Sorry everyone, I tried to have this up yesterday but I was having problems posting...seems to be working now. Yay! Thanks for the many wonderful reviews, guys! They make my day. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I went back and forth on a couple of plot points in the story, you all lucked out that I didn't like what I'd written and changed it. Ha! But it might show up again later, so fair warning! Oh, and please excuse any mistakes.
Enjoy!
Chapter 24
Nine Days Later
8:00 AM
Cuddy and Bella walked into the hospital hand in hand for their first day at the hospital as mother and daughter. The last week had been spent getting to know one another and just relaxing. They had gone shopping for a few more things for Bella's room as well as clothes for her. Cuddy wanted to redecorate the bathroom that is now Bella's bathroom to look more like a little girl's bathroom than a single woman's bathroom. Bella had seemed excited about it since she had never had her own bathroom before. She said she wanted it to be pink and brown, so they had spent a few hours at Bed, Bath and Beyond trying to find the décor she liked.
House had come by every night for dinner and stayed for several hours afterward, until he was called in on a case Thursday evening. They had been close to solving the case last night when he had called to get permission for a procedure, but that was the last she'd heard of it. They had fought about the necessity of the procedure for about a half an hour until she finally told him to get informed consent before she'd allow it. She was in for a busy day today.
Bella was excited to be coming in to work with her but Cuddy was afraid she'd get bored pretty quickly. Cuddy had bought her some other things to do during the day in case she got bored of drawing, although so far, Cuddy hadn't seen that happen. She's seen her get frustrated when she couldn't get something to look the way she wanted and Bella would set it aside for later, but she's never gotten bored of it. Cuddy had asked if she wanted to go play or help out in the daycare so she could be around other kids, albeit younger, but other kids nonetheless; but she had declined.
As they walked in, Cuddy introduced Bella to the staff at reception. Only a handful of people knew she had filed to foster and adopt Bella, but most were surprised. Cuddy was a private person and she didn't want her personal business to be discussed as gossip so she hadn't mentioned it to a lot of people. Although now that it was official and Bella would be here with her most days, it was unavoidable. She didn't mind people knowing about Bella, in fact she was proud of Bella and proud to be her mother, but it was the gossip she couldn't stand.
They walked through the clinic, with Cuddy introducing Bella and letting them know that she would be here with her most of the time. She had received congratulations from everyone and Cuddy was grateful that they didn't make a huge spectacle of the issue, but she knew that word would get out around the hospital about it before lunchtime.
They walked into Cuddy's office together. "You can set up camp on the couch there or on the table over there, your choice." Cuddy told her with a smile, as she made her way over to her desk.
"I like the couch, it's more comfortable."
"Ok." Cuddy chuckled. "Are you sure you don't want to go up to daycare for a little while? I know none of the kids are your age but it might be more fun than staying down here with me."
"If I get too bored, maybe, but I don't want to right now."
Cuddy nodded. "Ok, I don't have any meetings scheduled for today so I'll be in here for most of the day doing paperwork. I guarantee you'll get bored at some point…even I get bored of it, trust me." She told her.
"Maybe I can go see Greg later?" She asked with hope in her voice.
"Sure. But he may be busy with his patient today, ok?"
Bella nodded, settling herself down on the couch and pulling her sketchbook out of her backpack.
Cuddy got down to business, checking her emails and responding to the most important ones. She read over the report her replacement last week had made in regards to everything that happened while she was away. No major disasters, thankfully.
Two hours passed before she knew it and she looked up to see Bella still working in her sketchbook. She was using pastels instead of pencils and she had her tongue sticking out in concentration. Cuddy smiled at her, thinking how adorable she looked sitting there drawing with such passion, like nothing else existed in the world. It made Cuddy happy to see her do something she loves so much.
Cuddy continued watching her while Bella was distracted. She loved observing her every once in a while, because it helped remind her that this was actually happening and that she finally had what she'd always wanted. Bella looked cute today…well, she was always cute, but today she was just adorable. She was wearing her new jeans that she'd picked out this week when they went shopping. They had a cute embroidered design on the pockets and she wore a soft pink t-shirt and a tan knitted hoodie sweater, buttoned up only halfway. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, her curls only about an inch long, not reaching her neck. Cuddy had bought her a necklace with a cat charm on it that had reminded her of Splat. She had worn it everyday since and it made Cuddy happy that she'd loved it because she wasn't sure if she would when she was debating it at the store.
Cuddy smiled to herself and went back to her work. A few minutes later she heard Bella sigh and place her sketchbook on the couch beside her. Cuddy looked up, seeing her stand and hold her hands out in front of her to show Cuddy.
"I need to wash my hands." Bella said.
Her hands had pastel dust of several different colors on them. Cuddy smiled and pointed to the bathroom. "You can wash up in there."
Bella nodded and made her way to the bathroom, turning on the faucet and washing her hands. When she came out, Bella went to stand beside Cuddy's desk, propping her chin in her hands.
"I finished my drawing…do you think I could go see Greg now?"
Cuddy looked at the clock and nodded, thinking he should be in by now. She kind of wanted to go see him too. "Sure, let's go."
Cuddy stood up and held her hand out for Bella to take. They walked out of her office and made their way to the elevators. Once they got up to the 4th floor, they went to House's office just a few feet down the hallway. As they walked up to the glass door, Cuddy could see that he wasn't in there and neither was his team. They must still be working on the case.
"Sorry, Sweetie, he must be working."
Bella sighed with disappointment.
"Wanna go see if Wilson is in his office?" Cuddy suggested.
Bella nodded.
They walked down the hall to Wilson's office. Cuddy tapped lightly on the door and heard him call out for her to enter. She opened the door and stuck her head in with a smile.
"Hey, Wilson, you busy?"
"No, come on in." He said. "Hey, Bella."
"Hi James." Bella greeted him with a smile.
"How's your first day back?" He asked Cuddy.
"Busy, but it's been really good." She told him, sitting down in the chair opposite him with Bella beside her.
"The news about you and Bella has spread fast, I heard it from one of the nurses in my department."
Cuddy laughed. "Yeah, it doesn't surprise me. News around here does tend to travel fast."
Wilson nodded with amusement. "So what have you been up to, Bella? Helping your mom get caught up with her work?"
Bella chuckled and looked at Lisa as she smiled at her with amusement. "Nope. I been drawing."
Wilson nodded. "I think I'm going to have to see some of these drawings I keep hearing about."
Bella nodded happily.
"Well, if it's alright with Wilson, you can stay up here if you want." Cuddy told Bella, before she looked at Wilson. "If you're too busy, Wilson, don't worry about it, she can visit another time." She told Wilson, wanting him to know it was ok either way.
"No, it's fine, I can take a break. These charts are giving me a headache anyway."
"Are you sure?" Cuddy asked.
"Of course."
"Do you want to stay?" Cuddy turned to Bella.
"Yes." Bella answered.
"Ok well, call me when you want to go back downstairs and I'll come up and get you."
"Cuddy, I can take her down there when she's ready. I know you're busy, go do what you gotta do." He told her reassuringly.
Cuddy smiled and nodded, placing a kiss on Bella's head. "Have fun…I'll see you later."
"Ok."
Cuddy left them and made her way back to her office, ready to tackle another pile of paperwork on her desk.
A Few Minutes Later
"And this is the one I did today." Bella was saying to James as she showed him her sketchbook, sitting side by side on the couch in his office.
"Wow…Bella, these are amazing. You are extremely talented. You should be in some sort of art program somewhere." He told her sincerely.
Bella smiled at him. "That's what Greg said too."
"Well he's right."
"Thanks." Bella replied, closing her sketchbook.
James looked at her, tilting his head to the side with a small smile on his face. "You like House a lot, don't you?"
Bella smiled and nodded her head emphatically. "Yeah, I love Greg, he's the best."
James chuckled at that. "Well, that's true, but you might be one of the few that thinks so."
"People don't like him?" Bella asked, not believing that someone wouldn't like Greg.
"A lot of people don't understand him, so they think he's a jerk when really he isn't…well that's not true…he is a jerk, but usually he has a reason to be." James explained. "But he isn't always…he really is a good person." He said, and suddenly furrowed his brow. "But don't tell him I said that."
Bella nodded with a smirk.
"Can I go see him?" Bella asked. She really wanted to go hang out with Greg and hoped he would be back in his office by now.
"Uh, maybe you should stay in here for a little while…I don't want to get in trouble with your mom for not keeping you where she left you."
"She won't care, we went to visit him but he wasn't in his office. Maybe now he is?" She asked as convincingly as possible. "Please?" She begged, pouting at him. "Please?"
James slowly nodded his head, giving in to her begging. Bella beamed and jumped up, grabbing her backpack and throwing her arms around his neck.
"Thank you, James."
"You're welcome…come back here if he isn't in his office." He called out after her as she bolted out of his office.
Bella walked into Greg's empty office a moment later. The lights were on and she saw his bag lying on the floor beside his desk, so she knew he was here in the hospital. She looked into the conference room and saw tons of papers and books lying out on the glass table. Bella wasn't sure if this was his office too but she made her way in there anyway, noticing the big whiteboard with a bunch of words written on it, some of them she didn't know how to say. She was disappointed that Greg still wasn't in his office and she thought about going back to James's office like he said, but she wanted to wait for Greg.
Bella took her backpack off and sat down at the table, careful not to knock anything off and make a mess. She was eyeing the whiteboard, dying to erase it and draw on it, but she knew better than to go messing with things she didn't know about, especially if it was Greg's stuff. He might get mad at her.
Several minutes later, she heard the door open and turned her head to see four doctors walk into the room. They saw her and looked at her with confusion.
"Uh…are you lost?" One of them asked with a curious tone. She looked at his badge and saw that his name was Dr. Kutner.
Bella shook her head. "No."
"Are you looking for someone?" The woman asked. Her name was Dr. Hadley, Bella noticed.
Bella nodded. "Greg."
"Greg House?" The black man asked, with surprise. She wasn't sure if he was a doctor or not because he didn't have a white coat on or an ID badge, so she didn't know his name. He was wearing a black suit with a light purple shirt and a dark purple tie.
Bella nodded again. "That's his office over there, but is this his office too?" She asked him.
"Yeah." He replied, as he stood by the whiteboard.
"Why are you looking for House?" Dr. Kutner asked her, with curiosity.
"Probably his illegitimate child." Dr. Taub, mumbled.
Dr. Hadley and Dr. Kutner both opened their mouths in shock at his statement. The Suit guy just scowled at him. "Taub." Dr. Hadley said, in disbelief.
He looked up at them in surprise, seemingly unaware that he'd said that out loud. "Sorry." He said after a moment. The guy in the suit rolled his eyes.
Bella didn't know what that meant so she didn't know how to react, but by the way the other doctors reacted it wasn't nice. She furrowed her brow at him in uncertainty and glanced at the other doctors in the room, watching them as they seemed to be uncomfortable.
"So…are you here alone? Where are your parents?" Dr. Hadley asked, finally breaking the silence.
"My real parents are dead, but I got adopted and my mom is downstairs." She told them.
"You're Dr. Cuddy's daughter." Suit man said, with realization in his voice.
"Dr. Cuddy has a daughter now?" Dr. Kutner asked with surprise and a smile.
"She didn't tell you to stay away from House? That's surprising." Suit man replied.
"No." Bella answered, not understanding why Lisa would tell her to stay away from Greg. But then remembering what James had said; that a lot of people didn't understand him and thought he was a jerk.
Dr. Kutner came up to her and held his hand out for a handshake. "I'm Kutner."
"I know…I seen it on your badge." She responded, shaking his hand.
He nodded, with a lop-sided smile on his lips. He sat down in the chair next to her, seemingly interested in talking to her. "So how come you're looking for House?"
"Cuz I was bored downstairs in Lisa's office and then James said I could come see him." She answered, shrugging her shoulders.
"What's your name?" Dr. Hadley asked, sitting down across from Kutner.
Before she could answer, she heard the door open and turned her head to see Greg walk in, a huge smile appearing on her face.
"Hello, children." He said, loudly into the room before he spotted Bella.
He furrowed his brow. "Aren't you supposed to be in Mommy's office?" He asked sarcastically.
"I got bored." She told him.
"Smart kid." He replied, with a quick head nod.
The four doctors sitting at the table looked at Greg in shock.
"How's the patient responding to the treatment?" Greg asked, ignoring their shocked expressions.
No one said anything, still staring at him.
"You know this kid?" Dr. Taub asked him.
"Duh, she's the Queen bee's kid. Where have you been? Not in on the latest hospital news?" Greg snarked.
"How does she know you?" Suit man asked suspiciously.
"Everyone knows me. I am just that popular." He responded.
"Yeah, but why does she like you?" He asked, raising his eyebrows in question.
Bella looked over at Suit man realizing that he must be one of the people that didn't like Greg. "You're mean." She told him, with a scowl, drawing laughs from Kutner.
"Ha!" Greg exclaimed. "It appears that she likes me better than you, Foreman. Told you she was a smart kid."
He rolled his eyes at Greg.
"So that's why Cuddy was gone last week?" Kutner asked.
"Yep. Got herself a shiny knew kid to play house with."
Bella listened to them talk about her, not minding it and finding it interesting how different Greg acts around these other doctors. Not bad different, just different.
"What's her name?" Kutner asked Greg as if she weren't there.
Greg looked confused. "I don't know, I just call her kid." He shrugged. "Why don't you ask her, she's right there, Kutner?" Greg rolled his eyes.
Kutner looked at her with his lopsided grin. "Sorry…so what's your name?" He asked her.
"Bella."
He nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Bella."
"You too, Kutner." She smiled; he was nice.
"I was adopted too." He told her.
Bella raised her eyebrows in delighted surprise. "You was?"
"Yep." He smiled at her.
"Oh how cute, the two orphans have bonded." Greg commented sarcastically.
They both looked up at him.
"So what have you kids been talking about while Daddy was away?" Greg asked, moving over to erase the whiteboard.
"We was talking about who I was." Bella spoke up. Then she remembered what Dr. Taub had muttered and wanted to know what it meant. "What does ille…illegit…"
"Illegitimate." Kutner mumbled, lowering his head and glancing at Taub, sympathetically.
"Yeah, illegitimate; what's that mean?" Bella asked Greg curiously.
Dr. Taub whipped his head up with a panicked look on his, glancing over at Greg.
Greg narrowed his eyes. "Where did you hear that word?" He asked suspiciously, looking at the doctors as they seemed to cower in their chairs. All of them except for Suit man, who she knew now as Foreman. He just looked at Taub and shook his head.
Bella looked back at Greg, unsure if she'd just said a really bad word or not. "He said it." She pointed at Taub.
Greg looked at Dr. Taub. "Oh he did…did he? What exactly did he say?" Greg asked, his voice even, but on the edge of sounding upset.
"That I was your illegitimate child." Bella mumbled, uncertain of what was going on. "He said he was sorry, though." Bella added, quickly, not wanting Greg to get mad.
"Oh, well that fixes it. I'm sure Cuddy would love to know what's being discussed in front of her kid."
"House…" Dr. Taub started to explain.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell her. I'm pretty sure she'd kill you and hide your body where no one would ever find it and unfortunately I need you alive." He turned to Bella and spoke softly to her.
"Get your stuff, kid."
Bella gathered her sketchbook and pencils, throwing them into her bag. She stood up and walked over to Greg, taking his left hand in hers. He held onto it protectively.
"For your information, she's not mine; the kid's parents died and Cuddy adopted her. That's all you need to know. And if I hear rumors going around about what you said, someone's getting fired." Greg spoke firmly to them before turning and heading out the door, with her following beside him.
Bella looked up at him as they reached the elevators. "Am I gonna get in trouble?" She asked in a small voice.
Greg looked down at her with confusion. "No…you didn't do anything wrong, kid, don't worry about it."
"How come you're mad? What does illegitimate mean?"
"Forget it, kid, he wasn't trying to insult you, he was trying to insult me. But he shouldn't have said that in front of you." He looked down at her as they got onto the elevator. "You can't tell Cuddy what he said, understand? She'll just get mad and overreact."
Bella nodded.
"You hungry?" He asked, after a moment of silence.
Bella shrugged. "Not really."
"Well I am, let's go get some food."
11:45 AM
House and Bella sat in a booth in the cafeteria. House had his Rueben sandwich and Bella had a burger and French fries. He had taken the kid down there because he didn't want to take her back to Cuddy's office when he was as pissed as he was…she'd notice right away that something had happened. He couldn't believe Taub had said that in front of the kid. Thankfully, she didn't know what it meant. For one thing it isn't true and for another it wouldn't be anyone's business if it was. He didn't care that he'd been insulted. To be honest, it wasn't really an insult these days…it wasn't the 1950's, for crying out loud. But all it would take was one person to overhear that conversation for it to become a rumor and it would inevitably get twisted into Bella being his and Cuddy's long lost illegitimate child. He sighed, trying to rid his mind of Taub's idiocy.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, when something occurred to House. "Cuddy let you go up to my office alone?" House asked her.
Bella shook her head. "No, she brought me up to see you but you wasn't there so we went to see James and then I talked him into letting me go to your office."
House smirked. "How'd you do that? Ask him till he got sick of hearing your voice?"
Bella smiled and nodded. "Sort of…I begged him to let me. He's really easy, it didn't take long."
House laughed. "Tell me about it…his easiness why we get along at all." He stated sarcastically, grabbing one of Bella's fries.
Bella chuckled.
House pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and hit Cuddy's number on speed dial.
"Hey." Cuddy answered sweetly.
"Hey. So I'm having lunch with this really cute curly-headed brunette." House told her with amusement.
Bella smiled at him.
"Really? Should I be jealous?" Cuddy asked. He could tell she was smiling.
"Maybe, she keeps hitting on me and I don't know how long I can resist her charms…you better get down here."
Bella giggled with her mouth full, as she munched on her burger.
Cuddy chuckled. "Well I can't have some young thing turning your head, so I guess I better get there fast."
House looked at Bella, lowering the phone. "Your mother just called you 'some young thing,' you should be insulted."
"House, let me talk to my daughter." He heard Cuddy say over the phone.
"Sorry, if you want to talk to her you have to come to the cafeteria." He told her, hanging up before she could protest.
"She'll be here in no time." House told Bella, putting away his cell phone.
"She'll be mad cuz you hung up on her." Bella told him.
"Nah, she's used to it."
They continued to eat as they waited for Cuddy to show up. House hadn't seen her in a few days due to the case he was working on and he missed her. He also missed sleeping in her bed, not to mention the sex. They hadn't had sex in over a week and he was having withdrawals. He suddenly got an idea.
He leaned in to whisper to Bella. "Hey, kid. You mind if I take your mom on a date tomorrow night if Wilson will stay with you?"
"Yeah…you can take her out…is it a secret?" Bella asked in a whisper.
"Yep, so don't mention it until I talk to her, got it?"
Bella nodded happily.
About a minute later, Cuddy came up to them with a tray in her hand, sitting down beside Bella. "Hey, Sweetie, did you have fun with Wilson?" She asked, placing a kiss on Bella's head.
"Yeah, but then I went to Greg's office."
"He let you go by yourself?"
"It's just around the corner, Cuddy, calm down. I'm pretty sure she used every precaution before battling the dangers of the PPTH hallway." House said dramatically, rolling his eyes.
Cuddy glared at him. "Shut up."
House grinned and chuckled at her over protectiveness. "Tell her you made it to the office safely, kid."
"I made it to the office safely." Bella repeated with a sweet smile, looking at her mother.
Cuddy shook her head and smiled, and began eating her food. "How's your patient?" She asked him, changing the subject.
"So far the treatments working."
Cuddy nodded. "So can you make it to dinner tonight?" She asked softly, not wanting anyone to overhear.
House's lip quirked in a smile before he nodded at her. She smiled, quickly looking away from him. He suddenly became aware of several people staring at them and whispering to each other, no doubt gossiping about the Dean of Medicine and her new daughter and why House was having lunch with them.
"I should go." House told her suddenly, gathering his tray.
Cuddy looked up at him with surprise and disappointment, as did Bella, but she put up a fight.
"But…I didn't hardly get to see you. Can I go with you?"
"Sorry, kid, your mom has an evil side…it's the one that makes me do clinic duty."
"But can't I do it with you…I'll be real quiet, I promise."
House scoffed. "Not when you hear some of those morons that come through the clinic, you won't, trust me."
"House." Cuddy admonished.
"Please?" Bella begged.
"Bella, you can't be in the clinic when House is seeing patients." Cuddy told her. "And you better actually see patients." She ordered him.
House rolled his eyes. "Yes, mommy." He said sarcastically, before looking back at Bella.
Bella's face fell in disappointment, sitting back in the booth.
"You'll see him tonight, ok?" Cuddy spoke gently to her.
Bella nodded.
House saw her disappointment and had no idea why she cared so much. But it felt good that she wanted to be around him, he had to admit. "Don't worry, kid, tonight when you see, you'll be wanting to get rid of me."
Bella scowled. "No I won't."
"Yes you will." He argued childishly, trying to get Bella started to get her mind off of him leaving and hopefully cheer her up a little.
"Will not."
"Will too."
"Will not."
"Will too.
"Will not.
"Will too."
"Good god, you two!" Cuddy hissed at them. "I swear, it's like I have two children." She mumbled to herself, but loud enough for both of them to hear her.
House laughed at her, as he looked at Bella. Bella started giggling.
"My work here is done. Made one laugh and pissed off the other." He stated, leaving quickly before either one of them could stop him.
2:15 PM
Cuddy sat behind her desk working on paperwork as Bella lay on the couch taking a nap, due to sheer boredom. They had returned from lunch not long after House left them and Bella had started reading a book, while Cuddy got back to work. She was happy to see House today, even for a little while, since they hadn't seen each other in a few days. He looked really good and she couldn't wait to see him again tonight. She was hoping they would be able to have some time alone soon because she really missed him. She missed holding him and she missed his kisses and she definitely missed the sex. Cuddy sighed loudly, shaking her head, and trying to get those thoughts out of her mind so she could concentrate on her work.
Her pager went off and she checked it, seeing that she was needed in the clinic, silently hoping House hadn't pissed someone off again. She stood up and wrote a quick note to Bella letting her know she'd be right back and not to go anywhere, just in case she woke up while she was gone. Cuddy made her way quietly out the door and headed to the clinic. She walked past the busy clinic and went up to exam room 4 and knocked lightly before opening the door. When she looked in it was dark and empty. Cuddy furrowed her brow and started closing the door when she heard him.
"I'm over here, Cuddy, come in and close the door." House told her quietly.
"House? What are you doing in a dark exam room, you're supposed to be seeing patients." Cuddy asked him, her left hand moving to switch the light on.
"Don't turn the light on, Cuddy. Close the door." He told her again.
She heard him move from the dark corner he was standing in, and her eyes darted over there, finally seeing his tall frame coming toward her, the light from the hallway slightly illuminating the room. He took her hand and gently pulled her inside the room, closing and locking the door behind her, leaving them in darkness. Before she could utter another word, he captured her lips with his; his lips soft against hers. She responded right away, having missed the feel of his lips on hers. His smell and the way he touched her was intoxicating. His right hand cupped her jaw as his other arm came around her waist, pulling her to him. Her arms went around him, caressing his back. House tilted his head, deepening the kiss as he gently pushed her back against the door. Her right hand moved up to his neck and into his hair. He released her lips and dipped his head down to place soft, wet kisses on her neck. She softly moaned into his ear, biting her bottom lip, as to not make too much noise.
"I missed you, Cuddy." He whispered into her neck as he continued tasting her, moving his lips down to her collarbone. She felt his fingers begin to unbutton her blouse and that's when her eyes snapped open and she gently pushed him away.
"House, we can't have sex in here, are you crazy?" She whispered, as she moved around him to get some distance between them, breathing heavily. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the dark and she saw him smirk at her as he turned around.
"Can't blame a man for trying." He stated. "Fine, if you won't put out in here, then I'm pretty sure you'll put out tomorrow night after our date."
"What date?" She asked with confusion, she didn't remember making a date with him for tomorrow night.
"The one I'm taking you on, because Wilson is going to watch your kid for you." He told her taking a few steps toward her until he was towering over her.
Cuddy smiled. "You're taking me out?"
"I'm taking you out…assuming you say yes, cuz if you don't then…"
"Yes." She responded quickly, cutting him off.
"Wow, don't sound so desperate, Cuddy. I might change my mind…I don't dig desperate women."
"You're the one that lured me in here to have sex with you. I think you're the desperate one."
"Of course I'm desperate, I haven't had sex in over a week."
"Oh so you're just taking me out so I'll put out?"
House shrugged. "Duh, why else would I take you out?" He snarked.
Cuddy smacked him. "Shut up. You're taking me out because you missed me, you said so yourself."
"That was before, when I thought I was about to have sex with you in here."
Cuddy rolled her eyes. "You're such an ass." She chuckled.
He grinned at her. "So you want to make out some more?" He responded with complete seriousness.
She laughed, taking a step closer to him. Cuddy wrapped her arms around him and placed a kiss on his chest, feeling his arms come around her. He kissed her temple and she tilted her head up to kiss his neck and whisper to him. "I missed you too."
"So is that a yes?"
She chuckled into his neck. "Stop it, we're not making out again. We have to get back to work and I left Bella alone in my office."
"Fine. But I'm penciling it into my schedule for tonight after the kid goes to bed." He let go of her and turned a lamp on, illuminating the room with the harsh light. They both squinted until their eyes adjusted and he pulled his phone out of his pocket, typing something into it. When he was finished, she grabbed his phone and read what he'd noted on his calendar. '8:30 PM: snog Cuddy.'
Cuddy laughed, handing him his phone back. He took it from her, placing it back in his pocket. "I'll see tonight, House." She told him, walking past him toward the door. Before she could get too far, he grabbed her wrist, spinning her around to face him. He leaned into her and whispered in her ear. "You look beautiful today, Cuddy."
She smiled. "You're just saying that so I'll change my mind about having sex with you in here." She accused him playfully.
He pulled back and looked into her eyes, all humor gone out of his expression. "No I'm not. I mean it, Cuddy. You look amazing today." He whispered with complete seriousness, his fingers caressing her face.
Her smile faded, seeing his expression. "Thank you." She whispered back. She couldn't believe he'd just said that so honestly, without any insults or innuendos. Moments like these with House were rare and when they did happen, she wanted to bottle them up and cherish them forever.
"I'll see you tonight." He told her.
She nodded, still slightly stunned. "See you." She said, weakly, as she made her way out of the exam room.
6:48 PM
Bella heard the knock on the door and knew it was Greg. She was sitting on her bed drawing, when she heard it and immediately jumped up and ran out of her room.
"I'll get it." She yelled out, running down the hall.
She threw the door open to see Greg standing there with a smirk on his face.
"How did you know it was me? I coulda been a kidnapper." He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I knew it was you cuz you was supposed to be here at 6:30 and you're late!" She told him smartly.
She heard Lisa laugh behind her as she stood in the dining room, having come from the kitchen when she heard the door.
Greg glared at her as he stepped inside the house. "Smartass. You might want to check before you go opening the door like that." He told her.
He walked past Bella as she closed the door, turning around to see Greg kiss Lisa on the mouth. She was starting to get used to them doing that and actually didn't really mind anymore because if she wanted Greg to be her dad, and wanted him to live here with them then they would be doing that all the time anyway. Because that's just what moms and dads do…at least hers always did.
"Dinner's almost ready." She heard Lisa say, as Bella walked up to them. "Bella, can you go wash your hands and set the table, please?"
Bella nodded and ran to the bathroom to wash her hands. So far, she loved living here, not that she thought she wouldn't. Last week had been fun. They had gone shopping and Bella got to pick out stuff for her very own bathroom. Lisa said it was a responsibility to have your own bathroom because she would have to take care of it. She told Bella that it would have to stay clean and that it was her responsibility to keep it that way. Lisa had gone over some rules with her last week that she would need to keep.
The first was bedtime, which they had already discussed before then. The second was cleaning up after herself. If she got something out she had to put it back where it belonged. So far, that one was going ok. The third rule was; it was Bella's turn every other night to clear the table at dinner and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Thankfully it was her turn last night. She didn't love that rule. The fourth rule was communication. If something was bothering either one of them, they had to talk about it. Lisa explained that just because she was Bella's mom now, didn't mean that they couldn't still be friends and talk about important or even non-important things. She told Bella that if it was important to her, it was important to Lisa too. The last rule was that Bella could have her privacy in her room as long as she wasn't breaking any of the other rules. Lisa said she had 100% trust in Bella, but if she did something she wasn't supposed to or repeatedly broke the rules, some of her privileges would be taken away.
For the most part Bella didn't have a problem with those rules. Lisa never gave her rules against watching too much TV or asked her to do the laundry and take out the trash. Bella didn't think she accidentally left those out, she just thought maybe Lisa didn't want to make her feel like she had to do all this stuff to live here. She was always fair with her.
Bella ran back into the kitchen, where Greg was standing at the counter talking with Lisa as she finished up with the salad. She grabbed the stool and placed it where she could reach the plates in the top cupboard. Grabbing the utensils out of the drawer, she put them on top of the plates and carried them into the dining room.
Greg came in there carrying the lasagna and set it on the table.
"What's up, kid?"
"Nothin'." She stated as she continued setting the table.
She could feel him watching her. "What?" She asked, looking up him.
"You looked up the word, didn't you?"
Bella's mouth opened in surprise. She knew he was referring to what had happened today in his office. 'How did he know she'd looked it up?' She asked herself. Finally she nodded, glancing in the kitchen to make sure Lisa wasn't listening. "But I didn't say nothin' to her."
Greg nodded. "You ok? You understand why I was mad?"
Bella shrugged. "I don't know…because he was mean to you?"
Greg shook his head. "I don't care about that, that doesn't bother me. I was mad because it isn't true and he shouldn't have said that in front of you. If it were true, that's not something that you would need to hear. I also didn't want that to be some rumor that could get around the hospital. A rumor like that would only cause trouble."
Bella nodded. "Ok." Accepting what he'd told her. She went back into the kitchen to grab the glasses. She still didn't fully understand what had happened but she didn't want to dwell on it. She needed to think of more important things…like how she would talk Greg into being her dad.
7:45 PM
After dinner, they were sitting in the living room together watching another one of the movies that Cuddy had bought for Bella. This time she wanted to watch Toy Story. Bella was lying on her stomach on the floor, her elbows propping her head up and her feet sticking up in the air. She was completely focused on the movie, laughing occasionally at the funny parts. House and Cuddy were lying together on the couch, watching the movie as well. Cuddy realized the moment House got bored with the film when he started trying to sneak his hand inside her shirt. Throughout the movie, he would snake his fingers under the hem of her shirt at her waist, caressing her stomach and slipping one or two fingers under jeans. She heard him chuckle in her hear when she gasped as his fingers reached the front of her thong. Cuddy grabbed his wrist and removed his hand from her pants.
"Stop it, House." She told him in low whisper. After another couple of attempts on his part, he kept his caresses above her waist. He had reached the edge of her bra a few times before she stopped him, not wanting it to get any further with Bella in the room. She wanted to stop him, but in truth, she was enjoying it. She'd missed his touch and she found it hard to make him stop completely. She closed her eyes when he started nibbling at her ear and his lips moved down to her neck. She took in a deep breath and released it when he moved his lips up to her jaw. Cuddy had been reveling in his kisses that she hadn't realized his hand was cupping her right breast until his finger began circling her nipple through her bra. Her eyes shot open and she glanced down at Bella to make sure she was still watching the movie.
As Bella's attention remained on the movie, Cuddy turned her head, looking at House and removing his hand.
"House, you have to stop." She hissed at him.
House chuckled, innocently placing his hand on her hip. "Fine, but once the kid is bed, you're mine." He whispered.
Cuddy couldn't help the smile that came to her face. She turned her gaze back to the TV, still smiling.
8:30 PM
"Night, Greg." Bella said, running into the living room to give him a hug before going to bed. "I'm glad you came over."
"Goodnight, kid." He said, lifting her into his arms and hugging her. He put her back down and she ran back into her room. Bella crawled in bed, as Lisa made her way into her room to tuck her in. Splat jumped up on the bed next to Bella, settling himself on top of the other pillow. Lisa drew the comforter over Bella's body and sat down next to her.
"You brushed your teeth?" Lisa asked.
Bella nodded. "Mhm."
Lisa leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetie, sweet dreams."
"Night, I love you."
"I love you too." She told Bella, moving to stand up.
"Lisa?"
Lisa looked down at her with a questioning glance. "Yeah."
"Uhmm…" Bella didn't know how to bring this up, except to ask. She looked at her hands as she played with the comforter in her hands. "Does Greg live far away from here?"
Lisa furrowed her brow, obviously not expecting that question. "Not too far, why?"
Bella shrugged. "I was just wondering." She told her.
Lisa placed her hands on top of Bella's hands, stilling her movements. "Sweetheart, you don't have to be afraid to ask me anything, you know that, right?"
Bella nodded.
"What's on your mind?" She asked Bella softly.
"I was just thinking that since Greg is here all of the time, can't he just live here?"
Lisa raised her eyebrows in surprise at Bella's question. She didn't say anything for a few moments, until she shifted her weight on the bed and ran her fingers gently through Bella's hair. "Bella, I don't know how to answer that. I think that's something that House has to figure out if he wants to do." She paused a moment before continuing. "Living here…would be a big step for him…for all of us. You and I are going through a big change right now, and while I don't have a problem with House living here eventually, I think we need to give it some time…don't you?"
Bella shrugged. "I just like when he comes over and I thought it would be fun for him to stay."
Lisa raised her eyebrows again and smiled at that. "You wouldn't have a problem with House staying over sometimes?"
Bella shook her head and smiled. "I like when he's here."
Lisa gave her a big smile and nodded her head. "Ok…we'll talk about it, but I'm not promising that he'll move in, understand?"
Bella smiled and nodded happily.
"Alright…get some sleep, I have to be at work early tomorrow for some meetings. We'll talk about what you can do while I'm in the meetings tomorrow, ok?"
"Ok."
Bella watched Lisa walk out of her room, still smiling, and quietly closed the door. Bella smiled as well, hoping that her plan was working and that someday, Greg would want to move in with them and be her dad.
Cuddy walked into the living room where House was waiting for her and watching TV. She was smiling from ear to ear after hearing that Bella wouldn't mind if House spent the night. House looked up at her and furrowed his brow, no doubt wondering why she was smiling at him like that.
"What?" He asked, switching the TV off.
Cuddy sat down beside him and took his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. "I just had a nice little conversation with Bella."
House narrowed his eyes. "About?"
"You." She responded, squeezing his hand.
"It wasn't my fault."
Cuddy chuckled. "It's always your fault, House. But I'm not talking about anything you did, right now, although I would like to come back to why you were so ready to defend yourself."
"I'm always ready to defend myself…even when I didn't do anything because I usually get blamed for it anyway." He said sarcastically.
"Right." She rolled her eyes, before shifting her position so she was facing him on the couch. She let go of his hand and whispered to him. "So, how would you feel about staying tonight?"
He looked at her with surprise, narrowing his eyes at her. "Don't screw with me, Cuddy, that's just mean."
"I'm not screwing with you. Bella wanted to know why you didn't just live here if you're here all of the time. I told her that would be a big step and that since we're going through a big change right now with her moving in…that maybe it wasn't the right time. And then she said she liked it when you were here and if you couldn't just stay." Cuddy finished telling him, her smile never wavering. "I couldn't agree more."
House nodded. "It would be a big step." He told her.
"Yeah." She nodded, solemnly. "But you wouldn't be opposed to staying a few nights a week though." She stated, after a moment. It wasn't a question because she already knew the answer.
He shook his head, a small smile coming to his face. "If it means I get sex, I definitely wouldn't be opposed."
"And of course that's the only reason you'd want to stay." She responded with a knowing smirk on her face.
"Of course, since we're both in it for the sex, it works out perfectly."
She smiled at him, knowing he was just trying to keep the mood from getting too serious. She brought her fingers up to caress each side of his stubbly cheeks and leaned in, placing a soft kiss to his lips. "Stay?" She asked in a whisper, looking into his eyes.
He nodded, kissing her again.
Don't forget to review…they make me happy, and everyone loves a happy writer. Thanks!