Past in Present: Chapter 2
"Mama, can I have some hot chocolate?"
Cuddy looked away from the snowy scene outside the window.
"Okay. You can have one cup and then bedtime."
Rachel smiled happily and ran into the kitchen. Cuddy smiled at her daughter's excitement.
Ring. Ring.
Cuddy walked over to the living room and lifted the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lisa...how are you?"
Cuddy sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You know how I'm doing. You're the cause after all."
"Lisa, please. I just want to talk."
Cuddy sat down on the sofa and put the phone down for a second.
"Mama!"
Cuddy turned her head toward the kitchen noting Rachel's sense of urgency.
"Wait Rachel. I'll be in there soon."
"Grant, I have an antsy eight-year-old waiting for cocoa, can we talk later?"
"Rachel's still up?"
"No school tomorrow because of the snow, and I thought she could stay up a little longer. She just finished watching Beauty and the Beast."
"Can I talk to the little one?"
"Hold on. Rachel!"
Rachel ran into the room holding the box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix.
"Mama, can you make it with two packets?"
"No, just one. You don't need a sugar rush. Honey, Grant's on the phone. Would you like to talk to him?"
Rachel's face lit up and she nodded excitedly.
"Here she is."
Cuddy left Rachel to her conversation with her ex-step dad (it was strange to think of him that way) and took the cocoa packet with her to the kitchen.
A few minutes later Rachel ran into the kitchen, with her stuffed duck in one hand, and her favorite story in the other.
"So, what did Grant say?" Cuddy asked as she handed Rachel a warm cup of cocoa. The little girl took a a big sip before answering.
"He wanted to know how I was doing at school and if I got to go skating yet. Mama, when can I visit Grant?"
"Remember honey, I said next weekend. He's going to take you with him to visit Grannie Linda."
"Oh, yeah. Grannie Linda always lets me make cookies when I go there. I hope we can make chocolate chip fudge cookies again."
"You chocoholic." Cuddy laughed
Rachel grinned a big smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After reading Rachel a story and putting her to bed, Cuddy retreated to her study to catch up on some case reports she had fallen behind on. She enjoyed her work at Denver Trinity Hospital. She was departmental head of endocrinology and also worked at a free clinic twice a month. She had responsibility but no where as much as at Princeton Plainsboro. At first, it was strange having a lighter work load, but after a few months she realized how much more she enjoyed spending her time with patients than with paperwork. For the last five years, she had discovered a new kind of happiness within her career. Sadly, she thought she had found the same happiness with Grant.
She had met him on accident five years ago. She had thought he was her blind date, and Grant thought she was a blind date his brother had set him up with. For six minutes the two engaged in flirty banter believing that they were each others' dinner companion until Cuddy's actual date, Victor, appeared. Fortunately, Victor was very dull and Grant's date Nina was too obsessed with her ex-fiance to be a viable candidate.
It was later that night the two bumped into each other outside the restroom and exchanged numbers. They avoided pretense and called each other the next day. The relationship blossomed quite fast and before Cuddy knew it she was engaged to be married. It was strange how easily she fell in love with Grant. After the last big bang in Princeton, Cuddy had avoided dating anyone. She went on the blind date expecting nothing to come from it(hoping nothing would come from it) and then as strange as it was she met her future husband, albeit by accident. Although he was more of a creative type than she would usually go for(he was a visual artist and columnist) she enjoyed his humor and youthful spirit.
The problems started once he began to get more success at his art. He was an attractive man who always had offers but coupled with the career successes he had become even more of a hot commodity. Cuddy had noticed the closeness that developed with his young admiring assistant, Elena, from the beginning. Of course, Cuddy tried to rationalize the situation and act as if it was only a harmless infatuation. The truth was, part of Cuddy, couldn't handle yet another betrayal by a man. House's destruction of not only her home but any vestige of affection she once held for him had been devastating. The hurt that his actions had caused her and Rachel stung sharply in the depths of her heart. Once she had finally moved on and found love with Grant, she thought the curse of bad relationships were over.
As Cuddy sat in her study, thinking of her failed marriage, which would be officially over in a few weeks, she couldn't help but wonder if House was fairing any better. He had went to jail, and he was working for Foreman now. She knew it was childish, but she was thrilled to hear that Foreman had control over the misanthrope. It was delicious just knowing that House wouldn't get away with half as much as she let him. She then wondered if he was still married to that young Polish woman. She never felt true anger about that situation. She felt more pity than anything else. He was so unrecognizable after the break up. The House she fell in love with in medical school seemed almost like a phantom from some hazy dream. Sadly, whenever she looked back at her time with him she only remembered how alone she felt in the relationship. She remembered how disconnected they always were, sometimes even when they were physically connected. She had loved him once and thought that she would never stop. But House had destroyed that pure feeling of affection and trust.
"Don't think about the past, Lisa." Cuddy said aloud to herself.
Cuddy looked away from the snowy scene outside the window.
"Okay. You can have one cup and then bedtime."
Rachel smiled happily and ran into the kitchen. Cuddy smiled at her daughter's excitement.
Ring. Ring.
Cuddy walked over to the living room and lifted the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Lisa...how are you?"
Cuddy sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You know how I'm doing. You're the cause after all."
"Lisa, please. I just want to talk."
Cuddy sat down on the sofa and put the phone down for a second.
"Mama!"
Cuddy turned her head toward the kitchen noting Rachel's sense of urgency.
"Wait Rachel. I'll be in there soon."
"Grant, I have an antsy eight-year-old waiting for cocoa, can we talk later?"
"Rachel's still up?"
"No school tomorrow because of the snow, and I thought she could stay up a little longer. She just finished watching Beauty and the Beast."
"Can I talk to the little one?"
"Hold on. Rachel!"
Rachel ran into the room holding the box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix.
"Mama, can you make it with two packets?"
"No, just one. You don't need a sugar rush. Honey, Grant's on the phone. Would you like to talk to him?"
Rachel's face lit up and she nodded excitedly.
"Here she is."
Cuddy left Rachel to her conversation with her ex-step dad (it was strange to think of him that way) and took the cocoa packet with her to the kitchen.
A few minutes later Rachel ran into the kitchen, with her stuffed duck in one hand, and her favorite story in the other.
"So, what did Grant say?" Cuddy asked as she handed Rachel a warm cup of cocoa. The little girl took a a big sip before answering.
"He wanted to know how I was doing at school and if I got to go skating yet. Mama, when can I visit Grant?"
"Remember honey, I said next weekend. He's going to take you with him to visit Grannie Linda."
"Oh, yeah. Grannie Linda always lets me make cookies when I go there. I hope we can make chocolate chip fudge cookies again."
"You chocoholic." Cuddy laughed
Rachel grinned a big smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After reading Rachel a story and putting her to bed, Cuddy retreated to her study to catch up on some case reports she had fallen behind on. She enjoyed her work at Denver Trinity Hospital. She was departmental head of endocrinology and also worked at a free clinic twice a month. She had responsibility but no where as much as at Princeton Plainsboro. At first, it was strange having a lighter work load, but after a few months she realized how much more she enjoyed spending her time with patients than with paperwork. For the last five years, she had discovered a new kind of happiness within her career. Sadly, she thought she had found the same happiness with Grant.
She had met him on accident five years ago. She had thought he was her blind date, and Grant thought she was a blind date his brother had set him up with. For six minutes the two engaged in flirty banter believing that they were each others' dinner companion until Cuddy's actual date, Victor, appeared. Fortunately, Victor was very dull and Grant's date Nina was too obsessed with her ex-fiance to be a viable candidate.
It was later that night the two bumped into each other outside the restroom and exchanged numbers. They avoided pretense and called each other the next day. The relationship blossomed quite fast and before Cuddy knew it she was engaged to be married. It was strange how easily she fell in love with Grant. After the last big bang in Princeton, Cuddy had avoided dating anyone. She went on the blind date expecting nothing to come from it(hoping nothing would come from it) and then as strange as it was she met her future husband, albeit by accident. Although he was more of a creative type than she would usually go for(he was a visual artist and columnist) she enjoyed his humor and youthful spirit.
The problems started once he began to get more success at his art. He was an attractive man who always had offers but coupled with the career successes he had become even more of a hot commodity. Cuddy had noticed the closeness that developed with his young admiring assistant, Elena, from the beginning. Of course, Cuddy tried to rationalize the situation and act as if it was only a harmless infatuation. The truth was, part of Cuddy, couldn't handle yet another betrayal by a man. House's destruction of not only her home but any vestige of affection she once held for him had been devastating. The hurt that his actions had caused her and Rachel stung sharply in the depths of her heart. Once she had finally moved on and found love with Grant, she thought the curse of bad relationships were over.
As Cuddy sat in her study, thinking of her failed marriage, which would be officially over in a few weeks, she couldn't help but wonder if House was fairing any better. He had went to jail, and he was working for Foreman now. She knew it was childish, but she was thrilled to hear that Foreman had control over the misanthrope. It was delicious just knowing that House wouldn't get away with half as much as she let him. She then wondered if he was still married to that young Polish woman. She never felt true anger about that situation. She felt more pity than anything else. He was so unrecognizable after the break up. The House she fell in love with in medical school seemed almost like a phantom from some hazy dream. Sadly, whenever she looked back at her time with him she only remembered how alone she felt in the relationship. She remembered how disconnected they always were, sometimes even when they were physically connected. She had loved him once and thought that she would never stop. But House had destroyed that pure feeling of affection and trust.
"Don't think about the past, Lisa." Cuddy said aloud to herself.