POLICE VISIT
It was 11:45 am and House walked into his living room from his kitchen.
Cuddy was curled up on his sofa, reading one of House's books that she had found earlier that morning. House leaned against the wall and looked at Cuddy for a moment. She looked quit good even though she was only wearing a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt. He shook his head slightly.
'Don't think like that' He thought to himself 'You'll just complicate what you have'
He thought to himself"What do you want for lunch?" He asked
Cuddy looked up from the book she was reading.
"I'm not that hungry at the moment" She told him
House frowned "Cuddy, when was the last time you ate a decent meal?" he asked
She thought for a moment before saying "I had something from the hospital cafeteria before Wilson and I came here"
"I said decent food, Cuddy" House said, rolling his eyes
"What's wrong with the food at the hospital?" Cuddy asked "I've seen you eat it"
"True but lets not get side tracked here" House continued "You haven't eaten anything in almost 24 hours. You're having lunch"
"You're not going to take no for an answer are you?" She asked, trying to hide her smile.
"Well I have a reputation of being the best doctor you have..." He began
"One of the best" she corrected
"...It wouldn't look very good if the dean of medicine died of lack of hunger while staying at my place. Now would it? People might think I'm not as good as I claim to be"
"Oh we wouldn't want that" Cuddy said in a mock tone
"Exactly. Now what do you want?" He asked again
"What do you have?"
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Minutes later House was standing by his stove. He had a pot of spaghetti and was stirring the sauce through it.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Cuddy called out from the living room
House rolled his eyes.
"For the last time, no" He yelled back
"Okay..." said Cuddy
Just then there was a knock at the front door. This made both Cuddy and House pause. Until House turned the stove off and headed towards the door.
He opened the door to two detectives. The same ones that had been at the hospital after Cuddy's accident.
"Hello Dr. House" said one detective "I'm not sure if you remember us. I'm detective Jacobs and this is my partner detective Kane"
"I remember" House said dryly "To what do I owe this visit?" He asked
"We were informed that Dr. Cuddy was staying with you" said Kane "We would like to speak to her"
Cuddy stood up from the sofa and made her way to stand beside House.
"I'm here" she said
"Good morning Dr. Cuddy" said Kane
"We're sorry for intruding, but we have some questions we'd like to ask you" said Jacobs "If you feel that you're up to it"
House turned to watch the expression on Cuddy's face. It was weird to realize that only moments ago she was happy. And now her eyes had a flicker of fear in them.
"Yeah, Um can we...can we talk here?" She asked "Or..."
"No we can speak here if that's what you'd prefer" said Jacobs
"Yes. Thanks" replied Cuddy
House let Kane and Jacobs into his apartment. The four of them made their way to the kitchen and sat around House's table. House stayed as close to Cuddy as he could, still giving her space.
"It is all right if Dr. House stays, isn't it?" Cuddy asked, after a few minutes
The detectives looked at each other. Then Kane looked back at Cuddy.
"As long as your comfortable with that" said Kane
Cuddy nodded her head.
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Chase walked out of exam room 3. He had just treated a patient with back pain. Both he and Cameron had been doing House's clinic hours as well as their own.
As he goes to grab another file, he is met by Wilson.
"Hello" Wilson greeted him. "I see you got roped into doing House's job"
"Yeah. But its not like there was anything else going on" Chase replied
"Except the police visits" said Wilson
"Except that" agreed Chase "Have you heard from House or Dr. Cuddy?" he asked
"House called me this morning" Wilson replied "Asked me to check on some things"
"Some things being myself and Cameron" Chase said, but it wasn't a question
"Yeah"
"How do you think House got Cuddy to agree to letting him have the day off?" asked Chase
"Apparently he's sick" replied Wilson
"Sick? Really? And she bought it?"
"I don't think she really cares"
"True" Chase said with a nod "Well I better get back to it"
"Right" said Wilson
Chase turned around and headed towards exam room 1 while Wilson headed for his own office.
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At House's place; the detectives had been talking to Cuddy and House for almost an hour about the events surrounding both notes.
"Now, Dr. Cuddy what can you tell us about your old handy man?" Kane asked
"You mean Alfrado?" asked Cuddy, a little surprised
"Yes" replied Kane
"Why do you want to know about him?" House quickly asked
"Well Dr. House, we've been talking to some of your staff and Alfrado's case came up" explained Jacobs
"If you could just run through the details of his case..." said Kane
"Uh..." Cuddy looked at House and then back at the detectives "Sure. O-okay"
"Whenever you're ready" said Jacobs
"Well, first it started when he, Alfrado was fixing my roof..." Cuddy began
Cuddy began recalling the events surrounding Alfrado and his injuries. House would join in every so often to explain how he and his team where able to diagnose Alfrado. Also he could see that Cuddy still felt guilty about the situation and didn't like talking about it that much. Or at all.
"...He then sued the hospital?" Kane asked, once House and Cuddy had finished
"Yes" replied Cuddy
"But, didn't you just say that he thanked you for saving his life?" Jacobs asked Cuddy
Cuddy nodded her head slowly.
"The kid just figured it was an easy way to get some extra cash" explained House "And he knew that Dr. Cuddy would give in"
"Right" said Jacobs "Well I think we can leave it there for now. Dr. Cuddy your home as been cleared and you can start the renovation when you feel ready"
"Oh, thank you" said Cuddy
"We have some names of some excellent building companies" added Kane
"I appreciate that, thank you" said Cuddy
Jacobs and Kane stood and said good bye. House showed them to the door and then returned to the kitchen where Cuddy was still sitting at the table.
House watched her for a moment. Trying to gauge her mood.
"Do you know why they'd want to talk about Alfrado?" He asked her
"No, not really" she replied slowly "I guess they have to check everything..." She trailed off and bit her bottom lip slightly.
"What is it Cuddy?" House asked
He sat down beside her again and looked at the side of her face.
"What did you mean when you said that Alfrado knew that I would give in?" She asked, finally turning to look at him.
"Lisa, he knew you felt guilty about his hand" House explained "Everyone knew you felt guilty about it. It wasn't that hard to figure out"
"So you think he manipulated my guilt just to get some money?" She asked
"Yes and no" He replied "I think he used your guilt but I don't think he enjoyed it. When he thanked you for saving his life...I don't think that was an act"
"How do you know?"
"I just...do" He replied "You still hungry?" He asked as he stood up and walked over to the now cold spaghetti.
"Um yeah, I guess" said Cuddy
"Okay, well I'll have to re-heat this then" he told her "Its just a little cold"
"Kay" she replied
House watched as Cuddy slowly stood and headed for the living room. So much for her being in a cheerful mood.
TBC