"So did he ever really ask you? Or was it all just...implied?"
"Well...we went back to my place...."
_______________________________________________
House was sitting on Cuddy's couch drinking a glass of scotch. He was waiting for Cuddy. She came out from Rachel's room and closed the door quietly. She wanted to tuck her in when they made it back to her house. She walked over by House and sat on the opposite side of the couch staring at him.
"Is my drinking seducing you?"
"Yes, why wouldn't it?"
He finished off the last of the scotch in his glass and then they both put their feet up on the couch overlapping each others.
"So, are we?"
"We are. And I think the reply you gave me at the office confirms that."
She gave a smirk. Suddenly a faint cry came from inside the bedroom. Cuddy got up and so did House.
"Shit. I'll be back."
"I need to spend time with her anyway."
Cuddy sat back down on the couch watching him suspiciously as he limped towards the room. He opened the door and she was crying Bloody Mary, which made House's eyes shoot wide open. He took off his jacket, laid his cane against the wall and slowly walked over to her crib. He picked her up and rested her on his shoulder and tried shushing her to calm her down. As she continued to scream, he looked around the room searching for something. Outside, Cuddy was waiting on the couch with a scotch in her hand listening to the penetrating shrieks called out by her daughter. But suddenly in one quick second, she stopped crying. Overwhelmed by this sudden action, she made her way back to the room to see what he had done. She was only a few steps away from the room when she had heard music coming from inside. She pushed the door open and there they were. House was swaying with the music while holding Rachel. Her head was drooping like her eyes, and she fell asleep on his shoulder. After he saw that she closed her eyes, he put her back into the crib and tucked her in the blanket. Cuddy just stood there in the doorway, watching the guy she knew as her pain in the ass, put her child to sleep.
"Slip her some Vicodin?"
He spun around and saw her smiling with her arms folded in the doorway. He smiled back with his eyes wide,
"Yeah. About five."
"Come on."
They both walked out of the room and back to the couch. They formed the same position again, but this time it was a while before anyone talked.
"She likes you."
"She just enjoys music."
"She was content when you were holding her."
"Because I smell like mommy. Your scent rubbed off on me and she felt a sense of, you, on me. I smelled familiar."
"It's hard to compliment you when you prove it wrong by making differentials, forcing it to be what it's not, instead of admitting what it is."
"I have my reasons for it."
"Inconclusive."
"Okay. I do it for the better of others."
"Inconclusive."
"You know we could go on like this all night..And I had other plans in mind. It's up to you though. If you think this is fun..."
Then he folded his hands and arms and put them behind his head. She looked at him with arm propped up on the armrest with her index finger and thumb supporting her head.
"Examining me? Much more fun." Then he popped two tablets of Vicodin into his mouth. The exchanged curious looks at each other for minutes.
"This feels weird."
"Shouldn't it?"
"Why should it?"
"Because, it can."
"Don't be vague."
"Tell me, does this feel weird?"
And he came forward from his side of the couch and kissed her. Their lips met tenderly and pressed against each other with gentle force.
"It felt familiar."
"But not weird."
"No."
"Then what does?"
"The fact of us, together. Doesn't it feel, strange?"
"It's new. The symptoms are old, the diagnosis is new..."
She still sat there, unconvinced.
"After a while, things will settle. Trust me."
"Don't go making promises you can't keep."
"I'm keeping all of them. Including my first promise. You get everything you want, for giving me the only thing I need."
"The leg thing? Look--"
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"With pleasure."
He began kissing her again and continued till they fell asleep. The next morning they were on the floor. He could hear her breathing so he opened his eyes and found her lying on top of him. So he began sliding his finger up and down her chest.
"What are you doing?" She was half asleep but she could still feel him.
"Looking for your heartbeat."
"Why?"
"I can hear it making beautiful music."
_______________________________________________

"...And then we went to work pretending like nothing happened."
"Hm. Interesting."
"I know right?"
"He's tender."
"Why wouldn't he be?"
"More so than I've seen him. Sounds more dedicated too."
"He's not prepared to screw this up. He's dedicated for a reason."
"Mmm. Well, you've got your divisor, I've got my dividend."
"Let's just see what the quotient will be, and how long it goes for."