It was hot and muggy, and her thighs were sticking to the tan vinyl seats beneath her bare legs. She still wasn't sure how House and Wilson had talked her into tagging along on this cross country road trip, but she was definitely starting regret it.
She had thought it was a crazy idea when they had come to her with the proposition of driving down to San Diego for a week just to get away from everything, and build their friendships again, but they had sweet talked her into it, and now she was stuck in the backseat of a red 1967 Mustang convertible with no air conditioner in the middle of summer.
The reason for the trip was understandable. Since Amber had died Wilson had been depressed, House had been…well…House and Cuddy had been stuck in the middle of it all. She was tired of playing peace maker and both men knew it; so in a way this was their thanks for her putting up with their shit.
Cuddy shifted in her seat for the hundredth time that day, her legs making a painful sound as they were ripped from the sweat-stained fabric beneath her.
"Where the hell are we?" She asked with annoyance, her hand sliding over her sweaty forehead.
House's response was of course to turn up the music so loud that the car behind them could no doubt clearly hear every word of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song.
She groaned inaudibly before she reached her hand out, smacking House in the back of the head. They had been driving for two days and he was definitely starting to get on her nerves, and more so than usual because being that they were in a car most of the time she couldn't get away from him, and he seemed to be enjoying that fact a little too much.
House snickered as he rubbed the back of his now sore head, and Cuddy launched over the front seat, slamming her hand into the newly installed CD player until the disc was spit out and they were left with the sound of wind whipping around them.
"Hey!" Wilson cried out as he felt the feisty brunette bump into his arm, nearly swerving off of the road.
"Jesus, Cuddy! Ya trying to kill us?!" House asked, a smirk still playing on his lips.
"No, just you!"
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He teased, shooting half a glance at her.
She sat back in her seat, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as she bore holes into the back of his head. She had been trying hard to forget that she had woken up to House in her bed; not exactly a great start to the day, at least not for her.
"Could you two try not to act like five year olds for at least fifty miles?" The oncologist of course had to step between his two friends before they ended up killing each other.
"You ever seen a five year old dressed like that?" House hitched his thumb over his shoulder at Cuddy, a smirk tugging at one corner of his lips before he reached up, angling the rearview mirror to get a better look down her tight, white tank top.
"It's ninety degrees! What did you expect me to wear?"
"Well, I hoped you'd go for something hooter-ific; looks like I got my wish."
Wilson looked over at House, grinning a little before lifting his eyes to take a glance in the mirror his best friend had so generously turned so that he could see just what he meant. Her mouth fell open when she caught the small action. She had expected something like that from House, but not from Wilson. This trip was definitely a bad idea.
"All men are pigs!"
"We didn't ask you to dress like that, but we can still show our appreciation." House quipped as he pulled his right leg up on the dashboard to stretch it, his hand moving to massage his thigh before he reached into his jean pocket and came up with the familiar orange bottle.
"I didn't put this on for your entertainment; I put it on so I wouldn't melt. Now, where are we?"
"Missouri." Wilson answered, popping his neck a few times.
"Remind me again why we didn't just fly?"
"Because Wilson thought being stuck in a forty-one year old car would be a great bonding experience for all of us."
"I'm pretty sure I could have bonded just as well on a seven hour flight."
"Are you two just going to bitch the entire way?" Wilson snapped as he reached up to fix the rearview mirror.
"Yes! Because this was your idiotic plan! For someone that wanted us to get closer you sure picked a bad way for that to happen!"
She huffed as she slammed her back into the seat, trying to get out some of her aggression before she ended up killing one or both of the men in front of her. She was hot, tired, sticky, hungry, and House didn't seem to plan to stop staring at her chest any time soon.
House wasn't in a much better mood than Cuddy was. His leg was aching, his jeans no doubt had rings of sweat in the butt, and they still had at least a three days drive ahead of them. It really was a bad idea, but when Wilson had come to him with it he had liked the sound of reliving his teen years with an unnecessary trip.
The only person that seemed to be enjoying themselves was Wilson. This was exactly what he had wanted. He wanted to be able to drive through desolate areas; classic rock blaring on the radio, with the two people that he knew actually gave a damn about him (even if they were in a bad mood most of the time). He understand where each of them was coming from as the seats weren't exactly the most comfortable, and the heat was nearly unbearable since their A/C had gone out, but he was still making the best of it because that was just the type of person he was.
"How far are we from a diner?" Cuddy asked as she slid onto the edge of her seat, folding her arms over the back of the ones in front of her, and rested her chin on top of her hands.
"About twenty miles."
"Good…because I'm starving."
"I thought you didn't eat fast food." House raised his eyebrow as he turned his head to look at her, his hand gripping his aching leg.
"I don't. But I'd rather eat a greasy burger than go hungry."
"Good answer."
She nodded, resting her cheek on her arms as House reached forward and slid the CD back into the slot. Her body jerked a little as the loud music pulsed through her, but soon relaxed and listened to the music. Very few people knew that she liked this kind of music, but it was hard not to. It was nostalgic in a way, and reminded her of her childhood summers when she would spend weeks at a time with her family at the lake.
She suddenly felt a hand brushing her hair from the back of her neck, and opened her eyes to see House grinning down at her. The heat must've been making him a little crazy because there was no way he would do anything like that any other time.
"Thanks…" She said softly, but loud enough for him to hear over the music.
He simply nodded, turning back to watch the long stretch of road out in front of them. For him it signified what would lie ahead. He was on a three thousand mile trip with a woman he had known for more than half of his life, and his best friend whom was just as interested in Cuddy as he was. Who knew what could happen?