Ch 14: A Lover's Musings

When House reawakened he was pleased to find Cuddy's body curled around his side. He had been able to get some sleep, fortunately, and it was especially pleasing to find her so near him after the shock he had experienced during the early hours of the morning. He still wasn't all that keen on going into the shower without her beside him, as the memories of said nightmare were still too fresh, however, so he just lay with her for a while, admiring her features.

He liked the way she wrinkled her nose when she was displeased about something in her sleep. He thought it made her look a little more like a mortal that he could hold onto. He also liked the way her brow creased. She looked like a spitfire angel; he decided and grinned bemusedly to himself. One arm was wrapped around him and the other was tucked under her neck and he wondered if it would tingle when she awakened.

Much to his amusement he didn't have to wait long to find out. She stirred shortly thereafter and opened her eyes to meet his. "Morning," she muttered with a smile lighting up her eyes. He pretended disgust at the smell of her breath and she swatted him, but smiled again. "You'll just have to get used to it," she said.

"Right. That's like getting used to the odor of formaldehyde in bio…" House muttered. "Is your arm numb? I don't see how you could sleep on it like that."

"Just habit, I guess," she replied. "It's not numb at all."

"Oh. Well, good, I suppose." A thought struck him and he grinned wickedly. "How about taking a long, hot shower with me?" he asked. "I'd be willing to wash your back…"

"Tempting," she said with a smile, "but I've got to pick Rachel up from my sister's in less than an hour. She's working today."

House sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine…I suppose I'll have to endure the steamy pounding rhythm of the hot water all by my lonesome." His eyes glinted. "Or maybe I'll just call Wilson to help me out…he'd let me wash his back."

Cuddy snorted. "Wilson's probably already showered and sitting in his living room with breakfast and the stack of case files that he hauled home in his briefcase," she replied.

"I could definitely tempt him, though. He needs a break."

"Well, you do that. I'm going to go get my baby and do a few things around my house. You could come over later if you want to see me."

"Right…with the munchkin clinging to your side…" House feigned disgust.

Cuddy smacked him for real this time, hard enough for a sound to echo a bit and House looked at her annoyed. "In most amputation procedures they ask for a reason," he pointed out. "I'll just tell them it was due to trauma caused by an overzealous hooker." She threatened to smack him again, but settled for rolling her eyes and peeling herself off of him to get up.

"Call Wilson. I'll see you for dinner tonight," she told him.

"Fine…but I'm bringing Wilson too!" House declared.

"Ok. As long as you think you can survive a night without sex…"

"You wouldn't…" He narrowed his eyes.

Cuddy quirked one eyebrow in response. "Wouldn't I?" she asked. In truth she wouldn't and they both knew it, but House decided not to point that out. "Fine. He can watch Rachel while we get dirty on the couch. Don't tell him the end part, though."

House chuckled and said goodbye to his fiancé before watching her ass until she was gone from his sight. He reluctantly got out of bed and into the shower, pushing all thoughts of Cuddy and Wilson having sex in his kitchen out of his mind and quickly getting it over with. He dried off and slipped boxers on before deciding that he wasn't going to put pants on until he had to and going to the kitchen for some coffee.

The diagnostician settled down in front of the television with his coffee and a bag of Doritos, flipped through the channels for twenty minutes, then picked up the phone to try Wilson's home number. The oncologist answered on the second ring. House didn't feel like pointing out that his friend was a loser for waiting on his call and answering on the second ring, feeling that it was too easy and instead invited him over to have a few beers and watch the monster truck rally he had taped the previous night. Wilson said that he would be over in a few moments, leaving House to find a tshirt.

The men spent the day arguing over whether or not 'Bone Crusher' would be able to do much damage to 'The Obliviator' and drinking. They showed up on Cuddy's doorstep for dinner at 6 sharp and were welcomed by an eye roll and the smell of chicken. Wilson was more than happy to hang out with Rachel while House attempted to score, though he wasn't much better than Wilson in situations of intoxication when it came to lovemaking. He and Cuddy had a short tryst in the laundry room, then straightened their clothes and returned to the living area to Wilson and Rachel.

As House and Cuddy settled in for the night after saying goodbye to Wilson and tucking Rachel into her bed, she turned to study his face. "When do you think we'll be able to make it official?" she asked him.

"I'm pretty sure you can't adopt someone so close to your age," House replied. "Besides, Wilson still has both of his parents."

Cuddy made a face and snuggled closer to her man. "You know what I mean. Do you want to try and set a date?"

"I dunno. Do you have any specific time that you want to get married?" he asked.

"I'd like to do it in the fall. We could get married at the end of September and still have the ceremony outside, if it's not too long. That way the leaves would just be turning and the color would go nicely with the burgundy bride's maid dresses."

"Who are the bride's maids?" he asked.

"My sister, I suppose. And I've asked Cameron and Thirteen."

"Who are ok with wearing burgundy?"

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Yes. It's my wedding. They'll wear what I want."

House grinned. "I like a woman in control…"

"So what do you think? September 29?" she asked. He could tell that she was holding her breath and realized that she'd been thinking about the details for a while.

"Sure. That's fine," he replied after a few moments. "I guess I'll let Wilson know."

The two soon-to-be married doctors fell asleep that night thinking of their impending vows, one with an abundance of excitement, the other only wanting his bride to be happy.