Before we start, thanks for the feedback! I can't believe that this story's received over 1000 reviews and for that, I am completely amazed and have you all to thank for that!!

Two, I've been living up life in Houston for the past few days (originally from MA where there isn't anything to do at ALL), which is why there hasn't been any updates. But due to an extensive hangover from last night and not wanting to go out tonight, I've finished this chapter instead :)

Three, only one person had an issue with this, but I'll put it here anyway, just in case anyone else is curious. In an event like House and Cuddy's, a tragic plane crash in the middle of the ocean, a person can be legally defined as dead once search and rescue has been called off and no bodies have been found. Not seven years, as it would take a missing person to be declared legally dead.

Enjoy :)

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Cuddy wasn't sure she heard him correctly. She pulled her head back just far enough to look into his eyes. "What?" she asked, thinking her ears were playing tricks on her. Gregory House would never admit to loving her, unless he was excessively stoned or drunk. And it definitely wouldn't be with this much sincerity.

There was no smirk on his face, no smile, nothing to indicate he was joshing her. His hand remained on her cheek, the pad of his thumb brushing slowly across the soft surface of her chin.

"I love you. I won't let you go at this alone."

Just then, Walter burst through the door, interrupting their moment. "I've just called the cops and they'll be here any minute!"

"Good! We'll be sure to show them the original documents when they get here," House said, owning up to his promise to keep Cuddy safe and protected.

"House—"

"Where are they, Cuddy?" House asked, looking back at her.

"They were in her safety deposit box," her mother informed. "But now they're with our lawyer, along with the deed to the house and the title for the blue beamer that's now in Karen's name."

House sighed, long and hard. This was going too far and it needed to be stopped. "Mr. and Mrs. Cuddy, I know who your attorney is, and I know what he's doing is overstepping his power and infringing code."

Both their mouths dropped to the floor, as if they were both deer's caught in the headlights. Ellie wanted to say something but ended up faltering instead.

"How could you possibly know who our attorney is?" Walter's voice boomed.

"You don't know anything!" Ellie followed once she found her voice.

"His name is Sam, and he's a lawyer out of Texas. That's his wife standing behind you," he said, jutting his chin to Karen. "He's able to practice law in Texas, Washington, and New Jersey. What a coincidence."

"You don't know anything!" Ellie repeated in a state of shock.

"He knows everything about this family," Cuddy said, standing beside him. "In case you forgot, we spent the last two months together—every single moment from sunup to sundown. We had time to talk about a lot of things."

"And if you figured I didn't know anything, Mrs. Cuddy, you'd stop shouting that I didn't know anything. I'm no lawyer, but I do know that what's going on here is forgery and perjury. You figured you could get away with it because Lisa would never be found. She would never return here to testify against it as you filled in the blanks. You could forge documents and no one would know except for her and the attorney, who would in turn, sign the document and declare it valid. It's easy for the lawyer husband to do, isn't it, Karen? I bet this was your idea all along, wasn't it?"

"Those papers are legit!" Walter shouted, putting his foot down. His face grew beet red. "We didn't have to hire our son in law to forge anything! I suggest you get the hell out of here, Dr. House, before I throw you out." His voice sank low and dangerous. Beads of sweat grazed his forehead. House also noticed some nervous tension in the room now that he spilt out an assumption about their son in law.

"You're shaking an awful lot for someone who's telling the truth, Mr. Cuddy," House pointed out. "I suggest that you're the ones who leave. Or when the cops get here, along with Sam the legal representative, I'll have to point out the cold hard facts and tell them to look a little closer at the "new" will." House stepped forward slowly. "It'll sound so juicy that they'll want to sink their teeth right into it."

The Cuddy's and Karen stood their ground, at least for now. If they left and gave up, it would mean this whole thing was fraudulent. Either that or they knew it was a lie and were afraid to move. House smiled small. He finally found the kink in the chain. Now all he had to do was unknot it.

"I should also tell you that I know which officer they're sending over. We're old friends. We bonded over all the speeding tickets and Vicodin issues I had when I was in jail." Now he was being sarcastic. He figured he'd throw that in as well to daunt them, even though he had no idea who was coming.

"Alright fine, we're leaving, but don't think we won't fight you on this!" Walter said, harshly pointing to his daughter. "You signed your house over to us, as well as these personal belongings. I expect a check when we return if you plan to rent this house!"

Each of them passed both Cuddy and House a horrible look before storming off.

"Oh, hey, mom," Cuddy said, stepping out of her room.

Ellie looked back, furrowing her brow at her daughter.

"I want my shoes back."

Cuddy won and she knew it. She couldn't help but keep a smile on her face.

Ellie slipped out of the Franco Suede Jimmy Choos and kicked them her way without a word, but with so much body language that Cuddy knew she was angry. The door slammed hard when they left. It sounded like the whole house was falling down. Cuddy didn't care. They were gone, at least for now, and that's all that mattered.

"How many times now have I saved your life?" House asked, snaking his arm around Cuddy's lower back.

"I lost count," she said with a smile and reached her arms up around the back of his neck. "Thank you, House. I owe you."

"Nah. It was nothing."

"But how did you know?"

"Know what?" he asked, walking with her down the hall, arm still wrapped around her. She mimicked the position and rested her head against his shoulder.

"About Sam. I've never told you about him on the island. How did you know he was an attorney from Texas?"

House twisted his lips in thought. "I figured you'd be asking me that."

Cuddy's mouth dropped. "Did you snoop around in my private life?"

"Of course not!" he said, feigning shock. "That would be illegal."

"Then how did you…"

"I had someone else do it."

Cuddy scoffed and shook her head. "I'm not surprised."

"Hey, thanks to my nosiness and curiosity, I was able to save you. Like it or love it."

Cuddy turned to face him with a smile. He placed both hands at her waist and drew her to him.

"You don't give me many choices there," she said, unable to get rid of her smile as she looked up to meet his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't give many choices to begin with."

Cuddy drew her head closer to his. "I think I can handle that," she whispered before meeting her lips with his. It was only meant to be soft and sweet, just as the last one. House wanted to give her more, but with the events surrounding them, now wasn't the time. Cuddy was aware of this also and stopped at the small kiss of gratitude.

"So what do we do now? Should we go to the hospital?"

House groaned inwardly. "You really do know how to kill a moment."

Cuddy apologized and took her arms back. Considering how all things were, it's a wonder she still continued to wear a smile. House wasn't sure if that was because of him, or if it was because of how strong she is. He had to wonder if she was this strong because of her family speaking down to her throughout her entire life once they discovered she was leading her own existence in the world, choosing not to be manipulated by her parents. Even on the island, Cuddy was strong. She had her moments. They both did. It wasn't a situation where a smile should be worn and at times. Cuddy did want to give up. But they were together, just like they are now. When you have someone you love at your side, the pressures are immediately lifted off your shoulders, even though they still exist. If he wasn't there to help her, her parents would've overrun her and she wouldn't be here right now. Her parents would be laughing all the way to the bank. House wasn't going to let that happen. Even if he didn't feel the way he does about Cuddy, he still wouldn't let them get away with it. He's a jerk, but he knows when something's not right. Her parents officially topped the worst he's ever seen. His father doesn't even hold a candle to them. And he was pretty bad.

"Do we have to worry about your parents going to the hospital?" House asked, walking into the kitchen with Cuddy.

"No. That's the last place they would go. My brother isn't exactly a family favorite," she said, opening her fridge. "Well, at least they kept my fridge well stocked." She pulled out a bottle of water and also tossed one to House.

"I have a feeling the next time we see them, it'll be behind bars."

Cuddy sat at the kitchen table. "What makes you so sure?"

House sat across from her. "Why do you think the cops haven't arrived here yet?"

Cuddy's eyebrows raised.

"Because he never called them. Your father tried to scare us into leaving. They're not coming because he's wrong. I bet right now they're having Sam cover up his tracks. This place will be yours before you know it."

Cuddy's smile returned.

"I'll even bet that Zachary Feeney is pacing the floor, unable to decide what to do with himself."

Her smile disappeared.

"What?" House asked.

"We could easily catch my parents with forgery, but Zachary legally has my job. He went through the proper channels and has every right to be there."

"Except for one fact—you're not dead!" he said a bit on the sarcastic side, capping his water. "I'd say that's a pretty big reason for him to give it up."

Cuddy sighed and lowered her head. It wasn't going to be that easy.

"Don't worry about it today, Cuddy. You just got home. Give yourself time to settle in before making any changes. No one expects you to get everything done in one day. Wilson already said he was going to help us take care of a few things."

Cuddy shook her head. "Wilson's done so much as it is. Him and Cameron. I owe it to them to get my job back so I can set things right and get theirs back as well."

House didn't say anything. For once, he didn't know what to say. Wilson and Cameron did a very brave and risky thing going out of their way like they did to search for something that would most likely turn up negative. House knew for a fact he would never think of something that clever. If he did think it, he would never act it out. He wasn't sure what motivated Wilson to do something like this. He may never know. But because of him, he was able to sit in Cuddy's kitchen today, attempting to regain his life back. So far, he was all set except for being unemployed. He had no big worries. He was sure his money was still where he left it, resting safely in an untouched bank account and his apartment was vacant and available without the presence of family members wanting to take it over.

Cuddy has taken care of him long enough. It was now time for him to take care of her. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped quickly when the front door was knocked on. Who could that be? Did Walter really call the cops? Cuddy was wondering the same thing. She grew worried suddenly.

"I'll get it," he said, but Cuddy stood up as well and went to the door with him.

Another knock came just before House could reach the doorknob. What if it was the cops? What would he do? How would he prove this was Cuddy's place if Cuddy didn't have any of her original documents? He could easily say it was a big misunderstanding. Since Cuddy's parents left already, he could just merely apologize to them and send them on their way.

However, it wasn't the cops he opened the door to; it was a huge handful of Cuddy's employees from PPTH and each of them had a wide smile on their glowing faces.

"Surprise!!" they all shouted and poured through the doorway.

Each of them held a gift and Nurse Brenda held the cake, as well as a small light blue gift bag that dangled from a crooked finger by the roped handle. One after the other, the twenty or so people came in, hugged House and Cuddy, and disappeared into the living room to find a place for their gifts.

Foreman was there, Chase, Cameron, and Wilson of course, who was near the back of the line.

"You did this, didn't you?" Cuddy accused with a smile.

"Not this time," he said, returning the smile. "This was all their idea."

Cuddy was definitely surprised. It was going to feel good getting away from the real world for a little while.

A few of them brought snacks, which were set up on the kitchen table after the gifts were settled in. Cuddy usually didn't gravitate towards sweets and chips or soda, but today, it was a must. She grabbed a handful of pretzels and chips and mused to herself how they should've brought bigger paper plates with them.

"Save some for the rest of us," House joked, performing the same action, but since his hands were bigger, he was able to get more.

"Meaning you, right?"

"Yep."

House wasn't sure who brought the beer, but he made a note to thank whoever it was that did. He grabbed an already chilled can and left the kitchen. He didn't mingle. He wouldn't change that much for anyone. Most likely, he would find Wilson and talk alone in a corner somewhere.

A couple of them also brought a dinner item with them, thinking Cuddy didn't have food in the house. Groceries were also lined up on her countertop, both refrigerated items and non. She had such a wonderful staff. She had no idea they would go out of their way to do this for her. Some of these people she barely knew.

"How you holding up?" Foreman asked, coming into the kitchen right after House left to grab some of the lasagna on the table.

Foreman, as well as the others, didn't know about what happened with her family. At most, they knew about Feeney.

"Okay, I guess. There's a lot of work that needs to be done."

"Take your time," he said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "And if there's anything you need, let me know."

Cuddy thanked him. They both returned to the living room where everyone was laughing and having a great time all scattered around Cuddy's living room. Some stood, some sat leisurely, and some huddled in their own groups, tittering about something.

When Cuddy sat down on the couch, she suddenly became the center of attention. Everyone turned to face her. Nonetheless, it didn't bother her. She sat back into the couch with her glass of wine and crossed her legs, speaking to whoever spoke to her. It was good to laugh again.

"So tell us about your adventure," one of her young clinic nurses said from the other side of the room. A handful of people chuckled. A part of all of them were dying to know what happened to them on the island.

"How about we open the presents first," House suggested and rose up from the loveseat at the corner of the room.

Now everyone laughed. House was still House. He was looking around clueless, wondering why everyone was laughing.

"House," Cuddy said in her warning voice that she used plenty when she was at work. "Sit down."

He did so, which caused stares of surprise from a few people.

"You have him trained well," one of them remarked.

"Believe me, it wasn't easy."

For the next hour after talking about Feeney and how much of a terror his reign over the hospital was, Cuddy crammed in the events of the past couple months and some odd weeks. She did most of the talking. House filled in the blanks, if any. She spent minutes alone on the turbulence crash, reliving the experience for everyone. They got into it and listened intently, especially when Cuddy went into detail. No one left the room. She remembered all this like it was yesterday and in about forty years or so, she'll still remember it all. She mentioned them having to eat bananas all the time, sometimes coconuts, and the crabs, which were great. They had to bathe in a sectioned off streambed, cook their food by a fire, sleep on a rock, and deal with odd weather patterns with incredible winds that pushed them off their feet.

It was hard to imagine that just three days ago they were there, expecting to be there for the rest of their lives. House was already dying, so Cuddy would be alone right now, probably trying to find shelter as far away from House and the cave as possible, just waiting to get some disease and die herself. She didn't say that though. She didn't talk about the sex either. Only once was it brought up as a joke by Foreman, but as soon as Cuddy shot it down with a serious tone. Perhaps she was too serious. She was sure everyone there knew there was sex. House especially couldn't go that long without sex. He must've coerced her into doing it at least once, and when that one time worked, he would continue to nag at her until he got more. That was Greg House.

Wilson talked a bit as well about what he's experienced. Basically in the end, it call came down to everyone saying it was a miracle. After that, everyone had dinner, cake, and House and Cuddy opened gifts, much to House's delight. The men brought something for House, and the women brought something for Cuddy. It was basically essentials rather than material items. Shampoos, conditioners, bath salts, body washes, lots of makeup and facial care items for Cuddy. Somehow, they all knew the exact brand she liked in all of these products. This certainly saved her a trip from going to the store any time soon. The only item there that was materialistic was a brand new Blackberry cell phone that she and House got since their old cell phones ended up going down with the plane. It just needed to be activated. Her eyes grew misty. She hugged everyone individually, thanking them for everything.

"Oh, and there's one more," an ER employee of hers said, handing Cuddy a medium sized bag. "It's more of a joke, but hell, we all need them. Us women anyway."

Everyone laughed, as if they all knew what was in the bag. Cuddy figured she could use a joke and reached inside. She pulled out a familiar blue box with white and green print. She was holding a box of tampons and everyone found it hilarious, even the men, but Cuddy's cheerful expression vanished in that instant as she held that box, almost like she was Carrie in the locker room who had just discovered she got her period and was teased by her classmates. All color drained from her face. Her hands got shaky to the point where she dropped the box and the bag onto the ground. She felt sick to her stomach. She turned her head and hid her face just as the tears started coming.

"Dr. Cuddy, what is it?" someone asked and reached their hand out to her.

Cuddy excused herself and ran off, disappearing around the corner.

Only House, Wilson, and Cameron knew why she reacted that way. If the others knew, they didn't say anything. They all exchanged glances of confusion.

"I think we should go," Wilson said, voice sounding pained.

"Yeah," House agreed in a matching tone.

Wilson rounded everyone up and told them it would be better if they gave Cuddy some time to settle in. They agreed and left, one by one. Wilson was the last to leave. He scooped House up into a hug.

"You going to be okay?" he asked, separating.

"I'll try."

"Lisa needs you more than ever now. Don't mess it up."

"Yes, dad."

"Seriously, House. If she ran like that because of it hitting her she's not pregnant—"

"Really, I know. I know Cuddy like the back of my hand now."

"Doesn't mean you know what to do in a situation like this. She's very vulnerable right now."

"I know exactly what to do. You can go now."

Wilson said he would be by tomorrow to check on them. After he left, House carefully made his way to Cuddy's room. He could hear her crying. The door wasn't shut all the way. He poked his head in and saw her laying on her bed, curled up in a fetal position.

He wasn't so sure he wanted to disturb her. This was about the baby. Cuddy was in tears because the tampons reminded her that she wasn't pregnant. She tried so hard to push that to the back of her mind and it coming to her suddenly made her react this way. House was aware of that.

"Cuddy…"

Cuddy looked towards the door, but only for a second and laid her head down again. It was just long enough for him to see her puffy, watery eyes. "Not now, House."

He didn't listen and laid down beside her in bed, placing his hand on her back that moved along with her quiet sobbing.

"I know I was pregnant," she said, remaining in a ball, facing away from him. "On the island I was. I know the difference between being sick and being pregnant."

"Your body was changing because of the lack of nutrition. It got confused," House reminded, resting his hand on her hip and rubbing the area gently. "If you miscarried, you would've known."

"According to Dr. What's-his-face, I was never pregnant in the first place."

"You can always try again."

Cuddy chuckled unhumorously. "Like that will work."

"You never know."

She turned only her head around towards him. "House, we slept together dozens of times all times of the month. If I didn't get pregnant then, there's a message that it's impossible for me to get pregnant at all. God, I shouldn't even be thinking about this. I have so many other things to worry about. I wish we were never rescued. I would never have come home if I knew I would have to face this."

A louder sob ejected from her throat that time. House put his arm around her, almost spooning her completely. It pained him to see her so far gone. It wasn't like her. But she had a lot on her plate all at once. It was enough to bring anyone down, even someone as strong as Cuddy.

He pushed her hair out of the way and kissed her bare neck. "Don't say that," he whispered, holding her close. "Don't give up. You never give up."

"I feel so weak. Not just in body, but emotionally. I ran away from my staff crying like a baby and all they did was try to get me to laugh. I can't even get a surprise party thrown for me without screwing it up."

"I'm sure they understand. You didn't screw anything up."

"I just…Practically my whole life, I've been alone. And I've been okay with that. But I don't want to be alone anymore…and now I…I just feel so alone."

House knew she didn't specifically mean alone spiritually. She wanted a family and the thought of being pregnant meant more to her than anyone could realize.

Cuddy faced his direction and wrapped her arm around him to hold him close. She rested her head up against his chest.

"Please don't leave me."

House inhaled the fragrance of her curls, as well as her skin.

It was the aroma of love.

It was the scent of home.

He wasn't going anywhere.