A Year In Misery Almost Sort Of: Chapter Twelve
Title: A Year In Misery Almost Sort Of
Chapter: Twelve out of ?
Pairings: House/Cuddy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Don't sue me.
Summary: Cuddy recalls her past and the relationship she had with House during the college days.
Start from the beginning
OR
Cuddy was well aware that when it was important enough, House would use that mind of his to help a situation even if it didn’t relate to medicine or his job. Most of the time though, his mind didn’t help. It usually made things worse with his comments and sarcasm. However, sometimes he was able to use that sharp mind to solve problems and help others even when he wasn’t obligated to. And she had first hand experience with that side of House.
She furiously dug through each drawer in her dresser. From there, she moved on to her purse before digging through her desk.
“Can you keep it down?”
She stopped and looked in the direction of her roommate’s bed.
“Sorry,” she apologized to the lump under the blankets.
She glanced at the time before deciding that she had to move on. Grabbing her jacket, she threw it on while she stuffed her bare feet into sneakers. She jammed her dorm keys into her jean pocket and left the room.
Hurrying across campus on a mission, she made her way to the med student lounge. She whipped the door to the building open and practically ran to the lounge. Immediately she began tearing the cushions from the couches and chairs in a frantic panic.
“Looking for a miracle?”
She froze and looked to him as she was kneeling in front of the couch she usually sat on. Her hands were jammed in the gap between the back of the couch and the base. He entered the room.
“I lost my necklace,” she told him and went back to digging.
He glanced around as if he would immediately spot it simply because she overlooked it. However, he knew it was probable that he wouldn’t be the one to find it. Hell, he didn’t even know what it looked like. He still began to look anyway.
Sometime during their tearing apart of the lounge, she began to cry. It wasn’t rolling tears with heavy sighs, but frustrated tears that slipped out every now and again. She had a feeling the necklace wasn’t here, but she didn’t know where else to look. She tore apart her dorm, most classrooms on campus, the library, and now the lounge.
“Cuddy,” he spoke softly as he stood next to one of the tables. He knew that if it was here, she would have found it by now.
“Don’t,” she commanded as she peered underneath the couch.
He crossed the room with a roll of his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s under the couch. Do you want to check under the carpet? It’d be quite a task, but I bet we could rip it up.”
She sat back on her heels and glared at him. “I need to find that necklace. It’s the only thing... it was my grandmother’s and if I don’t... I need to find it.”
He sighed. “When was the last time you remember having it on?”
“I don’t know!” she exclaimed and forced herself to her feet. She began pacing. “I never take it off so I hardly notice when it’s there because it’s always there, so when I finally realized it was gone... it could have been gone for day. Maybe more.”
Her hand had found its way to where the necklace usually rested. She felt naked without it and she was constantly cursing herself for not realizing its absence sooner. He flopped down in an armchair which he immediately regretted because it was still missing its cushions.
“You retraced your steps?” he asked.
“I did everything, House!” She was taking her anger out on him. “I looked everywhere I had been in the last couple of days. Everywhere! Labs, classrooms, the cafeteria. I even went into the cadaver laboratory. By myself. At night.”
She threw herself onto the couch, but didn’t flinch against the pain that the cushionless couch caused. He placed his fingertips together, thinking about the last place one would find a lost necklace.
“Maybe it fell off in the shower,” he suggested.
“I’m having a panic attack and all you can think about is me in the shower.” She glared at him.
“First of all, you’re not having a panic attack,” he pointed out. “A psychotic breakdown maybe, but not a panic attack. And second, I was thinking of your necklace, not your naked body.” He paused. “Wait. I have to take back that last sentence now.”
“My grandfather bought that necklace for my grandma on their first anniversary.” She was staring off across the room. “All those years and she never lost it. It must have been more important to her than it was to me.”
He stood and crossed to her. “Get up.”
She looked up at him as if she just realized he was even in the room. “What?”
“Come on.” He took her arm and pulled her to her feet.
He dragged her from the room, both of them leaving it in disarray. She didn’t protest, but looked back longingly, hoping she didn’t miss the necklace somewhere in the lounge. She let her hand remain in his as he pulled her out into the cold night air.
A passing security eyed them suspicious, him more than her. He, of course, gave the security guard a very large smile and a quick greeting. Once the security guard was gone from their sight, Gregory House hurriedly pulled her into a familiar building.
“I told you.” She sighed. “I already checked-”
“Sh,” he cut her off briskly.
She followed him to the cadaver laboratory and watched as he picked the lock in under two minutes. He opened the door and flicked on the light, revealing the recognizable room that held six long metal dome like containers, four of which had dead bodies in them.
“Which one were you working on?” he asked as he moved into the room.
“Yeah, because I’m sure it fell off into a cadaver,” she replied and folded her arms across her chest as she remained in the doorway.
“Well, of course not.” His look was exaggerated sarcasm. “That would be ridiculous. Which one?”
“Number four,” she nodded to the metal container with a black four painted on it.
He moved to the container and rolled it away from the others. It had two doors on top which met in the middle. He reached for the handle, but stopped.
“Did you check it?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “No. It’s not going to be on the cadaver, House.”
He pulled open the door closest to him and held it in the vertical position. He reached out to the corner of the door and yanked a silver chain from between the joined metal at the corner. Her mouth dropped open as she crossed the room. Carefully, still not believing it, she took the silver chain with the emerald pendant from his outstretched hand.
“How did...” She looked to him, completely confused.
“When you closed the top of the cadaver case, you reached over this door to close the other one first,” he explained. “Every time you closed that door first, the chain brushed against the damaged corner but never caught.” He pointed to the slightly misshapen corner of the door. “However, you managed to snag it in the corner the last time you were here and when you pulled back to close the other door, the chain snapped and remained stuck between the metal.”
“But, how did you know?” She was clutching tightly onto the necklace.
“Worked with an annoying Catholic who always got his crucifix caught in the broken door.” He shrugged it off, but he was secretly pleased that he could make her so happy.
“Thank you.” She immediately hugged him, causing him to drop the door, which clanked loudly against the metal. “Thank you, thank you so much. This means...” She pulled away and locked eyes with him. “Thank you.”
He shrugged again. “Not a big deal. You would have found it the next time you worked with your cadaver anyway.”
She smiled at him and turned, wanting to get out of the room before they were caught after having picked the lock to get in. He made sure the cadaver case was closed and in its proper place before following after her, reveling in the delight he felt at the moment when she gave him a smile right before throwing her arms around him.
Click for Thirteen
Chapter: Twelve out of ?
Pairings: House/Cuddy
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Don't sue me.
Summary: Cuddy recalls her past and the relationship she had with House during the college days.
Start from the beginning
OR
Cuddy was well aware that when it was important enough, House would use that mind of his to help a situation even if it didn’t relate to medicine or his job. Most of the time though, his mind didn’t help. It usually made things worse with his comments and sarcasm. However, sometimes he was able to use that sharp mind to solve problems and help others even when he wasn’t obligated to. And she had first hand experience with that side of House.
She furiously dug through each drawer in her dresser. From there, she moved on to her purse before digging through her desk.
“Can you keep it down?”
She stopped and looked in the direction of her roommate’s bed.
“Sorry,” she apologized to the lump under the blankets.
She glanced at the time before deciding that she had to move on. Grabbing her jacket, she threw it on while she stuffed her bare feet into sneakers. She jammed her dorm keys into her jean pocket and left the room.
Hurrying across campus on a mission, she made her way to the med student lounge. She whipped the door to the building open and practically ran to the lounge. Immediately she began tearing the cushions from the couches and chairs in a frantic panic.
“Looking for a miracle?”
She froze and looked to him as she was kneeling in front of the couch she usually sat on. Her hands were jammed in the gap between the back of the couch and the base. He entered the room.
“I lost my necklace,” she told him and went back to digging.
He glanced around as if he would immediately spot it simply because she overlooked it. However, he knew it was probable that he wouldn’t be the one to find it. Hell, he didn’t even know what it looked like. He still began to look anyway.
Sometime during their tearing apart of the lounge, she began to cry. It wasn’t rolling tears with heavy sighs, but frustrated tears that slipped out every now and again. She had a feeling the necklace wasn’t here, but she didn’t know where else to look. She tore apart her dorm, most classrooms on campus, the library, and now the lounge.
“Cuddy,” he spoke softly as he stood next to one of the tables. He knew that if it was here, she would have found it by now.
“Don’t,” she commanded as she peered underneath the couch.
He crossed the room with a roll of his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure it’s under the couch. Do you want to check under the carpet? It’d be quite a task, but I bet we could rip it up.”
She sat back on her heels and glared at him. “I need to find that necklace. It’s the only thing... it was my grandmother’s and if I don’t... I need to find it.”
He sighed. “When was the last time you remember having it on?”
“I don’t know!” she exclaimed and forced herself to her feet. She began pacing. “I never take it off so I hardly notice when it’s there because it’s always there, so when I finally realized it was gone... it could have been gone for day. Maybe more.”
Her hand had found its way to where the necklace usually rested. She felt naked without it and she was constantly cursing herself for not realizing its absence sooner. He flopped down in an armchair which he immediately regretted because it was still missing its cushions.
“You retraced your steps?” he asked.
“I did everything, House!” She was taking her anger out on him. “I looked everywhere I had been in the last couple of days. Everywhere! Labs, classrooms, the cafeteria. I even went into the cadaver laboratory. By myself. At night.”
She threw herself onto the couch, but didn’t flinch against the pain that the cushionless couch caused. He placed his fingertips together, thinking about the last place one would find a lost necklace.
“Maybe it fell off in the shower,” he suggested.
“I’m having a panic attack and all you can think about is me in the shower.” She glared at him.
“First of all, you’re not having a panic attack,” he pointed out. “A psychotic breakdown maybe, but not a panic attack. And second, I was thinking of your necklace, not your naked body.” He paused. “Wait. I have to take back that last sentence now.”
“My grandfather bought that necklace for my grandma on their first anniversary.” She was staring off across the room. “All those years and she never lost it. It must have been more important to her than it was to me.”
He stood and crossed to her. “Get up.”
She looked up at him as if she just realized he was even in the room. “What?”
“Come on.” He took her arm and pulled her to her feet.
He dragged her from the room, both of them leaving it in disarray. She didn’t protest, but looked back longingly, hoping she didn’t miss the necklace somewhere in the lounge. She let her hand remain in his as he pulled her out into the cold night air.
A passing security eyed them suspicious, him more than her. He, of course, gave the security guard a very large smile and a quick greeting. Once the security guard was gone from their sight, Gregory House hurriedly pulled her into a familiar building.
“I told you.” She sighed. “I already checked-”
“Sh,” he cut her off briskly.
She followed him to the cadaver laboratory and watched as he picked the lock in under two minutes. He opened the door and flicked on the light, revealing the recognizable room that held six long metal dome like containers, four of which had dead bodies in them.
“Which one were you working on?” he asked as he moved into the room.
“Yeah, because I’m sure it fell off into a cadaver,” she replied and folded her arms across her chest as she remained in the doorway.
“Well, of course not.” His look was exaggerated sarcasm. “That would be ridiculous. Which one?”
“Number four,” she nodded to the metal container with a black four painted on it.
He moved to the container and rolled it away from the others. It had two doors on top which met in the middle. He reached for the handle, but stopped.
“Did you check it?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “No. It’s not going to be on the cadaver, House.”
He pulled open the door closest to him and held it in the vertical position. He reached out to the corner of the door and yanked a silver chain from between the joined metal at the corner. Her mouth dropped open as she crossed the room. Carefully, still not believing it, she took the silver chain with the emerald pendant from his outstretched hand.
“How did...” She looked to him, completely confused.
“When you closed the top of the cadaver case, you reached over this door to close the other one first,” he explained. “Every time you closed that door first, the chain brushed against the damaged corner but never caught.” He pointed to the slightly misshapen corner of the door. “However, you managed to snag it in the corner the last time you were here and when you pulled back to close the other door, the chain snapped and remained stuck between the metal.”
“But, how did you know?” She was clutching tightly onto the necklace.
“Worked with an annoying Catholic who always got his crucifix caught in the broken door.” He shrugged it off, but he was secretly pleased that he could make her so happy.
“Thank you.” She immediately hugged him, causing him to drop the door, which clanked loudly against the metal. “Thank you, thank you so much. This means...” She pulled away and locked eyes with him. “Thank you.”
He shrugged again. “Not a big deal. You would have found it the next time you worked with your cadaver anyway.”
She smiled at him and turned, wanting to get out of the room before they were caught after having picked the lock to get in. He made sure the cadaver case was closed and in its proper place before following after her, reveling in the delight he felt at the moment when she gave him a smile right before throwing her arms around him.
Click for Thirteen