EIGHT

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, drinking their beers, before House finally spoke up.

"So you ready for episode twelve of the L Word?"

"Don't you have anything good to watch?"

"You mean better than hot chicks making out with eachother and ridiculous cat fights? I don't think that's even possible."

Cuddy just sighed and let her head fall back against the couch, noticing how the couch smelled exactly like House.

"So how's my team doing? Have they killed any patients yet?"

"Are you pretending you actually care about them?"

"I'm just curious."
"Right. Well, I put Foreman in charge and they've completely disagreed on the differential for their patient. Foreman wouldn't even let them run their tests. They're better than that. I don't know what's going on with them."

"Put Cameron in charge," House said simply, as if it would solve all the problems.

"What? Last time, you would never have let her take charge. What changed? If you think this is just some lame excuse to get into her pants, I am not letting you."

"Jealous?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Cuddy just let out an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms over her chest, a sign that she was not in a mood to joke around. House couldn't believe how incredibly sexy she looked when she was frustrated. He stared at her intently, waiting for her to say something. "Okay fine, you're not. But Cameron's changed; She's not going to let anything stand in her way from doing what's right. Plus, I would kill to see Chase and Foreman's faces when they hear the news. Priceless."

"Okay whatever. I'll tell them tomorrow. But I am not taking pictures," she said lifting her head up and facing him, suddenly aware of how close he was.

"Killjoy," he said, leaning in closer and challenging her with his stare.

"Hey, you're the completely vindictive and cruel misanthropist here, not me," she snapped back quickly, matching his challenging stare with one of her own. They both just tried to stare each other down for what seemed like forever, when eventually Cuddy couldn't help but laugh. She looked up and saw a grin on his face too. It was like one of those staring contests that everyone had as children; eventually both of them would end up laughing so that it didn't even matter who won anymore.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. House just ignored it and took a sip of his beer, still trying to hide a smile.

"House. I know you're in there. I'm coming in, okay?"

Before House could protest, he heard a key slide into the door and unlock it. Seconds later, Wilson was standing in the doorway looking at him. He was shocked. Why was Cuddy here? And why were they sitting so close? And was House actually smiling? He suddenly felt like he was intruding on something and really didn't want House to lecture him about it the next day.

"I just came to drop off your vicodin," Wilson said, tossing him a full bottle of the pills. "So, I'll see you later then."

"How kind of you, Jimmy," House replied and Wilson knew that he wasn't talking about the vicodin. He really was enjoying himself and as much fun as him and Wilson had together, Wilson could tell he didn't want him to stay. "See you later."

Wilson just gave a wave to the two of them and walked back out the door, leaving them alone once again. House looked back at Cuddy and noticed a bemused expression on her face.

"I thought you said he wasn't dropping off your vicodin lately," she said with a questioning look.

"Everybody lies," he answered simply, and without any thought he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.