Real life keeps getting busier, but I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter:) Thanks again for the reviews!
Chapter 10
Shortly after Jake had arrived, House had excused himself, telling us he was heading back inside to unpack. I know House seeing me with Jake couldn't have been easy for him, but it is the reality of my new life I have made without him. During the next half hour I spend outside with Rachel and Jake, I tried my best not to think about House, focusing on my little girl having fun out in the snow as Jake and I take turns riding on the sled with her. However, no matter how hard I try, my thoughts keep drifting back to House, wondering how he's coping. I don't feel guilty for moving on, however it still doesn't ease the pain I feel after seeing the way House had looked at me after I had kissed Jake in front of him.
"Mommy, let's go inside now." Rachel says from beneath me, snapping me back into reality as her red nose and cheeks are proof of a little girl who has had enough of the winter wonderland for now.
"Sure honey." I say, wrapping my arm around her shoulder as Jake reaches for my free hand, dragging the sled behind him.
"Hey, are you okay?" He whispers into my ear, no doubt worried about me as I have done more thinking than talking during our time out here together.
"I'm fine, just a little worn out from the past few days." I reply.
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As we walk into the kitchen from the garage, where we have left our jackets, hats and boots, my nose if filled with aroma of fresh garlic, my eyes landing on House as he slices some cherry tomatoes in half on the counter before adding them to a large, ceramic salad bowl.
"House, what are you doing?" I question, walking over to where he is standing.
"This is what most people call making lunch for everyone." House answers back to me smartly before turning around and checking on something he's got baking in the oven.
"You don't have to do that." I say to him, just as Rachel and Jake walk up beside.
"Cuddy, it's not that big of a deal. Besides, if I'm going to be staying here and eating your food for a whole month, the least I can do is cook a meal now and then." House tells me before looking over at Rachel.
"Want some hot chocolate, Scallywag?" He asks her with a smirk.
"Sure!" Rachel says, quickly climbing up on one of the four stools placed in front of the kitchen island.
"Okay, one hot chocolate coming up." House tells Rachel cheerfully, his smile fading a bit as he sees Jake wrap his arm around my waist.
"So you call her Cuddy, huh?" Jake remarks; trying to start-up of some sort of small talk with my new house guest.
"Yep, since med school." House answers while lading some hot chocolate into a white ceramic mug he has placed beside the stove.
"Here, I'll get that for you." Jake offers, taking the mug from House's hand.
If looks could kill, Jake Henderson would be a dead man right now, judging by House's expression.
"Okay Rach this is pretty hot, so let it sit a minute." Jake instructs my daughter as he sets the mug before her.
"I will." Rachel answers, looking down at the mug with an excited expression before looking over to where we are standing. "Thanks House!" She then adds with a grin.
"You're welcome." House replies with a small smile before turning and facing me.
"So what about you Cuddy? Would you like some my hot chocolate?" He asks as a smile stretches over his lips.
"No thanks." I answer, trying my best to keep my cool as the both of us know 'hot chocolate' used to be our secret code name for sex back when we were a couple.
"Are you sure? I can promise you it's the best you've ever had." House pushes, the smile on his face innocent enough to Jake and Rachel, but all to sinister to me.
"I'm sure." I tell him, making a mental note that when it comes to be an ass, House hasn't changed at all.
"Fair enough" House says with a shrug,no doubt pleased by his little stunt. "What about you, Jake?" He then asks my current boyfriend.
"No thanks, but if you need some help with lunch, I'd be glad to pitch in." Jake offers.
House gives him a suspicious look. "You cook?" He questions.
"On occasion." Jake answers casually before moving past House and opening the oven door, "Homemade pizza? Very nice. Of course I always like to use the grill when I take the time to prepare fresh dough." Jake adds, nodding over to the deck where the grill is located.
"Yeah, that would have been a great idea, if there wasn't two feet of snow covering the grill. " House responds.
Jake flashes House a smile, as he pats him on the back. "Two feet of snow is nothing up here. Besides, any man worth his salt knows nothing good in life every comes easy."
House lets out a loud obnoxious laugh that causes Rachel to giggle and my anxiety to rise, just a little. "Wow Jake! I'm so glad you pointed that out to me,and here all this time I had been living under the illusion that every good in life does come easy."
It's obvious that both men have an instant dislike for each other, what's not as obvious is whether Jake has senses any smoldering of a past relationship between House and myself.
Jake does however, give House a long, hard look before opening up his mouth, however just as he is ready to speak, the timer on the oven goes off, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Ah, perfect end to an awkward situation, wouldn't you say Jake?" House says, of course not one to leave a moment like this alone as he opens the door to the oven.
Jake gives House another smile while scratching his temple, his confidence and cockiness on full display for House to see before he turns in my direction, effectively ending an further verbal jousting.
"So exactly how did you and House meet?" Jake asks me, causing House to halt for a moment just as he places the pizza on top of the stove.
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During lunch it is I who find myself in a rather awkward position, aligned with my former lover, as together, House and I tell Jake the story of how we met, and continued to be friends throughout the years. To my surprise, not only does House manages to keep things civil, between him and the man he now obviously hate, but he also add just the right amount of truth to weave a very credible story. We dated briefly back in Michigan, but it was nothing serious and we remained friends, as both of our careers began to blossom and call on each other when the need arose. My need, of course being for House's medical expertise, and House need, to help him out of hot water with whoever his current boss may be at the times, thanks to my connections with other hospital administrators. By the end of our lunch, I feel confident that my situation is once more under my control, with the tension I felt earlier in the day, nowhere to be found.
Standing in the living room I short while later, I close my eyes as Jake leans in to kiss me goodbye. His arms wrapped around my waist, the kiss between us deepening for a moment as we are now alone, with House and Rachel out of sight, still inside the kitchen.
Again I feel the butterflies rising up into my stomach as I pull Jake closer to me. This kiss between us feeling so right, so perfect, leaving me questioning once more why I would risk something so special over a past relationship that had ended so horribly wrong.
As our lips part, Jake smiles down at me. "You look so good tonight." He whispers as hid right hand caresses my hip.
"I look a mess." I reply, knowing being after being out in the snow for hours without a hint of makeup on, I probably look anything but good right now.
Jake laughs softly. "You always look good to me." He whispers as his gives me a soft kiss. " So, do and Rachel wanna stay over Monday night?" He asks as our lips part for a second time.
Jake knows that the first weekend when I come home from a business trip are for Rachel, and since this is Saturday, my daughter still has one day of my full and undivided attention, or as much of my undivided attention I can give here with House being around.
"Sure." I reply without hesitation.
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For the rest of the evening, House had played with Rachel inside of the living room, the two of them making pirate ships out of Lego's and having duels with her cardboard swords as I had watch them from the couch, content to observe instead of join in on their fun because of having far too many thoughts swimming around inside of my head. From time to time House looks over at me, his eyes searching my own for some kind of sign to tell him where things stand with us, but all I can do is shift my gaze away from him whenever our eyes connect, not ready to delve into any sort of emotional connection with him right now as my heart ponders my past with him versus the life I am living now. However, as evening changes into night and I put Rachel to bed, I know there's no avoiding House any longer, the promise I had made to him to give him a chance, now looming heavy in the air around me as I make my way back into the living room. It is when I am about halfway down the hall that the sound of music comes to to greet me as House begins to play the piano for the first time in nearly three years.
I close my eyes and listen, knowing he's picked this particular song to play because of the situation we are currently in.
How can I just let you walk away?Just let you leave without trace?
When I stand here taking every breath with you, ooh..
You're the only one who really knew me at all...
Opening up my eyes before the emotion of the song can suck me in, walking past the kitchen, and towards the music room with my heart fully guarded.
How can you just walk away from me when all I can do is watch you leave?
'Cause we've shared the laughter and the pain, and even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all ...
Entering into the room, I stand inside the doorway for a moment watching House play, lingering in the expression on his face as his fingers move over the black and white keys. Here inside this room, House has found a piece of himself once more and it is a comforting thing to witness.
"Wanna sit by the piano man for old times sake?" House asks me, catching my gaze while he continues to play.
So, take a look at me now - well, there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me - just the memory of your face
I nod, walking over to him and sitting beside him on the piano bench, listening to him play with my shoulder pressed against his. This moment is so perfect, I do not want it to end.
Take a good look at me now 'cause I'll still be standing here
And you coming back to me is against all odds - it's the chance I've got to take...
As his fingers still, House looks over at me. "So, where do we go from here?" He asks me, with the kind of honesty in his voice that tugs at my heart.
"I don't know." I answer just as honestly, torn between risking all I have over the memories of a man I cannot forget.
House study me closely, trying to figure out what I'm thinking. "For what it's worth...you look amazing. I wanted to tell you that the minute we ran into each other, but because of the yelling and shoving I didn't get a chance to." He tells me.
I let out a soft laugh. "Thank you." I respond with a smile.
"Sooo.." House starts to say before he carefully reaches for my hand. "Is this okay now that we're alone, or are you going to freak out again?"
"House, you need to understand. I still have a boyfriend who I care about very much." I remind him.
"And yet here we are." House counters, his fingers now intertwined with my own and resting on my lap.
" And yet here we are." I agree, the energy between us at a low, but steady hum as each of us waits for the next person's move.
In the end, it is House who takes the next step, a brave move considering that depending on the route he takes, our conversation could come to an abrupt end if he pushes things too far.
"Okay, so as long as were here together and I'm allowed to hold your hand, you wanna tell me exactly how you got all of my stuff up here in Hicksville Pennsylvania?"
"I still have my connections back in Princeton." I tell him slyly.
"Foreman." House states, and I wrinkle my nose at him.
"Okay yes, Foreman." I confirm. "He told you me that your Mom had planned to auction off your stuff, and well..."
Suddenly I'm finding it hard to speak as I look into the eyes of a man who still holds a piece of my heart inside of his hands.
"Just admit it Cuddy, you can't live without me." House teases in a low voice meant to ease my apprehension, however, it has the exact opposite effect as his smile as well as his closeness to me right now reminds me of how much I've missed his company.
"I just couldn't bear to have all your stuff auctioned off to strangers when I knew you were still alive. And so, I had one of my friends in Princeton attend the auction in my place." I explain, carrying on with the story.
"This friend wouldn't happen to be Foreman?" House asks knowingly.
"No..he...alright yes." I agree with a sigh, taking in a sharp breath a second later as House leans in and kisses me on the cheek.
"Thanks." He tell me simply.
"You're welcome." I reply, caught of guard a bit by his actions as they remind of how caring the man beside me can really be.
"So how much do I owe you?" House asks next.
"You don't have to pay me anything"
"Good, then how about we make things even another way." He suggests all too quickly.
"House, I'm not -" I start to protest, thinking of course of the sexual favors he's ready to start spilling forth from his mouth.
He gives me a disappointed look. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Cuddy." He scolds. "I'm talking about you paying me back by agreeing to spending some time with me."
I give him an odd look. "I thought I already agreed to that?"
"You did , but...I need you to promise me you'll let me be in charge of what we do during our time together." He explains.
I give him a doubtful look, still not convinced he has only the purest intentions in mine for me.
"Oh come on, I'm not talking about sex." He assures me. "Although if you're down.."
"Shut up." I warn him before removing my hand from his own. "Fine, we'll do whatever you want, withing reason." I agree, feeling myself inching closer to the edge of a very dangerous cliff.