Soul Invasion

It felt as though she was walking through water, her vision lined with light, emanating from the world around her.

She felt stiff, her eyelids remaining firmly shut no matter how much she ordered them to open. Her fingers grazed over an alien surface, her mind not clear on where she was, her memories doing nothing to fill the void. Last thing she remembered was collapsing in the clinic. Now, instead of the unforgiving floor beneath her, she felt something rough and damp with dew.

Her body bolted up, eyes finally springing open, head whipping round. Where was she? She could feel her heart hammering, the fear increasing with every minute as her surroundings became even more unclear and out of focus. Fog seemed to linger, her body abandoned in the middle of a clearing, the moon shining through a thick forest of trees that circled around in a solid mass.

The night was silent, the world feeling as though it was closing in on her. She stumbled to her feet. Turning on the spot she tried in vain to gather any form of recognition for where she was.

Suddenly something darted by, a flicker of silver. She had no choice but to follow, a single sign of life, something that might be able to explain what the hell was going on. She darted into the trees, heels sinking into the soft earth with every step, hindering her chase. Branches whipped at her skin, striking, stinging, tangling within her dark locks of hair, now loose and flowing over her shoulders.

The glint of silver kept hovering ahead, only a few meters away but no matter how hard she tried, she never seemed to get closer. The blood pumped through her veins, energy flowing from every nerve. This object became her soul desire, her one single focus to reach it, to have it. Her body had been over taken by some external force, pushing her forward refusing to let her tired limbs rest.

Suddenly the earth vanished from beneath her feet, body falling through space, swirling amongst a mass of stars that twinkled around her. She closed her eyes, trying to shut out the impossible image. This couldn't be happening, it was beyond the realms of science, of anything she ever known or heard of. Her back collided with something solid, her eyes snapping open once more, blue eyes swimming before her.

Her fingers reached out, but again the figure lingered beyond her reach, teasing, tempting. She wanted it, him. The face slowly came into focus. Dark hair, messy and wild, stubble grazing his chin. His eyes became brighter, boring into her, light leaking from within the soul of this being himself.

Something stirred in the back of her mind, some form of recognition for who this man was, his position in her life, but she couldn't pin point it. Right now all she knew was her heart was hammering. A mythical force propelling her forward, wanting him, needing him to touch her, to taste him. Finally her fingers glided through his hair, pulling him down towards her. His lips pressed against hers, gliding over them, forcing them apart as their tongues invaded new territory. His hands grasped around her body pulling it firmly against his. He felt so solid; she welcomed his heavy weight upon her, the first thing that had felt real since she'd entered this realm.

Her hands ran over his body, feeling his fingers slide beneath her skirt, pulling each item of clothing off one by one. So close and yet he remained hidden from her eyes. Her hands unable to reveal the one thing she so desperately wanted to see, her desire to feel his naked skin against her unfulfilled. She felt the frustration course through her, the world around her revolting against her every need; tormenting her.

A sharp sensation in the back of her hand startled her, making her tear her lips away from his. A fatal reflex reaction, pulling her away from only a second, but one second was to long. She felt him slip from her fingers, his image misting, vanishing before her eyes.

She could hear his voice, calling out her name, quiet, questioning. Finally his eyes vanished, the disappearance of them a dagger, inflicting pain deeper that anything she ever felt before. But she could still hear the voice, ringing around her, coming from every angle of her conscious.

Gradually light seemed to seep in, a quiet beep rhythmically echoing around her.

She could feel her heart hammering, the aftermath of her dream, recognition of who the man was slowly seeping in. His face suddenly sprung before her. Her eyes adjusted, slowly bringing him into focus. His face was blank, void of all concern or emotion. She blinked, trying to discern whether this image was real, or just another figment of her imagination, something else in which to taunt her with.

Why did she want him so much?

She licked her lips. She fought hard, resisting the temptation to pounce. The uncontrollable urge that had previously plagued her body returned, rampaging through her. She didn't know the weird poison that was coursing through her veins but it was overtaking her body, ruling her emotions and forcing her towards the one man she'd spent her life fleeing from.

She felt his fingers over her, pressing on certain points. He frowned. Her heart was fast, the speed of her pulse thundering along from the desire within her. A light blossomed, the sight too bright, shocking her pupils, forcing them to shirk causing a stabbing pain to shoot into her mind. It sparked her dormant senses forcing sensible Cuddy forward. The one who knew who House was, what he was capable of, and that he was as bad as any man could possibly be for her.

Her hands forced the torch away, slapping it to the floor, frustration from the emotional argument she was experiencing. It was as though, there was two people battling within her, firing shots back and forth. One was forcing her into his arms, invading her heart, craving his touch. The other screamed at her to run.

She was obviously ill; otherwise she wouldn't be lying in a hospital bed at the mercy of this man. Her attraction to him was just an unpleasant side affect that was becoming even more annoying than he was.

Her head fell back against the pillow, fists falling to her side.

'I have to say when I fantasised about you falling at my feet that wasn't the way I imagined it.'

She was too confused to argue, choosing to lie there with her eyes shut in empty hope that he might leave her to sleep. She knew her wishes were in vain. He loved to fight, regardless of the situation. He enjoyed pushing her buttons, watching her aura crack, body exploding from within when he finally found the detonator.

But this time she would refuse to indulge him. Even if she had lost control of her mind, she could still keep control of her mouth.

His voice floated into her ears once more, 'I'm sure Wilson loved it though, after all he was the one with the close up, buried alive in your cleavage. I mean if your going to go that's got to be an interesting way to end it.' The tone was tainted with joy and amusement. Something rarely heard from House. She frowned, he was enjoying himself way too much.

What had happened? How had she ended up here?

Her fingers sunk into the bed sheet, nails dragging it up into her palms, bundling it within her fists in frustration. She couldn't remember a thing, her mind blank, empty holes in her memory. All recollection of what had happened after she'd eaten the apple had been erased. That left her vulnerable. House knew things she didn't, had ammunition against her which she wasn't prepared for. She didn't want to ask him, knowing he'd hold it over her head, blackmail, manipulate and most likely lie. But she didn't have a choice. She'd have a hard time working out when he was telling the truth, but hopefully she knew him well enough to read between the lines.

She finally gave in eyes snapping open, her curiosity getting the better of her.

'What are you going on about?'

His face normally frozen in a frown broke out into a wide smirk, relishing in her confusion. Knowing an opportunity to play with her had been handed to him on a plate. And for once he didn't even need to lie. What had happened was enough to get her going without him having to elaborate the tale.

'When you fainted and fell to the floor, you took Wilson with you. Almost suffocated, he was lucky I came to the rescue. Although personally I'd have to say he was very happy where he was. His eyes lit up like a candy store when you fell into his arms. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. I've been, wanting to get that close to Wilson for years.'

She raised her eyebrows at him, 'Well I wasn't conscious when it happened so it wasn't as much fun as I'd imagined.'

'You've imagined Wilson?'

She smiled, 'almost every night before I close my eyes. A responsible, respectable, polite doctor is always such a turn on,'

He did his fake laugh, face mocking her, before pulling back, 'nice try but we both know you like the bad boys,' he said, finishing his sentence with a wink.

She ignored the flutter within her chest, blaming the butterflies on nausea. It was sickness caused by the fainting and nothing else. The whole conversation was getting a little too flirty for her liking. It was taking her out of her comfort zone, but she'd go with the flow if just to get House out of her room as fast as she could.

'The only thing I like doing to bad boys is firing them.' She winked back, with cold humour on her face. 'Now tell me what happened after I fell.'

'Well I wouldn't want to get any one into trouble; but between you and me, some men just can't keep their hands to themselves.'

'Are you speaking from experience?'

She had to hold back a giggle at the expression on House's face, the little falter, not quite certain of what to say. She took advantage of his momentary silence, knowing it wouldn't last for long. 'So what caused me to faint?'

'My looks!'

'Well I admit they are scary, but I've gotten used to them over the years, so diagnostically I'd have to say it had to be caused by something else.' She felt another twinge at the back of her mind, the alien emotion forcing itself forward once more. Unable to resist her gaze fell on hi face, taking it in as though for the first time.

Everything about him seemed different to her. He'd always been attractive, but his attitude worked like a repellent against most women, his barb like fumes always ending up making them choke. But she'd always been able to work through it, somehow finding him more intoxicating than pure poison.

She loved the banter, and now she was being drawn to him like a magnet. The way he appeared in her eyes, was anything far from frightening, and that was the one thing she was scared of.

He dragged his hand over his face, the humour seeming to flee from it. 'You have some chemical in your system but we can't pin point it. It's a foreign format to any of our tests. However, we've been monitoring you closely and your body seems to be operating fine, apart from your brief blackout spell.'

'We?'

'Anyone other than me.'

'What were you doing in here then?'

'That would be telling, I was only taking advantage of the fact you were unable to shout at me. Now the threat of your vocal cords is back with a vengeance I can no longer continue, much to my disappointment.'

'The threat, as you described it, of me shouting at you, never seemed to stop you misbehaving before.'

'No but it was pain that subtracted from my pleasure.'

She frowned, 'House we both know you enjoy aggravating me, the only person your antics cause pain for is myself.'

'Is it hurting you right now?'

'My head is positively pounding' along with your heart. She shook her head, forcing the voice away.

Her eyes fell to him again. His smirk had vanished, replaced by a frown. 'You ok?'

The concern in his voice, something she'd hardly ever heard. She felt a brief shock ebb its way through her, making her tingle as her heart twisted itself into knots against her will. Forcing this weird waterfall back was pushing her over the edge.

'I'd be a lot better if you weren't here annoying me.' Liar. She wanted to shake her head again. Her body wanted him nearer not further away. For him to pull her against him, his fingers trailing over her skin; lighting the same flame that had burned so brightly within her dream.

'But annoying you is so much fun.'

'Only for one of us.'

'Well it would be selfish of you to deny someone else what makes them happy.'

'I can't stop you; just go do it to someone else, someone who can't fire you.'

'Always the same threat.'

'I might follow through on it some day.'

He turned to leave, dragging to door back with his cane. She couldn't wait to be left in peace, needing to get a grip of herself before she faced him again. But she couldn't resist asking him one thing, something he hadn't mentioned.

'House what about the apples? What did you find on them?'

'We didn't.'

'You didn't what.'

'Find anything on them, because we didn't test them.'

'What do you me-'

He cut her off, 'they weren't tested, because they were no where to be found, they vanished off the premises. No one saw a thing.'

With that he left, hobbling out into the hall, vanishing from sight as the door swished shut behind him.

Cuddy's head hit the pillow in frustration.

What was going on?