House watched her through the glass, tapping his cane absently against his shoe
House watched her through the glass, tapping his cane absently against his shoe. She was sleeping for the moment and he thought that this would be a good a time as any to go in, but he couldn't move his feet. He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest as she lay on the hospital bed and felt the anger in him start to boil once more. He recalled the phone call he had made earlier in the day…
"I'm afraid that without even a vague description of the man, we may not be able to bring in any viable suspects, Dr. House." a voice droned in House's ear.
"You have to be able to do something! What kind of place are you running!" House's voice was harsh.
"The best we can hope for is for the man to attempt another burglary. We will monitor the area around Miss Cuddy's –"
"Dr. Cuddy," House snapped, becoming increasingly annoyed. "And just make sure you do something to get this bastard."
He slammed the phone down before the police officer had a chance to reply.
House drifted out of his thoughts and looked through the glass again. His eyes immediately locked with hers. She had awoken and was watching him. Trying not to show surprise, but knowing there was no way he could just stand here now that she had seen him, he entered her room. She still didn't say anything and he cleared his throat.
"Blunt trauma to the head, broken left arm and dizziness from the chloroform." House said wondering how his planned, 'How are you feeling?' had turned into that.
However, Cuddy seemed to know what was going through his head and smiled slightly. "Thank you House…for coming."
House just stared at her for a moment before nodding and seating himself in the chair beside her bed. "How's the dizziness?"
"Better," she said watching as he checked her arm. "In fact, it's almost gone."
"Good," he murmured, leaving his hand on her forearm, even though he had finished checking her brace.
Cuddy didn't seem to notice. She was looking out of the window. It was nearing darkness. House felt her shudder slightly. "You can be discharged now," he said quietly.
Cuddy looked back at him and for a second he saw a flash of fear in her eyes again. Then she dropped her gaze to his hand on her arm and a look of surprise spread across her face. House automatically moved his hand away from her arm but as he let it rest on her bed, he felt a warmer pressure on top of it. Cuddy had placed her hand on top of his and that rendered him almost speechless.
She kept her head bent, looking at their hands. She took a deep breath and seemed to be steeling herself. House knew what she was trying to say as well as how hard it must be for her to say it. Cuddy never admitted that she was scared, especially to him.
Keeping his voice soft, he said, "You want to tell me what's going through your head?" and was surprised when he found that the teasing tone had left his voice. "It's normal for you to feel scared, you know…You can't be in super administrator mode all the time."
She looked up at him, slightly taken aback. But he saw her eyes flick to the darkness outside and felt a small pressure as she tightened her grip on his hand. "I don't think I'm ready to go back home yet," she said in a small, shaky voice.
House felt a startling surge of affection as he looked at her broken form. He tried to keep the gruffness out of voice. "Hey, don't worry about it," he said, squeezing her hand gently. "You can stay at my house tonight."
A look of incredulity spread across Cuddy's face. "I'll make you a bed on my couch and I promise not to make any inappropriate jokes." House said quickly. Cuddy smiled, removing her hand from his and placing it on the side of his face. The gesture was so unexpected that House found again that he was struck momentarily speechless. Cuddy suddenly seemed to realise what she was doing and flushed, immediately withdrawing her hand.
"I'm guessing that means yes," House said, trying to break the sudden silence.
"Are you sure it won't be too inconvi –"
"It'll be fine Cuddy. Come on, let's go." House helped her out of her bed and twenty minutes later they were in House's car, a comfortable silence between them.
As he drove, House couldn't help noticing how even though her body was limp with tiredness from hours of disturbed sleep in the hospital, her eyes still held unguarded fear of the darkness and of the prospect of returning to a house where safety could never be guaranteed.
"Alright, Cuddy?" he asked, pulling into a parking space in front of his apartment.
She nodded wearily, slumped against the back of the passenger seat. House watched her for a few seconds. "You know, we don't have to go into my house now. We could go for a drive around the area for a while if you wanted…"
Cuddy realised he was trying to make her feel more relaxed and smiled a little. She looked at his face and saw her tiredness mirrored there. The endless hours of waiting by her room in the hospital had gotten to him. "Thanks House, but we can go in now. Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?"
Cuddy nodded again and opened the car door. House got of the car and helped her out, carefully avoiding her left arm.
"Don't worry," she repeated again. "I can walk." She hated putting him through the unnecessary strain of looking after her.
Once inside, Cuddy looked around. She realised she had never actually had a chance to look around his apartment properly before. She smiled, seeing the large numbers of books that were stacked in bookshelves around every wall as well as the large collection of records next to them.
"Here," he said, coming out of his bedroom with a t-shirt and sweatpants and handing them to her. "Don't worry, they're clean. Bathroom's down the hall." Cuddy hesitated for a second before taking them, heading for the bathroom to change. She came out a few minutes later, feeling much more comfortable. It had taken her a while to pull the t-shirt over her brace.
House had already changed into his shorts and t-shirt, coming out of a room with a pillow and blankets and arranging them on the sofa. Cuddy found the action oddly endearing and had to repress the sudden feelings she sensed. She suddenly felt more awake.
"That's the best I can do," he said, straightening and rubbing his thigh. Cuddy watched him wince in pain. His shorts were just long enough to cover his scar.
"House," she said quietly. "Will you let me do something for you?"
"What?" he asked, not really sure what to expect.
"Will you let me massage your thigh? It's the least I can do to repay you for letting me stay here tonight. I'll only be able to do it with one hand though…"
House tensed. He wasn't sure about this. He never let anyone touch his thigh, let alone massage it. He watched her carefully; she looked so broken. Surprising himself, he felt his head nodding.
He sat on the couch, wondering how she would do this. She seated herself next to him. "Turn around with your back against the arm rest," she said quietly and he obliged. "Put your legs across my lap."
House hesitated at this request but after a moment in which neither of them said a word, he lifted his legs and let them rest gently across her lap as she sat on the sofa. Her fingers light, Cuddy slowly pushed up the fabric of his shorts, revealing the scar. House watched, waiting to see her flinch or shudder from the gaping hole in his leg. She did neither.
She kept her eyes down, taking in the destruction that she had helped cause. She reached with one hand and gently traced his scar with a finger. House stared. Her touch was so light he could hardly feel it, but he could see her tracing his pain; pain that he could see reflected in her own eyes. Cuddy took a deep breath and House wished he could tell her that he didn't blame her for what had happened to his leg.
"Ready?" she asked, finally making eye contact with him. He nodded wordlessly, watching her intently.
She started massaging his leg and House gradually let himself relax. It felt like…bliss. The pain in his leg lessened under her touch and she never took her eyes of her fingers. He continued watching her, taking in every detail of this moment. She was focussed in her task, putting all her energy into it. He felt himself drifting under her gentle ministrations.
Fifteen minutes later, Cuddy stopped, flexing her hand. She glanced at House and smiled. He was asleep. She leant back against the couch and watched him, her eyes travelling across his face. He looked peaceful in his sleep, his problems gone. Cuddy reached over his legs and grabbed one of the blankets she had placed on the coffee table, spreading it over him and herself. House shifted at the movement and opened his eyes.
He saw Cuddy sitting on the sofa, his legs still over her and half-smiled when he felt no stabbing pain in his leg. "You weren't going to wake me up?" he asked, his voice gruff with tiredness.
"I didn't want to," she murmured. "You haven't had much rest today."
"And what about you?" he said softly, removing his legs from her lap and sitting straight next to her, the blanket falling to his lap.. Cuddy felt a slight pang at the loss of pressure she had grown accustomed to in the last twenty minutes.
"I…" Cuddy trailed off and House realised why she hadn't woken him. She didn't want to be alone. House's heart twisted for her. Cuddy saw the realisation in his eyes and felt embarrassed of her vulnerability.
The next thing she knew, House's arm was around her shoulders and he was drawing her closer to him under the blanket. Cuddy immediately tensed. House whispered into her hair, "Don't worry. I won't leave you alone." Stunned, Cuddy tried to hide her smile by resting her head on his shoulder, all previous tension relieved from her body, but House put his hand under her chin and she brought her eyes to his.
Blue fixed on blue as they read each others emotions. Hers was trust and compassion, all fear gone whereas his was care and something that looked suspiciously like tenderness.
Cuddy suddenly saw how close they were to each other and her heart started to race. She could feel the warmth emitting from his body. She stared up at his face, wondering whether he was feeling the same thing. She unconsciously leaned forwards. She needed something to be right. She needed to forget what had happened.
The glaring ring of the phone made the two jump and Cuddy immediately sat back against the chair, flustered. Scowling at the interruption, one arm still around her shoulders, House reached for the phone next to him and snapped, "What?"
Cuddy could hear Wilson's voice through the phone. "House, I heard about Cuddy. Is she okay? Nurses at the clinic said she checked out with you."
"Cuddy's fine," House said, watching her blush slightly from the corner of his eye. "I brought her to my place."
There was a suspicious silence on the other end of the phone. "Alright…"
House rolled his eyes, anticipating the lecture. "Don't even start, Wilson," he said, still more than a little annoyed at the interruption.
"Well, just be careful there House," he said. "I'll be back tomorrow so see you at work. Tell Cuddy I said I'm glad she's alright." Wilson hung up.
House hung up the phone and looked down at Cuddy. She was resting her head against his shoulder again and he found the pressure welcome. "Jimmy said he's glad you're okay." he said, his hand squeezing her shoulder. Cuddy smiled and nodded silently.
The moment from before was broken. It was as though it had never happened. House sighed before picking up the remote and turning on the television, lowering the volume; his way of showing Cuddy that he was going to stay with her tonight. Cuddy's hand found his under the blanket and she nestled her head deeper into his shoulder, shifting closer against him and closing her eyes. For the first time that night, House genuinely smiled.
He waited until her breathing became slow and even before switching off the TV. He looked down. She was in deep sleep. He put a pillow on his lap before moving her so carefully, so gently, not wanting to wake her. He moved her head from his shoulder to the pillow on his lap and reached over her to straighten her legs on to the sofa. Then he spread another blanket over her. He sat back against the chair and re-entwined one hand in hers, gently running his thumb over her fingers. He rested his head against the sofa and closed his eyes.
He would keep to his word. He wasn't going to leave her.
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! Reviews are love. :)
