House ; Stacy/Cuddy ; Purple/What
Title: TLC ; Half-empty
Fandom: House
Characters: Stacy/Cuddy ; mentions Stacy/House ; implied House/Cuddy
Prompt: 016 - Purple ; 077 - What?
Word Count: 145 ; 1553
Rating: G ; PG
Summary: She cares.
Author's Notes: Bit bored, why not? Both vaguely connected.
Lisa pulled the lavender shirt over her head, running her thumb under her twisted bra strap before tugging the shirt over her stomach. In the reflection of the mirror, she could see Stacy watching her as the other woman set her skirt on her hips.
‘What?’ Lisa laughed, popping the cap of the tube of lipstick. Twisting it, she ran it over her lips, the red-brown painting over them. Stacy just shrugged, a faint smile on her lips.
‘Nothing,’ Stacy replied. Lisa re-capped the lipstick and set it down on her dresser. Behind her, Stacy stood, smoothing out the bedclothes. Crossing to Lisa, who was holding an eyebrow brush, she set her hands on either side of the chair she was sitting at. Head down, she rested her chin on Lisa’s shoulder, looking at their reflections. ‘I’m just happy, that’s all.’ Because you actually care.
Summary: It's not how she expected Stacy to react to the news.
‘Stacy? Hey, it’s Lisa. I got your message- I’m free on Saturday, if that’s all right with you. I’ll be making quiche. No mushrooms, right? Okay, well, if you ‘round by twelve, I should be done. Hope to see you then!’
Click.
*
Lisa couldn’t stand quiche, but it was Stacy’s favourite food, and in some kind of naïve hope, she hoped it would make things easier. Flipping the pie onto the plate, hands gloved with tea towels so not to burn herself, she set the dish aside. Hanging the towels over the handle on the oven, she carried the plate in one hand to the table, two plates stacked knives and forks on top.
She still hadn’t planned as to how she was going to tell her. Although she’d rehearsed it in her head (‘oh, you remember those fertility treatments I’d thought of taking?’ ‘so, I’m thinking of starting a family…’ ‘hey, guess what, I’m pregnant!’), she usually broke down in a cold sweat with a protective hand over her stomach.
What scared her the most was that she couldn’t picture Stacy’s reaction. In one fantasy she was happy, in another she was hurt. Most of the time she was angry, though. Lisa could see why- House was her ex-boyfriend, and it was clear she still had feelings for him. If Lisa were her she’d be upset, too.
But gossip had already started. Just small things- had Dr Cuddy been exercising less lately, oh, she’s gained a few pounds. Even a giggle at the idea of her being pregnant as she walked past. She’d begun to show, and she’d have to say something sooner or later, but she had to stop the gossip until it reached Stacy.
Setting the plates up, glancing quickly at the clock (11:52, Stacy would arrive soon, she always seemed to arrive five minutes early), Lisa went back to the kitchen. Flicking the kettle on, coffee and sugar already lumped into two mugs, she leant against the cabinet. Dressed in a flowing shirt with a light button-up sweater on top, it seemed to hide her growing stomach. Though a keen eye on the way she’d taken to resting her hand on her stomach as she stood, or the way she spread her meals throughout the day would be able to pick it up.
The kettle whistled as there was a knock on the door. Moving quickly towards the door, Lisa opened it breathlessly. Stacy stood there, bag over her shoulder. Grinning, Lisa opened the screen door.
‘Come in, come in, I just took the quiche out of the oven,’ Lisa said, gesturing her in.
‘Very good timing,’ Stacy agreed. Lisa laughed politely, moving back to the kitchen.
‘Feel free to take your jacket off,’ she called over her shoulder, pouring the hot water into the mugs. Reaching into the fridge, she took the milk out and had started to tip it into the mugs when Stacy came in, sans-jacket and bag. Handing one two her, Lisa set the milk back in the fridge.
‘So, how’ve you been?’ Stacy asked. Sipping her coffee, Lisa shrugged. She’d already planned when- after lunch, after dishes, maybe just lounging.
‘Oh, fine, fine.’
‘Mm? You look good.’
‘How about quiche? Wanna get to it before it’s cold.’
*
Lisa was finishing off the last of her slice, eating slowly. Though it wasn’t intentional, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was putting off telling Stacy. Stacy had long-finished her slice and was halfway through her second, albeit smaller slice.
Chewing over her final bite, she raised her eyes on Stacy cleared her throat.
‘Mm?’
‘Any interesting gossip lately?’
‘About House?’ Lisa laughed, swallowing. ‘No, he’s still…’ She shrugged. ‘Being himself.’
‘Sure?’
Frowning, Lisa took a sip of her coffee. ‘Why?’
‘You seem like you want to tell me something. Or at least say something.’
‘No…’
Stacy leant over her plate, fork between two fingers. ‘Lisa, how long have we known each other?’
‘If you’re going to get into sentimental crap…’
‘I know when you’re uncomfortable with broaching a personal issue.’
Raising an eyebrow, Lisa turned back to her mug of coffee. ‘It’s not that I’m uncomfortable…’
Stacy kept looking at her. Suddenly wishing she a rewind button on her life, Lisa slumped against her chair, setting her mug down on the table. Studying the dishes and the half-eaten quiche, she folded her hands on her lap, lips pinched. After a few seconds of thinking, she swiftly moved forward, gathering the plates.
‘I’ll put these in the dishwasher,’ she said, standing. Rubbing her nose with the back of her hand, she collected the dishes and started to the kitchen, leaving Stacy to watch her with a raised brow.
*
The dishwasher droned in the background as they sat on the couch, Stacy’s feet crossed, Lisa nursing a glass of orange juice. The radio played softly in the background, easy listening. Resting her elbow on the armrest, Lisa sighed softly, closing her eyes.
‘So what is it that’s on your mind?’ Stacy asked. Lisa opened an eye, squinting at her. Giving another sigh, chest heaving, she rested her glass on her knee, fingers curled lightly around it. This was how she planned it, after all. Best to get it over with.
Clearing her throat, she sat up straighter, leaning against the back of the couch. Stacy turned to face her, brows raised.
‘You remember how I said I wanted to… try for a child?’
‘IVF, yeah.’
Lisa drew in a breath, setting her glass on the carpet. Sitting back up, she turned slightly, facing Stacy.
‘Well… I went through the treatment.’
‘You’re pregnant?’
Lisa couldn’t tell if that was an exclamation of surprise or a question. She nodded, giving her stomach a pat with a bashful smile. Stacy let out a cry, a wide grin on her face. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around Lisa.
‘Congratulations! That’s fantastic!’
Lisa let out an awkward laughing, patting Stacy on the back. ‘Yeah… it is.’
‘Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?’ Stacy asked, leaning back. Lisa shook her head.
‘I don’t want to know… I’m going to paint the room ivory…’
‘You changing the study into a nursery?’
Lisa nodded. ‘I’d like the surprise.’
Stacy, still smiling, rubbed Lisa’s stomach affectionately. ‘You decided on any names?’
‘Uh, Charmaine for a girl, Derek for a boy. Helen and Michael are nice, though.’
‘Do you know what the donor looks like?’
Hesitating, Lisa nodded slightly. ‘Yeah… I’ve got an idea.’
‘Mm?’
Lisa traced her finger over her stomach, thumb grazing just slightly against Stacy’s. ‘Blue eyes… brown hair… thin-lipped, but…’ Lisa shrugged. ‘Fairly tall, too.’
‘Sounds attractive.’
Stacy’s head had fallen on Lisa’s shoulder, a hand running slowly over Lisa’s stomach. Drawing in a breath, closing her eyes. She could deal with telling a parent their child had five months to live, she could deal with having to fire one of her doctors… this… this was a thousand times harder.
‘It’s Greg’s.’
She felt Stacy stiffen slightly. ‘Excuse me?’
‘House’s.’
Pulling back, Stacy turned to face Lisa. ‘I… don’t understand. What?’
Sighing softly, Lisa kept her eyes low, both her hands over her stomach. ‘House… he knew about my wanting… and… I wasn’t going to ask, but… he did. He knew what I wanted- a good donor, somebody who was intelligent, although it hasn’t been proven… and… He knows I don’t expect him to help, if I wanted that I’d have gone and met somebody else.’ She added the end quickly, eyes darting over to Stacy before going back to her stomach. Stacy was silent. After two long minutes of silence, Lisa let her eyes creep back up to Stacy. ‘That’s… what I wanted to tell you.’
Stacy nodded.
‘You’re not angry, are you?’
‘Well… I don’t know what to say.’
‘I know he’s your ex-boyfriend, and you still have feelings…’
‘I’m married.’
Lisa shrugged. ‘That hasn’t stopped… I mean- ’
‘I know what you mean.’
‘Oh.’
Stacy flopped back, running a hand through her hair. Watching her, Lisa let a hand move from her stomach and curl around Stacy’s hand.
‘It’s not like he and I are together.’
‘I know,’ Stacy replied, voice monotone.
‘You understand, right?’
Stacy was silent again, before pulling her hand away from Lisa’s. Breathing in deeply, she stood, nodding, hand raised to her forehead, thumb rubbing back and forth.
‘Ye-yeah… um… I’ve just got to…’ Shaking her head, she started around the couch. Lisa got to her feet, following.
‘I thought… it’s not like you have any claim over Greg.’
Stacy spun around, laughing sarcastically. ‘You’re carrying his child!’
‘But that doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship!’
Stacy sighed, marching to the closet. Pulling out her jacket, she shrugged it on, picking her bag up off the ground. ‘I have to think about it,’ she said stiffly, shutting the door. Opening the front door, she nodded once. ‘I’ll… call you.’
And with that she stepped through, leaving Lisa open-mouthed, a hand over her stomach.
She knew Stacy was going to be angry, but she never suspected she’d react like that. Turning around, she headed breathlessly to the couch, picking up her half-empty glass.
She hadn’t even told her she wanted Stacy to be her child’s godmother.
Fandom: House
Characters: Stacy/Cuddy ; mentions Stacy/House ; implied House/Cuddy
Prompt: 016 - Purple ; 077 - What?
Word Count: 145 ; 1553
Rating: G ; PG
Summary: She cares.
Author's Notes: Bit bored, why not? Both vaguely connected.
Lisa pulled the lavender shirt over her head, running her thumb under her twisted bra strap before tugging the shirt over her stomach. In the reflection of the mirror, she could see Stacy watching her as the other woman set her skirt on her hips.
‘What?’ Lisa laughed, popping the cap of the tube of lipstick. Twisting it, she ran it over her lips, the red-brown painting over them. Stacy just shrugged, a faint smile on her lips.
‘Nothing,’ Stacy replied. Lisa re-capped the lipstick and set it down on her dresser. Behind her, Stacy stood, smoothing out the bedclothes. Crossing to Lisa, who was holding an eyebrow brush, she set her hands on either side of the chair she was sitting at. Head down, she rested her chin on Lisa’s shoulder, looking at their reflections. ‘I’m just happy, that’s all.’ Because you actually care.
Summary: It's not how she expected Stacy to react to the news.
‘Stacy? Hey, it’s Lisa. I got your message- I’m free on Saturday, if that’s all right with you. I’ll be making quiche. No mushrooms, right? Okay, well, if you ‘round by twelve, I should be done. Hope to see you then!’
Click.
*
Lisa couldn’t stand quiche, but it was Stacy’s favourite food, and in some kind of naïve hope, she hoped it would make things easier. Flipping the pie onto the plate, hands gloved with tea towels so not to burn herself, she set the dish aside. Hanging the towels over the handle on the oven, she carried the plate in one hand to the table, two plates stacked knives and forks on top.
She still hadn’t planned as to how she was going to tell her. Although she’d rehearsed it in her head (‘oh, you remember those fertility treatments I’d thought of taking?’ ‘so, I’m thinking of starting a family…’ ‘hey, guess what, I’m pregnant!’), she usually broke down in a cold sweat with a protective hand over her stomach.
What scared her the most was that she couldn’t picture Stacy’s reaction. In one fantasy she was happy, in another she was hurt. Most of the time she was angry, though. Lisa could see why- House was her ex-boyfriend, and it was clear she still had feelings for him. If Lisa were her she’d be upset, too.
But gossip had already started. Just small things- had Dr Cuddy been exercising less lately, oh, she’s gained a few pounds. Even a giggle at the idea of her being pregnant as she walked past. She’d begun to show, and she’d have to say something sooner or later, but she had to stop the gossip until it reached Stacy.
Setting the plates up, glancing quickly at the clock (11:52, Stacy would arrive soon, she always seemed to arrive five minutes early), Lisa went back to the kitchen. Flicking the kettle on, coffee and sugar already lumped into two mugs, she leant against the cabinet. Dressed in a flowing shirt with a light button-up sweater on top, it seemed to hide her growing stomach. Though a keen eye on the way she’d taken to resting her hand on her stomach as she stood, or the way she spread her meals throughout the day would be able to pick it up.
The kettle whistled as there was a knock on the door. Moving quickly towards the door, Lisa opened it breathlessly. Stacy stood there, bag over her shoulder. Grinning, Lisa opened the screen door.
‘Come in, come in, I just took the quiche out of the oven,’ Lisa said, gesturing her in.
‘Very good timing,’ Stacy agreed. Lisa laughed politely, moving back to the kitchen.
‘Feel free to take your jacket off,’ she called over her shoulder, pouring the hot water into the mugs. Reaching into the fridge, she took the milk out and had started to tip it into the mugs when Stacy came in, sans-jacket and bag. Handing one two her, Lisa set the milk back in the fridge.
‘So, how’ve you been?’ Stacy asked. Sipping her coffee, Lisa shrugged. She’d already planned when- after lunch, after dishes, maybe just lounging.
‘Oh, fine, fine.’
‘Mm? You look good.’
‘How about quiche? Wanna get to it before it’s cold.’
*
Lisa was finishing off the last of her slice, eating slowly. Though it wasn’t intentional, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was putting off telling Stacy. Stacy had long-finished her slice and was halfway through her second, albeit smaller slice.
Chewing over her final bite, she raised her eyes on Stacy cleared her throat.
‘Mm?’
‘Any interesting gossip lately?’
‘About House?’ Lisa laughed, swallowing. ‘No, he’s still…’ She shrugged. ‘Being himself.’
‘Sure?’
Frowning, Lisa took a sip of her coffee. ‘Why?’
‘You seem like you want to tell me something. Or at least say something.’
‘No…’
Stacy leant over her plate, fork between two fingers. ‘Lisa, how long have we known each other?’
‘If you’re going to get into sentimental crap…’
‘I know when you’re uncomfortable with broaching a personal issue.’
Raising an eyebrow, Lisa turned back to her mug of coffee. ‘It’s not that I’m uncomfortable…’
Stacy kept looking at her. Suddenly wishing she a rewind button on her life, Lisa slumped against her chair, setting her mug down on the table. Studying the dishes and the half-eaten quiche, she folded her hands on her lap, lips pinched. After a few seconds of thinking, she swiftly moved forward, gathering the plates.
‘I’ll put these in the dishwasher,’ she said, standing. Rubbing her nose with the back of her hand, she collected the dishes and started to the kitchen, leaving Stacy to watch her with a raised brow.
*
The dishwasher droned in the background as they sat on the couch, Stacy’s feet crossed, Lisa nursing a glass of orange juice. The radio played softly in the background, easy listening. Resting her elbow on the armrest, Lisa sighed softly, closing her eyes.
‘So what is it that’s on your mind?’ Stacy asked. Lisa opened an eye, squinting at her. Giving another sigh, chest heaving, she rested her glass on her knee, fingers curled lightly around it. This was how she planned it, after all. Best to get it over with.
Clearing her throat, she sat up straighter, leaning against the back of the couch. Stacy turned to face her, brows raised.
‘You remember how I said I wanted to… try for a child?’
‘IVF, yeah.’
Lisa drew in a breath, setting her glass on the carpet. Sitting back up, she turned slightly, facing Stacy.
‘Well… I went through the treatment.’
‘You’re pregnant?’
Lisa couldn’t tell if that was an exclamation of surprise or a question. She nodded, giving her stomach a pat with a bashful smile. Stacy let out a cry, a wide grin on her face. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around Lisa.
‘Congratulations! That’s fantastic!’
Lisa let out an awkward laughing, patting Stacy on the back. ‘Yeah… it is.’
‘Do you know if it’s a boy or girl?’ Stacy asked, leaning back. Lisa shook her head.
‘I don’t want to know… I’m going to paint the room ivory…’
‘You changing the study into a nursery?’
Lisa nodded. ‘I’d like the surprise.’
Stacy, still smiling, rubbed Lisa’s stomach affectionately. ‘You decided on any names?’
‘Uh, Charmaine for a girl, Derek for a boy. Helen and Michael are nice, though.’
‘Do you know what the donor looks like?’
Hesitating, Lisa nodded slightly. ‘Yeah… I’ve got an idea.’
‘Mm?’
Lisa traced her finger over her stomach, thumb grazing just slightly against Stacy’s. ‘Blue eyes… brown hair… thin-lipped, but…’ Lisa shrugged. ‘Fairly tall, too.’
‘Sounds attractive.’
Stacy’s head had fallen on Lisa’s shoulder, a hand running slowly over Lisa’s stomach. Drawing in a breath, closing her eyes. She could deal with telling a parent their child had five months to live, she could deal with having to fire one of her doctors… this… this was a thousand times harder.
‘It’s Greg’s.’
She felt Stacy stiffen slightly. ‘Excuse me?’
‘House’s.’
Pulling back, Stacy turned to face Lisa. ‘I… don’t understand. What?’
Sighing softly, Lisa kept her eyes low, both her hands over her stomach. ‘House… he knew about my wanting… and… I wasn’t going to ask, but… he did. He knew what I wanted- a good donor, somebody who was intelligent, although it hasn’t been proven… and… He knows I don’t expect him to help, if I wanted that I’d have gone and met somebody else.’ She added the end quickly, eyes darting over to Stacy before going back to her stomach. Stacy was silent. After two long minutes of silence, Lisa let her eyes creep back up to Stacy. ‘That’s… what I wanted to tell you.’
Stacy nodded.
‘You’re not angry, are you?’
‘Well… I don’t know what to say.’
‘I know he’s your ex-boyfriend, and you still have feelings…’
‘I’m married.’
Lisa shrugged. ‘That hasn’t stopped… I mean- ’
‘I know what you mean.’
‘Oh.’
Stacy flopped back, running a hand through her hair. Watching her, Lisa let a hand move from her stomach and curl around Stacy’s hand.
‘It’s not like he and I are together.’
‘I know,’ Stacy replied, voice monotone.
‘You understand, right?’
Stacy was silent again, before pulling her hand away from Lisa’s. Breathing in deeply, she stood, nodding, hand raised to her forehead, thumb rubbing back and forth.
‘Ye-yeah… um… I’ve just got to…’ Shaking her head, she started around the couch. Lisa got to her feet, following.
‘I thought… it’s not like you have any claim over Greg.’
Stacy spun around, laughing sarcastically. ‘You’re carrying his child!’
‘But that doesn’t mean we’re in a relationship!’
Stacy sighed, marching to the closet. Pulling out her jacket, she shrugged it on, picking her bag up off the ground. ‘I have to think about it,’ she said stiffly, shutting the door. Opening the front door, she nodded once. ‘I’ll… call you.’
And with that she stepped through, leaving Lisa open-mouthed, a hand over her stomach.
She knew Stacy was going to be angry, but she never suspected she’d react like that. Turning around, she headed breathlessly to the couch, picking up her half-empty glass.
She hadn’t even told her she wanted Stacy to be her child’s godmother.