FOUR

House was busy watching the L Word DVD for the third time when he was interrupted by a knock at his door.

"Unless you have some really good food or happen to be a really hot hooker, I suggest you leave before I call the cops," House shouted sarcastically at the door.

Cuddy couldn't help but laugh when she heard his reply. She knew him too well, so of course she picked up some food before she came over.

"House, It's Cuddy. Open the door."

"Strange, last time I checked, my hookers' name was Bambi, but I guess she could've changed it," House replied as he walked over to the door to let her in. He opened the door loudly and leaned against it for support. Cuddy looked amazing in a simple v-neck sweater and pants; quite different from the expensive skirts and blouses she wore to work everyday. Her dark hair was loosely framing her delicate face and House found himself so lost in those deep, blue eyes that he didn't even notice the bag of Chinese food in her hand.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me all day or are you gonna let me come in?" Cuddy asked him, wondering if it coming over here was a good idea. House just smirked at her and raised his elbow so she could walk under his arm. Cuddy obliged and headed to the kitchen right away, needing to escape from his gaze for a while. She busied herself with dishing up the food and didn't even notice when House entered the room after her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked skeptically. "Did you miss me too much at the hospital and decide to come yell at me here?"

"No. I just wanted to come see how you were doing," she answered casually, handing him his plate and heading back out to the couch to take a seat. "Wanted to make sure you hadn't burned down the apartment yet or injured any neighbors of yours or anything."

He eyed her suspiciously as he took a seat next to her on the couch, but decided to just drop the subject. "Well, you're just in time for episode eleven of the L Word," he said, pointing at the screen. She didn't want to argue with him right now, so she just nodded and turned to watch the show. They ate in silence as they watched the entire episode, both of them just grateful for the company.

"Is this all you ever do during the day now?" Cuddy asked as the credits rolled over the screen and the music played quietly.

"Well. Thanks to my self centered, much-too-perfect boss, I can't go the hospital and harass patients for another five months. So yeah, this is pretty much all I do."

He had said it with a hint of humor, but she couldn't help feeling guilty when she heard it. She looked away quickly before he could notice that it had hurt her, but of course he already had.

"Sorry," he said sincerely, causing Cuddy to immediately look back up at him to see if he was joking. But his eyes showed nothing but sincerity and Cuddy wondered if maybe the L Word was having some sort of strange side effect on him. She gave him a weak smile and then stood up and took their plates to the kitchen. She was busy emptying the plates into the garbage when she noticed a letter from a nearby hospital on top of his counter. She put the plates down and unfolded the letter.

Dr. Gregory House,

We are pleased to have received your application for the Nephrology department at Princeton General Hospital -

Cuddy couldn't read any more of it, the tears in her eyes were clouding her vision. She put the letter back in the envelope and went back to cleaning the dishes. Suddenly, she felt House come into the room and stand behind her, making her heart skip a beat and her cheeks flush. She tried to take a deep breath and regain her composure, but it was much too difficult with him standing so damn close to her. I might as well just get this over with, she thought to herself. I'll ask him about the letter now and then I'll have nothing to worry about, right?

"You're leaving Princeton-Plainsboro," she said quickly, before she could choke on her tears or change her mind. She didn't turn around to look at, just leaned against the counter and stared at the envelope. He took a deep breath and the warmth on the back of her neck made her heart race. Couldn't he move away? Why did he have to stand right there?

"What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to sound clueless about it.

"Don't pretend you don't know," she said, turning around to face him. She picked up the envelope and slammed it against his chest and causing him to stumble backwards a few feet. He winced in pain as she stormed out of the kitchen. Why did he always have to hurt her, dammit. He picked up his cane and moved as quickly as he could so he could explain before she left.

He grabbed her wrist right before she opened the door, making every nerve in her arm dance under his touch. He spun her around so that she could listen to him, but when he saw the hurt in her eyes he was speechless. He had caused her so much pain and she didn't deserve it. Unsure of what to say to her, he simply pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

Cuddy couldn't fight him. She had no desire to fight him. She let herself melt in his arms, somehow managing to find comfort in them despite the rage she felt towards him at the same time. She sobbed into his shoulder, slipped her arms around his waist and held on to him tight, never wanting to let go.