THIS IS TO THOSE THAT REQUESTED A HOUSE/CUDDY THEME…so the Chapter title is dedicated to you all. :o)
CHAPTER THREE – Be Careful What You Ask For
Cuddy sits in the chair beside House's bed and stares at him; she has been staring at him for three hours now. She watches his chest rise and fall in rhythm that seems to relax her. She listens for his breath and the occasional snore he might give to assure her he's indeed breathing. Her eyes wander over every inch of his face, as if it has to pass an inspection – every line, every crease, the slight changes in the color of his complexion, the little dent on the right side of his nose when it was broken in LaCrosse in high school, the way the tip of his nose flairs when he breathes, even the corners of his mouth.
She has never been more grateful for anything in her life before this. There are so many emotions going through her head at this moment she can barely even think straight anymore. She forces her eyes to focus on his face to stay awake, but her eyelids feel heavier and heavier and feel terribly dry.
"…booger onnn my chinnn?" House mumbles groggily, staring right at Cuddy. She jumps from the sudden noise and takes a moment to realize he is indeed talking to her. She quickly stands and approaches the side of the bed wearing a warm, yet relieved smile.
"No, but you spilled spaghetti sauce on your … God, I can't even come up with a good joke. How are you feeling, Greg?" she asks, placing her hand on his then gives it a light squeeze.
"Grggg? Since when do you call me Greg?" he slurs as he closes his eyes half way and the right side of his mouth curls in a half smile.
"Since you almost bled to death," she answers, stepping closer and pressing her body against the railing of the bed. She can't help but grin when his eyes went directly to her blouse pressed tightly against the railing.
"I knew I wouldn't," he groaned in a deep, raspy voice.
"You were lucky."
"I'm always lucky. 'Cept at the races," he laughs then suddenly stops and grabs his side, his face grimacing.
"Is it bad? Do you need something for the pain?" she asks concerned.
He shakes his head and looks her straight in the eyes for the first time. "It doesn't re…Cuddy, you look like hell," he says, stopping himself when he sees how red and swollen her eyes are. For a moment he's speechless and they stare at each other. She nervously shuffles her weight from one foot to the other.
"Thanks. It's a sleep deprivation experiment I'm undertaking. So far I'm failing," she laughs but then her words abruptly escape her.
"You gave me the Ketamin, right?" he asks. She doesn't answer but only nods her head. "Did it work?"
"You know we wo…" she stops mid sentence when her legs give out on her and she grabs the railing to keep from falling on her butt.
"Cuddy, go home," he says. She shakes her head but remains quiet. "You need sleep," he tells her.
"I'll leave when the crew comes in a few hours."
"Oh, what time is it?" Cuddy looks at her watch and her eyebrows rise.
"3:30," she answers, turning to walk to the chair. "I'm just going to sit right back on the chair and sleep here."
"No, Cuddy," he corrects her. She turns back around and looks at him in confusion. "There's room on here for the both of us," he tells her rather seriously. His eyes blink slowly a few times, as if just talking about sleep was making him drowsier. "Come on. We're going to be sharing more than a bed in a couple of months if you still want to get pregnant."
Cuddy stands by the chair, places her hands on her hips and smiles. "It won't work that way," she says as she walks back toward the bed. "If you try anything I'm going to pull your catheter out quicker than you can say MonoSodiumGlutamate," she tells him seriously, but then laughs.
After she situates herself on the bed next to him her muscles quickly relax and she feels like she is melting into the mattress. They share the same pillow and within minutes her head slowly rolls onto House's left shoulder, her left hand flops on the left side of his chest. He feels her hair brush against his chin and it feels funny, really strange, but not unfamiliar.
He lifts his right hand to his chin and rubs with the back of his fingers, feeling baby smooth skin that hasn't been completely shaven off in almost five years. He brings his hand to the other side and does the same. He curses to himself when he realizes they've shaved his beard.
"I'm glad you're okay," she says, barely understandable but he knew what she said.
"I'm glad you're here," he whispers, but she has already fallen asleep, hard. A smile crosses his lips and seconds later he, too, is asleep.
HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD
A short while later, around 6:30am, Cameron arrives at the hospital in a fairly good mood knowing that her boss is out of the woods and all is well in Snarkville. But her mood is about to change into a nightmare for her in a dramatic way.
She goes straight to House's room to see how he is and to check on his vitals when she turns the corner and sees inside his room. Her mouth drops and she can only stand there, staring. She convinces herself she has lost her mind from the amount of alcohol she'd had the night before.
There, lying beside House with her left arm resting on his chest, her head cradled in the crook of his left arm (his left hand curled around her shoulder) and his head nestled on top of hers, is Dr. Lisa Cuddy.
Out of no where there's a loud C-R-A-S-H and the sound of glass breaking, which seems to snap Cameron out of her 'shock induced trance' and her eyes focus from House to the glass outside his room.
"Dr. Cameron! What are you DOING?" a nurse asks as she approaches her. "There's glass all over the place!" The nurse walks back over to the reception desk and pages maintenance for a clean up then walks back to Cameron.
"Are you okay?" she asks Cameron, who still hasn't taken her eyes off of House's room. She sees movement behind the shattered glass, realizing it's Cuddy getting out of his bed. A look of horror at what she's done crosses her face and she walks, almost runs, down the hall to the conference room, ignoring Cuddy telling her to stop.
She unlocks the conference room door, turns the light on and throws her bag on the table. She walks to the coffee machine, places the right amount of coffee in the filter, hits 'brew' and walks away. A few seconds later she hears a sizzling and crackling sound come from the machine. She quickly races back and places the pot on the burner, which she's forgotten to do, and curses out loud.
As she's wiping clean the machine and countertop Chase and Foreman come through the door, in an obvious better mood than she is.
"Good morning, Dr. Allison!" Foreman chirps and Cameron feels like throwing the pot at him. 'Why stop now? I'm on a roll!' she thinks to herself but just gives him a dirty look and turns her back on the two.
"So, is House bouncing up and down the halls this morning?" Foreman asks but is cut short when Cuddy walks in carrying a heavy set of keys.
"I'm glad you three came in early. There is a lot we have to go over, under the circumstances," she says then yawns. "Did you just make that coffee, Cameron?" she asks hopefully as she heads toward it.
"Uh, no, Dr. Cuddy, I made it last week. I'm doing a research project on moldy genes," Cameron answers as she turns to face Cuddy straight on. "You're old, how moldy are your genes?"
"CAMERON!" Chase shouts, appalled that Cameron actually said that to her boss. But what makes him shut up is the look Cameron gives him. He knows better than to touch that one.
"Foreman, Chase, can us ladies have a second alone?" Cuddy asks as both men immediately stand and practically run out of the conference room, heel to toe.
Cuddy stands in front of Cameron, who has her hands defiantly on her hips and a smug look on her face. "Well, Allison, I didn't think you had it in you," she says as she places Cameron's keys on the table. Cameron doesn't answer.
'Ok, Lisa…be careful with this…don't say anything stupid…she is the last person that needs to know Greg offered to father my child and I accepted it.'