A/N: Another update from a not-too-bad Sunday, i.e. Mom was only totally confused and in left field, not agitated and hallucinating. I swear, if I ever win the lottery, I will donate extensively to dementia research. If any of you ever win, I hope you'll consider throwing a few of your new bucks there also. Anyway, two more chapters left after this one on Process, and you probably will have an idea what they are respectively after reading 58. My 3-day vacation ends tonight, and it's back to the usual hectic schedule, so there will be a gap to the next and then to the final chapter. Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you.

(H/C)

Cuddy's afternoon turned unexpectedly busy. The MRI broke down, her conferences with an insurance company representative and then a lawyer, while successful, were much harder going than anticipated, and two ER doctors had to leave sick, having caught a routine 24-hour virus going around Princeton that dozens of patients, convinced they were dying, had brought to the ER rather than simply giving it 24 hours to wear itself out. She smiled imagining House's comments on them. And he'd be for the most part right, even if less than tactful.

She had thought of him a few times during the afternoon but hadn't had time to talk even briefly. She did send him a hurried text once in between putting out fires that simply said, Meetings are hell. He'd replied promptly. Sky is blue. Kutner is better. The tone switch in the middle of that, sarcasm getting immediately distracted to open relief, made him so present to her at that moment that she could not only hear it in his voice but see his eyes with that compassionate yet afraid of being caught at it look. Reassured and refreshed by touching base, she'd resumed her administrative trials.

Looking at the clock after her last phone call, she was surprised to notice that it was already 4:20. She pulled out her cell phone, wanting to really hear his voice this time, and it rang before she even dialed. It was Marina. She answered cautiously. "Marina? Is anything wrong?"

"No." The nanny almost drew it out to two syllables. "I just wanted to tell you that your parents came by a few minutes ago to say goodbye to the girls. They only stayed for a minute, and they said they were leaving town."

Cuddy gave a sigh of relief. They really had left. She'd hoped that a second ultimatum wouldn't be necessary. "Good. I knew they were planning on it, but thanks for telling me."

"I thought you'd want to know." Cuddy could almost see the question mark hanging over the phone, but Marina didn't ask for details. She might be curious, but she controlled it a lot better than House did.

"What did they say to the girls?"

"Just that they needed to get back home and they'd visit again sometime. Abby asked them if they were still mad at Thomas."

Cuddy propped her free arm on the desk and rested her head against it. Abby and her questions. "And?"

"They said they hadn't been mad, just surprised. Then they said they knew he lived nearby now, so they wouldn't be surprised again. She accepted that."

"Good. We should be home on time tonight, Marina. I know you had something to go to."

"Yes. I'll see you in a little while, Dr. Cuddy." The girls, who had been audibly playing in the background, suddenly came a lot closer as Rachel, who was in a phone phase, obviously heard the name and realized that Marina was talking to someone she knew.

"Mama! I wanna talk."

"Go ahead and let her," Cuddy said. "I'm not in a meeting or anything right now."

"Okay. She's at work, Rachel, so it can't be too long. Here she is."

"Hi, Mama!"

Cuddy looked over at the picture of her family, though she didn't need the reminder to see Rachel right in front of her. "Hi, Rachel."

"Grandma and Grandpa came and said bye! They went home!"

"I know. They said bye to me earlier today." All at once, Cuddy felt tears welling up as she remembered what else her father had said to her. Lisa, we do love you. She blinked them back.

"I won't let Grandpa Thomas say bye," Rachel insisted. "I'd grab Ember's birdle and keep them here."

Cuddy tried not to cringe at the mental image of her daughter right next to that enormous horse. She really did intend to keep working with Patterson on this. "Thomas isn't going to move away, Rachel. He lives here now."

"Won't let him," Rachel repeated.

Cuddy's mind went from horses to the racetrack two months ago, and she wrenched it back. No, nothing was going to happen to Thomas, not for a long time. Or to her husband, either. "We should be home before too long, Rachel, but I need to get back to work right now. Let me talk to Abby for a minute, okay?"

"Kay. Abby!" Cuddy flinched as Rachel yelled right in her ear.

Her younger daughter's voice came on the line. "Hi, Mama."

"Hi, Abby."

"Can Daddy talk?"

Cuddy smiled. "Not right now. He's not with me right now, but you'll see him tonight when he gets home." He'd already been gone this morning when they woke up.

"Good. Is Daddy okay?"

"He's fine, Abby. He's just tired. He'll probably go to bed early tonight. We all will."

Rachel would have exempted herself from that, but Abby didn't argue the point. "Okay. Grandpa still doesn't like 'prises."

"No, he doesn't. Grandma doesn't, either. They'll get used to Thomas being here, Abby. They just didn't know about him, and they didn't like that. I'd better go now."

"Hang up?" Abby was in a hang-up phase. She knew the correct button on the phone and loved pushing it. She had even hung up a few times on various people like Wilson or Marina in the middle of a call that her parents were on. They had tried to explain how impolite that was and that both parties needed to agree to hang up, they being Cuddy, of course. House had thought it was hilarious and wasn't much help in instructing their daughter on phone etiquette.

"Right. We can hang up now. I'll be home soon."

"Bye, Mama!" Abby hit the button.

Cuddy put away the phone, deciding to go to Diagnostics in person with this breaking news to deliver, and came to her feet. She hoped she could keep up with her girls through enough more years to get them grown. Both girls, in different ways, already were pushing them. House worried physically, but Cuddy knew they would have their hands full in every area with these two. She worried about it even while looking forward to it.

Having reminded herself of House's physical fears, she chewed on that for a few minutes as she left her office and headed for the elevator. She could tell that it was a growing effort for him to pick them up. Of course, it was a growing effort for her to pick them up, too, and she didn't have a missing quadriceps to deal with, much less recently broken ribs. She hoped he and Jensen would be talking about that in upcoming sessions and that he'd be able to see past perceived failure on the day when carrying them was no longer possible. Still, she was touched that he voluntarily had returned to PT for the sake of his family.

Diagnostics seemed deserted other than House. He sat at the conference room table, sipping a cup of coffee and staring into mid air. He looked beyond finished physically with this day. Cuddy was impressed that he was still (mostly) upright in the chair. "Greg?" He heard her on the fourth try, looking over. "Where is everybody?"

"Sent them all home early."

She seized the opening gratefully. "Excellent idea. Let's do that ourselves."

He shook his head. "I want to talk to Kutner again tonight, try a few more questions."

"But you said he was better."

"He is. I think he's going to be okay. I actually talked to him a little while that last time and got through part of the neuro checks. He's there mentally, just weak."

"Then why do you have to ask him more questions tonight? He'll be stronger tomorrow after more rest."

His jaw set stubbornly. "I need a few more answers. I couldn't sleep without at least trying."

She sighed. "Greg, you're going to fall asleep as soon as you get horizontal, if you wait that long. You're worn out, and so is Kutner. Tomorrow is better."

"No. I need to try tonight."

"What answers are that important? You're satisfied he's all there mentally. You know the diagnosis, the password, everything he did last week and in India."

He was totally locked up on her, the exhaustion just adding to his determination. "Private stuff. He wouldn't want more people to know it. I need to try tonight, Lisa. It won't take long, and if he's not up to it, I'll do it tomorrow."

She switched tactics. "I just talked to the girls and told them they'd see you tonight."

That annoyed him. "Trying to get them in your pocket first for emotional blackmail before you came up here to suggest leaving early?"

She kept her tone steady, not snapping back. "No, I wasn't. Marina called me."

Jolted out of his thoughts by concern, he spoke quickly. "Is anything wrong?"

"No. They're fine. She just wanted to tell me that Mother and Dad came by to say goodbye to the girls on their way out of town."

He grinned. "Best news I've heard all day. Well . . ." He obviously mentally weighed it against Kutner's prognosis.

"They're really gone. I was dreading a round two if needed."

He shook his head. "No, you were awesome. They got the message this morning. Didn't like it, but they got it."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on home, Greg. The girls are expecting you. I talked to them after I talked to Marina. Rachel wanted to use the phone, and then . . ."

"Abby wanted to hang up," he finished. "They will see me tonight, Lisa. This isn't going to take long; Kutner's not up to much. I figured I'd give him until about six to rest up, long as I could give him and still get home to have some time with the girls before they went to bed."

Cuddy sighed again. "You need to go to bed yourself, Greg."

"And I will. After I get home and spend a little time with the girls, which will be after I try to talk to Kutner again. By the way, I hired two egglings, so they're ducklings now. Except for the third. That one is just a scrambled eggling."

She knew he was only trying to change the subject, but she couldn't resist probing it a little. "Which two?"

"Ramirez and Hollingwood."

She nodded. "Nicely gender-balanced team. I've always liked Hollingwood, and Ramirez has had her moments, too. I'm a little surprised, but I approve."

"I figured you would. Thought I'd pick Templeton?"

"I thought you felt like he had the most potential."

He looked toward the trash can. "He does. But he's a scrambled eggling, like I said. Good for an omelet, maybe. Not good for a team." She took another peek at her watch, and his jaw tightened again. "Lisa, I'm not going to change my mind. This is important. And it won't take too long; I will be home to see the girls tonight. Go on before they start worrying about you."

At that moment, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out for a quick check. It was Thomas. "Just a minute," she answered. "I need to take this call, Greg, but I'll see you at home. Please be careful."

"I've been driving for several decades now," he grumbled. "I will be careful."

Cuddy walked out of the office, anxiety and frustration both in her steps. She knew her husband in this mood. He wasn't going to budge, and whatever he considered so almighty important to ask Kutner would at least be attempted tonight. Hopefully Kutner would be too weak to really discuss it, probably the only excuse House would accept for delay. She picked up the cell phone again as the elevator door closed, granting her privacy. "Your son," she started, "is the most stubborn person I've ever met in my life."

Thomas chuckled. "You don't know me that well yet," he reminded her. "Is everything okay, Lisa?"

"No, it's not okay, but it's better. My parents agreed to go home this afternoon."

"That's wonderful. I was calling to see if you needed me to be a buffer with them tonight over dinner, but I guess not."

"No, but I'd appreciate your company just the same. It would help with the girls, too. Greg's going to be late getting home. He swears he will get home well before they get to bed so he can see them, but they'll be anticipating. They missed him this morning, too. Well, he talked to them on the phone, but he left in the middle of the night last night to come back to the hospital."

"I thought his patient was doing better."

"He is. Couple of things that came up on that case last night and today, but the patient is doing a lot better this afternoon. We're pretty sure now that he's going to be okay, minimal long-term effects if any."

"Then why is Greg staying late?" Thomas asked.

The elevator door opened, and she walked out across the lobby toward her office. "I don't know, and he won't tell me. He said there are a few more questions that can't possibly wait until tomorrow to be asked, so he's letting him rest as long as he can, and then he'll try talking to him again about six or so. That's as long as he could wait and still get home to spend a little time with the girls before their bedtime at seven."

"How much sleep has he had this week?" Thomas asked with concern.

"About 4 1/2 hours last night. No idea Monday night, since he never even got home then, but it couldn't have been more than that and probably was a lot more chopped up." She opened her office door, retreating inside. "He gets focused on a case normally, but this one being so personal and so critical has really stressed him. And then my parents had to be here at the same time. But it's all over, damn it. Whatever he's after tonight could probably wait for tomorrow, and he and . . . the patient would both be in better shape for it. He actually sent his entire team home early a little while ago, but he absolutely refuses to budge himself." She sat down on the couch. All at once, it felt so good to have somebody else she could talk to like this, a sympathetic and safe ear without having to worry about what he would think of her. "I just hope he's all right to drive by the time he finally leaves the hospital. He's practically dead on his feet now, Thomas."

There was a long pause, and she was just starting to wonder if he was regretting entering their whacky world after all - his first week and a half living up here had certainly been crazy enough - when he spoke. "Actually, Lisa, on second thought, I'm busy tonight. At least for a while. You'll probably see me later on, you and the girls both."

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and then she felt the anxiety lifted by a powerful surge of pure affection. She didn't ask more, and he didn't give specifics. That way, she knew, they could honestly deny having plotted this together. "Thomas," she said, "it is so good to have you here. And I promise, things aren't always this nuts in our lives."

"I wouldn't want to be bored, Lisa." He shifted from humor into sincerity. "I'm glad to be here. I'll see you later, okay? You and the girls don't need to worry."

"I love you." She didn't even think the words before speaking; they just welled up out of her spontaneously. She couldn't remember ever telling him before, but surely he knew. She needed to tell him, she realized, thinking of her father. The decision hadn't been conscious, but she was glad she'd spoken up.

"I love you, too," he said, his voice slightly thick. "I always wanted a daughter. Bye, Lisa."

"Bye, Thomas." She ended the call and sat there for a few minutes, replaying that conversation, savoring it. Finally, she looked at the clock on the phone. Approaching 5:00 now. She wouldn't be too early leaving after all. Standing up from the couch, she retrieved her purse from her locked desk drawer, then left the office, heading home.