Chapter 5

A/N: hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews, as usual, it is very much appreciated. I am a little saddened though, because I only have one review for my House one-shot! Admittantly, it is from Cameron's POV (so pretty much loses it's appeal to you guys), but it is most definitely NOT House/Cam (eesh as if I'm gonna jump ships…) and is basically about how House doesn't want her. Hehehe! So yes, please give it a chance and review!

Anyway, onto the story at hand… I am GUTTED because of this new 'no replying to reviews in stories' policy! (we all know how much I love to do that). So, I'm just gonna have to give a general who-ha thanks to you all! You know I love hearing what you guys have to say, your feedback, ideas, stuff like that, so please do keep them coming.

Now, here comes the icky part. I've got a bit of writer's block at the moment. I know where I want this story to go, and how it's going to pan out, but I'm having some difficulty getting the words down. Plus, there are a billion other things going on in my life that are stopping me from being able to concentrate on this. SO, I am going to go on hiatus for a while. Not too long, of course, because then you would all forget about this fic and become disinterested (lol!). And I'm not going to stop writing, quite the opposite in fact, I'm gonna try and work on my characters a bit more, really stretch them out and go in depth into who they are and what they're about. I don't want to do this fic half-assed, so I really need to do this sort of thing to get it working. And plus, I can feel Emily getting a bit Mary Sue-ish, and I most definitely do NOT want that to happen! So I'll be trying to get her, and my other characters more three dimensional. But yes, I'm hoping to be back before the new year.

In regards to this chapter, sorry it's so short… but it's just a fun little mother/daughter interlude before all the really serious stuff starts happening. Please let me know what you think!

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Emily sat at her mother's computer the following morning, checking emails, and generally just tinkering about while Cuddy made breakfast.

"I do not want to come home and find out you've been on a shopping spree," Cuddy said sternly, "that money is to get your car back, nothing else."

"I promise I won't go shopping," Emily replied from the room adjacent, "at least not with your money." Cuddy stuck her head through the doorway and gave Emily a disapproving look.

"Ugh, fine, you're right, I don't have any money anyway," Emily sulked. Cuddy gave a satisfied nod and went back to making her breakfast.

"And will you get changed out of your pyjamas soon please, you've been up for at least an hour," Cuddy said.

"Mom, I'm almost 19, I think I can dictate for myself when I do or do not get dressed," Emily replied dismissively, opening iTunes and contemplating downloading the contents of her iPod onto it. She chuckled to herself as she scrolled through the limited choice of music her mother had on there; Abba, Alan Parsons Project, The Beatles, Blondie, Chaka Khan. She looked down the list of playlists on the side, to find her mother hadn't created any of her own, - simply stuck with the default ones - until there was a folder that caught her eye, titled 'Audiobooks'. She clicked on the tab to open it, and her eyes widened at what she saw. There were about seven different playlists, all with ridiculous self-improving titles. She clicked on a playlist entitled 'Winning', and sure enough, there was a long list of different chapters. She had to cover her mouth to stop from crying out with laughter. She browsed some of the other titles, such as 'The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership', 'Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done', 'The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness To Greatness', and a range of other similar titled playlists. It was only when she caught a glimpse of 'I'm Not Mad, I Just Hate You: A New Understanding of Mother-Daughter Conflict', that she couldn't contain her amusement, and burst out laughing. Cuddy, having heard the stifled chuckles from her spot in the kitchen, and then the sudden roar, went in to investigate.

"What is so funny?" she asked, standing in the doorway, hands on hips. Emily immediately minimized the iTunes window and tried to cool her flushed face, which had turned bright red from the laughing.

"Umm… nothing," she tried to cover innocently.

"It doesn't sound like nothing," Cuddy replied suspiciously.

"Oh, well, I was just on msn, and one of my friends said something really funny," Emily lied.

"MSN Messenger?" Cuddy asked.

"Yeah."

"But I haven't got that."

"Ah, I downloaded it for you," Emily said quickly, trying to cover her tracks.

"Oh, ok," Cuddy replied, seeming to buy this answer. Emily nodded awkwardly, and Cuddy raised her eyebrows, turning back to the kitchen. Emily let out a deep sigh and decided to keep that window minimized for the time being. She opened internet explorer, and in an attempt to dismiss her impending boredom, opted to Google herself. She went to the favourites menu to save herself typing the URL in, and was once again surprised and amused by what she found. She clicked on the bookmark, and up came a blue webpage that had obviously remembered the user and logged in automatically. She was logged in as Lisa Cuddy at DocMixer(dot)com.

"Oh... my… god," Emily whispered in a drawn out voice. She immediately started snooping around the webpage, and with a smirky smile, landed on the most recently viewed profile. She opened it and had a quick read, trying her best not to erupt with laughter and kill the act. After she had taken in enough information, she quickly closed the window and got up, wandering into the kitchen. Cuddy was standing at the sink, opening a fresh bottle of 'Fiji' water.

"So…" Emily said, trying to look casual, "what's happening at the hospital today?"

"Oh, just the usual, meetings, patients, yelling at Dr House," Cuddy replied, taking a sip of her water, and strangely enough not finding it unusual that Emily was enquiring about the hospital.

"Seeing anyone for lunch? Maybe… Maxwell Abatte?"

Cuddy immediately spluttered and quickly had to move over the sink to prevent the water splaying out her mouth from going everywhere. Emily just stood, leaning on the doorframe, arms crossed, and a smug smile on her face.

"I hear he's an excellent surgeon in Connecticut. He's only 35 you know, and his hobbies include golf, basketball, listening to Dire Straits, and ah… horseback riding," Emily said with a grin. Cuddy was completely speechless. She had no idea how to react.

"You know what, I bet you two would get along tremendously," Emily continued teasingly. "He seems just like your type."

"He… I… not… we're," Cuddy stuttered.

"Awww mom, don't worry, I think it's cute!' Emily said condescendingly. Cuddy managed to compose herself and put her hands on her hips, casting a glare at Emily.

"Don't patronize me. And besides, it wasn't me that was on that website," Cuddy lied badly.

"Oh come on. Like I believe that," Emily said with a roll of her eyes.

"So what, I'm not allowed to date?" Cuddy replied.

"No, it's just that… internet dating, mom?" Emily asked with a cringe and a bit of a chuckle. Cuddy squared her jaw and shifted her weight onto her other foot.

"There is nothing wrong with internet dating," she defended, "it's not like it's easy for me to meet nice men, I work practically around the clock, I don't have time to go out to…" Cuddy trailed off.

"Ok, ok," Emily said, heading out the room, "just don't use your audiobook collection as an opening conversation topic."

"What?" Cuddy said in disbelief, as Emily left the room with a smug smile on her face.

"Emily? What are you talking about? What audiobooks," Cuddy called after her, but Emily kept walking and Cuddy was left dumbstruck in the kitchen.

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A/N: So there you go, hope you enjoyed! Once again, sorry about its short length. Please review on your way out! Btw, all of Cuddy's audiobooks are real titles (I don't know if they actually are available on audiobook though). So go me for doing research!

Coming up next… we find out who daddy dearest is, and a past that Cuddy has tried to keep hidden.