Lisa Cuddy sat behind her desk snapping a rubber band between her fingers. Her eyes were fixed on the mahogany table across from her desk; for no reason in particular. She felt exhausted from accepting the majority of the cases in the clinic. There hadn't been a serious case in days that would require her to go up to the second floor; that was a very good thing. The longer she put off going upstairs, the heavier her heart became. She suddenly snapped out of her daze, and glanced at the clock on her desk: 5:30 P.M. Maybe she left already? Cuddy stood up and smoothed the pleats out of her black skirt. She began gathering her things off of her desk. She piled some folders and tucked them away neatly in her briefcase. The light outside of her window was growing purple and soft. She was all ready to leave for the night when there was a knock at her office door.
"Come in." she called.
On the other side of the door stood Wilson, somewhat damp from the snow outside. His grey jacket had dark spots from the melted precipitation. He looked somewhat pathetic; Cuddy laughed a little and motioned for him to sit down.
"Why aren't you going home?" Cuddy asked laughing slightly.
A wide grin grew across Wilson's face.
"You know I haven't heard that laugh in a while."
Cuddy's face drew a confused expression,
"What?"
"You're smiling. That means you're making progress."
"Don't push it, Wilson." she smirked.
"My car won't start. I was wondering if I could call a truck from your office. My cell's water logged."
Cuddy nodded and motioned to the phone. Cuddy took a seat next to Wilson. Wilson didn't go to the phone, but his eyes remained intent on Cuddy. Cuddy eyes remained on her shoes. She tried to avoid eye contact with Wilson. Wilson then began probing,
"You have spent every second you are here working in the clinic. You need to get this weight off your shoulders. Actually talk. If not to me, then someone who you trust."
"If I open up, then I have to accept what happened. I don't want to do that right now." Cuddy put up a wall of reservation. Wilson dug deeper,
"Which hurts you more, the fact that you lost that baby or the prospect of losing her?" Cuddy's eyes narrowed. Her mouth was ajar as though Wilson had just delivered a painful blow to her heart. She backed away slightly and stood up.
"This is none of your damn business. Besides, don't you have a tow truck to call?" Wilson proceeded cautiously.
"The truck can wait. I know that once you talk about what happened, the tension will loosen. You may be able to face her."
Cuddy shook her head. She began pacing in circles. Her crestfallen demeanor was wearing thin, and finally, she caved in.
"Something had changed…" she began to sob.
Cuddy began her rounds at the clinic, glancing out the window every now and then to make sure that she didn't miss Remy coming in. She felt miserable that she couldn't take care of her last night, and hoped that Rem was feeling better that morning. Various clinic patients came and went, a sore throat here, a runny nose there, and object stuck in some orifice of a five year old, the usual things.
She glanced at the clock again, ten fifteen; perhaps she was still too sick to come in? Cuddy made a mental note to call her at the first available break she had. Cuddy's thoughts were interrupted by a short tempered House, who was complaining that this was his fourth consecutive day of clinic duty. House hobbled past the registration desk to the woman who seemed to be staring out the clinic window into the hospital lobby.
"You know if you watch for her long enough, you might just be able to make her magically appear."
Cuddy shook her head and smiled,
"I don't know what you're talking about." House merely shrugged his shoulders and smirked sarcastically,
"Clearly you do not watch the latest adaptation of the L Word, called the D word, "d" meaning desperate, or doctor."
Cuddy merely glanced out the window again and continued through her cases.
"She might not be coming in today, she was feeling
House stared at her a while. Her outfit seemed more sultry than usual. Her hips were accentuated by flowing black skirt that seemed to follow a current with Cuddy's every move. The skirt gently complimented her red shirt that hugged her waist and the plunging neckline accentuated her perfectly formed breasts, the sleeves cut off just below her shoulder. Why was she trying so hard? Trouble in the relationship? House cleared his throat and called across the clinic,
"By the way, Wonder Lover Woman is upstairs. You just missed her."
Cuddy turned around and stared at House as his grey blazer limped out of the clinic, leaving her somewhat confused. She began wondering why Remy had come in and hadn't even greeted her. Somewhat hurt, she continued on to her next case.
"I didn't even notice then that something had changed. But I will admit, that kiss felt different. There was some much behind it, and I couldn't figure out what it was."
Wilson sighed,
"You wouldn't have known. How could you?"
Wilson stood up and pulled his car keys out of his pocket.
"I'm gonna head home. If you need me, you call me, okay?" Wilson ordered.
Cuddy smirked,
"How are you going to get home if your car isn't starting? And shouldn't call, considering your cell is water logged."
A sheepish grin spread across Wilson's face. Cuddy could read his expression as, 'busted.' With that, Wilson headed out of Cuddy's office.
Cuddy took a breath of relief. She felt a wave of clarity fall across her, and she felt a sense of optimism. She didn't need Remy…Dr. Hadley. She would look past this, and she would cope with this. She smiled and put on her coat, took her briefcase and turned out the lights.
The elevator door opened and Thirteen ran out towards the clinic. The door was locked, and Cuddy's office was dark. Cuddy pulled out of the parking lot and headed home. Little did she know that Thirteen had missed her by mere seconds…