Disclaimer: Don't own House M.D., nor the characters.
Author's Note: This was highly inspired by "I Guess I'll Miss The Man" from Pippin. The Supremes' version.
Stacy.
It was the hardest thing she had ever done. It wasn't just leaving him, especially in that state. He made that easy for her because he was such a bastard. But she still loved him and it killed her to go. But her sanity was on the line and... she left.
She inhaled deeply on a cigarette and watched the smoke flow up into the cool air as she expelled it from her lungs. He didn't like when she smoked because he knew that eight out of ten times it was him causing her the stress that led her to smoke.
Within the first two hours of leaving, she was ready to return to him. After all, what the hell did it make her for leaving him like that? But he didn't want her there, he was pissed to high hell for what she did even though she did it for him, for his life.
It angered her even more because she knew he had to see her side and understand why she made the decision she did. He was a smart man and he was being so damn stubborn. And he hated her. Right now, at least, he hated her and she still loved him. Because why else would she have done that unless she loved him?
He pretended not to understand. He pretended he didn't care. And he just kept pushing. And so she packed a bag and left. With tears in her eyes, she walked right out of that door and never looked back.
But as she dropped her cigarette butt to the asphalt, orange sparks jumping from it, she thought of him and wondered if he was doing the same.
Amber.
She admired him for who he was and who she was not. There was something about the way he hid himself to others that she identified with. He was professional and so was she, and she would be damned if people treated her differently than him.
Of course, she was aware she hadn't reached his level yet, but she felt it was only a matter of time. She could be cold and conniving, just like him. She could shut people down as she stood her ground, knowing she was right.
And yet... yet, she could be deep in thought, she could be considered great for those moments where the only thing that existed was the puzzle and the symptoms and the understanding of it all. The very moment she would make her brilliant breakthrough and solve the case.
She loved that. The way he found himself in a distant place somewhere in his head and came back with a question or an answer that brought forth exactly what they were looking for. She longed to be like him and she was sure as hell going to be the best she could be in her field to achieve something that even just remotely resembled his talent.
So it didn't bother her so much to fill in for James and pick him up from the bar. After all, she liked to study him and observe, even in his lesser states. He was a complexity she appreciated. But the study was to end soon and she would be finished with the part of her life that involved anything of Gregory House... or anyone for that matter.
Cameron.
She wasn't as good or as kind as everyone thought she was. And that's why she liked him so much. Not because he was wearing the same mask, but because he didn't have to wear a mask. He didn't care.
She tried to care enough for the both of them and that bothered him because he couldn't fully understand her. She was hiding parts of herself and parts of her past from him because she felt she had to. He'd tell everyone her secrets without hesitation.
In a way, she wanted to fix him, to love him to fix him. In another way, she felt she deserved someone like him. A man who was smart and cruel and complicated all at the same time. Because she had done things in her past that only a man like that could understand.
She always found herself hung up on the death of her husband. He felt she was devoted and he died in a peaceful state. But she was left in the land of the living with feelings of guilt over her less than devoted nature that she kept hidden.
And, in some sick way, she related to House with these past deeds. He wasn't a knight in shining armor and she wasn't an innocent princess. Of course, she didn't consider herself to be completely evil either. There was balance between the two extremes that made her human.
A human self she did not like all of the time, but one that made her feel more connected to someone like House, to want someone like House, despite everything he was and was not.
Cuddy.
No, she didn't love him and she'd deny it if anyone even came close to insinuating she did. There was a time... when she tried... but that blew up in her face. So she knew now, she knew better... being in love with Greg House was a nightmare.
He made her cry too much and the fights gave her headaches, and somehow, despite everything, she found herself with him hours later, tangled in sweaty sheets.
No, she didn't love him. He'd say mean things just to get a rise out of her. If she was trying to work and he was in the room, he'd tease her until it escalated into berating just to get her attention.
He was an annoyance most of the time. There wasn't many nice things about him. Sometimes he'd brood all day and other days, he just wouldn't show up. And some days... he'd smile when he spoke with her and they would stay up too late talking or making love and she would be tired all the next morning, but she wouldn't mind the sleeplessness on those days.
No, she didn't love him because he was incapable... or maybe she was. Or maybe their timing was off as all things seemed to be when it came to the two of them.
No, she didn't love him and she didn't miss him from her bed. At least, most of the time she didn't. She didn't love him and she wasn't lonely. She was fine. It was fine.
She didn't miss him.