muse_playground December; 115.08
"I've had nothing yet", Alice replied in an offended tone: "so I can't take more."
"You mean you can't take *less*. It's very easy to take *more* than nothing."
the Mad Hatter's response to Alice (Lewis Carroll)
The little fingers were wrapped around one of her own and there was nothing she could do in that moment other than marvel, other than choose to remain still and watch, touch, be in that precise instant. Their breathing patterns didn't match because a small pair of lungs needed to fill more frequently but that didn't bother her. Cuddy was too busy being fascinated by the breathing itself. She had seen many miracles which brought life back to what it had been but nothing would be able to marvel and fascinate her the way that the beginning of new life did each time.
Her name would not be Joy, there would be another name, one that she had not come agree with herself on yet, but it would be a name that would hold meaning for her the rest of her life. Having a child was something she had thought about more than once and given herself full license to believe in once and again.
Dreams were funny things. They seemed to come true when a person least expected them to.
For a long expanse of time more she stayed, her thumb moving across the tiny knuckles and touching the soft skin, and she wondered if she would ever get enough of touching it. If any time would ever make her believe this is it, I can let go now and she would be able to release her grasp.
She already knew the answer, but for now she would pretend she didn't. It was one of a handful of moments in which she was okay with not being outwardly, immediately right.
Muse: Lisa Cuddy
Fandom: House M.D.
Word Count: 271