Cuddy had been running around the hospital trying to catch up on what she missed when she had to get Rachel from school. A call from the principal saying that she called a teacher a name is never a good sign.
But, she couldn't deal with it until later. She had to get back to work then have 'the talk' with her when they got home and explain to her why what she did was a bad thing and hope she would learn her lesson and not do it again. But for now, all she could do is give her paper and pens to draw with if she wanted for the next hour until Cuddy was off work.
"Okay, Rach, I have one more thing to do then we can-" Cuddy looked up from the file she was holding and saw that she was talking to an empty room. "Rachel?" she looked in the bathroom and saw that was also empty.
Cuddy rushed out and over to the desk in the lobby, "did any of you guys see where Rachel went?" they all looked back at her blankly. "She's not in your office?" one of the nurses asked.
"If she were, would I be out here asking you?" she took a breath when she saw the looks on their faces. "I'm sorry. I just, need to find her."
"Maybe she's in the Clinic," the other suggested.
"Good, yeah," Cuddy went into the Clinic with the same frantic mannerism.
When she looked all over and didn't find her anywhere, she thought to call House to help her look.
She grabbed her cell phone and selected his number. After the second ring she heard it picked up, "hi, you've reached Gregory House. Sorry I missed your call. Actually, I'm not sorry, but you have tried to reach me in my few moments a day where I decide to do some light doctoring to keep the wrath of Cuddy off my back. Leave a message though, I MIGHT choose to get back to you."
"House, I know that's a fake message and you're really there. I need-"
"Beeeeeeeep," he interrupted.
She rolled her eyes and went into the elevator when the doors open. "I need to know if-" she looked at her phone when she heard her voice echo back. The elevator screwed up her signal and disconnected her. "Shit," she looked at the numbers change and saw that it lit his floor and walked toward the door before they even opened. She stormed down the hall and walked into his adjoining room, seeing that was empty and walked through the door that connects to his office, "House, I was calling because-" she stopped when she saw his chair swivel around and saw a sad Rachel facing her.
"Rachel! I was looking everywhere for you!" she came rushing to her side. "Why are you up here?"
"I wanted to see House," she said sadly looking down, which broke Cuddy's heart. "Where is he Mommy?" she looked back up and saw her eyes glisten with tears.
"Oh, honey," she smiled softly at her and brushed a strand of her hair out of her face that fell when she looked down. "He's working. He's busy with a patient right now."
"It's not fair. You get to see him all the time. I never get to anymore."
If she wanted to see House, she would have to make the effort to bring her to see him. "How about, tomorrow since it's teachers day at your school and you are off, I bring you by here for lunch. If he isn't busy, I'll ask him to join us," she knew what she was promising was a lot, and she just hoped House would agree.
Rachel squinted her eyes in thought, with Cuddy thinking she must have picked that up from him and slid off his chair. "Okay. Make sure he can come Mommy!"
"Okay, c'mon. I have one more thing to do then we can go home," she took Rachel's hand into hers and they walked out of House's office door together.
They quietly walked down the hall back toward the elevator when Cuddy thought she heard House's voice. She listened closely and it started to get louder. He was coming.
"You know, Taub, you should really check in on those daughters of yours. I mean, it's not like you are really doing ANYTHING for me. So, might as well make yourself useful to SOMEONE," she saw Rachel twist herself around, figuring she also heard House's voice and saw that he appeared around the corner from behind them. Rachel fought her way free from Cuddy's grasp and ran the opposite way of the elevator. Cuddy turned around to see Taub and House standing near the bench at the end of the hallway. "House!" Rachel screamed when running toward him.
House didn't move. Just watched as she came at him. Cuddy saw that once she reached him, she grabbed his legs to hug him. She tilted her head and smiled when she saw Rachel's right arm wrapped around House's left thigh, but her left arm held onto the back of his knee. She knew what part of his right leg hurt him.
House looked down at her and lightly touched her back with his left hand. He sat on the bench and Taub watched this interaction with shock on his face. He saw that once sitting, Rachel sat at his left, where there was a little bit of bench room and House welcomed her company.
"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" House asked, arching his left eyebrow at her.
"Yes," Rachel was kicking her legs in the air with a smile on her face.
"Why are you here?"
"They called Mommy to come get me."
"Why?"
"I called my teacher a moron."
Taub's eyes widened, standing on the right of House. Now seeing why House connected with her.
"Is she?" House went on with his questioning.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she said that I had be partners with this guy who sits next to me. And I didn't want to. I knew how to do what we were doing. It was EASY. So, I told her, 'I'm not a moron. I can do it myself. Maybe you're the moron who needs the extra help, but I don't.'"
House's eyes squinted and his mouth twisted. "I think maybe you are the moron. Your teacher may have had a point. You may have needed to be partners with the kid after all."
"House!" Cuddy screamed out, intervening in their conversation.
She heard Rachel giggling when House looked at Cuddy like he didn't know what he did wrong. "I'm not a moron!" she stated, her mouth forming the biggest smile Cuddy had seen in months.
"But you are," House started, looking back at her. "See, you SAID you called your teacher a 'moron.' But what you REALLY did is say 'MAYBE you're the moron.' If you weren't the true moron in this scenario, then you would know what the difference was, and you would know what I'm talking about."
Rachel laughed in response. "Okay, Rachel, c'mon, you saw him, let's go home," Cuddy said reaching for her hand, not being able to take the insults she was getting as well as Rachel was.
"No Mommy! I don't wanna go!"
House's head turned in the direction of Taub when he heard his pager go off. "What is it?" House asked.
"Looks like Chase is done with the lab work. We still don't know what's wrong." Taub watched as House looked straight ahead down the hallway and breathed deeply through his nose and looked back at Rachel who was looking at him with blotchy eyes that happened in her argument with Cuddy to stay there when he and Taub were talking.
"Sorry, kid," House leaned on his cane and stood up. "Looks like I gotta go," he walked around Cuddy who was now standing near Rachel and looked back at her who was looking at him still sitting on the bench. "Gotta go save a life. He's an even BIGGER moron than you," he smirked, "so you know, he comes first."
Rachel watched House turn and walk back down the hall with Taub until she couldn't see him anymore. "Come on, Honey, let's go home," Cuddy said softly, taking her hand which she now accepted. As they walked down the hallway Cuddy decided that they had to figure something out. If not for them, then at least for Rachel...
