Thanks readers and reviewers…you guys rock the most!!
Sorry for the wait, I've been super busy this week and haven't had a chance to write as much as I've wanted to but I hope to have the next chapter up sooner for you guys.
WARNING: I'm rating part of this chapter as M because of violent images in one of my scenes. This chapter is more intense than my others.
Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review!
Chapter 10
6:00 PM
Cuddy was sitting on the chair next to Bella's bed reading over some charts when she felt the weight of Bella's hand on her arm. She looked up from the chart and smiled at Bella.
"Hey, sleepyhead. House must've worn you out today." She put the files on the table and turned toward Bella. Bella smiled shyly and buried her head in the pillow. Her reaction made Cuddy laugh. "Did you have fun with House today?"
Bella continued to smile and nodded her head.
"Good. He probably would never admit it but he had fun with you today too."
Bella sat up and looked for her notepad and pen. She saw it laying on the nightstand. She wrote on it.
'will he be with me tomorow?'
Cuddy read her question. "I don't know, maybe."
'i beat him at poker.'
Bella smiled when she showed Cuddy what she'd written and pointed to all of her suckers on the bed. She was proud of herself for winning. Cuddy laughed at her expression. When Cuddy laughed, Bella's smile grew wider. She reached back and grabbed a red sucker and handed it to Cuddy. Cuddy took it.
"I think these are his favorite." Cuddy told Bella.
Bella nodded at that. She scratched behind Splat's ears as he sat on her lap, leaving a moment of silence between them. Cuddy, having a sudden idea, glanced at Bella.
"Bella, would you teach me sign language?" Cuddy asked her, in hopes that she'd be able to bond more with her.
Bella seemed surprised by her question but she nodded. Cuddy smiled excitedly. Bella scooted over on the bed and waved her hand for Cuddy to sit next to her. Cuddy stood up and sat down on the bed, leaning her back against the mattress and bringing her feet up so they were side by side.
Bella wrote on her paper. 'alfabet'
"Ok." Cuddy nodded.
Bella held her right hand up so Cuddy could see what she was doing. She started signing the alphabet slowly so Cuddy would mimic her. When she got one wrong or missed how her fingers should be, Bella stopped and corrected her by moving Cuddy's fingers in the correct position. They went through the alphabet a few times until Cuddy had learned all the letters.
Bella wrote on her paper. 'spell your name'
"Alright." Cuddy said holding up her hand and slowly signing her name. Bella watched her carefully and smiled when she did it correctly. Bella wrote on her paper. 'good job, try my name.'
Cuddy slowly signed Bella's name, getting the hang of the alphabet. Once again, Bella smiled at how well Cuddy was picking it up. Bella decided to teach her some conversational phrases next. She taught her how to say 'hello, my name is…' first and then she moved on to 'good morning' and good night.'
After those few phrases Cuddy felt like her brain was going to explode with how complicated sign language seemed. "Ok, I think I've had enough for tonight. I'll be doing well if I remember all of that tomorrow." Cuddy shook her head and chuckled.
Bella let out a chuckle as well, leaning her head against Cuddy's shoulder. Bella began scratching around the bandage where her IV needle was inserted into her hand.
"Is your IV bothering you?" Cuddy asked.
Bella nodded.
"Is it itching or does it burn?"
'itchy.' Bella wrote.
"Let me take a look." Cuddy gently took Bella's hand in hers and lifted the tape holding the needle in place.
"It looks ok. Do you think you can hang in there until tomorrow? I can remove it and give you pills to take instead."
Bella nodded, grimacing when Cuddy replaced the tape over the needle.
Cuddy stayed with Bella for another hour eating dinner, watching TV and playing games. Currently, they sat together on Bella's bed watching the cartoon network. Bella had her head on Cuddy's lap chuckling at a Tom & Jerry cartoon. Splat was curled up into a ball sleeping near Cuddy's feet; his fur was soft and warm, keeping her feet from freezing.
Cuddy chuckled along with Bella as she raked her fingers through her hair. When the cartoon ended, Cuddy looked at the time. She didn't want to leave but she was afraid Bella might be getting tired and needing to sleep after such a long day. She coaxed Bella to lift her head up so she could move off the bed. When Cuddy stood up she put her shoes on and turned back around to Bella.
"I have to go, sweetie, but I'll see you tomorrow alright?" She said sweetly.
Bella looked disappointed, not wanting her to leave. She nodded and looked down at the bed. As Cuddy was gathering her charts, Bella wrote on her notepad. When Cuddy turned around Bella was holding up what she'd written. Cuddy read her question, not really sure what prompted her to ask and not sure if her asking was a good thing or not.
'why do you always come see me?' Bella had a look of confusion and vulnerability on her face as she held up her notepad.
"Well, I'm your doctor, and I have to come check on you to make sure that you're getting better." She started with the obvious answer, not sure if that was actually what she meant.
Bella shook her head and wrote another question.
'no why do you spend time with me?'
Cuddy sat down in the chair, setting her charts down on her lap, and looking at Bella. "Because I like to spend time with you; and I don't want you to be alone. The hospital can be a scary place for some people and I don't want you to be afraid."
'but you do not stay with other kids here. don't they get afraid to?' Bella wrote.
"I'm sure they do…but they have family with them to help them not feel so scared." Cuddy explained quietly and gently, knowing Bella would feel sad that her family was no longer with her, but wanting her to know that was the reason she stayed.
Bella nodded sadly and after a moment signed 'thank you' as a small tear spilled from her eye.
Cuddy tilted her head, trying to keep her tears at bay and looking at Bella with compassion in her eyes. Cuddy nodded her head, not able to speak for fear of losing it completely. She leaned over, reaching her left hand out to wipe Bella's tear away. Bella smiled at her gesture as Cuddy moved her hand over to brush Bella's curls away from her face. "You should get some rest." Cuddy stood, placing a kiss on Bella's head.
Bella nodded, laying down on her bed and scooting under the covers. Splat raised his head from where he was at the foot of the bed. Standing up, he made his way over to Bella, curling up beside her. Cuddy tucked her in. Looking down at Bella, Cuddy signed 'good night' to her with a smile. Bella smiled excitedly and nodded her head.
Cuddy chuckled. "I'll see you in the morning." Picking up her files, she turned the light out in the room and made her way out the door taking one last glance in Bella's direction.
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10:45 PM
By the time Cuddy had left the hospital, gone home to shower and pack a bag, it was already late. She had called House when she left the hospital to let him know her plans. He told her to forget all of it and get her 'sweet ass over there immediately,' but she insisted on going home first. He reluctantly relented and told her to hurry up.
She was currently standing in front of House's door, waiting for him to open it for her.
"It is about damn time, Cuddy. What the hell took you so long?" House said upon opening the door, scowling at her.
"Shut up, House, I'm here." She said, walking into his apartment and placing a kiss on his lips as she set her bag down. She began taking her coat off as he closed the door behind her.
"Yeah, well, that kid was eating into my 'sexing up my girlfriend' time and now I'm cranky." House replied.
Cuddy laughed at him and rolled her eyes. "You are such a baby." Setting her coat aside, she reached out her hand to him with a smile on her face. Taking her hand, he stepped up to her, giving her a kiss. Cuddy accepted his kiss as she moved her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her. House wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss between them.
When they pulled back, they were both breathless. Cuddy leaned her forehead on his, smiling at him. "So are you still cranky?"
House chuckled, but scowled again, pretending to still be upset. "Yes, but a little less, so maybe we should keep going." He said, going in for another kiss only to have her pull back. Cuddy started walking away from him. When she looked back he had a slightly confused expression on his face. She stopped and turned around, trying not to laugh at his abashed expression.
"Well, are you gonna sex up your girlfriend, or not?" Cuddy asked, smiling seductively at him.
House smiled like she'd never seen him smile before. He moved toward her and she backed away from him slowly, in the direction of his bedroom, laughing at him.
"Oooohh, you are in so much trouble, buttercup." He said, moving quickly and catching up with her. She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his cane just before they reached his bedroom and closed the door.
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"No!" Bella screamed as the man held onto her arm so tight he was bruising her. She looked up at him with fear in her eyes as tears freely flowed down her face. She squirmed and kicked, trying to remove herself from his grasp. The man held the gun up to her, causing Bella to stop moving, becoming paralyzed with fear.
"Come on, man, let's get outta here!!" The other man yelled.
The man who was holding onto her arm, let her go, placing his gun in the waistband of his jeans and running away from her. Bella was still paralyzed as she heard the men's footsteps running down the dark alley. After a few minutes, Bella looked over at her brother but quickly closed her eyes and turned her head away from him. Sobbing so hard at seeing her brother like that, she vomited on the cold pavement in the middle of the alley. She curled up in a ball, hugging her legs to her chest.
After a few minutes, she slowly crawled over to him, keeping her gaze away from his face, his eyes open but vacant of all life. Bella lowered her head onto his chest and sobbed. She grabbed a fistful of his sweater in both of her hands, shaking him gently, trying to wake him. After getting no response from him, she began shaking him more forcefully. "Wake up." She sobbed quietly into his chest. "Mattie, wake up." She begged. Still no response from him, she screamed. Wake up!!!" Nothing. She continued sobbing but had stopped shaking him as forcefully as a moment ago. She slowly looked up, still keeping her eyes averted from his face. She flexed her hands open and closed on his bloody sweater. Bella closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them she slowly turned her head towards his face. But what she saw, wasn't his face. It was Lisa's. She was dead just like her brother. Bella screamed.
Bella woke up screaming in her hospital bed. She sat up, looking around her dark room, sobbing and screaming. The security guard outside her room came rushing in, looking around the room for an intruder. She saw the security guard, thinking he was the man in her dream. She screamed louder, still sobbing and backing away from him on her bed. She had scared Splat, who had jumped off the bed and was now hiding in a corner of the room.
The security guard looked at her with confusion, backing away from her as a nurse came running in. She switched the light on, bathing the room in a warm glow and made her way over to Bella.
"Bella, honey, what happened?" The night nurse, Caroline, asked her urgently.
Bella stopped screaming but her sobs were causing her to cough and her breathing to become irregular. As the nurse came near her she cowered away from her, hugging her legs to her chest. Nurse Caroline tried to touch her, but Bella started screaming again. The nurse backed away from her and looked back at the security guard.
"What happened to her?"
"I don't know, she just started screamin'."
The nurse nodded with concern in her eyes, looking back at Bella once more as she cowered further into the mattress, moving her arms over her head, sobbing.
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3:30 AM
Cuddy lay asleep in House's bed. She was lying on her back under the covers with his right arm draped over her torso. House was lying on his stomach, his head just a few inches away from hers, sleeping soundly.
Cuddy awoke with a start, hearing her cell phone ringing, but not knowing where it was coming from. She scowled, sleep still fogging up her thoughts. The phone kept ringing and she groaned, not wanting to move from her warm and comfortable cocoon. It stopped ringing for a moment but started up again. Cuddy opened her eyes, looking over at House, who was still sound asleep. She tried to sit up, ready to go answer whoever was calling at this ungodly hour. It had to be the hospital.
In his sleep, House tightened his hold on her, keeping her close to him. She tried again, slipping out from under his grasp and the warmth of the blanket over her. 'Damn, it's cold in here.' She thought. Cuddy was wearing a tank top and sweatpants that she'd put on after they'd showered together earlier. She slipped on a sweater as she carefully and quietly made her way into the living room where she remembered her phone was stuffed in her bag. Grabbing it out of the front pocket, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Cuddy, this is Nurse Caroline Preston. I'm so sorry to disturb you at this hour. Your young patient, Bella, was having some kind of an attack. She was screaming and sobbing; wouldn't let anyone touch her. I think she was having a nightmare or something; scared out of her mind. You told us to call you if anything happened and I was concerned for her."
Alarmed, Cuddy made her way back to the bedroom. "Thank you for calling me right away…how's her breathing?"
"It's ok now, I was able to somewhat calm her but she's still upset. Her cough is under control as well." Nurse Caroline stated.
"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." Cuddy hung up the phone. She sat down on the bed, getting dressed as quickly as she could.
"Running out on me?" Startled, she jumped at hearing House's voice behind her as she sat on the bed.
"The hospital called…Bella had another nightmare."
Propping himself up on his elbows, House scowled. "Another nightmare? She's been having nightmares?"
"Yeah, last night. She told me about it this morning. I think they're getting worse." Cuddy turned around on the bed to look at House. "I'm sorry, I need to go to her." She said quietly. Moving to stand from the edge of the bed, House gently grabbed her arm.
"Cuddy, are you sure you can do this?" He paused a moment. "I'm not doubting you, I'm just wond-…"
Cuddy cut him off.
"I know you're not." She looked down at his hand on her arm. She placed her hand over his. "I don't know, House…but I have to try. I have to do something." She answered quietly.
House nodded, letting her go.
Twenty minutes later, Cuddy was walking off the elevator and making her way to Bella's room. When she arrived, she saw the security guard sitting outside her room and Nurse Caroline waiting for her.
"How's she doing?" Cuddy asked, glancing into the room. Bella was still in the same position, cowering on the bed and hugging her legs to her. Splat was back on the bed, lying at the foot of the bed.
"She's…the same. Hasn't moved, hasn't let me near her." Caroline answered.
Cuddy nodded her head and slid the glass door to her room open, walking in slowly, not sure how Bella would react to her. "Bella." She said quietly. Cuddy walked closer to the bed. "Hey, it's Lisa." She tried again.
Bella shifted her eyes up to Cuddy, recognizing her. Cuddy moved closer. Bella's eyes started welling up with tears as she released her hold on her legs and moved over to where Cuddy was standing at her bedside. Bella slowly wrapped her arms and legs around Cuddy's neck and waist so Cuddy was holding her. Bella started crying more forcefully now, her shoulders shaking.
"Shhhh shhh shhh, you're ok." Cuddy held her tightly, comforting her. She rocked her gently from side to side, pressing her cheek against her forehead and whispering to her that she'd be ok. Bella continued crying, her head buried in the crook of her neck, soaking her clothes with her tears. Bella started getting heavy in her arms so Cuddy sat down in the chair with her, rubbing her back, doing whatever she could to comfort her.
After about fifteen minutes in that position, Cuddy felt Bella's arms loosen their grip around her neck and heard sniffles as her tears subsided. Cuddy tried to slightly pull Bella back so she could look at her, but Bella's arms tightened around her neck once more.
"Bella, sweetie, can you tell me about your nightmare?" Cuddy asked softly.
Bella shook her head, not moving from her position.
"Alright, it's ok, you don't have to talk about it right now." Cuddy reassured her. Cuddy moved to stand, wanting to get Bella back onto the bed. Bella tightened her grip around Cuddy's neck once more.
"I'm just moving over to your bed." She said, rubbing her back soothingly. Cuddy stood, shifting Bella slightly to get a better hold on her. She sat down on the bed with her, propping her feet up and leaning her back against the mattress. Cuddy was slightly reclining, with Bella draped over her. Bella seemed to relax more as Cuddy continued rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"Are you thirsty, sweetie?" Cuddy asked softly. Bella nodded her head. Cuddy reached over, pressing the call button for the nurse. After a moment, Nurse Caroline came into the room slowly, seemingly unsure of Bella's reaction if she got too close.
"Yes, Dr. Cuddy?" She asked.
"Could you please get Bella some water?" Cuddy asked.
"Of course." She answered with a smile. Nurse Caroline moved over to the pitcher of water sitting on the nightstand, pouring some into a plastic cup. She handed the cup of water over to Cuddy. "Anything else I can get for you Dr. Cuddy?"
Cuddy shook her head, smiling at her. "Thank you, Caroline."
The nurse left the room and Cuddy handed Bella the cup. "Sit up." Cuddy instructed her gently. Bella slowly sat up and drank the water offered to her. She handed it back to Cuddy and resumed her position, laying her head down on Cuddy's shoulder. Cuddy resumed her soothing movements on Bella's back as she once again tried to ask her about her nightmare.
"Was your nightmare about me again…the same as last night?" Cuddy guessed. Judging by how Bella was reacting to her, she thought it was a safe assumption.
Bella nodded her head.
"But it was worse tonight, wasn't it?" She whispered.
Bella nodded once again, a small sob escaping her mouth.
"Shhh, it's ok. We won't talk about it anymore tonight. Try to get some sleep ok? I'm staying right here." Cuddy reassured Bella. Bella nodded and released a shaky breath, relaxing into Cuddy further. Cuddy leaned her head back on the mattress, closing her eyes. She ran her fingers through Bella's hair, hoping she would feel calm and safe.
Finding it hard to sleep, Cuddy wondered what must've happened to her to cause her to have such horrible nightmares. Whatever it was, it seemed to be worse than her parent's death in the accident. Her mind is apparently substituting her for her mother or father or even her brother. Cuddy wanted to ask Bella about her having a brother and what happened to him, but that would have to wait for another time. 'This girl needs to see someone qualified to help her.' Cuddy thought. She was not sure she could do this.
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A few hours later – 7:30 AM
Bella woke up in her hospital bed lying next to Lisa. She was asleep lying on her side, with her right arm around Bella and her left arm folded underneath her head. Bella looked up at her, grinning. She'd stayed, just like she said she would. Bella was curled up against her, feeling safe and warm at her side. Bella shifted, needing to get up and go to the bathroom.
She tried to move away from Lisa without waking her, but as she tried to move Lisa's arm off of her, she woke up. Bella looked up, feeling bad for waking her, but really needing to go the bathroom.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
Bella pointed to the bathroom, making an 'I gotta go pee' face. Lisa laughed at her expression and carefully moved off the bed, helping her with her IV line and wheeling the stand over to the bathroom. When she was finished, Lisa helped her back into the bed. Bella scooted over so Lisa could lay back down with her, but Lisa didn't move. Bella frowned at her, not understanding why she wasn't getting back on the bed with her.
"Bella, I need to go home and get ready for work, but I want to make sure that you're ok first."
Bella sat up, feeling tense at the thought of Lisa leaving her. 'What if something happens to her?' She thought. Bella shook her head vigorously, her eyes going wide and beginning to well up with tears. She moved over to where Lisa was standing next to the bed, throwing her arms around her waist, still shaking her head.
Lisa brought her arms around her. "Do you want to tell me about your dream?" She whispered to her.
Bella wiped her tears from her eyes and looked up at Lisa. She really didn't want to talk about her brother. She shook her head.
"Would you feel more comfortable talking to someone else about it?" She asked quietly.
That confused Bella. 'If she didn't want to tell Lisa, why would she tell anyone else?' She thought. Bella furrowed her brow, not understanding. Bella shook her head once more. Removing her arms from around Lisa's waist, she sat down on the bed, looking at her. Lisa sat down next to her and ran her fingers through her hair. She liked when she did that, it made her feel safe and loved.
"Sweetie, have you been having a lot of nightmares?" Lisa asked slowly, with concern in her voice.
Bella dropped her gaze to her hands. She didn't want to talk about her nightmares.
"I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Lisa told her quietly.
She looked into Lisa's eyes, and slowly nodded her head. Bella's eyes began to tear up again, a single tear escaping her right eye. Lisa reached up with her left hand and wiped the tear away. She nodded and removed her hand.
"I want you to talk to someone about them…could you do that for me?"
Bella shook her vigorously, more tears escaping her eyes.
"Your nightmares can't hurt you, honey. Talking about them might make them go away." Lisa reassured her.
Bella shook her head again, beginning to cry harder. She was afraid that if she talked about them, they would be worse and never go away. She didn't want to see those images in her sleep when she couldn't control them and she didn't want to see them when she was awake and could control whether she saw them or not.
"Will it make it easier if I'm there with you?"
Bella thought about this a moment, but shook her head. Nothing would make it easier. She laid her head down on Lisa's lap as she continued to cry, silently begging her not to make her talk about them. Lisa placed her left hand on Bella's head as her right hand made soothing circles on her back.
"Alright. It's ok, I won't make you talk about it." She whispered.
Bella took in a shaky breath and relaxed upon hearing Lisa's words. Bella brought her hand up to her face and wiped her tears away and closed her eyes. She was getting really tired and all she wanted was to sleep without having bad dreams. Bella sat up and crawled onto Lisa's lap so that she was cradling her. Laying her head down on her shoulder, she closed her eyes once more. She felt Lisa kiss the top of her head just before she fell asleep.
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10:00 AM
When House awoke this morning, Cuddy hadn't come back from the hospital. Not that he really expected her to. Things with this kid were getting more complicated and he was afraid that Cuddy wasn't going to handle it well when she had to leave. Not to mention the kid; she'd probably have a fit when she figured out she was going to have to go to a foster home when she leaves the hospital.
House decided to see if Cuddy was in her office, wanting to talk to her about the kid. When he noticed her office was dark and still locked up, he knew she was still with Bella. He made his way to the elevator and up to the sixth floor. He saw Big George sitting outside the room.
"Hey, Shrek, how's Mrs. Ogre?" He asked with a smirk. Not waiting for a response, he slipped inside Bella's room. Cuddy was lying on Bella's bed, still dressed in her clothes from last night. She was asleep, with Bella's head on her stomach, who was asleep as well. The kid seemed to have a death grip around Cuddy's thighs.
House walked up to the bed, looking behind him to make sure no one was watching; he gently tucked a stray curl behind Cuddy's ear. She was so beautiful when she slept. Well, she was always beautiful, but he loved watching her sleep. He let his fingers lightly trace down her cheek and over her jaw. He missed waking up next to her this morning. As he continued to caress her face, he noticed her eyes flutter open. Cuddy looked up at him, a small smile coming over her face.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up." House grinned down at her. "I didn't even have to kiss you to wake you up…damn, I'm good." House commented sarcastically.
Cuddy ignored him. "What time is it?"
Looking at his watch, House responded. "10:00." Cuddy sighed and looked down at Bella asleep on her lap.
"You've been here this whole time?" House asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Cuddy nodded.
"She's been in and out since I got here…and she wouldn't let me out of her sight." Cuddy raked her hand over her face, pinching the bridge of her nose.
House sat down in the chair, leaning his cane against the bed. "You took her IV out." He stated, pointing at Bella's hand.
"Yeah, switched her to oral antibiotics." Cuddy responded, looking in his direction.
"You discharging her?" He asked curiously.
Cuddy moved her eyes back down to Bella and sighed, shaking her head. "Not yet, I want to see how she does on them. I'll keep her here for observation for a couple more days."
House nodded. After a moment, he looked at Cuddy. "Hey." He spoke quietly, waiting for her to look back at him. When she did, he continued with his thought. "Are you going to be ok when she has to leave here?"
Cuddy was surprised at his question. She looked back at Bella, combing her fingers through her dark, curly hair. A small tear escaped Cuddy's eye. She shook her head. "No." She whispered.
House sighed. "Does she know what's going to happen to her? Where she has to go from here?"
"She knows…it's not going to be easy on her." Her voice broke, as she held back her tears. She took a deep, shaky breath.
House didn't respond. He didn't know what to say that would be helpful. Against his very nature he held his tongue. He had told her before that this would happen and now two people were going to get hurt instead of one. He lowered his head and stood, grabbing his cane.
"Come on, Cuddy, you can't stay here all day. Go home and get some rest; I'll stay with her." He told her, holding his hand out, offering to help her up.
"I can't, House, I have work to do." Not accepting his hand, she tried sitting up, careful not to wake Bella. "You'll have to move her arm, I can't get up." She said, exhausted after the long emotional morning she'd already had.
House pried Bella's arm from Cuddy's legs. When he did, Bella opened her eyes. She looked up at him and then at Cuddy. She looked panicked.
"Hey, feeling better?" Cuddy asked her. Bella signed, looking at Cuddy.
"She wants to know where you're going." House translated with a sigh.
Cuddy sat up in the bed, placing one foot on the floor, balancing herself. "I have to work, sweetheart, but House is going to stay with you, ok?" Cuddy reassured Bella.
Bella shook her head emphatically, responding to her with quick hands as she signed.
"She wants you to stay; she's afraid something will happen to you if you leave." House said, understanding now why she was so attached to Cuddy.
Cuddy kept her eyes on Bella, looking at her with a caring expression. "Bella, nothing's going to happen to me…I'm just going downstairs to my office, alright? I won't be far."
She still seemed unsure of letting Cuddy out of her site. House spoke up.
"Hey, five minutes with me and you'll forget all about her." House waved his hand dismissively at Cuddy.
Bella shifted her gaze to him, one corner of her mouth curling into a half smile. She shook her head and signed to him.
"Will too." He responded.
She replied.
"Will too." He said more emphatically to her argument. "Besides, I demand a rematch of our poker game…you totally cheated." He accused, pointing his finger at her.
Bella's mouth dropped open in disbelief, signing her disapproval of his statement and scowling at him.
"Did too." He replied, challenging her.
She signed again.
"Did too, did too, did too!" House argued, pounding his cane on the floor, punctuating his statement.
Cuddy had a look of amusement on her face as she watched them argue. She rolled her eyes. "Alright, children, stop fighting or mommy will take away your cards. House, don't make her into a degenerate gambler, she's only eight." She said raising her eyebrows at House.
"Oh so what age should I make her into a degenerate gambler?" House asked, smirking at her.
Standing up, Cuddy looked at him pointedly. "No poker, find something else to do."
Cuddy turned back around to face Bella. "I'll be downstairs, ok?"
Bella nodded, still a little apprehensive at Cuddy leaving her. She held her arms up for a hug. Cuddy stepped up to her and brought her arms around Bella, hugging her tightly and placing a kiss on her cheek. Cuddy stepped back from Bella, looking at House.
"Don't I get a kiss?" He asked with a smirk, puckering his lips.
Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Only in your dreams, House."
House raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh really? Well let me tell you about this very vivid dream I had just last night at around 11:30, right when I was about to stick my-"
"House!!" Cuddy cut him off, her eyes wide with horror at what he was about to say in front of Bella.
He smirked at her, proud of himself for making her uncomfortable and most likely mad at him. He could fix that later. She glared at him and stormed out of the room, muttering to him to call her if Bella needs anything. He turned his attention to Bella.
"So, looks like we're going on another secret mission, 007." He smirked with mischief in his eyes.
Bella smiled up at him, nodding her head.