Marriage is hard. Caucusing is easy.
Oct. 16th, 2008 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damelolaA cure for writing block? I'm not blocked as such, just slightly overwhelmed. There Will Be No Divorce is turning into an epic thing, and doesn't seem to want to be written in order. The smutty cheerleader fic is all smut and no structure at the moment. Don't even get me started on the fic notebook o' doom and its many half-baked ideas. So here is my keyboard-loosening salvation, I hope.
Drabble meme from the wonderful![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pokeitlikejello .
1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabblet/ ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it’s over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Herein lies Huddy, Chase/Cam, Wilson, Thirteen, Kutner, Foreman and a little House/Stacy for good measure. Unbeta'd and such, due to the rules!
1. Both Hands - Ani DiFranco
Stacy paused before turning the key in the lock. She hadn't been in this building for over ten years but even the faded paint in the hallway looked exactly the same.
Steeling herself against the memories she had been trying so hard not to acknowledge, she stepped inside the once familiar living room, wincing at the sudden brightness of the light she snapped on.
Why had Greg done this to her? Was it his passive revenge for her breaking his heart so badly? So long ago she'd promised to be there at the end. She hadn't thought about the aftermath.
Breathing deeply, she tried to forget the hurt in Lisa's eyes as she broke the news of Greg's death. Perhaps there was something there after all.
Stacy had drawn up that will herself, had one of her partners witness it over lunch one day. Why hadn't he changed it? How could he leave her in this position after so much time?
Unsure where to start, she opened his hall closet and rolled her eyes at the piles of sneakers. Jackets hung haphazardly, boxes of unimportant mementoes overflowing on the floor. Had her memory been sharper she might have remembered to look away in time, but all too soon her eyes alighted on the one thing she couldn't cope with seeing.
She'd been so mad at Greg for graffitiing their new apartment, but she'd kissed him as an afterthought. Now the words burned her retinas and she felt herself stumbling as she tried to back away.
'G + S, doing it here for the next 40 years'.
God, she'd loved that idiot.
2. The One Who Knows - Dar Williams
"You're pissed at me."
"You were out of line, House."
"Did I make you cry?" He shuffled uneasily on her porch, bike helmet hanging loosely from his long fingers.
She refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
"Can I come in?"
Cuddy shook her head firmly. He wasn't going to ruin her pity party with cartoons and beer. As he turned to leave, she asked the question that had been tormenting her all afternoon.
"Why didn't you tell Wilson? About the IVF, the injections? You're the biggest gossip in the hospital."
He fixed her with his best indifferent look, as though she'd asked him to pick her up a pint of milk.
"I liked being the one who knew your secret. It's been a long time since somebody trusted me that way."
The smile was involuntary, and she almost caught herself before he noticed. He'd just made forgiving him this time a little bit easier.
3. Constant Craving - k d lang
"Oh my God Chase, what is this stuff?"
Chase bolted into the kitchen, wondering what the hell Cameron had uncovered this time. In her slightly dangerous emotional state, something as simple as unfolded dishtowels could provoke screaming or crying. He stopped short as he caught sight of the little yellow jar in her hand.
"Why do you have my Vegemite?"
Cameron shrugged, and to his horror took a large spoonful which she then dumped on her vanilla ice-cream. He almost gagged at the thought of it.
"Cameron, that is nasty".
She looked at him in surprise.
"You're always telling me how this is the nectar of the Gods. You have it specially imported, for God's sake!"
"Not on ice-cream, babe!"
She shrugged again, scooping a large spoonful of the mixture and swallowing it with a contented sigh. Chase turned away, unable to witness the desecration of his favorite food. He'd be a lot happier when this damn baby was born and the sane version of his girlfriend returned.
4. I Want To Come Over - Melissa Etheridge
Wilson picked up his keys from the table, his mind finally made up.
Today was the day he would speak to House. Not because he called, not because he showed up banging on the door, but because Wilson missed his best friend and something had to give.
He felt really confident this time, closing the door of the apartment behind him and heading downstairs with a spring in his step. Missing Amber was painful enough, but missing House was too much on top of that. All Wilson wanted was to know that normality still existed, and so he got in his Volvo for the short drive.
The street was as dark as ever when he pulled up outside House's building, the few streetlights doing little to disperse the gloom. Killing the engine, Wilson reached for the door handle like it was the most natural thing in the world. Just as his fingers flexed to engage the simple mechanism, it all came crashing back. The doubts about the bartender's cracks, every failed idea that didn't save Amber, saying goodbye to her one agonizing second at a time.
Eventually the grief and panic subsided, but the moment for his big idea had passed. Starting the car, he pulled off with a squealing of tires that House himself would have been proud of. Still, it was better than yesterday, when he'd stopped at the other end of the street. Or the day before when he'd turned back at the halfway point between their apartments. Wilson knew that he needed his best friend, but today he still needed other things more.
5. Shy - Ani DiFranco
Cuddy kicked the trash can, regretting it the instant her toes made impact. Jimmy Choo might make shoes that provoked uncontrollable lust in her, but they offered very little protection when it came to kicking solid objects.
All too soon came the knock on the door that she had been dreading, and it only served to ratchet her mood from cranky to homicidal.
"Go away, House"
"Cuddy, this is a gas station bathroom. Do you know how many pandemics you're exposing yourself to right now?"
"Bite me."
"Just tell me where."
God, he was infuriating. She ought to go out there and kick him instead of defenseless objects. Flinging the grimy door open, she startled him. Apparently he had been expecting to use more of his 'charm' to wheedle her out of there.
"Get back in the car, and not another word until Princeton."
He complied without complaint, which made her instantly suspicious. When he retrieved her anti-bacterial gel from the glove compartment, she almost passed out from the shock.
"What gives, House?"
"I don't want you dumping my body in a ditch, self-preservation."
"You're worried I'll deny you sex when we get home."
He caught her with one of his most disarming stares
"Oh, you wouldn't do that... would you?"
They drove the last few miles in comfortable silence, the fight that had driven her to hiding in the bathroom all but forgotten as his hand rested on her thigh.
6. The Other End of the Telescope - Aimee Mann
"You have a telescope?" Thirteen raised a quizzical eyebrow at her colleague. His apartment was actually kind of cool, like it had been decorated by a modern version of Tom Hanks in Big.
"For looking at stars, before you make any assumptions." Kutner was always on the defensive around her, and she kind of liked that she made him nervous. Easier to be friends with someone who was a little scared of you.
"Shame, if it was for peeping at hot girls we could have had a lot of fun."
7. Cynically Yours - Amy Rigby
"Are you ever going to admit that you love me?"
"Why would I do that?" House was in full grumpy-bear mode, unhappy at being awakened before ten for the third time in a row.
"You're here every night. You cuddle me in your sleep. Your devotion to getting me off is impressive, very unlike your usual selfish behavior."
Cuddy should have seen it coming, that his response would be smacking her with a pillow.
"If I tell you I love you, can I have the day off?"
She shook her head solemnly. He hadn't managed to breach a boundary yet.
"Fine. I love you. As much as I'm capable of loving anyone."
He earned a kiss for his answer, as close to romance as he got.
"Hey, don't you love me?"
Cuddy slipped out from under the duvet, heading for the shower.
"Cuddy?"
With a twinkle in her eye she answered at last.
"Nah, I'm just using you for the sex."
8. Iowa - Dar Williams
"You have a way with women."
Chase looked up from his surgical notes, startled. He was stunned to see his former boss standing there.
"I guess so?" House didn't frighten him anymore, but he knew better than to get caught up in his schemes. He was probably trying to persuade someone unwilling to give consent for a risky procedure.
"I need...your...help." The words seemed to be choking House, and for a moment Chase thought he would be getting a chance to practice the Heimlich maneuver.
"With a woman? Don't you have people you go to about that?"
House treated his former employee to his dirtiest look.
"Wilson's not around, and the new guy is competition. You're my last hope. How do you convince otherwise sane women to fall for a scrawny wombat like you?"
Chase flexed his muscles reflexively. He'd been working out, not the gangly kid that came into House's office four years ago.
"I'll help you if you tell me who it is. And it had better not be Cameron. Do I know the unlucky woman?"
As House nodded, the penny finally dropped. Chase began to wish he'd been asked to kill someone and hide the body instead.
9. Pour Me Up Another - Amy Millan
Foreman sat at the bar, nursing a glass of Scotch. Running interference between House and the new team, between House and Cuddy, between the new team and the old had left him exhausted. He smiled into the rim of the glass as he took another sip, for the first time in months he felt like he was actually achieving something. So he was drinking a little more and sleeping a little less. This game was all about working hard then playing hard, it was how you got respect. He'd chosen the second nearest bar to the hospital, knowing that everyone was too lazy to make it past the closest one.
So he was doubly surprised when the person who joined him at the bar was the laziest of them all. He almost fell off the barstool when that same man hailed the bartender to buy Foreman a second drink.
"House, that must be the first drink you've bought me."
"Don't get used to it."
No eye contact, no need for it. They had worn away at each other until they found complimentary grooves to rest in. The war was finally over.
"Aren't you drinking? It's not like you."
"I have somewhere to be. I just wanted to say... you're doing a good job."
With that he turned and left, a cold wind whipping through the room as House opened the door to leave. Foreman reached gratefully for the fresh glass. Would wonders never cease?
10. Accidental Babies - Damien Rice
"How could you throw your life away on a loser like that?" House was pacing now, drawing glances from the nurse's station as he traversed her office like a caged lion.
Cuddy reminded him once more that her personal life was none of his business. Nor was it open for discussion at the hospital.
"Yeah, when you end up with some guy you don't love, just to get the baby you're not sure you can cope with, don't come crying to me."
Her eyes flashing pure fury, she turned on him.
"You're the last person I'd come to."
"How can he be enough for you? Where's the spark? You need someone to fight with."
She considered his pain, his rage, all so apparent on his sleepless features.
"Someone like you? You made it quite clear you weren't an option."
"I've always been an option, you're the one who keeps hiding behind guilt, behind hospital policy."
"Go to hell."
He stormed towards the door, no doubt hurting his leg further by pushing it like that.
"Why would I? You're already there."
Drabble meme from the wonderful
pokeitlikejello .1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn your music player on and turn it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabblet/ ficlet related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it’s over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these, then post them.
Herein lies Huddy, Chase/Cam, Wilson, Thirteen, Kutner, Foreman and a little House/Stacy for good measure. Unbeta'd and such, due to the rules!
1. Both Hands - Ani DiFranco
Stacy paused before turning the key in the lock. She hadn't been in this building for over ten years but even the faded paint in the hallway looked exactly the same.
Steeling herself against the memories she had been trying so hard not to acknowledge, she stepped inside the once familiar living room, wincing at the sudden brightness of the light she snapped on.
Why had Greg done this to her? Was it his passive revenge for her breaking his heart so badly? So long ago she'd promised to be there at the end. She hadn't thought about the aftermath.
Breathing deeply, she tried to forget the hurt in Lisa's eyes as she broke the news of Greg's death. Perhaps there was something there after all.
Stacy had drawn up that will herself, had one of her partners witness it over lunch one day. Why hadn't he changed it? How could he leave her in this position after so much time?
Unsure where to start, she opened his hall closet and rolled her eyes at the piles of sneakers. Jackets hung haphazardly, boxes of unimportant mementoes overflowing on the floor. Had her memory been sharper she might have remembered to look away in time, but all too soon her eyes alighted on the one thing she couldn't cope with seeing.
She'd been so mad at Greg for graffitiing their new apartment, but she'd kissed him as an afterthought. Now the words burned her retinas and she felt herself stumbling as she tried to back away.
'G + S, doing it here for the next 40 years'.
God, she'd loved that idiot.
2. The One Who Knows - Dar Williams
"You're pissed at me."
"You were out of line, House."
"Did I make you cry?" He shuffled uneasily on her porch, bike helmet hanging loosely from his long fingers.
She refused to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
"Can I come in?"
Cuddy shook her head firmly. He wasn't going to ruin her pity party with cartoons and beer. As he turned to leave, she asked the question that had been tormenting her all afternoon.
"Why didn't you tell Wilson? About the IVF, the injections? You're the biggest gossip in the hospital."
He fixed her with his best indifferent look, as though she'd asked him to pick her up a pint of milk.
"I liked being the one who knew your secret. It's been a long time since somebody trusted me that way."
The smile was involuntary, and she almost caught herself before he noticed. He'd just made forgiving him this time a little bit easier.
3. Constant Craving - k d lang
"Oh my God Chase, what is this stuff?"
Chase bolted into the kitchen, wondering what the hell Cameron had uncovered this time. In her slightly dangerous emotional state, something as simple as unfolded dishtowels could provoke screaming or crying. He stopped short as he caught sight of the little yellow jar in her hand.
"Why do you have my Vegemite?"
Cameron shrugged, and to his horror took a large spoonful which she then dumped on her vanilla ice-cream. He almost gagged at the thought of it.
"Cameron, that is nasty".
She looked at him in surprise.
"You're always telling me how this is the nectar of the Gods. You have it specially imported, for God's sake!"
"Not on ice-cream, babe!"
She shrugged again, scooping a large spoonful of the mixture and swallowing it with a contented sigh. Chase turned away, unable to witness the desecration of his favorite food. He'd be a lot happier when this damn baby was born and the sane version of his girlfriend returned.
4. I Want To Come Over - Melissa Etheridge
Wilson picked up his keys from the table, his mind finally made up.
Today was the day he would speak to House. Not because he called, not because he showed up banging on the door, but because Wilson missed his best friend and something had to give.
He felt really confident this time, closing the door of the apartment behind him and heading downstairs with a spring in his step. Missing Amber was painful enough, but missing House was too much on top of that. All Wilson wanted was to know that normality still existed, and so he got in his Volvo for the short drive.
The street was as dark as ever when he pulled up outside House's building, the few streetlights doing little to disperse the gloom. Killing the engine, Wilson reached for the door handle like it was the most natural thing in the world. Just as his fingers flexed to engage the simple mechanism, it all came crashing back. The doubts about the bartender's cracks, every failed idea that didn't save Amber, saying goodbye to her one agonizing second at a time.
Eventually the grief and panic subsided, but the moment for his big idea had passed. Starting the car, he pulled off with a squealing of tires that House himself would have been proud of. Still, it was better than yesterday, when he'd stopped at the other end of the street. Or the day before when he'd turned back at the halfway point between their apartments. Wilson knew that he needed his best friend, but today he still needed other things more.
5. Shy - Ani DiFranco
Cuddy kicked the trash can, regretting it the instant her toes made impact. Jimmy Choo might make shoes that provoked uncontrollable lust in her, but they offered very little protection when it came to kicking solid objects.
All too soon came the knock on the door that she had been dreading, and it only served to ratchet her mood from cranky to homicidal.
"Go away, House"
"Cuddy, this is a gas station bathroom. Do you know how many pandemics you're exposing yourself to right now?"
"Bite me."
"Just tell me where."
God, he was infuriating. She ought to go out there and kick him instead of defenseless objects. Flinging the grimy door open, she startled him. Apparently he had been expecting to use more of his 'charm' to wheedle her out of there.
"Get back in the car, and not another word until Princeton."
He complied without complaint, which made her instantly suspicious. When he retrieved her anti-bacterial gel from the glove compartment, she almost passed out from the shock.
"What gives, House?"
"I don't want you dumping my body in a ditch, self-preservation."
"You're worried I'll deny you sex when we get home."
He caught her with one of his most disarming stares
"Oh, you wouldn't do that... would you?"
They drove the last few miles in comfortable silence, the fight that had driven her to hiding in the bathroom all but forgotten as his hand rested on her thigh.
6. The Other End of the Telescope - Aimee Mann
"You have a telescope?" Thirteen raised a quizzical eyebrow at her colleague. His apartment was actually kind of cool, like it had been decorated by a modern version of Tom Hanks in Big.
"For looking at stars, before you make any assumptions." Kutner was always on the defensive around her, and she kind of liked that she made him nervous. Easier to be friends with someone who was a little scared of you.
"Shame, if it was for peeping at hot girls we could have had a lot of fun."
7. Cynically Yours - Amy Rigby
"Are you ever going to admit that you love me?"
"Why would I do that?" House was in full grumpy-bear mode, unhappy at being awakened before ten for the third time in a row.
"You're here every night. You cuddle me in your sleep. Your devotion to getting me off is impressive, very unlike your usual selfish behavior."
Cuddy should have seen it coming, that his response would be smacking her with a pillow.
"If I tell you I love you, can I have the day off?"
She shook her head solemnly. He hadn't managed to breach a boundary yet.
"Fine. I love you. As much as I'm capable of loving anyone."
He earned a kiss for his answer, as close to romance as he got.
"Hey, don't you love me?"
Cuddy slipped out from under the duvet, heading for the shower.
"Cuddy?"
With a twinkle in her eye she answered at last.
"Nah, I'm just using you for the sex."
8. Iowa - Dar Williams
"You have a way with women."
Chase looked up from his surgical notes, startled. He was stunned to see his former boss standing there.
"I guess so?" House didn't frighten him anymore, but he knew better than to get caught up in his schemes. He was probably trying to persuade someone unwilling to give consent for a risky procedure.
"I need...your...help." The words seemed to be choking House, and for a moment Chase thought he would be getting a chance to practice the Heimlich maneuver.
"With a woman? Don't you have people you go to about that?"
House treated his former employee to his dirtiest look.
"Wilson's not around, and the new guy is competition. You're my last hope. How do you convince otherwise sane women to fall for a scrawny wombat like you?"
Chase flexed his muscles reflexively. He'd been working out, not the gangly kid that came into House's office four years ago.
"I'll help you if you tell me who it is. And it had better not be Cameron. Do I know the unlucky woman?"
As House nodded, the penny finally dropped. Chase began to wish he'd been asked to kill someone and hide the body instead.
9. Pour Me Up Another - Amy Millan
Foreman sat at the bar, nursing a glass of Scotch. Running interference between House and the new team, between House and Cuddy, between the new team and the old had left him exhausted. He smiled into the rim of the glass as he took another sip, for the first time in months he felt like he was actually achieving something. So he was drinking a little more and sleeping a little less. This game was all about working hard then playing hard, it was how you got respect. He'd chosen the second nearest bar to the hospital, knowing that everyone was too lazy to make it past the closest one.
So he was doubly surprised when the person who joined him at the bar was the laziest of them all. He almost fell off the barstool when that same man hailed the bartender to buy Foreman a second drink.
"House, that must be the first drink you've bought me."
"Don't get used to it."
No eye contact, no need for it. They had worn away at each other until they found complimentary grooves to rest in. The war was finally over.
"Aren't you drinking? It's not like you."
"I have somewhere to be. I just wanted to say... you're doing a good job."
With that he turned and left, a cold wind whipping through the room as House opened the door to leave. Foreman reached gratefully for the fresh glass. Would wonders never cease?
10. Accidental Babies - Damien Rice
"How could you throw your life away on a loser like that?" House was pacing now, drawing glances from the nurse's station as he traversed her office like a caged lion.
Cuddy reminded him once more that her personal life was none of his business. Nor was it open for discussion at the hospital.
"Yeah, when you end up with some guy you don't love, just to get the baby you're not sure you can cope with, don't come crying to me."
Her eyes flashing pure fury, she turned on him.
"You're the last person I'd come to."
"How can he be enough for you? Where's the spark? You need someone to fight with."
She considered his pain, his rage, all so apparent on his sleepless features.
"Someone like you? You made it quite clear you weren't an option."
"I've always been an option, you're the one who keeps hiding behind guilt, behind hospital policy."
"Go to hell."
He stormed towards the door, no doubt hurting his leg further by pushing it like that.
"Why would I? You're already there."
