Disclaimer: I do not own House MD or any of the characters, but I sure as hell wouldn't mind owning Hugh Laurie! (Also, for this chapter and any others where it's mentioned, I do not (obviously) own the movie Gone with the Wind or any of it's characters. I don't own any of the other mentioned movies, either)

A/N: Hi again, so I thought I'd post this today because, well, I made you wait a week for the previous one and, besides, I already had this chapter ready (and it's extra long :D)

So I hope you like it, I think this will be another one that might get some mixed feelings at the end, because, as we've established, I like leaving you wanting more at the end :P

So, thanks, again, for all your reviews, I really appreciate them! :D

Enjoy!

Returning with six DVD cases in hand, House looked at Cuddy with a mocking look.

"What?" she asked sitting up a little straighter in her bed.

"You have, what's the word, TERRIBLE taste in films!" he replied looking down at the six he'd picked.

"What? No I …" she started

"Over 100 DVD's and only 6 I'd possibly consider watching?" he asked sitting on the bed, his right leg on the bed, his left one hanging down.

"Have you ever thought that that might be a reflexion on your taste in movies?" she asked arching an eyebrow.

Deciding to disregard her final comment, House put the DVD's down on the bed and allowed her to look at the covers.

Citizen Cane

Torn Curtain

Casablanca

The Fast and the Furious

Ninth Gate

Gone with the Wind

Cuddy had to do a double take on the last one. Citizen Cane, she understood, after all, it was widely considered to be the greatest movie of all time. Turn Curtain was pretty good, pure Hitchcock-ness, and if nothing else, it had Paul Newman, The Ninth Gate was pure Polanski genius, and, as an added bonus, had Johnny Depp in it. Casablanca, again, was a classic, no arguing there, and The fast and the Furious was just some crappy man-film left over by one of her ex's, she'd expected House to like it. But Gone with the Wind, a romantic classic? She had never expected House to have even ever watched it. He had to be kidding her! She loved the movie, but there was no way that Greg House, the grumpy, misanthropic diagnostician would sit through a four hour romance with elaborate costumes and a heartbreaking end. No way.

"Uh, House …" she began ready to question his choice but, again, he interrupted her.

"Classic" he shrugged

"I know it is, I didn't know you did" she explained picking up the cover.

Taking the cover from her, he headed towards the TV and DVD player "I'm a man full of surprises" he stated as he placed the disc in the player "I'm assuming you want to watch it" he said looking back at her stunned face over his shoulder. She nodded.

What had he meant by 'full of surprises'? She knew he was unpredictable, but somehow, she didn't think it was that kind of surprise he was refereeing to. Could he be referring to something more meaningful than his reckless, impulsive medical style?

"You know, I'm surprise you didn't pick 'American Pie'" she said thinking that a perverted teen movie was much more House's style.

As the opening credits started to roll, House shushed her. He was painfully aware of the fact that she was testing him, testing if he really did like the movie or if he was just putting on some sort of strange, incomprehensible, show. And, ever the lover of tests and challenges, House was going to rise to the occasion.

Something else they were both painfully aware of was each other's presence. They were sitting next to each other, they could both hear each other's breathing, the only sound in the room was the orchestra opening of the movie. They could almost hear each other's thoughts.

And those thoughts were mutual. They were of each other, of the events of the previous half-hour. Of their lips, their scents. The kiss. That safe, familiar, comfortable feeling. It scared them both how familiar it had been, how hard it had impacted them. It especially scared them just how much they wanted to do it again. But they didn't. They kept to their unspoken agreement, they wouldn't mention it. With them, that was how it worked, they didn't mention awkward things, they happened and they moved on like nothing had occurred. It was easy, it was like their little dance. Changing it would be, well, unthinkable. It wouldn't work. House wouldn't live with it. He couldn't ever face his feelings, at least not out loud, not in public. Not outside the confined spaces of his scull and Cuddy's home.

As Scarlett O'Hara appeared on the screen, her southern belle smile covering her pretty face, the two red headed twins talking to her, adoration in their eyes, the two Doctors watching them let their thoughts slip, their attentions now focused on what was to happen. However the burning they felt as Cuddy shifted and her shoulder came into contact with his, was well registered by both.

"…why not try a husband of the right age? With a way with women?" Rhett asked Scarlett as he proposed to marry her.

And they both remembered what Cuddy had said. 'why can't it be October October?'. It was another of those moments, they both became aware of the other's presence again, like they hadn't in two hours of film. And Cuddy could have sworn she felt House shift slightly next to her, but she wasn't about to let herself believe that he had, nor that it was, in anyway, to do with her.

Another thirty minutes went by. Rhett married Scarlett. They seemed happy enough.

It was hard to believe that the strong willed southern bell and the coarse, conceited cad were actually getting along, but they certainly seemed to be. He seemed to actually love her, and, as it always had, the story rouse some hope in Cuddy; maybe it was possible.

A baby. They had a baby together. But Rhett knew about it, he was pacing his study, drinking sherry and smoking cigars. He ran into the room as soon as he could. He wanted his baby, he wanted his little girl. He wasn't …

Cuddy shifted slightly at the thought.

House, in turn, was thinking quite the opposite from Cuddy. He wanted to be Rhett, he wanted to be pacing his office, drinking whisky, limping as quickly as he could to his kid.

Neither had, originally, realised the actual meaning the movie had, but now they could feel the weight of it in the room, almost like the giant pink elephant that not-so subtly hid in a corner but neither wanted to mention.

And then Scarlett fell down the stairs and lost her baby. She hadn't wanted it, he had. It was different in reality, but the fear Rhett felt for his wife's life was no different from what had driven House to Cuddy's hospital bed. It was pure, uncontrollable.

House knew Cuddy probably thought he'd never want the baby, he knew that that was why she'd never told him. But she was wrong, so wrong. He was coming to terms with it, he did want the baby, he wanted her, he wanted to not be so miserable, to have someone, other that Wilson, whom he didn't hate.

Bonnie's death. It was Rhett's fault. He'd spoilt her. And their daughter had died. Both doctors felt a tug in their heart, Cuddy didn't even bother to hide it, House did.

Cuddy felt the tears stream down her cheeks as she saw Rhett sitting, alone, in the dark, staring at his daughter's body. She couldn't lose this baby, she couldn't live with it, not again. She was too attached now, she'd seen its heart beat, she'd seen it's little hands and feet, it's little face. It was real now, she could feel the little kicks inside her, almost like telling her not to worry.

And House felt the same. He hadn't realised just how attached he was. But the mere thought of Cuddy losing that child sent a chill down his spine. Even if he was never a part of his kid's life, he wanted to know that he or she was safe, that they were alive and well. And at that moment, he realised that, no matter how uncharacteristic it was for him, he'd go to any length, do just about anything, to ensure that that little baby made it to this world and grew up to be whatever he or she was destined to be. His feelings really scared him.

Catching Cuddy's face out of the corner of his eye, House saw the free-falling tears. It was a moving movie, there was no way that a woman full of fluctuating hormones would not cry.

Reaching for the bedside table on his right, House reached for two tissues and handed them to Cuddy, his eyes lingering on her face a little before turning his attentions back to the screen.

The movie had gotten to the saddest part. Melanie was dying, Bonnie was dead, Rhett was jealous, Scarlett was making realisations, and Ashley was in tears.

House knew that if Cuddy was sobbing now, the end wouldn't be pretty. For the next 15 minutes, he kept handing her tissues and watching her dry her grey-blue eyes, constantly wanting to be the one to brush those tears away, his hand twitching, wanting to fight off his mental control over it.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" with Rhett's parting words, Cuddy sobbed louder than before. It was heartbreaking, even House had to admit.

Rhett had waited so long to hear her say those three words and now that she had, now that she meant them, he walked away from her. She'd waited too long, she'd tried to be strong for too long, resisting it all for too long. It had, inevitably, ended badly. No one, not even the most patient and loving cad in all the south could wait any longer. It had been her fault, she'd been too absorbed in everything else around her, in their constant game, their friendly banter their …

Letting a breath out, House realised exactly who he was actually thinking about.

Next to him, Cuddy was still crying, a hand resting on her stomach, the other holding the tissue to her eyes.

And House felt his hand move, he wasn't sure if this was Greg's doing, or if his hand had just developed a mind of its own, but it was now wiping Cuddy's tears away. The back of his forefinger brushing lightly against her skin as she closed her eyes, the little gesture enough to settle her.

As her sobs subsided, the magic spell that had been enveloping them was broken as the telephone rang.

Cuddy sighed. She knew she couldn't let House answer it so, standing up slowly and hobbling over to the living room, she picked up the phone that she had, for some reason she couldn't quite remember, left in there.

As he heard Wilson's voice on the other side, she closed her eyes and sighed, knowing that when she returned to her room, the caring, lovable man that had just wiped her tears away, would have been turned back into her coarse employee.

TBC

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