A/N: Loved all the comments on the last chapter. We are moving right along here!
Julia got up and walked towards the door. As she pulled it open, she stood there a moment, her back to him. He sensed her hesitation.
"What is it?"
She turned around. "A fresh start is a good idea. Just...promise me-"
"No." He cut her off bluntly. He knew what she wanted and he couldn't give it to her. Not that anyway.
"I can't make any promises." He saw her face fall for a moment but he continued in an effort to explain himself better. "Cuddy and I are going to argue and fight, it's part of who we are. Shit's gonna happen Julia but I can tell you that we've learned from our past mistakes. We're finally figuring out how to do this thing right. Just...trust us. Trust me."
Julia stood there watching him. Those were powerful words coming from him. He wanted her to trust them, trust him. It was a bold request. She knew House was a man who valued actions over words but she could see in his eyes and hear in the tone of his words that he was trying to convince her of his sincerity. That was enough for her. They had all suffered enough. It was time to forgive and move on.
"Okay House," she said softly. She added, "Get some rest." She smiled and then turned and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
House settled back into the soft pillows and clasped his hands on his stomach. "Wow," he sighed out loud. It had been a long day and he had been dreading that inevitable conversation with Julia. Now that it was over, it felt like a huge burden lifted. He closed his eyes, allowing the medication to continue doing its job. The last thing he remembered before drifting into sweet oblivion was Cuddy's scent which wafted from the pillows beneath him.
House woke a few hours later and though his leg still hurt, the urgent stabbing pain had diminished considerably. He heard voices in the living room and looked over at the clock, it was only eight. He lay there and pondered getting up and going into the living room or staying hidden until everyone left. He glanced over at the nightstand on Cuddy's side of the bed and eyed the orange bottle of oxy. He rubbed his leg and stared at that bottle wondering if he should take just one more to help get rid of the remaining pain. Suddenly, he heard the toilet flush in Cuddy's bathroom and the sound of water in the sink. A moment later, the door opened and she walked out.
"Hey," she said. She sat on the bed and gently laid her hand on his right leg.
"Hey," he responded, still eyeing the bottle.
She followed the trail of his eyes and found the subject of his focus.
"Do you need another one?"
He swallowed before he responded. "No."
"It's okay. I trust you to know if you need it."
"I don't trust myself."
She leaned down and kissed his temple. "How bad is it now?"
"Maybe a six but...that's manageable."
She frowned. She was torn. One one hand she wanted him to take the pill if he really needed it but on the other hand she wanted him to fight the temptation if he really felt he could live without it.
"Your gears are turning. What is it?"
"How could I have been blind for so long?" She asked, woefully.
He looked at her curiously.
"A six is manageable? God, you say that like it's nothing." She closed her eyes and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling. She still felt guilty over dismissing his pain all those years. "All those years you struggled with this pain every hour of every day and I hardly gave it a second thought. One night you came to me, nearly begging me for relief and I gave you a fucking placebo. Wilson had me convinced that it was in your head. Why did I ever listen to him? It wasn't the first nor the last time I let him do that to me. What an idiot I was. "
"Hey, hey, stop. Enough with the guilt."
"I'm so sorry."
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him where she lay with her head on his stomach. He ran his fingers through her curls and she relaxed into him. She knew he forgave her.
"Wilson is a master manipulator, you know that right?"
She laughed. "He puts on this sweet boy-next-door facade but inside he's a son of a bitch like the rest of us."
"He learned from the best," House replied.
"He used to tell me we were doing it for your own good. I don't know if he truly believed that or if he had some other motive."
"I think he believed it."
"Sometimes when I think about it-"
He cut her off. "Don't."
"What?"
"Stop thinking so much, it's driving me crazy woman. I am not still upset over that. In retrospect, I think I can see why you guys did it. Did I ever actually tell you how bad the pain was?"
"Sometimes-"
"Hardly ever. I kept it hidden. I popped pills at work but when I got home I could barely function. I never wanted anyone to see that...especially you."
"House, I'm glad you trust us enough now to let us in."
"Honestly..." he said twirling his fingers in her curls. "It feels good not to deal with it alone anymore."
She beamed.
"Now...enough about my pain, okay?"
"Fine. So, how did things go with you and Julia?" She asked.
"She didn't tell you?" He stopped playing with her hair and leaned up to look at her.
"All she said was that you guys talked and came to a mutual agreement."
"We did." He put his head back down and continued playing with her hair.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."
"It's not that. She forgave me."
Cuddy did a double take. "She what?"
"I can't believe she didn't go running to you."
"Maybe she wanted you to tell me."
"I'm still shocked."
"Me too. Julia holds a grudge like nobody I've ever met. This is huge."
"That's what she said." He looked at her again and grinned as she rolled her eyes.
He ran her hand down her back. "She's jealous of you," he said, quietly.
"What?" Why on earth would her sister, who seemed to have it all for most of her life, be jealous.
"Yeah. I don't think she meant to let it slip but she told me she was angry that the love of her life, who was a good guy and never hurt anyone, is dead and you get to be happy with the SOB who treats people like shit."
"Oh. That was a shitty thing to say."
"It's a normal reaction. She had a good life with a guy who loved her, treated her right and gave her the family she always wanted. I didn't give you anything but shit all those years. How is it that we get to be happy and she doesn't?"
She snuggled closer to him wanting to reassure him. "Oh House. I don't know why things happen, they just do. I know why you did what you did all those years. Aren't we passed it?"
"Old habits. Look sometimes I really was doing it just to be an asshole.:
"But not all the time. You didn't believe you deserved to be happy. You spent years pushing me away and admiring me from afar because it was safe. You feared love because you worried about it being ripped from you."
"Look at Julia, it was ripped from her."
"It was but that's different. Julia wasn't afraid to live her life because she feared someday her husband might die. She fell in love, got married, had kids...she's had a great life. Michael may be gone but she has the kids and mom and me and she'll keep going because...that's what you do."
"You make it sound easy."
"Oh God no, it just is what it is."
"Could you move on so easily? I mean, if it were me?" He asked.
"Of course not!" She exclaimed. She lowered her voice. "Every time something happened to you, it broke my heart. You took so many risks, it was like you didn't care and it hurt me to see that. And then all those years on Vicodin, I was scared to death that you'd go on a binge and OD or that one day your liver would fail an that would be it. The only way I dealt with it was to try and put it out of my mind thinking there was no way you would die...not you."
"Everybody dies."
"I know," she said sadly. "But I was never ready to lose you."
For all his sarcasm, he really did regret causing her so much pain. "I'm so sorry I put you through that."
"I know. I really thought when you went over the deep end after we broke up, that I was going to lose you for good. When Wilson told me you jumped off that balcony, it nearly killed me and then...the tumors...it was after that I realized I had to try and do something...anything...to save you...but I was scared."
"Of what?"
"I was scared that if I took that chance, I'd be propping you up, that you'd be dependent on me yet again and that if you cleaned up it would be because of me, not you. I couldn't handle that. It was too much responsibility being both the cause of your relapse and the reason you cleaned up your act. You had to do it for yourself, on your own and for you. That night I went to your apartment and saw you...in the bathtub, that's when I knew you'd hit rock bottom. I don't think anyone else realized the extent of your pain and why you did it, but I did. At that moment, it hit me. And then that night when they had to operate on you, when you were worried you were going to lose your leg, you told me you trusted me and only me. Trust for you is everything because you've never really trusted anyone except yourself. I thought you hated me after the breakup but I knew when you said you trusted me, it meant that a part of you still loved me. It gave me...hope."
House swallowed hard at her confession. Hope. That was something he'd wanted so badly to have after the breakup. "I never stopped loving you," he said.
"I know. That night, Rachel and I sat in your room as you recovered from surgery. I watched you sleep and all I could think of was how much I missed you. When Rachel wrote that letter, it wasn't just from her, it was from both of us."
"I knew." He remembered the letter, in fact it was still folded inside one of his favorite medical texts.
She smiled. "You always did." She wrapped her hands around his midsection kissed his stomach through his tee shirt, then placed her hand under it and rubbed his warm bare skin. "That you know me so well is one of the things I love so much about you."
"Just one?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...just one of many things I love about you."
"Ditto," he said. They contemplated their words quietly for a few more minutes. House continued to run his fingers through her hair while caressed his stomach.
"There's something I need to tell you."
"What?" She noted the seriousness in his voice.
"I wanted to be your donor," he blurted out unexpectedly.
House's words took her completely by surprise. She stopped rubbing his stomach and looked up at him again. Their eyes met. She wondered what he was up to.
"What?"
"I hated the idea of you getting sperm from those losers."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"It's just something that's been on my mind."
"You were jealous." She stated matter-of-factly.
"A little."
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Okay, a lot. Look, I never wanted to be a dad but I think I would've done it for you."
Her heart leaped into her throat but she maintained her composure. "Stacy didn't want kids?"
"Hell, no, she was too busy doing her lawyer thing. Kids would've gotten in her way."
"I wish I would've been brave enough to ask. I almost did that night I went into your office. I wanted a baby with bright blue eyes, a mischievous smile and brilliant...like his father." She said dreamily.
"Don't forget...a little hellion."
She laughed. "Yeah, that too. I chickened out. I worried about what it would do to what we had. If I had a baby with you I could've lost you for good. I worried you would get cold and distant and I'd have to choose and you know what I would have done."
He nodded. "I know I didn't show it but I really was happy for you when you adopted Rachel. I'll never forget that night in the NICU. You hadn't even give birth and you glowed."
"I felt something different from you that night, it was just I don't know...as if you really were okay with it. I remember how hurt you were at the baby store, when you found out I was trying to adopt."
"I was jealous."
"I know. I never should've kept that from you. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings."
"Apology accepted. I knew once you had a kid, you'd have less time for me. But then I saw you with her and what she did for you, how she changed you and I thought...yeah...it worked out just right."
"You gave me so much shit." She chuckled.
"I'm sorry."
"Thank you. It hurt sometimes because I really wanted you to be a part of it all. You were the one person I really wanted there who wasn't. Those early days...Wilson tried to reassure me and tell me what I was feeling was normal but I needed someone to just tell me the way it was...without sugarcoating it. You did that for me. You gave me shit because you wanted me to be sure...you wanted me to fight because you knew I was close to giving her up. You knew if I fought hard enough I would find what it was I really wanted. You knew...even when I had lost sight of it."
"Something like that."
"I never thanked you," she said.
"Oh, I think you have." He smiled to himself and said aloud, "Many, many times." He heard her laugh into his skin and decided to change direction. He'd had enough of serious talk. "So...they're still here?" He asked.
"Yep. The snow is coming down pretty bad and the weather report doesn't look good. I think everyone might have to stay overnight."
He raised his head up to look at her. Her met his. "Are you kidding?" He asked.
"No. It'll work though. Rachel can sleep with us, Sharon, Hannah and Sam can have her room. Mom and Julia can have the spare room, the boys can have the fold-out couch and Wilson can use the recliner."
He smirked. Of course she had it all worked out. "Wait! What's this about Rachel sleeping with us?"
"Well, where else is she going to sleep?"
"In her room. You do realize that we can't actually have sex if she's in the bed with us."
"Seriously? Everything you've been through today and you still want to have sex?"
"You're kidding right? When do I not want to have sex? It's been days."
"One more won't hurt."
"And...what happens when Wilson wants to sleep with us tomorrow night?" He whined.
"Don't be an ass."
"Let the kid stay with the other kids, they can pretend they're camping or something."
"You really want to be alone that bad don't you?"
"Well, duh. Think of it as pain management." He waggled his eyebrows at her.
She sighed heavily. "Okay fine." She raised herself up from him. "You coming with?"
"Do I have to?" He pouted when she grabbed his cane and handed it to him.
"Come on, at least for a little while. Have some pie and coffee. I'll make it worth your while later." She grinned flirtatiously.
"You owe me, woman," he growled. He limped into the living room behind Cuddy. The kids were gathered around the television and they looked at him but didn't say anything when he walked through. That is, except for Rachel who yelled, "Howse!" and ran over and hugged his good leg.
"You feelin' better?" She asked, excitedly.
"Yep." He patted her head.
"I saved you pie."
"You did?"
"Uh huh. A piece o'punkin and o'apple. Come on." She took his hand and led him into the kitchen with a grinning Cuddy following them.
In the kitchen, the adults were sitting at the breakfast nook talking. They stopped when House walked into the room holding Rachel's hand.
"Okay, nothing to see here, move along," he said. He hated being the center of attention.
"Look who decided to grace us with his presence," Arlene said.
"Oh are you still here?" He asked earning a wink from Cuddy.
"You okay?" Wilson asked.
"Yep. Good drugs."
Wilson frowned.
"Relax Wilson, it was just one pill."
"Hey, I'm not worried."
"Really? That look you gave me a moment ago speaks volumes mom."
"Is this how it is with you two all the time," Sharon asked.
"Oh it gets better, he reads me stories when I can't sleep and snuggles with me when I get cold at night."
"Shut up House."
Julia snickered.
House grabbed a bar stool at the counter and made himself comfortable while Cuddy sliced a piece of apple pie for House and gave it to Rachel who insisted on carrying it over to him.
"Here, Howse." Rachel held the plate up for him and he took it from her happily. He was actually very hungry.
"Thanks, kid. Why don't you go watch TV with your cousins?"
"Are you sure?"
"I'm fine. Go ahead," he nodded.
She looked at him thoughtfully and she reminded him of Cuddy at that moment. Then she said, "Okay. But I'm right in there if you need me." She pointed to the other room. The adults laughed as she ran off to be with the others.
"House, I'd say you have her wrapped around your finger," Sharon said.
"It's more like the other way around," Wilson replied. "You should've seen them back in Princeton."
"Oh?" Arlene asked inquisitively.
"Hey, she's a good kid and smart too. I could fire my entire team and just have her working for me." Then as an afterthought he added, "Speaking of my team, I never did get to talk to the Aussie."
"I did," Wilson said.
"And? You going to keep me guessing here?"
"It's not autoimmune."
"Well, duh. I could've told you that. What else did he say?"
"Told me he'd call you back later"
"So do you guys have any other ideas?" Cuddy asked.
"No. But I'm thinking...where's your laptop?"
"Inside, let me get it." Cuddy left the room to fetch the computer. When she returned, she handed it to him and said, "You want our help?" She asked.
"I couldn't do it without my trusty sidekicks now could I?"
Cuddy caught Wilson's eye and smiled. The three of them had missed working together.
"So, we finally get to see the great Gregory House in action again." Arlene said.
"Actually, you get to see me work, only your oldest daughter gets to see me in action," he said, facetiously.
"Smartass." Arlene rolled her eyes and looked across at her daughter. "He's such a pain in the ass, sometimes I don't know what she sees in him."
He flexed his right bicep and pointed to it. "She loves the big cane."
"Oh stop!" Julia said, laughing.
"You're disgusting," Arlene said.
Cuddy smacked House on the arm then took a seat on the stool next to him. She leaned on him as he booted up the computer and logged on to the internet. Once it was up, he typed a bit and then looked first at Cuddy, then Wilson. He gave them the rundown of the case and then said, "Okay, you guys know what do we have? Whaddya got that goes with muscle weakness, skeletal weakness, and myopathy?"
"To start," Wilson said. "LGMD has progressive muscle weakness in the pelvis, legs and shoulders."
"Good, what else?"
"BMD," Cuddy replied. She added, "BMD shows progressive proximal muscle weakness, respiratory impairment, difficulty walking and elevated CK."
"Scapuloperoneal syndrome? Has similar signs as LGMD only the muscle weakness is in the knees and shoulder blades."
They threw disease after disease out there while House threw back answers and did some research on the laptop. Sharon, Julia and Arlene sat quietly watching the vibrant interactions of the three friends. They saw House's frustration but they also noted the pure elated expression on his face when debating with Wilson and Cuddy. In fact, they noticed all three of them seemed to lose themselves in the differential, feeding off the energy of each other.
House rubbed his hands over his eyes. "What I need are my tools. I need my balls." He heard Sharon chuckle and then heard Cuddy explain.
"Really, he has these balls he bounces to think...it's part of his process."
"What I need...is a whiteboard."
Julia cleared her throat knowingly an looked at Cuddy who got up and walked over to her pantry and opened the door and came back with of all things...a whiteboard. It wasn't as big as the one he used at the hospital but it was big enough. She set it up on the counter across from House, and leaned it up against the microwave. She cleared her throat and House looked up.
"I don't believe it. You could not get any more perfect," he said.
Arlene snorted. "My daughter likes to be organized. You could learn from that."
House just rolled his eyes. "Okay now where were we?" He nodded to Cuddy. She was writing the things they'd already mentioned on the board.
"Rigid spine syndrome," he said and she included that too. They rattled off other possible causes. Mostly it was House and Cuddy but Wilson chimed in occasionally.
"Myasthenia gravis."
"Spinal muscular atrophy."
"Polymyositis."
"Danon's."
"RA?"
"We tested for that. No."
"Mitochondrial myopathy."
"Does she have an elevated CK?"
"The upper end of the normal range but not out of range. We ran it all...CK, AST, ATL, LDH and GLC."
"Okay, how about a glycogen storage disease?"
"That would include Debrancher, Forbes, Andersen, McCardle...all muscle weakness, hypotonia and elevated CK."
"How about Pompe's?" Cuddy asked, cringing a bit thinking she was probably way off base.
They got quiet.
House finally spoke. "It fits."
"Same symptoms as the others," Wilson said.
"Yeah but some with late onset may have CK levels in the normal range. You did a muscle biopsy right? Serum enzymes such as AST, ALT, or LDH can be elevated and may reflect enzymes released from muscle."
Apparently Cuddy hit a nerve because House looked up and clicked his tongue.
"Hold that thought." He returned to the laptop and clicked and they heard the sound of a phone ringing.
"You're skyping them now?" Cuddy asked.
"Why not? Relax it's just Chase, he never sleeps."
"Hello?" Came the voice of the Aussie back in Princeton.
"Hit your video."
"What happened to you? You never called me back."
"Busy. Listen, I've got Cuddy and Wilson here and we might have something."
"What?"
"Pompe's."
"Pompe's?"
"You didn't hear me? Yes, Pompe's. Let's go over the common presenting symptoms. Frequent infections, respiratory insufficiency, sleep apnea, morning headaches, back pain, rigid spine syndrome, poor weight gain, difficulty swallowing and eating."
"Now give me the patient findings again."
Chase walked over to the whiteboard and turned it towards his computer screen and rattled off the findings. "Weak cough, exertional dyspnea, respiratory difficulty, sleep apnea, progressive proximal limb girdle weakness, muscle weakness in the lower and upper extremities, gait abnormalities, exercise intolerance, scoliosis, back pain, difficulty maintaining or gaining weight, difficulty chewing, jaw tiredness, hepatomegaly. And oh yeah infrequent cardiomegaly."
"And what tests have you done?"
He sighed and wiped his eyes. "Lung function lying and sitting, muscle strength, EMG/NCS-"
"You didn't do the muscle biopsy?"
"Inconclusive."
"How is it inconclusive? Do it again. I need a histology and histochemistry. It'll allow muscle acid-glucosidase activity and glycogen content to be assayed directly and rapidly. We need to know the location and amount of glycogen accumulation in the tissue."
Cuddy intervened. "Whoa, you want him to do another muscle biopsy on her? She's just a kid."
"I need solid readings. If the muscle biopsy is negative we're back to square one." She frowned but nodded her head in agreement.
He looked back at the screen. "What about labs?"
"We did CK, AST, ALT, LDH. She had elevated GLC four in her urine."
He looked up at Wilson and Cuddy. "You're right. Pompe's fits. We just need the tests to confirm." He looked at the screen again. "Do the biopsy then a GAA activity on dried blood spots."
"House?"Cuddy tried to get his attention.
"In late onset Pompe's, you should measure the GAA activity through fibroblasts."
Chase heard and responded. "Cultured fibroblasts will take weeks, she may not have that kind of time."
Cuddy said, "You can do skin fibroblasts, it's much quicker and more certain. It'll be supported by the muscle tissue biopsy."
Chase wrote some things on the white board and said, "Got it. I'll call you when I know something." Then he added, "Cuddy, it's good to see you."
"Same here."
House disconnected the Skype looking very full of himself. Then he looked over at Cuddy. "Hey, what's this we need to do tests?"
"Right now we," she pointed at her and Wilson. "Are your team. Shut up."
"You guys are amazing together," Julia said. "Now what's Pompe's?"
"Do you want the short of the long?"
"Humor me."
"Well, it's an autosomal recessively inherited metabolic disorder that affects one of more than forty lysosomal enzymes. Patients with Pompe disease have a total absence or partial deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acid a-glucosidase-or as we call it...GAA...due to mutations in the GAA gene. As a result, the body is unable to breakdown lysosomal glycogen, which leads to massive glycogen accumulation and cellular dysfunction, with prominent involvement of cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscle."
Cuddy laughed. Sharon looked over at Julia and said, "Aren't you sorry you asked?"
Cuddy intervened again to explain in terms everyone could understand."In a nutshell, it's an inherited disorder caused by the buildup of a complex sugar called glycogen in the body's cells. The accumulation of glycogen in certain organs and tissues, especially muscles, impairs their ability to function normally."
"Show off," House said.
"Now see, why couldn't you explain it like that?" Julia asked.
"Because the ass is too brilliant for that." Arlene mused.
Julia got up to get some more coffee and as she passed House she put her hand on his arm and asked, "Would you like some more coffee?" It took him by surprise but he could tell she was being genuine.
"Sure." He looked over and noticed a look of pure relief on Cuddy's face.
Much later, after coffee, pie and more stories, they finalized the sleeping arrangements. Rachel, Hannah, and Sam took Rachel's room, Arlene and Julia took the spare room which was also Cuddy's home office, Jake and Dave took the convertible sofa in the living room, Sharon took the recliner and Wilson took the sleeping bag and the floor near the fireplace. Cuddy noticed that he strategically placed the bag between the fireplace and Sharon's chair.
As she and Sharon got sheets out of the closet she mentioned Wilson.
"So, how are you and Wilson getting along?"
"I think a lot of James, he's really a nice guy." Then she eyed her friend carefully. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing, I just noticed you guys spent a lot of time chatting tonight. I haven't seen him that happy in a long time."
"He told me about Amber...and Sam. Between that and three failed marriages he hasn't had much luck has he?"
"No, not in that area, anyway. Wilson's a good guy. Okay...he's not the goody two shoes people might think he is and by that I mean he can be as manipulative a bastard as House but he really is a good guy."
"I'm not looking for a boy scout. I think I made that clear to him."
"Wait, so you are interested?" Cuddy asked, shocked.
"I'm not sure. I'm not out there looking, you know that. But James is a nice man and he makes me laugh and I watched him with the kids and he's really good with them. I wouldn't mind spending more time with him."
Cuddy beamed and Sharon shook her head. "No, do not take this as an invitation to play matchmaker."
"I wouldn't dream of it," she said. "But...I do owe Wilson for years of medding in my love life."
Both women laughed and said goodnight.
Cuddy walked into her bedroom and hung up House's jacket and fixed the covers on the bed. She soon heard the door close and lock and before she could turn around, House had tossed his cane on the bad and grabbed her from behind. He moved the hair away from her neck and started kissing her.
She laughed and turned in his arms. "Hey, did you see Wilson and Sharon together? I think there's something going on there. "
He stopped and shared at her. "Seriously? You want to talk about Wilson again when we're getting ready to have sex."
"Yes and no we are not having sex." He grabbed her breasts and she tried to stop his advances. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Nooo," he whined. "You can't do that. It's not fair."
"House, there are nine people sleeping in the house besides us and five of them are children."
"So? We'll be really, really quiet."
"No."
He sulked. "Seriously?" House sat on the bed and began taking his shoes off. Cuddy walked past him and kissed him on the top of his head and whispered, "Poor baby." Then she went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of flannel pajamas and a pair of socks. He watched her as she went into the bathroom.
"Come on, I'm going to run you a bath. You interested?"
"Do I get a happy ending?"
"No."
"Aww mom."
"You're definitely not getting a happy ending if you keep calling me mom," she joked as she went into the bathroom.
House laid back on the bed listening to the sounds of water running into the bath trying to think of a way to manipulate Cuddy into sex.
Sometime in the middle of the night House woke because his leg was bothering him. It wasn't unbearable, just a little uncomfortable. He noticed Cuddy sprawled across him snoring lightly and he smiled. He looked over at the clock which read just after three. He ran his hand up and down her arm hoping to wake her without making it seem obvious. After a few minutes, she moaned and woke in his arms. She looked up at him.
"What time is it?"
"Two-thirty."
"Why are you awake?" Thinking it might be his leg, her eyes opened fully. "Is it your leg?"
"Yeah, just a little though. It's okay."
"Okay, go back to sleep," she mumbled into his chest.
"Don't wanna." He kissed the top of her head.
"Nooo House, not tonight, I already told you."
"Oh come on, we'll be quiet."
She moved a bit and felt his erection. She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my."
"But Little Greg misses you sooo much," he whined.
"You're going to be the death of me," she said.
"Yeah but oh what a way to go," he said, with a grin.
She rolled off him and onto her back and quickly slid her flannel pajamas and panties down and off her legs in one motion, then she rolled over and straddled his knees. She reached down and pulled off his pajama pants and boxer briefs slowly so as not to irritate his scar, and discarded them as well.
He reached down to help her pull off her top and threw it behind her then she helped him remove his. When he laid back, he took in the full view in front of him and his eyes widened at the side of her taut naked body above him. He started to say something and she took her index finger and placed it over his lips to keep him quiet.
He watched mesmerized as she took her hands and started caressing herself from her thighs all the way up and over her belly, to her breasts, circling her nipples and pinching them, then moving her hand over her neck and through her hair. She leaned down and kissed him slowly, tenderly, savoring the moment. Her long hair fell around them like a curtain as they indulged in quiet, lazy open-mouthed kisses, teasing each other with their lips and tongues. They spent a long time just doing that with no sense of urgency despite them both feeling hot and wet and ready to play.
In an effort to take control, House nudged her and then turned them over. He lay off to her right side and while his left hand cradled her neck, he ghosted the fingers of his right hand ever so gently ran down her neck, over her shoulder, down her left breast and arm, sending shivers down her spine along the way. Then he did the reverse and brought his hand back up to her neck, caressing it and kissing it. He took his time thoroughly enjoying the way in which her body responded to him. He kissed her earlobe and gently bit the outer shell, then whispered "You are so beautiful." He felt her tremble under his touch.
She laid there, her hair fanned out on the pillow, skin flushed and pupils dilated. He moved on top of her and settled himself between her legs and placed his hands on either side of her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. She rested her hands on his biceps and they just stayed like that for a few moments, staring into each other's eyes, speaking without words. Cuddy nodded to him and he knew what she was ready. He moved his hand down to his cock and guided himself into her slowly. She closed her eyes as he went deeper. Her lips parted and she sighed at the pleasure of him filling her up. Her breath hitched as he pushed the last of himself inside her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, eyelids, nose and then her lips. She opened her eyes and nodded to him that she was ready and he moved within her. As she met his gentle thrusts, the only sounds were their quiet whispers to one another. He felt Cuddy shiver so he stopped for a moment and brought the sheets over them to keep them warm. He resumed his movements, resting on his forearms as she ran her hands up and down his back, urging him further into her. As they made love slowly and tenderly under the sheets, she wrapped her legs around him and pressed her feet against his ass to encourage him to go deeper. When their movements became more urgent, he reached down between them and began gently rubbing her clit as she grinded herself against him. Their sighs of ecstasy grew louder and they used their hands and tongues to feel as much of one another as possible. They simply could not get enough.
"Oh...God...House..." she gasped.
"You feel...so good." He managed to get out his own gasps of pleasure. "I missed you...so much."
"Me too," she said and at that moment, her climax seized her and took over her entire body, the shock waves shooting up and down her spine. She cried out and he leaned down and kissed her deeply to silence her moans. Her muscles squeezed him tightly and at that moment, he lost himself as his climax took over his body. Cuddy could feel his body trembling and she held him tightly to her in an effort to make it last as long as possible.
Afterwards, he remained inside of her as they lay there, sweaty and panting. They planted kisses on one another and laughed together enjoying their shared moment of bliss. Finally, House removed the sheet so they could cool off and he rolled over onto his back, pulling her with him. He held her close, stroking her back and arms while she planted random kisses on his chest.
As they laid there satiated and relaxed in each others arms, Cuddy could tell that House was thinking about something. It was his shallow breathing, the way his fingers caressed her body lazily, and the feeling she had, that sense that something was going on. She knew House, his wheels were turning.
She raised herself to look into his eyes. "What are you thinking about?" She whispered.
He shook his head indicating it was nothing but she knew better. She placed her hands on either side of his face and gently massaged his scruff with her fingers, silently imploring him to talk to her.
He blinked and said, "That...was so...amazing."
"Yeah, it was." She kissed his chest again and closed her eyes listening to his heart beat.
"Makes you wonder why we don't do this every night," he said, casually.
"True," she replied. His words intrigued her. What was he leading up to?
"Yeah?" He asked, picking his head up from the pillow. Was she thinking the same?
She lifted her head and looked directly at him and smiled. "Yeah."
Thanks for all the great reviews. Comments are welcome! Lots going on, next chapter coming up soon!