Thank you to everyone for all the responses to "Secret Sauce!" I'm still getting back into the swing of writing, and I think this story will be fairly short: maybe two or three chapters. I guess we'll see how it goes. Please read and review and let me know what you think.

FINALLY

Cuddy was never sure whether she should be happy or worried when the hospital received a high-profile patient. Sometimes it was good for business, and other times, not so much. This was one of those 'not so much' times. The death of President Dibala had raised eyebrows, not just in the city of Princeton, but internationally. Dibala was a guest of the United States government and his health had been put in the hands of Cuddy and her team of competent doctors. Unfortunately for everyone involved, House was not the lead doctor and his former ducklings had been left to figure out the mess, only to let the President die. Ever since, Cuddy's phone had been ringing off the hook and she was in the middle of investigating the case personally.

"Knock, knock," a familiar gruff voice said, bringing Cuddy out of her focus on her work. Her heart leapt a bit when she saw House walking into her office, but she tried not to show it.

Ever since House had returned from Mayfield, he had been different. He was happier, he smiled more, and it didn't seem like he was carrying the burdens of the world on his shoulders. Not to mention how their relationship had changed. Cuddy was still trying to determine if the change was good or not. House bugged her less, which was good but also unnerving, because when House bugged her it was his way of showing affection. But at the same time, when House did see or talk to her, he was more open. They flirted a little more but their banter had decreased. Cuddy missed that in a weird way, but she knew House was working on changing his attitude so she had to take the good with the bad.

"Hi," she smiled and he sat down across from her desk.

"You look busy," he noted, his eyes scanning her paper-covered desk.

"This is what happens you let the President of a country die in your hospital," she sighed and put her pen down. "What's up?"

"I'm bored," House shrugged. "No case, nothing to do. And since I don't have my medical license yet, you can't make me do clinic hours."

Cuddy smiled and nodded. "You're right. So what do you want me to do to cure your little problem?"

"Give me a case. Even if it looks so simple one of my idiot employees could figure it out. I'm going crazy."

"Not literally, I hope," she said, immediately feeling unsure of whether she was safe to tease him about his break with reality. But House smiled.

"Well, you're still clothed. So I'm guessing this is reality."

Cuddy let one side of her mouth turn up into a half-smile and she felt a bit of relief knowing that their joking hadn't been buried along with House's old attitude. She sifted through the files on her desk and pulled out three files. She looked through them briefly and then handed them to House.

"Check those out. I was debating over whether they were weird enough for you."

"Anything to save me from my boredom," he said. He flipped through the files and seemed satisfied that they would hold his interest. He stood up, cane in one hand and files in the others. Cuddy assumed that their interaction was finished so she went back to reading through Dibala's file. She heard the door of her office open, but before it closed behind House, he spoke again.

"You look pretty, by the way."

Cuddy barely had time to look up at him before he left the office, and she couldn't stop the smile from forming on her lips. She might have missed her banter with House, but she was definitely getting used to this more pleasant and complimentary side of him. Her heart sped up replaying his comment in her mind, the same way it had sped up when he told her that she wasn't narcissistic for worrying that he was leaving the hospital because of her. House was actually changing.

For the next several minutes, Cuddy tried to re-focus on her work but she was failing miserably. She kept thinking about House calling her pretty. He never said stuff like that to her. She chewed on her lip and decided she could afford a break to talk about this rare incident with her best girlfriend. And by best girlfriend, she meant Wilson. She took the elevator up to his office and after a few knocks, she poked her head in.

"Busy?" she asked. Wilson looked up at her and smiled, and even though he did look busy, he waved her in.

"Never too busy for you. Sit down."

Cuddy did sit and after she folded her legs, she wrung her hands together as she tried to figure out what exactly she needed advice about. Wilson raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?"

"Not…wrong, necessarily," she said. "Just…different."

"Care to elaborate?"

Cuddy bit her lip again and tried not to smile like a giddy teenager. Again, she failed. "House told me I look pretty."

The gravity of such a simple compliment was not lost on Wilson. He knew just as well as Cuddy that normally, when House wanted to compliment Cuddy, he would shroud his message in insults. He might say something like "your breasts look especially perky in that top," or "you look less like a man today." For him to actually tell her she was pretty, no insults attached, was new.

"Wow," he smiled slowly. "And…?"

"And I guess I'm just wondering," Cuddy started, trying to work out in her head what she wanted to say.

"Wondering if it's too soon for you to try to start something with him, considering he's only been back in the real world for a couple of weeks?" Wilson asked, reading her mind perfectly. Cuddy smiled sheepishly and nodded.

"Something like that."

"House is in a good place," Wilson said confidently. "He's happier…nicer."

"I know, but I don't want to take advantage. He's still figuring it all out."

Wilson smiled. "I think you should ask him out."

Cuddy felt her heart leap into her throat at the prospect of doing something as bold as asking House out. She had tried, unsuccessfully, to admit her feelings to him for months before his run-in with Mayfield. House always pushed her away and it had left Cuddy very gun-shy about trying something like that again.

"I don't know," she said, looking down at her manicured hands. "He's definitely sweeter and everything but he's still House on the inside. Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. Calling me pretty doesn't mean he wants a relationship." Wilson opened his mouth to respond but Cuddy was already out of her seat and headed out of the door. "Thanks for listening."

She rode the elevator back down to the main floor and she was lost in her thoughts. There were so many variables in her crazy relationship with House. On one hand, he was her closest friend besides Wilson and she didn't want to mess that up. On the other hand, she had loved him for a very long time and she always kind of assumed they would end up together somehow. But she was afraid of being pushed away again. She was even more afraid of not being pushed away because she and House had something special, and if she got with him, Cuddy felt there was a very high chance she would stay with him.

"Dr. Cuddy," Brenda said as her boss was walking by. Cuddy didn't hear her initially, and Brenda called to her twice more before she was snapped out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, Brenda. Do you have a new case for me?"

"No, actually there's a woman here asking for House," Brenda informed.

"Tell her we're sorry but Dr. House will not be seeing patients for a few more weeks. Tell her if she has an emergency, there are plenty of other capable doctors on staff or that she can go to Mercy."

Brenda sighed and nodded. "I did all that. She says she's not here for medical reasons."

Cuddy's face contorted into a confused frown. She put her hand on her hip. "Did he sexually harass or something?"

Brenda bit back a chuckle. "She says she met him at Mayfield." She leaned in close to Cuddy and whispered, "She might be one of his loony tune buddies."

Cuddy nodded slowly and asked Brenda to point the woman out to her. Her eyes fell on an attractive woman, sitting patiently in the waiting room. She certainly didn't look crazy, but Cuddy supposed that you never could tell.

"I'll handle this. Thanks."

Cuddy approached the woman, her best administrative smile in place and her hands outstretched for a shake. "Hello, I'm Dr. Cuddy. I'm the Dean of this hospital. I hear you're looking for Dr. House?"

The woman smiled and stood, shaking Cuddy's extended hand. "Yes, I am."

"Well as Nurse Brenda informed you, House is not seeing any patients at the moment. Can I direct you to another physician?"

"Oh, I don't have a medical problem," the woman said with a small smile. "I just…need to see him."

Cuddy got a weird feeling in her stomach about this woman's "need" to see House, but rather than talk about it in the waiting room, she invited the woman to her office.

"What's your name again?" Cuddy asked, closing the doors to her office so they could have some private time.

"Lydia," she said in a pleasant voice. "I found Greg's address in the phone book but when I went by, one of other tenants informed that he hadn't been there in several weeks."

Greg. Hearing Lydia refer to House in such an intimate and familiar way caused a visceral reaction in the pit of Cuddy's stomach. She leaned against the edge of her desk and gripped the protruding wood as she forced a smile.

"I'm sorry but hospital policy prohibits me from giving away any of Dr. House's personal information. If you're not here for a medical reason, I'm not at liberty to help you."

Lydia looked at her hands and then at Cuddy. "Dr. Cuddy, from woman to woman, I'll be honest with you. I need to talk to Greg because we didn't end things very well. I feel guilty and I just need him to know that he wasn't just some random guy to me. It did mean something."

Cuddy's heart fell into her stomach as Lydia spoke, and she began to draw some conclusions that she hoped like hell weren't true. She didn't want to believe that House had slept with some woman he barely knew, not so soon after he had hallucinated a night with her and then asked her to move in with him. Cuddy had taken his proposal as a sign that he did have feelings for her. Even though their passionate night together had only been in his imagination, it had been important enough to him to ask her to live with him. She had allowed herself to think that she meant to him what he meant to her.

But she supposed that she was wrong.

"Are you telling me that you had a romantic relationship with Dr. House?" Cuddy asked lowly, her body nearly shaking.

"Yes," Lydia responded, obviously unaware of how Cuddy felt about House.

"I see." Cuddy wasn't sure whether to scream or cry. It was like she could feel her hopes being shattered, and her immediate emotion was anger. She was upset with House for finding comfort in the arms of another woman, but she even more upset with herself for not expecting it. House was House after all. He liked women and he liked sex, and Cuddy had no right to assume that he would just wait for something to happen between them. They weren't in a relationship.

But still, her heart broke.

She felt so stupid. But she hid it. She moved away from her desk and forced a tight smile.

"As I stated earlier, I'm sorry that I can't be of some assistance. Dr. House usually comes into work at about ten. Maybe you can catch him in the parking lot and you can discuss your personal matters there."

Cuddy turned her back on Lydia and went behind her desk, not caring whether the woman found her rude or not. She felt like having a breakdown right there in her office.

"Thank you for your help, Dr. Cuddy," the woman said pleasantly. "I'm sorry for having bothered you."

Cuddy barely nodded and as soon as the door closed, she covered her face with her hands and shook her head. She had stupidly thought that once House got better, they could finally work on a relationship together. She had thought that while he was in Mayfield, he had been thinking of her like she had been thinking of him. The thought of someone else being there for him, holding him, kissing him, making love to him…

Hot, angry tears rose to Cuddy's eyes and she wiped them away before clearing her throat and turning her attention to her computer. She felt so betrayed, but she knew she had no real claim on House. Her feelings for him were obviously not reciprocated, and the sooner she moved on from him, the better. It had been twenty years coming, and she finally needed to end her schoolgirl crush on him before he broke her completely.

She looked through her emails and saw a new one from Lucas. They'd had a few good dates and she liked him, but at the time, she was still hung up on House. She kept in contact with Lucas, and now seemed like as good a time as any to move from friendship to romance. After all, her mother had always told her that nothing eased the sting of heartbreak faster than a new love.

…

House whistled as he walked off the elevator and headed to his office. One of those files he'd collected from Cuddy had actually turned up something worthwhile, and he and the ducklings were currently gathering personal information and running tests.

"Hey," Wilson called, as he stepped out of his office.

"Hey back," House called, stopping short of the team conference room.

"I heard through the grapevine that you called Cuddy pretty," he said with a smug grin. House smiled a bit and tapped his cane on the ground a few times.

"She must have come running to you in total shock that I actually said something nice."

"I'd say her visit was more out of pleasant surprise than shock," Wilson said, crossing his arms. "Are you planning to ask her out any time soon, or are you waiting until she's 50 and you're 60?"

"I'm waiting," House started, using his annoyed voice even though he wasn't, "for you to realize that Cuddy and I will never work out."

"Well that's what tends to happen when you sabotage every change at a viable relationship with the one woman in the world who could love you. I thought you wanted to be happy and change your outlook."

"I do, and I'm trying."

"Then stop being such a punk and ask her out."

House groaned and pushed the conference door open. Wilson caught his arm before House could completely disappear.

"You know," Wilson started. "The hardest thing in the world is telling the woman that you love, that you like her."

House didn't respond or even acknowledge the statement as he slid his arm out of Wilson's grip and walked into the conference room. He sat down at the table and tried to think of his patient, but all he could hear was Wilson's statement. How true it was. Nothing frightened House like the thought of finally admitting to Lisa Cuddy that he had a crush on her, much less the depth of his feelings. He wanted to tell her how he felt because the truth was that he had never been happier than when he thought the two of them had spent the night together. He woke up happy, went to work happy, and had generally remained happy until he realized he had hallucinated the whole thing.

It was the best of times…it was the worst of times. Cuddy had been the source of his ultimate happiness and the source of his worst realization.

House was tired of fearing the worst, though. Wilson was right. It was time to stop the games and make his move. So he took the elevator downstairs, gathering his courage all along the way. He let himself into Cuddy's office, without knocking, but he had no idea what he would say. So he started with something simple.

"One of those cases you gave me is actually kind of interesting," he said, hoping to somehow work his way up to asking her out on a date. House had thought she would respond by asking him what was going on or by smiling at him like she'd done earlier, but she didn't even look away from her computer. House frowned and cocked his head to the side when he saw her clinched jaw and the determined look on her face.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No."

As if her face hadn't been enough to tell him something was, in fact, wrong, her short answer confirmed it.

"Did something happen with a patient? Long board meeting…?"

"No."

House quickly realized that Cuddy's shortness was because of him, not some general work-related annoyance. He thought about all the things that had happened between his first visit to her office and this one that could have turned her so cold to him, but he was coming up empty. He hadn't done anything wrong or unethical in that short amount of time. He hadn't sexually harassed anyone or even insulted a patient. What could she possibly be mad about?

"Oookay, well something is obviously different from our last encounter a couple of hours ago."

Cuddy said nothing, and House walked closer to her desk and stood behind her computer to force himself into her line of vision.

"You won't even look at me," he noted.

Cuddy pulled her eyes away from the computer and stared at him in that hard glare that always made him feel small. Her makeup wasn't as perfect as it had been earlier and her eyes had just the slightest red tint to them. House knew she had been crying.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing. You said I wouldn't look at you, I looked at you. Do you need something or are you just here to waste my time?"

Her voice had none of the joking tone from earlier, and House could tell that she was really pissed at him. But for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. With the way she was acting, though, he didn't care to find out. He felt stupid for even having considered asking her out. Clearly, he'd misread the signals.

He left without another word, confused and upset. The day had started so well, and now he was left wondering what he did.