Thanks again everyone for the reviews. This is another short one…so if there are no objections…none at all….then I think I'll go ahead and post the last chapter as well…today. What do you all think? Any objections? Do I see a hand raised there in the back? No? Ok then…..it shall be done. You know, after I spend some time obsessively editing it. :-P 'Giggle, giggle.' For now, take a trip through time with our beloved House and Cuddy.
Chapter 3
7 Months Ago
"Can't we just elope?" House whined.
"My answer hasn't changed from the last time you asked." Cuddy replied.
House sighed, leaning his head back on the couch in her office as they sat side by side with their feet propped up on the coffee table. It was the end of the day and they were both enjoying the few minutes they had before Cuddy had to pick up Bella from her after school activities and House had to get back upstairs to his patient.
Cuddy turned her head to look at him, reaching over and taking his hand in hers. "House, it's just one day. I think you can manage to be pleasant around a few people for that long, don't you?"
House turned his head as well, looking into her eyes. "Do you even know me?"
Cuddy rolled her eyes and dropped her head back against the couch, pulling her hand from his and setting it back onto her lap. They had been discussing certain aspects of the wedding for the last month as they had time. So far, they hadn't agreed on much, the ceremony being one of them. Cuddy wanted to go big and House didn't. They seemed to be stuck on that particular argument. But a week ago, they decided to try and move passed it and get more serious about the planning. They hadn't even set a date yet. But instead of discussing that at the moment, they had somehow ended up going back to the ceremony.
"Why do we have to get married in front of a bunch of idiots we don't even like? I say we just buy some tickets to Vegas, grab our kid, and get married there."
"House, I told you I want my family there. Don't you want your mom to be there?" She asked, turning her head toward him again.
House sighed after a moment and gave her a short nod of his head. "She'd pretty much bludgeon me to death if we got married without her. You'd end up a widow and a single mother as soon as she found out about it."
"See? I'm saving your life, here." She teased, leaning over and kissing him softly.
House looked up at the ceiling a moment later, rubbing his right hand over his face. "So how many people are we talking here?"
"I don't know, a few friends from the hospital, the Board, your team, both of our families." She responded.
House sat up and turned his head toward her. "You want to get married in front of the people we work with, and that we see on a constant, irritating basis?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, why not? They're our friends."
"The people that work here, the Board included, but with the exception of Wilson of course, are not our friends. We don't hang out with them or invite them to dinner and especially not to important events in our lives. They're our co-workers, that's all. They don't need to see us tie the knot." He argued.
"What is your problem?" Cuddy asked, sitting up from her reclining position as well. "It's just for one day, House. Then we can all go back to our normal…"
House stood up quickly, walking a few paces from the coffee table and turning to face her once more. Cuddy had been surprised by his sudden move and stopped mid-sentence. House looked down at her, his expression hard. "It is not for just one day, Cuddy. We see these people every day, and it won't be business as usual when we get back from our honeymoon. Those people are going expect us to be their pals because we invited them to a stupid party."
Cuddy raised her eyebrows at his last words, a mixture of anger and hurt creeping onto her face as she stood up. "Stupid party?" She asked. "Is that all this is to you, a stupid party?"
House rolled his eyes, looking back at her as he argued back. "You know I didn't mean it like that. Stop twisting my words."
"I didn't twist anything. Those were the words that you just said, House." She replied. "This is not just a stupid party to me. We are getting married and I want it to be the happiest day of our lives, I want it to be perfect. I want the people that we care about there to celebrate that day with us. Why can't you just put aside your damn attitude for one day and let me have this?"
"You're forgetting one thing. It's my wedding day too, but that doesn't include having a bunch of people I work with, witnessing it. It's private."
"So instead you want to go to some strange city filled with a bunch of people we don't know to witness it?"
He sighed, scrubbing his hand over his face. He saw her point about that part, but he was going to be stubborn about this; he really didn't want to get married in front of the entire hospital. They weren't getting anywhere and he didn't think they were ever going to agree on what kind of ceremony to have. House and Cuddy stood in silence for a few moments, standing in the middle of her office, unsure of how to proceed.
Another moment passed when Cuddy looked at her watch, realizing she was going to be late picking up Bella if she didn't leave soon. Cuddy didn't want her waiting at the school alone. Finally she stepped back behind her desk, gathering her laptop and a few files to work on at home and placing them in her briefcase. "I have to go pick up Bella." She told him, taking a quick glance in his direction, noticing his lowered head and intense staring contest with the carpet, before she looked away once more. Cuddy made her way around her desk and grabbed her coat, shrugging it on. She stepped over and opened the door to her office, waiting on him to turn around and leave so she could lock it up.
When he turned, he glanced up at her face but didn't move or say a word.
She sighed. "House?" She said impatiently, gesturing for him to leave.
He sighed as well. "Cuddy…we-"
"House, I'm late picking up Bella, I have to go. We can talk about this later. You should get back to your patient."
House stood there a moment longer before he nodded and made his way out the door. Cuddy breathed another sigh of exasperation and closed the door, locking her office up and making her way out of the clinic. She watched him limp toward the elevator as she went the opposite direction toward the hospital entrance, sighing softly and wondering if they would ever agree on anything concerning this wedding.
House unlocked the front door to his home, worn out from the day he'd had at the hospital. As he walked in, the lamp in the living room and a small one in the hallway, were the only sources of light inside the house. He knew his girls would be in bed already, so he made his way in as quietly as he could. As he took a step forward after locking the door, he nearly tripped over Bella's soccer ball in the middle of the foyer. House knocked it into the living room with his cane, making a mental note to tell her to put it away before someone (him) breaks his neck. Turning off the remaining lamps and waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, he walked down the hall to Bella's room, quietly opening up the door to check in on her. Upon seeing that she was sound asleep, he closed her door and walked toward the bedroom he shared with Cuddy.
The door was ajar and as he pushed it open he saw that Cuddy was asleep as well. His patient had been cured and he was tired as hell, and the argument between him and Cuddy this afternoon was still weighing heavily on his mind. He was feeling guilty for not giving Cuddy what she wanted on her wedding day. Wilson was right a few weeks ago, when he said that women plan for this day all their lives and men don't. He should give Cuddy whatever the hell she wants on that day. Hell, he was just lucky she said yes to marry him at all.
House sighed softly and walked into the room. He set his cane against the nightstand and began his nightly ritual. He made his way into the bathroom to take a quick shower, hoping to relax before trying to sleep. After his shower, he grabbed a pair of pajama pants out of his drawer and put them on. He looked at Cuddy once more, noticing she hadn't moved since he went into the bathroom and he carefully crawled into bed, not wanting to wake her. She needed the rest after the shitty evening she'd probably had because of him.
As he lay his head down on his pillow, Cuddy startled slightly, probably having felt the bed dip. She opened her eyes and turned her body to face him giving him a small, sleepy smile.
"Hey." She whispered.
House turned onto his side so he was face to face with her, grateful that she didn't seem upset anymore. "Hey." He replied in a whisper as well.
"You look tired. How's your patient?"
"He'll be fine." He told her. "Cuddy…I'm sorry about what I said in your office. I want you to have whatever you want on your wedding day. If that means you want to invite the entire hospital, then that's what I want too."
Cuddy shook her head and moved closer to him, laying her hand gently on his cheek. "No, I'm sorry. I was being selfish. Like you said, it's our wedding day not just mine, and it's just as important for you to have what you want. We just have to come up with a compromise between us."
"Cuddy, screw what I want. I want you to have this, I want you to be happy."
"And I want you to be happy. Having a bunch of people staring at us while we're reciting our vows, won't make you happy." She told him, her thumb lightly caressing his lips. "House, we can come up with something to make us both happy. And I think I thought of a way."
"Yeah, what's that?" He asked, furrowing his brow, his hand running smoothly over her back.
"My suggestion is…we get married in front of our closest family and friends and then afterwards, we have a reception where we invite everyone else."
"By closest family and friends, you mean…" he said, wanting her to elaborate.
"Our moms and Bella, of course, Wilson and Janine, my sister and her family, your fellows, if you want." She shrugged.
A small smile made it's way onto House's face and he nodded in approval of her plan. "Ok."
Cuddy smiled in response, nodding as well. "Yeah?"
House nodded and she nodded in response. "Ok."
"So when are we doing this?" He asked, gently running his fingers up and down her spine.
"I thought a spring wedding would be beautiful. But that's still several months away, we don't have to wait that long if you don't want."
House shook his head. "A spring wedding it is."
Cuddy smiled once more, kissing his lips before pulling away and looking into his eyes. "I'm going to ask Bella to be my maid of honor." She told him.
"Oh god. She's going to flip out on you, you know that, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, at first, she won't know what the hell a maid of honor is supposed to do, but when you explain it to her and that she gets to be the one to hand you the ring during the ceremony, not to mention help plan the thing, she's going to go bananas."
Cuddy laughed softly, nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. I can't wait to see it." She replied, her smile growing.
"Just make sure I'm nowhere in sight when you tell her."
"It won't matter, she'll go bananas all over you eventually." She informed him.
He nodded, conceding her point. "So we should narrow it down a bit, don't you think? What's the date I should expect to strap on the ball and chain?"
Cuddy raised her brow in thought. "Well, I kind of always wanted an outdoor wedding, so when the weather is warmer…." She suggested.
House nodded, a small smile creeping up on his face. "Wilson was right, wasn't he? You've been planning your wedding since you were old enough to strap on your mother's high heels." He asked.
Cuddy furrowed her brow at him and scoffed. "I have not."
House's smile became a laugh, noticing a hint of pink creeping up on her cheeks. "Yes you have." He accused.
"Have not." She replied, unconvincingly, rolling her eyes.
"Admit it. You walked around your house in your mother's high heels and dress up clothes with a pillowcase on your head, pretending you were marrying the most handsome suitor in the world. At least that part you got right."
"Shut up. I did no such thing." She continued to deny as he continued not to believe her.
"Yeah, whatever. Maybe I'll call your mother tomorrow and have a conversation about little Lisa and-."
"You do that, and I'll tell your mother about the time you-." She cut in.
"Nothing you tell my mother about me will shock her, trust me." He volleyed back at her.
"May." Cuddy replied suddenly.
"What?" He frowned, confused.
"I want to get married in May."
"Oh nice deflection, missy, but I'm not dropping this conversation until you admit that you used to parade around your house with a white pillowcase on your head." He retorted. "Man, I hope there are pictures."
Cuddy rolled her eyes, shaking her head in denial. "I have never paraded around my house with a pillowcase on my head."
"Well, you almost got it. Now say that again except drop the 'never' and we can move on."
"Shut up."
"Chicken." He accused. "Just so you know, I happen to think it's sexy that you did that."
"No you don't, I'm not saying it." Cuddy told him. "Now can we please talk about our wedding?"
"I'm not wearing a tux." He told her. "I hate the way those things look on me and besides they're uncomfortable and I don't want to be uncomfortable on my wedding day."
Cuddy shrugged her shoulders. "Wear a suit. I love how you look in a suit."
"I am pretty dishy in a suit." He agreed.
Cuddy chuckled, moving in even closer to him, their bodies flush against each other. She leaned in with a searing kiss to his lips. "We're getting married." She whispered after they broke apart.
"You gonna change your mind when it finally sinks in?" He teased.
"Maybe." She teased back, an amused glint in her eye as she kissed him again.
House moved his hand down, smacking her on the ass, causing her to laugh against his lips.
The last chapter will be posted soon. Happy Saturday!