Title: All in the Golden Afternoon…

Category: House, M.D.

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Pairing: Past House/Stacy, Implied House/Cuddy

Set: Season 5

Rating: PG-13

Summary: House gets a new case…and it's personal.

Author Notes: My first "case" fic.

Author Notes 2: In regards to the reviews for part 3 of my episode tag series, 'next week' refers to the next week that there is an episode. I am fully aware of the shift in scheduling, and 'next week' is synonymous with 'next time'. So if you could all stop telling me that there is no episode on March 23, it would be appreciated, since I know that already. Anyways...on with the new fic.

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"Mommy," a soft voice called in the dark. There was no answer. "Mommy." Louder, but still no answer. "Mommy!" Finally, there were footsteps down the hall. The door opened and the little girl sat up in bed. "Mommy, can I have some water?" There was a sigh, and she knew what that meant. Her mommy was annoyed.

"Honey, it's nine o'clock. You should have been asleep half an hour ago." The door opened wider and the mother walked into the room, moving closer to the bed. She sat down right next to her daughter and reached out a hand to smooth her hair. "I'll get you a glass of water if you promise to go to sleep."

"I promise, mommy." The girl nodded her head once, and her mother stood up and left, leaving the door open. She lay back in her bed, snuggling under the blankets. Her head fell back against the pillows, and she closed her eyes tightly. The footsteps coming back to her room were loud and they didn't sound like her mommy's. But it was her mother who stepped back through the open door, holding her glass of water.

"Here. Drink up and get some sleep," her mother said, and her voice was barely able to be heard. Her mother sat back down next to her, holding the water out. She didn't move. "Sweetheart? What's wrong?"

"It's too far away. I can't reach," she whispered, her own voice sounding too loud. Her mother's eyes narrowed in confusion, and she set the glass on the small table next to her daughter's bed. "Mommy…my head hurts."

"How bad does it hurt?" Her mother reached out to put a hand on her forehead. "You don't have a fever…"

"It hurts a lot. Mommy, I'm scared."

"Shh. Don't be afraid, honey…I'm gonna call a doctor, okay?" She stroked her daughter's face before taking the water glass back up and holding it until the little girl reached out and took it. "I'll be right back, okay, baby?" The girl nodded as she sipped at the water. Her mother stood and left, her footsteps soft against the carpet.

She had just picked up the phone to dial the first hospital number that came to her when there was a crash from her daughter's room. She took the phone with her back down the hall and stopped as her little girl walked out of the room looking sad and guilty.

"Mommy…I'm sorry…"

"About what, honey?" she asked, running over to her daughter and kneeling next to her. "What happened?"

"I broke the glass. It was an accident, mommy! I put it on the table, but the table moved and the glass fell…"

"Honey, shh, shh….tables can't move."

"Mine did." Her brown eyes were brimming with tears. "I'm sorry." She was surprised when her mother pulled her into a hug.

"It's not your fault. I'm gonna call the doctor, and we'll see what we can do about your head hurting." She pulled away from her daughter, punching in the numbers on the phone. It wasn't long before reception picked up on the other end. "Yes. I need a doctor to take a look at my daughter. It's very important…I think something may be wrong with her." The voice on the other end spoke and the woman let out a sigh of relief. "Yes. I'll bring her in in the morning." She hung up and looked at her daughter.

"Let's get you back into bed. You're gonna need your rest to see the doctor tomorrow." Standing she picked up her little girl and carried her back to her room. After tucking her in, she set to work cleaning up the broken glass, noticing immediately that the table was right where it had always been.