Rediscovery
By Ellie
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't sue. I have nothing except a car that's currently leaking power steering fluid. grumble grumble
A/N1: I just want to apologize for any inconvenience or annoyance that I may have caused by removing this chapter. Most of you would probably consider it a silly reason, but it was something that I had to do for my own peace of mind.
Chapter 18
Cuddy walked through the doors that led from the garden to her bedroom. She stripped off her clothes, put on her robe, and stepped into the master bath. It had been renovated a few months back, but she rarely ever got the chance to enjoy the improvements.
With a smile, she turned on the water in her Jacuzzi bathtub. She pinned up her hair and climbed into the tub to enjoy a nice long soak. Cuddy felt that she deserved it. She was proud of how she had handled the discussion with Stacy. It had been polite and dignified, but she managed to get her point across. She just hoped Stacy listened and stopped bothering House because she couldn't guarantee that things would go so well a second time.
Her gaze made its way to the telephone next to the tub. Cuddy had it installed during the renovation after a woman who lived alone, had few friends, and had fallen in her bathroom had been admitted to the hospital. After eight hours of just lying on her bathroom floor, she managed to crawl to the next room and call for an ambulance on her own. She had told Cuddy that she didn't know how long it would have taken for someone to care that she was missing. Cuddy had called that day to have a phone line added to the bathroom.
It was only in the past year that she realized how isolated from other people she had become. She had somehow lost herself in the Dean of Medicine. She had made half-hearted attempts at dating, but no one really interested her. Things had been different the past few weeks, though. She had managed to let loose a little and she really liked it. And she had House to thank for the changes.
Cuddy didn't want to go back to that workaholic woman who had no life. She didn't want to retire and realize that without her job, she had nothing. At the same time, she loved her job and didn't want to give it up. With House (except for the possible Board hurdle) she didn't have to compromise who she was. He may make fun of her overachieving tendencies, but he understood and respected them. He wouldn't be upset if she spent late evenings at the office or if she got called in unexpectedly for some crisis. Although, chances were he would have caused the crisis in the first place.
She wondered what House had done when he realized she hadn't come into work today. Had he been relieved? Disappointed? Worried?
The phone rang and shook her out of her reverie. She picked up the handset and checked the Caller ID box. It was House. A smile found its way to her lips.
"Please tell me that you didn't burn down the hospital while I was gone today," she said in her best administrator voice as she answered the phone.
"Not for lack of trying. Why is the hospital so flame retardant?"
"Lots of planning," she replied. He sounded relaxed. That was definitely a good sign.
"What are you doing?" he asked
"Taking a bath," she said as she leaned back and closed her eyes with a small smile.
"A bath?" he asked, surprised. "You don't have a bathtub."
"Yes, I do," she told him. "I remodeled my bathroom."
"When?" he asked, sounding almost offended.
"A few months ago. It was before the blizzard."
"How did I not know that? I can't believe I've missed out on months of fantasy material. You in your tub all soapy and wet …" his voice trailed off happily and Cuddy rolled her eyes even as she smiled at his words.
"Did you have a reason for calling me?" she asked.
"Ummm… yeah," he said as he gathered his thoughts. "Where did you go today?" he asked
She stiffened in her bath, but forced herself to relax and tell him the truth. "I went to see Stacy," she said simply.
She could hear his shocked silence, and she quickly wished she would have waited to tell him in person.
"Why?" he finally asked.
"There were things that she needed to be told. Things that I needed her to know."
"About me?"
"Some of it." House was silent. And she pressed on. "I needed to tell her that she was wrong about me. That she was wrong about how I see a relationship between the two of us. I needed her to know that she just couldn't come back into your life anymore, hurt you, and then leave without anyone calling her on it. I wanted her to know that I'm here because I choose to be here and that I have no intention of going anywhere."
He was again silent and she could almost hear the wheels in his head turning.
"Just promise me I didn't miss any Dynasty in the swimming pool style catfights. I think the regret would be too much for me to live with," he said in an oddly relieved voice.
"You didn't miss anything. It was very civil."
"Not even one slap?" he asked in a slightly disappointed voice.
"If she ever does anything like that ever again, I promise to kick her ass from here until next Tuesday and let you have front row seats."
She could hear a happy sigh come through the receiver. "Maybe I'll give her a call tomorrow to come and insult our relationship some more."
"I may have to hurt you then."
"That could be fun too," he said happily. He then paused for a moment. "We have to talk."
Cuddy felt a shiver of anticipation crawl up her spine.
"What about?"
"Well first you have to crawl out of your bath and change into something a bit more comfortable." He paused for a moment and Cuddy heard some rustling in the background. "Wow. My vote is for this black lacy number," he said. Cuddy sat up sharply in the bath and looked at her closed bathroom door. She could hear the sounds of drawers opening and closing in her bedroom.
"House," she said angrily as she got out of her bath and struggled with her robe, "stop going through my drawers this instance or you're going to lose some fingers!"
He chuckled lightly into the phone. "It might be worth it," he said.
She hung up and jerked the door open. He was sitting on her bed with most of her underwear laid out before him and a black lace teddy in his hands.
"You have issues! You realize that, don't you!" she growled as she started to pick up the mess he had made.
"Yes, but you love me anyways," he told her matter-of-factly.
Cuddy stopped breathing. She dropped the underwear from her suddenly nerveless fingers and tried to swallow. She forced herself to meet his eyes and felt marginally better to see that he was just as uncertain as she was.
"What?" she finally asked.
"You love me," he repeated softly. "I'm an inconsiderate ass who makes a habit of violating your privacy, and yet you want to be in a relationship with me. You're either in love or a masochist. And since you prefer to inflict the pain …"
Cuddy said nothing as she tried to figure out where House was going with this.
"You," he continued, "are a bossy, stubborn, workaholic busybody. And yet, I want to be with you."
Cuddy exhaled sharply and she could feel the pinpricks of tears form in the back of her eyes. House looked down and fingered her bedspread. "I'll never be Johnny Sunshine. But you make my life better. And I don't want to give that up."
She lost the battle with the tears and sat down next to him on her bed. He gently drew her into his arms and just held her like that for a moment, enjoying the feel of her small body next to his.
"You better be committing this moment to your long term memory," he told her, "because I will never say anything like this again after this evening."
Cuddy laughed through the tears and sat up. "I know," she told him warmly as she reached to caress his cheek. He held her hand there and just gazed at her. Cuddy leaned closer to House and met his lips in a passionate kiss.
She pulled back to catch her breath and he gave her an uncertain smile. "I have a surprise for you," he said. "I think I've thought of a way to fix things with the Board."
She raised her eyebrow and waited for him to continue. He was obviously nervous and that intrigued her. He took a deep breath and handed her a sheet of paper. It was a confirmation for two tickets on the red eye flight from Newark to Las Vegas later that evening. Cuddy stopped breathing for the second time that evening.
"Is this one of your jokes?" she asked, hurt at the possibility that he would joke about this.
"Yeah," he said very seriously. "Can't you tell by all the laughter?"
"You … want me to marry you? Tonight?" she asked just to make sure she understood.
"Well if I just wanted to gamble with you, then we'd be heading to Atlantic City."
"Greg …" she stopped. "We can't get married." She stood up and started pacing around the room.
"Why not? We've known each other forever. And we have, what could be categorized, as deep feelings for one another."
"You've always railed against marriage. Talking about how married people are miserable and trapped with each other."
"I think everyone's miserable. I decided that I'd much rather be miserable with you than without you." Cuddy raised an eyebrow at that statement, and House sighed. "Most people go into marriage thinking that it will be all flowers and sunshine for the rest of their lives and bail out when reality sets in. We know what to expect from each other."
"You've never shown any interest in ever getting married. You were with Stacy for five years and never wanted to marry her."
"That's right – I didn't want to marry Stacy. I do want to marry you."
"Why? To protect our jobs when the Board finds out?" she asked a little angrily.
"No," he said and walked up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I know that this is out of the blue, but I've been thinking about this all afternoon. It will work. I'm not saying that it will be easy, but nothing really worth having is easy. I just realized that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I …" he looked down as he forced the words out. "I just don't want to look back on my life with any more regrets. I like who I am with you, and I'm pretty sure that you like who you are with me." Cuddy looked away, remembering her thoughts before he called.
"That doesn't mean that we should get married. We haven't even dated yet," she pointed out. This was insane. But what was most insane was that she didn't think it was as insane as she felt she should.
"Dating is for people who don't know each other."
"I'm not sure that I do know you very well right now," she yelled.
"Tell me," he asked as he grabbed her shoulders, "are you fighting this because you don't want to get married or because you're afraid of how much you do?"
Cuddy was silent as she looked away, but not before he saw the tears falling down her face. "Lisa," her eyes widened at the use of her first name. "I'm terrified too, but my gut is telling me that this is the right thing to do. And I don't want to make a big deal about it. I definitely don't want a fluffy wedding. I don't want to plan it or fight about who's invited. I just … want to do it. For us."
"We've never even had sex," she whispered.
"Well," he said in a reproachful voice, "if you hadn't taken so long to decide, we could have snagged a quickie before heading for the airport, but now we've got to get going. Although, I have to admit, I'm going to love telling the Board that we saved ourselves for marriage."
"Saved ourselves?" she said in disbelief.
"You know what I mean," he said. "Now change quickly so we can go."
"I don't have anything packed," she told him. He limped over to the other side of the bed where he pulled out a small suitcase and garment bag.
"I did it for you."
"Oh God," she said in a low voice. "I will not get married in my underwear, House," she warned.
"You'll just have to see what I packed for you when we get there. Let's go."
"Wait, is Wilson coming?'
"Is this that threesome thing again? Because I told you, only if the third person is a nubile young thing."
She smacked him arm lightly. "No. He is your best friend. We need a witness."
"Jimmy will find out later at I time that I determine. A time when the news will drive him over the edge. We'll get a witness there."
"What did he do?"
"I'll tell you later. Change so we can go."
----------
Cuddy kept on telling herself that this was an insane idea. She told herself that as she called the hospital and left a message that she would be missing an unheard of unexpected second day in a row. She told herself that the entire drive to the airport. She told herself that on the flight before she fell asleep on his shoulder. She told herself that when she woke up as the plane was landing and House was complaining about the drool stain she had left on his jacket. But no matter how often the Dean of Medicine told her that this was a bad idea, she couldn't quite make herself believe it. It felt right. And that, she decided, was actually the scariest thing of all.
It was still early by Las Vegas standards when they landed. House had managed to download a marriage license application off of the internet, and they filled it out on the flight. They went to the clerk's office and got the license, and then checked into a hotel to change. She opened up the garment bag that House had brought and smiled at the dress within. It was a black crochet halter dress over a nude lining. It was low cut and very sexy. She had bought it with House in mind.
"Do you approve?" he asked.
"Black for a wedding?" she asked.
"Well you're hardly a virgin," he pointed out.
She rolled her eyes and went to the bathroom to change.
"You can change out here, you know?" House called out. "We are getting married. I'm pretty sure it's allowed."
"Shut up. Let me do this my way or you'll be spending your wedding night alone."
"Fine."
About forty-five minutes later, she stepped back from the mirror and looked approvingly at her reflection. Her hair was falling softly around her shoulders and her make-up emphasized her eyes. She looked good.
"Cuddy! Tammy Faye doesn't take this long to put on her make-up," House shouted impatiently from the bedroom.
She opened the door and walked out. House looked at her and went slack-jawed.
"Wow," he whispered. "You know … we can get married two hours from now just as easily as now," he said as he reached out to touch a satiny shoulder.
"Sorry," Cuddy said with a laugh. "This was your idea. We're getting married now." She gave an appreciative glance at his suit. "You look very nice yourself. Come on, let's go," she said as she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.
"Fine. We'll go into the first Elvis chapel that we see, get married, and come back here for some really great sex."
"I will not get married by an Elvis impersonator," Cuddy said firmly.
"Cuddy … that's the best part about getting married in Vegas," House said playfully.
"No."
House just looked at her and smiled.
"All right, but I wasn't kidding about finding the first place that can get us done quickly. We have waited for this for way too long."
"Hey, this was your nutty idea. We could have been having the sex back in New Jersey all this time."
"Don't remind me," he said and they went off in search of a chapel.
They didn't have to look far. There were five chapels on the same street as their hotel alone.
"Pick one," House told her. Cuddy looked around and pointed to the chapel with the least amount of neon lighting. They walked into the doors and were greeted by a plump, red headed woman with a big smile on her face.
"Are you two wanting to get married?" she asked.
Cuddy elbowed House before he could say something sarcastic. "Yes," she replied.
"Here are our various packages," the woman said as she handed them a pink paper with prices all over it.
"Honey," House said in a sarcastic voice, "we can have an Elvis impersonator serenade us for only two hundred dollars."
"I don't think so, dear," Cuddy said with a smile.
House looked over to the woman who was watching them. "She really loves to wear the leather catsuit in the family."
"I don't think you could pull off a leather catsuit, House," Cuddy replied as she eyed the sheet. "I don't think we need anything fancy. We just want to get married as quickly as possible."
"I told her I wouldn't put out until I had that ring on my finger," House leered and Cuddy rolled her eyes.
"Well you won't have to make her wait much longer, dear," the woman said and took the paper back. "It will be about fifteen minutes."
House and Cuddy sat down and waited. Cuddy closed her eyes, once again telling herself that this was crazy and insane. She did not do things like this. Dr. Cuddy just didn't run off to Vegas to get married to her most problematic doctor.
House suddenly picked up her hand in his and he leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. He was silent for a few moments. "I know that I kind of sprang this on you and if you're having second thoughts, I'll understand. We can just go back to the hotel, if you want."
Cuddy looked into his eyes. She could tell that he still wanted to do this, but he was giving her an out if it was too fast for her. She chuckled through tears and closed her eyes. Maybe she had been a little too careful in her life. House was sure. And he would be the first to tell you that he was always right.
"I love you," she whispered back at him. "Let's get married," she said and she could feel him relax next to her.
"House and Cuddy. You're up next," the woman called from the doorway.
They got up and made their way to the chapel area. An older balding gentleman was there waiting for them.
"You guys ready for this," he asked them.
"As ready as we'll ever be," Cuddy replied with a nervous smile.
"Dearly Beloved …"
---------
They hadn't stopped kissing since the moment the minister had proclaimed them to be 'husband and wife.' House found it particularly difficult to navigate where he was going, but they managed to make it back to their hotel room. They attacked one another the moment the door to their room closed behind them.
House's senses came alive with her kisses. His brain went into overdrive as it cataloged all of the sensory information it was receiving. How wonderful every inch of her smelled. How soft her lips were as they began to move towards his neck. How smooth her skin was as he removed her dress. He heard himself groan as she straddled his lap and he stopped thinking altogether.
Their lovemaking was hard and fast – they had both wanted this for too long for it to be anything else – but it was also perfect. It was everything and nothing like either one had imagined it would be. It was passionate, but sweet. Intense, but fun. In short, it was just like the two of them.
Afterwards, Cuddy was lying on her back with her eyes closed, enjoying the afterglow. House was next to her with his arm draped possessively over her. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this content.
"I think that our marriage has been very successful so far," he said into her hair.
She chuckled delightedly as she played with his chest hair. "It's been okay," she said with a smile.
"Okay?" he asked in a mock hurt voice. "That's not what you were saying earlier."
"Really?' she asked in a puzzled voice. "I don't see why I would have said anything else."
He snorted in mock anger as he rolled her onto her back as he held her wrists above her head.
"Cuddy, it's really not good to lie. It gives you wrinkles," he said as he began to nuzzle her neck.
"Wrinkles?"
"Uh huh. And acne. I really don't want an acne ridden hag for a wife so I guess I'm just going to have to make you tell the truth," he said.
Cuddy smiled and enjoyed the sensations he was provoking with his talented lips. After a few moments, though, she suddenly realized what he was doing and stiffened under him.
"House! Are you giving me a hickey?" she asked
He chuckled into her neck. "It took you long enough to figure out," he said.
"Damn it! Now I have to be careful about what I wear when I get back to work."
"Yep," he said unashamedly. "And every time I look at you, I'm going to smile because I'll know that you're wearing the turtleneck because of me. Just promise me that you won't wear any of the Pilgrim Outfits."
"The Pilgrim Outfits?" she asked.
"You know. The white frilly crap you wear when the 'Old Biddy' donors come for a visit. The ones who wouldn't think that it was appropriate for a woman to wear sexually revealing clothes in the workplace. You have a standing lunch meeting with them on the first Wednesday of the month.
"You know entirely too much about my life," she said, only half-joking.
House raised his head and met her eyes with a smile. "There's no such thing as knowing too much about anything."
"Really?" she asked. "Does that mean I get to know all about you too?"
"What do you mean?"
She paused for a moment and he could see the confusion in her eyes. "Tell me what happened that brought all of this about. I know you said that you realized you wanted to be with me, but yesterday you weren't sure what you were willing to risk for a relationship. Then today …"
"We strapped on the proverbial ball and chain?"
"Not the way I would have put it, but yes."
House rolled back over onto his back and Cuddy rearranged herself so that once again she was lying in his arms and waited for his answer.
"Wilson used an exercise in creativity that allowed me to examine my feelings at a much closer level." Cuddy was silent for a moment as she translated his words.
"He played a trick on you?"
"Trick doesn't even cover it. The son of a bitch is lucky that this 'little trick' ultimately led to me getting laid, otherwise he would probably be in a crate bound for Timbuktu as we speak."
"What did he do?" Cuddy asked, wondering at his venom. House looked down at her and gently played with her hair as he remembered those interminable minutes when he had thought she was badly injured.
"He had Cameron tell me that you had been in a car accident," he said quietly
Cuddy gasped in surprise. "He … what?" she said, the disbelief evident in her voice. She could easily imagine the panic that House must have felt.
"Yeah. I'm sure my performance was everything he'd hoped for. He stopped me just as I was about to run into the ER to see you."
"I'm surprised you didn't kill him."
"No, I just jabbed him as hard as I could in the stomach with my cane and walked away." He sighed thoughtfully. "I can't be too angry. It got me through my mental block, and here I am," he said with a smile.
"Yes. Here you are." Cuddy was silent for another moment and House could see her considering something else. "How on earth did he convince Cameron to help? When I told her to lie to you, she acted as if I had told her to drown some puppies."
"This is Wilson we're talking about. He can convince anyone to do anything. It's one of the reasons why he's been married three times. He told me that he fed her some tripe about helping true love find its way through the dark and stormy waters of doubt and uncertainty, and she, being a full-fledged out of the closet romantic, couldn't help but agree to help him with his dastardly plan."
"They're both going to be unbearable when they find out that we're together, let alone married."
"Well we aren't telling them that second part for a while. Until then, I'll think of something to take them down a notch or two."
Cuddy giggled and House felt a surge of unfamiliar happiness well through him. He held her close and let his mind wander. This was going to take some getting used to. He wasn't used to being happy and he wasn't entirely sure if he was equipped for it. He enjoyed being the miserable bastard. He scowled at the stray thought that he might actually become routinely pleasant to people.
"I can always assign you more clinic hours," Cuddy told him.
House's gaze jerked down to her and he was started to see a knowing smile on her face.
"Huh?" he asked.
"Weren't you just lying there, worrying that being happy would screw with your mojo?"
House didn't answer.
"Greg," Cuddy said as she turned to run her fingers through his hair, "you have been an insatiably curious asshole since the day I met you. That didn't change all through college. It didn't change when you were with Stacy, and it didn't change after the infarction. It's not going to change because of me."
He pulled her closer. "I know," he said. "I just …" he trailed off, uncertain how to put his fears into words.
"I know," she said softly.
He looked down and met her gaze. "You do, don't you?"
"Yes. And it's impolite to brood on your wedding night so stop, understand?"
"Aye aye, Captain,"
"Good. I'd hate to have to kick your ass so soon in the marriage."
"Damn. How long do I have to wait before you would be willing to do a little ass kicking?" House asked as he let his fingers wander over her curves.
"Why?" Cuddy asked as she enjoyed his caresses.
"I kind of like the idea of you getting firm with me," he teased.
"Really?" Cuddy asked mischievously. House suddenly found Cuddy straddling him with a slightly wicked smile on her face. "Has Greg been a bad boy?"
"Oh you don't even know the half of it," he responded as he pulled her down to meet him in a passionate kiss.
After several moments, his lips began to wander to that spot just under her left ear that was particularly sensitive. "House," she said.
"Mmhmm," he murmured.
"You make me happy too." He pulled away a bit and she could see the understanding in his gaze. Cuddy leaned over to kiss him again, and – as House would put it later – he let her have her way with him yet again.
A/N2: Ok. Here's the updated version. I'm sorry it took me so long to get it up here. I'm not sure how I feel about the final product, but it was something that I had to do. So. Here it is.