Everybody has secrets
Who: Cuddy, open
Where: Cuddy's office/clinic
What: A semi-typical morning at work
When: 9 a.m. Thursday, March 30
Complete
"Dr. Cuddy...."
"Five minutes," Cuddy said as she hustled through the clinic juggling purse, keys, coat and a to-go cup of coffee. She was vaguely aware of a somewhat larger number of clinic patients than usual for a Thursday morning, but she didn't want to hear about it just yet.
"There's something going around the students on campus," Brenda said, falling in step with Cuddy and waving a stack of clinic charts at her.
"Yeah, it's called exams."
"From the amount of vomit, I'm thinking some of them are actually sick," Brenda said. "Can I call House, because we're swamped."
"Great," Cuddy groaned as she opened the door to her office. "And no, you can't. House has a 'get out of clinic free' note through next week. Try his lackeys. I know they're not busy."
"Nice," Brenda said. Cuddy looked at her, puzzled by the statement, then followed her gaze to the desk at the other end of the room. The sight of a bouquet of fresh flowers in a cut-glass vase only left her more puzzled. She dumped her coat and purse on the couch and set her coffee on the desk as she stared at the flowers. She found the card almost buried between the stems. It was...unrevealing.
"Personal or professional?" Brenda asked.
"Don't know," Cuddy said, reading the single line on the card again. "Just someone 'professing his admiration.' I guess it could be professional admiration."
"No way," Brenda said with a brisk shake of her head. "If it was professional, he'd want you to know who sent them. I think you've got a secret admirer."
"I haven't had a secret admirer since Davey Shumacher in the fourth grade," Cuddy said. "And he never gave me flowers. Not live ones anyway."
"Well, whoever he is, he must be a bit of a romantic," Brenda said. She switched back into nurse mode and waved the charts at Cuddy. "In the meantime...."
"Five minutes," Cuddy repeated. "I'll be there in five minutes. Until then, pass out the emesis basins and try to keep the pukers away from the non-pukers, just in case it's communicable."
Cuddy picked up her coffee cup after Brenda left. She sipped at it slowly as she contemplated the bouquet. She had to admit she was flattered. She was also baffled because she couldn't imagine who'd sent them. She wasn't seeing anyone long-term and hadn't been for some time. Her last 'arranged' date had been less than sucessful. She and Nathan had parted at the end of the evening with polite thanks and the understanding that it wasn't an experience worth repeating.
Cuddy glanced at her watch. She really needed to sort through the papers in her inbox, find out what needed to be taken care of immediately, then get over to the clinic. Instead, she couldn't take her eyes, or her mind, off the flowers.
Where: Cuddy's office/clinic
What: A semi-typical morning at work
When: 9 a.m. Thursday, March 30
Complete
"Dr. Cuddy...."
"Five minutes," Cuddy said as she hustled through the clinic juggling purse, keys, coat and a to-go cup of coffee. She was vaguely aware of a somewhat larger number of clinic patients than usual for a Thursday morning, but she didn't want to hear about it just yet.
"There's something going around the students on campus," Brenda said, falling in step with Cuddy and waving a stack of clinic charts at her.
"Yeah, it's called exams."
"From the amount of vomit, I'm thinking some of them are actually sick," Brenda said. "Can I call House, because we're swamped."
"Great," Cuddy groaned as she opened the door to her office. "And no, you can't. House has a 'get out of clinic free' note through next week. Try his lackeys. I know they're not busy."
"Nice," Brenda said. Cuddy looked at her, puzzled by the statement, then followed her gaze to the desk at the other end of the room. The sight of a bouquet of fresh flowers in a cut-glass vase only left her more puzzled. She dumped her coat and purse on the couch and set her coffee on the desk as she stared at the flowers. She found the card almost buried between the stems. It was...unrevealing.
"Personal or professional?" Brenda asked.
"Don't know," Cuddy said, reading the single line on the card again. "Just someone 'professing his admiration.' I guess it could be professional admiration."
"No way," Brenda said with a brisk shake of her head. "If it was professional, he'd want you to know who sent them. I think you've got a secret admirer."
"I haven't had a secret admirer since Davey Shumacher in the fourth grade," Cuddy said. "And he never gave me flowers. Not live ones anyway."
"Well, whoever he is, he must be a bit of a romantic," Brenda said. She switched back into nurse mode and waved the charts at Cuddy. "In the meantime...."
"Five minutes," Cuddy repeated. "I'll be there in five minutes. Until then, pass out the emesis basins and try to keep the pukers away from the non-pukers, just in case it's communicable."
Cuddy picked up her coffee cup after Brenda left. She sipped at it slowly as she contemplated the bouquet. She had to admit she was flattered. She was also baffled because she couldn't imagine who'd sent them. She wasn't seeing anyone long-term and hadn't been for some time. Her last 'arranged' date had been less than sucessful. She and Nathan had parted at the end of the evening with polite thanks and the understanding that it wasn't an experience worth repeating.
Cuddy glanced at her watch. She really needed to sort through the papers in her inbox, find out what needed to be taken care of immediately, then get over to the clinic. Instead, she couldn't take her eyes, or her mind, off the flowers.