Hi everybody! i'm sooo sorry about the extended wait on this chapter. Well, thats what you get for not reviewing LOL. but i wasnt going to make you wait that long, the page wouldnt let me upload, and today its being nice.

This is a very looong chapter, i took out one part of it, and won't post it until later (review!) because i thought that pehaps it amy be tooo long to read all in one go.

a/n: THIS IS IMPORTANT... i've recently become bored with my title, The Enigma...its like naming a restuarant The Restaurant. so as of the next chapter (15) this fic will now be titled PICTURE PERFECT ? , i'm letting you know now to avoid confusion when i update next.

a/n2: but if people are liking its current title, i wont change it...let me know!

Enjoy!

Cuddy had returned from her meeting to find a very interesting email blinking on her computer screen. As she read the email her eyes narrowed. She was going to have to have a talk with a certain someone, whom was too invested in her non-existent love life.
The auditorium was filled. Word of Dr. Greg House temping for Dr. Waldon had spread like wildfire, and people had flocked into the room, hoping to sit through another memorable tutorial.

The door had slid open, with a young lady slipping into the last row, just after the break was over. House had just started another round of differential diagnosis, and had been shooting out symptoms for the hopeful doctors to put together to solve what the diagnosis was.

After 10 miss-diagnoses, House was getting annoyed and bored, as was whoever was in the back row. After the 5th attempt at guessing what was wrong with the patient, the sound of a person imitating the 'incorrect' buzzer that you always hear on game shows could be heard, accompanied by scrunched up balls of paper and paper planes flying down towards the front of the room, hitting who ever was in the way.

People kept turning and looking towards the noise searching for the culprit.

"To the child in the back row, I know 3 effective ways of making you stop with that infernal noise. And one of those options involve a painful arm breaking."

House inwardly grinned as he saw the arm slightly falter, the paper plane falling short of its destination. "Ruh Roh."

He could recognize that bracelet and laughing voice anywhere.

Another half an hour had passed, and the class was going round in circles, House even dropped more clues out of annoyed pity. Only faked snores were heard from the back of the room, out of boredom and exasperation.

'one minute to go…and counting' he thought to himself.

He started to climb the stairs taking them slowly, ignoring the dull ache in his right leg.

"Well that was 90 minutes well wasted. Three patients and about a million clues and not a single one of you were able to find a diagnosis. Now if that doesn't tell you anything, or if you're too stupid to figure it out - WAKE UP" he shouted and thumped the brace of the row of seats with his cane, causing the 3 students in that row, and surrounding students to jerk awake.

"– you're either in the wrong lecture or not cut out to be a diagnostician, which seems to be the case, pick which ever reason that helps you sleep better at night."

House had reached the top of the stairs, and looked past the empty seats, to find a pair of twinkling ocean blue eyes staring back up at him. The bell had rung indicating the end of the lesson, and the students hurried to get out before House yelled at them again.

"HEY I didn't say that you could leave! Three patients, three illnesses. Leprosy, Blackfan diamond Anemia and von Willebrand Disease. You have the symptoms, match them up, and if you can't you're bigger idiots than I thought. Dismissed."

The owner of the ocean blue eyes smirked and raised an eyebrow, in question.

"I've always wanted to say that," House paused in thought, putting aside his cane.

Stella stuck up her hand, and House heaved her up onto her feet.

"You're losing your touch Master Greggus. Either they were incredibly stupid, or you have become an incredibly boring asinine teacher. Even I knew what the answers were, and I was half asleep like the rest of them."

"Well if you're so clever and stimulating why don't you take over the class next time. I'll tell your mother that you'd be happy to. So YOU'LL get the chance to listen to yourself talk, and deal with the mundane thoughts of these idiots that call themselves doctors."

Stella rolled her eyes as she handed House his cane, "What and deprive you of feeding your narcissism? I couldn't possibly do that to you."

They both stood and walked towards the doorway, side by side, contemplating what to do next. He looked down at her, tilting her head, meeting her gaze.

"So. Be a Lady and buy me lunch?"

Stella rolled her eyes and flew her last paper plane at his head, hitting him in between the eyes.

"You know some people would find that annoying."

"Then it's a good thing you're not some people."

Seeing as Stella had conceded to buying House lunch, he had piled his tray high with all kinds of food that he wouldn't even finish eating, and scampered off to a table to begin eating all the good food before she pinched them. Stella bit back a chuckle. He was such a CHILD!

"Just the fries and soda dear?" asked Doris admonishingly,

"Yes thanks, I'll steal his food, seeing as I'm paying for it. Thanks Doris"

"Ok that'll be $10.57 sweetie. You have a nice day now." She said in her soft southern drawl.

"Thanks Doris! Have a great weekend!" Stella smiled back at her charmingly

She sat across from House, swiftly taking the green jello from him before he masticated it.

"Hey give it back! That was mine!" he complained

Stella peeled the lid off and licked the top before offering it back to him.

House wrinkled up his nose in disgust "Have it, it's yours" he grumbled

"Well seeing as I paid for it all, yeah it is mine. So either share, or go hungry."

"What kind of a compromise it that?"

"It wasn't one. I like to call it 'Ultimatum'." She replied, doing the 'in Broadway lights' hand gesture.

House grumbled again and pushed the tray to the middle of the table.

"Thank you"

Despite regaining the momentum of their previous relationship, the bantering, and gossiping, things still felt a little awkward between them. The two people at that table had trouble talking to each other about anything deep and personal, preferring to make jokes, skirting around the big elephant that was in the room. Neither was sure about how to approach the subject of 'How are you doing', in the private sense, they were great at the non-committal 'How you doing's', but take one step into talking about 'personal stuff' and you'd hit a brick wall – reinforced with titanium.

"So. I know this guy, who knows this guy whom has just recently come out of the closet. You know him?" Stella inquired cheekily, while dipping her fries in the chocolate sundae.

"Wilson."

"Wow, You came out with uncle Jimmy? Poor Julie, I mean, he left her for You."

"What has he been saying to you?" House demanded, pointing the fork at her in a threatening manner. Stella laughed at him, knowing full well that the worst he would do would be to flick a pickle or some other food at her. She then frowned. No that wouldn't be good, she was wearing a new white tank-top, white and food stains don't look great.

"He just mentioned that mom was mad at you and that you came out of a closet. You know, Luca would love to hear this. He always had a thing for tall, grungy looking guys."

House gave her his famous glare "You keep him away from me or I will disembowel the both of you."

"Oooh, empty threats, you're such a homophobe!"

House growled again and flicked a pickle covered in mustard at her, she on intuition and knowing House, ducked, freeing the path of the pickle hitting the lady sitting primly behind them, staining her cream cashmere cardigan.

The pair snickered as the lady harrumphed and haughtily stalked out of the cafeteria muttering about juveniles, and expensive cardigans.

They had been in the cafeteria for almost half an hour, and were only just getting through the desserts. Things were quiet on the House/Stella table. They had covered most topics from the weather to clinic and annoying patients, then from discussing the 'hotness' factor of the women who had happily posed for the 'bachelors' to how proud he was of the lawsuits that he had filed against him.

"While we're on the topic of lawyers - Stacy."

Stella looked up from the cupcake that she was picking at to look carefully for his reaction. House was an incredibly hard man to read. Wilson was a lot easier to dissect, as he wore his emotions closer to the ends of his sleeves. But House, he was like Shrek – he had as many layers as an onion, and when peeling away, his words, like the onions scent, could make your eyes sting like crazy.

House had never gotten over Stacy walking out on him. And Stella never forgave her for leaving at a time that he needed her most. Even if House was a miserable grump, who made life unbearable for those in a 2 meter radius, if she truly loved him, she would have stuck by him. And Stella was sure to let House know exactly that during one of his most deplorable states, which led to them not speaking to each other for two weeks.

"Stacy? Where?"

"No you Doofus - I mean, she was here, working at the same establishment you work at, after 5 years of not talking to each other," she said to him slowly, still waiting for that reaction.

"Oh, damn, and here I was thinking that you weren't going to go all personal on me, say, how was Stockholm, I heard that your grandmother turned into Mother Superior." House retorted sarcastically. He hated when she did that, going all Oprah on him. That wasn't what their relationship was based on. They were fun and games, Batman and Robin, Medusa and Grumpy Greggus. Her going all 'how are you feeling' was too much like Cameron, and he did not need another one of those.

"Har-di-har- ha, I asked first. Speak! I command you!"

House rolled his eyes. Like mother like daughter.

"There's nothing to tell. She came here, I treated her husband, he lived, she worked here, we kissed, and she left."

Stella eyes widened, and winced slightly as she swallowed the half chewed bite of cupcake.

"You kissed her!"

"Oh stop being so dramatic, and no I didn't, she kissed me." He said as he pulled a 'so there' face.

"And that makes it ok. After everything that she put you through, and I just bet you couldn't help but reciprocate."

"Ok, that's enough, what does it matter anyway, it was just a kiss -"

"- With the woman whom you were hung up over for the better part of the last 5 years, and most likely still are hung up over her."

House looked at her carefully, she was up to something, he was expecting a light snarky response, not a deep, spiteful response.

"Ohh! Very nice try. You may be able to shrink Wilson, but don't think that you're going to be able to shrink me." He applauded her mockingly

"Damn! What gave it away?" Stella asked disappointedly, she really thought that she might have cracked him this time.

"You forget Miss Cuddy, I know you."

"Too transparent?"

"Don't feel bad, you're not the only one who has tried and failed. Now, My turn, Stockholm, Speak, I command you!" using the same words she had used on him, and looked at her eagerly.

"Well, they stuck me on this new diet as soon as I got there. Lots of organic, sugar free foods, steak fish and chicken once a week. Then I had to speak to this shrink every 2nd day for a couple of weeks. I'm off the antidepressants, Ummm mom has gotten rid of all the vodka in the house, which I find totally unnecessary, I need to confront my problems, not run from them…oh and I've come to the conclusion that Grandmother is Satan." She rattled off with a straight face, in all seriousness.

House stared at her a little bewildered. That was way too easy.

"Oh no, you've let them shrink you."

"It's all a part of my therapy. Dr. Sigmund said that in order to move on from my 'ordeal' I have to be able to talk freely about how I feel, and what progress I've made. I've realized that bottling up is not the way."

House just stared at her again. This was not Stella. His Stella was less talkative about feelings. He didn't think he liked this Stella.

"And you're actually doing what this shrink is telling you to do." They both had an abhorrence for shrinks. He was a little bit scared of this Stella.

"Pfft no, but watching you think that I am is a lot of fun! Did you make poopy in your pants House?"

He couldn't throw another pickle at her, because she had thrown the lunch tray out, and all that was left were the desserts.

"That wasn't very nice." He grumbled.

"Puhlease! Given the chance you would have done the same thing. But just so you know, I am doing better. A lot better, so you don't have to worry about me drowning in a tub, or jumping off anymore bridges."

This time, she looked truly sincere, but there was something else behind those bright eyes.

"But you still have things you need to do before you're all good again.." House said quietly, as he continued to look deeply into her eyes.

It was here that her smile, and the twinkle in her eyes faltered slightly. "Yeah, there is. And I have this feeling that that part will take a little while. But you know what, the biggest thing that I've learnt is, resolution takes time. And I'm going to take all the time that I need." He nodded.

"Now, what about you? Did you live up to your end of the bargain? No crazy stunts while I was gone?"

"Even if I did do anything, what makes you think that I would I tell you?"

"Because if you don't, I'd go and ask Mom or Uncle Jimmy, who would then tell me, and also get mad at you for lying to me, saying that you were a prefect angel, which in any case I'd never believe." She said in a patronizing tone.

House grumbled. He hated being outsmarted by the spawn of Cuddy. He rolled his eyes,

"No I was my usual charming self. A well behaved, well adjusted doctor."

"Right, so adjusted that you HAD to kiss her."

"Something good did come out of her coming back." He reasoned.

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I'm still Sexy!"

tbc

please dont forget to Review and let me know what you think, criticism is welcome. Next chapter soon...

please dont forget that the title will be changing to Picture Perfect ? unless you dont want me to! let me know!

Prinnie