Disclaimer- My heart belongs to Hugh, but regrettably the powers that be won't allow him to belong to me

Cafeteria 10.40am

'How can you drink that?' He stared at the frothy concoction before her.

'What? It's a frappaccino.'

'It's wrong, that's what it is. Coffee should only be drunk hot, black and strong. Allow the caffeine to do its work.'

'So, about last night…'

'Yep, great film. Thought Demi rocked in it. Bet you used to go for Rob Lowe in a big way. He's so your type. Clean cut college boy. Washes behind both ears, never forgets his mom's birthday, remembers your name in the morning.'

'Not the film. Last night, you know, as in real life.'

'Oh, real life. Not a big fan of that. But I'm willing to overlook that minor detail in order to satisfy your need to know.'

'Well, you said a few things….'

'Ok. Tongue still in working order, could prove useful.'

'…and I wanted to know how that affects our situation.'

'We have a situation? As in comedy?'

She frowned, sensing that this was going to be too much like hard work.

'Well, I'm not laughing. I need to know, if what you said was merely the drink talking, or if you actually meant any of it.'

'I'm guessing at this point, I'd be at a distinct advantage if I could actually recall what I supposedly said. However, brain cells die at an alarming rate once you pass 40, and the whisky appears to have sped the process up even further.'

'So you're saying you can't remember what you said last night? Convenient.'

'Actually no. 'Cause I'm assuming this is the part where you take great pleasure in giving me the play by play, only with hearts and flowers thrown in for effect.'

She put her cup down angrily. 'This is a bad idea. How about we just leave this right now as it is. Write it off as a mistake. Obviously if you can't remember what you said to me, I shouldn't continue to beat myself up about not having the faintest idea as to whether I ….' She stopped, not entirely able to say out loud what she was thinking.

House waited, sensing what would come next, but resisting the urge to finish her sentence, wanting to hear her say it for herself. 'Whether you…..'

'Whether I, we……' She looked down, unable to face him. '……did it.'

Perfect, he thought. Just like sharing a cuppa with Wilson. 'DID IT? What are we, in 8th grade? You think being a doctor, you could actually utter the words "have sex", or more probably in your case "made love", without having to rush off to confession and recite five Hail Marys.'

She was still unable to meet his eyes, knowing her face was burning with shame and her eyes would betray her by revealing how she truly felt.

'Hmmm, interesting. So, that's what's been gnawing away at your pretty little head all morning. Not knowing if my remark about you hitting high C actually bore an element of truth.' He smiled, realising the ball had just landed firmly in his court. 'Dr. Cameron, much as I'd like to admit to having gotten to know you in the biblical sense, I cannot lie. It would appear that we did nothing more outrageous than drinking a half-litre of excellent malt without truly savouring it.' He sensed the relief that she was feeling as he continued. 'Besides which, sweetheart, if we had "done it", you would've remembered, even if you'd consumed a vat of the stuff.'

Unsure whether she was relieved, disappointed or a perverse mix of the two, she glanced up at him through the top of her eyes. 'So, that's a no then?'

'You want it in sky-writing? That is a negative, yes.'

'But, I thought, after what you said, and then waking up this morning laid on you, and my underwear was missing and…'

'Hold it right there. You said it yourself earlier. You got up and got changed during the night. You passed out on me presumably because my chest is a damn sight more comfortable than that excuse of a couch you have, and also because you're only human. As for the supposed words of undying love or passion I cast in your direction, I'm afraid I'm all outta answers on that subject. Maybe I could go lay on a different couch and have it sucked out of me in regression therapy, but daren't risk it. Might wake up with the therapist splayed all over me, panties having mysteriously vanished.'

She smiled, and allowed herself to relax slightly.

'You know it's not good for a man's ego to look so pleased when you find out they didn't sleep with you. Asshole I may be, but I don't generally take advantage of incapacitated women in their own home. If however, you'd been at my place, well…who can say. Probably still be there now, keeping Johnson and Johnson in business.'

'Charm comes so naturally to you,' she retorted, glad to have finally found out the truth about the previous evening. 'Would you like me to clarify what you said last night?'

'Oh, clarification is such a beautiful thing. Again, I'm all ears, but I have to tell you, I reserve the right to deny everything, blame it on alcohol-induced Tourette's.'

'Nice try. But I believe Tourette's usually presents as aggressive speech, and that wasn't your style last night. I seem to recall you told me what I needed to know.'

House took a large swig of coffee. 'What? That the tooth fairy doesn't really exist. That the real reason men leave the seat up is purely to annoy women. That we only agree to be dragged round a department store for an hour and a half whilst you pick up every God-forsaken piece of clothing on the rail, before returning to purchase the first thing you looked at, is 'cause we think you're gonna make it up to us when we get you home.'

'Erm….no, but thanks for that anyway. I was referring more to the fact that you told me that you liked me.'

House replied a little too quickly. 'Hell, I like chilli dogs, doesn't mean I want to pledge undying love to one.' He stared at her face, her nose starting to redden, eyes beginning to look watery. 'I didn't pledge undying anything to you, did I?'

'No, you didn't.' She bit her lip, forcing the tears to stay firmly where they belonged, inside her eyelids. 'I believe last night, House, you actually allowed yourself to drop the act, albeit briefly and through excessive alcohol consumption. Regardless, you definitely showed me another side, one I knew you were hiding all along. And I think it's a side you should show a little more often, if only to me.'

He intensified his gaze. 'And you got all this from "I like you"? Thank the Lord I never said the proper 'L' word. Can't have my favourite duckling skipping off to Tiffanys on a whim, and hitting me with the bill afterwards.' He was becoming increasingly aware that her emotions were bubbling just below the surface, and not wishing to be confronted with the outpouring when it came, he decided to change tack. 'Listen, now's not the time or the place. If this is something you still feel needs addressing, we can deal with it some other time. Ok?'

Unable to find her voice, she grunted and left the table hurriedly. Tears pricking at her eyes, she departed so quickly, House barely had time to register her response. Of course he knew she was telling the truth when she said he had admitted to liking her. He didn't remember actually saying it, but it was how he actually felt, and the drink had loosened his inhibitions, so it was entirely possible the words had slipped out. He also knew he had said far more, but struggle as he might, he couldn't retrieve the memory from his addled brain.