Going, Going...Gone
“And the good Dr. Chase now going for…”
Cuddy sighed, toying with the bidding paddle on her table, her thought process rattling along like an out-of-control train. It was the hospital auction and it was two-fifty a plate. That was enough to raise them some money, but she’d rather be anywhere but there. Sarah had called her up and gone on and on about a great blind date, but the hospital dinner made it impossible.
She sighed and toyed with the paddle again. She supposed she would have to make a bid on someone to get everything going and pull in some more cash.
She’d nearly raised her own bidding paddle to bid on Chase, just as the bets got to be near five grand, but there seemed to be a bit of a bidding war three tables away. Cuddy paused, thinking critically. She’d help someone else along.
She scoffed with a rueful smile on her face. Probably House, who’d need it most.
House had bought Cameron – which probably pleased the girl like no other – and Foreman had been snatched up by one of the nurses – four of them had pooled their cash and had made a good contribution. Wilson had been a hot commodity, especially since his ring finger was bare. He and Julie were separated for what had to be the fourth time since the marriage. Cuddy respected Julie, who didn’t take Wilson’s shit most of the time and slept around during their trial separations instead of pining at home while Wilson flitted about.
Chase finally was off the block after no one could meet eight grand and Cuddy sat up a little straighter, smoothing her dress out, and lifting her chin to see who’d gotten Chase. She’d have to write a nice thank-you card for that amount.
Chase was smirking and shaking his head, almost in disbelief and Cuddy followed his gaze to find Wilson to have been the one to have won.
“Boys,” she murmured under her breath. She sighed and looked at the remaining roster. There were a few attendings she wouldn’t mind spending an evening with.
But then she looked up and found House standing there. “Lisa,” he said with a sharp nod.
“House,” she replied sternly, stressing the name. “Your team’s a hot commodity. Especially the pretty one,” she continued, tipping her head to one side. “Jealous that Chase goes for three times what you ever would?”
“He does that every night,” House assured. “Man of the street and all.”
“What do you want, House?”
House just smirked and placed down a tiny square form. “Your receipt. You and Cameron have date, according to this little whoring auction’s rules. I bid in your name, seeing as you’re always talking about how we have to give.”
She could have killed him.
But she smiled politely and didn’t let him see that he’d gotten to her. She merely took the receipt and tucked it into her bra – that’d get him flustered, at least. “Thanks, Greg,” she stressed his name. “Tell Allison I’m looking forward to our evening.”
*
She showed up at Cameron’s door at eight PM with a small and tasteful bouquet of flowers on the night of the twenty-ninth of April, when the night smelled of spring flowers and Cuddy had applied perfume to match the smell. She was doing this mostly for one reason and one reason alone; it would show House she wasn’t afraid of whatever he had to throw at her.
Cameron pulled open the door, fastening earrings to her ear. She was wearing a black dress that hugged all the curves – Cuddy’s own was a deep, shimmering red and short, accentuating her chest.
“Hi,” Cameron said, smiling goofily, almost as though she couldn’t believe it. “I’m sorry House had to…”
”Don’t worry about it,” Cuddy waved a hand and holding out the flowers. “Here,” she said, tucking one into Cameron’s hair. Cameron just glanced down and smiled.
They stood in her doorway. “I mean, I guess House figured out that I sort of liked you, and…” She cleared her throat and touched her earring, then the flower. “They smell amazing.” Cameron gave a somewhat stilted laugh. “Actually, it smells just like your perfume.”
But Cuddy was still a little stuck.
“Like me?”
“A little,” Cameron nodded, not quite so phased – but then, of the three fellows working for House, the biggest blusher of them all had always been Chase. She gestured into the apartment. “I hope you don’t mind something home-cooked, I really wasn’t in the mood to go out,” she admitted.
Cuddy nodded briskly, wandering inside and remembering House’s words from their meeting last week. “Turns out, Cameron’s a little more adventurous than I thought. Which is good, because I was getting tired of watching Chase do all the venturing with my best friend.”
“You cook?”
Cameron laughed slightly. “Well, I try,” she joked.
Cuddy laid out her coat on the couch and wandered around the apartment. “You’ve got a nice place,” she remarked, perusing the book titles and wandering about while Cameron was in the kitchen. “Any particular reason you had House buy you just so you we’d have a date?”
Cameron struck a slight pose in the doorway of the kitchen, holding a few plates. “I like you?” she suggested with a playful smile. “C’mon, sit down. The longer we spend here, the more House goes crazy wondering what’s happening.”
So Cameron did like her. “Smells good,” Cuddy said with approval.
“I have been known to cook in the past,” Cameron promised. “I think I was the only college student who had three square meals that could have been catered by a restaurant,” she reminisced, setting the table with a few napkins and utensils. “You look great, by the way, if I haven’t said.”
“Thanks,” Cuddy smiled, sitting down.
Before the dinner could be served, Cameron was leaning in and kissing Cuddy, something brief and quick, but long enough for Cuddy to smell the perfume Cameron had applied.
She eased away and gave Cuddy a bit of a mischievous smile. “Got to have something to tease House with in the morning.”
“I’m sure we’ll come up with a few things,” Cuddy promised.
end