The sight of House leaning over a boiling hot stove, stirring a sauce with a wooden spoon was a sight that Cuddy had grown extremely fond of. When House couldn't sleep or he just needed a distraction, he would turn to cooking or baking. Those cooking classes he took with Wilson had paid off. Even the thought of House cooking for Cuddy and Rachel bought a smile to Cuddy's face. Yes, House still has an unhealthy obsession with fried food but he would prepare balanced meals for them as Cuddy was strict on healthy eating. House would tease Cuddy about 'gatekeeping' what Rachel could eat but the young girl was not a picky eater which furthered House's recipe range. The radio was playing softly in the background and House would hum along if he recognised the tune. He knew his way around Cuddy's kitchen and Cuddy found herself watching him, even though she was elbow deep in paperwork at the kitchen table. Rachel was in her room, playing with her toys and every so often, Cuddy would walk along the hall and check on her.
The pitter-patter of little feet on the wooden floor and the squeal of delight that followed pulled Cuddy from the file that her head was buried in. Rachel was dressed in an apron that was miles too big for her and licking sauce from a spoon that House was holding out for her.
"That's yummy." Rachel said, trying to pry the spoon from House's grip as there was still some sauce on it. House let her take the spoon and made sure she handed it back.
"My apprentice seems to be intent on eating the sauce before everything else is ready," House said mockingly with an almost playful glare on his face. Rachel stuck her tongue out at House who retaliated by lifting her onto the counter and telling her to 'stay still.'
Cuddy abandoned her paperwork and joined her daughter on the kitchen counter. If this had happened with anyone else, she wouldn't be seen dead sitting on the counter in her pristine kitchen but it felt right. Rachel was overjoyed when her mother joined her and she was pointing out different vegetables as House added them to the frying pan. Cuddy assumed he was making some kind of stir fry. He usually kept his recipes a secret and Cuddy let him as he cooked for them more than she did.
"Don't I get to taste the sauce?" Cuddy asked, hitting House on the ass with her tea towel and he scoffed.
"No abusing the chef," House said while coating the wooden spoon in the sauce and guiding it to Cuddy with his other hand under in case it dripped. Cuddy licked the sauce off provocatively with a smug smirk on her face. House replied with a shit-eating grin and removed the spoon from Cuddy's mouth. There was a little bit of sauce on her face and House licked it off, causing Cuddy to squirm and Rachel to laugh. The house was filled with laughter and the smell of delicious food.
When it was finally time to eat, Rachel refused to take off the apron and Cuddy had to come up with some form of compromise. House stepped in and promised that Rachel would get her apron (that fitted) if she took this one off and ate her dinner like she had been asked. With that promise, Rachel threw off the apron and waited to be seated in her chair. Rachel cleared her plate quickly and watched her parents converse while eating. They found a way to include Rachel by asking what colour apron she wanted and she made sure that House knew that she wanted one exactly like his, not one like her mother. Cuddy's apron was plain red with a little lucky cat in the corner. It had been a joke gift from House but Cuddy loved it. House's apron was white with the words 'House is always right, even in the kitchen' on it and Cuddy was intrigued to know what House would get printed on Rachel's.
Cuddy left House to do the washing up while she got Rachel for bed. It was her turn to read to Rachel tonight, something she hadn't done in a while because her schedule had been hectic and she had been relying on House (sometimes Marina) to put Rachel down for the night. When Cuddy did bedtime, Rachel usually spent half the story just talking to her mother and Cuddy didn't mind. Some of what Rachel said was interesting but the rest was just nonsense. One thing that Cuddy had noticed was that Rachel was picking up on subtle things that House did which he probably didn't realise he does. At dinner, Cuddy noticed that Rachel raised her eyebrow when she had mentioned the hospital and when Cuddy asked Rachel to go to her room, she huffed like House does when Cuddy tells him to do something that he doesn't want to do. Tonight, however, Rachel let Cuddy read the story and only joined in when necessary. This came as a surprise to Cuddy and she decided not to question it.
Now that Rachel was settled and asleep, Cuddy found House sat on the couch with a notebook resting on his good leg and a pen between his teeth in the low lighting of the sitting room. He looked so handsome, lost in thought and clearly in his element that Cuddy almost felt bad for disturbing him.
"I can feel you staring," House said without even looking up from the page.
"Sorry," Cuddy replied, approaching the sofa and standing behind it so she could run her fingers along the back of his neck. This was her way of distracting him. Doing things that set off a reaction. The gentle scratch of her nails along his skin always drove him insane and it was something he craved more than he would care to admit. As her hand travelled down the back of his shirt, House found it harder to concentrate. His focus was slowly drifting to the sensation of her marking her territory.
"That is better than any massage," House said gruffly with the pen still between his teeth, prompting Cuddy to smirk and withdraw her hand. House sighed, throwing the notepad and pen on the table and reaching his arms behind his head to pull Cuddy over the back of the couch. Cuddy shrieked and tried to push House's arms away but, in this position, she didn't have the leverage she needed. He manoeuvred them so she was hovering over him and he was laying down with his back pressing into the soft cushions. Her hands were planted above each shoulder, pressing into the cushion underneath and her hair tickled House's face. House would never get fed up with the sight of Cuddy above him.
"Massages are a bad omen for our relationship so shh and let me give you a little something that'll leave you speechless," Cuddy whispered seductively as she worked her way down his body and she came to a stop when her head was in line with House's groin. House's hand rested at the base of Cuddy's skull as she worked on pulling off his jeans and boxers.
Cuddy had been right. House had been speechless before, during and after that brilliant blowjob that Cuddy had given him on the couch. When they retreated to the bedroom, House was determined to return the favour but Cuddy told him that it was a 'reward' for his good behaviour.
When Cuddy woke up, House and Rachel were already sitting at the kitchen table, eating French toast and fruit. There was fresh coffee in the pot for Cuddy and her toast was still warm. Rachel and House were both dressed for the day. Rachel was talking about a cat which confused Cuddy at first then she remembered that House had told Rachel about a cat that 'cured the sick.' As Cuddy joined the rest of her family at the table, it hit her that House had adjusted the story of the cat that 'predicted death' (even though it hadn't predicted anyone's death) to make it more child-friendly.
It was a slow day at the hospital giving House plenty of time to go and get Rachel's apron printed. He returned to the shop where he had purchased his and the owner, Lorna, was happy to see House again. House had been a regular at Lorna's after they met at some cooking convention that Wilson had roped him into attending. Lorna had given House some of his 'secret' recipes as they had been in her family for years and she had no kids to pass them onto. She trusted House and House liked her. She was one of the only people that House would admit to calling a 'friend.' Lorna gushed over the idea of House buying a gift for his daughter and did the customisation for free. House did protest and offered her extra but she refused to take it. the printing didn't take long and he also found something that Cuddy could display in her office at the hospital. With the good secured, House returned to the hospital to have lunch with Wilson before he clocked in for an afternoon of clinic duty. Cuddy was in and out of meetings all day so House would have to give her the present tonight, assuming that he was going with Cuddy again. They hadn't spoken about it but House was spending most nights at Cuddy's. Rachel had adjusted to having him there quicker than they both expected but they embraced that. House had warmed up to Rachel and enjoyed spending time with her.
After clinic duty, House sprawled himself out on Cuddy's couch in her office while she answered a stream of phone calls and typed away on her laptop. The clock struck six and Cuddy decided to call it a day. They walked to Cuddy's car together and House dumped all their bags on the backseat. The journey home was quiet and welcomed. Marina had warmed up leftovers from yesterday's dinner for Rachel who was happily colouring at the kitchen table when her parents returned home. Marina left and Cuddy went straight to the kitchen for food. She hadn't had a full meal since breakfast that morning. She had only been snacking which was unlike her. House coaxed Rachel into the living room and dressed her in the apron so they could show Cuddy.
"Where did you go? Where's Rachel?" Cuddy asked as she started eating, holding the plate in one hand and the fork in the other, trying to look behind House who was shielding Rachel.
"You'll need to sit for this," House replied simply and Cuddy looked at him sceptically but sat on the vacant chair to her left. the plate hit the table with an unexpectedly loud thud which made Rachel jump and laugh.
House stepped to the side and Rachel walked further into the room, the apron fitted her perfectly and she was grinning as she twirled like a princess for her mother. Cuddy smiled and that smile grew when she saw the writing on the apron. It read "Mom's favourite Chef" with "and "House's partner in crime" in smaller font and brackets underneath.
"That's brilliant," Cuddy said, looking at House with a bright smile and tears in her ears. Rachel went running into the sitting room and was dancing around. A small gift box slid across the kitchen table and collided with Cuddy's half-empty plate. House and Cuddy exchanged a look before Cuddy pulled the ribbon away. To anyone else, the gift just looked like a stone with a sunflower delicately painted on it. But to Cuddy, the sunflower coming from House was a symbol of adoration and loyalty. This was House's way of saying that he loved Cuddy and that he would loyal without having to express it in words. Little romantic gestures coming from House meant so much to Cuddy than she could ever form into words.