Chapter Ten
Family Ties
They drove for hours with the top down. After the first twenty minutes, Cuddy gave up on trying to tame her wild curls, which were being whipped around by the fast moving air. The weather was nearly perfect, if not sultry, but the open top and the high speeds kept them pretty cool. They traveled south, skirting the coast, and they were making decent time. They entered Delaware, drove through Maryland, and, when they hit the Virginia border, they pulled into a diner off of the interstate. They'd been in the car five hours, and Cuddy's legs were weak and rubbery from sitting so long.
He apparently felt the same way, stretching out a bit as he stepped out of the car. "Sorry," he gave her a road weary grin. "The 'Vette's seats are comfortable; just not that comfortable."
She returned his grin. "It's just fatigue from sitting so long. I'll get over it." She looked out, and she watched as the late evening sun hung just above the horizon. "It's after eight o'clock. I don't know where you're taking me, but I think we should stop soon. We left pretty late for this adventure you're taking me on."
He nodded, a short jerky motion, and they walked inside the wooden building. They could smell the french fries and fried fish on the air, ans she wrinkled up her nose in distaste. "Some of us like real food. I'm sure they have a salad you can pick at." She lifted her eyebrow at him as they were lead to a leather upholstered booth by a woman easily in her sixties.
"What do you want to drink, huns," she asked, her accent thick. She gave them a sweet smile, her gray hair put up in a messy bun.
"Water," Cuddy answered quickly. "With lemon."
The lady nodded. "An' you?"
"Do you serve bourbon?"
The waitress' smile faltered. "We don't serve alcohol here, honey."
"Coke then. The real stuff, none of that diet crap."
"Sure thing," She left them alone, and House immediately began playing with the sugar packets, which were conveniently placed in a basket on the booth's table. Cuddy picked up the menu, and she began browsing through it, not finding enough vegetarian dishes for her liking.
"So, what's the real reason you don't want see your dad this weekend, other than to have some killer sex with me." He looked up from his sugar packets to look at her dead on, and she squirmed beneath his gaze. "And some amino acids and protein wouldn't hurt you. It would probably aid your cause more than you realize," he informed her.
She sighed. "He's fine. There's no reason to worry," she bit her bottom lip a little, giving herself away. "And I'm not finding anything totally meat free on the menu anyway. Not even the salads."
"They have vegetarian lasagna," he commented. "Is seeing your sister that bad, that you don't even want to spend time with your dad while he's in treatment." He frowned at the look on her face. "I know how close you two were," he said.
Her reaction was interrupted by the waitress. "Here are your drinks," she informed them, setting the glasses on the scarred table top before plucking two straws from her apron pocket. "Are you both ready to order?"
Cuddy frowned at the menu, but House forged ahead. "Cowboy burger, no pickles, and, onion rings instead of french fries, extra well done."
"Uh-huh," she nodded, jotting his order down on her pad. "And you, hun?"
"Umm," Cuddy drew out. "House salad, could I get italian dressing on the side?," she said. The waitress nodded, and Cuddy continued to browse the menu, looking for something else. "Do you have any vegetarian soups?"
"Broccoli and cheddar," the waitress, who's name tag read "Alice", answered quickly.
"I guess I'll just have that," Cuddy said quickly.
"Alrighty," the waitress smiled. "I'll get your order in." She turned away, and she left them alone at the table.
House tore open one end of the straw, and instead of slipping the wrapper off, he put the open end to his lips, and he blew hard, sending the wrapper flying across the table, hitting Cuddy right between her breasts.
"Mature," she muttered, plucking the wrapper from her cleavage.
"Not my fault," he said quickly. "Your way low cut top was way too enticing." He put the straw in his soda, and he took a sip. "Now, while your cleavage is very interesting, the fact you're avoiding your sister is even more so."
Cuddy unwrapped her own straw, and she bobbed it in her ice water. "There's really nothing to it." She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and she looked at him. Her body language was forced. "There's really nothing interesting about seeing a sister who will do everything in her power to shove how she's better than you in your face every time she's there." Angry bitterness resonated in her voice. Her eyes started to glisten slightly, but no tears fell. "That she succeeded where you failed, over and over again."
House was quiet for a moment. "She has three kids," he said quietly.
"She's the perfect soccer mom. She's always going on about how Suzie's in plays, and Micheal's excelling at sports, and how little Lacey's just so far advanced for her age." Cuddy's shoulder's slumped. "She's the perfect mom, always making it to her kids events, how she found the perfect man. How she's the pretty one, and that's gotten her farther than being the smart one." Cuddy fell silent, glowering at the glass in front of her as if she was seeing her sister's reflection in the ice filled water.
"You clearly have no issues," he commented. She jerked her head up and glared at him. He returned her glare with a steady gaze. "You're giving up valuable time with your dad, because of self-esteem issues." He thought about it briefly. "Because she has everything you've always wanted, but didn't think you could have."
She opened her mouth to respond, but the damn smiling waitress came back, plunking a plate in front of House. His mouth watered at the sight of the burger and onion rings. She plunked down a large bowl of salad greens topped with sliced tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and cucumbers down on the table in front of her. A small cup of cream colored soup with chunks of green broccoli floating in it followed. "You need anything else?"
"Nope!" House smiled widely. It wasn't a friendly smile, Cuddy noted. It was the smile that she noticed the most when he was up to something.
"If you do, let me know." She put a bottle of ketchup on the table, then left me alone.
Cuddy frowned, then picked up the tiny bowl of dressing, pouring a small bit over the salad. "Well," she commented in a low voice. "What they lack in quality, they make up in quantity."
"She probably just looked at your size and thought you were grossly underfed," he grinned. "Hard to believe with those hips, right?"
She gave him a dirty look. "My hips are fine, House," she commented dryly, putting a forkful of lettuce in her mouth.
"Yeah, for childbirth." He watched her wince. "It's okay, Lisa," he said in a low voice. You've only been at this for two months, starting on your third. Give it time to take."
She put her fork down, suddenly not hungry. "What if it never takes. What if I wasted all this energy for nothing?"
He looked at her for a long time, then he put his hamburger down. "It's a good possibility," he told her, seriously. Her face fell. "It's something that you should definitely keep in the back of your mind, but that doesn't mean you quit when it gets too tough. There are other options." He pulled back. "I can't believe I said that." He eyed her. "I think Cameron's rubbing off on me, but, I don't know." He shook his head in disbelief.
She gave him a weak smile. "I still don't think you should have kids," he added, picking up his sandwich again.
"You keep saying that," she mumbled.
"Because it's the truth." He pursed his lips. "You're too wrapped up in your work to have time for a kid. They do take up a lot of your time, you know."
"I'm not stupid," she informed him, annoyed, then she sighed. "It's not like I have anything else going on in my life." She gave a dry laugh. "I couldn't even find a decent guy to marry, so I had to conscript my best and most screwed up employee to help knock me up."
He polished off his burger, belching lightly, then he grinned at her in response. "I'm happy to be conscripted. Little Greg's very happy, too." He paused, delving deeper in thought. "And when you find that personal life that you're longing for, how will you explain what's going on?"
She shook her head sadly. He didn't think he had ever seen her more defeated. "That's not going to happen," she told him, definitively.
He sighed. "Cuddy, you're smart, you're strong, and not having kids doesn't make you any less of a woman. Trust me," his eyes flickered to her cleavage. "Despite all my innuendo otherwise, you are one hell of a woman."
"You know, radiology still has a pool going on about whether or not I'm a trannie. Thanks," her voice was loaded with sarcasm.
"No doubt put together by our pool extraordinaire, Chase." He paused, thoughtfully, while chewing on an onion ring. "You know, I have a theory that he was a bookie back in Britain."
She rolled her eyes. "He's from Australia, and as far as I know, he was never a bookie." She gave him a look. "Besides, you should know more than I do. After all, you conducted the interview.
"Interview?" His eyes widened in surprise. "I just took a phone call from his dad. He told me to hire his son, and I figured that anyone who's Daddy called to get him a job would make a great ass-kisser." At her dirty look, he grinned. "And I was right." He stuffed his last onion ring in his mouth, and he chewed triumphantly.
"You're an ass," she muttered.
He shrugged, then he grinned. "Let's get out of here, and find a hotel room. I'll show just what an ass I have, and I'll make damn sure you feel like a woman by the end of the night?"
She drummed her fingertips on the table top, then she gave him a wry smile. "You're on." He threw two tens on the table to cover the bill, then he reached over and grabbed her wrist. With a smug smile on his face, he led her out of the building, ready to prove to her that indeed, she was all woman.