Disclaimer: I do not own House
A/N: alright well this is shorter than the last chaoter but I wanted to save most of it for te next chapter, plus it was 12 am when I wrote this XD haha I didnt want to get grounded but I thought I should at least update ONE more story before my break comes to an end and it was supposed to be posted yesterday but I had a huddyfest and watched every huddy scene and ep I could find in my recorder lolol but at least I finished! This is probably the last fast update I have and if I update again quickly its because I actually did my homework early like I'm supposed to instead of last minute (I'm a great student arent I?)
Well thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed or voted. The poll is still up and I wont be taking it down until the very chapter it is needed in. Right now Daniel returning is in the lead, so if you don't want him to return and you havent voted vote now!
Also thanks to my beta Americanchick for editing while I took my nappy lololol and I hope you all like it :D Oh btw Vinson is no threat to huddy XD haha we learn a little more about him here around the end haha and you'll see he is no threat at all!
The morning was quiet as Lauren and Lisa prepared breakfast in silence. Rachel was still asleep because of the exhausting night. The only words that were passed through the mother and daughter cooking were "pass me this…" and "where is that…" They didn't make eye contact and neither brought up the subject… yet. As they began to finish the breakfast, they heard a soft yawn and both turned to find a tired, sleepy eye Rachel standing in at the entrance to the kitchen.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Cuddy said softly and lovingly as she picked the little girl up into her arms. Rachel laid her head on her mother's shoulder and snuggled into it still a bit tired. "Are you hungry?" Cuddy asked and got a simple nod against her shoulder as response. She smiled and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek before putting her gently down on to a chair. "Well Nana and I made you your favorites. We have eggs, pancakes, sausage, and yogurt."
Rachel smiled and gave another cute yawn before leaning up weakly to give her mother a soft hug. "Thank you mommy," She wiped her eyes before she gave Lauren a hug. "Thank you Nana." She spoke softly as she began to eat her breakfast.
Lisa and Lauren sat across from each other. Lisa was next to Rachel and Lauren was facing both of them. Contrary to their usual mornings, Lisa and Lauren weren't kidding around or talking. They stayed silent as they eat a family breakfast and it didn't take the smart Rachel long to figure out something was up. As she began to slowly wake fully up she looked between her mother and Lauren and also noticed that they weren't looking at each other, instead they kept their eyes on their food. Rachel learned her observant skills from when she spent time with House and he had taught her that if there was a pattern and the pattern suddenly stopped something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Rachel asked as she furrowed her brows at the two women, who turned to look at her. "You guys aren't talking, did you have a fight?" Rachel's eyes suddenly grew wide and fearful. "Do we have to move away from Nana?" She asked sadly.
Lisa and Lauren finally looked at each as they both held the same mixture of shock, concern and sympathy for Rachel. Lauren came beside her granddaughter while Cuddy caressed a cheek gently. Rachel looked from one to the other sadly as she leaned into her mother's loving touch. Lisa gave a soft sigh as she looked at her mother once more.
"Rachel," Cuddy started slowly.
"You are not moving out and away from me," Lauren finished. "I am not letting you two leave so easily. You can't get rid of me that easily, sweet pea." Lauren gave Rachel a soft kiss on the forehead.
"Yeah, Nana and I are just… at a disagreement." She saw Rachel's mouth open to ask a question but as if she read her daughter's mind she answered, "No we are not fighting. We are going to talk about it later, okay? So you don't have to be afraid of anything. If we were moving away from Nana I would ask you first because you know you are the most important thing to me."
Rachel smiled and gave a soft sniff. "Okay," She nodded reluctantly and saw her Nana and mother smile happily. "But are you guys disagreeing about mommy's bruises?" Rachel asked curiously as she took a bite of her sausage.
The two elder women couldn't help but smile at the young girl's insight. They both nodded soft with a small smile. Lauren resumed her spot in front of them and they began to eat their breakfast again. Rachel saw the two elder women smiling at her as they acted as if everything were okay, but if she learned one thing from her father, it's that everybody lies.
Cuddy came home after dropping Rachel off at the neighbors for a play date. Her mother was sitting in the living room, crossed legs while she read a magazine waiting for Lisa to come home. Lisa stood at the door, hoping her mother hadn't heard it open and stayed there. Her hopes were lost when she heard her mother call for her to come into the living room and stop being such a baby. She reluctantly took off her shoes and inched her way slowly, wanting to avoid this conversation at all costs.
She sat on the couch away from her mother and stared at the ground as if she were an insolent child about to be punished by her mother. The room stayed silent as it did the night before as they both waited for the other to begin. They heard the clock tick as they both sat impatiently and tiredly on the separate couches.
"Lisa, are we going to have to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Her mother asked in a threatening tone that almost scared the information right out of Cuddy.
"Mother, I'm not twelve," She stated, still a big frightened. "You can't scare me with those hollow out, empty threats." She lied as she began to rock back and forth nervously.
"You know, I know James's number. I can call him right now and ask what happened to you. He at least knows something and anything gives me a hint and you know just as well as I do that when I get a hint and start thinking I say my thoughts out loud. So if I happen to come across the correct answer, do you really want James to know and then tell Greg who will probably bother you more than you'd like?" Her mother methodically warned her daughter.
"Mother you wouldn't," Cuddy started in disbelief but saw the seriousness in Lauren's eyes as she reached for the phone. She knew that her mother had James on sped dial ever since she found out that Greg quit. "Mother please, he doesn't know anything." Cuddy bit the corner of her lip nervously.
Cuddy's actions did not go unnoticed by Lauren and she knew that it was a pathetic attempt to lie. "He knows something and I can get off anything you know that." Lauren stated as she held the phone ready to call Wilson in a heart beat.
Cuddy looked from her arm to her mother and sighed in defeat. She knew when she was out maneuvered and she'd rather go down with her dignity then be embarrassed. "Daniel Fisher." That was all she had to say before her mother understood and was instantly by her side to comfort her.
--
Monday came by quickly, but it didn't seem quick enough for House. Walters gave him a new file as usual and he had his employees coming up with theories and testing them. They finally settled upon one theory and began the treatment right before lunch. House told them to eat their lunch quickly and go downstairs to complete his clinic duty. The last three people down there were going to get fired. As they all rushed out, he kept an eye on Cuddy who looked at him blankly and walked out slowly as if she didn't care if she were fired or not.
House got up and followed the last person out of the room. He began to limp towards his office and was met with Vinson along the way. He ignored his friend, whom he was currently envious of, and continued to his office to retrieve something. Vinson noticed the silence and gave a hardy laugh which caused House to look at him inquisitively.
"Man, I didn't think I was right," Vinson stated and saw his friend get even more confused. "At the party, after Cuddy ditched you I told her that I thought you were jealous that she didn't hate me. She didn't believe me so I told her I could prove it. We were barely talking; we were mostly smiling and putting on a show. God, you're so gullible." Vinson chuckled. "In case you forgot, I'm married so I have no interest in her what's so ever."
"I was not jealous nor do I care if you have a thing for the she-devil," House stated as he opened his desk drawers to fish something out. "Yeah I know Walters was the she-devil but now Cuddy is here and I'm sure she'll never let that title go." House surprisingly got out a bag of candy and smirked at Vinson. "But as punishment for trying to trick me, you are going to help pull off my plan."
"What plan?" Vinson asked almost scared as he followed his friend out of the room.
"A plan to find out how Cuddy got hurt." House stated in an obvious tone as they continued down the corridor. As he expected he found mother with child heading towards the cafeteria to spend what little time they had to eat lunch together. "Go talk to Cuddy. Ask her how her arm is or how her day is. Just distract her for at least ten minutes so I can make my escape."
Vinson looked at his friend incredulously. "No," He shook his head. "I am not getting in the middle of one of your games. I know what you're trying to do and if she finds out I helped you she will, not only, not trust me but she'll also kill me with you."
"Oh come on buddy, if you know what my plan is you know that this will be easier than waiting a few years for her to open up to you about her hopes and dreams," House stated. "Now go!"
Vinson stood there hesitantly before he agreed to his friend's lunacy and made his way over to Cuddy. He stopped her before she could turn the corner and began discussing issues about House and hospital and the party as well as Rachel. Cuddy hesitantly joined the conversation and explained everything quickly, wanting to go and eat with her child, but saw that Vinson had a little more to talk about.
House edged closer and hid behind a near by corner. "Pst," He whispered as loud as he could. "Psssst." He whispered just a bit louder until he saw Rachel turn around. He held out a handful of candy to her and she quickly ran towards House, eluding her mother's attention. House quickly scoped her up and limped as fast as he could away from the scene as he gave the 8 year old girl a chocolate bar. He made his way to his office safely and hid the girl under his desk as they began to share the candy.
"Alright munchkin," He began as he poured a bag of gummy worms down his throat. "Why don't you tell me what you've been observing while I was gone?" He saw the girl smile and knew that he had taught her well before he left. He leaned back as Rachel began to state several things that she had noticed from her mother. This was easier than he thought it'd be.
A/N: Haha see I told you Vinson was no threat :D He's just a buddy LOL. What did you guys think to House's little plan? Was that a little too creepy? Hahaha Do you all still hate Vinson hehe if you do then you probably wont for long (hint hint) lolol.
Well like I said the poll is still on so you still have a chance to vote and this is very important, like I said before, to see where this story is going. And if you have any ideas (like how he comes back) for anything not just the poll tell me hehe I wanna see if any of you guys can read my mine on how he's going to return (if he returns) I hope you all liked it and reviews are very loved
-Jessica
