It Started With A Rose

Rating - T (for now. M will follow...)

Pairing - Hint of Huddy presently, more to follow

Takes place immediately after the last episode, Big Baby. Cuddy finds romance in an anonymous stranger who only communicates through letters. He appears to be too good to be true, and when it's too good to be true, it usually is. She'll wish they never met.

I thought I'd take a stab at something new here. I was standing in a post office a couple days ago and this just hit me! Eventually this will be a Huddy, so stick around Huddy fans!

Enjoy :)

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If only she knew the truth behind those letters, she never would've gotten involved. Whoever sent them was very familiar with Lisa Cuddy's life. He knew that Cuddy was a workaholic, but still wanted to find time for romance. In fact, when not at work, she would involve herself with sappy romance novels and late night TV love movies on Lifetime when her baby was asleep. The stranger knew this about her when no one else did. At first, the letters were sweet, caring, and non-threatening. He put every ounce of care into those letters to be sure he wouldn't scare her away. He added roses and flowers into the batch to try to win her over. It worked. After awhile, Cuddy was smitten over this anonymous stranger. He seemed almost too good to be true, and usually when that is the case, they really are too good to be true. Cuddy found herself wrapped up in something that she couldn't get out of. Her obsession for someone she didn't know had taken over her life, bringing her inner feelings out into the open. She no longer had the willpower to control those deep, inner desires that were locked up all these years. You know the feeling…your palms start sweating, your heart beats louder, your breath gets caught in your throat…All signs of infatuated love with that special person, only you know who you're in love with.

The anonymous stranger she knew as Brendan knew he had Lisa in the palm of his hand. Now he shows his true colors. He wouldn't be happy until he saw his Lisa lose everything, one by one. Come to find out, he wasn't there to love her; he was there to destroy her.

one month earlier

"Bye, my sweet girl," Cuddy said, kissing the top of Rachel's head right before she dashed out the door.

Being a stay at home mom didn't work as well as she hoped. It was on two parts—one, she couldn't stay away from work, and two—she couldn't stay away from House. Cameron did a great job with Cuddy's day-to-day responsibilities, but when it came to House, as much as she liked to think she was, she didn't know how to handle him. Maybe it was a bad idea putting her in charge. Good thing she quit. It helped Cuddy by not having to fire her.

"Do you want me to get the mail?" Cuddy's new nanny asked as she lightly bounced a crying Rachel in her arms.

"No, I'll grab it on my way out, hon, thanks," Cuddy said, grasping her briefcase by the handles and rushing out the door.

Her stress was magnified this morning. It was her second day back and already she could feel her hair frizz up, due to the stress. How could she balance work and raising a baby? How could she even be approved knowing she works around the clock and is a single mom? Leaving babies with nannies is what DSS frowns on in general, never mind leaving a foster baby with a nanny! She was one lucky lady that they let this slide.

Cuddy reached her mailbox. She only had one normal-sized letter in it as opposed to the piles of junk mail and bills she always gets. She looked at the front of the envelope. It only had her name on it. Cuddy did find it odd, but didn't have the time to stand around and question it. She tucked her briefcase under her arm and used her free hand to rip open the top while walking to her car.

Lisa,

You don't know me. I'm new to the area and don't know many people yet. I know what you're thinking—so why doesn't this guy knock on my door instead of leaving me a letter? I'll tell you why, Lisa. I'm shy. I introduce myself better in writing. I also tend to express myself easier through the use of words on paper rather than verbal communication. That, and I know you're too busy to set up a coffee date and get to know your new neighbors. Why don't we just write to one another instead for the time being? We'll meet eventually when you're not too busy. Leave the letter in your mailbox. Hope to hear from you soon.

Cuddy frowned the entire time. Who was this creep? She crinkled up the letter and tossed it into her backseat before driving off. She had more important things to worry about.

Cuddy didn't know it, but the author of the very letter she just read had watched her in the shadows. He watched her walk out of her house, get the letter from the mailbox, read it in the car, and drive off. He also took notice of the frown on her face while she read it and became angry when she crinkled it up.

He wasn't giving up. He had to have her.

There were brief moments when Cuddy was in her office that she was able to work and get things done without House bothering her. She had a stack of papers she had to go through, read, and sign. That was only a sliver of what she had to complete today, but did so in peace. It gave her time to think. She scribbled her signature on the bottom of a multiple-paged chart and set it aside with a sigh.

While reaching for the next one, she remembered the letter she got this morning. Maybe she was a little too forward with wrinkling it up, but that was strange how it was the only letter in her mailbox, seeing as though her mail comes around eight o'clock every morning and she left at nine today. Never does she not get any mail. Has this guy been stealing it? Who was she dealing with here?

Cuddy shook the thoughts from her mind and had to reread the page her eyes just scanned. That's ridiculous to think someone would steal her mail and leave one of their own. And a little creepy.

Should she write back and leave it in her own mailbox as instructed? Maybe she should, that way she could keep an eye out to see who it is if he comes by to get it. If he didn't want to be seen, he'd know a time she wouldn't be watching and then come to grab it.

It is possible she was reading too much into it. He was probably just another ordinary man who wanted to get to know his neighbors. With her being so busy lately, the fact that she had a new neighbor would be news to her. It's not entirely unheard of that new neighbors would try to familiarize themselves within the area and get to know everyone.

Dammit! Cuddy had to reread the same page three times now because her mind was somewhere else. She couldn't push the letter out of her head, regardless of how hard she tried to do so. It's been a while since she interacted with someone outside of work. That jerk House didn't seem to want to go any further than the one kiss. She couldn't wait for him forever. She gave him many chances and many hints that she wanted to try exploring a relationship with him. He's a self-righteous ass all the way down to the core and that's the type that turns Cuddy off, but it fit him. If he was anything else, she didn't think she would've fallen for him. She's always liked him, but because of the kiss, she liked him more. She's done everything except pin him to the wall and tell him it's now or never.

Cuddy gave up on the chart. She couldn't focus. First, it was the letter, and then it was House. Is she really that romantically deprived or does she feel connected to people that are mysterious? House is the king of all things mysterious. Not even the best shrink in the world could get into his head.

Cuddy was interrupted when Sir Righteous himself walked in, pushing the door open with his cane.

"Busy…" Cuddy mumbled, scribbling her name on the chart anyway, not feeling like trying to read it for a fourth time.

"Need to remove a kid's arm," he said bluntly and then turned to leave when he wasn't getting any response from her. "Okay, thanks, that was easy."

"Hold it," Cuddy said, tossing her pen down. "You're not removing anything."

"Such a killjoy. I liked it better when Cameron was you."

"No you didn't." Cuddy sat back into her chair and folded her hands on her lap. "You made her miserable because you wanted me back."

House scoffed. "I don't want any part of you now that you have that kid."

Cuddy's face fell serious. House made it sound like a joke, but Cuddy knew different. He never says anything he doesn't mean. His jokes are covers for what he really feels.

"Gee, House, I didn't know I was able to have a choice between the two. Sorry, but I like my babies around the age of infancy, not starting off at forty-four."

"Right, so anyway." He tapped the ground with the bottom of his cane, "the arm removal, mommy?"

"There is no arm removal, House. You just came in here to bother me with the lack of nothing better to do. I'm up to my ears in chart reviews alone and I can't be bothered. Go work in the clinic if you don't have a patient." She waved him off.

"But moooom," he whined.

"House, I'm serious."

"So am I. I'm not going to the clinic. Ever since you got that kid, you're no fun anymore." He left after that. Cuddy let out the long sigh she was keeping in. As long as he wasn't there bothering her, she didn't care what he did.

He would make her old before her time. It's like having another Rachel at home, only this one can talk!

Avoiding House was easy for the rest of the day. Actually, he did most of the avoiding. He fell asleep in the clinic for almost his entire shift, leaving his ducklings to do the work. Cuddy didn't care. As long as he was out of her hair, she didn't care what he was doing.

Cuddy didn't stay nearly as long as she usually does. She made a strict nine to five schedule for the time being so she could take care of Rachel.

Pulling up to her driveway, she noticed the flag was up on her mailbox again. Since the mail didn't come twice in the same day, she knew it was from her anonymous new neighbor, or so he claims to be.

Cuddy looked around, expecting to see someone watching her as she walked to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. She opened the flap, and sure enough, there was another envelope in there, addressed to her. There was also a single red rose attached.

"That's persistence," Cuddy muttered, looking at the front of the envelope that had her first name only on it. She didn't read it until she was inside. She set it down on the hall table, along with her briefcase and purse. Her first priority was relieving the nanny so she could get changed and play with Rachel before feeding time.

After the nanny left, Cuddy dressed herself in casual clothing and woke Rachel up from her nap. Using her baby voice, which is becoming more and more natural to her, she picked a sleepy Rachel up into her arms and held her close with a gentle rocking motion. Rachel looked up at Cuddy with her big blue eyes as she was being rocked. Cuddy smiled down at her infant. She didn't know what happened the other day, but she went from not feeling anything towards her baby to all of a sudden feeling as if she were at the top of the world. A big reason for that is because she's always wanted to give birth to her own baby. She couldn't bond with Rachel because she knew that if she did, she would have to give up the hopes that someday she would have her own baby. It's the only explanation she could come up with to why she wasn't bonding with her. She wasn't hormonal, or sleep deprived. Her thoughts were rational.

But that was in the past. Every time Rachel smiled at her, Cuddy's heart would flutter. She was meant to have this baby and kicked herself mentally for almost giving up the chance. She felt she could do anything now. Maybe that instruction booklet on how to be a mother was imprinted on her genes after all.

Cuddy took Rachel into the kitchen to warm up her bottle.

"Are you still tired?" Cuddy asked her half-sleeping infant in a baby voice. She used her free hand to brush the backs of her fingers gently across Rachel's cheek. "Is mommy keeping you awake? You have to stay up, because if you fall asleep now, you'll wake up and want to eat when it's time to sleep."

Cuddy didn't know how it hit her, but she suddenly remembered the note on the hall table. She set Rachel down into her self-rocking baby seat and went to fetch the letter. The handwriting looked the same, so she assumed it was from the same guy. She ripped open the top and pulled out a normal college ruled piece of paper.

Lisa,

Do you like the rose? I heard it's your favorite flower, besides orchids, but I couldn't find those around here in the wintertime. I hope I didn't scare you this morning when I sent the first note. I realized I was being too forward with an anonymous note out of the blue. My name's Brendan and I'm thirty-nine years old. I'm single, but I don't live alone. I have a dog named Harvey, who is a Siberian husky and perhaps the best friend anyone could ever have. I would like to get to know more about you if you're not too busy. I know you're a Dean of Medicine, so your time is strictly limited. Since you already made it big, you might not have hopes and dreams for the future. But if you do, I would love to know about them. Did I say love? There I go with being forward again. I'm sorry. If you write back tonight, you'll have a response from me tomorrow and another present in your mailbox.

Goodnight,

Brendan

Cuddy had a smile on her face when she was through reading the note. Someone went to all that trouble to find out who she was and what she did for a living. Why? She's not really that important. At least she never figured herself to be. She hasn't had a date in a while, a very long while, and her sex life was virtually imaginary. No one's taken an interest in her. To everyone else, she was just Lisa Cuddy, but to Brennan, she was somebody. Whether he was a creep or not, that would be determined later. Why he won't just come up to her door and knock was also another mystery. He could be a gentleman and have her busy schedule in mind when he made the decision to just contact her by mail.

Right now, Cuddy could use some excitement in her life. It's been far too long. And waiting for House to get his head out of his ass was taking too long also. She didn't want to wait for him anymore. If something could come out of this, she was willing to give it a shot.

Cuddy took the rose into her hand and smelt it. It smelt so beautiful, as if it was just freshly picked this morning.

Rereading the note, she walked back into the kitchen to retrieve Rachel's bottle. She set the note and the rose down so she could pick Rachel up to feed her.

"Who are you, Brendan?" Cuddy asked aloud to the letter. "Why do you seem to good to be true?"

There was not much difference between this letter and the last letter, other than a brief introduction of himself. Evidently that made all the difference in the world to Cuddy. And the bottom of the note actually had an end to it, followed by his name. The other letter stopped at the body paragraph, making it look too informal. This one looks as if there was much more thought put into it. Not to mention there was a rose attached to it.

How did he know that was her favorite flower? She had to write back to him.

She took Rachel with her into the living room and supported her with one hand while she reached into the desk and pulled out her vanilla and tan stationary set. She never had a reason to use this before, for it was still sealed. Using one hand, she peeled back the circular stickers sealing the top to the bottom and separated the two. Questions that she wanted to ask him filled her head. How did he know her? That was question one.

"I'm sorry, baby, I'm going to have to put you down, okay?" she said to Rachel, setting her down on the couch when the two made their way over there. She set Rachel's bottle down on the coffee table in front of her and then stepped to writing.

Brendan,

You seem fairly involved with my life and I hardly know you. How do you know me? How did you know that my favorite flower is a rose? Forgive me for thinking that this conversation you started sounds a little weird. I feel like you're stalking me, but in a way, I feel you're not. And yes, even though I have a job I love and the baby I always wanted, I still have hopes and dreams for the future. I hope—

Cuddy stopped herself there. Why is she telling a random stranger her hopes and dreams? She frowned at the note. It was good up until she started talking about that. Is she really starving for excitement in her life to be resorting to this? Granted, Brendan did seem nice the second time around.

Cuddy shrugged it off and finished the note. What's the worst that could happen? Besides, she had to hurry and finish it, for Rachel started getting finicky. She wanted to eat.

Cuddy sealed up the letter and took her baby back into her arms.

"I'm sorry, sweet girl," she said and went back to feeding her.

Across the street, a soon to be familiar face was peeking in, past the open window and setting his eye on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

She would be his soon enough.

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What do you think? Like I said, this was an impromptu idea I had a couple days ago. Anyone familiar with The Island knows that I don't make my stories a bore! Or at least I try not to. Review and let me know! :)