A/N: Surprise, bitches. As you can tell, I took a break from fanfiction for a while. I'm not really sure what happened, but I was in a major slump. But I'm back (for good!) and am excited to roll out the last few chapters of this story. Hopefully some of you are still reading :)

"I can't believe we're actually doing this," she groaned, reaching up to rub a crick out of her neck.

She grabbed his hand and laced her fingers through his.

"You're telling me you're not having fun?" he asked, a sarcastic bite to his voice. He gripped her hand, attempting to guide her through the motions.

Cuddy pursed her lips. "You got me out of bed at 4:30 in the morning," she began, her leg hitting against his.

The laces of her tennis shoes caught on a twig, and she practically fell over as she tried to take her next step. Laughing, House looped his arm around her waist and caught her, shoving a tree branch out of their way.

"No point to hiking if you don't get to see the sunrise," he pointed out. She rolled her eyes; he sounded like a Hallmark card, and she knew the four AM wake up call had more to do with annoying her than seeing the sun.

"We could have watched the sun rise from bed," she said.

He smirked, pausing and taking hold of her elbow. She eyed him tiredly, her lips moving into a slight grin.

"You know I hate it when you work blue," he joked.

"No you don't," she said, rolling her eyes and walking in front of him. She shoved a branch out of her way and walked over to the rocky area ahead of her. She waited for him to catch up and placed a hand on his shoulder, hoisting herself up on top of the rock.

The bare skin beneath her running shorts glistened in the flickering sunlight.

"You're pretty good at this," he said, climbing up on top of the rock and joining her on the flat surface. "I thought Jews weren't athletic," he jabbed.

She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I'm the exception."

"You sure do love those double entendres," he said, acknowledging her statement.

"Just keeping you on your toes," she answered, smirking. She looked around; there wasn't much room for them to keep walking. "Are we almost there?"

He shrugged.

"Sure," he said. There was a distinct lack of confidence in his voice, and that bothered her.

She eyed him suspiciously.

"You have no idea where we are, do you?"

"Of course I do," he said. He tapped his foot on the ground. "We're between a rock and a hard place."

She smacked him on the arm, shoving him playfully.

"This isn't funny!" Cuddy said, a hint of nervous anger in her voice. "We could be stranded up here."

House rolled his eyes.

"Relax, we're not stranded. I know exactly how to get back to the car. If not, some of Tolkien's eagles will come and save us."

She folded her arms across her chest

"Do you just wake up in the morning and decide to do things?" Cuddy asked, skipping past the reference she wasn't sure she wanted to admit she understood.

"Yeah, that's usually how life works," he deadpanned.

"I can't believe you didn't even pretend to put some type of thought into this."

"I did put thought into this," he challenged, swinging the backpack off of his shoulder and unzipping it. He pulled a flannel blanket from the bag and set it on the ground. She cocked her eyebrow and shifted her eyes to the ground as he pulled a bottle of champagne from the bag. "Just not in the ways you would."

She cocked her eyebrow and placed her hand on her hip, ignoring his last comment as her eyes scanned the landscape in front of her. She sighed—it was an incredible view.

"I feel like this is the beginning to a horror film," she said, plopping down on the blanket next to him. He took a swig from the bottle of cheap champagne and passed it to her, smirking as her lips creased into a smile.

"You're such a tight-ass," he joked. She took a sip and narrowed her eyes at him. "And I mean that in the most literal way possible," he added.

She shivered and took another sip from the bottle; champagne always made her head feel fuzzy and lightheaded, but it kept her warm.

"So," she began, stretching her arms out behind her and resting on the palms of her hands and switching subjects, "what are you plans for the holiday?"

He eyed her cautiously. School was over in two weeks, and he'd been wondering when she was going to bring this up. Inevitably, the mundane conversation about holiday plans would lead to a more serious one about their relationship, and he wasn't sure he wanted to get into that conversation; he was having way too much fun for that.

House shrugged non-committedly. "I'll probably bum around here. Get some research done in the lab. Maybe drive to my parent's on Christmas Eve," he said, nonchalant.

"Maybe?" she asked, incredulous. She turned her head toward his, a playful smirk forming on the crease of her lips.

"You know I don't like to commit to things to early," he joked.

She scoffed.

"Won't your parents be disappointed if you don't show up for the holidays?"

He shrugged.

"Mom, maybe. Dad not so much." Cuddy nodded. She refrained from telling him her sister had been counting down the days of her return for over a month—though she suspected it was for purely selfish reasons; the more people Arlene Cuddy had to focus on, the better for Julia.

House took a sip from the bottle of champagne, cringing as it went down his throat. Champagne was bad enough—cheap champagne was even worse.

"I can't believe you like this stuff," he joked, a sore attempt at changing the subject; he didn't need to be reminded of his miserable family life.

Cuddy let out a slight laugh. "Nobody made you buy it," she said, lifting her eyebrows towards him. He chuckled, nodding his head. She scooted over so she was closer to him, looping her arm through the one that hung loosely by his side. "You know if you're sick of brooding alone in a dark room by the time New Year's Eve rolls around, a bunch of us always head to Olivia's lake house in Georgia. You should come."

He looked over at her, his brow furrowed—she took it as a good sign and grabbed the bottle from his hand, taking a long sip. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "Then again," she purred, a devilish glint in her eyes, "I know how you are about commitments."

He scoffed.

"Shut up and watch the sun rise."

She smiled and refocused her eyes. It would be over before they knew it.

Later that day—after a power nap and several cups of coffee, Lisa Cuddy sat at her kitchen table with Olivia, Madeline and House, all of who had noses in their books and highlighters poised in their hands.

Madeline sighed and closed her art history textbook. She looked over at House, who was flipping the pages of an infectious disease book. "Hey," she said, snapping her fingers at him to get his attention. "You know a lot about diseases and stuff, right?"

"No," he deadpanned.

Madeline rolled her eyes. "Diagnose me," she ordered, ignoring him.

Cuddy cleared her throat audibly, making it known that she was trying to study. Olivia snickered as she turned the page of the novel she was reading.

"Can't diagnose a perfectly healthy person," he said. "Go back to your drawings."

"They're paintings," she corrected. "And I'm not healthy. I've had a headache all day and I threw up twice this morning.

House stared her down.

"You're pregnant," he said, keeping his face completely still.

Cuddy bit down on her bottom lip, stifling a laugh. Madeline folded her arms across her chest. "I'm not pregnant," she asserted. "Tell him I'm not pregnant."

Cuddy and Olivia sighed, meeting each other's gaze. "She's not pregnant," they said, neither one looking up from their textbook.

Olivia slipped off the glasses that were perched on her nose, running a hand through her long blonde hair and swopping it into a ponytail. "You're probably still hungover, Mads. We drank two bottles of wine last night."

Madeline scrunched up her face, her eyes going wide as she thought back on the night before. It was the last weekend before reading days and exams started, and not many parties were going on. They'd decided to toast their last night of freedom with a bottle of wine—each.

"You've got to stop stealing Lisa away from us." Madeline directed her eyes over towards House, who seemed completely uninterested in the conversation. "She always keeps my alcohol intake in check."

"She was too busy going down on me last night to keep up with you," he said, smugness in his voice. "Sorry."

Cuddy pursed her lips and turned towards Olivia, deciding she was the only one she was willing to speak to. "How is it that all of our conversations eventually end up revolving around my sex life?"

"Because it's the most interesting," Olivia answered promptly, laughing to herself.

House smirked and held his hand up high, waiting for Cuddy to slap her hand against his. She shook her head good-naturedly and begrudgingly placed her palm against his. There was a knock on the door, and Madeline, who was still looking for a distraction from Art History, immediately stood up to get it.

"It's probably Jake," she murmured to no one in particular as she got up to answer the door. But it wasn't—standing in front of her was a tall and lanky girl, with long brown hair and hazel eyes, nervously twiddling her thumbs.

"Hi Madeline," the girl said, meekly. "Mind if I come in?"

Madeline smiled and turned her head towards Cuddy.

"Mini Cuddy is here."

Cuddy shut the door to her room and ran a hand through her hair.

"Jules, what are you doing here? Do Mom and Dad know where you are? How did you even get here?"

Julia sighed and plopped down in the chair at Cuddy's desk. "I got on a train this morning. I called Daddy's office and told his secretary where I was going."

"And you think they're just going to accept that?"

"Uhh, yes?" said Julia, obviously. "Mom basically lets me do whatever the hell I want now. It's awesome. Besides, I need to talk to you and I didn't want to do it over the phone."

Cuddy sighed and sat down; she'd deal with her parents later. She eyed Julia suspiciously. "Why couldn't we talk about this on the phone?"

"First tell me who that guy in the kitchen was. He's hot. But he looks older than you. You're not sleeping with one of your teachers, are you?"

"That's House. He's not important right now. What are you doing here? That train must have taken at least 10 hours."

Julia Cuddy yawned, gathering her golden brown locks into a ponytail and tossing it behind her shoulder. She nodded. "Now I know why Daddy always buys you a plane ticket home for the winter."

"Cut to the chase, Jules," Cuddy said impatiently. Her sister never seemed to understand the amount of work that went into actually studying for finals.

"Can I take a nap first?" she asked, making her way over to Cuddy's bed. "I'm exhausted. Plus you seem…kinda busy." She nodded her head towards the door, a smirk on her face.

Cuddy walked over to her bed and sat down, gently shoving her sister to the side. "Don't shut me out," she said softly, watching as Julia slowly buried herself underneath the covers. "You came all this way for a reason."

Julia muffled something incoherent underneath the covers. Cuddy nudged her.

"What was that?" she prodded.

Julia sighed again. "I had sex. I had sex, okay?" she whined, her eyes starting to fill with tears. "I broke mom's rule about waiting until after I got out of high school, and—and I didn't even do it with Adam, and oh my god how could I be so stupid?" Julia looked over at her big sister, who had taken a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Cuddy rubbed the temples of her forehead gently, trying to let the words her sister had just spoken to her sink in.

"Say something," Julia pleaded, tugging on Cuddy's arm. "I mean, you've done it before—you can give me some perspective."

"Julia, I—"Cuddy paused, not knowing which direction she should take. She definitely had more perspective than her 17-year old sister, but she hadn't been that much older when she lost her virginity. And she was currently sleeping with a guy six years older than her who couldn't even commit to a favorite ice-cream flavor. "Were you um—were you safe?"

Julia nodded.

"Okay, that's good. I'm glad all those Trojan jokes kicked in," she muttered. Julia's lips curved in to a slight smile. "And you said you didn't do it with Adam?" asked Cuddy, her brow furrowed. Adam had been Julia's boyfriend for the past two years.

"No," Julia murmured. "We've been fighting a lot lately, and I—I was hanging out with one of the guy's on the baseball team, and somehow we—you know. And it's not like I don't know this guy, I mean he's had a crush on me since sophomore year and he sits next to me in History, and I sort of—well, I started to have a crush on him, too."

"Julia," Cuddy said taking her sister's hand. "The first thing you have to do is stop feeling like you have to defend yourself. Sex is a totally natural thing that everyone has eventually."

Julia breathed a sigh of relief. She could always count on her big sister for support.

"I know, but do they do it with one of their boyfriend's teammates?"

Cuddy shrugged.

"Sometimes they do it with their student teacher the night they graduate high school."

Julia laughed, and wiped away a tear that had started to fall down her cheek. She sighed again. "Do you think I should tell Adam?"

"Do you still want to be with him?"

Julia shook her head, and Cuddy nodded.

"Just tell him you think it's time to move on. Spare him the details. Trust me, you don't always want to know the real reason you're being broken up with. But do realize that he might find out, and if he does, you'll have to deal with the consequences.

Julia reached over and wrapped her arms around her sister's neck. Cuddy let out a slight laugh and hugged her back, gently stroking Julia's hair as she squeezed her tight. "I miss having you at home, Lise," Julia mumbled. "Terrorizing Mom isn't nearly as much fun without you."

Cuddy laughed and pulled her closer.

"Why don't you come sit with us in the kitchen? I have some studying to do, but Madeline has been looking for a distraction for the last half an hour."

Julia nodded and then wiped a stray tear from her face—she'd had about ten hours to think about what had happened, so she was almost grateful for the distraction her sister's roommates would bring. Madeline always liked dressing her up, anyway.

Cuddy wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder and pulled her in for a tight squeeze. "It will be okay, Jules," she comforted.

Cuddy opened the door with her free arm, immediately jumping back as she saw House standing there.

"Need you for a second," he said, unapologetic. He gave a curt nod in Julia's direction.

"Kind of busy here," Cuddy retorted, glancing towards her sister. House didn't budge, so Cuddy sighed and ushered her sister into the kitchen. Julia went begrudgingly, and House waved towards her as she walked.

Cuddy quickly swatted his hand away, tempted to just kiss the sarcastic smirk off his face.

"House what is so important that you have to—"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her in to the bathroom, his hands finding the skin underneath the fabric of her oversized white sweater. "I was going to ask what you were doing," she said, whimpering under his touch. Her eyelids fluttered as he scooped her up and placed her on the edge of the bathroom sink. "But I think it's pretty clear."

He pushed her sweater off her shoulder and placed his lips on her skin, kissing up towards her neck. "Want me to stop?" he murmured, with no intention of doing so. His stubble scratched against her cheek, and she suddenly hoped he never remembered to shave ever again.

"Not what I said," she answered, tilting her head to the side and catching his lips in hers. She parted them slowly and wrapped her lags around his waist, half aware of the three girls that were sitting in the kitchen. Normally she wouldn't care—Madeline and Olivia were used to it at this point—but there was something about having her baby sister in the next room that made her hesitate.

"Why are you so tense?" he asked, running his hands up her thighs. She squirmed as he placed his hand at the top of her thigh, drawing circles into her with his thumb. "Exams aren't for another two weeks."

He stepped between her legs, gently widening them with the force of his body. Cuddy clenched her muscles as she felt him press up against her, and reached towards his wrinkled button-up. She tugged at the fabric, fiddling with the buttons before pushing it off his shoulder. " I'm not tense," she protested, giving him a smirk as she played with the frays of the white v-neck he wore underneath.

"You're a terrible liar," he accused, kissing her again. He pushed up her sweater and lifted her arms up in one move, his chest colliding with the soft material of her bra as he tossed her shirt on the floor. His hand found the mound of her breast and he cupped it, eliciting a slight moan from her lips.

She arched her back and scooted closer to him, feeling her muscles beginning to ache with anticipation. He smiled in that self-congratulatory way of his as he felt her hand quiver against his. "Knew you'd get there eventually," he said with pride.

"Shut up," she ordered, wishing he'd do something else with his lips. "This is so like you, by the way," she rambled. He ignored her as she talked, choosing instead to watch her chest rise and fall as he slowly inched his hand between her legs. "Pulling me in to random rooms, knowing full well that I have things to do—" she paused and bit down on her lower lip, trying not to moan too loudly as he slipped his hand inside of her leggings.

Her head lolled and her eyes fluttered as he rubbed up and down her center. He flicked her folds with his thumb, teasing her as he moved her lacey, barely-there panties to the side.

House pressed his forehead to hers, looking her in the eyes as he eased a finger inside her. He'd memorized the motions at this point, knowing exactly where to press, flick, and pause. "Cuddy," he said softly, watching as she held her breath in anticipated. "I'm doing my best work here, and frankly, you're talking right through it." He pushed another finger inside her and quickened his pace.

"Sorry," she murmured, not really registering what he was saying, but feeling that an apology was necessary.

He frowned at her. He wasn't getting nearly the response he usually did. So he pulled his fingers out from her and stared her down.

"Hey!" she gasped, sounding as if she was out of breath. "That's not—that's just mean." She folded her arms across her chest and met his gaze. Cuddy hopped down from the sink, giving him a glare as he watched her breasts bounce up and down as she moved.

"Give me my shirt," she simpered. He tossed it to her and she threw it on, flipping her hair behind it as she readjusted the rest of her clothes. She sighed as she noticed the tear in the inner seam of her leggings.

"And to think you could have at least gotten an orgasm to go with that rip," he joked, leaning against the wall.

"You're the one who stopped all of a sudden!" she argued, trying not to laugh. They both knew it was a losing game. House had yet to fail to make her come, and he certainly wasn't going to let it happen this soon in their—whatever you call it.

"I'm sorry," she said through a fit full of giggles, walking towards him and placing her hand on his elbow. "I shouldn't laugh. It's not your fault."

"I know it's not my fault," he said, slightly defensive but clearly amused. "It's your sister's fault. She's got you all freaked out."

"Julia has a way of always freaking me out," she muttered. Cuddy looked over at him, wondering if she was about to divulge too much information. They were still tip-toeing the line between two people who had semi-casual sex, and two people who had semi-casual sex but also talked about their feelings.

She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Sometimes college relationships were such bullshit.

"Sorry," she continued. "You don't want to hear about this. Maybe you should go. I"ll um—I'll see you later. I think we're heading over to the bonfire at the lacrosse house later tonight."

He shrugged.

"If that's what you want," he said. He walked towards the door and put his hand on the knob, pausing to give her a chance to change her mind. House tiled his heads towards her, waiting for her to stop him.

"God, you are so annoying," she said firmly.

"What?"

"You say shit like that and put our entire relationship in my hands. It's not fair to make me call all the shots! I never know what you're thinking."

"Cuddy. If you want me to stay, I'll stay. If you want to know what I'm thinking, just ask."

She scoffed.

"Like you're going to tell me. You have two moods, House: you either want to brood, or you want to fuck. And it's not like I don't enjoy the second part, but sometimes it might be nice to get a glimpse at the first one."

He smirked.

"I didn't take you for a brooder," he joked.

She sighed again. "I like talking to you, House. You're funny. You're smart. You—somehow, in some weird, twisted, inexplicable way—turn me in to a better version of myself. But sometimes I think—" she sighed again, closing her eyes and dropping her shoulders.

And she didn't see it, but he dropped his hand from the doorknob and shifted slightly in her direction.

She took another deep breath.

"Sometimes I think you don't like talking to me. And that can be difficult to come to terms with when you're constantly going down on me."

House sighed. "I'd apologize for constantly going down on you, but my mother told me I must not tell lies." She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but let out a slight laugh. He walked over towards her. "As for the other stuff, you—you know more about me than most people do."

She scoffed. "That's comforting," she said, a sarcastic bite in her voice. She slid down the wall and plopped on the floor, rubbing her forehead tiredly; it was only two in the afternoon and she already had a headache.

He sat down next to her.

"What can I say? I'm wounded," he joked. He nudged her gently with his leg. "Tell me what's going on with your sister," he prodded.

"You really want to know?" she asked. There was a hint of disbelief in her voice, and he hated to admit it, but it made him want her even more.

He nodded.

"I really want to know."

She crossed her legs and turned to face him, not caring that they were sitting in the middle of a bathroom floor, and preceded to have one of the most honest conversations she'd ever had with Gregory House.

"This is the biggest marshmallow I've ever seen in my entire laugh," Olivia mused, smirking as she placed it on a wire and held it over the fire in front of her.

Cuddy, who was sitting between Madeline and Olivia, looked over at her and shrugged. "I've put bigger things in my mouth," she joked, reaching for a stick and marshmallow of her own. The three girls burst into a fit of laughter.

"Speaking of which, where are those boys of ours? Jake and House should be wandering around here somewhere," said Madeline, turning her head in various directions.

"I'm more worried about Julia," Cuddy answered. "She has a knack for getting in trouble at these kinds of things," she muttered, thinking back to a frat party she had taken her sister to the previous year; the night had ended with Cuddy holding Julia's hair as she threw up in the bushes outside the party.

Olivia caught sight of her in the distance being guided by a tall blonde girl. "Oh there she is. I think Abigail is bringing her over."

Cuddy turned towards where Olivia was looking and saw her sister walking over with Abigail, the two of them laughing about something with red solo cups in their hands.

"Hey," Abigail greeted them warmly, smiling at the girls. Olivia simply plopped another marshmallow in her mouth; she was still getting used to having Abigail around again. "I found her talking to Drew Matthews," Abigail directed at Cuddy.

"And put a stop to it immediately," said Julia, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"That was the point," Cuddy and Abigial exclaimed in unison. The two girls laughed at how quickly they'd fallen back in sync, and Cuddy smiled over at her sister. "Drew is bad news, Jules. Plus, you're still in high school. You'll have plenty of time for college boys when you're actually in college."

"You're sleeping with House!" Julia fired back. "He's got to be at least five years older than you."

"Can someone please explain to me why you guys call one another by your surnames?" Olivia interjected, brining her own drink to her lips. "Is it some weird doctor role-play situation?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes and couldn't help but laugh. "It's just what we do," she said, struggling to find the words to explain. "I'm going to go see if I can find him. Try not to get yourself in too much trouble while I'm gone," Cuddy ordered gently, looking over at her sister.

Julia smiled suggestively and took another sip from her solo cup. Cuddy rolled her eyes; she sometimes worried her little sister was too much like her when it came to boys.

She walked away from her group of friends and headed up the path towards the house, her brown leather combat boots crunching against the fallen leaves on the ground. Cuddy pulled her green coat tighter against her small frame and stuffed her hands in her pockets. The fire had kept her warm, but the cold Michigan air filled her lungs as she walked. She shivered as she entered the house—which wasn't that much warmer—and took a glance around. She didn't see him downstairs, so she quietly ventured up the old wooden stairs and found him in a room at the end of the hall.

"Knock-knock," she said, gently tapping on the door. He looked up and she smiled, giving him a small wave. He nodded his head and beckoned for her to come in. She shut the door on her way inside—and then she locked it, just in case.

He was sitting on an old leather recliner, nursing a beer. A Michigan crewneck hung loosely on him, and it somehow looked like he'd grown even more scruff since the five hours she'd been away from.

She sat down on his lap and looped an arm over his shoulder.

"Guess you can't hide from everyone," she teased, crossing her legs over his. He set his beer down and draped his arm over her thighs.

"You're wearing entirely too many clothes," he pointed out, skipping past her informal greeting.

She laughed that special laugh of hers. The one that came from deep in her chest and stopped in her throat. He reached up towards her head with one hand, not ready to release the hold he had on her, and pulled the grey embellished hat off her head.

"Somehow I knew you'd say something like that," she giggled, reluctantly untangling from him and removing her coat and gloves. She let them fall to the floor, and immediately curled back into him, fitting perfectly between the crooks and bends of his body.

"What are you doing up here all alone, anyway?" she asked.

"Bonfires aren't really my thing," he said nonchalantly. "Too many people I have to pretend to like."

Cuddy rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully in the shoulder. "You're such a grump," she declared. "Come outside," she pleaded, readjusting so she hovered over him. "I'll let you roast my marshmallow."

"Please tell me that was a euphemism."

She laughed again.

"Hey," she said, her tone shifting. "Thanks for listening earlier. I know that's not exactly what you signed up for when you said you'd help me study." Cuddy hadn't told him exactly why Julia was here, but she'd discussed the relationship she had with her sister, and how it affected the one she had with her parents. He looked away, slightly embarrassed; he wasn't used to being spoken to like this.

She kissed him softly, placing a hand on his chest and parting her lips slowly.

"For the record," he said as pulled away, "I didn't think you actually wanted to study."

"Herein lies the difference between you and I," she joked. Cuddy got out from under his grasp and gathered up her clothes, slipping on her gloves and pulling her coat tight against her chest.

House placed her hat on her head and jokingly pulled it down over her eyes. She laughed again and swatted her hands against his before readjusting her hat. "Stay at my place tonight," he suggested, looping his arms around her waist. "I'll steal some chocolate syrup. It'll be fun."

She rolled her eyes in feigned disgust. "I can't," she said apologetically. "I have to make sure Julia gets back to the apartment okay. Plus her train leaves mid-day tomorrow. And you and I both know we won't get out of bed until 11."

"Fine," he conceded. "I'll save the chocolate syrup for new year's then."

She grinned and looped her arm through his, and they silently walked downstairs to join the rest of their friends. Normally, Gregory House wouldn't even think about subjecting himself to these types of social gatherings. But Lisa Cuddy had a knack for getting him to do things he didn't want to do, and even more so, getting him to enjoy them. Maybe it was love. Or maybe it was the way her ass looked in the jeans she was wearing. He didn't really know, and he certainly didn't care, but whatever it was left a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.

And later that night, when Cuddy was curled up next to her sister secretly wishing that she was pressed up against the body of Gregory House instead, Julia asked her what it felt like fall in love.

"Alive," she answered simply. "Being in love makes you feel like you're finally alive."

important things happen in bathrooms.

leave me treats!

-Alison