Hit the Ground Chapter 2
Four weeks later
He was clicking his way through where some jerk he had worked with years ago, had just recently published an article on what he called "a major breakthrough in treating rheumatoid arthritis". This couldn't actually be farther away from what House had to say about it. In his eyes it was less a breakthrough than a filthy fraud.
"What is it with the reviewers these days" he shouted at the person he could hear entering his office.
"Is that the Sawyers article ?" he heard Cuddy's familiar voice and turned his head at her in surprise.
She had made herself quite rare in the past couple of weeks. He knew why and he had respected that, which was odd enough by itself. But she had not only stayed out of his business, she had actually avoided him.
He figured
it was because she hated being weak. Especially when he was
around. And she had shown more weakness to him than she had
probably ever shown to anybody else.
Obviously she had
needed a break from him to recover, to build up her wall of defense
against him again.
And he was fine with that. Less Cuddy
meant less worries, less annoyance, less hormones, less
yelling.
Less fun.
So actually he was
glad she was back, his only true enemy in this hospital. Apart from
the patients.
"Did you read it ?" he asked her still surprised.
"I reviewed it", was her simple answer and he rolled his eyes.
"Of course you did ! What did you get for your approval ? A new lab ? Sawyers' first born child ?"
He knew this last comment had been inappropriate and insensitive, this was her weakest spot after all that had happened. He knew it and yet he couldn't help but rubbing salt into that wound. But she ignored it.
"No. Even better. I got you upset. And that is way more fun", she answered victoriously.
House frowned. "Yeah, right. If you were Cameron I'd believe you. But you're not that obsessed with me."
"No. But it turned out to be a good study. The data were consistent, apparently Sawyers really did his homework."
"Except for the fact that all his data are completely wrong !" House interrupted her.
"Oh,
right." Cuddy's voice sounded even more sarcastic than usually
when she was talking to him.
"You don't agree with him,
therefore he must be wrong." She sighed and shook her head. "Grow
up, House."
With these words she threw a couple of files onto his desk.
"You need to sign these otherwise the hospital doesn't get any money from the insurances."
House looked up at her. After four weeks of Cuddy withdrawal that's what brought her back into his office ? For signatures ?
"Can't you just admit that you missed me ? And why all this material girl talk suddenly ? Thought all this helping the sick and poor wasn't about the money. You need new shoes, or what ?"
He bent to the side where he could see her feet and then let his eyes wander up towards her back.
"I'd forget about the Manolo Blahniks. Liposuction would be a better investment", he stated and nodded towards her bottom.
"I need to buy Christmas presents." She replied and her voice suddenly softened. "I'll get you one, too."
She gave him an illegible smile and sashayed away from his desk towards the glass door through which she silently left his office again.
"Forget me, save the money for the boob job you could need, too !" He yelled after her and smirked when she looked back at him over her shoulder and gave him her famous killer stare.
He had missed that stare. She probably didn't even know it, but it was sexy. It made it hard not to imagine her in a leather outfit with a giant whip and a couple of handcuffs.
But he knew better. Making love to her was like sipping hot chocolate by a fireplace. It was hot and soft at the same time.
He looked
at the glass door that reflected the red light of the setting sun
behind his back and leaned back in his chair.
Content and at
peace. For the first time in weeks.
Cuddy came
to a halt in front of the elevators and smiled to herself. She didn't
even know why she had been trying to avoid House at all costs. She
wasn't even sure if she had done it on purpose or if it had only
been her subconscience. Was it because he reminded her of that secret
they shared or because she just wouldn't have been able to deal
with him. But apparently dealing with him distracted her. She
felt much better now. She should have done this weeks before.
Maybe
he had just confused her with his sincerity, with all his caring.
Ironically that was what she couldn't have dealt with in the first
place.
None of that was left now. And that meant that the world had been restored to its original setting.
The elevator doors slid open and she stepped inside, pushing the button to go back the ground floor.
flashback
It had been years ago in a different hospital, under very different circumstances and in a much smaller elevator when they had first met.
It was
her first day of her Microbiology clerkship in the Department of
Infectious Disease.
She was way too early, as always.
And she was lost in the hospital.
She was just on her way
back up on her last attempt to find the right ward before she
would return to the main entrance where she would consult the
directory again. The elevator was packed with people and she squeezed
in and tried not to move, not to touch anybody. Having just learned
all about germs she was - at this point - too paranoid to trust other
people's hygienic standards.
Her eyes instantly made contact with another couple of blue eyes. They belonged to a man, a few years older than she was, who was apparently wearing his private set of dark blue scrubs and a white T-shirt under them. There was something about him that she couldn't quite figure out but he had definetely caught her attention with whatever that was.
On her way up the elevator emptied, one person after the other left and in the end it was just her and the man in the dark blue scrubs.
When they finally reached the 9th floor they both got out and Cuddy gave her fellow traveller a nervous smile before she turned into the other direction to look for the resident she had been assigned to.
Dr. Gregory House.
A sick moron, but a genius. That opinion was canon in medical school.
She seemed to be on the right floor and a nurse finally sent her to the on-call room, not being able to hide her pity for Cuddy. She knocked against the door and found herself facing the guy from the elevator again.
God
must have hated her, though. It When
she had finished introducing herself to him he let out a
whistle.
„You're
following me, or what ?" he barked at her and she sent a last –
minute prayer to heaven that this was not Dr.House.
„How
come I always get the hotties without the brains ?"
„I
am second best in my class", she therefore replied dryly, not
flinching, not blinking, not breathing, not doing anything that might
have made her look human.
Cuddy
had been warned though, so she was prepared, she was literally armed
to the teeth with sarcasm and her medical knowledge.
„Yeah,
second. I bet the best in class is a real ugly chick", he snapped
back viciously.
Cuddy
held her tongue, this was her first day, she didn't want to screw
with that doctor before she had even had the chance to prove that she
was indeed a very good student. So, instead of snapping back she just
stared at him.
A piercing stare that went straight through
the forebrain and down the spine. If stares could kill, then this was
the mother of them all.
Gregory
House smiled when he felt that stare tingling its way down his
spine. „Oh, this is gonna be fun !" he concluded
merrily and opened the door again to leave the room, leaving her
behind without any instruction for her four-week rotation. She
followed him down the hallway when he unexpectedly turned his head
and yelled at her over his shoulder: „Okay, kiddo.
You're gonna be following me everywhere I go, don't let the door
to the men's room come in your way. And - I like my coffee black
with sugar !"
