Moments Peace {Open}

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel walked into her office, trying but ultimately failing at not slamming her door. Dropping her purse on her desk, she put down her coffee and moved behind the desk, opening the top drawer. She pulled out her bottle of Midrin, shaking out a small pill. Popping it in her mouth, she took a sip of her coffee to wash it down. She loathed hangovers, loathed migraines and at the moment, loathed Dr. House.

She placed her laptop on the desk, but didn't bother to open it. Turning on her small stereo system, she listened as Mozart started to play softly. She kicked off her heels and moved to her couch, laying down and closing her eyes. She prayed she could get a couple minutes peace before she had to go about her job.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

No matter what she focused on, Cuddy couldn't seem to concentrate. She had to talk to someone, about something, anything. And after last night's explorations and this mornings confrontations, there was only one person she could trust. Standing abruptly, she left her office and walked quickly to the elevators. Pushing the button for the fourth floor when the doors opened, she leaned back and sighed. Yesterday afternoon, everything in her life had been working out so naturally. She'd even almost forgotten about House kissing her when she'd lost the chance at adoption. The jerk kisses her again, and her world goes to hell. She didn't know what to think anymore. As the doors opened, she turned, headed for Angel's office.

Knocking a couple times on the door, she stood there, wondering what was going to happen next. Would this become public? Would they all lose their jobs? The thought of losing her position as the second youngest Dean of Medicine horrified her so much that she actually started to tear up. But she wouldn't let that happen. Resolving to keep the scandal secret, she pushed back her fears and kept herself calm.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

Angel groaned when she heard a knock on the door. She wondered if she could get away with not answering it, but realized that she was at work and it could be a patient. So much for some peace to dull the migraine and hang over. Swinging her legs over the side of the couch, she stood up, not bothering to put her shoes back on as she walked over to the door. Opening it, she half expected to find House there, ready to make gnaw at her last nerves. Seeing Cuddy standing there, she let out a sigh of relief, although she wouldn't have minded House, she could use a good venting. "Dr. Cuddy, please, come in." She said politely, noting how distraught the other woman looked. "Quite frankly I was expecting a certain doctor to show up." She mumbled, motioning for Cuddy to take a seat on the couch.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy nodded, entering and taking the offered seat. "This isn't a professional call, Angel. Call me Lisa." She sighed, knowing she had to start somewhere. "I can't concentrate...I keep thinking about what happened last night, and this morning, and...." she knew she was going to start ranting if she kept talking, so she just shut her mouth and closed her eyes. After a moment, though, she took a deep breath and tried again, from a different angle.

"I don't want this getting out. Putting this in the media isn't far from what House is capable of." She knew he wouldn't do it, though, since it meant losing his job. But, that didn't mean he wasn't capable of it. Even though she knew that she or Angel could be paged at any moment, Cuddy felt that she needed to talk about it with someone who wasn't likely to give House all the details.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"Look, about last night..." Angel sighed, following Cuddy into her office after closing the door. "I was drunk, not quite a great excuse, but still." She said, joining Cuddy on the couch. "Now, I can't say that I didn't enjoy it, because truth be told, I rather did enjoy it." She shook her head, looking at the floor.

"Well I'm certainly not about to put this out to the media. With our collective butts on the line, I'd quite like to keep my job." Angel nodded, reassuring her boss. "Sadly enough I don't think I'd put it past House to do so either and I've only known him for a day."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

That much, Cuddy was painfully aware of. What was worse, was that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself as well. Vodka and exhibitionism were never a good combination for Cuddy. She'd learned that long ago, even before she'd gotten together with House. But then, her exhibitions had always been with guys, so she wasn't sure it was a fair comparison. "I did too, oddly enough." Cuddy looked down and away as she thought of what to say next.

"House wouldn't do it, either. As much as he complains about work, he actually does like his job. All I meant was that it was in the realm of possibility." God, why was she standing up for him all of a sudden? Sure, she was now, predictably, regretting telling him she hated him, but that was no reason for her to start defending him. She knew damn well what House was capable of, and she was never sure if he'd actually do anything he had the power to do.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"Well, now that we've covered that matter." Angel coughed. So this was a little awkward, but atleast they were getting things out in to the open. "And this would be exactly why my mother told me never to date your co-workers." She sighed.

"What do you suggest to insure that he won't actually tell anyone?" She inquired, raising an eyebrow. She really hoped it didn't require getting even, things had already gotten pretty bad already. "I seriously doubt he'll take a bribe,and no offense to you, I don't plan on making out with you again."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy couldn't help but laugh a little at Angel's comment. "My father used quite a different phrasing. I believe his way of putting it was 'Don't dip your pen in the company inkwell'." She hadn't known what it had meant at the time, but now....it was a different story now.

"I don't know. I could offer to cut his clinic hours to keep his silence, but I'm not sure how much I'll have to cut them." She wasn't even entirely sure it would work. But it had to. House hated the clinic, that much was common knowledge. If she willingly let him avoid the place, there was a chance he wouldn't tell a living soul inside, or outside, of Princeton-Plainsboro. "If he doesn't take that offer, I don't know what I'll do." She was glad that Angel wasn't planning on making a habit out of making out with her. Because, now that she was somewhat-clearheaded, she decided she didn't ever want to see another woman naked again.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"And there's nothing we can use against him is there?" She sighed, shaking her head. She rested a friendly hand on Cuddy's knee, hoping the other woman wouldn't see it as a sign of Angel coming onto her. "I guess we're just destined to walk on eggshells for the time being until we just forget it ever happened."

She hoped it would blow over soon, she didn't know how much longer she could deal with migraines. Rubbing her temples, she closed her eyes as a stab of pain washed over her head. "He doesn't like clinic duty?" She looked up at Cuddy again. "Why doesn't that surprise me at all."

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

Cuddy thought for a moment. "Well...we can't take his vicodin away. The detoxing may drive him to tell the press anything and everything they want to know." This was so frustrating. "We can't keep him so loaded with cases that he forgets about it...he'll overwork himself, and the stress will do the same as the detox. And unsolvable cases don't come by often enough to keep him that busy, anyway." She sighed as Angel's hand landed on her knee. It was slightly comforting, knowing that what had happened between the two woman had passed, and maybe formed a deeper level of respect in some twisted, roundabout way. Lisa smiled at Angel, letting the cardiologist know that she wasn't offended by the gesture.

She couldn't help but chuckle a little at Angel's comment. "He's....antisocial," she said simply, after taking a couple of seconds to find the right word.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"He seems rather social for someone who's antisocial." Angel replied. She sat there in silence for a moment, trying to think of anything that could possibly change his mind, or make him forget. "We could always give him a concussion and hope amnesia sets in... or try hypnosis." She suggested, more as a joke than anything.

"I think what we need right now is something to take our minds off of this." She sighed, giving Cuddy a friendly smile. "Think you could take the morning off?" She inquired.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

As a shiver washed over her, Cuddy chose to ignore that first comment. "He's never gotten amnesia from a concussion before," she answered. "Hypnosis, I'm not too sure about," she added with a light laugh. At Angel's question, though, she had to pause to think.

"Well....I could always finish yesterday's paperwork later," she said after a moment. It should have been an easy 'yes' or 'no', but it wasn't. She hated that she had to run down the list of things she had to do, and rearrange them at the drop of a hat. She started to say something else, but an odd ringing sound broke her thoughts.

Her pager.

Sighing tiredly, she took it out of her pocket and let out a sound of irritation. "There's been an accident on the third floor. One of the older patients collapsed," she cringed. It sounded like it would take all morning to sort out. "I'm really, really sorry, Angel." Putting her pager back in her pocket, she stood.

[Dr Angel Fraser]

"Hypnosis was more a joke, but one never knows..." Angel shrugged. She'd heard various things about hypnosis, but being a physician, she was pretty skeptical. "I was merely going to suggest that we take a girls day and go to the spa." She smiled, then heard Cuddy's pager go off.

"Yes, duty calls." She sighed, shaking her head. "Another day then?" She inquired. She stood up as well and moved towards the door to see Cuddy out.

[Dr. Lisa Cuddy]

That really did sound like it would have been fun, but she had to make sure that nothing had been broken. It would have been nice to have taken the morning off, though, she thought with a sigh. Hell, it would have been nice to have been able to take the whole day off if it meant not having to deal with House.

"Definitely another day," she promised with a smile. Turning, she left, wondering quietly to herself if anyone would ever be able to do anything without her. She'd probably come back and talk some more with Angel later if she had time. For now, though, she had work to do.