This is my first House fic... be nice! Don't flame too meanly!

Cuddy stalked out of the patient's room with House limping along behind her.

"We need to operate now," she told House. "Prepare her. We'll start as soon as there's a theatre free."

House stopped walking and leaned on his crutch.

"If you operate now, you'll kill her."

Cuddy turned to face House.

"You need to stabilise her first. The shock of that stroke will be too much if you cut her open. Stabilise her and operate tomorrow."

"House!" cried Cuddy, her voice rising slightly. "She's not your patient! She's not your business!"

"Now Doctor Cuddy, that is a little contradictory because, you just told me to prep her for an operation! Surely that makes her my business?"

House had walked past Cuddy by now and was looking over his shoulder to speak to her.

"Just go and prep her already! Just for once House, do as you are told."

Cuddy realised as soon as the words left her mouth that she would regret saying them.

She looked up at House, who was considerably taller than she was.

"That was a slightly suggestive statement," House pointed out. "Is that your way of asking me to sleep with you?"

Cuddy raised her eyebrows.

"No. That's my way of telling you to prep this girl for the operation she needs."

"Oh. So you aren't asking me to sleep with you?"

"No."

Cuddy's tone was to the point and final.

House paused for a moment before muttering, "You don't know what you're missing."

Cuddy actually laughed at this comment.

"House, in case you don't remember, I do know what I'm missing and to tell the truth, I'm not missing it very much."

Cuddy started to walk away from House, the patient's file in hand. She was about to round the corner when she called back to House, who was still standing in the same position, watching her walk away.

"Go and get Rachael Stanton ready for her operation. Now."

Without waiting for an answer, she strode around the corner.

She headed down to the theatres, vaguely wondering how the topic of conversation between House had herself had so quickly changed from work, to sex.

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Seventeen minutes later, Cuddy was re-entering the patient's room. She was expecting to see the patient ready for her operation and was surprised to see her, exactly the same as she had left her.

"Err…Rachael? Didn't someone come to prepare you for the operation? You are meant to be ready."

The patient spoke in a wheezy voice.

"No…"

"I'll be right back," said Cuddy, in the brightest voice possible.

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"House!"

Cuddy slammed the door to the break room open and found House, in his black recliner, watching television.

She moved to stand in the way of the set.

"Why didn't you get her ready for the operation?"

"Because, Doctor Cuddy, as I explained to you earlier, you will kill her if you operate!"

"And if we don't operate, she'll die!"

"Could you please move? I'm trying to watch…"

Cuddy looked incredulously at House, before reaching down and turning off the screen.

"Get up right now and do your job or I'll…"

"Ooh I'm scared," replied House sarcastically. "Could you turn the TV back on? That was a very interesting program…"

Cuddy finally cracked.

"Gregory House! This has gone far enough! Either go and prepare my patient for her operation, or you can leave this hospital and not come back."

House finally stood up.

"Are you even allowed to do that? And anyway, if she's your patient, why am I getting her ready?"

House took a step closer to where Cuddy was standing, her hands on her hips and her eyes blazing with fury.

"Because while you were meant to be getting her ready, I was sorting out a theatre slot which because of you-"

House cut her off by suddenly grasping her and kissing her.

With one hand one her back and the other on her neck, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

Cuddy didn't struggle, which surprised him, but she didn't close her eyes and act as if she was enjoying the kiss either.

When House came up for air, almost a minute later, he released Cuddy and limped out of the room without a word.

Cuddy realised, a moment later, that she was no longer angry.

Just totally shocked.

"House?" she called after him.

He looked around the door to the break room.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"Er…" House seemed to consider the question for a moment. "To shut you up."

And he left to prepare Rachael Stanton for her operation.