Okay, this is it, last chapter. I could've gone on and dragged it out but my hands are so full with other stories that I don't have time for all of them. A special thanks to everyone who reviewed and kept the story alive. Hope you like the ending!

Enjoy :)

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What gave Cuddy a rude awakening the next morning was an anxious tap on the shoulder. It was Wilson looking very concerned.

"Where's Rachel?"

"She's asleep. She's—" Cuddy looked over to the mock bassinet where Rachel was last, only to find it empty. That was enough to vanish any form of sleep away and bring her straight to her feet with panic. It also woke House up.

Wilson yelled in for someone to get in here. A security guard entered just in time to see Cuddy cover her mouth and start to cry.

"Where the hell were you guys last night?"

The security guard looked confused. "We were all here last night. No one moved once."

"He took my baby!" Cuddy cried, looking around as if Rachel would magically appear somewhere else in the room.

"This room was unguarded long enough for that asshole to come in and steal her baby!" Wilson yelled at him.

"We were here all night! No one entered or left this room!" the security guard insisted.

Cuddy felt nausea take over her body. How did he get her? If he didn't come through the front, he came into the room some other way. Cuddy wasn't exactly in the mood to think about how he could've done it. A mix of anger and hurt pulsed through her veins and started working together.

"Son of a bitch," she breathed and marched towards the sliding doors.

Wilson caught her by the arm. "Lisa, no." He knew what she was going to do.

Cuddy ripped her arm back. "Let me go."

Security tried to stop her, but she was just too angry to comply. Brendan took Rachel. He's the only one she wanted to see at the moment, not thinking about what this could do to herself in return. Brendan did this to lure her to him, and it was working nicely. She was falling into his lap. The only thing on her mind was getting Rachel back, and then pummeling the hell out of Brendan with her own two hands.

"Where are you, you sick bastard?!" Cuddy shouted once she was in the hallway and walking briskly towards the elevator, scaring anyone who was near her.

She gave strict orders to security to stay there, or they were fired. She wasn't kidding around either. Cuddy had never been more serious in her life. She gave the same command to Wilson, who chased after her the second she left in frenzy. He didn't obey her like the security guards did. He chased after her until they got to the elevators.

"I'm not letting you go at this alone," he said, not caring if he was fired or not. Cuddy was too important to fall into the hands of this lunatic.

"James, this is my daughter we're talking about," she said, fighting the urge to yell at him. "Go back to House and stay there."

"No, I'm not."

The elevator doors opened a moment later. It was empty. Cuddy was too angry to negotiate with Wilson.

"Go back, right now," she ordered with the deepest, most intense tone she could muster up. It turned out to be low and unlike anything Wilson ever heard.

What kind of friend would he be if he let Cuddy go, only to fall into the hands of this monster? Brendan didn't take Rachel because he wanted to hurt her; he took Rachel because he wanted Cuddy. Didn't Cuddy understand this? If she left Wilson's sight right now, there's no telling if she would ever be seen again. Wilson had a problem with that. A huge problem.

"Lisa, he could kill you."

"He's not going to kill me," she said.

"He will if he has no other option!" Wilson yelled, even though Cuddy was right in front of him. "You're an idiot! He won't hurt the baby. He's doing this so you'll come to him and you're making it all too easy for him. This is the stupidest thing you've ever done."

"Well no one said you had to agree with me."

"I won't let you walk into a deathtrap," he said, taking her by the arm.

"He wants to talk to me. I'm going to give him that request. Believe me, James, I'm thinking hard about this. My thinking has never been so sharp."

"Your thinking is clouded because he has your baby. You're willing to do anything to get her back. Lisa, please just let me go with you. You don't have to do this alone."

"If you come with me, he won't come out of hiding. Go back to the room. Do what I want. Please." Cuddy begged him with her eyes, as well as her voice. "If you had a daughter, you'd understand."

"I understand now, with or without kids."

"Then you know I have to do this alone. Brendan won't hurt me, even if he has nowhere to go and the place is surrounded."

"He snuck into a guarded room and took your daughter. He's probably miles away from here by now."

Cuddy shook her head. "He's not. He's in this elevator right now, waiting for me. I'll be back when we're done." She reached in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for caring."

Wilson didn't want to let her go, but he did. He could fight with her for hours and restrain her, but she'll still find a way to get to the elevators to see Brendan. The best thing he could do right now was go back to the room and sit with House until this was all over and hope that Cuddy comes back alive.

Wilson sighed heavily when the elevator doors closed with Cuddy inside them. Just then, a security guard yelled down for Wilson to come back. It sounded urgent, so Wilson did so.

"What is it?" he asked.

Just then, one of the guards walked out and was holding Rachel. Wilson's eyes widened. "We found her in the adjoining bathroom," he said, rocking the cooing, wide-eyed baby who had no idea what was going on. She laughed and swung her tiny arms around.

"Son of a bitch," Wilson whispered.

Brendan snuck into the room to hide Rachel, knowing that if Cuddy didn't find her, she would try to find him. He took a chance in hiding the baby in the bathroom so he could get a hold of Cuddy. Wilson lowered his head with a sigh. He just hoped that Cuddy could take care of herself.

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Cuddy's heart beat so loudly in her chest that she swore it echoed off the walls of the elevator and made the ride down to the main floor louder than usual. She didn't know about them finding Rachel and was still under the impression that Brendan had her.

Where was he? She was sure that he knew she was in the elevator. He seems to know her every move somehow. Was he risking to be seen out here? If he was caught on camera, they would know where he was and immediately come get him.

Suddenly, the elevator jolted, scaring Cuddy. A horrendous grinding plowed through the walls, sounding as if someone was cutting the cables that supported the elevator. She backed up against the wall, holding the rail tightly as the lights flickered. Was this a setup? Did Brendan plan to hurt her? Was she so naïve that she didn't see it coming?

Cuddy gasped as the bottom of the elevator shook so violently that she almost lost her balance. This was not happening.

"Brendan!" she cried out. If he really was doing this, he had more power over her than she thought.

As quickly as the shaking and tremors came about, it stopped, but so did the elevator. She heard one last grinding of metal on metal and that was it. The elevator came to a halt and the emergency buzzer sounded. Cuddy, visibly afraid, looked around, expecting him to come from the ceiling or the floor somehow. At some point during this, tears gathered in her eyes. She wasn't aware until her vision became blurry. Afraid to take any sort of movement for the fear of the elevator shaking again, she stayed in the same spot.

"Brendan," she said a lot quieter. "I know you're here somewhere."

She gasped and her head shot up when there was another mild bang at the top of the elevator. Cuddy backed up to the corner away from the sound. Someone was up there, walking around. The emergency grate was lifted after minor trouble and in dropped Brendan ever so casually, as if there was nothing wrong with what he was doing.

"Sorry about the shaking. I had to stop the elevator before you got to the bottom floor and almost did it too late."

He walked towards her and Cuddy backed herself up against the wall so tightly that every inch of her backside touched it, even her legs.

"Relax, Lisa, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Actions speak a lot louder than words," Cuddy said, heart pounding in her ears. "What did you do with Rachel?"

"The kid? Oh, she's fine. They found her in the room right after you got into the elevator. The timing worked out so perfectly that you'd swear this was a movie. You know, that makes me wonder. If they did a movie on this, who do you think would play me? Who would play you? I'm guessing maybe Sasha Alexander if she dyes her hair darker and wears blue contacts."

Cuddy shook her head. Tears started coming now without her consent. "Brendan, please, just let me go."

"The perfect boyfriend turns into an angry, jealous person, but yet the girl still loves him because he was just so dreamy and handsome and she's never had that happen to her before. He says everything she wants to hear and captures her so wonderfully in his web. It was almost too easy, Lisa."

"You fell in love with me, too, Brendan," she whispered.

He smiled. "Yes, I sure did." His eyes scanned her from head to toes and licked his lips. "Oh…yes I most certainly did. And I still do. You still love me?"

Cuddy said nothing. His eyes met hers just in time to see a tear fall from her eye. Her bottom lip quivered.

He closed in on her, trapping her in the corner with his body. Cuddy felt suffocated. He lifted her chin with a crooked finger. "Oh this is just too easy. I knew you still did."

Cuddy's eyes narrowed. "You son of a bitch, I'll never love you."

She connected her knee with his groin after timing it right and making sure it would succeed. She did it as hard as she possibly could, which resulted in him falling to his knees, squealing like a little boy. She didn't have time to admire her work. Instead, she stepped quickly up to the instrument panel and pounded the emergency button with the palm of her hand. When that didn't work, she called for help, telling him that Brendan was in the elevator with her and to hurry. She got a response just as Brendan came to. He was still in pain, so his strength was a little off. He grabbed her by the arm and slammed her against the wall so hard that when her head hit it, she saw stars. His eyes were no longer big baby blues, but cold and grey. It's like when she kneed him there, she broke a barrier and brought out the devil. She felt his hands enclose around her throat. Instead of the stars going away, they remained there.

"When you awaken, you'll be in hell," he growled into her face, hands tightening.

"Then you'll be right there with me, bastard," she managed to choke out while clawing his hands with her nails and kicking her legs up at him. Her head throbbed, her windpipe felt like it was going to break in two, and choking commenced, but she still wouldn't give up. Soon, it's like she was looking through tunnel vision. Everything got smaller and darker as her air supply was cut off and the lack of oxygen went to her brain.

This was it. She was never going to see House or her baby again. She let them down, even though she tried to fight. Wilson was right to have wanted to go with her. She was so adolescent into thinking that Brendan wouldn't hurt her. He would if he had to. She didn't see that when she should've. The only thing on her mind was getting Rachel back. She walked right into this.

Just then, his hands suddenly removed themselves from around her throat. Cuddy sank to her knees, gasping and coughing so hard that she nearly vomited. The reason he stopped was that the elevator started moving again, heading down to the main floor. Cuddy knew that Brendan was seconds away from trying to make his escape back up into the elevator shaft. Even though she was weak from the near fainting experience, she was determined to stop him. She knew that if she could make him falter at least a little, he wouldn't escape so easily. If she sat here and did nothing, they might never catch him. He deserved to be caught.

Cuddy used all her strength to pick herself up and before he could jump back up into the shaft, she hurled herself at him, causing him to slam into the corner of the elevator, slowing him down big time. She put her arms around him, holding onto him for dear life. Her grip was weak and it showed. He very easily shook her off, but Cuddy stayed strong. Whenever he pushed her off, she would grab another part of him. She did anything to keep him at bay until the elevator reached the bottom floor. At one point, she grabbed his shirt. She did all this while continuing to cough. Brendan was getting desperate. He didn't have time to waste. He should've already been up into the shaft, getting away. Instead, he was fighting with Cuddy.

Thinking about his own survival, he took her by the arms and flung her easily into the wall. Cuddy lost her balance and slammed her head on the railing on the way down to the ground. The second she hit the ground, the doors opened and security rushed in. Cuddy was awake to witness it, but barely. Her mind begged her to shut her eyes. Security poured in like oil and overpowered Brendan. She couldn't see anything, for the security officers were in the way. She did, however, hear a lot. Most of it was yelling, telling Brendan to relax and stop fighting them. They also reminded him that he was caught and he would be spending a lot of time behind bars. Cuddy couldn't help but smile through half lidded eyes.

She did it.

She suddenly felt a pair of strong arms around her. "Lisa, my god, are you okay? We were so worried about you!"

The elevator was empty when she opened her eyes again. She got nervous. There was no one there. Where was the voice coming from?

"Where is he?" she asked, her mind racing, but her voice coming out in low murmurs as she tried to sit up, but couldn't, because of the arms around her.

"Don't worry, Lisa, he won't be bothering you anymore. He's where he should be."

Evidently, Cuddy had been knocked unconscious, because the next thing she knew, she wasn't in the elevator shaft, but in a room of her own, hooked up to machinery. Her vision faded from the elevator shaft to the recovery room as if her mind was giving her a slideshow with bright white lights. Wilson was the one at her side, holding her in a hug. Cuddy responded as best she could after realizing this wasn't a dream and that she really was safe after all.

"Is he gone?" Cuddy whispered, grasping his shirt into a light fist. She got her answer already, but just needed to be reassured.

"Yes, they took him away. Goddamn it Lisa, I told you I should've gone with you. Don't ever do something that stupid again. You almost left us."

Cuddy's head hurt like crazy and she could feel a bump in the back of her head without physically touching it. She almost left them? Right, she was unconscious. Maybe they thought it was worse than it looked.

"I'm sorry, Wilson." She hugged back. "Is House okay? Rachel?"

Speak of the devil, House was being wheeled in just as she asked about them. In his arms, he held her bundle of joy, who was sleeping peacefully. Cuddy nearly cried at the beautiful picturesque moment.

"So should I yell at you now or later for just taking off like that?" House asked as a nurse wheeled him up to her bedside. "Keep in mind, that'll be JUST for that. The punishment for getting yourself beat up will come after that."

Wilson helped Cuddy sit up. She was able to sit up okay, but her back hurt her a little bit. Black and blue marks were noticeable around her neck. House didn't question it right away. He guessed that was part of the reason why they thought she wouldn't make it. When they told him that she might have complications involving a semi-crushed larynx and possible brainstem trauma, House didn't want to hear it. He blocked it out of his mind and kept telling himself that Cuddy wouldn't leave this world over something that stupid. It would take a lot for her to give up the fight. House found out this information from the security before they left. Doctors later confirmed it. Finally, six hours later, Cuddy wakes up. Evidently, she had already woken up, which caused Wilson to call House and have him come up here. She officially woke up right before House came in.

Wilson left the room to give them some time alone. House was still scowling at the mark around her neck. "Damn son of a bitch is lucky if I don't get out of this chair and go down to the cell where they're keeping his sorry ass and beat him into a pulp."

Cuddy took Rachel into her arms and rocked her gently after kissing her forehead. "No, House, I just want to forget about him. I'm so sorry for putting you through what I did. You were right about him from the start. I should've listened to you."

"The only one you were going to listen to was yourself. You had to come to terms with it on your own time. It happens to us all."

"Not to me. Well, at least it'll never happen again. I know what I want now."

"Do you? What do you want, Cuddy?" he asked her softly. He wasn't going to bring this up either, but after today's events, and the events leading up to a month ago, he figured life was too short. With that asshole behind bars, hopefully for life, and Cuddy expecting to make a full recovery in about a few days or so, he wanted to tell her how he felt. Last time was just a trial run.

"House, you shouldn't stand," Cuddy said, worried about his leg.

"Don't worry about it; I have enough morphine flowing through my system that it doesn't even hurt."

Cuddy moved over so he could sit beside her comfortably. He had his right leg stretched out in front of him and the left one hanging off the bed.

Rachel was still asleep. Cuddy laid her at the end of the bed, covering her up with part of her blanket. She sighed. "I can't believe he tricked me like that. Rachel was in the bathroom all along."

"I know. We tried to call you back."

"But I'm glad I went after him. I'm glad he was caught."

"You didn't know this was all that would happen to you, Cuddy. You could be dead. He could've killed you."

"Small price to pay to be sure that you and Rachel were okay."

"So she could grow up without a mother? So I could go on knowing that all the memories I have of you are you bitching at me about checking out your ass and berating me when I'm not doing what I was told to do?"

Cuddy chuckled. "It's more like the other way around, but yeah. Good thing those don't have to be the last memories. To be honest, I just want to start over."

House reached out and cupped her cheek, running his thumb gently around the area and over her lips. The small action made Cuddy's heart leap. They both leaned in for a kiss, but Cuddy went the extra few inches and connected their lips together. It was gentle and soft at first with House running both hands through her hair, but then he cupped her cheeks and deepened it. Cuddy moaned through the kiss. She couldn't help it. Her mind was swimming with so much love and honor for House that her body started to have a mind of its own.

Soon, they broke apart to breathe, resting their foreheads together. House's fingers threaded through her hair again.

"I love you, Lisa Cuddy," he whispered, his hot breath tickling her lips. "I want to start over with you."

Hearing him say that was the most beautiful thing she's ever heard. It was like music to her ears, give or take a few clichés.

"I love you too, Gregory House," she said back, reaching in for another kiss.

This was the start of something good.

Life is too short to wait.

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That's all, folks. Thanks for joining me for the ride! Let me know what you think. :)