A one-shot set in late season 1...

I wrote this some time ago after a sudden inspiration as I watched that episode in which House took Cameron out for a date.

Warning for Huddy fans: you know I'm a huge Huddy fan, right? So... just read it... it's just a little more than 3000 words... you can do it!

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Hidden Truths

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He hated that fat bald guy. Fat. Bald. And with an ego even bigger than his.

Vogler.

The second thunderbolt of his life. Only that this time it wasn't love but 'hate' at first sight.

If there was one thing of that guy he hated most, it was the way he looked down at him. Since he was six-two, that was something that usually belonged to him. Looking down at people. Here's how being Cuddy feel like! But talking of Vogler it wasn't just a question of height. With Cuddy it was a fair fight, even though she was the boss. Respect. That was why he had always agreed to be bossed by that woman. He teased her. He mocked her. He made fun of her in front of everyone. And she always could stand his sarcasm. And this... this increased every time his respect for her. Vogler on the other side, he looked down on him, but in a completely different way. A man thinking that money could buy people. More arrogant than him. More pedantic than him. And it was something to which he wasn't used to.

"You know why I'm forcing you to fire one of them?" He had said him in his pedantic and haughty way "Because you need to prove to me that you're a team player"

A team player... if he hadn't been twice his size he would have gladly kicked that blowhard's ass. And then Cuddy would have kicked his own ass. And not just in a metaphoric way.

Chase. Cameron. Foreman. He didn't want to fire none of them. But above all, he didn't want to give in to him. This was his thought as he stepped on the stage of the National Cardiology Conference to give a speech about Viopril, a new ACE inhibitor which was going to fill Vogler's overflowing pockets even more than how they already were.

He didn't look at the audience as he adjusted the microphone. He didn't want to risk being electrocuted in advance by those gray-blue eyes staring at him from one of the tables, waiting for his speech. She knew him well enough to foresee his moves... too well not to know that he wasn't going to behave as she had explicitly asked him to do... certainly not under threat... not when that fatso had openly challenged him.

Too proud... too proud to show any weakness, or to give in to a challenge... Only one person could stand up to him. And she was an exception. She had always been. She could handle his sarcastic jokes, his inappropriate, sexist, sharp comments... it was one of the reasons why he respected her. One. Not the only one.

The exact opposite of that asshole of Vogler!

He had been no need to look at her to know that she had rolled her eyes, then covering her eyes with one hand, when he had publicly announced in front of hundreds of attentive ears that the new drug was a scam.

He knew of being a lot of things. Asshole. Misanthrope. Selfish. But he certainly wasn't a crook. And neither a puppet, ready to give in to blackmail, because of fear. He wasn't willing to sell off the little dignity he still had. He had been secure of that during his speech on that stage. And secure as he left the stage.

An hour later, sitting in front of his piano keys, he wasn't so secure anymore of having made the right choice.

Chase or Cameron. One of them was going to pay for his pride. Not Chase. His ass was safe since he was Vogler's mole. Vogler would never allowed him to fire Chase.

Cameron.

He knew of having no choice.

'You like me' she had told him as they waited for the result of Senator Wright's test. Not a question. A statement. Putting clues together was one of his best qualities. He knew she liked him, he didn't need to ask. But the real question was... 'Why?' He had tried to analyze that puzzle, but he couldn't solve it. Not yet. He wasn't caring and tender. Certainly he had never been anything like that with her, nor with his patients, or anyone else at work. And she... she was like a cute stuffed animal made by Grandma... He certainly wasn't her type. So... why?

He had felt uncomfortable as she stared at him. Feeling uncomfortable was again something he wasn't used to. Sarcasm was always his way of responding to discomfort... but in that moment he hadn't been able to find anything sharp and smart to say, and he had only continued to stare at her before leaving the room, but asking her another question 'What do you want to hear?'

What did she want to hear? That he reciprocated her feelings? That he liked her? Or even that he was in love with her?

Did he like her? He liked ...working with her. She was sweet and nice. Sometimes so nice to be irritating. She could always see the good side of patients and she was a key piece of his team. In a sense she was the anti-House. He didn't want to give her up... he didn't want to give a member of his team up.

But she had chosen in his place. When she quit.

That 'goodbye House' echoed in his mind. Together with those last words...

'There are only two ways that I can deal with things. One is in my control. That's to leave...'

She had chosen to leave. Not leaving at him the choice and, at the same time, not dealing with her feelings for him.

Was he going to miss her? He couldn't answer that question. But for sure... he didn't like to lose.

A swirl of events had come after that evening. Leading him to this evening. He looked at himself in the mirror. A dinner with Cameron. 'Not just a meal between two colleagues' she had pointed out. A dinner. Just the two of them. A date. This had been her condition to be back in his team. That proposal had taken him aback. What did she want? Being with him no matter what? He thought of having been clear enough... well, maybe not clear ... but he had avoided her and he had avoided that conversation... But he hadn't said no. He wanted her back in his team. And if that was the condition for her return, he was going to take her out to dinner.

A dinner. He hadn't deluded her. Just a dinner. He had been clear with her.

'Army boots and T-shirt' he had told her when she had asked him where he was going to take her and how she had to dress. There was no point of wearing something transparent and sexy. But her gaze once again had made it clear that he hadn't been clear enough.

He ran a hand through his hair looking at his mirrored image on the glass of the differential room. And he thought back to the events that had led to that evening.

Vogler had again imposed his authority and he had actually risked being dismissed. Vogler knew that he could never have unanimous approval from the Board for his dismissal. He could try convincing nine of the Board members, but Wilson and Cuddy were on his side. He could put a hand into the fire on that. But even his self-confidence had faded for a moment when Wilson had been thrown out of the Board meeting and invited to step down... before it was Cuddy's turn.

Cuddy. The man of the hour!

Man.

He couldn't help but smile at his own joke. That woman was anything but a man, but sometimes she had a bigger set of balls than him and Wilson put together. Surely she had had bigger balls than Vogler.

Once again she had been the one saving his ass. Risking her career for him.

He would pay to see her during that Board meeting... to listen to her words before she got up and left... but anyway her words had spread across the hospital in less than an hour...

'If you think House deserves to go... if you think I deserve to go, Wilson deserved to go, then vote yes. But if you're doing this because you are afraid of losing his money, then he's right. He does own you. You have a choice. Maybe the last real one you'll have here.'

She had saved him. Wilson. The whole team. Losing Vogler's hundred million dollars. The lesser of two evils.

He buttoned his shirt, back aware of Chase and Foreman's presence in his office, the first lying on his chaise-long and the second one sitting in the chair in front of his desk, as he tried to tie his tie. He had failed in getting them out of his way after they knew about that date. He had asked Cameron to keep for herself the terms of their deal, not sharing it with the whole world... but apparently she hadn't seen any reason to keep her mouth shut. Gossip. Chase had a field day with that. And apparently Foreman too. The surly and gruff middle-aged diagnostician and the beautiful, sweet, young doctor who was trying to win his stone heart. House rolled his eyes at that thought, laughing to himself at the thought that certainly was in their mind. That he had already done her.

They looked at him and gave him advice. Open the door for her. Comment on her earrings. On her shoes. Like if he never dated a woman!

"I have been on a date" he said snorting while Foreman gave his advices on the topics of the conversation for the evening and he untied for the umpteenth time the knot of his tie, then trying to tie it again.

Talk about her dreams. Hopes. Aspirations.

He smiled to himself at that thought. Yes, actually he haven't been on a first date for many years!

"Don't forget condoms!" Chase said, looking at his boss with a mischievous smile.

House turned to face him.

"Who are you? The new face of a commercial on safe sex?" He ironically replied, then putting on his jacket and walking out of the room, leaving them fantasizing about that unusual couple.

Café Spoleto. Table for two. Small talk.

He had complimented her shoes. And her earrings.

"According to Freud," Cameron said, touching her neck "and I'm paraphrasing...the instinct of love toward an object demands a mastery to obtain it, and if a person feels they can't control the object, or feel threatened by it, they act negatively toward it. Like an eighth-grade boy punching a girl "

House bit on his lower lip, holding back a smile.

"I treat you like garbage, so I must really like you" he said, looking at her and raising an eyebrow "And Chase. And Foreman. And Cuddy..." he said, not looking away and studying her reaction.

Cameron didn't get perturbed and continued to smile as her fingers touched one of her earrings.

"Given your Freudian theory, what does it mean if I start being nice with you?" House asked again.

"That you're getting on touch with your feelings" She simply replied.

House nodded, as a slight smile appeared on his lip.

"So... there's absolutely nothing I can do to make you think that I don't like you?" he asked, slightly shaking his head.

She laughed, shaking her head in turn, but holding his gaze.

"Sorry, no" she said, running her tongue on her lips "I have one evening with you. One chance. And I don't want to waste it talking about what wines you like. Or what movies you hate. I want to know how you feel... about me..."

House opened his eyes in the dim light of the room and glanced at the bedside clock. 5:30 a.m. On Saturday morning. He closed his eyes trying to go back to sleep. It was an outrage to the weekend just open the eyes on that unacceptable time on a non-working day! But his leg wasn't of the same opinion and he reluctantly had to observe that it wasn't wrong, since there were at least a hundred pounds on that leg. He moved slowly, trying not to wake her, and sat up, taking his Vicodin from the night table. He watched her as she rolled in the bed, giving him her back, as his eyes couldn't help but linger for a moment on the beautiful curves of her half-naked body... from the curve of her shoulders to her waist and hips.

And he couldn't prevent his mind from thinking back for a moment to the night before, just a few hours before actually, and to the thought of that body in his arms. He lay down again, listening to her breathing as he embraced her, savoring the feeling of her back against his chest and smiling slyly to himself at the turn that the evening before had had as soon as he entered that room.

"Good morning Sunshine" he whispered in her ear, letting the smell of coffee fill her nostrils, awakening her still asleep mind.

She didn't answer and didn't open her eyes, but a smile played on her lips.

House put the cup on the bedside table and leaned over to kiss her, making her taste the coffee flavor on his tongue.

"Coffee in bed?" She asked, this time opening her eyes to look at him, smiling, but with a slightly quizzical look "Is there something you have to make amends for, House?"

"Or... something to thank your mouth for, after tonight" he replied mischievously, holding her gaze.

She nodded and laughed, then looking for his lips in another kiss, deeper than the previous one.

Monday morning. Cuddy closed her briefcase and horrified at the thought of the stack of documents that she was going to find on her desk like every Monday morning. But worse. Much worse since Vogler had left PPTH. He was a son of a bitch. A huge son of a bitch. In both the means of that word. But without his hundred million dollars, she now had to come to terms with a huge hole in the budget... House had cost her one hundred million dollars! Not him, actually... one hundred million dollars had been the price of their freedom ... and the reason for which, in the end, the Board had voted for Vogler's ouster... saving House's ass... and hers too! In fact, from a certain point of view, she even had to thank him! But she obviously wasn't going to confess that to him! She smiled at that thought, and at the thought of how he had looked at her when she had said '... you're a great doctor, but you are not worth a hundred million dollars, House! ...' Yeah! She smiled slightly, biting her lip as she entered the kitchen. Dr. House is not worth a hundred million dollars!

"I'm late!" She said, taking the cup from the hands of the still half-naked man standing in front of her and drinking a long sip of that hot liquid before giving the cup back to the rightful owner. "The Board meeting is in half an hour for the election of the new President"

"When are you going to fire that crazy guy who cost a hundred million dollars to your hospital and who also prevent you from having a decent breakfast?" He said looking into her eyes.

"When he stops to be a genius and save hundreds of lives!" She replied with a sigh as he took her arm, pulling her closer and kissing her lightly on the lips.

Cuddy smiled but freed from his embrace.

"I really have to go," She said, quickly kissing him on the lips again "Don't forget to call your mother. She already called me three times. I ran out of excuses" she said, looking into his eyes and patting his arm.

She didn't wait for his answer, but smiled and walked quickly out of the room.

House was leaning on the nurses' counter and met Cuddy's eyes as she walked out from one of the Clinic door. He loudly closed the folder in his hand, then handing it to Cameron.

"Take a marrow bone sample and call me when you have the test result," he said, looking at her as she nodded, smiling slightly and then walking away, glancing at Cuddy who had approached the nurses' counter to take another folder. Cuddy unabashedly held Cameron's look. She didn't smile and just continued to look at her, imposing her authority just with the look in her eyes.

House's look shifted from one to the other. He could feel a sort of electricity in the glare those two women were giving each other.

"Might you at least wait for Little Cameron to take that marrow bone sample before electrocuting her, Cuddy?" He sarcastically said as she handed him the folder in her hand.

She didn't laugh at his joke and simply motioned to follow her in the clinic room 1.

"So..." she said, passing near him as she entered the room "... is the cute stuffed animal made by Grandma fully back in your team?"

House laughed and shook his head.

"I'm feeling a hint of sarcasm," he said, looking straight into her eyes as he closed the door "not at all hinted to be honest"

She smiled and nodded, imperceptibly biting her lip.

"Vogler didn't succeed. What? Do you want to be the one sacking her?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cuddy stared at him and answered his question with another question.

"Are you taking her on a date again tonight?" She asked, not leaving him time to answer "I warn you that the all hospital already knows about that... you could at least be more discreet" she said, still staring at him.

House shook his head, smiling.

"Because I didn't try to hide it," he replied holding her gaze "And... it wasn't a date. It was a dinner," he added, running his tongue on his lips "Anyway... it's not hospital business... or yours, Dr. Cuddy," he replied with a challenge look.

"None of my business...?" she repeated with a look that could strike him instantly on the spot "Everything that happens here is my business, House!"

"Sure, Dr. Cuddy... but it's not business of the administrator of this hospital with whom her employee is going out tonight..." he repeated looking straight into her gray eyes "... her employee that is not worth a hundred million dollars" he pointed out, still staring at her.

Cuddy hesitated just a moment, still looking at him.

"You are not worth a hundred million dollars, Doctor House, but that's what I paid for your ass" she sharply replied holding his gaze.

House ran his tongue on his lips and shook his head.

"However... no... I'm not gonna take her out tonight" he said, moving slightly closer to her and holding back a smile.

"Not even tomorrow" she firmly said, looking into his eyes.

House laughed.

"Not even tomorrow." He repeated, smiling and shaking his head.

He looked into her eyes and she couldn't help but slightly smile as he moved even closer to her.

"Tell my girlfriend to come home early tonight," he whispered in her ear as the warmth of his breath sent a shiver down her back and her hand moved to stroke his neck and hair "... I'm planning for not leaving her no doubt that her man is worth even more than those hundred million dollars"

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The end

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Hameron fan? Me? Never gonna happen! ;)