Chapter 20
House
I hurried back to my office. I wanted to put these pictures on my computer so I could see them in a larger format. Thankfully the ducklings were still busy with the patient. I hooked the camera up to the computer and downloaded the pictures.
The first one was fantastic. Wilson and Cuddy were locked in a passionate kiss. He had his hand in her panties and her hand was wrapped around his full erection. It was extremely erotic. If Cuddy had been naked, it would have been perfect.
In the second shot, his hand was still in her panties, but they had pulled apart from each other. Cuddy was glancing over her shoulder at me, and Wilson had a surprised look on his face. If that photo had a title, it would be 'Caught in the Act'.
I snickered; I had the perfect blackmail photos.
Wilson would never talk about Elle and me now. I would merely threaten to send these to Julie and he would cave.
Now, Cuddy would be more interesting. I wondered what I could get from her. I would certainly start with no more clinic duty and no more required appearances at hospital charity balls. I knew if I racked my brain I could come up with even more creative ways to torture her with these photos.
I quickly e-mailed the photos to my home e-mail address and closed the page. I disconnected the camera and slipped it back into my backpack.
The ducklings were still off running tests so I put the Stones on the stereo and leaned back in my chair to listen.
WilsonIt was quick but hot and satisfying for both of us. We held each other afterwards and kissed tenderly for a few minutes. I think we both felt embarrassed at the same time. We turned our backs to each other and started dressing. I was struggling to get my tie on right without a mirror when Cuddy came over to help me. I looked over her shoulder while she worked on it.
Softly she said: "James, I don't want things to be awkward between us. This happened and it was great. But we need to put it behind us so we can carry on working together. You're married. I don't expect a repeat, OK?"
I nodded: "You're right."
"And try not to feel too guilty. Remember House dosed us both. This will just be between us."
I replied bitterly: "Yeah, between us and House who now has photographic evidence of my cheating to show Julie. And Gawd knows what he'll do to you with those pics."
"Oh, I know House. He will want to get out of clinic duty and stuff like that. But we can turn the tables on him."
I brightened at the thought of getting back at House about this. "Oh yeah, how?"
"Well, here's my idea."
We put our heads together for a few minutes and came up with a plan to circumvent House's evil plot.
HouseIt was 1PM when Wilson walked into my office. He looked completely pulled together as if he had just arrived from home, instead of returning from screwing the boss.
He stood there for a moment without saying a word.
Finally I broke the silence: "I'm supposed to buy you lunch today. Still UP for that?"
He chuckled: "I'll take a rain check for tomorrow. I'm very satisfied right now."
My mouth fell open: "You did it with her? Even after that interruption, you did it?"
With a big grin on his face, he nodded. "Didn't want to waste the moment".
I burst out laughing: "You did it with the boss? You are DA man. Was it sweet?"
"Oh, yeah. And the girls." He put his fingers to his lips and blew a kiss.
"Magnificent! The best rack I've ever had in my hands. And mouth."
I chuckled: "You horn dog. Want me to e-mail you the photos?"
He nodded: "Yeah, send them to my personal account."
I smirked: "Well, it's good to see you get some."
His expression became serious and he said softly: "That's the first time I ever cheated on Julie." He put his hands over his eyes and his shoulders slumped.
"Hey, don't go all guilt-ridden here. You aren't going to do something stupid and tell her, are you?"
He looked right at me and said: "I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do. What are you going to do with the photos?"
"Nothing as long as you keep your mouth shut about Elle."
He turned and walked to the door. He pulled it open and then let it shut again. Turning back to face me, he said: "You know, you didn't have to do this. I had already told you that I wasn't going to say anything about Elle."
I replied bluntly: "Insurance."
He closed his eyes briefly and said: "Yeah. Thanks." Then he turned and walked out the door.
I watched him leave. I felt a slight pang of guilt over tricking him this way. Then I brushed it off. At least he got laid. I'm sure that was the first time in a long while for him. Maybe even Cuddy would be in a better mood now. She hadn't had any in a while either.
After Wilson left, I wandered down to the cafeteria. It wasn't as much fun lunching by myself. For one thing, I had to pay. And I had no one's French fries to steal. I didn't feel like sitting alone so I took my Reuben back to my office to eat.
I had just finished when my pager went off. The message was from Cuddy: "My office, stat". I smirked and wondered what had taken her so long. I had expected to be summoned immediately afterwards. Maybe she had needed a post-coital cigarette.
Chuckling at that thought, I pocketed my camera to show her the evidence and headed down to her office. Her assistant told me to go right in, so I did.
Cuddy was sitting behind her desk working on her computer as I entered.
I snarked: "You summoned me, Mistress. What is your bidding?"
She narrowed her eyes at me and commanded: "Sit." She pointed at the sofa.
"The sofa? Well, I'm not really into sloppy seconds, but if you insist I can service you."
She growled: "House. Sit. Down."
I complied, waiting to see what she was going to do next. She surprised me by walking to the office door and locking it.
"Oh, so you really are interested in seconds. Wilson wasn't completely satisfying, huh?"
I expected her to deny it, but she surprised me again. She looked like the cat that ate the canary as she said: "Oh, House, you are so wrong. James was completely satisfying."
I checked my pulse, yep, still alive. The clock was still ticking so the world had not ended. And yet Cuddy had just called Wilson by his first name and claimed satisfaction.
I kept my face neutral as I said: "Well if you don't want seconds, why did you call me in here and lock the door?"
She sat down next to me and said: "I want to see the pictures."
I smirked: "Don't ever bother trying to delete them. I have already e-mailed copies of it."
"Who said I wanted to delete them? I want to see how I look."
I slowly pulled the camera out of my pocket and handed it to her.
She looked at the pictures, flipping back and forth between them a couple of times.
"I look pretty good. The Pilates is paying off."
"Yeah, I thought you looked great. Your ass looks fantastic in that thong. Too bad you weren't completely naked; that would have been even better. Want me to load it on your computer? It looks better on a bigger screen."
She slapped my arm, hard. "No, I don't want you to load it on my computer, you ass! What the hell did you do this for?"
I rubbed my aching arm: "OW! It was just too good a photo op to pass up."
"Yeah, and how did you know that there was going to be a photo op? Cuz you dosed the coffee, that's why. And I'm asking again, why did you do it?"
I shrugged: "Payback. Wilson walked in on us naked. He was acting like an ass and threatened to take a picture of us."
"Did you actually take an picture of you two?"
I had to admit that he hadn't. "But he tried."
"You are such a child. I can't believe you did this. You dosed your best friend! And your boss."
I shrugged: "You were an accident. If you'd had your own coffee, it wouldn't have happened to you. He would have found some willing nurse to screw instead of you."
She slapped my arm again. "And that makes it better? You know he's never cheated on Julie before."
"So what? His marriage is in the toilet anyway. What difference does it make?"
"It makes a difference to him. And who are you to take that decision to cheat or not away from him?"
That remark cut me. I lashed back. "I didn't take that decision from him. He could have just gone in the bathroom and jerked off. Instead he spilled his seed in you. Still trying to get pregnant? Maybe doing it the natural way will work for you."
She paled at that remark and I realized the implications of what I just said. They were in such a hurry that I bet they didn't use condoms. I quickly calculated dates in my head to see if she was ovulating. It was actually close to her time. If her cycle were just a bit off, there could be the possibility of a Wilson/Cuddy joint venture. Now that could be a big problem for Wilson's marriage.
In a harsh tone, she said: "You are no longer giving me the shots, so my fertility issues are none of your business. Now, what are you planning to do with these pictures?"
I shrugged: "Insurance. Wilson keeps his trap shut about Elle and Julie doesn't see the photos. He talks and I play show-and-tell."
"And that's it? This is all just to keep Wilson in line."
"Well, now that you mention it. I'm sure you would not like the hospital donors to see you in such a compromising position with the head of oncology. So I think I could keep these pics to myself if you release me from clinic duty and other obligatory appearances like the charity ball."
"Oh, really? So you are saying that you will show off these photos if I don't release you from the hospital obligations that are in your contract?"
I nodded smugly: "That's right."
She got right in my face, plastered on a big smile and said: "No."
I was taken aback and she saw the expression on my face. She leaned back and smirked.
I stammered: "No? What do you mean, no? I'll show these to the donors and to the board of trustees."
She got that evil look on her face, the look that I absolutely hate. "Go ahead, show them. Want to know what will happen when you do?"
Without waiting for my answer, she continued: "Oh, yeah, I'll be a bit embarrassed. But then I'll explain to them that these photos are fakes. I'll explain that Dr House went on Photoshop and made these pictures. Dr House did this to defame my character and that of Dr Wilson's. And who do you think they will believe, me or you?"
She went on: "They will believe me. You know that. And then you want to know what will happen? You think I make your life miserable now? Just wait until after this whole photo thing dies down and see how miserable I make your life."
I snarked: "Yeah, some more clinic hours I suppose."
She laughed: "Oh no, nothing as mundane as that. You know, those little tidbits of gossip that you don't want all over the hospital."
I felt my stomach drop: "You wouldn't."
"Oh, don't push me. The whole hospital will know that you and Elle are doing it. And I'm sure that the story will get even more elaborate. There could be hookers involved or some bondage. Yeah, Elle as a dominatrix tying you up and Wilson walked in on that. That would be a good one."
She leaned forward and got right in my face again. "Remember, I am the eyes and ears of this hospital. I know everything that goes on here. And I know what happened to Elle at PMMC. You want that to happen to her again?"
I felt the fear and I know Cuddy saw it before I could hide it away again.
She sat back: "I thought so. You really care about her and I'm glad. It's about time you stop mooning after Stacy and moved on. So here's the deal. You keep the pictures to yourself, stop torturing Wilson and there will be no bad rumors spread around about your girlfriend. Your clinic hours and other obligations will remain the same, although I really should raise your clinic hours for all this crap today. But I won't this time. Spread those pictures around and the gloves come off. Do we understand each other?"
For once I didn't have a snarky comeback. I held out my hand and she placed the camera in it. I hated losing to her, but I had no choice at the moment. I took some consolation in the fact that I had seen her in her undies today and had a photo to prove it. I'd get her back at some point.
As I took the elevator back to my office, I ruminated over what happened. The day had started so well. The plan seemed perfect. If Cuddy hadn't gotten entangled in my plot, it would have gone really well. Leave it to her to screw up my genius plan. And I still owed Wilson lunch. Crap.
I was not in the best of moods when I limped back into my office. The ducklings were waiting in the conference room. I held up a finger to indicate one minute and sat down at my desk. I pulled the camera out of my pocket and slipped it into my backpack. As I quickly swallowed two Vicodins, my phone beeped indicating a new text message.
It was short and to the point: "Meatloaf tonight?"
I couldn't help but smile. I turned my back away from the conference room so that the ducklings wouldn't see me. Such a feeling rose in my chest staring at those 2 small words. She wanted to see me. She wanted to cook for me. And I bet she wanted some more of Mt. Gregory who was starting to stir as I stared at my phone. Geez, how pathetic. I was getting turned on more by looking at my phone than by those pictures of nearly naked Cuddy.
I shook my head to clear that image and I sent a reply text message: "Mash pot 2?"
I stood up and made my way into the conference room. I headed right to the coffee pot without saying a word and poured myself a cup. As I turned around, my phone beeped again. I pulled it out and glanced at it. The message was brief again: "Of course!"
The corners of my mouth turned up a bit before I realized it. I heard a gasp and looked up. All three ducklings were sitting there with shocked looks on their faces.
I glanced from face to face: "What?!"
After a moment's hesitation, Chase said: "You were smiling. It was scary."
I smirked: "Good news. Hooker's coming over tonight and bringing a friend. Love those threesomes. So what do we have?"
I quickly hit "kk" and 'send' and then turned to the whiteboard. I tapped the marker against the board and said: "Results, people?"
As usual, Cameron had taken the history. The patient had been having these symptoms for 4 weeks now. She had lost 10 pounds without dieting. She just lost her appetite and had no energy. She had a fever between 99 and 101 for the last week. Her BUN and creatinine were elevated. Her white count, red count and platelets were all low. She was anemic, hence her lack of energy.
Chase had taken the chest X-ray. He popped it on the light box for us to examine. The lungs themselves looked unremarkable, but at the very bottom of the film was just a bit of something. It wasn't enough to make out. It could have been just a blip, but I didn't like it.
I pointed to it: "What's this? Did you palpate her abdomen?"
Cameron shook her head: "She didn't complain of any abdominal problems."
I threw the marker down in frustration: "And you call yourselves doctors? Did you skip that day in medical school when they lectured about how to do a complete examination? Christ!"
I grabbed my cane and headed out the door, the ducklings following on my heels.
I slid open the door to her room and observed the pale blond woman lying in the bed. I limped in slowly and said: "I'm Dr. House. And you are the patient."
Cameron said: "Judith Woodyard."
I nodded: "Right."
I grabbed the control for the bed and lowered it so she was lying flat.
"I need to examine your abdomen. Just lie still."
I lowered the blanket to her hips and raised her gown baring her abdomen. The blip was on the right side of the X-ray so I focused on the left side of her torso. I found the swelling immediately. It was right there. Cameron would have easily found it if she had bothered to examine the patient.
"Does this hurt?" I pressed a bit harder and the patient winced.
"Yes," she whispered.
"How long have you had this?"
"I noticed it about a week ago, but I've been constipated so I didn't really think much of it."
I raised my eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything more. I could palpate the lymph nodes on the left side of her groin but not on the right side. I examined the others and the lymph nodes in her left armpit were also swollen. Cancer was definitely moving up on the list.
I commanded: "Examine her abdomen, Dr Cameron."
Cameron did and immediately found the lump. She looked at me wide-eyed, knowing that she had screwed up. She looked away from me, lowering the patient's gown and covering her back up with the blanket.
I said to the patient: "We're going to need to run some more tests. These doctors will be back with you in a few minutes."
Motioning to the ducklings, they followed me out of the room.
Once outside, I scolded Cameron: "You could have easily found that if you had bothered to examine the patient properly. That would have saved us some time.
"Hydrate her and let's see if her renal values improve. Get a CT of her chest, abdomen and pelvis."
Foreman said: "So you're thinking cancer or infection?"
I said: "I'm thinking we'll know more when these results come back."
I left them to run the tests and I headed up to Coma Guy's room to watch General Hospital.
After General Hospital was over, I headed back to the conference room. The kids were still off running tests. I limped over to the whiteboard and added the new symptoms to the list. The list now included:
Weight loss
Decreased energy
Fever
Itching
Low RBC's, WBC's, Platelets
Increased BUN, creatinine
Constipation
Mass in abdomen
Swollen lymph nodes, left side
I stared at the list for a few minutes. Then I shifted the board so that I could see it from my office. I limped to my chair and found my I-Pod. I stared at the board, listening to Clapton until the ducklings returned.
It was almost 5PM when they finally made it back to my office. I was tired of waiting around and was just about to page them when they walked back in. Cameron started off with: "CT was backed up. It took us a while to get in."
I interrupted her: "I don't care about how long the line was. I want to know how the movie ended."
Foreman gave me the results: "CT shows a single extranodal tumor around her left ovary and it is pressing on the bowel causing a slight obstruction. That could explain the constipation."
"Well, constipation is the least of her worries at this point. She has a tumor in her abdomen. We need to find out what it is. Get a bone marrow biopsy. And while you're at it, get a biopsy of the inguinal, axillary and cervical lymph nodes. Let's see how far this puppy has spread. Chase and Foreman help draw the samples, then you can go and Cameron can run them and monitor the patient overnight".
Cameron huffed: "Me? Why me? It's because I missed the mass on the physical exam, isn't it?"
I limped around my desk and got right in her face: "It's your turn! Chase stayed over with Miss Boo-Boo Butt, so now it's your turn."
I shooed them out and limped over to the whiteboard. I added 'abdominal mass' to the list. I stood there for a few minutes, lost in thought. Then I headed back to my office and packed up my gear. We would have the biopsies tomorrow and I felt sure they would tell us what this is.
After a quick stop at the liquor store for a new bottle of scotch, I headed home. As I parked the bike, I noticed the lights on in Elle's apartment. It was only 6PM, a little early for dinner. I figured I needed to give her some time to cook. I entered my apartment and tossed my backpack onto the couch. As I was taking off my jacket, I noticed the silence. My apartment was really quiet. I usually like the quiet, but tonight it felt too still. It hadn't felt like that in a while. I turned on the TV for some sound as I headed back to the bedroom to change. I stripped off my button-down and my t-shirt and rummaged in the drawer for a clean band tee. The bedroom felt quiet and still also. The bed was still rumpled from last night so I made it up. As I fluffed her pillow, I could swear that I still smelled her scent on it.
I wandered back to the living room and cracked open the bottle of scotch. I poured myself 2 fingers and sat on the couch flipping channels.
I didn't want to go running over there the minute I got home. I didn't want to look too needy. But my body ached for her. I hadn't seen her or touched her since last night and I wanted her. I wanted to hold her in my arms and kiss her. I wanted to feel her legs wrap around me as I slide inside of her.
She was all I could think about. I tried to focus on the TV and I tried to think about my case, but it was futile.
Finally I said: "fuck it" and slugged back the rest of the scotch. Wiping my mouth on the back of my hand, I grabbed my cane and headed over to Elle's apartment.
I knocked, but she didn't answer, so I let myself in. Meatloaf was blasting on the stereo; no wonder she didn't hear me. She was in the kitchen with her back to me, mashing the potatoes and singing along to 'You Took the Words Right out of My Mouth'. I rapped my cane hard on the door and she turned around. The startled look on her face turned into a big smile when she saw me. I was struck by the fact that she was happy to see me. It was something that I was not used to; most people were not exactly pleased to see me, much less happy. She set down the pot, wiped her hands on a towel and came over to me. She seemed so genuinely happy to see me that I smiled back.
"Hey," she said and then she tiptoed up on her bare toes and put her arms around my neck. I dropped my cane and wrapped my arms around her. Our noses nuzzled each other's. I brushed my lips against hers and then deepened the contact. Her lips parted and allowed my tongue to enter. I realized that this is what I had craved all day, her lips, her touch. I felt her fingers tangling in my hair and I pulled her closer. We kissed passionately for several minutes, until her toes wobbled a bit from standing so long on extreme tiptoe. I tried to stabilize her and we ended up falling back against the door.
She giggled: "Oops. Wish I were taller. It would be easier to kiss you standing up if I were."
I swooped down for one more kiss and then I said: "No. You're perfect just the way you are."
I was taken aback by the look on her face. It was surprise, disbelief and a host of other emotions that flashed across her face for a minute, and then were gone. She looked down and I saw her swallow hard and then bite her trembling lip. She turned away and headed back to the kitchen calling to me in a shaky voice: "Are you hungry? Dinner's not quite ready yet. I'll get you a beer."
I wondered why that little comment had upset her. I had not said it in a snarky manner; I had really meant it. She obviously didn't want to talk about it so I figured I would leave it alone for now.
I called back to her: "Yeah, a beer would be great."
I followed her into the kitchen and accepted the beer that she handed me. She turned back to the stove and continued working on the potatoes. The next song started on the stereo and it was Meatloaf's 'It's All Coming Back to Me Now'.
I said: "So we are listening to Meatloaf while we have it for dinner?"
She giggled: "Well, I asked if you wanted Meatloaf for dinner. Oh, you assumed I meant to eat meatloaf as opposed to our musical accompaniment."
I sighed dramatically: "So what are you making me to go with those mashed potatoes?"
She giggled some more: "Meatloaf!"
I came up behind her and brushed the hair away from her neck. Her hickey was a lovely shade of purple and I nibbled on it.
"Little minx. You're in a very giggly mood."
She turned and flashed me her 100-watt smile. "Why not? Go check out my bedroom."
"Why? What's in there?"
She gave me a nudge. "Just go look."
I humored her and went into the bedroom. I was surprised to see a bed where previously there had been a big empty space. It was made up with blue and brown striped sheets and a matching comforter. Four big pillows were at the head of the bed and that silly purple dog was parked right in the middle. No wonder she was happy. That meant no more sleeping on the futon.
I frowned wondering about the implications of this. I wondered if it meant she would not sleep with me as often, now that she had her own bed.
As I stood there pondering this question, she came up behind me and put her arms around my waist.
"Your bed is here." Then I mentally kicked myself for stating the obvious.
She squeezed me and said: "Yep, and the cable was installed today too. Gen was nice enough to come over and hang out waiting for everything while I was at work. Now I just need to get a dresser and maybe some nightstands and I can get my clothes out of the cardboard boxes. It's looking a bit more like a real apartment now, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it does." I smiled down at her. She seemed happy again and I wanted to keep her that way.
"You know what this means?"
She looked at me and shook her head.
"We have to christen the bed. How much time until dinner is ready?"
"About 30 minutes."
"That will do for an appetizer. Come 'ere."
I took her hand and pulled her over to the bed.
We stood next to the bed. I cupped her face and leaned down to kiss her. It was slow and gentle. I brushed her hair away from her face and said: "Let me unwrap you."
She nodded and I grabbed the bottom of her tank top and slowly pulled it over her head. I smiled when I saw she wasn't wearing a bra. Her nipples were already erect.
I thumbed them and teased: "Cold?"
She smiled and said: "No, just happy to see you."
I grinned and started licking her nipple while unbuckling her jeans. I pushed them down over her hips and she stepped out of them.
She looked luscious wearing just a pair of light blue lacy panties. I picked her up and gently laid her on the bed.
My eyes feasted on her body. Then I started kissing her neck and I worked my way down her body. She shivered and sighed as I worked. I paid a lot of attention to her beautiful breasts licking and sucking them until the nipples were hardened nubs.
Elle tried to pull my shirt off, but I shook my head and said: "no". She contented herself with playing with my hair while I feasted on her body. I worked my way down to her panties and mouthed her through them. She moaned: "Gregggggg" and I pressed harder. She thrust her pelvis up at me and I knew she was ready. I slowly pulled her panties off. Her legs parted for me and I positioned myself in between them. I nuzzled her soft hair and then gave her one long slow lick down her entire core. A delicious moan emanated from her and that was all the encouragement I needed to start in earnest. I licked and nibbled until I thought she was getting close. Then I thrust 2 fingers inside of her and sucked hard on her nub. It sent her right over the edge. Her cries of pleasure hit my ears as I felt her walls spasm around my fingers. I kept my mouth on her, but eased up on the pressure. As soon as she started coming down from that high, I thrust my fingers in again, hard up against her g-spot, and sucked hard on her clit. She came again, harder this time. Her fingers gripped my hair tightly and I looked up at her.
Elle was mumbling in French: "mon dieu, mon dieu, c'est fantastique."
Her eyes were wide open and I could see the pleasure in them. I smiled against her body, knowing I had put that look there.
I slowly pulled my fingers from her core. I brushed her lips with one to put her taste there and then I stuck them in my mouth to lick them clean. She was delicious and I couldn't get enough of her.
I murmured: "Great appetizer." I moved up on the bed and crashed my lips on her. As we kissed hungrily, Elle's hands were busy unzipping my jeans and trying to push them down. I quickly toed off my sneakers and pulled my shirt over my head. Then I eased my hips up so that she could finish undressing me. She started stroking me as soon as my pants were off. I stilled her hand as I was so turned on that I didn't want to finish prematurely. I wanted to be inside her warmth.
I gently spread her legs and positioned myself between them. She was so wet from her orgasms that I slid inside easily. I hooked my arm under her left leg and lifted it up over my shoulder so I could go even deeper. She moaned and thrust up against me. She cupped my face with her hands and pressed her lips on mine. I thrust hard several more times and just as I was slipping over the edge, I felt her crash again. I felt her walls spasm against my cock and a fresh flood of moisture surround me. Elle cried out and thrust against me and I thrust deeply into her as I came. I pumped 3 or 4 times until I was completely spent and I collapsed on top of her.
It felt so good to lie on top of her and be buried deep inside. But I felt like I was crushing her so I rolled us onto our sides.
I felt her shiver and she made a soft cry.
"Are you OK?"
She panted: "Uh-huh. Aftershocks. So sensitive right now."
Elle buried her face in my shoulder and I held her tightly. She caressed my beard while she planted small kisses on my neck. I just lay there in a very contented post-coital bliss. My member softened inside of her until it finally fell out. Just then a bell went off.
I heard Elle mumble: "Round one is over. Let me know when you're ready for round 2." And she burst into giggles again.
I stroked her hair away from her face and gently kissed her: "My little nympho. Just can't get enough, can you?"
"Mon Dieu, you've just fucked me into next week. If that wasn't the timer telling me that the meatloaf is done, I wouldn't be moving for an hour. But by then, it would be burned, so I guess I should get up."
She tenderly kissed my cheek and then she moved from my embrace. Smiling, she said: "Did you work up an appetite?"
"Yeah, I'm starving."
"Good," she said in a low and seductive whisper. She planted a kiss on my chest, right above my heart and slowly slid out of bed. She walked over to the closet and rummaged in a box for a moment before extracting something. I watched as she slipped it over her head. It turned out to be a lavender-colored cotton nightgown. It had little spaghetti straps and only came down to mid-thigh. It wasn't overtly sexy, but she looked quite fetching in it.
"I like that on you."
She smiled and said: "Thank you."
She reached down to pick up her panties and I growled: "Uh-uh. Don't put them on."
Elle laughed and said: "You want me to eat dinner commando?"
In a low and authoritative tone I simply said: "Yes."
She smirked and said: "Fine. But you have to eat naked."
"Oh, like that will be hard for me."
"No, but you might get hard during dinner". Giggling, she scampered out of the room.
I grinned as I watched her go. She was such a feisty little thing.
I slowly climbed out of bed. I felt a twinge in my thigh from all the exertion and I reached for my jeans to grab my Vicodin. Gawd, I just told her I was going to eat in the nude. My scar would be in plain view as I walked around her apartment. What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't at that moment when I said I would do this. Shit. I didn't want to cave it, yet I hated to flash it around. Screw it; I wasn't backing down. She's seen it. If it ruined her appetite, there would be more for me. I swallowed 2 Vicodins and hobbled out into the kitchen.
Elle was just sliding the meatloaf onto a serving plate as I came in.
She pointedly looked me up and down and smiled. "Like what you're wearing."
I took my cane and lifted the bottom of her nightgown exposing her ass. I grinned lasciviously and said: "Moi aussi, mon cher."
She glanced down at the cane and said: "I prefer that other big stick of yours poking at me."
I lowered my cane to rebalance myself and made Mt. Gregory twitch. "You mean, this one?"
Elle walked over to me and cupped my package with her small hand. It was so soft and warm. "Yes, this one."
I smiled down at her. She had this way of making me feel sexy despite the scar.
I smirked: "Be a good little girl and feed me. Then I'll have the strength to poke you with my big stick again."
Elle leaned up until her lips were just millimeters from mine. "Aye, aye, captain," she whispered before kissing me gently.
"Why don't you grab us each a beer, and sit down? I'll bring it out to the table. Oh, and grab the ketchup too while you're in the 'frig."
"Yes, mistress." I grabbed the requested items and headed to the table.
Elle followed me with the meatloaf on a platter and a big bowl of mashed potatoes. She went back and grabbed plates and silverware. She cut me 2 big slabs of meatloaf, loaded on a big serving of potatoes and set it down in front of me.
"Bon appetite, cowboy."
I smiled my appreciation, waited for her to serve herself and then dug in.
We ate in companionable silence for a bit. The food was delicious and I was hungry. I took a second serving and started eating slower.
Then I realized I hadn't told her about the photos yet.
"I kinda got back at Wilson today."
Her eyes lit up: "You did? What did you do?"
I proceeded to tell her the whole story. In the beginning, she smirked. Then she chuckled. By the time I got to the part about snapping the photo, she was giggling uncontrollably.
"Where are the photos? Do I get to see them?"
"Of course. My camera is in my backpack. Oh, wait. I e-mailed them to myself. Let me use your laptop and I'll open my e-mail and you can see them now."
Elle fired up her laptop and passed it over to me. I logged into my e-mail and pulled up the pictures. I watched her eyes grow huge as she saw them.
"Oh, my Gawd. You really did catch them in the act, didn't you? Holy shit."
"Yep."
"Well, that's payback for him walking in on us and trying to play Dr Phil. But what about Cuddy? I bet she was really mad at you."
Pensively I said: "Yeah, she was."
She picked up on that right away. "Oh, oh. What did she do to you?"
I hated to tell her, but she needed to know. "She warned me not to tell anyone about it or show anyone the photos, or she would do something very bad."
"What?"
"She said she would float around the rumor that you and I are seeing each other, but with enhancements. Like throwing in some BDSM or other embarrassing items."
She looked shocked, but recovered quickly. "I see."
I took her hand: "You don't have to worry. Cuddy is not going to talk as long as I don't show the photos to anyone. Wilson is definitely not going to talk; that's why I took the pictures in the first place."
Elle looked thoughtful for a moment and then said: "I don't care if they talk."
"What?"
She shrugged: "Let them talk. I've nothing to be ashamed of. Let them think you're screwing me 6 ways from Sunday. I think most of the women in the hospital will be jealous that I'm doing you. Maybe Cuddy's jealous that I'm doing you."
I smirked: "You think so?"
She shrugged: "I don't know her very well, but it's possible, don't you think?"
I shook my head: "No. We knew each other at Michigan. Had a very brief thing then. That ship sailed long ago."
"Really? You and Cuddy?"
I nodded: "Very brief and 20 years ago. Remember I mentioned tutoring students in the anatomy lab?"
She sniggered: "Oomigod! She was one of your students, huh? Nice. Did you give her an 'A'?"
I wiggled my eyebrows at her: "Yep, she got an 'A', all right."
Elle convulsed in giggles. I watched, fascinated by her reaction. Most women get weird if you are still friends with someone that you used to sleep with. But then again, she was still friends with her ex-boyfriend Tony.
"Well, what would she think if that got around the hospital? The Chief of Medicine got an 'A' in anatomy cuz she screwed her teaching assistant!"
I smirked: "She needed to examine my uncircumcised penis very closely. She's Jewish so she hadn't had the pleasure of an uncut cock before."
"OH, like me!" Elle was laughing so hard that tears were leaking out of her eyes. It took her a few minutes to calm down and wipe her eyes.
Still chuckling, she asked: "Whom did you want to show the photos to?"
"No one at the moment. I thought I could use them as leverage to get out of clinic duty, but she says she will just claim that they are Photoshop fakes."
Elle nodded thoughtfully: "Oh, well. Maybe you will find a use for them in the future."
Elle turned towards the laptop and stared at the photos again. She didn't say anything for a few minutes; she just sat there staring.
Finally I said: "You can't stop looking at them. Are you brainstorming for ways to get back at them or are the pictures turning you on?"
Elle giggled and whispered: "Your dick is bigger than Wilson's."
I could feel my smile stretching across my face.
I chuckled: "You got that right. Now get over here."
I pulled her to me and she straddled my lap. As I slid her nightgown up and pressed my lips to hers, I thought this was definitely worth losing one round to Cuddy.
Elle
I couldn't believe the stunt he managed to pull off today. It was hysterical. I wish I had been there to see the look on Wilson's face, although the photos captured it well. Too bad Cuddy foiled his plot. Well, the photos were priceless and Greg may find a use for them yet.
While I was staring at the photos, he asked if they were turning me on. I had been staring at Wilson's dick and comparing it to Greg's. When I told Greg that his dick was bigger than Wilson's, he got excited again and pulled me to him. I straddled him and we had sex right there on the chair in the dining room. I couldn't believe he made me come for the 4th time that night. His eyes never left mine and his mouth rarely did except to breathe. It was hot and amazing. No man has ever turned me on as much as he does.
We both climaxed and I sat in his lap for a while, cuddling and kissing. As much as I tried to keep my weight off of his right thigh, eventually the pain in his leg caused him to ask me to get up. I could see the regret in his eyes at the loss of contact.
He covered it up with a smirk: "Had enough sex yet, my little nympho?"
I pointedly glanced at the clock; it was only 8:00. "The night is still young, my stud muffin. Perhaps I can persuade you to service me again before bedtime."
He smiled and I gave him a nice kiss on his mouth. What was intended to be a quick kiss turned into a long deep one as he wrapped his arms around me and wouldn't let me go. It wasn't as if I minded. I really couldn't get enough of him and sometimes I thought he might feel the same way about me.
I finally broke away from him and started clearing the table. I wrapped up the leftovers and stacked the dishes in the sink.
"I'm going to see my therapist after work tomorrow. There's plenty of leftovers so come over and help yourself if you're hungry."
"Poker game tomorrow night. We usually get pizza and other assorted junk food."
"Oh, right. Well, then I'll have the leftovers when I get home. Leave you boys to your junk food and your poker."
I started washing the dishes and he came up behind me and embraced me while I washed. He brushed the hair away from the neck and nibbled on my hickey.
He muttered: "I need to keep this looking fresh. I want the boys to know that you're mine. They gotta keep their hands to themselves."
I giggled: "Greg, I'm not going to be over tomorrow. You're playing poker. I'm going to stay home and let you enjoy your game with the guys."
"Well, they will see you when you come to bed."
I turned to look at him: "What do you mean?"
"On a work night you like to go to bed at 10 or 10:30, right? We'll probably be playing until midnight. So they will see you as you pass through on your way to my bed." He bent his head down and nibbled some more.
I closed my eyes to better enjoy the sensation and to contemplate what he just said. He assumed I would be sleeping in his bed every night and why would tomorrow be any different just because the guys were there? I smiled; it was a heady feeling knowing he wanted me like that. But I wasn't sure about parading through in front of the guys; that made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Maybe I should just sleep here on poker nights and at his place the rest of the time.
"Greg, I don't know if I feel comfortable just walking past the guys to your bedroom."
"Well don't just walk past. Stay and smooze for a bit first, and then go to bed."
I looked down embarrassed by what I was about to say: "You know, after therapy, I'm kinda at my worst. I've usually been crying, and I don't know if I want the guys to see me like that. And I'm afraid I'll go to sleep and have a nightmare and start screaming while they're still here. So, that's why I was thinking maybe on poker nights it would be better if I slept here."
A thought came to me and I brightened a bit: "I have a bed now. You could come sleep over here after they leave."
He frowned: "I like my bed. It's big and comfortable."
"I know. I like your bed too, but mine's not too bad. It's brand new; even have new sheets."
"But you'll already be asleep when I come over."
"I'd be asleep if I were in your bed too. You don't have to if you don't want to. But please think about it." That last bit came out in a pleading whisper that I wasn't too proud of. I bit my lip to stop the trembling and turned back to finish the dishes. I was blowing this already; I just knew it.
House
Elle turned back to the sink and resumed washing the dishes. I pondered what she just said. It was actually a reasonable request, but I stubbornly wanted what I wanted. I could hear Wilson's voice in my head, telling me not to be an ass about this.
I put my hands on her shoulders and I could feel her tremble beneath my touch. This wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to make her feel bad.
I moved her hair away from her neck again and nibbled on my favorite spot. She let out a soft whimper and then smashed her hand to her mouth as if to stop any more sounds from escaping.
I whispered: "I just wanted to show you off. Maybe another time."
She squeezed her eyes shut and gave a small nod.
I gently nipped her earlobe and whispered: "Sleep at my place tonight?"
She let out a long sigh: "Yes."
"Good. Put on the least amount of clothes possible to walk across the hall and let's go."
She walked back into the dining room and picked up the discarded nightgown. She slipped it over her head and asked: "This OK?"
I nodded: "Perfect."
I chose that word specifically to see how she would react. That surprised look quickly flashed across her face again before she composed herself.
Pointedly looking me up and down, she said: "Going like that?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? You want to see me streak across the hall. I can't cuz if old Mrs. Harper walks out and sees me, I wouldn't want to be responsible for giving her a heart attack.'
"At least she'd die happy after getting a look at your big dick."
Grinning, I said: "Horny again, my little nympho? Let me grab my clothes and we'll go back to my place and you can ravish me again if you'd like."
I went back into her bedroom and picked up my clothes. I put on just my boxers and jeans; that seemed sufficient for just walking across the hall.
As I walked out of the bedroom, I saw her walk into the bathroom and open the medicine cabinet.
Curious, I wandered in behind her. She turned to look at me, her hand inside the cabinet.
"Whatcha doing?"
"Getting my pill. I always take it at night before I go to bed."
She held up her dialpak and I could see that she was in the middle of the last week of this cycle of pills. She popped out Wednesday's pill and dry-swallowed it. Then she slipped the dialpak back into the medicine cabinet.
"I'm ready, if you are. Going topless?"
I smirked: "Yeah, it's only across the hall."
She smiled and planted a big raspberry on my chest. "Shall we go? Or do you want to stand here in the bathroom for a bit first?"
"Smart ass."
"That's me."
She ducked under my arm and slipped out of the bathroom. I flicked off the bathroom light and followed her. I watched her pick up her keys and her cell phone and slip on her flip-flops. We stepped into the hall and while Elle locked up her place, I unlocked mine.
"Oh, I didn't get my mail today. Let me do that."
Elle moved over to the mailboxes and opened her, removing a small bundle of mail. She browsed through it as she slowly walked to my door.
"Junk, junk, important, junk, important. All right. Good mail today. No bills."
She strolled into my apartment still focused on her mail. I watched as she strolled to the trashcan and dropped in the junk mail, and then walked over to the couch while slitting open a large manila envelope. She sat and pulled the papers out of the envelope and started reading. I wondered what had caught her attention so thoroughly as I limped into the kitchen for a beer. As I opened the refrigerator, I heard her gasp.
I glanced at her; she was staring as if in shock at the paper. Shit, it looked like she got some bad news. I grabbed two beers and went to the couch and sat next to her. I set the beers down on the coffee table and put my arm around her.
"What is it, Elle?"
As she looked at me, one lone tear slid down her cheek. I captured it with my thumb, and then asked again: "What is it, sweetheart?"
Elle took a deep breath and then said: "They are going to publish my article."
"What?"
In a strangulated voice, she repeated: "They are going to publish my article. I can't believe it. I submitted it back in December and I hadn't heard anything all this time, so I figured that they didn't like it. But they did. Look! Here's a bound copy of it. It's going to be published in the September issue of JAPhA. I can't believe it!"
She seemed stunned by this. I took the bound article from her and looked at the cover: 'A Summary of Chemotherapeutic Treatments for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas' by Arielle S. Kaplan, PharmD, BCOP. I flipped through it; it was 12 pages long.
"Is this your first published article?"
Elle nodded: "Yes."
I grinned at her: "This is great. Congratulations. I want to read it."
She looked surprised: "You do? Really?"
I shrugged: "Of course."
She finally smiled: "Wow, thanks. I'm flattered that you want to read it. I'm sure you've published a lot of articles, right?"
"A few. But, hey, your first one is special." I cupped her cheek and stroked it with my thumb. Then I softly said: "I'm really proud of you."
A look of surprised disbelief flashed across her face. Her lip trembled and tears came to her eyes. "Really?"
"Yes, you silly girl."
She smiled and said softly: "Thank you." Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. I pulled her into my lap and captured her lips with mine. Our tongues struggled a bit for domination but mine won.
We kissed for a few minutes, and then sat quietly wrapped up together. I glanced at the cover again and then asked: "What is BCOP?"
"That's Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist."
"You're board certified? Really? I didn't know that existed for pharmacists."
"Pharmacists only have a few specialties, not like doctors. I had to have 3 years of experience and pass a certification exam first."
"Is pain management another specialty?"
She shook her head: "No, it's not. It's a subject that interests me. I made a lot of recommendations at PMMC and then the doctors started consulting me and it just grew from that. It does kind of go hand in hand with oncology patients and then I started seeing other chronic pain patients."
"You like doing pain management?"
"Yeah, I do. I like fine-tuning a patient's drug regimen to give them the best pain relief with the least amount of side effects. I don't think people need to live in pain. More doctors need to understand that, and not live in fear of their patients becoming addicts."
This subject was striking a little to close to home, so I diverted her by asking: "Did you know that your initials spell out the word 'ASK'?"
She laughed and said: "Yes, that has been pointed out to me before."
"You like to ask a lot of questions, little girl?"
"I've been told that. Although I think you ask a lot more than I do."
"What does the 'S' stand for?"
"Guess."
"Hmmmm, silly?"
She giggled: "No."
"Special? Superduper? Stupendous? Serendipitous? Smart? Svelte? Superb? Serene? Stunning? Sublime? Sensual? Sexy?"
With each word, I kissed her and inched my hand up her leg and under her nightgown. She giggled at the first few words and as my hand grew closer to her core, her giggles turned into sighs. When I got to the word 'sensual', I cupped her mound and she moaned into my mouth. As I whispered 'sexy' I rubbed my hand against her core and she whimpered and bucked against me. I was rock hard again for the 3rd time in as many hours.
"Bedroom?" I whispered.
"Bedroom" came the reply. Elle stood up and held out her hand. I took it and we walked down the hall to the bedroom together.