DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything related to Fox or the TV show House. I'm only borrowing some characters. The characters belong to David Shore and company.

A/N: NEW STORY!

Yay! This is my third Huddy fic! Hopefully you guys would also love it just like ASH and BW.

I thought that since ASH is coming to an end, I'd start the third fic.

Takes place in between seasons 2 and 3.

ABSENCE

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July 20, 6 pm

Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the strong and powerful Dean of Medicine of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, the unbreakable and independent woman, was getting herself drunk—again-- for the second time in two weeks. She didn't usually drink but she had a good reason to do so.

She was at home after having taken three weeks off prior to her miscarriage. Yes, the In Vitro Fertilization Treatment worked. But her body failed—once again—to provide her the everlasting happiness and fulfillment that she has been longing for; a child. Someone she could love unconditionally and call her own and would love her back just as much. She won't forget the date she miscarried. July 5. It was fortunate for her that she didn't need Dilation and Curettage because her body expelled all fetal materials naturally.

Fate has been kind to her in all aspects of her life except love and family. She became successful in her field, she became a powerful, and independent woman. But Fate didn't seem to want her to succeed in love and family. Either that or Fate was only testing her.

She needed to numb herself and shove out all thoughts of her miscarriage from her mind by drinking alcohol and making herself drunk. The infuriating thing was she's always managed to hold her liquor and that was the reason why she was not too drunk yet. But she wanted to numb herself completely so she stayed in bed, her back against the headboard as she continued drinking her Vodka.

She wanted to forget about everything. Hurt, pain, and anger were running rampant throughout her system and were making her want to drown herself more in her drink. She hated herself because of the miscarriage. She hated her body. The body that could produce drooling looks from any man who set eyes on her but couldn't produce a child. She hated that fact.

She had no idea how she could have cried a river from the day she miscarried and could still be able to cry at that moment. It's been two weeks. She carried her baby for only six weeks from conception. She didn't even reach the middle of her first trimester. It's been two weeks of sorrow, agony, and silent mourning. She could have cried an ocean and nothing would change because it wouldn't matter. Her baby was gone. She kept telling herself that it was only an embryo, not even a fetus, but she couldn't convince herself to call it that. It mattered too much.

This utter chaos in her life could have been alleviated even for a fraction had she someone with her. Someone to comfort her, feel her pain, and hug her while soothing her with words of encouragement that she could always try again. If only she had a man in her life; a husband, a lover, a partner, or whatever would suffice just as long as she had someone to be with and to lean on. No matter how strong and independent she was she was still a woman after all. There should be someone with her to help her through that moment. But sadly, there was none.

She needed someone.

She needed him.

She needed House.

Even she herself didn't know why House was the one she needed at that moment. But she felt that since he was the only one who knew about the treatments, he would understand her pain better than anyone else. She knew that she could always count on him whenever she had deep, personal problems.

For some reason that was unknown to both of them; pain, suffering, hurt, and grief brought them together in some form of attraction that only the two of them had.

She secretly loved and appreciated him for always being there for her no matter how he makes it look intolerable, idiotic, and unendurable for him to listen to all her pain, he was still there listening. And when she was at her lowest, he manages to make her crack a small smile even if just temporarily. He was always there. And now, she needed him there with her.

But he was still recovering from his gunshot wounds.

Oh God, she felt her heart stop when she heard of it. She ran to the observation room of the OR in her power suit and do-me pumps without the slightest thought of decorum. Her world crashed when she saw him, her friend and her employee, lying unconscious on the operating table with his abdomen bleeding profusely and his neck bleeding as well. She remembered Cameron trembling when she told her that he personally asked for Ketamine. She quickly approved the treatment.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when her doorbell rang. She shuffled towards her front door and opened it. The UPS guy made her sign something and she took the small package, left it somewhere, and then grabbed another small bottle of Smirnoff's from the kitchen before she flopped down on her comfortable couch and stared off into space, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks.

She finally decided to call him. She took the telephone from its cradle and dialed a number she knew by heart. She knew that he was still recovering but she had to see him. She had to talk to someone about what happened or else she'll go mad.

She needed him.

She needed House.

A/N: Let me know if I should continue...

Spoiler:

Don't let the prologue deceive you. Because Chapter 1 is going to be full of angst and possibly, drama.

More dialogue and description too!