A/N: I'm extremely sorry it has taken me so long to update. I don't like to write AU so I felt a little discouraged after a while (post baby stuff, etc). I apologize that this chapter is so short, but I wanted to update and I didn't want to force anything. But, as short as it is, I enjoyed writing it and I seriously hope you enjoy reading it. If I come out with another fic, it'll be in the summer so we can all get our House fix during hiatus. Until then, I'll be enjoying the last few episodes of the show and looking forward to any future Huddyness. Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing and recommending my fic. Enjoy!

xxxx

One Year Later…

Cuddy sits alone at the table, staring at the expensive stain resistant tablecloth under her fingertips. She sips at her drink, occasionally stirring it around in a circle watching the liquid sweep up the ice in a little tornado inside her glass. She rummages through her purse that sits at her feet, between her chair and the wall. She retrieves her cell phone and looks at the time with a sigh as she glances up at the door of the restaurant to see a man and a woman entering, dressed in a suit and an expensive vintage Chanel dress. The man has his arm around the woman's waist as they speak to the hostess who seats them promptly. Cuddy was busy watching the wealthy couple and didn't notice that someone coming from the direction of the bar was approaching her.

"Hello," says the man standing over her, in front of her table.

"Hi," Cuddy responds, eyeing him curiously.

"I was sitting over there at the bar and I noticed you sitting here all alone. I thought you might like some company."

"I'm expecting someone," Cuddy says with raised eyebrows, almost irritably.

"Consider me a seat filler. An understudy," the man said, taking a seat across from her. "A beautiful woman shouldn't have to sit alone, waiting on a man."

"Who said I was waiting for a man?"

"I can tell. And not much of a man, he is."

"What makes you say that?" Cuddy tries to hide a smile.

"Well he's left you here all alone."

"No, he's great, really."

"I doubt it. What's his name?" Cuddy thinks about this for a second, debating whether or not to indulge this man who has sat down in front of her.

"Ethan," Cuddy smiled widely at the sound of his name.

"Ethan," the man repeats with a vague sense of dislike. "Sounds like a tool."

"He isn't. He's a great guy. He's sweet, treats me well. In fact, it's very out of character for him to make me wait like this," Cuddy's voice is laced with a sense of righteousness.

"It happens to the best of us. If he's as great as you say, he should be walking in at this very second." They both look up at the door. No one is there. "Hm… very queer."

"Indeed," Cuddy says, taking a sip from her glass.

"How did you meet this Ethan?"

"It's a long story," Cuddy says with a smile, thinking back on the tale.

"My guess is, we'll have plenty of time for you to tell it while you wait."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Javier."

"Javier?" Cuddy laughs.

"What's funny about that?"

"Nothing," Cuddy says, hushing her laughter. "Well, Javier, Ethan and I met a little over a year ago at a medical conference."

"Very romantic."

"Yes, very."

"Well, that wasn't a very long story at all."

"It's much longer and much more convoluted than that."

"But you fell in love with him at a medical conference?" The man sounded more accusatory than curious.

"No."

"No?"

"No. That didn't happen until much later."

"Oh?"

"Yes. See, I was dating someone when I met Ethan."

"The plot thickens. Who were you dating?"

"Someone from work. An employee, actually."

"Well, that hardly ever works out."

"I knew that going in."

"What was his name?"

"House."

"House? Like where people keep their things?" She nods with a laugh. "What kind of a name is that?"

"Greg House."

"Right, you doctors call each other by your last names. And did you call him House when you dated him?"

"Yes," Cuddy answered, her smile widening. She hadn't really given a thought to how strange that was.

"Well, that's weird."

"I know."

"So what happened with House?"

"We broke up," she shrugged, taking another sip of her drink.

"Over Ethan?"

"No. House cheated on me." The man named Javier seemed to flinch at this.

"He did not," the man said, his voice rip with disgust.

"Yes he did," Cuddy responded challengingly. "We weren't really dating at the time, mind you. We were just fooling around."

"Well, whose stupid idea was that?"

"His."

"He's an idiot."

"You're starting to sound like House." The man who called himself Javier smiled.

"He sounds rude."

"He is. He was very abrasive. Didn't get along with anyone."

"Surely he got along well with you, otherwise you wouldn't have dated him."

"No, we fought," Cuddy stated casually. "A lot."

"But you were his boss. You could have fired him."

"He had his charms. And besides, I knew he was a jerk when I hired him."

"Then why did you hire him?"

"I don't know why I'm telling all of this to you, Javier. I've only just met you," Cuddy evaded, wondering if she would talk to a stranger like this under different circumstances.

"I have that affect on people. So, why did you hire the jerk?"

"He would say it's because I'm naïve."

"What would you say?"

"Because he's brilliant," Cuddy sated, as if it weren't a compliment at all.

"You didn't hire him because you were in love with him?"

"Maybe," Cuddy looked down at her drink coyly, taking a sip. "But we'd been working together long before we actually dated."

"I thought you were just fooling around."

"Right. We were. It felt like more than that though. I think we both knew it was."

"So why would he cheat on you?" The man asked, and watched the woman across from him try to stifle her warm little smile.

"You'd have to ask him."

"Why do you think?"

"He was afraid of committing to me."

"I don't think so."

"You don't even know him."

"I can relate."

"So, then, Javier. Why did he cheat on me?"

"He made a mistake," The man shrugged.

"That doesn't mean he wasn't afraid of comit-"

"Not every man is afraid of commitment."

"No, not every man, but House was."

"Alright then. He cheated on you, he broke your heart. Then you started dating Ethan and the rest is blissful history?"

"Sort of. I started dating Ethan, but I never really was over House. Not right away."

"So, what did you do?" The man leaned forward with his elbows on the table.

"Well, House just wasn't making it easy for me to move on."

"How so?" The man smiled, imagining the trouble this woman had gone through.

"He would come into my office, start fights with me, show up at my house."

"That sounds painful," the man said with a sympathetic tone. Cuddy could tell that it wasn't all too genuine, but she didn't care.

"It was." Cuddy looked at the man across from her, she looked into his familiar blue eyes. She never thought of blue eyes the same way. Not since she first met House. Not since she'd been wrapped up in him the way she was. She let her back fall against the back of the cushioned seat. "Until eventually, he kidnapped me."

"He what?" The man asked loudly with a hand over his chest, catching the attention of nearby patrons.

"Yeah," she nodded with a chuckle. "He got his one friend to trick me into getting into a car and he took me to a motel in Pennsylvania."

"And you called the police? How did you escape the madman?"

"I didn't. I remembered why I loved him."

"And why was that?" Asked the man, still feigning shock.

"Because he was crazy. And an ass. And brilliant. And romantic."

"He doesn't sound romantic."

"He's just about the most romantic person I've ever met. In his own way."

"So why didn't things work out? Why did you pick Ethan over him?"

"I didn't. I wanted House. I had planned to break up with Ethan and I told this to House. On the night he'd gotten into this ridiculous motorcycle accident."

"And?"

"And I said that in order for us to work, he would have to take less medication-- Did I mention that he's a drug addicted cripple?" The man shook his head with raised eyebrows. "And I said he would have to open up to me more."

"And what did he do?"

"He…" she stalled for a second, thinking. "He said he would think about it."

"He would think about it? What kind of noncommittal bullshit is that?" The man almost smiled.

"Yeah, I know," Cuddy responded, smiling sadly.

"So what did you do?"

"I- I went to break up with Ethan but- just as I was about to do it," she paused for dramatic effect. "I couldn't. I thought, House has been leading me on for years. I can't expect that to change."

"Sounds like you really dogged a bullet." Cuddy nodded in agreement. The man nodded quietly, thinking of his next question. Cuddy watched his face until he came up with what to ask her. "So, where is he now?"

"House? He's, um, he's just pathetic," she said in a high-pitched, casual voice. "He's increased his dosage and now he can barely function. He showed up to work drunk until I eventually had to fire him. Now, I never see him. Except for occasionally when he camps out in front of my house in his old beat-up car. Just watching." Javier chuckled at her description of, what sounded like, the most miserable person on the planet.

"Watching?" The man who called himself Javier raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah, he just watches my house. I feel really sorry for him."

"And you and Ethan are happy?"

"Very."

"And you never look back?"

"Never."

"Bullshit," he stated challengingly.

"Excuse me?"

"Bullshit. I bet you regret that decision every day of your life." She sat there staring up into his blue eyes. She left him waiting with a blank stare until, slowly, the faintest smile found it's way onto her lips.

"Every day." She waited a beat before adding "happy anniversary." A smile formed on his long, gaunt face, speckled with stubble that he stubbornly refused to shave, even when they went out to nice places like this one.

"Our anniversary was, technically a couple months ago. A year after we did it on your car."

"No!" she shouted playfully, with a sexy grin. "That does not count, House. We weren't actually together then."

"But it felt like it, right? That's what you said."

"Whatever. We're here now. Why were you so late?"

"I thought it was fashionable."

"To let me sit here alone for ten minutes? Not really."

"You mad?" He asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

"A little annoyed," she shrugged.

"Sorry," he stated casually.

"Thank you for putting on a tie. And wearing an ironed shirt."

"You left it out for me, what was I going to do?"

"Well, thank you for putting it on."

"I know, how romantic of me."

"Javier." She chuckled. "really?"

"What's wrong with Javier? I wanted something ruggedly handsome."

"You don't look like a Javier."

"I don't look ruggedly handsome?"

"Oh, you're rugged alright," she said, leaning forward, gently resting her fingers on the side of his scruffy chin. "And handsome" she gently placed her lips on his for a short kiss. She pulled away and his were closed. "Had you planned that whole 'admiring stranger' thing?"

"Nope. Just came up with it on the spot. Impressive, I know. What about your alternate reality? Been thinking about that a lot lately?"

"Not since the night of your little slip-and-fall on your bike. When you agreed to things my way." He eyed her suspiciously. "Don't be jealous," she smiled.

"I don't do jealous."

"Oh," she practically snorted. "That's true. You're a very rational person when it comes to me and other men."

"That's right."

The waiter approached their table and opened his mouth to speak only to have House cut him off.

"Back off, she's mine!" House barked at the water, drawing the attention of a few neighboring patrons.

"I… I wasn't," the waiter stumbled before Cuddy intervened.

"He's joking." She turned to glare at House for a second before turning her attention back to the waiter.

They ordered their respective meals and had conversation all through dinner, never in want of something to talk about. After dinner, they left the restaurant, House's hand resting on the small of her back as they walked.

xxxx

End.