here's the new chapter which, I hope, will answer your latest request about the sharing issue.

** CHAPTER 36 **

Days went by. And weeks and then more weeks. Just like that, without them even noticing. There was no routine at all, no plan, no big promises, or anything. It was just time, passing between the two of them, quietly and serenely, building the need to be together as true evidence with each and every new day that went by.

Not that they were questioning that need or trying to acknowledge it, though. It was just there and that was all, as undeniable, and strong as the need to breathe is. Should it be at his place or hers, in nearly four months, they'd almost never spent a night away from each other. The only thing that could bring them apart when they were together was the sound of House's beeper in the middle of the night, but the fact is, it didn't even ring that much.

At some point, he'd realized that his team obviously knew something and didn't want to bother him with inappropriate questions. He hadn't spoken about his doubts to Cuddy, neither had he talked to her about his conversation with Cameron. There was no need for that since things were just going on well between them. Except for some really complicated cases, the ducklings were dealing with the patients' treatment without him pretty successfully. And House didn't complain.

Most of the time, his mind was elsewhere. Perhaps he didn't realize it, but it was. Everyone who'd known him long enough to tell could easily see the difference: On a day-to-day basis, House appeared to be less ironic and less cranky, more relax and in a good mood. He still had his bad days, of course, like everyone else had. Or maybe, since he was not like everyone else, his bad days were still really bad ones, but force was to acknowledge that there were less of them than usual.

During their private moments, alone together, House and Cuddy had started to talk to each other, about them. They also had sex. A lot. Long and passionate nights of sex, without a sound, except the ones made by their longing and voluptuous sighs. But they also talked. And that feeling felt new to House: Sharing with someone, again. It was something he hadn't experienced in a long time which is why, at first, he'd been kind of reluctant to speak about himself. But Cuddy had been patient.

It'd always struck him: How she was able to be there, just silently waiting, until he would feel ready. She was and had always been one of the only women he'd trust enough to open up and he owed that to her. She was being careful not to push him, not to demand anything and that's how, little by little, she'd tamed his apprehensions a little.

As they were spending most of their nights together, just like that, they'd built intimacy, while talking, for hours on end. They'd laugh and then they'd stare at each other. Other times, they'd just look away because of the heaviness of the words they'd said, but eventually they'd shared. Not everything, though. Some subjects still remained off-limits. They both knew which ones, and they respected that.

House had barely talked about his father and shared very little of the aftermath of his breakup with Stacy. Cuddy had kept the deception of not being a mother to herself and she'd barely evoked the men she'd considered as potential genetic fathers for the child she'd wanted to conceive either.

The intimacy was undoubtedly there, but it was fragile and, unconsciously, they knew what they needed to avoid doing to preserve it. It was the same with what they felt for each other. That thing was there between them, conspicuous, undeniable, and evident, and they perfectly knew its name… Yet, they never talked about it, never named it, or said the words aloud…

It was as if they were too scared that once they'd say it, it could destroy the fragile nature of their relation. They were both afraid it would break the spell because they were so amazed by their perfect connection that, sometimes, they simply couldn't believe it was actually true.

# # # # #

It was a Thursday, late in the afternoon.

House was alone in his office, taking a nap. His team was taking care of the patient, a mid-thirty woman who probably had Myasthenia gravis. The diagnosis was made. All they had to do was to wait for the lab to bring the test results to confirm and then, they'd start treatment.

He loved those moments when the tension was low and he could let his mind wander and muse about nothing in particular, feeling just lighthearted and carefree, knowing that he wouldn't be disturbed. His eyes were closed but he was thinking about her. Irrepressibly, a faint smile flickered across his lips at the image of her just standing in front of him, looking down at him.

"House, are you sleeping?"

It was incredible how vivid his dreams could be! It was as if he could actually hear her voice for real.

"House, I know you're not sleeping! You're smiling. You can't smile in your sleep."

"Actually, I can. Because I'm thinking about you," he answered without opening his eyes, beaming wider.

A short silence followed his statement and he knew she was smiling, too. He opened his eyes and saw her standing in front of his lounge chair, looking down at him with the exact same grin he'd imagined she'd have.

"What are you doing here?" he teased. "Aren't you supposed to seduce some rich donors and convince them to give tons of dollars to this hospital so you can finally grant me a raise?"

Cuddy exhaled a quiet laugh but didn't even bother to comment.

"I wanted to see if everything was okay with your patient," she said, wiggling a little and looking down at her feet so he wouldn't catch her slightly embarrassed look, seeing that her motive to be here was a lie.

And, of course, House didn't buy it. He knew her too well. It was his turn to chuckle blissfully.

"Ooh, you're such a liar! You're definitely not here for my patient. You already know about my patient. I told you last night it was Myasthenia gravis-"

"The tests haven't confirmed it yet!" she defended herself, and her pout was saying that she didn't really care if they did.

"Why can't you just say you wanted to see me?" he asked, staring intently into her light-grey eyes.

She sighed and felt unmasked. There was no point in fighting it anyway. Yes, she wanted to see him because days were long and even if she was busy and he was busy, the idea of him being in the same building sometimes just hit her and then, she'd feel the compelling urge to run to him.

"I wanted to see you," she confessed in a faint voice. She came closer to the ottoman. "Move your feet," she commanded, bending to sit down where his feet were still laid.

House smiled and docilely complied. She sat down and they silently stared at each other for a few seconds until, at some point, Cuddy had to grip the edge of the ottoman not to give in to the irrepressible need to huddle up against him inside the lounge chair.

"You want to kiss me," he said, tilting his head to the side.

"Not more than you do," she shot back, raising her chin defiantly.

"Maybe you're right," he admitted with a hoarse voice that sent a shiver up her spine.

They both sighed resignedly, and she ran the tip of her tongue on her lower lip, not really aware of the effect it had on him.

"You know, I think I wouldn't mind the glass walls if we actually had sex right here, now," he said.

Upon hearing his crazy suggestion, Cuddy furrowed her brow disapprovingly.

"I'm just saying this, in case your plan is to keep turning me on like you're deliberately doing right now-"

"I'm not delib-" she puffed, faking to be shocked but stopped and smiled when she registered his boyish grin.

"You'd better not finish late tonight!" he warned, reaching out his hand to touch hers.

She stared intently at his fingers brushing the back of her hand and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to imprint the nude simplicity of that image in her mind.

"Things are going on pretty well between us, right?" she said, unexpectedly. "I mean… we get along, somehow, don't you think?"

"How do you mean?" he questioned with a smile.

"I mean," she looked away and her voice suddenly sounded like a hushed whisper, "why do you still want to be with me? Why are you with me?"

"I don't know," he replied with a gravelly voice.

She turned her head back to him and looked at him in puzzlement, and a hint of sadness pass behind her eyes.

"But I can tell you why I'm not with you for," he immediately added, locking eyes with her.

"Why then?"

For some reasons, House knew it was now. He wasn't really comfortable with the whole idea of putting a 'label' on his feelings for her, but he couldn't lie to her anymore and keep pretending that what they had together was just something meaningless.

"I'm not with you for the sex," he said, feeling a little jittery. "I mean, don't get me wrong… sex with you? Wow, amazing! Really. But truth is, I'm not with you just for that. If I were, I would have kept getting some with hookers."

Cuddy's mouth fell agape in bewilderment, and she removed her hand from his.

"Ok so, correct me if I'm wrong but sleeping with me is way much convenient for you because it's… free?"

"Oh-ho, don't underestimate you! You know, in your own way, you never miss an opportunity to make me pay as much as you can," he answered, with a little extravagance in his voice, trying to maintain a bantering tone.

"Wait, what?! Are you saying that… I'm a hooker?"

"Nooo. Actually, what I'm saying is that you're not a hooker. What I'm saying is," he sighed, searching for the right words, "you have other things to offer apart from the sex."

"Like what?"

"You've got beer in your fridge!"

"House, I'm serious."

"So am I! Beer is a very serious thing, you know."

Cuddy narrowed her eyes at him, challengingly, and he couldn't help but feel all the power she had on him just then. She had him wrapped around her finger, somehow, and there was nothing he could do about it. He stared at her with a puppy face, silently begging her to stop but she'd visibly decided not to let him get away with it.

"Are you saying you… like me, House?" she pressed.

"Are you asking me to tell you I… like you?"

"Don't deflect, just answer my question."

House sighed heavily and suddenly pulled himself out of his chair. Once he stood in front of her, he peered at her with sorry eyes.

"Cuddyyyy," he drawled. "You know I'm not good at this. Dammit, you know how I feel. You-"

"No, I don't," she insisted.

She stood up, too, and came close to him. She stopped just an inch away from him and raised her lovely face up. And right then, just with one longing gaze, he knew he was defeated.

"Ok," he said, sighing. "I can write it on the whiteboard if you want."

She frowned, intrigued, and followed him in the conference room. He took the black marker and uncapped it. Holding it mid-air, he stared at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, let's see what we have here," he said turning his back to her to write on the whiteboard. "This is a quite complicated case. We have a patient… presented with long inherent…"

And he wrote. Cuddy read the first words and held her breath, feeling her heart speed up in her chest.

CYNISCISM
GRUMPINESS
DEAD MUSCLE IN THE LEG
ADDICTION TO PAIN MEDS

House held the marker up and stood in front of the board, hesitating. Then finally, he took a deep breath and added:

DAMAGED HEART

He turned around to face her and stared intensely at her and she bit her lip as a pang of emotion tugged at her heartstrings. He smiled shyly and spun round to face the whiteboard again.

"Thing is, that broken patient's been submitted to a highly pathogen strain for quite some years… I think it's called 'Dean of Medicine'" he added.

He flashed a teasing smile at her over his shoulder and she rolled her eyes.

"All of that triggered a chain reaction, inevitable of course, because… that's what this dangerous and toxic poison does to him. The symptoms have been persistent for years, but they tend to show up randomly. We have,"

Quickly, he added a list of words on the whiteboard.

POWER GAMES
BANTER
SQUABBLING
SEXUAL INNUENDOS

"Leading to…"

NAUGHTY THOUGHTS
FANTASIES
DESIRE

"And finally, let's face it,"

SEX

"Lots of sex, actually! And then-"

House sighed and waited a moment in front of the whiteboard. He put the cap back on the marker and turned around to face her.

"All of that finally led to unexpected feelings of relief for the patient's leg and chest pain," he said, locking eyes with her.

He was staring at her, looking touchingly self-conscious, like a shy college boy, and Cuddy stared back at him, her heart pounding inside her chest. She felt the need to be close to him and took the few steps that still separated them.

"Symptoms are showing up in a kind of irrational pattern," House added, hoarsely. "So, I don't really know what the diagnosis is. What do you think it could be?"

"I'm a lousy doctor, remember?" she answered with a mischievous smile. "I can't figure this out alone. I need the help of a brilliant diagnostician-"

"Well, my opinion is..." He took a step forward and planted his big blue eyes in hers. "It's probably a massive allergic reaction."

"Sure! Never rule out allergy too quickly," she said grinning.

"Actually, it's too soon to tell. But as long as we're not completely sure, we can't remove the patient from the source. Could be even riskier."

"Absolutely!" she said, nodding her approval. "We definitely can't do that. So, what would you say if we'd try doubling the dose, starting… tonight?" she suggested coyly.

House's eyebrows arched in mock surprise, and he pulled her into his arms.

"Why not now?"

"Because we're in a hospital, in your office, surrounded with glass walls. People could come here any minute."

"There's no one here," he assessed, groping her ass possessively.

"House, stop!" she half-squealed, pushing him away. "I've gotta go anyway. I have paperwork to do. Go home and I'll meet you there in two hours."

"Yes, mistress!" he groaned with a deep voice.

She glowered at him and then gave a quick glance around her. There was indeed nobody around. She stood up on tiptoe and swiftly stole him a kiss before he could even realize she'd come near him. She took a step back and enjoyed the look of surprise on his face. Then, she turned on her heel and walked toward the exit. When she was just about to pass the door, she stopped and turned around to face him again. He was still standing immobile in front of the whiteboard.

"You know," she said with a tender smile. "That allergy you've described… I think I have it, too."

And the next second, she was gone. House watched her walk away toward the elevator, swinging her hips sensually. He faced the whiteboard again, took the pad and gave a long, last look to what was written on it.

Then he swabbed the whiteboard clean in one wide movement of his arm.

A/N

wow, I mean WOW! thank you so much for the spontaneous, kind answers you gave me yesterday, washing all my – stupid, let's face it – doubts away.

I have to say I'm feeling foolish now because clearly... I still have readers, and wonderful ones I shall add! but it's the site's fault! I swear it told me the place was deserted. can I say that I'm glad it made some of you crawl out of their holes, though? :)

anyway, I hope you liked this new chapter. I understand all of your comments about why you think House and Cuddy should open up to each other more, and say the "L" word... ah, but this word is a powerful, sacred one in the land of Huddy and the journey to that land is not over yet!

thank you again: I loved and appreciated all your reactions! I promise I'll never doubt you again!

have a wonderful monday night! ~ maya

ps: (to oc7ober) my life is currently busy as hell, so I can never seem to find enough time to sit down and write + I'm also writing my Mayfield Healing Process fic, and a weekly Huddy review of every new House epi, available in GD on fox (in case it interests someone...) but I promise the morning after, involving the parents, will come very soon.