A.N.: What was that? You say you want Cuddy/Wilson fluff? OH WAIT NO THAT WAS JUST ME! Oh well, you get to read it anyway.
Cuddy and Wilson are unfortunately owned by a man who does not appreciate his own brilliant characters, so I borrowed them and am trying to give them a better life.
The rest of Lisa's day went about as smoothly as she could possibly expect. She did her best to stay within the comfort of her office, hiding from the prying eyes of her gossip hungry employees. She wondered how long it would take for the news of her ex lover/employee driving his car into her house to become old news. She hoped that it would be at least within the month. The only good thing that could come out of Katherine's vow to bed Chase would be that the pair would more than likely become far bigger news than this. She would soon be joining up in the surgery department, and it would quickly become like a bad episode of Grey's Anatomy. Katherine had never shown any interest in keeping her affairs quiet. Lisa would have to keep an eye on that. The last thing she needed was for her employees to think it was on to have sex in the janitors closet. It was bad enough when Cameron and Chase had thought it was alright. Katherine would be worse. At least when Cameron and Chase had been caught they had stopped. If someone were to catch Katherine she would likely not only keep going, but would also extend the invitation to join to the intruder. Maybe Chase would have a bit more sense than her oversexed friend. One could only hope. She would have to make it a point to warn the poor guy. Cameron had already hurt him once. Katherine, she knew, would never go out of her way to hurt him, but the chance of her wanting more than sex from him was slim to none. He should know that before he got too caught up.
It was five thirty when she decided to pack it in and head back to Wilson's place. He had brought her a copy of his key near the middle of the day on the off chance that she wanted to leave before he was ready. She had thanked him, and she was now thanking him mentally again. Even though this was fairly early for her she was utterly exhausted. Stress on top of little to no sleep had finally gotten to her, but when she left out of her office she found herself heading for the elevators instead of the parking lot. She was operating under her autopilot setting. She wanted to go home. She needed to go home, but she couldn't make herself do it. Instead she walked out onto the fourth floor and steered herself on the path she knew all too well. The path that took her directly to Dr. Gregory House's office, but when she looked in all she saw was the shell of what that office used to be. Through the glass walls she could clearly see the absence of the life that office used to have. Furniture had been draped over and possessions and been boxed and ready for sorting. The door that led to the office next to the conference room no longer had his name. It was nothing more than a clear plate of glass. It took everything in her not to cry. She knew that this was going to happen. She had put in the order that she knew would make it happen, but to actually face it was so much harder than she would have realized. She was facing the end of an era. Years of work and dedication gone. She would never come by the office to find him lounging in his chair again tossing his over sized red and grey ball in the air again. Thinking of that ball made her push open the glass door. She knew it had to be inside of the boxes in the small office. She started to sort through them and smiled victoriously when she found it in the third box she opened. She held the ball in between her too hands and closed her eyes with a content smile playing on her lips, "Goodbye House. I've still got your balls, and you aren't getting them back." With that she left the office, her heels clicking against the tile floor. She felt an odd sense of closure. Slowly yet surely she was letting go of the infamous man that had stolen her heart so completely many years ago. Baby steps.
Back at Wilson's she stored her stolen item away in her suitcase and changed into a pair of jeans and a clingy light blue v neck t-shirt. She had no idea when Wilson would be back, but she figured he wouldn't object too much if she went ahead and started supper.
A look through his refrigerator told her he had all the makings of chicken parmesan, so that was what she settled on. It was her mother's recipe, and she was sure if Arlene Cuddy was here she would inform Wilson that her rendition of the dish was adequate though not quite to par with her own. Lucky for everyone she was not. Lisa loved her mother, but she was far from pleasant dinner company.
An hour and a half later Wilson finally made it through his front door and was greeted with the smell of food waiting for him. He smiled at the sight of Cuddy setting the table, "You didn't have to do that." He told her while he draped his coat over the back of the couch and set his breif case down.
"Nonsense. You are letting me stay with you. It is the least I can do." Lisa responded.
"Well it smells great."
"Thanks. Do you want to change or are you ready to dig in now?" She asked, moving into the kitchen to start bringing the wine over to set down on the table.
"No lets eat now. I'm starving." He told her as he pulled his chair out to sit down.
"Great! Now I went out and got this wine while the food was cooking. I hope you don't mind it. I couldn't remember if you like red wine or not." She told him.
"Red wine is perfect, but Cuddy you really don't have to do all of this." He told her anxiously as she not only served him but poured his wine as well.
Lisa rolled her eyes, "Calm down Wilson. You are always so anxious to help others, but you freak out the moment someone is doing something for you. I want to do this. It isn't some big scheme or ploy. This is your friend serving you dinner. It isn't a big deal."
"But I should be doing this for you."
"I don't need someone to take care of me. I just need my friend. You have done that for me. That is more than enough." She sat down in front of her own plate then gestured to his, "Now lets eat before it all gets cold."
From that point on they ate companionably making jokes and exchanging stories from their day. When it was over they cleaned up together before retreating to the couch to find something decent to watch on cable.
Wilson had control of the remote, but Lisa stole it quickly from him. He protested the action, "Hey!"
Lisa rolled her eyes, "I saw you trying to stop on the food network. I just cooked. I don't want to watch other people cook."
"My house, my tv! It was the cake competition show!" He stated playfully reaching across her and tried to wrestle the remote free from her grasp.
"Cake show! You are such a woman! You are not getting this remote!" She wriggled in his arms stretching the remote out to the side and out of his reach.
"Its a good show! Give it up midget!"
Lisa laughed hardily, "Midget! That is not nice, James! What happened to sweet soft spoken boy wonder oncologist? When did you get so mean!"
"The minute you stole my remote!" Now he was mercilessly tickling her sides.
"No!" She protested laughing uncontrollably and trying to push his hands away with her free hand, "Oh my God! Fine! Uncle!"
"HA! I win!" He declared holding his palm open in front of him waiting for her to deposit the remote into it.
She put the remote in his hand but stayed laying back on the couch draping her legs over his lap, "You may have gotten the remote, but you have also just become my foot rest."
Wilson shrugged and settled himself comfortably back against the couch cushion, "It is a small price to pay to win control back over my tv."
Lisa watched him with a smile on her face for a few minutes before speaking again, "Thank you."
This made him give her a curious look, "What are you thanking me for?"
"For doing all that. Playing with me instead of just giving in to me stealing the remote.I don't need you to do everything for me or to let me take whatever from you. Its not who I am. I prefer this. This is nice. You are a good friend."
Wilson smiled at her and rubbed his hand over her calf that was laying on his lap, "Don't thank me for that. I know better than to treat you with kid gloves. I just had to... get past my shock and realize that you are going to be just fine with or without my help. You are too strong to go down without a fight."
That statement brought a blush to her cheeks, "If it means anything to you I prefer to do this with you. I'd rather be here with you than alone in a hotel room with Rachel. I could do it, but it would be lonely. I'm tired of being lonely."
He nodded in agreement, "Yeah... So am I. This is better."
Lisa studied him for a moment before getting up the courage to ask him, "Do you miss him?"
He didn't need to ask who she was talking about, "I'm worried about him, but if there is anything I've learned through all these years is that he will come around in his own time. I miss the man he was before he went down this spiral. He hasn't been the same. I've spent more time worried about him than having fun with him. I hate that."
She nodded a bit, "I know what you mean."
"Do you miss him?"
"I will always miss him." She responded quickly, "But it is getting easier. Just a little bit at a time. I'm worried about him too, but somehow I know that he will be showing up again. Maybe not next week or even next month, but Greg House is not that easy to get rid of. He will be back."
He had to grin, "Yeah I would have to agree with that."
"I called a contractor today. He is going to start tomorrow." She stated as a simple fact.
"You don't seem too happy about it."
"I'm not sure if I want to move back in. I love my house, but after everything it just feels like a huge piece of history that I would rather forget."
"So sell it."
Lisa rolled her eyes, "Just like that? You make it sound so simple."
"Cuddy fix it up, sell it, and find a new place. Don't live somewhere you aren't comfortable."
"That could take forever."
He smiled at her, "Well good thing you have a good friend who is more than willing to let you and your daughter stay for as long as you both need."
She returned his smile softly, "Thank you, Wilson."
"Anytime, Cuddy."
She let a quiet pause fall over them before she spoke up, "Tell me a secret." She demanded with a mischevious grin.
He rolled his eyes, "What?"
She prodded him with her foot and said it again, "Tell me a secret. Come on. We are chatting. This is fun. Tell me a secret."
"Why don't you tell ME a secret?"
"Because I asked first." When he gave her his I'M NOT BUYING IT look she circled back around, "Fine, but if I tell you a secret you have to tell me one."
"Deal."
"I got married when I was twenty four. I met a guy at a party my friend was throwing. He was tall with dark hair and amazing eyes. He was going to Harvard Law and I had just started at Harvard Med. We both got way too drunk, and I woke up the next morning naked aside from the wedding ring on my finger. Technically it lasted less than twenty four hours, but we had to stay legally married for six months before we could be granted a divorce."
"I would ask you if you regret it, but I am assuming you do."
She laughed a little at that, "Its like waking up after a drunken night to find that you got a tattoo. It is far from your proudest moment, but you deal with the consequences. At least with my mistake it is not permanently embedded in my life."
Wilson nodded, "Yeah I can understand that."
"Alright your turn! Tell me your secret." She urged on prodding him in the stomach again with her foot.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed hold of her foot, "The first time I met House I was in jail."
Lisa shook her head, "No no, House told me that secret. Tell me a different one."
"He told you?"
"We were dating for almost a year. You seriously think I never asked how you two became friends?"
He sighed and shook his head, "I guess I should have seen that coming." He paused for a moment to think up something else to tell her, "I haven't even considered dating anyone since Sam left me."
This made her furrow her brow in confusion, "But the barista?"
"I never went out with her. House knew, but I guess he didn't tell you that part. I backed out. I wasn't ready, and he got so caught up in his own stuff that he forgot about the time limit he put on me."
She shook her head, "He shouldn't have pushed you at all. You have to be ready. Only you can know when you are."
"Are you?" He asked curiously.
"I'm trying to be, but me trying to be also got a car driven into my house, so what do I know?"
Wilson rubbed her calf soothingly again, "Hey, you had every right to have that date. He has been sleeping with hookers and got married months ago. You had the right to move on."
"I know, but still.." She shook her head and closed her eyes, "I just haven't felt like trying again. It is so much effort just to find out that you aren't compatible with someone."
"Were you compatible with Lucas?"
This made her open her eyes to look at him, "What makes you ask that?"
"Curiosity. You agreed to married him then left him for House. I always wondered what went on with the two of you."
"Lucas was a good guy. He was nice. He was good with Rachel, but we didn't have a... spark, as lame as that sounds. House and I had an inferno. I needed to see if we could have it all. The domestic life and the inferno. We couldn't. I don't regret letting Lucas go. He deserved someone who was just as in love with him as he was. That wasn't me."
"Do you think you will find another spark?"
She nodded a little, "I hope so. It would suck if I couldn't."
Wilson searched her eyes for a moment before telling her, "I think you will."
The intensity of his stare stirred something inside her. It was familiar. All too familiar. So familiar that it scared her. Wilson was her friend. Jeopardizing that with her familiar feeling would be a mistake. She needed to get up now before she screwed up everything. She sat up and pulled herself off the couch, "I should probably take a shower and get to bed early. I'm exhausted." She explained with a nervous smile.
He cleared his throat and nodded, "Yeah. Me too. Have a good night."
"You too." She told him before walking out of the room and barricading herself in her bedroom.
