Readers, this story picks up right where episode 9 (season 6) ended this evening (11/23/09). I am SOooooooo confused about House's true feelings about Cuddy. On hone hand, thrilled to hear House say he loves Cuddy (even if it was to Lucas) but annoyed to see it was just another attempt to manipulate others. Still, can't help hoping its not all a ploy as House wanted Wilson to believe. That's why I believe Wilson is working with Cuddy to help House by defeating House's little games and plans. We'll see. Hope this helps fellow Huddy shippers until next week. ------------------------------------------

"Cuddy, I can't believe you punked him on Thanksgiving of all days!" Wilson didn't look too happy with a lacklusgter Lisa Cuddy who sat across from him in the hospital cafeteria booth. "Why did you do that? I think you really hurt him."

Cuddy looked guilty and glanced down at her hands stalling a little before answering him. "You know why, Wilson."

Wilson rubbed the back of his neck and pursed his lips in dissatisfaction but nodded.

"Look, we both know if House had shown up at my house, he'd have gone back to his old tricks to ruin everything," Cuddy stated calmly. "I appreciate you keeping me informed and I promise I won't let House ever know, but I think we both know as much as he wants us to believe he's changed, he hasn't changed enough."

Wilson grimaced and nodded. "I know. I told House's shrink a little and he's the one who advised me to keep you informed. Nolan seems to think if we can prevent House from returning to his old games and manipulations, House will have to face up to facts and …dare I say it….face his real feelings. Nolan's been right so far. House is making some progress.

"We have to stay strong together for his sake…and I do apologize for sending House on a wild "turkey" chase," Cuddy smirked a little. Wilson felt a small smile spread across his face at her pun.

"Yeah, I know. It just sucks seeing him so miserable." Wilson conceded.

"Do you think House really …." Cuddy hesitated and her voice trailed off.

"What?"

"…he means …" Cuddy couldn't bring herself to say it.

"What?!" Wilson was waiting for her to say it.

"Nothing."

"Yes."

"Yes?" Cuddy looked confused.

"Yes." Wilson said firmly. "The answer is yes."

"What was the question?" Cuddy asked.

"The question you couldn't ask?" Wilson said rhetorically. "Yes, he really does have feelings for you."

"Oh." Cuddy blushed. "It figures he'd finally figure out what he wants when I've moved on."

"Have you really?" Wilson chided Cuddy and stared at her intently waiting for any clue or sign Cuddy may not be entirely committed to moving on.

Cuddy looked into Wilson's serious eyes. "Wilson, how do we know? How do we really know?"

"If you're asking me if this is just another game of his I can tell you unequivocally it's not. The man has serious feelings for you and he put them out there in his own words to me before he ever knew about you and Lucas." Wilson confirmed. "I just wished you had let me know so I could have …"

"What? Told him?" Cuddy snapped. "It was the right thing to do not telling either of you. He came around to telling us both his real feelings. At least we know where he stands now."

"And now it's too late." Wilson prodded her lightly hoping Cuddy would take it as a question.

"I suppose it is," Cuddy said a little too wistfully. "We've never been on the same page at the same time. I guess somethings are just not meant to be." She forced a smile as she looked away from Wilson's intelligent eyes, deflecting as best she could.

"Maybe this is exactly what should have happened to House years ago," Wilson added. Cuddy glanced back at him with a frown. "Yeah, seriously. House always knew he had you in reserve, and he was finally starting to tell you how he felt about you. But now that he doesn't have you …that you're no longer available…strike that, that you've moved on without him, it's forced him to have to decide. He's always feared you wouldn't feel the same way about him and now that Lucas is in the picture, he has to make up his mind.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he has to make up his mind about you. If you're "taken" then you're no longer in reserve. That means he has to fight for you or walk away. I think he considered walking away but realized he couldn't pretend he doesn't have those feelings. That's why he came up the game of breaking up you and Lucas. He even gave himself an out. If he failed to break you up, you two were meant to be and you were making your choice known to him. If he broke you up, it meant you had feelings for House.

"But he didn't break us up," Cuddy reminded Wilson with a small look of satisfaction on her face.

"Right. But you let him think he had won by telling him Lucas broke up with you…after you tricked House into driving 400 miles roundtrip." Wilson looked more satisfied even a little smug. Cuddy frowned.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that you ARE playing games with House. You're not over him."

"Wow, you got all that for me pulling a prank on House who was trying to jerk me around again? How is it you came to this conclusion just because I outplayed House?"

"You didn't outplay House, Lisa. I told you what he was up to so you could protect yourself and not get hurt. I told you so House would have to deal with you like an adult and then you pulled that trick on him… He was pretty bummed out Friday morning. I think he was actually looking forward to being with you …even if Lucas was there too."

Cuddy mulled over Wilson's words. "I didn't think it would actually hurt him, I mean… and yes, I am 'over' him not that there was anything to actually get 'over' since he and I were never a coup....besides, I'm with Lucas now. I choose to be with Lucas.

"Pardon me for saying so but I think you settled for Lucas once House left for Mayfield."

Cuddy's jar dropped. Wilson's hands shot up in self-defense. "Wait, hear me out. You thought House was irreparable and had lost his mind. You use Rachel as your excuse to move on. Face it, you needed to move on…. House losing his mind scared you. You thought you'd lost House forever. You chose Lucas because of his connection to House.

Cuddy's eyes were furious. Her lips clamped shut. Wilson knew he was on thin ice but having this conversation in a public place was the only way he could get these thoughts out of his head and into her ears without her having the privacy to blow up at him.

"Cuddy, Lucas is just a substitute for you dealing with your feelings about House. Now that House is back and he's better and he's going to keep getting better, you're clinging to Lucas to avoid falling for House again. You need Lucas to guilt you into staying away from House." Wilson stopped momentarily. "So am I fired?"

Cuddy's frown deepened. "No, you're not fired. Remind me to never have a serious conversation with you again in a public place."

"You're deflecting, Cuddy."

"No, I'm not deflecting, James. I'm being pragmatic. Lucas is not a distraction. You fail to see that I'm just plain tired of the 'game' and it's not fun anymore. It use to be but then it got too…real, and each time I reached out to House he'd find a way to hurt me. If I ventured out in another direction, he'd find a way to reel me back to him by either ruining my dates or keeping me so busy here at the hospital I wouldn't have time outside of it."

"I know, you're right," Wilson conceded. "But, you are deflecting. No matter how much you try to deny it, House has a big piece of your heart and he always will."

"Maybe, but I still have possession of what's left of it and that counts for something."

"Well, don't hand it off to Lucas just yet," Wilson said flatly.

Cuddy looked at Wilson with a bit of a surprised expression. She opened her mouth to say something in response but changed her mind and closed her lips. Wilson noticed.

"Look, Lisa, nobody wants you and House to be together more than me. I mean it. You two are meant to be together and despite yourselves, everyone knows it. I know you don't trust him just yet but give him a little more time to show you what you mean to him." Wilson pleaded softly.

"James, what can I do? I've got someone in my life that makes me happy and I'm not going to put that on the backburner while House figures out what he wants," Cuddy said tiredly.

"I'm not asking you to put your life on hold, Lisa, I'm just asking you to not rush into anything. Give yourself time to …. enjoy your options," Wilson said pleasantly.

"I'm not rushing into anything," Cuddy said defensively. "Like it or not, Lucas and I are serious …we're serious and we're contemplating taking things to a new level. I'm moving in with Lucas"

Wilson cut her off. "Who's idea was that? No don't tell me, I can guess.

Cuddy paused and Wilson knew immediately he had guessed correctly. "We're…. I'm thinking about selling my house. We're looking for a new place to buy together."

"Shit!" Wilson said a little too quickly. "See, that's what I mean about rushing into things. You've only been seeing him for what…four months?" Cuddy raised an eyebrow and a glare began to seep into her eyes.

"James. I know. What. I'm doing." Cuddy said coldly. "You and Amber moved in together after three months, was it?" That silenced Wilson instantly. She had a point, and more importantly, she was dead on correct.

"So you're saying this is leading somewhere…you and Lucas, right?" Wilson said dejectedly.

Cuddy's expression softened and a small smile played across her lips. "James, I don't make it a habit to move in with just anyone. Lucas is…. so easy to be with. He cares about me, he's so sweet and …" She hesitated and Wilson jumped into finish the thought for her.

"And he's easy."

"James!"

"I don't mean sexually! I mean he doesn't challenge you…he doesn't play games with you." Wilson seemed a little embarrassed but managed to falter his way through the sentence.

"Oh, well, yes, there is that."

"Hmmm." Wilson said quietly. Cuddy looked at him with a frown.

"What?"

"Oh nothing," Wilson began to smile a little.

"What???! Hmmm?? What does that mean?" Cuddy pushed.

"I guess you're…we're all getting ….old…older," Wilson stuttered. Cuddy glared.

"What does that mean?"

"You're tired of the games, you've matured, moved on," Wilson muttered on clumsily.

"No, games are fine, when you know where they're going but with House, there's no clue…no direction, it just …it just never ends," Cuddy stated with a sigh.

"So he's worn you out?" Wilson continued.

Cuddy was immediately dissatisfied by the turn of the conversation, Wilson's implication she had gotten too tired to keep up with House.

"I think you've misunderstood my point, James," Cuddy said firmly. "With House, he'd play mind games with me forever and if I let him, that's all we'd ever do with each other. One of us has to be the grown up and what do you know, ….it's me." She looked a little unhappy at the realization.

"So are you saying Lucas is your way of bowing out of the game?"

"Are you being dense on purpose?" Cuddy snapped and Wilson flinched. She immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry….James, it's just this is all so raw still…for me." Wilson nodded silently.

"I'm saying Lucas is my chance to … grow up and live my life. If I don't take this way out I'll be playing the same games with House until we're both ready to retire. I've found out there are a lot of nice guys in the world who know how to express their feelings -- without me having to have a secret decoder ring to understand them. That's just too exhausting…so yeah, maybe I am worn out. Maybe House has finally won the 'game.'"

"I don't think House feels like he's won anything. If anything he feels like he's completely lost." Wilson reached over the table and pat Cuddy's hand leaving it on hers for a moment. Cuddy looked up and a few traces of guilt ebbed across her face but within seconds they seemed to vanish as a look of self-preservation replaced it.

"Well, it's a good thing he has such a good friend like you, James, to help him stay on track." Cuddy said with some finality.

"You're his friend too, Lisa." Wilson added softly. "Look, I'll talk to House and tell him to give you some space. I'll let you know whatever it is House is up to if he starts scheming and getting back to his old ways to win you over. But in the mean time, please just give me one thing in return…."

Cuddy looked closely at Wilson's soft brown eyes. "I don't …."

"…listen, Lisa, just give him a chance to show you he's changed."

"Wilson, he hasn't changed….at least not enough…he just tried to break us up…"

"I know! But you can't expect him to be perfect right away. He's jealous, plain and simple but he is trying to be a better guy. He showed you that – no, he proved that when he found out about Lucas at the conference. He handled himself pretty well….and he managed to stay calm – hell, he even told you the night before that he's always had feelings for you and still, he's managed to handle your rejection and the hard cold truth about Lucas."

Cuddy tried to stay angry but Wilson's words were accurate. She felt herself relaxing a little. "You promise to tell me everything?"

"As long as you DON'T tell it to Lucas, yes." Wilson agreed. Cuddy looked embarrassed.

"Wilson, I swear I didn't tell him everything. I don't know how he knew so much detail…"

"I'm glad to hear you say that but then again, the guy is a detective. I wouldn't put it past him to put House down in front of you just to make House squirm and make him look bad.

"Lucas wouldn't do that!" Cuddy defended her boyfriend.

"Yeah, well…all's fair in love and war so don't lose sight that you're the prize these two guys want. If you're going to judge House harshly for trying to win you away from Lucas, you need to be fair and that means recognizing when Lucas takes a low blow at House's expense." Cuddy pressed her lips together to prevent herself from saying something she'd regret. She knew Wilson was right and her present infatuation might be keeping her from viewing Lucas more fairly.

Cuddy glanced at her watch and jumped. "I've got a meeting with a donor in my office in three minutes." Wilson nodded wisely. He knew his words had hit home and Lisa Cuddy needed an escape. She was dug in firm about testing House's new found veracity and wasn't going to be easily lulled into accepting House as a changed man no matter what James Wilson told her. House had hurt her too often and too deeply for too long. Wilson couldn't judge her for that. Cuddy was right to protect herself from further emotional wounds and House's trip to Mayfield had been a cold hard wake up call for all involved.

"I appreciate what you're doing for House… and what you're doing for me, James." Cuddy said after she stood and grabbed her tray. Her salad remained untouched and wilting. "I'll keep an open mind…I will. I do care about him but I can't …" Cuddy's voice trailed off and she smiled instead, her eyes expressing the rest of her sentiment.

"After everything we've been through, if I thought House wasn't serious about you, I'd kill him myself," Wilson said with a big smile back to her. Cuddy patted Wilson's arm and thanked him.

"Okay, just keep this between us." Cuddy confirmed and Wilson nodded.

"Deal. Just give the guy a chance and don't go buying any houses just yet." Cuddy rolled her eyes but nodded as she walked off with her lunch tray headed for the exit.

Wilson watched Cuddy disappear from sight and turned back to his own lunch tray, his appetite gone. Wilson slumped back against the booth and thought things over. "God I hope this works. Nolan, you'd better be right about this. House needs Cuddy, Cuddy needs reassurance and I need this to work for everybody's sake.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo

Readers, thanks for viewing. I'm so conflicted about tonight's episode. I trust the show's writers after season 6 episode 9 tonight. I can only hope that these huge highs and lows on the show are part of the learning curve that both House and Cuddy need to deal with to be together eventually. We know House would return to playing games with Cuddy if she'd let him. Lucas is the perfect foil to keep House AND Cuddy from dropping back into old habits. Lets hope David Shore doesn't plan to keep House miserably apart from Cuddy. Thoughts? Please review and share your feelings!