Chapter 13

A/N: FINALLY! It has been an eternity, but FINALLY I have finished a new chapter. I think its been a whole month. Torzi, torzi, torzi. Year 12 has been running me amuck, plus the musical… too much! And, I have tenosynovitis in my right hand… oh YAY. A very appropriate ailment for me, too, because it's basically RSI from too much typing and computer solitaire. How entirely appropriate. So right now I have a splint on my hand… so typing is a bit of a struggle. Nonetheless, I have fought tooth and nail to get this chapter to you! And now, the kudos:

GallopGirl (always the first to review, you CHAMPION), cazness, StopTheWorldImGettingDizzy, bostonfan, QT Roo, FriendsHolic, Chromo26, prinnie, moo333, I just love you all! There is nothing better than a loyal reviewer, so my hat goes off to all of you!

And now, on with the story.

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Emily pulled Chase's car up into a gravel parking lot, the bright spinning lights ahead a contrast to the dark night. As he realised where she had taken him, he turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You've taken me to a carnival?" he asked, a little surprised.

"Correction: an all-night carnival!" she replied with a wide grin, turning off the car and unbuckling her seatbelt. They both opened their doors respectively and stepped out of the car, Chase still a little sceptical. Emily, noticing his hesitation, rolled her eyes.

"Oh please," she said, "lighten up. Carnival's aren't just for children, you know."

Chase took a deep breath to prepare himself, and walked around to Emily's side of the car, grabbing her hand and leading her off in the direction the music and flashing lights.

"Alright, let's do it. I'm gonna win you a teddy bear," he said with a flashing grin.

An hour and a half later, Chase was clutching an enormous toy panda that Emily had won for him, after his efforts to win a prize for her had failed. Even at the bottle toss, a game that Chase was sure he could master ("Oh don't worry, this one will be a synch. I was the pitcher in my high school softball team"), he wasn't even able to muster a measly 2 point toy. Emily then proceeded to make up for his unmanly errors by getting every single ball directly into the clown's mouth at the next stand.

Chase was waiting in line for cotton candy when Emily spotted it. She had seen it at several points throughout the night, but now was just the right time. She gave a smile, and walked the few steps to Chase, gently tugging on his sleeve.

"Rob," she said in a whispery smile, "forget the cotton candy. I've got a better idea." Chase turned to see where she was looking at, and his gaze hit the giant ferris wheel, about 50 metres away from them. Emily hugged the panda she held whilst Chase was in line tightly, and let out a tiny excited little sigh.

"What, the ferris wheel?" Chase questioned, surprised at Emily's level of excitement for a ride as mundane as a ferris wheel. He saw her as more of the upside down and around seven times rollercoaster kind of girl. She nodded, and slid her hand down his arm to grab his hand.

"Come on," she smiled, trying to tug him out of line.

"Hang on, I'm almost at the front of the line," Chase reasoned, "it's just the ferris wheel, it can wait for a minute."

"Just the ferris wheel? The ferris wheel is only the best part of the entire carnival! You get the perfect view of everything, and it moves at just the right speed, and the breeze is always not too strong, not too flat…" she trailed off, her voice dreamy. Sensing how important this ride was to her, he decided to give up the spot in line that he had been so patiently waiting for, and let her pull him towards the enormous wheel. As they approached it, Emily's free hand still grasped tightly around Chase's. The line was short, so they were only standing there for a minute or so before it was their turn.

"Do you want me to hang onto that for you miss?" the man that ran the ride asked, gesturing to the giant panda Emily was clutching absently.

"Oh, yes, thankyou," she said, handing the panda to the kinda man before she and Chase sat down in the slightly rickety chair of the ride. Emily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and took in a short excited breath as the ride began to move. They were silent for a moment, each settling into the motion of the wheel, before Chase spoke.

"So what's so special about the ferris wheel?" he asked, "I didn't picture it as your favourite ride." Emily constant small smile broke into a grin, and she glanced over at him.

"Well, me and good 'ole ferris go way back. When I was little, about five, maybe six, on the rare occasion that mom wasn't at school or working, she'd take us to a carnival. I don't really remember much about it, but I do remember that we would always all squash together on the ferris wheel, me and Anna on either side of mom. Anna got a little scared of the height at times, but I didn't mind at all. Mom would point out the things we could see around town as we got higher, and tell us stories about those places that made us laugh. Then, when we got to the top, she would kiss us each on the cheek, and tell us how brave we were for making it all the way to the top," Emily explained, her voice filled with memories of past delight. "Those were always our happiest times with mom." Chase pondered for a moment this reminiscence of Emily's, and somehow found it difficult to picture such an affectionate and openly loving Cuddy.

Emily sighed then, as her present reality hit. "Of course, things aren't like that anymore."

They sat in silence, both mulling over what had been said, when the wheel came to a stop, Emily and Chase directly at the top. Emily smiled as the full expanse of the lights of the town hit her. Laid in front of her were the small lights of Princeton, the town she called home. She had never been one to admire lush country views, but give her the lights of a city or town, and she was blown away. She felt Chase's hand slip into hers, and she suddenly felt 13, out with the boy she had a crush on. Well, this was definitely more than some pre-pubescent crush. She turned her head to look at him, his waves of hair blowing softly in the breeze, and all of a sudden this moment was perfect. He too turned to see her, and tucked a fly away hair behind her ear, his hand lingering on her cheek.

"Would it be entirely cliché if I kissed you right now?" he asked.

"Yes," Emily replied, inching her face closer to is, "but I like cliché."

00

Cuddy walked slowly into her bedroom, having finally rid of the telemarketer that had interrupted her and Anna's fight. She sighed and slid out of her shoes, that heavy feeling in her head and chest. Walking past her CD player, she pressed play on her 'Jazz For A Rainy Afternoon' CD, and moved towards her bed as the soft trumpet sounds of Woody Shaw filled the room. She had to relax somehow, and blocking out the sounds of the house tended to help a lot. She lay down, still in her dress from the date, and closed her eyes. Turning on her side, she tried to rid her mind of the thousands of thoughts running through it. She remembered, in high school, her drama teacher would always get the class to lay on their backs and close their eyes, and imagine a 'worry tree', where they would pin all there troubles before entering a new world. She wished Ms Benis was here to help her now, and wished that she had imagined a bigger tree.

She tried her best to just listen to the music, absorbing it, rather than her own problems. And even though the sounds of the soft jazz weren't sad ones, and she had cleared her mind of all other thoughts, slow tears ran down her face. Cathartic tears, she hoped, that would somehow make things easier when she finally had to face them.

Anna, in turn, sat in her room, just staring out into nothingness. She hadn't gone back to her music once her mother had left, instead just sat back down on the beanbag and stewed. There was no way she was going to apologize. As far as she was concerned, she'd done nothing wrong. Cuddy had brought all of this upon herself. But if it wasn't her fault then why did she feel so horrible? She hated that her mother could always make her feel so guilty without even trying. Then again, Anna always felt guilty.

She knew Cuddy had been crying, she could see the redness in her eyes, yet she had snapped at her anyway, and brought up Linda. Way to kick her when she's down, Anna. Surely it wasn't just the dodgy date that made her upset, there had to be something else. So Anna made an impulsive decision. She stood up and quietly made her way to her mother's bedroom. She just wanted to make sure she was okay and hadn't tried to top herself or anything. With that thought a shiver ran through Anna, as she realized, that despite her talk to the contrary, she would be devastated if anything ever happen to her mom.

She reached the door, and could hear smooth jazz sounds playing reasonably loudly inside. She recognized the music to be that from a CD that Jimmy had bought Cuddy for her last birthday, in an attempt to 'de-stress' her. Anna was yet to see any changes in her mother's stress levels.

She slowly pushed the door open a fraction, forgetting to knock, and saw her mother laying on her side, knees tucked up and hair strewn messily on the pillow. She obviously hadn't heard Anna entering over the music, as she didn't move from her position. As Anna looked a little closer, she could see her mother's wet cheeks, and all of a sudden her heart pulled. That strong tug of guilt that she was becoming all too familiar with. At this sight, a sight that she had provoked and created, she felt a huge lump rise in her throat, and tears begin to well in her own eyes. She had done this, she had made her mother cry. She never meant it, though. Had she been that mean? Had she been that horrible that it had reduced her own, strong and composed mom to tears? She knew she was usually a little snarky and mean to everyone, but doing this to Cuddy was different. She bit her lip and turned back out of the room, closing the door behind her, as if she hadn't been there at all.

00

Emily and Chase walked aimlessly around the site of the carnival, Chase's arm firm around her shoulders, and hers around his waist, snuggling into his body as the crisp summer breeze flicked across her exposed skin. The man that ran the ride had let them stay on the ferris wheel for an extra rotation, and after, they got their cotton candy, Emily eating more of Chase's than he ended up eating.

"So it's getting late," Chase said, as they continued to wander.

Emily gasped, "Are you trying to get rid of me!"

Chase laughed and kissed the side of her head, "Of course not. Just we both have to work tomorrow, that's all."

"And you choose this particular moment to decide that you need to be well rested for work?" Emily asked, looking up at him, eyebrow raised.

"What?" Chase replied innocently.

"I seem to remember a particular someone coming into work hung-over, and on two hours sleep almost a week a go when his friend from Australia was in town…" Emily added just as innocently. Chase smiled and shook his head in defeat.

"I was wondering when you would start using that against me. Well, right now I think I should take you home," he said.

Emily turned in his arms and slid her hands purposefully across his sides, wrapping them around his back, then leaned up to his face and whispered hotly and wickedly into his ear, "I'm not ready to go home just yet."

00

Cuddy sat in her lounge room, staring out into space, the TV playing softly in the background. Anna had long since gone to bed, and as much as she wanted to, Cuddy felt she couldn't sleep. When she had peeked in to check on Anna, she had found her fast asleep, and feeling a deep pang of guilt, gently pulled the blankets snugly up around her neck, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, before heading out to the lounge room.

And so she sat, staring out into nothingness, wishing she had someone to talk to. She would call her old friend Susan, but she was unreachable on a trip away with her husband. She really needed to just vent right now.

00

Chase pressed Emily against the closed apartment door, kissing a trail down her neck. She ran her fingers through his hair before pushing his jacket off his shoulders. He reached for the button of her waistcoat and undid it, pulling away from her only momentarily so that he could slip it off her. Before he could press her back against the door she took his hand with a smile and lead him away. She stop within an instant however, as she realised she had no idea where she was going. They both let out a laugh before Chase pointed in the direction of the bedroom, and she led him in. She then turned to face him and smiled as he came towards her, a hungry look on his face. He immediately captured her lips with his and wrapped his arms around her body. She ran her hands up and down his back, tugging on the hem of his shirt. He pulled away and she had just finished pulling it swiftly over his head when her pocket vibrated. She jumped slightly in shock, and quickly enough her ringtone began to sound. She groaned as she recognised the preset.

"Ignore it," Chase mumbled, moving his lips to her neck and kissing up to her chin.

"I can't," came her muffled reply as he took her bottom lip between his. She reached into her pocket, swiftly pulling out the phone and flipping it open, holding it up to her ear.

"Hello," she answered, trying to push away Chase's curious mouth.

"Em, hey," Cuddy said with relief at the other end, "are you still at Bettina's?"

"Ah, yeah," Emily replied, playing along with what must have been Anna's cover story.

"Just watching Pretty in Pink, for what must be the thousandth time," she lied. Chase pulled back slightly, giving her a bit of a puzzled look.

"She really does love that Jon Cryer," Cuddy replied.

"Oh, how was your date?" Emily asked, suddenly remembering, and trying to deflect the conversation from her.

"Well… not well," Cuddy said, upset evident in her voice.

"Oh no! Was he a dud?" Emily continued, urging the conversation to wrap up quickly, as she had an eager Chase nibbling at her earlobe.

"No, he was unable to make it," Cuddy replied, trying to remain casual about the whole affair.

"He stood you up?" Emily gasped sympathetically, causing an eye roll to come from Cuddy on the other end.

"Do you have a minute to chat? I've just had a really crappy night," Cuddy said miserably. Emily hesitated for a minute, trying to choose between the gorgeous half-naked man in front of her, or her mother.

"Umm, I'm really sorry mom, but I can't right now, Bettina is actually in the middle of -"

"Okay," Cuddy replied quickly, cutting her off, Emily quietly thankful that she didn't have to come up with a full blown excuse.

"I'm sorry -"

"No, no, it's… fine," Cuddy dismissed, "I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Night," Emily replied, before hanging up the phone, feeling a little guilty. But only a little.

"Do you always lie to your mother about where you are?" Chase asked, fingers working on the buttons down the front of Emily's top.

"Mmm, only when I'm with sexy almost-naked men," she replied playfully, undoing his belt whilst she lay kisses on his shoulder.

"I don't think I want to know how often that is," he said, slipping the newly unbuttoned top off her shoulders.

"Just Alfredo," she replied flippantly, quickly whipping his belt out from the loops with a wicked smile. Chase immediately stopped and took a half a step back.

"Alfredo?" he asked, eyebrows raised in surprise, "Your mom's ex-handyman?"

"Yeah," she replied simply, moving her hands back to the waist of his pants.

"Woah. Does she know about this?" he asked, still disbelievingly.

"No," she scoffed, "and I'll thank you not to tell her."

"When?" he asked, stepping back from her grasp. She let out an annoyed sigh. She could see they weren't going to get anywhere until she divulged all the details.

"When I was about 16 and a half until I left for California," she replied quickly.

"Two years!"

"No! More like a year and a bit. Well, that's how long we were… you know, doing it for. Not constantly for a year because like, that'd be a LOT of sex and wouldn't really leave any time for -"

"Just, stop there," Chase said, cutting off her babbling. "Was he…"

"My first? Yes," she replied quickly, "and we only ever had a casual thing going. Now can we stop talking about previous intimacies and focus on this one?"

Chase let a smile creep onto his face, as he pulled her towards him by the waist. "Okay."

"Good. Cos you're kinda cramping my style here," she replied with a grin, letting his lips brush against hers.

"Sorry," he apologised, kissing along her jaw line.

"I'll have you know I don't normally put out this much on a first date," she added.

"Do you normally talk this much?" he asked with a hint of playful annoyance, devouring her neck.

"Well someone usually shuts me up," she replied, unbuttoning his pants.

"Your wish is my command," he grinned, before engulfing her lips in his.

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A/N: And there you go. Hope you enjoyed! Be sure to review on your way out…

Coming up next… Emily makes an interesting discovery in Chase's bathroom, and Cuddy whips out an old classic…