House returned to the secluded cabin with his best friend and his girlfriend thirty minutes later. Cuddy was sitting at the kitchen in jeans and a crew neck. A tea mug was in her hands and she was sipping out of it.

"Hi, guys," she greeted.

Everyone nodded their hellos.

"I am starving," Amber sighed.

Wilson opened the fridge and dug around. "How about I cook up pasta and shrimp?"

"Who needs a wife when I have Wilson?" House cracked.

House and Cuddy both stood up at the same time, and avoided eye contact at the coincidence. Cuddy awkwardly laughed it off. They had to find a way to act natural.

"I'm going to-"

"Yeah, me too-"

House gestured for Cuddy to exit the room first but Amber stopped them both.

Wilson looked confused at the tension and Amber looked like she was placing pieces of a puzzle.

"Alright guys, this is going to sound weird since you guys have always had this weird vibe to start with. But did you guys have sex, because things are feeling real weird around this place."

Wilson's eyes got wide.

"Yeah, right. I slept with my boss," House said sarcastically. However well he could lie, he knew this one was down to Cuddy's reaction. She was who Wilson and Amber were focusing on, seeing as House was a world-class liar.

And, unfortunately, nothing Cuddy could say could convince them otherwise because she wore a look of guilt in her eyes.

"House!" Wilson yelled. "What the hell?"

House naturally went into self-defense mode. "She started it!"

Cuddy gasped. "I did not! "You're the one who initiated the damn thing!"

"No-"

"Everyone shut up! Shut up, House." Wilson had his hands over his ears like a schoolboy. "I so do not want to hear about this." He gestured to House. "You! I asked you to do me a favor coming on this trip and this is what you do? Thanks. I'm so glad I could count on you."

"It was consensual! Why am I the bad guy here?"

"Just shut up," Wilson shook his head in disbelief. "One weekend was all I asked."

House wasn't really worried about Wilson being upset. It happened all the time and Wilson always forgave him. He turned to Cuddy, however, who looked less than delighted.

"I'm going to turn in early…" she said, grabbing a banana to eat in her room. Cuddy couldn't be upset, could she?

"Cud-" he started, but she was already disappearing from the kitchen.

"And then there were two," Amber stated lamely.

House glared at her.

"What?" she asked in a harmless tone.

"What do you think? Did you really have to go and do that?"

"Please, I didn't do anything you hadn't already set yourself up for. Next time, try to actually be discreet and you won't run into this problem again."

"Screw off," he muttered.

He went to the bedroom and opened the door. Cuddy was lying on the bed with her back facing outward. House went to lie down but Cuddy spoke.

"Sleep in your bed tonight. I have enough blankets."

"Look, Cuddy, just because they found out about us doesn't mean everything's got to be weird now."

She scoffed.

"What?" House asked.

"There is no us, House. That was a one-time thing. It shouldn't have even been that."

"You're the one who kissed me," he stated in confusion.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "I've been going through a rough time with that breakup and you knew that, House. There's no way I'd be looking for a relationship right after that," she said. "I just… need some space."

House didn't respond, but took himself back to his bed.

That night neither of them slept well, but this time they didn't share whispers in the dark.

[H] [H] [H] [H]

Driving home was awkward to say the least. Cuddy fell asleep again, this time with her head against the window of the SUV rather than against House as she had done the past few days. In fact, she sat as far away from him as possible. House was slightly unsettled by it but just looked out at the billboards passing by his own window.

House didn't speak a word to anyone on the way home because no one spoke a word to him. Wilson was obviously pissed, Amber didn't care one bit but was obviously going to back up her boyfriend, and Cuddy "needed space."

They arrived first at Cuddy's. She hopped out and dragged her suitcase out of the trunk. House rolled down his window as she walked next to the truck.

"See you at work," he said. Cuddy didn't answer, but kept walking. He rolled his window back up and sat back.

They quietly rode back to House's apartment. The entire way back House thought about the weekend and the days he spent alone with Cuddy. As soon as he jumped out of the truck he pulled his duffel bag into his apartment and grabbed the keys to his bike.

He considered his usual route after his fuck-ups where he shows up randomly in the middle of the night but he decided he couldn't wait.

"Here goes nothing…" he said as he slid his helmet over his head.

He knocked on Cuddy's door and waited. Footsteps could be heard echoing from inside the house till the door swung open.

Cuddy audibly sighed. "House…" She adjusted her blouse uncomfortably. Little did House know she was uncomfortable because she didn't want to be mad at him.

"Shut up and just listen, will you?"

Cuddy looked taken aback by his opening sentence but indeed did stop talking. She crossed her arms and gestured for him to continue.

House took a step towards her and said, "I don't know about you, but that was the most fun I've had in… about forever." Cuddy opened her mouth to talk but House stopped her. "I said stop talking. When we were sitting by that lake kissing I… I didn't feel like a cripple, you know? I didn't feel old or useless. I felt like a guy. You don't know the last time I just felt like a guy, not House." He said.

"Can I talk now?" she questioned him. She uncrossed her arms and pulled on the bottom of her shirt.

"Yep, that's all you," he gestured.

She nodded. "Okay," she said, "I just went through a hard breakup, House."

"I know, but-" Cuddy cut him off.

"But nothing, House. Now is just not the time for me. The sex was a mistake."

"It was not!" House defended.

She sighed and shook her head. "Even if it wasn't, like I said… the breakup I just went through, it kicked my ass House. I'm just not ready for another relationship."

"Then use me for Pete's sake! Just use me as a rebound and I'll pretend not to have feelings for you and you can pretend not to have feelings for me and we'll just be House and Cuddy. No relationship. Just fun, which you look like you could use."

Cuddy made eye contact indecisively with him. She crooked her head to the side slightly, looking at House up and down. House stood there being sized up.

Cuddy squinted at him and stepped towards him. She grabbed him by the hem of his jacket and pulled him roughly into a kiss. House wasn't quite expecting that but immediately reciprocated, landing his hand on her ass. Right when he was getting into it Cuddy let go of him and backed up.

"Okay," she said, nodding. "See you at work then."

House laughed to himself as Cuddy turned back into her home and shut her front door.

"See you at work then," he chuckled only to himself.

THE END

I might be posting an epilogue so tell me if you have any ideas friends.