Mysterious Stranger: Chapter 25
A/N: Okay. Chapter fix. Hope someone is still reading this... sorry it took so long. Interviewing like a madman. Please review readers!
Jane was lying on her back arm splayed across her eyes shielding the light and feigning repose. She had been secretly spying on little Miss Lisa Cuddy during the entire conversation, gathering information for her all important operation hook-up. So hooking-up not the best of ideas but she had a sneaking suspicion that once would not be enough for her hot-headed heroes in the little melodrama she was concocting. After that scene she was almost certain once would not suffice and twice would soon become thrice and so on and so forth till her fond friends found themselves mixed up together, quite inseparable. Oh what a tangled web I weave…
Cuddy couldn't repress the disappointment swelling in her heart. The conversation had been most unsatisfactory. She knew it wouldn't end with declarations of undying love, as she'd told him before she was not naive. Normally the tension between them was eased not in the throws of passion but through heated and witty deliberations. Not tonight. He got what he wanted and left her wanting. Lisa shook her head. That didn't even sound good inside my head, she thought. Turning her attention to the couch and snapping up a pillow, which she promptly pummeled Jane with. The two dissolved into a most merry fit of the giggles.
Tears glistening on their cheeks a strange silence fell upon them as they struggled to regain their normal breathing pattern. As quickly as the stars twinkle in the night sky the tears of joy turned to those of sorrow. And the air lost to mirth and laughter was replaced by a vacuum from heartache. All day a laugh, giggle and sparkling tear had been stacked end to end over and over again. One more tear drop was all it took. Quick as the tempest on the open sea, a storm of torrid emotions descended upon them. It truly was amazing how fast the reds of love could shift to the mean reds of anger and distress. No words were needed at that moment; the friends fell into a comforting embrace, each one offering a slimmer of strength. Like the key in an arch their arms supported them; raising them from the despair that loomed round their hearts.
Their soft bodies rocked gently back and forth. Jane sniffled at the memory. The wide mahogany arms and broad seat of her mother's rocking chair. How it remained in her room after she'd grown. And those nights when sleep evaded her and darkness haunted her dreams how she'd seat herself in the chair leaning slowly forward and back till her heartbeat steadied and the tears dried. Her arms tightened around Cuddy's small frame.
"What a pair." Her voice cracked down the middle of the phrase which only caused her to laugh sadly. Lisa patted her back nodding her head.
"You first," Cuddy said as if pointing towards a rope swing, dangerous but hopelessly necessary for the summer's heat.
Jane began in earnest to tell the tale of her heart's most foolish fancy. Try as she might to use her intellect her heart wouldn't hear of it. The treacherous muscle had led her into a trap. Unrequited love might sound trite and cliché. If her head had any say at all she would most certainly reject her feelings at once and be free of the terrible weight bearing down on her soul. Alas, if only the power was within her grasp. "As they say: unrequited love's a bitch." She deadpanned.
"Who couldn't help but love you?" Lisa's funny friend responded with a wry smile and bitter laugh.
"Enough."
"No seriously. Where is this guy? I'm a doctor and as such have extensive knowledge of the male anatomy. What's more I have access to the most delightful array of sharp instruments, which could be used for nefarious purposes. If I can't beat sense into the bastard, then at least let me cause him some pain." Cuddy smiled devilishly.
"I don't wish him harm." Jane gulped; swallowing her affections trying desperately to rid her mind of the most recent moment they'd shared. How he gazed into her eyes, how dashing he looked in dress slacks and polished shoes. "Your turn."
Cuddy felt her heart ache for her friend. Why did it have to be so hard? Jane's story wasn't too different from her own. Well as far as misery loves company they really were a pair. Lisa knew those two words were coming, but her mind froze when Jane spoke them. Cuddy hadn't verbalized her feelings for the diagnostician, ever. She'd complained about his behavior, hell, who hadn't? Jimmy really was the only one who knew how deep House's witty remarks cut her. And the fact that she let him close enough to make her suffer so much was…something.
"Hey, I spilled my guts, your turn now." Jane tried joking, but quickly stopped noting the distant and forlorn look in Lisa's eyes. "Hey, babe…" Jane scooted closer snuggling up to Lisa and rubbing her shoulder encouragingly. Then the words tumbled from her lips like the cascade of water down a waterfall. Jane listened attentively to Lisa's story, committing every detail to memory; it would aid her in her mission. Although the longer she listened, the more she questioned her objective. She'd thought it was a simple misunderstanding, but there was a river troubles and mistrust washing under the bridge. Not a one forgotten. Lisa had the memory of an elephant, but her heart was just as big and Jane could see that it had been broken more than once by the infamous House. She'd hardly known Greg a week, but she believed that he was capable of everything Lisa mentioned. It saddened her greatly. Given the choice between her new pal, Greg and her old buddy, Lisa; Jane didn't have to think twice.
The big secret was out. Her dear friend wanted to be a mother. Jane understood this well enough. She hadn't denied herself the fancies of parenthood. It started in college. Not every time, but quite often Jane's heart strings would be tugged by a little tot. And a voice in her head would say "I want one of those!" She wanted to hug them and stroke their head and wipe away their tears. Jane could hardly believe how long Cuddy had waited, but then she remembered how determined Lisa was to become a doctor. And not just any doctor, but the best damn doctor she could be. If Jane hadn't paid attention to the past she wouldn't have realized how great Cuddy's accomplishments were. When Lisa was in school it was still a fairly big deal for a woman to be in Medical School. Nowadays, it wasn't a radical idea. Thinking back on her friend's career she realized the great sacrifices Cuddy had made and why. Now her friend needed her, and Jane knew exactly what she had to do.
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