chloe2007 messaged me with this wonderful idea for a story. The original idea came from her and she also came up with the title so huge shout out to chloe2007! This takes place post Bombshells in season 7, House never married Dominika, Wilson isn't sick. Rachel is three and House and Cuddy have been broken up for a few months. I do not own House it belongs to Fox and David Shore.

"House, I need your help." Cuddy stated as she entered House's office. She sounded desperate. She was, she was coming to her ex-boyfriend's office to ask for a favor when House has been avoiding her like the plague. House stared her down. He was in no mood to see her, she hurt him and he was still bitter about the breakup; even though that happened a little over two months ago.

"Ask someone else."

His tone was flat and cold, he remained seated behind his desk and went back to reading a file.

"Do you really think I want to do this? I know you're pissed at me but… I need you."

"Why the hell do you need me? I thought I could never be there for you." House said bitterly.

Cuddy was hurt by his words, mainly because she realized he was right. She told him he couldn't be there for her and here she is asking him for help.

"Rachel is sick."

This got House's attention, as much as he hated to admit it he loved that kid, she was as close to a daughter he'd ever get. He was mad as hell at Cuddy, but he wasn't going to let his anger for her be taken out on Rachel.

"Symptoms?"

Cuddy was taken aback by his response. "Not used to House the professional." She said trying to lighten the mood and imply that she was grateful for his help. House had no response, he just stared, a cold stare, waiting for her to continue.

"Uh. Right. She's been having headaches and she has been having difficulty balancing. Her fine motor skills are not good too."

"She's three. Of course, she has shit coordination." House was torn, this case was boring and he didn't want to take it but it was Rachel's case, and Rachel needed him.

"No, not like that something is wrong."

House just nodded, "anything else?"

"She's also been dizzy and nauseous."

"Did you think that maybe she is a toddler who is uncoordinated and happens to have a stomach bug?"

"Since when do you think something is two different diseases?"

"I never said that, I said she has a stomach bug and is uncoordinated." House didn't want to think of anything other than that, that last thing he wanted was for Rachel to actually be sick.

Cuddy was getting annoyed, House was right but he was also wrong, the symptoms were mild but Cuddy's motherly intuition was screaming that something was wrong.

"House, you still work for me, you are taking this case and figuring this out." And with that she walked out of the room. House was left at his desk speechless.

Cuddy arrived home after work and checked on Rachel. She was playing with blocks, they were child's blocks but she was having trouble stacking them. Cuddy looked concerned. "Hi Mama." Rachel rasped, she sounded like she just lost her voice, "hi baby, have you been screaming today?" Rachel looked at her confused, "No, why Mama?"

"You lost your voice…" Rachel just shrugged and continued fumbling with the blocks.

After Cuddy tucked her in and turned off the lights, she made sure the baby monitor was on and crawled into her bed. She saw the empty space that House occupied not too long ago. She missed him, his smell, the warmth that radiated off of him, and the safety he brought her at nights. She fell asleep holding her pillow, it was the closest she could get to having him. She awoke to a disturbing sound coming from the baby monitor. Occasionally she heard gagging, not often, but every couple of minutes. She rushed into Rachel's room and saw that her daughter was sound asleep. She was gagging in her sleep, and drooling. She was breathing normally but she was having difficulty swallowing. Cuddy stayed right outside the bedroom door in case Rachel needed her as she called House.

House awoke startled by his phone buzzing on his coffee table. He fell asleep on the couch, again. He didn't like to sleep in his bed, it was because it reminded him of Cuddy.

"What?" House grumbled into the phone cranky that he was woken up and his leg was screaming at him for not sleeping on a mattress.

"It's Rachel." House could hear the concern in her voice and sat up a bit in order to listen to the conversation closely.

"She is gagging, I think she's having trouble swallowing…. Can you come over?"

She couldn't hear anything except for some occasional breaths, she was worried she overstepped by asking him such a personal favor but then she heard him say "I'll be over in 10." He hung up and got on his bike to head to Cuddy's

The all too familiar knock at the door brought relief through Cuddy's body that he was finally here. She opened it up and he limped in going down the hallway to Rachel's room. He still remembered where it was and the layout of the house. He opened the door quietly and listened to Rachel swallow. Cuddy was right, she was having difficulty swallowing. House went to feel her lymph nodes but this awoke Rachel who let out a small scream, House reeled his hands away startled that such a light touch hurt her.

"What happened?" Cuddy almost yelled as she came over to her daughter's bed

"my neck, it hurts."

Cuddy glared at House "I barely touched her, I was just feeling her lymph nodes."

Cuddy then pressed gently on various parts of Rachel's neck and soon discovered that she was hypersensitive to that area. House and Cuddy looked at each other. "Okay, I may have a case here." House said

"Rach, we are going to go to the hospital and get your neck to stop hurting." Cuddy said trying to get her sleepy daughter ready to go to the hospital

"House coming?" She asked. Cuddy looked back at House while she was getting shoes on her daughter

"Yes, of course, I'll be there with you."

Cuddy smiled, even though they had not been on great terms lately he didn't show it in front of Rachel.

"I'll take her to the car, you can get dressed." House said to Cuddy as he picked Rachel up

"Dizzy!" Rachel squealed as House lifted her into his arms.

"You feel dizzy?" He asked again making a mental note of the new symptom. She nodded resting her head between his neck and shoulder. "Tingly too"

House swallowed hard, trying to figure this out. "Okay" he said softly as he rubbed her back soothingly while making his way to Cuddy's car. It has been a while but his body still remembered how to hold Rachel and walk with his cane. He strapped her into the car seat and Cuddy came into the garage. They got in the car and headed to the hospital. During the drive Cuddy made observations about how House was treating Rachel. He was good to her, and someone Rachel needed in her life. It was clear that Rachel missed House and she didn't want him leaving her during her time at the hospital.

"Okay we are going to take some fun pictures of your head, and see why you're so dizzy." House said to Rachel trying his best to make her feel calm. As they made their way through the hospital lobby House could hear the nurses talking. Some were commenting how cute he was with Rachel in his arms and her head on his shoulder, others were discussing if House and Cuddy were back together. He paid little attention, his focus was on Rachel.

Luckily, Cuddy was able to pull some strings to get Rachel an MRI spot immediately. House lowered Rachel down on the MRI machine. "Okay, it's going to be loud, it's going to sound someone is hammering on the machine" House was doing his best to prepare her. "Like pirate cannons?" Rachel asked eyes beaming "Aye mi bloody scallywag" House said while winking one eye doing his best pirate impression. As he was turning to leave to start the machine Rachel grabbed his hand. "You're not leaving, right?" Her eyes started to water as she stared at House.

"No Rach, I'm not leaving, I'm going to be behind that glass and look at the pictures of your head." Rachel nodded but was reluctant to let go of his hand, he just came back to her she didn't want him leaving again. "I'll be right next to you the whole time." Cuddy said rubbing her head, then House pushed the button so she was in the machine.

As the images came through everything was looking good, frontal lobe, occipital, temporal, all good. House was happy it was nothing serious, until he noticed something, small but there. Her cerebellum was too large. "Crap" House muttered. She has Chiari Malformation. House turned off the machine and walked back into the room.

"Ok kid, you're all done" he said with a smile

"Up" She demanded reaching her arms out toward House. House's leg was killing him from carrying her so much today and the past few nights sleeping on the couch didn't help. It was becoming more difficult to carry her with his cane but she was more important than any pain in the world. House leaned over and picked her up, she got back in her usual spot resting between his neck and shoulder, arms wrapped around him and her legs on either side of him and he carried her with his left arm.

"We need to admit her, page Richardson and get an OR" House whispered to Cuddy to try and not let Rachel hear, "She has Chiari Malformation"

Cuddy let out a small gasp and put her hand over her mouth, she looked like she was about to cry. House rested his cane against the MRI machine and used his free hand to pull her into a hug, it felt good to have both of his girls in his arms again.

"It's ok Cuddy, Richardson is the best neurosurgeon, Rachel will be fine."

They stayed like that for a while, not wanting to let each other go. "Come on, let's go to a room" House said as he let go of Cuddy and grabbed his cane. She missed his warmth and smell already but she knew she had to set everything up for Rachel's surgery.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked once House and Cuddy were in the pre-op room with her.

"You have a condition called Chiari Malformation, it is when the tonsils in your cerebellum become enlarged. They dangle down and go through the foramen magnum, the hole in the base of your skull that allows the spinal cord to pass through. This causes an obstruction in your cerebral spinal fluid and an influx of blood into your brain." House just stood there while Rachel was staring at him. Why was he so stupid? This is a three-year-old and he's giving her textbook definitions. She's scared and looking to House for answers… "Uh. It's treatable, you don't have Chiari Malformation Type II. We just remove your cerebellum tonsils and you'll be right as rain."

Rachel looked confused "remove?" She asked her voice shaking

"Yes honey," Cuddy said as she held her daughter's hand, "the surgeons are going to put you to sleep and then when you wake up you'll be all better."

House moved to the other side of her bed stroking her hair, "don't worry Rach, you just have too much brains, they need to cut some of it out to leave room for your other organs" House said

Rachel smiled, she loved how House talked to her.

"When I wake up will you and Mommy be here." Rachel asked more concerned that House would leave than her mom. Cuddy looked to House wanting to know the answer as well

"Of course, pirates never leave a shipmate behind."

The surgical team was ready Foreman and Richardson would both be working on Rachel. As they wheeled her down the hall they reached a point where patient's family was no longer allowed. House and Cuddy stood next to each other as Rachel was wheeled away. As soon as she was out of their sight Cuddy threw herself into House's arms and began to cry.

"Cuddy, it's okay, of all the types of Chiari Malformation Rachel could have she got the best one!"

Cuddy nodded as she buried her face further into House's chest. He rubbed her back and held her head to keep her against him. After Cuddy calmed down a bit, they went back into Rachel's room for privacy.

Cuddy sat on the bed while House rested in the chair. There was a long silence, almost thirty minutes went by with neither one saying a word until Cuddy broke it.

"I miss you." She said her head facing the floor too ashamed to look her ex-lover in the eyes. "I don't want you to hate me. But I had to do what's best for me. I was alone in the hospital that night. But seeing you with Rachel…"

"I don't hate you Cuddy. But you weren't alone. I was there."

"Yeah." She said coldly "you were there, high."

House looked down at the floor ashamed of his past actions.

"I'm an addict Cuddy. I messed up, I didn't want to deal with the emotions of what would happen if you died. And I'm here now."

"Yeah, probably high off your ass again."

House was annoyed, he didn't need this crap. He was doing this for Rachel and she was bitching at him about the past and accusing him of things he didn't do! "Cuddy, I binged in that hotel room after you dumped me. But I haven't had any Vicodin in two months."

Cuddy looked up wanting to see the truth in his eyes

"I couldn't do it again. I couldn't be a drug addict again, once I got over the breakup, Wilson helped me detox."

"So, you really are here, with us."

"Yes, I'm screwed up but…." House took a deep breath as it was difficult for him to say these words "I could do better, I showed that tonight. You just didn't give me the chance."

Cuddy swallowed hard, he was right. He did do better, Rachel is having brain surgery and House is not on drugs, carried her all night, and was with them every step of the way. He did above and beyond, and he wasn't even her boyfriend. He didn't have to do anything except diagnose Rachel. Cuddy stood up and placed a hand on his cheek, lifting his face up so they were looking at each other.

"You're right. I was wrong. I was wrong about you House. You screwed up that night big time, but I screwed up that night too."

"Big time." House retorted and Cuddy smiled

"Yes, I screwed up big time. But, if you can forgive me, I'd like to try again." Cuddy said hopeful things can go back to how they were.

House put his hand over hers, "Cuddy…"

Cuddy's heart began to sink in her chest, she felt like she ruined everything with House and now it was her that was going to have her heart broken

"Listen," House continued, "I told you the day after the crane collapse, that this isn't going to work… I love you, I love Rachel, but I can't handle my heart being broken again by you." House's eyes began to water, "I want nothing more than to be with you, but, what if I relapse, what if I do something stupid? If you break up with me again…" House trailed off shaking his head

"House, the night I broke up with you, you said you could do better, I told you that I didn't think you could, and I was idiot and wrong in saying that. So now I'm asking you, do you believe me that I can do better? Do you trust me that I won't break up with you if you relapse?"

There was a pause as Cuddy held her breath. "Yes, I believe you." Cuddy smiled and asked House to join her on the bed. He got up slowly and sat down next to her, Cuddy placed her head on his shoulder as they sat and waited for Rachel.

"It was a perfect success, she's going to be just fine." Richardson said startling Cuddy and House awake. "Thank god!" Said Cuddy as they both got out of the bed. "She's in the ICU for observation, we'll need to keep her for a couple days to check on her but she's perfect." Richardson said as they all started walking to Rachel's new room. Rachel was somewhat awake but obviously tired due to the anesthesia, but she was happy to see her Mom and House with her. "You stayed." Rachel slurred, "of course, I told you I would." House said.

After being discharged, House, Cuddy and Rachel were finally back to Cuddy's house. Rachel was getting settled in her room and Cuddy and House were now alone in the living room.

"I need to shower" Cuddy said after getting a whiff of herself. "Yeah, me too, I guess I should go." House said as he turned to leave.

"Wait," Cuddy said as she made her way closer to House, "stay… I don't want to sleep alone anymore"

House was confused, "I'm coming back, I just need clothes."

Cuddy then bit her lip. "I have a confession to make, I kept a pair of your boxers and one of your shirts… I didn't want to give them back…. I don't want to give you back either, I want you to stay."

"Okay, I'll stay, but on one condition, you have to let me sleep with my boss tonight."

Cuddy played along, "fine, you can try but from what you told me, your boss is a catch, how do you know she'll sleep with you?"

"Trust me, she'll sleep with me"