Mysterious Stranger: Chapter 20
Disclaimer: House is not mine, 'nough said.
A/N: Firstly, let me thank: Casper1311, Critical Blues, and Iamawallflower for the lovely reviews. You make me smile, BIG! Oh Cuddy jealousy! Yes, well not in this part; sorry to say. Will keep that in mind though. I do so apologize for the delay. Long weekend at the beach. I waited so I could give you something nice and long. Do I get brownie points for that? No cliffhangers, so if I don't get a chance to update this week I won't feel so guilty. Please review and let me know you're still out there. Didn't realize it would take so long to write this story still got a ways to go. Enjoy the chapter!
The night's events raced through her mind as Jane lay down to sleep once more under the piano: the laughter, champagne and music. It had been perfect, except for him. Damn it. Why did she get her hopes up? Normally she was so rational, level-headed. When it came to fellas, she just lost it. Jane closed her eyes determined not to let the tears welling up in her eyes fall on her hot cheeks. She'd brushed Greg off: sent him back to bed. Done what she'd done all her life, plastered on a smile and said she was just fine. Seriously, she had no doubt that he really didn't want to know the ins and outs, well more like absence, of her love life. His mannerisms and appearance did not lend her to believe he was the sort to confide in. She had known people, men even; whom she would be more than willing to bare her soul to after only brief encounters. Gregory House was not one of these men.
House turned; further entangling his limbs in the sheets; blankets already slipping to the floor. His thoughts shifted to that morning. He had been more or less tricked into sharing stories from his days at Michigan. Oh, he loved to brag about his crazy antics and all the sweet stunts he pulled off back in University. But every now and again he would pause, skipping over the stories' details that involved the current Dean of Medicine. Gregory House was indeed the last man one would consider chivalrous enough to omit details in order to protect a lady's reputation. He told himself it was for an altogether different reason: Lisa Cuddy was not important enough to warrant an appearance in his "glory days" stories. Though, deep down he knew this too was a lie. His omissions protected her modesty as much as his feelings. After all: Everybody lies.
You don't need you head examine, Lisa comforted herself. Just a good night's sleep—for once! She dressed for bed and reached into the back of her nightstand's drawer, withdrawing a sample packet of sleeping pills. For emergencies, she thought. Well if she didn't get a full night's rest and soon, she just might cause an emergency. Chasing the pills with a full glass of cool water, Lisa lay down to find some rest. As she drifted off to sleep her mind wandered back to that ever present figure in her life—House. She shuttered slightly at the thought of him, shaking the last remnants of consciousness away.
The dawn's light danced across her face as Jane drifted in and out of her morning slumber. A strange dream prevented her from waking. She didn't want to leave it. She wanted to figure it out. Understand what was happening. Cheerful chirping filtered through the glass. Jane's eyes flickered open, her strange dream quickly vanishing like wisps of smoke into the sky, floating back to the depths of her mind. Automatically stretching from toes to finger tips and taking a deep breath in, Jane acknowledged the morning. As she rubbed the sleepers from her eyes a funny idea popped into her head: she would go to the hospital and observe this woman. Jane had her suspicions, but she always liked to check her facts, especially in such an important case.
Gregory House rolled over; Jane peaked through the sliver of space where the bedroom door had been left ajar. Jane quietly gathered her things and departed leaving a note: enjoy your space, be back later. The birds had fallen silent and House rolled over once more.
Cuddy drove up to the hospital. Sure it was eight hours, but she needed so much more. Hopefully eight would cut it, and she'd be able to focus on business matters this morning. She had almost finished the budget, she'd run the final numbers, send it over to accounting, and start catching up on her donor follow-up reports. Cuddy had had several meetings the previous week and what with House's usual antics and the blizzard she was behind on those reports in addition to the budget. Even thinking about it sent her head reeling.
The salt crunched underfoot as Jane approached Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. From the loop-de-loops her tummy was doing you'd think it was a full member of Cirque de Soleil. She hadn't been in many hospitals to tell of. Fairly certain she was born in one, and had bronchitis at two, but other than that she had been quite fortunate. Jane almost turned around at the sterile smell which assaulted her when the doors swung open. Determination pushed her through the foyer. The walls were pleasantly decorated, a subtle color scheme, nothing overwhelming. Obviously the designer was going for soothing. She smirked at the random color splashes in the mattes of the framed paintings, contemplating the designer's struggle to avoid calmness turned comatose. She took a seat in a waiting chair. Unfamiliar with her surroundings, she was more than a little inhibited. It's a recon mission, she thought. I'll blend in and observe.
Cuddy stood from her desk, her stocking feet hitting the floor silently as she twisted her blinds to let in more light. Such a beautiful morning, yet here she was indoors. The heat from her office escaped through the opened blinds leaving her slightly chilled. Cuddy hugged her shoulders and thought in silence. She turned at the knock on her door. It was Nurse Brenda. Cuddy smiled; she had coffee. "Thank you." Brenda smiled and after passing her the cup exited her office as quietly as she had entered. Cuddy didn't sit down for sometime. She stood by the window sipping her steaming beverage mulling over her thoughts.
The sun had long ago risen when House reached full consciousness, well that wasn't quite true. Not having sipped his first cup of coffee he could hardly be considered fully conscious: first vicodin, then coffee. As he finished off the last drop he saw a note on the counter. It was a Saturday, he didn't have a patient, wasn't signed up for clinic duty, so in reality he was a free man. "Ah," he sighed, no obligations. What to do? His ultimate favorite pastime: bugging Cuddy MD required a return trip to the hospital, which completely went against his ban on work whenever possible. However, he was living proof that being at work and actually doing work were indeed separate entities. He toyed with the idea of returning to annoy her, confuse her, see her… flustered. It didn't really go against his Saturday policy, if he didn't do any actual work. And when was he one to follow rules, even if they were his own?
His mind fogged with thoughts of Lisa Cuddy and her likely Saturday attire, he poured beer over his corn flakes. He sat in front of the TV and took a big bite. Mind still distracted it was a full three spoonfuls later before the offending taste was relayed successfully to his brain. House wasn't a foodie, but beer on cornflakes—really not appetizing.
She had acclimated to the hospital, the hush of waiting interrupted intermittently by coughs and sniffles from the clinic patients and the occasional rush from an ambulance arriving. Jane watched the tired nurses smile and call names, ever patient, ever caring. The plastic smiles they greeted the new comers with dulled in comparison to the cajoling and merry looks they exchanged with one another while switching shifts or over break time. Jane began to feel the rhythm of the hospital and was finding some peace in its fluid movement. That is until the lunch hour approached and then all hell broke loose concerning her schedule. There was a sprint to the cafeteria, and then a flurry back, only to be followed by the bustling of a different group of medical folks a few moments later. After the fourth dash for nourishment, Jane decided to explore more and maybe satisfy her own body's call for nourishment.
Lisa glanced again at the clock. Just about one in the afternoon and she was only now beginning the follow-up reports. She gently began massaging her temples. Coffee long gone and her breakfast burned up for sure from the frenzy of work she'd tried to complete, Cuddy thought about the local food establishment. She could spare time for a quite trip to get a salad or something.
A/N: Dum da dum da DA! To be continued as always. Please leave me a review. I get blue when I don't hear from you!