I better get some reviews! Especially with how long this chapter is! Oh and I dunno if I'll be updating "After The Bombs" this week, I've got writer's block! :(

"You THINK you're having contractions? How can you THINK you're having contractions? Go back to sleep. They're probably just Braxton Hicks." House grumbled, burying his head under his pillow. The last thing he needed was another of Cuddy's paranoid false alarms.

"They're not. Braxton Hicks." He heard her say from under his pillow. She sounded distressed. He stuck his head back out from under the pillow and looked at her. Her teeth were clenched and one hand was digging into the mattress, and not in a good way. "My water broke. It's not Braxton Hicks." She tossed the blanket aside revealing a wet spot on the bed. House rubbed his face and sighed. Just great, this was the last thing they needed.

"Let me call Wilson, we'll drop Rachel off with him and he'll take her to Julia's." He said calmly, reaching for his cellphone.

"Hurry." Cuddy squeaked urgently as another contraction hit her. House punched in Wilson's number.

"Cuddy's having contractions. We're dropping off Rachel so you can take her to Julia's." He said before Wilson could respond.

"She's not due for another nine weeks.. Are you sure it's not Braxton Hicks?"

"Her water broke. It's not Braxton Hicks."

"HOUSE."

"We'll see you in a few." House replied before hanging up.

He took a deep breath, walked over to the other side of the bed and helped her stand.

"Alright Cuddles, do you think you can put your shoes on on your own or do I need to help you?"

"I can do it myself. Grab me a sweater, forget about an over night bag, we'll worry about that later." House rolled his eyes as he changed into some jeans and a tee shirt. The woman was going into labor and she was still telling him what to do. "Help me change!"

"Why do you need to change? You're going to be in a hospital gown anyway. Besides weren't you just screaming at me to get off the phone?"

"That's because I was having a contraction and you were busy yapping away with Wilson over how I'm not due for another nine weeks! Now help me change!" He rolled his eyes again before walking over to her dresser, pulling out a pair of her sweats and a blue shirt that was his and handing to her.

He helped her dress before helping her into the car.

"You doing okay?" He asked as he shut her door.

"I'm as good as I could be. Go get Rachel."

He reentered the house and scooped Rachel up from her bed.

"Daddy?" The little girl said groggily.

"I'm here. We're gonna leave you at uncle Wilson's okay? He's going to take you to your aunt Julia's.." Rachel just nodded before settling herself against his shoulder as he locked the door behind him.

"I just had another one." Cuddy said as he strapped Rachel into her seat.

"How far apart are they?"

"Ten minutes."

"Call Wilson. Tell him to wait for us outside so he can take her to Julia's right away. You know how he'll get if he misses this." Cuddy laughed softly, and House placed a reassuring hand on her thigh.

"You'll be fine." He said as he pulled out of the driveway.

Another contraction hit her as they pulled up in front of Wilson's. That made two in the last 30 minutes. Her hand gripped the dashboard and she clenched her teeth, waiting for it to end as House watched her nervously. Wilson walked up and opened the back seat door and gently lifting Rachel out. House exited the car and she watched through the windshield as they put Rachel's car seat into Wilson's Volkswagen. He returned and they started their drive to Princeton General.

Montgomery had transferred there and she had informed Cuddy that should she go into early labor to call her and head over. They pulled into a spot in General's parking lot. House helped her out of the car and she squeezed his hand, pulling her sweater closer around her. It maybe early August, but it was almost four in the morning, and this was New Jersey. It was always chilly so early in the morning.

"Patient name?" The woman at the admissions desk asked as they reached her.

"Lisa Cuddy – House." Cuddy said faltering on the last word as another contraction hit her. The woman looked at her sympathetically.

"Well Ms. Cuddy – House, you'd be pleased to know that your doctor already everything set and ready for you. You don't need to fill out insurance papers and what not, it's all been taken care of. Can you make it to maternity or do you need a wheelchair?"

"I can make it." Cuddy nodded.

"Get her a wheelchair." House interrupted. "I can't support her should she need it. I'm crippled. Rather not risk it."

"You're an idiot." She said as they waited for the woman to return. Another contraction hit her and she groaned.

"Am I an idiot now?"

"No." She said in a strained voice, gripping her stomach.

House sat in a chair beside Cuddy's hospital bed, flipping through the channels. It was almost ten in the morning and from what it seemed like, he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. Cuddy's contractions had died down a bit and she was trying to get some sleep. Montgomery had informed them around five am that she was only three centimeters dilated, which meant they had a long wait. He rubbed his face and sighed. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready for having to keep another person safe. He wasn't good with babies. Rachel was an exception. She wasn't a baby. She was almost three. She was a toddler, that he could handle. But a baby? A tiny, helpless, human being? He didn't know if he could even carry the poor kid without dropping her because of his leg. Not to mention that this wasn't just any kid, it was his kid. Not only was this his kid, but his kid was being born premature. Thirty – seven weeks is the earliest babies should be born, not thirty – one. Those six weeks made all the difference when it came to an unborn child. There was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn't be able to leave the hospital for at least two months. He could just picture Cuddy's reaction to their kid being in an incubator for the first two months of her life. There could also be heart defects, and neurological problems. Just another problem to add, another misfortune to add to their lives. Hadn't they been through enough already?

"House?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

House watched as Cuddy rolled onto her side to face him.

"I'm fine." He said running a hand through her hair. "Don't worry about me. Try to get some rest."

"Can't. Contractions are back. You should get some sleep."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"Contractions are back." He said watching her smile. "You really think I'm gonna let you go through them alone?" He wasn't planning on sleeping until after the kid was born. There was no way he'd let her go through her contractions alone. She'd been beside him during so many of his own hospital stays. He needed to be there beside her when she needed him. He'd sleep when she slept. Or when Wilson showed up. Which ever came around first.

Wilson showed up around noon, and House took it as a chance to sneak down into the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat for himself and a snack for Cuddy. His trip took half an hour, seeing as he had no idea where General's cafeteria was, and it took him a while to find his way back upstairs.

He reentered the room and raised his eyebrows as Wilson cried out in pain. Cuddy was having another contraction, and from the looks of the grip she had on Wilson's hand it was agonizing. House smirked at Wilson's expression before pushing him aside and taking his place beside the bed.

"How many has she had since I left?"

"Four." Cuddy replied tiredly as it ended. "Every seven minutes."

House nodded before checking the fetal monitor. Everything was fine. He then proceeded to check Cuddy's monitor and was immediately concerned at her elevated blood pressure. It wasn't in the danger zone, but high blood pressure was always something to be careful of during childbirth, seeing as it could lead to complications and possibly death. Montgomery entered the room at that moment and House let out a relieved sigh.

"Her BP is elevated." He stated as she walked over to the monitors.

"Damn it. It was elevated the last time I came in as well, but it hasn't gone up, so that's a good sign."

"You know I can hear you both right?" Cuddy said from the bed.

"Of course we do Dr. Cuddy. I need to see how far you've dilated. How far apart are your contractions?"

"Seven minutes."

House watched as Wilson turned to look outside the window as Montgomery checked how far Cuddy had dilated and chuckled.

"Well you've dilated to six centimeters. You've only got four more to go. Now you do have the option of being administered an oxytocin IV to help speed up your contractions."

"No, no. I want to do this without the help of any drugs. Let nature take it's course."

House rolled his eyes as Montgomery exited the room.

"You should just take the drug. Get this over with already."

"No. I want to do this au natural." Cuddy said as she looked up at House, who was wearing an annoyed expression on his face.

"You're the one who's going to be going through unnecessary pain."

"Ah, you see, that's where you're wrong, because you will also be going through the pain with me, when I squeeze the living daylights out of your hand like I did to Wilson's." She said sinisterly, smirking at him.

House rolled his eyes before handing her the snack he'd bought her.

"I'm not hungry." She replied handing it back.

"Eat the chocolate bar Cuddles. You know you want too." He responded throwing it back at her. He chuckled when she opened it and took a bite. Women could never resist chocolate.

"God I hate you so fucking much for this." Cuddy cried as another core striking contraction hit her. It was nearing eight pm and her contractions were coming every three minutes. She was now dilated eight centimeters, and was waiting for Montgomery's okay to start pushing.

House released his hand from her strong grip and patted her face with a wet towel.

"You can do this Cuddy. A few more hours and it'll be all over."

"It better be less than a few more hours because I swear to god I will never let you have sex with me again." She panted through gritted teeth, not caring who heard her. The only people in the room besides them were Wilson and one of the nurses. Nurses were used to this kind of crap coming from patients all the time. Why should she keep her mouth shut at this moment and time? She was in excruciating pain and the only way she could express it was by making empty threats and spewing obscenities and a list of things she didn't mean.

She was tired. Her contractions had been coming in increased intervals since two, and six hours later they were coming every three minutes and she was ready to get it over with. She was tired of the pain. She didn't even know if she could do it anymore. She wondered if not choosing the drug was the right choice.

It was. She could do this without the help of drugs. The only thing she needed was her support system.

"Wilson go get her some ice chips."

She watched Wilson exit the room as yet another painful contraction hit her. She gripped House's hand and the railing beside her with all the strength she could muster.

"Fuck!" She cried as it ended and she felt press the cold towel against her cheeks again. She pressed the button on the side of the bed and Montgomery came in instead of a nurse.

"Okay , I'm going to see if you're fully dilated okay? If you are you can start pushing. I don't want to take any risks of tearing, even you're not to term yet, it's better to not take chances..." Cuddy waited for Montgomery finish examining her as she regulated her breathing.

"Okay, you're ready to go." The red haired doctor said enthusiastically as Wilson reentered the room with the ice chips.

"Won't be needing those." House said as Wilson joined him at his side.

"Okay. Dr. Cuddy, I need you to push. On three." Montgomery counted to three and House squeezed Cuddy's hand as she gave her first push.

"You're doing great Lisa. Again. One... two...three!"

House pushed her hair back as she collapsed against the pillows. The hours passed and it was almost midnight when the baby was starting to crown.

"I can't do it anymore."Cuddy cried after pushing for the umpteenth time. Wilson looked at House from across the bed sympathetically.

"Yes you can Cuddy."

"I can't. I can't. I'm too tired. I can't do it."

House rubbed his face and gingerly climbed up behind her in the bed. He freed freed Cuddy's hand from Wilson's and squeezed it.

"You can do this. We'll get through this together." He whispered reassuringly into her ear. She relaxed against his chest before she tried again.

"Can I see?" House asked as Cuddy gave another push. Montgomery had one of the nurses position a mirror so that House, Cuddy, and Wilson could see. House was pretty sure Cuddy would have opposed to Wilson being able to see but she was in so much pain that she simply didn't care. He watched as with each push their baby came closer and closer into entering the world.

"Just a few more Lisa.. You can do it." Wilson said from beside them. House rolled his eyes at Wilson's cheerleading.

"SHUT UP." Cuddy cried as House felt her squeeze his hands with all the strength she could muster. House let out a low chuckle.

"Just a few more.. Cuddles."

He watched through the mirror as Cuddy pushed on the next contraction and the baby's shoulders slid out. It took one more before the baby slid out of her completely.

"One more so you can deliver the placenta. Then you're done." said Montgomery as the nurses scrambled around the baby.

Cuddy gave one final push, collapsed against him and he kissed the top of her head as she cried into him.

"That's it. You're done." House said soothingly as he patted her hair. He detangled himself from behind her and moved towards the nurses, waiting with bated to hear the first cries. The cries came and he let out a relieved sigh. The nurses handed him a surgical scissor and he cut the umbilical cord, before they took her away to be properly cleaned and wrapped up.

LOOK! No cliffhanger! LEAVE A REVIEW! :D