Cuddling on the couch was something that Cuddy looked forward to at the end of each day. At the start of their relationship, House wasn't much of a cuddler. They would only embrace when in bed after sex and during the night, House would fidget so much that Cuddy would end up hugging herself. This didn't bother Cuddy at first but as their relationship progressed, House started to show affection in his own way. It started out with House putting his hand on the small of her back when they walked the hospital corridors or when they were out in general. It then developed into House randomly hugging Cuddy when they were alone, smiling at her randomly, massaging Cuddy's shoulder after a very stressful day, and bringing her lunch on her busy days.
Originally, Cuddy thought House had brought her lunch that first time because they had had a disagreement about House attending Parent/Teacher evening. Cuddy had told House that he shouldn't feel obliged to go because Rachel wanted him there. House had commented that Cuddy wasn't comfortable with him being there and that she was ashamed of him. Cuddy had refuted this argument and said to him that she wasn't embarrassed but she didn't want him to do it for their benefit. House wanted to go because he cared about Rachel and he wanted to be the father figure she needed. He needed to be the father that was present in their child's life and celebrate all the milestones. Cuddy had listened to House say what he wanted to say and then left House standing in their dining room. House ended up catching a ride with Wilson. Wilson wouldn't stop prying on the journey over and House wished he had walked instead. House got out of the car before Wilson had parked and made a beeline to the building.
Wilson caught up and House told him sternly to drop the subject. Wilson did as House told him and they spoke about sports as they made their way to their floor. House went straight to his office to sulk and Wilson headed into his office. Masters poked her head into House's office and told him that they caught a case. House brushed her off but eventually joined them for their discussion. Once he had given his team their orders, he retreated to his office and started bouncing his balls. He was due in the clinic in half an hour and decided to waste time.
Clinic duty was rather uneventful until Chase burst into the exam room and thrust an x-ray into his line of vision. Chase rambled about the argument that he had with Masters and wanted to prove that Masters was wrong and that he was right. However, Chase was wrong and Masters was right until they were both wrong. This development led to House abandoning the clinic and actually meeting his patient. House had a brief conversation with the patient and then went back to his office to think.
House's state of peace was disrupted by Cuddy who entered his office and hovered near the door. He threw his ball at the wall and caught it, repeating this over and over as he waited for Cuddy to open the line of conversation.
"I'm sorry," Cuddy said bluntly and House let the ball bounce off the wall and let it fly past his head.
"Thank you," House replied simply, much to Cuddy's surprise.
"No argument or sarcastic comments? What has gotten into you?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I wanted to actually be an adult about this and not fuck this up." House replied calmly and Cuddy approached him.
"Oh House, I didn't mean to hurt you," Cuddy whispered, pushing herself to sit on House's desk. House sat in his chair and eyed Cuddy who was fiddling with a piece of string hanging from her cardigan sleeve.
"Don't tell me something I already know. Rachel means more to me than you could possibly understand. I want to be the father figure she deserves. I want to be more of a father than mine ever was." House confessed quietly. He wasn't doing this to make Cuddy feel guilty. He was doing this because he wanted Cuddy to understand why her words hurt and how he wants to play a part in this family.
"You've already proved that you can be a good father. Rachel adores you and never shuts up about you at school. You're all she talks about. I want you in her life but this is another big step. I didn't want you to panic and do something stupid, which now thinking about it, it was stupid of me to give you an out because you've proved your dedication. Again, I'm sorry. Please forgive me." Cuddy begged.
House gestured for her to step forward and she did just that. He pulled her into his lap, mindful of his thigh and hugged her. No affection at work was one of Cuddy's rules that they had just broken but Cuddy couldn't care less. They had an adult conversation. A normal conversation without the usual who can hurt the other the most. Today they had a conversation like a common couple. Common is boring, Cuddy's little speech repeated in her own head as she buried her head in House's neck.
"if I accept your apology, will you stop apologising?" House asked and Cuddy chuckled into his neck.
"Yes because I don't know how many more times I can say the word 'sorry' without forcing it to come out of my mouth," Cuddy said and they were back to their usual dance.
Cuddy tried to escape House's grip but he held on tighter and mumbled something about ruining the moment. Cuddy stayed in House's arms for another minute or so and then they were interrupted by House's pager. He wanted to ignore it but he decided against it. He gently nudged Cuddy who instantly climbed off his lap and straightened her skirt. What they didn't realise is that their conversation had been witnessed by Wilson who was watching from outside the office. He was hidden by the blind which was shut a quarter of the way but he still had a good view of his friends. For Wilson, it was extremely strange to see House being openly vulnerable and expressing his feelings. It was something that was so rare that it felt sacred to even witness. He had been worried about House's relationship with Cuddy because House had the tendency to self-sabotage when there was the slightest chance of happiness. Wilson made a quick escape when Cuddy started sorting herself out.
House was tired when he got home. His leg hurt, he was hungry and in desperate need of affection from either of his Cuddy's. Dinner was already on the table when he limped into the kitchen. Rachel was happily talking about her day at school while her mother ate. Rachel was wearing more of her food than what she had eaten but she still looked adorable. House sat in his usual spot and immediately dug into the hot food. Rachel turned her attention to House after she ate her vegetables. They briefly spoke about the new episode of Brownbeard. Even though Cuddy disliked the show due to the somewhat inappropriate parts, she let Rachel watch it because it was one of the things that Rachel shared with House. It was their thing. Rachel and Cuddy had their own 'things' so it was only fair that Rachel had something that she only shared with House. Rachel only spoke in pirate towards House and learnt not to call everyone a 'bloody scallywag.'
Their appointments for the Parent/Teacher conference started at six-thirty. Cuddy had opted for the later times because of work and she didn't mind letting Rachel stay up past bedtime for this. Before they left, House was sat in the armchair, rubbing at his thigh and watching Rachel colour. He had been on his feet most of the day and it was clear to Cuddy that his leg was giving him some trouble. She got him a glass of water and ibuprofen. He took them from her hands, their fingers brushing gently and he murmured a 'thank you.' Cuddy smiled at him before disappearing again. When it was time to leave, Rachel wanted to get herself into the car under the strict supervision of Cuddy. House was already perched comfortably in the passenger seat. He watched Rachel attempting to climb in awkwardly. He nearly told her how to do it so she didn't hurt herself but he stopped himself as she needed to learn how to do these things on her own. Cuddy had to help her in the end but Rachel still looked victorious as Cuddy secured her into the seat. House and Cuddy shared a look of understanding when she slipped into the driver's seat and put on her seatbelt.
House lagged behind as Rachel dragged Cuddy down the hallway to her classroom. Cuddy reminded Rachel to slow down but the little girl was so excited to show her mom everything that Cuddy's words went ignored. House didn't mind just following behind. He could still hear Rachel chatting happily and smiled when Rachel mentioned a pirate ship she had drawn during an art class. Rachel let go of Cuddy's hand as they stopped outside a classroom that clearly was their destination as Rachel went running inside. Cuddy waited outside and watched Rachel interact with one of her fellow classmates, Felicity. Cuddy took House's hand and they entered the room together. Their first appointment was with Rachel's English teacher who was constantly praising Rachel for her imagination. The teacher had only positive things to say and was delighted to finally meet Rachel's 'House.' House was polite and listened to what the teacher had to say. He surprised Cuddy by asking a question that she herself was going to ask. She had no idea how House knew what she was going to ask. Rachel's reading age was above average and she was reading books for five-year-olds and both House and Cuddy were wondering if the teacher had any specific book recommendations. The teacher was more than happy to provide a list. Cuddy thanked the teacher and they moved onto their next appointment who just happened to be the maths teacher that Rachel had trouble with. This teacher was older than the rest and often picked on those who were quiet in her class. Rachel was scared of this teacher as she had a habit of shouting if you got the answer wrong or if you didn't know the answer at all. The maths teacher mostly praised Rachel but made a comment towards House that irritated him. much to Cuddy's surprise, House hadn't made a scene and just took the horrible comment in his stride.
The rest of the appointments were full of praise. Rachel had taken a keen interest in science which came as no surprise to her parents. History came as a close second which was a surprise but House had made a habit of telling Rachel random historical facts that he knew off the top of his head. In her science lessons, Rachel loved helped and demonstrating the experiments to her peers. Rachel was at the top of most of her classes and Cuddy was so proud of her little girl. House was proud of her too. When they left the school, Rachel held House's hand as they walked across the parking lot to Cuddy's car. Cuddy could tell that House was exhausted and she reminded Rachel to be gentle with House. Rachel knew that House had hurt his leg and that it could be painful at times. She had never seen what his thigh looked like but she liked to play doctor when he was in pain. She would usually bring her special stuffed bear, Patch, to comfort House as Patch always comforted her when she was sick. The first time Rachel had handed Patch to House, he told Rachel that nothing could help his pain and Rachel had simply replied with "Patch may not help your pain but he gives good cuddles." House had laughed and ruffled Rachel's hair. That night, House had fallen asleep with Patch resting on his stomach in Cuddy's bed. Tonight, Rachel didn't have Patch but she told House that he could have Patch when they got home. Rachel fell asleep on the way home and Cuddy got ready to wake her when they got home but House stopped her. despite his leg hurting, he carried a sleeping Rachel into the house and quickly changed her into her sleepwear. Cuddy was waiting for him when he appeared in their bedroom ten minutes with Patch in his hand. Cuddy forced him to sit on the bed and she undressed him like she did that first night they slept together. She pressed a kiss to his damaged thigh and he gripped Patch tightly. Cuddy whispered "I love you" as her face hovered near his leg and House felt like he was being transported back in time.
"I love you," House replied and Cuddy pressed a kiss to his knee.
Cuddy curled into House's side and started tracing random but soothing patterns into his bare chest. She felt his body relax and his breathing even out. Cuddy smiled to herself as Patch fell from his perch between their pillows and hit her shoulder. To anyone else, a grown man sleeping with a stuffed bear would be ridiculous. To Cuddy, it showed House's love for Rachel and how uncommon their relationship was. After all, common was boring.