HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
Here's the new chapter… medical, because, if you remember, Cuddy had an appointment in MGH for a reason… and it's time to find out how things go…

** CHAPTER 63 **

They reentered Bill's office side by side. He was seated behind his desk, with his head down, reading some files, and he jumped in his chair at the sound of his door being opened. He squinted at Lisa first, conspicuously avoiding House's gaze and interrogating her instead about the ongoing situation with a quizzical gaze.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, not really knowing at that point if she had willingly participated in everything he'd witnessed.

Cuddy sent him a wide reassuring smile and walked toward the desk.

"Yes. I'm fine, thank you." She waved her hand gesturing in the space between her and House. "Just a little… thing, Greg and I had to discuss. But we're good now. Sorry we made you wait."

"Well, err, that's okay," Bill muttered a bit puzzled.

Cuddy sat back in the chair across Bill's desk. House remained standing behind her, and enveloped her shoulders with his hands possessively, shooting Bill a "private property – keep out" warning glare. Cuddy, feeling House's touch on her, instinctively covered his right hand with her left, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You should sit down" she whispered to him, tilting her head back to meet his gaze. "Your leg-"

"I'm fine," House cut her off, staring obstinately at Bill for another few lingering seconds.

He still lowered his gaze and smiled fondly at her, slowly sliding his hand from her shoulder to the crook of her neck, giving it a light caress with the tip his thumb before letting go of his grab and stepping aside to sit down on the chair beside her.

Bill took a green folder on his desk, glanced at House and Cuddy, and then cleared his throat.

"Well, as I was saying to Lisa, before, err, that small interruption, we have her latest test results. They show no abnormality, so we can now be reassured. First of all, and thankfully, we ruled out cancer."

House tried not to wince too noticeably at the constant use of the pronoun 'we', which was incredibly annoying to him and made him want to punch Bill in the face. Instead, he focused on the first real, medical information he heard on Cuddy's case since the moment she'd first told him about her lump. His eagerness to finally learn more and be able to fill in the blanks was almost aching, but he stiffened in his chair to repress his nervousness and set his lips waiting for Bill to elaborate.

"We double checked her CA15-3-" Bill went on, unaware of House's edgy attitude.

"Why would you check Cancer Antigen if this is not cancer?" House interrupted, incapable of remaining passively silent one more second.

"We wouldn't take any chances," Bill answered evenly. "We did an ultrasound first, but the result wasn't conclusive enough. The mass didn't look fluid filled but it seemed to point to an atypical ductal hyperplasia…"

"So, you did a biopsy?" House interrupted him again, almost worriedly.

"No. Biopsy is invasive. Lisa suggested the reasonable approach first. We had her mammogram and the result of the ultrasound, testing blood seemed enough, and moreover, it could authorize more related tests. We chose-"

House turned his head in Cuddy's direction, and they silently locked eyes for a brief moment. He opened his mouth to comment but Cuddy, knowing his susceptibility and the sensitiveness of the topic, reached out her hand to touch his arm.

"Greg," she said reassuringly before he could speak, "I know testing for CA15-3 marker is not the standard procedure, but it has the widest range of accuracy to point to any other kind of benign breast diseases."

House turned to face Bill and looked at him almost angrily as if he were accusing him of not being able to convince his patient to do the right things, but instead let her follow some stupid, stubborn, and thoughtless intuition he would never have allowed if he'd been the one taking care of her. Cuddy knew House, and she knew him well. So, she instantly guessed what he was thinking then and, before he could say anything, she narrowed her eyes at him defiantly.

"Don't you dare tell me I'm wrong," she said. "Maybe you don't like it that way, but this is exactly the kind of test you'd have done."

House furrowed his brow, staring at her with piercing eyes, and she held her chin up to sustain his gaze, until he finally caved and cocked his head to the side to look at Bill.

"Lisa is right," the physician said with a resolute tone. "There're plenty of other breast benign affections that can be pointed by this test, like mammary dysplasia or fibro adenoma-"

The file that Bill was holding undoubtedly contained the final results and, unconsciously, House couldn't keep his eyes off of it. He was intensely staring at it even though, from where he was seated, it was impossible for him to read any of its content. Bill didn't pay attention to House's sudden obsessive focus on his waving hand, too conceitedly happy to have regained a little power in the verbal exchange by being the one who had the information.

Cuddy, however, didn't fail to notice where House's focus was and she interrupted Bill to ask him to hand her the document, which he did compliantly. She took it from him, and kept it close to her chest first, without opening it, and then she jerked her head to the side and stared at House. House's eyes having mechanically followed the file's trajectory, locked with hers and, for a brief but timeless moment, it felt as if they were alone in the room: Just him and her, and a green file. Cuddy narrowed her eyes and House's breath went short.

"You want to have a look at it?" she asked, tantalizingly handing him the file.

He paused for a moment, scrutinizing her, visibly contemplating his options, though not daring to ask if she was jerking him around because she was still mad at him that he'd left her alone earlier, or if she was really being serious. Cuddy waited a few seconds, and imperceptibly raised her eyebrows in disbelief, surprised by House's lack of reaction, but she didn't insist and took the file back.

"Ok," she simply said, without any further comment but with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

The tone of her voice seemed to jolt House back to his real priority and he swiftly leaned forward to snatch the folder out of her hands.

"No, gimme!" he said, opening the file, instantly flicking through the pages.

"CA15-3's level is at 38," he immediately remarked, his eyes intently scanning the results.

He didn't bother confronting Bill about it and chose to conspicuously ignore him instead. But he turned to face Cuddy and interrogated her with a quizzical look, within which laid a question they both perfectly understood without word.

"I know what you're thinking House," she said quietly, "but I'm not pregnant, if that's what you're afraid of."

"I'm not afraid of you being pregnant," he corrected, even though he wouldn't admit it, his heart had skipped a beat or two at the rare but possible cause for an increased level of the breast cancer marker. "I'm just concerned about a level which exceeds the normal admitted range."

"Oh no, don't worry," Bill exclaimed buoyantly, desperately calling back for attention, "We checked Lisa's HCG level and they're negative for pregnancy. You don't have to fear that a baby-"

Feeling House's virulent glare on him, Bill realized, a little too late, that his way of phrasing the news was rather inappropriate.

"Thank you, Bill," House snapped with a stern voice, imperceptibly clutching his thigh, "but this is not about me fearing anything or anyone. All I'm saying is that CA15-3 marker is slightly higher than it should be. And as a doctor, I know that I would want to know why-"

"Which is exactly why we did an MRI…"

House promptly flipped through the pages and his eyes stopped on the contrasted colored images taken during the exam. He raised his face, looking dumbfounded, and alternatively shot Bill and Lisa a few probing looks.

"There's nothing there," he said, visibly puzzled.

He glanced again at Cuddy who flashed him a coy smile. He focused back on Bill, turning to face him. "Are you sure you've examined the right breast?"

"House!" Cuddy exclaimed disapprovingly.

"I'm sorry, but neither mammary dysplasia nor fibro adenoma can be there one day and disappeared the next one," House stated, still looking at Bill.

"No, but cysts can."

"You said the mass wasn't fluid filled-"

"I said it didn't look fluid filled. I guess it was a misreading of the ultrasound images. They can sometimes make certain areas look darker on the screen than they really are."

House pondered Bill's explanation for a few seconds, intensely scrutinizing the handsome, smug doctor who annoyed him so much, and wondering if he should really trust his judgment at this point. However, as much as he hated to admit it, his reasoning made sense, so he turned his head toward Cuddy and studied her smiling face with a cautious expression.

"So, this is it?" he asked. "That was just a cyst?"

"Yes," Cuddy confirmed. "It was just a cyst and now it's gone; just as it occurs in half the cases."

"What about atypical ductal hyperplasia?" House insisted, refusing to allow himself to feel complete relief and unconsciously denying logic.

Cuddy looked at him with a soft, reassuring face.

"I think that if the MRI images showed nothing, then it simply means that there is nothing," she told him gently. "Bill was about to do a CBE to confirm when you arrived."

"Yes," Bill confirmed. "All we need to do now is a clinical breast exam, which I'm sure will lead to the same reassuring conclusion that there is nothing to worry about anymore."

Walking the talk, he promptly stood up and so did Cuddy. She walked toward a door behind his desk that Bill opened for her, which revealed an outer office that looked like an informal small laboratory, equipped to be used as an exam room. When House saw Cuddy disappear in that cold and impersonal environment, he promptly got up too and hurried to join her inside. He walked past Bill, who was still standing at the door, and he noticed, quite very childishly that he was a little bit taller than him, so he stuck out his chest and entered the room.

"Just wait for me for a few minutes," Bill said to Lisa before he closed the door. "I have a phone call to make and then we'll do the CBE."

Inside the room, Cuddy sat down on the exam table and mechanically took her shirt off. She pointed to a coat rack where a hospital gown was hanging.

"Can you hand me the gown, please?" she said to House, motioning toward the garment with her hand.

He looked at her, bare-chested, and promptly took the gown before giving it to her so she could cover herself while waiting for Bill to come back. She put it on and crisscrossed it in front of her chest without tying the laces. House observed her silently and he suddenly felt a little annoyed and upset. That same morning, just as he had bragged about moments earlier when he'd first enter Bill's office, he had held her breasts in his hands. And now, he couldn't even remember if there was anything unusual about them or how they had felt under his touch.

He was desperately trying to focus his mind back on the feeling, trying to recall if he had sensed any mass or lump, but all he could bring back was the lustful memory of how tender and warm her skin was inside the palm of his hands. He heaved a deep sigh, somewhat angry at himself for being so easily weakened and distracted by a pair of boobs – even if it was her pair of boobs, and that surely was a good reason to lose the sense of reality just once in a while – and now Bill was going to touch them? Uh-ho, no way in hell he could just stand there and watch that happening! He clenched his jaw and a low groan involuntary escaped his throat.

"House, are you okay?" Cuddy's voice jolted him back to reality and he turned to look at her.

"I can do the breast exam myself," he suggested.

"Nooo, please, don't do that." She sighed and raised her hand to touch his cheek. "We had an agreement: no clinical touch of my breasts."

"We never made such agreement!" he protested unconvincingly.

"Please-"

He set his lips and averted his gaze, before half-heartedly nodding his approval.

"Fine," he mumbled. "But if that guy is keeping his hands where they shouldn't-"

"House, stop!"

He limped in front of her and made his way between her legs to come closer to the edge of the table on which she was seated. He sighed resignedly and covered her shoulders with his large hands, staring intensely into her eyes.

"Are you guys ready?" Bill said, stepping in the room, startling them.

House jumped and removed his hands from Cuddy's shoulders, reluctantly taking a few steps back to move away from the table, his eyes still locked with hers. Cuddy straightened on the exam table and took her eyes off of House to look at Bill. The physician stood in front of her, just where House was a few seconds before. Cuddy tipped her head to the side and searched for his gaze. It was undecipherable, but he was still undeniably staring at her, and she thought she spotted a slight trace of sadness behind his eyes. She sucked in a sharp breath and spread the gown open.

"Bend your arm behind your head, please," Bill instructed.

House clenched his jaw and gripped his cane handle tighter while he watched the man put his hand on one of her breasts and thoroughly palpate her silky skin. He shut his eyes closed briefly and when he re-opened them, he forced himself to focus his gaze on her face. Cuddy was unconsciously biting her bottom lip a little and he could feel her obvious discomfort, as the hand of the man continued to search around her nipple area, plopping his fingertips around the areola and slowly pressing the flesh to detect any abnormal lump underneath.

At some point, she must have sensed the intensity of House's gaze on her because, suddenly, without any particular reason, she turned her head in his direction and locked eyes with him. House saw her gulp and it made him want to skip to her and throw the unwanted doctor aside so he coud take her in his arms. But that was clearly not an option, so he smiled reassuringly at her instead and kept staring at her, offering through the intensity of his piercing blue gaze the only anchor he had for her to cling to.

"Nothing here," Bill's voice echoed into the room.

A shy smile flickered on Cuddy's lips and House nodded encouragingly. She inhaled deeply through her nose and lifted her other arm up to help carrying on with the CBE. Bill proceeded with the clinical exam with as much care as he had with her other breast, conscientiously touching every area that needed to be examined, from her nipple to her armpit, following the inner and outer curves of her breast with his fingers.

Finally, after what probably were only short minutes, but looked like hours, he removed his hand from her chest and took a step back.

"Everything seems fine to me!" he declared enthusiastically.

"Seems?" House provoked, stepping closer to Cuddy who had crossed the gown on her breast again to cover herself.

Bill turned to House and looked at him with a puzzled face, still unable to decipher the real nature of the man that had stepped inside his office and who kept acting in a weird, unconventional way, to say the least.

"No, of course, I mean everything is fine. There's no trace of a lump or abnormal mass anymore," he declared assertively, sustaining House's stare.

"Really?" Cuddy asked shyly.

"Yes, Lisa, you're fine." Bill confirmed the good news to her with a reassuring smile.

He told her she could get dressed, and that he'd wait for her in his office, where he'd write his medical conclusions to complete her file. He sent her a warm smile and gave a manly nod to House before leaving them alone in the room. Cuddy quickly put her bra back, and put her shirt back on, buttoning it while looking at House with a relieved smile.

"See?" she told him with a soft voice, "I told you I was fine."

He helped her climb down the exam table and welcomed her in his arms.

"Don't get smart with me, cute butt," he said, squinting his eyes at her and enclosing her against him. "You weren't all that sure, just a minute ago."

"I-" Cuddy started to protest but House cupped her jaw and promptly silenced her with a kiss. When he drew apart, she looked at him interrogatively.

"Too much talking, not enough kissing," he explained with a roguish smile. "You know you really need to learn when to shut up."

"Look who's trying to get smart now," she exclaimed, playfully. "You weren't all that sure yourself!"

"Yeah, well, let's drop it" House said, with a sudden seriousness, cutting the banter off, and looking away.

Cuddy bit her lip, understanding how prickly it still was for the both of them to admit their fears to each other, even now that the threatening shadow had disappeared from their horizon.

"We'll test your blood for CA15-3 as soon as possible and—" House started to say with gravity.

"No," Cuddy objected, firmly. "I don't want to do any more exams."

"But your level is at 38!" House exclaimed, as if it was enough good a reason to stop discussing the subject any further.

"Was," she corrected. "The blood sample was taken last week when I still had the lump. The slight elevation was due to the cyst, and now that it's gone, it should be fine…"

"Should, not is. You won't be sure until you test it again. What difference does it make, anyway? It's just a blood sample."

"No!" she objected again stubbornly, staring into his eyes. "You're worrying too much. It's unnecessary, and you know it. You saw the MRI images, and you heard Bill just like me: there is no lump anymore. I'm fine. Please, House, I've had no other symptom except the lump and the lump is gone!"

She came closer to him and snuggled up in his arms. She looked up at him with fondness and raised her hand to caress his stubble.

"I know what's bothering you," she said gently, and she felt his jaw clench inside the palm of her hand while his gaze darkened slightly, "You've watched everything from an upstaged position, without being involved and now you're forced to rely on another doctor's conclusion. You hate that you're not the one who checked everything yourself, I know. But you have to accept the facts for what they are and be rational."

She stretched her neck as much as she could to bring her face close to his and she lightly rubbed her chin against his. He sighed, defeated, and she smiled, reassured.

"Fine," he mumbled, stepping back a little to look at her better. "If that's what you want then no more tests."

"Thank you," she whispered earnestly. "Now, let's get my medical file back and then take me away from here"

She took a step back to break away from his embrace and walked toward Bill's office.

A/N

I hope you had great holidays! Personally, I think they never last long enough! :)

Tomorrow I'll be back to work but, surprisingly, when I tend to get busy is when I happily keep doing more, so despite promising to write during the Xmas hiatus while I basically did pretty much nothing… I might get more productive now! Go figure…

I wasn't completely inactive, though, because I have written a one-shot, called "His Last Chance" and posted here before New Year's Eve. If you feel like checking it…
Anyway, I've missed you…

best new year's wishes ~ maya