when people ignore her, crying when people give her attention." Stacy said.

He looked at her. "Where is she?" he asked.

"With Cuddy. You need to go talk to her." Stacy said.

"Does she want to talk to me?" House asked.

Stacy hesitated. "Let me ask you this House. After you've been hurt by the same person over and over again and yet they never seem to notice, but now you have no choice but to acknowledge that you need them. Would you want to talk to them?"

She didn't wait for his answer. She just turned and walked back toward her office, leaving him with his thoughts, complicated, uncertain thoughts that he had never had in his life.

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House slowly entered Cuddy's room. The blinds were pulled back to allow sunlight entry into what would've been a dreary and dark room had it not contained Lisa Cuddy.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, not sure what else to say.

"Okay. Thanks for asking." She said, shifting uncomfortably.

He sighed, unable to stare into those penetrating eyes that could read him like a book and then tear him apart as if she were ripping a page that was already damp with rainwater.

"This the little devil?" he asked.

She held Jesse out to him. "Her name is Jesse."

"Devil." He said.

"Jesse." She responded firmly in return.

He made no reply, just stared down at the little bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. She gurgled and reached out to him with a tiny fist. He didn't know what to do. Cuddy must have read the confused expression on his face because she sat up.

"Support her head and back. Don't drop her and hold her against your chest." She said. "Like this."

House was close enough for her to properly place the child in his arms and fix his hands to support the few pounds she was. He stared down at the child, wonder and amazement in his eyes. Cuddy fought down a smile. She had had the same expression the first time she had held her daughter.

Her practical side, however, would only allow her softer side to surface for a second's thought.

"Okay here are the rules." She said.

"Damn. I knew there was a catch." He muttered.

"No pills in front of her. You get two in the morning and two at night and always in the supervision of a doctor. I will not risk my daughter being caught alone while you're high. Another thing, drop her you're dead. When she cries, check her diaper first. If it's clean, heat up a bottle, but not too hot or else she'll get burned. Yes, you have to taste the milk before she does. She's old enough not to need breast milk. After she eats, you have to burp her. I recommend putting a towel on your shoulder. She tends to spit up."

House was wondering if he needed to write this down. He didn't, however, just held the baby dumbly in his hands.

"If she fusses and it's not anything I've just said, it means she wants affection. Just pick her up and cuddle her a little bit. She'll quiet down." Cuddy said.

House nodded, dumbly. "Okay." He said, trying to remember everything.

"It's getting late. She's going to need a bottle soon." Cuddy said softly, tears beginning to glisten in her eyes.

As if following a soundless cue, he handed the child back to Cuddy. She held her close and kissed her pudgy cheek, whispering some very motherly words. Then she handed the child back to House, who struggled to remember where to place his hands.

"Her baby bag is in my office." Cuddy said.

He nodded as he started for the door.

"House." She said.

He turned.

Her eyes were pleading as she spoke. "Please, take care of her." she whispered.

He nodded and left without a word. He was not used to seeing Cuddy plead, with him or anyone else for that matter. She was begging now. It scared the hell out of him.

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Cameron knocked gently on House's apartment door. There was no answer. She knocked harder. Still nothing. She hesitated.

She complimented how he would react if she just barged into the room, into his private life without an invitation. Then another thought registered. What if he was dying in there? From pills or whatever else he could think of?

She pulled a hairpin out of her mass of brown hair and stuck it into the lock, pushing the door open as the lock clicked open.

The place was as empty as a tomb with more silence than the ends of the earth. She paced around. The floor was littered with empty bottles of various types of alcohol and a pile of pills lay on his coffee table. She walked around, examining each room, wondering if she was intruding, knowing she was.

Someone walked up behind her as she started to rift through some of his mail. A hand on her shoulder made her jump and scream.

"Jeez. My ears!" Chase complained.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Because I knew you would be here." Chase replied simply. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Since you weren't at the hospital or at your apartment, I figured you came here."

"What are you? House?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not as big a bastard."

"No but you're getting there." She retorted.

"We should get out of here before we're arrested for trespassing." Chase muttered.

"You are arrested." She corrected. "I'm sure he won't mind me here."

He laughed. "Are you kidding? House will kill you."

She looked at him, confused.

He took a gentler approach. "Cameron, are you blind? He's smittened by Cuddy. He hasn't been the same ever since she left."

"The entire damn hospital hasn't been the same since she left." Cameron argued.

"But House has been ten times worse than anyone else." Chase said.

Cameron was about to object when Chase cut her off.

"Cameron, get this in your head. He's in love with her. No one else notices because they don't think like him. I'm learning to read people and even he cannot fool everyone. He's in love with her, not you. It never will be you."

Cameron felt hot tears begin to fight her control. "Fine. Maybe it'll never be me. Maybe I'm just too messed up for someone as messed up as he is."

"Oh come on." He replied. "You're not messed up. You're just blinded by the wrong person."

Cameron didn't reply. Chase took a deep breath. He had been wondering how long he should keep a lid on his feelings for his coworker. He had been dreaming about her ever since they had had one crazy night together. He loved her sweetness, her sincerity, and the fact that she was the opposite of everything he was.

He pulled her into a hug and held her, keeping his mouth shut. At least for now. The right time will come for him to let her know exactly how he felt. Time was made to fix broken hearts and when she was ready, he would show her what being loved felt like.

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Author's Note:

That's it for this chapter. House is babysitting and who's curious to know how he's going to raise a screaming baby girl? Is he going to start popping pills to get rid of his headache? Is Cuddy going to get better? Where does everyone else play into this? Lol more on the way! And how does the whole Chameron situation work? R&R is welcomed!