Thank you for the reviews and here is the next instalment!

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Cuddy moved into the house on Friday. Not that she knew it at the time; she had been under the impression that the move would take place on the Saturday, but House, Blythe and Kasumii had watched her stress over it all ever since the move was decided and they came to the conclusion that it was best to surprise her with it. It was best for her, and it was best for the movers; chances were that someone would have been moved to murder had Cuddy been present when the men packed her things (the not personal items that Cuddy hadn't already packed with Blythe and Kasumii's help), wrapped protective mats round her furniture and generally got everything ready for the move – and then reversed it all at the house under the watchful eye of Gail, the interior decorator.

Once all the furniture and other things were in place and Gail had gone over the house and done the last checks – placing fresh flowers in vases and things like that – and she and the movers had left, Blythe and Kasumii unpacked the boxes that had been marked private with a black marker. The boxes that had been marked private with a red marker they left for Cuddy to unpack. Those were the things Cuddy didn't want anyone else to see. House, of course, had tried to divert those boxes into his flat, but Blythe had been alert for some devilry from him so that disaster had been avoided. Of course, had House not been at work when the move took place he might have succeed in his dastardly plan, but now the boxes were safely in Cuddy's room.

Once the move was complete, Blythe called House at work and House took Cuddy for a walk with him and Aiko (who was with him at work) and made a full confession. It was a good thing he had taken her out of the hospital, because – even with Aiko there – she had yelled at him for fifteen minutes about privacy and her right to make her own decision and his gall and presumption and nerve in making decisions on her behalf about things that should not have been any of his business and that he need not look so innocent she knew he was the one who egged Sheridan's car, and though she completely adored that action, he was still a doctor and a professional and she could not and would not condone such conduct from her doctors in her hospital, and God he was annoying and how dare he make her yell at him when Aiko was there, and there better be not a single scratch in any of her things and if someone had dared to unpack her personal items for her she was going to strangle House and to Heck with having a father for her kids, they would be better off without him anyway, since all he would teach them was disrespect and all sorts of stupid pranks and how to be a right royal pain in he ass! And darn it if Gregory junior wasn't kicking her in the kidneys again! And it was all House's fault. All of it.

"I thought he was supposed to be Trey?" House observed from his seat at the pick-nick table. He was sitting down holding Aiko in his arms (and Aiko was taking in the whole scene with wide eyes and interested silence; adults could be really funny sometimes – it was a good thing she was safe in her father's arms or it could almost get scary). Cuddy had paced the ground in front of him, but having thrown her last accusation at him she, too, had blobbed down on the bench.

"When he isn't kicking my kidneys he is," Cuddy replied accusingly.

"I see," House nodded. "So when the kids are born, you will call them my kids when they are naughty but they will be your kids when they are being little angels?"

"Since they are your kids," Cuddy sighed. "They will most definitely behave like little angels only when they are planning like little devils."

"Could be," House admitted. "But I still didn't egg Sheridan's car!"

"And I still don't believe you," Cuddy said. "You had to have something to do with it!"

"I was with Miss Hill!" House stated. "Ask her. Surely you don't believe even for a moment that she would lie for me, or even Wilson."

"I suppose," Cuddy relented.

"Now, what about this move?" House got back to the original subject. "Are you ok with it? Not that I can cancel it, but still."

"I don't like you taking over my life," Cuddy fretted.

"I have no intention of doing that," House reassured her. "But unfortunately as long as you are pregnant, your life cannot be entirely your own. You have to accept that sometimes we, not just me, but others around you, will conspire some things for your own good. You don't even realise how much you stress about some things, and we really don't want you to be forced to spend the rest of your pregnancy in bed. Especially not in a hospital bed, since being a patient in PPTH while Sheridan is running the hospital is the last thing you need."

"So once the trips are born I get my life back?" Cuddy asked with some suspicion.

"Yes," House confirmed. "Mind you, your health is still important, so if we see you behave stupidly we will talk to you, but conspiring behind your back will end."

"Ok then," Cuddy bit her lip and thought for a while. "Ok then. Fine. I'm fine. Not happy, but I'm fine."

"So, is G.J. really kicking your kidneys?" House asked after a short silence.

"No, he isn't quite that far along yet," Cuddy admitted. "But since there isn't a lot of room in there when one of the trips moves they all move and though at first it was thrilling it can get a little uncomfortable now. Here, try yourself." Cuddy took House's hand and brought it to her belly. Even through her clothes he could feel that there was some definite activity going on in there.

"I suppose it's a good thing they are fighters," House mused. "The world being what it is."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Cuddy agreed. "And they definitely seem to be healthy and active."

"Do you need to sit for a while still or are you ready to get back to the hospital?" House asked.

"I'm fine," Cuddy said standing up. "Let's get back to work."

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After work Cuddy followed House in her car to her new home. She was still a little apprehensive about living with House, even with the rules and parameters they had agreed on, but it was still best for the kids, so she supposed that they would work it out. Somehow.

Once she got to her room and had had time to go over the whole house now that everything was in place she felt that she could really make a home for herself and her children – it still blew her away to know that she was going to have children! In the plural. House had gone to his own flat right away leaving Cuddy to Blythe and Kasumii's care, but even they had let Cuddy go over the house alone. Once that was done the other women waited for Lisa in the kitchen with tea and cookies.

"So?" Blythe asked. "Are you mad at us?"

"No," Lisa told them. "House took me to the jogging park to tell me what had been done and I got all the yelling out of the way there. Aiko probably thought I had lost my mind, poor dear."

"I think she has already learned that her father can have that effect on people," Kasumii observed as she poured the tea.

"That would be my guess," Blythe agreed knowing full well the sort of son she had. Perfect though he might be.

"Well at least I found out that he didn't egg Sheridan Rawls' car," Cuddy sighed.

"He didn't?" Kasumii was surprised she had totally assumed House was behind that.

"Not that he wasn't involved," Cuddy amended. "He just didn't do the actual egging. It was only his plan once they decided to do it."

"Well I knew he was somewhere in there," Blythe shrugged. "So who was it? Miss Hill?"

"How...?" Cuddy turned to stare at Blythe. "Oh, silly me, House told you right?"

"No," Blythe denied. "He wouldn't do that. But if it wasn't him, then Miss Hill was rather the obvious other choice."

"Not obvious to me," Cuddy said. "I wouldn't have believed it had Anna not told me herself."

"Actually, it's not so incredible," Kasumii mused. "Once you think it through. She is loyal to you, and she doesn't like the power-games that Rawls obviously enjoys playing."

"Well one thing we will know for sure is that Sheridan Rawls will not set a foot in this house, so let's leave him behind – where he belongs." Blythe decided.

"Works for me," Kasumii said.

"Me too," Cuddy said lifting her cup of tea and the ladies toasted each others

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During Saturday Cuddy unpacked the final boxes and settled into her new life. It was a little awkward at first, because she wasn't used to sharing her house, but she did have her own room where she could hide if she needed. She knew there were a lot of things that she needed to adjust to, she knew that there were going to be difficulties – with House there always was – but she also knew that it would be ok. They would, somehow, make it. As House had said, there was no cancelling the Trips now; they would have to make it work. It would be alright.

That was, if she just could get some sleep! Cuddy couldn't find a comfortable position in her bed. It had nothing to do with having moved, since she had moved her bed with her, but it had everything to do with the extra passengers she was carrying around these days. She could not lie on her stomach, she could not lie on her back, and – it seemed – she couldn't lie on her side either. She did consider trying to sleep standing on her head, but that was just a wild thought. Whatever, she needed to go to the bathroom and then she needed something to drink. At least tomorrow was a Sunday, so she didn't need to go to work.

When Cuddy approached the kitchen she realised she wasn't the only one awake. The lights were on in there. She assumed that it was either Blythe or Kasumii but it turned out to be House who was raiding the fritz.

"I thought you had your own kitchen," Cuddy yawned.

"I do," House replied finishing his sandwich. "But it's empty. Besides, this floor was supposed to be common ground anyway."

"True," Cuddy nodded getting a glass and opening the fritz in search of something to drink. She settled for some apple juice. "I just didn't expect to find you here at this hour. Mind you, I didn't expect to be here myself at this hour."

"The Trips keeping you up?" House asked.

"Not exactly," Cuddy replied. "I just cannot find a comfortable position in my bed. That has been a problem for couple of weeks now."

"Your mattress is probably too soft," House observed. "Now that the pregnancy is moulding your spine to accommodate your tummy and the extra passengers you need a firmer bed. We better get you a new mattress tomorrow."

"Why didn't I think of that," Cuddy wondered. It was such an obvious solution.

"According to one theory pregnant women get less blood to their brains," House remarked waiting for Cuddy's reaction.

"You are telling me that being pregnant dumbs me down?" Cuddy gave him a dangerous glare.

"I just pointed out that a theory like that exists," House shrugged innocently.

"Yeah, right," Cuddy huffed. "I would really need to be stupid to believe that."

"You would need to be," House smiled. "If it comforts you any, I think that even dumbed down you are smarter than most people."

"Well, it does help a little," Cuddy relented. "But it doesn't make my bed any more comfortable for tonight."

"Come on," House said getting up. "You can sleep in my bed. My leg prefers a firm bed and I'm sure the Trips will be happy with it, too."

"If you give me your bed," Cuddy wondered. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"In my bed," House spelled out. "It's big enough for us both for one night. It was once before, after all."

"That was a once-in-a-life-time event," Cuddy put her back up.

"Relax," House told her. "You are nearly six months pregnant! Do you really think I would do anything you didn't want to? Mind you, if you want, I'm game. You and the girls look eminently appealing. But it is entirely up to you. I'm perfectly happy to just sleep."

"Can I trust you?" Cuddy wasn't quite sure how to take House's offer.

"If that was a general question," House mused. "Then the answer is no. But if you were referring to this particular situation, then yes, you can."

Cuddy stared into House's eyes for a moment. She was tired and House was a friend, at least on some level, so probably she could trust him.

"And, in case you have forgotten, we do have my Mom to face tomorrow morning," House pointed out. "How badly do you think I would behave with her around?"

"You do have a point there," Cuddy had to admit.

"So?" House asked. "Are we having a sleep-over? We do have Aiko there as a chaperon if it's just appearances that you worry about."

"Aiko?" Cuddy repeated. "She is still sleeping in your room? I just assumed that now that she has a room of her own you would have her sleep there."

"I just thought it would be best to introduce her to the new sleeping arrangements gradually," House shrugged.

"Right," Cuddy smiled not believing him even for a second. "Ok, if Aiko is there to chaperon us, I guess it's ok. Fine, we'll have a sleep-over." Cuddy decided to follow House to his lair. She just hoped she was right in trusting him and didn't end up as the fly to his spider.