DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything related to Fox or the TV show House. I'm only borrowing some characters. The characters belong to David Shore and company.
A/N: Update! Thanks to Bree for giving such a great idea! :D
Thanks for the revs last chappie!
ANOTHER SHOT AT HAPPINESS CHAPTER 51: RECIPROCATION OF MIXED SIGNALS
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But one thing was on the forefront of Cuddy's mind and it was more than hard to imagine:
Did House just cheat on me?
He wouldn't, would he? He told her he loves her. He loves Mia and there was no doubt about that. He loves them. He proposed to her! How could he do what he just did behind her back? Was he just playing with her? Was he tired of them? He could have just stabbed me in the heart rather than do this. Cuddy thought. She was hurting; her heart shattering into shards, painfully piercing her insides.
Why in the world didn't Wilson stop him?! Cuddy fumed as another batch of tears fell from her face. She shook her head as the thought of Wilson knowing about House having an affair with another woman appeared in her head. Wilson wouldn't allow House to do that.
Was she giving herself a hard time about this issue? What if it wasn't what she thought? What if House wasn't the one who kissed the woman? For God's sakes why didn't he pull away when that woman kissed him?! She had her arms draped over him while her lips sucked at my fiancé's lips! Those lips that told me how much he loves me, told me that Mia and I meant the world to him every night, and proposed to me two times!
Cuddy slammed her foot on the brakes when she almost hit a pedestrian crossing the street while the stoplight was on red. Great; the last thing she needed was running a red light and killing someone. She pulled over near a sidewalk and bowed her head and leaned her forehead on the steering wheel and cried her heart out before she drove again. She just had to let it out. She won't be able to explain to Mia why she cried without crying again. She tried to compose herself, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.
Maybe this was just another obstacle they have to go through? Didn't we have enough? Cuddy whispered, her voice echoing in her car. After about six minutes of putting herself together, she wiped her face and checked herself in the mirror just to make sure Mia doesn't notice that she just cried.
When Cuddy finally made it back to the house, she thanked her friend for looking after Mia. Her friend asked her if she was okay after noticing the change in Cuddy's features when she got back. She lied and told her friend that she was just stressed. Her friend nodded in return and exited the house.
"Mia?" Cuddy called out when she entered the house.
"Mommy!" Mia called back and ran to her mother's waiting arms and hugged her. Cuddy momentarily savored the intimate moment and hugged Mia back while stroking her back soothingly.
"Sweetie, can you be a big girl for mommy and pick something to wear?" Cuddy requested. She had to call Hazel. Mia pulled back from their hug and pouted when she finally got a closer look at her mother's beautiful face.
"Are you 'kay mommy?" Mia asked as she caressed Cuddy's cheek affectionately. Cuddy leaned into Mia's touch and nodded, successfully willing herself not to cry.
"You trired?" Mia asked cutely but compassionately, having difficulty pronouncing the word.
Cuddy smiled for the first time that night and kissed Mia's cheek. "Yes, baby, mommy's tired." She didn't lie about that. She was drained, emotionally and mentally. All she wanted to do was head to bed but the hospital asked for her. She couldn't just ignore it; those people badly need to know how to stand on their own without calling her for the simplest things!
"So, go pick out your pajamas and mommy will just make a call, okay, sweetie?" Cuddy asked her. Mia nodded and gave Cuddy one last kiss and a hug before going to her room and did what she just asked.
Cuddy took the phone from its holder and dialed Hazel's house number. She was mentally groaning every time the word "house" entered her mind.
"Hazel, hi," Cuddy tried to greet cheerfully but her voice cracked at the last syllable and she cursed herself for it.
"Lisa, is everything okay?" Hazel asked curiously, noticing the exertion Cuddy made with the greeting.
Cuddy bit her lip but answered quickly, "Of course. Can you watch over Mia for a while? I can't leave her alone since she's still getting better—and you do know for any reason I couldn't leave her alone at all. I was called to the hospital. Please?" Cuddy almost pleaded and that was what had Hazel worrying.
"No problem. Should I go there? Or will you bring her over?" Hazel asked, keeping her questions to herself in the meantime.
"I'll bring her over since I'll still pass by your house on the way. Thank you," Cuddy said in a tired whisper. Hazel let it slide since she'll be meeting Cuddy soon enough. She just hoped House didn't have anything to do with it.
"Mommy, whatcha think?" Mia asked, showing Cuddy her pajama top and bottoms that had tiny rainbow-colored hearts adorning it.
"That would do sweetie. Come on, we'll just get you a small bag. You'll stay at Aunt Zel's for a few hours because mommy needs to go to the hospital for a while," Cuddy said.
Mia nodded in understanding but pursed her lips and thought of a question. "Whabout daddy?" she asked, not knowing the situation.
Cuddy took a deep breath before looking at Mia as if nothing was wrong. "He's still with your Uncle Jimmy. He'll be here when we get home." "Okay," Mia smiled. Cuddy got Mia's backpack and put in her toothbrush and a few more extra clothes just in case the thing at the hospital wouldn't allow her to pick up Mia. She drove even carefully than she did on her way back from the bar, not wanting to traumatize Mia.
Back at the bar…
"Did she just do what I think she did?" Wilson asked his brows furrowed while his other hand gestured to the woman who was burning a hole in the back of House's head.
House didn't answer. He was still enraged at what the woman did. How would he explain that to Cuddy? Would he even bother telling her? No he won't. Cuddy doesn't need to obsess over this thing. He didn't do anything wrong. He didn't have to explain himself.
When the duo thought things couldn't get any worse, the woman went to their table and started talking nonsense. That did it. House stood up and hissed at the woman, not wanting to cause a scene.
He showed her the engagement ring on his finger, "I would appreciate it if you'd stop following me. And I'd appreciate it even more if you'd stop kissing men when you feel like it." He hissed angrily. The woman just stared.
House and Wilson didn't mind getting their change from the bartender as they exited the bar and each hailed a cab back to their own house.
While inside the cab, House took his phone from his pocket and found it missing. He tried to recall everything. That was why the woman kissed him! He didn't feel her hands go to his pocket first before wrapping her arms around his neck!
"Damn it!" He cursed furiously.
"Is everything okay?" The cab driver asked looking at him from the rear view mirror.
"Fine," House muttered, "A bitch stole my phone." He slumped back on the car seat and rubbed his face with his hand.
Now he really had to tell Cuddy. Or he didn't. He didn't know. Maybe he could just get a new one. He didn't want to have her worry about anything. He didn't want her to fuss over something shallow. And he seriously didn't want her to have second doubts about marrying him. She loved him.
When he got home, he was met by no one. Mia wasn't in her room and neither was Cuddy. There also was no note left. Maybe Cuddy texted him or called him. Damn the woman who stole his phone!
Back to Hazel and Cuddy
"You're not okay," Hazel instantly told Cuddy from the doorstep when Mia gave Hazel a hug and went to the couch and sat properly.
Cuddy sighed exasperatedly, "Thank you for telling me how I feel."
"No problem," Hazel answered.
"Thank you, I'll pick her up as soon as I settle things at the hospital," Cuddy told her then peeked inside to say goodbye and goodnight to Mia before turning on her heel and started to walk away. Hazel grabbed her wrist gently.
"Lisa, what's wrong?" she pleaded in a whisper. She's never seen her like this before. And she knew that she was just trying to block everything out and trying to be strong for Mia.
Cuddy shook her head and looked at Hazel with a tired smile, "It's nothing I can't handle." She told her.
"Cuddy, don't be a martyr." Hazel told her. "Drive safely." Cuddy nodded and drove towards the hospital.
A few minutes later, Wilson got home. Hazel asked him if he noticed anything different between House and Cuddy. Wilson said he didn't notice anything different at all. When Hazel told him about what she noticed, he just told his wife that maybe Cuddy was just stressed by work.
When Cuddy got to the hospital, she took a ten-minute break before going to the ER. She called House again and this time, someone answered. Just by hearing the voice of a woman answering the phone killed her.
"Hello? Who is this?" she asked.
"I'm Keri. Who the hell are you?" Keri asked Cuddy.
"I'm the fiancé of the owner of the phone you're using!" Cuddy exclaimed, releasing her frustration and anger at Keri.
"Who? Ohhh… That man! He was hot. Good kisser. Oh wait, your fiancé? Ouch. That's gotta hurt." Keri mocked deviously.
"Where is he?" Cuddy asked almost pleading.
"He walked out after sexing me up," Keri lied. Cuddy bought it.
Cuddy hung up with tears now falling freely down her face. House cheated on her.
He cheated on me! He cheated on Mia and me! How could he?!
Cuddy broke down on her chair and leaned her head on the desk; the desk that he gave her and where everything started.
I still love him. I couldn't leave him. Mia loves him. I can't deny her, her father.
She stilled herself. She wouldn't cry over this. She was a strong woman. There was business she needed to attend to at the moment. She composed herself and plastered her administrator look and walked towards the ER.
Cuddy stayed at the hospital for another three hours and picked up Mia from Wilson's and thanked them. Hazel noticed that Cuddy looked even more tired than she did earlier. And now it was really obvious that she had been crying. They asked her again and again about what happened. She didn't budge. Wilson thought about saying what happened at the bar but thought twice about it. It wasn't his call.
When Cuddy and Mia got home, she carried a sleeping Mia in her arms and managed to unlock the front door. She didn't think she could face House yet. She quietly slipped into Mia's bedroom and settled Mia in the bed, tucking her in and kissing her temple. She didn't even think of changing her clothes since she's sure Hazel gave her a shower.
Cuddy didn't enter their room. Instead, she took out an extra blanket from Mia's room and settled herself on the living room couch. She got a throw pillow and used that. She's glad that the couch was soft and not bumpy. She was able to sleep almost at once. A tear escaped her eye one last time before she finally drifted off.
The next morning…
The baby sitter arrived and Cuddy quickly got ready for work but used the other bathroom in the house. She got all the things she needed from the bedroom and put it in the bathroom with her. She had a brief glimpse of House sleeping soundly on the bed. He didn't have any marks on him that would suggest he had a one night stand last night. She took the clothes he just dropped on the floor and sniffed them; the items didn't smell like a woman did something to him. No underwear that wasn't hers in his pockets, none at all. Just his phone gone; and that was his only blunder: his big blunder.
She got ready for work and kissed the still sleeping Mia goodbye and whispered "I love you." She then gave final instructions to the baby sitter and had her lock up.
The rest of the day, Cuddy didn't come to see him once. That was what made House curious. What was she telling him by not telling him anything? He needed to know. Usually, Cuddy would pass by at least twice just to ask him to lunch or just to remind him of his duty at the clinic. But that day, he didn't get anything. No word from her at all. He thought maybe she just needed a little space or maybe she was just tired so he didn't bother her.
Cuddy didn't visit House at all the duration of that day. She wanted him to talk to her first, hoping that he'll open up to her. She slapped herself mentally upon thinking that. This was what's hard about their relationship sometimes. Things became a guessing game when none of them would talk. She didn't visit him or berate him about what happened, nor did she tell him to go do his clinic duty. And she was thankful that a lot of paperwork needed her signs.
She went home earlier than him and prepared dinner for them. She didn't want to do it while he was there watching her every move. She played with Mia like she always did and let her watch her cook. When dinner was ready, she had Mia eat early and she did too. She knew it wasn't right to not wait for him but he left her no choice.
She thought sadly, So this is how it's going to be now?
"Mommy? Can sleep?" Mia asked her.
"Sure baby, I'll follow you later. Save some space for mommy, okay?" She told Mia who nodded with a smile and gave her a flying kiss. Cuddy chuckled and thought again, Now where did that angel learn that?
After washing the dishes and doing some cleaning, she headed to Mia's room and snuggled next to her on the bed. She was on the edge and Mia was next to the wall. Maybe upon intuition, Mia automatically turned to her and hugged her, still asleep. Cuddy brushed a few curls from her face and kissed her temple.
"I love you, baby," she told Mia even if the little girl didn't hear her.
Mia pouted in her sleep and replied sleepily, "I love you too mommy."
Cuddy smiled and took a nap, hoping that she still wouldn't have to talk to House.
House went hope at around 8 pm and found Cuddy and Mia snuggling together on their angel's small bed. He sat on the edge and kissed Mia's forehead and then Cuddy's.
He tucked a stray curl off Cuddy's face and kissed her again in the temple. She looked so exhausted but he was sure Mia was giving her strength. He wanted to talk to her but thought twice about it. He wouldn't pry. Not today, that is. He stood up and walked to the door. From there he watched his two favorite girls sleeping soundly.
"Dinner's in the microwave for heating," Cuddy whispered. She just woke up so she didn't feel House's romantic and caring acts.
"Thanks," House said and headed to the kitchen for dinner.
When House finished dinner, he took a shower and then entered Mia and Cuddy's room. But he stood in the door frame only.
"Lisa, will you come to the bedroom?" House asked her, noticing how Cuddy was bent in the bed.
"I'll stay here, Mia asked me to," she lied.
"Okay, goodnight. I love you," House told her. He received no answer. What was wrong with her? Why isn't she talking to him? He sighed; another night alone in bed.
Cuddy let a few tears slide down her face. How could he say he loved her after cheating on her? Didn't she satisfy him enough? Maybe that was it. She just wasn't good enough for him anymore.
She shifted in the bed and didn't like her position so for the second night that week, she took a blanket and one of Mia's pillows this time, and retired to the couch that could accommodate her length.
The next morning...
House woke up first. He went to the bathroom to relieve himself and headed to the kitchen. Seeing Cuddy sprawled in the couch made him furrow his brows. He sighed tiredly. Without her next to him at night he couldn't sleep well.
He stood towering over her in front of the couch and gently scooped her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and tucked her in.
She stirred and opened her eyes. She was instantly met with a pair of ice blue eyes looking down at her, searching her soul for answers to his questions. He sat next to her in the bed. She shifted her gaze away from him and turned her back on him. Wrong move; she wasn't able to avoid a conversation by doing what she just did. She flinched when he kissed the top of her head.
"Lisa, what's wrong?" House asked her.
Cuddy shook her head, "Nothing. I'm just tired."
"You're tired because something's wrong," House gently pushed.
"I told you, I'm just stressed," Cuddy repeated, "Just leave me alone."
House sighed, irritated, "I've left you alone for the last two nights! I don't know what your problem is and that's the reason I couldn't help you." He told her tiredly.
Cuddy was still holding on to her control, "Nothing's wrong, House."
"So I'm back to House now? See? Something's really wrong." House pushed even harder.
"You want to know what's wrong?" Cuddy stood up abruptly from the bed but almost fell when she got dizzy from standing too fast. House held on to her to keep her from falling, "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly this time, his gaze softening. "Let go of me," Cuddy said.
"Lisa, could you please tell me what's wrong?" House pleaded.
His lack of knowledge at why she was pissed just set her control flying away as she looked at him in disbelief and she forced herself out of his grip and away from him. Why was he acting like this? Why did he have to act innocently? Was he covering for himself?
"Do you want to know what's wrong so badly?" Cuddy asked him incredulously.
"Yes! I want to know why you've been ignoring me for the last two days! You're not sleeping beside me rather, you settle for the couch. You don't talk to me, you don't yell at me to do my clinic duty, you don't give a damn about me at all, and I let it slide because I seriously thought you were just stressed at work!" House told her in the same level of tone as hers.
"YOU were also avoiding me! And what did you say? YOU give a damn about me?! Do YOU even give a damn about this family?!?!" Cuddy asked him in disbelief.
"What are you talking about?! Of course I do!" House answered angrily. He was frustrated that Cuddy was even asking him such questions. He loved them even more than himself! Wasn't giving her some space for a while showed that he cared?!
"Then why the hell were you kissing a woman at the bar the other night?! Why was your cell phone with her and why did she tell me you "sexed" her up?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO US?!" Cuddy sobbed in an anguished tone as her tears fell from her eyes and down her face when she uttered those words with so much pent-up emotion that tore House apart.
How did she know? She had it all wrong, House froze upon realizing what the problem really was: she saw.
She didn't realize that she told him what she was trying so hard not to until she saw him freeze in his spot. She ran into their bathroom and locked herself up, thinking that his silence told her that what she accused him of was true.
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A/N:
Will she forgive him? But first, will she find out the truth?
Lemme know what you think…
