The Lonely Touch

Summary: After their one night, Cuddy got pregnant with House's child, and wanted to rid herself of any memory of the baby, or what she felt for House. Twenty years later, when House returns from Mayfield, and Cuddy discovers Rachel is being taken away from her, memories of her precious baby girl resurface and she wants to tell someone. Huddy.

Disclaimer: Don't own House.

AN: Okay, this story is a whole lot of angst and on-the-edge kind of stuff, especially the prologue. If you aren't comfortable with it then don't read. It's an idea that popped into my head and I had to write it. Also, all my other stories on are on hiatus, well, most, sadly, are abandon, but yeah. Most are on a long, indefinite hiatus.

Prologue

Darkness settled in on the small clearing, and the two figures stood huddled behind two different cars. One, a black Pontiac Firebird, and the other, a slightly beat-up Buick Regal, sat parked almost head-to-head. In the front seat of the Regal, a girl with curling blonde hair watched as her friend leaned against the side of the car. Her eyes were filled with worry and she rocked a small baby in her arms.

"You okay Lisa?" She met her friend's tired blue-gray eyes and sighed at the nod she received in return.

"I'll live," Lisa Cuddy managed a weak smile and struggled to her feet, before leaning against the hood of the Regal. After a few moments, she bent, kissing the baby's forehead, and looked into her friend's shocked face.

"You're going to let her go, just like that?" Elizabeth Miller looked shocked as Cuddy straightened up, "You're going to give up your baby, as if she never existed?"

"She shouldn't," Cuddy didn't mean to sound heartless, and tears slipped down her cheeks, "It was one night Liz, it was all a mistake, nothing that night should have happened."

"But it did," Elizabeth shot back, "It did. You can't just ignore this Lisa! You shouldn't lie to everyone. Okay, most people at school, I understand that, but your parents, you sister, Greg; you need to tell them."

"No, not my parents or sister, and especially not Greg. He can't know about any of this, not now, not ever." She pulled the sweater she was wearing around her shoulders and bent to kiss her daughter's head, "You take her Liz, you'll be a much better mother to her than I ever could be."

"No, I'm not taking her Lisa," she tried to return the baby to Cuddy's arms, but she backed away slightly, almost as if she were scared of it, "You're her mother, you have full control over her life. If you don't want her, then you bring her to a good foster home. Not me."

"No, Liz, I can't," Cuddy's shoulders shook as tears slipped down her cheeks, "You take her."

And with those last words, Lisa Cuddy turned, got into her car and drove away from the only two things on earth that were keeping her from breaking down completely.

AN: Loved it? Hated it? Review! Comments and suggestions are always accepted.

~KM Wilson