Chapter 9: In between

Monday morning

In a rather bad mood House screeched his car in front of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and got out, slamming the door behind him. The whole night had left him with little to no sleep... Thoughts spiraling through his mind in a tangled mess, never finding a solution or a means to forget them for a few hours – even playing his piano didn't help. Piano playing... Something he hadn't been able to do much since he married Cuddy. In the first place because Cuddy had no piano at her apartment and secondly because she had kept him too busy. With her demanding manner, her explosive temper, her stubbornness... Damn this woman for fascinating him like that. Damn her for telling him she loved him. And damn him, because he wanted her words so much to be true...

He was just about to lock the car as someone behind him suddenly spoke up: "Where´s Cuddy?"

House nearly dropped his car keys world leave me alone. "What?" In annoyance he turned around to glare at the idiotic marplot. Wilson. Of course. Who else? Crankily House glared at his best friend. Somehow he always succeeded in showing up at the most awkward moment.

"Where is Cuddy?" Wilson repeated and grinned, finding amusement in House's resentment.

House frowned. "How the hell should I know?"

Wilson shrugged his shoulders. "You two have been arriving here together..."

"That´s not true."

"True it is... Since you´re married, you both came here together every day..."

"No, we didn´t." House replied defiant. "The day I took my-"

"The day you took your parents to the airport, you didn´t arrive with her here, sure." Wilson cut in and rolled his eyes. "But aside from that you always arrived here together."

"Fine, smart ass." Now House rolled his eyes. "You caught me flat-footed... I was at my place... Met my favorite whore there... Somehow Cuddy still isn´t ready for a three-some..."

Confused Wilson looked at him. "You slept at your place? Not at Cuddy´s?"

"That´s what I said." House explained dryly. "Wow... I guess you´re the first deaf smart ass I had the honor to meet..." His voice was drowned in cynicism while House limped past Wilson to the hospital entrance.

"What did you do?" Worried Wilson frowned and followed him.

"What did I do?" House snorted arrogantly. "Why does everybody always assume that I did something wrong?"

"Wilson arched a brow. "Is this a serious question?"

Without granting Wilson an answer House entered the hospital and limped towards the clinic.

"Where are you going?" Wilson wanted to know irritated, still following House. "You don´t have duty today."

"I want to call in sick tomorrow so I ´d rather today..."

"You´d 'rather'?" Unbelievably Wilson stopped and stared at him.

House opened the door to exam room two. "Yeah."

He nearly succeeded in closing the door in front of Wilson´s nose but his friend had really good reflexes this morning and slipped in the room too, where he went right away to the exam-table and settled down.

Sighing House limped to the only wheel chair in the room, snatched a file and started to read it, in hope Wilson would understand that 'subtile hint' and would go to annoy somebody else.

Leisurely Wilson made himself comfortable at the table. "So what´s going on?" he asked causally.

"Already told you that." House scrolled in his file. "Cuddy wasn´t ready for a three-some yet, so the whore and I-"

"You slept at your place!" Wilson interrupted crudely.

Unnerved House looked up from his file. "Because of the whore. Listen to me, man!"

"And" Wilson continued. "You want to do your clinic hours when you're not rostered because you'd rather?"

"What´s that?" Uncomprehending House shook his head slightly and pulled a face. "Why are you repeating every bit of information I've given you during the last ten minutes?"

"You never rather." Wilson rested his elbow upon his knee and bent towards House. "Normally we nearly must punish you to get you to work at all!"

House turned back to his file. "Presumably Cuddy´s 'good' influence." he growled. "All those fundraisers could make a mind weak... You should better avoid such events. Your Messiah-complex is already big enough..."

Suddenly Wilson´s eyes lightened up. "You´re avoiding Cuddy! That´s why you´re here... You hide at the last place Cuddy would suspect you to be..." Wilson snorted amused. "Hell the last place anybody would suspect you."

House sighed loudly. "I do not. Avoid. Cuddy, Wilson." he explained patiently as if he spoke to particularly dense child, or to a mentally retarded. Or with his unnerving best friend.

"Yes you do." Wilson grinned triumphantly.

"No, I don´t."

"You do!"

"I. Do. Not." House glared shortly at Wilson over his files.

Wilson just grinned some more. "You. Do."

This time House glared at Wilson a bit longer. "Cut that crap, Wilson." he gritted. "I master the 'I-repeat-my-statement-so-long-till-the-other-loses-his-patience'-method much better than you. I devised it."

"No, you don´t." Wilson´s eyes sparkled with enjoyment.

House eyes went small. "Wilson." His voice was dangerously low.

"There you got it!" Wilson triumphed and leaned back. "Something is bothering you. Otherwise you wouldn´t be so pissed off so easily..." Thoughtfully he rubbed his chin. "Normally I´m the pissed off one... But I prefer it like this." He smiled again.

House wished his looks had the might to kill. Or the might to burn someone down in tongues of flames... Or at least the might to give someone, uhm let´s say Wilson, the flu.

"If you tell me, I´ll give you a cookie."

Frustrated House considered shortly to defer hoping for a super-mighty look to later and instead to settle for the old fashioned way and to bash Wilson with his cane, but he only mumbled: "At least, you enjoy yourself..." and turned back to his file again.

"Tell me already." Wilson gave in eventually. "You know I´m just like you, when it comes to something like that. I won´t go, till you tell me."

Sighing heavy-hearted House bent his head deeper over his files. "Cuddy says, she loves me." He spoke so quietly, Wilson barely heard him.

Silently Wilson waited for House to continue.

"Saturday as we left that damn fundraiser, she told me... So I drove to my place..."

"Oh... I understand." Unsure Wilson nodded slightly and frowned. "The own wife saying, she loves you, could really burden a marriage..."

"I should´ve stuck to the whore-variant..." House growled.

"Made more sense to me..." Wilson mumbled. "Cuddy says, she loves you and you just run away?"

Finally House looked at him. "What was I supposed to do?" The helpless confusion in his voice seemed honest.

"Staying for example?" Wilson sighed. "Not freaking out and running away..."

"I didn´t freak-"

"You´re doing clinic-duty. Voluntary." Wilson cut in. "A clear sign for desperation."

House face went blank. "Now that we´re talking bout 'duty'... Don´t you have a job to do?" he asked sharply.

Wilson ignored him. "Why didn´t you stay?" he dug without remorse. "Why did you leave?"

"Shouldn´t you take care of a few dying children?"

"Should I tell you, why you ran and hide?"

"Or some dying women?- Granting them a strong shoulder to rely on? Or a warm bed, maybe?" House suggested.

"You freaked out, because you were scared." Wilson bent forward again. "Because you were scared you could lose something, House."

"My countenance, maybe?" House arched a brow.

Wilson arched a brow also. "You feel something for Cuddy, House." His voice grew more and more demanding. "You feel something for her and now that she told you she loves you, where´s finally a chance for happiness for you both, you´re like frozen from fear and so you close up like an oyster. Like always."

"Now it happened!" With a loud bang House shut the file and rose from the chair.

"What? You connected with your inner-feelings?"

"Nope." House limped to the exit. "Lost my countenance..." Swiftly he opened the door, stepped out and freed the door at the same time so a large man around fifty in an ugly shirt, sweat scented and running red nose could enter the room. "Dr. Wilson will take good care of you..."

Confused the stranger watched House limping to exam room one before he looked at Wilson.

Beaten Wilson stood up from the exam table and fetched the file, which House had left on the wheel chair.

Monday afternoon

Wilson knocked at Cuddy´s door before he entered her office carrying to cups of coffee out of the Starbucks near by. "Hey."

"Hey..." Sighing Cuddy looked up from the mess of papers on her desk and pressed one hand against her aching forehead.

"Here." With a compassionate expression Wilson handed her one of the cups. "You look rather bad today..."

"Thanks so much, Wilson." Cuddy replied sarcastically but took the hot coffee gratefully. "You never fail to flatter a woman..."

Calmly Wilson sat down in front of her. "You told House you love him."

"Wow!" Coughing Cuddy tried to swallow the gulp of coffee, whereon she nearly choked, with much left grace as the could. "You´re abrupt today... Where´s this clumsy subtle manner we all love so much about you?"

Ignoring her cynicism, Wilson leaned back against his chair. "Were you serious? Do you love him?"

"Well, I was drunk..."

"No, you weren´t." Pitifully Wilson shook his head.

Cuddy could´ve puke. Or cry... Instead of she put on her loved 'I´m-the-boss'-mask and waited silently till Wilson spoke up again.

"What do you wanna do now?" he asked.

"Fire him?"

"Cuddy..."

She arched a brow. "Fire you?"

"Me?" Wilson dug confused.

"At the moment you´re much more annoying than him."

Wilson snorted. "He´s doing clinic duty." he said then.

"What?" Cuddy frowned in question.

"House." Wilson explained and observed Cuddys reaction attentively. "House is doing clinic duty voluntary."

"Therefore he gets paid..." Cuddy replied cooly.

"He isn´t on duty." he added. "He´s working voluntary."

Demonstratively untouched Cuddy shrugged her shoulders. "Finally all the fundraisers I forced him to go to kick in..." At the memory of saturday evening she bit down her bottom lip fighting against ascending tears. Damn... Her 'I´m-the-boss'-mask seemed to be damaged. A single tear ran down her cheek.

"Oh Cuddy..." Compassionate Wilson put his coffee aside and reached for Cuddy´s left hand, which clenched to a fist next to a few files, and caressed it slightly. Cuddy´s gaze avoided his. Ashamed she placed her cup on the desk and brushed the treasonable tear away with her right hand.

"He feels something for you too, Cuddy." he explained softly. "He just don´t know how to deal with it. So he does what he always does and acts like an idiot." He fondled her hand again. "Don´t let him screw it up, Cuddy."

Cuddy deprived him of her hand and crossed it with her right one in her lap.

Lethargic Cuddy nibbled at her coffee just to spill it back into the cup. It was totally cold... Damn. Wilson had left nearly thirty minutes ago, so she at least wasted half an hour with sitting at her desk and self-pitying... She shook her head with self-contempt.

Sitting here and telling herself over and over again, that confessing her love to House had been probably the most. The. Most. Stupidest thing she ever did in her whole life wouldn´t bring her forward... The only positive thing about it was that House, other than Wilson, didn´t took her seriously. Thank god. And the worst thing about it was, that she had meant every word she said. Every. Single. Word.

Damn.

Cuddy bit her lower lip.

She loved her husband.

Damn.

How the hell did that happen?

THANKS sooo much to RougeButterfly for betaing this so fast and well. You´re great!

And THANKS to you all for your great support and all your nice feedback. I´m so happy, you enjoyed this story so far.

BRIBE: As always: I´m weak and I´m a sucker for reviews, so I give everyone who reviews a little preview at chapter ten. I even let you chose, which preview you want. Which should it be?: A little scene from the following Tuesday or a small flashback to their wedding night?