In the Loop |Angel, Kutner|

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Bidding her doctor 'goodbye till next time,' Cuddy closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She had to find House, catch him up. Wondering when she'd be able to speak with him alone, she glanced at her watch. And swore under her breath.

Quickly, she made her way to the nursery, sure that her friend was already there, waiting for her. She slowed her pace to a casual walk as she approached the bay window separating the hospital's newborns from the passersby.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, coming to a solid stop next to the person already standing there.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel stood infront of the window, watching all the little infants sleep. Smiling, she couldn't wait to become a godmother, knowing she'd be able to spoil the little one and then send it home to mommy and daddy. She smirked at the thought of sending the two year old home full of sugar to the awaiting House and Cuddy.

"Hey, you're just in time, I think there are a few new faces coming." Angel said softly as she turned to face her friend. "You look like you could use a weekend worth of sleep." She commented, looking Cuddy up and down.

[Dr. Lawrence Kutner]

Kutner had been grunting on his way to the maternity ward. It wasn't his job, quite technically, but there was no case to be solved and he was a free body, so to speak. Delegated to more patient rounds, he trudged his way toward the rooms. Today, of all days, had not been the best day for Kutner and the usually enthusiastic-about-clinic-duty self persona of his was no where to be seen. In fact, he was taking the long way to the exam rooms. Not that anyone would care really. As long as he had a folder in hand and looked as if he was rushing somewhere (even if it was in circles), no one would bother him.

Getting the impulse to pass through the maternity ward, Kutner stopped short before rounding the corner. Of course, his instinctive impulses to stumble upon low-key information was quite accurate at this point. Two women were speaking in normal tones, although slightly low in volume. Kutner could easily recognize who one of them belonged to - Cuddy. God only knew how many times he'd heard that woman get angry at House. The other was familiar, but there was no name or facial match. Leaning against the wall, folder clutched to his chest, Kutner listened in on the conversation.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy raised an eyebrow as she shot Angel a look. "Thanks," she muttered. It was true though. Cuddy was tired. But being pregnant did that. Used up a lot of energy, that is. 'Only thirty-one more weeks,' she thought. She hoped. Turning her eyes back to the newborns behind the glass she smiled and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Do you know where he is?" Cuddy asked, not looking away from the infants lying in their separate beds. "I've got a date for his calender." Now she turned her smile to Angel, her eyes shining. "Might want to put it in your calender too, now that I think of it."

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"Hey, I could have said you looked like crap." Angel stated, still looking at the babies. "Quite frankly I think you're looking better than other mothers I've seen around here and back home." She added, hoping that Cuddy would at least consider her comments a compliment.

"No, I can't say that I've seen him around." She replied, shaking her head. She hadn't seen House all day, but then again, she'd gotten used to not seeing him around, as he was prone to hiding a lot to escape clinic duty. She turned with an excited look on her face when Cuddy mentioned she had a due date. "Really? When is it?" She inquired, her excitement lacing through her voice.

[Dr. Lawrence Kutner]

A few of the keywords were heard by Kutner and he knew that he would stay rooted at that spot until they stopped talking and left or when he'd get caught. And he was furiously hoping that it would be the former. Everyone in the hospital noticed the change in the Dean's overall, well, attitude towards certain things. It was subtle but noticeable enough and it was no secret that nothing could be kept hidden from the hospital. However, what Kutner was putting together was more than enough to put a gleeful smile on his face. True, he wasn't a genius but he was clever enough to piece things together.

'So Cuddy really is pregnant,' his thoughts exclaimed out loud, as if they'd been the most terrific news that he'd heard all month. At least he had something he could hold over everyone else's heads for a while. However, as the conversation turned to a him, Kutner began to wonder. He had finally put that voice to a face, that Cardiology Head he'd formally met only several days ago. If the supposed father, or at least that was what Kutner had figured when they spoke of a "he", was someone who Dr. Fraser could "see around", how probable would it be that it's someone who worked at the hospital? 'Hm, curiouser and curiouser,' he repeated to himself as he stiffened his body, trying his best not to move while still listening intently at the same time.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Just wait. When I hit twenty weeks..." she shuddered slightly. Everyone would be noticing by then. "It's gonna be harder to hide the dark circles under my eyes. Everyone will be able to notice. And then there will be a betting pool at the nurses' station. Every doctor in the entire building will be placing bets on who the father is." And she had no doubt that House would find some way to get in on it all.

Cuddy frowned slightly at that. It meant she'd have to go look for him. Oh well. When she found him, it would be worth it to see his face when she told him her news. She smiled back at Angel's enthusiasm. "Well, we're looking at somewhere around October 20. Give or take a few days." She shrugged slightly. "I'll have to find him later and tell him. If you see him, you will tell him I need to see him, won't you?" she asked hopefully. House really did need to know, and she wanted to be the one to tell him.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"You'll still be beautiful then." Angel reassured her friend, smiling. "And I'm sure he'll find you just as beautiful with bags under your eyes and swollen ankles." She added, resting a friendly hand on her shoulder. She raised an eyebrow at Cuddy's comment about the pool. "Hm, maybe I should get in on that... I promise to buy you something nice when I win." She smirked.

Taking a deep breath in she turned around, her back now to the infants. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of House's ducklings watching her. So, someone had been listening in on their conversation. She ignored him though, only praying that Lisa wouldn't actually drop any names. "Awesome, an October baby." She smiled, hooking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll let him know that you're looking for him, if I see him around."

[Dr. Lawrence Kutner]

Kutner continued to lean against the wall, listening intently to the conversation. Eyes widened as he suddenly realized that he may in fact have a good idea as to what was really going on. Working for House really did increase his brain processes, or at least, it made him put things together much faster and thought even of the most unlikely circumstances. If Dr. Fraser knew, then that incident in House's office was no accident.

Before Kutner could continue at that dangerous and gratifying train of thought, he heard a shift in heels. Somewhat happy that women's shoes could serve as an alarm, Kutner unfortunately flinched. He was sure that he must've been seen, but he wasn't pointed out. However, this time around, Kutner decided to play it safe and leave. And yet, he had to go through the way that the two women were currently occupying to get to his destination. And he was not taking the long way around again. Sighing to himself, he internally debated whether he should just walk past them and pretend he had just gotten there or wait until they left before moving.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

"Ugh," Cuddy sighed. "I actually think he was planning on hiring a masseuse when I got that far. Of course, he might have been joking. The man has an interesting sense of humor. But at least I know I'll never be bored." She shrugged. A small laugh escaped her at Angel's promise. "Thanks, Angel. Don't spend all your winnings on me though. Unless you end up buying something for the whole family...but still, don't spend everything on us." She smiled.

Cuddy nodded. "It's going to be a busy year for us. There's so much we have to talk about before the baby comes. It just feels like there isn't enough time to cover everything." And with almost seven months left before she delivered, she'd have to start thinking of other things too. Who would take her place while she was on maternity leave? Would the hospital survive without her to control House? Or would he take time off with her to spend some time with their child? Maybe it would be more productive to bring the baby with them to work.... So many questions, so little time to find the answers.

"I'm sure someone's seen him," she shrugged. "Worse comes to worst, we'll ask around."

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel laughed, knowing full well that House always seemed to be full of surprises. "Yep, at least your life will never be dull." She agreed. Angel thought about that for a moment, and realized her life with Wilson probably wouldn't be like Cuddy and House's. Which suited her fine, she had had enough surprises with her last boyfriends. She was just ready to settle down and enjoy the quiet.

"Hey hey hey, calm down." Angel said again. "You don't need all this stress at once. Take one thing at a time." She said, resting her hands on her friend's shoulders and looked at her directly in the eyes. "First thing first, we concentrate on finding him. We worry about everything else later." She spoke, trying to calm her friend down. "Yes, I said we, because I'm the Godmother and your best friend. Which means I'm in on this whole thing too, ok? You can get me to do stuff to help out as well."