Hello to everyone. Just a note before leaving you to the story... I know a part of this chapter is not very original (did I use it practically in all my stories?)... but it fit in here, so I couldn't help! Enjoy!
Chapter10 - Ice
...
The next morning the sun was already high in the sky when House opened his eyes. Cuddy had already left. For the beach. Or maybe for another running. Who could know? She had left no message. No post-it. Well, not that he expected her to. She was free to do whatever she wanted without accounting to anyone. Nor to him.
He prepared a coffee directly from the coffee maker on the kitchen furniture. There was no cup in the sink, nor an empty tray from room service. Which meant that she had gone out without having breakfast. Perhaps she had simply opted for breakfast at the coffee bar...
The sound of the opening door distracted him from that thought and he looked at her. Panting and sweaty, just a little less than the previous day, probably for the fresh morning air. The same curls escaping from her ponytail. A pair of shorts and a lime-colored tank top. Earbuds in her ears as he could feel the buzz of the bass coming from the iPod clipped to her shorts. She untied her hair as soon as she entered the door, holding the rubber band between her teeth as she tied her hair back in a tight ponytail. Eyes closed. She took a few steps into the room and just then she saw him, leaning on the kitchen furniture on the opposite side of the room, holding a cup of coffee in his hands.
She jumped slightly and quickly took off the earphones from her ears.
"God, I didn't see you!" She said smiling slightly and putting a hand on her chest.
House looked at her, but didn't smile, and she held his gaze with a puzzled look on her face.
"Did you go for a running without breakfast?" He asked, looking into her eyes.
"I had some fruit, Mr. Healthy-diet-Controller" she replied, nodding toward the basket on the furniture next to him, with the same gaze.
House didn't answer and just looked at her as she took a bottle of water from the fridge then drinking right from the bottle. And he continued to watch her as the expression on her face turned into a grimace and she bit her lip, stifling a "shit!" and suddenly putting a hand on her calf as a painful spasm ran suddenly from that muscle down to her foot. He rolled his eyes, then approaching her and helping her to limp to the couch.
"This time it's two good legs in two. It's already an improvement" he said as a slight smile appeared on her lips.
He gave her no time to say anything as soon as she sat down on the couch. He took her leg and took off her shoe dropping it loudly on the floor unconcerned about her "House, don't...", then holding the sole of her foot in his palm and bending her fingers.
Cuddy held her breath and tilted her head back, resting her back on the couch as for a few seconds that move sharpened her pain more before it began slowly to fade. She let him massaging her calf with both hands, again bending her toes toward the forefoot and then her foot towards the leg to loosen the cramp.
"I can tell that ' some fruit' didn't include a banana" he said, looking at her again, this time with a clear look of reproach.
Cuddy opened her eyes and bit her lip slightly.
"You got this at your Healthy-diet Controller class first lesson?" She asked him with a half smile, looking at his lips slightly curling.
...
Sun, white sand and sea. What could he want more than the feeling of his skin warmed by the sun and caressed by a warm breeze at the same time?
Sun which suddenly darkened as in a solar eclipse.
"Cuddy!" He said in an exasperated tone, opening one eye to look at her despite the blinding sun would make almost impossible to keep his eyes opened "I know you think you're a sunshine... but you're disturbing my tan!"
She didn't reply and just looked at him without moving an inch as House snorted loudly.
"I always wanted to have you tattooed on my chest!" He said sarcastically, looking at her again just with one eye but leaning a hand on his forehead to have some shade.
"The only thing you'll have on your chest is a sunburn, House!" She said, looking at him with the same serious expression she'd use with a 5-years-old child "You're not getting a tan, you're roasting!"
House looked at her with a raised eyebrow, then sitting up, leaning on his elbows.
"What?" He asked with a mischievous look "Want smear sunscreen on my muscles, Cuddy?"
"No," she replied, looking seriously at him, and again like she was looking at a child "I want to avoid seeing you peeling like a molting snake, House"
He looked at her again, however, rolling his eyes, taking the sunscreen bottle from her bag and pouring almost half of it in the palm of his hand before beginning to rub it on his chest with both hands, then smearing it on his shoulders and on the part of his back he could reach.
God! Of course she wanted to rub that sunscreen on him! ... but she wasn't going to admit it, nor even under torture.
"Am I a good kid, Mommy?" He asked making fun of her, with the same voice that 5-years-old child would have had, watching as she nodded.
Fuck! That bikini on her was easy on the eyes! She inside that bikini was easy on the eyes!
He couldn't help but watching her as in turn she rubbed some sunscreen on her belly, then moving up on her cleavage and neck and shoulders. And yet he looked at her hands as she rubbed that lotion on her back.
"Are you going to ask me, Cuddy? Possibly before your skin starts to peel off from the middle part of your back!" He said looking at her with the same look she had given him just before.
He watched as she bent her head to the side and rolled her eyes, just whispering a 'fine' as she handed him the bottle. He looked at her again as she lay down on her stomach on the beach bed. God! In that position he had a perfect view of her ass.
The touch of his hand on her skin made her hold her breath for a moment. She thanked being on her stomach so he couldn't see her face... even though she was fully aware of how his eyes were focused now on a much lower part of her body than her face.
He undid her bra expecting to see her suddenly lift her head, turning to face him. But she didn't. And this anomaly in her behavior made him smile to himself. Are you just letting me rub sunscreen on you, Cuddy? Or are you deliberately letting me to caress you? Obviously he had a vague idea of the answer, but he had evidence of it as soon as she let his fingers slip under the elastic band of her bikini panties. Only a few millimeters, but enough to be a clear answer to his question. He could almost swear he saw her shiver, though almost imperceptibly, to that contact.
"The sun doesn't shine there, House!" She said, this time lifting her head and turning to glare at him, slapping his hand, however, holding back a smile as she watched him, sitting up at the same time and clasping her bra again in one simple gesture.
House looked at her hands and then at her eyes, moistening his lips with his tongue and raising an eyebrow, then just lying down again on his bed, in turn on his stomach.
...
The lightning lit up the sky over the palms, accompanied by the roar of a thunder and the sound of the wind whistling through the palm leaves.
Cuddy sat on the bamboo armchair under the porch and wrapped her shawl tighter around her body as she looked at the waves shattering on the beach. Actually she couldn't really see the ocean. She could hear it. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach. She could see it only from time to time, when the sky was lit by lightning and the same light mirrored on the dark water.
There was something fascinating in the air preceding a thunderstorm. It was exciting and at the same time disquieting. It could give her a feeling of fear and peace at the same time. A continuous contradiction. More or less like her relationship with House.
She liked the smell of the first rain drops on the leaves. She had always liked it. Since she was just a child.
She stayed still even when the rain began to fall harder in big drops beating on the wooden roof of the porch.
She looked up, as if to be sure that the rain couldn't seep through the wooden ceiling, and then again in front of herself, at the falling rain. She didn't move even when the light faded and then suddenly everything became dark. She stayed still for a moment, but, no... she didn't like the full darkness.
"House?" She called, opening the door.
She heard the sound of another door opening. Probably the bathroom one.
"Stay where you are, Cuddy" his voice said, from somewhere in the dark.
There were some candles. She was sure she saw some somewhere. And there was certainly a lighter in the kitchen. She made a few steps into the room, trying to orient herself in the darkness and...
"Holy shit, House!" She exclaimed as soon as he grabbed her arm, preventing her from bumping against him. "Where...? Where are you?" She said reaching for him, but finding only air in front of herself as he instead took also her other arm, then pulling her slightly towards himself.
The light suddenly went back illuminating the room. And he couldn't help but notice the flash in her eyes as soon as she found him practically naked in front of herself. Well, almost naked.
"You're out of luck, Cuddy!" He laughed fixing better his towel around his waist, then looking at her with a mischievous look running a hand through his wet hair.
She held his gaze with an equally mischievous look.
"Do you think yours is different from the other ones?" She asked with the hint of a smile, raising an eyebrow and using once again one of his jokes against him.
"Different is not the adjective people usually attribute to it, Cuddy" he said looking at her with an even more mischievous look running his tongue on his lips "And you should know it..." he said looking into her eyes with the same look.
Shit! No, 'different' was definitely not the first adjective that came to her mind! She slightly bit her lip, but let go of it as soon as his gaze went from her eyes to her lips. And she swallowed, restraining the urge to run her tongue on her lips. Of course she knew! At times it seemed he could read her mind. And if he could ... she definitely hoped that he couldn't right now... Because at that moment her mouth craved him as an oasis in the desert ... God, Lisa, please! She had never been the kind of woman who fell on her knees in front of men. In both the ways of that two-way. But the image that appeared in her mind, as clear as twenty years ago, suddenly made the muscles of her most intimate part to contract in anticipation. And she swallowed again.
She shook off the image that appeared in her mind, and thanked that he couldn't feel the reaction of her body at that moment. How was it possible that a man could unleash certain thoughts in her?
"Better look for some candles, House" she said smiling slightly and looking at him as he smiled in turn looking into her eyes.
Five minutes later they both sat on the couch. Cuddy with her legs crossed in a sort of lotus position, House on the opposite side of the couch, leaning with his back to the backrest and his legs stretched in front of him. He had got dressed and wore now a shirt and a pair of shorts. Going out was definitely impossible because of the weather, since water fell in bucketfuls from the sky.
The light in the room faded again and the TV in front of them turned off.
"It's nerve-racking" he said looking at the light bulb and then at her, whom just smiled, shrugging as if to say 'there's nothing we can do about it'. They could both hear the rain pounding on the roof and on the windows and, from time to time, the sound of thunders.
She watched as he stood up and lit a couple of candles before turning off the light switch.
The light of the candles trembled, sending shadows on the walls.
"Séance session?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, no way!" She replied, shaking her head and looking at him as he slightly smiled and sat down on the couch again "And... since when do you believe in ghosts?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in turn.
"I don't" he said with a mischievous look running his tongue on his lips "But as a 14-years-old it was the only way to have a girl wrapped to me" he added, letting out a laugh.
Cuddy smiled, running her tongue on her lips and House held her gaze.
"Since you're more than 40 you have to find something better, House" she said, smiling and shaking her head slightly looking at him as he tilted his head by side and stared at her again, without responding to that challenge.
"Truth or Dare?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No" She replied, shaking her head.
"Do you have some shameful secrets, Cuddy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow "Like... that you slept with a friend of your father?" He said seeing her eyes wide open.
"I'm going to kill Wilson!" She said, shaking her head and looking away from him "What else did he tell you?" She asked, looking up and biting her lip almost imperceptibly.
"Except that you touch yourself thinking about me?" He said, raising an eyebrow and looking at her as she opened her mouth again.
She closed her mouth and her lips curved into a half smile as she sat better on the couch and pointed at him.
"Certainly this wasn't told you by Wilson" she said, shaking her head and staring at him "And... dream on, House!" She said teasingly, running her tongue on her lips.
House held her gaze, letting even the corners of his mouth curling in a half smile.
"The fact I didn't got that from Wilson doesn't mean it's not true" he replied still looking at her with the same look.
She didn't answer and simply held his gaze. He certainly didn't expect her answering to a question like that, did him?
"That's why I'm not going to play this game with you" she said looking into his eyes.
"C'mon, ask me something! A warm-up round of Truths" he said, nodding as to incite her to ask him something "C'mon, something personal if you want. Childhood. Love. Whatever you want. Dig into my soul!" He said in a theatrical intonation, then making a gesture of incitement with his hand "You already know I touch myself thinking about you!" He said, looking straight into her eyes and letting out a laugh as a laugh escaped even from Cuddy's lips.
"Fine" she said, running her tongue on her lips again and looking away while she thought about what question to ask him. How many other possibilities she would have had to ask him something personal "Um... about your leg" she said, slightly biting her lip "Will you never stop to be mad at me for not respecting your choice?"
House looked at her and rolled his eyes.
"How can you feel guilty about something like that, Cuddy ?!" He said, watching her as she bit her lip more "You were not the one who had to respect that choice"
Really? During all those years she had been thinking that he blamed her for his disability? Why the hell had she never asked him about that? Oh, yeah... they never talked about anything personal...
"Why do you feel guilty?" He asked, using his turn for a question.
"Because ... I was the one who suggested that kind of intervention to Stacy, House. She would have never thought about it if it wasn't because of me, so..."
"Your job was trying to save your patient. And that's what you did. She was the one who had to respect my will. She was my girlfriend. You were my doctor. You has nothing to do with that... even if you think that maybe, in her place, you would have made the same choice"
Cuddy didn't answer but looked away, nodding and shaking her head at the same time as if to say 'maybe yes, maybe no'
"Have you ever experienced a moment... in which you thought you had never been so scared in all your life?" She asked still slightly biting her lip.
"Yes" he said looking into her eyes "... 36 days ago" he pointed out, then looking away.
36 days ago ... the flight from Singapore ... Scared for himself? Or scared for her? She couldn't help but smile slightly. The way he looked away was much more than an answer.
"You?" He asked in turn.
He watched her as she nodded, though hesitating before answering. Your cardiac arrest before your leg surgery. She looked down for a moment as if uncertain whether to answer or not. That was why she knew she would have made exactly the same choice of Stacy. Not a hypothesis. A certainty. She would have never allowed him to risk his life. But speaking of House... well, she had a lot to choose from. His Vicodin overdose less than six months earlier. His gunshot wound...
A lightning lit up the room followed by a so strong thunder that the windows rattled and they both startled, being distracted from the intimacy of that moment.
"Here!" He laughed "Your new scariest moment!" He added, playing down the way that night was taking.
"Fine, Cuddy! Enough psychological analysis. Dare. Go" He said, laughing.
Her stomach growled loudly and she put a hand on her stomach, laughing.
"Geez, Cuddy!" He said glancing at her "How long aren't you eating?" He said, looking at her as she smiled.
"... er... since this morning?" She said, biting her lip and looking at him as he rolled his eyes "Well," she added, sitting better on the couch "Since I can use you for a dare... give me something to eat" she said, smiling.
House stared at her and stood up. And the flash she saw in his eyes made her immediately rectify her words.
"Nothing ... sexual, House" she pointed out looking into his eyes, thinking back about that dare, and about the interpretations that could be given to her words. Shit, she was playing with House! And with him nothing could be taken for granted. Why the hell had she said 'give me' and not 'bring me'... "No physical contact" she said aloud so that he could hear her from the kitchen.
House came back a minute later with a basket of which she couldn't see the content. And a blindfold. Cuddy glared at him with what was clearly a no-way-House look as she opened her mouth to speak.
"You said ... 'give me something to eat'. You didn't point out how" he said looking at her with a look that was a mix of mischief and fun, again meeting her slightly annoyed look "I won't touch you, I promise" he said, staring at her as she stared back at him, then whispering an uncertain 'ok'.
He blindfolded her and made her rest her back against the couch backrest so that she could slightly tilt her head back.
"Open your mouth" he said.
She hesitated and House couldn't help but laugh.
"C'mon! Do you really think I'd do something you don't want? It's just food. C'mon, Cuddy! Open - your- mouth" He repeated stressing every word and watching her as she smiled, running her tongue on her lips, whispering another ok while she slightly opened her mouth.
He didn't put anything between her lips. He just touch her lips with something cold, smooth and moist, lingering on her lower lip.
She licked her lip lightly. It was sweet but slightly tart. What was it? Mango?
House put again that bite near her mouth, again without pushing it through her lips, but just touching them with it. This time he didn't pull it back but he let the juice dripping on her tongue forcing her to close her lips and instinctively sucking it.
He couldn't help but laugh as a "Shit, House" escaped from her lips, and she brought a hand to her mouth, then sucking in that slice and finally savoring that sweet, juicy fruit.
He had promised not to touch her and, well, he hadn't touched her... but... holy shit... that was everything but 'non-sexual' ... and God! ... she liked it...
He gave her time to swallow that piece of mango before putting something else close to her lips. Probably another fruit. It was cold as the first one, and velvety, but not as juicy as that one.
She recognized it as soon as he pushed it slightly into her mouth.
Holy shit!
Again she couldn't help but laugh.
"My potassium source, Mr. healthy-diet controller?" She said, laughing as soon as that fruit touched her tongue.
Holy shit, House!
House smiled as soon as he pushed that fruit into her mouth, but the smile on his face turned into pure devotion when, rather than bite into it, she slowly closed her lips, lingering on the tip of the fruit and simply savoring its taste on the tongue before really take a bite.
Fuck! He was as turned on as if she had reserved that treatment to him instead of to that banana. And at the bare thought of having had the same effect on her he felt an unmistakable throb against the zipper of his pants... He couldn't see her eyes, and the soft light of the candles wasn't enough for him to be able to catch a hint of blush on her cheeks. With the kind of bra she wore he couldn't even see her hard nipples through the fabric of the shirt... but the way in which she had pressed her thighs together... that was his answer...
House swallowed and returned to reality just at the moment when her laughter filled the room again.
He put another thing near lips, this time whispering a "the last one, Cuddy." She immediately recognized that fruit. From the hard and rough surface that touched her lower lip. Coconut. Coconut milk to be exact.
She felt the cool liquid pour slowly into her mouth ... but she knew he wouldn't resist the temptation to do it... He let the liquid pour into her mouth faster than she could swallow, as part of it dripped from one of the corners of her mouth.
Cuddy closed her mouth trying to prevent that liquid from dripping down her cheek and neck, but succeeded just partially.
"C'mon, Cuddy, swallow!" He said unable to keep from laughing at the way she laughed, trying not to choke.
Shit! None told me that, House!
She laughed, instinctively putting a hand over her mouth but failing to prevent that liquid from dripping again from her mouth. Do you think I can't do it, House? She would have wanted to reply. But she didn't respond to that provocation and simply swallowed, then running her tongue on her lips.
Holy shit, they hadn't even touched each other and ... Fuck, Greg! All he wanted right now was bending over her and clean her mouth and neck... just using his tongue.
He watched her as she took off the blindfold and wiped her mouth with her hand, glaring at him with a look somewhere between amused and annoyed.
"You're a pig!" She said, pointing to him as she stood up, unable to hold back a laugh.
He simply replied with a look, holding her gaze but failing not to smile, then watching her as she went into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a sandwich and a glass of water and ice.
"Ok, Cuddy! My turn. Truth or Dare?" He said, looking at her as she sat down on the couch, again cross-legged.
"Truth, House. I don't trust your dares anymore" she said glaring at him.
"Have you ever had sex with a woman?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
She laughed and shook her head.
"No" she replied, taking a bite of her sandwich.
House looked at her with a mischievous look and Cuddy rolled her eyes. Why men always had fantasies about sex among women?
"What about you, House?" She asked, taking another bite of her sandwich.
"I had sex with more than one woman, Cuddy!" He replied looking at her as she rolled her eyes again.
"Not with a woman, you idiot! With a man. Have you ever had sex with a man?" She asked with a sly grin still looking into his eyes and taking a sip of water from the glass.
"Yup" he replied, staring at her.
Cuddy nearly choked in her glass of water.
"W-what...? Really?" She asked as her eyes opened wide.
House couldn't help but smile at the expression on her face, then running his tongue on his lips.
"I thought you have a open mind, Cuddy" he said, shaking his head and still staring at her.
"I... I have..." she hesitated "I just... I don't..."
House bit his lip to keep from laughing. He would have paid to be able to read her thoughts at that moment. She certainly was wondering how happened she didn't noticed and if... if it happened when he was young or if... if his friendship with Wilson was something more than a friendship... actually many people had probably wondered about that ... Anyway... whatever she was thinking about, he had left her speechless.
"Have I found a way to shut you up?" He teasingly asked her.
"No..." she answered "Sorry... it's just... really House, I just didn't think..."
This time, a laugh escaped from his mouth and she looked at him with a questioning look.
"Are you making a fool of me?" She asked, looking into his eyes.
"No, Cuddy, I'm not" he said holding her gaze "I had sex with a man. The last time was..."
He watched as her big eyes grew even bigger. God... the last time? ... It meant that there had been more than one time and...
"... An hour ago in the shower" he said looking at the corners of her mouth that slightly curled into a half smile before she rolled her eyes and tossed toward him the piece of sandwich in her hand.
He watched as she shook her head, avoiding his gaze. She was annoyed. She didn't like when he made fun of her. But she wasn't angry... she was relieved...
"It's my turn, Cuddy" he said, swallowing the bite of the sandwich she had tossed him and watching as she looked up again meeting his gaze. "Sex on a first date. Yes or no?" He asked, staring at her.
"No" she replied, touching her neck.
House continued to look at her and licked his lips.
"Liar" he said, raising an eyebrow.
Cuddy run in turn her tongue on her lips, smiling slightly and holding his gaze.
"Ours wasn't a date, House" she said, raising an eyebrow and biting her lip, still smiling and shaking her head slightly.
"I wasn't talking about us" he said looking into her eyes and again raising an eyebrow, watching her with a mischievous look "That Shriner with the hair parted on the left, Miss I-like-sex" he said, staring at her.
She laughed and shook her head.
"We didn't have sex" she repeated with the same look, still touching her neck.
House moved his gaze from her eyes to the fingers of her hand that slowly moved from behind her ear to the base of her neck and vice versa. Fuck! Did she know that gesture, in the body language, was a clear signal of sexual interest?
"So, didn't you have sex that night?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Cuddy rolled her eyes, but unable to keep from laughing. She began to understand why it was difficult to win when she played with him. And she shook her head... biting her lip and smiling. Of course she had had sex... just... not with that guy. And not... thinking about that guy...
"Little liars like you deserve a punishment, Cuddy!" He said, standing up before she could do the same.
"No" she said, trying in turn to stand up and watching him as he took an ice cube from her glass on the coffee table "House! No! Don't you dare..."
It was a no, but she couldn't help laughing as she stood up in turn, then trying to escape from him.
One of his arm was enough to grab her, drawing her closer to him. Her back against his chest. She slapped the arm that held her, keeping her still, well, actually not that strong, but she couldn't stop him from slipping an ice cube into the back of her shirt neckline, letting it run along her back.
"Holy shit!" She exclaimed inhaling deeply and holding her breath, then arching her back to that feeling while a shiver ran down her back, but unable to hold back even a laugh.
He knew that she was going to make him pay for that. As soon as he loosened the grip of his arm around her waist, she took in turn an ice cube and tried to slip it blindly in his pants. But his hand was faster and it grabbed her wrist, moving it away from him, holding her arm again above her head.
"House, let go of me, you're hurting me" she said, trying to pull him away.
The way she was laughing was a clear sign that he was certainly not hurting her. Not that he had any doubt anyway.
Cuddy looked at her own arm, held in place above her head, and at the ice cube melting in her own hand, dripping in a cold trickle down her arm and then into her cleavage. And she couldn't help but shiver to that feeling. And laugh at the same time.
She tried to push him away. More to the game that because she really wanted to. And he loosened his grip slightly so that she could turn around and face him. She tried to touch him with her wet and cold hand to take at least that tiny payback, but again he was faster and he pushed her away from him, holding her by both arms.
She was beautiful, but... when she laughed without any inhibitions she was much more than beautiful.
She grabbed the last ice cube from the glass and tried to pull away again from his grip, but again it was clear that she had no chance to do so. He was taller and stronger than her. And the truth was that, actually, she didn't actually want to do it.
She run away him just to have him running after her. She moved from him just to have him moving closer. Now, exactly like it had been since the first day they met.
"House, no" she laughed again as he took both her wrists with one hand, holding them above her head so she couldn't touch him, and the back of her knee bumped against the couch. She lost her balance and she could do nothing but let herself fall on the couch pulling him with her. Laughing as he laughed with her.
She couldn't move. Trapped between the couch cushions... and him.
They looked into each other's eyes. Blue lost in blue.
He just wanted kiss her.
She just wanted to be kissed.
He looked at her eyes and then at her lips. Those lips slightly parted, just waiting for his. And her eyes. He could lose himself in the gray-blue of those eyes. He could lose himself in her...
He wanted... but... he couldn't...
"I'm sorry" he said, breaking eye contact and then looking at her again with a completely different gaze that the one with which he had looked at her just a second before.
The way her smile faded on her face struck him more than a slap in the face. He didn't want to hurt her. But it would have happened... He was a miserable person. Since the day he was born. And even if that break had made him think otherwise for a moment... he couldn't and... wouldn't... to drag her into the darkness of his life.
He wanted to kiss her. Touching those lips. That tongue. He longed to kiss her. But kissing her... it would be a point of no return. He couldn't...
"I... I'm not what you need, Cuddy" he added, standing up and leaving the room.
Cuddy stayed still. The only thing she could think about was the feeling of emptiness that the lack of his weight on her gave her... She sat up and stayed there, motionless, watching him as he walked out of the door. She stayed like that for what seemed like hours ... or perhaps only seconds... waiting for tears to come down from her eyes and releasing some of what she felt within herself. Tears that didn't come...