A/N: Holy Moly on the reviews! Thanks guys! Knowing people are enjoying this gives me motivation to write it. I always write an authors note before I start a fic/chapter and when I finish one just to update you guys on where I plan to go with the fic. To be honest, not even sure where this chapter is going to go! Hopefully, it's what you guys want to see. As always my disclaimer is I don't own this. If I did Cuddy would have been in Season 8 and there would be a Season 9 premiere this fall. Clearly I don't own anything. Plus, I own nothing in real life either, it wouldn't be worth it to sue me.
Cuddy woke up disoriented the next morning. She was on the couch, the television was blaring some morning talk show in the background and her head was killing her. She was cold too and couldn't smell anything. Cuddy tried to stand up and got an immediate head rush and sat back down. Definitely a flu bug. She silently congratulated herself for figuring this out last night and canceling her meeting this morning. That mean little boy from the clinic yesterday probably gave her his flu. Not only had the kid tried to bite her when she was checking his throat, he sneezed right in her face when she was checking his eyes and nose. Sometimes Cuddy couldn't blame House for not wanting to deal with clinic patients. Speaking of House, she could have sworn he was here at some point last night. Looking around the grocery bag was still on the table with all the contents inside but the brown paper bag full of beer was gone. Cuddy immediately felt a little panic rise in her chest. She hoped House didn't drink all that beer and drive home. Then she remember he had said Wilson dropped him off. If anything Wilson had come back and picked him up, or he was drunk and out wandering the streets and she'd be getting a call from the police any minute.
At that moment a loud crash was heard from the kitchen followed by a very loud "DAMN IT!". Cuddy stood up, ignoring the head rush and wrapped the blanket tightly around her and headed for her kitchen. When she got to the doorway she couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene in front of her, mostly because she didn't really know what that scene was. House turned around, he was covered in flour and other foods which Cuddy wasn't really sure what they were. There were two pots on the stove and some bowls littering the counter and House was shaking his hand around in the air like he burned it or pinched it or something. "What the hell are you doing." Cuddy said noticing her 'th's' were coming out like 'd's'. House gritted his teeth through the pain and answered her question. "I got bored, there's not much to do here so I decided to cook something. Wilson's always talking about how much fun cooking is. It is kind of fun but it's a giant pain in the ass, especially when you burn yourself." House continued to grit his teeth and tried not to curse anymore from the pain. Cuddy had to bite back a laugh. For someone who has been dealing with chronic leg pain for awhile now House sure was a baby when it came to a little burn.
Cuddy walked over to where House was and examined his hand. It was just blistering a little on his middle and pointer fingers, didn't look to be anything too serious. "I have some anti-burn cream in the medicine cabinet and some gauze you can wrap around your fingers." Cuddy left the room fully intending to bring the supplies back to him but House followed her to the bathroom and stood in the doorway. Cuddy applied the burn cream and wrapped his hand up. "What were you making anyway? It smells good but it looks like a disaster out there." House glanced down at the floor, almost looking sheepish about his answer. "Chocolate chip banana pancakes from scratch. That's all you really had ingredients for." Cuddy thought back for a second to all the stuff he had laid out in the kitchen and got a real puzzled look on her face. "You made Chocolate chip banana pancakes with two pots and no frying pan?" Cuddy couldn't even believe this. Wasn't he supposed to be smart? "I couldn't find one so I improvised. That's how I ended up getting burned, on the side of the pot when I tried to flip them." Cuddy shook her head slightly at him and pushed her way out of the bathroom and headed back to the couch with House trailing right behind her like a lost puppy. "Do you wanna at least try the pancakes? I spent a long time on them and even got a war wound." House held up his bandaged hand and pouted behind it in an attempt to make her want to try them. "Fine." Cuddy told him hanging her head and standing back up ready to go to the kitchen. House pushed her shoulder causing her to fall back onto the couch. "Stay here I'll bring them out to you, I have to clean up too. Be back in five minutes."
In a non-sick state Cuddy would be worried about something House had made. She'd also be worried about what "cleaning up" entailed for him, but today she really didn't care. He could burn her whole damn kitchen down and she wouldn't care. Cuddy fished through the couch cushions and found the remote and tried to find something other than talk shows to watch. She settled on TV Land which was running episodes of 'I Love Lucy' right now. Cuddy could barely hear the television though over all the banging coming from the kitchen. House was running around like a madman throwing bowls, pots, spatulas and other assorted things he had used to cook into the sink. Cuddy had a dishwasher but he preferred not to use it. With any luck he would be out of here in a little while and not have to do a single one of those dishes. House grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and placed them on the tray (which he found hiding under the sink) along with two plates of pancakes, a bottle of syrup and utensils. The pancakes honestly didn't look all that bad but House felt nervous for some reason. Possibly because he didn't often cook breakfast for a sick woman and bring it to her on the couch. Was he going soft in his old age? This was so unlike him, but it was Cuddy. Cuddy, who he normally tormented mercilessly, who he usually wouldn't really give a second thought to if he heard she was sick. After their kiss and the night they spent together though, something inside him just kept drawing him to her. Hence the pancakes and him still being in her house after following Wilson's orders yesterday. (Why did he do that anyway, House NEVER listens to Wilson's advice, why start now?)
House tried to convince himself this was all a brilliant ruse to get into Cuddy's party pants. He tried to convince himself that by selflessly nursing her back to health and spending a few nights at her place she'd get sucked into his vortex and sleep with him. Then he could add her to his conquest list. Technically he had already slept with her before back in college, but he hadn't made his conquest list yet ergo it didn't count. House knew that wasn't all this was though. This was Lisa Cuddy. He had felt something for her since the moment he laid eyes on her and just like everything else in his life he made a colossal mess of it and screwed it to hell. He knew these small things, these things so very unlike him, were his way of finally getting back into her good graces and showing her he could be a decent man when he tried even though he was sure to be a huge narcissistic pain in the ass 99% of the time.
House found Cuddy more or less passed out on the couch when he went out there watching 'I Love Lucy' reruns. In essence she looked like crap. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, she wasn't wearing makeup and she was in oversized sweats. Any other girl House would have thought she looked ugly. He really wanted to see Cuddy as ugly, sick as a dog, a rumpled mess on her couch, but he couldn't. Even sick she looked beautiful to him. House sat down on the other end of the couch and Cuddy retracted her feet to make room for him. He took his plate of pancakes and bottle of water off the tray and passed it along to her. She sat up looking suspiciously at the food in front of her. She cut off a small corner and placed it into her mouth. These were undoubtedly the best pancakes she had ever eaten. They may even rival Wilson's walnut pancakes, which he made for her on one occasion when she stayed the night at his and Bonnie's place. Cuddy couldn't help the happy smile that spread across her face while she ate these, they were just that good. House noticed her smile and smiled himself. At least now he knew the food he made wasn't going to kill him instantaneously.
They ate in silence and when they were done House took the tray, plates and utensils back to the kitchen and dumped them in the sink along with everything else and headed back to the living room. Cuddy was taking a dose of decongestant medicine. She made a sour face after she swallowed it and washed the taste away with some water. Cuddy had switched off 'I Love Lucy' In favor of the noon news. A bulletin flashed along the bottom of the screen 'Severe Thunderstorm Warning In Effect For the Princeton - Plainsboro Area'. House inwardly groaned at that. He walked to the window and sure enough dark storm clouds were brewing overhead. A bright flash of lightning lit the sky and was followed by a very loud boom that shook the whole house. Then the power flickered and effectively went out. There was an audible groan from the couch and House walked over to check on Cuddy. "You okay? What hurts?" House asked waiting for a response. "Nothing hurts, I just hate storms and I hate them even more when the power goes out. I have a weather station in the closet and some candles. I'll go get them, at least we'll know what's up with the storm even without the news."
Cuddy found the weather station in the back of the coat closet along with a bag of candles. She retrieved a box of matches from a drawer in the kitchen and headed back into the living room where she found House looking through her CD collection. Cuddy set up the weather station and lit a few of the candles. She watched House browse through her CD collection, pulling each one from it's spot on the shelf and critiquing it. She could only imagine the things he was thinking in his head about her diverse collection. She didn't have to wonder much longer when he started saying his critiques out loud. "NSYNC? Really Cuddy? Are you a pre-teen girl now?" House shook his head shoving the CD back on the shelf and pulling out the next album which was 'The Stranger' by Billy Joel. "Now this is at least decent music." House said before returning it to it's original home. The next disc he pulled out was 'Enjoy the Ride' by Sugarland. "Country Music? Cuddy I never pegged you for a country girl. Do you have cowboy boots stored away somewhere? I guess the proves why you're so good at riding…" House was cut off by Cuddy who wasn't going to sit and take anymore of this.
"House I think you've made fun of my music quite enough for one day. Can't you just sit down and read a book or take a nap or something. I can't babysit you today, I'm not feeling up to it." Cuddy spread out on the couch and tried to relax into the cushions. House walked over to sit at the other end and Cuddy pulled her feet back to make room. This seemed to be an event that was occurring more and more as the day went on. House sat down and stared ahead at the blank television screen. "Moooooooom I'm bored!" House whined after about five seconds of sitting quietly. Cuddy sat up to look at him. He went from looking bored to displaying a devilish smirk on his face within seconds. He looked like the grinch from the cartoon version of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas', the part where he gets a wonderfully awful idea and his face splits into that maniacal grin, House was mirroring that expression. "You know Cuddy, we could play a game." House said, his smile getting wider if that was possible. "House I'm not playing strip poker with you, not now, not ever." Cuddy said giving him the stare down. "Cuddy why would you think I would even ask to play such a thing?" House said feigning innocence. "I just thought we could play a healthy little game of truth or dare."
Cuddy outright laughed at that suggestion. There is absolutely no way she was playing truth or dare with House. He's either try to get information out of her that he could use against her at the worst times or he'd make her do some demeaning dare so that he could talk about it for the rest of her life at the worst times. It was a lose-lose situation and there was no way she was going along with it. "Are you out of your mind? What would make you think I would play truth or dare with you?" House was still displaying his Grinchy smile. "Because you're just as bored as I am and now you're intrigued." House was smiling now, not just because he had a wonderfully awful idea, but because he knew he had won. Cuddy sighed in defeat. "Fine I'll play with you House but I'm laying down ground rules." House made an angry face. "You suck the fun out of everything." He said folding his arms over his chest and acting depressed. "Of course Cuddy you realize rules are meant to be broken."
"Look House I said I'd play but not without ground rules. Take it or leave it." House may have won the battle but he didn't win the war. He knew Cuddy wouldn't back down without setting rules. She liked rules, a big believer in keeping order. House knew that was something about her that would never change no matter how much wining he did so he agreed. "Fine what are your rules your majesty." Cuddy shook her head at him before speaking. "Rule number one. Nothing that involves inappropriate touching. I'm sick and I'm only playing this with you because the power is out. Don't think this is an opportunity to get a freebie or a quickie out of me. Rule number two. Nothing you learn leaves this house. You don't go telling Wilson or the team anything you find out during the course of this game, and you don't get to go around and tell them about the terrible dares you're sure to give me. Finally to go along with rule number two, no one ever finds out we played truth or dare. You not only don't get to spread the information around, you don't even get to tell anyone we played. Less chance for them to ask questions about it and for you to not so subtly hint at things you found out. Those are my conditions, are we playing or not?"
House was a little annoyed at Cuddy. She was sucking all the fun out of truth or dare. What was the point in playing if he couldn't dare her to touch him (or herself) in inappropriate ways and then tell other people about it. But it didn't look like her power was coming back on anytime soon and this gave him something to do. After all like he said, rules were meant to be broken. "Fine Cuddy, I'll abide by your fun-sucking rules. Truth or dare?"
A/N: This chapter is a little short but I wanted to save their truth or dare banter for a chapter all it's own. Hope everyone is still enjoying this. Reviews give me motivation to write more (and faster!) so drop one on your way out! To everyone who's reviewed so far THANK YOU! xoxo
