Hey there dear people!
The story is based on a prompt given by Glaiza and on the great ideas of Max (allthingsdecent) and Jane (LEfan77). Thanks a lot girls :D And I'm sending an extra hug to Jane for beta reading :D
To the readers of "Something that can't be replaced": I'm so sorry for letting you wait so long but right now I'm kinda busy with this story (and keep in mind: this fic is for a good cause) but I promise to update as soon as possible
Out Of Love
Chapter 1
Cuddy got rudely shaken awake by the loud, obtrusive sound of the alarm clock. Without opening her eyes, she fumbled on the bedside table for the annoying disturber and clumsily hit the "stop" button.
She sighed and snuggled up under the covers again.
"You are nuts." A sleepy voice murmured.
"Thanks." She returned.
"Why does that machine from hell always go off in the middle of the night?"
"6 am isn't in the middle of the night, House."
"For normal people it is." He scooted closer to her, buried his face into her neck and took in her unique female scent which made special parts of him tingle.
Cuddy smiled when she felt his stubble tickling her skin and ran her hand through his hair. "Stop complaining! You can stay in bed longer anyway."
"I know... and I definitely will..." He looped his arm around her waist, rested his hand on her ass and gave it a light squeeze. "But not without your super tanker."
"Well... I'm sorry that I have to disappoint you but my super tanker needs to get up right now otherwise it will miss its flight to Chicago."
"Who the hell cares? Chicago doesn't need your ass, I do."
"And that is why all that Chicago is getting from me is a speech about administrating a hospital successfully. Usually at a conference everyone gets to cop a feel of my ass too, but since we are in a relationship, I think that would be a little inappropriate."
He softly started kissing her neck. "You are a teasing witch."
She laughed. "Says the man that is licking my neck even though he knows that nothing can happen between us before I get back from Chicago in four days."
"Who says that nothing can happen before? If we skip foreplay we can even do it twice before your plane leaves."
Cuddy giggled once more, pressed a kiss to his head and then started to free herself from his embrace. "I have to get ready."
House let out an annoyed sigh.
He would never say it out loud but hell he was going to miss her.
After she had taken a shower and gotten dressed she went into Rachel's room to wake up her little girl.
Cuddy was about to softly shake the girl's arm when she noticed that the sleeve of her pj was drenched.
Rachel was sweating. Her pj top was almost completely wet.
A feeling of worry immediately spread in Cuddy's chest. She put a hand on Rachel's forehead and confirmed her assumption: She was running a fever.
"Honey." Cuddy caressed her cheek and softly said: "Wake up, Rach."
Slowly the girl opened up her eyes and let out an unhappy groan. She reached for the small pillow that was lying next to her and covered her eyes with it. "My belly hurts."
"Oh baby, I think you are sick." Cuddy removed the pillow from Rachel's face and kissed her glowing forehead.
There was no way she was leaving her baby alone when she wasn't feeling well.
That plane to Chicago had to leave without her.
House couldn't have been happier about the news that Cuddy was cancelling her flight. He was so used to spending lots of time with her and to sleeping next to her that these days – and especially the nights – without her, would have been torture.
For a person that didn't know him well, his daily behavior may tell them that he didn't care about things like that, that he didn't really care about his girlfriend and that he wasn't even capable of missing someone but the truth was he was. When it came to the woman he loved he was very sensitive and vulnerable.
The loud ringing of his phone tore him away from his thoughts.
He didn't look at the caller ID before picking up. "House."
"Hey, it's me." said Cuddy.
"Hey."
"We just got back from the paediatrician... Rachel's got scarlatina."
"Did he prescribe antibiotics?"
"Yes... He said she should be fine in a few days."
"Great... Just make sure she gets enough fluid."
"I know... I will."
"How did the board react about you not going to the conference?" House then asked.
"They weren't exactly happy about it."
"I told you, you should have told them in person... The low cut top you are wearing today would have made lap dogs out of them."
Cuddy laughed her hearty laugh that House loved so much. "To be honest, I prefer 10 old men that are pissed at me to 10 old men that are checking out my breasts."
"I actually prefer that too."
Cuddy laughed again and then said: "I'm gonna make Rachel a soup now... You coming over after work?"
"yup..."
"Great... See you later then."
"Can't wait to ogle your breasts and check out your ass."
He heard her laughing again before she disconnected the call.
He put his cell back on his desk.
He so couldn't wait to get home.
Thanks to his stupid patient it was already after 8pm when he was finally able to leave the hospital.
He drove over to Cuddy's where he found her and Rachel on the couch.
The girl's head was placed in Cuddy's lap. Dark rings encircled her eyes and her cheeks were red from the fever. She looked even worse than in the morning.
"Hey." He said as he kicked off his sneakers. "How's the smurf doing?"
"Not good." Cuddy looked up at him while her hand kept caressing the girl's belly. "It keeps getting worse." Her eyes were filled with worry.
"You gave her something else besides the antibiotics?"
"Some Tylenol an hour ago but it didn't help at all… The fever is still high."
"Put her to bed… I'm sure tomorrow she'll be better."
Cuddy scooped up her daughter and tucked her in in her and House's bed. She wasn't going to let her sleep in her room all by herself where no one was around in case she needed something.
About an hour later House and Cuddy went to bed as well. Cuddy because she wanted to be close to Rachel in case her condition got worse and House because he was tired from spending almost 12 hours at the hospital.
Cuddy thought that House would complain about Rachel sleeping in their room because it meant that they wouldn't have sex but he actually didn't even make a single comment about it which Cuddy appreciated.
Right before she fell asleep she felt House putting his arm around her and moving closer.
She sighed contently and checked Rachel's temperature once more. After being sure her daughter was as fine as a kid with scarlatina could be, she fell asleep.
Rachel was worse in the morning. Her fever was higher than last night and the stomachache was now accompanied by a headache as well as by a sore throat.
She threw up twice and refused to drink anything since she claimed that it made her sick even more.
Cuddy was worried. Really worried.
The antibiotics should have helped at least a little bit by now if it was just scarlatina.
What if Rachel had something else? What if she had something serious? Just imagining all these possibilities made Cuddy absolutely frantic.
"Mommy?" Rachel murmured quietly.
She was lying on the couch in the living room. Cuddy was squatting next to her. They had moved from the bed room so they wouldn't wake up House.
"Yeah?"
"My tummy does hurt really bad."
Cuddy put her hand on her daughter's little tummy and caressed it softly. Something was definitely wrong.
"House." Cuddy shook his arm.
He just murmured something into his pillow so she shook his arm again. This time more tightly. "House!"
"What?" He asked in a sleepy voice. He was clearly annoyed.
"Rachel keeps getting worse… We have to take her to the hospital."
"You sure you are not just over reacting?"
"Her temperature is over 105. She doesn't eat or drink and she threw up several times. I'm not imagining things… She really is sick!"
House immediately sat up, looked at her and nodded when he saw her worried facial expression. "Go get her things."
TBC
I'm curious... So I'd like to know what you think about it xD
The next chapter is already written and already proof read. You want it? xD