"You thought gifting House with an iPhone was a good idea?" Wilson said ludicrously as he and Cuddy ate lunch together in the canteen at Princeton-Plainsboro.
"It is a good idea because he can send me pictures of Rachel when he is with her and he actually answers my calls instead of ignoring them." Cuddy replied, taking a sip of her water and spearing a piece of lettuce.
"You get the behaved side from him when it comes to me and that phone, he sends me ridiculous photos that are supposed to be funny and he uses the little emotions way too often," Wilson replied, humour laced in his tone.
"Those funny photos are called memes," Cuddy replies and Wilson's jaw nearly drops to the floor.
"You're so down with the kids, it's frightening," Wilson replied sarcastically, earning him a mocking glare from Cuddy.
The pair bantered and ate the rest of their lunches before returning to their offices. House was in the clinic when Cuddy waltzed into her office with her phone pressed to her ear and it was clear she was in a heated conversation with the person on the other end of the line. House was given a file from a nurse and he called the patient into the exam room. the exam didn't take long and he sent the patient away with a prescription for anti-histamine. With the free time he had, he pulled his phone from his jeans and immediately opened up Cuddy's contact. There was a picture of Rachel that he hadn't shown her and was saving for a stressful day like today. He sent the photo with the text underneath reading 'just like her mother' and it was a picture of Rachel sat at Cuddy's desk with the brightest smile on her face. there was a stack of paperwork to Rachel's left and Cuddy's closed laptop to her right. Rachel looked adorable and House knew it would make Cuddy smile. After sending the message, he pestered the nurses before Chase pulled him away as their patient was complaining of new symptoms. The nurses were less than impressed as the clinic was packed but they let it slide as House had been pretty helpful these past few days. The nurses knew that was Cuddy's doing but they were still thankful.
Cuddy was in her office when House went with Chase to visit their patient. This was only the second time that House had been in the same room as this patient. The patient greeted House which he found slight amusing and this disturbed Chase who was checking on the patient's IV. House listened to the patient and made a mental note of the symptoms before vanishing from the room. Chase had to reassure her that this was normal behaviour from their best diagnostician.
Another few hours had passed and House hadn't bothered to check his phone. He was hiding in his office as his team administer a new treatment. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't heard the whooshing sound of his glass door opening and then closing. It wasn't until the person stood in front of his desk that he came back to reality.
"Thank you for that picture," Cuddy said with a smile on her face.
"Thought you could do with a little mood booster. Speaking of the mini cuddy, where is she?" House asked, looking around for the little girl that had stolen his heart.
"Currently pestering Wilson," Cuddy replied, making her way around the desk to stand between House's legs. He pulled her closer, causing her to nearly topple into his lap and they both laughed. House's head had conveniently landed on her breasts and her hands were planted firmly on his broad shoulders. Her nails digging into his skin through his thin shirts.
"House, we can't," Cuddy warned as House's fingers travelled under her skirt and teased her inner thigh. House pouted but removed his hand from under her skirt just in time for Wilson and Rachel to come flying in the door. Cuddy stepped away and greeted her daughter. Wilson watched the little family interact with a smile on his face before he disappeared back to his ward.
Rachel sat on the carpet with her doll and Cuddy sat in the easy chair, scrolling through emails on her phone and House was drawing something onto the board. He tapped his pen on the whiteboard and it caught Rachel's attention but not Cuddy's. House had drawn a pretty realistic bunny with a funny face and there was a speech bubble coming from the bunny which read "I have the smartest mom in the world."
Rachel repeated the phrase out loud and it instantly caught Cuddy's attention. House winked at Cuddy who was smiling full beam at her daughter. Rachel climbed into her mother's lap and pressed a slobbery kiss to her cheek. House made his way over to his girls and pressed a kiss to Cuddy's head. Rachel pouted, causing House to cave and press a kiss to her head. usually, House wasn't this affectionate with Rachel in public but there was no one around and he was slowly getting used to people seeing him in this different light.
House's patient had responded to the treatment, meaning that House could go home on time with the Cuddy's. Rachel said goodbye to everyone while Cuddy collected her things from her office. House and Rachel waited in reception and he stole a lollipop for her which he made her hide in her backpack where her mother wouldn't find it. House and Rachel were a mischievous pair but Cuddy wouldn't have them any other way. House had taught Rachel valuable and she could tell her daughter looked up to him. Cuddy's plan of finding ways for House to spend time with Rachel had worked and now they were becoming inseparable which Cuddy welcomed with open arms.