This is a reupload of my first Fanfic, the sweet Veresna Ussep edited if for me some time ago and I totally forgot about it, until now. Thanks again! If you enjoyed please leave a review, gratuities are appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own House or any of it's characters, only my OC's.
Where's The Baby?
The toy chimed noisily above the babies' head as Cuddy rattled it, the noise mixing with Rachel's laughter in front of her. Cuddy was sitting in her office
on an unfortunately busy day, and on one of the rare occasions Rachel was with her, keeping her normally quiet office joyful and pleasant to be in, that was
until...
"I'm out. Patient's cured."
House crashed into her office, letting the doors swing close behind him. Cuddy placed the rattle down beside the now quiet baby, sighing at the disturbance of her bonding time.
"It's only 2 pm, House. You can do clinic duty for the rest of your shift. And yes, that is until 5 pm," she told him sternly.
House gaped at her, mouth open in shock and fury. "THREE HOURS?" he moaned "But that's bloody torture!"
"HOUSE!" Cuddy shouted, instantly covering Rachel's ears. "There is a child here. One I'm hoping will not be tormented with your endless whining and cussing," she stated, shooting daggers at him.
House was only now noticing the tiny lump of white cotton lying on the desk in front of Cuddy, who was thankfully wearing a brand new low-cut top that greatly showed off her-
"House! Are you even listening to me?"
Cuddy's high pitched voice cut House out of his 'How far can you see down Cuddy's top today' inspection.
Finally getting him to make eye contact again, Cuddy looked at House expectantly.
"Yeah, sure, Wilson can do it." House said, turning to face the door.
"On, no you don't. You!"
Cuddy pointed at him.
"Clinic! Now!"
She picked up the rattle and started to play with Rachel, who was waiting patiently for the grown-ups to stop.
"But-" House started.
"Clinic," Cuddy butted in, seemingly finished with the conversation.
"Ho-"
"Clinic!"
"N-"
"CLINIC!"
House stared at Cuddy a while longer, who was trying her best to ignore the 6 feet tall pest in her office. He bounced his cane off the floor for a few seconds until finally turning and limping towards the clinic mumbling something that sounded remotely like 'Cursed devil spawn'.
Half an hour later Cuddy could see House making his way to and from the nurses' station. She smiled to herself at the remarkable win. Glancing down she watched Rachel sleep soundlessly in her baby carrier next to her desk. 'Good times' she thought, and started with her paperwork.
A few minutes later and there was a shy knock on the door.
"Come in," Cuddy said, loudly enough for the timid nurse to hear.
"Dr. Cuddy, there's been an accident on the second floor. A patient is threatening to sue because she slipped on some wet floor in the corridors outside her room," the nurse said, glancing down towards the floor every now
and then.
Cuddy sighed. Of course this would happen, she thought.
"Okay, I'll be up in a minute," she said as the nurse walked towards the door.
"Um, excuse me. Nurse Kelly?" Cuddy asked quickly, remembering her other duties of the day.
"Yes, Dr. Cuddy?" The nurse spun round nervously.
"Could you stay here and take care of Rachel while I'm gone? I won't be long and she should stay asleep?" Cuddy asked hopefully.
The nurse glanced towards the sleeping form of a baby, partially hidden by the large wooden desk. Nurse Kelly nodded, since she couldn't exactly decline her boss. And with that Cuddy walked from the office, making a satisfying half-slam of the door, jolting Rachel awake.
Meanwhile in the clinic House had already treated four patients, all with uninteresting and overly gross reasons to waste his time. Limping to the Nurses' Station to collect his fifth reason to drink he noticed Cuddy walking quickly from her office, with no baby in sight. House looked towards the office doors in confusion, but turned away quickly, pushing his concern for the little bastard child to the back of his mind. He picked up his next folder and limped to the exam room.
The noise was heartbreaking as Nurse Kelly tried in vain to console the crying baby. "Come on now, don't cry," she said in a soothing voice, bobbing
the baby up and down at her waist. Four minutes of desperate persuading later, Rachel stopped crying and glanced up at the new lady, seemingly confused.
Kelly sighed happily, but her relief was cut short when she looked out of the office just in time to catch sight of a man fainting in the waiting area in
the clinic. Reacting purely on instincts she bolted out of the room, baby in arms, to the nurses' station where she placed Rachel on the desk and rushed to the unconscious man's aid.
Hearing the commotion outside, House quickly diagnosed his patient with Chlamydia while stating, quite harshly, that he shouldn't be having sex while
getting wasted at some night club that couldn't afford good-looking waitresses. Leaving the patient to wallow in shame, House limped out of the exam room only to see a crowd of people looking on at the fallen patient who, as far as House could tell, was extremely over-weight and in need of a salad. Forming a plan to slip out of the clinic unnoticed, he hobbled to the nurses' station to deposit the patient's file, only to see the young Rachel Cuddy sitting atop the desk, playing with a nurse ID badge.
House looked around, searching for Cuddy or at least some sort of guardian that wasn't him or currently trying to lift an overweight man onto a gurney. He sighed. Knowing he couldn't leave a baby, Cuddy's baby, here on a stupid place to put a not-even-one-year-old, he placed his left hand around Rachel's
back and slid her from the desk, placing her at his side. Thankful for her light weight he was able to carry her without much difficulty.
Just as heavy as my rucksack, he thought, amused, as he limped towards the elevators with Rachel, glancing around at her new surroundings.
"I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with... M," Kutner started, smiling broadly.
"Markers." Taub answered unenthusiastically.
"Yup!" Kutner shouted.
Thirteen sighed and placed her head in her hands while Foreman read a medical book, which Thirteen was sure she saw him read a few months ago. All of the ducklings were in the conference room. After their successful diagnosis they had nothing to do and weren't able to go home until their shift finished, so
they just waited around for House or Cuddy to come order them to do something.
"Your turn, Taub, come on," Kutner urged.
"I spy with my little eye..."
Taub sighed looking around the room, then glancing outside after hearing the familiar uneven footsteps and pat of a cane. "Is that a baby?" Taub asked aloud.
"You're not supposed to give the answer!" Kutner exclaimed.
House limped into his office and placed Rachel onto his recliner, eyeing her for a moment then went to his desk and popped a few Vicodin. The seemingly
light baby was still too much for his leg after going that distance. Taub, Kutner and Thirteen all looked towards their boss' office while Foreman
ignored everything altogether. Inside they could see a very familiar baby, sitting and drooling quite happily in one of America's most grumpiest men's
office. House thought for a moment then looked towards his conference room, where he could see his team, minus Boreman, gaping at his office. After
hanging his cane on one of his drawer handles, he slowly got up again and walked towards his blind shutters, glaring at each of the three before shutting the grey blinds across his glass divider.
"Why is Rachel with House?" Kutner asked worriedly. After the numerous occasions of babysitting the little Cuddy, Kutner had become quite attached to her and wasn't too keen on seeing her in a place like this.
"How am I supposed to know?" Taub asked, rolling his eyes.
"Come on," Thirteen said to her co-workers, "let's go find Cuddy."
She started to leave until Foreman finally spoke:
"I'd go find Dr Wilson instead. Cuddy's obviously gone somewhere and is oblivious of her missing baby. Going to Wilson would be quicker."
And with that, Thirteen, Kutner and Taub jogged to House's friend.
Reaching the door they knocked loudly until hearing Wilson's voice telling them to enter. Walking in, they could see Wilson was just finishing with his paperwork and files. Amber was sitting atop his desk at one corner, obviously there to keep her boyfriend company until he was able to leave. Eyeing the
three ducklings, and the mask of concern and worry they wore, Wilson was pretty sure he knew who this was about.
"What's House done now?" he sighed, setting down his pen.
Taub told Wilson, plus Amber, of House's little doing that involved Cuddy's only baby. By the time he was finished speaking, Wilson was pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
"He's going to get himself fired," Amber snorted, sounding pretty amused.
Glancing at Amber then letting what she said sink in, he decided to go see for himself what his insane friend had done this time. "I'll go see if I can get the baby back and call Cuddy," he said, getting up. The ducklings moved out of the way to let the older man past and watched him turn around the corner out of sight.
Cuddy sighed. She was so tired, and she could tell a headache was on the way. She walked into her office.
"Thanks, Nurse Kelly, I'll gladly..." Her voice drifted as she finally noticed the empty room.
"Kelly?" Cuddy called. She looked around her office, worry setting in. "Rachel?" she cried, as her voice broke.
She took one last look around the empty room then bolted into the clinic, her face going red with anger as she spotted the reckless nurse looking around the
nurses' station. "Excuse me! Nurse Kelly! Where's is Rachel?" she called from the other side of the clinic, turning a few heads.
The young nurse spun around instantly; her face masked with worry and guilt. "Doctor Cuddy!" she squeaked.
"Well? Where is she?" Cuddy was now face to face with her, hands on hips and glaring at the newbie nurse.
"I p-put her r-right here... I-I just l-looked away for one s-second and she w-was g-gone," the nurse stuttered, clearly frightened by her boss' wrath.
Cuddy wasted no time in running to the hospital lobby, after firing Nurse Kelly for her stupid actions. First stop: she would check the Hospital's Daycare.
Thirty seconds after leaving Amber and the ducklings, Wilson finally got to House's office. He could hear something squeaking inside, and hoped for the love of all that is good and mighty, that he wouldn't find anything disastrous happening in the office. Walking in, he stopped dead in his tracks. There was Rachel laughing on House's desk with her back to Wilson. He could see House with a toy car, driving it up along the baby's arms and over her partially bald head. He could hear House making engine noises, but they were being drowned out by the extremely hyper laughs of the baby. House glanced up at Wilson, slightly amused by the state of shock that was plastered over his face.
"Look who just came in!" House exclaimed, and turned the baby around to see the intruder. Rachel glanced up at Wilson and laughed at his gaping mouth.
After recovering from the shock, Wilson closed his mouth and looked straight at Rachel then to House. "So they were telling the truth" Wilson said to himself.
"The ducklings?" House asked, knowing the team wouldn't be able to keep their stupid traps shut.
Wilson nodded. "Why do you have a baby in your office House?" Wilson asked, wishing he had a camera for blackmail material.
"Cuddy gave her to me for an early birthday present" House replied, feigning innocence.
Wilson placed his hands on his hips, in his trademark superhero-like pose, clearly not amused.
"Someone left her on the nurses' station unsupervised." House sighed.
Wilson rolled his eyes, "House, I'm serious."
"So am I!"
Wilson looked carefully at House's expression and smirked slightly. "You actually did something nice? And for Cuddy?" he asked, with his eyebrows raised.
"Of course not," House scoffed, "But not even I'm low enough to leave a baby on a surface that high and with a brain that small to just fall off."
"Yeah, sure," Wilson grinned.
House glared at him.
"Well, I'm going to find Cuddy, to tell her not to have a panic attack." Wilson turned and strolled off, leaving House and Rachel alone again.
House looked down at Rachel, then towards his recliner. He was weighing his options of getting a nap without leaving the baby awake and in danger of being
abducted or wandering off without his knowing. Thankfully her lids were drooping closed and House scooped her up. Leaning heavily on his cane, he made
his way to his doors and locked them for extra peace. He then hobbled to the recliner where he dry swallowed a few Vicodin and got comfortable.
Cuddy was going frantic, half of her hospital staff already looking for her lost baby. She spotted Wilson running out from the elevator doors. "Wilson!" she called, running over to him as fast as her heels could take her. "Have you seen Rachel?" she asked, worry plain on her face.
"Yeah, she's fine Cuddy." Wilson replied, walking up to her.
Cuddy sighed in relief and she quickly grabbed Wilson into a quick hug. "I was so worried" Cuddy chuckled, trying to hold back her tears.
Wilson patted her back reassuringly "It's okay, she's safe... I think"
Wilson said the last part quieter so Cuddy wouldn't be able to hear.
"Is she in your office?" Cuddy asked walking with Wilson towards the elevators.
"Uh, no."
"Oh, where is she then?"
"Well.."
Storming along the corridors, Cuddy was sure there was steam blowing from her ears. House would pay. He practically abducted her baby! Her Rachel! There was going to be hell to pay.
Cuddy finally made it to House's office door only to realize it was locked. She reached into her pocket to retrieve the key she swore to keep on her at all times, and unlocked the door. But the image inside the office made all her anger and punishment plans melt.
There was House lying in his recliner, head back and snoring quietly with one arm around Rachel who was clinging tightly to his shirt over his chest sleeping. It was the cutest sight Cuddy had ever seen..
And one she thought she'd never see.
Smiling to herself she went to pick up her baby, as quietly as possible to not awaken the sleeping man, she stopped before reaching to door and turned back to House. She walked back and kissed him softly on the cheek before leaving.
Hearing the click of the door closing, House jolted awake. He looked down to his empty lap to see that the sleeping form of Rachel was replaced with a
small post-it note. Yawning loudly, he picked up the note and raised it to eye-level, it read:
Thanks for taking care of Rachel,
Even if you did steal her.
xxx -Cuddy
House grinned slightly at the little note, but his smile was wiped away
completely as he read the rest of the note.
P.S. You still have an hour of clinic duty left.
Have Fun!
House grunted and let his head drop back to the recliner's surface. Damn,
he thought, should have just walked out while I had the chance...
End! n....n