TITLE: Pushing Boundaries
AUTHOR:
perfect_pride PAIRING: Cuddy/Thirteen
RATING: This is pretty mild... so round about a PG-13
SUMMARY: Thirteen has always known how to push boundaries
A/N: This was written for the
cuddy_fest, prompt 323: "Your tush is like the pistons in a Ferrari" -Remy agrees. It's my own take on episode 17 of season 5, so if you've not seen it then there are slight spoilers.
**
“Your tush is like the pistons in a Ferrari.”
Cuddy paused momentarily, and Thirteen couldn’t help the laughter that escaped from her lips. Over the past minute or so of the patient detailing his various fantasies Thirteen had tried her best not to react, and most definitely not to make eye contact with her boss, but the last comment was just too much. The patient was so very right; his simile serving to sum up what Thirteen had thought the first time she had set eyes on Cuddy. There was no doubt about it, her boss was definitely blessed in the physical assets department; and not just from behind either. She really shouldn’t have been laughing considering that the patient had basically just stated she wasn’t as attractive as Cuddy, but the look on Cuddy’s face more than made up for it.
“Is there something amusing you, Dr. Hadley?”
Thirteen had been so lost in her thoughts that she had failed to notice that Cuddy was no longer leaving but had turned back around and was facing her, arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
“No,” Thirteen denied, trying to force her facial expression into one which was unreadable. She was usually extremely good at painting her face as a blank canvas, but it didn’t seem to be working at this moment in time.
“Really? Because the smirk on your face suggests otherwise,” Cuddy drawled.
Thirteen shrugged innocently, pretending that she had no idea what Cuddy was referring to. Playing dumb was probably the best thing to do right now as Cuddy didn’t appear to share her sense of humour. That was something that Thirteen did find surprising, as the older woman’s reaction to his previous comments had suggested that she at least found it a little funny. Maybe Thirteen had read the situation wrongly? It wouldn’t be the first time she had failed to correctly work out someone’s body language. Finding out what someone was thinking had never really been one of her strong points; unlike House.
Cuddy gave her one last pointed look before she turned and exited, House hot on her trails. Thirteen was sure that he was going to mock and wind his boss up, there was no way he would let an opportunity like this go to waste. She couldn’t blame him; she sort of wished that she had the audacity and bravery to do the same. It must be nice for House; his genius reputation allowed him to get away with far more than he would if he were only an ordinary doctor like many of the others at Princeton Plainsboro. It was this behaviour that so obviously drove Cuddy insane at times, frustrating her to the very core.
Still. It was entertaining to watch.
**
Half an hour later, Thirteen was stood in the clinic, flicking through the patient charts. They should have been seen in order of arrival and seriousness, but she was bored and wanted something that would allow her to use her brain, at least a little. However, it seemed that the usual series of runny noses and STD’s were the only things on offer, a sad fact that Thirteen wasn’t exactly pleased about. She sighed, deliberating whether she could get away with sneaking off and pretending she’d been paged to see her patient. The Staff Nurse was distracted and the doctors around her were busy, their attention focused elsewhere.
Unfortunately, just as Thirteen was about to make a quick exit, Cuddy strode out of her office and over to the nurses’ station, where she proceeded to drop several files onto the countertop. Since she’d visited their new patient earlier she’d removed her suit jacket to reveal a royal purple, peasant styled top that when she bent forward showed a little more skin than she had probably intended for it too. Thirteen stared, aware that if Cuddy caught her she was in serious trouble, but unable to tear her eyes away from the black lace bra that covered Cuddy’s breasts.
Eventually, Thirteen finally managed to look away; not a moment too late, for Cuddy had obviously sensed eyes on her and looked up from the notes she had started to read. Her eyes landed on Thirteen, and she asked the younger doctor, “Did you need me, Dr. Hadley?”
Thirteen shook her head, did her best to look casual.
“Right,” Cuddy sounded unsure, as though she didn’t quite believe her. “How is your patient doing?”
“Well he’s still making sexual comments at every opportunity, so he hasn’t gotten any worse,” Thirteen quipped.
Cuddy gave a reluctant smile, the administrator in her evidently trying to remain professional. “I don’t know whether that’s a good or a bad thing,” she replied carefully.
“I’d say it’s a fairly good thing...” Thirteen allowed her subtle insinuation to trail off.
Raising her eyebrows, Cuddy responded in a slightly curious voice, “I’m not sure I want to know why you think that.”
Thirteen grinned, her eyes sparkling at the Dean. “Are you honestly telling me that you didn’t find it just the tiniest bit amusing?”
Cuddy tried, and failed, to suppress a smile. A real one this time. “Perhaps,” she acknowledged that Thirteen could be right, but then followed with a professional, “I’ll see you later, Dr. Hadley.” Stepping back, she watched Thirteen for a few seconds before she turned and began casually walking back to her office.
Thirteen kept her eyes trained on the older woman’s ass. Nice. And she wanted to have more balls (metaphorically speaking) like House; didn’t she? In a split second, Thirteen had made up her mind. Seeing that no one was, or indeed had been paying attention to their conversation, she called out, “I definitely think he had the right idea regarding the Ferrari.”
Cuddy’s immediate reaction was to look dumbstruck at Thirteen’s words, though she quickly recovered and portrayed an excellent poker face. There was no fleeting look of lust like Thirteen had hoped there to be, which meant that she may have gotten herself into an extremely awkward situation. One which may end with a sexual harassment charge if she didn’t apologise right now. Opening her mouth, Thirteen began a rambled apology. “I’m sorry, that was highly inappropriate of me to...”
“Dr. Hadley,” Cuddy cut her off mid-speech. “My office. Now.”
**
Once Thirteen had ambled along after Cuddy into her office, she was directed towards the chair opposite Cuddy’s desk. It seemed Cuddy wanted to put some space between them during the lecture she was about to direct at Thirteen, something that didn’t exactly fill Thirteen with joy. She supposed she should be grateful that the blinds were shut; at least no one was going to be witness to her slaughtering. House got away with his sexual innuendo because Cuddy was into him, and regrettably, it had taken Thirteen a little too long to realise that the same rules didn’t apply to her. She tried to look on the bright side; at least it would teach her a lesson for her next job. Do not under any circumstances think that it is ok to flirt with your straight, female, boss.
“One question,” Cuddy began. “Blackmail, or a bet?”
“Excuse me?” Thirteen wasn’t following.
Cuddy sighed. “Dr. Hadley, contrary to what House tells you on a daily basis; I am not an idiot. I know that House put you up to that, so was it blackmail or some sort of bet?”
Remaining silent, Thirteen watched the older woman from across the table. This conversation was taking a very different turn to what she’d thought it would.
“If it’s blackmail, you don’t have to tell me the details, because honestly, I’d really rather not know. If it’s a bet then I assure you, for the moment I will keep House in the dark about my knowing,” Cuddy continued. When Thirteen still didn’t have anything to say, Cuddy added, “Are you going to respond? Because I think I’m being quite fair about this.”
“You’re wrong,” Thirteen spoke slowly. When Cuddy looked sceptical, she realised she would have to explain why she had really said what she said. “It had nothing to do with House. There was no bet, and he isn’t blackmailing me. I really did just say that stuff because... well because I wanted to.”
Cuddy frowned. “So you were jerking me around purely for your own amusement?”
“What? No!” Thirteen denied. “I was complimenting you. And before you say it, I know that I crossed the line. But I really did mean it.” Wide-eyed with innocence and virtue shining from her eyes, she prayed that Cuddy wouldn’t fly off the handle now that she knew the truth.
“Complimenting me? Why would you...?” Cuddy paused, confused. Then it dawned on her. “Oh. I see.”
“Yeah,” Thirteen shrugged. “So like I said... House had nothing to do with it.”
Cuddy took a couple of seconds to compose herself, seeming to think carefully about her words before she spoke again. “Dr. Hadley, I’m flattered but...”
“You’re straight, not interested. I get it,” Thirteen interjected. “I’ll just go before this gets anymore awkward for either of us.” She rose from her seat.
“No!” Cuddy exclaimed, standing up quickly. Her cheeks flushed pink at Thirteen’s raised eyebrow. “That wasn’t what I was going to say,” she sighed. “What I was going to say was that it would be a seriously bad idea.”
Thirteen wondered how that was any better, before the penny dropped. Cuddy hadn’t confirmed that she was straight or not interested, she had diverted those assumptions entirely. Confidence building back up, Thirteen knew she had to play her cards carefully if she was to get anywhere with this. “Why is it a bad idea?”
With a incredulous expression on her face, Cuddy replied, “Well... that’s obvious, isn’t it?” When Thirteen didn’t respond, she divulged, “I’m your boss. Not just your boss but your bosses’ boss.”
Thirteen rolled her eyes. “I get that you’re my boss, but don’t bring House into this.”
Cuddy looked offended. “It’s a legitimate point to make. House would make my, no scratch that, our lives’ hell. We wouldn’t get a moment’s peace, he would be there day and night attempting to...”
Not able to tolerate any more of Cuddy’s rant on House, Thirteen didn’t even bother to debate with herself on how to shut the Dean up. In a flash, she crossed to the other side of the desk and firmly kissed the other woman on the lips, thereby forcing her into silence.
“Mmm... Dr. Hadley...” Cuddy protested after a few seconds, and Thirteen took the opportunity to slide her tongue into Cuddy’s mouth. She had felt resistance as Cuddy pushed at her upper arms attempting to stop her, but the moment their tongues met, Cuddy loosened her grip and started to respond ever so slightly.
“Dr. Hadley...”
“My God,” Thirteen pulled back to deliver her explanation. “Would you stop with the Dr. Hadley already?”
Cuddy looked shocked at Thirteen’s blatant disrespect for her, and immediately Thirteen realised that she was about to start lecturing Thirteen on her inappropriate attitude and behaviour as she had so many times’ before. Not allowing her to begin because there was no way she’d ever get her to shut up once she’d started her speech on employee’s respect for their bosses’, Thirteen added, “I don’t give a damn about House, the fact that you’re my boss, or that this is going to be difficult. For want of a better phrase; I like you. Ok? And right now that’s all I care about.”
“You like me?” Cuddy asked, surprised.
“Me kissing you is pretty much an indicator of that,” Thirteen grinned.
“Even though I’m older?” Cuddy was still reluctant to accept Thirteen’s statement.
Now it was Thirteen’s turn to be surprised. She’d always thought Cuddy to be this all-powerful super confident woman, but it seemed that she had her hang-ups like everyone else. “You might be older, but you have the pistons of a twenty year old,” Thirteen informed her.
This at least drew a laugh from Cuddy. “You’re never going to let that one go, are you?” She asked hopelessly.
“Depends,” Thirteen replied honestly. “If you’re about to throw me out of here and fire me then I have a feeling I might have to.”
“I’m not going to do that,” Cuddy said, sounding slightly exasperated.
“Really?” Thirteen double checked to be sure.
“Really,” Cuddy said, more firmly this time. “I don’t know what this is going to turn into, if it turns into anything, but maybe... maybe it might not be so bad.”
“You changed your mind quickly,” Thirteen said in amazement.
“Your kiss changed my mind,” Cuddy teased.
“I’m good, aren’t I?” Thirteen smirked.
“Shut up, Remy,” Cuddy rolled her eyes.
Thirteen stopped smirking and gave a genuine smile. “You called me Remy,” she said smugly.
“I figured that since I’ve had your tongue down my throat we should really be on first name terms by now,” Cuddy quipped.
“I agree one hundred percent, Lisa,” Thirteen retorted.
“Shut up.”
“Make me,” Thirteen told her immaturely, knowing that Cuddy’s reaction would be to silence her with a kiss, which she happily responded to. Lowering her hands, she groped Cuddy’s ass, smirking as Cuddy began hungrily sucking on her neck and arching into her.
Pistons.
Oh yeah.
**