Disclaimer: I do not own House MD or any of the characters, but I sure as hell wouldn't mind owning Hugh Laurie!

A/N: Ok, now, this is the chapter that you've all been waiting for … well, at least it's the chapter that contains part of what you've all been waiting for … And, since it is and important chapter in the story, I've made it an EXTRA long one (i.e. it's about 3000 words long) … so I hope you enjoy it, because I certainly did, and don't worry … everything is going to start coming together pretty soon :D

Oh, and considering how long I've been aming you wait, I figured I'd post this extra early to keep you happy, hope it works :D

Also, thank you so much for your reviews, and you know the drill, if you keep them coming, I keep the chappies coming … seems like a fair deal to me :P

Oh, and Winnywriter, you said your birthday was yesterday, then consider this your late birthday present :P

Anyways, Enjoy!

Two days later, Cuddy sat in her bed, as she'd grown used to, watching some mindless day-time soap when, out of nowhere, pain shot up threw her. It was like nothing she'd ever experienced. She wasn't sure what to focus on, the pain shooting up her back, that eradiating from her abdomen or the pain shooting down her legs. What she was painfully aware of was that she was either about to die, or about to have a baby. Considering she'd been pregnant for the past eight months, she figured the latter was more probable.

"Nurse!" she called as one of the day-time nurses passed by her room.

"Dr. Cuddy?" she asked as she entered the room to find Cuddy clutching her stomach and breathing quickly

"Get Dr. Bates, please" Cuddy managed to get out as the pain began to subside.

Nodding, the young woman ran out the room and returned, a few minutes later, with Dr. Bates in tow.

"Dr. Cuddy?" Bates asked with a smile as he realised what was happening.

"I think …" Cuddy smiled now that the contraction passed and she realised exactly what was going on.

"I told you your baby would be early" he smiled as he began to pull on some gloves and got ready to examine Cuddy.

"I just didn't think it'd be this early" she said wincing slightly as another contraction hit her.

"Hm…" said Bates as he began his exam "you're at about 4 cm … there's still quite a while to go, I'll get a monitor in here and I'll check on you again in 30 minutes, ok?"

Cuddy nodded. Being a doctor she knew there were still at least a few hours to go, but if this was what early contractions were like, she couldn't help but wish things would just move along very quickly.

"Ah, Dr. Wilson" said Dr. Bates as he passed Wilson in the corridor

"Bates" Wilson nodded in greeting

"Just thought I'd tell you Dr. Cuddy is in labour" the obstetrician smiled

"What?!" Wilson was caught off guard "now?"

Frowning with an amused look, Bates nodded "yes, now. I thought you might want to be there with her"

Nodding, Wilson bid the doctor goodbye and changed course to Cuddy's room

"Hey!" he greeted as he stood by her bed "how are you doing?"

"Right now?" she asked "I'm hating men"

At that, Wilson had to laugh "Yea, I would too …"

"Oh, you have no idea!" she winced as a contraction hit her

"Did Bates say how long you had to go?" Wilson asked

Cuddy shook her head "not specifically" she took in a deep breath as the pain passed "but I'm only at 4 cm, so it should be a while …"

Nodding, Wilson pulled up a chair and sat next to her

"What are you doing?" Cuddy asked him as he pulled out his cell phone

Looking down at the small screen, he replied "cancelling my consults for today"

"You don't have to do …" Cuddy began but was stopped by yet another merciless contraction

Checking the chart in his hands, Chase nodded "you'll be good to go, tomorrow"

"Grrrreat" mocked House changing the channels on his TV

"Don't sound so enthusiastic" said Chase placing the chart back at the foot of the bed

Shrugging, House went back to staring at the TV just as Cameron burst in the door

"Cameron?" Chase asked confused

"Cuddy's in labour!" she spoke excitedly to Chase who was now sharing her broad smile

As her words hit him, House wasn't sure what to react to. First there was the shock of realising that his kid was about to be born, then there was the concern for its and Cuddy's well being, both feelings which he managed to successfully hide. Finally, there was that common desire to burst Cameron's bubble and take away all the sugary happiness that surrounded her. Not because he was angry at her, he really wasn't, but he'd been much happier before she'd burst in there, and he hadn't even been all that happy before, so one could only imagine how miserable he felt right then.

"You ok?" Cameron asked noticing House's hand shooting for his thigh

"Fine" he replied a little too harshly

"You know we can't …" began Chase but was quickly interrupted by House

"… up my morphine, I know!"

Taking the diagnostician's tone as their cue to leave, Cameron and Chase bade him goodbye and beat a hasty retreat.

Alone, House let his head fall back onto his pillow in pain. His leg was aching, he couldn't move an arm and wasn't allowed to turn his head because of the brace surrounding his neck. And if that weren't enough to make him miserable, he now had to sit there and wonder what was going on with Cuddy.

He had gone over the whole issue in his head hundreds of times over the past two days. And he'd come to the conclusion that, just because he wasn't going to speak it or act on it, it didn't mean that he didn't care for Cuddy and the kid. It was really hard to admit it to himself, but he had. He was worried, he didn't want anything to go wrong, if for nothing else, because he didn't want to live with the thought of 'what if I'd been there'.

So, he prepared himself for what he knew would be hours of waiting, hoping that Wilson would break his silent-treatment he'd been giving him since their argument and tell him something.

"Only a bit longer to go" said Bates as he pulled off his gloves after examining Cuddy a few hours later

"How much?" asked Wilson who's tie was now flung on one of the visitor's chairs along with his jacket and briefcase

"Oh, about an hour and a half?" he suggested "you're already at 8.5 cm, so only another centimetre and a half to go" he smiled at Cuddy who was now covered in sweat with a few loose strands of hair stuck to her face.

Nodding, she let the doctor leave before turning to look at the foetal monitor, something she'd been doing a lot of, to make sure that the heart rate was still steady and going.

"It's fine" Wilson said as he saw her checking the monitors "stop worrying, you're doing great"

"That's easy for you to say, you're not about to squeeze the equivalent of a bowling ball out of …" but her statement was cut off by the ringing of Wilson's cell phone.

"Sorry" he apologised with a small smile as he checked the message.

How are things? -H

Watching his expression, Cuddy asked "anything serious?"

"No, dean of medicine, I am not letting my patients die to be here" he mocked her starting to reply to the text.

She's fine, I'll update you later. -J

With a small smile on his face, Wilson sent the text to House. For someone who said he didn't care, House was certainly keeping his distance.

It was only two hours later that the oncologist and the Dean of Medicine finally heard the obstetrician say the words they'd been waiting for: "it's show time"

"You ready?" Bates asked Cuddy as the nurses began to prep her to be taken to the delivery room

Looking around slightly scared, Cuddy nodded "ready as I'll ever be"

"Is someone going in with you?" the nurse asked her

"N…"

"I will" said Wilson stepping next to Cuddy

"James, you don't have to …"

Shaking his head, Wilson looked at her "you don't have to do this alone" he smiled, letting her know that just because House wouldn't step up (or, considering his wounds, couldn't step up), that didn't mean she had to go through it all alone.

Nodding, she allowed herself to be wheeled out of the room with two nurses and Wilson in tow.

Just as he left the room, Wilson managed to send House a text.

She's going in. Will talk to you soon, -JLying in his bed, House red the text and felt too many emotions to process. On the one hand, he knew he should be there, on the other, he was happy that she at least had Wilson with her.

For months he'd been telling himself that it was going to be fine, that he'd just walk away, now he was starting to see that it wouldn't be so easy. In fact, as the thought of his kid being born swirled around in his head, it started to feel like it was going to be pretty damn hard.

"Ok, Lisa, on 3" said Bates "1 … 2 … 3 … push!"

In that moment, Cuddy cursed every man and anatomy teacher she'd ever had. She cursed men because they'd never experience the pain she was going through, because they got the nice end product of a child without any pain, in fact, with almost nothing but pleasure. And she cursed her anatomy teachers for never pointing out that in between the oxytocin secretions and uterine expansions, there was a whole lot of nigh unbearable pain.

"Nearly there, Lisa" said Bates as he waited for another contraction to hit "ok, come on, one more time, push!"

Lisa was actually thankful to have Wilson there because, not only was he a comforting presence, telling her she was doing great and soothing her, but his hands were also just the perfect size for her to squeeze into oblivion as each contraction hit her.

"Ok, one more and you're done, Lisa!"

And it was true. After one more excruciating push, the sound of crying filled the room and she felt herself fall back onto Wilson, sighing of relief. She'd made it.

After a few more seconds of Wilson telling her how great she'd done and the doctors fussing around the small baby she'd just given birth too, Cuddy was finally handed her child, and she saw it's face.

Before anything else, she noticed it's eyes. She knew that a lot of babies were born with blue eyes which eventually darkened, but looking into that pair of ocean-blue eyes, so like House's, she knew they were going to stay like that for good.

And that was when she noticed it, a blue blanket. It was a boy. Her boy. Her son. She had a little son. And suddenly she was crying.

"He's beautiful, Lisa" said Wilson giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze as she looked down at her son.

Nodding, Cuddy just stared, mesmerized at the little boy in her arms. After everything she'd gone through, she was finally there, she had a kid, a son. She'd done it, she was a mother. Yet, through all the happiness surrounding the moment, she felt a twinge of sadness as she missed him.

She was eternally grateful to Wilson for being there, yet, she'd wanted someone else there, someone who would have been everything but kind and understanding, someone who would have squeezed her hand back when she squeezed his, someone she loved.

Seeing the look on her face change between sadness and happiness, Wilson stepped in "I'll go tell him" he whispered as he smiled at her and, after caressing the little boy's face, left the delivery room.

"Hey" said Wilson smiling as he entered House's room to find him, once again, focused on the puzzle page of the local newspaper

Looking up, House was silent but nodded.

"Just wanted to tell you everything is fine"

Again, House nodded.

He desperately wanted to ask, to know, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, he knew it would just be harder if he knew.

Sighing, Wilson moved closer to House's bed as he saw the sadness in his friend's eyes.

"You sure you don't want to see them?" he asked "I could get you a wheel ch …"

House shook his head. It hurt, but it was the only way this would all work.

"House, come on … that little baby needs a father!" said Wilson running out of ways to convince his best friend that he was being an idiot.

Again, House shook his head "Cuddy will find someone …" he said, and, again, Wilson saw and, now, heard the sadness in his face and voice.

"House, you didn't see h …"

"Don't" House cut in "I don't want to know what it is"

Shaking his head, Wilson raised his hands in defeat and spoke "fine, just so you know, it has your eyes" he said before walking back to the door to go find Cuddy who, by now, would surly be back in her room.

Closing his eyes, House put down the paper he'd been reading. His leg was killing him, and now his head was hurting too. Damn it! He was doing the right thing! He knew he was.

"How's the little guy?" Wilson asked as he walked into Cuddy's room where she had returned to, her abdomen significantly smaller than it had been an hour before

Smiling, Cuddy looked at Wilson "they went to clean him up and will bring him back for his feeding any time now" she explained

Smiling, Wilson took a seat next to her "that's great. He's great. You did good, Lisa"

"He is beautiful, isn't he?" she asked, knowing that a mother's point of view was always biased

Wilson nodded and smiled "absolutely"

Suddenly Cuddy went silent

"What's wrong?" asked Wilson

"He has his eyes …" she said looking at him with a tear in the corner of her eye

Nodding, Wilson shifted forwards in his seat "he does. Are you going to …"

But Cuddy cut him off with a half shake of the head, both because she didn't want to talk about that just then and because her son was being wheeled in at that very moment.

"Hi, baby" she smiled as the nurse handed him to her.

"I'll wait outside" said Wilson, leaving with the nurse to let Cuddy feed the baby.

Fifteen minutes later, he returned when he heard Cuddy calling him.

"Yea?" he asked upon entering the room

"Could you?" she asked pointing with a free finger to the small crib her son had arrived in which was too far from the bed for her to lay him in.

"Oh, sure" he said wheeling it closer to her

On the side, Wilson noticed, was a small blue sticker.

Baby Boy Cuddy

3.1 kg, 49 cm

"Baby boy Cuddy?" he asked her with a smile as she gently placed him back on the sheets

Cuddy nodded

"You still haven't thought of a name?" Wilson asked

"Well, yes and no …" she replied

"How so?"

"Well, I don't have a first name, but I do know it will end with Gregory Cuddy" she said looking down at the now sleeping baby.

"So, uh, what about 'x' Gregory Cuddy?" joked Wilson as he too looked down at the little baby

Cuddy laughed "It's a possibility …"

The next day, Wilson stood by House's door as his friend struggled to walk with his cane in his left hand. He was now in his street clothes, his arm across his chest, and his neck brace still on.

According to Foreman, he'd have the cast on for at least two more weeks, as for the neck brace, it should be gone by the end of the week. Apart from all that, he was good to go.

Being House, he'd tried to deny allowing the nurse to bring up a wheelchair, but, upon realising that limping with his cane in his left hand would be harder than he expected, he'd conceded.

"Here you go, Dr. House" said the nurse stopping the wheel chair next to him and waiting for him to sit on it.

Begrudgingly, House tossed his cane at Wilson and slowly lowered himself onto the seat, all the while looking everything but happy.

"Thanks, Jenny" said Wilson with a smile at the nurse "I can take him from here"

"Where are you going?" House asked as Wilson took a turn in the opposite direction to the exit.

"Pit stop before we go" his friend replied, his smile hidden behind House's head.

A few minutes went by in silence before House started to look around.

"No!" said House as he realised where they were going.

Shaking his head, Wilson kept going "what are you going to do? Jump out of the moving chair and crawl your way out?"

Desperate to leave, House sat there knowing there was nothing to do. And that's when he saw it. First there was a glass, then a whole room filled with sleeping or crying infants. Just a sea of pink and blue.

"I don't want t …" started House but Wilson cut him off.

"I'm sick of your crap, House. This is the last time I'm giving a damn. If you're going to walk away from this, then I'm at least making sure you know what you're walking away from …" said Wilson, his voice angry as he pointed to the glass "see that?" he asked

Not wanting to, but being unable not to, House followed Wilson's finger. He was pretty sure Wilson said something like 'that's your son', but at that moment, he was unable to focus on anything. Because there, wrapped in a blue blanket, eyes wide and searching, was his baby. He was still wrinkled and his few hairs messy, he was small and looked more like an alien than anything else. But, in that moment, House realized, he wasn't a foetus. He wasn't a parasite.

And for the first time in a long time, House felt a twinge in his heart. Wilson's plan seemed to be working, it was infinitely harder to leave now, knowing what he was leaving, than in had been before.

He had a son, a little boy, and Wilson was right, he did have his eyes.

"Right this way, Dr. Cuddy" the two doctors heard a nurse say as the door to the nursery opened.

Pulling the chair back from the window and starting to wheel House away, Wilson only caught a glimpse of Cuddy moving closer to her son's crib. House, on the other hand, saw more than he'd ever wanted to as he turned around slightly in his seat.

Seeing the baby was bad enough, seeing Cuddy was also bad enough, but seeing Cuddy's smile as she picked their son up was literally killing him.

If up to that point he'd had any doubt that what he was about to do would be really hard, all that doubt vanished as he faced forwards again and allowed Wilson to steer him out of the hospital and to his car.

TBC

Phew! That was a long one! And hopefully, a rewarding one to those of you who've been waiting this long to get to this point … also, on the baby's sex, I know most people picture House having a daughter. But most House-kid stories have him having a girl, so I decided he was going to have a boy, and, since then, I realised that, actually, a boy fits too … hope you agree! :D

Thank you for reading!

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