Disclaimer: I do not own House MD or any of the characters
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Drifting off into sleep, Cuddy was too out of it to hear the faint sound of breaking glass followed by a door opening and closing. But that was, indeed, what was happening in her kitchen.
Turing towards the window that he had just punched in, House smirked and, figuring that Cuddy would probably walk into the kitchen at some point, completely barefoot, bent to pick up the surprisingly large shards of glass that littered the floor beneath the window.
Pain.
"Shit!" he cursed under his breath as a particularly sharp piece made its way through the skin of his hand "Damn!"
Removing the rest of the pieces as best he could, House put them in the bin and proceeded to wrap a paper towel around his hand.
Limping into the hall of Cuddy's house, holding his cane with one hand and pressing the newly-bandaged one to his chest, House looked around. He could hear Cuddy's faint breathing as she slept, he could see the room that had, one day, been meant for Joy and that would, in a few months, house her … their baby.
Settling for the living room, House made his way to the couch and took a seat remembering, with a smirk, how that was the place where it had all started.
Ensuring that the sound was low, House turned on the TV and placed his sneakered feet onto the centre table, after all, what Cuddy didn't know wouldn't hurt her.
Waking up three hours later, Cuddy heard a strange whoosh of wind, the kind that comes with a low whistle as it passes under the door, or between two partially closed windows.
Knowing that she had closed every door and window and remembering that House had closed the door after leaving, she started to feel apprehensive. Slowly and cautiously, she got out of bed, doing her best not to move too much, for the baby's sake.
On tip toes, she made her way to the front door. Locked. Baby's room. Shutters closed. Kitchen. What the …
Heart beating faster and adrenaline shooting through her, Cuddy reached for the first long object she could find, which, incidentally, was simply a broom which, in retrospect, would cause no real harm to an assailant, and tiptoed back out of the kitchen, preying to God that she wouldn't find the intruder.
Her bedroom she knew was clear, after all, no matter how groggy she was, she would have undoubtedly spotted another human being. The kitchen was clear, so was the baby's room and, figuring she should leave going upstairs for a last resort, Cuddy peered around the door to the living room. There was definitely someone sitting on her couch. And that someone was snoring. As she slowly made her way inside, broom clasped in two hands like a baseball bat, recognition started to set in.
Green-soled sneakers, wrinkly blue dress shirt, ugly-logo band t-shirt, leather jacket on the table, cane resting on the floor.
"What the HELL are you doing here?" she shouted at him lowering the broom.
Startled, House opened his eyes and spotted her standing behind him.
"I was sleeping" he said in an accusatorial tone.
"In MY house?" she asked taking deep breaths "Are you INSANE?" she asked angrily
"Uh, most would say yes …" he started
"You could have given me a heart attack! I though someone had broken into my house!" when she saw that House was about to point out the obvious, she added "someone bad"
A smirk forming on his lips, House queried "I'm not 'bad' then?"
"That's not what I meant, I…" angry, frustrated and her heart still pounding in her chest, Cuddy turned towards the kitchen hoping to a. put the broom away and b. calm down before addressing the issue that was Greg House.
Apparently, House had no intention of letting her go in peace and so quickly (as quickly as he could) got to his feet and limped after her.
"By the way, what was your plan if you did find someone 'bad'?" he asked with another smirk "were you going to sweep them out?" he asked as she turned to him, glaring
"I was going to hit you with the can … actually, I still have half a mind to do so …" she said lifting the broom as he, mimicking her, lifted his cane "Oh…" she said "very mature" as she turned back into the kitchen and placed the broom against the wall by the door.
"Ow!" she shouted as a searing pain shot up her foot and she held onto the counter so as not to fall.
"What?" asked House, 'rushing' to her side in an uncharacteristic display of concern.
"Something …" she sighed regaining her balance and holding her foot up from the floor "Ah …"
When House saw the blood dripping from the injured, limb, he felt a small pang of guilt, rather, something he figured was what the common person referred to as 'guilt'.
With what could be seen as a nervous chuckle, he spoke "He, thought I got all of them"
"House!" she shouted looking up at him, her grey-blue eyes trying to pierce through him like the piece of glass had done to her foot "You not only broke my window, but also proceeded to leave the glass on the floor?" she asked angrily
"Actually, I did try to pick them up …" he explained holding up his bandaged hand.
"Oh, great, that makes it all so much better" she answered sarcastically, trying to limp out of the kitchen using her good foot and the heel of the other.
Again uncharacteristically, House reached with an arm under hers and proceeded to help her limp out. A process which, had it happened on TV, would have been highly amusing, because really, there is only so much a limping diagnostician can do to help an equally limping administrator.
Feeling a stir in that soft spot she'd always had for House, Cuddy looked up at him as he focused on the door to the living room "Thanks" she said with a smile before facing forwards and continuing with her efforts.
When he had Cuddy safely sitting on the couch, House stood up, straightening his back and waiting for the pain in his leg to dissipate.
"Where's your first aid kit?" he asked her
"Uh …" she said as she shifted slightly trying to fing a more comfortable position "bathroom" she said nodding towards the guest bathroom.
Not two minutes later, she heard a large bang and a series of curses.
"What happened?" she asked turning around as best she could to try and evaluate the damage.
"Nothing" said House in a forced calm voice as he limped back to the living room with the first aid kit in hand.
"House?" she asked suspiciously "did you by any chance pull out the drawer from under the sink a little to far making everything fall on the floor?" she asked as he smirked "why am I even surprised?" she asked with a sigh as she closed her eyes.
Taking advantage of her not looking, House grabbed her bleeding foot and placed it on his lap, opening the first aid kit.
"Ow!" she cried when he took a pair of tweezers to her wound "what are you doing?"
"Glass, wound …" he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. When she continued to look at him suspiciously, he added "… you know, I am a doctor …"
Sighing, Cuddy nodded. If there were bits of glass in the cut, she knew he had to take them out "just, be careful" she said leaning back on the pillows and wincing as he squeezed the foot to get better access "Ok, ow!" she said again
"Do you or do you not want me to remove the glass?" he asked "exactly, then please, shut up!"
For the next few minutes, House cleaned and bandaged Cuddy's foot and, all the while, she started to get a tingling sensation every time he touched a new spot on her foot or leg.
When he was done, he patted her foot and, smiling when she winced, spoke "all done"
Removing her foot from his lap, Cuddy, slowly, sat up straight and reached for the first aid kit.
"What are you doing?" he asked her as she turned to him with a menacing look, tweezers in one hand, bandages in the other
"Your turn …" she said smiling. When he continued to look at her like she was insane, she put down the bandages and grabbed his hand pulling it towards her "Don't be a baby …"
Unnoticed by either of them, House's forearm was resting on her stomach as she pulled the hand towards the light to make sure it was clean. Cuddy was well aware of the baby's kicks, what she wasn't aware of, however, was that so was House.
Feeling the tiny movements beneath his arm, House was glad Cuddy wasn't looking at him, because the smile that crept on his face was completely uncontrollable.
When Cuddy finally finished bandaging his hand and let go, she was sure she felt him linger his arm and, in a slow slide, his hand on her stomach. But right then, his piercing blue eyes were on hers and thinking was becoming increasingly difficult to do.
TBC
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CJS-DEPPendent