a/n: Another long one, and part one of the Cuddy baby saga. I really really want to thank everyone that has stuck with this story and sent so many wonderful comments. Any story that goes past 100,000 words runs a huge risk of going stale for the writer and the readers, so I'm still grateful many of you are sticking with me. You'll have to honestly let me know what you think of this one. It's a little jarring and dramatic.

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Cuddy's frustration was apparent as she and Wilson headed to work, both in a huge fog after their sleepless night. She was glad he was driving, although these days he wouldn't let her drive unless she had to. Something about one of Chase's stories in which a pregnant woman driving almost gave birth at a gas station. She didn't mind, whatever the strange reason.

There was a nice layer of anxiousness accompanying her fatigue. She would feel a contraction here and there, but nothing significant and none were timed right. She was mad at herself, remembering the warnings she often gave first time mothers. Ignore your contractions until they demand your attention. Often times these mothers-to-be ended up stressing themselves out if they didn't. She knew it was possible for the body to have contractions for hours or days before actual labor ends. There she was though, trying to time each little twinge that hit her. She felt like an idiot.

"Don't worry yourself Lisa," Wilson said, hoping to help her with the internal struggle. "You are right, work is a good distraction."

"You want to know how many times over the years I've told women to ignore light contractions that start in the middle of the night otherwise they will be too excited or nervous to sleep? How lack of sleep at the beginning of real labor can cause problems? I'm too stubborn to take my own damn advice."

Wilson paused, not sure how to answer that. She was exactly right. "Turn off your phone and pager and take a nap in your office today. I'm sure people will understand."

"I can't. I've got work to do. There are a few things I must take care of before I go on leave."

"No, you'll do it. No excuses." Wilson couldn't believe he had to knock such sense into Cuddy. Normally that was a job reserved only for House.

She sighed while sadly looking outside the passenger side window. Normally James wasn't like this with her, but he had to be feeling the stress as well. Hell, she was responsible for his lack of sleep too, which now made her feel guilty. "House hasn't said anything yet."

"He likes putting things off until the last possible minute. He'll probably tell you he wants to be involved while you're pushing the baby out."

Cuddy laughed, knowing he was right. "I don't know. The longer this goes on, the chances a c-section will happen. I've been told from the very beginning a woman my age is likely to have one anyway."

"Does that bother you?"

"Sort of. I know I'll get a healthy baby out of it either way, but there's something about pushing the baby out that seems more natural. It's what every mother hopes for."

She stopped talking when a slow pain hit her, causing her to hold her breath for ten seconds before it subsided.

"That one seemed to be a little more painful," Wilson said, shifting his look to concern.

"Yes, it was. Still, they aren't progressing."

"As soon as we get in you should have a quick OB exam. Just to see if anything has changed with the cervix."

"I'm overreacting."

"Just because you're a doctor doesn't mean that you aren't entitled to a routine exam. One of the OB nurses can do it. They'll want to help out the Dean of Medicine because they like sucking up."

She wanted to argue further, but knew that it would be easier if she gave up. It couldn't hurt. "Fine."

Wilson smiled. "It has to happen sometime soon. There's no need to rush it."

"I dare you men to try this sometime."

Wilson tried to avoid laughter so to not set her off. "That was another thing Chase warned me about. I forgive your irrationality. At least you can't curse at me for doing this to you."

"You're House's proxy. Consider this your warning, you're getting an earful, your fault or not."

Wilson gave her a cheeky smile. "Yes dear."

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"She started having contractions?" Cameron asked while she put down Ethan at the daycare nursery. She was surprised to see Wilson hanging around outside the center as she was dropping the twins off.

"They're light, probably pre-labor."

"41 weeks." Cameron shuddered. "I couldn't handle thirty-five. Probably because I had two of them. So why are you here at the center?"

"I'm really not sure. This baby thing has be wondering what it's like. I came to watch kids play."

"You work with kids all the time."

"Cancer kids. They don't exactly behave the same." Wilson looked down at Emily and Ethan, both who were staring at him with deep curiosity. He liked that. "Yours are getting pretty big."

"All the freaking breast milk they want. It's nice they are here at the hospital with me. I can come down twice a day and feed them. I don't have to pump."

"Great info to share with a clueless man." Wilson joked.

With the twins all settled, Cameron grabbed her bag and she and Wilson headed out to the main part of hospital. "Do you mind if I ask what your role will be with this baby? Surrogate father?"

"For now. It all depends how serious we get and if House chooses to take any kind of role."

Cameron sweetly smiled at his casual approach to all this. "I think what you're doing for Dr. Cuddy is fantastic. I don't know how I could have done this alone."

Wilson humbly smiled.

Cameron's eyes lit up when a great idea crossed her mind. "You'll have to suggest this to Cuddy, but we should do a play date."

"Play date?"

Cameron laughed. "Oh boy, follow me to diagnostics. You've got a few things to learn."

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"How are you doing?" It had been a couple of hours since Wilson had checked in. He had missed Cuddy at lunch, but he figured no news was better than bad.

"I'm still having contractions, but they are mild and not at regular intervals. The OB check showed I'm still at only one centimeter, which was where I was at my last doctor visit. It's pre-labor."

Wilson nodded. "You able to get any work done?"

"I've been trying, but the interruptions have been constant. It's as if everyone all of a sudden realized I might not be here tomorrow. It will likely be several more days." Her voice broke during the last sentence and her eyes glazed over a little.

He walked around the desk and wrapped his arms around her to help calm her distress. "You see, you're doing exactly what you said you shouldn't do. You are stressing yourself into excess worry. You need a break." He grasped her hand and guided her over to the couch.

"You're right," she said fighting back tears. "I just-"

"Shhh," he interrupted. "No talking. Just resting."

He tried to hold her, but only felt her rigid posture and found from her position switching that she couldn't get comfortable. "Do I have to sedate you?"

"No," she scowled. "I'm trying to relax."

Wilson couldn't take her behavior anymore. He stood up, and put his hands on his hips. "That's it. I'm taking you home."

"No, it's best if I stay here. I'll calm down, I promise." Cuddy knew when James got upset, he was really upset.

"This isn't good for you or the baby. You can do breathing exercises and stretching at home, take a long bath and sleep in a comfortable bed. I'll be there to help."

"No bed is comfortable these days," she protested.

"You know what, you're the head of this hospital. I'll take you up to maternity and you can order an inducement right now."

"You know I can't do that."

"You can though, but you know as well as I do medically these things shouldn't be rushed. I'm taking you home. Maternity leave starts today."

She held out her hands flat to calm him. She needed him to be reasonable. "James, is it possible we stay here? I don't feel like straying far and we can be comfortable here."

"This is the worst possible place to be right now. You need to avoid a high stress environment. I'll carry you kicking and screaming if I have to."

Cuddy dropped her lower lip in a minor pout. He would do it with hesitation. "Fine, give me one hour for final instructions."

"One hour. I'm not afraid of making a scene." His expression didn't let up from his stern warning.

She nodded and waddled her large body over to the desk. He noticed her discomfort, but she wasn't heavy pain. He left the office, watching carefully to make sure she was okay until she was out of sight.

"Yes Dr. Cuddy?" The voice on the other end of the speakerphone asked.

"Get me Pamela Foreman."

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Pamela entered the office Foreman and Chase shared. They were both at their desks, so she took her spot at the conference table.

"There are far better places to hide," Foreman told her. "What's the problem now?"

"Cuddy went on maternity leave effective immediately. I'm now officially the temporary head honcho."

"Congratulations?" Chase said with uncertainty.

"No, it means with her new job plus her project for Jerry, I won't be seeing my wife for the next few months." Foreman protested.

"Is Cuddy in labor?" Chase asked.

"She mentioned pre-labor. She seemed more frustrated and stressed out than anything. Besides, she should have been gone a week or two ago. I'm thankful for the delay. I was able to get some things done."

Pamela's pager went off. She rolled her eyes when she noticed it was House. She was warned long ago he would start harassment immediately. "$50 if either of you answer this."

Chase and Foreman looked at each other and shrugged. "I take that action." Chase said. "So House ends up yelling at me. What's new? That's easy money."

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Wilson felt her thrashing again. It took him all afternoon to calm her down and finally get some rest. It looked like it was short-lived. "Lisa, you need to settle down."

She tensed up, held her breath, and bit her lip for twenty seconds. "The contractions getting stronger. This is for real."

"How do you know?"

"A searing pain from my back to my front. They are ten to fifteen minutes apart. Can you check my cervix?"

Wilson didn't have to pull back any covers on the bed since she was lying on top of them. She was sweating, but slightly shivering too. He did a check. "It still looks like one centimeter, possibly two."

"Any unusual discharge?"

"No."

She cursed and took even breaths to calm herself. "It's still going to be a while. You should go sleep in the guest room. I need my coach wide awake later if this turns out to be the real thing."

Wilson was appalled she'd even suggest such a thing. "I can't leave you. What if you need me?"

"Then I'll come wake you up. If you stay here I'll only keep you awake."

"I'm not leaving you. If I get too tired, I know where House's stash of amphetamines is."

Cuddy got really irritated. "You're not helping me while on speed. No go. This time I'm putting my foot down."

He saw logic in her argument, and unlike her, he had no problem sleeping. "Okay. I'm doing this only for you. Wake me for anything. Nothing is too stupid."

"I will." She offered a reassuring smile, but it quickly faded when he was out of sight. She felt another jab in her gut. "Stop torturing me you little brat," she said to her stomach before rolling over.

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Pamela and Cameron entered the diagnostics conference room, both cackling like a pair of hens. House watched them both with one eyebrow raised, wondering how many martinis went into their lunch. No, it was pretty early in the morning. Breakfast. He smiled, wondering why he didn't have such a liquid breakfast.

"It's rude not to share your funny story with others in the room." He said.

"Why of course House. We'd love to share." Pamela said pleasantly. "We were sharing amusing anecdotes about Robert and Eric in bed. Want us to start at the beginning?"

"I'm not sure. Does it all end with chipmunk faces? If it does, I'm bored."

Cameron and Pamela didn't want to honor that question with an answer, so Cameron chose to get to the point. "We went through the guidelines. I told her no problem."

"No problem? You aren't supposed to give up the farm. Why did I think you could handle this? I knew you wouldn't say no to your best friend."

"We aren't giving up anything," Cameron explained. "We are going to have to sit here for a while and hash some things out."

"Great," House said before heading toward his office. "Let me know what you figure out."

"No," Cameron said, "you need to be a part of this."

House whined. "I'll approve whatever you say."

"Not good enough," Pamela said. "I'm your boss now and I need sign off from the head of each department for these changes. You're staying."

House dropped his head in defeat, dragged himself over to the table and slumped into a chair. "Since you've got me into this mess," he said to Cameron, "the least you can do is get me some coffee."

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Wilson jumped abruptly out of his sleep. The bright sunlight breaking through the windows told him he had slept a while. He rolled over and couldn't believe the time. 8:45 am. He jumped out of bed and threw some clothes on. He had to find Lisa.

She wasn't in the bedroom or the master bathroom. He went downstairs and didn't find her in the kitchen or living room either. Finally, he heard noises coming from the downstairs bathroom. He opened the door to find her hanging all over the toilet.

"Are you vomiting?" He rushed to her side, worried sick.

She choked a few more times before taking in some deep breaths. "Puking my guts out is more like it."

"Your body is responding to the beginning of the labor process." He pressed the palm on his hand on her back, hoping to calm her down a bit.

"This little brat seems to love to torture me like its dad. I'm done for."

Wilson's attempt at comfort and support offered minor success at best. "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"You needed the rest."

"I needed it? Look at you. Did you sleep at all?"

"A little, until I started feeling nauseous and I'm now cramping. No change elsewhere though. The contractions are still light and ten minutes apart."

"Do you want me to check?"

"No. I'll just be more frustrated."

He had enough of watching her suffer like this. He'd been a doctor long enough to trust his instincts over something not being right. He grabbed her purse. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"To the hospital. Someone needs to check you out."

"I'm fine."

"I'd rather your OB say that, given he's the specialist and all."

Cuddy's protest continued with her glaring eyes.

"What's the worst that can happen? He sends you home. Maybe they'll decide to induce. A mother your age shouldn't be going through this much physical stress."

Cuddy felt another wave of chills hit her, and the urge to throw up. She gasped for air over the toilet, and then regained control. "Make sure you take some bags for me in the car."

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"I thought I told you never to call me like this," House said into his phone in a paranoid whisper.

"I don't have time for your jokes now. I need your help." Wilson said on the other end with serious tone.

"I don't know Jimmy. This is so-"

"It's Lisa."

That got House's attention. "Where are you?"

"Her office. She's been going through a very slow onset of labor the last two days. She's nauseous, has sweating and chills and it's progressively getting worse. Her doctor just checked her and found BP and fetal heart rate normal, so he sent her home."

"Dilation and effacement?"

"Two centimeters and ninety percent."

"She's in early labor. These things take time." House needed more to go by than that.

"House, they told her to keep changing positions and drink plenty of fluids. She can't keep fluids down and each change of position causes her to be winded. I can't explain this, but I have this feeling something isn't right."

"You're being a paranoid father to be."

"The father to be is you and damn right I'm being paranoid!" He managed to not raise the volume of his voice despite the increased frustration in his words.

"She's a forty year old woman trying to go through the intense physical stress of delivering a baby. Her body gets tired quicker."

"I want to run some tests and I need help."

"There are no tests for severe obstetric complications other than an ultrasound. I assume blood work was clean?"

"In reasonable parameters for a woman in labor, and the crude office ultrasound looked normal too. I figured I'd do further some tests on the heart and lungs, rule out hypotension and get a more detailed ultrasound."

"I think you're being-"

"Please House. I usually trust your instincts, I need you to trust mine."

House sighed on the other end. Normally he would love to use this opportunity to get out of his meeting, but he didn't want to put it off for such a routine exam. He never wanted to see Pamela in his office again. "Okay, I need to finish up a few things here with Cameron and the Wicked Witch of the West. It will only take about fifteen more minutes. I'll call Chase and Foreman and have them get started. Get her a room and we'll do a full exam."

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Wilson helped a weakened Cuddy walk to the empty hospital room that Brenda arranged. He thought the walk might help, it normally did for a woman in labor, but each step was sapping her of energy. Now he wished he had a wheelchair, but they were close. "Just a few more steps Lisa." She didn't respond. She was too tired.

"She's experiencing fatigue?" Chase asked, alarmed by how weak she was, taking the other side to help Wilson.

"This just started on the way up here." Wilson answered.

They helped her into the bed, then Chase hooked up a CTS monitor for fetal heart rate and Foreman wrapped a cuff around her upper arm to check the vitals.

"Any strange symptoms?" Chase asked, not liking the pallor of her skin.

"Nothing unheard of for labor. Nausea, sweating with chills."

"The CBC and urinalysis was okay when she saw the doctor this morning?"

"Yep, everything was in reasonable parameters."

Foreman finished his part of the examination. "BP is a little low. Was it that low before?"

Wilson looked at the number on the monitor and couldn't believe it dropped that badly. "No, an hour ago it was normal, borderline raised."

"Pulse is high too. She's looking mildly hypotensive. What does the fetal monitor say?" Foreman asked Chase.

"So far it looks good. A perfect rhythm."

"Do you mind if I do an OB check, Dr. Cuddy?" Foreman asked.

"Go for it. You're not seeing anything half the nursing staff hasn't seen."

Right when he was about to check, Cuddy got a strong contraction. Foreman and Chase looked at each other with concern, none too pleased how much trouble she was having breathing through it. Foreman did his check, while Chase looked at the read out for the contraction. Nothing unusual.

"No heavy discharge or bleeding." Foreman said, finishing his exam.

Cuddy wanted to respond, but coughed lightly instead. That got Chase's attention. "You having other problems, like maybe a bad taste in your mouth?"

"Yes," Cuddy said, surprised he caught onto that. "What is it? What do you think is happening?"

"Nothing," Chase said with a reassuring smile. "The signs aren't all there." That look instantly changed when he read the fetal monitor. The signs were there now. His face grew panicked and he grabbed the phone at lightening speed. "This is Dr. Chase. We're on our way an emergency c-section right now."

"What did you see?" Foreman asked while unhooking the monitors.

"Fetal heart rate just showed variability." Chase said, unlocking the wheels of the bed on his side. Foreman quickly did the same on his side, and all three men wasted no time in rolling her out of the room.

"Variability?" Cuddy asked weakly but alarmed. "How bad? Is the baby breathing?"

"I can't tell from one reading, but it doesn't seem bad yet." Chase replied as they loaded her into the elevator. "It can get that way fast though, and we don't want to take chances with fetal hypoxia."

"Hypoxia? You think there's internal bleeding? There's no vaginal bleeding." Cuddy could still think clear enough to run all the complications through her head. "The only other possible cause is...oh God."

"Don't think that," Wilson told her reassuringly while holding her hand. "If it was that, I'm sure we caught it in time."

"Amniotic Fluid Embolisms onset within minutes. I don't have much time."

Her breathing became more labored right when the elevator arrived at Labor and Delivery and they rushed down the hall with an entire team to the OR.

"James," she said between heavy breaths, "you have to take care of the baby for me."

"You're going to be fine Lisa. The baby will be out in a couple of minutes and it will all be okay."

He barely finished the sentence before her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Chase pulled out a stethoscope and checked her chest as they moved the bed into proper position in the OR. "She's hypoxic. No breath sounds!"

He jumped into action, working to get her intubated while Foreman administered the IV and got the paddles ready. If this was AFE, cardiac arrest would happen in a minute.

While Chase and Foreman worked on Cuddy, the surgical team had already started the c-section with Wilson watching every move. They were making the incision when the noise of someone barging in got everyone's attention.

"You don't need to be here Dr. House," the surgeon sternly said.

"He's the father," Wilson clarified, glancing over at his distraught best friend.

For such a bombshell, the surgeon showed no reaction. "Okay, stay out of the way."

The surgeon knew how critical time now was. In less than a minute he made the incision, spread apart the newly created opening in the uterus and pulled the baby out. It was slightly blue in color.

"He's not breathing!" a nurse shouted when the doctor handed the child off to her and freed him of the umbilical cord. The neonatal team took over and worked to resuscitate the baby. House and Wilson moved closer to the team and watched their frantic efforts. Aside from not breathing, the infant looked perfect. "He?" House asked, the sex of the baby now sinking in.

"That looks like a boy to me." Wilson said in a nervous voice, beating himself up for not trusting his instincts sooner.

An alarm went off on the other side of the OR. "Cardiac arrest!" Chase shouted.

House and Wilson shifted their attention back to Cuddy, who was now crashing on the OR table. Chase did chest compressions while a nurse followed his order and administered adrenaline. Foreman jumped in with the paddles on cue. After two attempts, the monitor beeped, showing a heart rhythm.

"We have a pulse, but she's tachycardic. I need three mg dopamine." Chase ordered.

House and Wilson's attention shifted again to noises coming from behind them. Cries of a newborn infant. They turned around to see the neonatal team taking a breath of relief. On the table was an upset, but healthy baby boy. His color was now turning slightly red, but that was from the crying.

Wilson let his shoulders drop a bit in relief. "He's okay." House nodded apprehensively, still watching the neonatal team trying to get the infant stable enough for transport to the NICU.

House tuned out everything happening on both tables to stare at the boy, who had already faced his first big obstacle in life and overcame it. The kid was a fighter and that made him proud. He knew the child might face another, as he glanced over to at the team tending to Cuddy. He gently grasped the child's large foot and smiled. Big feet, just like your dad.

"Dr. House, I need you to move," a nurse told him, ready to transport the baby. He shook himself out of his moment of bonding and stepped out of the way.

"House, I'm going with them to the NICU." Wilson said. "If anything changes with Lisa, call me."

"Just look for us in the ICU."

Wilson gave him a sad smile and then looked at Chase and Foreman, thankful that she was in the best hands possible.

"Go!" House told Wilson as the team left with the baby. "Our son needs you."

Wilson wasted no more time and quickly followed.

House limped back to Cuddy. He stood like a statue, watching every move his former employees made, relieved that they knew exactly what they were doing. He watched Chase and Foreman cannulate the right radial artery and insert a catheter in the jugular. They were trying to get the intra-arterial BP. "You see any coagulopathy?" He asked once they started getting readings.

"20mmHg," Chase replied with some disappointment. "She's headed straight for it. We're getting blood gasses now. If it doesn't improve, I'll do a transfusion of FFP and cryoprecipitate."

House nodded and decided he couldn't do anything more. He turned away and decided to wait outside.