Dr. Lisa Cuddy had so much going for her and she knew it…. well, she knew most of it. She knew she was good-looking. She knew she was brilliant. She knew she was well-liked. She knew she was respected and tough. She also knew she was tenderhearted but worked to keep that to herself and a small circle of friends. What she didn't know was she was deeply loved by two men, admired by many doctors and had infatuated many of the medical interns.

Lisa knew she had to make a life-altering decision today and stick with it. That decision didn't have all the facts but what she didn't know made life more interesting for her and all the more difficult for the bane of her existence, Dr. Gregory House.

Wilson loves her. House loves her. Rachel loves her. Well, Cuddy knows Rachel loves her but she didn't realize the full extent from Wilson and House. Dr. James Wilson had occasionally fantasized about his boss, Dr. Lisa Cuddy. God, the man couldn't help it. He was, after all, a man and House was constantly throwing the hot womanly facts in his face about Cuddy's body, her eyes, her sexiness. Yes, Wilson had had a Cuddy fantasy more often than he cared to share. Something he couldn't share with House lest their friendship be permanently fractured.

House on the other hand could never admit to others how much he cared for Cuddy because simply put, he was a pure chicken shit when it came to matters of the heart – more specifically – his own tiny cowering little quivering fearful vulnerable throbbing heart palpitating loudly whenever the tiny brunette was near him. House was a warrior in all things science, medical and reality… except for love. There, he was terrified mostly of what he'd let himself do for it and what he'd do to himself if he went for it and was rejected. He'd learned the hard way with Stacy but proud of himself for learning to move forward. He'd been around long enough to know that women like Lisa Cuddy were rare, practically nonexistent and definitely out of his league. He couldn't afford to screw this up or he'd be alone for life. Cuddy was perfect for him and he knew it. The problem is he was not perfect for Cuddy. If fact, he was far from it and scared of that fact.

Lisa Cuddy was upset mostly with herself for allowing her heart to be torn apart time and again (not that she wasn't partly to blame for her own cowardice in matters of the heart). Why did she put up with the abuse from House? Sure he was complicated and living in pain but still he had no right to take advantage of her generous nature. She had had it with the mean one-liners (granted, they were rare) and the inability to communicate his real feelings. For godsakes, the man was 45 years old. Time had come to grow up!

Today, Lisa Cuddy was going to take charge of her damn near non-existent love life! She decided she was no longer interested in waiting for Dr. Gregory House to make the first move. She'd make the move and if he didn't respond, he'd be left behind. She had things to do, people to see and a life to live. Who the hell was he to decide things. She didn't need his approval. She was a woman that got what she wanted when she wanted it and House would be no exception, she decided. That is, after she got her knees to stop shaking.

It was customary on Thursdays. Cuddy and Wilson had a standing lunch date every Thursday like clockwork. Wilson stopped into her office, waited for her to log out and walked her to the cafeteria downstairs.

"Do I detect a little extra bounce in your step today?" Wilson smiled ruefully at Cuddy.

"Maybe" Cuddy smiled.

"C'mon, Cuddy, fess up. Something's changed. What is it?"

"Just a personal decision I made this morning," Cuddy revealed with a sigh.

"Ooh. Juicy stuff. Tell."

"God, Wilson, you are such a girl sometimes!" Cuddy laughed

"Ouch, you know you're starting to sound a lot like House!"

"Ouch and touché!" Cuddy teased.

"So what did you decide?" Wilson asked.

Wilson opened the cafeteria door and allowed Cuddy to enter first. The two headed to the lunch line and Cuddy handed Wilson a tray before taking one herself. The two loaded their trays and moved to a table. Dr. House watched the two take a seat in the far corner of the lunchroom. He knew about their weekly lunch session and knew enough to not be jealous but to wait anxiously to get the lowdown from Wilson later in the afternoon.

"I see House is keeping an eye on us," Wilson murmured.

"Yeah, subtle, he isn't." Cuddy agreed. She nodded to House and he nodded back with a small smile and a little glare.

"So what did you decide?" Wilson repeated. "You know you want to tell me."

Cuddy sighed. "Fine. It's about House."

"Aaaah! I knew it. Rather, I hoped it was about House." Wilson smiled.

House heard his name and it took every fiber in his body to not lift his head but he managed to focus his ears as hard as possible to hear more. Pretending to play with his PSP video game, he slid backwards in his chair and stretched out angling his head to hear a little better.

Cuddy leaned in and whispered "I decided I'm taking control."

"Oh thank god! Wait, no…what does that mean?" Wilson looked confused.

"It means…." Cuddy said purposely delaying the response as she took a bite of her salad, "that I decide IF, WHEN and WHERE."

"I'm lost. What do you mean?" Wilson asked. House could barely keep his butt in his chair as he leaned back as far as he could. He had zero idea what Cuddy meant but had to know.

"I mean that if House and I are ever meant to be together then it's up to me since House is too much of a chicken to do anything." Cuddy said.

"Interesting." Wilson commented. "Well, that is true. House is a chicken, a little boy. We both know he wants you and he's obviously interested in pursuing you but he's just a little kid about how to romance you." Wilson chuckled. House heard this and frowned to himself. "The hell I'm a little kid," House muttered to himself.

"So what are you going to do?" Wilson prodded Cuddy who was toying with her salad's remains.

"I don't know but when I'm ready I'll make it clear. Either he steps up or he steps off – permanently." Cuddy said quietly. "I'm tired of this cat-and-mouse mess. I want a man who knows…." Cuddy blushed. "What I mean is I'm attracted to a man who knows what he wants. House acts like he knows what he wants but he's too scared to put action behind those thoughts. So,…." Cuddy trailed off.

"You want a man…" Wilson teased.

"I KNEW you were going to focus on that part. Wilson, listen, if he can't make up his mind, then I'll make it up for him." Cuddy said firmly, looking Wilson directly in the eyes.

"Wow, Cuddy! Good for you. To tell you the truth, I can't take much more of this either," Wilson admitted.

"Ha, what are you saying?" Cuddy asked. "Playing cupid exhausting you?"

"I'm saying that if you two aren't meant for one another then that means I still have a chance." Wilson said glancing down at his plate.

"Oh James, you're not House's type! You don't have the mammaries…." Cuddy chided him.
"That's not what I meant," Wilson glanced back at Cuddy and leaned forward. He reached forward and placed his hand on hers. "If House doesn't know what he's got, he's an idiot. I've been patient but I don't plan to stay that way forever."

Cuddy was stunned and her eyes went to his hand on hers. House was watching and wasn't aware of his play station console cracking in his hands. Cuddy exhaled slowly. "James, are you ….?"

"Yes, Lisa, I am serious"

"James, wait a second," Cuddy straightened herself in her chair, sitting taller and staring back at James in his warm brown eyes. "When did this…"

"I'm tired of watching my best friend hurt my other best friend and denying each other happiness and I realized it doesn't have to be that way." Wilson paused. "I know what I want and I've been waiting to see if things work out like they're supposedly meant to. Hopefully House will grow a pair but if he doesn't then he's not man enough for you." Wilson finished quickly. "So, the story is out. Now you know." Wilson stood up gently pushed his chair in, picked up his tray and placed his hand on Cuddy's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. Cuddy's jaw dropped and House fell out of his chair.