-1A/N: Sorry it took me a bit longer than usual to update this story, been really busy with school this week. But this chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones, so hopefully that'll make up for it. Thanks again for all the awesome reviews, you guys rock! Oh, and for everyone who expects for this story to end up being a lesson in predictability - I hope to prove you wrong. ;-)
Enjoy!
Chapter Four:
Two weeks later…
"She's not in her office." House declared abruptly as he sat down across from Wilson in the busy cafeteria.
"Who?" the oncologist asked in confusion, watching as his roast beef sandwich was stolen right off his plate.
"Hilary Rodham Clinton." House replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes in frustration as he took a bite out of his newly acquired sandwich. "What do you mean who? Cuddy!"
"Would you please try and refrain from talking with your mouth full," Wilson admonished, brushing damp pieces of meat and bread off his lab coat before glaring at House in disgust. "And last time I checked, Cuddy was permitted to leave the confines of her office whenever she pleases."
"She's been going home at lunch these past few days," House continued, ignoring his friend's advice as he continued chewing. "Even took a day off last week."
"And this concerns you how exactly?" Wilson sighed, obviously not as interested in their boss's work schedule as House seemed to be.
"It's unprofessional!" he reasoned, tossing the sandwich back down on Wilson's plate as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "She's the dean of medicine, remember? What if I need her to sign off on a surgery or something?"
"Sounds to me like somebody misses his Cuddy." Wilson concluded, a knowing grin on his face as he casually popped a french fry into his mouth.
"And it sounds to me like somebody is trying to compensate for his own lack of a love life by speculating about mine." House sneered, reaching across the table to grab Wilson's plate of fries.
"You have a love life?" Wilson questioned mockingly as he snatched the bottle of Heinz out of the condiments basket so that House couldn't use it, grinning victoriously at the scowl on his friend's face. "So I guess the rumors are true then."
"What rumors?" House sneered, over-salting his fries to make up for the lack of ketchup.
"Well, word on the street is that Cuddy spent the night at your place a few weeks ago." Wilson declared coyly, eyebrow raised in question. "Care to confirm?"
"On exactly which street is this word being spread?" House groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He only enjoyed being the subject of hospital rumors when he was the one who started them.
"Third floor nurses station," Wilson replied casually as he took a sip of his drink. "Amy Pawlak, she's a nurse in the pediatrics ward. She also happens to live two blocks away from you and noticed Cuddy's car parked in your driveway at 4am when she was out for her morning run."
"What kind of freak goes jogging at 4 o'clock in the morning?" House sneered in disgust, making a mental note to pay this nurse Pawlak a little visit. "And do you make a habit of gossiping with the girls down on the third floor? Because seriously, between this and your sudden interest in daytime television, I'm beginning to have serious doubts about your heterosexuality…"
"I notice that you aren't denying anything," Wilson pointed out, his eyes widening in realization at his friend's continued silence. "Oh my God, so Amy was right. Cuddy really did spend the night at your apartment."
"Why do I feel like I'm stuck in a really bad episode of Degrassi?" House groaned.
"You're avoiding the question," Wilson noted, squinting his eyes suspiciously. "Which usually means you've got something to hide."
"Nothing happened. We just…" House sighed, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he tried vainly to act nonchalant. "Fell asleep watching tv."
"Wow." Wilson replied, his lips twitching with the effort it took not to laugh. "That's kind of adorable."
"Shut up." House growled, whipping a french fry at his friend's head in response.
"Now I see what's really going on here," Wilson surmised, tapping his chin inquisitively. "You're jealous."
"You know Wilson, you've really gotta stop watching those Spanish soap operas you're suddenly so fond of." House sneered. "Because in the real world, not everything in life is fueled by deep-seated feelings of jealousy and lust."
"Okay, A) they're telenovelas, not soap operas. B) I never said anything about lust, but thanks for that little tidbit of information." Wilson smirked knowingly and House glared at him in response. "And C) I meant that you're jealous of Alexis."
"Yeah, I'm jealous of a pot smoking teenage girl with no parents who can't even manage to successfully kill herself." House snarked before shoving the last remaining french fry into his mouth. "That makes perfect sense."
"It does actually," Wilson grinned, confident in his suspicions. "You're jealous of Alexis because she has the one thing that you don't."
"Acne?" House sneered, using the hook of his cane to reach across the table and snag Wilson's root beer.
"No. Cuddy." the oncologist declared, chuckling when House discovered that the cup was nearly empty. "No more sleepovers now that Cuddy has a teenage daughter to look after."
"She's not her daughter," House argued, his voice rising higher than he had intended it to. Ignoring the curious look on Wilson's face that his little outburst had caused, House cleared his throat and continued. "Which is exactly why Cuddy's decision to foster the little brat makes absolutely no sense."
"What are you talking about? It makes perfect sense." Wilson reasoned. "Cuddy wanted a child…"
"No, she wanted a baby. Her own, biological bundle of joy." House argued, visions of Cuddy bent over her desk as he injected fertility drugs into her gorgeous behind assaulted his memory before he shook his head slightly in an effort to clear it. "If adopting was an option for her, she would have went that route a long time ago."
"What exactly are you getting at, House?" Wilson sighed impatiently, making it clear that he was quickly losing interest in their conversation.
"There has to be some reason why Cuddy is so attached to this kid," House reasoned, his brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to come up with an explanation that made sense. "Why is she so willing to open up her home to someone that she barely even knows?"
"Because unlike you, Cuddy actually has a heart and helping out a child in need doesn't require an ulterior motive on her part." Wilson stated matter-of-factly, sighing when the look on House's face made it clear that he wasn't buying it. Obviously he was looking for a more dramatic explanation. "Oooo, I know! Maybe sixteen years ago, Cuddy had a torrid affair with some nameless stud and the two of them conceived a child together. Of course she later discovered that said stud was married, so to avoid the public humiliation of becoming an unwed mother, Cuddy was forced to hide her pregnancy and give the child up for adoption. And now, years later, the Gods of fate have conspired to reunite mother and daughter in foster care bliss."
"Hm." House replied after a few moments of silence as he contemplated the scenario, mentally doing the math to see if his suspicions were correct. He had a faraway look on his face, nodding his head slightly as though what Wilson had just said made absolute, perfect sense.
What the fuck?
"Okay, I think you're the one whose been watching too many soap operas." Wilson chuckled nervously, unnerved by his friend's uncharacteristic behavior. "There's nothing to indicate that Cuddy even has a secret love child, and even if there was some remote chance that she did, it would be statistically improbable for that child to end up being Alexis."
"Improbable," House declared, getting up from his seat and ignoring Wilson's curious glance as he limped his way out of the room. "But not impossible."
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"Hey! I brought home a pizza, so I hope you're hungry." Lisa bellowed as she entered her home and closed the door behind her, struggling not to trip over her own feet as she carefully made her way into the living room - her hands full of movie night goodies. "And Blockbuster was sold out of The Devil Wears Prada, so I figured we could just…who the hell are you?"
Cuddy stopped dead in her tracks when she entered the room and discovered that Alexis had company.
"Lexie, you didn't tell me that your new foster mom was such a hottie." the teenage boy sneered lasciviously, looking Cuddy up and down as he lounged on the sofa with his arm around Alexis. "Definitely an improvement from Mrs. Miller's saggy old ass."
"Jason." the young girl hissed admonishingly, throwing an apologetic glance in Cuddy's direction.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Lisa demanded authoritatively, glaring at the little punk as she placed the pizza down on a nearby table so that her hands were free to slap the shit eating grin off his face if need be.
"I'm Lexie's boyfriend," he declared, his arm tightening around the young girl possessively as he propped his feet up on the coffee table and glared at Cuddy in contempt. "Just thought I'd come by and check out the new digs."
"Yes, well now that Alexis has given you the grand tour of my living room sofa…" Lisa sneered, giving Alexis a look of disapproval before directing her attention to Jason once more. "I want you to leave. Now."
"My, my, my, Dr. Cuddy." the young man taunted her condescendingly as he got up from the couch, making a point of letting Cuddy see him zip up his fly so that there would be no doubt in her mind as to what the two of them had been up to before she walked in. "For such a sophisticated woman, you sure don't know much about manners."
"Jason, just go." Alexis sighed in frustration from her seat on the couch. "I'll call you later."
"Oh, so now you want me to leave too?" Jason barked incredulously, his voice rising in pitch as he glared angrily down at the young girl. "I guess you think you're too good for someone like me now that you're shacked up with Ms. Money Bags over there."
"You're overreacting," Alexis declared as she stood up from the couch , crossing her arms in front of her chest defensively. "And quite frankly, I'm beginning to find these little temper tantrums of yours incredibly unattractive."
"You're a real fucking bitch, ya know that?" Jason sneered, taking a step closer to her.
"Alright, that's enough." Cuddy intervened loudly, causing both teens to glance in her direction as she picked up the cordless phone. "If you're not out of my house in five seconds, I'm calling the police."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Jason warned, his voice menacing as he slowly began walking towards her. Cuddy stood her ground, thankful for the four-inch heels she was wearing because it took away the young punk's height advantage and they were at eye level with each other.
"Oh, really?" Cuddy declared, eyebrow raised in defiance as she glared at the teen - trying not to let him intimidate her. "And why is that?"
"Because I know where you live," Jason replied casually, his voice barely above a whisper as he reached out to stroke her cheek with the tip of his index finger. "I know where you work," he continued and Cuddy tried vainly to suppress the shudder of disgust that wracked through her body as his warm breath hit her face. "And if I get in trouble with the cops again because your pretty little ass decided to stick her nose where it doesn't belong, you'll be the first person I visit once I'm out on bail."
"Is that a threat?" Cuddy hissed, grabbing his wrist when he made a move to stroke her other cheek.
"No." he declared simply, pulling his hand out of her grasp as he slipped passed her and made his way towards the door. "It's a promise."
Both women sighed in relief when they were certain that he was finally gone. Cuddy went to lock the door, even throwing on the deadbolt for good measure before making her way back into the living.
"What did I tell you about having boys in the house when I'm not around?" Lisa admonished the young girl, hands on her slender hips as she surveyed the damage done to her living room. There were empty beer cans strewn all over the place, McDonalds hamburger wrappers sticking out from in between her couch cushions, and there was an ashtray filled with cigarette butts and what looked suspiciously like the end of a spliff.
"I know, I'm sorry." Alexis apologized distractedly as she sat back down on the couch and reached for the remote. "It won't happen again."
"You're damn right it won't." Lisa hissed, grabbing the remote control out of the girl's hand and switching the tv back off. The teen sighed and looked up at Cuddy impatiently. "Alexis, what were you thinking?"
"Look, it's no big deal." Lexie reasoned, shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "I hadn't seen Jason in a while and he just wanted to come over and make sure that I was alright."
"Oh yeah, he really seems like the caring type." Cuddy replied disbelievingly.
"He isn't usually like that," Alexis argued, tucking an errant strand of dark brown hair behind her ear as she averted Lisa's gaze. "You just upset him…"
"I upset him?!" Cuddy yelled indignantly as she paced the messy room. "Well excuse me for not being more hospitable to the rude, unwelcome guest who had the nerve to threaten me in my own home."
"He didn't mean anything by it," Alexis reassured her, though she didn't sound very convinced. "He's not that type of guy."
"You mean the type of guy who doesn't even come to visit his so called 'girlfriend' in the hospital?" Cuddy shot back accusingly.
"He was busy…" Alexis reasoned.
"Oh, but he's not too busy to come over for a booty call." Lisa sneered, then wished she hadn't.
"If you want me to leave, just say so!" Lexie shouted, reaching up to brush away the tears that had begun to well up in her eyes. "I never asked you to take me in anyway. The last thing I need is to be a charity case for some rich chick who thinks she has the right to judge me."
"I'm not judging you," Cuddy sighed, running a hand through her hair in frustration as she moved to sit beside the young girl. "I'm just asking for a little respect, that's all. For me, and more importantly, for yourself."
"You think I don't have any self-respect?" Lexie asked, arms folded defensively across her chest as she glared at Lisa and waited to hear her response.
"If you did, I doubt you'd be hanging out with guys like Jason." Cuddy reasoned, her voice soft and gentle as she tried to convince the young girl that her boyfriend was bad news. "You're a beautiful, intelligent girl. You deserve so much better than this."
Her words seemed to shock the young girl into silence, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock and the occasional hitching breath from Alexis. It broke Cuddy's heart to realize that the girl had probably never had anyone to remind her of her own self worth before.
"You're right," Lexie whispered, so quietly that Cuddy wasn't sure if she had really spoken at all until she repeated the words, more forcefully this time. "I know you're right, it's just….I've always had a thing for bad boys. As lame and clichédéd as that sounds."
"Oh, I can definitely relate to that." Cuddy chuckled, thinking of the 'bad boy' in her life that she just couldn't seem to stay away from either. "But this Jason really seems like he's bad news and I think it might be best if you didn't see him anymore. At least not while you're still recovering."
"I feel a lot better, honestly." Alexis declared, nodding her head as if to assure herself as well as Cuddy.
"Alexis, people just don't instantly snap out of depression." Lisa explained, trying not to sound too much like a doctor.
"You think I'm still suicidal," Lexie sighed and the inquisitive look on her face reminded Cuddy so much of House that she literally had to do a double take. "That's why you keep coming home in the middle of the day - to make sure I'm not hanging from the ceiling or face down in the tub..."
"Lexie, that's not true." Lisa argued halfheartedly.
"Isn't it?" Alexis reasoned and Cuddy had to avert her gaze, unable to look the young girl in the eye for fear of the guilt that was likely written all over her face. Of course she was worried about Lexie's mental stability, and given the teen's recent behavior, Cuddy believed that her fears were completely justified. When she had agreed to become Alexis's foster mother, she had become responsible for the young girl's safety and well being - both legally and emotionally. If anything were to happen to her…
"I won't try and kill myself again." Lexie whispered, reaching for the remote again and switching on the tv. "I promise."
It was then that Lisa was struck by another glaring similarity between Alexis and House.
They were both terrible liars.
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Cuddy sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as she stared down at the mountain of paperwork in front of her. She had left the house an hour ago once Alexis had fallen asleep, intent on going into the office to try and catch up on all the work she'd missed over the past two weeks. It was starting to seem more and more like an impossible task though. She wasn't even half way through the pile of forms she needed to sign and already her eyes were beginning to blur.
Groaning in resignation, Cuddy grabbed her briefcase off the floor and began stuffing it full of paperwork. Maybe she'd be able to accomplish more by working from home - preferably after a nice warm bath and a few hours of much needed sleep. Getting up from her seat, Cuddy began gathering up the rest of her things as she prepared to leave.
It was then that she heard the door to her office open slowly.
"Go away, House." Cuddy sighed in mock frustration, not even bothering to look up from what she was doing because she knew instinctively that he would be the only person crazy enough to darken her doorstep at this time of night. He didn't answer her though, but she heard the door shut and lock firmly behind him.
"House, seriously. It's late, I'm tired and I just want to go home." Cuddy moaned with exhaustion, eyes widening in shock when a hand closed over her mouth.
"You aren't going anywhere, bitch." a vaguely familiar voice hissed menacingly in her ear and she felt something cold and sharp press painfully against her neck. "And don't even think about trying to scream for help because I'll slit your throat so damn fast, I'll be gone before your body hits the floor."
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TBC