So this took way longer than I planned, so sorry! This month is a tough one at work, but I will still try to post once a week :)

Hope I continue to entertain! Let me know...

The phone rang faintly, filtering down the hallway as they slept, rousing Cuddy from the wonderful slumber she had fallen into. She immediately became aware of where she was, delicately cushioned safely against House's long frame. Slowly opening her eyes, she began to take him in all over again, the way they molded to each other so perfectly, how the ever intoxicating smell of his skin stirred in her feelings of comfort and indescribable desire. She could hear his heartbeat strongly in her ear from the way her head rested against his chest; her arm was lying loosely around his waist.

House was still engulfing her with his strong arms, just like he had when she fell asleep against him, tightly gripping her to his body as if he were frightened to let go, worried she would disappear while he was sleeping, and he would lose her all over again.

The phone stopped ringing before Cuddy could bring herself to move from the entrancing state her body was positioned in, but she could see through the window that the sun was high in the sky, and she recalled House telling Rachel he was leaving tomorrow. Today was the last day they had to truly talk. She knew he didn't come here to take care of two sick girls; he had come to France for another reason.

As she carefully shifted upright, he started to wake as well, immediately loosening his hold on her and opening his eyes.

Cuddy moved her legs off his lap and pulled away to give him room, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's okay, " he said hoarsely as he looked around the room, rubbing the back of his neck."I think my head would fall off if I continued to sleep in that position anyway."

Cuddy nodded in agreement as she tucked her hair behind her ears, feeling how tangled it was, and suddenly becoming insecure about how awful she must look at the moment. House sensed her worry and brought his hand up to her, bravely running his fingers down a strand of her hair, "Have I mentioned I like how long your hair is now?"

Cuddy felt her mouth run dry from his fingers toying with her tangled locks. "No," she managed to reply.

House dropped his hand back down, "You feeling better?"

"I think so. How about you, have you felt any symptoms?"

"Haven't had any urges to pull an exorcist like you and Rachel did. I was only exposed for an hour before I took the antibiotics, so I should be fine."

"Good." Cuddy heard the phone ring again and remembered why she had woken up in the first place. "I should get that, it rang about five minutes ago."

"Is that what disturbed our beauty sleep?"

Cuddy smiled as she removed herself from the couch. She made her way down the hallway, and reached for the phone on her nightstand. "Hello?"

"Hey."

A familiar voice sounded back at her. "Wilson?"

House heard her say his name and he knew this phone call couldn't be good. He hadn't told Wilson he was leaving but he knew he would figure it out eventually. However he also knew that if Wilson chose to interrupt his time with Cuddy, it would be for an important reason.

"Yeah. It's been a long time I know." Wilson confirmed.

"It's nice to hear your voice." She smiled into the phone. "But I'm going to assume that if you're calling me it's only because you know House is here."

"Well…" He cleared his throat, "I want to talk to you too. I miss you."

"I miss you too, but you're a horrible liar. " She looked up when she was speaking in the phone to find House hovering in her doorway, looking guilty. "House didn't tell you he was coming to see me, did he?"

She could hear Wilson sigh, "No."

"Hold on he's right here." Cuddy put the phone down on the bed and walked over to House, "What, did you leave in the middle of a case or something?"

"Something like that." House replied more seriously than he intended, and he knew it did not go unnoticed by her.

She took a step closer to him and searched his eyes for some answer to what was going on, but he gave her nothing back. "Well, I will let you deal with that while I take a shower."

House's eyes grew wide and mischievous, "Oh Wilson can wait. You still might be too weak for that. My nursing skills also include giving excellent sponge baths." He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

It took all of her in that moment not to rip his shirt off his body and take him up on his enticing offer. "Well…" she tilted her head, attempting to play along with his teasing, and ignore the pulsating sensations shooting through her at the thought of showering with him. "You should have thought of that before you decided to piss off Wilson."

House almost melted into a puddle as he saw her lick her lips before she disappeared down the hall and shut the bathroom door. He caught his breath and made his way to the phone lying on the bed, "What?" He said through clenched teeth.

"Hello to you too." Wilson began, "You should have told me where you were going. Or better yet, hung around to find out your results before you left the country."

"Oh relax officer. I'm leaving tomorrow. I was only staying for the weekend."

"Oh…well in that case-" Wilson back peddled, rethinking telling House anything over the phone.

"Just tell me Wilson. I know you aren't calling to lecture me for not getting a permission slip signed to leave town."

House could practically hear Wilson thinking through the phone before he spoke, letting out a sigh before he began, "The tumor is very small, but it's back House. The treatment method you chose wasn't strong enough for this kind of growth. We have to do surgery. If we open you up, there is a strong possibility we can get it all this time."

House bowed his head, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, he knew this was coming, but a small part of him thought maybe…he might actually get lucky this time. "I have time, I don't have to make any decisions now."

"What decision House? There are no alternatives anymore."

"I know. But like you said my tumor is very small, I need more time to process this. I will be back on Tuesday…but I'm taking the day off, be sure to inform Principal Wilson I will be back to school on Wednesday." House hung up on him before anything else could be said. He sat very still on the bed for awhile longer, working on pushing his fear aside and focus on why he came…his tumor could wait, winning Cuddy back could not.

He heard the shower shut off, and the door open a minute later. Light footsteps shuffled down the hall as she made her way back towards her bedroom, appearing before him in the doorway wearing nothing but a small blue towel wrapped around her.

"Are you trying to kill me?" House questioned as he stared at her bare thighs still glistening with water only a few feet from him.

"I forgot to bring a change of clothes. You are in my bedroom remember." She walked over to her closet, waiting to smile at the effect she made on him until her back was turned.

"Right my mistake. But now that I'm here…"

Cuddy spun around to him with fresh clothes in her hands. He was still sitting upon her bed, but she knew if she gave him the go ahead he would sweep her up in a matter of seconds. The urge to allow that to happen was overwhelming, but she didn't want to rush into anything, the failure of their last attempt at a relationship rang through her ears like a thunderstorm of warning, she could still hear the sound of his mania crashing through her dining room, "Is everything okay with Wilson?" She changed the subject.

"Yeah, we will kiss and make up when I get back."

"Which is when?" She asked, already knowing the answer, but House didn't know she overheard his conversation with Rachel the night before.

"My flight leaves tomorrow morning." He tried to read her reaction to his answer but he couldn't make out what she was thinking. "Is it okay if I stay here again tonight?"

"Yes." she responded quickly, causing House to smile. A part of her wanted him to stay forever, but a part of her was relieved he was leaving the next day. She needed more time to decide what she wanted, and it was a lot easier to be clear headed when he was thousands of miles away…not sitting in her bedroom, staring at her with pure lust written all over his face.

"You should put those on." He gestured to the clothes she was clutching in her hand, "Don't want your fever to come back." House got up and walked over to her, he could tell she was getting flustered and he didn't want her to think that he only came to France because he wanted to sleep with her. Stopping in front of her, he reached up and put his hands on her bare arms, running his fingers slowly down her skin before he placed a soft kiss on top of her head, "I'm going to take a shower," he dropped his hands and limped over to grab his duffel bag still sitting by her chair. "And I'm taking my clothes with me to change in there." He pointed down the hall, "I don't want you to get any wild ideas if I were to walk out wearing nothing but a towel."

Cuddy smiled and shook her head at him as he left; releasing her breath she had been holding from his gentle touch. She still loved the sarcastic pain in her ass so unbelievably much, but she had to figure out if she truly could forgive him for all the pain he had caused her. Once the luster of being so near to him again wore off, could she still stay with him despite everything he had done, and could easily do again…

She heard the shower turn on as Rachel's bedroom door opened. Her daughter emerged slowly still wearing her pajamas from the day before; her hair was matted to her face like a rabid dog.

Cuddy threw on her sweater and went down the hall to her. "Hey Rach, how are you feeling?" She swept the hair out of her face and look down at her still ashen looking daughter.

"I'm hungry."

Cuddy smiled, "Good, so am I. How about some toast?"

Rachel nodded and made her way to the couch clutching 'Housie' and 'Lisa' to her chest as she sat down carefully. Cuddy could tell she was moving slower than normal, which was fitting to how Cuddy herself felt at the moment.

She made her way to the kitchen and fixed Rachel and her some mild food, knowing not to tempt fate with anything too potent for their weakened stomachs. Once fed, she went to the washing machine to finally dry the bedding for the two still naked beds she had in her home. When she opened it up she saw it empty, and was pleasantly surprised to find them fluffy and clean resting inside of the dryer. 'House must have done this,' she realized, totally in shock at his forethought. It was an action from him that she most certainly had never seen before, a simple unselfish gesture that immediately made her heart fill with happiness, he was trying…she needed to recognize that.

House emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed as promised, breaking her out of her thoughts, making his way to the kitchen and perched himself on a barstool in front of her, "What's for breakfast my dear?"

"Well technically it's lunch already, but I made some toast and jelly, you want a piece?" She held out a half eaten bite of toast from her plate.

House looked at the offer and smiled, "Only If you throw some bacon and eggs on it." He quipped getting up from his stool to raid the refrigerator personally.

Cuddy felt her stomach churn at the mention of any sort of meat, and closed her eyes against urge, "Please don't talk about food like that…my stomach can't take it."

"Still feeling queasy?" House closed the refrigerator and crossed over to her, briefly touching her forehead to check for fever.

Cuddy tried all she could not to tremble outwardly at his caring touch, "I wasn't till until about two seconds ago." She weakly offered.

"Sorry…I guess that means I have to scratch the four-course meal I had planned on cooking you tonight."

"You have never cooked me a four course meal."

"Well there is a first time for everything. I'm an excellent cook you know."

"I've heard talk of such rumors, but I never got the pleasure of seeing this talent of yours first hand."

"That's because I wouldn't be able to cook anything decent with you hovering beside me, distracting me with your body. All I'd want to do is throw you on the kitchen table and have my way with you. No good cooking could come of that….mind blowing sex yes, but not cooking." He smirked inching closer to her than he already was, purposely getting as close to her as he possibly could without touching.

Cuddy felt the heat off his body, as he invaded her space with a spark in his eyes that she loved so dearly, and had missed so much. She forced herself to ignore her desire, it was all too soon, "I do not hover." She replied, attempting to sound nonchalant. Trying with all her strength to not throw him down on her kitchen table right then and there.

"Yes you do."

Cuddy rolled her eyes and finally mustered the courage to back away from him, going to the refrigerator and pulling out bagels and cream cheese, "Here, I think this is all we have in the ways of breakfast food, I know you like bagels." She placed it down on the counter and went to bring Rachel some water. Blatant avoidance of the extreme sexual tension between them was all she could come up with in the moment.

House watched as she walked away from him, sighing at her reluctance to let herself be free with him again, knowing he still had a long road to haul before she could allow him completely back into her heart…if she ever would. He also knew that he would settle for nothing less, she had left him before, and he never wanted to experience that again. He needed to be certain this time that she truly wanted him in her life. It was the only way they could be together again, for both of their sakes.

"Can we go outside?" Rachel asked with new light in her eyes after consuming her breakfast, already getting up from the couch and walking to the front door before she had an answer from Cuddy.

"Wait a second, I haven't answered you yet." Cuddy sighed at the sheer exhaustion she was still feeling, hating how sick she felt while House was standing by her side. "Yes we can, but you need a bath and clean clothes first."

House saw Rachel let out a massive sigh and roll her eyes, staring her mother down with pure venom, forcing him to suppress a laugh at the standoff he was currently witness too. "But Mom…I'm clean already," she whined.

"But nothing. Get into the bathroom." Cuddy gave her winning 'I mean business' face that House was all too familiar with. "What are you smiling at?" She turned to House as she saw him smirking out of the corner of her eye.

"Nothing." He said with his hands up teasingly before he lowered them again, looking between their equally perturbed faces, "I missed you two." He said honestly, the words falling out of his mouth before he had time to censor himself.

"I miss you too!" Rachel exclaimed before Cuddy could form a competent response to House's confession…his loving thought. It was one thing to read it in a letter, but another to have him actually expressing himself so sincerely, standing just a few feet away.

"Can we take a stinky bath now Mommy, so we's can play outside." Rachel interrupted switching right back into her four year old whine mode.

Cuddy was staring at House with wide eyes, willing herself to speak. "I-," but Rachel cut her off, yanking on Cuddy's arm with amazing strength, forcing her to rip her stunned eyes away from House and look down at her whiny daughter. "Yes. Go pick out your clothes and bring them to the bathroom, I will meet you in there."

Rachel stomped down the hall to her room and loudly started rummaging her dresser for clean clothes, making it clear that she was still not happy about having to fulfill Cuddy's demand of her cleanliness.

"I go away for a few months and suddenly she's a deranged teenager." House spoke, trying to change the subject from his uncomfortable bout with honesty a minute before. He didn't want her to think she was obligated to return the gesture.

Cuddy locked back into House's eyes despite her daughter's current antics. "You know I missed you too, right?" She spoke just as honestly as he had, it was the absolute truth. Despite all the anger and hurt, she felt his absence with every fiber of her soul.

"I thought maybe you did. " He said carefully, but House inwardly was screaming, 'Yes!' He felt so incredibly relieved to hear her actually say it. "My manhood is irresistible." He responded with slight sarcasm to get her to smile.

"Of course. " She shyly smiled.

House wanted nothing more than to kiss her in that moment. Her smile was faint but it was her eyes that lured him into her, he took a step forward, closing the distance…

"Mommy!" Rachel bellowed from the bathroom, breaking them both apart once more. Their attempts at honest communication being constantly interrupted before anything of true importance could be spoken were starting to drive Cuddy insane.

"I think Linda Blair wants you in the bathroom."

Cuddy sighed, "Once I get her dressed, she can play outside and…maybe we can finally talk."

House nodded, "Yeah."

Cuddy nodded back to him, mirroring his movement; confirming she wanted to figure things out as much as he did. Then, she turned and walked away.

House stayed rooted to his spot in the kitchen and forced himself to choke down the bagel she had laid on the counter. His appetite diminishing rapidly as he thought about what he was going to say to her when they sat down for their 'talk.' Open communication was never his strong personality feature, and ultimately something that always got him into trouble…he knew he would say the wrong thing eventually.

The letters he wrote her over the last few months were moments of reflection and love captured on paper for her to read. It was the first time he had ever really expressed that much of himself to anyone, and it was a terrifying gaping hole he was scared to discuss face to face.

House put the cream cheese back into the refrigerator and made his way outside, sitting down on the porch where he had first laid eyes on Cuddy the day before. He pulled the ibuprofen from his pocket and downed three, his leg was pulsating beneath his touch, gradually becoming more excruciating with each passing moment. House knew it was mostly mental, his leg pain and fears where interlocked like a sadistic joke, constantly reminding him with pain that he actually had feelings.

He tried to shake the fear out of his system, he felt stupid having fears at all. This was Cuddy, and he wanted her back…that was all that mattered, and he wouldn't rest until she was back in his arms. He knew the minute he made the decision to fly to her he would have to be honest, it was the only way to get her back, but openly discussing any amount of truth was out of his element, something he avoided like the plague his whole life, and it was going to be especially difficult without the aid of alcohol or prescription drugs…especially difficult while looking into her beautiful face and seeing the pain he put there.

House heard noises from inside as Rachel slammed open the screen door and walked passed him, clean and ready to play. An armful of stuffed animals and her little head was all he could see as she made her way to sit underneath the tree at the edge of the grass.

The door opened again a couple minutes later and Cuddy came out slowly and made her way to sit next to him on the porch, facing him but keeping some space between them. They looked at each other but no one spoke, neither one of them having any idea where to start.

House tapped his cane against the stairs absentmindedly, and then put it down beside him when he realized his nervous action. "So…, " He cleared his throat, "You didn't drown the little runt in the bathtub, that's good." House looked towards Rachel, watching her line up her dolls in order to bark commands at them.

Cuddy looked to her daughter too, "Yeah, I managed to keep that urge at bay. I still have the power to scare her into compliance occasionally, without resorting to nefarious impulses."

House took a breath, it was now or never, "Nefarious impulses can be dangerous." He spoke quietly.

Cuddy looked back to him then, and saw his serious eyes staring deeply back at her. This was his way of bringing up his irrevocable actions, the impulse that led them to this very moment. "Yes they can."

"Only an idiot bends to impulses that would harm other people."

Cuddy felt a shiver through her body and wrapped her sweater tighter around her, "You're right, only an absolute idiot would do that." She didn't know what else to say, forgiveness for something as big as he accomplished was not easy to give.

"I know an idiot that wishes he had never allowed his anger to hurt the woman he loved, wishes every second of the day that he could take back his mistake."

Cuddy looked away from him before she quietly spoke, "Maybe there are some mistakes that can never be fixed." She felt her throat constrict just speaking her fears out loud.

House took in her words and let it wash over him, searching her eyes for the meaning behind her words; if it was truth or fiction. He could see her pain, but…he always knew when she was lying. "I don't believe that."

Cuddy looked down at her lap, his eyes were studying her and she couldn't stand the scrutiny. "House…what you did-"

"-was an unforgivable nefarious impulse." House finished her thought. Willing her to look back to his eyes to see he meant what he said, that he understood it was unforgivable.

He saw Cuddy wipe the corner of her eye before she lifted her face to his once more. "Yes."

"I know." House shifted his body to face her completely; he needed her to believe him. "Look I understand what I did that day was insane. I was out of my head, I had taken more pills than I care to admit…numbing myself. I had been trying to do that since the moment you left me, and when I saw you with…" he sighed, "You were right, unhappy people do reckless things."

Cuddy drew in a shaky breath as he spoke the same words back to her, the words she threw at him after she discovered his self-destructive surgery in the bathroom. She saw his anguish and utter remorse blaring at her, but she couldn't forget what he had done either. "What you did that day…was beyond anything I thought you were capable of. You destroyed my home like a homicidal sixteen year old…you destroyed me. All I could think was, how could I have foolishly been in love with a man that could do something so incredibly damaging...and then walk away."

"I don't know…" House rubbed his face; his whole body ached with regret. He knew his brain tumor played a part with his poor reaction, along with the drugs, he didn't even remember the crash anymore, it was fragmented in his mind like a book that was missing pages…but he couldn't tell her that; couldn't risk the possibility that she would only come back to him from guilt or misguided compassion.

Cuddy watched him stare off at Rachel lost in thought from the gravity of their conversation. She studied his profile, trying to discern what he was thinking, but she got nothing. The sun was creating a soft glow on his skin, she could make out the lines etched deep in his face, and she took in the way his shoulders were slumped over in defeat. He looked older and skinnier than he had been in a long time, and he seemed lost, in a way that she had never seen from him before. Something had changed in him, 'or maybe I'm the one who changed,' she thought. Whatever the case, they both needed to move on, either together or apart forever.

"House…" she whispered. "I know in my heart that you would do anything to take back what you did that day. I can see it in your face, just as I heard it in your letters. There is no excuse for what you did, pills, alcohol, jealousy…but I would be a fool to deny how much I hurt you too. I know that I broke your heart just as much as you broke mine that day."

"I'm sorry." House spoke, his voice choking with emotion.

Cuddy saw the tears forming in his eyes, the same tears that were in hers. She wanted to reach out to him, take away his sorrow; forgive him. "I'm sorry I left."

"You had every right to leave the country, I'm-"

"No…" Cuddy allowed her tears to fall, not trying to hide her pain anymore, "I'm sorry I ended it…I was scared. I was a lot of things…"

"I'm an insane choice." House spoke quietly more to himself than to her. Remembering the moment he spoke those words to her before, standing in his doorway, the same place she had left him standing almost a year later.

"I ran away." She admitted softly.

"I lived up to your fears." He replied, rubbing his thigh to distract from the lump in his throat. "I assume you already know this, but I haven't taken a vicodin in six months."

"I know…I knew it the moment I got your first letter." Cuddy toyed with the necklace around her neck, a token he sent with a letter months before, a reminder of his beautifully powerful confessions.

"You got a letter from me?" House looked at her with a small smile, trying to lessen the dark cloud that had settled between them over the last few minutes.

She stopped playing with the necklace and turned to him once more. "Actually now that I think about it, I believe the return address was from Wilson. He misses me terribly you know." Cuddy wiped the rest of the tears off her face, trying to play along.

"Of course he does…you left him to supervise a neurotic lunatic."

Cuddy nodded in agreement, "It's a bit odd though, the envelope said Wilson but I believe the letters inside remarkably resembled your handwriting. You wouldn't have been trying to trick me into reading them…would you?"

House furrowed his brow, plastering a flabbergasted look on his face "Well that certainly doesn't sound like me. Honestly, I thought we've been friends for thirty years. It's like you don't even know me at all."

Cuddy laughed at his entirely fake expression. "We have not known each other for thirty years. Despite years of you mocking my age, I am only forty-three."

"Ah, my mistake…Math has never been a strong skill of mine."

"Yes, I did forget how low you I.Q. was." Cuddy smirked.

"I am an idiot remember." House quietly spoke.

"I do remember that." Cuddy could see the tears in his eyes all over again, and it took all of her not to grab onto him and ask him what was really going on. She knew there was something he wasn't telling her. House was different, his emotions seemed all over the place and he was censoring himself way less than he had with her in the past.

Cuddy had the instant urge to reach out to him, but she still felt scared to. Then she saw Rachel start to make her way towards the porch and she stopped worrying about the unknown and tried to once again just be in the moment, let everything else go.

"House will you's play with me?" Rachel smiled sweetly thrusting her unicorn doll in his lap, without waiting for confirmation.

"Okay, but it will cost you five dollars. Pay up kid." House reached his hand towards her, palm turned upward for payment.

Rachel giggled, "You are so silly." She said, putting her hand on her hip. "Mommy, you's be Lisa okay?" Rachel placed her purple dog in Cuddy's hands and began to set up her other dolls facing House and Cuddy on the porch, like an audience.

Once she was done she climbed up the steps and stood behind them, Cuddy knew what was going to happen next; 'Housie' and 'Lisa' were going to be married. It was her daughter's favorite game.

House turned to Rachel dangling the unicorn by its hoof, "I'm adding this to your tab, you still owe me fifty from all the times you coerced me into coloring with you."

Rachel laughed some more not taking House seriously at all, and reached down to re-arrange the dolls in their hands, having the dolls closely face each other. "Okay, everyone be quiet." She turned to 'Housie' held begrudgingly by House. "Housie do you want to get married?"

Rachel paused and looked impatiently at House. "House, you are posed to say I do's," she said in a stage whisper.

House looked at the doll then back to Rachel, "Wait a minute, how do I know this 'Housie' horse wants to marry that purple dog?"

Rachel sighed, "Cause, everyone knows 'Lisa' is the prettiest doll in the world."

"So everyone wants to marry her?"

"Yes."

"Alright then…what do you want me to say again?"

"I do's." Rachel sighed deeply again, her exasperation was growing stronger by the minute, causing Cuddy to laugh at the quirkiness of the two most important people in her life.

"Okay," House turned inching the doll closer to Cuddy's, intentionally bringing his leg into hers so their knees were touching, immediately causing them both to lock eyes as House replied, "I do's."

"Okay, Lisa do you want to get married too?" Rachel smiled.

Cuddy stayed locked with House as she responded, "I do's."

Rachel squealed with delight, swiftly reaching her hands down and grabbing the dolls by the heads, "Now you kiss!" she exclaimed smashing their heads together like a linebacker. Then she grabbed them out of House and Cuddy's hands and took off with them in her arms skipping down the lawn singing, 'Housie and Lisa are married,' over and over again.

Cuddy smiled at House, their legs were still touching. She shivered as she felt the wind pick up around them. "We should go inside, I still feel pretty sick actually. " Cuddy admitted.

House nodded, standing up carefully before he turned and offered her his hand. She reached out to it, placing her palm in his as she slowly stood up. He steadied her with his hands, softly grabbing her arm.

"Thank you." Cuddy looked up as she spoke, their faces were dangerously close.

House kept his hand holding onto hers, refusing to break contact. Pushing his fears aside and reaching up to her face with his other hand, gently brushing a strand of hair off her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. He saw her eyes close when he began to toy with the earring at the top of her ear that he found so amazingly sexy, "I would kiss you, but I don't think you're up to that just yet." He whispered.

Cuddy shivered outwardly, his touch and the wind blowing through her body. "You might be right." Her teeth chattering as she spoke…hating her sickly body at the moment because she so badly wanted him to kiss her, but a part of her knew it was too soon.

House could tell she needed to go inside. Still fighting the overwhelming urge to kiss her, he took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders instead. "Go, inside. I will round up the Reverend." He bent down and kissed her cheek before he begrudgingly let her go.

"Okay," she agreed, knowing she needed to sit down immediately before her legs gave out.

Cuddy wrapped House's jacket around her tighter, slowly turning away from his gaze and crossed towards the door…she could still hear Rachel softly hum 'Housie and Lisa are getting married,' as she went inside.