"I don't have time for games right now, House," Cuddy said, barely looking up from her desk.
"Yeah, too bad I'm not playing."
"Oh, come on," she said, finally lifting her head to look House in the eye. For the first time, she noticed the surgical mask he was wearing. "You can't be serious about this."
"Wilson had a clinic patient who shows all the signs of pneumonic plague."
"Pneumonic plague?" Cuddy repeated with disbelief.
"Yeah, at first we thought it was schistosomiasis, but he's not Egyptian, so..."
"And you want me to drop everything because Wilson's patient shows signs of the plague?"
"No," House said, "I want you to drop everything because Wilson's patient shows signs of the plague and I have it on good authority that during the examination of said patient, you stopped by to talk to Wilson."
"So what? The kid didn't cough on me."
"Not the point."
"Fine, give me some doxycycline and be done with it."
"Oh, you'll get plenty of antibiotics in the quarantine lab.
"House…"
"Hey, I don't make the rules. You and Wilson both have to be quarantined until we're sure you're not contagious. Not to worry, I hear the nurses have fixed up a cozy little room for you. And who knows, maybe the two of you can get in a little groping while you're there."
"Excuse me?" Cuddy said, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest. "Doesn't isolation mean being…alone?"
"Very good, Mrs. Webster. But, there were a lot of patients in the clinic this morning when the kid came in…and apparently we need the bed space," House said, not even bothering to hide the wicked smile he was wearing. "At least that's what some nasty little nurse told Foreman."
Cuddy rubbed her forehead with her hand and sighed.
"Let's go Madame President."
Bed, chair, bathroom door, rolling table, TV, bed, sink, door, counter…
Wilson glanced around the small room for the thousandth time and sighed. It was your basic semi-private hospital room, complete with one bathroom and two beds separated by a curtain.
But the room itself wasn't the problem, being stuck in it was.
Didn't it just figure that of all the patients in the clinic, he would get the one who may have the plague? Of course, it was also unfortunate for all the other patients who'd come in that day, as they too were being held in the isolation wing as a precaution.
Wilson's eyes were making another circle around the room…bed, chair, bathroom door, rolling table, TV, bed, sink, door…
He blinked in surprise as the door he was looking at swung open, revealing a very unhappy looking Cuddy.
"Here we are!" House announced in a much more cheerful tone than normal. Crap. No wonder Cuddy looked like she wanted to kill something.
"House," Cuddy said tersely.
"Yes, Dr. Cuddy?" God, he was practically bouncing.
"Get out before I pull that mask off and cough on you."
"Such hostility, no wonder you haven't gotten any in a while."
"Out!" Cuddy yelled, pushing him towards the door.
"Hey, easy, I'm crippled you know," House said as he made his way back through the door. "I'll be back to check on you later. But, don't worry. I'll knock twice and give you five minutes before I come in."
Finally, he was gone. Wilson could only shrug an apology as Cuddy's eyes fell on him. He saw the corners of her mouth curve up for a split second. 'Good.' Wilson thought with relief. At least she wasn't blaming him for this.
"So, about that hospital fund raiser dinner thing tomorrow…I'm afraid I can't make it after all," Wilson said, hoping to lighten the mood.
Fortunately, it worked. Cuddy smiled slightly. "Yeah? Well, you better have a damn good excuse."
"My dog ran away?"
"Nope."
"Family reunion I forgot about."
"Too bad."
"I have the plague?"
"That one I'll buy."
"So now what?"
"I don't know," Cuddy replied with a sigh as she sat down on the chair in the corner. "Are you sure that kid has the plague?"
"No, House is running tests now. Worst case scenario we'll be in here for 72 hours."
"Right," Cuddy said, suddenly noticing that Wilson was still dressed in the white shirt, dress pants, and tie that he always wore to work. "Cameron offered to get some of my things for me at my house, did you need her to drop by your place, too?"
"Uh, no."
"Oh, is your wife bringing you some things?"
Wilson let out a small chuckle, as if she'd just suggested that he should run for Pope. Then he gestured towards an overnight bag that was lying half-hidden next to the bed he'd claimed. "I always keep some things in my office just in case."
"Good idea. You did at least call Julie, though?" Cuddy asked. "I mean I wouldn't want her to worry."
"Like she'd notice." Wilson mumbled.
Cuddy's eyebrows sank at his words.
"I mean, she…" He sighed. "She's used to being the wife of a doctor."
"I see," Cuddy said, though she wasn't sure she did understand. Doctor or not, wouldn't she want to know if he was all right?
Wilson could see the questions in Cuddy's eyes. Questions he'd often wondered about but tried not to dwell on. Questions he was afraid to ask for himself…afraid that he knew all too well what the answers would be. "I don't really feel like talking about it right now."
Cuddy nodded. The look on his face told her that she should back off. This was obviously a particularly sore spot for Wilson – and had been for some time.
"All right. How about some TV?"
"Big money!"
"$600."
"P?"
"There are three Ps! That's $1800!"
"I'll spin."
"The Prince and the Pauper!" Wilson blurted out triumphantly.
Cuddy smiled to herself, she couldn't help but be amused by how excited Wilson got whenever he solved the puzzle. It was strangely endearing.
"$250."
"C?"
"There is one C!"
"I'd like to buy a vowel. An O, please."
"Oh, sorry, there are no Os."
Cuddy shook her head. "He picks the one vowel that's not in the puzzle."
"Susan."
"I'd like to buy an A."
"Two As."
"Oh, come on! I hate when people do that!" Wilson exclaimed.
"What?"
"P-blank-U-P-E-R. Why'd she have to buy an A to figure out what letter went there? Nothing else could go there. She blew $250 for nothing."
Cuddy laughed. "Good point. So, maybe your girl isn't as smart as you thought she was."
"I'd like to solve the puzzle, Pat. The Prince and the Pauper."
Cuddy groaned as the lights around the puzzle lit up and the remaining letters appeared in the empty spaces.
"Well, smart or not, that's still another $20 you owe me," Wilson said with a wink.
Cuddy shook her head. "Who ever heard of betting on Wheel of Fortune?"
"Oh, you're just upset because my girl's a shoe-in for the bonus round."
"Oh, yeah?" Cuddy said with a wicked smile as she picked up the remote. The TV snapped off with a click. "Guess we'll never know."
"Hey!" Wilson said, vaulting off his chair. "Give me that."
"Hmm…no."
"Don't make me come over there," Wilson threatened playfully.
"Oh? What would you do?" Cuddy challenged, half wondering if their childish behavior was a side effect of the plague.
"I'll figure that out when I get there," he said as he began walking towards her.
Realizing there was only one place to go, Cuddy maneuvered around her bed, and raced into the bathroom. She tried closing the door, but Wilson caught it with his hand and pushed it open. Stepping inside, he held out his hand for the remote. "Okay, now give it."
"I don't think so," Cuddy said, taking a step back toward the shower.
"Cuddy," Wilson warned.
"Wilson," Cuddy returned with the same tone.
"Lisa!"
"Jimmy!"
Wilson sighed, "Look at where you are. You've trapped yourself in a corner. Give up."
"Never!" Cuddy declared, reaching back and turning the shower knobs. Water spilled out into the tub as she grabbed the detachable showerhead. "You've got two choices."
"You wouldn't dare," Wilson said taking a step closer.
"Don't tempt me."
Wilson shook his head with a laugh. "Will you look at us? This is crazy, Lisa. We're acting like children."
"Yeah, you're right, we are," Cuddy agreed, looking embarrassed. "Truce?"
"Truce," Wilson said with a nod.
An instant later he made a grab for the TV remote that was still in Cuddy's hand.
"Ah!" Wilson yelled, surprised by the spray of water that hit him. Part of him was mad, but he couldn't help smiling as he charged towards her. No way was she getting away with that. Wrestling the showerhead from her grasp, he turned her own weapon against her.
Cuddy shrieked as the water poured over her head.
But Wilson wouldn't win that easily.
Jumping away from Wilson, Cuddy held the remote control over the toilet bowl.
"Hey!" Wilson said, turning off the shower. "Don't."
Cuddy smiled wickedly before letting the remote drop. It made a satisfying clunk as it sank. "Whoops! How did that happen?"
"You just…" Wilson trailed off, looking down at his waterlogged prize.
Wilson's gaze suddenly fixed on the reflection in the mirror. Cuddy followed his gaze.
They were both dripping wet, Cuddy's hair was drenched and plastered to her head and her makeup was smeared everywhere. Wilson's shirt, tie, and most of his pants were completely soaked and his hair was sticking out in every direction.
Turning back to Cuddy, Wilson couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped. Cuddy gave him a dirty look, which served only to make Wilson laugh more. The situation, and the absurdity of it all, was just too much.
His laughter was contagious and soon the two of them had sunk to the floor and were practically crying from laughter.
"What's going on here?" came a familiar voice from the doorway.
Startled, Cuddy and Wilson both stopped cold. They turned to see House gawking at the two of them.
"Dr. House," Cuddy said, clearing her throat. She took a deep breath in an attempt contain herself.
Wilson placed a hand over his mouth, hoping that would help calm the remaining urge to laugh.
"Sheesh, I leave the two of you alone for a couple hours, and you're already showering together."
At these words, Cuddy chanced a look over at Wilson. That was all it took. The second they made eye contact, whatever control they had gained over their emotions was lost, and the two doctors burst into hysterics all over again.
"No."
"Come on, please? The boredom is killing me."
"Jimmy, I'm not playing I-Spy."
"You broke the TV remote. The least you could do is keep me entertained."
"Fine," Cuddy said. "I spy something…" She looked around the room before her eyes landed on Wilson, "whiney."
"Ha ha."
"I've hated that game ever since I was a kid."
"Really? Okay. How about 20 questions?"
"Takes too long. How about 3 questions instead?"
"3?"
"Yeah, I ask you three questions that you have to answer truthfully. And you ask me three."
Wilson pondered her suggestion for a second. "All right. But I get to go first."
"Okay."
"What's your favorite color?"
Cuddy's eyebrows rose. "That's your first question?"
Wilson nodded. "I've known you for years, but I don't know what your favorite color is."
"Okay. It's green," Cuddy replied with a shrug.
"Any particular shade?"
"Uh…dark green…like…" Cuddy thought for a moment. "Oh, like the green tie that you wear sometimes, whatever shade that is."
Wilson let out a small laugh.
"What?" Cuddy asked.
"Oh, it's just kind of funny that you should say that…Julie hates that tie."
"So that's why you don't wear it that much."
"Yeah."
"Well, just between us…I think you should wear it more often," Cuddy said with a smile. "Okay, now it's my turn."
"Go easy on me," Wilson said, looking slightly worried.
Cuddy grinned slyly, "All right…but just this once. Um…how do you like your eggs?"
"Eggs?" Wilson asked with a hint of disbelief.
Cuddy shrugged. "I don't know, I saw it on a movie once."
"Well, scrambled I guess."
"You guess?" Cuddy said, giving Wilson a quizzical look.
"That's what they serve down in the cafeteria at breakfast," Wilson said with a shrug.
"That doesn't count."
"Why not?"
"Because hospital cafeteria food, isn't real food."
"It's better than nothing."
"Not by much."
Wilson had to laugh at that. "True. As far as real food goes I like Italian, and Greek…oh and those little Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. But, I happen to like the cafeteria's scrambled eggs, so that's still my official answer. Now, my turn again."
Cuddy nodded.
"And you said I can ask anything?"
"Yeah…"
"Promise you won't get mad?"
"No, but ask me anyways."
"Have you ever had feelings for anyone that you've worked with?"
Cuddy's eyes widened at his question. "You went from my favorite color to this?"
"I'm sorry. You don't have to answ…"
"Yes, I have," Cuddy interrupted.
"Really?" Wilson asked, leaning forward. "Who?"
Cuddy sighed loudly and looked down at her hands. "Well…"
"Yeah?" Wilson prompted.
"Not. Your. Turn." Cuddy said emphatically, looking up and flashing him a bright smile.
"Oh, come on!" Wilson groaned, collapsing back into his chair.
"Hey, I answered the question, the rules don't say I have to elaborate. And, since you've decided to play hard ball, my question for you is: As far as coworkers go, who have you had romantic feelings for?"
"Lisa!" Wilson complained.
"Okay, me…anyone else?" Cuddy said with a twinkle in her eye.
Wilson's eyes widened. "You…what…I…hey!" He cleared his throat and tried again. "You said 'who', right?"
Cuddy nodded eagerly.
"Oh, an accountant, a nurse…no, two nurses, and a doctor." Wilson crossed his arms and smirked.
"Cheater," Cuddy said with a disappointed click of her tongue.
"The rules don't say I have to elaborate," Wilson replied with a self-satisfied smile.
"Don't worry, I still have one question left."
"So do I, and it's my turn. So…what are the names of the people you've worked with that you've had feelings for?"
"Tsk, tsk, Jimmy…you didn't learn did you?" Cuddy said mischievously.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if I had to name all the people I've ever worked with it'd take all day."
"What are you talking about?"
"I have feelings for everyone I've worked with, some are just nicer feelings than others. And in one particular case, my feelings swing like a pendulum."
"That's not what I meant, Lisa."
"Then you should've worded it differently, Jimmy. Besides, what does an old married man like you care?"
"Uh…juicy gossip."
"Oh, please, House is the nosey little gossiper, not you."
Wilson let out a small laugh. "True enough.
"So, again, why do you care?"
"Hmm, is that an "official" question? You only have one left you know."
Cuddy cocked her head to the side. "Good point. Maybe I'll save my last question for later."
"You didn't say anything about saving questions."
"I know, but I never said you couldn't either."
"Now who's cheating?"
Cuddy opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted when the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was House. He was leaning heavily on his cane and his left hand was covering his eyes.
"House? What are you doing?" Cuddy asked with narrowed eyebrows.
House smiled as he took his hand away from his eyes. "Well, after what was going on in here last time, I wanted to make sure everyone was decent." He looked pointedly down at Cuddy's chest. "Hmm, guess it didn't work."
"Have our tests come back from the lab yet?" Wilson asked.
"Nope, but Cameron's working on them, so we should have the results sometime soon. Meanwhile, it's time for today's second dose of doxycycline," House said as he pulled a pill bottle out of his pocket. House looked down at the bottle and cocked his head to the side. "Oh, wait," he said, opening the bottle and shaking a pill onto his hand. "These are mine."
Cuddy rolled her eyes as House downed his Vicodin with a smile.
"Now then…" House reached into his other pocket and produced another pill bottle. "These are yours," he said, tossing the bottle to Wilson.
"Your concern is touching," Wilson said sardonically as he got up from his chair to get himself and Cuddy some water to wash the pills down.
"Thanks," Cuddy told Wilson as he handed her a cup of water and a pill.
"Either of you showing any symptoms of plague?" House asked as his pager began to beep.
"No," Wilson replied.
"Chances are neither of you caught it," House said, ignoring the beeper.
"House," Cuddy cut in. "Check your pager."
"Yes, Mommy," he replied with an eye roll as he looked to see who was paging him. "Hmmm…"
"Is it Cameron with our test results?" Wilson asked.
"Doesn't say. I'll go check it out," House said heading back towards the door. "You guys just wait here."
"Like we have a choice," Wilson mumbled as the door shut with a click.
"Could be worse," Cuddy said as she sank back into her chair. "We could be stuck in here with him."
"That's all you do? Bird imitations!"
Cuddy groaned. "That's the worst joke I've ever heard!"
"Oh, are you kidding me? It's a classic!"
"If by 'classic' you mean 'stale', then yes, I agree."
"Well, it's better than that corn flake joke that you told!"
"Yeah, but I warned you that it was a bad joke before I started, and you insisted that I tell it to you anyway."
"Have you heard the one about the snail?"
"Oh, please! I surrender!" Cuddy said, stifling a yawn. "What time is it?
Wilson's eyes widened as he looked at his watch. "Wow, let's just say that if House got the test results back, he went home to study them first."
"What time?"
"11:43."
"You've got to be kidding me! I had no idea it was that late."
"Me neither."
"Guess we should probably get some sleep then," Cuddy said, stretching as she got up from her chair.
"You don't snore do you?" Wilson asked as he turned his bed down.
"Uh, not that I know of," Cuddy replied. "How about you?"
"I never hear any complaints."
"So, either you don't snore at all, or your snoring drowns out the complaints."
Wilson laughed. "Something like that."
"Mind if I leave the bathroom light on in case one of us has to get up later?"
"That's a good idea," Wilson nodded as he climbed into bed.
After turning the light on in the bathroom and leaving the door open a crack, Cuddy made her way back to her own bed. "Did you want me to close the curtain?"
"It doesn't bother me to leave it open, if it doesn't bother you."
Cuddy nodded as she sat down on her bed.
"You know," she said after she'd settled in. "Despite the situation, this has probably been one of the best days I've spent at the hospital in a long time."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed anyone's company as much."
"Hey, maybe we should schedule more staff slumber parties in the future."
"Great idea, I'll bring the s'mores."
"I'll bring the board games. And you can bring Julie along, too."
"Yeah right, the only way she'd come is if she really did have the plague."
"Well, we might be able to arrange that."
"Eh, she'd just bring the party down." He waited for Cuddy to reply, but after several minutes of silence, Wilson figured she'd gone to sleep. Deciding to follow her lead, Wilson turned over, searching for a more comfortable sleeping position. He was just drifting off when a voice called his mind back.
"Jimmy, mind if I ask my third question?"
"Sure." Wilson mumbled sleepily.
"You won't get mad?"
"You didn't get mad at me."
"Well…what happened between you and your ex-wives?"
The question jerked him back to alertness. "Why do you ask?"
"I've never been married before, so I was just wondering what went wrong?"
"I'm a doctor." Wilson explained.
"Okay. And?"
"You know how crazy a doctor's schedule can be." Wilson sighed. "Funny thing is, after the first two marriages failed, I swore not to make the same mistakes again, but…"
"But?" Cuddy prompted quietly.
"I think my marriage to Julie is heading the same direction," Wilson admitted. "In the beginning we were good, great even. But along the way, I don't know…something happened. I was working, and she was off doing her own thing. We saw each other less. Talked less. And then when we were together, we'd get along less. And then before I knew it, I was living with a stranger."
Wilson paused to take a breath, somewhat amazed at how easily he'd opened up to her.
"I'm sorry." Cuddy whispered. "I never should hav…"
"No, it's okay," Wilson interrupted. "I'm actually surprised that I just told you all of that. I usually tend to bottle things up, not want to talk about it."
"That's not the best way to handle things," Cuddy pointed out.
"No, it's not. But who am I going to tell? House? I mean, he's my best friend and all, but we don't exactly do the heart-to-heart thing too often."
"Yeah. Well, I know I'm probably not the first person you'd go to, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here."
"Thanks, Lisa."
"I'm not just saying that, you know. I'm serious."
"I know, and I really appreciate it. And for the record, the offer goes both ways."
"Yeah, I know." Cuddy replied. "Thanks."
"Night, Lisa."
"Good-night, Jimmy."
Cuddy's eyes fluttered open briefly, but slid shut again. Her body wasn't quite ready to give up on the idea of sleep just yet.
"Morning, Lisa," a pleasant voice said.
Cuddy groaned. Who knew that he was such a chipper morning person?
"Morning, Jimmy," she replied groggily.
Jimmy? Her eyes snapped open again, memories of the previous day suddenly coming back to her mind. 'Oh yeah. The plague, quarantine…'
"How long have you been awake?" Cuddy asked, sitting up in bed as her brain began to function more coherently.
"Long enough to take a shower. Hope you don't mind that I took it alone today," Wilson said with a wink.
"Very funny," Cuddy said rolling her eyes. "But I have the feeling House is going to tease us about that for the rest of our lives."
Wilson nodded. "Yeah, probably. Unless we hold something equally as embarrassing over his head."
"Like what?"
"I'll work on it."
"Are you finished in there?" Cuddy asked, gesturing towards the bathroom.
Wilson nodded. "It's all yours."
"Thanks," Cuddy said, grabbing her things.
Twenty minutes later, Cuddy emerged from the bathroom to find Wilson sitting on his bed talking to House.
"Ah, Dr. Cuddy. Showering alone today, are we?"
"Told you," Cuddy muttered to Wilson.
"What?" House asked.
"Never mind," Cuddy replied. "What's going on?"
"Ah, yes, the old avoidance routine. Well, the kid is fine, we diagnosed her…"
"Him," Wilson corrected.
"…him in time, and the antibiotics are starting to have an effect. He needs another couple days in isolation, but he won't be permanently damaged," House announced. "As for the two of you…well, the lab report shows no traces of plague in either of you."
"Good," Cuddy said, grabbing her overnight bag from the floor. "In that case, I've just given Wilson and myself the rest of today off."
"Oooh, sorry…hate to burst your bubble, but you've both been transferred to the 3rd floor."
"Err, why?" Wilson asked.
"The psych ward heard about your rather unusual behavior yesterday. I think they have some ink blots for you to read."
"Right," Cuddy said with a glint in her eye. "Well, maybe I'll drop by there before I post your new, more rigorous, schedule for clinic duty."
"You suck all the fun out of everything," House muttered. "All right fine, have it your way, Mrs. Hitler. Be free."
"That's better. Pretty soon I bet you'll even be paper trained," Cuddy said with a self-satisfied smile.
"House broken," Wilson chimed in with a laugh.
"So original," House said, rolling his eyes.
"Dr. House, Dr. Wilson, see you both tomorrow." Cuddy said, nodding a good-bye to each of them as she left the room.
"Okay, Wilson, spill it." House demanded once Cuddy was gone.
"Spill what?"
"You know what!"
"No, I really don't."
"What was all that with Cuddy?"
"We were quarantined, or didn't you know?"
"You know what I'm talking about."
"Boredom makes you do strange things," Wilson explained.
"Funny…it didn't look like boredom to me. It looked more like foreplay. Especially the water fight part."
"Get off it, House. I'm married, remember? Speaking of which, I should probably get home and let Julie know where I've been."
Wilson grabbed his things, headed out the door, and tried not to ponder on the viability of House's accusations.
"Knock, knock," came a voice from the door.
Cuddy looked up from her desk to see Wilson standing just outside her office.
"Hey," Cuddy said, gesturing for him to come in. "You know, I take two days away from this place, and I end up a week behind."
"Oh, am I interrupting you?"
"Oh, please do. I could use a break." Cuddy gestured for him to take a seat. "Nice tie," she commented as he sat down.
"Thanks. A friend of mine told me I should wear it more often."
"Your friend gives good advice."
"Yeah…" Wilson replied somberly.
Cuddy cocked her head to the side. "What is it?"
"Oh…uh…well, I did want to talk to you about something…the things I was telling you last night…I would appreciate it if you didn't…"
Understanding dawned on Cuddy as Wilson spoke. "Don't worry," she reassured him with a warm smile, "I would never repeat it to anyone."
He sighed in relief, "Thanks."
"Was she upset that you were gone over night?"
Wilson let out a wistful laugh. "She never even noticed that I wasn't there."
Cuddy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, apparently she thought that I'd come in after she went to bed, and left before she woke up. Which…doesn't normally happen, but…" Wilson sighed and shook his head sadly.
Cuddy nodded silently. 'Poor man,' Cuddy thought. 'How does such a sweet person end up in such miserable marriages?' One thing was for sure, Julie was a fool for not realizing the gem of a man that she was married to.
"Well, I'd better get back to work." Wilson announced, standing up.
"Oh, wait a sec, I have something for you," Cuddy said, hoping her gift would cheer him up somewhat. She reached down and pulled one of her desk drawers open. Without a word she tossed a box to him. "Enjoy."
Cuddy was rewarded by the smile that lit across Wilson's face as he looked down at the package in his hands. "Hey, Thin Mints!" he exclaimed.
"I passed a Girl Scout yesterday and couldn't resist," Cuddy explained with a shrug.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"No, I mean for everything…we've known each other for a long time. And you're probably the one person I can allow myself to open up to. And…I just want you to know how much I value you, and our friendship."
Tears pricked in Cuddy's eyes at the obvious sincerity of his words. She nodded, unable to trust her voice.
Wilson smiled and offered a small wave as he turned to pull the office door open.
"Jimmy?" Cuddy said, rising from her desk and walking over to where he stood.
Wilson turned back around to face her, and she impulsively grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "The feeling is mutual."
The End