A/N: Am loving the reviews. You are too kind.

Thanks to Vicpei1 whose medical advice no Huddy fic writer can live without!

Also thanks to Cherokee Jedi for being my whiteboard. It's been fun.

Thanks to MystryGAB, AllThingsDecent, DrDiagnostic, Maya, writersblk, partypantscuddy, GratefulInsomniac, HarperPenn, Raquel, RochelleRene, FlexYourImagination, HuddyLoverXOX OldSfFan, In the House, CantStopObsessing, PrincetonBlues, GiveMeKevinBacon, TDCSI, CuddyownsPPTH, AnonymousPublishers, Ms Orton and all the other fic writers out there for keeping this wonderful couple of ours alive and well here!

By Thursday afternoon, House had managed to get the pain in his leg under control. He'd placed a call to his physician and brought him up to speed on what had happened over the last few days. Under Grogan's careful watch, House took the oxycodone only when needed. The result was the breakthrough pain had subsided a bit, at least to the point where it no longer brought House to his knees. Grogan suggested he rest his leg but House really couldn't relax so long as his patient went undiagnosed. Fortunately for the patient, the alleviation of House's pain allowed him to focus on the case and thus they eventually found the diagnosis. It was a big case for House and Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital for the patient was a prominent scientist who had discovered an accumulation of protein called alpha-synuclein, which was found to progressively disrupt neuronal function and viability, resulting in the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease.

Around three-thirty, House, Chase and Taub exited the elevator on the first floor headed to Foreman's office to break the good news about the patient and the successful treatment. House was relieved because he wanted desperately to go home and get some sleep. As they crossed the lobby and entered the clinic, heading to the Interim Dean's office, House heard shouting and commotion coming from exam room three, which was just across the hall from their destination.

"Someone call security!" House yelled as he limped quickly and painfully towards the exam room. The door flew open and he saw a nurse unconscious on the floor, with a bloody lip while a large muscular man smacked a young boy so hard he landed against the cabinet in the exam room. A small-framed, blonde woman attempted to help the boy but the large man pushed her and she fell to the floor. House, forgetting his own disability, rushed forward to stop the man.

"Hey!" House shouted from behind.

The man turned to him. He was at least an inch taller than House, with a large muscular frame.

"I guess beating up on women and children makes you feel like a real man eh?" House asked.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"The one telling you to leave them alone."

"That bitch started it, trying to get me arrested for disciplining my kid."

"Is that what they call it these days?"

"He needs to learn to listen."

"So beating him all the time is the way to do it?" House growled. His face was red and he was angry.

"I don't beat him all the time, I just teach him a lesson when he needs it."

"Judging from the way he's favoring his left arm and shoulder, you've probably broken or dislocated it at least once. The light brown color on his arms indicates you beat him in the last ten to fourteen days and the greenish bruises on his legs tells me you beat him again about a week ago. Guess you figure he's ready for another round?"

"What I do with my kid is my business. I'm taking him out of here." The man made a turn towards his son.

"No, you're not." House stepped forward. He was running on pure adrenaline.

"Says who?" The man yelled, turning back towards House.

"Me." House swallowed hard. He didn't know where the courage was coming from but he was damned if he was going to let that son of a bitch lay a hand on that kid and his mother again.

The guy nodded towards House's cane and laughed. "You think you're going to stop me with that?"

House sized him up. "You afraid to pick on someone your own size for once?"

"You got a fucking set of balls don't you?"

"Funny, that's what your mother said," House replied sarcastically.

"You fucking cripple...stay outta my business!" He yelled, moving closer to House.

House stood tall and toe to toe with the man. "I'm going to make sure you don't ever lay a hand on them ever again."

Suddenly, the little boy got up from the floor and ran over and tugged his father's shirttail. "Daddy, please," he whined.

The man turned around and raised his fist, ready to hit the boy. House wasted no time and holding his cane with both hands, and though his leg felt as if it was being stabbed with a thousand knives, he put all his strength into it and hit the man in the back of the head. The man stopped for a moment, turned around, wild-eyed and lunged at House, pushing him violently into the exam room door, forcing it closed. House slammed his cane into the man's side then punched him in the face. The man punched him in the stomach and as doubled over in pain, the man kicked him in the leg, sending him screaming to the floor. House raised his cane and hit the guy in the balls as a last attempt to stop him and the man kicked House in the head and knocked him unconscious. At that moment, security forced the door open and tased him. The man fell to the floor and they handcuffed him and hauled him away. The boy and his mother were crying as emergency workers removed House and the nurse on stretchers and then escorted them to the ER to check out their injuries.

Wilson was sitting in his office finishing notes in his patient charts when his phone rang.

"Dr. Wilson."

"Wilson, it's Chase. House is hurt."

"What? Where are you?"

"In the clinic."

"What happened?"

"This guy was beating up on his kid in the clinic, House took him on."

"Shit. How's he doing?" Wilson got up from his chair and headed out the door to the first floor.

"They're taking him to the ER now, I think you should be there."

"I'm on my way." Wilson was already in the elevator before he hung up the phone. He made his way downstairs to the ER and noticed the commotion coming from the clinic. He rushed past and entered the ER finding Chase there at the desk filling out paperwork.

"Chase, what the hell?"

"We were on our way to see Foreman, we'd finally diagnosed the patient. He heard a commotion in exam room three and checked it out. Guy was in there with his wife and son. He'd already knocked a nurse unconscious. House probably saved that kid's life.

"Wow. Where is he?"

Chase led Wilson to House's bed in the ER. They pulled back the curtain and Wilson cringed. House had a bruise on the right side of his face near his eye.

Just as Wilson picked up the chart, Chase gave him the list of injuries.

"He's got a concussion, his head hit the door pretty hard and the guy kicked him at least once from what the mother told us." Chase looked solemn. "He kicked him in his bad leg."

"Oh Jesus." Wilson lifted the blanket and saw the bruise forming over the scarred area on his leg.

"Yeah. They've got him on morphine right now and they'll monitor his concussion," said Chase. He added, "I can't believe House jumped in the middle of that."

"I know, right?" He wasn't about to stand there while that son of a bitch hit his kid, Wilson thought. He smiled at House's bravery but then frowned at where it had gotten him.

"I've got to make a phone call," Wilson said.

"I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks," Wilson replied as he left the ER. He walked outside for a breath of fresh air, pulled out his phone and dialed.

Cuddy was at her desk sending an email when her cell phone rang. "Hello?" She answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hey, it's Wilson."

"Hi, what a surprise."

"Yeah uh listen...it's about House."

Cuddy sank into her chair. "No." She felt the breath knocked out of her as she automatically feared the worst.

"He's in the hospital."

"What? Why?"

"He was attacked."

"Oh God. What happened?"

"He...he was trying to save a kid. Seems the kid's dad knocked a nurse unconscious and then proceeded to beat the crap out of his son and wife in the exam room when House stepped in."

"How bad?"

"He's unconscious now because he hit his head, twice. They've got him on morphine for the pain."

"Morphine? His leg?"

"Yeah, the guy kicked him in his bad leg."

"Oh, no." Cuddy was nearly in tears.

"Listen, he's had a bad bout of breakthrough pain ever since he came back from Boston and he was just getting through it when this happened."

Cuddy put her head in her hands realizing that's why he was limping on Sunday.

"You're asking yourself why he didn't tell you. Well, he was going to but he's been busy with a case and trying to get through the pain so he could be there tomorrow."

Cuddy suddenly realized House's first lecture was Friday.

"What can I do?" She asked.

"He needs you."

Cuddy didn't even need to think about it, she knew what she had to do. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Are you sure? What about Rachel? The hospital?"

"I'll bring her with me and the hospital will understand."

Wilson smiled. Cuddy was willing to drop everything to be with House. They had definitely made progress. "You can stay at my place if you want."

"Just let me figure out what to do here and I'll call you. I should be able to leave in a few hours."

"Okay. Cuddy...thanks for being there for him."

"Sure. Bye, Wilson," she said.

Wilson hung up the phone and headed back to the ER. He just hoped that this sudden setback didn't throw House back into the hell he'd worked so hard to escape.

Back in Boston, Cuddy hung up the phone and put her head in her hands. House had been doing so well, why now? Why him? She sighed and wiped the tears. She had to take care of things now. Fortunately she had no lecture, but then she realized House was due to give his first lecture the next day. She grabbed her phone and exited her office, dialing along the way.

Dr. Baker was on the phone when Cuddy knocked on her office door. She answered, "Come in."

She motioned for Cuddy to enter and have a seat. Cuddy took a seat as Nancy finished her call.

"Lisa, what can I do for you?"

"It's about House. He's been hurt."

Nancy leaned forward, concerned. "Oh my God, is he alright?"

"Apparently he's been in a lot of pain recently and now it's much worse. He needs me."

"What can I do?"

"His lecture...tomorrow, we need to cancel it."

"Of course, I'll send out an email. Is there anything else?"

"I think I'm okay. On the way here, I took care of some things. Dr. Varnes is covering my lectures for Monday and Wednesday just in case and my patients are covered."

Nancy smiled. "There's the administrator in you."

"I guess there's still a bit of that left in me." Cuddy smiled back.

House awoke in a slight haze and noticed his hand in a tight grip. He turned his head and his eyes fell upon the beautiful brunette sitting in the chair next to his bed. Her eyes were closed. He squeezed her hand to get her attention.

She opened her eyes suddenly. "House," she whispered, looking up at him.

"Where am I?" He asked, groggily.

"You were in the ER but they needed the space, so they moved you to a room. Are you okay?"

"Too soon to tell. How-?"

Cuddy interrupted him as she stood and ran her fingers through his hair. "Wilson called me."

"Naturally." He swallowed and realized he was parched. "Water."

Cuddy poured water from the pitcher into a cup and inserted a straw and held it to House's lips so he could drink.

"How long have I been out?" He asked after he pushed it away.

"Since this afternoon. It's just after eleven."

"How bad is it?"

"You've got a concussion, some bruising on the side of your face," she said touching the area gently. "And you've got some bruising on your stomach and your leg where he kicked you. Because of the fentanyl, they've got you on a very low dose of morphine."

"It's good, I'm not in pain right now."

"That's good. You need a break."

House eyed her suspiciously wondering if Wilson already talked to her about his recent pain problem. He decided to change the topic.

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"The asshole who hit me."

"Wilson said they arrested him and took him to jail."

"And the kid?"

Cuddy frowned. "He suffered a broken arm and a concussion, his mother has some bruises but she's okay. The nurse suffered a concussion too but she'll be fine. It could've been much worse."

"Yeah," he closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

Cuddy continued to caress his face and run her fingers through his hair. Her eyes were glassy and she looked exhausted.

"You know there's room in this bed for two. C'mere," he said as he patted the empty spot next to him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"What will everyone think?"

"Don't care," he casually responded.

Cuddy smiled and slipped her shoes off and climbed into the bed with House. She laid on his left side and snuggled into him, draping her left arm over his stomach.

"I'm not hurting you am I?"

"To the contrary, you're better any pain meds." He kissed her forehead and ran his left hand down her back. "This reminds me of you a few weeks ago, minus the shitty leg of course."

"We do have a twisted way of getting each other's attention, don't we?" She chuckled softly.

"That we do." House ran his hand over Cuddy's arm. "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

House closed his eyes. He was tired but he felt he needed to talk to her before going to sleep again.

"Cuddy, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"I've been in a lot more pain these last few days."

"Wilson told me when he called. How bad?"

"A nine, maybe higher at times. It started while I was in Boston but it got worse after I got back."

Cuddy sighed. "The day you left, your limp was more pronounced but I let it go, I figured you'd tell me if anything was wrong."

"I'm still working on that."

"How often does it happen?"

"Over the past year or since I left Mayfield?"

Cuddy frowned. "You did a good job of hiding it when you left Mayfield. Then again I did a pretty good job of not noticing, didn't I?"

"It's not your fault."

"Did you talk to someone, get some help?"

"My physical therapist, Nolan and Grogan."

"Grogan?"

"My doctor. Nolan thought I should get a doctor who could be objective, one who wasn't my best friend."

"Good idea. How did he suggest you handle it?"

"Oxycodone." He looked down to see her reaction but Cuddy kept tracing circles on his stomach with her finger and so he continued. "I didn't want to but I realized in the end, they were right and it worked...at least until now."

"How did you handle being on it?" Cuddy glanced up at him with a worried look on her face.

"Grogan kept an eye on me while I took it. I took the minimum dose every so often as needed."

"You're being so careful."

"I have to. I can't go back there."

"House, your pain is real and when it hurts you that bad I want to help you. I don't want you to ever be afraid to talk to me about it and I promise not to nag you. I'll support you in every way I can."

"I was going to tell you when I got to Boston and then...well...some asshole beat the crap out of me."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment and then Cuddy leaned forward and took his lips in hers. At first, it was soft and gentle. Both were too exhausted to go any further. They kissed for a few minutes and then parted and snuggled closer to one another.

"What was that all about?" He asked when they parted.

"I just want you to know how much I love you."

"Is that the best you can do?"

"Save the rest for when you're out of here. It'll give you some incentive."

"I never need incentive when it comes to you." He ran his fingers through her long hair. "So how long are you here?"

"A few days."

"The hospital okay with that?" He asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Nobody batted an eye."

"Nice. They must really like you."

"They do. It's a great place to work." Cuddy knew she'd been blessed with a wonderful job.

"What about Rachel?"

"She's with Wilson at his place."

"Oh," he said. They laid there a few minutes when he spoke again.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"For what?" She looked up at him curiously.

"I thought I was done injuring myself. I'm sorry you had to drop everything because of me."

"I'm not. Besides, you didn't injure yourself, someone attacked you." She looked into his eyes to reassure him. "House, I've got vacation time. Don't worry about my job. My family come first."

"What?" The word family in conjunction with him caught him by surprise.

"In the past, I always put my job first. I don't do that anymore. I love it but I love my family more. Rachel's my family and you're my family, for better or for worse." Sh e smiled at him hoping he'd get the hint.

"Are you proposing to me?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Not in the least. I'm just saying that when Wilson called, my first instinct was to come here, to be with you. Isn't that the way it's supposed to be?"

House nodded. "Yeah," he whispered. "If only I'd done that before when you needed me."

She patted his chest. "I know. We've both learned some tough lessons. We can't forget our past and the bad things that happened but we can move on, we have moved on House. We have good memories too, right? Let's not forget those." He nodded. Besides, we're here now, we've come a long way. That's all that matters." Cuddy smiled at him.

House was overcome with emotion at her words. He didn't have much family, just his mother and Wilson and now...her and Rachel. His heart fluttered a moment at the thought that she considered him a part of her family. She was right, the past didn't matter. He was trying to put it behind him but it took time. That she dropped everything to be here with him said more to him than words ever could.

"Where are you staying?"

"My stuff's in the car. Wilson said I could stay at his place."

"Don't."

"What?"

"Stay...at mine."

Cuddy hesitated a moment and House sensed her apprehension. "Listen if you don't want to, that's fine."

"No, that's not it. It's just...there are so many memories there."

"It was a bad idea."

"No, it wasn't a bad idea. I want to be with you and we can't very well stay at Wilson's."

"I'll play you your song," he teased.

"You don't have to bribe me House. We'll stay. Maybe we can make new memories there. Where will Rachel sleep?"

"We'll buy an air mattress."

"You mean Wilson will buy an air mattress." She corrected him.

"How well you know me."

They lay there silently for some time, slowly drifting off to sleep. Suddenly, Cuddy broke the silence.

"House?" She asked softly.

"Hmm?"

"That was a wonderful thing you did for that woman and her son."

"It was stupid," he mumbled.

"It was wonderful and stupid." Cuddy kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "But promise me before you ever do that again you'll get some backup, okay?"

"Okay."

"Night, House."

"Night, Cuddy."

Thanks for reading this chapter. House may be a lot of things but he'd never let someone beat a woman or a child. This chapter isn't what I had originally planned but after much thinking, I wanted a catalyst that would not only bring Cuddy to Princeton to be there for House (as he was with her, and it helps her realize what's important and what should come first in her life) but it would serve as another catalyst for him to deal more with his relationship with John. What he witnessed in the clinic, the man and the boy, surely evokes memories of his own childhood. There's more drama to come...because they wouldn't be our favorite couple without it!