Eating After Dark (Open, Multiple Threads Welcome)

[sticktotheright]

Dean sat at a table in the dining hall, hunched over a plate of chili fries. He'd been thinking about Jack's idea. It was sound, and it was fair, but he wondered if it would work. He half-hoped it wouldn't, and half-hoped it would. He'd pick a direction and walk, same as he expected everyone else would

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[l_cuddy_md]

Cuddy wandered into the dining room in search of...she didn't really know. A snack of some kind. She usually tried to avoid snacking, but this was nervous eating. She couldn't sleep, she'd already exercised. If she didn't find something to occupy herself she was going to go a little nuts.

As she glanced around, she noted Dean sitting at a table. Great. Just freaking great. Pretty much the last person she wanted to see. And yet she kind of needed to see him. The hotel wasn't all that large so she could either spend her time avoiding Dean or she could.... Well, she didn't know exactly what she could do, but before she could think much about it, her feet were moving in his direction.

She pulled a chair out and sat down almost before Dean knew she was there. "You couldn't keep my name out of it?"

[sticktotheright]

Dean looked up and winced when he saw that it was Lisa. Great. Just the person I wanted to see. He wasn't normally in the habit of apologizing to women. Normally he just left. Granted, that wasn't always his own choice - normally he had to worry about poltergeists and wendigos and werewolves and vampires. But since they were stuck there, Dean felt he owed the woman an apology.

"I'm sorry, Lisa. I'm really... he didn't hurt you,did he?" He did a quick check of the woman's face for bruises. House was quick with his fists, who knew where it ended?

[l_cuddy_md]

"You're sorry?" No way Dean could be as sorry as she was. Sorry that she'd ever met Dean. Sorry that she'd slept with him. Sorry she was in this god forsaken place to begin. Just plain sorry. And pathetic, but that was par for the course.

"Of course he didn't. House may be an ass, but he doesn't beat on women."

[sticktotheright]

"Good." It was something to be said for the man. "I'm gonna go grab a beer. Want me to get one for you while I'm up? Don't worry, I'll come back so you can yell at me s'more." He sighed. Normally, 'discussing' anything with women was just a matter of sitting there, letting them yell at him until they got tired of it, and saying they were right.

[l_cuddy_md]

"Yeah, fine, why not."

She slumped in the chair a bit as she watched Dean go after the drinks. She didn't know what she hoped to accomplish by talking to him, other than maybe venting a little. It certainly wasn't going to change anything. And ultimately she had no one to blame but herself. It was just a whole lot easier to blame someone else.

[sticktotheright]

He returned with two cold bottles, cap already off. After settling back into his seat and taking a long swig, he leaned forward. She could smack him one if she wanted; he deserved a good one for what he'd said.

"You're a really... I'm not dumping you, so don't take what I say the wrong way." He laughed. "I'm used to telling girls they're great people when I leave. But that's the thing. We can't leave. And you are great. And you deserve better than having sex in the backseat of my car, even if it is the best damn car ever made." He took another swig, his words coming out in a woosh of hops-inspired bravery

[l_cuddy_md]

"Yeah, I'm really fucking great," Cuddy muttered under her breath. How many times had she heard that? And there was always a 'but' after it. You're great but.... I like you but....

She gave herself a shake and took a long pull from her beer. "You don't know House the way I do. He's not a monster." There was no point in trying to explain House to Dean. For one thing, it would take hours to explore all the whys and wherefores of House, and she didn't even fully understand them all herself. And for another, she knew all too well that most people didn't want to understand House.

"I'm not stupid. I know House loves to push people's buttons, and he's good at it. But you weren't any better. You figured out telling House about you and me would hurt him." She rubbed a hand across her face and reached for the beer. "Thing is, House wasn't the only one who got hurt."

[sticktotheright]

"I know, and that's what I'm apologizing about. You do what you want with House, and that's fine." He understood a lot about caring about people that nobody understood. He'd tried to explain his relationship with his father enough times that he knew nobody but Sam would ever get it. "If you want to be with him, and he makes you happy, that's fine. It doesn't involve me. I'm just sorry that I dragged you into our... fight. Thing. That's what I'm sorry about."

He would never apologize for hitting House in the face. He knew House didn't understand what talking about Mary would do to him. But he should've guessed. People shouldn't talk shit about dead family.

"I was bad, he was bad. I can't say I'm sorry for him, but I am sorry for yanking you into it."

[l_cuddy_md]

"Assuming I get the chance to be with him after this. You have to understand...." Except he didn't really have to understand. The difficulty she'd had getting House to even consider a relationship, the damage Dean's comments to House had caused, whether or not she and House could work through it: none of that mattered to Dean. It only mattered to her.

"I believe you mean it, but right now 'sorry' isn't helping me." She ran a weary hand through her hair, then shrugged as she reached for her beer again. "Forget it. My problem, not yours."

[sticktotheright]

Dean breathed deeply, and nodded his head while staring at the table. "I wish you'd come to me right after he confronted you. I'd have told him I was lying for you. Better he be mad at me than you."

He did want everyone to be happy, that was Dean's cross to bear. The unrealistic desire to have everyone he knew and cared about to be as happy as they could. And he did care about Cuddy. She'd been kind to him, and she was funny. Smart. Sexy. He wouldn't have slept with her more than once if he hadn't liked her.

"If you need me to talk to him... don't see how it'd help, but I'm just sort of putting anything out there at this point. I know when I fuck up."

[l_cuddy_md]

"God, no." She grabbed Dean's forearm like she was stopping him from going to talk to House. It was a slightly scary thought. House would want to get some of his own back, score some points off Dean. He'd manage to push Dean into reacting again most likely. And he wouldn't believe anything Dean said anyway.

"I told House the truth. He'll either deal with it or...not." She released Dean's arm with a small pat, then settled back in her chair. She wasn't nearly as calm about the prospect as she tried to appear, but she didn't know what else to do but carry on and keep trying.

"I'll survive, one way or another. But you've got to be more careful, Dean. The things you do and say while we're stuck here...you could really hurt someone. Maybe even yourself."

[sticktotheright]

"I know, I know. It's just... have you talked to my father or my brother about what we do? Why we do it? I don't think House has had to watch someone he cared about murdered in his own home. Or deal with everyone thinking he's crazy about the murder. Or the murderer hunting down one of his kids. Mom deserves better than him talking shit about her." He shook his head, pissed off that he was tearing up. He bit the inside of his cheek until he stopped. He didn't cry in front of women.

"Next time, I'll just let him win and leave. I just - yeah. I'm sorry. He could've said anything else and I wouldn't have cared. That's the one thing I have in the world is my family and what we do. I didn't go to college because I'm not that smart, and I had to go on a hunt so I didn't even take my SATs. Only had one girlfriend, and she... " His voice trailed off. "Don't even know why I'm telling you all this. You'll probably tell House, and he'll just come make fun of my mom some more."

[l_cuddy_md]

Cuddy didn't half understand what Dean was talking about: murderers and hunting. John hadn't exactly been forthcoming about his family, and Dean certainly hadn't told her much. But it was obvious he believed it when he said all he had was his family

[sticktotheright]

"I don't want to argue with him anymore, Lisa. I don't want to fight with anyone - especially since we're going to be stuck here for a while and I'll probably have to see him again." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"The thing that murdered my mom - and I know you think my dad is crazy, but he's not - it wants Sam. For something." He breathed out hard through his mouth.

[l_cuddy_md]

"I don't think your dad is crazy."

She didn't like John but that a personality thing, and it was just between them. And no, she still wasn't ready to accept that there were monsters roaming around back home, but after everything she'd experienced here she was no longer so sure of herself that she'd call John crazy for believing it.

"Um...'thing'?" Did Dean mean a man or was he talking about one of his dad's monsters? Either way, it did make sense of one thing she'd wondered about. "That's why you wanted Sam here, isn't it? So you'd know he was safe."

[sticktotheright]

"A demon. To get real specific. And I know you don't think that stuff exists where you're from. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe you're in a parallel dimension or something - and that totally makes me sound crazy." He put his elbows on the table, the heels of his hands pressing into his eyes. He truly hoped Cuddy came from a world where the shit he dealt with didn't exist.

"Yeah. That's why I wanted Sammy here. I promised Dad when I was five I'd always look after him. It's my job." Dean was proud of how much of the tremor he kept out of his voice.