Open & Shut
He is on his knees in front of a bright new espresso machine, steaming milk when Cuddy enters her office. She takes off her lab coat, hangs it on the coat rack and looks at him suspiciously.
"Foam?" he asks as though it's perfectly normal for him to be in her office playing the role of barista.
She speaks not quite under her breathe as she walks towards him, "I have a bad feeling about this."
He looks hurt and cajoles her in innocent voice, "A friend can't spontaneously buy an overpriced Italian espresso machine for another friend?"
"What did you do?"
He stands up with difficulty from his position in front of the espresso machine and hands her the coffee cup. She takes it and sits behind her desk.
"Nothing. That's the beauty. I genuinely tried to help Wilson. I told him to stand up for himself, which you know is legitimate advice. And his relationship blew up."
"Is he okay?" she immediately asks, her voice full of concern for her friend.
"Ah, he'll be fine," he says dismissively. "Point is, I realized something. I do nice things, nice things happen to me. Karma works."
"So you're paying it forward?" she questions mockingly.
"If this should somehow lead to Lucas dying or oral sex, so be it," he comments as he joins his hands in a yoga gesture and finishes with a Namaste.
He turns and leaves her looking after him with an amused expression.
She picks up the mug and is taking a sip when a few seconds later, her door opens again and his head pops around the corner.
"By the way, I meant oral sex for me, from you." He pauses briefly as if deep in thought. "Or you, from me. Whichever. Not between you and the man-child," he clarifies, motioning with his hand between the two of them and then waving it dismissively along with his last statement.
She almost chokes and definitely scalds herself, her eyes tearing up as she stares at him smirking at her reaction. She manages to swallow, and clears her throat. "It would take a better cup of coffee than this one to get those kinds of results," she retorts, pointing at the cup on her desk and raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, burn," he replies, frowning at her in mock hurt before he shuts the door and returns to his office.
---
She looks up at the knock, and puts her pen down before waving in Wilson.
She's been expecting him since House left her office earlier and is surprised he held out this long.
He comes in quietly and takes a seat on the sofa. Leaning his head back towards the wall, he places his hands on his knees and rubs them.
"Do you want a cup of coffee? An espresso? I can make you one," she offers motioning towards the machine.
He sits up about to decline, but his eyes widen in surprise and his brow furrows as he spots the machine on the table across the room. "Since when do you have an espresso machine in your office?"
"House," she says as though that explains it.
He lifts his brows questioningly.
"Something about Karma and oral sex. So how are you?" she asks, finally getting up and walking over to the couch to take a seat next to him.
"I don't know. I mean it sucks, but maybe this is for the best," he sighs.
"House really didn't go into details, so I don't know what happened. But are you sure you want to just give up on this? I mean you don't always get a second chance."
"We had a fight. A huge fight. I called her a selfish bitch." He looks chagrined. "But it felt good to get it out - House is right, I keep all of this stuff bottled in; I don't confront her. I didn't and it just festers. We're just repeating the same cycle from the first time..." he trails off.
She puts her hand on his arm. "Wilson, this doesn't sound like it has to be the end - maybe it's good that you guys are finally having this discussion. I mean, I hate, absolutely hate, to agree with House, but..." she shrugs.
Wilson looks hopeful. "So you think I should call her?"
"I think that after you call a woman a 'selfish bitch', you should probably give her some space. If she doesn't come around in the next couple of days, then go for it."
"Okay. Thanks for talking to me.” He looks at his watch. "I have a patient soon, so I have to get back to work,” he says and stands up.
"It's no problem."
"I know, but I know you don't really like Sam either. She's different this time though. Better," he says. "It's like House post Mayfield - he's changed. I mean he's still meddling, but his intentions are good somehow. I mean, we've all changed - you're in a relationship, I'm in a relationship. It's crazy," he says thoughtfully.
"Yeah, It is crazy."
---
She's almost home when her phone starts ringing; she looks down at the screen and sighs. She's been expecting this call; she presses the accept button and House's voice fills her earpiece.
"Did you talk to Wilson? I just saw him leaving the hospital with Sam."
"Hi, to you too."
"I thought we were on the same page. Wilson plus Sam equals not good," He reprimands. "Are we not on the same page? What'd you say to him?"
"When have we ever been on the same page," she scoffs.
"There have been a few times," he interjects suggestively.
She ignores him. "I didn't say anything to him," she continues, defending herself. "He came by my office and moped a bit. I offered him some coffee, we talked through it. He wants to be with her and I told him to wait and let her come to him. That's it."
She pulls into her driveway and parks the car, cutting the engine and grabbing her briefcase before she exits the car.
He hears the car door shut. "You at home?" he asks out of curiosity.
"Yeah." she says breathily making her way up the walk and letting herself into her house.
He listens to her entering her house and sighs on the other end. "That's all that happened?" he questions, his voice doubtful.
"That's all that happened," She swears.
"So they're probably back together now. At least until they screw it up."
"Maybe they won't screw it up this time," she comments.
He hears Lucas' voice in the background and can tell she has covered the phone because the conversation is muffled.
"Karma is a wily chameleon," he laments.
"What?" she says absently, her attention now elsewhere.
"Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow," he says.
"Goodnight, House. And don't be too hard on him, he's just trying to be happy," she replies before she cuts the connection.
He hangs up his office phone and whispers a, 'Me too,' into his quiet office.
---
He lets himself into the apartment and can hear Wilson and Sam before he sees that they are at the table playing cards.
"You two made up?" he asks pointedly.
"No," Sam replies without looking at him.
"You can thank me later," he tells them both.
They continue their game, neither acknowledging his presence. He tries to ignore them, but it's hard to feel this alone again.
Cuddy's moved on and now Wilson has too.
He goes into the kitchen to get a beer, but the laughter from the other room stops him. He looks over at them and it hurts.
Their happiness hurts him because he can never be a part of it.
His hand passes over the beer and he takes the milk from the shelf and spitefully puts it on a shelf on the door before he closes the fridge.
He leaves the room, his limp heavy and pronounced. If anyone notices they don't say.
He pauses in the foyer and detours on the path to his room.
He palms his keys in his pocket, making sure they're there and heads out to investigate the offerings at the corner bar.
"Foam?" he asks as though it's perfectly normal for him to be in her office playing the role of barista.
She speaks not quite under her breathe as she walks towards him, "I have a bad feeling about this."
He looks hurt and cajoles her in innocent voice, "A friend can't spontaneously buy an overpriced Italian espresso machine for another friend?"
"What did you do?"
He stands up with difficulty from his position in front of the espresso machine and hands her the coffee cup. She takes it and sits behind her desk.
"Nothing. That's the beauty. I genuinely tried to help Wilson. I told him to stand up for himself, which you know is legitimate advice. And his relationship blew up."
"Is he okay?" she immediately asks, her voice full of concern for her friend.
"Ah, he'll be fine," he says dismissively. "Point is, I realized something. I do nice things, nice things happen to me. Karma works."
"So you're paying it forward?" she questions mockingly.
"If this should somehow lead to Lucas dying or oral sex, so be it," he comments as he joins his hands in a yoga gesture and finishes with a Namaste.
He turns and leaves her looking after him with an amused expression.
She picks up the mug and is taking a sip when a few seconds later, her door opens again and his head pops around the corner.
"By the way, I meant oral sex for me, from you." He pauses briefly as if deep in thought. "Or you, from me. Whichever. Not between you and the man-child," he clarifies, motioning with his hand between the two of them and then waving it dismissively along with his last statement.
She almost chokes and definitely scalds herself, her eyes tearing up as she stares at him smirking at her reaction. She manages to swallow, and clears her throat. "It would take a better cup of coffee than this one to get those kinds of results," she retorts, pointing at the cup on her desk and raising an eyebrow at him.
"Oh, burn," he replies, frowning at her in mock hurt before he shuts the door and returns to his office.
---
She looks up at the knock, and puts her pen down before waving in Wilson.
She's been expecting him since House left her office earlier and is surprised he held out this long.
He comes in quietly and takes a seat on the sofa. Leaning his head back towards the wall, he places his hands on his knees and rubs them.
"Do you want a cup of coffee? An espresso? I can make you one," she offers motioning towards the machine.
He sits up about to decline, but his eyes widen in surprise and his brow furrows as he spots the machine on the table across the room. "Since when do you have an espresso machine in your office?"
"House," she says as though that explains it.
He lifts his brows questioningly.
"Something about Karma and oral sex. So how are you?" she asks, finally getting up and walking over to the couch to take a seat next to him.
"I don't know. I mean it sucks, but maybe this is for the best," he sighs.
"House really didn't go into details, so I don't know what happened. But are you sure you want to just give up on this? I mean you don't always get a second chance."
"We had a fight. A huge fight. I called her a selfish bitch." He looks chagrined. "But it felt good to get it out - House is right, I keep all of this stuff bottled in; I don't confront her. I didn't and it just festers. We're just repeating the same cycle from the first time..." he trails off.
She puts her hand on his arm. "Wilson, this doesn't sound like it has to be the end - maybe it's good that you guys are finally having this discussion. I mean, I hate, absolutely hate, to agree with House, but..." she shrugs.
Wilson looks hopeful. "So you think I should call her?"
"I think that after you call a woman a 'selfish bitch', you should probably give her some space. If she doesn't come around in the next couple of days, then go for it."
"Okay. Thanks for talking to me.” He looks at his watch. "I have a patient soon, so I have to get back to work,” he says and stands up.
"It's no problem."
"I know, but I know you don't really like Sam either. She's different this time though. Better," he says. "It's like House post Mayfield - he's changed. I mean he's still meddling, but his intentions are good somehow. I mean, we've all changed - you're in a relationship, I'm in a relationship. It's crazy," he says thoughtfully.
"Yeah, It is crazy."
---
She's almost home when her phone starts ringing; she looks down at the screen and sighs. She's been expecting this call; she presses the accept button and House's voice fills her earpiece.
"Did you talk to Wilson? I just saw him leaving the hospital with Sam."
"Hi, to you too."
"I thought we were on the same page. Wilson plus Sam equals not good," He reprimands. "Are we not on the same page? What'd you say to him?"
"When have we ever been on the same page," she scoffs.
"There have been a few times," he interjects suggestively.
She ignores him. "I didn't say anything to him," she continues, defending herself. "He came by my office and moped a bit. I offered him some coffee, we talked through it. He wants to be with her and I told him to wait and let her come to him. That's it."
She pulls into her driveway and parks the car, cutting the engine and grabbing her briefcase before she exits the car.
He hears the car door shut. "You at home?" he asks out of curiosity.
"Yeah." she says breathily making her way up the walk and letting herself into her house.
He listens to her entering her house and sighs on the other end. "That's all that happened?" he questions, his voice doubtful.
"That's all that happened," She swears.
"So they're probably back together now. At least until they screw it up."
"Maybe they won't screw it up this time," she comments.
He hears Lucas' voice in the background and can tell she has covered the phone because the conversation is muffled.
"Karma is a wily chameleon," he laments.
"What?" she says absently, her attention now elsewhere.
"Nothing. I'll see you tomorrow," he says.
"Goodnight, House. And don't be too hard on him, he's just trying to be happy," she replies before she cuts the connection.
He hangs up his office phone and whispers a, 'Me too,' into his quiet office.
---
He lets himself into the apartment and can hear Wilson and Sam before he sees that they are at the table playing cards.
"You two made up?" he asks pointedly.
"No," Sam replies without looking at him.
"You can thank me later," he tells them both.
They continue their game, neither acknowledging his presence. He tries to ignore them, but it's hard to feel this alone again.
Cuddy's moved on and now Wilson has too.
He goes into the kitchen to get a beer, but the laughter from the other room stops him. He looks over at them and it hurts.
Their happiness hurts him because he can never be a part of it.
His hand passes over the beer and he takes the milk from the shelf and spitefully puts it on a shelf on the door before he closes the fridge.
He leaves the room, his limp heavy and pronounced. If anyone notices they don't say.
He pauses in the foyer and detours on the path to his room.
He palms his keys in his pocket, making sure they're there and heads out to investigate the offerings at the corner bar.