Just the Way You Are--Cuddy's iPod Playlist Titled House
This is a companion piece, in a way, to "It Had to Be You--House's iPod Playlist Titled Cuddy." But it can stand alone too. It answers the question: when House goes snooping, what does he find on Cuddy's iPod? Minor spoilers for "Help Me" and some of the spoiler pics for 7x01.
"JUST THE WAY YOU ARE"
One of the myriad new attributes in House's relationship with Cuddy now that they were dating was all the after-hours time they spent together at either her place or his.
And on the afternoon that House ducked out of work early to cook dinner for Cuddy while Cuddy and Wilson were in a board meeting, and House and his team were without a case, he discovered Cuddy's iPod at his place and decided to see what she had on it while dinner was cooking.
He had a playlist on his own iPod of songs that reminded him of Cuddy. He began to scroll through Cuddy's IPod, and stopped when he came to a list titled simply House.
The songs were an eclectic mix, and he scrolled through the list, looking for the common denominator in all of them.
Springsteen's "Born to Run" started the list, obviously an homage to House's motorcycle. After their trip to the beach, House knew that Cuddy liked the bike more than she had ever let on before. The songs about sex weren't as raucous as the sex songs on his own iPod, but he couldn't stop a smirk from forming on his face at seeing The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" and "Slow Hand," and "All I Want Is You" by Carly Simon. (The thought of being a sexy hurricane to Cuddy greatly appealed to House, and the Pointer Sisters' songs were self-explanatory.) He also noted the presence of "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," (which House couldn't believe was the remake by Power Station and not the original by T-Rex; is nothing sacred?), "Seduces Me," by Celine Dion (thank God it wasn't that hideous song from Titanic; dying of hypothermia is not an aphrodisiac no matter who you are), "Kiss You All Over," by Exile (which House thought was the best idea he'd heard all day), "Lover Lay Down," (on second thought, add this to kissing all over, and THAT was the best idea House had heard all day), "Leather and Lace," (and there was his ideal wardrobe for Cuddy at the start of the "Lover lay down, I want to kiss you all over" portion of the evening)... Okay, all of that was sexual. House noted that "I Touch Myself" was not on the list, and wasn't sure if he should be disappointed about that or not.
Then he saw the next song and began to scroll through the remaining songs.
"Can't Fight This Feeling," REO Speedwagon ("And I can't fight this feeling anymore, I've forgotten what I started fighting for, It's time to bring this ship into the shore and throw away the oars forever...")
"They Don't Know," Tracey Ullman ("There's no need for living in the past, Now I've found good lovin', gonna make it last, I tell the others 'Don't bother me,' 'cause when they look at you, they don't see what I see... 'Cause they don't know about us, and they've never heard of love...")
"Trouble Me," 10,000 Maniacs ("Trouble, trouble me, disturb me, with all your cares and your worries, Trouble me, On the days when you feel spent, Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden When my back is sturdy and strong? Trouble me...")
"Call It Love," Poco ("You say you won't, I say you will, You make me crazy but I want you still, When it makes us feel better, Call it love...")
"Have a Little Faith in Me," John Hiatt ("And when your back's against the wall, Just turn around and you will see, I'll be there, I'll be there to catch your fall, So have a little faith in me...")
"Love," Julia Fordham ("In my bed, On my phone, In my house when I get home, That is where I want to find you...")
"Crazy for You," Madonna ("I'm crazy for you, Touch me once and you'll know it's true, I never wanted anyone like this, It's all brand new, You'll feel it in my kiss, I'm crazy for you...")
"The Only One," Paul Carrack ("Partners in time, Partners today, Walking through problems that might have come our way, 'Cause when all is said and done, There's no need for me to run, You're the only one, The only one I love...")
"Whenever You Call," Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight ("I won't ever be too far away to feel you, And I won't hesitate at all, Whenever you call, And I'll always remember that part of you so tender, I'll be the one to catch your fall, Whenever you call...")
"Just the Way You Are," Billy Joel ("I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble, We never could have come this far, I took the good times, I'll take the bad times, I'll take you just the way you are...")
"Be With Me," Carly Simon ("Well I see who you are, And I like what I see, If you want to be, You can be with me...")
As he finished getting dinner ready, he thought over the songs he'd found on the list bearing his name on Cuddy's iPod. On the surface, the common denominator was that they were all love songs of some sort. But putting them all together, and it was the soundtrack to Cuddy's feelings for House. He knew that he drove her crazy sometimes...all right, most of the time...but, for reasons he hadn't entirely figured out yet, she loved him. She knew who he was, and that was enough for her. She didn't expect him to change and become some Dudley Do-Right sycophant. To quote Carly Simon, Cuddy didn't want a man who said "Good morning, dear." She would never have that with him, and that was fine by her. She wanted him, all of him, for exactly who he was. He had changed some since his time in Mayfield, getting off the Vicodin, seeing Nolan, and she was the main reason. She didn't expect him to become Mr. Perfect, but he did want to be worthy of her.
Not only did Lisa Cuddy want him for exactly who he was, she also wanted him to lean on her, to let her be there for him when he needed someone, and not just sexually. Was that easy? No. But it wasn't impossible, either. He'd never had anyone in his life that saw him for who he really was and said, "This is enough for me: you, exactly as you are, is enough for me."
Until now...Until Cuddy.
He could still be a pain in the ass sometimes...all right, a lot of the time. He wasn't a hearts-and-flowers kind of guy, but he loved Lisa Cuddy as he had never loved anyone, and truth be told, he always had. Further truth be told, he always would.
And the songs he'd just seen were proof of the fact that she loved him back, that she wanted to be with him and wanted him to be with her. Him, just the way he was.
For the first time in his life, Gregory House was amazed by something that had nothing to do with medicine.
He relished the feeling.
END
"JUST THE WAY YOU ARE"
One of the myriad new attributes in House's relationship with Cuddy now that they were dating was all the after-hours time they spent together at either her place or his.
And on the afternoon that House ducked out of work early to cook dinner for Cuddy while Cuddy and Wilson were in a board meeting, and House and his team were without a case, he discovered Cuddy's iPod at his place and decided to see what she had on it while dinner was cooking.
He had a playlist on his own iPod of songs that reminded him of Cuddy. He began to scroll through Cuddy's IPod, and stopped when he came to a list titled simply House.
The songs were an eclectic mix, and he scrolled through the list, looking for the common denominator in all of them.
Springsteen's "Born to Run" started the list, obviously an homage to House's motorcycle. After their trip to the beach, House knew that Cuddy liked the bike more than she had ever let on before. The songs about sex weren't as raucous as the sex songs on his own iPod, but he couldn't stop a smirk from forming on his face at seeing The Pointer Sisters' "I'm So Excited" and "Slow Hand," and "All I Want Is You" by Carly Simon. (The thought of being a sexy hurricane to Cuddy greatly appealed to House, and the Pointer Sisters' songs were self-explanatory.) He also noted the presence of "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," (which House couldn't believe was the remake by Power Station and not the original by T-Rex; is nothing sacred?), "Seduces Me," by Celine Dion (thank God it wasn't that hideous song from Titanic; dying of hypothermia is not an aphrodisiac no matter who you are), "Kiss You All Over," by Exile (which House thought was the best idea he'd heard all day), "Lover Lay Down," (on second thought, add this to kissing all over, and THAT was the best idea House had heard all day), "Leather and Lace," (and there was his ideal wardrobe for Cuddy at the start of the "Lover lay down, I want to kiss you all over" portion of the evening)... Okay, all of that was sexual. House noted that "I Touch Myself" was not on the list, and wasn't sure if he should be disappointed about that or not.
Then he saw the next song and began to scroll through the remaining songs.
"Can't Fight This Feeling," REO Speedwagon ("And I can't fight this feeling anymore, I've forgotten what I started fighting for, It's time to bring this ship into the shore and throw away the oars forever...")
"They Don't Know," Tracey Ullman ("There's no need for living in the past, Now I've found good lovin', gonna make it last, I tell the others 'Don't bother me,' 'cause when they look at you, they don't see what I see... 'Cause they don't know about us, and they've never heard of love...")
"Trouble Me," 10,000 Maniacs ("Trouble, trouble me, disturb me, with all your cares and your worries, Trouble me, On the days when you feel spent, Why let your shoulders bend underneath this burden When my back is sturdy and strong? Trouble me...")
"Call It Love," Poco ("You say you won't, I say you will, You make me crazy but I want you still, When it makes us feel better, Call it love...")
"Have a Little Faith in Me," John Hiatt ("And when your back's against the wall, Just turn around and you will see, I'll be there, I'll be there to catch your fall, So have a little faith in me...")
"Love," Julia Fordham ("In my bed, On my phone, In my house when I get home, That is where I want to find you...")
"Crazy for You," Madonna ("I'm crazy for you, Touch me once and you'll know it's true, I never wanted anyone like this, It's all brand new, You'll feel it in my kiss, I'm crazy for you...")
"The Only One," Paul Carrack ("Partners in time, Partners today, Walking through problems that might have come our way, 'Cause when all is said and done, There's no need for me to run, You're the only one, The only one I love...")
"Whenever You Call," Mariah Carey and Brian McKnight ("I won't ever be too far away to feel you, And I won't hesitate at all, Whenever you call, And I'll always remember that part of you so tender, I'll be the one to catch your fall, Whenever you call...")
"Just the Way You Are," Billy Joel ("I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble, We never could have come this far, I took the good times, I'll take the bad times, I'll take you just the way you are...")
"Be With Me," Carly Simon ("Well I see who you are, And I like what I see, If you want to be, You can be with me...")
As he finished getting dinner ready, he thought over the songs he'd found on the list bearing his name on Cuddy's iPod. On the surface, the common denominator was that they were all love songs of some sort. But putting them all together, and it was the soundtrack to Cuddy's feelings for House. He knew that he drove her crazy sometimes...all right, most of the time...but, for reasons he hadn't entirely figured out yet, she loved him. She knew who he was, and that was enough for her. She didn't expect him to change and become some Dudley Do-Right sycophant. To quote Carly Simon, Cuddy didn't want a man who said "Good morning, dear." She would never have that with him, and that was fine by her. She wanted him, all of him, for exactly who he was. He had changed some since his time in Mayfield, getting off the Vicodin, seeing Nolan, and she was the main reason. She didn't expect him to become Mr. Perfect, but he did want to be worthy of her.
Not only did Lisa Cuddy want him for exactly who he was, she also wanted him to lean on her, to let her be there for him when he needed someone, and not just sexually. Was that easy? No. But it wasn't impossible, either. He'd never had anyone in his life that saw him for who he really was and said, "This is enough for me: you, exactly as you are, is enough for me."
Until now...Until Cuddy.
He could still be a pain in the ass sometimes...all right, a lot of the time. He wasn't a hearts-and-flowers kind of guy, but he loved Lisa Cuddy as he had never loved anyone, and truth be told, he always had. Further truth be told, he always would.
And the songs he'd just seen were proof of the fact that she loved him back, that she wanted to be with him and wanted him to be with her. Him, just the way he was.
For the first time in his life, Gregory House was amazed by something that had nothing to do with medicine.
He relished the feeling.
END