A/N: Since it's Thanksgiving, I thought it might be nice to rewrite the events that took place after "Ignorance is Bliss."

My first baby is "Confession is good for the soul" however since I just published a recent chapter, I thought I might write a little shortie. I find that short stories can be inspirational and a nice break.

Cuddy stepped out of the elevator and sighed as she made her way through the dark and desolate hallway of the fourth floor. It was late and everyone else had gone home hours earlier. She'd planned on leaving early to spend some quality time with Rachel but a last minute conference call kept her late so Marina had offered to stay a few additional hours. It had been a week since Cuddy had talked with House, the last time was the day he had offered her tickets to the holiday carnival and she refused. Since then, they had not spoken and House kept his distance. To Cuddy it seemed as if he was ignoring her existence. She stood outside his office and took in the view through the glass doors. The office was dimly lit. House leaned back in his chair, feet up on the desk, music playing in the background. She took a deep breath, entered his office and took a seat across from him. She sat silently for a moment and when he didn't acknowledge her presence, she cleared her throat and spoke to him.

"House?"

He opened his eyes, looked at her, and then closed them again, obviously ignoring her.

"House, I know you're mad at me. I'm sorry about…about sending you on a wild goose chase on Thanksgiving."

House didn't respond. He had nothing to say to her and had made it clear by sending his team to see her when he needed something.

"Look, I'm sorry, would you please just talk to me?"

He opened his eyes and looked at her again, showing her he was clearly annoyed by her presence. She sat with her hands in her lap, fidgeting nervously. She felt as if he were looking straight through her. He took his feet off the desk and leaned forward, right hand grasping his thigh and rubbing it vigorously. "It's fine Cuddy," he said.

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. You did what you had to do." He reached into his desk and grabbed the bottle of Ibuprofen, popped open the cap, tossed a few in his mouth chasing it with the cold coffee in his mug.

"House, is everything okay?" She asked, not oblivious to his pain. Often she wondered if the ibuprofen helped at all.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"You're acting distant."

House laughed and took another swig of the liquid. "Really? Why do you care?"

"Contrary to what you might think House, I do care."

"You have a hell of a way of showing it."

"What?"

"Forget it. Is there something else you need here? You already apologized, you can sleep better tonight, your conscience is clear."

"That's not why I'm here. I mean…I wanted to apologize but I haven't seen you or heard from you for a week and it's just…unusual."

"Wow, you bitch about me when I bother you, you bitch about me when I don't. Hormonal are we?"

"No," she said glaring at him in annoyance. "I want things to go back to normal."

He leaned back in his chair again and sighed in frustration. "Normal? I don't even know what that is."

"I don't want us to avoid each other."

"I'm not avoiding you Cuddy, I'm just doing my job. You spent years hounding me about it so it seems hypocritical of you to complain when I'm finally doing it."

"Oh come on House, you've acted different ever since you found out about Lucas," she declared defiantly.

House rose quickly and painfully from his chair and grabbed his cane. Leaning heavily on it, he looked right at her, his eyes boring holes through her. "You know what? I don't give a goddamn about you and Lucas." He turned and limped outside to the balcony.

Frustrated, she got up and followed him outside. It was a beautiful night, the sky was filled with stars and the air was cool. She stood behind him as he leaned against the balcony looking at the ground below.

"Then what's wrong with you?"

"You said you wanted things to be businesslike. Okay fine, I'm here, I'm doing my job. What the hell do you want from me?"

"I want you to be you."

He turned around to stare at her. "Where the hell have you been? I've been me since I left that damn place."

"You're just…different, I miss the old you, the one who used to tease me and drive me crazy and keep me on my toes."

He shook his head. "You can't have it both ways Cuddy; you can't have me being me and then want me to change."

"I never wanted you to change."

"Bullshit. You spent years trying to get me to change."

"No, I wanted you to stop self-destructing; I wanted you to be happy."

"I don't do happy, you know that." He turned his back to her.

Cuddy walked towards the balcony and stood beside him. She put her hand on his arm and spoke quietly. "House, I remember a time when you were happy."

"That was a long time ago," he said as he looked down at her hand on his arm.

She sighed and removed her hand. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.

"Do you ever wonder what might have been?" Cuddy asked, her eyes never leaving the ground below them.

"I used to and…maybe recently…but it doesn't matter anymore."

"What? Please…talk to me," she implored.

"I don't even know why you are. What's done is done. The past means nothing." He looked nervously at his watch. "Why don't you go back to your boy toy where you belong?"

"Because you're my friend and I want us to talk."

"Are we friends Cuddy?"

"We used to be."

House laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, that was a long time ago too."

"I just wish things didn't have to be so complicated," she said with a sigh. "Just because I'm with Lucas doesn't mean we can't be friends. You've been a part of my life for a long time House."

"I don't think there's room for me."

Cuddy noticed the obvious sadness in his voice. "I just know it isn't the same without you."

"Don't let him hear you say that."

"Lucas doesn't own me, he doesn't dictate who my friends are," she replied.

"You need to live your life and you can't do that with me around."

"So you're just going to walk away?" She asked, suprised. House never gave up without a fight.

"You did it," He said resignedly.

"What are you talking about? I'm still here."

"Cuddy, you don't get it. I thought you understood, especially that night at the conference. I was trying to tell you something, not just about that night in college but…" he drifted off in thought and then continued, "it doesn't matter now, you moved on."

Cuddy placed her hand on his arm again. "It does matter, House."

"Not anymore."

"I wish you'd talk to me."

"Just tell me, does he make you happy?"

Cuddy hesitated a moment. "Lucas is a nice guy, he's good to me and he's great with Rachel."

"That's not what I asked."

"I don't see the point of this," she said exasperated.

House just looked at her, expressionless, waiting for an answer.

"Fine. I'm happy!" It came out louder than she'd intended.

House noted she had cleverly skirted the specifics of the question. "Took you long enough to answer. Do you love him?"

"What is your point here, House?"

"Hey, it's just one friend caring about another."

Cuddy glared at him suspiciously. "No, you're just prying. You want ammunition."

"Ammunition for what? You two are obviously made for each other and even I can't break you up, so why are you even worried? Better yet, why can't you just give me a simple answer? Yes or no, Cuddy. Do. You. Love. Him?"

She threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "You know what? I give up. This is pointless!"

"If you say so. You're free to leave anytime," he replied more casually than either of them expected.

"Fine." Cuddy turned around and stomped away through the glass door.

House sighed and turned back around to the balcony. He missed her presence already and cursed himself for blowing it. He'd avoided her all week because it hurt just to look at her, to know that she was with him. God, he wanted to be friends with her just so he could at least keep her in his life, but it hurt too much to see her give that beautiful smile to him, it hurt to know someone else was keeping her warm in bed at night. He leaned on the balcony and ran a hand over his three day stubble and thought to himself, what the hell am I going to do?

Suddenly, he was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of a glass door opening and closing behind him, followed by the sound of heels clicking on the concrete surface until they stopped next to him. He didn't look at her but he heard her voice, it was soft, slightly husky, and tinged with sadness.

"I don't know."

Well that's all she wrote for now. Will probably write another chapter tomorrow!