And so we come to the end of this tale. Thank you for all the lovely feedback, especially to guest reviewers whom I can't thank directly. Let us wish all the best to our happy couple.

Chapter 8

House pushed the chair to Cuddy's room. The hospital suite had been decorated with white ribbons and with flowers. The sofa, the recliner, the idle IV pole, the bed table, and the bed frame had flowers and some streamers attached to them. Snacks were laid out on the desk. Bottles of sparkling grape juice, red and white, sat chilling in ice in a wine bucket. Champagne glasses were arrayed by the snacks on the side table, along with pieces of the wedding cake from downstairs. House lowered the blinds and shut the door of the room.

"May I help you to get into something more comfortable?" he asked voice deeper than usual.

A stunning, white lace nightgown lay on the hospital bed. House helped Cuddy draw off her suit jacket. He pulled her skirt down over her baby bulge with reverence. She wore a garter belt and stockings and he helped her to roll the stockings down and over her feet. She was exhausted, so with an arm around her shoulders, he helped her to sit on the hospital bed. She stretched out gratefully. He pulled the hospital sheets and blanket over her.

A soft, white nightshirt awaited him in the small wardrobe. House pulled his own clothing off and shrugged into the nightshirt. He rested his cane on the chair that held his haphazardly folded clothing. Then he climbed under the sheet and blanket and held Cuddy to him. There was barely room for both of them, even though the bed was the largest size available in the hospital. It didn't matter. He held Cuddy close.

"We did it," he said again, burying his face in Cuddy's curly dark hair. He felt that, at last, he had come to safety and had come home. "Lisa, I love you," he whispered, choking on the emotion.

"And I love you so much," Cuddy whispered back. They fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

Epilogue

The notice in the newspaper the next day was brief. "Married, Dr. Lisa Cuddy and Dr. Gregory House, in the chapel of Princeton General Hospital. The private Jewish ceremony was attended by family and friends. The couple will reside in Princeton."

Two weeks later, another notice appeared. "Born, a son, to Dr. Lisa Cuddy and Dr. Gregory House. Robert Booker Cuddy-House weighed five and three-fourths pounds and measured seventeen and a half inches. Mother and son are doing well."

*Bris. Jewish male infant circumcision ceremony.

**Huppah. Wedding canopy.

***Yarmulke. Skull cap.

****Ketubah. Marriage contract.