House ; Stacy/Cuddy ; #096, 097, 098, 099, 100
Title: Realignment ; Future ; Baby ; Pearls ; End
Fandom: House
Characters: Stacy/Cuddy
Prompt: 096 - Writer’s Choice ; 097 - Writer’s Choice ; 098 - Writer’s Choice ; 099 - Writer's Choice ; 100 - Writer's Choice
Word Count: 279
Rating: G
Summary: It’s time to move along.
Author's Notes: Yay, table finished!
Slipping into the seat opposite House, a cheese-and-salami grilled sandwich on her plate, Lisa sighed, rubbing her temples. Arching an eyebrow at her, House reached over and took half the sandwich, ignoring Lisa’s gape of indignation. Taking a large bite from it, he plopped it down on the paper plate, courtesy of the hospital cafeteria, and wiped his mouth with his napkin.
‘So. How’s the baby?’ he asked around a mouthful of bread, cheese and meat.
‘She’s good,’ Lisa replied. ‘She was immunized yesterday. Screamed so loudly, the poor girl.’
She took a bite of her sandwich, avoiding eye contact with House. It shouldn’t have been so uncomfortable, and even though it wasn’t a regular occurrence, it still didn’t sit right with her, eating in the middle of the hospital with House.
‘How’s Stacy?’ he finally asked. Raising her eyes briefly, she shrugged before returning to her grilled sandwich.
‘From what I heard, she’s doing well. I saw Mark the other week, during his physiotherapy. He’s doing well, considering.’
‘Mm…’
House nodded slowly, taking a massive bite from the sandwich. ‘How much longer?’
‘Is he going to be here?’
A nod.
Lisa shrugged, uncapping her water bottle and taking a long sip. ‘Probably another eight months, give or take, and then he’ll be transferred to a closer hospital for the last few months.’
‘I’m guessing it’s uncomfortable between you and Stacy?’
‘I’d say it should be more uncomfortable for you.’
House shrugged. ‘We’ve both moved on.’ He stood, taking the last bit of his half of the sandwich and shoving it crudely in his mouth.
As he moved away, Lisa’s eyes on his back, she whispered softly, ‘I bet.’
Word Count: 101
Rating: R
Summary: They’re just hiding from the inevitable.
She held on tight, her chest heaving with every breath. She didn’t know it then, but it would be the last time they would do this- Stacy next to her, her lips smearing kisses over her chest, their bodies slick with sweat, her toes curling around the sheets.
Oh, there were troubles… but every relationship had troubles. Lisa imagined Stacy blamed their arguments on her pregnancy- Lisa blamed herself. They’d already had one massive fight. Stacy stared at her with such disgust when Lisa admitted whose child it was.
But… but now…
Maybe they were just fooling themselves about the future.
Word Count: 161
Rating: G
Summary: It’s always worth it in the end.
Pulling her sheets up over her head, Lisa drew in a deep, shuddered breath. She wasn’t one to cry over self-pity. There was no other way out of it. What was done was done. Nobody could change history.
Stacy was gone. That’s all there was to it… she had walked out of her life. Walked out of House’s life. She didn’t want to know them anymore. It wasn’t as thought House and Lisa had had sex… it was all very medical. No touching between them involved.
Yes, there were ethical problems to it, but… House had done it because he had wanted to. Stacy surely understood that, being a lawyer.
Biting hard on her lower lip, Lisa tentatively pulled back the blankets. Charmaine was next to her, eyes closed and breathing softly. Reaching over, Lisa slowly stroked her thumb over the baby’s tiny hand. All the fighting… all the hurt and arguments over this one little girl.
It was worth it.
Word Count: 104
Rating: G
Summary: It’s the type of thing she’d say.
Slipping the pearl earrings in, attaching the clasp at the back, Lisa stepped back from the mirror and studied her reflection.
‘You look beautiful,’ Stacy said from her seat on the bed.
‘My hair’s too curly,’ Lisa replied with a sigh. Standing, Stacy crossed over to her and set her hands down on Lisa’s shoulders, peering over them into the mirror.
‘I like your hair curly.’
‘I knew you’d say that.’
‘How?’
Giving a short laugh, Lisa turned her head, eyebrow raised. ‘Because that’s the type of thing you’d say,’ she replied, before pulling away from Stacy’s grasp and heading out the bedroom door.
Word Count: 319
Rating: PG
Summary: It’s the end.
Maybe it was all worth it in the end. Maybe Lisa had grown to know herself better. She never once thought she did, never once planned to. She loved Stacy. Still loved her, although she knew now that nothing would ever come from it. She knew that even then, in the middle of the affair, that Stacy would never leave Mark- or House- for her. And Lisa knew she would never tell her friends or family, or even work colleagues, that she was in the middle of a lesbian relationship.
And even though she hadn’t heard from Stacy in six months, and even though House had visited her (saying her just wanted to give Charmaine another stuffed toy, even though there was now a basket in her room three-quarters full of the little animals) more often than he had in a year in the same amount of time, Lisa knew nothing would come to be, in either of the relationships.
It wasn’t that she wanted to be alone for the rest of her life, and it wasn’t that she wanted to have a series of sordid affairs along the way, either. Lisa had never wanted to keep people at an arm’s length. It just suited her, letting a few people in and letting fate path the way during the relationship. Fate just decided that Stacy was not the right woman for her.
But now, at the end of the exhausting ride, Lisa had Charmaine. And even though she couldn’t talk, she did more for her than anyone else. Even with three AM bottle feeds and nappy changes. It was what she wanted. Somebody to hold close and whisper all her secrets and fears and wishes to, and that little someone would still hold her in one tiny fist and stare up at her wordlessly with big, bright blue eyes… and then cry for her supper.
But it was enough.
Fandom: House
Characters: Stacy/Cuddy
Prompt: 096 - Writer’s Choice ; 097 - Writer’s Choice ; 098 - Writer’s Choice ; 099 - Writer's Choice ; 100 - Writer's Choice
Word Count: 279
Rating: G
Summary: It’s time to move along.
Author's Notes: Yay, table finished!
Slipping into the seat opposite House, a cheese-and-salami grilled sandwich on her plate, Lisa sighed, rubbing her temples. Arching an eyebrow at her, House reached over and took half the sandwich, ignoring Lisa’s gape of indignation. Taking a large bite from it, he plopped it down on the paper plate, courtesy of the hospital cafeteria, and wiped his mouth with his napkin.
‘So. How’s the baby?’ he asked around a mouthful of bread, cheese and meat.
‘She’s good,’ Lisa replied. ‘She was immunized yesterday. Screamed so loudly, the poor girl.’
She took a bite of her sandwich, avoiding eye contact with House. It shouldn’t have been so uncomfortable, and even though it wasn’t a regular occurrence, it still didn’t sit right with her, eating in the middle of the hospital with House.
‘How’s Stacy?’ he finally asked. Raising her eyes briefly, she shrugged before returning to her grilled sandwich.
‘From what I heard, she’s doing well. I saw Mark the other week, during his physiotherapy. He’s doing well, considering.’
‘Mm…’
House nodded slowly, taking a massive bite from the sandwich. ‘How much longer?’
‘Is he going to be here?’
A nod.
Lisa shrugged, uncapping her water bottle and taking a long sip. ‘Probably another eight months, give or take, and then he’ll be transferred to a closer hospital for the last few months.’
‘I’m guessing it’s uncomfortable between you and Stacy?’
‘I’d say it should be more uncomfortable for you.’
House shrugged. ‘We’ve both moved on.’ He stood, taking the last bit of his half of the sandwich and shoving it crudely in his mouth.
As he moved away, Lisa’s eyes on his back, she whispered softly, ‘I bet.’
Word Count: 101
Rating: R
Summary: They’re just hiding from the inevitable.
She held on tight, her chest heaving with every breath. She didn’t know it then, but it would be the last time they would do this- Stacy next to her, her lips smearing kisses over her chest, their bodies slick with sweat, her toes curling around the sheets.
Oh, there were troubles… but every relationship had troubles. Lisa imagined Stacy blamed their arguments on her pregnancy- Lisa blamed herself. They’d already had one massive fight. Stacy stared at her with such disgust when Lisa admitted whose child it was.
But… but now…
Maybe they were just fooling themselves about the future.
Word Count: 161
Rating: G
Summary: It’s always worth it in the end.
Pulling her sheets up over her head, Lisa drew in a deep, shuddered breath. She wasn’t one to cry over self-pity. There was no other way out of it. What was done was done. Nobody could change history.
Stacy was gone. That’s all there was to it… she had walked out of her life. Walked out of House’s life. She didn’t want to know them anymore. It wasn’t as thought House and Lisa had had sex… it was all very medical. No touching between them involved.
Yes, there were ethical problems to it, but… House had done it because he had wanted to. Stacy surely understood that, being a lawyer.
Biting hard on her lower lip, Lisa tentatively pulled back the blankets. Charmaine was next to her, eyes closed and breathing softly. Reaching over, Lisa slowly stroked her thumb over the baby’s tiny hand. All the fighting… all the hurt and arguments over this one little girl.
It was worth it.
Word Count: 104
Rating: G
Summary: It’s the type of thing she’d say.
Slipping the pearl earrings in, attaching the clasp at the back, Lisa stepped back from the mirror and studied her reflection.
‘You look beautiful,’ Stacy said from her seat on the bed.
‘My hair’s too curly,’ Lisa replied with a sigh. Standing, Stacy crossed over to her and set her hands down on Lisa’s shoulders, peering over them into the mirror.
‘I like your hair curly.’
‘I knew you’d say that.’
‘How?’
Giving a short laugh, Lisa turned her head, eyebrow raised. ‘Because that’s the type of thing you’d say,’ she replied, before pulling away from Stacy’s grasp and heading out the bedroom door.
Word Count: 319
Rating: PG
Summary: It’s the end.
Maybe it was all worth it in the end. Maybe Lisa had grown to know herself better. She never once thought she did, never once planned to. She loved Stacy. Still loved her, although she knew now that nothing would ever come from it. She knew that even then, in the middle of the affair, that Stacy would never leave Mark- or House- for her. And Lisa knew she would never tell her friends or family, or even work colleagues, that she was in the middle of a lesbian relationship.
And even though she hadn’t heard from Stacy in six months, and even though House had visited her (saying her just wanted to give Charmaine another stuffed toy, even though there was now a basket in her room three-quarters full of the little animals) more often than he had in a year in the same amount of time, Lisa knew nothing would come to be, in either of the relationships.
It wasn’t that she wanted to be alone for the rest of her life, and it wasn’t that she wanted to have a series of sordid affairs along the way, either. Lisa had never wanted to keep people at an arm’s length. It just suited her, letting a few people in and letting fate path the way during the relationship. Fate just decided that Stacy was not the right woman for her.
But now, at the end of the exhausting ride, Lisa had Charmaine. And even though she couldn’t talk, she did more for her than anyone else. Even with three AM bottle feeds and nappy changes. It was what she wanted. Somebody to hold close and whisper all her secrets and fears and wishes to, and that little someone would still hold her in one tiny fist and stare up at her wordlessly with big, bright blue eyes… and then cry for her supper.
But it was enough.