Cuddy woke-up flustered and exhausted. Turning onto her side, and checking the alarm clock, it read 9am. She cursed out loud, realizing she was late for her first day, knowing that Matthews’ was a stickler for punctuality, she squeezed herself into her black pencil skirt she bought especially for her first day, and pulled on a navy v-neck jumper that was hanging off her laundry basket.

Nearly falling over as she pulled on her black high heels, she grabbed her black large collared jacket, tying the belt tight around her tiny waist. She ran out the door, only to come running back, realizing she had left her I.D card and car keys.

Once she got out of her apartment building, she saw the snow and ice on the ground, before sighing and shouting in frustration as she climbed inside her stone cold car, and drove the five miles to the hospital.

By the time she had parked, and ran carefully to the entrance of the newly built hospital she looked at the large clock in the lobby and could nearly cry right then and there when she saw she was now fifteen minutes late.

“…The woman’s weight keeps fluctuating, so I think we need to check her thyroid first-” Matthews stopped mid sentence, when he saw a dishevelled Lisa Cuddy burst through the door of his very grandiose office.

Cuddy looked at House and the blonde man, who were sitting opposite Matthews, who was casually sitting in his large leather armchair.

“Glad to see you Miss Cuddy-”

“Doctor. Doctor Cuddy.” She bit at him, House tried to hide his smile, as she both talked back to her boss, and arrived late, on the same day.

“If you’re ever late again, Doctor, be sure you’ll never see me giving you a third chance.” He gestured for her to sit down, “These will be the people you’ll see more of in your entire three years, than you’ll see of yourself in the mirror. That’s Davis, and House.”

Cuddy smiled weakly at the hand Davis leant out, choosing to just get on with their patient’s treatment. “Do we have a patient?” Cuddy took off her jacket, and put it on the side of the sofa the three of them were sharing.

“I have a patient. His thyroid is overreacting, so you are going to test it.” He got up, and retired to behind his large wooden desk, as the three of them stood up to leave. Davis was first, not holding the door for Cuddy, but House stepped in front of her, and held it open for her. She looked up at him, slightly stunned by his sudden politeness. Cuddy walked underneath his arm, before he followed her.

“Tell me this shift isn’t a full day?” House looked at her, “We’re off the clock at five am. I told you this would be fun.” He said with a conniving smile, before walking ahead of her, as she shook her head in disbelief.


**


When Cuddy got her first break at midnight, the whole of the hospital was like a ghost town. As she sat in the hospital cafeteria, toying with her green leaf salad, she looked up when she noticed a plate being put down on her table.
“Please. Sit down without asking.” In her sarcastic voice, she gave an annoyed look at Davis, with the blonde highlights in his hair. His tie, pulled all the way up to his throat, with his perfectly ironed white shirt tucked in to his tight black trousers.

“Thank you.” He sounded even dumber than he looked, his voice very stilted and his smile was as fake as his hair.

House was sitting in the corner, with his large soda cup, sucking on the straw playfully, as he watched Davis attempt to flirt with Cuddy.

“I’m sorry. I’m really tired, I just want to be left alone right now.” Cuddy tried being polite, but he still didn’t get the message, as he leant his arm out to touch her hair.

House sat-up attentively when he saw his sickly sweet face smile at her, as he felt up her face.

“What are you doing?” Cuddy asked, whilst pushing his hand away. “Your pretty.” Cuddy scoffed, her mouth wide open, “I’m not a piece of meat. I’m a doctor.” Davis smiled in a patronising way, “Of course you are.”

When Cuddy stood up to leave, he mirrored her, and when he wouldn’t move, she kicked him in the shin. “Jerk.” She stormed off, as House watched her, before looking back to Davis who was cowering on the floor in the foetal position.

“Hey!” House walked over to him, picking him up by his tight tie-knot. “Daddy’s boys like you are all the same.” He let him go, as he crashed into the leg of the chair, hitting the side of his head on it.

House took his plate of food, a large steak with fries, and walked out of the cafeteria.

The hospital hallways were empty, except for a few nurses and cleaners; he walked into the women’s bathroom. It was empty, every stall but one was open, and he could hear a faint cry, but it was stifled.

“Who’s there?” Cuddy’s voice came from the closed stall, as she noticed an unusually large sneaker for a woman, as she peered at it from the stall she had locked her self in.

“House.” He lowered his voice, not wanting to cause her to lash out at him. “Did you bring food in here?” Cuddy asked with a slight confusion. “He wasn’t eating it while he was crying on the floor. I think you broke his leg.” House was speaking in between eating the fries, as he sat up on the counter space between the sinks.

“Yeah well, he deserved it.” Cuddy dried her last tear with her crunched up piece of toilet paper, before unlocking the door, and seeing House sitting next to the sinks opposite her stall.

“Why are you in the women’s bathroom?” A slight smile came across her face, as she walked towards the bin, before throwing her tissue in it.

Cuddy checked her watch; “I can’t believe it’s midnight already. I need some sleep.” Cuddy rubbed her eyes, and ran her hands through the stray curls from her hair.

“I’m going to try and relax in one of the resident’s rooms.” She looked up at House, “Do you want to come with me?” There was a pause, as House looked away from her slightly, “It’s okay if you don’t, sorry I asked-”

“Sure. Just, don’t keep apologizing to everybody.” He slid off the counter, and they both made their way to the resident’s building, across the walkway.

There was a sign that read “Silence at all times please.” the rooms that were occupied had a sign on the door handle; there was one spare one at the end of the long corridor.

Cuddy hung her hand slightly on the door handle opening it ajar staring at each other. Within the vacuum of silence it felt like a lifetime.

“There’s only one room.” Cuddy’s voice was almost a whisper. House reached inside the room, brushing past her waist, to retrieve the ‘Do not disturb’ sign. The slight brush made Cuddy swallow a lump in her throat, as the friction caused an electric spark between them.

“No-one will come in with this outside.” House looked at the sign, before Cuddy walked into the room backwards, with House following her closely, their eyes not looking away from each other. He put the sign on the door handle, as it closed behind them slowly.

“I never realized how blue your eyes were.” She looked at him, entranced. “Eyes are just eyes, aren’t they?” His words were made to dampen the flame, but they just made it burn longer.

“You can have the bed, I don’t really feel like sleeping.” He walked towards the lone chair that was placed in the corner of the small box room, which was dressed very plainly. Cuddy turned on the lamp that was sitting on the nightstand.

Cuddy slipped her feet out of her heels, before unzipping her skirt, so it fell to the ground. Cuddy didn’t notice, but House was looking at every square inch of her smooth body.

Climbing underneath the small cream bed sheet, she unhooked her bra, and pulled it through her sleeve before dropping it on the nightstand. Looking over at House, she gave him a leading look.

“Are you sure you don’t want to share?” Her voice was quiet, as House stood up and walked over to the bed, pulling off his wrinkled blue shirt, he climbed underneath the covers, which Cuddy lifted up.

The looked into each others eyes, before House put his long arm around her petite frame, as she naturally placed her head on his bare chest and closed her eyes. House switched the lamp off with his free hand, while the other softly stroked her curls.

Not able to sleep himself, he just watched Cuddy, liking the closeness he felt with her, after all these years detaching himself from everybody around him.