A/N 1 I know I promised no angst. House had other plans. It's not too bad and it does serve a purpose for moving towards future Huddy happiness.
A/N 2 Several people have asked where I got the idea for the new house. I decided to let them have my dream house. It is a combination of two sets of house plans I found on-line and my fertile imagination. You can see the pictures at houseplans(dot)bhg(dot)com. Click on Find A Plan and then search for 5311 (The Northcutt) and 6774 (The Harrisburg.)
[H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H]
Lisa Cuddy pulled into her reserved spot and turned off the engine. She looked through the windshield and sighed. This was her first day back to work and she really did not want to be here. She dreaded the chaos that surely awaited her.
The week off with House and Rachel had spoiled her. They had slept late every day. House and his eager assistant had cooked breakfast and they had used the gift certificates for dinner each night. On Wednesday, Bonnie had called to let them know that their offer on the house had been accepted. Marina had kept Rachel on Thursday while Cuddy accompanied House to his appointment at Mayfield. Friday, they had gone back to the new house to take measurements. Then they had spent Friday night and Saturday at House's apartment watching television, playing the piano, and just hanging around being lazy.
Now it was time to get back to real life and Lisa Cuddy found that she resented the intrusion. House had received a call from Foreman earlier. He had headed to the hospital while Cuddy was still putting on her makeup. Rachel had woken up in a cranky mood that descended to full tantrum mode when she realized her daddy was already gone. Marina had been late and then Cuddy's car wouldn't start. Cuddy sighed again and grabbed her purse and her bag. She slid out of House's car and shut the door. Thankfully, he had left his keys on the bar. So far, that had been the only thing that had gone right.
Cuddy smiled as she walked past the orange motorcycle that occupied the handicapped spot next to the front entrance. She slowed and ran a hand over the leather seat. Maybe one day soon she would finally let him take her for a ride. She entered the sliding doors and was immediately accosted by Connie, the head nurse, who was currently doubling as her assistant.
"Dr. Cuddy, it's good to have you back." Connie handed her a stack of message slips. "Dr. Wilson said he would be down at 8:30 to catch you up on last week. Mr. Wells called. He wants to meet with you at 9:00. The Board meeting has been rescheduled to 10:00. Tom from Maintenance called. He said it will cost eight thousand to repair the damage to autopsy."
Cuddy stopped shuffling through the messages. "What damage to autopsy?"
Connie's lips twitched. "There was a small fire."
Cuddy hung her head and sighed. "Let me guess… the Diagnostics Department, right?"
"Yes, ma'am." Connie managed not to smile.
"Call Tom and tell him to take the funds out of House's budget. I'm sure Tom has the account number memorized." Cuddy picked up her briefcase. "Is there anything else?"
"Nothing that can't wait." Connie smiled. "It really is good to have you back."
"Thanks, Connie." Cuddy turned and strode around the front desk. She didn't notice the blue-eyed stalker who was watching her from a spot in the clinic.
Cuddy was several feet from her office when she noticed something was different. It took a few seconds for the change to register. The lettering etched into the glass had been altered to read, "Dr. Lisa Cuddy-House." Cuddy stopped and ran her fingers over the name and the diamonds in her engagement ring sparkled in the light. She smiled and looked around quickly enough to catch a glimpse of a cane as House ducked behind a wall. She silently vowed she wouldn't give him too much grief over this.
Cuddy opened the door and stopped at the sight. A bouquet of red roses sat on top of her desk. A bouquet of pink roses was sitting on the coffee table. She dropped her purse in her desk chair and pulled the card from the red roses. The message written in his messy scrawl simply said, "Mrs. House, I love you." She crossed to the other bouquet and removed that card. The writing was his but the message from Rachel said, "Mommy, I love you." Cuddy pressed the cards to her chest and smiled. Her day had suddenly gotten a lot better.
[H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H]
At 11:30, Greg House was sitting with his feet propped on his desk. He rolled his red and gray tennis ball between his palms as he studied the file that was laying on his long, blue jean clad legs. Foreman and Chase were sitting in the chairs in front of the desk. Both younger doctors seemed to be mesmerized by the light glinting off of House's wedding band. Taub was sitting on the footstool to the Eames chair and Wilson was leaning against the bookcase. They had all remained silent while House tried to make sense of the patient's deteriorating condition. House looked up when the door to his office flew open.
"House, have you completely lost your mind?" Cuddy strode across the office and slapped a file folder on his desk. The Dean of Medicine placed her hands palms down on the desktop and leaned over to glare at her Head of Diagnostics. "You can't honestly expect me to allow you prescribe Thalidomide to a twelve year-old."
"Not anymore." House spoke to the ample chest that was at eye-level and that was spilling out of a very low cut blouse. "It's not Multiple Myeloma."
"House?" Cuddy waited until his blue eyes rose to meet hers. "The parents are angry. They want an update."
"So, yell at Foreman. I've only been here for four hours. Miracles take time. Or better yet, yell at Wilson. She was his patient first," House replied and then leaned to the right and frowned. "Chase, quit staring at my wife's ass. The three of you, go do a contrast MRI and find what you geniuses missed the first time."
Cuddy whipped around and glared at the young Australian who was turning a deep shade of crimson. Chase mumbled an apology and the team members beat a hasty retreat. House looked and Wilson and raised an eyebrow.
"I'll go talk to the parents." Wilson quickly headed for the door.
Once they were alone, House tossed the patient file on his cluttered desk and smiled at Cuddy. "So, you got time for lunch?"
"Barely." Cuddy watched as House grabbed his cane and stood. "I have meetings all afternoon."
House rounded the desk and stopped to kiss her. "Let's go. I didn't have breakfast. You know how cranky I get when I'm hungry."
"And, that's different from your usual level of crankiness, how?" Cuddy smiled and followed him from the office.
House stopped in the hallway to take her hand. "My usual level of crankiness is directly related to the level of stupidity around me. Low blood sugar makes it worse."
Cuddy waited until they were in the elevator before she responded. "Speaking of cranky…Rachel threw a fit this morning when she woke up and found out you were already gone."
House ignored the other occupants in the elevator who were staring at their clasped hands. "I'm sorry. I figured the melt down would have been worse if I woke her up early. You know how erratic my schedule is when I have a case. This won't be the last time."
"Just talk to her tonight. You're better at explaining things on her level." Cuddy scowled at two nurses and an orderly who were openly eavesdropping. "What? Haven't you people ever seen a married couple holding hands?"
House smirked when the staff members scurried off the elevator as soon as the doors slid open. "And, you were talking about my crankiness?"
Cuddy towed him from the elevator and in the direction of the cafeteria. "I've felt like an exhibit in a freak show all morning. Everyone's stared at me like I've suddenly turned into the two-headed, goat person."
House's deep laugh drew shocked stares from all the employees in the cafeteria. Not one of them had ever heard that particular sound from the Head of Diagnostics. House fell into the serving line behind Cuddy and then noticed the attention they were receiving.
"I see what you mean," he leaned down and whispered. "Now I know how the animals at the zoo feel."
Cuddy smiled and made her selection of a salad. House asked for his usual Reuben and fries. They moved down the line and House added chocolate cake to her tray. Cuddy just rolled her eyes and slid her tray in front of the cashier.
"Oh, gee, I seem to have forgotten to bring any money." Cuddy gave the cashier a smile. "Dr. House will have to pay."
House narrowed his eyes and watched as his wife sauntered across the cafeteria. He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed over the money. House grabbed his tray and limped his way to what had become their usual booth next to the wall.
He slid in across from Cuddy and frowned at her. "Another myth busted. Everyone thinks I'm the cheap one."
Cuddy speared a bite of her salad and smirked at him. "I learned from the best. Maybe I should give Wilson lessons."
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Cuddy remembered something she needed to discuss with him.
"My car wouldn't start this morning. I had to drive yours." Cuddy watched him munch on his fries and then stole a couple. "I need you to take care of it for me."
House swallowed. "I'm a doctor not a mechanic. Don't you know how to use the yellow pages?"
"Yes," Cuddy patiently answered. "You're the husband. Vehicle repairs are your responsibility."
"So just because I have a penis, I have to take care of the cars?" House struggled to understand her female logic. "Why?"
"Because the other penises at the shop won't try to screw you on the price of the repairs," Cuddy told him with a look that said he had already lost this particular argument.
Cuddy smiled when a nurse at the next table said, "Amen, sister!"
House just rolled his eyes. "Are there any other husbandly duties you forgot to mention?"
Cuddy took a bite of the chocolate cake and pretended to think. "Appliance repairs, home repairs, taking out the trash, and killing spiders," she told him with a grin.
"And, who took care of all that stuff before you married me?" House snuck a bite of the cake.
"I did," she told him sweetly. "But, now I don't have to. That's what I have you for."
"And, here I thought you just married me for the hot sex," House told her and smiled when the nearby eavesdroppers gasped in shock. One unfortunate anesthesiologist actually choked on his iced tea.
"The hot sex is just a bonus," Cuddy flirted back at him.
House chuckled. "Touché, Dr. House."
Cuddy smiled. "Thank you for my door and the flowers."
House ducked his head and mumbled, "You're welcome." His cell phone rang. It was Foreman with the results of the latest MRI. House listened and then disconnected.
"I have to go. The children need me." House rose from the booth and leaned over to quickly kiss her. Cuddy watched him limp from the cafeteria and couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. She had known House would ignore her rule against public displays of affection at work. Right now she didn't care. Everyone was watching and gossiping about their every move anyway. She figured they might as well give them something to talk about that was actually true.
[H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H]
House closed the front door and dropped his backpack and helmet on the floor. He shrugged out of his leather jacket and hung it on the closet door. He had time to brace himself when he heard the little feet running in his direction.
"Daddy!" Rachel squealed as she rounded the dining room door and barreled headlong towards him.
House scooped her up with his left arm and Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck. She placed a noisy smack on his whiskered cheek. Then the toddler laid her head on his shoulder.
"I miss you today," Rachel told him quietly.
"I missed you, too." House hitched her up on his hip. "Where's your mom?"
"Kitchen." Rachel leaned back and gave him a look that said she wasn't pleased. "She cooking."
"Sorry about that." House limped into the living room and let Rachel slide down to stand onto the sofa. "Your mom said you were upset I wasn't here this morning."
"Yeah," Rachel responded as she looked down at her shoes.
"You know what my job is, right?" House asked the toddler.
Rachel nodded. "You a doctor."
"And, what do doctors do?" House waited patiently for her answer.
Rachel looked up and frowned. "They make people feel better?"
"That's right." House couldn't believe he had ever thought the little girl wasn't smart. "I have to go to work when people get sick. Sometimes I have to work at night. I won't always be here when you wake up or when you go to bed."
Rachel played with a button on his shirt and told him again, "But, I miss you."
"I missed you, too." House brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "How about if your mom or Marina calls me when you wake up if I'm not here? We can talk on the phone."
"We can?" Rachel looked up at him and smiled.
"Sure we can." House smiled when she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Are we okay now?"
"Yeah." Rachel nodded and then added, "I'm hungry."
House laughed as he helped his daughter hop down from the sofa. He watched her run to the kitchen and shook his head. He had no idea that someone so little could eat so much.
[H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H] [H]
"Bonnie said we'll close on the house on a Wednesday. The sellers are moving this weekend. We can move when in whenever we want." Cuddy idly rubbed a hand across House's chest. "I called the movers today. The supervisor said they can move your apartment that Friday and then my house on Saturday."
"That's fine." House put his reading glasses and a medical journal on the nightstand.
"Do you want to contact a piano mover? I don't think we should trust it to the regular movers." Cuddy snuggled closer.
"I call them tomorrow." House reached behind him and rearranged his pillow.
Cuddy frowned and looked up at him. "Are you okay? You've been awfully quiet since dinner."
"I'm fine." House moved his leg and tried to get comfortable. The pain had been bad all afternoon.
Cuddy rose up on one elbow and looked at him. "House, talk to me. I can tell something's wrong."
He sighed and sat up with his back propped against the headboard. He really didn't want to have this conversation. Gregory House still wasn't comfortable baring his soul even to his wife; but, he had promised to talk to her when things got bad. He had brooded about it all afternoon. This was something he knew he needed to address now before it festered into a major issue.
"Today, when you came into my office…do you remember what you said?" House focused on his lap.
Cuddy frowned and thought back. "No," she finally told him.
"The first thing you asked me was if I had completely lost my mind." House toyed with the edge of the blanket and took a deep breath. "I had a nervous breakdown. I know I'm an addict and I have PTSD. I don't need to have it thrown in my face every time you get pissed at me."
"House..." Cuddy barely managed to whisper. She felt as if he had just stuck a knife through her heart.
House looked up to see that her dark blue eyes were filled with tears. "It's not just today. You know I don't think like other people. Yet, every time I do something strange or say something off the wall, it's my 'latest round of insanity' or my most recent 'crazy' stunt. You even compared me to a 'demented' cockroach. When Arlene told Rachel that I'm nuts, you didn't call her on it. "
House ignored the delicate hand that she clasped on his forearm. He didn't enjoy dumping all this on her; but, Dr. Nolen had been correct. He needed to stand up for himself in a positive way. "I'm trying my best to be as normal as I can be; but, I'm always going to be eccentric. My IQ is off the charts. Maybe that's why I don't think or act like other people. That doesn't mean I'm insane."
Cuddy was openly crying now. For House to open up like this showed her just how much her words had hurt him. She was ashamed of her behavior. She should have known better and the thought of him suffering because of her careless words made her feel physically ill.
"House, I'm so sorry. It just became a habit. I never mean to hurt you." Cuddy tightened her hold on his arm.
House looked down at her hand. He watched the diamonds in her ring sparkle in the soft light. He took another, deep breath and quietly said, "I barely survived years of verbal abuse from John House. I shouldn't have to take it from my wife."
A heart-wrenching sob seemed to rise from the depths of her soul and Cuddy flung herself on his broad chest and cried into his shirt. Her words were muffled and broken; but, House still understood her choked "I'm sorry," and "Please forgive me." He wrapped his arms around his wife and held her close as she cried.
After several, long minutes, she finally sat up and faced House. Cuddy's heart broke at the sight of the tears on his face. She swiped at her nose with the back of her hand and managed a broken chuckle when House grimaced and handed her the box of tissues from his nightstand.
Cuddy blew her nose and then clutched the tissue in her hand. "House, I am so very sorry. Over the years, we've gotten so good at insulting each other; I never stopped to think how much my words would hurt you. Can you ever forgive me?"
House reached out and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "There's nothing to forgive. Lord knows, I've said much worse to you. I'm sorry about that, too."
"Does this mean you'll quit teasing me about how big my ass is?" Cuddy managed a small smile.
"That wasn't an insult." House grinned. "I happen to be very fond of your big ass."
Cuddy blew her nose again and tossed the tissues on her nightstand. She looked down at her wedding rings. "I really am sorry."
House stretched out again and then pulled her down so that she was lying with her head on his chest. "I am, too. I should have said something sooner."
"I feel awful. I promised myself I would take care of you, and all I've done is hurt you." Cuddy took a shuddery breath. "I feel like such a failure."
"Hey! None of that." House smacked her lightly on the rear. "You aren't a failure. We both have years of bad habits to break. We knew this wouldn't be easy. I'm an arrogant bastard who would rather be shot than admit I have feelings."
Cuddy snorted. "Actually, you have been shot…twice." She grew serious and ran her hand softly up and down his arm. "House, I promise, no more insults. I love you and that isn't how you treat someone you love."
"I love you, too." House placed a soft kiss on her dark brown curls. "Do we get to have make-up sex, now?"
Cuddy laughed and rolled to straddle his hips. She placed her dainty hands on his shoulders and leaned down give her husband a long, incredibly sensual kiss. When she pulled back, House gave her one of his wicked, devastating smiles and his blue eyes sparkled.
"I'll take that as a yes," House said as he ran his hands up and down her back.
"You are so incredibly sexy when you smile like that." Cuddy kissed him again. She still felt enormous guilt for causing him pain. She knew she had a long way to go to undo the damage caused by her thoughtless words. From now on, her first priority would be proving to him just how much she loved him and how incredibly proud she was to be his wife.