Title:I Hope
Chapter:1/1
Authors:jellybean30
Rating:PG13
Warnings:None
Pairings:Wilson/Cuddy & just a hint of House/Cameron
Prompt:A red rose in a trash can & The St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Disclaimer:Wilson strikes me as a babbler, at least in his own mind … jumping from thought to thought sometimes without even finishing them. Probably the result of trying to keep up with House's brisk mental processes all these years.

Sometimes I hate this place.

Of course I hate this place, it's my job. Everybody hates their job. Okay, not everybody, but a big enough percentage you can say everybody without fear of criticism.

That doesn't matter. What matters is this place specifically. This no man's land between the lobby and her office. Why on earth does her office have to be situated inside the clinic, of all Godforsaken places?

There's just no way for me to get in there to see her without everyone in the clinic seeing me.

Okay, it's not everybody seeing me that I'm really worried about. Of course not. Because not everybody would assume something nefarious was going on because a department head went to see the Dean of Medicine.

Oh no. The only somebody I'm worried will see me is House.

Fat chance, you say? This is the clinic, he won't be there.

Ah, but you'd be wrong. Because ever since I met him, he has always been exactly where I don't want him to be. It's inescapable. If he hadn't seen me with that stewardess when my first wife and I were still married ….well, okay, it was still me having the affair. But if I had been able to end it and work on things with her, instead of being caught by House who took some sick pleasure in telling her all about it, even making up a few sordid details he couldn't possibly have seen (please God he didn't see them) then maybe we could have worked it out.

Let's just skip all that. The real reason I don't want him to see me, or anyone else to notice me particularly, is this rose. This stupid red rose.

It's for her.

Of course it's for her, it's not as though I make a habit of walking around with red roses, so that if I should happen upon an attractive woman I can hand it to her. I'm sure House would like to think I do, in fact didn't he make that joke about six months ago….

Anyway, the rose is for her, and the mission now is to get it to her without anybody noticing. I've been scoping out the clinic for about ten minutes, and it is remarkably cane-wielding psychopath free as best I can tell. I don't know if he's scheduled for clinic duty today. I can't tell that without going in and checking and by then it would be too late. And who's to say he's not hiding out in one of the exam rooms, waiting to pounce on me like a hungry lion looking for a quick snack before dinner.

I hope he's upstairs napping in front of his TV.

What's it for? Oh, the rose.

Oh. Well. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I was hoping that maybe she'd …not already have a date. What if she already has a date? Screw what House says, she's not undatable. Far from it. I don't know how she's stayed single so long. I know she works a lot but so do I and I've managed to get married more than once. Okay, so maybe that didn't work out so well for me, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work out for her.

Right, the date. We had a … a thing on New Year's. No, I didn't sleep with her. Geez, you're as bad as House. No, you're right, that was uncalled for. I'm sorry. It was just a kiss. A great kiss. A fantastic kiss. It was the kind of kiss that made you glad to be a man.

Okay, I'm going in. What's the worst that can happen?

I stop at the desk to check the duty log. Cameron walks into the clinic and I close my eyes hoping she won't notice me.

Big mistake.

"Please tell me that's not for me," House says from behind me.

DAMMIT!!!! The whole time I was staking out the clinic watching for him he was watching me? Or was he watching Cameron? Either way, as soon as I saw her I should have known House wouldn't be far behind. He's got some thing going on with torturing her lately. It's like he's still in fifth grade and he's waiting to knock her off the monkey bars so she'll know he likes her.

"No, it's not for you," I say and I really, really hope Cameron will be enough of a distraction to keep him away.

"Wilson, House," Cameron says as she drops a patient file at the desk. She walks out without another word. I can see House is following her with his eyes, now is my chance to escape.

"Freeze," he commands, even pointing that damn cane at me.

"House," I start, and already I've got that pain in my neck.

"Is that for the Mistress of Pain?" he asks. Now, of course, everyone in the clinic is looking at us. I stare pointedly at the nurse at the desk, who finally goes back to her paperwork and I wait until the volume of the clinic returns to near normal before answering him quietly.

"Yes, is that a problem?" I ask.

"Only if you're looking for a re-enactment of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre," he says. "Not exactly the thing for a …what would this be, second date? Third?"

"House just stop. I'm going in there, and giving her this rose and asking her out and nothing you can say is going to change my mind," I tell him. That actually sounded good.

I turn and get maybe two steps when I heard his voice.

"She doesn't like roses."

I stop. Not because of what he said, but how he said it. He meant it. Or he wants me to think he meant it. Now I have to turn around; I can't tell unless I'm looking at him.

"Why not?"

"Just trust me."

I laugh. "No. You're lying to me because you want me to screw this up because you're miserable and you won't be happy until everyone you know is as miserable as you…or….you're telling me the truth, because you don't want me to screw this up and you're actually being nice, which I believe is one of the Biblical signs of the Apocalypse. Either way, not a good outcome for Jimmy."

"I don't…want to screw this up for you," he says quietly.

Holy crap he's telling the truth. "Why not?"

"You're going to make me say it? Fine. Because you're my friend and I want you to be happy." He looks pained, but then replaces it with a grin that makes me want to smack him with his cane. "Besides, you're easier to manipulate when you're getting laid regularly."

"Well thank you," I say. "And you're a pig. But why doesn't she like roses?"

"Oh that," he says and looks genuinely annoyed that he said something nice about me. Ha! "Roses were her grandmother's favorite flower. She died when Cuddy was little; they filled the house with them while the family was sitting shiva. Ever since then she's hated roses."

"Thanks," I tell him and drop the rose in the trashcan by the clinic admit desk. I walk toward her office, but not before noticing him take the rose from the trashcan and walk off in the direction Cameron went.

I open the door and all the saliva in my mouth dries up. I can't do this.

Yes I can.

She looks gorgeous. She's sitting behind her desk, face scrunched up in concentration while she listens to someone on the other end of the phone she has pressed against her ear. I hope whatever the problem is, that it's not going to keep her here tomorrow night.

She hangs up the phone and seems surprised, but pleased, to see me.

I hope I don't screw this up.

"Dr. Wilson, what can I do for you?"

"I … uh, I came to ask you…" I'm screwing it up already!

"Ask me?" she prompts. Does she look excited?

"Ask you," I squeak and then clear my throat. "I came to ask you if you're free tomorrow night. For dinner. Or a movie. Or a club."

"You want a date," she says, and now I don't know what to say.

"Unless you want to make out," comes out of my mouth and why do I keep saying that to her?!?!

"Can't we do both?" she asks and stands from behind the desk.

"Sure, I mean yes. Yes, we can do both," I babble. Oh my God, I'm babbling. Shut up!

"Wilson," she says sharply. It's enough to get my attention.

"You're going to have to get better at this while we're at work, or the whole hospital will know about it before we even go on a date," she says.

"Hmm, I think it's already too late for that," I say regretfully as I spy the vase on her desk with three red roses in it.

"Why?" she asks in confusion. Her eyes follow mine to the vase and she jumps to explain. "Oh no, James I bought those for myself. I love roses."

"I should have known," I say. She looks puzzled. "House just conned me out of the rose I had for you and I can't believe I fell for it."

"What would House want with a rose?" she asks slowly.

"Cameron," I say.

"Ah," she nods. "So dinner?"

"Yes," I agree.

"Dancing?" she asks as she comes a little closer.

"I can do dancing," I say. She's even closer now, and I recall that the blinds are drawn behind us. "So that just leaves the making out."

She kisses me.

I hope I don't screw this up.