Hi Everyone! I actually got another chapter done earlier than I had expected so I'm posting it now. I also wanted to say thanks for the reviews! I was a little nervous about posting a Cuddy/OC story, not sure if anyone would be into it…but you guys are GREAT! Ok, now it's chapter time ;)
Chapter 2
Cuddy was about twenty or so feet away from the hospital cafeteria when she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
"Everything ok?" Kevin asked her with concern before his eyes followed her gaze towards the view inside of the cafeteria.
Standing at the service line of cafeteria was the same man that had been in her office earlier. The one Lisa had told him was a docto and who was now accompanied by another man with dark brown hair and a friendly face, wearing a white lab coat.
"Everything's fine." Cuddy replied, getting ready to start walking towards the cafeteria again even though the sight of House had set off a silent alarm inside of her.
She knew as soon as House spotted them it would bring nothing but trouble. As he would, no doubt, walk up to them at some point, either while they were in line at the counter or after they had taken a seat inside the cafeteria. His sarcasm sharpened and pointed directly at her as the presence of her with another man would bring out the worst in him, even if they were merely discussing business.
"Listen, would you like to go somewhere else for lunch?" Kevin questioned to her after seeing the worry that had suddenly spread across her face.
Cuddy shook her head, "No, you're pressed for time, besides the cafeteria here is fine." She assured him just as House turned, spotting them both.
"I'm sure the cafeteria here is fine, but you however don't seem fine about eating in there. In fact….. right now it seems like that cafeteria is last place on earth you want to be." Kevin stressed to her again with concern as their eyes locked.
It was obvious to him that the doctor leaning heavily on his cane inside the cafeteria and currently glaring outat them had caused the woman standing before him a great amount of pain, her face unable to hide the stress at the thought of coming face to face with him again.
Cuddy swallowed hard, embarrassed and ashamed that her reaction to seeing House had been so transparent to this man.
She needed to be stronger than this.
"No, really…. it's ok. I don't…" She started to say while feeling the heat of House's gaze upon her.
With a conscious and deliberate action, Kevin took a step in front of Cuddy, effectively blocking her from House's view and watching her grey eyes fill with surprise as they moved up to meet his face.
"Tell me something Dr. Cuddy, how long has it been since you've had a decent plate of pasta? You know the kind of freshly made pasta that so tender you're nearly drooling when it comes to the table? With scratch made Mariana on top of it filled with vine ripened tomatoes that makes the sauce slightly sweet yet savory at the same time?"
Cuddy looked up at him stunned. "I…excuse me?" She stuttered, feeling her breath catch in her throat as reality...unexpectedly and without warning hit her square in the chest.
The man before had done something truly amazing, seeing how upset she was and performing an act of chivalry...however small it may have been in her honor…which was something she had not experienced in a quite a long time.
Kevin smiled down at her, struck once more by her beauty but also taken totally aback that she truly was surprised another person actually cared about her well being and how their current situation was effecting her. It was sad and intriguing at the same time.
He felt like he should reach out to her and touch her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but hesitated. She was a strong woman. He could tell that in the way she had dealt with the doctor inside her office earlier. However, even the strongest of people have times in their life that cause them to become battle weary. He knew this from his own experiences in life.
"Listen Doctor Cuddy, I know guy's can be jerks at times. But instead of worrying about what that jerk inside the cafeteria is going to do or say to you when we go inside, I say we cut the jerkiness out of the equation and go enjoy a nice lunch." He proposed to her again, watching her with interest as she let out a short sigh, seemingly grounding herself again.
"Ok." She agreed with a nod, feeling the tension that had been swelling inside of her at the sight of House just a few moments ago start to recede like waves of dying tide.
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"This place is really nice." Cuddy commented over to Kevin while taking in the view of the cozy Italian restaurant situated on the outskirts of Princeton that he had taken her to.
They had opted to dine outside where the patio of the dining area was paved with worn red bricks that led to each separate table. Among the laid brickwork were numerous small trees, flowers and shrubs in large terracotta planters. There were also stained glass figurines on wrought on stakes that captured the afternoon sun's rays, creating specks of colored lights that spilled across the bricks at their feet.
Their table was made out of wrought iron as well as was their chairs, the seating outside relaxing and intimate at the same time as the twelve or so tables were spaced amply apart with the scenery creating a nice border between them.
"I'm glad you like it, and just wait until you taste the food." Kevin replied back to her before picking up his menu.
Shortly after being seated Kevin had take off his suit jacket, hanging it on the back of his chair before rolling up the sleeves on his white, pressed dress shirt. He then proceeded undo the top two buttons on his shirt, loosening his tie and remove it before stuffing it into the right pocket of his suit jacket while telling her that there was only so much of a price he was willing to pay for the pasta gods.
His confession had made her laugh and again confirmed to her that getting away from the hospital to spend time with this man was probably the best decision she had made today.
Once more Cuddy noticed how at ease within himself this man was; glancing over at him from time to time as he absentmindedly rubbed his jaw as his eyes traveled down the menu.
"So about your donation to the hospital?" She inquired, pulling herself back to the business at hand and crossing her legs under the table as she picked up her own menu.
He glanced up at her and smirked. She was wearing a light pink summer dress with a v neck opening and looked like a piece of heaven here on earth..
"Oh, so it's all business with you Doctor Cuddy?" He asked her with a smile.
"Call me Lisa." She responded back to him, as their surroundings as well as his casual laid back attitude were now easing away even more of her stress.
He cocked his head. "Hmm….. now you've really got me confused?" He countered, placing the menu back down on the table.
She rolled her eyes at him, rather enjoying the conversation they were having. "There's nothing to be confused about. You were nice to me today at the hospital when I was obviously being anything but professional." She pointed out to him, of course referencing her behavior towards House.
He let out a soft laugh, leaning closer to her from across the table. "You should always be treated nicely...and if flirting with me is considered unprofessional….." He began to tease, even though he knew what she had meant by her pervious comment.
"I wasn't flirting." She interrupted quickly while straightening up a bit in her chair, however she was unable to hide the smirk on her face.
He took a moment to look at her, taking everything in about the alluring beauty seated across the table from him before leaning back in his chair.
"You're truly are one interesting woman Lisa Cuddy." He then remarked as a warm breeze passed by the both of them.
The soft kiss of summer air had caused a few strands of her hair to fall across her face and Cuddy quickly pushed them aside.
"How long did it take you to come up with that line?" She asked him suspiciously and with an arched eyebrow, having been told many similar lines in her past by men who wanted nothing more than a romp in the hay with her.
"About thirty seconds after we met." He told her with a small nod, followed by as soft laughter that told her he was indeed telling the truth.
"You thought I was interesting the moment you met me?" She questioned, her eyebrows now wrinkled in disbelief.
"No." He responded to her before continuing.
"I said I thought you were interesting thirty seconds after we met." He clarified, watching as her eyes continued to stare back at him with doubt.
"However, for the first twenty nine seconds... I just thought about how beautiful you are."
Cuddy suddenly found herself at a loss for words as his deep blue eyes continued to stare into hers, silently letting he know he had meant every word he has spoken to her.
Thankfully at that moment, her cell phone that she had placed on the table began to vibrate.
They both looked down at it together.
"I should take this." She said to him, happy to have the reprieve as her heart was still reeling from such an honest and flattering compliment.
He nodded to her in understanding before taking out his own phone from his suit jacket.
"Cuddy." She answered, glancing over at Kevin as he began to text on his phone while she listening to the voice on the other end of the line.
"Dr. Cuddy I hate to bother you at lunch, but Dr. House isn't here for his clinic duty and we've got a line of patients waiting to be seen." The charge nurse at the front desk informed her.
Cuddy let out a sigh of frustration. "Call Jacobs and see if he can cover." She instructed glancing over at Kevin once more as he finished up his text and placed his cell phone on the table.
He then flagged down the waiter, asking for a bottle of wine and some appetizers to be delivered as he waited for her to finish up with her phone call.
"This will be the second time this month we've had to ask him." The nurse reminded her.
"Jacobs owes me for getting his clinical trial approved." Cuddy informed the nurse while looking down at Kevin's cell phone he had placed on the table and seeing the display picture of two adorable little girls grinning up at her.
"Ok, will do. Have a nice lunch." The nurse replied back to her before hanging up.
Placing her phone down on the table as well Cuddy nodded over to Kevin's phone.
"Are those your kids?" She asked him with a small smile, glancing down at the picture again.
"No, those are my sister's kids. The last time I was over there they were going through the pictures on my phone and told me they needed to get top billing." Kevin informed her with a grin as he picked up the phone, handing it to her.
"They're so cute." Cuddy remarked with another smile. "How old are they?"
"Emma is eight and Maddie is five." He answered, noticing how staring at the picture of his nieces had made her eyes light up in the most beautiful way.
"Do you have any kids?" He then asked her just as she gave the phone back to him.
Cuddy nodding, "A little girl named Rachel." She responded before picking up her own phone and pulling up a picture of her daughter on the screen.
She then handed the phone to him, feeling a slight flutter in her stomach as their fingers touched that she could not deny was nothing less then an instant attraction.
"Wow…she's really cute." Kevin said with a chuckle, staring down at the photo.
"Thank you. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me." Cuddy told him softly as her eyes traced the features of his face, seeing in his eyes that he was again telling her the truth.
He looked up at her, pausing for a moment before he spoke.
"If you don't mind my asking, is that doctor giving you such a hard time at the hospital Rachel's Father?"
Cuddy paused for moment as well before answering him.
"No, I adopted Rachel when she was an infant."
"But you were in a relationship with him at some point?" He asked carefully, hoping it would not seem too intrusive but unable to hold himself back...especially not after the way his heart began to beat a little faster inside of his chest after their fingers had touched.
"We only dating for a few months, but I've known Dr. House for over twenty years." Cuddy explained, amazed at how comfortable she felt discussing such private issues with a complete stranger.
"I take it things didn't end well?" Kevin asked her with genuine concern, seeing a sadness being to fill her eyes.
"No, it didn't." Cuddy whispered, as her throat tightened.
Dammit…she was not going to start crying in front of this man.
Immediately Kevin felt his heart sink. He shouldn't have asked her that. It wasn't right of him to do so. This wasn't what two strangers are supposed to talk about.
But... there was something about her...something inside of him that instantly felt a connection with this woman.
"You're going to be ok Lisa, it just takes time." He whispered back to her softly as second later, not knowing where the words had come from, but thankful they had came just the same as an effort to try and diminish the sadness in her eyes.
Cuddy bite down on her bottom lip, nodding her head at him as he offered her back the cell phone.
"Thanks." She responded with a soft and somewhat sad laugh. "You know… I feel like I should be paying you a fee for listening to me talk about my ex boyfriend during a business lunch." She then added, hoping that her behavior would not cost her the donation to the hospital or make him see her as nothing more than a hopeless woman with a broken heart.
"You don't owe me anything. We all go through his kind of stuff, Lisa." Kevin reassured her, shaking his head while easing back into his chair a bit.
"That's sweet of you to say." She answered, her eyes leaving him for the moment as the waiter approached their table once more.
The waiter placed their appetizers on the table before filing their wine glasses and taking their order for their entrees before walking away.
"You know Lis, I've been thinking, if you're really feeling guilty talking to me about your ex, the least you can do is take me out on Saturday and make it up to me." Kevin announced suddenly, watching with delight as her beautiful face filled with surprise once more.
"You're asking me to ask you out on a date?" Cuddy questioned to him with disbelief.
"I guess I am." Kevin responded back to her, giving her a quirky grin as he reached for his wine glass from the table.
Cuddy held back a her own smile, biting down on the inside of her bottom lip as the man seat across the table from her waited on her answer.
"Fine, it's a date." She conceded, suddenly feeling very good about herself as if she had been granted a breath of fresh air to clear out the cobwebs in her brain.
"But ...you have to pick where we're going." She added coolly, picking up her napkin from the table and placing it upon her lap.
"You drive a hard bargain. But I think I'm up for the challenge." Kevin responded, feeling at that moment that he was the luckiest man on earth.
