A/N-Thank you to all of you who reviewed since the last installment-JLCH, tori, SissiCuddles, housebound, alddi, Jane Q. Doe, Lapiz Silkwood, IHeartHouseCuddy, Boo's House, southpaw2, 6cbrilhante, Bakerstreet Blues, OldSFfan, justlobe, ClareBear14, KiwiClare, partypantscuddy, Little Greg, Abby, Alex, lenasti16, dmarchl, HuddyGirl and all of the Guest reviewers

Final Author's Note at the end!

Kate and Melanie returned to the home they shared late after dinner one evening, looking forward to a quiet evening of romance. Kate went to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and Melanie walked to the fireplace and lit two candles on the mantle.

"When I came for dinner I had no idea there'd be a show!" House said, through a full mouth, as Melanie screamed.

Kate came running into the living room, "Oh, hey, House," Kate said calmly.

House was sitting in their recliner, feet up, with a container of leftovers from their previous night's meal in his lap.

"How did you get in here?" Mel said, scowling at Kate for her relaxed acceptance of the intruder.

"Key?" he asked.

"You answered a question with a question," Mel replied.

"Did I?" he continued.

Mel smirked at him, then Kate, "I'm gonna go shower, so you can chat."

After Mel was gone, House said, "Are you in trouble?"

"Nope," Kate said, "she knows you're part of the package. Trust me, I'm worth it."

House smirked before taking a few more bites.

"Is everything OK?" Kate asked. "Need a break from the wife and kids?"

"Everything's fine," he said, "I just told Cuddy I wanted to hang out, so she put the Duo to bed for me…gave me the night off. I'll give her the night off tomorrow, but she'll probably do something lame…like visit her sister."

Kate sat down on the chair next to his. "You wanna do something? I'm sure Mel wouldn't mind a few hours to herself."

"I'm pretty sure Mel wasn't rooting for a few hours by herself when she lit candles…"

"She'll understand if I want to hang out for an hour or two, you're busy now, so I have to take you when I can. What do you want to do?"

"What do you know about…real estate?" House asked.

"Ummm…very little."

"I found something interesting. Since we're in business together already, although admittedly I've been a less than active business partner as of late, I was wondering if you'd be interested in opening another establishment."

"Where's it at?"

"It's a bit farther than your current one."

"Jersey?" Kate asked.

"No."

"How long does it take to get there?"

"With or without SCUBA gear?" House asked, dropping a few pages he printed out from his computer in her lap.

Kate stared at the paper for a moment and then looked up at him. "This…is amazing. You're kidding!"

"Not kidding."

"You trying to get rid of me or something?" Kate joked.

"Not exactly," he said, walking around behind her and dropping a map in her lap. "This, is where that lovely bar is. And…this…is where I want Medford to build my diagnostics clinic. And…this…is where I want them to build Chez House. I understand…if you translate that…it sounds a little redundant…but work with me."

"You're moving?" Kate said, sounding sad.

"Do you really want to stay here?" he asked. "I mean…I get the whole…girlfriend thing…and I get that if she doesn't want to come, that may be a deal breaker. But, I want to be here," he pointed to the map. "Cuddy wants to be here. The kids…well…they don't really care, but…"

Kate stared at him for a moment, and he could see her thinking. "You want me to come?"

"I need someone to watch the kids, so I can keep cheating on my wife," he said calmly.

She nodded, knowing the true reasons behind his suggestion and never expecting him to say more. And then he surprised her. "You are my friend. You stood by me. You let me stand by you. You told me to get off my ass and go after Cuddy…which…I wouldn't ordinarily do. But because I have you…I have Cuddy…because I have Cuddy…I have the Duo…because I want to enjoy all of the aforementioned things…I want to live there…so I can enjoy them. It would heighten my living experience…if you were there too."

Kate nodded and grinned, "Let me talk to Mel."

"Call me tomorrow, I gotta go see what Celia's up to."

A few months later, Cuddy was flying around their home, gathering, boxing, bubble wrapping. Jack and Ava were with Kate, so that House and Cuddy could ready the remaining items for their move the next morning. "House…" Cuddy called from the bedroom, "Do you want these records, or are you leaving them here?"

"Leave them here, so they don't get broken. I copied them," he said, as he watched her scurry around. "Cuddy, we have what we need. We have the kids' stuff, some clothes …what else do we need?"

"I just don't want to forget anything," she insisted.

"We'll be back in a few months to see Wilson's latest addition. Anything we forget, we can get then. It's not like we're selling the place." She ran past him. "It will all be here…safe and sound," he insisted. "But yet, you go hurricaning around here…again."

He laughed as he watched her fury. "Cuddy…it's Wednesday night. What we haven't already packed, isn't that important."

She ran past him again, but stopped right in front of him. "OK, just take one more look around, and make sure anything you want is packed."

He looked around haphazardly, clearly not paying attention, while she watched him with a look that lacked amusement. "Found it!" he yelled, loudly, as he picked her up and turned around to face the bed. He sat her inside the suitcase on top of piles of already packed clothes. "All done," he said with a self-satisfied grin. "Do you think we can get it shut?"

She was trying not to laugh, unsuccessfully. "They'll come ship the boxes out tomorrow. We'll take our luggage…and us, and we're good."

He had a mischievous grin that she had so much trouble saying no to, and by that point in their relationship, he knew that. "Now," he said, "I thought the whole point in having affairs was to have hot sex with a person that you don't have to face day-to-day problems with. You are breaking the rules by worrying about...stuff."

She grinned at him, "It's the night before we leave. Does anything stop you?"

"There are a few things. Packing isn't one of them. But, I'm guessing you are going to be far too distracted to have any fun…"

She was immediately up out of the suitcase, kissing him, pulling his tee shirt up and over his head. "Unexpected," he said.

"Shut," kiss, "up," kiss, "House."

"See now you're packing what you want," he said, smugly, as she pushed him down on the bed and sat on his stomach. "Or are you unpacking..." She grabbed the roll of bubble wrap. "I don't think I can breathe through that," he commented.

"Oh, I'm just bubble wrapping your cock, I don't care if the rest of you gets a little dinged up."

She had a wide, silly grin on her face as he shouted, "Oh…that's nice!"

She started giggling, her face happy as she played and flirted and he could feel a similar grin on his own face, mirroring her mood.

Wide palm leaves blew in the afternoon breeze as a storm hovered out at sea. House was leaning over a computer, working until he heard giggles behind him. Ava, four years old and Jack, a year and a half, both far too observant for their ages, were standing behind him. "Whatcha doin', Dad?" Ava asked.

"Working, what are you doing?" he said confrontationally.

"Getting you. 'Cause Mommy said it's time for your knitting club. And Aunt Kate's here."

House looked down at his watch, "How was work?" House asked Jack.

Jack laughed in amusement. Jack laughed at almost everything House said in that particular tone. "Da-aaad," Ava said, "He's too young for a job."

Jack still had thick piles of hair, faded to a lighter chestnut shade with age and plenty of time in the sun, and his eyes settled to a cool grey. For such a tiny baby, he was a robust and healthy toddler. He had round chubby cheeks and often wore a smile on his face. House and Cuddy often wondered how the two of them could produce such an innately content child. It wasn't that either of them were miserable anymore, but they certainly seemed to have to work a long time to get to a place of happiness.

"Is that funny?" House asked. When Jack continued to laugh.

Ava took House's hand, and then Jack's. "Time to go guys," she said, dragging them out to the living room. Ava enjoyed her time with Kate, particularly after Jack would go to bed and she'd have an hour of her Aunt all to herself.

Ava's night terrors were mostly things of the past, but when they appeared, House always trudged to her room in the night and calmed her. She did have a few sketchy memories of the events of her very early life, from time to time she'd mention them to her parents, usually one on one. They didn't try to deter her from her exploration of her past memories, electing instead to be present and available to help her deal with those things as they came to her memory. The one thing that she understood without doubt, was that her parents met her by complete accident, but once they found her, they fought until she was theirs. There was something about their commitment and devotion to making her theirs, that always made Ava feel she was where she belonged.

Rachel was a member of the family as real and present as any of the others. Cuddy and House often shared stories of her. Ava liked the idea of an older sister, and when people would ask about her family, she'd say that she had a brother and a sister. They celebrated her birthday every year.

The kids began to hear early on about the some of their parents' struggles. As well as they got along, there were often disagreements, with more hushed tones than in their PPTH days, but with equally intense discourse. Often about work, these discussions became as much a part of the interactions between their parents as the intense love that existed between them. What the children knew, was that as inevitable problems arose, the respect that existed between their parents prompted them to discuss issues and reach compromise. When they were older and the subject came up, Jack and Ava could never picture their mother or father acting the way they did in the stories, and they couldn't fathom a time when the two were unable to express affection or talk openly.

Their new home was open and breezy, perfect for the tropical climate. One entire wall of the living room was covered with pictures of all three children, and a few even included House and Cuddy. Nestled along the side of a hill, along terraced steps of land, like all of the surrounding homes, the view was breathtaking. Lush green trees sprung between each home. At the base of the hill was a wide sandy beach, and stone walkways connected the homes to the main road. There was a simplicity there, a trust between neighbors that both House and Cuddy originally viewed with complete skepticism. After several months, they realized that the people saying good morning weren't looking for information, or making observations, or judging, they were saying good morning.

When they moved there, some of the locals were less than excited about the construction of a nearby clinic along the periphery of the village, until Kate, House and Cuddy were able to assist with some routine medical care and supplies, quickly gaining them a place in the small community.

Everyone knew Kate, the quintessential social butterfly, she'd host little events for the locals, and her training in psychology really helped her. Once the people in the village, and in a few surrounding villages, figured out she gave good advice and had a willing ear, she had a lot of patrons at her bar, and was soon asking for a room at the clinic, once it was completed, to see patients. She initially refused payment from the people who needed her, counting on their patronage at her bar, but she found frequent gifts and money at the door of the home she shared with Mel, left as a display of gratitude.

Celia resisted the move, repeatedly turning down House's offers until two days before they left. She had a change of heart, and with the more than generous paycheck she was going to receive, she knew she could fly back to visit her grandkids regularly. Less than a week after she moved, she met a man, widowed nearly twenty years. She was walking to the market one evening and he came up next to her to walk along. He was one of the oldest men living in that area, and offered to fill her in on all of the gossip. It was love.

House and Cuddy put a guest house on the edge of their property. As much as they encouraged Arlene or Blythe to visit, they didn't want them actually staying under the same roof. They flew back regularly. Their kids would joke as they grew older that their parents had it backwards, they were on vacation most of the time, and worked six weeks out of the year. They would return to PPTH to help Chase on occasion with patients who were too weak to travel, and the pair would get abnormally excited to return, briefly, to revisit their earlier years, and then were always more than eager to return home after the case was finished.

Blythe and Medford dated and got along wonderfully. He was still fastidious and tidy, a bit uptight, but he was pleasant and kind, and enjoyed the atmosphere of family. He and Blythe seemed to genuinely cherish each other's company. His niece and nephew, though older, enjoyed becoming an aunt and uncle to Ava and Jack. Arlene Cuddy, didn't change in the least. Although everyone knew she grew to love House, and always loved Cuddy, she maintained the same confrontational interactions with them. Eddie, Julia's son, called and emailed House regularly for advice, and spent a few summers with the family when his mother grew frustrated with her brooding teenaged son. Julia had mixed feelings when Eddie decided he was going to become a doctor.

Barbados was in many ways the perfect place for them. Called "Little England," English was the primary language, a fact that Cuddy was pleased with, and there were nearby schools for the children to attend when the time came. House, on the other hand was disappointed that English was the primary language, a concession he made since Cuddy was willing to pack up her life to move to a tropical island with very few demands of her own. Fortunately, he met a man living in the next village who was from Japan, and offered to teach him to play the guitar in exchange for teaching the rest of the family Japanese. House felt it would give them the ability to speak in a language that no one else around them could understand.

When the kids weren't with them, it gave House the ability to say extremely inappropriate things to his wife in public without anyone understanding. That fact spurred Cuddy into acquiring the language more quickly, since she wanted to know what he was saying when he was leering at her in that way, and so she could provide witty responses to his comments and suggestions.

When Kate came to watch the kids for their Wednesday night fling, House and Cuddy began as they often did, walking down the paths to go wherever their mood took them. Far from their old haunts, they found themselves more easily affectionate, known in town for walking around hand-in-hand. To the growing Ava and Jack, that fact was not romantic, more horrifying, but they had little doubt that their parents loved each other deeply. Ava would often walk into rooms, find her parents and turn to her brother, saying, "Gross, they're staring again," as the two kids would run screaming from the room.

Wednesday night, they made their way down the path toward the clinic, construction completed, preparing to open the following Monday.

"So," House said, "I'm concerned with our children's education. Jack will be two...someday...I think they need more real world experience."

"Like…"

"Like visiting France. And learning things that are uniquely…French. Next country you pick. I'm thinking two class trips per year."

"For educational purposes?" she asked with a smirk.

"Absolutely," he responded.

"They took us to a farm for our field trip in school…certainly not France."

"To a farm? How lame."

"Yea."

"Were animals domesticated yet when you were a child?" he teased.

"You are such an ass," she giggled. "If animals weren't domesticated when I was a child, they must not have discovered fire yet when you were."

"Touché."

"Well, their class trips sound like more fun, so I'm in," she answered.

"And then…after your trip, I'm taking Ava to meet Hawking. The kid has a mind for physics, so…she might as well learn from the best."

"She's four," Cuddy countered.

"Next year she'll be five. You can't start too young, the girl has questions. Lots…and lots…and lots…and…lots…of questions."

"You have his number?" Cuddy teased.

"Speed dial."

When they approached the doors to the clinic, House held out keys and jingled them momentarily before unlocking the doors. He held them open with exaggerated flourish and gestured her through the opening.

There was an open central room, with a welcoming desk and a small, comfortable waiting area with a sofa and several chairs. Next to the waiting area there was a space for children to play. "Probably more for ours than anything," House said, as he gestured to the toys. They had adjoining offices behind the waiting area, their names on the doors.

"Does it bother you…that I never changed my name?" she asked, as she looked at the name plate.

"It would get confusing if, in the midst of a work-related battle, we were each screaming 'House, shut up!' and if I had to yell 'House-Cuddy' or 'Cuddy-House' to get your attention, it would be both confusing and time consuming," he jested.

She smiled, "I'm serious. Does it bother you?"

"It isn't like you're trying to advertise that you are single or anything. I'll just keep branding you with that giant visible hickey so they know you're mine," he said.

Cuddy trailed her fingers along the desk in her office, her old medical school desk, which had been quickly pushed into storage when she left Princeton-Plainsboro, and brought out years later to be shipped, with most of their other larger items, by boat, to their new home at incredible expense.

She walked to the door that connected their two offices, each had a door directly into the central area, and then a door between their offices, as well as one to a shared private bathroom.

House's office had a whiteboard, the same one he stole from Chase that was originally his, insisting that, "It's hard to find a good white board." He had tennis balls, toys, a TV and games, each of their offices designed exactly as they wanted them. His office would be more popular than the waiting room play area with the kids.

Kate's office was next to House's, with a room to see patients and provide counseling. There were two small exam rooms and, behind those, rooms with various state-of-the-art diagnostics equipment, including an MRI machine that Cuddy begged House not to destroy. House gestured to one door and said, "Surprise for you…" and opened the door.

There were large glass patio doors on one end, opening to a private porch, it was a yoga and meditation studio. "You're kidding!" she said.

"You like it?"

"I…love it, it's amazing," she said as she walked around the room, amazed, as always, with his ability to bestow a perfect gift, exactly as she would have wanted it. The man knew her well, and remembered everything.

"This way, when you need to get away for a few minutes, take a break from me, or the kids, or work…you have a place."

"Where will you go get away from me?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"I don't want you to be able to easily find me when you're mad…my location changes as necessary," he said with a chuckle.

"This is…so fantastic!"

"If you ever wanted to…you could do yoga classes here. We could bring someone in…or you could teach it I'm sure."

"This is very cool," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thank you."

"It's selfish. I like to encourage the yoga so I can bend and gumby your legs into whatever freaky position I want."

"That's funny," she said dryly, "That's the exact reason I've been doing yoga all along."

They enjoyed a quiet moment until he looked down at her, asking, suddenly, "Why did you come here with me?"

"You're an idiot. This from the guy who tried to pack me in a suitcase and say he had everything he needed. I want to be where you are. As long as it's you and I and the kids…I'm good. Besides…we're happy here. A fresh start…was a very good idea."

"It was…wasn't it," he said smugly, taking her hand and leading her to the exam rooms.

When they walked in, he leaned against the door to close it, and said, "I'm out of practice, wanna play doctor?"

"At work?" she said, with mock surprise.

"So…what are the rules here. Is the new clinic a no-lovin' zone, or am I going to be able to convince you to do a little role playing now and then."

"We'll have to develop some rules."

He rolled his eyes, "Sure…the rules. I would be disappointed, but…rules mean that sometimes, under certain conditions, this is a love-zone. So, present to me your conditions."

She hopped up onto the exam table and removed her shoes one at a time, trailing her hands up her calves to her knees. "Well…no audiences…of any kind…or potential audiences…which means no sex on the counter in the center room right before people are supposed to arrive."

She slid the lower half of her dress higher up her body before reaching behind her to unzip the bodice. "Reasonable," he nodded, already distracted by the removal of her dress. "If we were going to put on shows…we should charge admission…no free peeks."

"Agreed," she said with a smirk. "We'd both have to consent," she added, releasing the clasps of her bra before letting the garment slip down over her arms.

"There's a rarity…both of us wanting sex," he said, sarcastically, while enjoying the slow disrobe. "I do feel a bit better though, knowing you can't just take advantage of me at will, and I actually have to be in the mood."

"I thought that would make you feel safer in the work place," she responded, pulling her feet up onto the exam table and leaning back to slip her panties over her butt and let them slide down her legs onto the floor.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Yea, get your ass over here for professional development."

He hooked his cane on the door knob and pressed the lock on the door before going to her.

Standing between her legs, facing her on the exam table, he ran his hands over her skin, feeling the softness, allowing the anticipation to fall over him while she undressed him. "Thank you for doing this," he said, his voice lower and softer than normal.

"Sex at work?" she asked with confusion, more interested in removing his clothes than talking.

"That too. But, coming here, with me, doing all of this, the clinic, the move, the book, putting up with…all that which is me."

"I am NOT putting up with you. Some day…you'll figure that out."

"Well then I guess I just meant sex at work."

She grinned, "You're welcome, it's all part of the marriage vows, 'love, honor, sex-you-up repeatedly at home, and at work, and anywhere else we deem appropriate."

The End

Final Note-I was going to include an Epilogue next, so everyone could see where they are years down the line, but since you want a sequel, if I write the epilogue, you'll already know what happens…so this is the end of this one. I will come back for the sequel as soon as I figure out some good story lines, map out the plot, and once I finish up my other fic.

Thank you all so much for reading this and "playing along" with what I wanted to do. For some strange reason, I actually feel better for giving them a happy ending in my own little mind, because it was such a shame to let such awesome characters rot in misery…I actually feel sad leaving these characters, as they are in this story, go for a little bit, so I look forward to coming back to them.

To those of you who reviewed, (one time, or one-hundred-eleven times) thank you so much for taking the time to leave your thoughts. It's nice, even as just a fanfic writer, to know people are interested…whether they LOVE you, or HATE you…or somewhere in between. Anyone who wants to leave some final thoughts on their way out, it would be much appreciated.

Writing like this can be daunting…putting your thoughts and ideas and skills on the line for people to judge, is an intimidating prospect. I'm glad I did it… you have all helped me to become a better writer than I was when I started…I hope. Anyway, thanks all!

-Grateful