-In the Evening-

[Cuddy]

The meetings took forever, but I'm glad I got it over with. The phone rings on my desk. I pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Greg?"

"No." I can feel my annoyance brimming to the surface. This is a bad day, and having one of his hookers call me up just to annoy me is not funny at all.

I hang up because I know the scripted lines she's supposed to say to me.

I place my head in my hands, running my fingers through my hair twice. I hate to mess up my hair, but I'm going home soon so it doesn't matter. Not really.

I've done enough work for today. I miss Rachel. I'm going home. I pick up my coat and head out the door, my car keys already in my hand because all I'm thinking about is getting through my front door and seeing my little girl's face light up with laughter.

[House]

Oh. Crap. Here she comes. Why does she choose today of all days to leave early? Early for her, I mean. I try to make my way inconspicuously to my bike, but I know that she already saw me. Really, how can you miss seeing a six foot two cripple in a leather jacket? With a cane, no less. Goddammit.

Wait. What… She's just walking to her car, pretending she didn't see me. I see a sliver of her lavender scarf as she slides into the driver's seat of her Lexus. I told her to ditch that damn car… What do I care? She can crash, for all I care. It'll prove that I was right. About everything.

She pulls out of her parking space, and I see her drive off. I climb unto my bike and ride home.

-Night-

[House]

I pump into her, feeling myself go deeper with each thrust. I have her pinned beneath me. I place one elbow on the bed, and, using my other arm, I bring her legs to rest around my hips. I settle into her more, thrusting faster and deeper. She moans as I feel the sweat forming on my forehead. Her eyes are closed. "Look at me," I tell her. She opens her eyes, and they're not her shade of blue. My eyes wander to her hair, and they're not the black curls I'm seeing flash through my mind. Goddammit. I grunt and I pick up the pace, pounding into her so that the bed is rocking. She moans louder and I feel myself spasm into her, feeling the release, breathing hard.

I roll off her, and I make a mental note to check the medical records on Daisy, who's next on my list. I'm glad I found Carly's medical records quickly today because I needed this when I got home. I reach over and take another Vicoden. One pill left.

[Cuddy]

I kiss Rachel goodnight as she looks at me with her normally round blue eyes half-closed. I smile and breathe in her baby shampoo. As I walk out the door, I hear her stir all of a sudden and ask, "Mama?"

"Yes, Rachel?"

"Where's House?" she asks sleepily.

I clutch the doorframe with my hand and close my eyes for a millisecond.

"He's very busy working on a case, honey."

"Oh... Will he come over soon to play? I wanna play feed the monkey."

"Uh…no, Rach. He's…really really busy so he can't come over for a while. But, he said to tell you hello. And he also said to not sneak out of the bed to get juice! Okay?"

"Okay, mama."

"Goodnight, honey."

"Goodnight, mama."

"Mama?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Tell House…Rachel sorry she sat on his leg on accident. I won't do it anymore. Tell him, okay?"

"I will, honey."

"Okay. Good night, mama."

"Good night, sweetie."

I make my way to my bedroom but pause and decide to go to the kitchen instead. I pull out the half-full bottle of wine and pour myself half a glass. Everything is such a mess. I can't bring myself to tell Rachel that he'll never be back. She'll cry and ask why. I don't know how to answer her right now. Not yet.

I pour myself another half glass of wine and lean back against one of the dining room chairs. I sit. I'm tired. Bone tired. I know I'll fall asleep on this table if I don't move into the bedroom soon, but I don't care. I don't care.

His lips are moving against mine with urgency, and he's covering every inch of my lips. I press closer into him and he tilts his head, covering my neck with kisses. I feel goosebumps erupt on my shoulders, and I can feel the tips of my breasts harden against his chest. He pulls my hips into his pelvis and kisses me again, securing me against him as his mouth opens mine and this thumb moves across my cheekbone. I kiss him back, feeling breathless but also feeling a surge of energy that overtakes me. I break the kiss, grab him by the shirt and push him towards the table. When he's leaning against it, I lean into him, kissing his throat while I unbutton his shirt and caress his chest. He sighs slightly and kisses me again when I slip his shirt off his shoulders. Still kissing me, he stands up slowly and changes our position so that he's pressing me against the table. His hands are everywhere, his mouth is swallowing mine, and I want him so much that my head spins. He lifts me unto the table and settles between my legs. He breaks the kiss and looks into my eyes as he unbuckles his belt and slides his pants and boxers to the floor. He steps out of his socks and shoes quickly. He's naked now, and I know that he wants to feel my skin against his. I pull my shirt over my head and place it behind me. He leans in to kiss my neck and quickly unclasps my bra. He throws the bra to the floor and lightly cups my breasts. He kisses me as he gently massages my breasts, and I moan softly into his mouth. His hands are soon peeling off my pants and panties and all of a sudden, I can feel him pressing against me, waiting to feel that I'm ready. I kiss him ardently and rub myself against him. He hooks his arms under my legs and enters me. I let out a little gasp, and he kisses me tenderly, helping me to relax. I melt into his mouth, and I close my eyes at the sensation of him moving slowly within me. He finds his pace, and I feel my muscles squeezing him tightly as he moves further and further into me. I shiver when he hits a certain spot, and I know that he'll take that as a sign to maintain that angle. He pushes harder and faster now, and I feel the ache within me building, increasing in pressure, and it's so painfully pleasurable I can't stand it. He pounds into me now, our needs mutually burning, us needing to feel consumed in each other. My muscles clamp down on him tightly and I involuntarily moan, even though Rachel is just down the hallway. I shake and writhe against him as he continues to thrust deep inside me, him finally reaching his release as he grips my hips with his hands. We both moan quietly as we slowly move our hips together, taking ourselves down from the high.. When we finally still, I lean my head against his chest, and he envelopes my head with his right hand. He kisses me on the top of my head, and we both close our eyes, catching our breaths. After a moment, he looks down at me, cupping my face in his hands, and I see his eyes illuminated by the moonlight that has drifted into the room. His eyes are…

I shudder awake, finding my hand listlessly gripping the wine glass. I shake my head, trying to clear the memory of us in this dining room, coming back to me in my semi-conscious state.

I will not cry tonight.

I finish the rest of my wine and head into my bedroom.

[House]

After she leaves, I fall back into bed. I close my eyes. I count the minutes. I can't sleep. God. I need a drink. I get out of bed and go into the kitchen. I rifle through the cabinets to look for something to eat with my scotch. Crackers, candy, popcorn, peanut butter, biscotti. Wait…. Biscotti? For a moment, I wonder where in the hell that came from and then I remember. Jesus. I thought I threw everything out. I grab the bag of biscotti, wrapped in a red bow, and throw it in the trash. I grab the bottle of scotch and start heading to the living room, but I change my mind. I turn back, pick the bag out of the trash, and walk to the living room with it in one hand the scotch in the other. I take a sip of the scotch. I don't use glasses at home much anymore. I tear open the bow of the bag and reach in for a biscotti. I eat one. It's a little bit stale, but, it won't kill me. I eat another one, chewing it in my mouth as I flip the TV on. I drink some more scotch. And some more. And I know I'm dozing off but it's comfortable here on the couch anyway so who gives a damn if I don't sleep in that bed.

"You didn't have to be such an ass!" She tells me in her whisper-shout voice.

"Well, he started it," I say half sighing and half rolling my eyes. "He totally disrespected me just because I have a cane! "

"Not getting the table you wanted does not mean you were disrespected! It means that the restaurant was full and you forgot to make reservations!"

I want to tell her that being disrespected and forgetting to make reservations have nothing to do with each other because the waiter was an ass to me solely because I was a cripple, but I know that pushing any further will land me on the couch tonight.

I hold my tongue and say, "Fine. Let's just get out of here."

The wind is getting colder, and she only has a light jacket on over her red dress. I want to put my arm around her to warm her up, but I know she's too angry right now for any contact. We walk in silence to the car. Once we're in, I start the engine, adjust the mirror, and wait for a while.

"Why aren't we moving?" she asks.

"Well, it's a long drive home, and I thought we should eat something before we get started."
"Are you kidding me? We just got kicked out of the only place that serves decent food around here."

"Well, just because we left the building doesn't mean that I didn't bring some of the molding back with me," I say as I bring out two bags of biscotti I had hidden under my jacket.

She gasps.

"House! Where'd you get that? Weren't those on display for sale in the open bakery at the restaurant?"

I suppress a smile. I actually want to laugh, but I also want to draw this out more.

"You…stole it, didn't you," she says as she looks at me with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, after that watch- out- where- you-rest- your- cane- grandpa comment, I figured the restaurant could afford to have some inventory go missing."

I know that she thinks it's funny, too, though I also know that she's trying to look indignant and shocked. She tries to suppress a laugh, but all of a sudden her stomach growls, and she bursts into laughter, grabbing at one of the bags. I hold both bags in one hand, away from her, so she can't get to either of them.

"Hey!" she exclaims as she laughs, trying to reach for them. "I'm hungry!"

I look at her face and how freely she's laughing, and I can't help but kiss her on the cheek- quickly, twice.

"Hey!" She stops laughing, but continues to smile, and she looks into my eyes. "What was that for?" she asks.

"Nothing," I tell her. She arches her eyebrow again, waiting for more, but I really don't know why.

"Well, mister, I'm too hungry right now for 'nothing', so move and gimme!"

I let her have one of the bags, and I throw the other in the backseat, knowing that she'll want to have some of them left for when she drinks her tea. Or for Rachel.

We eat the biscotti in the one bag together, making fun of each other, how she's chewing so loudly and I'm getting crumbs all over myself. When the last one is gone, I realize that the engine has been on for a while now and we'd better get going.

"House?"

"Yeah?"

"…"

"What?"

"I'm not mad you didn't make reservations."

I smirk and look over at her. She's so stubborn. Why can't she just say…

"Well, let's get going!" she says. I nod, and start to turn the wheel when says,

"House?"

"What?" I say, getting slightly annoyed.

She suddenly leans into my side, resting her head on my shoulder, draping my arm around her. She reaches up and kisses my cheek.

"Nothing."

Our eyes meet for a minute, and we both half smirk at each other.

I keep my arm around her and carefully ease out of the parking lot.

I wake up. There's a slight draft in the living room, and I didn't drink enough to keep my body temperature up for the chill. I take a last swig out of the bottle and head towards the bedroom.