rp for mcgill_pride

[l_cuddy_md]

Cuddy took one last quick glimpse in the mirror to make sure she was presentable before leaving her room. Her hair was still a bit damp from her morning swim, but otherwise she looked reasonably put together. And that was saying something these days. She'd gotten herself into such a mess, started to even lose her sense of who she was. Some of that

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[mcgill_pride]

Wilson hadn't been able to sleep.

It had a lot to do with his room and not being comfortable in it. Laying in bed put him in an uncomfortable frame of mind, one far too close to the place he'd been in for so very long. The place he was trying to keep himself out of. His insomnia had more to do with the amount that was on his mind

[l_cuddy_md]

Fortunately, Cuddy didn't have to search long. After a quick perusal of the dining room, she'd returned to the lobby. She was debating the next place to search when the object of her search entered through the front door.

"Wilson," she called, a relieved smile on her face. From House's description she'd expected to encounter an absolute wreck of a man. Wilson didn't look good, but he didn't look nearly as bad as she'd been fearing. She crossed the lobby, so genuinely happy to see him that she didn't notice that he wasn't exactly jumping with joy to see her.

"Hey, I was just looking for you. I wanted to see if you'd join me for breakfast," she said.

[mcgill_pride]

"Hey," Wilson replied, offering Cuddy a thin-lipped smile as she got closer. He shoved his other hand in his pocket and scratched the back of his head, then clasped his neck once more instinctively.

"Seek and ye shall find, huh?" he returned conversationally, glancing over her shoulder toward the hall. The muscles in his neck and shoulders were tense already, but Wilson couldn't deny that it was good to see her. After all this time. And be invited to breakfast. Not that Cuddy would attack him or anything.

Still, Alice's words made things even more...

"I'm not very, uh," he raised a hand in the air as he stammered, gesturing first to himself and then toward the hall. "I was just heading to-"

Wilson pressed his lips together and exhaled loudly through his nose, then smiled at her again.

"Breakfast sounds great." And it did, actually. So did spending time with Cuddy. Awkward as hell, but good too. He'd just have to eat and speak very carefully. "I'm up for that."

[l_cuddy_md]

"Great. Let's go--I'm starving." Cuddy didn't think too much of Wilson's hesitation. He'd been pretty embarassed last time she'd seen him, also after a bout of drinking, so she assumed this was the same thing.

But as she took her usual breakfast selections from the tempting array at the buffet, it occurred to her just how awkward this conversation could be. There was no point asking Wilson what he'd been doing because, thanks to House, she already knew. And the restriction House had placed about not telling Wilson about them was going to make talking about what she'd been doing a bit difficult. Given the fact that Wilson and House hadn't been exactly on talking terms, she really hesitated to even mention House's name. And it wasn't like they had work matters to discuss any more.

She led the way to an empty table. After sitting, she swirled her spoon in her yogurt aimlessly, finally seizing on the first topic that came to mind.

"So I hear Stacy has joined us here in Motel Hell."

[mcgill_pride]

Wilson picked at his omelette with disinterest, mind too preoccupied to eat. It was evident from Cuddy's lack of questioning that she already knew about the drinking. Embarassed didn't quite cover how Wilson was feeling. Cuddy wasn't House, though, and as blatantly wrong as it had been of Wilson to dive back into his misery and nearly lose himself completely, Cuddy could've started in on him immediately if she'd wanted to. And she hadn't. He sipped his orange juice quietly

[l_cuddy_md]

"Poor Stacy." Cuddy wasn't sure if she meant because Stacy was here in the hotel or because she would have to deal with House. Both, probably. Being trapped in the hotel was definitely a reason for pity, as she well knew. And dealing with her ex-lover

[mcgill_pride]

"I hear getting by is nice," Wilson replied, raising his eyebrows and nodding as he began cutting his eggs with his fork. "Might have to give that a shot

[l_cuddy_md]

Cuddy knew House had already done some ass-kicking over Wilson's drinking. She decided to take a low key approach instead because he didn't normally need to be smacked upside the head more than once. Except in this case he apparently had. The thing was, she highly suspected that part of the reason Wilson was having such a hard time was because of his estrangement from House. She never had gotten a straight answer about what had happened between them, but it really needed to be fixed.

"Getting by is easier with friends. Not easy, but easier." She picked at her breakfast for a few awkward seconds. "I should've been around more. House, too. It's just too easy to get wrapped up in our own problems."

Which was a piss poor excuse, for any of them, but it was the truth.

"Have you met the Doctor?" Cuddy asked, her expression brightening when Wilson asked about new friends. Despite some mistakes--and she was not going to mention Dean under any circumstances--there were a few people who'd been worth getting to know. "I enjoy his company.

[mcgill_pride]

Wilson smiled at the mention of the Doctor. He was the one good thing Wilson had gained here, and the bad things far outweighed the good - making his new friend invaluable. The smile faded when Alice's name came up, his expression faltering completely. He hastily looked down and sliced his eggs into smaller bits, nodding

[l_cuddy_md]

"The Doctor is very...kind." Cuddy didn't know if they were talking about the same Doctor but she supposed it didn't matter too much. There were similarities between the versions. All she knew was that the one she'd gotten to know was someone who always made her feel better

[mcgill_pride]

Wilson had been drinking his orange juice during Cuddy's last comment, and nearly choked. He quickly set down the empty jug and raised a napkin to dab his mouth.

Here we go. "Yeah, I got that drift from Alice too," Wilson muttered, his eyes hardening a bit as he stared down at his tray some more. He quickly looked up to Cuddy. That didn't sound right. "That they aren't on good terms, I mean."

Well, now what? Should he go down this road? Let Cuddy know he knew about House and Alice? About her and House? No. Or-- God damnit.

Wilson hesitated to do either, grasping on to a name he didn't recognize. Depending on what Cuddy meant as 'friends'...surely there wasn't someone else he'd slept with. "Winchesters?"

[l_cuddy_md]

"There's definitely no love lost between those two." She didn't know, though, if Wilson knew why House and Alice were at odds. The way he phrased it was vague so maybe he didn't. There was certainly no reason for Alice to confide something like that to Wilson. Then again, Alice could be remarkably open about those kinds of things. Cuddy decided discretion was the safer course and kept her mouth shut

[mcgill_pride]

Wilson nodded understandingly at Cuddy's generalization and finished off his omelette in another two bites

[l_cuddy_md]

"Don't get me wrong; it hasn't been all bad. There have been some pretty good moments, too." Some of her worst moments had been with House, but he was responsible for some of the best, too. Some really happy, fun, and decidedly sexy moments. She wouldn't trade those for anything...maybe not even if she had the choice to go back and completely undo this sojourn at Motel Hell

[mcgill_pride]

A forced smile was better than no smile, Wilson decided. He did what he could to look genuinely convinced and nodded, clasping her fingers in his for a moment

[l_cuddy_md]

Cuddy watched the way Wilson pressed his hand to his face, clearly suffering from a headache. If he'd been drinking nearly as much as House claimed, it was no wonder. He probably had a hangover, or withdrawal. Or both. Still, she just couldn't get upset with him. If it had been House, she would've ripped him a new one for this kind of self-destructive behavior. But it was Wilson and she understood all too well the temptation to hide from this screwed up reality