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"What are we going to tell House?" Cuddy asked over the phone, speaking to Thirteen as she hurried into Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital to put in a few hours before the night was out.
"What do you mean?" If there's one thing Thirteen didn't want House to know about, it was their relationship. She thought that's what Cuddy was asking.
"About your morning absence," Cuddy said, throwing open the entrance doors to the lobby.
Thirteen would've said something back, but chatter on Cuddy's end stopped her. Thirteen guessed it was Nurse Brenda who called Cuddy over once she was in the clinic.
"We have a problem." Thirteen heard Brenda's voice.
"Is it House related?" Cuddy asked after a small groan.
"Actually…yes, surprise, surprise. He stole the TV out of the lounge and locked the door behind him so none of us could get in."
"Well, um, Brenda, have you ever heard of a key?" Cuddy didn't mean to sound so haughty, but when it came to House, no one seemed to be on the ball and always looked to Cuddy for help.
"Uh, yeah, if there was one. He changed the locks so now only he has a key."
"He changed locks. Unbelievable," Cuddy muttered. "Why would he lock the lounge up behind him if he already took the TV? And how did you come to know about it anyway?"
"They told me to tell you when you came in. Don't shoot the messenger, Dr. Cuddy." She had to stick up for herself when it looked like Cuddy wanted to take it out on her.
Cuddy sighed.
"What did House do?" Thirteen, who was listening to the conversation the entire time, was still a little confused.
Cuddy tried the doors to her office. If they were unlocked, House was in there. To her surprise, it was locked. House wasn't in there as he said he was.
Cuddy entered her office and threw the lights on. "Nothing. He's just being House. I'm not shocked."
"You know, he only does these things to get you going."
"Yeah, it's probably a cheap thrill for him or something," Cuddy said, tossing her bag onto her desk.
"I think he likes you."
Cuddy scoffed. "Yeah, well, too bad, I'll never like him."
"You've got someone else on your mind, right?" Thirteen said, gleam in her tone.
Cuddy laughed lightly. "True. Which takes me back to my original question…how are you going to explain your absence without hinting that we were together?"
"I'll say I was sick."
"Come on, he won't fall for that," Cuddy said, taking a seat at her desk and coming face to face with the folder that House said was on her desk. It made her wonder if he was really in here or not.
"He won't fall for anything except for the truth, Lisa."
"That's another thing, when you're at the hospital, don't call me Lisa. There's nothing that will catch House's ears than me being called by my first name, especially by you." Cuddy opened the folder and saw Thirteen's picture first before any of the other documents. House couldn't have known that if he weren't here.
"No kidding. I'm not that dumb. I wouldn't have given that up."
A small smile came to Cuddy's face.
"I'll be in tomorrow. I still got the cough," she said and feigned a cough on the line.
Cuddy laughed. "Okay, Remy."
"Oh, and Cuddy, be sure to call me Dr. Hadley at the hospital. Wouldn't want House to suspect anything, would we?" she joked.
"That's true." Cuddy leaned back into her chair and put her legs up onto her desk, but froze in the middle of doing so. "Oh god."
"What?" Thirteen asked.
Figures House would know that she was back and come down to bother her. Cuddy straightened herself out at her desk and put away the folder of Thirteen in her top drawer before House opened the door and limped inside.
"How's my favorite…woman?" he asked, putting on a dumb smile.
"House, can this wait? I'm on an important call," she said, trying to look busy.
"With who? Your MRI man? The one who wanted to jump in the sack with you?"
Cuddy's eyes went wide. "What?"
House stepped closer. "Mr. Byers. He has a reputation. I'm sure you knew that."
"I'll call you back," Cuddy said to Thirteen on the phone and hung up when she got a response. She glared at House. "It was you who cancelled my meeting, wasn't it?"
House shrugged. "Maybe. Or it could've been Cameron. The little witch is stoned again."
Cuddy threw her hands over her face. House grinned smugly.
"God, House…" she groaned in her hands.
"Well, it was either that or some jackass taking advantage of you," he said, acting like he cared.
"What do you care?" Cuddy asked, removing her hands from her face. "I thought you wanted to be the Dean of Medicine."
"I did…but then I realized I would have too much work to do."
Cuddy rolled her eyes. It was hard not to crack a smile. "Right."
"You're not going to reschedule with that jerk, are you?"
House did sound like he cared, which was a huge step up for him. Cuddy admired that, but instead of praising him, she wanted to tease him about it. It's not like it'll ever happen again, so might as well have some fun with it.
"Why wouldn't I? He's willing to give the hospital a free MRI scanner and it's my job to be sure that the hospital gets what it needs, right?"
Cuddy sounded professional and that worried House.
"In fact, I'll give him a call as soon as you leave."
House paused. He appeared as if he were frozen, eyes staring at Cuddy.
"What?" she asked when the staring got a little creepy.
"You're an idiot if you do it, Cuddy," he said, sounding genuine this time. It wasn't an act. Not a lot of people saw House's serious side. Cuddy wasn't very familiar with it and it took her by surprise.
"What do you care what I do with my body, House?" Cuddy leaned back into her chair and took in this moment.
House blanched. He lowered his eyes to the ground. "Because you never sleep with someone to achieve what you want. You've always been against that." He looked back up at her again, narrowing his eyes. "You must've known that's what he was after. You didn't sound too shocked when I told you."
Cuddy threw her hands in the air. "Of course I knew that's what he was after, House. I didn't know until the meeting was canceled and he practically bit my head off about it. How did you know about him? That's not something that gets tossed around in casual conversations."
"It doesn't matter. I know people."
"So why are you just now telling me about it? Why let me go all the way there, just to come back empty handed?"
House didn't say anything. Cuddy rolled her eyes and stood up from her desk. "You had Cameron call to pretend to be me, didn't you?" She came around to the front of her desk. "That's how you found out about Byers."
House shook his head. "No, I had Thirteen call."
Cuddy frowned. "Thirteen? How?"
"This morning when she came in."
Cuddy's frown remained. How was that possible? Thirteen was with her this morning!
"Aha!" House shouted suddenly, causing Cuddy to jump. He pointed at her, grinning. "She was with you, wasn't she?" His eyes lit up like silver dollars. "That's why she didn't show up today." House suddenly looked love stricken. "Your little storybook fantasy come to life. Did she surprise you with flowers and candy? Maybe some bondage toys?"
"You're an ass," Cuddy said, walking around to the back of her desk and taking a seat. "Nothing happened, if you must know."
"Yeah, right, someone just hops a plane for no reason just to show up at a hotel to see their boss for no reason. Something happened. Your face is glowing. I know that look on you. It's the look only you get after you've had sex. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I know about it."
House was practically sitting on the idea about them. There was no point to try to defend herself now. House knows everything. Cuddy knew she didn't help it much by falling into his trap. He made it so her mind was set on him being concerned about her and then he opens to something about Thirteen while she was busy being stunned that he actually cared about her well-being. He probably knew about Byers all along!
"Why do you care so much about what goes on in my life? It's not like it has anything to do with you."
"Actually, it does. I'm not going to have a lovestruck fellow on my team."
"She's not lovestruck," Cuddy said, reaching into her drawer to pull out a report she was working on the previous day and planned to finish it. "She has a crush. It's very cute, I might add, but I'm not interested."
"And you told her this?"
Cuddy nodded. "She came to my room, I told her that her actions were very inappropriate, she left, and I haven't seen her since."
House hummed. Cuddy was worried that he didn't buy it. The smile on his face told her he didn't. He knew exactly what happened between them this morning. However it came to be, he didn't know that, but he did know the basics, and they definitely had sex.
"How did she do it? Slow? Fast? If I remember correctly, and I think I do, you like it fast."
"Go away," she growled.
House ignored her. "But then again, you could've changed in twenty years. Do you like it slow now?"
Cuddy slammed both hands on the top of her desk, but not hard. Her eyes shot daggers at House. "Too bad for you you'll never find out, now get out of my office."
House started to whine. "Why can't I know? You'll sleep with some stranger, but not with me. That's not fair."
"I wasn't going to sleep with him, House!" she said loudly, wishing he would drop it. "I would've found another way. And you are definitely out of the question."
"Why is that?" he asked, speaking sincerely again, stepping closer to the front of Cuddy's desk. He laid both hands on the surface. "You're a Taurus, Cuddy. All they think about are food and sex. How do you ever manage to get along so well without either of those things?"
"Maybe because I'm not your average Taurus, House. What's your excuse?" she muttered, reaching for a nearby pen.
"Oh, snap!" He turned his back towards her, apparently about to leave. Cuddy looked up from her documents, only moving her eyes. She hoped that's what he was planning on doing.
"You know…I would hate to fire Thirteen because of something like this. What would you say if I did?" He turned back around to face her. Cuddy was busy flipping through pages.
"Do what you want," she said, not seeming interested. "I don't care. It won't affect me one way or the other. Get out."
House smirked. "Doesn't sound like you don't care. I never pictured you a…what's the right word…" House looked pensive for a moment.
"Shut up!" Cuddy said, stopping him before he said something around the area of a lesbian, but probably a much dirtier slang.
"I always wondered why you never had boyfriends for longer than a day. And then you were with that girl Candy what's-her-face back at Michigan. I always knew you both were more than friends!" This was a game to House and he knew he was winning, because he grew happier and happier with each passing word. His face was glowing with pride. The further he went with this, the angrier Cuddy grew. Her hand gripped so hard around the pen that her knuckles turned white. Usually House knew when to stop, or grew bored and left. He didn't know when to stop here and Cuddy just about lost it.
"House, I'm serious, if you don't get out right now, you're fired." Cuddy spoke dangerously low, using a tone that would scare any one of her employees.
"Yes, ma'am." House mocked a salute and reached around for the handle of the door to leave when the door was suddenly flung open, smacking into him.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed, looking to see who had nearly run him over. She didn't look familiar.
"Are you Lisa Cuddy?" the young woman asked Cuddy, stopping half way into the room.
"Yeah, who are you?" Cuddy wasn't exactly in a good mood, thanks to House, so her approach to the unfamiliar woman wasn't kind.
The beautiful blonde didn't seem to mind that Cuddy's attitude was raw, for she didn't look as if she were here for pleasantries. She turned her head back to look at House. "Would you mind excusing us?"
House was a little creeped by this girl and did as she ordered without speaking back. He left Cuddy's office, eyes wide. However, when he was outside the door in the clinic lobby, he couldn't help but peek in. Any form of gossip or drama, he wanted to know firsthand. He couldn't hear anything through closed doors, but physical action was good enough. He'd make up his own words as they went along.
"Look, I'm really busy here. What's this in regards to?" she asked, looking past the girl and to House, narrowing her eyes. Figures he'd want to know what was going on.
"Remy," the woman said, folding her arms.
Cuddy's eyes went wide. There's only one person who would be here about Thirteen. "You're Lexi?"
"Yeah, I am," Lexi said, bearing a bit of an attitude. "I know I don't have the fancy office or the cool job with the six figure sum a year, but that gives you no reason to steal Remy from me."
Cuddy was more amused at this than anything. Her face sank into a huge frown. She chuckled. "Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but I think you should take it up with her, not me."
"You're the reason she's not with me anymore, so I will take it up with you. Either you break it off with her, or something will happen to someone you love."
Cuddy's eyes went wide at the sudden threat. Nothing like being bold and blunt to stir up a conversation!
"I'm guessing you like that guy that just left here." She turned only her head around to the lobby. House was still there, staring in and being nosy, having no idea his life was just threatened. "Is his life really worth you staying with Remy?"
House looked through the glass more intently now that Lexi looked back at him. He knew they were talking about him and frowned. Cuddy half expected him to come back in because of it. She was relieved when he didn't. It was unusual for House to obey. There couldn't have been a better time for it.
"I would like you to leave…right now, or I will call security," Cuddy said, voice nearly caught in her throat.
Lexi didn't budge. She leaned on one of the chairs in front of Cuddy's desk. Cuddy watched her carefully, as if she was expecting Lexi to pull out a knife or something. "You know, I've been arrested for a lot of things, but never for murder. Remy won't come back to me, but at least she'll be away from you."
Cuddy's heart speed kicked up a notch. She hadn't realized her mouth was dropped until Lexi left her office. She would've called security, but she couldn't move. Now she understood why Thirteen was the way she was when it came to Lexi. Last night and this morning in Boston, Lexi called Thirteen too many times to count. Somehow she came to find out that Thirteen was away with Cuddy. Lexi was someone that Cuddy didn't want to mess with. She knew that kind. Was House's life really in the balance if she continued to see Thirteen? Was this relationship worth all the hassle and strain? Cuddy liked Thirteen a lot, almost to the point of love, but where did her relationship with House play in? She's always had feelings for House and knew he felt the same way for her. It would be safer spending a night with House than spending a night with Thirteen again.
If Lexi was serious, Cuddy knew she couldn't be with Thirteen anymore.
House came back into Cuddy's office, brows close together. "What did she say about me?"
"Nothing," she said, grabbing her cell phone to call Thirteen.
"Oh, it was definitely something. Does she think I'm cute?" he asked, grinning.
"Get out."
"Aww Cud—"
"Get out!" Cuddy yelled, pointing to the door.
House was thrown back. She had never yelled at him like that before and it took him by surprise. She also had never looked so angry and so terrified at the same time. Just what the hell did this girl say to her to get her so freaked?
House turned around and left without another word. He had some investigating to do.
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Cuddy immediately felt bad for yelling at House. Even before he left her office, she felt bad. Why didn't he just listen?! She didn't know what made her the maddest—House being at the wrong place at the wrong time, or him poking his nose where it didn't belong and being so damn importunate. However, it really wasn't about House anymore, it was about Lexi. She had to deal with Lexi before her threat towards House was carried out. She wasn't taking any chances. Flipping open her cell phone, she dialed Thirteen.
"Oh Lisa, I'm so sorry," Thirteen said over the phone when Cuddy told her what happened.
"Is she serious? That's all I want to know," Cuddy said, clenching her fist. "Do I have anything to worry about?"
Thirteen paused. "I don't know…" she said solemnly a moment later. "She never stops until she gets what she wants and will go to the extremes if necessary." Thirteen sighed heavily. "I'm so sorry."
"I know you're sorry, you already said that," Cuddy snapped. "What I want to know is if your psychotic girlfriend is going to be shooting down my hospital and my diagnostician if I continue to see you."
"I don't know!" Thirteen cried helplessly over the phone.
Cuddy sighed angrily. "I don't need this, okay? All we had was one night together and your girlfriend is acting like we eloped. It's—it's not worth it, Remy."
Thirteen got quiet quickly. Cuddy couldn't see it, but Thirteen was breaking into a million pieces. "You're not willing to fight to save our relationship? Does it really mean that little to you?"
Cuddy's mouth dropped. "Remy, you have to understand my situation! I'm working and then all of a sudden, Lexi breaks down my door and threatens lives if I don't stop seeing you! You're wonderful and I like you very much, but I can't compete with a jealous girlfriend, serious or not. I'm sorry."
"You're just using this as an excuse so you don't have to see me again," Thirteen accused. Definite signs of hurt loomed in her voice. "You needed a reason, so what better reason than that of bringing Lexi into the picture."
Cuddy sighed noisily over the phone when Brenda Previn knocked on the outside door and waved to her. Great…something must've happened in the clinic. What else could go wrong today?
"I'd say let's talk later, but she's probably waiting for that," Cuddy muttered, holding up a single finger, telling Brenda to wait a minute.
"No, we will talk later. I'm coming to your place tonight when you get out. You're not splitting up with me over this."
Thirteen hung up the phone before Cuddy could object to anything, or get a simple word out. Since when were they even a couple? As far as Cuddy was concerned, they were just messing around, having fun. Thirteen sounded so furious, as if they were engaged or something! Cuddy had never heard her that angry. Maybe it did do them some good to talk, but could Cuddy really handle a face to face with her after all this?
There was only one way to find out. They had to talk tonight.
For now, Cuddy had a mess in the clinic to deal with. With an audible groan, she picked herself up from the chair and went to see what all the fuss was about.
She stepped out into the clinic lobby and looked around. Everything appeared to be in working order, so what was the problem?
"What's going on?" Cuddy asked Brenda, who was back at her station.
Brenda plopped three individual clipboards side by side on the countertop without a word. Cuddy was worried about the contents of the documents by the way Brenda was acting so serious. They were only outpatient forms for the ICU that needed to be signed right away. Sighing mentally, she signed each of the forms and disappeared back into her office to spend the next few hours of the night.
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Thirteen was already at Cuddy's house, sitting on the stairs by the door, waiting for her when she got home. Cuddy swallowed hard. This was going to be anything but pleasant. She could see it now.
"What, you thought you could just end our relationship with a phone call and never expect to hear from me again?" Thirteen asked, coming to a stand as Cuddy walked up the sidewalk. "Don't you think I deserve better than that?"
Cuddy sighed, not looking up at the young woman who traveled on her heels. She fiddled with her keys and opened the front door. "Not now. This has been a very long and stressful day and I just want to go to bed."
"I don't care, you're going to listen to me," Thirteen said firmly, following her inside the house against her wishes. "I know we weren't together for long, but that gives you no right to give up on us!"
Cuddy couldn't remember having a significant other that was nearly as unyielding as Thirteen was.
"Don't you ever give up?" she asked, defeated, tossing her keys and purse onto a nearby end table.
"No, but I can see that you do," Thirteen punched back, folding her arms and shifting all the weight onto her right leg as she leaned. "Do you always just throw away people you sleep with if they come with rough circumstances? It's a wonder you live a stress-free life."
Cuddy spun to her. "Remy, you like me, I get it, but like goes both ways. Right now, it's one-sided and I'm sorry."
"You're only saying that because of Lexi," Thirteen said, voice almost failing. Words couldn't describe how much those words out of Cuddy's mouth had hurt her.
"I'm saying it because I mean it," Cuddy lied, but kept a very firm facial expression.
"So you always let yourself be fucked by people you don't like?" Even though Cuddy's words were a knife through the heart, she decisively fought back. "You could get anyone you want, Lisa, but you chose someone that worked for you, and a woman, no less, which could lead to some very big problems. Either you like complicated, or you're very stupid. You like me and it's tearing you to shreds to have to say goodbye."
"No, it's not," Cuddy said assertively. "I meant what I said. Get out of my house or I'll fire you."
Cuddy evidently was great at hiding how she felt, because she played this out wonderfully. She kicked her shoes off, but before she could leave the room, Thirteen grabbed onto her wrist firmly and didn't let go. Cuddy didn't bother to fight it, either. Her eyes met Thirteen's with the same amount of urgency as the young woman looked at her with.
Without a word, their lips met. It was all Thirteen's doing, but Cuddy didn't pull away. Thirteen made sure to deliver every ounce of passion she could in that one kiss. She wanted to keep the customer coming back for more.
"Still want me to leave?" Thirteen whispered in her bedroom voice, lips just inches away from Cuddy's.
Kissing Thirteen was incredible. Cuddy had a lot of partners in the past and none of them could match up to Thirteen as far as kissing was concerned. To be cliché, it firmly took her breath away. Nothing seemed to exist for an entire minute. She couldn't think, she couldn't breathe, and she could barely see straight. She had no idea how Thirteen did it, but she did.
Even though Cuddy's mind was cloudy, and her body felt as if it were going to give out beneath her, she still remembered Lexi. The girl had a criminal record and did just about every crime under the sun, except for murder. Cuddy wanted Thirteen in every shape, way, and form. How it came to be that, she had no idea. It was one of those things where you know someone simply as an acquaintance, and then you wake up one morning, suddenly wanting to get to know the person and would go to any length to do so. Some would call it a crush; some would call it an obsession. Cuddy wasn't sure what it was.
She wanted to experience Thirteen's wonderful kisses all night while curled up in her arms as they shared her bed. As tempting as that sounded…Cuddy had to abstain.
"You have to go," she said regretfully. "Please…"
She remembered Lexi's threat. If she didn't break it off with Thirteen, someone she loved would die. She didn't know if Lexi was just saying that or not, but didn't want to take any chances. She wanted Thirteen and everything she had to offer. It took a lot of strength of will to tell her to leave. Her not being able to let go of Thirteen's hand had said it all. Her eyes begged her to stay.
Thirteen made a promise that she'd talk to Lexi. She reached in to kiss Cuddy once more. Cuddy kissed back with so much demand, it was almost as if she were never going to see Thirteen again. When they pulled back, a single tear fell from Cuddy's eye. Thirteen immediately traced the tear line with the tip of her finger. Cuddy closed her eyes, letting out a small, emotional based sigh.
"She won't keep us apart," Thirteen promised.
Cuddy nodded. "I know…I know." She dried the rest of her tears herself.
There were no more words exchanged between the two. Their eyes met, exchanging wordless conversation. A small smile of hope on Thirteen's face made Cuddy smile. People will go through anything for love and not be deterred by the pull that struggles to separate them. Cuddy and Thirteen were the prime example. Whatever power brought them together is something so strong that that the unbending force against them is having a hard time breaking them apart. Lexi was up for a serious challenge.
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"Welcome back," House said to Thirteen when he stepped into his outer office two hours late the next morning. Kutner, Taub, and Foreman were also in there, talking about their current patient without House. "Sick day yesterday?"
He hooked his cane over the top of the whiteboard and grabbed a marker. It would appear that he wasn't looking for Thirteen to answer the question, but when he was situated, his eyes widened at her, waiting for an answer. "Well?"
"Yeah, a sick day," Thirteen said and then got to business. "Twenty-five year old female with a skin condition."
"Skin condition? Can you be more specific?" House asked sarcastically.
"She has raised growths all over her body," Thirteen answered back tightly and then spoke to the rest of the room normally. "She's addicted to tanning, even though she denies it. She noticed a pigmented lesion on her back a few months ago, but didn't say anything. Now, they're all over her back."
"So now's the perfect time to say something when you're about to die," House said, readying himself at the whiteboard. "Symptoms?"
"We don't know if she's going to die, House."
"Symptoms!" he repeated, but louder.
"Itching, inflammation, and redness around the lesions," Kutner informed. "Bleeding, and increasing size."
House scribbled them down. "That's it? And you people get paid the big bucks?"
"And you get paid more to figure it out," Thirteen countered.
"Ouch! Someone's been hanging around Cuddy too long."
Thirteen's cheeks reddened. All the eyes on her were making her nervous.
"Is he serious?" Kutner asked when Thirteen didn't shout anything back to him or stick up for herself.
"Since when do you hang with Cuddy?" Taub put in.
"Since never!" Thirteen denied. "Do you think we can focus here, or do you all want a full report on who I slept with last night too?"
House's eyes lit up. "Hell yeah! How's my boss in bed? Is she as wild and sexy as she is at work? Does she have that high pitched scream when she comes?"
"I didn't mean Cuddy!" Thirteen exclaimed, trying to focus his attention on something else." Come on, House, you know Cuddy better than anyone, do you really think she'd be stupid enough to risk it all to sleep with me?"
A low growl rumbled in House's throat. "Hard to say, but I'm guessing yes. Cuddy is just full of delicious surprises."
"Well then you guessed wrong. How about we get a skin biopsy to determine if the lesion is cancer?"
House hummed again. "Quick to change the subject, redness of the cheeks, a half smile every time Cuddy's name is mentioned, yeah, it's definitely a yes."
Thirteen glared at House, but it didn't bother him a bit. He just continued, "do that skin biopsy."
No one moved. The three were very interested on why House pressed on about Thirteen and Cuddy. If it were a joke, he would've let it go a while ago, not keep it up. All eyes were on Thirteen again, making her feel uneasy. Dead silence fell throughout the room.
"Were you really in Boston yesterday?" Kutner finally asked.
"Oh, my god, seriously." Thirteen rocketed out of her chair and fled the room in under three seconds. So much for not wanting everyone to find out. Of course, House had to find out! Thirteen fumed, taking it out on the floor beneath her as she stomped to the elevators in a huff. She didn't care where she went, as long as she was away from House. She was quickly losing what was left of the respect she had for him.
How did he find out anyway? She was sure that Cuddy didn't tell him.
Dammit! House always knew everything! It was so hard to keep something a secret. And now the whole hospital will know that their Dean is messing around with Dr. House's female fellow. Thirteen wasn't so concerned with herself; she was more concerned on what this would do to Cuddy. She didn't want Cuddy to be ruined for life because House is a major ass.
Thirteen impatiently pressed the button to the elevator five seconds after pressing it the first time.
When it finally came, she suddenly realized she didn't want it. Instead, she'd rather go cry in the corridor where the access stairs were. And that's just what she did. Since she was already on the top floor, there wasn't anyone on the stairwell leading up to the roof. That would give her some privacy and time to think about hers and Cuddy's situation.
Thirteen didn't want to be selfish and she'd be very selfish if she never let Cuddy go and everyone started to talk. Not only was everyone in the hospital a problem, Lexi was a bigger problem. She wouldn't be surprised if that's how House found out was by Lexi's big mouth. She'd do anything to ruin what happiness Thirteen and Cuddy had together.
Thirteen sat on the stair closest to the roof and immediately brushed a tear away.
"That's right, coward, run. Run away and expect things to get better," Thirteen scolded aloud to herself.
Things weren't going to get better. They were only going to get worse.
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"Are you okay, Dr. Cuddy?" Brenda asked as Cuddy dropped all the clinic charts from the bin accidentally onto the floor.
"Yeah, fine," she snapped, grabbing them from the floor and placing them harder than expected back into the bin. She took the top one and looked it over. Of course, it was House's turn to do clinic duty, but ducked out yet again just at the time he was needed the most. The clinic was backed up because of him. Cuddy knew she could easily assign someone else to take over. Most of her staff jumped to her command without question. And then there was House who laughed at her every command. Either he was an ignorant jerk, or he knew that Cuddy wasn't really that strict and deliver the proper punishment. She just came across that way. Those who saw her as an authoritive figure respected the fact that she was their boss and did what she said. Right now, she could use one of those people.
"Call one of House's lackeys and get them down here. I don't have time for this. Never mind, I'll do it myself," she said and marched to the elevator to take it to the fourth floor. If she found House first, she wasn't taking it easy on him this time. She lets him get away with far too much.
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Cuddy barged into House's office to find him bouncing the oversized tennis ball against the wall.
"Clinic, now," Cuddy demanded. She was heated.
"Nope," he said, tossing the ball in the air. "Got a case."
"In which I see you working so hard to solve," she said sardonically. "House, I'm seriously not in the mood today, and when I say seriously, I mean it."
House seized playing with the ball. "Yeah, I saw that yesterday when you almost bit my head off. You weren't like this until after that girl came to your office. You both were talking about me. Did she say something about me to upset you?"
"I'm not getting into this right now, just go do your clinic duty," Cuddy ordered strongly, not faltering, even in House's presence.
"I'll make you a deal." He stood from behind his desk. "You tell me who she was and what you guys were talking about, and I'll go do clinic duty for the rest of the day."
That would probably be the only way to get House downstairs. As tempting as it sounded, Cuddy didn't want to release Lexi's threat to anyone, not even the person it was directed to.
"House, if you ever one day become my superior, by all means, you can make deals with me and tell me what to do, but right now, I own you, and you do as I say. Go do your clinic duty, or you're fired, do you understand?" Cuddy's voice was a no-bullshit tone. Her eyes shot daggers.
House chuckled, despite Cuddy's unexplained anger. He sat back in his chair and got comfortable. "Sorry, boss, I'm going to have to decline."
"Then you're fired," Cuddy said immediately, not leaving much time for thought. Her mind wouldn't let her think. She wanted things done and now. A pissed off Cuddy isn't something to be seen a lot, but when the untamed tiger gets away from its trainer, everyone's at risk, even the great Dr. House. "Pack up your stuff and go home."
House's mouth hung open as his eyes widened a slight centimeter. He wasn't planning for Cuddy to actually say it. She's threatened him before. Once a day, actually, but never did she verbally tell him he was fired and to go home. House knew she meant it this time. The flames in her eyes told him so. Whatever pissed her off is making her take it out on everyone around her.
Cuddy spun on her heels to leave the office.
"What the hell was that?!" House demanded just as Cuddy was two seconds away from leaving. He half expected her to change her mind.
"It's me putting my foot down." She looked over her shoulder at him. "I've had it."
"You've had it," he repeated in a bit of a scoff. "Yeah, Cuddy, you're just one deprived little supervisor, aren't you?" He grabbed his cane and limped over to her. Her back was turned towards him, shoulders slouched as she stared at the ground beneath her. "At least I'm not the one running around this hospital, firing people for no good reason."
"You're defiant, you don't listen to authority—"
"And all of a sudden this is a problem for you? How long have I been working here? Nine years? If I remember right, in those nine years, I've been doing what I've always been doing."
"Which is nothing!" Cuddy finally turned to him.
"I save lives! What the hell do you do all day?! Oh wait, I know, go around fucking Thirteen!" Now House was angry. He had the same flames burning in his eyes that she did. This could get very nasty if it came down to it.
Cuddy's face fell for two reasons – one, he was yelling at her, and two, he mentioned Thirteen.
"I think before you evaluate me, maybe you should try to figure yourself out. Call me when that happens. I'm sure you'll be wanting to give me my job back."
He limped out of his office, leaving Cuddy at a standstill. He always found a way to make this her fault. Never did he think for a second that it was his fault he was fired. He tried to make her feel guilty and won in the end. This time, Cuddy wasn't feeling guilty. She was still angry. And it all started with dropping files in the clinic and House not showing up for clinic duty. Heaven forbid someone else give her grief today. If she had the nerve to fire House, imagine what she could do to someone else of a lesser title.
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Don't worry, House doesn't stay fired! I don't want anyone angry with me! And there will be some great femslash in the next chapter as well! Of course, Cuddy and Thirteen still being together doesn't make Lexi very happy. For those of you who have jealous exes who don't seem to stop, you know all about it. She finally comes forth also, so you won't wanna miss the next one! Reviews are always welcome! :)