The Cage (Open)

[Dr. Chris Taub]

Taub had had a, to say the least, stressful past week. He had tendered his resignation to go work for his old friend, only to learn that his friend hadn't been completely honest with him. Taub had taken back his resignation, only to be almost fired by House, nonetheless. The only thing that had saved him was when he stole one of Kutner's ideas and passed it off as his own. House loved it when people went against society's rules and standards.

Now, Taub just wanted some time alone. He walked into the cafeteria. He was about to sit down without buying anything but then he realized that a person sitting in the cafeteria without any food was bound to draw unwanted attention. Someone would come over and ask if everything was all right, and Taub didn't want that.

He snagged a bag of potato chips and a bottle of water and paid for them. Finding an empty table away from all other people, he sat down and placed the chips and water on top.

Life sure was complicated for him right now and having House, the most uncaring person in the world Taub had ever known, certainly didn't help matters at all.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Actually having time to eat in the cafeteria was a rarity for Cuddy. What with her job and everything. But she figured she had some time between reports. And her secretary could take care of it. That's why House had made her hire Norman in the first place. Cuddy was supposed to delegate, so she was delegating. And delegating meant she had time to eat.

It didn't seem like a lot of people were in the cafeteria at the moment, so Cuddy made her way to the line and picked up a salad. Paying, she turned to find a place to sit. It took her a moment, but she found someone she knew. Figuring that it was slightly odd to see him down here, especially by himself, Cuddy made her way over to the table.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked, waiting until he answered her before sitting down.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

Out of all the people who had to walk into the cafeteria it had to be the Dean of Medicine? Could things get any worse for Taub?...Well, actually they could. At least it wasn't House who had walked in--or, worse yet, both House and Cuddy...or, even worse still, House, Cuddy, and the whole team. Maybe he should count his blessings while he still could.

Taub looked over at Cuddy and let out a small sigh. "I do mind," he said, being truthful, "but I can't stop you."

Even though it was clear he had come down here to mope, he didn't want Cuddy to think that was the only reason he was down here. Taub opened up his bag of chips--that just a few minutes ago he had had no intention of eating--and dumped a few of them in his hands. He munched on them slowly, trying to put off the inevitable questions he knew would be coming from Cuddy's mouth.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

"Yes, you could," she answered, pulling out the chair opposite and sat down, setting her salad down in front of her. She wasn't sure what to say next as she took up her fork and mixed the salad, idly stirring in the vinaigrette. After a moment, she looked up and spoke again "But I'm guessing you don't want to."

For her, being able to read people was a blessing and a curse. Sometimes she wished she didn't have the ability, and other times...well, it was just too useful other times. It was perfect for dealing with House. Not so much with other people. And it wasn't exactly her fault that Taub was easy to read right now. Unless one counted her insane attention to detail as her fault...she'd always thought of it as a necessary skill for an administrator. She had to know everything that was going on in her hospital.

"Bad day?" she asked at last, trying to start a conversation. Loading her fork with lettuce, she lifted a bite of salad to her lips, eating slowly.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

“More like a bad week,” Taub blurted out before he could stop himself. He didn’t want to talk about his problems, especially not with Cuddy but sometimes people had to do what they didn’t want to do. They do say it does help to talk about your problems, after all.

Taub set his half-empty bag of chips back down on the table. He took a sip of his water before he began speaking again. “Part of me still wants to resign, Dr. Cuddy, but another part of me doesn’t. I mean, there’s not a huge job market out there for disgraced plastic surgeons, is there?” Taub asked, shrugging his shoulders.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Ah. She knew very well how those felt, having had quite a few of them herself. It had always helped her to talk to someone, and she was glad that Taub was opening up to her. It never helped to keep such things to oneself, she'd learned. Cuddy waited until he'd finished speaking before saying anything.

"Well," she started. "Why do you want to leave?" She tried to act like it wasn't news to her. If House had done something to make Taub want to resign, she didn't know about it. She and House never really talked about work when they actually had a chance to talk. Which reminded her that she still needed to go look for him. Pushing that thought away, she focused on Taub and getting him to talk. She'd worry about House later. "And what's stopping you?"

Cuddy held back a flinch when it dawned on her that the phrasing made it sound like she couldn't care either way. She didn't mean that to sound that way. "You're doing excellent work here. Helping people is what we're all here for, regardless of specialty." She really hoped she was helping. To her own ears, she sounded like she was coming off as more of an administrator than a friend.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

Taub rolled his eyes. "Do I really need to state the obvious?" Taub asked, in reply to Cuddy's question as to why he wanted to leave. House had been almost unbearable to work for from the beginning, and it was only getting worse. How many times had House called Taub useless to his face not that long ago?

What was stopping him? "I'm not going to leave just because my boss is an ass," he said. "No offense," Taub added. He had been hearing rumors that Cuddy and House were an item. Taub couldn't confirm those rumors but he certainly couldn't deny them either.

He let a small, resigned smile cross his face at Cuddy's last two sentences. He couldn't resist a compliment. Taub bit his lower lip, trying to keep himself from saying what he wanted to...Oh, what the heck. "If I--if I do decide to leave, will you write me a letter of recommendation?" There was no point in even trying to get House to write him one.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy shook her head. Stating the obvious would help neither of them. But there was one thing she was curious about. She just couldn't figure out how to phrase the question. She gathered another bite of salad as she listened to Taub, and she paused with her fork halfway to her mouth at the 'no offense'. Wondering what that was about, she shrugged and finished the bite of salad.

"I'm not gonna fire him because he's an ass. I can't." Tenure was an interesting thing. He had it, she couldn't take it away, and the hospital was stuck with him regardless of how he behaved because of it. For lack of anything else to say, and her curiosity getting the better of her, she felt the need to ask, "Why would I be offended?" Cuddy knew it probably wasn't the wisest thing to ask, but there were times that she couldn't stop herself from saying certain things. This was probably one of them.

Cuddy tilted her lips and her eyes narrowed in thought. "I'd be sorry to see you go, Dr. Taub, but I would be more than happy to write a letter of recommendation. But I don't think this a decision you should rush into." She figured Taub knew that, but it was just one of those things people are supposed to say in situations like this one.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

He could lie and she would know or he could tell the truth and she would deny it. The former would probably be the kinder thing to but the latter would give Taub, Kutner, and Thirteen so much more fun.They all strongly suspected that something was going on between House and Cuddy. How great would it be to let Cuddy and (not so much) House know? Taub may regret his decision later but now was not later, and that's all that mattered to him. "You'd be offended because you're in love with House and he's in love with you. Am I right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "We've all seen the way the two of you look---or try not to look at each other."

Taub nodded his head. "I understand, Dr. Cuddy." As much as he hated working under House, Taub figured he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be keeping his eyes open for any promising job that might pop up out of the blue.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy almost choked on another bite of her salad. Almost. But she managed to have enough dignity to control herself enough to finish chewing and swallowing properly. It took all of her resolve not to show any telling reactions whatsoever. She'd managed not to choke, and she could only hope she could hold back the guilty, embarrassed look everyone got when they were caught in such situations.

She couldn't deny it, because that would be lying. She also couldn't confirm it because of the rule against employer-employee relationships. How to answer, then? She forced back the sudden lump in her throat.

"I know House is an ass. It doesn't bother me. It stopped bothering me a long time ago." It wasn't really an answer, but she didn't want to say anything that could implicate either of them. That could potentially be very bad, but that possibility hadn't seemed to bother House when they'd started this new relationship. Of course...that had been before they'd found out she was pregnant. She felt a sudden stab of horror at that thought. If Taub had figured out she and House were together...what else had he realized? Cuddy figured this was probably the best time to just not say anything else.

She tried to smile, knowing that making a decision to leave a job was a tough call that sometimes had to be made for the better. But, as it sounded like Taub still hadn't made that choice, she wouldn't worry so much. If he'd lasted this long working under House, he could make it. She was sure of it. Although... "You had to have heard what House was like to work for before you applied, though. Didn't you?" It was mostly curiosity that made her ask; she wasn't trying to be confrontational. She hoped she didn't come off that way.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

As hard as Cuddy tried to hide it, there was just something in her eyes that made Taub believe all of those rumors circulating around were, indeed, correct. If he were House, he would start chastising and/or mocking her right about now...Cuddy should be thankful that Taub wasn't like House. Besides, it was sort of nice to know that House had a heart.

Cuddy had asked a very reasonable question. "I heard a lot about him. To be completely honest with you, when I applied that I had absolutely no chance of being hired. Everything was fine at first but lately things have been a total mess."

Mess...That wasn't quite the right word for what had been happening. Things had been worse than a mess. Taub didn't know how to deal with it or even if he could deal with it.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Thankful that the conversation had turned away from her relationship with House, Cuddy sighed, masking the gesture with another bite of salad. She'd have to talk to him; the two of them would either have to be more careful or just come out with it. She didn't really like the implications of either option.

"House obviously saw something in you when he hired you. It's not like him to just hire someone at random, hoping they'll be able to put up with him and live up to his expectations. There's always a reason for what he does." She sighed openly this time. None of his other Fellows had said anything along any of these lines, so she had to ask.

"Is it just you he's...What exactly is he doing?" As House's boss, she could say something to him, try to figure out his side of the matter. As his girlfriend, though, she had a pretty good idea what his side was. She wouldn't say anything, however, until she heard what Taub had to say.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

Taub couldn't tell Cuddy. It's not that he thought she would take her boyfriend's side. It was that he thought telling her wouldn't make any difference in anything. Cuddy would talk to House but House wouldn't listen. In fact, Taub believed that if she did try to talk to him it would only make matters worse. House would be pissed at him for talking to Cuddy. Taub would have to talk to House himself if he wanted to resolve anything.

He shook his head. "I can't tell you. I don't want to get you involved in this anymore than I have to. I hope you understand that."

Taub was going to take matters into his own hands. He had to if he wanted to keep this job.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

She understood. She did. But that didn't mean that she had to like it. Although, Cuddy figured, if her hospital ran more smoothly with her out of the loop on some things, it didn't matter whether she liked it or not. As long as nothing happened to cause something in the hospital to fall apart, she could live with not knowing.

"I understand," Cuddy vocalized, nodding slowly. "If it becomes a serious problem, though, I would like to know about it." 'Serious' meaning, of course, 'if you can't handle it'. A quick glance at her watch told her that her break was almost over. Or if it wasn't that she was going to be paged back to her office very soon. She really needed to talk to Norman about realistic scheduling.

[Dr. Chris Taub]

If it became a serious problem, Taub doubted that he would come to Cuddy. More likely, he would just resign. And he knew that if he tried to resign again nothing he did or said would get House to take him back. So, in short, Taub would have to think very long and carefully before he ever tendered his resignation again.

He caught Cuddy's glance at her watch. "Business calls?" Taub inquired. "I suppose I should also go back. The team's probably wondering where I wondered off to." Probably not but it made Taub feel better to say that.