Final chapter, guys! I guess this last bit is like an extended epilogue with interactions ranging from the morning after where the last chapter left off to several years later. I hope you like it! Your thoughts are always welcome. :)

Many, many thanks to everybody who's read, reviewed, favourited and alerted over the past weeks. You're the reason I don't procrastinate and watch bad TV instead. Also major props to my French expert. Thanks for helping me find the right line.;)

Shore owns them. I just took them into temporary custody.

4Sunlight streaking through the window roused House. Straight away the realisation that he wasn't back in the lumpy hotel bed brought a smile to his face, and his hand sought out the warm flesh next to him, except the other side of the bed was empty and cold. Blinking his eyes open he confirmed the absence and a sense of dread hit him. Briefly he mused there was a chance he'd dreamt the last few days, but then that didn't quite make sense. He distinctly remembered half-carrying Cuddy into the bedroom and getting her to take her dress off, before she more or less face-planted into the mattress and instantly fell asleep. As inconceivable as her getting herself that drunk might be, it actually happened.

Then his mind wandered somewhere more plausible. What if she had slept on the whole thing and decided it was a huge mistake? That they were a huge mistake? She'd been in a state the night before. It was stupid of him to think she'd actually have meant what she said. In trepidation he sighed and threw his legs out from under the covers, slowly standing up and preparing to bite the bullet. He'd find her, listen to her apologies and reasoning as to why it couldn't work, get dressed and then he'd leave. For good.

Following the smell of coffee he found her in the kitchen, hunched over her laptop and sipping from a mug, her hair tied back and dressed as if she'd been working out. It didn't matter that she wasn't wearing any make up, or that, by her standards at least, she was dressed scruffily, she was still achingly beautiful to him.

Eventually noticing him stood in the doorway, Cuddy turned and grinned at him warmly, instantly allaying any fears he'd had. She was clearly pleased to see him, and he felt like a moron for doubting her resolve.

"Hey!"

"You better not be working," he warned.

Happily she shook her head.

"For once, no."

Walking towards her, he circled his arms around her waist and looked over her shoulder at the computer screen, finding she was comparing various hotels near Mont St Michel. Inwardly he knew this was a big deal. He'd offered to take her the last time they were together, but excuses week after week regarding work and Rachel had made them shelf the idea until it just became a pipe dream. Now it was apparent she was eager to make it one step closer to reality.

"You're not watching lesbian porn then?"

"Not exactly," she chuckled, finding herself shiver as his stubble rubbed over the bare skin on her shoulder.

"So you were serious about this last night?"

"It's the craziest thing I've ever done, but yeah, I'm serious." In a way she needed to do this for herself too. Having convinced herself that she could put off travelling until she retired and her daughter was older seemed less of an option now. Wilson had been younger than her when his life had been cut short, painfully bringing home just how precarious her existence was in a way even her health scare hadn't two years previously. Nearing her sixth birthday, Rachel was old enough to appreciate the things they'd see too. It was time to start building memories, rather than a box load of regrets.

"Hiring me was pretty crazy."

"And that worked out pretty well in the end… Sometimes taking a risk pays off." He kissed her neck and then yawned loudly. "You still tired?"

"Why?" Smirking to herself she didn't answer him, but snaked her hand down the front of his shorts and gently wrapped her fingers around his cock, before expertly sliding her palm back and forth along the length of him. Immediately his eyes bulged out of his head. That he hadn't expected. "If you want something in your coffee, you're milking the wrong cow."

"I nearly woke you up earlier," she said coyly, ignoring the joke. "I wanted to say thank you for last night."

"Bagels would have done the trick."

He gulped and glanced down at her ministrations to check it was really happening. Seeing it really was, he whimpered in awe. Their prolonged separation melting away, she still knew exactly how to touch him and get a reaction.

"Bagels are boring, House… Besides I had something more mutually beneficial in mind."

Feeling himself begin to float away, his eyes closed of their own accord and like a distant echo heard himself grunt. The feel of her hand against him felt good. Too good.

"Cuddy if you don't stop…"

Abruptly she seemed to heed his words, pulling her hand out of his shorts, before she closed the laptop and slid it along the counter. When she was satisfied it was out of the way, her fingers tucked into the side of her jog pants and pulled them down, her underwear coming with them as she slid them down her legs and stepped out of them. Planting her palms down on the counter, she arched her back outwards and looked over her shoulder at a dumbstruck House, noting his eyes unable to tear themselves away from her newly bare ass.

"You turned me down last night. It's not happening again."

"Here?" he just about squeaked.

A flicker of a smirk curled her lip upwards.

"It wouldn't be the first time, would it?"

Unwilling to deny himself any longer House stepped forward grabbed her greedily, one hand finding its way under her vest top, as the other unapologetically palmed her ass and then trailed in between her legs. Instantly he realised how wet she was and he grinned to himself. Knowing the mere thought of them having sex had turned her on so much couldn't fail to boost his ego. How could it not? She was exceptionally sexy, smart and had an ass that could make angels weep with joy. More than that he was in love with her. Really in love. Cuddy was the only woman he'd ever wanted to fuck and make love to simultaneously.

"If I'd known you'd wake up this horny, I'd have set the alarm on my cell."

Deftly his fingers slipped inside her and curled, immediately nudging the spot that made the muscles in her thighs quiver. Responding to the new stimulus, Cuddy lurched further forward and began to grind her core against the palm of his hand involuntarily.

"Fuck!"

"You are so fucking hot," he breathed against her neck, before claiming her mouth in a hungry kiss as her head turned to give him access. For both of them the effect was dizzying; the realisation of two years' worth of love, lust and emotional frustration allowed to surface at last, like a creature used to living underground finally burrowing through the dirt to let the Sun shine on its face.

Eventually he broke away and saw the pleading look in her eye, which left him with no doubt what she wanted. Not having the heart or indeed the will power to deny her any longer, he briefly uncurled himself from around her body and dipped his thumbs into the elastic of his shorts, pulling them down enough so he could step forward again as he fleetingly realised how ridiculous he must look doing so.

Observing Cuddy wriggle her legs further open, immediately any thought that didn't involve her was banished from his mind. Gripping her hips tightly, he entered her slowly, luxuriating in the sensation of her wet heat around him until he couldn't push forward anymore. To say that she felt incredible was a hideous understatement, and it seemed that she was equally appreciative as a hearty moan bounced off the walls emanating from the woman underneath him. Spurred on by her vocal encouragement, his hips drew back and then forward again as he readjusted his stance, now bending over her and lacing his fingers through hers, the back of her head bracing against his shoulder and giving him the perfect opportunity to witness every single micro-expression on her face. In that moment everything about her was perfect to him: from the grey-blue of her eyes to the slight pout of her top lip as she lost herself. It seemed inconceivable that they'd actually screwed things up the first time, a needless waste of something irrefutably special, because they fit together: physically and emotionally. Once they pared back the fear, the insecurity and the pettiness, they really did make each other better. Safe in that knowledge now, House felt an overriding urge to express his reluctance to ever let her go again.

"I'm not going to sit back and watch another man take you out again," he grunted, driving into her as her eyes clenched shut in a mixture of elation and something just the right side of pain. "You're mine, Cuddy."

"You better know who you belong to as well," she replied shakily, stretching her tiny frame back against his bare chest and rocking with him on the balls of her feet. as his thrusts became increasingly less measured and more staccato.

"Why would I touch anybody else?" His words came out in pants and she knew neither of them was going to win prizes for longevity, as they both crept to the precipice at a heady pace. The fact was it didn't matter to her though. The sex was clumsy, crude and imperfect, and yet she'd never felt more loved, wanted or needed. Furthermore, once and for all she knew for certain that he was the man she loved, wanted and needed. Finally circumstance and honesty had allowed them to be on the same page.

A hand inching between her thighs again pulled her from her musings, the skilled fingers teasing her clit until her whole body shook, the shock of her orgasm hitting her suddenly and drawing a shrill gasp from her as she unconsciously verbalized her surprise and enjoyment. Behind her House felt her spasm around him, and allowed himself to let go, his final thrusts pressing her further against the kitchen unit, before he came and, as carefully as possible, collapsed on top of her. Breathlessly he kissed her cheek, and then winced as his thigh muscle began to sting, the strain of the physical exertion plaguing him as soon as the exquisite motion of their coupling had stopped. Realising he needed to sit down, begrudgingly he extracted himself from his girlfriend and pulled his underwear back up, soon slumping to the floor against a cupboard as he watched her find her own clothing and edge it back on. Just as out of breath as he was, she too slid down and sat next to him, her head resting on his shoulder affectionately. Looking up at him she couldn't help but notice he looked oddly morose.

"Is your leg ok?"

"It hurts a bit, but it's fine." Sensing something else was on his mind, Cuddy watched him drum his fingers on the tiled floor and waited for him to spit it out. Eventually he did. "I wanted our first time after we got back together to be a little better than a quick fumble against the kitchen counter."

"As quick fumbles go that was pretty good," she laughed, soon aware that he wasn't sharing the joke. "This really bothers you?" Feigning indifference he simply shrugged, but she knew it did. In some ways he was just as idealistic as she was. "House, the thing about you and me is that things hardly ever turn out how we expect them too… I never thought I'd see you again when I heard you'd left Michigan, and then I ended up hiring you. When I hired you I never thought we'd end up in relationship together, but we did. When we got together I never thought we'd mess up so badly, but we did…"

"Is this going somewhere, or are you just holding a memorial service for our greatest hits?" he interjected sarcastically.

"What I'm getting at, if you'll let me finish, is that we're going to argue, piss each other off and no doubt irritate the hell out of each other at times. Nothing will ever seem perfect, but I'd still rather be with you than anybody else… It's taken me a stupid amount of time to realise that… What just happened might not reach your high standards, Romeo, but I'd always trade ten minutes with you over any amount of time with anybody else…" Watching the lines on his forehead crease into a question, she answered it before he had to open his mouth. "Why?... Because I love you. Because it doesn't feel like that with anybody else… We both need to stop gazing at the cracks and waiting for it all to fall apart again, otherwise it will… I don't want that. Neither of us wants that. We have to just go with the flow, and see where it leads us… And, for the record, I'm not going to dump you just because we didn't do the whole dinner, candles and silk sheets thing. I have no wish to end this at all. Ever." She stopped and smiled at him. "That doesn't mean I'm not open to the romantic thing now and again. I am very open to that."

"And there was me thinking you were a cheap date," he cracked back, her reassurance allowing the corners of his mouth to creep up into a cheeky grin.

In response Cuddy ran the backs of her fingers over his chest as if she was investigating the skin underneath them, echoes of the week old trauma all but gone.

"It's a shame I'm going to have to beat you when your bruises are just about healed."

House scoffed.

"Less than twelve hours after we get back together, and you've already moved onto the heavy bondage."

"Shut up," she said softly, leaning in to kiss him, before hauling herself to up. Surprised by the movement, he frowned at her.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to pick Rachel up and we're meant to be having a family lunch at Mom's… I've got to tell them that I'm planning to give up work and go halfway around the World with you and Rachel for three months… Unsurprisingly I'm expecting fireworks."

Seeing her look so unsettled all of a sudden, House rose to his feet too.

"Sounds awesome! Room for a small one?"

"You want to come?" she inquired incredulously. The last time they'd been together any sort of interaction with her family had been his idea of hell. That he would offer to go without being cajoled into doing so was completely unexpected.

"How crap would it seem if I'm the one dragging you halfway around the World, but I don't have the balls to be there when you tell them?... Besides, I really want to see Julia's face when you turn up with me."

Seeing his features full of mischief, Cuddy's mind conjured up an awful thought.

"Please don't tell her we were running late because we were having sex."

"As if I would!" Unconvinced, she eyeballed him sceptically. "Trust me, I'm an unemployed doctor."

Letting her eyes fall to the floor, the air filtered out of her lungs as worry made her heart thunder in her chest like a hammer beating against a metal drum. Often her decisions were a matter of life and death, something which practice had allowed her to take in her stride, but this was different. Everything was about to change.

"This feels like I'm about to jump off a cliff."

Sensing her unease, he clasped her hand in his and ran his thumb soothingly over the back. The risk here was mostly hers. She was the one with the secure job, the home and the five year old daughter. It was a step into the unknown, for him as well, but for her especially. The least he could do was offer her his support.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need you not to lose your temper… Both of them are probably going to push your buttons and you can't let that show. If you do they'll just use it against me as another reason why this is such a crazy idea… I can't deal with that right now."

Reluctantly House nodded. There was little he hated more than being forced to keep his mouth shut, but this time the reasoning was valid. Cuddy felt guilty enough at the slightest thing anyway, without pouring gasoline on a naked flame. If he argued with them instead of trying to charm them, he'd be handing them the ammunition to put more pressure on her not to go and take their granddaughter/niece with them, and consequently it would be less likely to happen. Even if he had to bite his tongue until it bled, he'd do it. There was no way their relationship was falling at the first hurdle.

"What else?"

She shrugged and squeezed his hand affectionately.

"Knowing you've got my back on this is all I need."

Probably for the first time in his life House had a five year old snoring in his ear. Astonishingly he wasn't quite as alarmed as he imagined he'd be. After flying in from London the night previously, Rachel, Cuddy and he had spent most of the morning and some of the afternoon wandering around Paris and absorbing the atmosphere, which in his girlfriend's case mostly consisted of ogling the shop windows of the boutiques they passed. As much as he'd moaned about having to stop every two minutes when she leered at eye-wateringly expensive designer dresses, truthfully he hadn't minded at all. Not only had it given him and Rachel the chance to rest, but also he got to watch the numerous other men doing a double take as they caught sight of her, on occasion giving him a congratulatory nod as they walked by. Thoroughly pleased with himself, he'd look down to check on the little girl holding his hand, and she'd beam right back at him. Evidently she was enjoying the place too, and all in all they were having a great time.

And then a mini disaster had struck. Not looking where she was going on their way back to the hotel, Rachel had caught her foot on a curb and tripped, falling her full length and consequently scuffing her knee. Initially the shock had kept her from crying, but then she'd turned to sit up and saw the line of blood trickle down her leg. Big, wet tears had instantly formed in her eyes, soon turning into sobs when it hit her that she was hurt in unfamiliar surroundings.

Reacting swiftly Cuddy had gone to pick her up, but Rachel had resisted, shaking her head violently as she sobbed House's name and held her arms out towards him. Baffled that she didn't want her Mom, House had complied, awkwardly balancing her against his hip with his cane-free hand and sruggled the few hundred yards back to the place they were staying. In the elevator up to their suite he'd tried to put her down as the extra weight had begun to make his thigh ache more than usual, but she'd clung to his shirt and protested as a concerned Cuddy looked on. A few minutes later he'd sunk onto the sofa in their room, allowing her to sit on his lap, whilst her Mother had cleaned up her leg and found the band aids she'd packed in her luggage. Ten minutes after that the five year old was fast asleep, her head lolling into the crook of his neck, as she made a noise that didn't seem possible for a five year old. Nudging her to check she'd gone off soundly, tentatively he'd stood up and laid her down on the sofa, wiping a wisp of hair from her face, before joining Cuddy out on the balcony where she'd gone to get some fresh air.

Hearing his footsteps, she held out her hands behind her and pulled his arms around her body, revelling in the way he seemed to encompass her. Arching her neck backwards to smile at him, delicately he pecked the top of her head and rested his chin there, peaking down over the top of her at the bustle of the street beneath them. Somehow showing their affection for one another was easier these days, his need to constantly undermine her as his boss all but eliminated. Yes, he teased her still, and they'd raised their voices to one another a few times since they'd gotten back together, but a calmness had settled over them in the last few weeks, something that was borne out of the acceptance that they were absolutely the right thing for each other. Now and again he felt the urge to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming it: at long last they'd found themselves where they needed to be after over two decades of dancing around one another.

"Tu as changé ma vie le jour oû je t'ai rencontré," he whispered effortlessly, drawing a puzzled frown from his girlfriend.

"My French is really rusty. You're going to have to translate."

"I just said your ass looks nice in that dress."

"My French is bad, but not that bad," she snorted, reaching behind him and swatting his backside. "I guess I'll have to torture it out of you."

"I'll never talk!"

"I still have ways of making you tell the truth, you know."

"I had no idea you'd packed the handcuffs," he cracked back, amused by the consternation on her face as she turned to scowl at him. "Jeez! That could have been awkward if they'd gone through your case at airport security!"

"You can joke all you want, House, but I will get it out of you after Rachel's gone to bed."

"And now I'm going to have to think about Taub naked for the rest of the day to stop me from getting a boner."

Rolling her eyes at the crude comment, Cuddy turned her attention back to the scene that surrounded them. The beautiful architecture, the continental buzz on the street beneath them, along with the smell of fresh bread from the boulangerie just up the street, were all even more perfect than what she'd imagined.

"I can't believe I'm actually here," she said honestly, surveying a young couple unabashedly kissing each other passionately in the café window across the street. "I thought maybe I'd make it here someday, but it doesn't seem real… It's beautiful."

"I'm a Paris virgin too… Coming here on your own is kind of pathetic."

"You could have brought Stacy."

"My boss wouldn't give me time off."

"You know that's not true." Internally he acknowledged it wasn't. He'd been too fixated on his job to even contemplate taking any real time off, or indeed to take the time to focus on his ex, much to the detriment of their relationship. It was little wonder her excuse for ending it had been that she was lonely with him.

"I'm glad you were the one who popped my cherry," he admitted. He'd loved Stacy, to the point that his World seemed to crumble the first and the second time she'd walked away, but if she hadn't he wouldn't be here with Cuddy right now. It was as simple as that. There was something so right about the relationship he was in now. Like the years of longing, pretending not to care and hurting each other had eventually culminated into something inevitable. Something that made all the heartache seem worthwhile.

Spinning around to face him, she traced a finger along his jawline and kissed him, her tongue soon finding his in long, relaxed embrace. Eventually she pulled away and smiled shyly at him.

"What was that for?" he inquired quizzically, bemusement sparkling in his blue eyes.

"I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you."

Just as his mouth opened to complain, Rachel whimpering in her sleep turned their attentions behind them. Quickly it died down and she seemed to settle down again.

"She's probably chasing rabbits," he cracked.

"She's not a dog, House!"

Regarding the sleeping form on the sofa again, he smiled fondly. In the time it had taken Cuddy to work her notice and for them to make the necessary arrangements to get away, he'd enjoyed hanging out with her too. Whilst they waited for her Mom to come back from the hospital after she finished school, they'd watch cartoons and eat more cookies than they were strictly supposed to, smirking conspiratorally at each other when Cuddy asked where they'd all gone.

"I know," he said softly. "Rachel and I are cool… She's the Bonnie to my Clyde when Mommy's too uptight to go and rob banks."

Meditatively she smiled at him, the mirth not quite reaching her eyes and immediately he knew something wasn't quite right.

"What?" Still she hesitated. "What?" he repeated.

"If I tell you something do you promise not to freak out."

Instantly his jaw practically hit the floor.

"Are you pregnant?" he croaked.

Running a hand over her cheek, Cuddy sighed loudly.

"No, I'm not pregnant."

"Then what?" he asked impatiently. He was already starting to freak out. What if she'd got sick just as they'd started their lives together? His existence had been full of horrific ironies like that.

"Rachel told me she loved you yesterday." She regarded him timidly. Almost if she feared she'd said something she shouldn't have.

"I hope you told her I prefer my women a little older," he retorted jovially, relief filtering through him. In comparison with what his natural pessimism had envisaged, this almost seemed trivial. Almost. Seeing his girlfriend scrutinize him closely, he adjusted his expression accordingly.

"This is big, House… This means that if anything goes wrong it's not just either of us that would get hurt. She'd old enough now to remember what happens between us for the rest of her life." Nervously she gulped and continued to watch him, his façade giving little away. "Things got serious pretty fast, huh?"

"Then I guess we better not screw it up this time."

"I need to know you're in this for the long haul. That you're committed to both of us."

"Do you want me to propose?" he queried uneasily. Yes they'd known each other forever, and this was their second try at making it work, but they'd only been back together for a little over a month. Pushing for such a swift engagement seemed rushed.

"No, that's not what I meant."

"But you do want to get married at some point. I know you do."

"If it feels right for both of us then yes… I don't want you to ask me because you feel you have to. I want you to ask if it feels right. Whenever that is." For a second she paused to watch him process what she was saying. Stonily he stared right back at her. "What I need from you now is to know that you're not going to back away from either of us if things get bad, literally or emotionally."

Irritably his fingers glided through his hair.

"We've been over this. Several times… You still don't trust me."

"I trusted you enough to give up my job and get on a plane!" Cuddy replied heatedly, instantly regretting raising her voice. Arguing was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but she had to be honest with him about her insecurities. There were, however, better ways of getting her point across. "I worry, especially about how all of this is affecting Rachel… I guess I overthink things, but that's not something that's going to change overnight… In the meantime I'm going to need reassuring at regular intervals."

Straight away House's expression softened.

"I'm not going anywhere… Literally or emotionally." The palms of his hands sought out the tops of her arms and delicately smoothed over the skin there. "I'll keep on telling you that as long as you need me to… In return feel free to constantly tell me how awesome and well hung I am."

"You want me to lie?" she countered innocently.

Pretending to be dismayed, his bottom lip poked out childishly.

"You should rethink being nasty to me. I have a history of throwing myself off hotel balconies." Peeking over the side, he examined the drop to the ground. "Something tells me it wouldn't go so well this time."

Playfully she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her, poising her mouth near his ear, as her breath made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

"You don't get away from me that easily."

There was a definite chill in the evening air. The kind that creeps up on you when Autumn starts to give way to Winter. That House was sat outside on the grass wearing nothing aside from his typical uniform of a t-shirt and jeans worried Cuddy, as did the fact he'd been glued to the same spot for the best part of an hour. In normal circumstances she might have put it down to him getting lost in his thoughts and needing his own space. That was hardly uncommon. They'd lived together for years now, and at certain times they'd both retreat into their own shells, but that wasn't a problem. Years of solitude had shaped them that way, and it was something they'd come to understand and respect. However today wasn't just any day, and an earlier incident had compounded that. As much as a part of her willed herself to leave him be, she couldn't. Not today.

Grabbing his jacket and pulling on her own, she wandered into the garden and wrapped the coat around his shoulders, before sitting down next to him.

"When we were kids my Mom told Julia and me that if we sat on the ground we'd get haemorrhoids… The irony is she's never sat on the ground, and now she has haemorrhoids. That's all she talks about on the phone these days."

Turning to look at him, she saw a ghost of a smile turn the corners of his mouth upwards. Nowadays there were more lines on his face and his hair and beard were entirely grey, but he was the same man she'd known since college. Perhaps a little mellower and slightly less impulsive, nevertheless he was still House.

"Arlene's been a pain in the ass to everybody since birth. It's about time she knew how everyone who comes into contact with her feels."

Laughing, Cuddy nudged closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder, her arm hooking under his as they both examined their garden in the remaining daylight. After they'd returned from Europe their first priority had been to find work. Three months had given them both time to re-evaluate what they wanted and what they could realistically expect. House working for somebody else in a job that required daily interaction with patients just didn't seem practical without Cuddy protecting him from the lawsuits that came about as a result of his poor bedside manner, therefore he'd resolved to look for a position in research.

Time away had also allowed her to re-evaluate what she wanted. Ever since they'd worked together he'd nagged her about not being a 'proper doctor', and the truth was no longer being hands-on had bothered her. When she'd put feelers out for vacancies numerous Deanships and administrator jobs had been offered to her. Even PPTH had tried to coax her back with a much inflated salary, but she'd turned them all down in favour of running the fertility and endocrinology clinic at Penn University, a post which she'd instantly loved and had thrown herself into. Her paycheck was lighter than it might have been, but finally she felt like she was doing more than shuffling pieces of paper from one side of her desk to the other and constantly dealing with the bureaucratic side of medicine. Every morning she walked into her office and looked at the wall of thank you cards and photographs parents sent her of the babies she'd helped to bring into the World, and she knew she'd finally ended up where she was most needed, her own struggles with her fertility making her sympathetic to the woes of each and every person who walked through her door.

By a stroke of luck, a few weeks after they'd bought their home in Philadelphia and Cuddy had started working at the University, a position had become available in the Center for Infectious Diseases. House had breezed through the interview and within two years he was heading up a clinical trial program to find a cheap and effective vaccine for HIV. Within five years he'd been successful, soliciting a joint nomination for the Nobel Prize for medicine for him and his team that Cuddy only became aware of when she'd found a letter in their home office with Swedish post marks. He didn't win, missing out to a British researcher who'd massively improved survival rates in cancer patients by revolutionising radiotherapy, but they'd both been hugely proud of his recognition, even if she'd been more vocal about it.

Despite their work-related triumphs over the last eight years since they'd reunited, they were still sat on the grass at 6.45 on a Saturday evening, a cool breeze giving them both goose bumps.

"I know you're not happy," Cuddy ventured cautiously, shattering the quiet that had acted like the calm before the inevitable storm. Looking up she saw his jaw flex tensely.

"Me not being happy is an understatement."

"Rachel's growing up, House… This was bound to happen. She's testing her boundaries and trying to figure out who she is."

"So you're happy with someone in the grade above our fourteen year old daughter sticking his tongue down her throat on a street corner?" he countered furiously.

Sensing he needed a minute to calm down, Cuddy watched him close his eyes, knowing he was trying to shake away the mental image. By chance earlier that day he'd spotted her playing tonsil hockey with a slightly older boy as he'd driven back from the store. Seething, he'd ushered Rachel into the car and brought her back to the house, where all Hell had broken loose. When Cuddy had stumbled into the hall from the kitchen after hearing raised voices, both of them were shouting and flinging their arms irately, until finally House told Rachel she was grounded indefinitely and she'd angrily stormed to her room. Trying to garner what had happened from him had been impossible, he'd been too livid to string a coherent sentence together, so as calmly as possible she'd entered her daughter's room and they'd talked.

"I'm not especially happy," she admitted. "But I do trust her… She's smart, House. She knows not to do anything stupid until she's emotionally ready for it, which she's told me won't be for a long time yet."

"And you think a horny teenage boy is going to care about when she's emotionally ready for…?" Disgusted, he let the sentence hang in the air unfinished. The thought alone of anybody touching the child he'd seen grow up and had grown to love horrified him.

Cuddy shrugged.

"I trust her enough to pick a boyfriend, who wouldn't force her into anything she doesn't want. Aside from you, she's easily the best judge of character I know." Unconvinced, he snorted, compelling her to justify the observation. "Maybe all those years of you encouraging her to size up the other people in restaurants based on what they were wearing played a part… How many other fourteen year olds do you know who can accurately guess someone's profession based on what shoes they're wearing?"

In response House shoved his tongue firmly into his cheek, suppressing a chuckle. Of all the things he'd taught her that was one of the things he was most proud of. Knowledge really was power, especially when it gave an insight into who and what other people were.

"So what do we do?"

Deviously she grinned back at him.

"I guess we could invite this boy over for dinner and put the fear of God into him… If he really likes her he'll put up with her weird parents, if not he'll run for the hills."

"Ok," he nodded, somewhat comforted by the proposal.

Grasping her left hand, he pulled it onto his lap and span the diamond solitaire ring around on her finger, his mind casting back to the night he'd proposed. He'd been working through his lunch when Thomas Bell, his Mom's second husband, had called to tell him she'd died during the night from a massive heart attack. Murmuring to one of his technicians what had happened he'd walked out, gotten into his car and driven around for hours, effectively trying to outrun the awful news he'd just been told. Eventually going back home in the early hours of the morning, he'd found an angry and distraught Cuddy waiting for him in the darkened living room, her eyes red from worried tears after one of his colleagues told her what had happened when House hadn't come back at the usual time, and his cell continuously went to voicemail. Standing there with tears in his own eyes, he realised the whole thing had taught him something: the further he ran away, the more he knew he had to be with her.

Thoroughly confused, she'd looked on as he'd awkwardly lowered himself onto one knee in front of her and asked her to marry him. Initially shocked mute, eventually she'd nodded her head in agreement and said yes. A few months after that they were married in a quiet ceremony, and within a year formal notification that he'd legally adopted Rachel had arrived through the post. For the first time in his life everything he'd ever wanted had fallen into place. Four and a half years later he continued to wait for the other shoe to drop.

"Rachel told me that I embarrassed her… That I was old enough to be her Granddad not her Dad, and that I was too ancient to understand her."

"I know," Cuddy replied carefully, well aware that this was one major part of the reason he'd taken it all so badly. "She told me… It took her all of ten seconds to regret saying it. She'll be sat in her bedroom right now beating herself up about it."

"That doesn't make any of what she said less true… It's bad enough that when we go out together people think you've got a sugar Daddy… I am old enough to be her Grandfather."

"And after all these years of being a family, you really think we care how old you are?"

Dejectedly, House sighed.

"I'm old, grey and gimpy."

"It works for me," she smirked, elbowing him playfully before addressing him more seriously. "There's nothing about our marriage that disappoints me, House. We're a million miles away from the mess we made the first time we tried a relationship, not least of all because we know how to have a conversation now." Biting her lip, she regarded him coyly. "The sex is still incredible too. I've got nothing to moan about."

Shrewdly he glanced at his wife through the corner of his eye, realising she was throwing the ball up in the air for him to hit on purpose.

"Oh you've got plenty to moan about, Partypants."

"You ever call me that in front of our daughter…"

"And you'll what?" he challenged, his eyebrows raising in amusement.

She opened her mouth to say something, but found herself closing it again.

"I'll think of something."

Laughing out loud at her threat, he slung his arm over her shoulder and pecked her on the forehead affectionately, his thoughts suddenly turning elsewhere.

"We were all meant to be going out for Wilson's birthday tonight." He glanced down at his watch, and saw they'd missed their dinner reservation at a local restaurant. Somehow this had become a yearly tradition for them as a family, something much less maudlin than an annual trip to the cemetery in Jersey.

"There's nothing stopping you from going to the bar and raising a glass of scotch for him," Cuddy proposed, knowing how important it was to him to honour the day properly. "I'll stay and tend to the prisoner."

"You wouldn't mind?" She shook her head in confirmation. "Then I'll find a way of making it up to you… One that involves me crawling into bed next to when I get back, and going down on you until you beg me to stop."

Smugly, he watched her roll her eyes at him.

"My money's on you coming back and falling asleep on the sofa." He didn't drink anywhere near as much as he used to, she'd asked him not to over concerns about his health and he'd complied, but he still had form as far as this was concerned.

"You want to turn this into a bet?" House inquired, somewhat surprised.

"There's no point." Limberly she got to her feet and held a hand out to help him get up, which he duly took, stiffness and a twinge in his leg making the movement ungainly. "No matter what happens I still win."

More than slightly in awe, he smiled broadly at her. She'd aged a little in the years they'd been together. He knew she was self-conscious about the more pronounced lines around her eyes, but not even time was going to stop her being beautiful to him. Some people fell out of love more and more the longer they stayed with their partner, but for him the opposite had been true.

"God, I love you!"

"I should hope so!" she retorted, pecking him on the lips and spinning him back around towards the house, before patting him on the ass. "The quicker you go, the quicker you can come back and pass out on our living room furniture."

Happily he left her in the kitchen and walked through to the hall, slotting his arms into his jacket and about to grab his cane when a meek voice called out behind him.

"Dad, can we talk?" Almost laughably her head was popping out of her bedroom door like meerkat investigating outside of its burrow. Despite his mood being a hell of a lot better, he decided he wasn't going to let her off too easily and scowled at her.

"Haven't you said enough today?"

Slowly she wandered down the corridor and stopped a couple of feet away from him, her head hanging down sheepishly to watch her toes curl as they gripped the wooden floor. As a teenager she'd flourished from the gawky kid with braces to something else altogether. Now tall and growing more and more elegant by the day it wasn't hard for House to see why boys had started to show an interest in her. It was already clear she was going to grew up with a beauty to rival her Mother's, which did little to ease his nerves about what the future held for her. Being one, he knew men could be assholes.

"I wanted to apologise." Pensively she craned her neck up again and looked her Father in the eye. "I didn't mean what I said. I just lost my temper… I don't like upsetting you or Mom. I'm sorry."

"And I don't like finding out you have a boyfriend by seeing you hang out with him on street corners."

Obviously embarrassed, he watched the whole of her face turn bright red.

"Max is nice, Dad," she retorted softly. "He's not some brain-dead jock. I really like him… You and Mom should meet him."

Not responding straight away, House saw her regard him expectantly, her hands fidgeting nervously by her sides.

"We'll see."

"So we're ok?" Rachel pressed, taking a step forward.

"I guess we are." His frown turned into a smile and she followed suit, closing the gap between them and enveloping him in a hug that was in danger of cutting off his air supply. Wrapping his own arms around her, even after all these years it still surprised him that she was so openly affectionate with both of them. It was the antithesis to how he'd been during his childhood and much of his adult life, but then that was perhaps a product of his 'difficult' upbringing as much as his innate personality. Maybe, in spite of the challenges they'd both faced when they were kids, he and Cuddy had actually turned out to be decent parents. "Part of me is always going to see you as the baby that spewed on me and looked like E.T. the first time I held you."

"That was before you and Mom got together." She knew everything about their past: Michigan, her Mom's part in the aftermath of the infarction, the adoption, the break up, Wilson's death bringing them back together and so on. Amazingly she'd taken it all in her stride, biting back at the kids in school who'd teased her about not living with her biological parents by explaining that at least she was sure she was wanted.

"You still spewed on me," he cracked, kissing her on the forehead and pulling away when he saw his wife stood in the doorway, a self-satisfied smirk gracing her face.

"You friends again?"

"Yup," he nodded.

"Dad told me I looked like E.T. when I was a baby again."

Amused, Cuddy folded her arms across herself and raised an eyebrow.

"That's kind of hypocritical coming from him… We've all seen the baby photos Thomas found amongst your Nana's things… You were an ugly baby, House."

Feigning being hurt, he gasped.

"The words you were looking for were unconventionally handsome."

Cuddy shook her head and laughed.

"I meant ugly."

Looking from one face to the other, he sighed and threw his hands in the air in despair.

"Stop ganging up on me and get your shoes on!"

"I thought I was grounded?" the teenager quizzed.

"You still are," he clarified, ruffling her hair to intentionally irritate her. "But tonight I'm busting you out... We're going to the diner for dinner. I might even pay." Catching Cuddy eyeing him sceptically, he changed tack. "Well probably not, but it's the thought that counts, right?"

Seemingly happy enough with the arrangement, Rachel skipped back to her bedroom to find a pair of sneakers, as Cuddy walked towards her husband and pulled his hands onto her hips.

"That was a nice thing to do."

"Truth is I don't like drinking on my own these days."

"Uh-uh," she contradicted. "Truth is I married a nice guy. He just doesn't like everybody knowing that."

Finding himself smiling at the compliment, he tilted his head down and kissed her tenderly, enjoying the flirty way her lips grazed his; a non-verbal promise that there was more to come whenever they found themselves in more private surroundings. Eventually breaking away, he grinned brazenly at her.

"That thing I said was happening when I got back?" She nodded and licked her lips. "It's still happening."

"Glad to hear it."

They were about to embrace again when a deliberate cough drew them apart. Behind them Rachel was stood with her hands on her hips looking decidedly unimpressed.

"So I get grounded for kissing someone in a public place, and yet you two do it constantly… Double-standards much?"

"Well if you want to ground us too, I'll make sure your Mom doesn't leave our room," House countered wryly, finding it hilarious when their daughter's features contorted in disgust.

After handing her Dad his cane, she turned both her parents around towards the front door and pushed them out, doing her best to forget his comment as she pulled it closed behind her.

"It'll be a miracle if I don't end up in therapy!"