Hey, guys! So new chapter...and I guess I'm going to keep this going as long as y'all want me to, so keep reviewing! Just as a reminder and backstory incase you haven't seen all the episodes of House: In Season 5's episode "Under My Skin," Amber Volakis (Wilson's dead girlfriend who was also in applicant for the fellowship positions in Season 4) was in House's hallucinations before he went to rehab for Vicodin abuse. So, other than that... enjoy :)

Cuddy was beaten and bruised. House stood over her his former boss, who was now dressed in peasant clothes instead of her tight-fitting blouses and pencil skirts that he was accustomed to seeing her in. She lay sprawled across the driveway in front of her old house, surrendering to starvation and death crossing over her.

"What happened?" House asked, but his words came out jumbled and broken, like a stroke patient trying to speak. Somehow though, Cuddy understood. She responded with perfect clarity, the melody of her voice unscathed and smooth like he remembered, which was very contradictory to her appearance.

"You broke me," she replied curtly. She moaned in pain, and her skin began to darken as the world around them began to brighten. Another Cuddy appeared in her place. A normal one. A beautiful one.

"You did this to me," she snapped at him, "You son of a bitch. You don't care about anyone except yourself..." she was screaming at him. And all House could do was watch her tear him down. "You could have everything," she said. And then she was gone, and all there was was broken Cuddy again, on the ground.

House watched as her hair suddenly became a lion's mane of flames, and suddenly he was closer to her-on his knees, next to her. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He reached out to touch her, and as he did a hospital bed appeared beneath her, and a hospital room appeared around them to match.

The exam room was far too big and empty, and seemed to have a swallowing effect on both of them.

He could feel her pulse in the dank air.

"We've got a pulse! She's okay!" House exclaimed to no one. House sat up and looked around, no one was there. No Cuddy. It was just him. On his couch. In his livingroom. Alone.

"Come in," Cuddy replied to the persistent knock on her office door.

Dr. Asher walked in and put a file on Cuddy's desk, running his fingers through his streaked blonde hair. "Liver biopsy. Rafferty's gonna do it." He sat down casually on the chair across from Cuddy's desk.

Cuddy cleared her throat and opened the file, scanning over it's content.

"You think it's cancer?" Cuddy asked doubtfully.

"Could be."

Cuddy pursed her lips, and signed on the dotted line. Asher took the file back. He adjusted his lab coat and stood up, "You got anything going on Friday?"

"Yes," Cuddy replied automatically.

Asher bit his lip and awkwardly turned to exit the office, "Oh, nevermind then."

Cuddy sighed and massaged her temples as the door shut. Why did she turn people away like that? Dr. Asher was a perfectly good looking dude; nice and funny. And when he'd met Rachel at the Valentines Day party, he seemed great with kids. Hall Asher was the picket fence guy for her. This was all too déjà-vu.

Lucas. God was giving her another Lucas. Had she not ended it with Lucas, none of the crap that had happened with House would have happened. This was her second chance at a husband, maybe. Cuddy stood up, tripping briefly over her heels in her haste, and went after her second chance.

"Would you stop that?" Masters snapped irritably.

House ripped another sheet off his prescription pad and began fashioning it into an airplane.

"Stop what?" House asked, raising his eyebrows, "If you're referring to me being an ass, then no. I can't."

"Any cases?" Foreman asked as he entered.

House made his final folds, "Just the case of Masters waking up on the wrong side of the jungle." He glanced toward the redhead, and gave a quick impersonation of a tiger baring it's teeth.

As Foreman went to sit down, House turned back to his paper airplane. Once the flaps were carefully folded under and over, he contemplated who should be his next victim. Foreman's reaction would be boring and subdued, and he'd already seen Masters flip her little smartass lid enough today. Personally, he was enjoying the bliss of her not talking. So the only other person in the room was Amber. He poked his fingers under the flaps and prepared to throw. And then, he stopped.

He closed his eyes. And opened them. But lone behold, there was Cutthroat Bitch standing there; paging through a medical book.

She looked up when she saw him staring, "Oh, hey. Nice of you to let me back in."

House felt the paper airplane drop out of his grip. "No."

Masters looked up from her book, "What?" she asked, turning in her chair to follow House's gaze. She looked back at House, "What's wrong?"

Giving no response, he stood up, grabbed his cane, and limped to Wilson's office. Amber followed.