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Chapter 6 – The Jerk

It was five minutes to seven o'clock and Dr. House sat on a bench outside the hospital, waiting patiently for Dr. Cuddy to emerge from the front doors. He hadn't come up with a way to keep her from having dinner with this Chris Johnson person, but he would keep his eye on her. He was always lurking around when she was on a date, just to stir up trouble, but this time, he felt justified in spying on her. Chris Johnson just didn't sit right with House. House was concerned for Cuddy. Whether his concern was justified or not, he didn't know, nor did he care. So, the guy didn't stay with his son during a very critical visit to Princeton-Plainsboro. That didn't make him a bad guy, did it? Well, as far as House was concerned it did. And, regardless of what anyone would think, he was going to look out for Cuddy.

House was seated on a bench strategically placed between two enormous trees. The shadows hid him well, and he was fairly certain that Cuddy would not see him there. He sat silently, rolling his cane between his hands, as right on time, Cuddy came into view. She exited the hospital alone and looked around. Her chest rose drastically as she took a deep breath and sighed inaudibly toward the sky.

House was surprised when Cuddy turned in the opposite direction of the parking lot and walked toward the street. House had parked his motorcycle around the corner for easy access, so he could follow her, but apparently she would not be driving where she was going.

Of course! Why didn't I think of it before? House thought as he realized where Cuddy was meeting Chris Johnson. The restaurant. How many of her dates have I crashed there? The restaurant was where Cuddy went on first dates so she would be close to the hospital if she needed to make a quick retreat. It made for an easy escape.

House waited a few minutes before moving from the bench. He wanted to give her time to reach the restaurant before he started his bike and alerted her to his presence. Once he had seen her cross the street, he left the bench to retrieve his bike. She would be inside the restaurant by the time he started the ignition.

House left the headlights off as he drove the bike across the street and parked in a dark corner of the parking lot. He had the ideal vantagepoint from that position. He could see through the window of the restaurant and had a direct view of the table that Cuddy had just approached. Chris stood to greet Cuddy and shook her hand. He then proceeded to take her jacket and pull the chair back for her to sit. House shook his head. The sight of it made him sick.

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Cuddy entered the restaurant and saw Chris, seated at a table by the window. For this, she was relieved. Her poor judgement had gotten her into this dinner, but at least it was in a public place, people outside could see her, and she could escape to the hospital if anything should go wrong. She approached the table, successfully disguising any feeling of doubt or discomfort with the confidence she is so good at faking. She shook his hand when he offered it to her. She let him take her coat when he offered. And she thanked him for being so gentlemanly as to pull out her chair for her.

"I'm sorry I'm late." She said, looking over the menu and avoiding his gaze. "My shift ran until seven. I expected to be able to sneak out early, but…"

"It's ok. You don't need to apologize. You are a busy woman. I appreciate you joining me." He interrupted her babbling.

"About the donation, why are you so eager to donate your money to my diagnostics department after just one visit to the hospital?" She met his eyes, determined to maintain her woman-in-control attitude.

"Dr. Cuddy, I am hardly eager to hand over my money. I was eager, however to see you. I have seen you around the hospital. You work so hard, and you are so attractive. I wanted to ask you out."

"Mr. Johnson…"

"Please, call me Chris." He interrupted.

"Mr. Johnson, that is highly inappropriate."

"Would fifty thousand dollars make this any more appropriate?"

"I will not go out on a date with you just to get your donation." Cuddy was furious, but somehow she remained calm. House was right after all. Her gut feeling was right.

"And yet, here we are."

"This is absolutely not a date. The only reason I am sitting here right now is because I was under the impression that this was the only opportunity we would have to discuss your donation to the hospital. Mr. Johnson, this is strictly business." Her words were deliberate and her voice was strong. She continually used his name to reinforce that their meeting was not of the social nature.

Mr. Johnson pulled his checkbook and a pen out of his pocket. "Then, let's get the details out of the way." He made the check out for fifty thousand dollars and scribbled his signature on the bottom line. He tore the check from its binding and offered it to Cuddy. She took it from him and stared at it blankly. "Now that that is out of the way…"

"Now that that is out of the way, what?"

"We can continue this lovely evening. Perhaps a walk after dinner? Then we could go to my place for desert." Mr. Johnson suggested.

Cuddy rose from her seat. "We will do no such thing."

Mr. Johnson rose with her. "Dr. Cuddy, I don't think you understand. That check entitles me to your company for the night."

"Are you completely delusional?" She shrieked at him, attracting the attention of the restaurant's other patrons.

"Dr. Cuddy," Mr. Johnson began. He reached out and touched her arm. "You won't regret it."

Cuddy yanked her arm away from him and shouted, "You will regret it if you ever lay your hands on me again. I don't want your money, you disgusting pig!" She flung the check in his face. "After Joshua is discharged tomorrow, I don't want to ever see you in my hospital again. Is that understood?" She glared at him, her eyes piercing his as she put her coat on and turned to leave.

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House watched as Cuddy and Chris Johnson spoke. He watched as she rose from her seat and he grabbed her arm. The contact was obviously unwanted as she jerked her arm away immediately. He watched as she got in his face and appeared to tell him off. He watched as she turned to leave him behind at the restaurant. And he watched as he left the table to follow her.

House popped a Vicodin and dismounted his bike in one swift movement. He started in the direction of the restaurant, of Cuddy, leaving his cane behind. It would just get in the way if he had to interfere.

He watched as Chris Johnson closed the distance between himself and Cuddy and once again grabbed her arm spinning her around to face him.

House approached from behind Cuddy. She didn't see him coming and Chris either didn't notice or didn't care. Cuddy cried out when another set of hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her away from Chris. She was relieved when momentarily their eyes met and she realized it was House that had intervened.

"What the hell?" Chris Johnson gasped. He didn't have time to react before a fist made contact with his jaw and he fell forcefully to the pavement.

"House!" Cuddy screamed in shock and amazement as he spun on his good leg to face her.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Now I am. Thank you. I…"

"Good. Lets go." He interrupted, keeping her from finishing. He put his hand on her back and led her hurriedly toward his bike. He handed her his helmet. "Get on."

Cuddy obeyed.

"Should I take you back to the hospital?" House asked her.

"No. I just want to go home." Cuddy wrapped her arms around his waist as he started the bike and left the parking lot.

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House walked Cuddy to her front door, for the second night in a row. The only differences were this time, when she opened the door, she was sober and he didn't pretend that he wanted to leave. He followed her inside and Cuddy didn't ask him not to. Cuddy locked the door and turned to House. Without any warning she went to him. She broke down into tears and wrapped her arms around him, unashamed.

House held her as she sobbed; letting her shed her tears on his shoulder. He remained silent, not knowing what to say, until her tears had run dry and she pulled away from him. He allowed her some space but did not let her go. His hands were planted firmly on her waist, holding her close.

"Thank you, House. I am so happy you were there." She said looking up at him and trying to smile.

"What happened tonight?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice.

"Greg, he came on to me." She began as tears began to reappear in her eyes. "I lost the donation. He expected me to go home with him if he gave me a check for fifty thousand dollars. The jerk treated me like some kind of glorified hooker." Her face was once again buried in his shoulder, pouring tears over his T-shirt.

"Everything is going to be ok." House reassured her, holding her tighter, closer to him. "There will be other donors. We don't need his money. I'm proud of you, Lisa."

"Thank you." She began to laugh and pulled away from House. He looked at her confused.

"What's so funny?"

"I didn't even get to eat dinner."

House smiled at her and brushed her tear-soaked hair from her face and placed it gently behind her ear. "How does Chinese sound? My treat."

"Wonderful."

Without thinking first, House placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. His action startled them both. No words were spoken as they separated and House went to the kitchen to order takeout and Cuddy wrapped herself in a blanket and curled up on the couch. It was as if they had their routine down. Their comfort level with each other was evident in the way they interacted with each other.

With dinner ordered, House sat next to Cuddy on the couch. He put his arm around her and she moved in closer to him, placing her head on his shoulder. They sat in comfortable silence, neither needing to speak, and waited for their dinner to arrive.

TBC - Push the purple button on the way out :)