WONDER WOMAN & MARIO

By The Madhatter

Disclaimer: Don't own House. Yadda, yadda. If I did, Cuddy and Wilson would have more screen time. Heck, there'd be way more House/Cuddy scenes.

Rating: G/K

Pairing: House/Cuddy friendship

Summary: Post Babies & Bathwater. How does House thank Cuddy for saving their jobs and getting rid of the Evil Vogler?

A/N: This is my very first House fic, however this is not my very first fanfic ever. I have been slacking in the writing department lately… so sorry if this isn't up to par. It's been a while since I've actually written a fic, finished it and posted it.

Anyway, I recently got into House… like the very end of second season I started watching it thanks to one of my friends at the dorm. Since then, I've been hooked. I bought the S1 DVDs and am frantically trying to find out everything I can. Hopefully, House and Cuddy aren't too OOC here. / I'll stop with the rambling now. Enjoy! Oh, and reviews are nice. :D

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"Oh, shut up already," Cuddy groaned as she slapped her alarm off to stop the horrible screeching noises. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to fight off the slight hangover from her little 'celebration' the night before. Chugging that entire glass of champagne in House's office after Vogler was voted out gave her a little buzz, but the real celebration happened when she arrived home. She popped open another bottle and finished off quite a bit to drown out some of her guilt at letting one hundred million dollars go. Now, she was paying the price.

"Damn alcohol," she cursed as she stumbled out of bed. "Damn Vogler. Damn House. Damn everybody."

She made her way to the kitchen to start the coffee maker before hopping in the shower to relieve some pain and to wake up. She could only imagine the mess that lay before her in the wake of Vogler's departure. A mental image of Vogler strangling her popped up, but she quickly shook it away, feeling the headache getting stronger. Once she finished her daily morning ritual of getting dressed and putting make-up on, she grabbed a bagel, poured some coffee in a travel mug, and popped a couple of aspirin into her mouth before setting off to the hospital.

"Good morning, Dr. Cuddy," her assistant greeted her. "How are you today?"

She gave him a tight smile. "Ready as I'll ever be to clean up this mess. Any messages?"

"They're on your desk already, doctor."

"Thank you."

Cuddy mindless flipped through the numerous messages from donors and such, hoping to find something interesting to brighten her day. She sighed in resignation when nothing satisfied her, and picked up the phone to return some of the messages… when she noticed a single white rose along with a white card. How the hell did I miss this? She placed the phone back on the receiver and fingered the rose delicately. Finally, curiosity got the better of her and she opened the card and laughed.

Inside, she found a childish cartoon drawing of her in a Wonder Woman outfit hitting a lumpy baseball (that suspiciously looked like Vogler) out of the ball park, with an umpire (that looked suspiciously like House) yelling, "HE'S OUTTA HERE!" At the bottom of the cartoon, written in a familiar scrawl, was a simple note. Thanks for saving our sorry asses. P.S. The rose was Wilson's idea, not mine. Don't get any ideas.

She inhaled the rose's scent as she re-read the card. Those boys… It always amused her how House found a way to express his feelings, and this was no exception. She didn't doubt that the rose was Wilson's idea, it was too romantic for House anyway. She grinned. Maybe she could get through this day after all. She smirked and picked up her pen.

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House entered the clinic in a foul mood. His only compensation was that he hoped Cuddy liked his little gift. He hadn't heard from her all day, so he assumed that he scored some points on the good side. So, maybe he wasn't in such a foul mood after all. But that didn't stop him from loathing clinic duty.

"3:30pm, Dr. House checks in. Please write that down."

"Um… Dr. House?" One of the nurses called to him before he entered one of the exams rooms. "I have a message here for you."

He looked at her quizzically before snatching the white envelope out of her hand. "Uh, thanks. Do you know what it is?"

"Nope. Dr. Cuddy told me to give it to you when you arrived."

House inspected the envelope, making sure nothing would attack him or potentially hurt him otherwise, before slowly lifting the flap. He opened the card and laughed outright.

On the front, written elegantly, it said, Something to get you through clinic duty… Then, on the inside was a drawing of House dressed as Mario, who was beating the life out of Vogler in a Bowser costume. At the bottom was a simple message: You're Welcome. P.S. Thank Wilson for the rose. It's beautiful. He flipped it over and groaned. You're late. Get to work.

Typical Cuddy, he thought. He looked over at her office and saw her smiling at his reaction. He grinned back and mouthed, "I love it!" The foul mood lifted as he entered exam room one, grinning. He couldn't wait to show Wilson. Heck, he was going to frame this card and stick it up in his office! Okay, maybe not… Too bad he couldn't show Vogler what Mario could really do…