A Change in Plans |House|

[Dr. Gregory House]

House snorted, "you've got a funny way of showing it." But his hand still reached out to Lisa's hip. Pulling her closer to his body.

"Let's try this again, shall we? Hi honey, how was your day?" He leaned in close and kissed her on her lips. He pulled back, a hint of mischievous humour twinkling in his blue eyes, "that is what couples say and do when they see each other, right?"

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Honestly, Cuddy didn't know what to say to that. She'd questioned his motives before; why this time should be any different was beyond her. His hand on her hip sent shivers through her, and she didn't resist when he pulled her closer.

She liked the sound of his next words, however. Wanted to hear them every day. When he leaned in, she rose up to meet him, kissing him back. It was brief, but Cuddy didn't really care. She didn't care because his next comment caught her slightly off guard. She couldn't quite remember him ever referring to them as a couple out loud. "Yeah," she replied, her senses reeling. This was definitely something she wanted every day, and she knew there was only one way that was going to happen.

And then, something clicked. If House had just come by to hang out, would he have brought his own medical journal? She had dozens he could have been reading, but it was one of his own. Hopeful eyes locked with his as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Are you," she started, but something was preventing her from finishing the question.

[Dr. Gregory House]

House smirked at the look on Cuddy's face, enjoying her bafflement and her pleasure. She didn't have much of a poker face. He waited as she started to ask something, but stopped. Then waited some more. He arched an eyebrow.

"Am I devastatingly handsome? Am I excellent in bed? Am I the father of your baby?" House asked, "why, yes, yes, and yes. Wait, I am the father of your baby, right? I have to be, unless there's been some cabana boy you've been seeing on the side?"

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy chuckled. "His name is Jose, and he cleans my pool," she answered after a while, pretending to look guilty. Hey, if he could screw with her, she could screw right back. Almost immediately though, she leaned up and kissed him again, smirking. "Yes, Greg. You're the father of my baby. Mater semper certa est."

She pulled away from him slightly, wondering how best to continue. Sighing, she figured that straightforward was better than guessing games. "Are you..." she paused to take a deep breath. Letting it out, she finished in a rush. "Are you moving in with me now?" She very carefully did not break eye contact, even though part of her was screaming at her to do just that. She'd told herself the last time she'd brought it up that she wouldn't ask about it again; swore she'd let him come to it on his own.

[Dr. Gregory House]

House chuckled, "always, huh?" The Latin language was the basis for much of their medical words and even the spoken language of their medical hero Hippocrates, leading to their Hippocratic Oath, but that didn't mean the mother was always certain. Too many clinic duty shifts had taught him of the real facets of humanity. House figured he was just jaded. No cure for that.

At Cuddy's hesitant question, House stilled and tried very hard not to look away. He was uncomfortable with this avenue of their future. He wanted to be with her, but he was also afraid to let go of his home, let go of a place he could retreat to if it all went terribly wrong. And it could. It could go horribly, horribly wrong.

Just look at Stacy, House thought to himself, look at what she did. His hand went involuntarily to his thigh. He couldn't blame it all on Stacy, though. That dark, insidious terror of connecting with people had begun much earlier than that, rooted deeply in the events of his childhood. It wasn't even all his father. It was the army brat life. Moving from town to town, city to city, country to country multiple times a year.

He had eventually stopped making deep meaningful friendships with kids at school, instead, choosing to just hang with them, only to forget their names once he moved on. He always made shallow promises to write, but he never wrote after he left. That was life as he learned it.

"I--" House cut himself off upon hearing the strangled tone that came out his throat. He cleared his throat, unnecessarily, and tried again. "..." House took a breath, shook his head, "why Cuddy, do I detect a note of longing in your voice? Do you want me to move in and leave my dirty laundry everywhere, and leave crumbs in bed, and watch the L word on mute on your television?"

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

She froze when he hesitated. Don't say it, she thought. Don't say no. She let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding when he finished. Did she want him to move in? What kind of question was that? Cuddy thought she'd made it perfectly clear that she wanted him to live with her. But she also knew it wouldn't be easy; nothing was ever easy.

Cuddy launched herself forward again, holding House tightly. She laid her head against his chest and sighed. "I want you to move in. I don't care where you leave your laundry. I'll let you do whatever you want in bed. Forget The L Word. I'll let you watch your damn soaps on my television. Just...don't say no." They could make this work. They had to make this work.

[Dr. Gregory House]

House shifted, uncomfortable with her begging, but he wrapped his arms around her. He could never get tired of her touch. He hadn't wanted this to be some great big production. He had just been planning on just one day, randomly just being there.

Even then, however, he hadn't exactly planned on moving in. He had plenty of money since he hardly ever spent his own money on anything. Winning all those bets had made his life comfortable. Plus there was the money Wilson had yet to claim back from him. He had enough money to maintain his apartment just in case the times went south. Besides, he had a lot of stuff, he doubted Lisa even had the space for his piano.

"I won't say no," he finally said. He just couldn't say something sarcastic and inflammatory. He really wanted to, but he couldn't. "I just need time, Lisa. Just give me time."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Time. Time was something they were running out of. At least, in terms of her pregnancy. And she wanted House here with her when the time came for her to give birth. Was that really too much to ask? She had to keep reminding herself that there were still at least seven months left.

Cuddy could afford to give him a little more time, couldn't she? She could afford to wait for him. She'd waited this long, after all. A little bit longer couldn't hurt. Could it?

When she'd thought he was here because he was finally going to start living with her, she'd been so hopeful. But now... She didn't want to keep getting her hopes up only to have House bring them down again. More time. Hesitantly, she nodded against his chest, afraid to look up and meet his eyes; afraid he'd see her longing for him to stay there.

"I...I understand," she whispered. She forced away the thought that he was stalling because he didn't want to move in with her...she forced those thoughts back and focused on his reasons. They couldn't rush into something like this. They had to take it slow. And Cuddy had to remember that.

[Dr. Gregory House]

Damn. House had to be the most selfish bastard ever to make Cuddy go through this, but he just couldn't reconcile himself with commitment. He was scared of it from head to toe. He knew that Cuddy was reluctant to let this go, but she knew him so well. He knew her well too, and knew she was fighting doubts that only he could battle, but he wasn't ready for it.

She said she understood, but... Everybody lies.

Only this time it wasn't medically relevant, this time, it was an okay lie to tell. 'Cause she was telling him what he wanted to hear. He knew enough to dread the day when the good lies ended. When Cuddy got tired of waiting for him, got tired of him. Then he'd know that he was right all along.

Though he wished that he would be wrong.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy felt a sense of worry and dread well up in her when House didn't say anything. She'd expected him to refute her, to tell her she could never understand. She'd expected him to say something, anything. His silence ate at her and she pulled back, gazing up at him. Trying to hide the hurt and confusion in her eyes as they locked with his eyes.

She didn't understand. But she wanted to. She wanted him to let her in, to allow her to heal his heart. Even though it had been her fault it had been broken before, her fault that Stacy had walked out on him. And she wanted to undo the hurt she had caused him to feel. The only way she was going to heal him was if he let her in. Cuddy knew House wasn't likely to do that. Not anytime soon, at least.

"Talk to me, Greg, please. I know you're hurt, and I want to help." Cuddy had to make House see it somehow. See that she wanted, needed this to work. See that it broke her heart to see him in pain, whether it was physical or emotional.

[Dr. Gregory House]

"I'm fine, Cuddy," he smirked, shaking off the pall of his introspective mood. A little levity never hurt anyone. Certainly couldn't hurt in this case. "Aside from the leg, I've never been better. Or at least, the vicodin puts a haze on the pain just right." He held his hand up, the forefinger and the thumb just a few centimeters apart to illustrate just how much.

"What were you planning on making for dinner?" He asked, steering the conversation to a far better direction, "'cause from what I stole of Wilson's lunch today was far too healthy and did not fill me up very much. I fear for Wilson."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy bit her lip. He'd completely misunderstood her. Or maybe he was just pretending to have misunderstood to keep from talking about it. She could never tell, though she figured that was for the better. She didn't press the matter though. She wouldn't push him into a discussion that he obviously had no intentions of ever having. Releasing her lip from between her teeth, Cuddy let out a sigh as he changed the subject. She took a quick glance at the nearest clock.

Six forty-seven. Too late to start anything big, but she could work with that. 'Always have a plan B', she thought to herself.

"There's boxed pizza in the freezer. I could throw a couple of them in the oven," she shrugged. "As for Wilson's lunch, talk to him about it. Not me." She chuckled slightly as she finally pulled away from House, letting her arms drop to her sides briefly before wrapping themselves around her waist. Turning away to make her way to the kitchen, she paused. "So...pizza? You got time for a movie?" She glanced over her shoulder at him, judging his reactions to her hints of a quiet night in.

[Dr. Gregory House]

House smirked and nodded. Pizza and a movie sounded great. He was a homebody type. He never liked being out and about with the crowd. Always worrying about his leg, his cane. Never mind the pitying stares, the speculation. He wasn't sure why he even cared, but it still bothered him. It was a forcible reminder of what he just couldn't have any more. He had made his peace with lacrosse, but there were so many things he could no longer do anymore.

A movie and pizza. A night in. It was just what the Doctor had prescribed. No pun intended. Okay, yes, pun very much intended. House had to get his kicks somewhere. "Movie and pizza. Just what the Doctor prescribed. Yes, pun so very much intended." It was House's way of saying to Cuddy that the scary moment was over and he wasn't gonna run away. Physically, anyway. Emotionally speaking, House would run and hide; it was his way. For Cuddy though, he'd work on that.

He made his way to the kitchen, stopping to pick up the discarded tub of ice cream to put what remained into the freezer. He moved to an out of the way place, entertaining himself with playing with his cane. He watched Cuddy and somehow got the feeling that she was watching him. Yes, watch the crazy cripple, you never know what he'll do next.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Nodding back once, Cuddy turned and made her way to the freezer to take out a couple of the boxes. She didn't even see what kind she'd picked, just grabbed them. Setting the oven to preheat, she turned and leaned against the counter, waiting. She heard what House said and smirked slightly. She followed him with her eyes when he entered the kitchen to put the ice cream away.

"Anything you're in the mood for?" she asked idly. It didn't really matter to her whether they watched an action movie or something with a family theme, as long as she was with House. "I've got a few in the cabinet next to the TV." She shrugged, keeping her eyes on him. After a long moment, though, she turned away to take the pizzas out of their boxes, tearing off the plastic covering.

"How long are you going to stay here tonight?" she asked as the oven went off, indicating the correct temperature had been reached. Opening the door and sliding the pizzas in, she set the timer and closed the oven. Cuddy turned back to House, her eyes alight for the first time that night.

[Dr. Gregory House]

"Mmm, I haven't watched Die Hard in a while. Now that's a cop action movie." House enthused, pulling himself away from the silly feeling of grumpiness he had wanted to dwell upon for a while in his fit of pique. He watched Cuddy's backside as she bent over to place the pizzas into the oven, he appreciated the swell of her fine booty. He shrugged at Cuddy's question,

"Oh," he replied, affecting an easy tone, like it was no big deal. "I think I might stay over the night, yeah. I think I even actually have clean clothes here as well."