Well here we are at the final chapter of this small journey. It's been a pleasure writing this and somewhat of a challenge. Final thanks to MystryGAB for taking the time to beta and provide me with the input needed to bring more depth and meaning to the story.

Also a final thank you to those who have taken time to read the story and those who have left comments: vrjk223, HuddyGirl, Abby, lenasti16, jkarr, OldSFfan, Bakerstreet Blues, JLCH, dmarchl, hughsoulingregsmind, jaybe61, clinicduty, Ladytrad, IHeartHouseCuddy, limptulip, princessariellover876 and to all the guests who've left their thoughts. Also, a thank you to those who've favorited this story, as well.

Disclaimer: House, MD and its entities are the property of David Shore, FOX and Universal Media Corporation. This story is for sole entertainment purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER SEVEN:

A crowd has gathered in the day room. There is a cake on the table with the words "Happy Re-Birthday" on it. Nolan stands leading the group in the traditional patient send off.

"Today, we are here to congratulate Lisa." Cuddy stands there with a huge smile on her face as everyone applauds. "We're proud of her. We wish her well, and we hope..."

The crowd answers in unison, "We never see her again!"

Cuddy brushes her hair to the side out of the way, bends over and blows out the candle on the cake. The room busts into applause. As Cuddy pans the room, she locks eyes with House, who turns and leaves the room looking less than happy. Cuddy politely excuses herself and follows House outside to the recreation area where he is sitting on a concrete bench, elbows on knees with his chin resting on his folded hands. She sits down next to him, folding her hands on her lap.

"You know if you don't hurry up all the cake will be gone."

"I've had it before. Trust me. It's not as delicious as everyone says it is."

She chuckles and then says to him, "I want to thank you again for everything. If it weren't for you, I'd still be stuck here."

"If it weren't for me, you'd have never been here in the first place."

She sighs a bit. Then she tells him, "It wasn't your fault."

"Funny, since months ago that wasn't the case. Amazing the power of what a tumor can do. Wonder if it can get me a threesome."

"Maybe we can start a Twitter campaign."

He looks at her and laughs.

"Listen, for what it's worth, I forgive you."

House shakes his head. "Don't do that."

Confused, she asks, "Don't do what?"

"You're feeling guilty, so you're trying to make things right...which you shouldn't because I deserved what I got. But it'll bother you until you do, because somehow you still see me as not being completely broken. You're an idiot."

"House, do you really think this is easy for me? I've had to come to terms with a lot of things. Rachel's death, Wilson's cancer, you driving a car through my dining room. It's time to make peace with all of it and I'm trying right now to do it with you."

"And I'm saying you shouldn't. You did the right thing when you broke up with me. I'm damaged goods."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to push me away?"

" Because I'm a virus, Cuddy. One that'll just suck the life out of everyone and everything in its path...or in this case drive them to the loony bin. I'm better off alone."

"That's not true." She says shaking her head.

"I figured maybe I'd just stay here. Take up knitting."

"What about Wilson? He needs you right now."

"Right now maybe, but what happens after he dies? Huh? I play doctor for awhile. Start taking butt loads of Vicodin again. Binge drink. Start hallucinating Wilson. End up back here in the circle of hell. Figured I'd cut out the middleman and just stay. Save myself the trouble."

"God you are such an ass. Don't you understand that there are people out there who care about you? "

"Like Blew the Janitor?" He quips.

"I didn't break up with you because you were selfish. I broke up with you to protect you. " She confesses looking at him.

"Yeah, cause' that knife through my heart really saved me." He says sarcastically.

"I couldn't get out of my head the fact that both of your Vicidin stupors involved me. You had been doing so well, staying clean and I ruined it."

"Because this is all about you."

"Tell me where I'm wrong. We played with our feelings for each other and you ended up here. I had a cancer scare and you relapsed. Statics don't lie according to you."

"You are such a narcissist. You forgot one thing."

'What's that?"

"I got clean because of you; and for the first time in my life I was happy...with you."

She smiles and puts a hand on his. "Take care of yourself, House and be careful when you get out of here. There are people who don't care about you as much as you think they do."

Bewildered, he asks, "What do you mean?"

"Foreman."

"Foreman?" He echoes confused.

"After I left and Foreman was put in charge, the hospital started to slowly crumble. Foreman was losing donors because of his arrogance and icy personality and the board was ready to pull the plug on his reign. That's when the lung case came in. Foreman knew you were a brilliant doctor and the hospital's biggest asset. He figured bringing you back may increase donations, especially if you solved the case. Seeing you as his meal ticket, he negotiated with the board to have you come back to the hospital under his watchful eye. Reluctantly, the board agreed making this Foreman's last hurrah if things didn't work out. Then, you came back and became his lapdog...something he relished. He started getting donations back. Yet, when things went wrong he didn't cease to throw you under the bus. He brought in Cofield to handle the case with Chase to save his own ass."

"How the hell do you know about that? Did you put wire taps in the hospital after you left?"

"Even though I left the hospital, I still had spies."

"Wilson?"

"No." She says flatly. "It doesn't matter who fed me the information. What matters now is that you reboot your keen sense of observation. You ever stop to wonder how your fingerprints were found on a wet piece of paper that coincidentally had your name on it?"

"Foreman gave them to me. His pathetic symbol of friendship when he found out Wilson was dying." He sits up and pretends to look innocent. "Not saying that I did put them in the drain or anything."

"Oh, I'm sure you did. But unlike Foreman, I would have at least covered your ass and made you pay for the MRI machine for being an idiot. Foreman on the other hand saw an opportunity to set you up. Rather than take you off the case, knowing full well that Wilson's situation was getting to you, he kept you on it. The stress made you attack a patient. Knowing you were a liability and with pressure from the board mounting to get rid of you lest he be fired, Foreman got the paper from the fireman and turned you into your parole officer. He put himself first to save his ass."

"Doesn't make sense. Why would he offer me the tickets in the first place? Did I miss the note in his personnel file that said he was psychic?"

" Because they were part of a back-up plan. He conveniently put the tickets under your name just in case he needed to use them to his advantage. He planted the bait by offering you the other ticket, knowing full well you'd be pissed at him for trying to replace Wilson, and you took it.

"How can you be sure about any of this? Maybe you don't have as many friends as you thought you did. What if your sources were screwing with you?"

"Because I know Foreman and so do you. And because my sources are very reliable. Foreman always wanted to take over and be in charge. He also failed a lot because of his arrogance. He valued being in power over being smart. It's why he failed at New York Mercy. It's why he failed at being in charge at Princeton when you were out of commission for awhile and why he continues his reign of failure as Dean of Medicine. He wants to see you crumble. I want to see you succeed, because I believe in you. I always have."

He nods and says, "Thank you."

Looking at her watch, Cuddy says, "I'd better go. Julia will be here to pick me up soon." She rises and House gets up with her.

"Will I ever see you again?" House wonders.

Putting a hand to his face, she smiles and says, "We always seem to find each othe." She lifts herself up to kiss his cheek. Stroking his cheek, she tells him, "Take care of yourself, House." She turns and walks back into the building.

As he watches her leave, his heart sinks again reminiscent of the last time she left. All he can do in that moment is stand there defeated...at least for now.

Wilson had lasted a few months longer than anticipated. Long enough for House to have spent a few months with him after his release from Mayfield. Though they were able to have that time together, it didn't make his death any easier.

Today was cloudy and cool. Though it hadn't started to rain yet, the pain in House's leg told him it was coming...although he couldn't really determine if the pain was caused by the rain or by the loss of his best friend. For House, it was safe to assume it was a combination of both.

Looking into the dark hole in the ground where the casket of his friend lay, House related to its empty void. Wilson's suffering ended, but his was just beginning. House's thoughts were interrupted when Wilson's mother held out the shovel to him. Without a word said between them, House exchanged his cane for the shovel and limped a small distance to a pile of dirt gathered at the foot of the grave. He dug into the pile, gathering a small amount onto the shovel, and tossed it onto the casket. Once he did that, he stood there for a moment taking in the gust of wind that suddenly blew through. He exhaled and limped back over to Wilson's mother to retrieve his cane and return the shovel.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion as House stood there. He could hear nothing and see nothing but the hole before him. He felt numb and lost until a hand interlaced its fingers with his. When he turned to look next to him, there was Cuddy. Looking up at him, she took her other hand and placed it on his arm, gently rubbing it. She then rested her head on his shoulder.

She was right. They always found each other.

Later on that night, clad only in boxers and t-shirt, House sat on his couch pouring glass after glass of whiskey. He was drunk but still functional. Getting ready to pour his next round, he is interrupted by a knock on the door. He gets up to open the door and when he does Cuddy is standing there.

"I came over to check on you to see if you were all right." She peeks over his shoulder and notices the half empty bottle of whiskey. "Judging by the half empty bottle on the table, you aren't."

"God how observant of you. You should be a hospital administrator or something." He says.

Pointing to the inside she questions, "May I?"

House holds the door open, allowing her inside his place.

She takes off her coat and tosses it on the chair.

"You want anything?" He asks.

"What are you drinking?"

"Whiskey. Want a glass?"

"Sure."

House heads to the kitchen to get a glass. Cuddy sits on the couch and picks up the bottle.

"Macallan." She observes. "This is the good stuff."

From the kitchen he yells, "I reserve only the best for my dead friends." He comes into the room with a glass in hand. "And because Wilson lost his bet with me. Figured I'd honor him one last time by mocking him." He sits next to Cuddy on the couch and pours her a glass. He sets the bottle back down on the table and hands her the glass.

Holding his glass up, he proclaims, "To Wilson...the biggest pain in my ass...and the best friend I ever had."

"To Wilson." Cuddy echoes, holding up her glass.

They clink their glasses then both take a drink and Cuddy winces. "God that burns!" She exclaims, holding her chest.

"Only after the first glass. Then it's smooth sailing." He wiggles his eyebrows and takes another slug.

There is silence for a minute. Cuddy, looking down at the glass before her, circles her thumb around its rim.

"You were a good friend to him, House. You took good care of him."

"I have you to thank for that."

"I didn't do anything. You did it on your own."

He shakes his head. "No. My colossal failure when you were sick made me realize how selfish I was. You made me see that I needed to stop putting myself first and step in the other person's shoes for a change. That if I failed at least it was okay because I showed up.

"You make me sound insightful."

"I know. God you're annoying." He takes another slug of his drink. "But it's one of the reason's I respect you. You're not afraid to call me out on my crap and make me face the consequences. As irritating as that is...you're always right. I would just never admit it, because I hate it when you gloat." She laughs as he takes another drink. "I give you a lot of credit for having me thrown in jail. It was the wakeup call I needed."

"Even though you didn't deserve it." She sets her glass on the table.

He turns to look at her. "But you didn't know that. You showed no mercy." He smiles. "Good for you." He says reassuringly, tipping his drink t her. He takes a sip, then sets the glass on the table."That's where Wilson failed. He forgave me too easily, because his neediness took over. But it's also why he was my best friend. I needed his neediness. And now he's gone." With a crackling in his voice he admits, "I miss him, Cuddy." He hangs his head down, one hand rubbing his neck the other resting on his forehead.

Rubbing his back she says, "I know. I'm sorry." She rests her chin on his back, still rubbing it, and makes a confession. "After the shooting, I was a mess. I felt...empty...lost.. There were days when the pain in my hip so was bad I didn't even want to get out of bed. Then it dawned on me that the pain wasn't just physical but emotional. That's when I realized for the first time what it was like to be you. To be in your shoes."

House takes a few breaths and then sits up, turning his head towards her, pools in his eyes.

She continues."I was an idiot House. I should've never abandoned you like that. I failed to understand what you were going through, because I was too focused on myself."

"Which you should've been." He reassures her.

"No...at least not the whole time. I should've asked if you were okay or had someone check on you. I accused you of not taking on another person's pain without realizing that you were. That it manifested itself in a different way. Even though you took a Vicodin, you still showed up to be with me in my time of need. But when you needed me, I left you. I forgot that we were in a partnership. I was selfish too. I never meant to hurt you, House. That's why I wonder if you could ever forgive me."

"I forgave you a long time ago." He swallows hard. "Every day I was in that jail cell, all I could think about was you. How I singlehandedly obliterated the best thing that ever happened to me. Stripped away the only happiness I ever had in my life by being a stubborn ass. I thought...you deserved a good life. One that didn't include me, but maybe that guy you were with the last time I saw you."

"Funny story about that guy...he was dull and a bit creepy...like Norman Bates creepy. My sister was the one who set me up with him. She was worried about me, because I hadn't been seeing anyone since the breakup. So, to appease her, I offered to host a dinner party. I figured there were plenty of places to escape in my own house."

House looks down and gives a small smile.

"I never lied to you." She tells him. "I missed you every day and I worried about you all the time. You were my soul mate, House." She swallows hard. "And somehow you always will be."

He looks over at her. She takes her hand and rubs his right cheek with her thumb, then pulls him towards her. He wraps his arms around her and they embrace. Tears start streaming down her cheeks, as well as his. Holding her again felt so right...so much so that he was afraid to let her go lest the feeling be lost forever. She was his beacon of light in this dismal world and her love guided him back home to a place of peace.

Rubbing his back, she tries to comfort him by saying, "It's gonna to be okay. We'll get through this together. I promise."

He pulls away from her a little bit with his hands resting on either side of her waist. She takes his face in her hands, stroking away the tears that have fallen down his cheeks. Looking into his sapphire eyes, she is overcome by their sparkling beauty and it takes her back to that familiar place she so cherished long ago. Feeling that hypnotic pull again, Cuddy leans in and places a feather light kiss on his lips. She pulls away for a moment only to lean in again, plunging her tongue into his mouth. He responds equally with a bevy of emotions from pain to passion to pure love...to want and need...the feeling of loneliness stripped away instantly with just her kiss.

Cuddy pulls away and moves, straddling him. Taking his face in her hands, she dives in for another deep kiss, as his hands slide underneath her shirt roaming her back pulling her closer to him...the sensation of her silky skin beneath his fingers starts to suck the darkness away, making him feel lighter...more alive. She could feel his throbbing cock getting hard against her, sending a shockwave of burning desire throughout her body. Cuddy pulls away again briefly. She crosses her arms, grabs the hem of her t-shirt and swiftly pulls it over her head, then tosses it to the floor. She goes in to devour him again for a few seconds, as her need for him intensifies with each touch of his mouth. House's lips begin to travel from hers down to her neck, exploring each forgotten inch of the body he so held long ago, while her arms are wrapped around his neck...her one hand pulling his head closer to her. The scruff from his beard sends the butterflies from her stomach right down to her groin and she lets out a soft sigh, as the long lost feeling from the past springs to life again. House's hands roam up her back where he gently unhooks her bra. While kissing him, she slides the straps down, pulls the bra off and tosses it to the floor. She then puts her hands atop his shoulders. House takes his right hand, slides it up to her breast and starts making small circles with his thumb around her nipple. She moans in his mouth. Suddenly, she feels his erection pop out of his boxers and his breath getting heavier. She grabs the hem of his shirt, he lifts his arms and she pulls it over his head. She tosses it behind the couch and slides off of him. In one swift move, she pulls down both her yoga pants and panties. Grabbing his shoulders, as he puts his hands around her waist, she lowers herself onto him and once again they are connected.

"Ohhh." He groans.

Slowly, she circles around his pulsating cock before switching to a rocking motion. Grabbing her hips, House thrusts up inside her meeting her pace. They lock eyes as they find their rhythm, then they gradually increase their speed. Faster and faster they go...hearts pounding...pulses racing...sweat pouring from their bodies, refusing to look away from each other; instead uniting in passion and pain in a magnetic force that can only being experienced once in a lifetime. Two broken souls becoming one again. Cuddy uses the couch to brace herself as the fire in the pit of her stomach begins to grow. Finally, she throws her head back as the passion explodes from her body in a loud cry with House spilling into her filling the abyss of her soul with pure love again. For House, his savior has arrived in a bond that may fray but never be truly broken...not by distance or time or anger and adversity. In this moment now, he feels complete as they have finally come full circle again. She will forever be his drug of choice; and he the most incredible man.

She touches her forehead to his. Their breaths start to slow, as tears fall like rivers from their eyes. Cuddy rests her fingers on his neck and her thumbs on his jaw line.

In a quiet, gruff voice House whispers to her, "I love you."

Stroking his jaw line, she replies through tears, "I love you too."

House and Cuddy decided to take a leave from their jobs for awhile, opting to go on a road trip to New Orleans. It had been about a month since Wilson died and both decided the break was needed for each of them. One thing that they learned from Wilson's death is that each moment of their lives can't be taken for granted and enjoying time with the most important people in them matters more than saving lives. Sometimes you just need to save yourself. With that mindset, they embarked on their journey. However, it was not turning out to be the greatest adventure. First they had to deal with a flat tire. Then the battery on House's iPod went dead. Next, they hit road construction and had to take a detour. If all this weren't bad enough, House's radio was experiencing some major interference and all he could get was the Broadway station.

"Dammit!" House exclaims, hitting the radio.

"Hitting it isn't going to stop the interference." Cuddy remarks with a smirk on her face.

"Oh shut up!" He says frustrated. "If we're gonna get lost, I'd like to at least listen to a decent radio station. This is just crap!"

"So is this car. Why don't you buy a new one? It's not like you can't afford it."

Continuing to fiddle with the radio, while watching the road, he answers her. "Because this is my baby. We've been through a lot together. Keg parties. Road trips. Sexy rendezvous..."

"My dining room..." She says sarcastically.

"Very funny." He says not the least bit amused. "I think that horse has been beaten to death now, don't you?"

She chuckles. "I'm sorry."

"Check the GPS on your phone. See if you can tell where the hell we are."

Cuddy pulls out her phone. Looking at it she mumbles, "Damn. I'm not getting a signal."

"Check mine then." He instructs her.

She looks at his. "You aren't getting anything either." She turns to him and says, "By the way, nice lock screen."

"For your information, a picture of you naked is a great motivator. It's saved many lives, since it actually encourages me to answer my phone...which is currently useless right now unless I want to entertain myself. But you're here, so it is useless." She chuckles.

He groans. "You know, why do we pay all this money for cell phone service when we can't get a damn signal?"

He continues fumbling with the radio.

Looking out the front window, Cuddy's attention is caught by something in the distance. "Wait. I think that's a sign up ahead."

For a moment House looks up. They both look out the front window. The sign starts to get gradually clearer as they approach it. As they come up to it, they notice at the same time that the sign reads, "Welcome to Wilson." In that moment the song "Friendship" from Anything Goes comes in clear as day.

House and Cuddy look at each other dumbfounded. Then Cuddy bursts into laughter.

House shaking his head in disbelief comments, "Son of a bitch. Even in the afterlife he's annoying." House looks up. "Hey Wilson!" Then he throws the finger.

Cuddy continues laughing hysterically as they drive off into the distance with the song still playing.

THE END