Blessings {Cuddy}

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

"Tea will be fine," she answered, taking a seat at the table and picking up a cookie. She turned her eyes to Angel at her question and smirked. "Oh, I saw your cat and started thinking about asking Greg if we could get a pet when he moved in with me. I don't know what kind of pet yet...maybe a puppy. And then I started thinking about James eventually moving in here with you." She took a bite of her cookie before continuing.

"And then, I got to thinking. Weekend get-togethers when the kid is old enough to run around." she had to chuckle at that, but managed to control herself long enough to finish her thought. "Suppose Greg and I do get a puppy for our kid to play with. We bring the kid and the dog over, and they play in the backyard while we talk shop or whatever." She knew it would probably never happen like that, if only because she didn't think House would agree to having a pet. But it was still a nice thought.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel listened as she filled the kettle with water to make tea. Taking out two mugs from her cupboard, she put them on the counter and placed a teabag in each. "Ah the future." She smiled, sighing softly. She looked back at Cuddy before moving to the table. Pulling out a chair, she sat down to wait for the water to boil.

"James moving in with me, I could get used to that idea." She smiled, thinking about the morning after the Valentine's day masque. She looked off into space thinking about what it would be like having Wilson around the house all the time. A dreamy smile crossed her lips before snapping back to reality. "Yeah, that sounds wonderful. The backyard is big enough to have baby House run around without hurting himself. And I have the patio, we could have barbecues in the summer, baby House could build a snow fort in the winter..."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy nodded. "My yard isn't nearly as big as yours. There really isn't a lot of room at my place for a kid to play, but I don't want to upgrade." She sighed. It was hard enough trying to broach the subject of moving with House after he'd expressed an interest in taking it slow. How slow were they going to take it? She knew it was a lot for House to take, suddenly knowing he was going to be a father...she was scared too. Nothing like this had happened to either of them before, and now that it was... She shook her head, focusing on the conversation at hand.

"We could alternate Christmases, too. One year at mine and Greg's place...the next here with you and James, and so on and so forth. I think 'baby House' would like spending all that time with his or her godparents." Then a thought struck her. "You keep referring to our baby as a boy...any reason for that?" she asked, simply curious. Most people she knew just called fetuses 'it' until they had something definitive. She and House had simply been avoiding such pronouns as often as possible.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel stood when she heard the kettle whistling, signaling that the water had boiled. As she poured the water into the two mugs, she listened to Cuddy talking. "I think the backyard was the selling feature for me." She smiled, bringing the two mugs to the table. "The inheritance my father left me paid for this place. He always said he wanted me to be safe and secure when I was living on my own." She smiled, moving back to the fridge. She took out a carton of milk, grabbed two spoons and sugar before returning to the table.

"Alternate Christmases sound like a wonderful plan. This place is big enough to hold all of us for celebrations like that, such as Thanksgiving as well." She smiled, sitting down and preparing her tea. "And Halloween around here, from the looks of it, kids get a pretty good haul of candy." She winked. When Cuddy inquired as to why she was referring to the child as a he, Angel shrugged. "Just feels right. Now saying that, I'll definitely have egg on my face if it turns out you're having a girl."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

That made sense. "I think what sold me on my place is how close it is to the hospital. That, and it was cozy enough for me. When I bought it, I didn't think I'd ever have a family. Now that I'm getting one, though...I hope the size of the house doesn't become a problem when the kid gets older." Of course, she could always keep upgrading the nursery to keep up with the kid's growth. That might work...

Cuddy took a cup of tea and added a bit of sugar before taking a sip. She nodded. "Of course, we'd have to run it by our respective partners. I'm sure James won't have a problem coming to our place every other year, but I don't know if Greg would be up to coming out here. As for Halloween..." Cuddy frowned slightly. "Can you imagine Greg putting up with a kid hyper on Halloween candy? And buying costumes every year...." she shook her head, smiling softly. "Is it bad that we're planning so far into the future?" she wondered aloud, lifting her mug to her lips again. She laughed a little at Angel's explanation. Musing on that, she smiled softly again.

"In a couple of months, we'll have the option of finding out. God...I have so much to talk to Greg about...I still need to find him and let him know the due date." She sighed, her mind now overrun with everything she and House had still not covered.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

She fixed her own cup of tea, Angel listened to Cuddy. "Well, baby House always has a place to stay should it decide to have a sleep over at Auntie Angel and Uncle Jamie's place." She chuckled, taking a sip of her tear.

"I'm sure James wouldn't either, but I do see House being somewhat anti social. I think that would be where James would come in, talk him into it sorta thing, you know?" She nodded. "Well, if House doesn't feel like going out for Halloween, I don't mind taking the little tyke out." She paused to think for a moment. "Of course, if James and I should decide to adopt a child of our own, then it would be cute to have the two of them go out together." She smiled, picturing Halloween as well as other holidays with the Wilsons and the Houses. She couldn't help but chuckle at the idea.

"Honey, relax. There is plenty of time to find him and tell him." She smiled, resting a reassuring hand on Cuddy's arm. "He was probably hiding somewhere, watching his soap operas and avoiding clinic duty like the plague."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Lisa nodded in agreement. "And a place to stay if Greg and I ever have to go to conferences and such," she added. And she was sure there would be a lot of conferences to attend. Doctors of their rank and reputation were much-sought-after to speak at such events. She only hoped their jobs wouldn't interfere with raising their child. She didn't want Wilson and Angel to become replacement parents, after all.

"Yeah," she replied with a small smile. That was something she could always count on: House being anti-social. But they were all friends, and it wasn't like a ton of people would be at their holiday mingles. Just the two families. Cuddy glanced up when Angel mentioned adoption. "You'll have to do some real convincing for James to allow that. He's never wanted kids of his own," she pointed out. "But if you can get him to agree, that would certainly be fun. If not, though...well. I'm sure you can convince him." She smiled, glad that Angel was at least considering the possibility of adoption. "If you can, it'll be nice to see the two of them playing together..." she trailed off, sipping at her tea again and finishing her cookie.

Cuddy smiled when Angel touched her arm. "You're right. I'll probably see him at some point tomorrow at work...worse comes to worst, I can fabricate a reason to go to his office. Or make something up to get him down to mine." She shrugged. "One thing's for sure...it'll be the one red mark on his calender he won't ignore."

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"I don't think you or House would let that happen." Angel said, shifting her mug around. "Letting conferences take over your lives that is." She added. She wouldn't mind hosting sleep overs for the little one, but she also didn't want to have the child over at her house every other weekend. She wanted alone time with Wilson.

"That's one conversation we really haven't had, children." Angel confessed. "I have yet to tell him about the laparoscopy. Of course I don't really want to tell him about that and have him constantly fussing over me." She sighed. Shaking it off, she smiled again. "I'm sure I can be very convincing..." She laughed. "Maybe a child will come along that will just capture his heart."

Relaxing a little, she was glad that Cuddy wasn't too worried anymore. "If anyone knows his usual hiding places, it would be you."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

"If James finds out about it somehow, it won't be from me. I can assure you of that. But I will try to keep him busy while it's going on. If he doesn't know it's happening, he's bound to become suspicious when you take a week off to recover. Although...I suppose I could tell him you decided to take your vacation time..." She would hate lying to Wilson, but Angel did have a point.

"Of course I know his usual hiding places. His office, his conference room, exam room two..." The last one she had always thought was ironic; House hiding in the clinic to avoid the clinic. She shook her head, chuckling.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel sighed, her shoulders drooped. She didn't want Lisa to lie to Wilson, and she hated to lie to him as well. It wasn't the best thing to do in a relationship, and she really did want her relationship with Wilson to be strong. "I suppose I should tell him at some point. I mean he'll be suspicious when I hesitate to hug him because of the pain."

She listened to her friend list off the various places House enjoyed hiding. She couldn't help but chuckle at the list. "Well, at least now I know where to find him if ever I should need him for something."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

"James gets suspicious easily," Cuddy pointed out. "He's best friends with Greg, after all, and we all know what sorts of things he gets up to." But that was what made House attractive to her; he represented everything that wasn't the work and career that had consumed her life. That was what she loved about him. "He has a tendency to know when something is up...the only reason I let Greg tell him about my pregnancy is because he would have found out anyways. It's the same thing here. If you don't tell him about your laparoscopy at some point, he's going to find out on his own, and he'll be crushed that you didn't trust him enough to tell him. But at the same time, if you do tell him, he'll fuss over you, and he'll mother you." Cuddy paused to take another sip of her tea. "So, I would say you are at an impasse. I can't tell you what choice to make, Angel. But I will support you in your decision. That's what friends are for, right?"

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"And I'm sure House would purposely let it slip anyways even though I told him not to mention it." Angel sighed, shaking her head. She reached out and put her hand on the table. "I know you'll support me, and I know with James I have to take the good with the bad. I guess that means that I'll have to accept some mothering and fussing, although I will set up ground rules first." She chuckled, picturing Wilson fussing over every little detail. "I have to admit, it will be rather strange having someone fuss over me."

Finishing her cup of tea, she picked up a cookie and nibbled it. "I can't wait to bake cookies for my godchild." She smiled.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

"I'm not too sure about that..." Cuddy started, smiling secretively. "Greg is capable of keeping his peace. He's the one who helped me with my IVF injections. He didn't tell a soul...he didn't even tell James. If Greg is sworn to secrecy, he'll keep even the juiciest gossip from his best friend." She reached for another cookie, deciding that one more couldn't hurt.

"We all have to take the good with the bad in relationships...I love Greg even though he's a complete ass. James is too caring, but maybe that's something you need right now. You're going through a tough time, Angel. You need someone there to take care of you."

Cuddy sighed. "Maybe I could help? I haven't done a lot of baking in a long time. Birthdays are gonna be huge with us in charge." Which reminded her... "Oh, damn."

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"Well, I didn't swear him to secrecy.." Angel sighed. "I'll tell him, once the surgery's scheduled." Angel stated, certain that it was the right thing to do. "And I didn't mean it as an insult to House. I'm sure he can be very good at keeping secrets..." She sighed, remembering the one that she and he shared that wasn't about to be told to either Cuddy or Wilson.

"Like I've said before, I'm just not used to having someone take care of me. I'm used to taking care of everyone else, putting everyone else before me. I never have time for myself anymore. I have half a dozen books I've bought that have yet to be read." A small smile crossed her lips. "Maybe during my recovery I'll be able to read them." That idea perked her up a little.

"I can just picture the birthday cakes now." Angel smiled. She cocked her head to the side when she heard Cuddy's oh damn. "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy shook her head slowly. "Almost...although I don't know how I could have." She sighed heavily. "I need to find something...I usually have these sorts of things planned out way ahead of time. But I've just been so...caught up...with this pregnancy and everything..." Realizing she was rambling, she cleared her throat. "I've been meaning to plan this out for months, but...we're running out of time. Something very important is happening in three months, and I wanted to do something special for it." She took a deep breath, knowing what Angel was probably going to ask.

"Greg is going to be fifty. In three months."