CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE MORNING AFTER

The hospital was abuzz with the news. Vogler was gone. The company line was that he was embarrassed by a loss in the boardroom the day before. Only Cuddy knew the truth, and Bob, but he wasn't talking. House was in his office having a celebratory drink with his team. He noticed Cuddy passing by and called her in.

"Celebrating?" She managed to cover up most of her scrapes and bruises with a turtleneck and heavy makeup. House had already commented on her 'demure' attire about five times today.

"Of course. Vogler's gone." House handed her a glass of Champaign which she guzzled down like a pro. She handed the glass back to him. "You should be happy, you saved the hospital."

Cuddy laughed a short, tired laugh. "Yeah, I guess I did." She reflected on everything that was happening. She desperately wanted to tell House the truth. She looked at Chase, Foreman, Cameron and Wilson, all waiting for her to say something profound. All waiting to cheer and punch the air with their fists.

All they knew was that a threat to the hospital, nothing more than a bully who might tell them to do things they didn't like was gone. They didn't know the price she'd paid to get rid of him, or the threat he really was. "Can I talk to you, alone?" She looked at House pleadingly.

"Sure." House shrugged and followed her into the hall. "Gonna show me the hickey you've been hiding under that horrible top?"

"No." She had the flash of an idea to show him the bruises on her neck, where Vogler had tried to strangle her, or the lash marks on her arms where his nails had pulled through her flesh, but she didn't. He would get the wrong idea of how she got them. He wouldn't believe the truth.

She searched his face for a moment then changed her mind about what she was going to say. "You're not as safe as you think you are House." She looked at him with a tortured expression. "Just be careful."

House screwed up his face. It didn't help make sense of what she was saying. "I'm fine."

"I know you are House, but that can change." She was beating too far around the bush. He wasn't going to take her warning seriously.

"Are you threatening me?"

Cuddy made a fast decision. She might come to regret it, but it had to be done. "Yes House, I am. If you don't tow the line I'm going to make your life very difficult. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." House frowned. Cuddy had never come down hard on him, not so seriously. Usually her threats were tinged with sarcasm. They both knew that she had little control over him, and they both accepted that. But this... this was just strange. She wasn't herself. That had House very scared.

"I mean it House." This was where she was supposed to get angry. Instead she just looked scared.

"What's really going on?" He took her arm. He wasn't going to let go until he got a real answer.

Cuddy looked through the glass wall at the foursome staring intently at them. "If you want answers, come to my office." She pulled herself loose and walked away. House didn't even bother looking into his office, instead he hightailed it down the hall after her. "Why can't you just tell me now?" He asked, limping quickly down the hall behind her. "And don't you dare take the stairs." He grabbed her before she could begin her decent to the first floor.

"I have something to show you." She allowed herself to be dragged to the elevator. She waited in silence, ignoring House's barrage of questions until they finally reached the seclusion of her office. She let him pass then locked the door behind them. She moved around the room quickly, shutting all the blinds.

"I'm liking this so far." House grinned thinking of all the dirty things that she could do to him in this kind of privacy. "Unless you're planning on killing me." House was having second thoughts. "In which case you should know that there is a note in a safe deposit box that says if I run into foul play, you're the reason."

"Fine." She wasn't as sharp as usual. This frightened House more than anything she'd done so far.

"What couldn't you tell me in the empty hallway?" House sat down.

"I have someone I want you to meet." She knew she couldn't do this alone. "Bob, would you mind joining us?"

House looked around. Who the hell was Bob and how did he intend to get into the locked room?

House's second question was answered when a distinguished looking gentleman floated out of Cuddy's desk.

"You must be Dr. House." Bob bowed politely.

"And you must be a side effect of the wrong medication." House looked at his bottle of pills to make sure they hadn't been switched with a nice hallucinogenic. He was disappointed to discover they hadn't, for more than one reason.

"House, this is Hrothbert of Bainbridge. He's an old friend of mine."

"Very old," Bob snickered. "Ancient really."

House waved his cane in Bob's direction and wasn't as surprised as he should have been when it simply slipped through Bob's legs.

"I really hate when people do that." Bob informed the room in general.

"That's not supposed to happen." He decided he must be dreaming, so he tried to undress Cuddy with his mind. It didn't work this time.

"What are you doing?" She looked nervously at House who was frowning and furrowing his brow in concentration.

"Nothing." House stopped. It was getting him no where. "So, Hrothbert..."

"Call me Bob, everyone does."

"Bob. Charmed." House looked him up and down. "I'd shake your hand, but I fear it would be a pointless effort."

"Indeed it would." Bob was impressed so far.

"Bob, please tell House what happened to Vogler." Cuddy just couldn't bring herself to do it herself.

"She killed him." Bob announced with no fanfare.

House's eyes darted quickly to Cuddy. She wasn't laughing. "What the HELL is going on around here?"

"Hellanto, actually." Bob corrected.

"Excuse me?" House looked back over at Bob.

"The demons are from Hellanto, not Hell. It's a common misconception, but I thought as a man of science you would want to be accurate."

"Yeah, thanks." House wasn't ready to give up the dream theory just yet. He tried again to get Cuddy to strip, when that didn't work he tried to make a purple unicorn cross their path, again with no luck, but he did have a nasty headache from the effort.

"I'm supposed to believe that you murdered Edward Vogler?" House was having a hard time believing it and didn't think Cuddy could say anything to convince him.

"Not murdered, as such," Bob mused. "I believe she self defenses him to death." Bob laughed heartily at that. She wasn't the first pupil of his to use self defense as a weapon.

"Bob!" Cuddy silenced him with her signature glare. "He came to see me last night. I thought it was a last ditch effort to get me to change my mind, or to yell at me for getting the board to vote against him, but it was to kill me."

"So she got him first," Bob added proudly. "It's what she does."

"Not helping," Cuddy mumbled under her breath.

"Oh, sorry, was that too much information?"

"Yes."

"No!" House corrected. Whatever their little aside was about, he wanted in on it. "What do you mean it's what she does? Are you some sort of serial killer or something?" House could see it now, the Lisa Cuddy True Hollywood Story. 'I always fancied her, guess I was lucky she turned me down' says colleague Dr. Gregory House.

"I'm apparently not allowed to say." Bob glanced over at Cuddy nervously then innocently folded his hands in front of him.

"House, Vogler said there was a mark on your head, there are things trying to kill you..."

"Things?"

"Yes, things."

"Like Vogler the Ogre," Bob added, wanting to be part of the conversation. "Hey, that rhymes."

"Focus, Bob." Cuddy chastised.

"On what? You won't let me say anything."

"Ignore her Bob, tell me what's going on." House tried to sound friendly. So he was talking to a man he could throw his cane through, that didn't mean he couldn't sweet talk him.

"I can't ignore her, she kills things like me."

"I do not!" His little ploy had worked. "You're not a monster. You're..." She looked at House who was listening intently. She sighed and dropped onto the couch. "You might want to sit down." Bob nodded furiously so House sat down next to her.

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