Parts 1 and 2 adjoined on my profile. :) Sorry I wasn't able to সম্পাদনা this properly, here. I honestly suggest আপনি read it at ff.net, though. :)
I hope আপনি like this! :)
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This was one of those rare mornings when your eyes flutter open ever so slowly, taking in the current surroundings and recalling what had happened the night before and the dawn earlier that morning. Then smiling that smallest yet utterly captivated smile আপনি have ever made, আপনি think of how different আপনি feel this morning. Good different. And as আপনি revel in that sense of completeness enveloping you, your eyes scan everything in your bedroom and beyond. You're in the same room where আপনি wake up every single দিন but a new aura has dawned on it. আপনি think of whether it's just আপনি অথবা something has really changed wonderfully.
Something, everything feels right. In place, finally.
আপনি know better than to assume how things would turn out, especially with him, but আপনি just couldn't help yourself so আপনি instantly conclude that your দিন would be a magical reality. That from this দিন on, your life would change. আপনি don't know whether for better অথবা worse, though আপনি hope with all your being that it would be the first, but আপনি do know finally taking that chance at something inexplicably insanely beautiful was worth it.
Finally, your eyes focus on the person lying in front of আপনি and আপনি think… আপনি have never felt this serene on a morning. It was a most welcome feeling. It seeped through every pore of your being and আপনি couldn't seem to stop yourself from thinking that nothing could go wrong today. আপনি focus your eyes on the man আপনি helplessly প্রণয় slumbering in front of আপনি and allow yourself to be lifted up on a মেঘ with a smile on your face as আপনি think: being with him like this, laying beside him; so close, so comfortable and relaxed, felt so right. আপনি inaudibly chuckle at your thought, "Maybe I'm only thinking this way at the moment because his mouth is shut." Nevertheless, it unmistakably makes আপনি feel something আপনি have never really entirely felt before.
Complete.
Cuddy was on her side, facing House who was on his back. She continued to gaze at his features, not really feeling unusual with what she was doing. Gazing at him in this state, in this most peaceful state, gave her a feeling of tranquility and hope. Love, that too; she was helplessly and hopelessly in প্রণয় with him. His mouth was slightly ajar and he was lightly snoring but the way he seemed to be pouting that petulant pout whenever he didn't get what he wanted, in sleep, made her think he looked rather cute, if not charming. His lips… God, she loved those lips- especially upon her own whenever she kissed him অথবা him her. If only he could hear her thoughts, she inwardly mused, one corner of her mouth tugging up into a smirk. She trailed her eyes Northward and came upon his nose. There was nothing wrong with it… she actually liked his unusually formed-sort of- nose. She looked at his forehead, liking that the creases were almost nonexistent. But she liked those creases- at times- whenever he was thinking so deeply about something, be it a case অথবা something not involving work and the hospital.
But nothing else about him, physically, could ever make her melt into a puddle অথবা ignite her longing, passionate হৃদয় the way his eyes, his cerulean orbs, always do. She loved his eyes. The way he'd look at her with such a soul-searching gaze. The way he looked at her, vulnerable. Every situation, every instance he looked at her, those captivating and piercing baby blue eyes could always get to her, reach her.
Yes, she was like a পোকা to a flame… but the burns and bruises she was willing to take if they meant being able to be with him, be near him, touch him… and প্রণয় him, as he loved her. She realized that now.
She was hopelessly, helplessly but happily in প্রণয় with him. She couldn't help it. The only reason she wish she didn't was because of her fears of things taking a turn for the worse. She was afraid of them trying for a relationship as it is the moment she had arrived at his apartment earlier that morning. There were no assurances of any sort.
What had really brought her to finally step out of the world she tried to make without House? Her pursuit of real happiness and real love. Not a delusion she had set up for herself to escape the invisible link that bound her and tied her to House. Not of House's revelations to Hannah last night- those revelations helped her to understand a deeper, hidden part of him and his real thoughts, though. Lucas had been her poor substitute for House. There really was a to how far people could keep up a façade. And not everything that looks good on paper actually works. Even if It does, it doesn't last.
Finally, last night, she just couldn't keep up with it anymore. Her হৃদয় was finally speaking for herself. Her brain has agreed to her heart's ultimate desire. She had to break free from her own-made alternate universe. As unscrupulous as it seemed, living in a world without House in it seemed so boring, lifeless. Incomplete. Why had she tried her best to push him out when she even breathed life back into him? Why did she erect a দেওয়াল between them?
She inwardly sighed and unconsciously frowned.
Fear.
She was very fortunate- though others would beg to differ- to have House as a friend—a best friend, actually. He knew so much about her and she him. Although they may not know everything, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses like long time friends—which they really were.
From this দিন on, from the moment he roused from his slumber, she'll experience having House as a partner… as a lover. It was as scary as it was exciting.
She gave a contented sigh. The warmth emanating from his body she could no longer resist so she carefully slid closer to his sleeping form. She laid her head as gently as she could on the center of his chest and placed her right hand on the right side of his chest, palm settled atop his beating heart. She moved her head to gaze at him again, closer this time, to check if she woke him with her movements. She didn't.
The hand atop his হৃদয় moved up to cup his cheek, feeling his stubble scratch her palm. She noticed how thick it's gotten and how unkempt it was. What would he say if she proposed to trim it? She liked his stubble; it made him look younger and sexier as long as it was maintained. She fondly smiled when he unconsciously leant into her touch.
She was wholly captivated, wholly his; mind, body and soul. Maybe, she thought… maybe she's always been. She was utterly spoiled দ্বারা Dr. Gregory House.
"Everybody knows this is going somewhere," she recalled herself telling him about a বছর ago. He had groped her then, telling her that that was the logical পরবর্তি step.
Earlier that দিন they were finally on the same page, both ready and willing to face the odds and risks of them in a relationship, together.
"You're afraid to be happy!" she remembered telling him as well as she traced the outline of his slightly parted lips. Yes, she knew that was one of the reasons they were never on the same page. And as she thought of it now, she was sure that subconsciously she too, was afraid to be happy… with him. She knew that he was afraid to be happy because, for anybody of course, it was a risk. And last year, it was a risk, a life অথবা death gamble, he didn't have the capacity and willpower to make considering the incidents.
Many times she ব্যক্ত to herself, "I'm done." Two times she had told him face to face, including last night. But she could never be able to stop herself from caring for him and loving him time after time.
She would never be done with him. She never could be. Nor would she want to.
Cuddy raised her head up to lay a loving চুম্বন on the corner of her lover's mouth. She lingered for a while, reveling in the sudden realization that she could চুম্বন him anytime—she doubts he'd even complain about it—she wanted now. She laid her head down on his shoulder, thinking for a while, waiting for sleep to revisit her.
Who in their right minds would work on a free day?
"Not even a দিন and he's rubbing off of me already," Cuddy thought, amused, as she laid spooned against his side with her eyes closed.
As she was quickly being pulled into Sleep's arms, Cuddy unconsciously slid the hand resting on his chest down his torso until she reached the hem of his faded blue tee and delved in the warmth of the flesh radiating from his stomach. She gave a soft sigh of content and finally faded into a dreamless, restful sleep.
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Surreal was the only adjective he could think of to describe waking up to her that morning. Surreal for he never imagined waking up পরবর্তি to her, in reality. He let out a small, almost nonexistent smile. That rare, small smile which was barely there but conveyed his most cherished emotions আরো than his wider smiles. It spoke of content.
He's living reality now… and it wasn't a hallucinatory reality অথবা a drug-induced dream. If last night he had even the slightest microscopic stain of doubt, now he has none.
Another shot at happiness. He was finally handed another one and at the same time he's ready to seize it… with the only woman who could make him happy.
The woman he loved, one Lisa Cuddy.
He didn't know whether happiness was really feasible for him but he had started believing in it during the times he's been in therapy with Nolan. A few days পূর্বে he finally gave up trying after a বছর of fruitless perseverance on trying to find at least some shrapnel of happiness for himself. Last night, Time gave in and Fate – something he didn't believe in—finally brought them together. It was nothing short of an actual miracle.
He himself knew that he wouldn't be able to change, অথবা fix himself in a দিন অথবা two just because they were together now. And Cuddy wasn't really trying to 'fix' him. She's long প্রদত্ত up on that. She accepted him wholly. He was the one who wanted to fix himself, now. For the better. For his own. For her. For them. It was going to be a process but now that he had a reason, a greater motivator, to continue moving অগ্রবর্তী to the path of happiness—wherever that may be অথবা if it really existed- he'll talk to Nolan again and continue with his therapy. It really did help. He was but blinded দ্বারা the occurrences surrounding him that pulled him down, forging his misery yet again, making him blind to the light reaching for him to help. But last night, she had come to his rescue—even if rescuing him wasn't really her motive for that late night visit. He had almost jumped off the cliff again but Life had finally rewarded him last night after months of futile work in pursuit of happiness. The bastard just wanted a front row আসন to the thrill and suspense before granting him another chance to start anew.
He broke the staring contest he waged with the ceiling and then slowly glanced down at the entrancing woman wrapped around him. What he wouldn't give to lay with her like he was at that moment.
Maybe she was immortal, he thought. A goddess, really. If not, then an angel. For how many times had she caught him as he fell? How many times had she saved him, either from death অথবা himself? How many times had she…
He stopped with those thoughts. Counting… doesn't do anything. But yes, she has saved him from himself countless times, including last night, and had been there for him whenever he needed her most. He was eternally grateful… and in প্রণয় with her. No matter how many times he thought about it, he really couldn't get the word 'love' out of his mind.
Now that he had her, now that they have each other he'd try his best to not hurt her with his tendencies to… sabotage himself and his shot at happiness for this may be his last chance at it. A বছর পূর্বে he had learned that he was still man and not a god. He still ached, he still broke despite knowing he was already broken.
"If আপনি can't make it work with her then maybe there's no one out there. You're afraid to take a chance because it's too big a chance," he recalled Wilson tell him.
He hit rock bottom with his feet chained to an enormous ball made of lead… which he himself pushed towards the edge of a cliff. He had done what had happened to him a বছর পূর্বে to himself.
What did he really do to deserve her, he'll never know. But he is grateful. He gently pulled her closer to him with an arm. Yes, he'd prefer staying with her like this আরো than anything at that moment. What he wouldn't give to not have to deal with patients অথবা the hospital and the people there for a দিন অথবা two.
And then it hit him. House smiled like the Cheshire cat.
He'd take her out today. She আরো than deserved it.
House grinned mischievously. It'd be fun to coerce her to skip work for the day. Besides, it wasn't like she had to actually be at work. She just got so used to going in during the weekends.
He didn't know he had been lightly stroking her shoulder until she let out a soft sigh and slightly moved her head against his neck. He was content. And then he saw what she was wearing. His shirt. He hadn't noticed it last night. She must have pulled one from his drawers when he took some clothes for the few days he'll be staying with her for the time being.
He glanced at the digital clock on her bedside টেবিল and decided to start planning on very, very short notice. He gazed down at the restfully sleeping woman on his shoulder and frowned slightly, reluctant to deprive her of his shoulder as her human pillow. But he had to if he wanted that plan to whisk her away for the দিন to work.
He sounded like some crippled Prince Charming, House thought to himself in light annoyance. But hell, he was too punch-love-drunk to care. He carefully eased Cuddy down on the বালিশ and pulled the duvet up and atop her body. He sat দ্বারা her side for a while, just gazing at her in admiration and awe. She was beautiful. And they were finally together. He gently touched her exposed cheek with the back of his index and middle finger then leaned অগ্রবর্তী and kissed her temple before tucking some disarrayed locks of hair from her face. He had some planning to do.
After relieving himself, he went to her রান্নাঘর to find Rachel sitting in her highchair with marina in front of her. "Dr. House, I suppose?" the woman asked in a slightly thick accent. There had been times when Dr. Cuddy would be in a hurry to go to the hospital, saying the curmudgeon doctor did this অথবা that. Also, she had overheard that Dr. House had a limp so she assumed that the man in front of her was the infamous brilliant curmudgeon doctor. She of course had no right to judge without meeting the man first. But Lucas made him sound like such a force to be reckoned with. Also, a hard person to get along with. At the moment she didn't think so. She could still be proven wrong, she thought.
First things, first, though. Why on high heavens was he there? Why did he… well apparently, Cuddy had broken up with Lucas. That was the only logical explanation for it. She had no right to question, had no right to judge. She was sure Dr. Cuddy had her reasons. She was the sole owner of her heart. No one and nothing but it could tell her who to love.
House nodded at Marina, acknowledging that she spoke instead of ignoring her existence. House took a step অগ্রবর্তী to at least shake the woman's hand civilly. Harassing Cuddy's nanny wouldn't be good for him, nor for Cuddy. He should at least be on good speaking terms with the woman who would be able to help him spend আরো time with Cuddy দ্বারা taking great care of Rachel. He was being smart.
House poured himself a glass of water, drank his fill and then set the glass aside. When he turned, marina was already busying herself with Rachel again. She was feeding the infant who has grown considerably from the last time he's seen her. Rachel was happily cooing and occasionally mumbling incoherent words at the woman while being fed and picking at the cheerios splattered on her squeaky clean highchair's table.
"Do আপনি have anything to do?" House throatily asked on a whisper, successfully hiding his nervousness and slight awkwardness at even asking to help. Rachel seemed to be in a mood that wouldn't bring her anywhere crying so he might as well make himself known to the little tyke. She couldn't be that bad. The worst she could do was either cry অথবা barf at him… again.
"Si, but I can watch her for now," marina answered, surprised at the doctor's offer to help her. He wasn't turning out as bad as other people have described him.
"I'll keep an eye on her for some time, make sure she doesn't break into two," House answered, luckily preventing himself to be snarky at her.
"Dr. House, really, I can—"
"I insist," House answered with a none-too-reassuring wink at the woman. When she only stood up and walked to the entrance to Cuddy's dining area and looked at him doubtfully House reassuringly told her, "Deja que ella me."
marina nodded at him, আরো reassured now that he was serious in actually looking after her employer's daughter while she did some chores. She'll be sure to check on them after a while অথবা two. Anyway, she was glad he was holding the fort for a while. It'll make watching Rachel later in the দিন easier. So far she was liking the man. An added bonus was that he could speak her native tongue.
Rachel has been staring at him with round blue eyes the moment marina left, curious about the huge man's identity. Her mind signals her that she hadn't seen him before and so her apprehension surfaces and a frown graces her lips.
House sat down in front of her, staring at the kid but not entirely oblivious to the fact that she may start crying soon since he wasn't a face familiar to her. For obvious reasons, she wouldn't have remembered that the last time they had come face to face with each other was that night in his office where she blessed him with her "cute" baby barf.
He intently studied the child. As he did, he was suddenly caught unaware দ্বারা the essential fact that he suddenly missed. Yes, he's long accepted that Rachel was a vital part of Cuddy's life, that Rachel made Cuddy happy in ways that even he wouldn't understand and that she was part of the package whether he liked it অথবা not. But it didn't necessarily mean that his acceptance made him instantly prepared and maturely equipped to become some sort of father figure for the toddler. He was hardly boyfriend material, what আরো father-figure material? But, as he thought, it was never too late to try, right? It was going to be hard to bond with her and make her accustomed to his presence but he's always been pretty well with children. Their brutal honesty and outspokenness always makes for good comedy and company.
Rachel had a cheerio halfway near her mouth when she stilled, accepting the stubbly-faced man's challenge of a staring contest. Cerulean blue clashed with another darker shade of blue while they familiarized themselves with each other in the most unconventional of ways. A quick moment later Rachel blinked then popped the cheerio in her mouth as if nothing happened.
"Ha! I win!" House childishly declared with a smug chuckle. What he didn't expect though was for Rachel to erupt in a fit of toothy giggles. Was there something in his face? Maybe it was his voice. "Nice. আপনি wave the white flag easily. So unlike your mother. We'll get along," House told her with a smirk, grabbing a cheerio from her টেবিল and popping it into his mouth before reaching for the bowl of icky stuff that marina had been feeding her earlier.
Hey, he couldn't starve her now, could he? Imagine what Cuddy would do to important parts of his anatomy. অথবা worse, imagine what Cuddy would generally do to him.
Another thing he didn't expect was Rachel's negation of his notion on possibly easily getting along with him as she chucked the cheerio she'd been holding at him. অথবা maybe she just found throwing things at him, অথবা anybody else for that matter, funny. She took another and threw it at him again, this one hitting him square in the nose, squealing in a high-pitched voice as if what she had done was the most entertaining thing in the world. The little devil had a thing for খাবার fights, another point for possibly getting along easily with the kid.
"Okay, enough with the squeals. It's obvious that your mother's prowess at being a shrieking harpy is infectious, and not hereditary. Mini-Cuddy in the making, huh?" Rachel nodded vigorously and House half-smiled, half-smirked despite himself at that coincidence. "Just to make it clear, I will not make airplane sounds as I feed you. Seriously, parents should stop doing that, they make themselves look like idiots," House stated as-if Rachel could understand him. He took a half-spoonful of the খাবার and glanced at it disgustedly for a while before placing it centimeters from the girl's lips. Rachel's eyes crossed as she looked down at the spoon from the tip of her nose, scanning what the spoon contained before opening her mouth and allowing House to feed her. "This should be banned! Let's try having your mom taste this পরবর্তি time and see if she'll like it," House answered, bobbing his eyebrows up and down, making Rachel giggle and clap her hands at him. Great, she seemed like she isn't in a crabby mood this morning. Lucky him.
House fed her for quite some time until she no longer accepted spoonfuls from him. He looked at the time and smirked. Cuddy was having one hell of a rest. Then he frowned, his forehead creasing. She must have been utterly physically and mentally exhausted last night. He sighed. That's okay, he'll be making it up to her. Now the only thing he had to do was think of a plan.
He knew she liked the beach. So the Jersey কূল would be a good start. Whatever, he'll just wing it. Now, he just had to get his bike from his old apartment, get her a শিরস্ত্রাণ and then go back to her place before lunch.
How the hell does he do that? It was already 10:00 am.
He was about to go call for marina when Rachel suddenly made a cacophony of incoherent words, looking up at him with wide eyes, her hands opening and closing alternately. She obviously wanted to be carried. But he didn't attribute her need to be carried as an instant bond with him. If he were a kid he surely wouldn't want to be left alone in his highchair in the kitchen. It wasn't really conceivable, for him, for Rachel to easily latch on to him. They spent together what, fifteen, twenty মিনিট tops? It couldn't be possible, could it?
House didn't know what to do. His leg wasn't a problem. Was he afraid that he'd drop her? No, he wouldn't, not in this lifetime—Cuddy would, literally, kill him. Maybe it was the fact that he'd actually be in contact with her. There was something about actually holding a person, especially tiny persons, children, in your own hands, in your arms. There's this something that gets transferred from that child's body and into yours. It makes your হৃদয় beat faster for some inexplicable reason. How their being in your arms gives আপনি such a strong emotion of needing to secure them, not let them fall. There was a deeper feeling connected to it for this kid wasn't just anybody else's child, she was Cuddy's. Just like the sudden stillness and amazement that enveloped him when Emma Sloane's fetus, her baby, wrapped his tiny hand around his index finger. Children had so much life ahead of them. They had so much to learn about how fair and unfair the world could be and how much they have yet to learn about how life's complexities worked.
He had been dwelling far too much on what holding her for the সেকেন্ড time would result to that he almost forgot she was still demanding to be carried. She was already making louder incoherent demanding mumbles with her fists now open and closing faster than earlier. Thankfully, he reached down and lifted her with his hands before she started wailing as her face had taken a pinkish tint that signaled the inevitable crying had he not picked her up. He held her securely yet with a slight distance from his chest, as if she had some disease he didn't want anywhere near him.
That was how marina walked in on them with a slightly confused and surprised look on her visage. "I heard her whimpering, is everything alright?" she asked, worried not for the man but for the child whose well-being was entrusted to her.
Rachel's giggles answered Marina's concerns and the woman smiled at how Rachel reached forward, her chubby little hands splaying against either side of his cheek, cooing at the sensation the big man's stubble gave her. It was scratchy and interesting, her attention was sold.
"Could আপনি take her?" House inquired, adding, "I have plans to make. I'll be taking Cuddy out," just in case the woman thought he didn't like what Rachel was doing. Children liked his stubble. He had to admit, it was roguishly sexy. Part of his charm, he thought smugly. Ego boost. Inflated ego plus one stroke!
Then House realized that the moment seemed just right if he wanted that extra few hours. Now, what was the woman's name again? Maria? Ma… Marina! Okay, sneaky devil charm, on. "Marina," he called out calmly as the woman had once again turned her back to him as she tended to Rachel. "I was wondering, if আপনি don't have any other plans tonight, could আপনি stay an extra couple of hours? I'll compensate আপনি thankfully for your time. I wanted to take Cuddy out for the entire day," House said, ending his request with the reason. His ears went red in shyness at having to explain.
marina knew how rarely Cuddy got to relax so she relented, nodding at the man. She didn't have anything planned for the night and she could use the extra money. She agreed to the man's request and watched as he sincerely thanked her and then exited the house when the cab honked up front.
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Waking up alone in বিছানা the way she had two decades পূর্বে was not a good sign. To double check, she reached behind her to the other side of the বিছানা and her arm fell on the cold empty side. She sighed heavily despite her restful sleep when she didn't feel the warmth she had fallen asleep to earlier that morning.
He couldn't have left again, could he? She suddenly felt her body tense at the thought of him cowering after the landslide of emotions they expressed. It was a very distressing thought to ponder.
Cuddy glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand and groaned. She's been too caught up in thinking about House—at the moment he was all she could blame—to even take note of the time blaring its angry red reminder to her. It was 11:07 am. It was 11:07 am on a Saturday, it was so late she possibly won't be going in for work, her stomach was rumbling, she hasn't jogged nor assumed any yoga poses yet to start her day, and worst of all—at the moment yes, it was the worst—House, that damned lunatic she loved, was nowhere in sight.
Don't panic, don't panic! Breathe in, breathe out… chop of his reproductive organs if he doesn't return, damn it!
That apparently did the trick as her breathing evened out the slightest bit. She gave a distressed sigh before making her way to her bathroom, concluding that staying still would do her no good. She did her business, brushed her teeth and washed her face before exiting her bathroom and sitting on her unkempt bed.
Yes, she did প্রণয় him more, asleep! Seeing as asleep, he couldn't rationalize, he couldn't সরানো nor talk, he couldn't run—or limp, nothing. She must have been delusional, অথবা borderline insane, to even think and furthermore conclude that her দিন would go smoothly and end amazingly well. Half of the দিন hasn't even gone দ্বারা yet!
"Penny for your thoughts?" House suddenly interrupted her internal paranoia from the frame of her bedroom door. "No, wait, let me guess," House kiddingly spoke, as if guessing her turmoil was a fun game. Internally, he found it funny that she was currently gaping at him like a fish. His face softened before he spoke again and said, "You thought I left," he stated, not really affected দ্বারা her thinking it. What mattered was that he was there to prove he didn't, this time around. At this point, no matter how much it was the easiest- although most painful- way out, he won't be going anywhere. He'd only hurt her দ্বারা doing so.
He didn't want the only woman he loved; the only woman who accepted him wholly for who he really was, the only woman who would ever put up with his crap and stay sane(not to mention, sleep with him either way!), to get hurt just দ্বারা being close to him, with him. He didn't want the people who actually gave a damn to be pushed away anymore. He has been taking baby steps to try and fix – the screwed up broken parts—himself for months now. He wanted to be happy.
Hesitantly, Cuddy replied in a whisper. "You couldn't blame me, আপনি know," she honestly said, locking their gazes for a while, softening ceruleans clashing with guilty and confused sapphires. There, she ব্যক্ত it. She'd rather say it than start a relationship with him based on lies. She broke their optical connection sooner than he expected and diverted her gaze to the floor.
Touché, House thought. He knew what she was talking about. "I was going to call you," he told her in the same soft way he had back in the 80s soiree in the Adirondacks. He hated to dwell in the past and what had been discovered the দিন after that but there was nothing to fret anymore, he was with her now.
Cuddy didn't want to put him on the spot. She didn't want to dwell on the negative memories of their past either. Last night, everything was forgiven even if not forgotten. They had a lot of time to really catch up and talk. Now wasn't the time.
She stood up and made her way to where he stood, toe to toe with him. She looked up and gazed at him with the smallest of smiles and a content glint in her eyes that made him move. He moved his hands to her hips and pulled her against him. Cuddy tilted her head up and met the lips slowly descending to meet her own.
Akin to the night before they kissed tenderly, unhurriedly, like amateur প্রেমী getting to experience one's lips for the first time. Discovering, they traversed the expanse of each other's mouths. Cuddy's arms went up to মোড়ানো around his back and she lifted herself up দ্বারা her toes to deepen their kiss, angling her head to such pleasurable position.
But before things could get heated and before he couldn't stop to restrain himself and keep him from his plans, he broke away from their চুম্বন and leaned his forehead into hers.
"Morning," Cuddy greeted with a small smile. She shouldn't have been worried. As of far, there was nothing to worry about. "It's almost lunch," House replied with a smirk and Cuddy laughed, that guttural rumble from her throat which sounded a little like a purr. He found her laugh sexy. But right now, it was endearing. "Smartass," Cuddy chuckled in reply before running the tip of her nose along the length of his in the manner of way newly married couples did in the presence of Serenity and Sweetness at the dawn of a new day.
It was as if the earth conspired to make everything seem so peaceful for them at the moment, a blanket of serenity wrapping around their naturally diverse personalities and unconventional dynamic. It was moments like these that would make them not regret their decision to finally drop every fear, every doubt, and be together. It wasn't going to be easy, that they knew, but it was definitely going to be interesting.
"Skip work, it's Saturday," House whispered, not exactly keen to actually asking her out on a তারিখ with the words "Will আপনি go out with me?" as a first step. He didn't want to be overrated, normal's overrated. She didn't want him to be. She wanted him to be himself, as hard অথবা as crazy as the repercussions of him being himself could be at times. But she had long accepted him for who, how, and what he was and could be. She loved and hated the enigma that was him.
"Hmm," Cuddy hummed in thought, "Give me ten reasons why I shouldn't."
House grinned. She was wavering already. He didn't know that her decision had already been made before he even got there. "You drive a hard bargain. How about five?"
"No, ten." Cuddy grinned, it was always fun challenging him.
"Pity, I have but one."
"One? Better be one hell of a reason," Cuddy mumbled as she looked up at him with a lopsided grin, her eyes dancing with excitement at the prospect of going out with him as a couple.
"I miss you," House stated, turning red at the ears. He knew it was new for her to hear him say such saccharine phrases.
A shamelessly sweet smile blossomed to her features as she placed a palm on his cheek, rubbing her thumb against his jaw before patting him softly on the cheek. "Keep talking that way and we'll never get out of this room," she stated with a teasing grin.
As much as he itched to reply to that, he had a plan to put into action. They had time for the sexual innuendos and one-upping.
"I miss the real Lisa Cuddy," House cleared, gazing into her eyes. "I wanted to take আপনি out today and see if she's still buried somewhere inside you." He didn't know why but for the life of him, he couldn't call her Lisa. Her name was as beautiful as her but Cuddy was almost like a tradition. And as much as Cuddy liked how her প্রদত্ত name rolled off of his lips, she had to admit it sounded so foreign. She liked Cuddy better. And she had to admit to herself, Greg wouldn't be coming out of her mouth anytime soon, either.
"She is," Cuddy replied with a nostalgic smile. Yes, it's been quite a long time since the last time she went out, had fun and just lived. She was always hooked to the hospital.
"So what do আপনি say, Partypants? আপনি up for it?" House teased, grinning at her. "Besides, আপনি deserve a দিন off, telling me আপনি প্রণয় me must have taken its toll on you," he winked smugly. Cuddy could not help but তীক্ষ্নভাবে him on the forearm. It was amazing how they could be sweet and intimate for one সেকেন্ড then at each other's throat the next.
She then turned guilty. She couldn't afford to just up and go whenever she pleased… she had work to do even if she wouldn't be coming in, she had Rachel to mother, she had…
"They will be surprised আপনি didn't come in today but they'll get over it. Your paperwork could wait. Rachel's well-looked after, marina will be staying until we get back. Just one day, 24 hours. আপনি and me, nothing and no one else; no work, no Wilson, no Rachel…" House trailed off, leaving her to decide for herself. He wanted her to live for today and they'll worry about everything else tomorrow.
"Okay," Cuddy agreed, letting out a nervous smile. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"That, is a secret," House said, grinning. He told her to wait for him as he retrieved what he had gotten her from the hallway table. He came back into the room with a শিরস্ত্রাণ in his hand. He handed it to her and grinned excitedly before exiting her room and leaving her to deduce what his gift was for.
"House, I will not be riding on your death trap!" House heard her call out from her bedroom.
House rolled his eyes. Such a drama queen. "You will, and you'll like it the same way আপনি did back in Michigan," he stated knowingly with a charming smile when he popped his head into her room.
A frown suddenly crossed Cuddy's features when she remembered his injury. "Are আপনি sure আপনি could drive with your wound? আপনি might—"
"I'm fine, mommy, re-bandaged it when I got showered and changed." House proudly stated like a kid boasting something 'adult-like' that he had done.
"You went back to your apartment?" Why did that enter her mind just now? They left his apartment messy and… oh thank God she had flushed his pills down the drain! "Had to get our medium of transportation, a helmet, and bought আপনি a new one. Knew আপনি wouldn't ride without observing the "Safety first" rule," House smirked at her. "There's nothing wrong in observing—" "Yada, yada, আপনি coming অথবা not?" House cut her off, impatient for her to find out where he'll be taking her.
Cuddy acquiesced, successfully hiding the excitement of riding behind him again bubbling in the pit of her stomach. House left his post the moment she nodded her head. She looked down at the Post It note attached to one of the stars on her new helmet. She chuckled as she read his note. She shook her head in amusement.
There would never be a dull moment with him.
She smiled and walked to the mirror in her bedroom. She wore the শিরস্ত্রাণ and felt herself blush when it fit her perfectly. পরবর্তি time he'd be buying her skimpy lingerie. The man had a talent with figuring sizes.
As she gazed at herself with the helmet, her কালজামজাতীয় ফল suddenly rang from her nightstand. She smirked at the caller's ID displayed and answered it anyway. "What?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed.
"Stop sampling the merchandise and get a সরানো on! I made lunch reservations. সরানো that জাহাজের before I go in there and help you!" House urged on the other line.
Cuddy rolled her eyes at his childishness but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. He made plans. For them. It was exhilarating. He was অভিনয় like a child on বড়দিন morning.
"I know I'm amazing, bow down to my awesomeness later, now move!" House demanded playfully, a smirk on his face as he popped his head in again.
Instead of throwing back a retort, Cuddy refrained and instead walked to where he was standing. She dropped a চুম্বন on his unsuspecting lips and sashayed into her bathroom, impatient to know where he would be whisking her off to for the day.
House watched her disappear to the bathroom and smiled to himself.
As he closed the door to the bedroom, House loudly whistled a lively tune all the way out of the house and to his bike, waiting for Cuddy to exit her house.
-----
Less than an ঘন্টা later she emerged from her front door wearing casual jeans, high heels, and a salmon-colored long-sleeved top. She was smiling as she approached him from where he was straddling his bike. "Ready to go?" he asked, pulling the শিরস্ত্রাণ he had প্রদত্ত her earlier from her hands and placing it on her head, adjusting the strap and securing it under her chin.
Cuddy shook her head at him and grinned, unfastening the বেল্ট of his জ্যাকেট and slipping it off of his shoulders. "Now, I'm ready," she answered as she wore his jacket, fastening the বেল্ট on her midsection.
"Will আপনি ever tell me where you're taking me?" she tried to pry again, really curious as to where they'll be eating. She hasn't had breakfast yet.
"I can't. It's a secret," he ব্যক্ত as he balanced the bike for her to climb behind him.
"Please?" Cuddy asked, trying to sound as sweet as she could.
"Fine," House relented. Then he chuckled gutturally, pretty sure she'll strangle him. "I don't know, I haven't even finalized the plans with myself yet," he admitted through lying teeth, looking back at her through his side mirrors.
"House!" Cuddy scolded, slapping him in the back. She should have known! "I thought আপনি made plans?" she chastised, feeling her blood boil to that point of craving to banter and bicker with him.
"I did," House smirked playfully, "I told you. I made plans."
"You're impossible," Cuddy pouted resignedly then leant her helmet-clad head on his back. She was really hungry. The bickering and bantering could wait a few hours.
House laughed. "Fine. We're going to a place you've always wanted to go to but never found the time nor gotten the reservation."
A dreamy look took over Cuddy's face as she melted at the thought of being… no, could it really be…? "Briganti?" Cuddy asked breathlessly.
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" House cheered with a very pleased grin at her reaction.
"How did আপনি know?" Cuddy asked, smiling brightly at the news.
"How long have আপনি known me?" House asked, looking back at her with an eyebrow bobbing at her. Cuddy chuckled. He always had his way of discovering things.
"Now drive, I'm hungry!" Cuddy ordered, pecking him once on the lips before wrapping her arms around his waist. House rolled his eyes at how loose her arms hung around him so he held her hands with his and then wrapped them tighter around his midsection. From behind him Cuddy smiled and rested her chin on his shoulder. House secured his helmet, started the engine and revved his bike once before answering to her earlier order.
"Yes, mistress."
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Please let me know what আপনি think :)
I hope আপনি like this! :)
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This was one of those rare mornings when your eyes flutter open ever so slowly, taking in the current surroundings and recalling what had happened the night before and the dawn earlier that morning. Then smiling that smallest yet utterly captivated smile আপনি have ever made, আপনি think of how different আপনি feel this morning. Good different. And as আপনি revel in that sense of completeness enveloping you, your eyes scan everything in your bedroom and beyond. You're in the same room where আপনি wake up every single দিন but a new aura has dawned on it. আপনি think of whether it's just আপনি অথবা something has really changed wonderfully.
Something, everything feels right. In place, finally.
আপনি know better than to assume how things would turn out, especially with him, but আপনি just couldn't help yourself so আপনি instantly conclude that your দিন would be a magical reality. That from this দিন on, your life would change. আপনি don't know whether for better অথবা worse, though আপনি hope with all your being that it would be the first, but আপনি do know finally taking that chance at something inexplicably insanely beautiful was worth it.
Finally, your eyes focus on the person lying in front of আপনি and আপনি think… আপনি have never felt this serene on a morning. It was a most welcome feeling. It seeped through every pore of your being and আপনি couldn't seem to stop yourself from thinking that nothing could go wrong today. আপনি focus your eyes on the man আপনি helplessly প্রণয় slumbering in front of আপনি and allow yourself to be lifted up on a মেঘ with a smile on your face as আপনি think: being with him like this, laying beside him; so close, so comfortable and relaxed, felt so right. আপনি inaudibly chuckle at your thought, "Maybe I'm only thinking this way at the moment because his mouth is shut." Nevertheless, it unmistakably makes আপনি feel something আপনি have never really entirely felt before.
Complete.
Cuddy was on her side, facing House who was on his back. She continued to gaze at his features, not really feeling unusual with what she was doing. Gazing at him in this state, in this most peaceful state, gave her a feeling of tranquility and hope. Love, that too; she was helplessly and hopelessly in প্রণয় with him. His mouth was slightly ajar and he was lightly snoring but the way he seemed to be pouting that petulant pout whenever he didn't get what he wanted, in sleep, made her think he looked rather cute, if not charming. His lips… God, she loved those lips- especially upon her own whenever she kissed him অথবা him her. If only he could hear her thoughts, she inwardly mused, one corner of her mouth tugging up into a smirk. She trailed her eyes Northward and came upon his nose. There was nothing wrong with it… she actually liked his unusually formed-sort of- nose. She looked at his forehead, liking that the creases were almost nonexistent. But she liked those creases- at times- whenever he was thinking so deeply about something, be it a case অথবা something not involving work and the hospital.
But nothing else about him, physically, could ever make her melt into a puddle অথবা ignite her longing, passionate হৃদয় the way his eyes, his cerulean orbs, always do. She loved his eyes. The way he'd look at her with such a soul-searching gaze. The way he looked at her, vulnerable. Every situation, every instance he looked at her, those captivating and piercing baby blue eyes could always get to her, reach her.
Yes, she was like a পোকা to a flame… but the burns and bruises she was willing to take if they meant being able to be with him, be near him, touch him… and প্রণয় him, as he loved her. She realized that now.
She was hopelessly, helplessly but happily in প্রণয় with him. She couldn't help it. The only reason she wish she didn't was because of her fears of things taking a turn for the worse. She was afraid of them trying for a relationship as it is the moment she had arrived at his apartment earlier that morning. There were no assurances of any sort.
What had really brought her to finally step out of the world she tried to make without House? Her pursuit of real happiness and real love. Not a delusion she had set up for herself to escape the invisible link that bound her and tied her to House. Not of House's revelations to Hannah last night- those revelations helped her to understand a deeper, hidden part of him and his real thoughts, though. Lucas had been her poor substitute for House. There really was a to how far people could keep up a façade. And not everything that looks good on paper actually works. Even if It does, it doesn't last.
Finally, last night, she just couldn't keep up with it anymore. Her হৃদয় was finally speaking for herself. Her brain has agreed to her heart's ultimate desire. She had to break free from her own-made alternate universe. As unscrupulous as it seemed, living in a world without House in it seemed so boring, lifeless. Incomplete. Why had she tried her best to push him out when she even breathed life back into him? Why did she erect a দেওয়াল between them?
She inwardly sighed and unconsciously frowned.
Fear.
She was very fortunate- though others would beg to differ- to have House as a friend—a best friend, actually. He knew so much about her and she him. Although they may not know everything, they knew each other's strengths and weaknesses like long time friends—which they really were.
From this দিন on, from the moment he roused from his slumber, she'll experience having House as a partner… as a lover. It was as scary as it was exciting.
She gave a contented sigh. The warmth emanating from his body she could no longer resist so she carefully slid closer to his sleeping form. She laid her head as gently as she could on the center of his chest and placed her right hand on the right side of his chest, palm settled atop his beating heart. She moved her head to gaze at him again, closer this time, to check if she woke him with her movements. She didn't.
The hand atop his হৃদয় moved up to cup his cheek, feeling his stubble scratch her palm. She noticed how thick it's gotten and how unkempt it was. What would he say if she proposed to trim it? She liked his stubble; it made him look younger and sexier as long as it was maintained. She fondly smiled when he unconsciously leant into her touch.
She was wholly captivated, wholly his; mind, body and soul. Maybe, she thought… maybe she's always been. She was utterly spoiled দ্বারা Dr. Gregory House.
"Everybody knows this is going somewhere," she recalled herself telling him about a বছর ago. He had groped her then, telling her that that was the logical পরবর্তি step.
Earlier that দিন they were finally on the same page, both ready and willing to face the odds and risks of them in a relationship, together.
"You're afraid to be happy!" she remembered telling him as well as she traced the outline of his slightly parted lips. Yes, she knew that was one of the reasons they were never on the same page. And as she thought of it now, she was sure that subconsciously she too, was afraid to be happy… with him. She knew that he was afraid to be happy because, for anybody of course, it was a risk. And last year, it was a risk, a life অথবা death gamble, he didn't have the capacity and willpower to make considering the incidents.
Many times she ব্যক্ত to herself, "I'm done." Two times she had told him face to face, including last night. But she could never be able to stop herself from caring for him and loving him time after time.
She would never be done with him. She never could be. Nor would she want to.
Cuddy raised her head up to lay a loving চুম্বন on the corner of her lover's mouth. She lingered for a while, reveling in the sudden realization that she could চুম্বন him anytime—she doubts he'd even complain about it—she wanted now. She laid her head down on his shoulder, thinking for a while, waiting for sleep to revisit her.
Who in their right minds would work on a free day?
"Not even a দিন and he's rubbing off of me already," Cuddy thought, amused, as she laid spooned against his side with her eyes closed.
As she was quickly being pulled into Sleep's arms, Cuddy unconsciously slid the hand resting on his chest down his torso until she reached the hem of his faded blue tee and delved in the warmth of the flesh radiating from his stomach. She gave a soft sigh of content and finally faded into a dreamless, restful sleep.
-----
Surreal was the only adjective he could think of to describe waking up to her that morning. Surreal for he never imagined waking up পরবর্তি to her, in reality. He let out a small, almost nonexistent smile. That rare, small smile which was barely there but conveyed his most cherished emotions আরো than his wider smiles. It spoke of content.
He's living reality now… and it wasn't a hallucinatory reality অথবা a drug-induced dream. If last night he had even the slightest microscopic stain of doubt, now he has none.
Another shot at happiness. He was finally handed another one and at the same time he's ready to seize it… with the only woman who could make him happy.
The woman he loved, one Lisa Cuddy.
He didn't know whether happiness was really feasible for him but he had started believing in it during the times he's been in therapy with Nolan. A few days পূর্বে he finally gave up trying after a বছর of fruitless perseverance on trying to find at least some shrapnel of happiness for himself. Last night, Time gave in and Fate – something he didn't believe in—finally brought them together. It was nothing short of an actual miracle.
He himself knew that he wouldn't be able to change, অথবা fix himself in a দিন অথবা two just because they were together now. And Cuddy wasn't really trying to 'fix' him. She's long প্রদত্ত up on that. She accepted him wholly. He was the one who wanted to fix himself, now. For the better. For his own. For her. For them. It was going to be a process but now that he had a reason, a greater motivator, to continue moving অগ্রবর্তী to the path of happiness—wherever that may be অথবা if it really existed- he'll talk to Nolan again and continue with his therapy. It really did help. He was but blinded দ্বারা the occurrences surrounding him that pulled him down, forging his misery yet again, making him blind to the light reaching for him to help. But last night, she had come to his rescue—even if rescuing him wasn't really her motive for that late night visit. He had almost jumped off the cliff again but Life had finally rewarded him last night after months of futile work in pursuit of happiness. The bastard just wanted a front row আসন to the thrill and suspense before granting him another chance to start anew.
He broke the staring contest he waged with the ceiling and then slowly glanced down at the entrancing woman wrapped around him. What he wouldn't give to lay with her like he was at that moment.
Maybe she was immortal, he thought. A goddess, really. If not, then an angel. For how many times had she caught him as he fell? How many times had she saved him, either from death অথবা himself? How many times had she…
He stopped with those thoughts. Counting… doesn't do anything. But yes, she has saved him from himself countless times, including last night, and had been there for him whenever he needed her most. He was eternally grateful… and in প্রণয় with her. No matter how many times he thought about it, he really couldn't get the word 'love' out of his mind.
Now that he had her, now that they have each other he'd try his best to not hurt her with his tendencies to… sabotage himself and his shot at happiness for this may be his last chance at it. A বছর পূর্বে he had learned that he was still man and not a god. He still ached, he still broke despite knowing he was already broken.
"If আপনি can't make it work with her then maybe there's no one out there. You're afraid to take a chance because it's too big a chance," he recalled Wilson tell him.
He hit rock bottom with his feet chained to an enormous ball made of lead… which he himself pushed towards the edge of a cliff. He had done what had happened to him a বছর পূর্বে to himself.
What did he really do to deserve her, he'll never know. But he is grateful. He gently pulled her closer to him with an arm. Yes, he'd prefer staying with her like this আরো than anything at that moment. What he wouldn't give to not have to deal with patients অথবা the hospital and the people there for a দিন অথবা two.
And then it hit him. House smiled like the Cheshire cat.
He'd take her out today. She আরো than deserved it.
House grinned mischievously. It'd be fun to coerce her to skip work for the day. Besides, it wasn't like she had to actually be at work. She just got so used to going in during the weekends.
He didn't know he had been lightly stroking her shoulder until she let out a soft sigh and slightly moved her head against his neck. He was content. And then he saw what she was wearing. His shirt. He hadn't noticed it last night. She must have pulled one from his drawers when he took some clothes for the few days he'll be staying with her for the time being.
He glanced at the digital clock on her bedside টেবিল and decided to start planning on very, very short notice. He gazed down at the restfully sleeping woman on his shoulder and frowned slightly, reluctant to deprive her of his shoulder as her human pillow. But he had to if he wanted that plan to whisk her away for the দিন to work.
He sounded like some crippled Prince Charming, House thought to himself in light annoyance. But hell, he was too punch-love-drunk to care. He carefully eased Cuddy down on the বালিশ and pulled the duvet up and atop her body. He sat দ্বারা her side for a while, just gazing at her in admiration and awe. She was beautiful. And they were finally together. He gently touched her exposed cheek with the back of his index and middle finger then leaned অগ্রবর্তী and kissed her temple before tucking some disarrayed locks of hair from her face. He had some planning to do.
After relieving himself, he went to her রান্নাঘর to find Rachel sitting in her highchair with marina in front of her. "Dr. House, I suppose?" the woman asked in a slightly thick accent. There had been times when Dr. Cuddy would be in a hurry to go to the hospital, saying the curmudgeon doctor did this অথবা that. Also, she had overheard that Dr. House had a limp so she assumed that the man in front of her was the infamous brilliant curmudgeon doctor. She of course had no right to judge without meeting the man first. But Lucas made him sound like such a force to be reckoned with. Also, a hard person to get along with. At the moment she didn't think so. She could still be proven wrong, she thought.
First things, first, though. Why on high heavens was he there? Why did he… well apparently, Cuddy had broken up with Lucas. That was the only logical explanation for it. She had no right to question, had no right to judge. She was sure Dr. Cuddy had her reasons. She was the sole owner of her heart. No one and nothing but it could tell her who to love.
House nodded at Marina, acknowledging that she spoke instead of ignoring her existence. House took a step অগ্রবর্তী to at least shake the woman's hand civilly. Harassing Cuddy's nanny wouldn't be good for him, nor for Cuddy. He should at least be on good speaking terms with the woman who would be able to help him spend আরো time with Cuddy দ্বারা taking great care of Rachel. He was being smart.
House poured himself a glass of water, drank his fill and then set the glass aside. When he turned, marina was already busying herself with Rachel again. She was feeding the infant who has grown considerably from the last time he's seen her. Rachel was happily cooing and occasionally mumbling incoherent words at the woman while being fed and picking at the cheerios splattered on her squeaky clean highchair's table.
"Do আপনি have anything to do?" House throatily asked on a whisper, successfully hiding his nervousness and slight awkwardness at even asking to help. Rachel seemed to be in a mood that wouldn't bring her anywhere crying so he might as well make himself known to the little tyke. She couldn't be that bad. The worst she could do was either cry অথবা barf at him… again.
"Si, but I can watch her for now," marina answered, surprised at the doctor's offer to help her. He wasn't turning out as bad as other people have described him.
"I'll keep an eye on her for some time, make sure she doesn't break into two," House answered, luckily preventing himself to be snarky at her.
"Dr. House, really, I can—"
"I insist," House answered with a none-too-reassuring wink at the woman. When she only stood up and walked to the entrance to Cuddy's dining area and looked at him doubtfully House reassuringly told her, "Deja que ella me."
marina nodded at him, আরো reassured now that he was serious in actually looking after her employer's daughter while she did some chores. She'll be sure to check on them after a while অথবা two. Anyway, she was glad he was holding the fort for a while. It'll make watching Rachel later in the দিন easier. So far she was liking the man. An added bonus was that he could speak her native tongue.
Rachel has been staring at him with round blue eyes the moment marina left, curious about the huge man's identity. Her mind signals her that she hadn't seen him before and so her apprehension surfaces and a frown graces her lips.
House sat down in front of her, staring at the kid but not entirely oblivious to the fact that she may start crying soon since he wasn't a face familiar to her. For obvious reasons, she wouldn't have remembered that the last time they had come face to face with each other was that night in his office where she blessed him with her "cute" baby barf.
He intently studied the child. As he did, he was suddenly caught unaware দ্বারা the essential fact that he suddenly missed. Yes, he's long accepted that Rachel was a vital part of Cuddy's life, that Rachel made Cuddy happy in ways that even he wouldn't understand and that she was part of the package whether he liked it অথবা not. But it didn't necessarily mean that his acceptance made him instantly prepared and maturely equipped to become some sort of father figure for the toddler. He was hardly boyfriend material, what আরো father-figure material? But, as he thought, it was never too late to try, right? It was going to be hard to bond with her and make her accustomed to his presence but he's always been pretty well with children. Their brutal honesty and outspokenness always makes for good comedy and company.
Rachel had a cheerio halfway near her mouth when she stilled, accepting the stubbly-faced man's challenge of a staring contest. Cerulean blue clashed with another darker shade of blue while they familiarized themselves with each other in the most unconventional of ways. A quick moment later Rachel blinked then popped the cheerio in her mouth as if nothing happened.
"Ha! I win!" House childishly declared with a smug chuckle. What he didn't expect though was for Rachel to erupt in a fit of toothy giggles. Was there something in his face? Maybe it was his voice. "Nice. আপনি wave the white flag easily. So unlike your mother. We'll get along," House told her with a smirk, grabbing a cheerio from her টেবিল and popping it into his mouth before reaching for the bowl of icky stuff that marina had been feeding her earlier.
Hey, he couldn't starve her now, could he? Imagine what Cuddy would do to important parts of his anatomy. অথবা worse, imagine what Cuddy would generally do to him.
Another thing he didn't expect was Rachel's negation of his notion on possibly easily getting along with him as she chucked the cheerio she'd been holding at him. অথবা maybe she just found throwing things at him, অথবা anybody else for that matter, funny. She took another and threw it at him again, this one hitting him square in the nose, squealing in a high-pitched voice as if what she had done was the most entertaining thing in the world. The little devil had a thing for খাবার fights, another point for possibly getting along easily with the kid.
"Okay, enough with the squeals. It's obvious that your mother's prowess at being a shrieking harpy is infectious, and not hereditary. Mini-Cuddy in the making, huh?" Rachel nodded vigorously and House half-smiled, half-smirked despite himself at that coincidence. "Just to make it clear, I will not make airplane sounds as I feed you. Seriously, parents should stop doing that, they make themselves look like idiots," House stated as-if Rachel could understand him. He took a half-spoonful of the খাবার and glanced at it disgustedly for a while before placing it centimeters from the girl's lips. Rachel's eyes crossed as she looked down at the spoon from the tip of her nose, scanning what the spoon contained before opening her mouth and allowing House to feed her. "This should be banned! Let's try having your mom taste this পরবর্তি time and see if she'll like it," House answered, bobbing his eyebrows up and down, making Rachel giggle and clap her hands at him. Great, she seemed like she isn't in a crabby mood this morning. Lucky him.
House fed her for quite some time until she no longer accepted spoonfuls from him. He looked at the time and smirked. Cuddy was having one hell of a rest. Then he frowned, his forehead creasing. She must have been utterly physically and mentally exhausted last night. He sighed. That's okay, he'll be making it up to her. Now the only thing he had to do was think of a plan.
He knew she liked the beach. So the Jersey কূল would be a good start. Whatever, he'll just wing it. Now, he just had to get his bike from his old apartment, get her a শিরস্ত্রাণ and then go back to her place before lunch.
How the hell does he do that? It was already 10:00 am.
He was about to go call for marina when Rachel suddenly made a cacophony of incoherent words, looking up at him with wide eyes, her hands opening and closing alternately. She obviously wanted to be carried. But he didn't attribute her need to be carried as an instant bond with him. If he were a kid he surely wouldn't want to be left alone in his highchair in the kitchen. It wasn't really conceivable, for him, for Rachel to easily latch on to him. They spent together what, fifteen, twenty মিনিট tops? It couldn't be possible, could it?
House didn't know what to do. His leg wasn't a problem. Was he afraid that he'd drop her? No, he wouldn't, not in this lifetime—Cuddy would, literally, kill him. Maybe it was the fact that he'd actually be in contact with her. There was something about actually holding a person, especially tiny persons, children, in your own hands, in your arms. There's this something that gets transferred from that child's body and into yours. It makes your হৃদয় beat faster for some inexplicable reason. How their being in your arms gives আপনি such a strong emotion of needing to secure them, not let them fall. There was a deeper feeling connected to it for this kid wasn't just anybody else's child, she was Cuddy's. Just like the sudden stillness and amazement that enveloped him when Emma Sloane's fetus, her baby, wrapped his tiny hand around his index finger. Children had so much life ahead of them. They had so much to learn about how fair and unfair the world could be and how much they have yet to learn about how life's complexities worked.
He had been dwelling far too much on what holding her for the সেকেন্ড time would result to that he almost forgot she was still demanding to be carried. She was already making louder incoherent demanding mumbles with her fists now open and closing faster than earlier. Thankfully, he reached down and lifted her with his hands before she started wailing as her face had taken a pinkish tint that signaled the inevitable crying had he not picked her up. He held her securely yet with a slight distance from his chest, as if she had some disease he didn't want anywhere near him.
That was how marina walked in on them with a slightly confused and surprised look on her visage. "I heard her whimpering, is everything alright?" she asked, worried not for the man but for the child whose well-being was entrusted to her.
Rachel's giggles answered Marina's concerns and the woman smiled at how Rachel reached forward, her chubby little hands splaying against either side of his cheek, cooing at the sensation the big man's stubble gave her. It was scratchy and interesting, her attention was sold.
"Could আপনি take her?" House inquired, adding, "I have plans to make. I'll be taking Cuddy out," just in case the woman thought he didn't like what Rachel was doing. Children liked his stubble. He had to admit, it was roguishly sexy. Part of his charm, he thought smugly. Ego boost. Inflated ego plus one stroke!
Then House realized that the moment seemed just right if he wanted that extra few hours. Now, what was the woman's name again? Maria? Ma… Marina! Okay, sneaky devil charm, on. "Marina," he called out calmly as the woman had once again turned her back to him as she tended to Rachel. "I was wondering, if আপনি don't have any other plans tonight, could আপনি stay an extra couple of hours? I'll compensate আপনি thankfully for your time. I wanted to take Cuddy out for the entire day," House said, ending his request with the reason. His ears went red in shyness at having to explain.
marina knew how rarely Cuddy got to relax so she relented, nodding at the man. She didn't have anything planned for the night and she could use the extra money. She agreed to the man's request and watched as he sincerely thanked her and then exited the house when the cab honked up front.
-----
Waking up alone in বিছানা the way she had two decades পূর্বে was not a good sign. To double check, she reached behind her to the other side of the বিছানা and her arm fell on the cold empty side. She sighed heavily despite her restful sleep when she didn't feel the warmth she had fallen asleep to earlier that morning.
He couldn't have left again, could he? She suddenly felt her body tense at the thought of him cowering after the landslide of emotions they expressed. It was a very distressing thought to ponder.
Cuddy glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand and groaned. She's been too caught up in thinking about House—at the moment he was all she could blame—to even take note of the time blaring its angry red reminder to her. It was 11:07 am. It was 11:07 am on a Saturday, it was so late she possibly won't be going in for work, her stomach was rumbling, she hasn't jogged nor assumed any yoga poses yet to start her day, and worst of all—at the moment yes, it was the worst—House, that damned lunatic she loved, was nowhere in sight.
Don't panic, don't panic! Breathe in, breathe out… chop of his reproductive organs if he doesn't return, damn it!
That apparently did the trick as her breathing evened out the slightest bit. She gave a distressed sigh before making her way to her bathroom, concluding that staying still would do her no good. She did her business, brushed her teeth and washed her face before exiting her bathroom and sitting on her unkempt bed.
Yes, she did প্রণয় him more, asleep! Seeing as asleep, he couldn't rationalize, he couldn't সরানো nor talk, he couldn't run—or limp, nothing. She must have been delusional, অথবা borderline insane, to even think and furthermore conclude that her দিন would go smoothly and end amazingly well. Half of the দিন hasn't even gone দ্বারা yet!
"Penny for your thoughts?" House suddenly interrupted her internal paranoia from the frame of her bedroom door. "No, wait, let me guess," House kiddingly spoke, as if guessing her turmoil was a fun game. Internally, he found it funny that she was currently gaping at him like a fish. His face softened before he spoke again and said, "You thought I left," he stated, not really affected দ্বারা her thinking it. What mattered was that he was there to prove he didn't, this time around. At this point, no matter how much it was the easiest- although most painful- way out, he won't be going anywhere. He'd only hurt her দ্বারা doing so.
He didn't want the only woman he loved; the only woman who accepted him wholly for who he really was, the only woman who would ever put up with his crap and stay sane(not to mention, sleep with him either way!), to get hurt just দ্বারা being close to him, with him. He didn't want the people who actually gave a damn to be pushed away anymore. He has been taking baby steps to try and fix – the screwed up broken parts—himself for months now. He wanted to be happy.
Hesitantly, Cuddy replied in a whisper. "You couldn't blame me, আপনি know," she honestly said, locking their gazes for a while, softening ceruleans clashing with guilty and confused sapphires. There, she ব্যক্ত it. She'd rather say it than start a relationship with him based on lies. She broke their optical connection sooner than he expected and diverted her gaze to the floor.
Touché, House thought. He knew what she was talking about. "I was going to call you," he told her in the same soft way he had back in the 80s soiree in the Adirondacks. He hated to dwell in the past and what had been discovered the দিন after that but there was nothing to fret anymore, he was with her now.
Cuddy didn't want to put him on the spot. She didn't want to dwell on the negative memories of their past either. Last night, everything was forgiven even if not forgotten. They had a lot of time to really catch up and talk. Now wasn't the time.
She stood up and made her way to where he stood, toe to toe with him. She looked up and gazed at him with the smallest of smiles and a content glint in her eyes that made him move. He moved his hands to her hips and pulled her against him. Cuddy tilted her head up and met the lips slowly descending to meet her own.
Akin to the night before they kissed tenderly, unhurriedly, like amateur প্রেমী getting to experience one's lips for the first time. Discovering, they traversed the expanse of each other's mouths. Cuddy's arms went up to মোড়ানো around his back and she lifted herself up দ্বারা her toes to deepen their kiss, angling her head to such pleasurable position.
But before things could get heated and before he couldn't stop to restrain himself and keep him from his plans, he broke away from their চুম্বন and leaned his forehead into hers.
"Morning," Cuddy greeted with a small smile. She shouldn't have been worried. As of far, there was nothing to worry about. "It's almost lunch," House replied with a smirk and Cuddy laughed, that guttural rumble from her throat which sounded a little like a purr. He found her laugh sexy. But right now, it was endearing. "Smartass," Cuddy chuckled in reply before running the tip of her nose along the length of his in the manner of way newly married couples did in the presence of Serenity and Sweetness at the dawn of a new day.
It was as if the earth conspired to make everything seem so peaceful for them at the moment, a blanket of serenity wrapping around their naturally diverse personalities and unconventional dynamic. It was moments like these that would make them not regret their decision to finally drop every fear, every doubt, and be together. It wasn't going to be easy, that they knew, but it was definitely going to be interesting.
"Skip work, it's Saturday," House whispered, not exactly keen to actually asking her out on a তারিখ with the words "Will আপনি go out with me?" as a first step. He didn't want to be overrated, normal's overrated. She didn't want him to be. She wanted him to be himself, as hard অথবা as crazy as the repercussions of him being himself could be at times. But she had long accepted him for who, how, and what he was and could be. She loved and hated the enigma that was him.
"Hmm," Cuddy hummed in thought, "Give me ten reasons why I shouldn't."
House grinned. She was wavering already. He didn't know that her decision had already been made before he even got there. "You drive a hard bargain. How about five?"
"No, ten." Cuddy grinned, it was always fun challenging him.
"Pity, I have but one."
"One? Better be one hell of a reason," Cuddy mumbled as she looked up at him with a lopsided grin, her eyes dancing with excitement at the prospect of going out with him as a couple.
"I miss you," House stated, turning red at the ears. He knew it was new for her to hear him say such saccharine phrases.
A shamelessly sweet smile blossomed to her features as she placed a palm on his cheek, rubbing her thumb against his jaw before patting him softly on the cheek. "Keep talking that way and we'll never get out of this room," she stated with a teasing grin.
As much as he itched to reply to that, he had a plan to put into action. They had time for the sexual innuendos and one-upping.
"I miss the real Lisa Cuddy," House cleared, gazing into her eyes. "I wanted to take আপনি out today and see if she's still buried somewhere inside you." He didn't know why but for the life of him, he couldn't call her Lisa. Her name was as beautiful as her but Cuddy was almost like a tradition. And as much as Cuddy liked how her প্রদত্ত name rolled off of his lips, she had to admit it sounded so foreign. She liked Cuddy better. And she had to admit to herself, Greg wouldn't be coming out of her mouth anytime soon, either.
"She is," Cuddy replied with a nostalgic smile. Yes, it's been quite a long time since the last time she went out, had fun and just lived. She was always hooked to the hospital.
"So what do আপনি say, Partypants? আপনি up for it?" House teased, grinning at her. "Besides, আপনি deserve a দিন off, telling me আপনি প্রণয় me must have taken its toll on you," he winked smugly. Cuddy could not help but তীক্ষ্নভাবে him on the forearm. It was amazing how they could be sweet and intimate for one সেকেন্ড then at each other's throat the next.
She then turned guilty. She couldn't afford to just up and go whenever she pleased… she had work to do even if she wouldn't be coming in, she had Rachel to mother, she had…
"They will be surprised আপনি didn't come in today but they'll get over it. Your paperwork could wait. Rachel's well-looked after, marina will be staying until we get back. Just one day, 24 hours. আপনি and me, nothing and no one else; no work, no Wilson, no Rachel…" House trailed off, leaving her to decide for herself. He wanted her to live for today and they'll worry about everything else tomorrow.
"Okay," Cuddy agreed, letting out a nervous smile. "Where are we going?" she asked curiously.
"That, is a secret," House said, grinning. He told her to wait for him as he retrieved what he had gotten her from the hallway table. He came back into the room with a শিরস্ত্রাণ in his hand. He handed it to her and grinned excitedly before exiting her room and leaving her to deduce what his gift was for.
"House, I will not be riding on your death trap!" House heard her call out from her bedroom.
House rolled his eyes. Such a drama queen. "You will, and you'll like it the same way আপনি did back in Michigan," he stated knowingly with a charming smile when he popped his head into her room.
A frown suddenly crossed Cuddy's features when she remembered his injury. "Are আপনি sure আপনি could drive with your wound? আপনি might—"
"I'm fine, mommy, re-bandaged it when I got showered and changed." House proudly stated like a kid boasting something 'adult-like' that he had done.
"You went back to your apartment?" Why did that enter her mind just now? They left his apartment messy and… oh thank God she had flushed his pills down the drain! "Had to get our medium of transportation, a helmet, and bought আপনি a new one. Knew আপনি wouldn't ride without observing the "Safety first" rule," House smirked at her. "There's nothing wrong in observing—" "Yada, yada, আপনি coming অথবা not?" House cut her off, impatient for her to find out where he'll be taking her.
Cuddy acquiesced, successfully hiding the excitement of riding behind him again bubbling in the pit of her stomach. House left his post the moment she nodded her head. She looked down at the Post It note attached to one of the stars on her new helmet. She chuckled as she read his note. She shook her head in amusement.
There would never be a dull moment with him.
She smiled and walked to the mirror in her bedroom. She wore the শিরস্ত্রাণ and felt herself blush when it fit her perfectly. পরবর্তি time he'd be buying her skimpy lingerie. The man had a talent with figuring sizes.
As she gazed at herself with the helmet, her কালজামজাতীয় ফল suddenly rang from her nightstand. She smirked at the caller's ID displayed and answered it anyway. "What?" she asked, trying to sound annoyed.
"Stop sampling the merchandise and get a সরানো on! I made lunch reservations. সরানো that জাহাজের before I go in there and help you!" House urged on the other line.
Cuddy rolled her eyes at his childishness but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. He made plans. For them. It was exhilarating. He was অভিনয় like a child on বড়দিন morning.
"I know I'm amazing, bow down to my awesomeness later, now move!" House demanded playfully, a smirk on his face as he popped his head in again.
Instead of throwing back a retort, Cuddy refrained and instead walked to where he was standing. She dropped a চুম্বন on his unsuspecting lips and sashayed into her bathroom, impatient to know where he would be whisking her off to for the day.
House watched her disappear to the bathroom and smiled to himself.
As he closed the door to the bedroom, House loudly whistled a lively tune all the way out of the house and to his bike, waiting for Cuddy to exit her house.
-----
Less than an ঘন্টা later she emerged from her front door wearing casual jeans, high heels, and a salmon-colored long-sleeved top. She was smiling as she approached him from where he was straddling his bike. "Ready to go?" he asked, pulling the শিরস্ত্রাণ he had প্রদত্ত her earlier from her hands and placing it on her head, adjusting the strap and securing it under her chin.
Cuddy shook her head at him and grinned, unfastening the বেল্ট of his জ্যাকেট and slipping it off of his shoulders. "Now, I'm ready," she answered as she wore his jacket, fastening the বেল্ট on her midsection.
"Will আপনি ever tell me where you're taking me?" she tried to pry again, really curious as to where they'll be eating. She hasn't had breakfast yet.
"I can't. It's a secret," he ব্যক্ত as he balanced the bike for her to climb behind him.
"Please?" Cuddy asked, trying to sound as sweet as she could.
"Fine," House relented. Then he chuckled gutturally, pretty sure she'll strangle him. "I don't know, I haven't even finalized the plans with myself yet," he admitted through lying teeth, looking back at her through his side mirrors.
"House!" Cuddy scolded, slapping him in the back. She should have known! "I thought আপনি made plans?" she chastised, feeling her blood boil to that point of craving to banter and bicker with him.
"I did," House smirked playfully, "I told you. I made plans."
"You're impossible," Cuddy pouted resignedly then leant her helmet-clad head on his back. She was really hungry. The bickering and bantering could wait a few hours.
House laughed. "Fine. We're going to a place you've always wanted to go to but never found the time nor gotten the reservation."
A dreamy look took over Cuddy's face as she melted at the thought of being… no, could it really be…? "Briganti?" Cuddy asked breathlessly.
"Ding ding ding, we have a winner!" House cheered with a very pleased grin at her reaction.
"How did আপনি know?" Cuddy asked, smiling brightly at the news.
"How long have আপনি known me?" House asked, looking back at her with an eyebrow bobbing at her. Cuddy chuckled. He always had his way of discovering things.
"Now drive, I'm hungry!" Cuddy ordered, pecking him once on the lips before wrapping her arms around his waist. House rolled his eyes at how loose her arms hung around him so he held her hands with his and then wrapped them tighter around his midsection. From behind him Cuddy smiled and rested her chin on his shoulder. House secured his helmet, started the engine and revved his bike once before answering to her earlier order.
"Yes, mistress."
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Please let me know what আপনি think :)
