Oops, started another one...Damn my wild and crazy alcoholic Elvish muse....

Anyway this is a short one. As the summary says, it's the Huddy 12 days of Christmas ;-)

Takes place where Wilson left off. There's gonna be some early Luddy...but, soon Cuddy sees the light ;-)

Enjoy!!! :-)

As always, I own nothing but grammatical errors DS owns House, M.D., but I thank him for letting me play with his toys! :-)

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The Holiday Spirit
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Chapter One
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On the first day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me...


...a migraine.

Lisa Cuddy sat at her desk, filing papers away in preparation for a two week vacation. It was well deserved and well needed, especially since it was becoming harder and harder to separate her personal life from her professional life. And both were becoming miserable. She needed a relaxing break, time to recharger her batteries, and spending time in a little cabin in a small town in Maine seemed like a good place to do it in.

Especially when the someone who made her life miserable stormed through her office door.

"I need your permission to perform a dangerous procedure." He handed her a paper with a flourish.

She sighed, then she scanned the paper. She blinked at him several times, an incredulous look on her face. "You need my permission to remove a splinter?" She gave him an annoyed look. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Only once," he countered. "And, I got it back." He nodded towards the paper. "Tricky procedure, you know. I could nick an artery, causing death." He shrugged. "Last time I checked, that condition was permanent."

She closed her eyes, and she silently counted to ten. Then twenty. At thirty, she finally felt calm enough to deal with him. "House," she groaned, "go. Finish your Clinic duty. Now."

He looked affronted. "But, why? Especially when tormenting you is much more fun?"

She slammed the file down on the desk. "No! We are not playing this game. Either, go do your Clinic duty, and get paid, or, go home, and don't do your Clinic hours, and not get paid. Your choice."

He pretended to contemplate her choices. "How about...I go home, and get paid. Has Wilson and my requisitions for time off cleared?"

She sighed. "Yes. Two weeks free from patient complaints. The Board will be so happy," she added, dryly.

"The Board is not my problem, it's yours." He stood in silence for a moment. "You and your boy toy doing anything for ChristmasChanukahKwanza?"

She swallowed, an awkwardness suddenly filling the room. "None of your business," she informed him curtly, suddenly finding the stack of papers on her desk far more interesting than they actually were.

"Interesting," he muttered, watching her intently. "Your inbox is empty, and your outbox is full." He processed that information rapidly. "You're heading out of Dodge, too."

"That," she stressed, "is really none of your business, too."

"Don't worry," his voice grew colder, and his eyes were tinged with sadness. "I've had my fill of turkey sandwiches." He snatched his file back from her. "Just wanted to wish you a happy holiday before we left." He'd softened his voice, but the hurt and bitterness was still there.

He turned, and he left her in her office, but his words still hung heavily in the air, cutting her like a knife. She had stooped below his level of immaturity and jerkiness, drifting into cruelty. She wasn't sure she was liking the person she was becoming, which was why, she told herself, she needed this time off so badly.

She rubbed at her eyes, a throbbing headache forming behind them. She slumped back in her chair, and she sighed, deeply, as she reached for the aspirin bottle that she always kept within arms reach.

"I could have told you that our requisition went though." Wilson rolled his eyes as he drove north along the asphalt paths that snaked their way up and down the east coast.

"God!" House exclaimed sarcastically from the passenger seat. "If I had only known, it would have saved me from such an awkward moment!" He played with his iPod, waiting for his friend's response.

"Won't you give up? She hurt you. Either get revenge..." he flicked on the turn signal to indicate he was changing lanes, "or move on." He paused for a moment. "Or do both." He switched lanes, passing the semi that he had been behind. "You keep going the way you two have been lately, and someone's going to get killed." He shot his friend a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the road.

"Payback's a bitch," House muttered, continuing to fiddle with his iPod. "Something you should know all about." He looked up from the screen to give his friend a pointed look.

"And here I thought we were going on this trip to get away from her. If you wanted to plan her destruction, we could have stayed home," Wilson informed him dryly.

"I'm going on this trip because you and Nolan seem to think that reconnecting with what little family I have would be a positive thing," he snarked back. "Besides, Mom's been harping me to visit her since I left the loony bin." He was quiet for a long moment. "I haven't been up to the cabin for Christmas in years.

"It'll be good to get away for a while," he added, softly.

Wilson nodded. "I thought you hated Christmas, though."

"I do. But the free booze and my mom and Aunt Sarah's cooking will be worth it, though."

"You know," Wilson furrowed his brow in though. "I've never met any other member's of your family. Other than your mom and dad," he added quickly.

"They're just like everyone else. Slightly screwed up, with their successes and failures."

At that, he popped in the ear buds to his iPod, tuning out Wilson, the conversation, and the world.

"Hi, honey," Cuddy called from the door. She took off her coat, and placed it and her purse on a chair. He came over to her, carrying Rachel. He kissed her lightly on the lips, transferring the little girl into her arms. Cuddy smiled at the cooing girl. "How was she today?"

"Good," Lucas smiled at them. "A little tired though. She slept a lot today."

Cuddy grew worried. "Was she lethargic? Has she been eating okay? Was she running a fever?" She asked the questions in rapid fire, feeling the little girl's forehead, brushing her fine brown hair back. The little girl's wide brown eyes watched every move she made, cooing softly.

"Lisa," Lucas grinned at her anxious manner. "She's fine. No fever. Just a little tired. The zoo yesterday wore her out."

Lisa smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little stressed out." She carried Rachel to the couch, cradling her in her arms. "I'm really looking forward to this vacation."

At that, Lucas became very nervous. "About that," he began.

Her face fell. "What's going on?" she asked slowly, dreading the worst.

"I've taken on a new case," he informed her. "It's no big deal, but I won't be able to be free the first week of your vacation. I'll be in Trenton, checking up on a cheating wife of a state senator." He saw the crushed look on her face, and he sat down beside her on the couch. "I'm sorry," he told her, taking her hand. "But, I gotta do this." He smiled at her. "I'll be up there by Christmas Eve, promise." He kissed her lightly. "You're upset, and you have every right to be, and while I know your paycheck can support us, I don't feel like being a bum. I actually like my job. I get to meet interesting people.

She sighed, bouncing Rachel up and down on her knee. "I know." She paused. "I was just looking forward to some alone time for just the three of us. No work. No house searching. No..."

"No House or Wilson," he finished for her, squeezing her hand gently. "It's only for a week. I should wrap it up that quickly, and then, we'll ring in the New Year in style." He tucked a wayward curl of hair out of her eyes. "Okay?"

She swallowed her disappointment. "Okay," she agreed. "But you ow me one. Big time."

He grinned at her, then kissed her softly. "Deal."