Disclaimer: I wish I owned House M.D. That would make me super awesome. However, I must live with just being awesome, because I don't own it at all. I think I may cry now.
AN: I came up with this idea last night, while watching CSI:New York (which I also don't own). Weird right? Have something to say about this little oneshot, leave a review.
Lisa Cuddy didn't know why she'd asked him to watch Rachel. She'd fretted more this time than any other time. It wasn't that she didn't trust House. He'd changed a lot since he got out of Mayfair, and he hadn't even been using. She knew from the time he peed into a coffee cup. There had been many signs pointing her in the right direction where he was concerned. He was growing up. She'd always been fascinated by him, ever since she'd seen him in the endocrinology class, and wondered who on earth the crazy man was. He'd been the elusive one, the mysterious one, and even now, twenty years and countless men later, he still had a power over her that she didn't fully understand.
It had shocked her that he had said yes to watch Rachel, usually he held babies, and children with such distain, upon his agreement to watch her for a couple hours, and she'd almost fainted. She told him straight up that he was the last choice on this road. That Wilson was busy, Cameron and Chase were out of town, that Foreman wasn't answering her phone, and her nanny had the night off. He'd mentioned that she had an entire hospital at her disposal, and yet she still asked him was interesting. She almost took it back as he showed up on her doorstep, but the way her daughter cooed when he spoke to her, lead Lisa to know that she was doing the right thing. She hoped.
As she walked up her steps she had to resist looking in the window. She didn't know what to expect as she opened the door, but what she heard wasn't even on the list of things she'd considered.
From the living room came the sounds of a piano, and Houses voice softly singing. He'd obviously not heard her come in the house, so she tried to keep quiet as she put her stuff down and made her way to the living room to see what on earth he was doing.
He sat on her couch, his rollout keyboard placed on a piece of wood that stretched from one arm of the couch to the other. His feet were crossed on her coffee table, and her daughter was asleep in his lap, using his head as a pillow. She had never been more attracted to him than she was at this moment. It was what she had liked about her stint in maternity. Watching the new fathers hold their babies, as if they were the weirdest, yet most wonderful thing that they had ever laid eyes on. The look of complete love, and fear mixed was one of the most attractive things a man could wear as he held a baby. Though House's eyes were closed and no look was on his face except the emotions of the bluesy-jazz number he was singing, she knew that she loved him.
She always had, but his attitude, and responsibility lately had just reinforced it. He was finally gaining some maturity. Sure he had a long way to go before being a fully functioning, respectable member of society, he was on his way. She coughed lightly to get his attention, and the noise startled him, by his small jump.
"Hi." She whispered the word, hoping not to wake Rachel in the silence now that he had stopped playing his keyboard.
"Oh, hey. How long have you been standing there?" His voice held a note of embarrassment, like he truly hadn't heard her come in.
Leaning against the doorframe, she felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, as she openly stared at him. "Long enough."
He offered a little laugh, and moved his improvised piano and carefully stood, cradling Rachel in his arms. She moved to his side, and offered her assistance gripping his elbow and helping him stand. Once he was on his feet, she held her arms open for the sleeping infant, fully expecting him to deposit the baby in her arms.
"I'll take her to her room." His voice was gruff as he spoke, and stepped around her, and made his way down her hall. They didn't say anything, even after he'd limped his way to the room and placed her in the crib. She made the move to leave the room, but saw him standing at the crib, staring down at Rachel.
She moved back to his side, and stood so that their arms were touching.
"Amazing isn't it." She whispered again, placing the soft microfiber blanket over the baby, and turning on the monitor. She moved back to his side, and took in his profile still watching the baby sleep.
"Not really. Everyone sleeps." Though his words betrayed the moment Lisa thought they were having, his voice was still whispered, and she could see the look he got when he was faced with a challenging puzzle. It was excitement and wonder mixed together, and it was a look that she loved him.
"Shut up House." She laughed as the whispered words escaped her, and followed as he made his way out of the room and into the hallway. He stopped as she did, closing the door softly behind her, and as she looked into her room at the night stand to ensure that the other monitor was on and working.
They stood in the hall, each leaning against a wall, and facing each other. Lisa smiled at the small smile that graced his face, and resisted the urge to run her hand against the scruff on his cheek. She much preferred him with the short beard than his shaved face. He was attractive both ways, but she blamed the beard liking on her Jewish history. Though she wasn't a practising Jew, the men all had beards, and she found it sexy on him.
"What are you thinking about?" She no longer whispered, and saw his eyes come up to meet hers. Looking into his icy blue eyes, she allowed herself a moment to recall the kiss they had shared a little less than a year ago, twenty feet from this spot.
"Did you know it's been almost a year since we kissed? Right over there." He pointed down the hall, and she felt her cheeks blush upon realising that their thoughts had been on the same moment in their history, and she smiled a little bit.
"Yes, actually, I did know that." She pushed herself off the wall and stood. Though she was still a few feet from him, she could no longer resist the urge to touch him, and she place her hand on his cheek.
**
Greg House's heart sped up a little as she touched his cheek, and his body moved ever so slightly to feel her whole hand on his face. The memories running rampant through his head were mostly hallucinations, but the clearest were the ones that had actually happened. The way she'd held his hand after he'd been shot. The night they had shared more than twenty years ago, and most clearly the kiss that they had really shared, less than a year ago. His mind had always run rampant when it came to Lisa Cuddy, especially the kind of thoughts that he normally liked to think about. X rated thoughts. But as they stood now, a stolen intimate moment in time, his only thoughts were the words that he'd told her in his hallucination, "I always want to kiss you."
Even more so when they were standing so close, and he realised that he was ready to actually kiss her. Not just pretend kiss her. Pushing himself off the wall he moved towards her until their bodies were touching. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and lifted his other hand so that it was wrapped around her shoulders holding her close to him. He saw several emotions warring for control over her face, but the one that had the most ground was the emotion that was reflected in her eyes. Love. He knew she loved him, he'd taken advantage of it in the past, would probably in the future, and he was sure as hell taking advantage of it right now.
"Cuddy. Lisa. I kind of want to kiss you right now." He spoke the words softly, hoping that he hadn't been too bold when he took her in his arms. It felt right to hold her this way, and when she finally smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, he knew that it was right. He'd tried hard lately to not just take anything he wanted from her; he tried to give a little as well, so he gave her a lot in his kiss.
It wasn't the fevered, passionate kind of kiss that young lovers shared. It was a kiss of intimate knowledge of the other person, and of shared feelings. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers, knowing the smile on his face was a look that he despised. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." After she spoke the words, he couldn't stop the fevered passion of a young lover from escaping him, and he covered her mouth with his again and pressed her against the wall, feeling her react to him in the same manner.
Their motions were familiar, and rushed as they moved into her room, and fell upon her bed, lips still connected and bodies roaming. He was drowning in the sensations she was evoking in his body, and felt instantly chilled when she pulled away from him and looked at him. He was lying on the bed, her body was covering his, and he sighed at how beautiful she looked with her hair forming a brown curtain as it flowed to one side.
"Was it like this? Us I mean. In your hallucination?" He could hear the self doubt in her voice, and see questioning on her face. It had been crazy in his mind. Clothes were flying, nothing was sacred as emotions were left on the side giving way to the primal lust of a bodies needs.
"No." That delusion was more like the first time they had made love at Michigan. Wild and crazy, nothing holding them back. "This is better."
She placed a small, chaste kiss on his lips and pulled away again. But this time she kept her body on his, chest to chest and moved only her head back. "Why?"
"This is real." Was the only explanation he offered. He reached his hand down and lightly slapped her butt, and offered her a small smile. "This is real, right?"
She laughed, and he knew it was as she lightly slapped his face and kissed him again. They were making all the motions to make their way to making love when suddenly the baby monitor on her table made a gurgling cry, and Cuddy instantly stiffened. She leaned up again to look at him, her shirt missing, hair mused and her lips looking swollen from all the kissing they had done.
"I've got to go get her." He nodded, and stayed lying on the bed as she moved from him. Again he felt chilled, but his heart warmed as he heard her enter the baby's room, and speak to her on the monitor.
"Bad baby." Though the words were mean, he could tell by the tone of her voice that she really did love and care for the baby. Not that he had ever really doubted that, but the soft hum of her voice sent unfamiliar chills of longing through him. Rubbing his face her continued to spy on her and her daughter. "Mommy was going to get some."
He laughed at that, and sighed as he heard them leave the room. From his position on the bed, he saw her walk down the hall away from him and into the rest of the house. He stayed still hoping that she would come back to him so they could finish what they had started. Lights were turning off, and Lisa's footsteps were making their way back towards him. Reaching over him, he turned the lamp beside the bed on and he couldn't help the smile that spread to his lips as he took in the sight before him. She had put on a flannel nightshirt and was holding Rachel and a bottle in her arms.
"Mind if we join you?" She asked, and Rachel cooed again, this time all traced of her earlier cry gone. He sighed and pulled back the blankets and shifted himself underneath them, and held them up for mother and baby to join him.
"This is how we sleep if baby has trouble."
"You bring other men into your bed so the baby can fall asleep?" He'd known what she meant, but the comment sprang to his lips before he could stop it. He sighed in relief when she smiled and called him names.
"No you idiot. Me and Rachel, we snuggle." She had pulled the blankets down so that the baby between them wasn't covered, and they were only covered to the waist.
Minutes passed in silence as Rachel drank her bottle and quickly fell back to sleep, close to both his and her chest, warmed no doubt by their body heat.
"Sorry House." Her voice was whispered, and her eyes were on Rachel, undying love and devotion in them. He reached over and turned the light back off, shrouding them in darkness, and covered by the moonlight filtering in through the trees and window slats.
"You should be." He started, making sure that his tone was joking, and light as he continued. "I expect that we finish this at some point."
He felt her reach across the baby and caress his cheek once more. He could more hear the smile in her voice, as she spoke. "We will, I promise."