Author's Notes: I have changed the story's genres to Drama and Hurt/Comfort Chapter Twenty-one
After the police had left, House had spent the remainder of the night cleaning up his living room. He had to throw most of what was there out. His piano and guitar were goners. He'd have to replace them both, as well as his TV. The TV he didn't care about. But the piano and guitar…that hurt.
He had managed to get a few hours of sleep but they were not restful by any means. He couldn't stop thinking. Not about the crime that had happened but about what he had said to Cuddy. He hadn't meant what he had said. He knew that but he couldn't help but say it. He was in so much pain and he wanted to cause her just as much pain and he knew saying what he said would do that.
He didn't know what to do now.
He was brought out of his thoughts when Wilson suddenly joined his side as he continued walking towards his office. Wilson was smiling and going on about random chit-chat stuff, but House was too busy thinking to pay attention.
"House, are you listening?" Wilson asked.
"No," House said shortly.
They reached his office and walked in, hoping that Wilson wouldn't follow but he did.
"What's going on?" Wilson asked, walking behind House.
"My place was broken into last night," House said, sitting down heavily in his chair.
"Whoa!" Wilson exclaimed in shock. "When? Where you there? Did they take anything? Do you know who did it?" He asked quickly, barely pausing between each question.
House rolled his eyes. "No," he sighed. "It happened before I got home."
"What did they take?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" Wilson repeated puzzled. "Someone broke into your place but didn't take anything?"
"Yep."
"What did they do then?"
House shrugged, "Trashed the place. My living room is completely destroyed. My piano, my guitar, my television—"
"-Do you think it was random?" Wilson asked suddenly. "Or someone with a grudge?"
House looked at him with an annoyed expression.
"I'm just saying," Wilson continued. "You do tend to rub people the wrong way. Maybe someone's decided to get revenge. Any ideas who could have done it?"
"If I did I would call the police and tell them." House snapped.
"Fair enough," Wilson sighed, placing a hand up in defence. He paused before asking, "Are you alright though?"
"Yeah," House sighed. He just wanted this conversation to end and to be left alone with his own thoughts.
"Are you sure?" Wilson asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You look like crap, What's going on?"
"Nothing," House muttered. Then he stood up, grabbed his cane and started walking towards his office door once again. "Gotta go," he said quickly.
He left abruptly, leaving a very confused Wilson standing alone in his office.
**House MD**
House couldn't stop thinking about Cuddy and he knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything else until he sorted it out. He made her way to her office and was thankful that Max wasn't there. For someone who was meant to be Cuddy's assistant, Max sure did spend a lot of time away from her desk. House couldn't think about that right now.
He went to Cuddy's door and knocked on it gently.
"Come in," He heard her call softly.
He opened the door and poked his head in. Cuddy looked over at him and frowned deeply. He could see the hurt in her eyes, as well as the guilt.
She swallowed and tried to compose herself. "House," She began, trying to put on her best 'administrator' voice. Trying to show him that he wasn't going to get to her. Not today. "Did you need something?" She asked.
House sighed before he took a few steps towards her desk. He stood in front of it and leaned heavily on his cane.
"I didn't mean it," He said in a hushed tone, avoiding her gaze. "What I said last night."
"You don't say things you don't mean." Cuddy accused him.
"I was in pain."
"Your pain doesn't make you lie, House." She told him softly, "If anything it makes you more honest."
"Cuddy…" House began, but he didn't know what to say so he trailed off.
Cuddy sighed deeply and shook her head sadly. "I know I've done a lot of things to you. Your leg. This child…And I will always feel guilty. That will never change. I don't need you to point it out and make me feel worse…Not that you could. I feel pretty shit already."
"That wasn't my intention." He answered softly, finally meeting her gaze.
Cuddy scoffed, letting out a short laugh. "Yes, it was. That's always your intention. To lash out and make other people suffer the same that you suffer. Or worse."
"Cuddy, I don't blame you."
"You do, House." She exclaimed. "And I'm ok with that. I accept it, but…it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."
There was a thick layer of silence that settled between them. Cuddy's eyes shone with unshed tears. Tears that she was trying so hard not to let fall. Only House could make her feel this way, and he was also the only one that she didn't want to see her this way.
House eyes darted around the room for a few minutes before the settled back on to Cuddy's face. A pang of his own guilt hit him briefly as he saw her eyes.
"I still need to find our daughter." He said softly. Almost in a whisper.
"Why?" Cuddy asked, blinking several times.
House looked at her with an expression of shock, "Because…she's our daughter. She's out there somewhere. I'm curious."
"But do you want to find her?" Cuddy asked.
"I just said I do," He shot back gently, his hands twisting repeatedly around to hook of his cane.
"No." Cuddy shook her head. "You said you need to. Not that you want to."
"Isn't it the same thing?" He asked
"I don't know," Cuddy sighed and looked down. "I really don't…"
The silence stretched between them once more.
"Cuddy…" House sighed slowly. "I want to find her." He admitted seriously. "I want to find her with you. I won't lash out at you about it anymore."
"You can't promise that," She muttered sadly. "If you have another day when your pain becomes unbearable—"
"—Then I'll stay away from you." He offered. "I'll hide in my apartment, or I'll find someone else to verbally attack. But I won't come to you. Ok?" He asked softly.
"…Ok." Cuddy nodded.
**House MD**
Chase was in the clinic, passing a patient's file to one of the nurses when he spotted Max walking towards the nurse's station.
He hadn't seen her since their little get together last night. She wasn't even there when he woke up that morning. He wanted to talk to her. To find out where he head was and if she wanted the same thing that he did.
"Uh, Max…" he called out before walking over to her.
Max looked up at him and then quickly looked around, almost as if she were trying to find an escape route.
"Hey," Chase sighed when he reached her. "So, um…"
"So…" Max nodded awkwardly.
"I, ah, I didn't expect you to leave. You know."
"Yeah," Max breathed out. "Look, Chase…last night was fun—"
"-Fun?" He asked.
"Ok, it was really, really fun." Max smiled briefly. "But it was just a one-off thing."
"Why?" Chased asked, puzzled. "I mean if we both had a good time. Couldn't it be more of a regular thing?"
Max bit her bottom lip slightly before looking over at Chase and shaking her head.
"Last night was just what I needed." She explained. "And I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but I really am not looking for any type of relationship. Casual or otherwise."
"Oh," Chase said, taken aback.
"Yeah." Max sighed. "I am sorry"
At that moment, House made his way over to them. He had finished talking with Cuddy and after their chat, she had told him to go and do a few hours in the clinic. He agreed because he felt like maybe he owed her. Doing clinic hours would be his way of saying sorry, without actually saying it.
Things were still raw between them but their talk was a start.
"Are you still flirting with each other?" House snapped rudely.
"Are you here to help in the clinic? Or to be annoying?" Chase asked House.
House smirked at the two of them. "Can't I do both."
House looked over at Max and realized that she was intentionally avoiding his gaze. He frowned slightly.
"So what are you up too?" He asked Max carefully.
"Nothing!" Max shot back quickly, still not looking at him. "Look, I better get back to work."
Max quickly walked away and headed towards her office. Leaving both men looking after her and frowning.
"Ok," Chase began, his frown still across his face. "I know why she's being weird around me." He paused and looked at House. "Why is she being weird around you?"
"Hhmm," House hummed thoughtfully. "Good question."
**House MD**
After spending an hour and a half in the clinic, House had headed towards Wilson's office. He found Wilson sitting at his desk and reading over a patient's head scans.
"I think Max is the one who broke into my apartment," House announced loudly before he even stepped fully into the room.
"What?" Wilson asked. He looked up at House in confusion. "Max? Cuddy's assistant, Max?"
"Yep," House said with a nod.
He moved and heavily sat down in the chair in front of Wilson. His friend frowned at him.
"How did you go from 'give Max a job. She'll be a doctor.' To 'she broke into my apartment'?" Wilson asked carefully.
House shrugged.
"Do you have proof?"
"No."
"Then how do you know she did it?"
"She's acting weird. Even Chase thinks so." House told him seriously. "She's avoiding me."
"Most people tend to avoid you, House." Wilson sighed. "Doesn't mean you should label each and every one of them as a suspect. Hell, I avoid you sometimes."
"Max doesn't avoid me." House began, more thinking out loud than actually engaging Wilson in conversation. "If anything," He continued, "She goes out of her way to talk to me."
"So then why do you think she would trash your apartment?" Wilson asked. "Did you say something to her? Do something?"
"No."
"So, your theory is…What exactly?" Wilson began to ask, shaking his head slightly. "That Max broke into your apartment and broke lots of stuff because…she was bored?"
House groaned and Wilson in annoyance. "She's hiding something." He snapped in frustration.
"Yeah, didn't we already go through this?" Wilson asked, rolling his eyes. "She's a very private person. She's probably hiding lots of things. Doesn't mean she broke into your place."
"Don't you think it's weird that the day after my place is trashed, she starts acting weird around me?" House asked, almost demanded.
Wilson thought for a moment before he sighed, "Well why don't you just go and ask her?" He suggested. His tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Good idea," House quipped. He stood up quickly, "I'll go do that."
Then he quickly headed towards the door.
"No, House, I didn't me…." Wilson began to protest but House was already gone.
**House MD**
House determinedly made his way towards Cuddy's office in order to confront Max about his theory.
When he walked in, he found Max sitting in her chair slightly turned towards her computer. Her eyes darted back and forth as she read something on the computer screen. As she did this, her fingers moved up and down her desk mimicking those of a piano player. She was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didn't notice House straight away.
"What did you do last night?" He asked suddenly.
If Max was startled by him, she didn't show it. Instead, she stopped moving her fingers and turned to him and narrowed her eyes.
"What did you do last night?" She shot back.
"I asked you first."
"Are you ten?" She asked in annoyance.
"Are you deflecting?" He shot back. "What did you do?"
"I'm sorry, but at what point did you think that my social life is any of your business?" Max asked sternly, folding her arms defensively over her chest.
"And again," House began, raising his arms as if gesturing to a room of people that were not there. "She deflects, ladies and gentlemen."
Max pushed her chair back and quickly stood up. Then she walked over to him defensively. Standing toe to toe with him.
"How about you just say what it is that you want to say?" Max dared him. Her eyes locking with him.
It was at the moment that Cuddy walked out of her own office. She stopped mid-stroll as she came face to face with House and Max, staring at each other.
"What the hell is going on?" Cuddy asked them. She looked from House to Max and back again in confusion. "House?"
House kept looking at Max as he answered Cuddy, "Someone broke into my place and trashed it last night." He told her.
"What?" Cuddy asked, shocked. "Why didn't you say anything? Are you alright?"
"He looks fine," Max scoffed.
"Ok," Cuddy began slowly. "But that doesn't explain whats going on here."
"I think Dr House is trying to accuse me of breaking into his place," Max said, looking briefly at Cuddy and then back at House.
"House, are you?" Cuddy gaped at him.
House lifted his cane and tipped the top towards Max. "She's isn't exactly acting innocent."
"I—"Max began but Cuddy cut her off.
"—You can't just accuse people of a crime without any proof," Cuddy told him firmly as she folded her arms across her chest. "Do you have any proof?"
"…No…" House said as he lowered his cane. He had a 'feeling' but not actual proof.
"Then I think you owe Max an apology." Cuddy told him.
"Or I could ask her if she did it." House replied.
"Go ahead," sighed Max.
"That wont be necessary, House." Cuddy said suddenly. Both House and Max turned to face her fully. "Max was here with me last night working."
Max's eyes grew wide in shock as she looked at Cuddy. She was lying for her. Why was she lying for her? She didn't owe her anything. She didn't even really know her.
House looked Cuddy over and tried to decide if she was lying or not. Normally he could pick her 'tells' and knew when she was lying and when she wasn't. This time though, he couldn't tell.
"Ok," He nodded.
He turned back to Max, who quickly blinked to cover her own surprise.
House turned and walked out. After he had left Max took a deep breath and smiled awkwardly at Cuddy.
"Um… Thanks." She sighed.
Cuddy shrugged and walked over to Max. She placed a gentle hand on Max's forearm and squeezed it reassuringly. After a moment she let go and smiled.
"Just get back to work."
Max nodded and watched as Cuddy started to head back into her own office. Just as she opened the door, Max called out to her.
"Aren't you going to ask me?" She said suddenly. "If I did it?"
Cuddy paused and looked back at her.
"I don't need to know." She replied softly before going back into her own office.
To be continued…