Rating: M (Mature—language, some fighting and sexual content)  If you're under 18, please find another story to read.

Spoilers:  Everything so far (especially early Season 3)

Notes Part 1: This story is a follow up to my “Gone for the Weekend” story.

Notes Part 2: The characters from House MD belong to FOX and their copyright holders. All other characters are of my own invention.  Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com .



Chapter 1 [Cuddy’s Office—Halloween/Two Weeks after “Gone for the Weekend”]

Cuddy sat at her desk, sifting through the latest departmental reports. With the end of the year annual review for PPTH coming up, her head ached from the details and stats. How much easier can I make it? She almost slammed the pile of poorly prepped reports on her desk and groaned.

Needing a break from that mess, she glanced over the day’s mail. As if by design, a blue envelope with an “Orchard Cove, Michigan” postmark sat on the top. “As if I need this?” She opened it to find an invitation to her thirtieth high school class reunion in December. Who the Hell schedules one of these things in December? She rolled her eyes at the thought of being back there (and with that group of classmates) at that time of the year before pushing the invite off to the side and going back to work.

At that moment, House barged into the office with a terse glare on his face. Under his free arm, he carried a large manila envelope. Seeing her consternation, he straightened up and assessed, “WHOA! Looks like the Clinic went belly up!”

“You wish, House,” she scoffed while rubbing her forehead to deal with the headache there. “Speaking of which, don’t you have some hours? Like oh….RIGHT NOW?”

“Priorities. My boss really wants this report done. You know her—evil queen of numbers. All that and more. Hey. Guy’s gotta have priorities,” he retorted.

She frowned, knowing full well that any lecture on the Clinic would be a waste of time. “At least tell me that you’ve got one of your staff covering?”

He tilted his head back and considered her with the wide eyed blank stare. “Gee, well…Cameron and I were debating how long the whiners could be deprived before they start screaming for their mommies.” Then he slapped the envelope on the desk in front of her.

“It’s actually on time?” she asked incredulously.

“Hey, a bet’s a bet, Cuddy,” he retorted sharply. “Don’t rub it in.”

She chuckled, recalling their trip north to Lake Champlain a couple of weeks earlier. After enduring a dry weekend on the fishing front, she scraped out a 2-1 victory over him in their ‘friendly’ fishing duel. While she had been tempted to make him do extra Clinic duty for a month, she had commuted the ‘sentence’ to having the report done early. (Of course, she had anticipated him not doing that.) She opened the envelope to find seven stapled pages. While some of the sections were done haphazardly, they were done and in order at least. He’s ahead of most of the others at this point.

While she read over his work, he glanced over her desk and grabbed the envelope. “Orchard Cove, huh?”

“HOUSE! PUT THAT BACK!”

He pointedly ignored her while recalling it was the name of her home town. “Let’s see—Mommy Cuddy’s not there anymore. That means it must be something juicy! Maybe a cleavage defining clinic? Or something even more juicy?”

“Stop it!” she hissed while scowling and coming out from behind her desk.

“Judging from how pissed you are, it’s either something really bad or really embarrassing. What’s it worth to you?” he supposed.

Her eyes narrowed to slits before sparking dark fire into his orbs.

“And now the hyena look. Yeah, this is going to be good!” he continued while reading the card. “You are cordially invited to your thirtieth class reunion.” He looked at her. “You’re scared of them, aren’t you?”

“Laugh it up, House,” she muttered; the smoke spewing out of her ears.

“Hey, Cuddy, you know that most of the people at these things are wannabes. They all dream of being big corporate hotshot pains. You’re an actual administrative pain in the ass,” he sassed her.

If anyone had said that to her, she’d have smacked him or her. However, she knew that was a House-type compliment. She looked at him sarcastically. “Gee, House, it’s nice to know I merit so high a grade on your scale.”

“Yeah well…guy’s gotta have some challenges. Not to mention that ass and the cleavage…damn!” he noted, still trying to get her goat and compliment her simultaneously. “You are going of course?”

She snorted at him. “As if I would want to be back on the damn UP in December? You know what it’s like up there at that point!” Then she smirked. “Unless…..”

He knew that look and winced. “No way!”

“Oh come on, House! What happened to the whole ‘you’re bigger than they are’ thing?” She grinned. “Tell you what. You go with me and I’ll let you out of Clinic duty for a month.”

“EEHHHT!” he replied. “Thanks for playing but no!”

She rolled her eyes. “All right, House, what’s it going to take? No, I am not going to let you out of Clinic Duty for an entire year.”

“Damn!” He snapped his fingers.

She shrugged. “How about a rematch? Think you might want to do some ice fishing? Just the two of us alone….in the ice shack?” She smiled suggestively at him. “I might need somebody to…warm up with.”

“No Chase or Cameron this time, Cuddy,” he insisted.

“Hey, that wasn’t my idea!” she countered. “He brought her up there by chance! Anything else?”

“What do you think?” he queried, getting just as suggestive as she was. Using his cane, he shut the door and setting the lock at the same time.

Knowing that the assistant was gone for the afternoon, she closed her blinds and smiled evilly at him while unbuttoning her blouse and slipping off her shoes. Since they hadn’t been together since the trip, she definitely wanted some attention. “Fine. You asked for it.” She walked over to him purposefully and kissed him.

While she did so, he unhooked her bra and tossed that aside.

In turn, her hands undid his pants’ buttons. Then she pushed him down on the couch.

“Cool!” he exclaimed.

She lowered herself down on top of him. “Shut up, House.” Then she kissed him again before they started into the main event…..




Chapter 2 [Christmas Day—House’s Apartment]

Even as the rest of the world celebrated the holidays, House shut himself in his sanctum and let his fingers croon out brilliant pieces from some of his favorite composers as they moved across the ebony and ivory with equal aplomb.

In the corner cage, Steve McQueen ran in place on his metal wheel. As he had been fed, watered and his chips changed, he was content.

For hours, the maestro continued the symphony. Nothing else mattered to him. He’d already assigned his Clinic hours to the Ducklings. Case loads slowed along with the puzzles at this time of the year. As for the trip, Cuddy insisted on taking care of everything. Even on a vacation, she can’t stop bossing me around! He stopped playing and considered his watch. “Any minute now.”

On cue, a sharp knock came from the door. “House!”

“Ah! That sounds like a fellow Scrooge!” House cracked as he got up and limped across the room. Opening the door, he found Wilson standing there with two bags of what smelled like Chinese food. “Smells okay. Get my chicken and dumplings?”

“And hello to you too, House,” Wilson retorted tersely while entering the room. Still, he expected a greeting like that from his best friend especially given the date. “I’d wish you a Merry Christmas or something to that effect but I don’t need the caning right now.”

“And they say oncologists aren’t smart,” House wisecracked while handing his friend a beer. “Survived the Whiners’ Anonymous meeting, I see?”

“Yeah too much eggnog. Apparently the stores had a bad batch and folks were getting food poisoning,” the oncologist reported.

That news made House cough on his beer although he enjoyed the mental image it was giving him. “Bad eggnog?”

“Yeah. Who would’ve thought?” Wilson asked before putting his finger up. “On second thought, don’t answer that one.”

“Serves the whiners right,” House emphasized while limping to the window and surveying the scene below. “For once, I wish I’d been there.”

“The rest of us were glad you weren’t,” Wilson muttered, imagining the potential fallout from that doomsday scenario.

“Joy, joy and humbug,” House declared flatly. “There are more important things to think about.”

“Such as your egg rolls? House, it’s okay to care, you know,” Wilson pointed out while setting out their food.

“I think you exceed the need for both of us, Jimmy Boy,” the diagnostician gibed before biting into an egg roll of his own.

“Heaven forbid you should care, House. I know the majority of the puzzles out there this week are under Christmas trees instead of your nose but even you should care.” Wilson bit into a piece of teriyaki beef after saying that. Still he shook his head knowing full well that it was useless to get into with the other man.

“Steve’s smart and he’s quiet. I like him,” House pointed out.

“Steve’s a pet, not a patient.”

“So?” House shrugged while eating some dumplings. “He knows his place.”

Wilson shook his head but again, sensed he wouldn’t get anywhere. “You want me to check on your staff?”

“Maybe a couple of times. They know what Daddy expects of them,” House stated.

Wilson nodded. “Cuddy’s nervous about this trip, you know.”

House nodded. Despite himself, he allowed his outer mask to drop ever so slightly. “Yeah I saw it when she got that stupid invite. I told her to stand up to those morons.”

“And that’s why you’re going?” Wilson queried. While he suspected that House and Cuddy cared about each other (and even felt somewhat jealous), he was amazed in what he saw in the other man.

“It’s about the ice fishing, Dude! Can’t let the Evil Queen kick my ass twice,” House replied sharply to cover himself.

Even so, Wilson had the answer he was looking for. He does actually care! Who would’ve thought? With that, he went back to their feast and considering how to run the hospital for the next two weeks.

Still, he dreaded the thought of House in a room full of reunionized-bs. That made him shudder indeed…….




Chapter 3
[Next Day—Philly airport]

House collapsed into one of those eternally uncomfortable chairs at the gate and fidgeted for a few minutes. For the previous week, he’d relived his own nightmares of growing up back in Michigan and dealing with the old man despite what he had told Wilson. Damn it! As if I needed this! For some reason, the old memories burned at him. Consequently, he almost ripped the zipper open to his knapsack and fidgeted for his Vicodin.

“House?” Cuddy wondered while coming back with some coffee for them both. “House, what is it?”

“Room’s damn hot!” he snapped while dry swallowing four pills.

She backed up; knowing the only time he took that many pills at once concerned the biggie demons. “People are watching. What can I do to help you?”

“Just give me the damn coffee,” he sighed tersely while putting his head down and waving his right hand expectantly. “Gimme!”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Just don’t have a breakdown on me.” She handed him the cup.

“Great,” he retorted almost dreamily while sipping on the coffee.

She ran her hand over her forehead, wondering what kind of demons she was stirring up inside of him—and worse, what they were going to do to him. Did I just screw up? He won’t back down. The fishing had better be good or this is going to be Hell.


 

Chapter 4
[That night—the Marquette Inn]

While she had originally intended to press all the way to Orchard Cove that day, Cuddy could see that House needed a break after the two late connections not to mention what was going on in his head. She knew that to call the relationship between House and his father frosty would be an understatement to say the least. Something’s really bothering him beneath the surface. What is it? Why does it have to come up now?

She groaned to herself while pacing about her hotel room. She looked in the mirror, inspecting her blue blouse and white slacks. Yet she too knew that this trip would hold consequences. She gazed into the glass again.

And for a split second, she saw a teenaged girl in a dark sweater and a blue skirt with glasses, braces and a black ponytail staring back at her fearfully.

Welcome to your past, Lisa. She rubbed her forehead trying to deal with her own internal pain. As she did, she remembered…..


****


[Synagogue, Rivers St., Orchard Grove—December 28, 1982]

Cuddy walked out of the synagogue feeling happy and content with herself. She’d spent the day reading through the science books at the local library. After a quick dinner at home, she rushed over to the synagogue for a Chanukah service on that—the third night. While she knew her mother would’ve wanted her to call for a ride, she figured that she could walk the half mile to their apartment building.

The sky was dark and cloudy on that evening as a storm brewed over the lake.

She shivered as the stiff breeze cut through her wraps, lending urgency to her steps. As she turned the corner off of Rivers and onto her side street, she saw two shadowy figures waiting under a stop sign ahead. When she tried to go back, one of her classmates, a hulking junior with flaming red hair and icy cold blue eyes blocked her path.

“Going somewhere, Cuddle Bear?” the leader scoffed.

She trembled but managed to reply, “I haven’t done anything to you, Michael Sandoval! I’m just heading home!”

Sandoval snorted and called to his cohorts. “Hey, guys! She's going home! What do you think?”

“Maybe she can give us a present too!” the blonde sniggered.

“Leave me alone!” she demanded.

“Oh, she wants to be left alone!” Sandoval pushed her down into the large cold puddle.

She felt the icy water soaking through her skirt and her eyes watered. She didn’t understand why these creeps always harassed her at school or in town. What did I ever do to them?

Just as the trio moved in on her, she heard someone coming on a bike.

“What the Hell? Hey! It’s another one!” Sandoval snapped.

His two cronies charged the bicyclist, forcing the rider to skid into the shadows. Within seconds, they were on the rider.

While she couldn’t see the other’s face, she shuddered, knowing that they would beat her and him both. Grabbing her backpack, she ran toward home.

She rushed in to find the apartment empty. Grabbing the phone, she called the police and hoped they would be in time to save the rider…..



****


[Modern Day]

Cuddy shook her head. What a coward I was! That poor rider took the beating and I ran! She frowned while grabbing her yearbook and flipping through it. During the flight, she had spent enough time memorizing the damn thing. Stopping at Sandoval’s picture, her temper flared. Asshole got off as he always did! She shook her head at the frightened girl in the mirror. “I’m not going to put up with this! I WON’T! I made it! I’m a success!”

She could hear the taunting voice laughing, Then why aren’t you married, Cuddle Bear? Why don’t you have any kids?

“SHUT UP!” she growled before stalking out of her room and starting toward the stairs. As she did so, she passed House’s room. Hearing the snoring from there, she sighed. Even asleep, he causes a racket! She almost knocked on the door to wake him up but decided against it at the last minute. The sleep will do him good.

Thinking of her companion seemed to break the spell. She shook her head as she heard his crack in the office from two months earlier. I can’t believe he can call me a pain in the ass and make it a compliment. Deal with it, Lisa. For him, that’s a compliment. She yawned and stretched. “Sleep might be a good idea for me too.” She headed back into her room and closed the door before falling asleep.


 

Chapter 5
[Next Day]

After a difficult night of trying to sleep off and on, House stirred and stared at the ceiling. Despite what Cuddy (and some of the people on either side of his room) had presumed, his snoring had not been a sign of deep sleep. Rather, he’d thrashed around like a fish on a dry dock.

He’d been dealing with the demons of his father. In addition, the past week had stirred other memories long buried of a night he visited Cuddy’s home town and ran into the residents. It was a night he’d hoped to forget forever……


****


[Orchard Cove—December 28, 1982]

House came out of the corner store with some canned goods weighing down his backpack. Right after his father had dropped him off for the weekend, Uncle Paul handed him a list of things to get from the store and lent him his bike. While the teen would rather have been left to his own devices, his uncle accepted him—the only one in his family who did that.

Besides the latter’s chili was really awesome.

We’ll need it tomorrow. He glared into the dark sky, noting the storm clouds building over the lake. Tomorrow, he and Uncle Paul would be in the middle of their poker game while the winds howled outside of the sturdy stone and pine house on Maple Road. With a shiver, he mounted his bike and started riding toward home.

As he turned onto Rivers Street, he heard a girl scream. What the Hell? He pedaled faster, not wanting to get involved in whatever the mess was. Besides, if he did, he’d never hear the end of it from his father.

As fate would have had it, the developing bad scene was unfolding in the road in front of him. “Shit!” He skidded the bike to a halt before he ran over the others.

The tallest of the shadowy figures snapped, “What the Hell? Another one?”

House saw his companions rush him. Before he could turn and make his get away, they pounced on him. He fought back as best he could, landing a few solid blows of his own.

As he did so, he saw a fourth figure—a girl whose face he couldn’t see—rush away into the night.

Unfortunately, the distraction cost him as a fist collided with his chin, knocking him out cold.


****



[Modern Day]

“Damn crap,” House groused while getting out of bed and walking over to the remains of the room’s in-service bar. He knew there’d be a Hell of a bill for the liquor he drank on the previous night. However, he frankly could’ve cared less. He dry swallowed three Vicodin pills before facing his haggard reflection in the mirror.

Granted, he really didn’t want to be on this trip. He’d only said what he did to gibe Cuddy. In their usual verbal judo/snark fest, he’d momentarily forgotten the pain this part of the U. P. had brought him. Still he knew that it would only be a quick trip in and out of that dump. You won’t see that creep or his buddies. They’re probably in jail or could be dead. Cuddy’s enough of a wreck without any more crap. He shook his head, recalling the other factor in the equation. I don’t why she’s so concerned about a bunch of stupid nobodies!

He shook his head. As much as he and she went back and forth, they still held mutual respect for each other. Why she stuck by him so fiercely, he didn’t always get it. But then again, there was a lot that he didn’t get about his boss. Still, since college, he’d known she was a lot more than a great chest and a fine ass—as much as he liked to remind her about those qualities.

On cue, a sharp knocking came from the door.

Here we go! He muddled over to the door and peered through the door hole to see her standing there with her arms folded and tapping her foot impatiently. And she’s pissed. Oh joy, joy! He cracked the door. “Yeah?”

“Good afternoon, House. Are you planning to get up today?” she greeted sarcastically.

“Spare me!” he hissed while letting her inside. “I had so much fun last night!”

“You were snoring so loudly, you probably woke up the dead,” she pointed out. Still, as she walked about his room, she took in the empty booze bottles and smelled the liquor. “What happened?”

“See someone’s already in prime form for tonight. I was bored so I got drunk,” he insisted, masking his true feelings once more. “Got to do something besides watching you pace and fume over the hicks.”

She eyed him cautiously. From the decades they’d known each other, she’d developed several knacks where he was concerned. First, she’d developed a thick skin. But she could also sense when something was truly bothering him. “Sure that’s it?”

“Wanna play my Mommy now?” he retorted sharply.

“Heaven forbid someone should care, House!” she snapped, coming back to reality. “I would like to get checked out and eat before we drive down to Orchard Cove. Take your shower and clean up. I’ll straighten some of this up in here.”

Rather than give a pithy retort about her being in a French maid outfit (as she had expected), he just shrugged absently and stalked into the bathroom before slamming the door behind himself.

Now she was really suspicious. What the Hell is going on? She hoped House could hang in there through that evening. Once they were on the lake, then she’d be past her own nightmares. At that point, she’d have the time to figure the mess out and how to deal with it.


****

[Reuben’s Sandwiches]

After cleaning up and checking out of their rooms, Cuddy drove them both into town for a quick bite. Recalling what a friend had told her about Reuben’s Sandwiches, she decided to stop there.

Admittedly, she was hoping that they made a great version of their namesake sandwich for House’s sake.


****


Throughout the meal, he remained quiet while munching on the cold sandwich without the pickles. Rather than focus on her, his eyes kept drifting toward Main Street right outside of the window to his right.

He could almost see his father’s plain blue truck going by….several times.

And he didn’t like it one bit. He took a particularly heavy bite.

Finally, she had enough of the silent treatment. “This is weird even for you, House. Are you all right?”

“Peachy,” he muttered while glancing at her testily. “How are you doing, Boss?”

“Fine. Be that way,” she sighed, trying not to lash out at him. With her current anxiety about that night, she didn’t need him erupting all over her. “Remember if you want to talk, I’ll listen.”

“Cool,” he replied. “Maybe like this was Dad’s favorite street? Or maybe he loved this particular place? Damn, Cuddy. You’re really going into overdrive today.”

“I guess,” she relented. “Still, House, you should’ve said something.” Not getting a response, she went back to meditating about her own situation vis-à-vis her former classmates.

“You still have the biggest cleavage,” he cracked, trying to get her goat.

It didn’t work. “Yeah,” she answered just as flatly. “Wait until you see the town, House….”

He shrugged. “Actually, I have been there before, Cuddy. Booming metropolis, that place.”

“So some of the people might recognize you? Oh terrific!” she worried.

He rolled his eyes. “Oh I’m so scared too. Hey, Cuddy, quit worrying already about those jackasses! You hang with them for three hours. Then we head for the lake tomorrow. No biggie.”

“Excuse me? I didn’t drag you here just for the ice fishing. We’re going there,” she clarified pointedly.

“Crap,” he whined, still looking for a way out of it.

“You aren’t getting out of it, House! That’s final,” she lectured in her best boss tone.

“All right. All right. Yes, Empress,” he sassed, knowing he was going to have to go through the gauntlet. He guzzled the rest of his coffee.

“Good. Now that we’ve settled that, let’s pay the bill and we can get down there,” she noted before signaling for the waitress.

He glanced out the window and shook his head. This “bash” was going to be a real barrel of laughs. Even though, they weren’t even in town yet, he had a feeling it was going to be a bad night.




Chapter 6 [That night—Orchard Cove]

After checking in at their new hotel and getting changed into their formals, they made their way over to her old high school. As they progressed, they took in the still-familiar backdrop of the village. Even though it had been twenty years for her (and twenty-five years for him), they found that little had changed in the community hugging the coastline. While houses and some chain stores had sprung up at the edges, the same businesses still dominated the downtown strip.

Seeing the corner store from so long before, he assessed sarcastically, “Nice sense of creativity here, Cuddy. Now I know where you learned those overly anal management skills of yours.”

She snorted, feeling glad that he managed to make a gibe and sound halfway like himself. “Yok it up, House. Actually these folks can still run circles around the larger outfits when it comes to customer service.”

He shrugged. Then seeing a sign labeled “Sandoval Shoes,” his eyes locked on it. Nah! It can’t be! “Yeah, that one could run all right.”

“Which one? House, what is it?” she insisted. “You’ve got that look.”

“What look?” he queried.

“The look when you’ve done something and don’t want me to know about it,” she replied.

“Hey, I’m just a visitor like you are. This is your town, Cuddy. Come on; we’re going to be late for your whipping session,” he commented sharply.

She didn’t push the point. However, she had the feeling that somehow House’s past visit there could bite them both in the ass. She just hoped that it wouldn’t be at the reunion.


****


[Ruffin High School—6:52 PM]

Cuddy parked the car as close to the school’s front as she could. She leaned back in her seat. You can do this. We’ve all grown up since then!

“You know, if we sit here for two months, it’ll be over and spring thaw too. Not to mention I wouldn’t have to deal with the Clinic….” he started.

“I wouldn’t want you to slip and fall on that delicate ass of yours, House. As for the Clinic hours, I’m sure the hospital would love to have volunteers,” she retorted.

“Ooh…the nasty look. Careful, Cuddy, they’re hicks not politicians. Then again, watch the big guns, you’re liable to make a big mess.”

She had to smirk. How does he do it? Even when he’s being an ass, he can still make me feel better? She glanced at him before answering, “If anyone messes with or embarrasses me, they’ll find out, won’t they?”

He rolled his eyes. “Let’s get this over with.” He really wanted to be anywhere other than the phony-baloney convention. After getting out of the car, he waited for her to do the same.

“You said it,” she agreed as they walked up the sidewalk toward the front door. It seemed strange that despite being early and seeing other cars in the lot that they were the only ones walking in. “Where is everyone?”

“Careful, Cuddy, they might be setting a trap,” he cracked.

“Knowing this place, I don’t doubt it,” she muttered more to herself than to him as they entered the building. Spying two people—a blonde of about her age and an elderly man—sitting at a table by the cafeteria, she led him over to it. “Hi! I take it this is the check in desk?”

The blonde nodded. “Lisa Cuddy, right? Hi, I’m Patty DeAnda. We were in the same home room for three years.”

“Right,” Cuddy agreed, recalling her picture from the yearbook. “And the science fair as I recall too.”

“You were always the best with names, Lisa,” Patty complimented.

“Considering she spent half of the trip here mem….” House started before a sharp elbow in his ribs stopped him short.

“Sorry, Patty. Now as you were saying?” Cuddy asked while shooting him the Glare.

“Wait a minute. Did he go to U of M too? I seem to remember his face for some reason,” Patty wondered while looking House over.

“We both did,” Cuddy agreed. “Greg House, Patty DeAnda. Patty, Greg House.”

“I was in med school there,” he agreed while managing a half-hearted smile and handshake.

“Okay,” Patty replied with a smile. “Well, we should have a few more folks coming in. Here are your badges. You’ll be at Table 8. Have fun and great to see you both!”

“Thanks, Patty. Nice talking to you too,” Cuddy concurred before she and House walked away. Once off to the side, she hissed, “What were you doing?”

He shrugged, already zoning out the lecture he knew was coming.

“House, please don’t embarrass me,” she requested, anticipating his thinking.

He straightened up in surprise. “You actually do care what they think?”

“Some of us do, House. Surprise! You might try it sometime. I know you like to zing people. Just keep a lid on it for tonight, all right?” he informed him dryly.

“Fine, Mistress,” he grumbled while looking around for the pest from so long ago.

“House, this way.” She rubbed his arm. “What is with you?”

“Nothing,” he responded gruffly before opening the door.

She shook her head while muttering a silent prayer to herself. Please let everything go all right tonight! As they entered the room, she saw that it was only perhaps a third of the way full and that most of the places were empty save for their place settings. About ten people were on the dance floor. Several others had congregated around the bar. “What the?”

“Threw a party and nobody came? Whoa! Who would of thought?” he cracked low.

She glared at him to discourage other such cracks as they made their way over to Table 8 where they were assigned. To her dismay, they were by themselves at the table. “I don’t believe this!”

“Man, they must’ve seen you coming,” he supposed sarcastically.

“House, you are not helping,” she growled while trying to recognize some of the others from around the room.

“Want a ginger ale?” he asked. Getting a strange look from her, he clarified, “Hey, you want good behavior, I’ll keep it low test. I’ll be expecting an incentive later.”

She grinned at him. “Fine. Thanks.”

He limped over to the bar, weaving through some of the people heading back to their seats. Finding a twenty-something college student in a white shirt and black tie behind the counter, he requested, “Two ginger ales.” He felt the hairs rising on the back of his neck for some reason. A glance to his right found three other men—two facing him and laughing over some stupid joke. The third one had his back to him.

“Get a load of Mr. Ginger Ale over here!” the blonde cracked.

Hearing the man’s voice, House almost froze. Still he managed to keep a straight face. “I’m still a growing boy.”

“Well, I’ll be! Hey, Mike, look who’s here!” Blondie reported.

The third man turned to reveal the face from House’s nightmare. He still stood over six feet tall with large shoulders. Despite a few wisps of frost running through his red hair, he would still pound the crap out of anything in his path. “The hero. I thought that might be you. Wonder if Cuddle Bear’s anywhere around here? I’d have something for her too.”

“Give it a rest,” House advised tersely with a sarcastic glance.

“What was that, Hero Boy?” Sandoval challenged.

He motioned to the bartender. “Give me my drinks al…..”

Before House could finish his request, the bully charged and tackled him into the closest table. Then he picked the former up and pinned him against the wall. “I’m going to shut that mouth.”

“House, what’s going on?” Cuddy demanded, not believing he’d managed to stir up the hornets’ nest so quickly. Seeing the man holding her date by the throat, she stopped cold; her eyes going wide.

“I knew she was around here some place! Hey, Cuddle Bear, here to save your hero?” Sandoval taunted.

“Hero?” Cuddy asked in confusion.

“She’s….Cuddle Bear?” House whispered hoarsely.

“He let you get away that night. Too bad because we would’ve liked to finish it!” Blondie snapped.

“Nobody’s finishing anything!” the bartender growled while pounding a nightstick on the counter. “I just called the police. Now let him go!”

“Big words for you, Kid,” the bully growled.

As luck would have it, sirens were heard right outside. Less than a minute later, three armed police officers charged in.

“Terrific,” Cuddy groused while rubbing her head. If she thought the reunion was the worst of it, it was about to get a lot worse……

Chapter 7
[Orchard Cove Police Department—1982]

House sat in the sheriff’s office waiting for the other man to return. He’d already been to the hospital to have his arm set in a sling. His uncle’s bike was a complete wreck after the bullies had trashed it.

After lecturing the four boys, the sheriff had let the bullies go, deciding to focus his attention on the visiting lanky kid from Marquette. “Think you’re really big, don’t you?”

House glared at him. “I told you. I was riding home with some groceries for my uncle. It isn’t my fault that those idiots were in the middle of the street!”

“Watch your tone, Boy,” the sheriff lectured. “You’ll be treating me with respect.”

“Maybe I would if you act like it,” House retorted.

“You need a night behind bars. First fighting and now disturbing the peace,” the official noted while pushing him into the cell and slamming the door shut behind him. “Let’s see what that does for your attitude!”


****


[Modern Day]

“Hey! Answer me!” the same voice bellowed, shaking him from his reverie.

House rolled his eyes as he recognized the voice’s source—the elderly sheriff now with white hair and a bushy mustache. “Sorry, I was remembering the last time.”

“I see you haven’t lost that chip on your shoulder?” Sheriff Struthers inquired testily.

“I think I found it in the corner over there,” House retorted sarcastically. “It must’ve rolled out of the cell after you kicked me out of here.”

“House, don’t egg on him on,” Cuddy urged, trying to keep him from getting arrested.

“All I did was ask for a couple of ginger ales! When the big mouth started on me, I told him to give it a rest. That’s it!” House countered. “Why is he giving me the fifth degree?”

“Because of our track record,” the official snapped back at him.

“Oh sorry. I wasn’t in town long enough to earn my decoder ring. My bad,” the diagnostician sassed back. “Why don’t you lean on Sandoval and the creep squad?”

“They paid a fine. Why should I believe you? Mr. House, every time you come through here, trouble starts. I pulled your record. You’re not exactly high on the police popularity, are you? Care to explain that?”

House chuckled darkly. “Forget it; you aren’t worth it.”

“What was that?”

“You hard of hearing, Sheriff? Oh right, you want that in officialese. I’ll take the fifth as we say in the Big, Big City,” House answered.

“That here don’t cut it in Orchard Cove, Slick,” Struthers retorted.

“Unless one of your local yokels say it. They assaulted me. Funny, I thought the victim got the right of way. Must be a big city thing again.” House locked eyes with the sheriff. “Want my respect? Here’s a tip—earn it. Either charge me or let me go. Quit with the damn games! I had enough of those the last damn time.”

“You’re lucky, House, that you have ten witnesses who are backing up your story. Fine. You can go. I want you out of Orchard Cove though by noon tomorrow. Got it? Miss Cuddy, make sure he and you are both on the road,” the sheriff told them both.

“Perfectly. Now I wish I hadn’t called you all those years ago,” Cuddy replied, stepping out of character to fire back that shot. “I called you to help him not harass him! Come on, House. Let’s get back to the hotel. I think we need to talk.”

“You’ve got that right,” he concurred while angrily limping out of the room and toward the car as fast as he could.

Cuddy bowed her head and ran her hands through her hair, wondering how she was going to deal with this crisis.





Chapter 8 [Edwards Inn—Outskirts of Orchard Cove]

Only three words were exchanged between the two doctors during the trip back to the hotel. Both spent time dealing with their ghosts and, in particular, a hulking red haired bully who’d turned their night upside down and twisted the system around much as he had twenty-five years before.

“If you waiting for an apology, forget it,” House told her.

“You didn’t do anything for once. No wonder I hated this place so much as a teenager,” Cuddy assured him. “If anything, I’m sorry for calling him the first time. I actually thought they’d help.”

He glared angrily at her. “You’d be that naïve. That jackass was nothing compared to what my father did later.” He unlocked the door and limped inside.

“What?” she demanded, grabbing the door before he could shut it.

“He beat the tar outta me! THAT’S WHAT!” he yelled in her face. “If you’re coming in, get in here!”

She nodded, feeling grateful for his not shutting her out. “Right.” She closed the door and took her coat off. She smoothed her blouse and skirt before taking a seat across the room from him. “I guess I should fix some coffee?”

“Yeah,” he answered without emotion. He let out a breath and swallowed a handful of Vicodin, trying to deal with the physical and emotional pain. “About time I could do that. Wonder how that smart ass would take that?”

“About the same way Tritter did,” she reminded him while starting the pot. She sat down next to him. “I wasn’t going ask for an apology before. I wanted to thank you. I’ve wondered for twenty-five years who you were.” She smiled. “I should’ve known you were the guy.”

“Like I was trying to save your ass, Cuddy? That was a pure accident,” he groused while staring at the carpet.

“Things rarely work out as we plan, House,” she rebutted. “I was on my way home with a present for my mother.” She frowned sadly. “It was a music box. I’d saved for it for almost a year. My mother had wanted it. I worked it off at Edwards Music Store. We passed by it on the way to Ruffin. Sandoval stole it, House. I know it. And what’s worse, that sheriff let him get away with it.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I admire that stupid stubborn streak of yours, House. You tell it like it is. That’s part of the reason I keep you around.”

“Part of it? Do I want to know?” he asked, expecting another piece of philosophy.

“And then there’s this,” she continued before taking his head in her hands and locking lips with him before pulling back. “Sorry. I needed that.”

His blue eyes snapped to life. “And I need something else.”

She got up. “I see.” She took a step toward the door.

“Where the Hell are you going, Lisa?” he demanded expectantly.

“I thought you wanted me to leave,” she presumed in confusion.

“Damn, you’re thick!” he growled before limping over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. “You’re not getting out of here with just that!”

She arched an eyebrow but no other response was needed. The mutual pain in each other’s eyes needed a salve—perhaps temporary but a salve nonetheless. Her hands grabbed for his belt. Undoing it and the pants buttons underneath it, she dropped a barrier before doing the same for his boxers. Then she pulled his shirt over his head. “Your turn, Greg.”

He yanked her blouse over her head and tossed that aside. After finishing off her skirt and underwear, he pinned her up against the wall. Then his lips found and teased her neck, shoulders and the tips of her breasts in succession before working their way down the rest of her anatomy.

She arched her neck back; her arousal consumed her, washing away the pain and bad memories. As his tongue snaked in and out of her most personal space, she groaned in pleasure. “DAMN!”

He smirked, knowing he had her now.

That is until he started kissing his way back up her chest again. Reaching her nipples, he hesitated again, allowing her to soak in the moment. Then he gently caressed each tip with his lips, giving each one a full two minutes of TLC apiece.

When he had finished that, she took hold of his member and began stroking it. “Time for your medicine, House. Back up.” She pushed back across the room, moving her hand in the same motion over and over again as they did so. When she felt the pressure building under her hand, she pushed him onto the bed.

“Come here!” he growled while pulling her down to her level. In a heartbeat, he had nudged her legs apart.

“Will you fuck me already, House?” she demanded impatiently.

He was all too eager to comply, shoving himself inside of her and beginning to move in rhythm with her. They moved faster and faster; each wanting to feel the pleasure of the other’s release.

“Bet…you go first,” she whispered.

“No…way,” he disagreed.

Then the moment came when they both climaxed, giving each other the release they’d sought since the trip began.

“Dammit!” she growled, knowing he’d outlasted her.

“Told you,” he teased before lying back.

She snuggled up against him. “Yeah, yeah…I know.”

He hugged her shoulders, pulling her up against himself. For the first time in a long time, he felt good; the pain was subdued for the moment. He felt his eyes closing and drifted off to sleep.

For her part, she did the same, feeling content in his arms; the stress of the previous two days behind her.

The coffee pot sat in the corner feeling very much alone at the moment…not that either of the resident doctors cared.

 

Chapter 9 [9:00AM—next morning]

Cuddy stirred first, blinking back the sleepers. She stared at the ceiling and then at the man lying next to her. She smiled with satisfaction. Every time they did it felt so great to her. She recalled how she’d feared the Board’s wrath over her rekindling the relationship. Now she really didn’t care. We both needed that release. She got up and headed for the bathroom to wash up. As she did, she noticed the still-full and now cold coffee still waiting for them. Guess we didn’t need the caffeine, did we? She headed into the back room and shut the door behind herself.

The door clicking shut woke House. “Cuddy?” He opened his eyes and sat up to find the bed empty beside himself. For a second, he thought she’d left before hearing the shower running. “Didn’t think she’d leave after that.” He got up and limped over to the forelorn coffee pot. “Eww!” He poured the pot down the sink and left it there.

“Your turn,” she advised him.

“Remember what happened the last time you said that?” he cracked.

“I might want a reminder if it weren’t for that sheriff’s orders,” she declined reluctantly. “Besides the fish are waiting.”

“You just don’t want to lose twice in a row, Lisa,” he sassed her while heading for the bathroom.

“GET!” she teasing dismissed him. Then the phone rang. “Now what? Hello?”

“Cuddy, I’m glad I found you,” Wilson answered. “Where’s House?”

“He’s in the shower. Trust me; it was a very long night,” she recounted. “Don’t tell me something’s going on back in Princeton?”

“Everything’s fine here. I received a call from a Sheriff Struthers. He said House started a fight out there,” he recounted.

“Actually for once, House wasn’t the cause. The instigator has a history with House and well…me,” she revealed. “Anyhow to make a long story short, House went to the bar to get us some drinks. The guy in question started riding him. House ignored him. The next thing we all know, the guy tackled him into the table and threw him up against the wall. Fortunately, House wasn’t hurt and we had witnesses. And get this, the sheriff wants us out of town by noon or else.” She shook her head. “Now I remember why I wanted to get out of here.”

“He said that to me too. You are packed, right?”

“We’ll be out by 11. The last thing I want is that man in House’s face again. He’s worse than Tritter was,” she noted.

“Worse?” That thought made the oncologist wince. “I’ll…uh…let you go. Give my best to House.” With that, he hung up.

Great. They’d have to know about this back in Princeton. Not a word to House. I don’t want to ruin the mood. She checked her suitcase and pulled out a sweater, turtleneck and a pair of jeans. After dressing herself, she heard a knock at the door. Oh now what? She opened the door to find Patty DeAnda waiting there with a small cellophane bag and a couple of coffee cups in her hands. “Hi, Patty.”

“Hi, Lisa. Sorry to bug you guys but we all wanted to know if Greg was all right,” Patty informed her. “Can I come in?”

“You’ll have to make it kind of quick. Struthers wants us out of town ASAP,” the Dean informed her while letting the other woman in and shutting the door. “Sorry about that. I don’t mean to be rude.”

“I understand. I can’t believe they let those guys off again!” Patty set down what she was carrying on the table. “Figured you might want some breakfast. Does Greg like donuts?”

“He does. Hang on,” Cuddy noted while knocking on the door. “Make sure you’re wearing something when you come out. We have company!”

“Company? Aw Hell!” he complained.

Cuddy grabbed his slacks, shirt and boxers from the night before and tossed them into the bathroom. Then she turned back to Patty. “Sorry about that. He’s still mad about dealing with the sheriff.”

“Lisa, you don’t need to apologize about that or anything. Too bad, I can’t invite you for dinner or something. Anyhow, I’ll let you go. It was nice seeing you again.”

“Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate that,” Cuddy expressed before they hugged.

“No problem. If Randy, my husband, and I are ever back east, I’ll let you know. Have a nice trip back,” Patty concluded before leaving.

I guess we were too harsh. Not everyone here is a jerk. She considered the bag and opened it to find five crullers inside of it. Thanks, Patty!

“Thought you said we had company?” House wondered as he came out of the bathroom.

“Patty just left. She brought us breakfast and news about Sandoval,” she recounted.

“The jackass told us he let him and his buddies walk again. So?” he inquired while poking around in his duffel bag. He tossed out his usual clothing fare before seeing the bag and cups. “What’s that?”

“She left breakfast for us. Guess not everyone here is such a big jerk after all,” she informed him. “Let’s eat. Then we can get to the lake.”

“And who called?” he wondered while fixing his coffee.

“Wilson. He wanted to know how the trip was going. Everything’s fine back at PPTH,” she reported selectively.

“Seeing as you’re not howling, I’d say it is,” he agreed. “Glad to hear the Kiddies know how to act while Daddy’s away.”

“They are doctors, House. Here, have your donuts. Then you can get dressed and we can get going,” she advised.



 

Chapter 10 [Later that afternoon—Pine Point Lodge]

After checking in at the lodge, the couple headed down to the shore and looked across the frozen lake, scanning its surface for the ice house in question.

She looked through a pair of borrowed binoculars before spotting it. “There it is!” She handed the field glasses over to him. “Off to the left.”

He looked and nodded at the structure—essentially a wooden shanty with a metal chimney on floatable wooden piles. “Cool. Just remember, this is best out of three.”

“Right,” she concurred reluctantly, not wanting to give up her lead from Vermont. “Meantime, I think the snowmobiles are ready. Care to take a run around the trail?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, feeling eager to feel the machine and the trail underneath him again.


****

[That evening]

After a fun ride around the lake, a race back across it and a wonderful steak dinner in the lodge’s dining room, House sat in the chair by the fireplace in their bedroom, rocking slowly and relaxing in spite of himself. Sure, he was still concerned about Steve and annoyed that the Ducklings were functioning without him. Then he was still pissed about the whole Orchard Cove situation.

But he had to admit that he was still enjoying himself especially since Cuddy had opened up to him…and she was in such a sexy mood. That he definitely liked.

“What’s going on?” she asked while coming out in her bathrobe.

“Just thinking about the crap and stuff,” he noted while looking into the flames.

“Will you stop already?” she asked, feeling exasperated. “Can’t you relax?”

He glanced at her knowingly with a big smirk. “Gotcha.”

She shook her head while sitting in the chair next to him. “Have to admit that this is nice.”

He snorted. “It cost enough. It should be.”

“House, can it. Some things are worth it,” she chided him while producing a bag of marshmallows, two large chocolate bars and a little bag of graham crackers. “Compliments of the lodge.” She pulled a sheet over to the spot in front of the fireplace.

“S ‘mores, huh?” He arched his eyebrow, both impressed and intrigued by her planning skills. “You have everything figured out, don’t you?”

“Can’t help it. It’s all part of those anal administrative skills,” she quipped, zinging him. She set up the pieces of a treat on a metal skewer and held it in the fire. “Make one and enjoy.”

He struggled with one, trying not to squish the marshmallow too badly. After dealing with her smart aleck cracks about his ‘flat’ stick, he got it into the fire.

“Took you long enough,” she sassed him as they sat down on the carpet and toasted their treats.

“It isn’t the most inspiring thing in the world, Cuddy,” he retorted nonchalantly.

“Listen to the whiner,” she cracked while pulling her melted goo-treat out of the fire. “Now that’s what you’re supposed to get.”

“Whiner? Moi? Yeah right,” he countered.

“I’ll remember that the next time you bitch about your Clinic hours.”

He watched his treat before pulling it back out. “See? So there!” He stuck his tongue out at her while waiting for the s ‘more to cool.

“Very good, Greg,” she complimented. “Ever eat one of these while sitting in your underwear?”

“Why? Wanna try, Lisa?” he asked expectantly.

“I wouldn’t want you to burn yourself,” she zinged him (yet again).

“You first,” he insisted.

“Fine,” she agreed while discarding her robe and showing him that she was wearing only her red thong. After giving him a floor show, she took the two skewers. “Your turn.”

He stripped to his boxers and sat down next to her. “No biggie. What’s next?”

“Join me,” she urged while waving one of the skewers at him.

They ate from his skewer enjoying the warm chocolate and marshmallow on the stick’s end. After working through the layers of sweetness, their lips met in a passionate kiss.

“Not bad, Greg,” she (sort of) complimented while waving the second stick at him. “Want to try again?”

He agreed and they started the munch toward the center again.

However, he purposefully jarred the stick so that about a quarter of the remaining goo splattered across her lower stomach and inside the front of her thong.

“Now look what you did!” she sighed, starting to carefully get up.

“Chill. Just lie down on your back,” he instructed while his smirk increased more and more by the second.

“You bastard….” She chided although she willingly surrendered to him and reclined on the sheet.

“That’s me,” he agreed. He leaned over her, kissing each breast ever so slowly and teasingly. Then he laid a solid line of slow kisses across her taut abdomen, letting his mouth and tongue taste chocolate and caress her skin.

“Greg,” she moaned.

He didn’t reply, focusing on his continued descent. Having finished with her stomach, he carefully (and very sensuously) worked her thong off of her and keeping the chocolate mess to a minimum. After disposing of the soiled garment in the plastic bag she’d brought everything in with, he went to work licking her inner thighs and then her most private space clean.

“You…better enjoy this!”

“Huh? You’re the one who wanted the kinky eating, remember, Lisa? Can’t handle a little creativity?”

“Fine!” She grabbed the sides of his boxers and yanked them off of him. Then she pulled him down to her level. “Now, onto the main event.” She reached into her bathrobe and pulled out a condom. “Tonight, we’re using protection.”

He put the silencer on and then dove into her, eliciting more moans and then pleasure from them both.

Once again, however, he outlasted her.

“DAMN!” she complained.

“Curse you, damn s ‘mores!” he quipped while lying next to her on the floor. “Especially the black forest one!”

She rolled her eyes, knowing that he’d just won that contest, running the overall score up to 3-1. No matter how well she did on the lake, she had already lost their overall bet and wondered what kind of misery he’d inflict on her when they got back to Princeton. I had to dare him to be creative. You and your big mouth, Lisa!

 

Chapter 11 [Two Days Later—Ice Shack]

After all of their careful planning, the couple resumed their previous trip’s rut. Every half hour, they took turns going out on their respective snowmobiles to check their traps for a raised flag. In between, they sassed each other, ate reduced fat hot dogs (at her insistence) and played cards to pass the time.

When the sun set on the first day, they were tied at two fish apiece. Each had a pike and a trout which the lodge gladly accepted for their logs.

Still for the second (and final) day on the lake, they both wanted better luck. They did twice as many runs around their traps and hoped to get something.

The fish, it seemed, were smarter than they were.


****


She glanced at her watch to find that it was coming up on 3:30. House isn’t back yet from his run. It would be like him to get something today and leave me skunked! She frowned at the gibing she knew that she’d take in the process. Then she thought of how down they both were back in Orchard Cove and how things had turned around since. Maybe I should concede this as much as it kills me to do it. He is a lot happier and he hasn’t been taking the Vicodin as much. She pulled herself up, knowing that she’d have to pull her traps in the next ten minutes so they could get back.

Walking out of the shack, she hopped on her sled and rode around the circuit. For the first four holes, she pulled up empty traps and placed them in the trailer in back of the sled.

Then she saw a raised flag at the next hole. I got one! She raced over toward that point and reeled in a big lake trout. After securing the fish and the trap, she headed for the last hole where she found another tip up and another trout for her line. “Wish I could’ve had luck like this earlier.” She rode the sled back to the shack where House was waiting for her.

“Got another one! That’s 2-1 for me, Cuddy!” he crowed.

“Think so, do you?” she asked confidently while showing her latest catches. “Correction, House, that’s 3-2. I, at least, am still better than you at fishing!”

He rolled his eyes, wanting the clean sweep. “Terrific. She would have to pull up another one. Dammit!”

“Did you say something, House?” she sassed.

“Cut it out, will ya?” he retorted while dragging their supplies out of the shack. “Get the drinks already.”

“Right,” she agreed, feeling somewhat redeemed by this victory and how well the weekend as a whole rebounded for them.