House, M.D. 1. Chapter 1

Lisa Cuddy was signing off of her computer and getting ready to leave her office for the day when her phone rang. She groaned and considered not answering it. It had been a long day; she was tired and wanted to go home.

"Hello, this is Dr. Cuddy," she answered.

"Lisa, this is Stacy," the caller said. Lisa felt her heart beat faster. She hadn't spoken to Stacy in more than a year and was happy to hear from her, yet couldn't help wondering why she was calling. .

"Stacy, hi, how are you doing?" she asked nervously.

"I'm good," she answered. "I'll be in town Friday and would love to see you. Can we meet for dinner while I'm there?"

Lisa quickly looked at her calendar. "Sure, I'm free." She blocked off the space in her calendar but did not include details. She knew how House liked to hack into her calendar and she didn't want him butting into this.

"Great, I'll call you later in the week and we can discuss plans further."

"Okay, I'll talk to you then." Lisa hung up the phone and noticed that her hands were shaking. What did Stacy want? She sat at her desk for a few minutes staring absently at her phone, wondering about the reason for Stacy's visit. Lost in thought, she didn't notice House had come in and was standing inside of her doorway.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"None of your business," she responded.

"It sounds like somebody has a date."

"I don't, and it's none of your business. Go away."

House looked at her suspiciously and started to exit, but then turned around to quip, "Let me know if you need help picking out special panties for your date," before he left.

Cuddy shot an annoyed look in his direction, hoping he didn't try to follow her Friday night. She'd be nervous enough with worrying about him spying on them.

She pushed that thought aside, finished gathering her things and headed home. During the drive, her mind wandered back to Stacy, and how they first met.

* * *

><p>It was at the end of her senior year in high school. Lisa had joined a new local tennis league that was starting up. She had been playing tennis since she was in Junior High School and was very good at it.<p>

Her first match was with a girl named Stacy. She looked like she was about the same age or maybe a little bit older. She was a tall and curvy girl with straight, dark shoulder length hair and brown eyes. Lisa couldn't help but notice her friendly smile.

Stacy came and introduced herself to Lisa. "Hi, you must be Lisa. I'm Stacy," she smiled.

Lisa replied, "Hi Stacy, I'm Lisa Cuddy." She smiled back.

They had a little while to wait before their tennis court was free so they sat down and talked while they waited.

"Are you from around here?" Stacy asked.

"Yes, I grew up here. Where are you from?" Lisa asked. She noticed that Stacy had a Southern accent.

"I'm from Alabama," Stacy replied. "I just got out of school for the summer last week and came here to spend the summer with my grandmother."

"Where do you go to school?" Lisa asked, interested.

"I just finished my sophomore year pre-law at Auburn University," Stacy answered. "Are you in college?"

"I just graduated from high school two weeks ago. I'll begin pre-med at the University of Michigan in the fall," Lisa answered, proudly.

They continued talking for a few more minutes until their court became available; they shook hands and went onto the court. Lisa won the first set, but Stacy won the match. "You're great, Lisa proclaimed breathlessly as they shook hands and walked off of the court.

"You're pretty darned good yourself. You made me work for it," Stacy replied, smiling.

Lisa laughed. "It was fun. We should play again sometime, even outside of league matches if you want."

"Sure," Stacy responded cheerfully. She didn't have any friends here yet, and she had fun with Lisa. She found herself very attracted to Lisa. She had been with another girl once during her freshman year in college. Although it was only a one-night stand with her freshman roommate, it had introduced her to the appeal of sex with another woman. Lisa was the first girl since then that had attracted her in this way. "Don't get your hopes up," she told herself. "She's probably straight."

"Would you like to go get something to eat and talk?" Lisa asked.

"I'd love to," she answered enthusiastically. "I need to get a quick shower first, though."

Stacy was happy to get to spend more time with her. Lisa was nice, and it wasn't as if she was ready to go back to her grandmother's house yet anyway.

"Me too," Lisa agreed, ready to hit the showers. She was happy that she'd get to spend more time getting to know Stacy tonight. There's just something about her, Lisa thought. She didn't know why it was exactly that she felt so drawn to her.

They headed to the locker rooms, stripped and put towels around themselves before entering the showers. They were set up with individual stalls, so they chose stalls right next to each other so they could talk and laugh as they showered. After they'd finished, they wrapped towels around themselves and went back to the locker room to get dressed**. **

As they dressed, they chatted about school and friends, and Stacy told Lisa about Auburn and how she loved it there. Lisa looked over at Stacy, who was standing in just her panties, drying her hair with a towel. She was shocked to find she didn't want to look away from her. She was attracted to her. As soon as that realization hit her, she quickly averted her eyes before Stacy could catch her staring. "Where did that come from?" she asked herself. She'd always liked guys and had never felt an attraction to a girl before. It confused her.

Stacy finished drying her hair and was putting her clothes on, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Lisa. She had dropped her towel and was completely naked as she looked through her gym bag for clean panties. "She's gorgeous," Stacy thought to herself, continuing to watch Lisa as she was dressing. After a few minutes, Lisa stopped looking for panties and pulled on a pair of cut off blue jean shorts. Glancing over at Stacy, she shrugged and quipped, "I guess I forgot to pack underwear."

"She's trying to kill me," Stacy thought. Lisa pulled a bra out of her bag and put it on followed by a pale pink mid-drift t-shirt that showed her navel. "She's definitely trying to kill me," Stacy thought and inwardly groaned. Lisa looked over at her and blushed, then smiled nervously before looking away. It was then Stacy realized that she had groaned out loud! Lisa had caught her checking her out!

"I'm ready when you are," Lisa said.

"I'm ready," Stacy replied nervously and Lisa smiled.

As they were walking out of the tennis complex, Lisa asked, "Would you like to take my car?"

"Yes, please," Stacy answered. "I'm driving my grandmother's extra car and it's old and doesn't drive well. I also haven't learned my way around town yet."

"It's no problem," Lisa said. She drove a new white Chevrolet Camaro that her father had given her as a graduation present. Her mother had not been happy about it. Lisa and her father had always been close, and Arlene resented her for it.

"Wow, this is nice," Stacy said as they were getting in.

"Thanks," Lisa smiled. "Where would you like to go?"

"I'd like to go somewhere that has nice juicy hamburgers," Stacy answered.

"I know just the place," Lisa grinned and answered.

Lisa drove them to a little hole in the wall restaurant called "Tasty Burger" that specialized in burgers.

As they ate, they talked about their interests, their families and friends. They discovered they had quite a bit in common. They were both happily surprised to find out that Stacy's grandmother lived right down the street from Lisa's family.

After they finished eating, they drove around for a little while and talked. Neither wanted the night to end. When Lisa took Stacy back to her car, Lisa asked, "Are you busy tomorrow? Would you like to get together and do something, or just hang out?"

Stacy smiled back at her, "I'd like that."

Lisa returned her smile. "How about if I pick you up in the morning and we go to the lake? Do you like to swim?"

"I love to swim, that will be fun," Stacy answered.

They exchanged phone numbers and went home.

That night as she was lying in bed, Lisa couldn't stop thinking of Stacy. She was beautiful. Her eyes, her smile, her legs, her breasts, her laugh, and everything else about her attracted Lisa. When she'd caught Stacy checking her out, it had turned her on. She was still turned on and she was never going to fall asleep if she didn't do something about it. Her hand slipped into her panties and she slid her middle finger inside of her hot, wet pussy, then moved her finger to her clit and rubbed circles around it. She then slid two fingers inside of herself, pumped them a few times and slid them back out to her clit to slip one slick finger on each side of her clit and rub them in circles. She could feel herself getting close and was moaning softly. Moving her other hand beneath her nightshirt, she squeezed her breast and gently pinched her nipple. It only took a few minutes before she came hard. Biting down on her bottom lip, she tried to keep from moaning too loudly. She had learned how to get herself off quickly because she never knew when she might get interrupted and this was the last thing she wanted to get caught doing. Satisfied, she lay there panting softly for a few minutes until she rolled over and went to sleep.

The next morning Lisa woke up early, excited to start her day. Her parents had a vacation house at a lake that was around 90 miles away and Lisa was planning to drive them there. She packed a bag and called Stacy to make sure she was ready before leaving to go pick her up.

She drove to Stacy's grandmother's house and helped put Stacy's things into the back of her car. Lisa smiled at Stacy and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

Stacy returned her smile and nodded.

Lisa felt almost giddy as she said, "Okay then, let's go."

On the way they talked more about their lives and listened to music. When they got close to the cabin they stopped at a small grocery store to stock up on snacks and food for later, but Lisa already had a cooler full of Cokes in the trunk.

When they pulled up to the house Stacy looked around, clearly impressed. "Wow, this is nice."

"Let's take the stuff in and I'll show you around," Lisa said. "Oh and by the way we have a few rafts in the storage room that we can float around on."

Stacy smiled and said, "Oh good!"

After they carried their stuff into the house Lisa showed her around. It was a large split level house with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. The master bathroom had a large Jacuzzi tub meant for two people. The house had an open floor plan with hardwood floors that ran all the way through the main area. The back of the house had large windows facing out towards the lake. On the back of the house there was a large porch that went the length of the house and had several rocking chairs and a round table with chairs.

Out at the shore there was a large boat house with a pontoon boat and a ski boat. About 50 feet over from the boathouse there was a nice large dock with a couple of lounge chairs that they could use for sunbathing.

"Let's go ahead and get the rafts out and inflate them and then we'll put on our bathing suits and get in the water, if that sounds good to you," Lisa said.

"Sure, lead the way," Stacy said.

They took a few minutes to put air in the rafts and set them on the patio before going back into the house into separate bathrooms to change clothes. Once they were changed they went out to the dock.

They set their stuff down by the chairs and Lisa took off her shirt. She was wearing a tiny red bikini that made Stacy gasp when she saw it. Stacy stared at her and thought, "There is no way I'm going to survive this day." After a few minutes of staring, Stacy noticed Lisa was calling her name.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?" she asked.

"I was just asking if you would rub some sunscreen on my back," Lisa answered.

Stacy seemed flustered and said, "Of course, will you do mine too?"

"Sure," Lisa said. She had seen the way Stacy looked at her and she was getting turned on again.

Stacy took off her shirt and was wearing a small black bikini. Lisa stared at her body for a moment and then looked back up to Stacy's face and Stacy was watching her. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before Stacy gave her a knowing smile and winked. Lisa smiled, blushed and looked away quickly.

Lisa picked up the bottle of sunscreen and began applying it to the places she could reach. After a few minutes she looked at Stacy, who was watching her. She nervously handed Stacy the bottle of sunscreen.

Stacy slowly rubbed sunscreen on Lisa's shoulders and back, taking more care to work it in than was necessary. She rubbed her hands down her spine and over Lisa's sides until she worked her way around to Lisa's flat stomach.

Lisa gasped and moaned softly, then looked over her shoulder at Stacy. Stacy kept her hands on Lisa and leaned her head over to place a soft kiss on her lips. Lisa was surprised but after a moment she began to return Stacy's kiss. She felt nervous and excited as she turned around so that they were facing each other. Lisa put her arms around Stacy's neck and deepened the kiss. Her lips parted, granting access to Stacy's tongue and Stacy wasted no time. She explored Lisa's mouth with her tongue, tasting and savoring until Lisa moaned. Stacy ran her hands along Lisa's back and pulled her close so that their bodies were touching, abdomen against abdomen, breasts against breasts. They both moaned. They had to stop kissing to take a breath and Stacy moved her mouth to the side of Lisa's neck and began kissing and sucking, leaving a small hickey which would later prompt Lisa's mother to call her a slut.

"Oh God, Stacy," Lisa moaned.

Stacy pulled back and looked Lisa in the eyes, her pupils dilated with passion. "Do you really want to swim?" Stacy asked in a husky voice.

Lisa shook her head no. "Let's go inside."

Lisa grabbed Stacy's hand and they quickly walked back to the house. When they got into the house, Lisa pulled her into the master bedroom, where they stood by the bed and started kissing again. Stacy let her hands glide up Lisa's sides until they reached her breasts. She gently cupped the perfect globes over her bikini top and let her fingertips graze her nipples. Lisa trembled as Stacy slid her hands around Lisa's back and untied her bikini straps. Lisa's top fell off and she gasped.

Stacy slid her hands to Lisa's bare breasts and caressed them gently. Her touch was light, but precise and Lisa felt her head roll back from the pleasure. Stacy leaned down and flicked her tongue over Lisa's right nipple, kissed and then sucked it before repeating it on her left nipple.

Lisa moaned and ran her hands through Stacy's hair, pulling her up to kiss her passionately. Stacy continued to run her hands over Lisa's mostly naked body and Lisa could feel moisture pooling in her bikini bottoms. She reached behind Stacy and untied her bikini straps, feeling desperate to explore her fully as she pulled the top completely off. She fondled Stacy's breasts and found herself becoming more even more excited. This felt so good, and so different to her.

Stacy put her arms around Lisa and moved backwards towards the bed. She lowered herself onto her back and pulled Lisa on top of her. She was lying flat on top of Stacy, straddling one of her thighs. Stacy bent her knee and lifted her thigh up to rub against Lisa's core, and then put her hands on Lisa's ass to guide her to grind against her. Lisa gasped and continued grinding against Stacy's thigh and shifted her own leg so that Stacy could grind against her. They rocked against each other, rubbing themselves on the others thigh, even as they continued to kiss and run their hands over their bodies. Soft skin rubbing together felt better than Lisa could have imagined. She felt herself getting close and quickened her thrusts. She wanted Stacy to cum with her but didn't think Stacy was as close so she ran her left hand down Stacy's stomach and into her bikini bottoms and touched her clit. Stacy moaned loudly and bucked against her hand. They continued bucking and grinding faster and faster, increasing the friction against each other until Lisa's orgasm hit her hard. Stacy was close and the feeling of Lisa trembling on top of her as she moaned her name, fingers still lightly touching her clit, was enough to push Stacy over the edge. She called out Lisa's name as she felt her walls contracting and the waves of pleasure overcome her.

Lisa stayed on top of Stacy for a few minutes trying to catch her breath before she lifted her head. Looking down at Stacy, she kissed her softly on the lips. "I've never done that before," she said. It was the best orgasm Lisa had ever experienced with another person.

Lisa rolled off of Stacy and lay next to her resting her head on Stacy's shoulder. Stacy looked over and kissed her forehead. "We still have too many clothes on," Stacy grinned.

Lisa laughed, "Well let's do something about that."

Stacy pulled her own bottoms off quickly and then rolled over to remove Lisa's. Slowly sliding them down her legs, Stacy stayed between her legs, eye level with her crotch, and stared at her pussy. She had a neatly trimmed bush the same color as the hair on her head and her bikini line was shaved. Stacy parted her lips and teased Lisa by blowing on her clit. Lisa gasped as Stacy began kissing and licking the inside of her left thigh, then blew on her clit again. She then moved to her right thigh and did the same. When she got back up to Lisa's pussy again she blew on her clit and stuck out her tongue to lick it lightly. Lisa gasped and looked down at her. Stacy grinned and looked up into Lisa's eyes as she slowly ran her tongue over her clit again. Lisa moaned softly. Stacy began rubbing circles around her clit with her tongue and then stiffened her tongue against Lisa's opening. Although she moved her tongue around the opening, she didn't put it in. "Oh God, you tease," Lisa moaned. Stacy chuckled seductively and did it again, but this time she slid her tongue into Lisa as deep as she could and moved it around against her walls. She quickly pulled it back out and licked back up to Lisa's clit to begin flicking her tongue over it. Stacy nipped at her clit and began sucking on it until Lisa moaned and began thrusting her hips. Stacy inserted her middle finger into Lisa and began fingering Lisa as she sucked on her clit. Lisa moaned louder and thrust her hips faster. Stacy sucked on Lisa's clit harder and curled her finger to reach the spot that would send her over the edge. Lisa came hard and called out Stacy's name. She had just experienced the best 2 orgasms of her life within 30 minutes of each other.

She lay there breathing hard for a few minutes. Stacy rested her head on Lisa's stomach and held her for a few minutes before crawling up, kissing each of her nipples in passing, and then giving Lisa a soft kiss on her lips. Lisa gazed into Stacy's eyes and smiled. Her head was spinning. She'd never felt this way.

They lay there talking for a while and Lisa asked Stacy if she'd ever had sex with another girl before. Stacy told her about the one night stand she'd had with her freshman roommate a year before.

Then Lisa asked nervously, "Is that what this is, a one-time thing?"

Stacy looked back at her, "Only if that's what you want. I want more than that."

Lisa smiled, let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and replied, "I want it to be more than a one-time thing."

Stacy smiled back at her and leaned over to kiss her. They stayed there on the bed cuddling, kissing and talking.

After a while Stacy asked Lisa, "Have you ever had sex with a guy before?"

Lisa looked at her and responded, "No. I thought it would happen with my last boyfriend, John, but it didn't. Something always happened that prevented it. When I was finally ready to go all the way with him we were in his bedroom. His parents had gone out for the evening. He didn't have a condom so we didn't. After that it seemed like we were always interrupted. Then we broke up before it ever happened. We did have oral." Lisa smiled and shyly added, "He sucked compared to you."

Stacy smiled and kissed her on the head.

They stayed in bed and had sex several more times that day before heading home.

They didn't get home until 10:00 pm. Lisa's mother, Arlene, was still up when Lisa got home. She started fussing about Lisa being gone all day and then noticed Lisa's neck. "What is that?" she yelled.

Lisa wasn't sure what she was talking about and asked, "What?"

Arlene pointed to her neck and said, "The hickey on your neck."

Lisa blushed and stuttered, "Oh, um, um…," but couldn't think of a response.

Arlene chastised her and went on about how she didn't want Lisa turning into a slut just because she was leaving for college in a few months. She accused her of taking a boy to the lake with her and lying about it.

Arlene was always so hard on Lisa and she never understood why. Lisa's sister, Julia, was obviously Arlene's favorite. Nothing Lisa did was ever good enough, but Julia could do no wrong. Lisa and Julia didn't get along either. Lisa's father was the only one in her house that she could connect with. Lisa was his baby girl and he adored her.

That night Lisa lay awake thinking about her day. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this happy. It scared Lisa to think that maybe she was falling in love. Was it possible for that to happen so fast? This thing with Stacy was so unexpected. Despite Stacy being a woman, everything felt so natural with her.

Lisa went to sleep that night and had happy dreams of her and Stacy together as a couple.

Lisa and Stacy spent all of their free time that summer together playing tennis, swimming hanging out, making love, or doing nothing at all. All that was important was that they were together.

Lisa was completely in love with Stacy and didn't allow herself to think about what would happen when it was time for school to start in the fall.

The time finally came for Stacy to head back to Alabama to get settled back into her dorm and begin classes at Auburn.

Stacy had to go home a week before Lisa left for Michigan. On their last night together they had Lisa's parent's house to themselves. Her parents had gone out of town and Julia had gone with them.

Lisa and Stacy stayed up all night talking and making love. They fell asleep just before dawn. Unfortunately, Lisa's parents arrived home around noon while Lisa and Stacy were still sleeping. Julia went to Lisa's room to tell her they were home, but when she opened the door and saw them, she gasped, "Oh my God! Lisa, what are you doing?" Lisa and Stacy were spooned up naked together, still asleep.

They were startled awake, and they jumped out of bed and covered themselves.

"Julia, please don't say anything to mom and dad," Lisa pleaded.

Julia looked at Lisa like she was disgusted and said, "I'll have to think about it." Then she left them alone.

Stacy looked at Lisa and asked, "Are you okay?" Lisa looked like she was about to cry and her hands were shaking."

Lisa nodded her head and wiped away a couple of tears that were running down her cheek. Arlene would disown her if she knew. She just hoped Julia would keep her mouth shut for once.

They put their clothes on and went to Stacy's grandmother's house. Stacy had to finish packing. She needed to be at the airport by 5:00 pm.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking and hanging out, kissing and cuddling. Lisa got quiet and Stacy asked her what was wrong. Her eyes began to tear up. "I'm going to miss you Stacy," Lisa replied.

Stacy wiped away the tears that were now running down Lisa's cheeks and kissed her softly. "I'm going to miss you too, Lisa. I love you."

Lisa put her arms around Stacy and hugged her tight. "I love you too, Stacy. I don't want to lose you. What are we going to do?"

"I don't want to lose you either Lisa, but I don't want you to miss out on college life because your girlfriend is in another state. I want you to be able to go out with other people if you want to and not feel like you have to lie about it," Stacy answered.

Lisa looked at her surprised and said, "But I don't want to date anyone else, only you."

"It's not like I'm breaking up with you, I just don't want us to regret not exploring our options. I don't want to spend my college years tied down," Stacy said. She could tell Lisa still didn't really understand exactly what she was trying to say. "I want us to still be together, just not exclusive. I'm sorry," Stacy said.

Lisa felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. She began to cry harder. She couldn't believe what Stacy was saying to her.

Stacy put her arms around Lisa and held her. She kissed her head and said, "Lisa, it's going to be okay." She really did love Lisa and wanted badly for them to be together, but it wasn't possible right now. Stacy was trying to be realistic. Long distance relationships didn't work, and they were too young to be committed to someone who lives more than 1,000 miles away from them.

Lisa wanted to enjoy the last bit of time they had together so she set her thoughts aside and would sort through them later. They spent their remaining time together laughing, kissing, talking, and cutting up just like they would any other afternoon.

Finally it was time to head to the airport. Lisa rode with Stacy's grandmother to drop her off. At the airport they walked Stacy to security and hugged her goodbye. Lisa felt like her heart was being ripped out.

When she got home she collapsed on her bed and allowed herself to really cry. She wondered why Stacy wanted them to see other people, and when she'd see Stacy again. She let her mind wander through her memories of the summer and their times together.

After a couple of hours Julia came in and started preaching to her about morality and homosexuality. She didn't need this. What did Julia know anyway? "Julia I'm not a lesbian," she said.

"You've been having sex with a girl. What else would you call it?" Julia replied.

"I'm not usually attracted to girls. I like guys. Stacy was special, and she's gone back home anyway so it's no longer an issue," Lisa said.

Julia looked at her for a few minutes trying to decide if she was telling the truth or not. She could see Lisa was clearly upset, so she believed her. "You know this is for the best, don't you?" Lisa didn't respond, but another tear escaped and ran down her cheek.

"Fine, I won't tell mom," Julia said.

"Thanks," Lisa responded quietly.

The next week passed slowly. Lisa was waiting for a call from Stacy, who was supposed to call to give Lisa the phone number at her new dorm. Little did Lisa know that Stacy called several times, but Julia intercepted the calls, telling Stacy that she wasn't home. Julia didn't care what was best for Lisa. She just thought it would be embarrassing to have a sister who was a lesbian.

Lisa was looking forward to getting away from Julia and Arlene. Julia was still in high school and she would be living there for at least 2 more years, until she graduated.

Finally it was time to head to Michigan so she could get moved into her dorm and buy her books before classes began. Ann Arbor, Michigan was over 500 miles from where they lived in New Jersey. It would take over 10 hours to drive there. Her father didn't want his little girl driving all that distance alone, so he rode with her and took a plane home. Lisa enjoyed spending that time with her daddy. It was the first time she'd smiled since Stacy left. He had always been able to make her feel special, no matter what she was going through. He was a very busy pediatrician and was rarely able to spend as much time with her as she would have liked, so when he was available she made sure to take advantage of that.

Lisa got settled into her dorm and then went over to the Administration building to get her class schedule for the semester and sign a few papers. From there she went over to the bookstore to buy her books that were required. The guy working there who helped her get her books was tall and had pretty blue eyes, but Lisa thought he was a jerk. He was too arrogant. He made a rude comment to her about having a chip on her shoulder and being a partier. Who in the hell was this guy?

Lisa had the dorm to herself until the next day when her roommates arrived. Their names were Anne and Meg. Anne was a sophomore while both Lisa and Meg were freshmen. During their time in college they would become close friends.

During the first few days, the 3 of them hung out and got to know each other. Anne showed them around the campus and some nearby places where students liked to gather. Lisa told Anne about the guy at the bookstore who had been so rude. Anne told her that his name was Greg House and that he was something of a legend around campus. Supposedly he was a genius and was the best player on their Lacrosse team. Also there were a lot of girls who had crushes on him. Lisa was not impressed.

During her first month at Michigan, Lisa got settled in and felt more comfortable as she met new people, made new friends, and began to feel like she fit in. Lisa was still feeling really depressed about Stacy. She called home every night to ask if Stacy had called. Every night it was the same thing. Stacy had not called her. As she was trying to fall asleep each night she would find herself thinking of Stacy and most nights she would cry. The rest of the time Lisa tried to stay busy to keep her mind off of Stacy. That wasn't hard. Her schedule was very busy. Lisa was very intelligent and driven. She had been Valedictorian in high school and had received a full academic scholarship to the University of Michigan. She was taking advanced classes and had lots of assignments and studying to do to keep her mind occupied. She also made time to have fun with her roommates. They'd been to several frat parties already. Lisa didn't like to drink but she loved to dance. She'd had several guys ask her on dates. She would dance with guys at the parties, but always turned down their invitations for dates. She was still in love with Stacy, and even if Stacy was finished with her, she wasn't ready to move on. Her heart was still breaking.

She saw Greg House on campus almost daily and had seen him at all of the parties. He was always with a different girl; he was never with the same girl twice. She caught him checking her out a few times, but never paid much attention to him. He spoke to her several times but she always blew him off. Greg wasn't used to this. He could have any girl he wanted but this girl didn't even seem interested in having a conversation with him. She became a puzzle to him, one that he was determined to solve. Who was this girl? She was an enigma.

As time went on, Lisa was losing hope of ever seeing Stacy again. She continued to call home only to be given the same answer. Stacy had not called. Lisa wished she knew Stacy's grandmother's number. Maybe she would know Stacy's dorm number. She called directory assistance to try to get it but there was not a listing for that name. Maybe she was listed under a different name. She decided that when she went home for Hanukkah she'd stop by her house and ask Stacy's grandmother for her number.

When Thanksgiving rolled around Lisa and Meg went home with Anne for the holiday. Lisa and Meg's families lived too far to travel for just a long weekend but Anne's family lived there in Michigan. They were only a 2 hour drive away.

They had a fun weekend. Anne's family was very nice. She had twin brothers named Alex and Andrew who were seniors in high school. Andrew was hitting on Lisa, who of course, wasn't interested; she was still pining over Stacy. Alex was flirting with Meg, who was very interested and flirted back. She spent half the weekend running off with him. She later admitted to them that she had sex with him that weekend.

Anne and Meg both frequently went out on dates with guys they met at school or at parties. They noticed that Lisa never dated, even though she had plenty of guys who wanted to go out with her. They were concerned about her and asked her about it. She told them of her relationship, but left out the detail about Stacy being a girl. They could tell she was really depressed over the breakup and decided to start pushing her to go out with someone after the holidays.

The three of them had become very close, and Lisa was thankful for that. They were great at cheering her up and keeping her mind off of Stacy.

Winter break arrived and Lisa flew home for Hanukkah. The first thing she planned to do was to stop by Stacy's grandmother's house to try to get a phone number.

She went to Stacy's grandmother's house only to find it empty with a 'For Sale' sign in the yard. She was crushed. That was her last hope of ever finding Stacy. Maybe Stacy didn't want to be found.

She spent the entire break moping around and interacting with her family as little as possible. Luckily, she had brought some study material with her so she could begin studying for her exams, which were 2 weeks after she returned. Studying kept her mind occupied and gave her a convenient excuse to stay in her room.

She was relieved to return to Ann Arbor. When Anne and Meg returned they were all happy to see each other and began telling each other about their holidays. After sharing the details of their holidays they noticed that Lisa wasn't saying anything and looked sad. They asked her what happened. She told them about going by Stacy's grandmother's house and finding it empty. She cried on their shoulders and they were very sympathetic. She let it slip that Stacy was a girl. They were surprised but weren't judgmental. They were more supportive than she thought they'd be and agreed to keep that to themselves.

They made it their mission to hook her up with someone. They didn't have to work hard at it. Lisa always had somebody asking her out. They just had to encourage her to say yes to someone.

The second semester started and she began her first endocrinology class. Greg House sat right next to her. "Oh great," she thought to herself. Greg had been hitting on her for months. The more she ignored him or turned him down, the harder he pursued her. During class he would talk to her, make jokes, try to cheat off of her paper, and flirt with her. She had to admit, he was hot. She didn't want him to know it, but she was becoming attracted to him. He finally talked her into going out with him, just as friends. It was the only way she would agree.

They both had fun and they started hanging out after class sometimes. They'd go for a burger, or just hang out at his place listening to music or talking. He'd taken her for a ride on his motorcycle a few times, which she enjoyed even if she wouldn't admit it. He started helping her study for their endocrinology class however, most of the time he would hang around and harass her while she tried to study. She pretended to be annoyed but really she enjoyed having him around.

A few weeks after they'd started studying together they ran into each other at a party. It was one of the rare occasions when Lisa had any drinks at one of these parties. She wasn't drunk but she had a nice buzz. They danced a few songs together and then a slow dance started. Greg held Lisa close. He felt good and smelled even better. He was making her head spin - or maybe it was the alcohol - she wasn't sure. He was running one of his hands lightly on her back right above her ass. She felt him place soft kisses on her neck and lightly nibble on her ear lobe; he was turning her on. He pulled her even closer and placed a soft kiss on her mouth. She returned the kiss, parting her lips to grant him access. He massaged her tongue with his even as he slipped his hand down to her ass. She gasped, but continued kissing him. Her heart was beating faster and she could feel her panties getting damp. When they came up for air he looked her in the eyes and said, "Would you like to get out of here?"

She smiled and nodded; she wanted him. He took her hand and they left. They went to her place since her roommates had gone out of town for the night. They went straight back to her bedroom and were immediately all over each other again. She had a nice big desk in her room. He set her on top of it for easier access and began kissing her again as he slipped his hands into her shirt to feel her soft skin. His hands slid up her stomach to cover her breasts. He moved them back out and pulled her shirt off over her head and quickly removed her bra. He took a moment to stare at her. She had the most beautiful breasts he'd ever seen, and he'd seen plenty. He leaned over to kiss and suck each of her nipples, then kissed up to her neck where he sucked and bit her lightly. He moved his hands to her breasts and fondled them, tweaking her nipples. She gasped and moaned lightly.

Lisa pulled up his shirt, motioning for him to take it off. He pulled it off and tossed it on the floor. She looked down below his waist and saw the outline of a huge bulge in his pants. This excited her more, but when he saw her checking him out, he smirked. She rolled her eyes at him even as he slid his hands up her thighs and under her skirt. He rubbed her lightly over her panties and she moaned his name. She was so turned on. All she wanted was to feel him touching her.

He moved his hands to the waist of her panties and pulled them off. He slipped one hand back around between her legs and rubbed her, feeling how wet she was. She moaned again. He drew his wet finger up to her clit and rubbed it, moving it in circles around her nub.

She moved her hands to the front of his jeans and pressed one hand over his cock, moving up and down a few times. She unhooked his belt, unfastened his jeans and dropped them to the floor. He reached to the waistband of his boxer briefs and lowered them for her. She looked at his cock and was in awe at the size. She'd never gone all the way with a guy so she knew it was going to hurt some, but she was afraid he wouldn't fit. She wrapped her hand around it and pumped it a few times. It always fascinated her how a man's penis could be so hard yet so soft at the same time. He closed his eyes and groaned. "Let's move this to the bed," he said.

She looked at him and asked, "Do you have any protection?" He nodded and reached down to his jeans and pulled out a condom. He set it on her nightstand and took off his shoes and stepped out of his jeans and underwear. She hopped down off of the desk and removed her skirt and shoes and walked over to him. Luckily she still had enough alcohol in her to keep her from getting too nervous. He kissed her and then lowered them to the bed.

She lay on her back with him on her side. He was leaning over her, kissing her and running his hands over her body. It felt so good. It had been 6 months since she had been touched by another person. He slipped his hand between her legs and caressed her. She was soaked. He slipped a finger inside of her and she was so tight. He wondered if it was her first time but didn't want to ask. He slipped a second finger into her to stretch her a little, and she moaned his name. She was so aroused and got even wetter.

Lisa reached over to the nightstand and took the condom that he had put there. She handed it to him and he rolled it on. She opened her legs more and he moved between them, kissing her as he reached down and moved his cock over her slit a few times. She was so sensitive, and the sensation made her tremble. He moved himself to her entrance and looked down into her eyes. She nodded, giving him permission to keep going. He started pushing himself into her. He met some resistance so he pushed harder. She felt herself tear and the first couple of inches of him slipped inside. Lisa whimpered and bit her bottom lip trying not to cry out. It hurt but she didn't want him to stop. He looked down and asked if she was okay. She nodded and boldly answered, "Keep going."

He pulled back and pushed back in, going a little deeper. He continued this until he was all the way inside of her, then he looked down at her and asked, "Are you still okay?"

"Yes," she gasped, "just give me a minute.

He stayed still for a minute until she nodded for him to continue and then he began to move again. He moved slowly at first to give her time to adjust. He kissed her neck and behind her ear and caressed one of her breasts. He lightly pinched her nipple. After a little while the pleasure began to outweigh the pain and Lisa started to enjoy it. "Faster," she told him.

He increased his pace and moved his hand along the outside of her thigh and moved her leg up around his waist, then put his hand under her ass to tilt her hips up to a different angle. With every stroke she could feel the top of his cock brushing against her clit. She could feel herself getting close. Greg quickened his pace and slammed into her hard and slipped the tip of his finger into her anus. Suddenly she yelled out his name and came hard. He could feel her clamping down on him and felt her spasm around him. He immediately followed her and moaned out her name as he spilled into the condom.

They lay still, panting for a few minutes, and then he rolled off of her. He pulled the condom off, tied a knot in it and tossed it into the trash can near her bed. They talked for a little while and then they both fell asleep spooned together.

When Lisa woke up the next morning he was gone. He wasn't in class the next day and she heard a rumor that he'd been expelled. She wouldn't speak to him again until years later.

* * *

><p>The sound of a car horn snapped Lisa out of her daze. She looked at the clock and realized that she had been driving around aimlessly for the past hour. Regaining her focus, she turned her car around and headed towards her house. She was tired and hungry. She planned to eat and then take a long, hot bath, but even as she planned her evening, thoughts of Stacy and their upcoming meeting lingered in the back of her mind.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

_Please please review! It encourages my muse to keep writing. Thanks to everyone who left reviews for chapter 1. Also, big thanks go out to my beta._

* * *

><p>When Lisa got home she busied herself with dinner and some nightly chores, trying to keep her mind occupied with things other than the past. It was futile. Memories were distracting her, slipping in on every thought.<p>

After running a bath, she lay back and relaxed in her tub, sipping a glass of wine as her mind wandered once again to Stacy.

* * *

><p>It was 6 months after she was hired as the Dean of Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital when Lisa Cuddy was asked to intervene with an irate patient in the clinic. The patient was yelling about his doctor being incompetent and was demanding to see another doctor. She went to the patient's room to try to diffuse the situation and offer help only to come to an abrupt stop as she walked through the door. Greg House. The patient was Greg House.<p>

As her mind struggled to process this new information, she noticed that he didn't appear to remember her. Deciding her best course of action was not to show any indication that she remembered him either, she went about treating him as she would any other patient. But he wasn't any other patient. When she asked him about his reasons for coming to the hospital, he snapped at her. "I have an infarction in my right thigh and that doctor is too much of a moron to see beyond the basics!" he exclaimed. He gripped his thigh, unable to continue talking as he fought the pain. Lisa quickly reviewed his chart, and ordered an MRI to confirm his diagnosis.

After receiving and reviewing the results and speaking with the radiologist, she went back to his room to discuss the diagnosis and his options. It wouldn't be easy. This would change his life. Taking a deep breath, Lisa confidently entered his room and gasped, suddenly shaken to her core. It seemed like everything turned to slow motion as the chart dropped to the floor and the woman at the side of the bed holding the hand of Greg House turned toward the door. It was her.

"Oh my God! Stacy!" she said, barely above a whisper. Lisa's heart was racing and she felt like she might faint.

Stacy stood up and dropped Greg's hand. She appeared equally stunned. "Lisa!" she gasped.

Lisa stood paralyzed. Tears came to her eyes as Stacy rushed over and hugged her.

"Excuse me, man in pain over here. Can you have your little reunion after you've fixed my leg?" House snapped.

She let go of Stacy, unable to look away from her tear-filled eyes as she picked up his chart from the floor.

Lisa took another deep breath and focused all of her attention on him. "You were right, you do have an infarction," She firmly, but gently revealed the results of the MRI. "Because of the delay in reaching a diagnosis and the resulting damage, the best option would be amputation," she said.

House was adamant; they were not taking his leg. She discussed his options with him and the risks associated with each, and he continued to respond with angry rebuttals, reminding her he was a far better doctor than her and he knew what he was facing. He refused to consent to the amputation; he would only agree to bypass, even though he knew chances were good that this could kill him.

Lisa looked at Stacy with eyes filled with confusing and conflicting emotions. "I'll schedule the operating room," she whispered, and left them alone.

They performed the bypass surgery on his leg, and as predicted he began experiencing excruciating pain even before he was completely out of the anesthesia and out of recovery. Later that evening, after hours of Greg gasping and screaming for Morphine, Stacy came out of his room. She was shaken and almost panicked. She immediately sought Lisa.

"How much longer is the pain going to last?" she asked.

"It depends on how much muscle cell death there was. He could come out of this with almost full use of his leg," Lisa responded.

"Or …?" Stacy asked.

"He could be in pain for the rest of his life."

Lisa explained a third option that would be a middle ground between what they had done and amputation.

"He's not big on middle grounds," Stacy replied.

"Yeah," Lisa responded in quiet understanding. She then started to walk away, but Stacy stopped her.

"Lisa," she said hesitantly, "There's so much I want to ask you, so much I want to say to you."

"Me too," Lisa said. "Let's get him stabilized and then we can talk."

After another day of Greg being in unbearable pain, he asked Stacy to tell Dr. Cuddy to put him in a chemically induced coma.

Stacy went out of the room to speak with her.

"Has he changed his mind?" Lisa asked.

"He's asked to be put into a chemically induced coma so that he can sleep through the worst part of the pain," Stacy said.

"We can do that," Lisa responded.

"What happens after he's in the coma? I'm his healthcare proxy. I get to make medical decisions for him if he's not able to."

"You should talk with him about what he wants," Lisa answered.

"I know what he wants. But if he's out, it's my call, right?"

Lisa nodded.

Lisa went into his room and gave him an injection and told Stacy, "He'll be out in less than a minute."

Greg drifted off to sleep.

Stacy walked over to Lisa and said, "The middle ground you were talking about … get me the forms you need signed."

"You're saving his life," Lisa told her.

They performed the surgery the next day to remove the dead muscle tissue. Afterwards they kept him in a coma and monitored him. Lisa estimated that she'd probably keep him a coma for a couple of weeks.

The day after the surgery Lisa checked in on him and updated Stacy. Lisa was quiet for a nervous moment before quickly asking, "Would you like to come over to my place for dinner tonight so we can talk?"

Without hesitation, Stacy answered. "Sure, what time?"

"How about 7:00 pm?"

"Okay, where do you live?"

Lisa wrote down her phone number and address and gave it to Stacy. "Do you need directions?" she asked.

"No, I can find it," Stacy answered.

"Okay, I'll see you at 7:00 then," she said as she smiled anxiously and then went back to her office.

When Lisa got home she cooked pasta, made salad and waited nervously for Stacy to arrive. She did some paperwork she had brought home from work to keep her mind occupied while she waited.

Stacy arrived right on time. She seemed nervous, too. "Are you hungry?" Lisa asked.

"I'm starving," Stacy replied.

As they ate their dinner they mostly made small talk. When they were finished, Stacy helped Lisa clear the table. Seeming to be perfectly in sync, they both took their glasses and Lisa took the bottle of wine that they had opened with dinner and headed for the family room to sit on the sofa and talk.

Lisa had thought for years about what she would say to Stacy if she ever saw her again. Now that Stacy was there, she didn't know where to begin. She didn't have to think about it for long because Stacy started the conversation, "Lisa, why didn't you call me?"

Lisa looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean? You never called me with the number."

Stacy looked confused, and told her, "Lisa, I called at least twice per week for 6 months."

Lisa looked at Stacy in shock. "Who answered the phone?"

"Your sister did. I gave her my number every time I called. After the first couple of weeks I also asked for yours. She always said she didn't have yours. The last time I called was during Hanukkah, when I thought you'd be home. That time she told me she had given you my number and that if you hadn't called me by then you must not want to talk to me."

Lisa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Tears were streaming down her face. How could Julia do that to her? She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach.

"Stacy, I called home every day and every day I was told that you had not called. When I went home for Hanukkah I went to your grandmother's house to see if she knew your number but she had moved. I lost hope of ever finding you."

At that point Stacy also had tears streaming down her face. "Why would she do that?" Stacy asked.

Lisa shrugged. She had no answer for that. She felt angry and betrayed; she was devastated that so much had been taken from her and couldn't find any words to describe the feelings washing over her. Stacy didn't seem to need any words, but moved toward Lisa to hug her and hold her close as they cried for the lost years.

They talked for a while about their lives as they finished the bottle of wine. It was as easy as it had always been, as if they'd never parted. There were no awkward moments, and all nervousness was forgotten. Finally, Stacy looked into Lisa's eyes and told her, "I've really missed you."

Lisa returned her look and a few tears came to her eyes as she smiled. "I've missed you so much, Stacy."

Their gazes held, as they leaned in closer to each other and their lips met. The touch was just a whisper, but Lisa moaned softly and deepened the kiss, exploring Stacy's mouth with her tongue. Oh how she had missed this. Nobody else could make her feel the way Stacy could with just a kiss.

Stacy moved in closer to Lisa and eased her down onto her back to gently lie on top of her; the kiss was never broken. She slid her hand up Lisa's side and lightly slid the tips of her fingers over her breast. She felt Lisa's nipple harden as her finger began to make circles around the tip. Lisa moaned into Stacy's mouth and she opened her hand in response to fully cup and caress her breast. She felt so good.

Lisa arched her hip to rub her core against Stacy's thigh and brought her own thigh up for Stacy to rub against it. She continued grinding against Stacy until she broke the kiss and gasped, "Oh God, Lisa! I'm not going to last long."

She started kissing Lisa's neck and nibbling on her earlobe as they thrust against each other. Lisa moaned. She slipped her hands underneath Stacy's shirt and moved them up her back until she reached her bra strap and unhooked it. Her hands slid underneath the cups and she caressed the swollen globes. She felt so good and Lisa knew she wasn't going to last long either. She pulled Stacy's shirt up and ran her tongue over her nipple, drawing a moan from Stacy and thrust harder. Lisa moaned and latched onto Stacy's nipple, sucking it hard before nibbling on it while pinching her other nipple between her fingers. Stacy's orgasm hit her hard. She moaned out Lisa's name loudly and her thrusts became erratic. She could feel her body contracting and she wished Lisa's fingers were inside of her. Her orgasm pushed Lisa over the edge. They rode out their orgasms rocking against each other. They lay there together for a few minutes catching their breath.

"Stacy," Lisa said, "Let's go to the bedroom."

Stacy smiled and gave Lisa a peck.

Lisa led her into the bedroom, turned on the bedside lamp and folded down the covers. Stacy watched as Lisa took off her clothes. "She's even hotter than I remembered," Stacy thought.

Once she was naked, Lisa climbed into the bed slowly, teasing Stacy. She looked back to see Stacy still standing there with her clothes on. "Are you coming?" she asked.

Stacy smiled and took her clothes off. She crawled over to Lisa and leaned down and kissed her. Lisa pulled her down and rolled them over so that Lisa was on top, straddling Stacy. She pinned Stacy's hands above her head and kissed her deeply before reaching down to give her nipple a gentle nibble. Stacy gasped. Lisa smiled at her and released her wrists. She brought her hands to Stacy's breasts and squeezed them gently. Oh, how she loved Stacy's breasts! She could stay buried in them all day. Lisa slowly kissed them all over and ran her tongue around the nipples before latching onto them. She gave one breast her full attention before repeating her actions on the other. As she sucked the second nipple she moved her hand down Stacy's stomach and between her legs. She slipped one finger into Stacy, which elicited a strong moan. She was so wet. Lisa slid her finger out and rubbed circles around Stacy's clit before slipping in two fingers. She pumped them a few times before moving her fingers back to Stacy's clit, feeling it harden even more at her touch. Lisa looked into Stacy's eyes and kissed her as she eased in three fingers. Stacy moaned loudly and bucked her hips. Lisa kissed her neck as she began thrusting her pelvis against Stacy's, keeping her fingers exploring her core. Stacy moaned louder and bucked up against Lisa, moving her hands to her ass to pull her harder. After a few minutes Stacy screamed Lisa's name. Lisa felt Stacy's walls clamp down on her and felt a gush of fluid cover her hand. She rode out Stacy's orgasm and then pulled her fingers out to lick them clean before kissing her again.

Lisa rolled off of Stacy and lay next to her on the bed. After she caught her breath and cooled off, Stacy moved closer to Lisa, put her head on her chest and wrapped her arm around her. Lisa kissed the top of Stacy's head and they cuddled. "I never stopped loving you, Stacy," Lisa whispered against her hair.

Stacy got tears in her eyes and answered, "I still love you too, Lisa. I never stopped."

They talked into the night until they both drifted off to sleep, satiated and happier than they'd been in years.

Stacy woke up before Lisa and felt her cuddled up against her. She smiled, happy that last night had not been a dream. She lay there holding her for a little while before gently rolling Lisa onto her back and slipping out of her arms. She moved her fingers slowly down Lisa's chest to caress her breast, then leaned over and licked her nipple. Lisa moaned softly in her sleep. Stacy grinned and moved her fingers slowly down Lisa's abdomen to her pussy. She moved her fingers lightly over her and slipped the tip of her finger into Lisa to get it wet. Then, she moved to her clit and rubbed it slowly, lightly, with a gentle but steady stimulation. She looked at Lisa's face to see if she was awakening. After seeing that she was still asleep, she moved between Lisa's legs, pushed the tip of her tongue into her and slid her tongue up to her clit. She flicked her tongue over the tip and then moved it in circles around the nub before flicking it again. Lisa was now moaning loudly and moving her hips. She was coming into consciousness but wasn't fully awake yet. Stacy slipped a finger into Lisa and began massaging her g-spot, as she sucked on Lisa's clit. Lisa suddenly woke up as a very strong orgasm hit her. She screamed out Stacy's name, and Stacy rode out her orgasm with her before licking her clean.

Stacy moved back up the bed, gave Lisa a kiss, and grinned, "Good Morning."

Lisa smiled at Stacy. "Thank you!" she panted. "That was much better than waking up with an alarm clock."

Stacy smiled, then leaned over and gave Lisa a deep kiss.

That morning at the hospital, Lisa was doing rounds and went into House's room to check on him. Stacy was sitting at his bedside drinking coffee and checking her email on her Blackberry. She looked up when Lisa walked in and smiled.

Lisa smiled back at her and asked, "Would you like to come over tonight? I can cook or we can order in."

Stacy smiled, "I'd like that."

"Good."

Lisa examined House and then went about her day.

That evening when Stacy arrived, Lisa greeted her with a passionate kiss. They put their arms around each other and stood kissing until they had to come up for air. "I've wanted to do that all day," Lisa said shyly.

"Me too," Stacy replied.

They ordered Chinese food, talked and cuddled on the couch as they watched a movie. They missed half of it because they couldn't get enough of kissing each other. Making out on the couch was much more fun than anything they could see on the screen.

After the movie ended they went to bed and spent the night making love.

Lisa and Stacy continued this routine every night while House was in the coma. They had fallen into a pattern of domesticity and passion that kept them in a kind of bubble. But time was not on their side. The night before they were to bring House out of the coma, Lisa asked Stacy, "What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" Stacy asked.

"What are you going to do about your relationship with House? Are you going to stay with him? Are you going to tell him about us?" Lisa asked anxiously. "I need to know where I stand."

Stacy put her hand on Lisa's, looked into her eyes and told her, "Lisa, I love you. You're the one I want to spend my life with."

Lisa smiled and got tears in her eyes. "What about House?" she asked.

"I love him too, but you are my 1 in 5-billion. I don't want to lose you again." She held Lisa's gaze. "I'm going to break up with him."

Lisa smiled in relief and wrapped her arms around Stacy. Tears streamed down her face as she held her tight. "I love you, Stacy."

The next day they woke House up. Upon discovering that they'd gone ahead with the surgery to remove a part of his muscle, he was furious. He yelled expletives at both of them and threw them out of his room. He would throw things and became abusive to the nurses who were assisting him. It was disruptive to the entire ward.

Lisa had an orderly go into his room to restrain him while she gave him a sedative. Once he was sedated, she had restraints put on his arms.

A few hours later, she went back into his room and waited for him to wake up. When he woke up and realized he could not move, he angrily snapped, "You can remove the restraints now, Cuddy." She hesitated, watching the hurt, anger and betrayal flash across his eyes. He steadied his breathing and tightened his jaw, and she knew he was drawing his strength.

She removed the restraints and stood watching him for a moment, until he yelled, "Why in the hell are you just standing there?" He glared at her with more fury than she had ever experienced first hand. "You've managed to cripple me, the least you can do is GIVE ME SOMETHING FOR PAIN."

"You're already on morphine."

"Well obviously it's not enough," he snapped, and Lisa paused to study him as his every expression and move spoke of his pain.

"I need to check your leg," she said, as she increased the morphine slightly.

"No," he yelled. "You can get the hell out now. I don't want you here."

She left his room and leaned against the wall by the door to give herself a chance to compose herself, then went to find Stacy to let her know he was awake.

Stacy went to see him immediately. He sat broodingly staring at the wall.

"Hi," Stacy said softly.

"Where have you been?" he barked.

"I went to get some coffee," she replied.

It pissed him off that she'd not only betrayed him, but then had left his side while he was out. He was a cripple now, and in pain, and this was her fault! He was not going to let her forget it.

"Shouldn't you be here taking care of me?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "You were asleep so I went to get some coffee."

"I wasn't asleep," he snapped, "I was sedated."

The next week was much the same. House spent most of his time brooding, angry and lashing out at Cuddy and Stacy.

Stacy and Lisa didn't have any time together that week because House saw to it that Stacy spent every second sitting at his bedside by playing heavily on her guilt.

At the end of that week Stacy went to Lisa's office and told her, "We need to talk."

"Okay," Lisa said and they moved to sit on the couch.

"Lisa, I can't do it," Stacy said with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Lisa asked, and took her hand.

"I can't leave him," she whispered. "He's crippled because of me. He'll probably be in pain for the rest of his life." Stacy's eyes were full of guilt and she silently pleaded for Lisa to understand. "He needs me."

Lisa knew logically that it wasn't Stacy's fault. If Stacy hadn't made the decision that she'd made, House probably wouldn't be alive. Yet, Lisa herself felt guilty for her part, for proceeding with the surgery when she knew that it was not what House wanted.

Lisa looked at Stacy with tears flowing down her face. This was ripping them apart, not only on the inside, but as a couple. Lisa whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," Stacy pulled Lisa to her and held her tight. They cried on each other's shoulders, knowing this was goodbye, but unable to let go. At last, Stacy pulled back and placed a soft kiss on Lisa's lips. With a final look of sadness, Stacy left the room, leaving Lisa to curl up in a ball on the couch. She cried herself into exhaustion.

The next day House left the hospital and went for physical therapy at a Sub-acute Rehab Center closer to where they lived.

Almost a year later, Greg House returned to PPTH looking for a job. Stacy had left him and he'd gotten fired from his fourth hospital so he had moved to Princeton.

Cuddy still felt guilty about his leg, so she told him she'd talk to the board. House was a world renowned diagnostician and would attract donors so she knew it wouldn't be a hard sell.

The board agreed to her plan and they hired him. She created a Diagnostics Department especially for him.

* * *

><p>The phone ringing brought Lisa back to the present. She didn't rush to answer it, but let the machine pick it up. Her bath water was now cold and her fingers were looking like prunes. She got out of the tub, dried off, and climbed into bed.<p> 


End file.
