Thank you for the fantastic response so far!! I appreciated all your comments!


Belle.

And for once it might be grand to have someone understand I want so much more than they've got planned.

"Dr. Cuddy!"

Cuddy spun quickly, forgetting that the last time she did that in such a flurry, she broke a heel. She gave a smile to the young nurse, the source of the voice.

"Yes?" Cuddy asked.

"Here are those charts you wanted," the nurse extended a stack of charts.

"Thank you." Cuddy added them onto the pile already in her arms and began towards her office.

"Dr. Cuddy."

Cuddy stopped, frowning slightly. She just wanted to get to her office. She placed a smile on her face. "Yes?"

"Hey," Dr. Henry Samson greeted, giving her an overdone smile.

"Hi," Cuddy replied.

"Did you finish those books I lent you?" he asked. "I promised them to someone else."

"All six." Cuddy gave him a nod. "They're in my office. I'll get them to you before the end of the day."

Dr. Samson gave her another smile and then took off. Cuddy sighed with relief and took another step. She groaned when she heard,

"Dr. Cuddy?"

"Yes!" Cuddy quickly lowered her tone at seeing one of the teachers she had met the prior week. She placed a smile on her face. "Sorry."

"That's all right." The woman returned the smile. "I have the Plainsboro Middle School's eighth grade class here. Where is it that we're suppose to go? The third floor? Or was it the fourth?"

"No, not the fourth," Cuddy told her. "It's under construction. You want the third. And go to the left. It'll take you right to the nurse's station where she'll let you know where to set up for the party. We thank you very much for coming."

"Thank you, Dr. Cuddy," the woman replied. "It's our pleasure."

The woman walked away from Cuddy and towards a large group of students who were crowding her lobby. Cuddy drew in a breath to try and help relieve her stress and tension. She hurried to her office, ignoring two people along the way.

Finally alone, Cuddy shut her office door and went to her desk where she deposited the heavy stack of charts. There was a light knock on the door before it opened. Cuddy turned around quickly, facing the doorway.

"Good afternoon," Wilson said brightly.

"Busy afternoon." Cuddy moved around her desk and collapsed in her chair.

Wilson crossed the room. "Really?"

"Yes," Cuddy answered. "And I almost had an entire eighth grade go to the fourth floor. That'd be a lawsuit onto itself."

"Any news on when it's going to be finished?" Wilson sat down across from her desk.

"I haven't a clue." Cuddy gave a shrug and sifted the charts into two piles. "I see workers come by day in and day out, but all they can tell me is that it's a real mess up there."

"It's been over four years. You'd think by now they'd just give up." Wilson gave a little laugh.

"You'd think," Cuddy smiled, but it quickly faded. "But, they had the partial collapse and the broken pipes or something. A construction accident. I don't even know."

Wilson frowned. "Maybe we should have someone else come in and look at it. They could be using us for money."

"We're not the ones paying," Cuddy replied. "Insurance has covered it since the beginning."

"Oh." Wilson thought a moment and then stood up. "Are we going for lunch?"

"I wish." Cuddy held back a sigh and raised her eyes to Wilson. "I have too much to do. I'm sorry, James."

"It's no problem," Wilson told her. "I'll see you later at the board meeting?"

"Yes." Cuddy gave him a nod.

Wilson let himself out, passing a high strung Melinda Jackson on her way in. Melinda's hair was in tight light brown curls that bounced with every high heeled step. Cuddy tried not to slam her head against her desk at the sight of this woman.

"Dr. Cuddy, good afternoon!" Melinda greeted brightly as she crossed the room.

"So good," Cuddy muttered sarcastically.

"I wanted to propose this fundraising event." Melinda dropped a large folder onto Cuddy's desk. "For this summer. To raise money for cancer research."

"Doesn't cancer get enough funding for research?" Cuddy asked, staring up at Melinda. "Couldn't we pick something a little underfunded?"

"Like what?" Melinda's eyebrows drew together.

Cuddy shrugged. "I... I don't know. Lyme disease or something."

"Lyme disease?" Melinda repeated. "Really? Dr. Cuddy, cancer is always a winner. There's so many types. For women, we can head toward the breast cancer region while with men, we go for the prostate. We can also focus on leukemia. Childhood cancers."

"So, it's a vague cancer fundraiser?" Cuddy concluded.

Melinda nodded. "Yes."

Cuddy frowned. "I don't think..."

"Dr. Cuddy, do you not remember the last fundraiser?" Melinda sat down and dragged the chair closer to Cuddy's desk. "STI awareness? Condoms for schools? It failed. Miserably. No one wants to sponsor sex. They want to sponsor cancer."

"What about AIDS?" Cuddy's tone was tired.

"What about it?" Melinda perked up reasonably as if making up for Cuddy's exhaustion.

Cuddy sighed. "The STI awareness was heavily focused on HIV and AIDS. Don't you think that's important?"

"Well, sure, but the public doesn't," Melinda replied. "I mean, they do, but it's sex. Kids don't-"

"Have sex?" Cuddy finished for her. "I've seen three Clinic cases today having to do with teens with STI's. None of them with HIV, thank God, but only one of them had something that can be treated with antibiotics."

Melinda stared a moment. "So, the cancer's a no?"

"I..." Cuddy tried not to lose her cool after Melinda completely missed her point. "No. We can do the cancer. It's just... the STI's were important too. Educating our children is important. It's not always the big name things that kill us."

"Right." Melinda flipped open the cover of the folder and pointed to the bottom of the first sheet. "Sign here."

Cuddy lifted her pen and scrawled her name across the bottom. Melinda shut the folder and clutched onto it before jumping to her feet.

"Thank you!" Melinda was beaming. "You won't be disappointed."

"Of course not," Cuddy gave Melinda a weak smile before Melinda headed quickly out of her office.

Cuddy stood from her desk, now completely annoyed. She turned toward the window and slipped her fingers between the blinds to part them. Cuddy looked out at the bright blue sky, at the world that was too big with too many problems that ultimately left her feeling very small and very alone.