NINE

Cuddy was stunned. All she could do was close her eyes when she felt his lips press against her cheek, amazed at the tenderness in his touch. I should pull away, she thought to herself. It's House. The rude, arrogant jerk that works for me. But no matter how hard she tried to pull away, she simply couldn't. She turned her head ever so slightly until her lips met his. He kissed her back without hesitation and the gentleness in his kiss made the tears well up in her eyes. She let her hands run through his hair and she felt him pull her closer to him. Nothing had ever felt so right to either of them and they wished the moment could last forever.

After a while, House ended the kiss so he could regain his breath. He pulled her close to him and rested his chin on top of her head. He felt her smile against his neck and her warm breath on him made his heart race even faster. They remained like that in comfortable silence for quite some time, before Cuddy finally came back to reality and realized what she was doing.

"I should probably get going," she whispered against his neck, knowing that it was true, but wishing it wasn't. "I have to go into work early tomorrow."

"Right," he answered, pulling her even closer despite her statement. She didn't even fight him; just let him pull her closer and hold her there. She suddenly realized how badly she had wanted this to happen since the day she had hired him. Sure, she had denied that fact since that very same day, but there was really no point in hiding it anymore.

"Or I could stay," she suggested, not wanting to really leave. He pulled away just far enough so he could look into her eyes. He gave her a quick kiss on her lips and then picked up the TV remote.

"Good. Because it's time for General Hospital reruns and I know you wouldn't want to miss them," he said as leaned back against the couch and pulled her against him, sliding his arm around her shoulders. She normally would've put up a fight, accused him of watching too much TV, and turned it off, but right now she was so content with his arm around her and their bodies so close that she just let herself relax and enjoy the company. Only moments passed before they fell asleep, both of them more relaxed and comfortable than they had been in years.