Crossover ficlet #20: Cut from the Same Cloth (Lisa Cuddy/Abbey Bartlet)
TITLE: Cut from the Same Cloth
PAIRING: Lisa Cuddy (HMD)/Abbey Bartlet (TWW)
RATING: arr.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone!
SPOILERS: None, really.
WARNINGS: Femslash
NOTES: Still entirely too long to be considered a ficlet. A continuation of yesterday's random pairings stories.
The fundraising event was nearly over and Lisa was counting down the minutes until she would be able to hide in her dark office and take off her stiletto heels. She thought it was ridiculous that men in her place didn't have two roles to fulfill---sex kitten and brilliant doctor---and that if she wanted to stand toe to toe with them, she needed to wholeheartedly take on both personas.
She wanted a drink (scotch), she wanted a smoke (a light, long cigarette from her secret stash, but one of Dr. Wilson's cigars would do just fine), and she wanted a chance to be herself (Lisa Cuddy, woman first, doctor second, administrator third) for a few minutes.
There were politicians and doctors there, milling about with the board of directors and the rest of the well-dressed crowd. She was trying to gain enough funding to buy a new MRI and to convince the board that they needed to hire a diagnostician for the teaching hospital. The doctor currently in that position wasn't... well, he wasn't as brilliant as Dr. Cuddy thought he should be, given the field and its oftentimes bizarre cases. She wanted a new one but she needed to butter the board up, first.
Alcohol was flowing and pocketbooks were opening. Wives were hanging onto their husbands, smiling admiringly at them as they donated to the hospital's cause but somehow still glaring at Lisa when she spoke with the donors. They seemed to disapprove of her.
Did they think she was seriously flirting with the men or did they think women didn't belong in positions of power?
She didn't know, she didn't care.
She kept thinking about her reward---time, completely alone, in her office---and pasted a fake, but convincingly sincere, smile upon her face.
It wasn't until three o'clock in the morning that she was finally able to slink to her office. The party was over. The board, satisfied, decided to postpone their next meeting until the following week, after the donations had been tallied. She watched them leave, supervised the cleaning staff and caterers for a few minutes, and then she, too, disappeared.
Outside the double doors that guarded her private domain, she bent over and unfastened the straps of her shoes. Before she opened one of the two doors, she stepped down off of the unyielding soles and into the plush carpet of the decorative rug. She didn't wriggle her toes until she was inside her office; her eyes closed and a sigh escaped her lips as she spread the ten digits and allowed them to squirm against the thick grey fibres.
"I feel a bit like a voyeur."
Lisa startled at the sound of the deep, but female, voice. It was laced with amusement and something else that made her stomach tighten and her skin shiver.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Dr. Bartlet---one of the guests from the fundraiser, and a prominent figure in thoracic surgery---still clad in her dark red evening gown and leaning back against her desk.
"Dr. Bartlet," Lisa said, putting on her show-smile again. "I didn't know you were waiting---" she stopped as an errant thought crossed her mind. "Did we schedule a meeting after the fundraiser?"
The older woman chuckled. "No, we didn't schedule a meeting. I wanted to see you again."
Lisa blinked a few times, not sure what the other woman meant. "Um... okay. Sure. Is there something in particular you'd like to discuss, Dr. Bartlet?"
"Call me Abbey," the older woman insisted. She smiled and her nose crinkled a little; Lisa felt her ears and cheeks warming and she silently hoped her office was dark enough to hide her flushed face. "We're colleagues, not---"
Forgetting how hard it was to be a woman, first, and then her other roles, Lisa blurted out, "But, you're the wife of the governor of New Hampshire and... like... on the staff of two hospitals and you're a professor of thoracic surgery. Your articles on internal medicine are---"
"Oh, pish," Abbey interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I'm just me, under all that fancy stuff others seem to care about."
Her words made Lisa's heart ache. She realised she wasn't the only one who lived double or triple lives.
"How do you cope?" Lisa asked as she took a step forward and deposited her shoes in a nearby armchair. "I mean... you don't have to tell me, but... I didn't know. I didn't think it was the same." She knew she was beginning to ramble but she couldn't stop herself. "It's kind of dumb to think it's different. You're a doctor, too, so of course you've had to play the same games I'm playing to be taken seriously, but I'm so out of your league that... maybe that's why I thought it was---"
She stopped short when she felt warmth on both of her cheeks. She hadn't realised that Abbey had gotten so close to her. All of a sudden, she was too close and touching her face and Lisa didn't know how she could hide her secrets with those eyes piercing her own.
"You are doing a great job," Abbey assured her quietly. "I was impressed. Intrigued."
"By me?"
Abbey nodded slowly.
"Wh-why?"
"You climbed the ladder pretty quickly," Abbey said in a soft voice, "and I was interested enough to look you up. I came tonight so I could meet you. I want to satisfy my curiosity."
"Oh."
Abbey grinned. Lisa was reminded very much of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. There was something devilishly perfect in her smile, while her eyes implied exactly what she had in mind, and both smile and eyes seemed to make Lisa's heart skip a beat.
Then, before Lisa could follow what was happening, Abbey released her face and stepped back.
"But, I don't want to overstay my welcome or---"
"You're not."
Abbey smiled and arched an eyebrow. She looked like a predator and Lisa felt reduced to prey for a moment before she realised that she was more like the surgeon than a timid doe in the forest. She swallowed hard and looked at Abbey.
"Let's try an open request," Lisa said, not sure how much longer she could go round and round in circles in the wee hours of the morning. "What are you doing in my office?"
"I like direct."
Lisa smiled. "I guess that's why you were lurking here?"
Abbey chuckled. "Well, when I find someone that piques my curiosity, I find it isn't conducive to our reputations if I make a move in public."
"Does your husband know you're here?"
"I love him," Abbey said in reply, "but there are some things... some things that I can't get from him."
"And you think you can get them from me?"
The older woman nodded. "I knew the moment I saw you."
"I think you're reading me wrong."
"Am I?" Abbey inquired. Her voice was smoother than scotch. It made Lisa shiver. "I'm you, in a lot of respects. We're cut from the same cloth, Doctor Cuddy... I knew you because we're kindred spirits."
Lisa suspected she was correct in saying so. She flushed more and averted her eyes. Abbey chuckled and the sound seemed to vibrate through her and into Lisa, touching places the younger woman had never studied in anatomy or physiology classes.
"Some people think I'm a little direct," Abbey said as she caught Lisa's wrist in her hand and tugged her closer. "But, when you want something..."
"You have to go after it," Lisa said, finishing Abbey's sentence.
"Exactly."
Abbey leaned in. Her mouth was so close to Lisa's and she desperately wanted Abbey to lean in that extra inch, but the anticipation was almost more delicious than any kiss she'd ever experienced.
"And, I want you," Abbey whispered. Her words ghosted over Lisa's lips as a promise of things to come. "Are we on the same page, now, Lisa?"
"Yes, ma'am."
The words escaped Lisa's mouth before she could control them. Abbey laughed softly as she took Lisa's other wrist in her other hand.
When her wrists were pinned behind her back, Lisa thought about struggling. A feeble whimper even escaped her throat, but it died when Abbey pressed closer to her and licked a line over the skin over the pulse point in her neck. The whimper turned into a sigh, but that sigh morphed into a moan when the older brunette sunk her teeth into the cords of muscle that had been so tight all night.
"Oh god," Lisa whispered hoarsely. "Warn me next time."
"I am going to press you against the wall and work on you until you can barely remember your name." Abbey smirked as she finished speaking and lifted her head. "How's that for a warning?"
Lisa shuddered. Abbey's free hand---since the other was holding both of her wrists at the small of her back---drifted between them and cupped her through her dress. She rocked helplessly and inwardly cursed herself for falling apart so easily.
"Well?"
"I... it's a really good warning," Lisa managed to say. She inhaled sharply and managed a half-smile. "I'm not going to give you one, though."
Abbey grinned. Her nose wrinkled again. "We better get started, then," she murmured.
Lisa didn't even have time to nod before she found herself pressed against the wall, between her diplomas and a filing cabinet.
PAIRING: Lisa Cuddy (HMD)/Abbey Bartlet (TWW)
RATING: arr.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone!
SPOILERS: None, really.
WARNINGS: Femslash
NOTES: Still entirely too long to be considered a ficlet. A continuation of yesterday's random pairings stories.
The fundraising event was nearly over and Lisa was counting down the minutes until she would be able to hide in her dark office and take off her stiletto heels. She thought it was ridiculous that men in her place didn't have two roles to fulfill---sex kitten and brilliant doctor---and that if she wanted to stand toe to toe with them, she needed to wholeheartedly take on both personas.
She wanted a drink (scotch), she wanted a smoke (a light, long cigarette from her secret stash, but one of Dr. Wilson's cigars would do just fine), and she wanted a chance to be herself (Lisa Cuddy, woman first, doctor second, administrator third) for a few minutes.
There were politicians and doctors there, milling about with the board of directors and the rest of the well-dressed crowd. She was trying to gain enough funding to buy a new MRI and to convince the board that they needed to hire a diagnostician for the teaching hospital. The doctor currently in that position wasn't... well, he wasn't as brilliant as Dr. Cuddy thought he should be, given the field and its oftentimes bizarre cases. She wanted a new one but she needed to butter the board up, first.
Alcohol was flowing and pocketbooks were opening. Wives were hanging onto their husbands, smiling admiringly at them as they donated to the hospital's cause but somehow still glaring at Lisa when she spoke with the donors. They seemed to disapprove of her.
Did they think she was seriously flirting with the men or did they think women didn't belong in positions of power?
She didn't know, she didn't care.
She kept thinking about her reward---time, completely alone, in her office---and pasted a fake, but convincingly sincere, smile upon her face.
It wasn't until three o'clock in the morning that she was finally able to slink to her office. The party was over. The board, satisfied, decided to postpone their next meeting until the following week, after the donations had been tallied. She watched them leave, supervised the cleaning staff and caterers for a few minutes, and then she, too, disappeared.
Outside the double doors that guarded her private domain, she bent over and unfastened the straps of her shoes. Before she opened one of the two doors, she stepped down off of the unyielding soles and into the plush carpet of the decorative rug. She didn't wriggle her toes until she was inside her office; her eyes closed and a sigh escaped her lips as she spread the ten digits and allowed them to squirm against the thick grey fibres.
"I feel a bit like a voyeur."
Lisa startled at the sound of the deep, but female, voice. It was laced with amusement and something else that made her stomach tighten and her skin shiver.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Dr. Bartlet---one of the guests from the fundraiser, and a prominent figure in thoracic surgery---still clad in her dark red evening gown and leaning back against her desk.
"Dr. Bartlet," Lisa said, putting on her show-smile again. "I didn't know you were waiting---" she stopped as an errant thought crossed her mind. "Did we schedule a meeting after the fundraiser?"
The older woman chuckled. "No, we didn't schedule a meeting. I wanted to see you again."
Lisa blinked a few times, not sure what the other woman meant. "Um... okay. Sure. Is there something in particular you'd like to discuss, Dr. Bartlet?"
"Call me Abbey," the older woman insisted. She smiled and her nose crinkled a little; Lisa felt her ears and cheeks warming and she silently hoped her office was dark enough to hide her flushed face. "We're colleagues, not---"
Forgetting how hard it was to be a woman, first, and then her other roles, Lisa blurted out, "But, you're the wife of the governor of New Hampshire and... like... on the staff of two hospitals and you're a professor of thoracic surgery. Your articles on internal medicine are---"
"Oh, pish," Abbey interrupted with a wave of her hand. "I'm just me, under all that fancy stuff others seem to care about."
Her words made Lisa's heart ache. She realised she wasn't the only one who lived double or triple lives.
"How do you cope?" Lisa asked as she took a step forward and deposited her shoes in a nearby armchair. "I mean... you don't have to tell me, but... I didn't know. I didn't think it was the same." She knew she was beginning to ramble but she couldn't stop herself. "It's kind of dumb to think it's different. You're a doctor, too, so of course you've had to play the same games I'm playing to be taken seriously, but I'm so out of your league that... maybe that's why I thought it was---"
She stopped short when she felt warmth on both of her cheeks. She hadn't realised that Abbey had gotten so close to her. All of a sudden, she was too close and touching her face and Lisa didn't know how she could hide her secrets with those eyes piercing her own.
"You are doing a great job," Abbey assured her quietly. "I was impressed. Intrigued."
"By me?"
Abbey nodded slowly.
"Wh-why?"
"You climbed the ladder pretty quickly," Abbey said in a soft voice, "and I was interested enough to look you up. I came tonight so I could meet you. I want to satisfy my curiosity."
"Oh."
Abbey grinned. Lisa was reminded very much of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. There was something devilishly perfect in her smile, while her eyes implied exactly what she had in mind, and both smile and eyes seemed to make Lisa's heart skip a beat.
Then, before Lisa could follow what was happening, Abbey released her face and stepped back.
"But, I don't want to overstay my welcome or---"
"You're not."
Abbey smiled and arched an eyebrow. She looked like a predator and Lisa felt reduced to prey for a moment before she realised that she was more like the surgeon than a timid doe in the forest. She swallowed hard and looked at Abbey.
"Let's try an open request," Lisa said, not sure how much longer she could go round and round in circles in the wee hours of the morning. "What are you doing in my office?"
"I like direct."
Lisa smiled. "I guess that's why you were lurking here?"
Abbey chuckled. "Well, when I find someone that piques my curiosity, I find it isn't conducive to our reputations if I make a move in public."
"Does your husband know you're here?"
"I love him," Abbey said in reply, "but there are some things... some things that I can't get from him."
"And you think you can get them from me?"
The older woman nodded. "I knew the moment I saw you."
"I think you're reading me wrong."
"Am I?" Abbey inquired. Her voice was smoother than scotch. It made Lisa shiver. "I'm you, in a lot of respects. We're cut from the same cloth, Doctor Cuddy... I knew you because we're kindred spirits."
Lisa suspected she was correct in saying so. She flushed more and averted her eyes. Abbey chuckled and the sound seemed to vibrate through her and into Lisa, touching places the younger woman had never studied in anatomy or physiology classes.
"Some people think I'm a little direct," Abbey said as she caught Lisa's wrist in her hand and tugged her closer. "But, when you want something..."
"You have to go after it," Lisa said, finishing Abbey's sentence.
"Exactly."
Abbey leaned in. Her mouth was so close to Lisa's and she desperately wanted Abbey to lean in that extra inch, but the anticipation was almost more delicious than any kiss she'd ever experienced.
"And, I want you," Abbey whispered. Her words ghosted over Lisa's lips as a promise of things to come. "Are we on the same page, now, Lisa?"
"Yes, ma'am."
The words escaped Lisa's mouth before she could control them. Abbey laughed softly as she took Lisa's other wrist in her other hand.
When her wrists were pinned behind her back, Lisa thought about struggling. A feeble whimper even escaped her throat, but it died when Abbey pressed closer to her and licked a line over the skin over the pulse point in her neck. The whimper turned into a sigh, but that sigh morphed into a moan when the older brunette sunk her teeth into the cords of muscle that had been so tight all night.
"Oh god," Lisa whispered hoarsely. "Warn me next time."
"I am going to press you against the wall and work on you until you can barely remember your name." Abbey smirked as she finished speaking and lifted her head. "How's that for a warning?"
Lisa shuddered. Abbey's free hand---since the other was holding both of her wrists at the small of her back---drifted between them and cupped her through her dress. She rocked helplessly and inwardly cursed herself for falling apart so easily.
"Well?"
"I... it's a really good warning," Lisa managed to say. She inhaled sharply and managed a half-smile. "I'm not going to give you one, though."
Abbey grinned. Her nose wrinkled again. "We better get started, then," she murmured.
Lisa didn't even have time to nod before she found herself pressed against the wall, between her diplomas and a filing cabinet.