Title : Finding peace, love, and trouble.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Too bad. Huddy would really exist!
Spoiler: Set after the other fic, so after the end of season 4.
Summary: Sequel to : A song to sing. Where House and Cuddy expect to find
peace, and will find... trouble!
Feedback: Please, let me know what you think.
Notes : Thanks again to Suallenparker for the beta-reading, and the sentences in italics, which were my beginning point for the second part... this is a Sequel, but there must be a sequel... to the sequel...^^
She was at her desk, attempting to finish the whole lot of paperwork that had invaded her personal space during the day. Which led her thoughts back to the other personal-space invader in her life. House. A few month ago, they were barely friends. A few hours ago, they were lovers, once again, like they have been for a month since their « talk ». But none of their friends had figured that out. The little bit of tenderness both of them had insert in their arguments were too slight to be detected by any of the rumor seeker's. Even Wilson. Another smile came to lighten Lisa Cuddy's face. Tears times had passed . Wilson had figured something was out, but wasn't even imaginative enough to see the truth in front of his eyes. His best friends, heading separately to end up together in one of theirs houses. Most of the time House's. The stairs made the difference.
And he was no longer caring for her invading his space. He was actually encouraging her this way. Quite disturbing, the faces of him she had discovered, but in a certain way, it just felt good. Very good at the moment. She knew that, when he would be about to leave the hospital, he would let her know. And call her a few minutes after that to make an appointment. Which would have nothing to do with medical stuff. Their arguments, they tried to lighten them so their private life won't suffer of it. The surely had some aftermath after a full day of mistakes (One of them had broken the MRI machine, guess which one), or tiredness-motivate words (Thanks to the sleepless night they could have share eventually).
In the month they spend together, and as the beginning of their 'real' relationship, music have had a good place. He eventually sat at the piano, her at his side, playing for both of them or simply letting music speak instead of him. Sometimes repeating the magic words to her after, so that he could be sure of his message, and her of her ears. The first, surprising, « I love you » she had heard from him sounded better than every music piece he could have been playing to her ears. He repeated himself twice ; not at the beginning, no. He had to be sure, of himself, of her, his feelings, and his choices. But once he was, they both felt something had changed. It was so much more than a simple friendship, and even more than physical attraction. They cared, and they enjoyed each other. Once, House even tried to tell his best friend. The oncologist thought it was a joke, and laugh at his friend´s seriousness. After all, if even this way he didn't understand, they better kept it to themselves, enjoying the « I know you don't know » game they were playing day after day at work. Until it would be too obvious. But even the bet of the nurses about them sleeping with each other continued and the « I'm sure they are not » part won. It sometimes brought doubts. Were they
right, could the two of them handle their new situation ? But then they just looked at each other once more and got lost of their clothes instead of their relationship...
Somedays, it turned into nightmares, but when the night came, everything was erased, like the diagnostic whiteboard.
As Lisa gazed at her speechless phone, she thought back to how they ended in each others arms for the first time since college. A smile playing over her lips as she remembered how good it had felt to be surrounded by his scent and his arms. For once in their non-love life, nobody was here to interrupt the moment, no Wilson seeking for his best friend, no nurses to deplore too many patients were waiting at the clinic. It was just the two of them, in need for comfort only the other could gave them. A silent understanding after the reverberating sad notes which were still floating in their minds. A moment of peace. Peace and love. As she thought so, her phone started ringing, and she was still smiling as she spoke.
"Lisa Cuddy...
-...
-Yes, I'm still in my office.
-...
-Sure, I´ll be there in an hour. "
She hung up the phone and sighed. She had an hour to finish all the paperwork and join him. She better started now if she didn't wanted to be late. He would made her pay for this. She better not thought about how... Too late... She already thought about it... Well it could be fun for her too... She smirked but stopped herself then. Her time was rare. Reading through his files didn't help her to be patient, and stay focused to her work. Quarter of an hour before she had planned to leave, she closed one last file and grabbed her things to go home. Her real home. The traffic was fluid, and her car made its way through it quite well.
His apartment was dark by the time she reached his door. As she slightly knocked and pushed the door, she just noticed the light of a candle, glimmering on the top of the piano lid. He was waiting for her. He knew she couldn't resist him. Or that's what he thought. He couldn't see her smile through the darkness of the room, but when she begun to speak, it was clearly discernable in her voice.
« What is all this for ? »
She felt more than heard the sentence he whispered in her ears. She didn't noticed him approaching, but the warmth of his body felt once more nice to her. She was confident, even thought he sometimes did weird things, he always had a good motivation, and was nearly always right in his thought. Nearly.
« Did you forget about today's date ? Or should I say some date 41 years ago ? »
Now feeling his embrace, she nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder. With his hand on her back, he lead her through the things spilled in the room, to the piano bench. Then let her seat down. Placing himself next to her, his fingers floating once again above the black and white keys, he just pressed a few of them, forming, in a little line, the first notes of « Happy birthday ».
C, C, D,
C, F, E.
He was humming the song in the same time, accompanying himself quietly. The instant was peace, and love once again, but the old slogan was nothing revolutionary. Still right, but in another way. When darkness are no longer the origin of fears, when candlelight is just the source of some hope and piano the story of their newly tied lives.
, , , , .
Everything, but him. But them. But the moment they were spending together.
The door bell suddenly rang and broke the magic of their instant. « House, open the door, I know you're in there, stop hiding! » Wilson's voice was clearly audible through the wood of the door, and the muffled sound of his shoes tapping on the doormat was a bad reminding of it. « What are we gonna do? » Cuddy asked, whispering in her lovers ears.
« What he wants me to do : hiding, then open the door, and ask him to leave.
Then hope he would. »
A smiled played with Lisa's lips in the dark, but he could still feel her smile against his cheek.
« Not coming » House answered out loud to his friend.
« You will, I´ve got a huge pizza for you, and dvd's as well »
-I´ve already eaten. Not interested in watching films while you try to avoid looking at me. If you wanna talk, admit it! »
After a few minutes of silence, and a not much silent interrogation of Cuddy, they heard James Wilson's dry reply, hurt.
« Yes, I wanna talk, I... I don't promise I'll forgive you, but I at least want to speak to you. As a friend. I realized you did your best for Amber but... I don't want to speak to your door instead of you... » Wilson's voice was as clear as his voice : he wanted his friend to show up. Now.
« If it's peace you want... » House made his way to the door, sending an «Excuse me for this » grin to Lisa.
« You haven't already eaten, have you? » Asked Wilson as soon as the door opened to reveal his old friend. He cut the interrogation of his sentence as soon as he saw the clothes House was wearing. A suit!!! House, wearing a suit! He had to be sure whether it was real, or a dream, the kind of weird
dream you remember and which made you laugh as soon as you wake up.
«You ok ? Last time I saw you wearing a suit, it was, it was.. I don't even remember when it was!! »
-Nice suit, sorry you didn't let me a minute to tell you so ! » Cuddy's replies was clearly... It wasn't clear at all.
Wilson looked at her puzzled. "Cuddy?"
She smiled briefly. "Hi."
"Told you, I´m screwing her... but who wouldn´t listen, eh?" House just mocked. Cuddy hit his arm.
She then look up to Wilson, who was standing completely stunned in front of her.
« If it's my picture you want, I'm not sure he would be ok with it. » She told with a grin, gesturing at House. When she noticed the look they were sending at her, she changed her mind.
«Well, 'have to go to the bathroom, just... speak.... » She then left them, on their own. Hoping they would have the talk they were waiting for for months. It felt so bad to her when she saw them falling apart after Amber's death, but she didn't know how to react herself. And staid buried in her own problems. Until House found out and lead her out of there. Was he ready to do the same thing for his friend?
In a different way, she then thought.
A smile on the lips, she locked herself in the small bathroom, and let them time to clarify what needed to be.
In the living room, the two men were staring at each other, trying to figure out wich one of them will be the one to begun what was about to be a very long talk. Or not.
« Well ».
The both begun and ended at the same time. A nervous laugh caught both of them off guard. It was not already the frankly begun laugh they were used to, but it was for sure a beginning. With all his usual « gentleman attitude », Wilson left his friend dive in the huge canyon they had dug since Amber's death. It was time to cauterize the scars, once and for all. A very blond scar, with eyes printed in your brain and burning in the inside. « Even dead, she causes problems » suddenly though House. Not wanting to say something like that aloud, he tried a more « peaceful » subject.
« We need to get back to our friendship. You want it, you need it, I want it too, and need it as much as you do. Or nearly. We need to speak, there's lot of things we are alone to know about. And it's better this way. Peace is a good plan, the one I want to adopt; for today, at least. Or let's say tonight. And not in the sense everybody else would take it. »
House finished with a slight grin. He didn't want war in his no-man's-land. Not with Cuddy around. Wilson anger's seemed to be over. He knew the diagnostician was right. But trusting a guy in a suit at this time of the day alone with his boss was still difficult for the distress person he was.
His back turned to his maybe-quite-newly-friend, House sat back down on the piano bench, and played a few note. Juste like that. To sort of link words and actions. Cleaning the whiteboard of their wounds. House was not the type of guy who easily faced his feelings, and Wilson knew about that. Even if Cuddy's presence in House's apartment was still surprising for him. Another enigma only House can solve. Or was it something else...
Leaving the pizza on a corner of the already full of stuff coffee table, Wilson sat on the sofa, or more likely collapsed on it. Sleepless nights were not helpful, he had fake conversation with his friend for hours, just to figure out what his reaction could be, and now, he didn't know what to say. It was too easy. Either something had changed, or... Or House was trying to hide something. And in neither way it was something good.
« She got a nice necklace...
-Uh ? » Wilson's reaction to his own soliloquy caught House off guard. This... had nothing to do with their friendship. Or had it ?
« I absolutely don't know what you're talking about.
-You're a bad liar, for once, your voice is slightly shaking, I know enough of you to say that what you just told me is a lie. Do you really want our friendship to be another lie, House? » The bitter tone of Wilson's voice was a total surprise for his friend. What could he say ? He told him the truth, he didn't bought it, but the lie neither.
« I told you the truth. The first time. About Lisa... »
This time, the one surprised was Wilson. Since when did House used his boss's first name? What was he referring to? Unless... But they couldn't...
« Oh my god » It was most likely a statement, he suddenly had realized what all that meant.
« You... and,.. and her, together? You should be kidding me it's.. it's... It's. Wow. Have I to say « Mazel Tov » ? » The sarcastic tone didn't fit the face of the well-polished oncologist.
« Could be... what are you thinking of it, I mean, really? I don't really bought the « happy-man-facade ». You just lose your girlfriend, and...
-I know what I've lost, thank you, I still think you're responsible for that. » Wilson's tone made House shiver, it was like the sham of the past weeks had fallen apart.
« I'm happy for you, but I still think you don't realize what you have, what you can loose. You won't until she will fly away from you and your whole damn character. Don't count on me to be there if she does. She'll be the one right in the whole story. »
Wilson then stood up. He made his way through the room, but as soon as she had heard the sharp tone of Wilson's words, Cuddy had gone out of the bathroom. She stood frozen, the door slamming only a few centimeters away from her. She felt tears coming, she had thought it could have been better between the two doctors. She was apparently wrong. Her stare crossing House's, she realized something. He was right. Once again, even if he surely wished he missed it for this one. Faking friendship was no way to repair their lives. It was still too early. With a sight, she sat next to House, pulling her hand on his, as a sign of support. It was all she could do. Showing him her feeling won't help him, just make him more miserable. But she won't fly away from him. Not without a really good reason. And he needed to hear that. Feel it.
Pulling him in her arms she tried to express what she would have said, if she didn't fear that her voice would have been too shaky. Happy birthday, she told herself. As an echo of her own thought, she heard it, whispered millimeters away from her ears. She thanked him, in a sad quiet voice. The magic of the beginning of the night had vanished. There was only the two of them with their fears for the future. And a cold pizza.