Hi everyone,
So this is the epilogue for my story, called "The First Time."
I've decided to post it separately because when I started writing it, it became quickly obvious that it was going to be way much longer than I initially thought it would be, even though the path I'm taking with it was something I had in mind all along. But then I realized it IS a damned long, winding road! :P
Besides, I think this story, even if it's meant to be an epilogue of sort, still works as a standalone fiction – at least, in my mind it does. And, tbqh, when I hit 22,000 words (and counting…) I also thought it would probably be more reasonable to cut it into separate chapters.
That being said, if some of you haven't read 'The First Time' yet, I am strongly encouraging you to give it a look, before you start reading this one. First, because this epilogue contains several references to what is only mentioned there, and second, well, if anything, because if you want to read about The First Time, as in how I imagined House and Cuddy did it the first time… you will only find it there, too!
To write this epilogue, I've done a ridiculous amount of readings to collect details of House's main characters' biographies, and I've tried my best to strictly respect them (timeline and facts) as they are known. I hope it will be satisfying for those of you who – like me – are quite obsessed with accuracy.
Obviously though, I also had to fill in the blanks, A LOT, to create a fictional past that we never heard of, because many details were never mentioned. I hope that the way I've tried to weave those with otherwise "real" biographical references will work well for you, too.
So there you go.
I hope you'll enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed imagining it…
** THE FIRST TIME - EPILOGUE **
- part 1 -
[September, 26 1987]
It's almost noon when Cuddy wakes up the next morning after having spent the night with House.
She's slept naked in her bed, something she usually doesn't do, and when she opens her eyes, a smile flickers on the corner of her lips as she feels the sheets caress her bare skin. She is sore, but it's not an unpleasant feeling. She stretches like a lazy cat and looks around her with sleepy eyes.
On her nightstand, she notices House's silver flask that he apparently forgot when he left at dawn a few hours before. She wonders if he forgot it deliberately, and chooses to believe that he did, surely to have a reason to see her again. She smiles, thinking that he really didn't need a pretext for that and gets up.
Next to the flask on her nightstand, there's also an unused condom, not to mention the ones in her dustbin, with the lollipop that House never finished because she threw it away before they started kissing, and fucking… or making love…
On her mahogany desk, the jar of lollipops is here, taunting her. She thinks about him when he was licking one, then she thinks about his lips. And then, of course, she thinks about his lips on her lips. And his lips there, on her sex, driving her crazy, carrying her to a place where there is no control, no barrier, and no limit.
It quickly becomes obvious that she wants to see him again. It's only Saturday, and even if she will see him on Monday in Endocrinology class, she already feels the need to spend more time with him before that. They could talk – she loves talking with him, and he's got such a unique way of deciphering her, as if he could read her mind. They could go out, ride his bike, or have coffee, grab a bite somewhere. But they could also do none of these things and just stay inside, in her room; have sex all afternoon, and all night. Have sex with House. Yes, she definitely would love to do that. She wants to feel what she felt with him again, and more. She feels there's more to explore, and for a reason she can't explain, her mind tells her that he would know how to take her there.
But she doesn't know where he lives. She doesn't have his phone number. She doesn't even know where to look for him.
So she goes to that little café where they went together after class a few days ago to have breakfast; something she never does but suddenly feels the need to. She sits by the window and absentmindedly sips her latte, secretly hoping that the doorbell will chime and that maybe, at some point, he will enter the place, and join her… But he doesn't come.
Saturday night, Rebecca convinces her to go to another party. On her way there, she finds herself searching for his bike, trying to spot it, parked somewhere in front of a building. She drives past several ones and her heart skips a beat each time, but then sinks when she realizes it's not his. He's not at the party. It's a fun one, though, but she doesn't enjoy being there. She feels alone, and a bit out of place.
House is nowhere to be seen. She doesn't know where to look to find him so she realizes she will have to wait. And it already feels like torture.
The week-end passes, excruciatingly slowly. On Monday morning, when Cuddy arrives in Endocrinology class a little before nine, she's bubbling with a mix of excitement and apprehension: What is he going to say to her? What happens next? Do they talk about it, or just sit side by side and pretend like nothing happened? What if House pretended like nothing happened?...
Professor Fillmore arrives right on time. Class starts at nine o'clock sharp. Almost all the students are here, ready to get to work.
Except one.
He's late, like he usually is, Cuddy tells herself. But ten minutes in, and House isn't there. She tries not to read too much into it. After almost twenty minutes, he still hasn't showed up. At nine-thirty, she starts fidgeting in her seat uncomfortably as she shoots glances at the door every two minutes. But he really isn't coming. Fillmore dismisses class, and there's no sign of House.
He just didn't come.
She's perplexed, confused, and a little angry: She has no way of contacting him, but he knows where her room is. He could have told her he wasn't coming. And if he wasn't, he could have waited for her in the hallway after class to explain. He could have… He could have what?
God, she's stupid! So they had sex, and now what? Is she really that naïve that she thought it necessarily meant it would go somewhere? Of course not! She should know better. She had sex before, with guys she didn't really dream of having a relationship with. Sex is fun. No one ever said it was going to be anything other than what it was: A fun experience. Great sex - awesome sex, if she's being honest - but with no strings attached. She's a big girl, right? She doesn't need a relationship, anyway. She's here to study. There are other priorities she should focus on. There were no expectations.
No expectations.
Still, it no longer feels that much interesting to attend Endocrinology classes after all. So she decides she should quit auditing them. What's the point, anyway? It's just extra work and less sleep for her in the mornings.
She drives to the administrative building to cancel her registration. When she arrives there, she almost crashes into a tree when she sees it: His bike, parked right in front of the steps of the building. She stays seated behind her steering wheel for a while, just staring at it, breathless, and then he appears at the door. Leather jacket, worn-out jeans, and black boots. He visibly hasn't shaved during the week-end and that five o'clock shadow on his face gives him a weirdly sexy look. He looks scruffier, definitely, but mostly agitated.
She sits paralyzed in her car, looking at him from a distance. She wants to get out and run to him, but she's unable to move. It would have been pointless anyway because everything happens so fast. It felt like hours to her, but in truth, it probably only took a few seconds before he hopped on his bike and rode off; just a few seconds before he disappeared completely.
She stays there, immobile, for a little longer, trying to process what she just saw, trying to understand why House would be there but not in Endocrinology class, until she snaps out of her daze and gets really angry at herself for being such a vulnerable little idiot, but most of all an idiot that has let herself be affected by all of that: There is nothing between House and her. There probably never was, anyway, except for that stupid, misleading mind-blowing sex that gave her the illusion there could have been something else when, obviously, there wasn't.
In the silence of her car, she solemnly swears she will not allow herself to get emotionally caught in that kind of stupid delusion with him again. He wants to play it cool? She can play it cool, too! After all, they're both adults. Life goes on. No one died. It's alright.
Yes, perfectly alright.
One direct consequence of that brutal, but beneficial wake-up call: She's not going to cancel her registration in Endocrinology. She's going to continue to audit that class. The thing is, she likes Endocrinology. And chances are, when the time comes to choose a specialty, she may even very well decide that Endocrinology is her call. That's what she tells herself, out of the blue, as she sits in her car on a Monday morning, a few minutes after she watched House rode off on his bike.
She's too proud and stubborn to admit the hidden reasons of that sudden, somewhat premature choice because that would mean admitting he has an influence on her, and right now, this is the last thing she's ready to concede.
# # # # #
To say it's been a slap in the face to hear Reitman announce he's been expelled from Johns Hopkins is an understatement.
Since Saturday morning, House is in a blur. Once the initial shock of the news has passed, the implications of the irremediable sanction have started to slowly dawn on him: It means repeating his fourth year, in other words, losing an entire year doing something he's already good at all over again, and that infuriates him. It means finding a new residency program, obviously not at the Mayo Clinic since being expelled goes with losing the perfect internship as well. It means regularizing his administrative status at UMich, which means attending the right classes, relevant for the specialties he's chosen, and stop sitting like a tourist in random classes just for the sake of annoying the professors. It means quit wasting time in that book store and focusing on his medical priorities instead. It means acknowledging what those priorities are… which, of course, means acknowledging that right now, his priorities don't include being involved with a girl, even though it could be the girl...
In short, it means life is unfair, as usual. Not that he isn't familiar with the feeling, right?
Some fourth-year guy he's used to hanging out with calls him Saturday morning soon after Reitman to suggest a party that night, and that's when House realizes he really needs to get out of here, fast. He grumbles a few lame excuses, maybe even tells about the call he's just received, or rants about life being crap, and people being morons and he heads out. Where? He has no idea at first. All he knows is that he's so angry, he might start punching things, or people, to blow off steam, and that kind of feelings doesn't bode well; not when, on top of it, it reminds him of his father and he hates himself even more for thinking, just for one second, that the two of them are alike.
He hops on his bike and rides aimlessly for the most part of the day, largely exceeding the speed limits, taking inconsiderate risks on the road, and cursing out loud behind the visor to shut the little voice in his head, as it keeps whispering what a loser he is, and how easy it would be if he just lost the control of his bike in a turn…
In the evening, he ends up in a bar in a town where he's never been before. The place is full of loutish patrons, and common women who wear too much make-up. They curse loudly, blaming society, big corporate companies, and the world in general, and House gets drunk with them, joining their rant and insulting Weber, Reitman, and the morons at The Mayo clinic, all of them assholes and cowards and cheaters.
Nobody knows who they are but everyone still yells "yeah!" in unison, as they raise their glasses and drink some more, succumbing to the delusion that being together is not, in fact, just another way to drown their misery alone.
Monday morning, House is back in Ann Arbor with a pounding headache. He looks like hell, as he has neither showered nor shaved in two days. He goes straight to the administrative building to regularize his situation. As the girl in charge of the fourth-years' office explains to him everything he needs to do, House thinks about Cuddy, who's sitting in Endocrinology class, and how much he'd rather be with her now, instead of listening to someone telling him he has to transfer his university file from Johns Hopkins before UMich can consider registering him as a permanent student and not one on provisional basis anymore.
He could ask for the transfer to be made by mail, but it would take days, if not weeks, and when the girl shrugs empathically, as if she didn't really care about the consequences of that extra delay on House's future, he decides to go there and get his file back himself.
But before, as irrational as it seems in that moment, he feels the sudden urge to go see her, if anything to explain to her what happened. When he leaves the building, he gets on his bike and rides as fast as he can to their Endocrinology class. It's over, of course, and Cuddy is not there. He tries that little café next, where they both went the week before, hoping she might be there. She's not.
So he goes to her room, without much hope, but he just needs to try. He knocks on her door once, twice, and waits in silence for a sign that never comes. Of course she's not here. She's in class. He realizes he doesn't even know which one and he suddenly feels helpless. Hastily, he fishes a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbles his phone number on it, with the words "call me" written underneath. He stares at it for a long while, pondering whether or not to slip the note under her door, and finally decides against it.
There's no point, right? His priorities have changed. And what would a girl like Cuddy do with a loser like him?
He puts the piece of paper back in his pocket and runs his fingertips on the Mezuzah by her door. He needs to go to Johns Hopkins, which is an 8-hour drive. And as much as he knows that the hours he's spent with Lisa Cuddy will be etched on his memory forever, he doesn't have time to be sentimental any longer…
# # # # #
At some point during the week, Cuddy hears about the rumor: Gregory House has been expelled from Johns Hopkins and he has to repeat his fourth year of med-school. She tries to downplay her initial shock upon hearing the news. Most of all, she tries to convince herself that she doesn't care, and that he had it coming.
Part of her is still hurt by the fact that he didn't even come to her to tell her about that change of situation. She can understand that the night they spent together was a one-time thing. She can even accept that it was, but she thought they were friends. Or, at least, that the confessions they'd shared together meant something. She told him about her mother, and he sympathized with her. He told her about his need to find the truth and have all the answers and she understood the feeling…
Thursday morning, House doesn't attend Endocrinology either, but this time Cuddy feels less bitter about it. There's this guy in class, John, who sits next to her and blatantly comes on to her the whole time, and she lets him. She remembers having seen him sat next to House the first day. She doesn't know why it matters to her but it does. It's like getting close to him again, maybe even secretly hoping that he'll hear about it somehow. It's completely irrational and stupid, but she's too proud to admit it.
When Fillmore dismisses class, John invites her for a coffee and she accepts. They head out side by side and then, as they step in the hallway, she bumps into him. He's standing there, leaned against the wall, visibly waiting for class to end, and the shock of seeing him, so close, literally takes her breath away. She surely does a lousy job at trying to get a hold of herself, but she manages to do it anyway.
House, on the other hand, seems quite shaken to run into her like that. At least, that's what she wants to read in his wide eyes that stare intensely at her for a second before looking away.
"Hey," he says with a low, gravelly voice.
His head is bowed and his eyes don't leave the floor, as he conspicuously avoids looking at her.
She gulps, and says nothing. She doesn't know what to say. Her heart, pounding almost achingly in her chest, won't let her speak anyway. House looks up and their eyes meet again, and when they do, Cuddy sucks in a sharp breath, as if she'd been punched in the stomach.
"I came to… Well, I needed to see—" he stutters, pointing in the direction of Fillmore's desk, who's still collecting his books and papers to put them inside his briefcase.
"Mr. House!" the professor exclaims, as if on cue, when he spots House standing by the door. "I was waiting for you."
House shoots one glance at John, who's been standing by Cuddy's side in silence the whole time, then pauses to really look at her, for what feels like an eternity. She holds his gaze with equal intent, and the intensity of that brief exchange literally burns her eyes so she rapidly flutters her eyelids, at the same time becoming aware that it makes her look like she's about to cry and she hates the idea that it's what he could think too so, out of the blue, taking the poor, clueless guy completely off guard, she grabs John's hand and squares her shoulders, looking House in the eyes one last time.
"Good luck," she says with as much poise as she can muster.
House's eyes instantly dart to her hand, acknowledging her gesture, and he nods imperceptibly before turning on his heel to enter the room without saying a word.
The door closes behind him and suddenly Cuddy is left standing on trembling legs, alone in the hallway. John is standing next to her, too, but his presence doesn't matter at all. She feels bereft all the same, and terribly empty.
"What a weirdo," John says, the sound of his voice making her slightly jump in surprise.
He squeezes the hand she's put in his a little and starts walking away, trying to set them into motion but Cuddy promptly yanks it out of his grip to free herself.
"I'm sorry. I forgot I had class right now. I can't go grab a coffee. I—Well, sorry. Another time maybe," she reels off, leaving John rooted to his spot, completely dumbfounded, as she practically runs away from him before he has time to reply anything.
Yes, no matter what lie she's told herself to try and convince herself that she didn't care, it clearly doesn't work…
# # # # #
It's not easy to forget a girl like Cuddy, and stop thinking about her, but barely seeing her still helps fostering the illusion that he can a little.
For that, House has deliberately chosen to front load his schedule, which means he's decided to do his two sub-internships during the first period of the year. Consequently, quitting Endocrinology and pretty much every class that was not relevant to the specialties he wants to acquire - infectious disease and pathology - was inevitable.
In October, he starts his first four-week clerkship in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, spending most of his time doing laboratory work, or rotating through surgical pathology, hematology and blood bank. He also spends a substantial amount of his time performing autopsies, developing a growing interest for hidden causes, or underlying illnesses not necessarily diagnosed prior to death.
One of the advantages of that clerkship is that he's free from on-call responsibilities and every night, after having worked in the laboratory all day, instead of going to parties or socializing with friends like he used to, he stays locked in his studio and studies relentlessly, learning more from his countless readings in a few months than he ever learns during the required lectures he must attend to complete his internships.
Sometimes though, he happens to spot a brunette girl, with long curly hair in the distance (in the cafeteria, in the Library, or in random places) and each time, it's not until she turns around or walks past him and he realizes that it's not Lisa Cuddy that his betraying, racing heartbeats return to normal…
# # # # #
Forgetting a man like House is harder than Cuddy thought it would be.
She still thinks about him a lot - studying every day seated at her mahogany desk in her room doesn't help – but little by little, she finally learns to tame that feeling of regret she feels inside of her; a feeling she still unconsciously nurses from time to time, though, by asking questions about him to Rebecca's boyfriend when they're together. But it doesn't mean anything, she tells herself. It's just to test how indifferent she can really be at the mention of his name.
That's how she hears about him doing his clerkship in Pathology. Some fourth-year students she meets thanks to Rebecca call him 'the undertaker' because, they say, he doesn't talk to anybody and spends a lot more time in the morgue than his sub-internship requires, performing autopsies, or in the blood bank, reviewing lab results over and over to cross-reference the data with the typical onsets of immune diseases and extremely rare infectious diseases. Everyone agrees to say he's a curmudgeon, an ass with a God complex, an antisocial lunatic, but nobody can deny he's also a genius.
In the beginning, every time she hears from him, by chance or because she deliberately chooses to ask, her heart speeds up in her chest and a spasm contracts her womb, and every time, she has to fight the urge to close her eyes because she knows it will bring back memories of him caressing her skin, kissing her, fucking her against the wall in her room, and on her desk, giving her the most mind-blowing orgasms she's ever had in her life so far.
As weeks goes by, she meets a few new guys at different parties she goes to, more by habit than by real desire to have fun. Some of them hit on her more insistently than others. Some even make her laugh. She sleeps with one of them in October – exactly one month after her night with House. She didn't even think about it until, at some point during the act, she realizes how unsatisfying the sex is for her.
She thought good sex was supposed to feel good, and truth is, Peter (the guy she's having sex with) is good at it. Objectively, she can't blame him for not doing everything right; with his hips, his hands, and his mouth; doing exactly the right thing to get her off, but she doesn't. She turns her head to the side and she notices a calendar on the wall. It reads October, 26th. One month after House. In that moment, as Peter starts panting on top of her, that's all she can think about.
And it makes her want to cry.
# # # # #
The vast majority of students leave the campus for Thanksgiving, but House stays in Ann Arbor despite his mother's repeated attempts at coaxing him to visit her and his father for the holiday.
During one of her calls one morning, he hears his father's voice in the background, grumbling that "there's no point in trying to convince the little thickheaded bastard" and that "he's probably better there, learning how not to fuck another year of his life if he ever wants to get a decent job someday."
Blythe laughs nervously and tries to downplay her husband's spiteful remark by saying he didn't really mean it, but House perfectly knows that he does. That's exactly the reason why he won't come home for the holiday; because he doesn't want to hear John repeat to him again and again that the only real, respectable men he knows out there don't waste ten years of their lives studying how to prescribe aspirin to sissies. Real, respectable men join the army and, must they be doctors, at least do something useful with their training, like treating soldiers.
On Thanksgiving day, the 26th of November, House takes an empty bus to the campus (the road have become too icy for him to ride his bike) and he goes to that little café where he and Cuddy went after Endocrinology class a while ago and had their first, real conversation together. He finds a seat at the same table where they sat then, by the window, orders a pumpkin pie and a coffee and, as he looks outside at the layer of immaculate snow that covers the lawn, he realizes it's been exactly two months since he and Cuddy spent a night together. Two months.
And it painfully feels like an eternity already.
# # # # #
Cuddy spends the Winter Break in New Jersey with her family.
Her father is recovering from a minor angina (that's what he tells her anyway when she starts worrying about how pale he is and how tired he looks, even though he's supposed to be getting some rest) but the upside is that she can spend all the time she wants with him as he doesn't have to be at the hospital all day, like he usually is.
It helps her cope with the otherwise, though expected, annoying presence of her mother who can't help meddling with her life, curious about who she's friends with, and if they're Jewish, at least… And what does she do in the evenings after class? And is she really sure she will make it through so many years of University training because, well, it's not too late to consider a career in another field, more suitable for women? And then, inevitably, comes: "Isn't there a way to skip that endless residency program, because Esther, my friend from the Community Charity Group, says she knows someone who went straight to family medicine after med-school and she now has a very wealthy practice in town all the while having time enough to take care of her young kids at home."
And "Oh, by the way, David, Esther's son, is going to finish law school very soon, and he's a very nice young man. Julia met him and she will tell you that he is. Come on, ask her!" And the usual: "Yes, because Julia, she helps me in the Community after school, which she can, obviously, since she's not studying 600 miles away from here." And finally, "I really think you should meet David. I'm sure you and him would get along very well. Maybe I should invite him over for dinner one evening. How about tomorrow night? And for God's sake, tie your hair in a decent bun. It looks like a wild bush!"
David is a nice guy. Lisa doesn't have much to say other than that he is, indeed. Arlene invites him on the first Saturday evening of the Winter Break. They all sit at the table and eat, and during dinner, Arlene monopolizes the conversation with awkward, inappropriate comments like "how much money does a lawyer really earn? See, Lisa? With that kind of salary, there's no need for a woman to work!" that make even her husband feel uncomfortable.
Julia giggles and shoots side glances at David, who smiles politely in return, but the more her mother goes on and on with her unsubtle little speech about how wonderful it is to be able to spend time at home with your children and see them grow up, the more Lisa feels sick to her stomach. She still finds it in her to nod in silent approval, but with her jaw clenched hard to avoid screaming.
After dinner, despite Arlene's protestations, she leaves everyone to go to her room and she calls Joshua, her friend from high school who used to have a serious crush on her back then. They meet the next day, at his place. She tells him about her mother being her usual insufferable self, and how she's probably secretly arranging to hook her up with David, Esther's son, so that she could give her half a dozen, rosy, perfect little Jewish grand-children. Joshua gets indignant with her, which Cuddy finds comforting. They have sex. Afterwards, Joshua jokes that he will never let Arlene decide who she should date and a stupid idea pops in Cuddy's head just then.
And so, two days later, before she has time to truly realize how completely reckless it is, they're both standing in front of a judge of the municipal court and getting married.
Cuddy doesn't talk to anyone about it. And she makes Joshua swear that he won't, either. She did it on irrational impulse, completely out of the blue, because in her mind, Joshua felt like the safest choice she could think of to prove a point to her mother: That she, and only she, could decide who she should be with, or even if she should be with anyone, at all. But in truth, being nineteen, rebellious and most of all impulsive, she's not really fully grasped the extent of her irresponsible move.
Until six days later, as her mother starts talking about David again, and suggests inviting him once more so they can learn to know each other better. Lisa loses her patience then, yelling that she's not a prize, that she won't meet any more of her friends' sons to indulge her mother because she's free, and old enough to decide for herself, and proof is… she's married!
She didn't expect it would make Arlene that angry but, worse, she didn't expect her father would stand by his wife and be so rightfully furious at her, his favorite daughter, either.
Threats of cutting her off to force her to quit med-school, and a whole lot of theatrical crying and shouting later, Cuddy has no other choice but to accept her parents' terms: She will immediately file for divorce, never mention that shameful incident to anyone – especially not to Arlene's friends in the community - and never, ever try to get in contact with Joshua again. Thankfully, after a late, mostly embarrassed phone call to Daniel (her father's best friend who also happens to be a lawyer) all the necessary arrangements are made so that everything can be taken care of quickly. No fault divorce in New Jersey required couples to live at least 18 months apart, so as soon as the Winter Break is over, she will go back to Michigan, lock herself in her room and do nothing but study until this stupid mistake is put behind her.
# # # # #
[1988]
After a first clerkship in Pathology, House has gotten a spot in Internal Medicine, more specifically in the sub-internship that focuses on diagnosing multisystem autoimmune disorders. It starts right after the Winter Break for a four-week rotation at the University Hospital.
As time passes, he's finally managed to feel less bitter about being expelled from Johns Hopkins. Of course, he still thinks repeating his fourth-year is a gigantic waste of his time, but somehow, he can also see it as an opportunity to immerse himself in extremely specialized fields of medicine, spending hours on end reading patients' clinical reports, interpreting data, and trying to determine the logic and patterns behind rare diseases' symptoms.
Over the last months, he's acquired an incredible amount of specific knowledge, which sometimes rivals with – if not surpasses - that of his professors. The occasions to revel in the uniquely rewarding pleasure of proving it to them never run out, but House doesn't take advantage of it as much as he could, and surely would have just a few months ago when he was still a smug pain in the ass, so full of himself that failure was never an option for him.
Except, things have changed now. He's still as much of a jerk (who thinks everyone is a useless moron) as he was before, but one that had to learn the virtue of keeping a low profile so that he could get what he wants. And right now, what he wants is to be accepted for a double residency in both Pathology, Infectious Disease, and Nephrology; something exceptional enough to be reserved for the best of the best only. So he swallows back his pride and avoids having run-ins with his professors as much as he can. All in all, he manages to keep his mouth shut, but in doing so, he's certainly mastered the art of stifling a sneer and rolling his eyes in the most theatrical fashion better than anyone else can.
That particular brand of "bad boy attitude," half jerk, half mysterious-genius-who-doesn't-socialize-much-with-people doesn't leave girls indifferent. One in particular (that he met at the University Hospital where she's doing her first clerkship in Obstetrics) seems determined to get to "know him better," always finding pretexts to run into him during her rotations, inviting him for coffee in the hospital cafeteria, or asking for his opinion on this or that case that she supposedly finds too complex to understand.
She's nice. At least she doesn't bore him too much. She even makes him laugh with anecdotes about her patients sometimes. And she's not totally unattractive, too. House has spent the entire winter mostly locked in his studio barely seeing anyone, and studying all the time instead, so when Lauren suggests they go to a party together to celebrate the end of their four-week clerkship, he accepts.
After all, he's a guy, with needs. It's high time he starts going out again and indulging them for a change.
# # # # #
Despite her six-day marriage fiasco and the anger of epic proportions that it caused to her parents, Cuddy hasn't changed much of her College routine after the Winter Break. Admittedly, she's not too proud of what she's done, but somehow, she's still happy that she dared stand up to her mother and proved to her that she is an adult that can make her own decisions.
It's not entirely true, though, because she still very much needs her parents – if anything, their financial support - to move forward in her life, but she feels freer and less pressured to conform to her mother's every wish now.
She's made up her mind: When she'll have graduated from med-school, she will enter a residency program to get a specialty in Endocrinology. After six months of auditing Professor Fillmore's class, she's developed a real interest in the subject, finding every new case of endocrine and metabolic disorders that she learns to be truly fascinating.
She works as hard as she can to get satisfying grades – disappointing her parents, and she, with mediocre results is out of the question – but she still has some fun, going to parties with Rebecca as often as the circumstances allow her to.
John from Endocrinology class is still trying to make a move with her, although, so far, she hasn't said yes. He's interesting - as interesting as a decently intelligent guy can be - and undoubtedly handsome, too. She tries not to tell herself that he's not House, when the little voice in her head is prompt to point out to her how ordinary John's ambitions are, or how 'nice' his manners can be. Somehow, she knows that 'ordinary and nice' is exactly what she should aspire to, at least exactly what would please her mother, but she can't completely forget how thrilling 'bad and genius ass' is, either.
She knows that House is barely going out anymore. Dave told her that he's quit his band, too. Apparently, they're having a hard time finding a new guy who plays the keyboards as well as House does. She's also heard that he's doing his second clerkship in Internal Medicine. Sometimes, when she passes by the University Hospital, she spots his bike parked there. Sometimes, she even drives there for no reason, in the hope that, maybe, she will run into him by chance.
But she never does.
# # # # #
John insists on taking her out on a date on Valentine's Day, but Cuddy doesn't want to give him false hopes so, as it falls on a Sunday, they compromise: Dave's friends are throwing a party in South campus and John agrees to go with her. That way, Cuddy knows that if John gets too forward, she will get rid of him but still have fun with her friends all the same. She's definitely partying less than she used to, but going out on week-ends, dancing, laughing, or simply unwinding and letting off steam, is still part of her routine.
She dances most of the night. At some point, "Faith" by George Michael starts playing and, even though she used to love that song a lot, she can't stand the idea of dancing with John to it, so she uses being thirsty as an excuse to leave the dance floor. At the bar, she pours herself a glass and starts drinking, leaned against the counter, while observing her friends from a distance.
"Hi Partypants," someone beside her says.
She jumps in surprise at the unmistakable sound of that voice and turns to the side, ending face to face with House.
"Hey," is all she manages to articulate, while trying to catch her breath.
He points nonchalantly at her glass with his fingers and smiles roguishly at her.
"Whatcha drinking?"
"Bourbon," she says, jutting her chin up defiantly.
"I thought you didn't like Bourbon," he says, his smile growing bigger.
"People change."
"People don't change," he refutes.
She puffs and deliberately swallows the rest of her drink in one gulp before slamming her glass back on the counter.
"Well," she says a bit haughtily, "maybe I liked it all along, then. Who knows?"
"Who knows?" he repeats, ever so slightly leaning in and planting his eyes in hers.
The intensity of his stare on her sends a shiver down her spine and she briefly averts her gaze, feeling exposed.
"I still have your flask, by the way," she says, recovering her poise a little. "You forgot it after you—"
"Yeah," he says looking away. "You can keep it if you like."
"It's empty now," she says with the slightest hint of regret in her voice.
"Ooh, so you really do like Bourbon, uh?" he teases with a smile.
"I didn't finish it all by myself," she lies, tilting her head to the side and looking him straight in the eyes to study his reaction.
House perfectly gets the allusion that Cuddy intended to make to hint that other guys have been in her room with her since him. For a moment, he narrows his eyes at her, as if he was trying to read her mind, but he makes no comment.
"So," she says, slightly piqued in her pride by what she reads as indifference on his part. "I heard you've just finished your second sub-internship in Internal Medicine?"
"Oh, you heard?" he says, cocking an eyebrow, looking amused.
She instantly regrets implying that she could somehow keep track of him with her question, especially when his infuriatingly self-satisfied smile indicates how much he seems pleased about it.
"Just the usual campus rumors," she clarifies with a shrug.
He nods, and keeps studying her face for a minute, but she's completely unable to decipher what he thinks in that instant. She hopes she looks as unfazed as he does, although she suspects she probably doesn't.
"What about you?" he says, breaking the heavy silence between them.
She briefly considers telling him that she got married, just to see if it will affect him, but of course, she doesn't dare. Instead, she smiles assertively and looks him right in the eyes when she says:
"I'm fine. Doing great! You?"
"Doing great, too," he says, but his voice sounds strangely more melancholic than it did only seconds before.
"Greg! I've been looking everywhere for you," a girl's voice suddenly interrupts them.
Cuddy lets go of House's gaze to look at the person standing beside him. The first thing she notices is her hand resting on his upper arm; a possessive gesture, she thinks. She looks up and her eyes meet with a smiling face, rather pretty, if she's being honest.
"Hi, I'm Lauren," the girl says, extending her hand to greet Lisa.
"Hi," she says, shaking it.
Before any of them has time to say anything, John joins the group, looking concerned.
"Is everything ok?" he asks, wrapping his arm around Cuddy's waist.
It's impossible to miss the alpha male glare that John shoots at House just then. Lauren frowns, taken a bit off guard, but House smiles reassuringly at her.
"Hey John," he says, eying him up and down a bit defiantly. "Lauren and I were just leaving."
"Already?" the girl says, looking disappointed.
"It's Valentine's Day, pumpkin," House says with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, while shooting a glance at Cuddy at the same time. "We've got better things to do, right?"
Lauren giggles ingenuously, and hooks her arm around House's arm, getting closer to him and rubbing herself against his side flirtatiously.
"We do," she says beaming.
Cuddy bites her bottom lip, and squares her shoulders, smiling politely, but she can't ignore the twinge she's just felt in her heart at the scene.
"Well, you guys have fun," she says, pulling out her best faked smile. "Let's go dance," she adds, turning her head to the side to look at John.
"Sure!"
John lets go of her waist and starts walking back to the dance floor. Before turning on her heel to follow him, Cuddy looks House in the eyes one last time.
"T'was nice seeing you," she says trying to sound offhand.
They hold each other's gaze for a little while longer than necessary. It lasts barely more than a few seconds but, this time, she's certain that she saw a hint of jealousy, perhaps even regret in House's eyes.
Or maybe, she only imagined there was one because then, it would mean she's not the only one feeling it…
# # # # #
Mid-March, on "Match Day," the National Residency Matching Program matches House with his first choice: A double residency program in both Immunology/Infectious Disease and Nephrology at Yale University. Due to his academic misconduct at Johns Hopkins, number one university for the Infectious Disease residency, House had to scrap his primary ambition of being accepted there, but Yale, one of the top five programs in the country for the specialty, is more than just a consolation prize; especially since without any letter of recommendation from the Dean of Medicine (Reitman wouldn't obviously sign one and the Dean at UMich didn't know him enough to vouch for him) he had no guarantee that he'd get accepted in the specialties he wanted.
He feels proud, and mostly relieved to finally be able to move onward doing what he's passionate about. As the weight is lift off of his chest, he also feels like celebrating; something he hasn't done in a long time. But then, he realizes bitterly, he has no one to celebrate with.
He hasn't seen Lauren since late February. They had sex on Valentine's Day, and a few more times after that, but it quickly became obvious to House that she was not the kind of girl he wanted to spend his spare time with: Clever, but not really that witty, or intellectually challenging; Sweet, but too demanding; Funny, but not particularly sarcastic. After their fourth night together, even if it probably made him look like an insensitive jerk, he'd broken up with her and stopped seeing her.
The sex wasn't even that great, anyway. Not as great as it was with…
He briefly considers going to see her, give it – them – another chance, but then, he thinks better of it. She's moved on with her life. Last time he saw her, she was evidently dating that guy from Endocrinology. She seemed happy. At least, she seemed perfectly content with her life; a life he was not a part of anymore. No, really, taking up with Cuddy again after months of silence is a bad idea.
But damn, was she beautiful! Sexy, sarcastic and so perfectly intellectually challenging…
# # # # #
During the summer of 1988, Cuddy's father takes her to Ecuador, just the two of them together for a week, supposedly as a present for her 20th birthday, but in truth, essentially to spend some quality father-daughter time without Arlene around.
He makes very little comments about her marrying Joshua, but he doesn't fail to remind her how big a mistake she's made. Cuddy remembers how angry her father was when he heard what she'd done and she feels ashamed for the first time since December. She promises him she will be less reckless and immature in the future and swears that she will never disappoint him again. He smiles, and tells her that she still has plenty of time to become reasonable, and that he trusts her to have learned a valuable lesson in life.
Then he tells her how proud he is of her, and how brilliant he's always thought she was. He tells her he knows she will be a great doctor and that she must never let anyone get in the way of her dreams, even, he jokes, if that someone happens to be her mother, who can be quite invasive sometimes and not always tactful.
"Your mother loves you," he says, "and she sees all the unique potential that you have in you. She just doesn't know how to tell it to you. It doesn't matter anyway, because, honey, whatever you choose to become, I'm sure you will do great."
Cuddy doesn't really understand why her father needs to be so solemn, when she still has many years ahead of her before she will have to make definite career choices. He will help her make them when the time comes anyway, she says; nothing is definite, and she will surely need his advice to avoid making mistakes. She still tells him about her wish to opt for Endocrinology, and he smiles fondly at her, before looking away.
Later that day, they go to Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park, where many lemur and chimpanzee specimens can be seen. Their guide let them approach a group of monkeys that are used to the presence of tourists, and Cuddy's father takes a picture of her as she holds one of them in her arms.
She doesn't know it yet, but these holidays are the last she'll ever spend with her father, who dies of a heart attack during spring of the following year…
# # # # #
[1989]
In June, Cuddy returns to New Jersey for the summer before starting her senior years as an undergraduate. Home feels different without her father. Her mother's behavior is more erratic than ever. Now that she's a widow, Arlene never misses an opportunity to call for sympathy by emotionally blackmailing her daughters every chance she gets. Julia, younger and more fragile, falls for it, and gets even closer to her mother than she already is, the two of them seeking comfort in each other and unconsciously excluding Lisa out of their grieving duo.
As a result, Cuddy feels terribly alone as she tries to deal with the painful absence of her father all by herself.
One afternoon, 18 months to the day after she got married to her high-school friend Joshua, Daniel makes a surprise visit to her, bringing the divorce papers with him. He, too, is deeply affected by his best friend's death. For the first time in three months, Cuddy finally finds someone she can talk to, someone who understands her grief. Daniel is very attentive, caring and patient with her. And he listens, without judging. When he suggests they have lunch, she accepts.
Then, they have dinner, and… one thing leading to another, one night, in a hotel room, they have sex.
But Daniel is her father's best friend, and he's married on top of it. While she can't deny that feeling cherished and desired for a couple hours felt undeniably good, Cuddy realizes it also was a terrible mistake. She'd promised to her father that she would never disappoint him again and even though he isn't there with her anymore, she feels like she's betrayed his memory all the same.
The next day she announces to her stunned mother that she's decided to spend the summer in Ann Arbor to focus on her medical training and starts studying for her MCAT. It's primordial for her to get a perfect score if she wants to be admitted in the best med-school at the end of her undergraduate years. She hasn't told anyone about it, not even Rebecca, but she hopes to get accepted at Johns Hopkins because it's one of the best Universities of Medicine in the country, and because, when she feels alone, she still thinks about him sometimes; the guy who was expelled from Johns Hopkins and changed her life in more ways than she's willing to admit…
# # # # #
[1991]
In order to get board certified by the American Board of Pathology, House still has to publish a certain amount of approved researches. After completing a three-year residency at Yale, he's now looking for a job as a trained physician.
And, if all goes well, that medical convention on Clinical Pathology in New Orleans, where he's expected to present the results of his latest study will thankfully be the last he will have to attend before seriously starting to apply for a position in a renowned hospital.
House hates medical conventions. Everyone congratulates everyone on their superb achievement in this or that specific field in the most hypocritical way there is, when, in fact, they all spend the rest of the year trying to discredit each other's work in order to obtain subventions for their research, and not the ones they supposedly admire.
Consequently, House avoids mingling with people as much as he can, and sits alone in the lobby, studying the behavior of his peers; a hobby he will never get tired of. There's that girl, obviously still an intern, who's blatantly flirting with an older guy – probably her attendant… And that uptight woman over there, nervously checking her watch every two minutes, who's been reading the same series of notes over and over again for the last half hour. She's surely next on the program to present some ground-breaking results on something everyone will have forgotten about over dinner tonight.
And then, there's this young guy. He's alone. He doesn't talk to anybody. Instead, as House noticed, he just carries around an unopened envelop with him all day. What's in the envelop? House has no idea, but it doesn't fail to intrigue him. He decides to follow him to the bar. The young man drinks several cocktails, seated at the counter, with his envelop cautiously put on a stool beside him, untouched.
There're few patrons in the bar at this early hour of the day, but one of them keeps putting coins in the juke box to play Billy Joel's "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" over and over and, at some point, completely out of the blue – and much to House's delight - the young guy with the envelop angrily throws a bottle of scotch in the juke box's direction, completely missing his target, and breaking an antique mirror into pieces, instead.
Needless to say, House instantly decides that this guy is definitely the most interesting participant there is in that otherwise very boring medical convention.
His name, as he'll learn later, is James Wilson.
He's apparently still a med-student, who's made the stupid decision to marry one of his college crush, and the demanding bitch, Samantha, who's found an unpaid residency in Radiology – forcing James to juggle between two jobs and med school to pay the bills – has suddenly decided that she wasn't happily married anymore.
The envelop, House finds out, actually contains the divorce papers she's filed against the poor guy without ever having in any way hinted at the fact that she was feeling frustrated in her marriage before.
Yes. Definitely not boring…
# # # # #
[1994]
At only 26 years old, Cuddy graduates from Harvard med-school, finishing second of her class, and one of the youngest to get an MD in the prestigious university.
She's become hardened over the years, and more determined than she ever was in her younger years. During med school she's made a point of honor to excel in every field so she would become the great doctor that her father would have loved her to be. She's made Alpha Omega Alpha, too, based on her remarkable leadership character. Her father would be proud of her, undeniably. Still, Cuddy is only partially satisfied with herself.
Despite getting an excellent score at her MCAT when she was at UMich, she didn't get accepted at Johns Hopkins like she'd have wanted to, but Harvard, ranked second best med-school in the country in Internal Medicine felt like a decently acceptable alternative.
After her graduation, she gets a position for an internship in Endocrinology in both the Cleveland Clinic and MGH in Boston. Cleveland is the top ranked hospital in the specialty, but Cuddy still considers staying in the east coast to be closer to her mother.
That summer, quite ironically, her sister Julia marries David, the son of her mother's friend, Esther. Arlene, of course, is ecstatic. After the ceremony, Cuddy tells her mother about her plan to stay in Boston for her internship, hoping that it would make her happy; if anything – although she's not going to give her grandchildren any time soon – because she will at least stay close to her family. Not so surprisingly, Arlene tells her she doesn't need to have her close, as Julia and her husband just bought a house in the same neighborhood where she lives.
"Isn't that Clinic in Ohio more prestigious than the one in Boston, anyway?" Arlene tells her with a shrug. "Go to Cleveland, Lisa. Having Julia nearby is enough to make me happy."
Cuddy stomachs the insensitive blow with bravery, trying to persuade herself that she doesn't need her mother's affection as much as she needs to pursue her personal goals. She finally decides to opt for the position in Cleveland, and leaves for a two-year residency in Ohio, soon after her younger sister's wedding.
It's not until many years later that she finally realizes that her mother, as tactless and harsh as she was with her, only pushed her because, deep down, she was actually convinced that her older daughter could achieve great things…
# # # # #
[1997]
After her residency in Cleveland, Cuddy completes a fellowship in Endocrinology, staying in Ohio for one more year.
In the meantime, Julia and her husband David welcome their first child, a boy, which, as expected, still makes Arlene happier than any professional achievements Lisa can pride herself on.
And yet, at only 29 years old, she just managed to get a Vice President position at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. She's a hard worker, with a brilliant student history and excellent references. Still, she's young, and a woman, so in a man's world like medicine, she sees fit to lie to HR about her real age, pretending to be 31 to stack all the odds in her favor to get the job.
A year later, allegedly at the age of 32 – while she's in fact just 30 – she is promoted Dean of Medicine, hence becoming one of only three women in the whole country to hold such a prestigious position in a major hospital, and second youngest Dean of Medicine in the history of PPTH.
Her personal life, however, is predictably less successful.
She's been in an on-off relationship with her attendant in Cleveland for a little over a year, but decided to break it off when rumors about her sleeping her way through the top started spreading in the hospital.
One of her life priorities has always been to ensure herself (and everyone else) that she owes her success to no one else but her. And if it means putting aside her chances to be in a more serious relationship with someone, it's a sacrifice she's willing to make, and has made over the years, without hesitation.
# # # # #
[1998]
House is happy.
Four years ago, he met Stacy, a beautiful, and brilliant constitutional lawyer at a 'doctors vs. lawyers' paintball tournament. The young, assertive woman, who'd recently graduated from Duke, shot him in the back (something that's still the subject of playful banters between them) and, as a result, put him out of the game.
Undeniably attracted to the lawyer's beauty, who'd managed to get to him (both metaphorically and literally) and, if he was being honest, more than a little impressed by her sass, House invited her on a date the same day.
Despite that first night being a total disaster, they moved in together merely a week after their first encounter.
Stacy is witty, challenging, with a perfectly sarcastic sense of humor. She's one of the few people House trusts unconditionally. Everybody lies – a motto he likes to repeat to his fellows when they're too prompt to believe what the patients tell them – but Stacy is the exception. She's blunt, and honest, and she always speaks her mind with House, even if it means telling him he's an asshole who's too proud and stubborn to admit his mistakes.
They have fun together. She's successful in her job, supportive of his (most of the time, that is). The sex is great, too. From House's (subjective) point of view, Stacy doesn't have many flaws; except, maybe one: her ridiculous religious belief, something he likes to tease her about, and one of the main reasons why they ever have heated arguments together.
No, really, House is happy. So happy, it's almost indecent. Even "suspicious," as a cynical man like him likes to put it.
But, from a professional point of view, the reality is, in fact, a little less perfect.
By the time he met Stacy, House was working at NY Presbyterian Hospital as a physician in their Immunology Department. While working there, he's tried the best he can to swallow back his pride and not let his frequent frustrations over the Board's stupid, misguided decisions get to him. But after less than two years, he got fired after having forged a patient's blood test so he could receive the treatment he needed to cure him. The patient's infection remained undetectable in the lab results, but House knew he had it and he couldn't just do nothing about it.
It didn't matter that he saved the guy's life eventually, or that he was right about his diagnosis the whole time. Apparently, the board members in NY-P Hospital didn't quite endorse that kind of uniquely efficient methods.
NYPH is not the only fiasco in House's early career. In fact, in barely five years, he's held no fewer than four different positions in four different hospitals, the last of which lasting less than eight months.
In the summer 1998, after having been fired from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, he dangerously comes close to being unemployable in most of the Tri-State area, which is the worst that can happen to him at that moment in his life, as Stacy has just been made partner in one of the biggest law firms in Trenton and leaving New Jersey seems unconceivable if he ever wants to preserve his relationship with her.
He gets several interviews, though, all of them ending in disaster as soon as the board starts tracking his past job history. After the fifth infructuous one, House reluctantly contemplates moving out to the west coast. Stacy tries to persuade him that she's ready to follow him, but in truth, House doesn't believe her. But more than that, he doesn't want her to. He feels guilty about imposing choices she didn't choose to make on her.
They start fighting way more often than usual, and – which is worse - not just about religion anymore. Consequently, their otherwise perfect relationship becomes undeniably tenser during that time.
Until one day when, ironically almost as a sign from Providence, House stumbles upon an article about a young, brilliant doctor who's just been named Dean of Medicine at PPTH while fumbling through the pages of a medical review.
And that doctor is no other than Lisa Cuddy…
# # # # #
["Because you're a good doctor who couldn't get himself hired at a blood bank so I got you cheap."]
In September 1998, determined to convince her to hire him, House steps into PPTH's lobby for the first time in his life, his strides confident, and his head bubbling with irrefutable arguments that he's sure she won't be able to turn down.
Lisa Cuddy…
He hadn't thought about her in a long time, but he has to admit that just seeing her picture in that article was enough to bring back old memories of her that he didn't think could be so easily and vividly revived.
She's still as beautiful as she was when he first met her, maybe even more now that she's got that unmistakable glow of successful assertiveness radiating from her. The article offered a detailed summary of her resume and he was impressed to read how successful she'd been after her undergraduate years in Michigan. The mention of her specialty, Endocrinology, made him smile, too.
Nothing in life ever happens by chance, he thinks, as he walks towards her office.
It's located on the ground floor, past the nurse counter of an outpatient clinic. On the counter, there's a jar of lollipops. That detail is specific enough to catch his attention. He stops and opens the jar to take a lollipop. Smiling, he pushes the cherry-flavored candy between his lips and heads directly to the double glass door of her office, unannounced.
"Lisa Cuddy," he exclaims cheerfully, as he enters. "Or should I call you Dean Cuddy?"
For a few seconds, she freezes with her mouth agape, looking completely flabbergasted behind her desk, as she's visibly trying to process the shock of seeing him stand in front of her.
"Gregory... House?!" she says after a while. "Wow, I mean, it's been what, ten years?"
"Eleven," he says without missing a beat. "But who's counting?"
"What are you doing here?" she says, still looking rather stunned. "Did we…" She grabs her organizer on the corner of her desk and opens it, hastily fumbling through the pages. "Did we have an appointment, or…"
"We didn't."
"Oh. Of course."
Suddenly recovering her poise, she pauses and leans forward, cradling her chin in her hands and intensely studying him for a minute. That unexpected change of attitude – from shocked to almost amused – takes House off guard. Confused, he arches his eyebrows and stares back at her with a quizzical look.
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering what could possibly bring you here," she says with a mischievous smile. "Oh, and please, take a seat," she adds gesturing to one of the chairs in front of her.
House sits down and frowns, dumbfounded.
"I heard about you," she says composedly, casually leaning back in her chair again. "You've got quite an impressive track record—"
"Thank you. Since you're mentioning it, I—"
"Forged documents," she carries on, as if she didn't hear him. "Public insult to an esteemed member of the board at Mercy, insubordination—"
"I saved the patient's life," he interrupts, vexed, when he understands she's outsmarted him and ruined his plan to impress her. "The esteemed member is a moron. And it's not really insubordination when the order is completely idiotic!"
She smiles fondly at him for a brief instant and then her face takes on a serious mask again.
"What do you want?" she says, getting to the point.
He puffs, but not because he's upset. In truth, he's quite impressed by her no-bullshit attitude, and the way she's anticipated the motives of his visit. But then, if he remembers correctly Lisa Cuddy never seemed like a stupid girl to him even when she was just an undergraduate in College. Actually, now that he's looking at her, seated behind that desk in her impeccable woman suit, she seems even more excitingly challenging than he ever remembers her being.
"I need a job," he tells her with disarming straightforwardness realizing honesty is his best ally in that instant.
"I don't need an immunologist," she counters. "Right now, I need an oncologist."
"Hire me, and I can get you the best one in the country as a bonus," he replies tit for tat.
"I doubt that," she says totally unimpressed by his bluff. "Andrews doesn't want to leave the Mayo Clinic, even though I keep offering him a board membership and the promise that he'll get enough subventions to run his own department of cancer research."
House can't repress a smile upon hearing her witty repartee.
"Fine," he says, amused. "Second best. Or very good, if you prefer. His name is James Wilson."
"How do I know he even exists?" she says, smiling too.
"I'm serious. Cuddy, I really need this job."
"There's no job. But I'll take that Wilson guy's telephone number if you have it."
"I'm board certified in Pathology, Infectious Disease and Nephrology," he insists. "Actually I happen to be quite excellent at diagnosing sick people, who, I'm told, are everywhere in places like hospitals, and aren't you running a… now, wait… hospital?"
Cuddy rolls her eyes, and bites her bottom lip to hide her smile. That's when he knows he's won.
"Come on, me, a brilliant doctor, plus a decent oncologist. I can guarantee you you're going to impress the suits in that conference room next time you have a board meeting."
He straightens up in his chair, and flashes his best self-confident smile at her.
For a long while she says nothing, and just stares at him with narrowed eyes, visibly considering his offer.
"Fine," she says after what seems like an eternity. "We've just opened a free clinic. I suppose I can justify hiring a new physician for the consults there."
"I'm board certified in Pathology and Infectious Disease!" he protests.
"Which makes you very good at diagnosing sick people," she replies. "Your words, not mine. And I'm told there are lots of sick people waiting to be diagnosed in a day clinic-"
"With a cold! Or eczema, and all sorts of totally boring medical conditions that aren't even challenging," he exclaims, obstinately trying to make her see how much of a waste of his time that would be.
She pauses to look at him again, and he's unable to decipher what she's thinking in that moment but her eyes shine with a beautiful glitter that makes her look inspired, confident, and perfectly in control of the situation.
"I want tenure," he says.
"Two-year probation. Four hours of clinic duty a day, and access to the lab the rest of the time under the Department Head's supervision," she replies unfazed.
"Six-month probation. One hour of clinic a day, and a position as an immunologist with full access to the lab under no supervision," he counters.
"One year," she says without missing a beat. "And you get a position in our Immunology Department under my supervision, but only part-time. The rest of the week, you need to be in the clinic. Voluntarily."
"That's robbery!" he protests.
"We can renegotiate those terms once you get tenure, if you get past your one-year probationary period," she says with a smile.
House's eyes widen in stunned surprise, and for a short while he just stares at her with his mouth agape, speechless.
Behind her desk, Cuddy tilts her head to the side and stares back at him, unconsciously pursing her lips with an adorable, almost childish pout.
House catches that look on her face, and right after, she sees him catch that look on her face, and instantly, she straightens up and clears her throat to compose herself.
"So," she says all business again, "do we have a deal?"
House gets up and extends his hand to her.
"We do," he says.
She gets up too, and takes his hand, shaking it vigorously. He notices that her palm is slightly sweaty, but her face remains perfectly undecipherable when she says:
"And don't forget to call James Winston to tell him about the position in Oncology."
"Wilson," he corrects. "And I will."
"Good."
She sits back in her chair and takes a deep breath, smiling victoriously at him.
"Good," she repeats.
"Thank you," he mumbles, looking down at the floor self-consciously, as he stands in front of her.
"Don't thank me," she says, still smiling. "You don't have a job, yet. I still need to convince the board to hire you."
"Yeah. I have every faith in your ability to do just that," he says, shooting a brief, but very conspicuous glance at her cleavage.
Her mouth drops open for a second, but she doesn't reply anything.
"So, Dean of Medicine, uh?" he says, more cheerfully. "Is that your way of making a difference?"
By the look of surprise on her face, and despite her quickly pulling herself together, he can tell she's taken off guard by his subtle reference to a conversation they had together a long time ago.
She bites her lower lip, again (she apparently still does that a lot when she's flustered, he notices) and tilts her head to the side to study him.
"Did I not just make one by hiring you?" she replies, with a hint of mischief in her voice.
"I thought I wasn't hired yet."
"Yeah, well… We'll see," she says, getting up again and smoothing her skirt down with the palms of her hands.
She puts out her left hand to signal him that their unscheduled interview is over.
"I'm sorry, I need to get back to work," she says, as he takes her hand in his to shake it.
But instead of releasing his grip right away, he keeps her slender fingers trapped inside his palm a little longer.
"No ring," he says casually, turning her hand up to expose her bare ring finger. "That's what the article said."
Again, her eyebrows briefly arch up in surprise, and she swiftly removes her hand from his, instantly bringing it to her neck to fiddle with her necklace's pendant.
Nervous, he thinks. Or is it a touchy subject?
"What happened to John?"
"Who's John?" she says, genuinely clueless.
"John. Blond hair. Brown eyes. Endocrinolgy class… Or was it Jim?"
For a second, she just stares at him with wide eyes, before throwing her head back and letting out a low, throaty laugh.
"Oh God," she says. "I have no idea."
She seems to hesitate for a second, almost imperceptibly shuffling her feet, and then she juts her chin up and plants her eyes in him.
"You?" she says, with perfectly faked offhandedness.
"Do I know what happened to John?" he deliberately teases her.
She tuts in disapproval but doesn't give him the pleasure to elaborate. He smiles.
"Stacy," he says. "Stubborn, strong-headed lawyer. You just did her a favor, by the way. She's been made partner in the holy grail of law firms here. I don't think moving out was ever really part of her plan."
"Oh," Cuddy says, bowing her head.
House can't see her face, and for a moment, he wonders if she feels sorry for him because – as he just implied – he's considered moving, or if she's surprised to hear he's in a relationship.
"Well, I suppose I should let you work now," he says.
"Thanks. I'll have an answer for you by the end of next week," she says. "Please, give your contact info to Brenda before you leave."
"Brenda?"
"My assistant; the one you didn't announce yourself to earlier," she deadpans. "She's also a nurse. You'll find her in the clinic just on your way out."
"Assistant. Of course," he says, amused.
He starts leaving but turns around to face her again as he arrives by the door.
"You drive a hard bargain Lisa Cuddy-"
She opens her mouth to answer but he beats her to it.
"I like it," he adds, narrowing his eyes as if he were assessing her somehow. "This is gonna be interesting…"
(...)
A/N
After cutting what I already wrote into separate parts, I now have three chapters ready to be posted, and a fourth that I can reasonably assume will be the last one, and which is half-way done.
So it is safe to say that the wait between chapters shouldn't be too long… ;)
Have a nice day ~ maya