Betty Boop Cuddy? :-) I can't begin to guess which name Cuddy will give her baby girl because the writers haven't given us enough background on Cuddy to know. I agree with some posters that she would respect the mother, and the name would have meaning, tradition and beauty. And writers are good at names. As someone who is partial to Cuddy, House, and Wilson, in that order, (I think of them as apple pie, C/H, ala mode, W) I have enjoyed this arc which has served up the pie a bit warmer than usual. But I'm left with some questions that TPTB have posed but not answered. Why didn't House open Wilson's present for a year? Was House angry at Wilson last Christmas because House asked Wilson to spend last Christmas with him and he said no because of Amber? Does the Sherlock Holmes book of "The Itch" and the Joseph Bell book of "Joy to the World" mean that House cannot rise above the confining characterization of a piece of fiction? Or is there a more hopeful, flexible explanation for House's character? The first book in this arc was of a fictional character of limited scope, Sherlock Holmes. The final book was of a real life doctor, Joseph Bell. Is House MD more interested in fiction or reality? Will it take House a year to open the present that is Cuddy? Time will tell. Why did Cuddy connect so quickly with Natalie? House kept asking that of Cuddy and she gave him no answer. Cuddy told Natalie that she could empathize with her because she had experience of cruelty during her own school time and a failed personal life in adulthood, but what of the present? Does Cuddy also connect to Natalie's recent pain? Natalie was pranked and suffered hallucinations and nausea. And Cuddy? In LTEC Cuddy was 'pranked' by House when he grabbed her breast rather than accept her invitation of a kiss. And shortly afterwards, did Cuddy feel she was suffering from hallucinations and nausea when she saw House in intimate circumstances with another woman? (Although she knew it was cruel reality.) If Cuddy did feel connected to Natalie because of their recent common pain, House asking Cuddy so pointedly why she cared so much for the patient must have been a great embarrassment to Cuddy if the answer to his question is the pain that he had recently caused her. Of course, the biggest question of this arc is why did House decide to effectively 'give Cuddy up for adoption'? This is a case where inaction is just as powerful as action. Is it because he must remain true to his 'Sherlock Holmes' characterization? Only time will tell.

Why didn't House open Wilson's present for a year? Was House angry at Wilson last Christmas because House asked Wilson to spend last Christmas with him and he said no because of Amber? The card wasn't signed. House didn't know it was from Wilson. I can imagine he'd just tossed it in a drawer someplace and either ignored or forgot about it.

not a bad episode. sure cuddy getting her baby the way she did was very, very far-fetched, and also, i didn't laugh at all at the inhaler woman. i thought she wasn't even funnily stupid. the potw story made me really sad. foreteen didn't surprise me as i knew about it from the spoilers, but it didn't really leave an impression on me. we'll see how that one develops. one thing i didn't like about this episode was the whole story with wilson's present... i was like, 'what was that all about?' totally unnecessary, in my opinion. also, when wilson was talking about irene adler, he mentioned that 'it was too soon after stacy'... how would taub and kutner even know about her? i can't wair for january anyway. :)

I caught that "too soon after Stacy" thing, also. Only thing I can guess is that it might have come up in a conversation we haven't seen between the noobs and Wilson, Foreman, Chase and/or Cameron. They went to Wilson for insight on the mysterious gift, and we've seen them go to Wilson and the others previously for information that would help them understand and deal with House. I don't remember a reference to a Holmes book in "The Itch" -- where was that? I do remember Taub giving House a "second-edition Conan Doyle" as his Secret Santa gift in "Wonderful Lie."

I don't think it's far-fetched to assume that during the survivor competition, the newbies would have asked everyone in the hospital for stories about House. Someone that outrageous must be quite a local legend and whether it's from curiosity or to get an edge, they would have been highly motivated to figure out what makes this guy tick. My personal feeling is that Evil Nurse Brenda was a treasure trove of stories and had no reason not to tell every last detail. CC&F probably contributed their share to the ones they liked. People talk. ETA: And they learned from Foreman, who magically knew in "Joy" that Cuddy had been trying to get pregnant for years, despite the fact that she, House, and Wilson had kept it secret. Actually Foreman "learned" that Cuddy was looking for sperm donors in "Half-Wit" IIRC. House slipped up and made some comment about her looking for sperm donors, Foreman questioned it, then House replied that it was a joke. But Foreman's no idiot (boring, but no idiot), he probably realized that it was true and not a joke.

Sorry to jump in...I think the present was a little prank of Wilson. He wanted to make it look like a present from someone else, without signing his name, calling House Greg...just to see how House react finding it. Inside was a book of medicine, so if House opens it he might have easily see that was from Wilson, but Wison was ok with that. Instead, House knew from the beginning that it was from Wilson, he even didn't bother to opened it,... or he may have opened it, but as he had the same book already or had read it before, he wrapped it again because he wanted to show Wilson his trick didn't work, and also he thougt he may use this present for some prank next year to Wilson or to someone else. Wilson has been thinking that he had tricked House right with the present. So it was quite a disappointment that House had guessed the real sender even before opening it. ...I hope you could understand what I wanted to say here...Excuse me for my English. I'm Japanese, and as I watched the episodes in Internet without the Japanese/English subtitles, I'm not so sure if I understood the story completely...but as for the present from Wilson, that's what I guessed had happened..and I love the way Wilson gave a present to House with a small trick, and House, knowing everything from the beginning, didn't say anything, and kept the present as it was, thinking of doing some trick next Christmas in exchange.

All right, I am officially convinced that the patient honestly didn't know she was preggers for a while in to it. All of your passionate arguments did greatly persuade me, but the capper was a Discovery program I saw of people not realizing they were pregnant until they actually gave birth. I can't really argue against it or hold it against Natalie if she didn't realize for a couple months after seeing that.