Legend: Italics are thoughts (as always, at least in my literary universe). And Another song entitled Forevermore by Side A (Bold).
GREGORY HOUSE moved to try and get up from his slumped position on the floor when he suddenly felt the onslaught of pain in his leg. He moaned and shut his eyes as if it would help him suppress a scream. After brief seconds of intense pain, he tried to look around to survey the room. As he did so, his hands were involuntary searching for another pair of hands that should belong to Lisa Cuddy.
He was stricken with panic when he failed to find her within the vicinity of the room. He again tried to get up and called her name softly, patiently waiting even for the most subtle clue she could afford to give him. He subconsciously reached out for his Vicodin bottle positioned three feet from his body when another detail on the floor caught his attention.
Blood.
His hands quickly traveled to his head then to his torso, trying to search the source of that much bleeding, hoping as hell that it belonged to him because the alternative was so grim for him to even entertain.
But one thing was for sure.
The blood, it wasn't his.
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LISA CUDDY could swear that she'd willingly stay this way as long as possible. With the thought of Gregory House guarding her, she was at peace even in her sleep. She felt safe in his arms. She refused to open her eyes because she did not want to make a mistake of catching him in a vulnerable state, if ever he would allow himself that. She was actually afraid that she would catch him staring at her. She did not know how she should respond to that. She was afraid that he would pull himself away if she let him know that she was enjoying his attention and concern.
She could swear that even in her dream, it was very distinct, she smelled the scent of fresh flowers and heard a romantic music playing in the background.
There are times
When I just want to look at your face with the stars in the night
There are times
When I just want to feel your embrace on a cold night
And then in a flash of white light she saw herself in her dream, standing in a corridor staring intently to a vase full of Tulips and Carnations. At the other end of the corridor was Greg, taken away in a corner and beaten to death.
I just can't believe
that you are mine now
At the sudden change of mood and scenario of her dream, she grasped for breath and got up immediately after she opened her eyes. Her skin felt cold as if her face was drained of blood.
You were just a dream that I once knew
I never thought I would be right for you
I just can't compare you with anything in this world
You're all I need to be here with forevermore
Her body tensed. She cursed under her breath. She swore that even awake, she could still hear the music playing. Goosebumps started to form. She turned her head around in panic. She was no longer on the floor of the storage closet with House. There was not even a sign of him or even a hint that he had been there. Fear officially swallowed her whole when she glanced at her bedside table and there laid a fresh bunch of tulips and carnation.
Apparently, she wasn't as safe as House had intended her to be.
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AN UNCONSCIOUS BODY lay opposite the Foley catheters' shelf. That was what House found when he traced the origin of the flowing blood. He recognized him to be the delivery man that was shot yesterday. He reckoned that the man's present injury was far more dangerous than his first.
And then, as if urged by something he couldn't recognize, he looked at the stranger's face. It was the first time he paid attention to looking at this man's face. House had a feeling that he had seen this man somewhere before. His eyes and lips looked familiar. A realization dawned into him when a light from the entrance of the barged door focused on his face.
He tried to picture it in his head, without the thick beard and the black strands of hair; House was so sure he knew the guy. Damn!
He's Hawdon!
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All those years, I've longed to hold you in my arms
I've been dreaming of you
Every night, I've been watching all the stars that fall down
Wishing you would be mine
Listening to the lyrics of the song wanted to make Cuddy puke. The desire to throw up because of high anxiety level was overthrown by her desire to do something to get herself out of her present situation. She was confined in a room that was unfamiliar with barely a light from a lampshade illuminating it. She quickly got up from where she lay. She noticed that she was no longer wearing her pencil cut skirt and beige tank top. Instead, she was wearing a black evening dress complete with stilettos.
I just can't believe
that you are mine now
The thought of someone undressing her elicited an involuntary chill.
You were just a dream that I once knew
I never thought I would be right for you
I just can't compare you with anything in this world
You're all I need to be here with forevermore
She glanced around the room once again. The music was coming from a speaker connected to a player placed outside her room, she figured from the neat wirings. She looked at the door and after a battle with herself she advanced near it. She pressed her ear against it to try and listen to whatever or whoever it was that was outside.
Time and again
There are these changes that we cannot end
She reached for the door knob while her ears were still pressed to the door. When she couldn't hear anything from the outside, she tried to turn it. Much to her surprise, it wasn't locked.
As sure as time keeps going on and on
My love for you will be forevermore
She gathered the strength that she could find within her. She thought that maybe the one who took her went out or asleep somewhere else or something like that. That maybe today was her turn to be lucky. She held the door and walked out quietly.
I just can't believe that you are mine now
She had no control of her tears falling down her cheeks. She wiped it with the back of her palm. She should get out of here. She made her way to the elegantly carved steps of the wooden stairs and realized that it wasn't just some house where he hid her. It must be a rest house or an ancestral house.
You were just a dream that I once knew
I never thought I would be right for you
I just can't compare you with anything in this world
She saw the living room covered with dark curtains, preventing the entrance of the morning sunlight. She couldn't even tell if it already was morning. Obviously, she lost track of time. Then she heard voices. She took a few steps closer to the voices. She reached the dining area, which was the only place well lighted in that house.
The man's voice ordered for something from the older woman. The woman obliged.
As endless as forever
Our love will stay together
Lisa hid herself in the darkness, praying so hard that he was so busy with his meal he wouldn't notice her making a pass towards the main door. She froze when the man called her name and said, "There's no reason to hide."
You're all I need to be here with forever more
(As endless as forever)
(Our love will stay together)
She tried to pick herself up from being startled. She cursed the second time this day. She stepped from the darkness and looked at the man sitting at the dining table taking another bite.
"You?" Cuddy said, not masking her surprise in the sudden turn of events. He was the last man in her list of possible stalkers.
You're all I need to be here with forevermore...
The man slightly turned his head to look at her direction. With wine goblet in his hand, he gave her a haughty smile, "You're just about time for breakfast," he said.
And then, the music faded as it ended.
angcatalonan: Time for notes, again (yay!). I was hoping you'd see the literary vices I used and the parallelism and irony of this chapter in reference to the previous chapter. The song Forevermore is a really romantic song. I used it because I thought a 'really romantic song' from an obsessed stalker will raise the hair at the back of my (and my readers) head in fear. I thought it'll be really scary.
You're in the right direction if you'd be asking "what happened while they were asleep together in the supplies closet?" and "if Hawdon was with House, then who took Cuddy?" Answers will come in the next chapter. Maybe a college background… But I would love to listen to your theories.
My thanks to HuntingPeace and emzypemzy for reviewing, and Nefertiri for the beta.
And lastly, additional point goes to the people who got the movie reference that influenced my Cuddy waking up wearing a black evening dress scene, XD. Hint, hint.
It's your turn now. Tell me something. Tell me if it clarified things or raised more questions, or if it entertained you.
C'mon… you know I deserve some credit…