There's no excuses for a so long disappearance, but I'm back, and I hope someone is still there to read (and enjoy) this story. I promise quick updates of the next chapters (I already have them ready, they just need a very little revision)
And in the meantime, if you like, I posted a corrected and reviewed version of my first fanfic, "My Immortal" (Same plot of the 2015 version, with a few additional new scenes)
Enjoy!
Notes: There's not a mistake in the title of this chapter. I wrote 'Gray's' (and not 'Grey's') Anatomy on purpose. The one is a famous Anatomy atlas and book (still used by Medical School students), the other one is the famous TV-series. Obviously in this chapter I played with both of them.
Chapter 8 - Gray's Anatomy
.
Cuddy parks her car and hurries along the path in front of her house, then turning the key in the front door.
It's late. She was supposed to be home at least a couple of hours earlier.
She avoids to put her bag on the sofa, since it has become House's bed in the last week, and she places it on the nearest armchair instead.
A carefully folded blanket is on one side of the sofa, placed on top of a pillow, and the only sign of House's presence in there is the couple of remote controls, and a half empty glass of water on the coffee table.
After a week it's weird not finding House on that same sofa. It's weird how there's not the shape of his ass 'carved' in there either, since he uses to be on there for the entire day. He's still recovering from a skull fracture and he hasn't been allowed to go back to work yet, not even in the role of 'consultant' of his own team (since he has no medical license anymore). So, lately, his favorite hobby is watching TV-series marathons. He has a soft spot for medical TV-series and soap-opera. Always had honestly. From General Hospital to Diagnosis: murder. From ER to the recent one, Grey's Anatomy.
Cuddy smirks to herself as her mind realizes there's another genre of TV-programs he uses to have a soft spot either. And that spot is whatever but SOFT actually. She swallows as the image of House watching a porno comes in front of her eyes... and she closes her eyes as she wonders if he actually jacked-off in there... on that same sofa... or in the shower maybe.
... Lisa, please.
She runs a hand on her nape and then down, in the point in which her neck turns in her shoulder.
... You're pathetic...
She mentally says to herself at how she isn't upset by that thought. She's turned on. And it's clearly a sign that she needs to release herself in turn. Maybe later.
...you're even more pathetic now...
And yet she can't help it. She knows she's probably going to masturbate in the silence of her own room, pretending it's House's hand.
She sighs.
It's not the first time she has that kind of thoughts about House, but they have become more frequent in the last weeks, since he bought back too many memories in her mind.
Taking into account the course her thought has taken, she knows it would be better to take a cold shower before meeting him. He still can notice both the redness on her neck and cheeks and the dilatation of her pupils.
She sighs again, trying to change the course of her own thoughts, and to focus on something else.
She wonders if House has already had dinner. And actually she hopes he already did.
… Shit, she was supposed to stop at the supermarket. And she curses herself for not having stopped there, along her way home, to pick up at least something ready to eat.
"House?" she calls in the silence of the room, taking off one of her heels and massaging her ankle, before taking off the other one.
"Welcome back"
His voice comes from the kitchen.
Welcome back. This kind of greeting coming from his mouth is as weird as the image of him which appears in front of Cuddy's eyes as soon as she enters the kitchen.
She chuckles and House turns to look at her. An apron around his waist and a wooden spoon in his hand. She shakes her head, letting out another chuckle.
"You should quit 50's-TV serial," she lifts both her eyebrows as her eyes move from the apron to his blue eyes "You look like the housewife-mother-character of Happy Days! What's her name? Mary?"
House's eyes pierce her.
"Marion," he specifies "And that's a 70's-TV serial. Just set in 50's" he points out again with a feign serious look as she rolls her eyes at him.
"Sorry" she replies feigning in turn an apologize "I forgot you're a specialist in that"
She smirks and he smirks in turn.
Cuddy watches House as his lips parts, like to say something else, instead he just licks his lips and then closes them, then turning again to the burner, checking whatever is in the pot and then putting down the spoon. He turns again to her a few seconds later with a mischievous look.
"You know what else I like as well as TV-series, Lisa?"
House's mischievous look stares piercingly into her eyes.
"Nature documentaries" he answers before she can say anything else "better on VHS tape"
It's the turn of Cuddy's lips to part, enable to let out any sound though.
She swallows, licks her lips and looks away from his eyes.
She perfectly knows which specific VHS-tape House is referring to. She just wonders if he's referring to the one which was in her dorm, or if he has found that same tape in her living room, now. She uses to keep it on the higher shelf, together with old movies, out of the sight and reach of her nephews. A documentary about NATURE, according to the hand-writing on the label... just not the kind of NATURE suitable for kids. Actually she still wonders why she kept it after all those years. After all she doesn't need an old tape if she wants to watch a porn. Years later, there's plenty of them for all tastes on the web.
But that specific VHS-tape had been a joke. Or a sort of gift. From House himself.
#
Endocrinology class.
A hand reaches for the paper, from behind her, for the umpteenth time as she turns quickly glaring at him.
"Greg, cut the shit,"
She rolls her eyes as he dashes off on her notes. Like if having Greg House's handwriting messing her notes is not upsetting enough, he's scrabbling in capital letters with a red pen. She sighs loudly, gaining a glare from the professor on the other side of the room. She turns to look straight in front of herself since the last thing she wants is being kick out of a lesson she actually would not been allowed to take.
Shit. Human gonadial hormones. It could be a lesson in Aramaic or Arabic as far as she knows, since she can understand a third of Professor Ericson's words. And 'a third' is an overestimation. She needs to write that stuff down on paper, and she rummages in her bag in an attempt to find another white sheet.
And suddenly her notebook gets pushed in front of her again.
A mnemonic from House. Again.
TIM- testosterone- inhibin - mullerian inhibiting factors
She licks her lips and smiles, not turning to him and just going on to take notes.
#
.
.
#
The cafeteria. That same day.
She's alone at the table. An open book, a notebook and a still untouched sandwich.
She gives a start as a hand brushes her shoulder, moving above it and then reaching for her food. She bows her head in resignation and sighs, not turning her head to look at the hand's owner.
"Can't you just buy your own food for once" she says watching Greg as he practically put half her sandwich in his mouth.
"I've brought you this one" he says putting in front of her a 7-UP as her eyes moves from the bright green can to House's eyes again.
"Er... thank you" she says with a hesitating and almost questioning tone. House being kind to her? Annoying, yes. Teasing, again...yes. But... kind... really?
He takes the pen from her hand and he begin to write on her notes again.
Yes... it was too good to be real.
"You already wrote down a mnemonic about 'gonadial hormons', Gregory. I got it"
He doesn't look up at her but he replies.
"Yeah. And you won't do anything about it for a few years. You should be more interested about the sperm pathway through male reproductive tract, instead, Lisa"
Her lips parts and closes a second after and she does her best not to blush, failing in it.
"You're a pervert"
House laughs and she glares at him.
"It's not a sexual proposal, Lise. I'm not asking you a blowjob. I mean it literally. Anatomically speaking"
She looks down at the paper that House put in front of her eyes again.
SEVEN UP.
S - seminiferous tubules
E- epydidimis
V- vas deferens
E- ejaculatory duct
N- nothing
U- urethra
P- penis
She doesn't say anything. She feels stupid and uncomfortable. Not because of the sexual reference. Because she has just misunderstood his words, somehow thinking that Gregory House could make her a sexual proposal. He's a legend... there's no way he can think to her in that way. Even if... well... it's not about a date proposal... he's a man. Is there a man who is not always up when it comes to a blow-job?
"House! Here you are!"
They both look at the guy approaching them. He just hands House a VHS-tape, gives him a smut look and leaves, patting his shoulder and thanking him for the loan.
House turns the VHS between his hands and chuckles. He puts the tape on the table and gives her a smut look.
"Well, this one can be counted like an anatomy review, you little naughty head" he says with a teasing look.
She takes it and turns it between her hands in turn.
A NATURE documentary. But from the look in Greg's eyes not the kind of documentaries involving lions or tigers.
He bends down to whisper in her ear.
NATURE.
Needy
Avid
Throats
Urging (for)
RElease.
And he just leaves as her cheeks keeps fire.
#
"Nature documentaries, umh?" Cuddy says at last, filling the silence between them "You're lucky I've subscribed to National Geographic Channel then, instead of Adult Contents Channels" She teases as he rolls his eyes at her.
House turns to the burner again, taking something from the pot and then turning to her again.
"You have to taste this... it's baccalà mantecato. Whipped codfish. Typical Venetian dish" House said, then asking her to pass him the plate on the counter "Did I tell you my father was stationed in Camp Ederle in Vicenza, Italy? I was ten"
Cuddy shakes her head lightly and rolls her eyes at him, but she hands out the plate to him, looking at what looks like grilled polenta bites on it.
"House, you shouldn't stand up long and cooking. Even less going out to the supermarket"
"I sent Wilson. It's good how his guilt comes in handy" he chuckles, putting a teaspoon of whipped codfish on every polenta bite "Anyway, are you sure that praying mantis he calls girlfriend isn't going to eat his head after sex, aren't you?"
Cuddy smiles.
"You don't like her because she's a sort of competitor" she says, shaking her head, giving him another little smile and a mischievous look.
"You don't like her in turn" he replies, this time with a piercing stare "and she can't be a competitor at all for you. So why?"
Cuddy lets out a laugh this time and she nods, looking down at her own feet to avoid the bright blue of House's eyes. It's flooring sometimes.
Her arms cross in front of her chest and she looks up at him again, holding back another smile, as it shines in her eyes though.
"Because I really fear Amber can eat Wilson's head,"
She laughs and House smirks at their agreement.
"But, sincerely House, you, cooking for me, it scares me even more"
She lifts her eyebrows, giving him a teasing look as he stares back at her with half-amused and half-intrigued eyes.
"It's not for you. It's for myself... and you" it's House's time to give her a teasing look "I'm not going to eat another one of your soups. Now, shut up and just tell me if you like this"
He watches her as her eyes hesitantly study the bite in House's hand, then letting him feeding her from his hand.
"Oh... mmm ... God"
She hums and giggles at the look in House's eyes as the little piece of food melts on her tongue.
"I've always liked watching your orgasms" He teases as she swallows.
"I'm not having an orgasm, House" she chuckles "But this might really be the best thing I've ever tasted. And, yes, I'm including what you're thinking of now"
She rolls her eyes at him again and he chuckles.
"Once again, you're a pervert" she says, giving him an amused look though "But you are an amazing cook!"
"I know" He replies with a smirk "You never know when your skill comes in hand-, er, I mean, comes in handy"
.
.
"House, pass me a towel, please"
House doesn't turn at first as he hears the bathroom door getting opened, and he just looks at the fogged image of Cuddy in the mirror, stopping midair the razor which has just removed the last spot of foam and hair on his chin, then letting it fall in the sink. The light fog from his recent shower fills the air and it condenses on the mirror, forcing him to remove it with his palm from time to time in order to see his own mirrored image.
He reaches for the nearest towel and he uses it to dry his face and neck, before hearing his name, called again from Cuddy's voice, and finally turning to look at her.
If she doesn't really need his attentionshe just would keep looking at him, at his bare back, still damp from the shower and the humidity of the room, his shoulders and arms, still toned even after twenty years, and at the towel wrapped around his hips, enough to cover his virility, but to awaken in her a not sleeping desire.
"I'm sorry, I've hurt my head. I just need something to..."
Cuddy doesn't finish the sentence as soon as he clearly looks at her and speaks.
"Shit. Let me see"
His voice is firm and worried at the same time, at the view of how blood is finding its way between her fingers, as she keeps her hand pressed on her forehead.
"House, it's nothing," She tries "Just a little cut,"
"I'll decide if it's nothing. Let me see," He says in a low tone, obviously ignoring her words and reaching out for her, pulling hr closer "How did it happen?"
House tries to remove Cuddy's hand from her face, but she insistes repeating another "it's nothing", which reaches his ears, but not his temporal lobe.
"I just dumbly hit my head against the corner of the cabinet in the kitchen. I just need a towel and some disinfectant from the cabinet behind you. I can do it by myself"
He looks right into her eyes this time as she can't avoid staring back at him.
"I know you can," he says in a softer tone, anyway taking her free hand and leading her inside the room, making her sitting down on the lid of the toilet bowl.
She rolls her eyes at him (or better the only eye he can see), but she diligently follows his silent instructions, then moving the hand from her own face to let him examining her forehead.
"You know, I don't need a medical license to disinfect a wound"
He says, still looking into her eyes as her features soften and the hint of a smile lightly curls up the corners of the lips of them both.
"It's bleeding a lot," he says, not looking at her this time, but examining the little, but deep, cut just an inch from the line of her hair.
"It's just a minuscule superficial branch of a supraorbital vein, House"
She says more for reassuring him than in an attempt of teaching him something, obviously, but by the time she realizes he can misunderstood, he has already stopped his hand and he's staring at her with his piercing eyes.
She's about to apologize, but the look in his eyes stops her.
He emphatically rolls his eyes at her, and he gives her a mischievous half-smile.
"It looks like someone here had a great teacher for her anatomy test. Now, doctor Cuddy, just...shut up!"
She opens her lips to reply, but she closes them just a second later, and she just smiles, biting on her lower lip.
The room is silent only for a minute, while House cleans her wound, abundantly disinfecting it.
- the perfect curve of her back turning in her butt. The white smooth skin of her buttock. His hand lingering on it, drawing little circles... Gray-blue eyes and a mischievous look...-
"House, you're giving me a bath"
Cuddy's voice awakes him from that piece of memory, as it disappears in the uncatchable darkness of his mind again, and he just shakes his head, letting out a chuckle and handing her a towel.
"Shut up and just dry yourself off"
"You've baptized me," she replies again, with a smirk as he rolls his eyes at her even if he can't help but smirking in turn.
House's hand reaches out for her face again, keeping her still, and seriously examining her wound.
"You need suture"
"What?" She immediately replies before he finishes the sentence, giving him an alarmed look.
He shakes his head in a mocking way, giving her another smirk and taking instead a couple of steri-strips from her first-aid cabinet.
"Just kidding" he says, just in case his eyes haven't been clear enough, than fixing her wound and covering it with a sterile gauze.
"It's a beautiful day to save lives" he says with emphasis as soon as he finishes to put a band-aid on Cuddy's forehead.
She furrows her eyebrows, giving him a questioning look. She doesn't need to say that "What? out loud since he clearly reads it in her eyes. And he smiles.
"Will I survive then?" She asks in a teasing tone, not repressing a smile as she stands up.
"The only one that can keep such a promise is God, and I haven't seen him holding a scalpel lately"
He replies pompously as Cuddy rolls her eyes and snorts this time.
"Are you out of mind?" She asks as her eyes betrayed her amusing despite her serious features.
"I have a thing for ferry boats" House says again as Cuddy shakes her head and lets out a chuckle.
"Have you watched all the four seasons of that medical-TV-series* in a couple of days?" She asks, shaking her head and letting out another chuckle.
"You don't have any porn on your pay-per-view," He laughs in turn giving her a smutty look.
She just smiles back, again shaking her head in amusement, not in disappointment, and patting a hand on his shoulder in a 'poor-baby' way, then passing near him and heading to the door.
House's arm reaches for her again, instead, wrapping her waist and pulling her closer.
"Pick me, choose me, love me" he whispers an inch from her lips, locking eyes with her as the warmth of his breath sends her a shiver down her spine. It doesn't matter she well knows it's just another quote from a famous medical series.
"You're my person" he adds with a piercing and yet teasing look, clearly joking. Or maybe, not.
"You're an idiot" She replies with an amused look and the hint of a smile, gently freeing herself from his embrace and heading to the door, as House smiles in turn.
.
Author's note: I'm not a real fan of Grey's Anatomy, but I watched a lot of episodes here and there since it's perpetually on TV (in Italy at least). If you're a fan you surely recognized some famous lines from Grey's Anatomy. So, here, House is just playing with Cuddy, quoting some famous lines from the series (but it sounds anyway like a sort of love declaration, right?). Is there a chance Cuddy can't fall in love with this House?