Ch. 2

Lisa Cuddy had finished loading the dishwasher when her sister came up behind her, putting her half-empty glass of wine on the counter.

"So how are you really doing?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

"I told you Rebecca," Cuddy answered, as she grabbed the glass and rinsed it quickly before adding it to the dishwasher's top rack, "I am fine."

Rebecca followed her into the living room, watching her sister pick up toys along the way and toss them into the playpen. She did not seem to believe her sister, and she watched her carefully for signs of strain.

"You were together for almost a year," Rebecca continued. "It's the longest relationship you have ever had - I've seen you devastated over break-ups after just a couple of months-"

Cuddy turned around quickly, almost exasperated, and exclaimed, "I am telling you for the last time, I am fine."

Rebecca stood by the mantle, turning her attention to pictures of Rachel, while Cuddy sat on the couch and covered herself with the throw.

"So, this is why you left your family to spend the week here with me and Rachel, to check on me?" Cuddy asked.

Rebecca sat by her sister. "Guilty," she said flatly. "I didn't believe you on the phone; it just doesn't sound like you to be okay - to be so okay-"

Cuddy interrupted her. "Look, I pictured how it would feel when it ended with Lucas a hundred times while we were together, and it felt, it feels, just like I thought it would."

Rebecca looked at her sister, relieved to finally believe that she was indeed okay and that this wasn't an act. "What do you mean?"

Cuddy pulled her hair back into a ponytail and brought her knees up to her chest. "I mean, I miss the idea of having someone to share things with, the idea that I had a partner to help raise Rachel - but when it comes down to it - it was all just that - an idea."

Confused, Rebecca responded, "But he was here with you, wasn't he? He helped with Rachel. I don't get it."

"He was here, yes. He babysat Rachel. He gave me his attention. But he wasn't a partner. He didn't challenge me. He didn't understand me. He didn't push my buttons. Hell," Cuddy added, "he wouldn't even know where to find them."

At that, Rebecca shot her an all-knowing glance. "You did not just break up with Lucas - a guy who finally put you first - over some ridiculous, wide-eyed romantic notion that something could work out with Greg House?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

Uncomfortable with how harshly her sister always judged House, Cuddy got up abruptly and folded the blanket, leaving it on the couch. She stood by her sister and said, "Of course not."

Rebecca seemed satisfied with the response, she got up from the couch and they headed towards the guest bedroom.

"You have to miss the regular sex, though, I was living vicariously through you," Rebecca confessed. "Jeff is always working, always tired," she complained as she opened her overnight bag and looked for her pajamas and bathroom kit.

"Well," Cuddy confessed, "we had sex a lot, but to be honest - it wasn't-" she hesitated, "it wasn't amazing."

Halfway to the bathroom Rebecca turned around. Cuddy was blushing and averting her sister's stare.

"I can't believe this," Rebecca said, her voice riddled with disappointment and concern.

"What?" Cuddy asked.

"This is about Greg House, and that stupid night you spent with him in college - your first orgasm and all of that."

Cuddy sat on the bed as her sister watched her. "Orgasms," she said, emphasizing the plural. "And no - it's not about House. We're just now starting be friends again, real friends," she said honestly. "Lucas just wasn't the one, and I am not going to settle," Cuddy said simply.

Rebecca sat by her sister and put her arm around her. "If you say so," she said softly, unsettled at her new understanding that deep down, her sister was still in love with House after all.