Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Everything belongs to David Shore, Fox, and its respectable owners.

A/N: This is the last chapter in this little story. This chapter turned out to be my favorite one by far, and I hope you'll like it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks all who have been so nice to review, favorite, and alert this story.

Gosh, It has been snowing like crazy where I live so it was not hard to get back into Christmas spirit.

I highly recommend listening to Norah Jones while reading, because I listened non-stop to her songs while writing this chapter. Also her songs have the atmosphere I was going for.

Please feel free to leave a review, they make my day, and they make me improve as a writer. Thanks for reading.

Enjoy!

22:00

Rachel sat with her mother by the dining room table; neither of them saying anything, as they sipped they're hot chocolate. Rachel could barely look at her mother, whose eyes were red rimmed. Rachel looked down at the table and traced invisible patterns into the smooth surface.

She had stayed in her room most of the afternoon, allowing her mom to be at peace. Rachel had finally emerged from her room at dinnertime. Her stomach churning; she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so she forced herself out of her bedroom. Her mom was nowhere to be seen so she made a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner, which was a far cry from the Christmas dinners she was used to. Her mom finally emerged when she was finishing her bread. She had clearly tried to hide her tear stricken face with concealer but failed miserably. She had apologized for her lack of cooking skills and she had brushed it off. Things were too difficult.

After the hopeless Christmas dinner she had went into the living room, and sat down by the big tree, rummaging through the presents. Most of them were to her, of course the biggest one was from House and her mom. She couldn't help but think that when they had picked that present they had thought they would have quiet Christmas together, not expecting that they would be separate. Rachel had placed her package back to its place and tried in vain to think of something cheery. She had ended by the piano where she played simple Christmas pieces House had taught her. She had never been a good pianist, which was a slight disappointment to House who had hoped that he could teach her. Those had been one of the moments she had wished that he was her biological dad. She did have a fine singing voice though, which seemed to please her parents immensely. At least she had something. Later her mom had made hot chocolate, which was a tradition at the house. Rachel was grateful that she was at least making some effort in making the evening a little less miserable. But it wasn't the same. Usually at that time of the night they had finished their meal, and her mom would make hot chocolate, which was about the only thing she was good at making. Then they would sit in the living room, and House would play while she and her mom would sit by and do some last minute Christmas wrapping, or just sit there and listen.

Rachel glanced at her mom who sat deep in thought opposite her. Her hand traced around the cup in slow circles, her chocolate almost untouched.

Rachel felt like this was somehow her fault. If she had just left that ring alone, and made her parents sort through their fight without her meddling, then maybe they would be the same happy family that morning. She knew deep down inside that she was wrong, the events of the day had been one mess and she couldn't have changed anything. Rachel finished the hot drink quietly, and decided to just go to bed. Most of all she wanted to fall asleep, and forget what had happened.

She stood up quietly and muttered a goodnight to her mom who didn't look up or acknowledge that she was leaving. She had walked few steps when she heard her mom call her name. She turned around. Her mom sat across from the table staring at her guiltily. She didn't say anything else, instead she stood up and walked over to Rachel and embraced her tightly against her. Rachel rested her head on her shoulder and melted into her sweet embrace. She hadn't realized how much she needed her comfort. She could feel her mom stroke her hair soothingly.

"I'm so sorry Rachel. I know I have been neglecting you all night." She cooed into her hair.

"I know." Rachel whispered.

"I know you were just trying to fix things between me and House, and I understand that. I never wanted you to see me and him argue."

Rachel didn't say anything and hugged her tightly; no words were required at that moment. Her mom let go of her reluctantly and wiped a tear from her eye and tried to muster a small smile.

"You should get some sleep." She told her.

"Are you going to be okay?" Rachel questioned worriedly.

"Of course I'll be fine. I should be worried about you." She laughed half-heartedly.

"It's okay mom." She said earnestly. Her mom kissed her on the top of her head and stroked her cheek gently.

"I love you Rachel."

"Love you too. Goodnight." She began to walk towards the living room when she looked at her mom questioningly.

"I'm going to bed soon. I just need a moment." She assured her. Rachel nodded her head reluctantly and walked out of the dining room area. She didn't want to leave her mom alone but knew that she needed it, and obliged her.

Rachel walked slowly down the hallway, and headed towards the staircase. She yawned and rubbed her eyes tiredly; she felt exhausted after the day, and couldn't wait to get to bed. She stopped by the foot of the staircase and looked at the wall, which was covered with family pictures. All of the best memories of her childhood covered the wall; the birthdays, holidays, and Christmases they had shared together as a family. She dreaded to think of the future Christmases she and her mom would spend without House.

Rachel felt hot tears threat to fall down her cheeks. She couldn't believe that her parents couldn't survive this, after everything they had been through.

A sudden movement caught her eye and she turned around abruptly, but there was no one in sight. Rachel frowned; she could have sworn that she could hear the front door open, but there was no way to see it from her viewpoint.

Rachel moved carefully towards the foyer, making sure that she couldn't be heard. She turned around the corner; the cold wind welcomed her with its sharp teeth, and in the door stood a tall figure.

Rachel almost screamed out loud but she drowned it down when she noticed who it was.

House stood in the doorframe clearly as taken aback as she was. His black winter coat was covered with snow, and by the look of it he appeared to be freezing.

Both of them stood completely still, the door still open revealing a snowstorm behind him. After several moments Rachel unconsciously walked forwards and touched House's arm, just to be sure that he was real. She half dragged him inside and closed the door quietly so her mom wouldn't hear.

"You came" Rachel whispered happily. House looked at her awkwardly.

"I thought about what you said, and you were right"

Rachel was so glad and revealed that he had showed up, and she couldn't contain her happiness that without thinking she jumped at House and gave him a crushing hug. She could feel him tense up by the gesture, and she started to think that maybe this wasn't the best idea, he had never liked such emotional displays, in fact he had told her many times that he despised them.

Then she felt his arms around her shoulders and she knew that everything would be all right. She could feel his wet winter coat soak her shirt but she didn't care, because he was here, and that was the only thing that mattered.

He ended their embrace and gave her a small smile.

"Where's your mom?" He whispered. Rachel smiled and gestured towards the living room. House nodded and started to walk forward when he stopped and turned around to face Rachel.

"Thank you." He said earnestly, before he turned around and halted towards the living room. Rachel stood by and watched him leave, smile playing on her lips.

She debated whether she should just go upstairs, and leave them alone, but she knew that she was incapable of falling asleep not knowing what was going on.

So Rachel tapped on her toes down the hall, but instead of turning right like House did she turned left and went towards the kitchen. In the kitchen were doors that led to the living room, and she couldn't help but thank the architectures for thinking of it. She opened the swinging doors carefully, and stepped inside the cozy living room, careful to close the door slowly so they wouldn't hear her. She slid behind one of the plush chairs nearby. She couldn't help but think of all the times she had hidden for the past fourteen hours, and chuckled silently.

She peaked from the chair so she had a clear view of the dining room, which was merely separated from the living room by an arc that reached from the ceiling to the floor. Her mom sat by the table, absentmindedly rolling her fingertips along the brim of her mug. She had clearly not noticed House standing not too far away, looking at her intently. Rachel could sense that he was hesitating approaching her. He had probably been standing there for a couple of minutes, merely observing her.

"Cuddy" his husky voice made her mother snap from her trance. Her expression showed only shock when she noticed who was calling her name.

"House" her voice was thick with emotion, and she stood up slowly from the chair and walked towards him only to stop mere inches away from him.

The silence between them was tense, but Rachel could clearly see the shame in her mother's eyes. House was the first one to break the silence.

"Cuddy, I'm-"

"No don't!" She interrupted him abruptly. House looked astonished at her, clearly taken aback.

"Don't apologize for anything. I was so awful to you, and I can't believe I said those things. I know that saying that I'm sorry isn't enough for what I said, because they weren't true." She stepped closer to him and looked up at him with a pleading look in her eyes.

"But you have to believe me when I say that I love you. I love you more then anything in the world. I love you, I love-"

He silenced her by capturing her lips with his own, and she responded hungrily.

Rachel was so happy that they had made up that she didn't even think about turning away.

They separated only to catch their breath. She hugged him towards her desperately.

"I'm so sorry" she kept whispering into his shirt, and he ran his hand back and forth against her back.

"Shhh, it's okay. We were both idiots." He answered her apologizes.

Finally House managed to untangle himself from her iron grip, and looked at her lovingly. Tears streamed down her face and he wiped them away with his thumb.

"Dance with me" he whispered. She looked back confused.

"Wha- there isn't even music" she exclaimed.

House shrugged his shoulders "we don't need any."

"What about your leg?" She questioned anxiously.

"Don't worry Cuddles, it's fine."

He unbuttoned his jacket and lay it carefully on the back of a chair, then he propped his cane by the table before he haltered towards her mother who was still quite stunned by all of this.

He took her hand and led her forward; then he took a step towards her and placed one of his hands on her waist and took her small hand in the other.

They moved in slow circles on the hard wood floor to an invisible music. They didn't say anything; enough words had been shared that day, most of them hurtful. Instead they savored the moment in each other's embrace.

Rachel crawled from the chair quietly, she wasn't afraid to get caught; her parents were too absorbed in the moment. She crawled towards a side table by House's leather chair, and grabbed the remote that lay on the table. She flicked it towards the sound system; before crawling back to her hiding place.

Soon relaxing mood music floated through the air. Both her parents looked up in surprise.

"Is someone else here?" Rachel could hear her mom question.

"Hmm, must be magic. I have a deal with Santa's helpers." House answered playfully.

She just rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Rachel was sure that this moment couldn't be better, and decided it was best to leave soon. At least she would be able to sleep peacefully knowing that her parents were going to be fine.

"Cuddy?"

"Mmhmm." She muttered.

"I love you," he said lovingly.

She lifted her head up and met his eyes.

"I love you to. You know that, don't you?" her voice was slightly hysterical.

"Of course I know that." He assured her. He stopped the dancing and placed his hands on her waist.

"In fact, I knew way before you did."

Her mom raised her eyebrows. "Oh?" she leaned towards him, "why are you so sure about that?"

"Oh babe, you fell in love with me the moment you saw my sexy bod." He said cockily. His remark was met by rising of her eyebrows, "really? If I recall correctly, it was you who came onto me first." She remarked.

"So? You took my class, because you found me interesting." He retorted back, grinning from ear to ear when he noticed her blush.

"See, told ya."

"Oh please. This doesn't prove a thing! Besides, being interested isn't the same as being in love, and I recall you falling in love with me way before I did."

"Yeah, you can delude that pretty little head of yours, but I know the truth."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"It really doesn't matter, you'll keep your ground and I will keep mine. No matter which one is true." She said with finality in her tone.

"You're right." He said. She looked at him surprised.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that we are together, even after all the fighting and hurting, we are still together." He said softly against her ear.

"Yeah, it is really a miracle." She whispered back.

He moved slightly away from her so he could see her face clearly.

"I mean, if we can go through this, we can go through everything. For years I've been afraid that this-" he said pointing between him and her for reference, "wouldn't work."

"Maybe it's because I screwed up my only serious relationship, and I had convinced myself that I couldn't be in a serious relationship. Then you came along, and you changed me for the better. You and Rachel."

Rachel could see her mom smile at him with adoration in her eyes, and Rachel couldn't help but smile too. She did feel a little bit like an intruder, but she was so involved with the scene before her that she didn't dare to walk away.

"-and I know that I have been difficult, hell, we have both been difficult. But I feel, finally, like we are on a safe track. I'm not saying that we aren't going to have our fair share of fighting, but I'm sure that we'll manage."

House had backed slightly away from her, although he still held her hand in his. Rachel noticed that his other hand was in the pocket of his pants, but her mom hadn't noticed the change, she was staring intently into his eyes.

"What I'm trying to say is, that I don't want us ever to fight like that again. I want us to work, and I want you to be mine. I have loved you for longer then I care to remember, and I have wanted you for far too many years without you being mine."

He shifted slightly and lowered himself on one knee, picking up a very familiar box out of his pocket.

Rachel could hear her mom gasp the same time she did, placing her hands on her mouth. House opened the box, to reveal the beautiful ring inside.

"Cuddy... Lisa, will you marry me?"

There was a pause, and Rachel held her breath. Then her mother crouched down on her knees, so she could look directly into his eyes.

"Yes, yes, of course!" she cried out and captured his lips with her own. He placed his free hand into her hair and drew her deeper into the kiss.

Rachel couldn't help but let out a small shriek of happiness. After all this time he had finally managed to ask her, and Rachel couldn't be happier. She was even prouder that he had listened to her after all.

They finally drew away from the kiss, and she rested her forehead against his.

"Are you sure?" He asked her uncertainly.

"Of course I am." She looked at him in the eyes and caressed his cheek lovingly.

"I have never been more sure about anything in my entire life."

He gave her one of his true smiles, and took the ring out of the box. She reached her hand out, and he placed the ring on her finger easily. He held her hand in his and looked disbelievingly at her.

"I had always imagined that this would be harder." He almost laughed.

She smiled reassuringly and kissed him again.

"Oh god, you're leg must be killing you!" She cried out loud.

"Yeah, kind of, but I didn't want to ruin the moment." He half groaned. She didn't let him say it twice; she stood up on her feet, and helped him up, with slight disapproval from him.

When she was sure that he was fine, she laced her fingers with his, and gave him a sweet peck on the lips. He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the ring on her finger. He leaned into her and his mouth stopped by her ear.

"You do realize that we are being watched." He whispered. She nodded her head slightly, and in unison their heads turned to the place where Rachel was hiding.

Rachel knew that she had been busted, and she was trying to find a good excuse when her parents walked up to her, and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Hi" she said guiltily.

"I…um lost my earring, and I was looking for it." Rachel said lamely.

Her parents looked at each other, then back at Rachel.

"Wow, how dumb do you really think we are?" House questioned in mock hurt.

Her mom only laughed and helped her up.

"Okay, fine, you caught me. Happy?" Rachel muttered under her breath.

She looked between her parents, and couldn't help but smile. Since she was a little girl she had wanted her family to be normal, but for the first time she was actually glad how abnormal and dysfunctional they were.

"What are you smiling at?" House questioned.

"You're engaged!" She cried out, and in one motion she hugged them both to her tightly. Her mom laughed and House joined her.

"It only took you eleven years," Rachel chastised at House, who looked uncomfortably at her mom who looked at them quizzically.

"What?"

"Nothing" Rachel and House said in unison. She frowned at them, but didn't say anything. Instead she gave House a small kiss.

"I think it's time to go to bed," Rachel muttered, and walked out of her parents embrace.

"Okay, goodnight Rachel." Her mom said. Rachel walked up to her and kissed her cheek.

"Goodnight mom"

"Goodnight kid." House muttered, and Rachel smiled at them warmly before kissing him on the cheek.

"Goodnight dad."

He looked slightly taken aback, then gave her a small smile.

House had always been a dad to her, but this was the first time she said it out loud. She didn't feel like he was more her dad because of the engagement, she just felt like this was the right moment to call him by that name. Rachel never knew why she had chosen that moment, but she just felt like she had to express herself that way, considering everything that had happened that day. He was her dad, no matter what happened between her parents, and she wanted him to know that.

Rachel walked out of the living room, taking a one last glance at her parents who sat in each other's embrace, their foreheads rested against each other affectionately.

Rachel smiled and turned her head; she walked upstairs and went to her bedroom. She jumped into her bed, and drew her blanket over her.

Her thoughts turned to the events of the day, and how exhausted it had left her. She was so thankful that her parents had managed to make things work, and now they were finally engaged.

Rachel wasn't afraid anymore that House would leave. For the first time, Rachel was sure that House would be there the next day, being his same groggy self.

With that thought she closed her eyes, and fell asleep, a small smile lingering on her lips.

A/N: Thank you again for reading. I wanted to make a small comment about the engagement. I had envisioned many different scenarios how he would propose, some were very original, and over the top. However, when I sat down to write, I felt that the proposal itself should be simple, even though House is over the top most of the time, and I really considered a very original and unique proposal. But my final decision was to make it simple, sometimes less is more, and I am very happy with that decision.

Thank you again for reading this story, and please tell me what you think.