Soo I'm going out of town, which means there will be a bigger gap till my next chapter will be up... ...Oh and once again, please forgive any typos at this late hour...I just wanted to get this up before I left.

But I might get the urge to write on Thanksgiving Vacation, just wanted to issue a fair warning...hope nobody gets too upset from where this chapter ends ;)

And not to sound too much like a review grabber, but they really do fill me up with a renewed urgency to write. So let me hear ya. Good or Bad...maybe it will light a fire under my ass to pour out the next chapter sooner!

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope to return soon.

The water cascaded upon her raven black curls as she submerged her face fully underneath the hot spray of the shower. Her eyes were tightly closed, the steamy mist surrounded her body while she focused on ridding herself of the anguish bubbling within her spirit; hoping a common act of relaxation might actually help her into a much needed sleep.

But deep down she knew that no amount of water could ever wash away what her heart ached every second to forget. It was a weak attempt at trying to calm her nerves; her mind was fiercely open, screaming her fears over and over. Reminding her of all the worry she tried futilely to ignore over the last month.

Two weeks.

Those implicit words burned into her brain as if someone was chanting them over and over again into a megaphone. It was all the time they had left, before the inevitable, something that House was much better at ignoring…or maybe he was just better at masking it than she ever would be.

They barely spoke of it. He had made it perfectly clear from the beginning there was nothing more to be said. And he was right. What else was there to say that would change what happened next? The surgery was set. May Thirtieth was hurtling towards them with what felt like lightening speed, and from there it remained unknown.

Cuddy pictured his face; his light blue eyes pierced into her vision almost as if she could reach out to him and run her fingers across the rough stubble peppering his cheek.

She could feel her tears burn inside her eyes, scorching tears of pain that she had been choking back since the moment she found out about his illness.

At times it felt all consuming, but she was always able to keep herself from dissolving when she had House by her side. They had spent almost every night together since the evening he shared Yellow Submarine with Rachel. Falling into a rhythm of two people desperately in love. As if they hadn't spent the last year thousands of miles apart from one another.

It was only the last couple of days spent without him that had her nerves pushed to the brink. He had a case with a twenty year old girl that kept him unhappily at the hospital throughout the last two nights. The only time they even saw each other was when he asked her to sign off on a brain biopsy, and they had been interrupted by a nurse walking in on them before they could even properly say hello or goodbye.

She had looked for him before she left the hospital a couple hours prior, but found his office empty and needed to get home to relieve the new nanny she recently found for Rachel. By the time dinner was on the table, a small part of her was holding onto hope that he would show up. A place was set for him, but he remained where he was needed, leaving Cuddy to put her daughter to bed and head to her own…

Alone for the third night in a row.

Her hand reached for the nozzle and turned the temperature up for a moment, allowing the heated water to hit her back and wash off the remainder of the soap, she took one last meditative breath and finally turned off the water. The towel came off the hook, wrapping snugly around her body to ward of the chill racking her body. She stepped onto the cold tile and robotically went to get her pajamas for what would more than likely be a facade of rest, just like the nights before.

Her bed looked incredibly empty without him; she sat upon her unspoken side and stared absently at his pillow. Dressed in a short cotton nightgown with hair still slightly damp, her back rested against the pillows, and her hand reached impulsively to retrieve the cell phone on the nightstand.

No new messages glared back to her like a beam of disappointment. Her brows knit together in sadness, her fingers traced over the numbers on the phone, debating whether or not she wanted to be 'that girl' and call him when she knew he was probably busy.

All of the sudden her phone sprang to life in her palm. His name flashed across the screen and an immediate smile flew across her lips.

"You have good timing."

"That's why I'm the best sex you've ever had." He replied, invoking a small low laugh from the other end of the phone.

"I'm not sure I've ever said that to you."

"Oh come on." He pushed for what he knew to be true.

"Yeah okay." She gave in willingly. "How's your patient?"

"The team is running tests on the tissue we removed earlier. Should know more in about an hour."

"Good." She responded neutrally, even though she felt even sadder knowing he wasn't on his way to her. "Sorry you're stuck at work again."

"I know-it's like I'm turning into you."

"Hey I've been better about balancing my schedule lately." She bantered.

"Yes going from a sixty hour week to about fifty-nine hours is quite an achievement."

"Shut-up."

"Plus it doesn't count when you take expense reports to bed with you."

She glanced to the blue folders piled next to her on the nightstand. "It's been a rough week."

"Nice excuse. Just try not to fall asleep with those papers on your bed. Don't want any oddly placed paper cuts hindering our sex life."

"I'm pretty sure being doctors is the actual thing hindering our sex life at the moment." She yawned and worked her bare feet under the covers.

"Sounds to me by that massive yawn, that even if I was there, you're too sleepy for me and my enormous man-hood right now anyway…that would, no doubt bring you mind-blowing orgasms over the next couple hours."

"Couple hours huh?"

"Yeah you heard me." She smiled at his confidence, missing him even more than she did before. "I take it you aren't sleeping well lately…I wonder why."

"You wouldn't happen to be fishing for some reassurance right now would you?" Cuddy asked, knowing that was exactly what he was doing.

"Only a truly insecure person would do that."

"My mistake…but if by some reason you are still curious about what has been causing my restless nights…the truth is I have a hard time sleeping without a completely insane, roguishly handsome snoring boyfriend next to me."

"At least I don't talk in my sleep."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

"What are you wearing?"

"You need a visual to take care of some solitary orgasms tonight?"

"Yep. Give me something good."

She looked down at the gray material hugging her body. "Uh…my silk black camisole that just barely covers my thighs." She lied.

"Oh...I wish you would have said that thin gray tank that barely covers your rotund ass. That one really gets me going."

"I…" She was caught off guard by his accurate guess, and then it hit her instantly. She got out of bed and crossed over to her window with the phone still pressed to her ear. Her right hand shimmied open the pane and stared longingly into the blue eyes of the spy in front of her. "How long have you been standing out here?"

"Since you were staring absently at my pillow, missing me desperately."

"I was not…staring."

"You going to let me in." He clicked off his phone the same time she did.

"I guess…you're already here so…" She grinned and outstretched her hand to him. He threw his cane inside the room and grabbed her palm, hobbling over the threshold of the window until he was standing upright next to the only person that could bring a certain sparkle into his soul.

Her arms wrapped around him instantly. Pressing the length of her small frame into his body, just the smell of his skin was enough to push her ache aside and be in the moment with him again.

His nimble fingers pulled back her dampened hair from her neck and pressed his lips against the soft skin behind her ear. Finding the earring at the top of her lobe and brushing his lips to it; he could hear her sigh of pleasure as he pulled back to look at her.

"So what's really going on with your patient?"

"Neurofibromatosis. Nothing to be done. Chase is decompressing the tumors in her ear canal now but we can't remove all the tumors in her brain, it's only a matter of time."

Cuddy sighed and held onto his hand, "I'm sorry." She knew dealing with any sort of brain tumors hit way too close to home for him to handle. "You look tired too."

"Two days spent sleeping on Wilson's office couch really put a damper on my beauty sleep."

"Come on." She tugged his hand and pulled him with her towards the bed. Turning back to him, she pulled off his jacket, tossing it aside before she began to unbutton his shirt.

"You wouldn't be trying to seduce me would you?" He squinted at her, watching in awe as she undid his belt from the loop.

"Don't get too excited. I'm just trying to get you into my bed so I can have a solid eight hours of actual sleep tonight." She whispered and tossed his belt next to his jacket and shirt.

"Tease." He smirked and removed his jeans, wearing only his t-shirt and boxers as they both clambered eagerly into the bed. House shifted his body next to her and wound his arm underneath her neck, pulling her head to rest against his heart. "Goodnight." He mumbled with his eyes already closed; sleep invading his mind as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Cuddy smiled and yawned widely, she lifted her head off his chest and found his warm lips with hers, holding him to her for a moment. Then she moved her head back down to his chest; winding her arm around his torso, she held onto him tightly and fell into a wonderful sleep.

"House!" Rachel shrieked into the quiet bedroom, the sound of her high pitched voice caused House's head to lift off the pillow swiftly from sudden fright.

He turned his head towards the four-year old hurtling at him. Practically jumping on the top of House's lap as she climbed into bed. "I would prefer the old fashion sound of a shrilling alarm clock over this. Just so you know." He glared at her. "What do you want?"

"It's morning!"

Cuddy felt the shift in the bed; the motion brought a giant wave of nausea upon her before she was able to push it away long enough to form words. "Rachel…what?" Her eyes barely cracked open.

"You didn't hear her shout a second ago?" House looked over with confusion as to how she could have possibly not heard her daughter.

"Hi Mommy." Rachel snuggled into her Mother's side.

"Rachel lower your voice please." Cuddy rubbed her face and looked over to House who was sitting up against the headboard looking irritated. "Sorry." She mouthed to him.

"Can I have some breakfast?" Rachel spoke in a slightly lower tone.

"Can't you climb onto the counter and get it yourself like normal kids?" House looked down into her annoyingly awake face.

"Cause Mommy says no…but can I?"

"No." Cuddy replied quickly and gingerly sat upright in bed. Her head felt unnaturally foggy even though she had slept so completely sound. "Give us a minute to wake up okay. You can watch morning cartoons if you want till I come out."

"House you want to watch shows with me?"

"Can't. Got to make sure Mommy gets out of bed. She might need my help." They both looked over to Cuddy while she tried to cover up a giant yawn.

"What?" She questioned both of their stares.

"Nothing…you just look like you could use another ten hours of sleep." House studied her face for a moment.

"Thank you…go ahead Rach. I know you are fully capable of turning on the television by yourself."

"Okay but you come out soon okay?" She looked to House and shifted her tiny body out of bed.

"Be careful of House's leg." Cuddy winced as soon as she saw him jerk from the pressure Rachel accidentally put on his thigh.

House's hand immediately went to his leg to ease the pain coursing through him, "I think we need to discuss locking her in her room at night."

"Right now that doesn't sound like such a bad idea." She replied and slid her body next to his side, curling against him; she placed her hand on top of his that was squeezing the pained muscle. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" His tone was terse as he waited for the pain to subside. "You?"

"Yeah. Just still tired."

"Didn't sleep well?"

"No I slept great…I had you next to me."

"Then what's going on?" House looked down to the top of her head; a slight bit of concern was beginning to nag at him.

"I don't know…" She pulled her face away from where it was nestled against his shoulder and met his eyes. "I guess one night of good sleep doesn't make up for the two in a row I missed."

House sighed and tried to believe that was all it was, but he also always knew when she was hiding something. "Why don't you take a shower. I'll get 'alarm clock' some cereal."

"You would do that?"

"I can be nice you know…Of course my fee is oral sex. But you can pay up whenever you're up for it. Will talk interest later."

"Thank you." She rolled her eyes, but gave him a genuine kiss before she peeled herself from him and inched out of bed. Crossing over to her closet slowly she began to sift through her clothes till she picked out something suitable to attend meetings all day in…which was the last thing she felt like doing at the moment.

"Wait. You have to work today? It's Saturday." House questioned as she set her outfit of choice on the foot of her bed.

"I know. But some of the board members were out of town this week for a conference. So I have meetings scheduled all day. I thought I mentioned it."

"No."

"Oh…sorry. Trust me I don't want to go. I feel bad enough that Rachel has to spend the day with my Mother instead of me. But I should be done by dinner."

"Or you could just quit this morning and spend the day with my body wrapped around yours. I mean Grandma Bipolar is already watching Rachel so…"

She stopped her retreat to the bathroom and turned back to him still sitting on the bed. "Are we going to have this conversation again? I told you…I'm not ready to make any decisions yet. Now is not a good time."

"It's never going to be a good time…but I think you already know that. You're deflecting."

Her heavy sigh filled the quiet in the air between them. "You're right…but it's too much right now…with everything…" She didn't continue, but they both knew what she was referring to.

"Mommy!" Rachel called from down the hall, interrupting the conversation that neither one of them wished to finish anyway.

House rubbed his thigh muscle one last time then got off the bed. He found his cane on the floor where he tossed it the night prior and gave her one last glance before he left the room.

Cuddy watched him leave without saying anything more, sorrow etched her features and urgency filled her instantly to go after him, but she remained where she stood.

A part of her ached for their last two weeks together to fly by; then they could confront the inevitable and finally move forward from the disease that loomed over their entire relationship…but the chance of something going wrong…finding the tumor was inoperable, or his mind would be affected for the rest of his life, had her wishing that time would just stop for them forever.

And they could finally just be…

It was nearly five thirty in the evening when House had the chance to make his first visit down to Cuddy's office.

He had a new patient, one that he begrudgingly took against his better judgment, but the symptoms were too intriguing to pass up once Cuddy dangled the fact that the patient presented with a mentally unstable history, only to have an actual seizure while being examined by Psych. She knew that he couldn't resist medical puzzles that also involved crazy people. The allure to the mystery was always better when there was someone with a dark and potentially shifty history to dig through. So he grabbed the file from her hand and sent his team to dig for secrets, while Foreman was forced to run a sleep study with the patient for the rest of the evening, allowing him to step away for the night.

It was Monday, and going on a week since he had properly spent any time with Cuddy. A fact that was growingly starting to annoy House; hating that they had wasted far too much of the last week focusing on tertiary things, rather than each other. She spent all Saturday in and out of meetings like she promised, leaving him to wander aimlessly around his apartment looking for something to do, eat, or watch; while hoping to meet up with her for dinner. But seven rolled by and all he received was a hurried phone call from her, telling him what he already expected would happen.

Sunday was spent with Wilson. It was something he considering bailing on, but Wilson had bought ridiculously good seats to a Yankee's game, and as much as he preferred the idea of spending the day with Cuddy, he didn't hate the thought of driving the fifty miles into New York to watch a ball game either. Plus a part of him was angry at her for continually putting him off to complete a job that she didn't truly want to be doing anyway.

House rode the elevator down to the first floor of the hospital and crossed through the clinic. Her office seemed darker than normal when he approached the door, and he was immediately pissed at the thought that she wouldn't be there, and they would miss each other again. The door creaked open slightly, his eyes adjusted to the closed blinds and lack of light that covered the room. He shook his head and turned to leave but stopped his hasty motion when he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye. She was perfectly still; asleep on her couch with a file folder draped across her chest.

He crept into the room quietly, shutting the door with a soft click as the lock was set to avoid any interruptions. He walked carefully to her and sat down on the sofa next to her side; his hand went to her face and brushed a lock of black hair off her cheek.

She stirred to his touch, feeling his presence before she opened her eyes to him.

"Good morning." He spoke as he removed his fingers from her cheek.

"I am fully aware it is not morning." She stayed where she was, looking fondly too him as he gazed down at her. "I was just resting my eyes…started to get a headache from these pharmacy reports." They both glanced to the file folder currently taking up residence upon House's favorite things to gawk at.

"I just got a headache from you saying the words 'pharmacy reports." He removed the folder and tossed it haphazardly to the table.

"I thought you were coming over last night?" She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Wilson didn't get me home till late. We perhaps may have consumed a tad too much fun at the ball park."

"Oh…I'm sorry I didn't get to truly say hi to you earlier when I brought you that case."

"You mean forcefully demanded I take the case."

"I had you at schizophrenic." Her head adjusted against the throw pillow she was resting on as she tried with all her might not yawn. "I've been in interviews all day trying to hire a suitable replacement for Dr. Hardey."

"Well that shouldn't have been too hard, Dr. Hardey was an idiot."

"You think everyone is an idiot."

"Am I wrong?

She smiled, "You heading home for the night?"

"Aren't you? It's almost six...I had some plans for the evening, that definitely need you to be involved if I'm to have any sort of fun."

"I can't...I have another interview in an hour. That's why I was resting. I have a little time still."

House exhaled sharply and didn't bother masking his irritation. "Do I need to say it?"

She knew exactly what he was implying, "No." She reached for his hand even though a part of her was frustrated with him for bringing up the prospect of her quitting again. "But I will be home by nine. Maybe I can talk my Mom into staying another night with Rachel and I can stay at your place. We could fulfill that fun you were speaking of a minute ago."

"Your Mom's still here. I thought she left yesterday."

Her mouth twitched in hesitation, knowing full well that she was going to hear it from what she was about to admit. "I...had to work again yesterday for a little while. So she stayed the night."

He watched as her eyes strayed from his stare, "Fine." He simply stated, catching her gaze again as he pulled her up by her hand still resting in his.

She sat up facing him on the couch. "Fine...what…" But she spoke no further when the look in his eyes showed her all she needed to know. "House..."

His lips crashed into hers, powerfully, and she kissed him back willingly. Her hands instinctually flew up to pull him closer to her, as his magical lips overtook her objections momentarily before rational thinking ventured back into her brain. She pulled away with her hands still clutching his shirt, "We can't."

"Oh I think we can. I still have two sex-tickets to cash in on from our friendly poker game. And I can tell from the way you kissed me just now, that you want it just as much as I do."

"It's five-forty five on a Monday. Anyone can walk in here."

"Not when the door is locked...and from your midday nap-I'm sorry, 'eye rest' you've already solved our other deterrent by closing your blinds."

"I have an interview taking place in this very office-"

"-In an hour. Stop talking." He smirked and placed his hands against her chest, unbuttoning her blouse slowly without taking his eyes off her face. It was only a second before he saw a sly smile cross over her lips. And he knew he had her.

"I have missed you." She murmured and leaned in to kiss his cheek, inching down to his jaw with her lips while he finished undoing her shirt and pulled it out from the tuck of her skirt.

"I think you know the cure for missing someone…" He whispered, trying to not sound like a blithering idiot from the way she made him melt just from her simple touch.

Cuddy clutched his face between her hands and drew him closer, trapping his mouth with her own into an alluring kiss, she could taste the hint of coffee on his breath. Their lips deepened even further as House slowly lowered her back against the couch, pinning her body snugly under his.

Leaving her lips and eliciting a soft protest in result, he slowly began to trail his mouth down her neck, stopping to savor the flavor of her skin; her body twitched underneath him when she felt his tongue sweep across the spot above her collarbone.

House felt her fingers come up and unbutton his shirt. She opened it up with ease to reveal his bare skin, her hands came up to rest against the curve of his chest, tantalizing him by running her fingernails slowly down his torso. He could feel the chills rise on his arms; his eyes sought hers as his right hand came up to tangle into the locks of her hair. It was only a moment before his lips descending on her perfect mouth once again. She responded instantly and brought her fingers lower to skim under the waist of his pants. The belt loosened and the button unclasped quickly without her lips ever leaving his, as House's long fingers found their way under the fabric of her skirt and trailed up her thigh, finding the lace of her underwear he pulled his mouth from hers, and with a proud smirk, the garment was carefully lowered down her luscious legs, reaching the red high heels still placed upon her feet.

He stood up in front of her while kicking off his shoes, his pants practically fell around his ankles and were quickly discarded.

"Ring…"

The ironic ring of Cuddy's cell phone reverberated just as soon as House was lowering his body back to hers. They both groaned but House chose to clutch one of her breasts in his hands, skimming under the black bra still hindering his view. He saw her bite her bottom lip in response and he leaned down to suck it in between his own teeth, the phone deceased the annoying interruption and finally left them in quiet.

She reached around his neck and clawed the back of his hair, clasping him to her as the pleasure from their passionate kiss revved up the urgency burgeoning within them. House felt her hips adjust beneath him, her other hand exposed him from under his boxers, their bodies were so extremely close to coming together the way they both had craved for days…

"Ring…Ring…"

"House—" She tried to detach from his lips, knowing that she needed to answer, despite the repercussions that were bound to happen because of it.

"No." He muffled against her mouth, reclaiming her lips.

"Ring…Ring…"

"I'm sorry…" She pushed his chest off hers with delicate pressure, but House didn't even budge…the only move he made was to continue to kiss her supple mouth until the intrusion silenced.

"You see…it's too late." He pulled back wickedly and lowered himself to, bringing their bodies together, watching as she gasped under him.

"Ring…" It began again, and House let out a deeply frustrated moan, he moved away from her completely and sat up to reach the phone.

"Here," He barely looked at her when the phone was placed in her hand, standing up to fetch his pants without saying anything at all.

Cuddy watched the lines in his back, his posture and movements expressed all the anger she could feel seeping within him. Her hand clicked the phone on, wrapping her shirt closed around her chest, she sat up on the couch, "Dr. Cuddy."

House heard her pause to listen to the voice on the other end, while he tried to calm his breathing down and button up his shirt.

"Where was security...I'll be right there. No I was just…on another call, I'm on my way." She sat up and fixed her clothes back into place, House's hand came in front of her face dangling her recently removed thong in the air. "Thank you." She whispered and finished fixing herself to leave the office. "Apparently a fight just broke out in the maternity ward."

"Guess you're needed then…might want to fix your hair first." He mumbled back to her with an icy tone; his legs carried him to her locked office door, and his eyes remained fixed to the handle, never straying…

She opened her mouth to say something, but found nothing would come, and silently chose to watch instead…as he left her alone.

The door shut with a sharp jolt causing House's head to jerk upright; his eyes opened wide to the sight of Cuddy's remarkable eyes boring into him, a clear mark of annoyance was spread upon her face. "What did I do?"

"This is your emergency page?" She remained by the door.

House sat up on the old patient bed and began to absently twirl his cane in his hand. "If you mean the emergency page I sent you forty minutes ago…then yes."

"House, you're supposed to be in the clinic—working. Not hiding in an old part of the hospital that's closed for repair. And I ignored the page because I knew it would be something like this." She gestured to the bed.

"If you mean a make-up session from our hastily interrupted attempt yesterday…than you would be correct. And to be fair, this room used to be part of the clinic."

"What do you want? I'm busy…you know that Dr. Gorman died today-why can't you ever—"

"-Dr. Gorman was a hundred and fifty. I'm assuming you saw this coming."

"That doesn't change the fact that he was my head of Radiology and someone I need to find a replacement for as soon as possible." She turned to leave without another word.

"I'm pretty sure everything will be alright. Why are you beyond over-reacting to this?" His tone was calm but the tension inside was already mounting. He hated when she got heightened to the point of irrationality.

Cuddy stilled herself for a beat, her face coming back to meet his, taking a tired breath she replied, "I'm not. But right now it's my job…and I just…wish you could understand that and help me, rather than play these games."

"What games? I think I made it pretty clear what I want here, on all accounts." House questioned her coldly, no longer hiding his frustrations.

There was heavy silence between them, neither one braving to speak further. Finally her face softened to him despite his growl, and she walked over to the side of the bed for the first time, stopping a foot away. "And…this is the part where I say that I still can't…then you walk out angry." She spoke with sadness.

"Then don't say you can't."

"We have tonight. I thought you were coming over for dinner." She glanced to her watch, "It's five thirty now…I should be home by seven. Go home and I'll call-"

"I can't leave yet. I'm waiting on the results from the kidney biopsy—"

"What kidney biopsy…on your schizophrenic patient?"

"No on my patient from last week-"

"—House." She huffed, "Why is this the first time I've heard of this? You did a risky procedure on an unstable patient without checking with me first-"

"-Well I would have sent you a message but we all know how quickly you respond to pages."

"Stop it."

"The patient was completely stable. What is the matter with you?" House stood up in front of her, coming intimately near as he began to study her for clues as to why she was acting stranger than normal.

"What's the matter with me?" Cuddy held onto his questioning stare with one of her own, "So now it's not alright to be upset over the fact that you went purposely behind my back—"

"-If by 'purposely' you mean not bothering to inform you of a completely routine and necessary test, with almost no consequence…than yes."

Cuddy shook her head slowly, "Don't do it again." Her voice was hoarse but commanding as she moved back towards the door.

"What is this really about?" House stopped her with his words, stepping towards her, not allowing her to flee so abruptly.

She met his inquisitive eyes, "There isn't some hidden puzzle…or deeply embedded mystery to solve here. Why can't I actually be upset over the fact that you completely disregarded hospital—"

"—Because…" His voice seemed to echo in his head while he processed a sudden thought; a flitter of a clue that brushed into his mind from what she had just expressed. House felt as if the room began to spin as his theory took hold…

And just like that…bits and pieces of actual facts started to mold together. The 'deeply embedded mystery', that only a second ago was denied with such confidence, seemed to be glaring at him now…something almost unfathomable to imagine, not truly believing how he missed all the signs.

"House…?" Her voice pulled him back slowly; her hand remained poised on the door, ready to flee, "I know that look. What did you just figure out…something about your patient?" Her voice was soft.

"No…" He swallowed against the lump choking his vocal cords. He studied the curve of her body, her breasts were spilling out of the ivory cardigan she wore, even more so than normal. The puffiness under her eyes remained in the same spot that had taken up residence in her face over the last couple weeks. Around the same time her mood seemed to change…

"House what is—"

"-Lay down." The command was barely audible, and he looked away from her as he crossed to the other side of the room.

"Now we're back to sex? I'm done—"

"I said lay down." He repeated with an eerie whisper, his hands lifted a sheet covering the machine he needed.

"What are you doing…" She could hear herself speak but the answer to her question was already revealed, "House…" The wheels squeaked as he rolled the old ultrasound equipment to the side of the bed in the middle of the room.

It was only then, that he finally manage to meet her eyes, "I can't do this standing up."

"I'm...not." She couldn't believe what he was suggesting, her whole body began to shake as a result, and she sat down where he wanted, just to keep from falling over.

"I need you to prove that to me." He turned on the monitor, the glow from the screen lit up the darkening room.

"I…got my period a week ago…I mean…" She shook her head, "It was light, but that happens sometimes…"

"Lie back." The equipment was poised in his hands, his heart raced uncontrollably when he watched her face change…

And she gave into his request.

Cuddy felt her eyes well; her fingers quivered as they found the fabric of her sweater, and she exposed the curve of her stomach to him, trying to swallow the bile that she felt rising to the surface of her constricted throat.

The cold clear gel was place on her skin; House shifted the transducer in his hand and the ceramic made contact with her abdomen. They looked to the screen at the same time, their breath held, but the image shown was nothing but grainy gray lines, and nothing else…House slowly slid the transducer from her left side to her right, his hand trembled…and then something began to form, something other than emptiness. A small round blur revealed unmistakably on the screen before them.

And inside the mass contained what looked to be a spark of light surrounded by the darkness...

Proof of their deeply embedded truth.

House lost his voice and turned away from the screen, and with an accidental shift of his hand, he found the right spot on her abdomen…and the small heartbeat began to resonate through the machine beside them.

The soft rhythmic sound overflowed the stark room. They sat there in shock, neither braving to look at another. Just utterly overtaken by a twist of fate that was almost beyond their capabilities to comprehend properly…given everything else they already felt pressing into their every movement.

House found a small round stool and sat down beside her, allowing her to take the transducer from his fingers. His heart felt like it was pumping out of his chest and his ears began to shriek.

"Say something." Her eyes bravely sought his, her deep voice implored him to gravitate towards her.

She got her wish as he shifted to face her fully; his hand reached out and clicked off the sound from the machine, quieting the soft beating of a newly formed heartbeat. "You first..."

"We…" Her legs swung slowly over the side of the bed and she sat upright, carefully lowering her shirt as if hiding her stomach would help their conversation. "We haven't always been careful."

"Just like before...but nothing happened then..." His tone matched her own, soft and terrified, "I thought you...couldn't-"

"-So did I."

House lowered his head, the pain bursting through his thigh pulled his focus, like it always had, and he impulsively rubbed the stabbing intrusion. The room grew still once more between them…for a long, long while…

"This is...wrong." It was House that broke through first with a nearly mute admission, "You…don't want a child of mine...I can't..."

"You can't what?" Her voice cracked.

"Be anyone's father."

"I think it's too late…Rachel already loves you like you're hers."

"That's different."

"How is that any-"

"-Because I didn't help to create her..." He got up from his seat, feeling a desperate urge to run boil within. "She doesn't have a part of me inside."

Cuddy stood up in response, knowing he was going to bolt any moment. This was far too big of an event for House to handle. "And if she did, would you treat her any differently?"

"If she did…than she would be a different person…" His eyebrows knit together with undeniable emotion, "What are we even talking about, this is not about Rachel!" His words hit her powerfully, "This is only about the fetus growing inside you right now. One that neither of us planned for or-"

"-Or what…want?" Cuddy met his louder tone, and challenged where he was surely headed.

"Are you telling me that you want this?" He stepped to her. It was the closest they had been since she entered the room.

"I..." Her eyes moistened when the realization hit her, the truth that her insides were screaming throughout her spirit. It was all too much for her…just like him. The thought of having a baby brought into the picture on top of everything else…seemed wildly out of reach to her. "No..." She wiped the tears from her eyes, hating herself instantly for admitting that out loud. "But that doesn't change what has already been done. What we… created together."

"I need some..." He began to speak, but stayed rooted to his spot, appearing unsure whether his legs would actually work long enough to bring him to the door. "Air…" he finished methodically.

They stood perfectly still. Both looking anywhere but at each other, and as if on cue, Cuddy's phone vibrated vigoreously from the counter where she placed it when she first walked in.

"You should get that." House stared absently at the phone without bothering to fetch it. It seemed out of focus, blurrily coming into view. It continued to hum, finally stirring a brief bout of courage inside him to turn back to her one final time to meet her gaze. "I need to check on my team anyway." His hand turned the handle.

He wanted to say that this was not her fault. That they would get through it because ultimately he couldn't handle not being with her ever again, and he would have to accept whatever she chose.

But the insecurities that were always on hand kept him from admission. He wanted her to make the decision that he would never dare to suggest…allow them to carry on as they were. He already had everything he needed; he had a family that fit him just as he was. It was more than he ever thought he deserved.

The click echoed as the door closed behind him.

He never found the courage to say anything at all.

He needed to step away from it all, and she needed to do the same.

Cuddy placed her head into her palms and cried for what felt like eternity, her body racked with conflicting emotions. Finally her breath stilled and she looked around the empty room, feeling cold and exhaustion seep down into her bones. She stared at the blank monitor and sat back down beside it on the bed. The lights dimmed slowly back on as she pulled the machine closer to her and pressed the button.

Her shirt lifted, and the white ceramic came to reside in the precise spot she remembered from moments before.

And the rhythmic sound filled the room once more, as the image of their baby came into view on the screen before her frightened eyes.