[Closed to Cuddy, Amber] Maybe this is worse than he had first anticipated.

[c18_h21_no3]

House checked his watch.

3:24.He had six minutes before Cuddy transformed back into the Wicked Witch of the hospital's west wing and sent her flying monkeys out to drag him to the depths of the Radiology Department if he refused to show up all by himself. He sat back in his chair, rotating a rubber band around his fingers as he stared intently at

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[dean_ofmedicine]

Cuddy wasn't playing any games anymore. She had a stunned Aussie left in the Surgical department to prove that. She stood outside the MRI suite with her arms crossed, glancing at her watch again. He had six minutes. He if wasn't here in six minutes, he was going to be lining up in the unemployment queue to claim benefits. She could see Amber inside the suite looking up at the clock also. She gave Radiologist a minute and a half longer before she was suggesting she go collect House for Cuddy. Amber didn't like House, and Cuddy knew it, but she also knew that every employee that 'didn't like' House meant there was usually an underlying admiration or respect there, otherwise the person's feelings usually lay much deeper than just 'didn't like'. In fact, she had been privy to more than a small handful of death threats issued in House's favour.

Her face was schooled into a pinched frown, wondering if this was the point in time she had always feared she would reach. That she just tolerated him too much that she could take no more. She had

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber hadn't been surprised when Cuddy called and requested an MRI for House. It just really threw her off when she did. Not because the Radiology department was ridiculously busy today, but because it set off a fear about her own health. If House could relapse, could she too? She made a concerted effort not to let on to any discontent, though. Cuddy was waiting outside for House to appear, and any other hospital Dean of Medicine probably wouldn't give an employee to the exact tick of a clock to keep a vital appointment before coming down heavy on them. But this was Cuddy, and he was House. It was a whole different rulebook that no one else had access to read at play. Amber didn't even want to begin to understand it. She didn't get why they just didn't jump in the sack and get it on to save everyone else the aftershocks of their pent-up UST

[c18_h21_no3]

Standing in the doorway of Radiology, House thumped his cane against the tile, half wanting to get the two doctors attention, half not. He knew he had to do this.

Didn't mean he wouldn't do it kicking and screaming.

Scratching his forehead with his thumb, House limped over to the green tinted window and tapped on the glass, eyeing Cuddy. "You and your head monkey going to do this, or am I going have to give you my ruby slippers before you let me back on the case?"

[dean_ofmedicine]

Cuddy exited the MRI suite and gave him a Look, eyebrow coolly raised as she analysed him. If she mentioned the fact she already had taken him off the case, he wouldn't stay for the procedure. Time to do that fancy footwork with House she had so pristinely honed over the years, despite the height of the Jimmy Choos. She reached up and hook her hand gently around the back of his neck, still watching him to make sure he was okay. She couldn't help it. She was worried about him. A couple of silent beats passed. "You're lucky you came, Dr House," was her simple, quiet answer.

She dropped her hand and pulled her shoulders back to straighten to her posture and then held a hand up to Amber to indicate they were starting. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you how to lie on the platform. Will I be needing to restrain you?"

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber pressed her lips together as she watched the scene with House and Cuddy through the glass. She really hadn't expected House to show up, and the fact he did puzzled her. There had to be something else going on here, whether it was the fact something really was wrong with him or a reason she didn't even have the brain capacity to contemplate.

And what was with the hand on the neck? She rolled her eyes and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. If this was anyone else, Amber would be worrying if they would start humping each other on the MRI bed. But no. It was House and Cuddy and apparently she had a flesh eating vagina or something that made House an idiot who would never ask her out, and who would die a miserably lonely death. Probably much like Amber herself, now that House had ruined the best thing to ever happen to her

[c18_h21_no3]

House's eyes never left Cuddy's as she pulled her hand away from his neck, watching as she gave Amber the ok to start up the computer. A small grin crept onto his face. She was worried about him. That in and of itself was a somewhat comforting realization. He sort of wondered if Cuddy would actually sit as dedicated as she had been by his bedside in his hallucinations. There had to be some substance to it if he was "remembering" so vividly.

Stepping into the smaller room, House threw Cuddy a pointed look, "I thought we agreed never to try bondage again after what happened last time." he quipped. Rolling up his sleeves, House unbucked his belt and clipped off his wristwatch, setting them down on the desk next to his cane before limping over to the machine

[dean_ofmedicine]

Cuddy went over to where he was lying and loomed over him. She looked at him quietly for a few moments, her light eyes indicating that she had no intentions at this juncture to return any banter. "Is there anything you want to tell me, House?" she asked him, her hand rested against the machine. It was an open question. Hell, he could tell her he had hemorrhoids if he wanted, and she wouldn't put it past him. He could tell her he wanted to be an astronaut or wanted to bed Paris Hilton. The question lingered in the air and she watched his face for any sign of... anything, but she knew deep down she was expecting nothing.

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber heard the comment through the speakers and rolled her eyes as she turned away to check everything was where it was supposed to be, pushed her long hair back over her shoulder. She was irritated this was Cuddy, and it really didn't matter how long Cuddy wanted to clog up the MRI suite. Nevermind the numerous bookings she had lodged in for the rest of the day, or the fact she would be run off her feet and behind schedule. Just so long as House and his self-centred recklessness was catered to on silver platter.

She took back her original thought about deciding they needed to get a room and just get it over with. It couldn't get better if they actually slept together. Cuddy would probably just become more subserviant to his whims, stuff the rest of the hospital and patients with possible brain tumours or life-threatening neurological disorders. It didn't matter if other patients died, just so long as House didn't.

[c18_h21_no3]

"You know, I'm pretty sure you could fit two people in here if you tried," House returned, scrunching his nose in thought as he tilted his head to properly watch Cuddy's expression grow ever more disapproving. Hey, she was egging him on, and besides, getting a rise out of her always made any shitty day a bit more worthwhile. "You could always just get naked and we could find out what sex actually looks like on an MRI."

Amber, despite the initial surprise at him being here in the first place, didn't seem concerned, just annoyed. Either that meant she didn't care at all, or Cuddy cared far more than she was willing to admit to anyone, herself included. House sort of hoped that joking around like he normally did was proof enough this whole scan was going to be a gigantic waste of time, both to her and to him.

But... even if he lied enough times to fool himself into believing something, it didn't change the fact that it was still a lie, he reasoned.

[dean_ofmedicine]

Cuddy just pursed her lips and stepped away from the bed. She schooled her expression into something blank and unreadable, albeit disapproving around the edges. "That would involve me taking out my piercing, and I've become quite attached to it," she returned evenly. It was tempting to whip one of her shoes off and smack him in the head with it to really make the MRI worthwhile. She could almost sense Amber seething through the glass walls. There was no love lost between the Head of Diagnostic Medicine and his ex-almost minion.

She went over into the screening cubicle and closed the door over, flicking on the intercom. "Thank you for your patience, Dr Volakis. It is appreciated," she said politely and then pressed down on the intercom button. "Last chance, House. Are you going to prolong this or lead us in the right direction off the bat?"

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber realised she should have probably responded with as equal politeness, but she couldn't quite drag the falsity from the depths of her gut. She just gave Cuddy a tight, brief smile and turned the screen towards her so she could see just as clearly. "Are we ready to start?" she asked, directly after Cuddy posed her question to House. What a joke. Like House was going to point them right in the direction of what he suspected his symptoms were. For one, that would mean he had to admit to something being wrong. Beyond that, it also meant he would lose a chance to fuck with Cuddy, which he never passed up.

Amber really couldn't blame the other woman for wanting to keep her distance from the bastard. She just wished she would pick a direction and stick with it, rather than this wavering between being his boss or wanting in his crippled jocks. It really was a failing equation, and everyone around them got sucked into the vortext of UST. It was a miracle they all didn't have canes and limps.

[c18_h21_no3]

"You mean the ones on your nipples or the one down on your-"

Cuddy had closed the door to the green room before House was able to finish his comeback. He grinned to himself, satisfied with his attempt at ruffling her feathers. Always entertaining. He listened as the speakers clicked on, raising his eyebrows as he stared up at the ceiling waiting for the machine to start. "I figured I'd milk this for all it was worth. You're not going to find anything, so there's nothing to point to. I'm just down here to waste your time," he answered.

And hoped.

[dean_ofmedicine]

Cuddy pressed her manicured finger down onto the intercom again. "I don't sleep with patients," she replied with a hint of a smirk. "If you want to make good on that offer, you better hope you get a clean bill of health. Then comes the flowers, chocolates, and romantic date. After that, a goodnight kiss at the door, maybe a bit of under the blouse groping. Don't beat around the bush, House. You know you don't have the stamina to keep up with me," she challenged and glanced at Amber with a flicker of amusement in her eyes.

[cutthroatbitch]

Now this was more Amber's style. She couldn't help but smirk back at the Dean of Medicine and fought the urge reach over and give her a high-five or some similar gesture born from a small hint of feminist connection she suddenly felt for Cuddy. Make the bastard work for it. It's exactly what Amber would do. None of the subservient shit. She leaned forward towards the microphone. "Wilson likes the broken ones. Ever considered batting for the other team, Dr House?" she said with feigned innocence and a forced, syrupy smile.

[c18_h21_no3]

House watched the edge of the MRI pass him as the platform began to move into the machine. "Tell that to all the 21 year old prostitutes who come back for seconds," he threw back at Cuddy, the bed clicking in place. "Come on. I bet I'd have you begging." He smirked to himself, mind jumping back to his and Cuddy's little stint in college. He sort of wondered if she had ever done the same.

"You know I'm really not supposed to talk during these things."

[dean_ofmedicine]

"Exactly. So, shut up," Cuddy stated, quirking an eyebrow at the MRI machine through the glass. She flicked the intercom off so they could hear the machine, but House couldn't hear them. She took a very brief moment to massage her temple with her fingertip and then reluctantly glanced at Amber. "What do you think we're looking for here? You've probably seen more signs than I have. Wilson wasn't very forthcoming, Chase was... Chase," she finished wryly.