Chapter 1: The Good Times
Doctor Gregory House arrived late, as usual, to find his team, doctors Chase, Forman, Taub and Cicciliano, gathered around the conference room table chatting over coffee and seemingly content. They laughed at each other, smiled readily, and made the scene in the office inviting. House watched his team for a moment as doctors Bennett and Robinson passed him in the hall, on their way to their own office, and set the scene in the calm, quiet halls of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.
Recently life had been increasingly good; Lisa and Rachel Cuddy had become a truly important and altering part of House's life. He had never known love like he knew now and had never given parenting a passing thought until he started to spend time with Rachel, a natural consequence of dating her mother. He had become so attached to her, and she to him, that he graciously stepped into more responsibility as Cuddy offered it. He played with her, taught her how to read music and play the piano and even read bed times stories. In return Rachel admired him, loved him and gave to him all of the attention and wonders that a child could bestow. For Rachel Cuddy, the world was bright, brilliant and full of questions that needed answers and House loved the simplicity and the interest that Rachel put into every new discovery. Rachel also found it imperative to not have her mother around when illness struck, but House was a primary parental care giver with every stuffy nose or scrapped knee, and though these little illnesses would have annoyed House to death on a regular basis, because it was Rachel, he was the idyllic and over-attentive doctor. Every booboo, sniffle, and tummy ache felt better with a kiss and a hug from Doctor Gregory House. House for the first time in his life felt a strong family bond and was optimistic about the future.
Life at work had also been very rewarding. Cases came and went, and the puzzles kept House occupied. He was proud of his team members and their expertise. They were loyal, smart and efficient. Indeed, he trusted this team implicitly; he could laugh with them, yell at them, and disagree with them, and yet they continued to accept his methods and became better doctors because of their interaction. The primary team members were also very respectful of House's personal life and he opened his heart to let even these people be apart of that. Rachel had taken very keenly to all of the members of his team and was always pleased to play with them, mock them, and generally cause dissension among the ranks. She looked up to the team with awe and admiration as she milled about in her mini lab coat and scrubs, and baby pink stethoscope. Rachel certainly had a special way of keeping each and every member of the team grounded. They watched her interact with House and him with her, and saw that even the big bad beast that was Gregory House had a gentle and kind side. He didn't often show it, but House had found compassion in a place he had always avoided it: human contact, more specifically, with children. House had never been particularly fond of children, but then again, Rachel was unlike most children, and House took to her with ease.
House had also learned to truly appreciate his friendships. Doctor James Wilson had done so much and been through so much with House that it was surprising to both of them just how strong their friendship had become. Wilson was also a very brilliant doctor, well liked, and a good teacher. He had compassion like no one else and in his line of work it was a prerequisite. The patients that fell under Doctor Wilson's care were normally those who had the horrible misfortune of terminal illness and there was no better person to deliver such horrible news, than Wilson. Wilson knew how to bring hope, how to lead, and how to take on the world's most prolific disease with calmness and quiet understanding that made him respectable and easily likable. Occasionally House had been jealous of his friend and yet there were always great things in store for the both of them. Wilson had taken on his own team of fellows recently, and this increased responsibility meant that Wilson had less time to hang around with House, but luckily both teams had taken well to each other. The young fellows on Wilson's team were very impressed with House's team members, and Wilson was more than willing to show them just how much of an asset House and his team was to the hospital. Wilson always made time for his friends, for his team and for those who always needed him.
Thus was the life as it had dawned on this beautiful summer day. The sky was clear, the campus of Princeton was buzzing with activity but in a completely different way from when the primary school term was in session and easiness was all around those who worked and played on the beautiful campus.
House threw his bag into his office recliner and heard the squeak of a plush toy he had picked up from the floor of his apartment before heading to work. Rachel had left the toy there the previous evening and he knew that it was one of her favorites, so he wanted to make sure it made its way back to Cuddy's that evening. Even though it had been quite some time since he and Lisa Cuddy had started seeing each other, and even though House spent most of his time at her place, he still kept his own apartment and welcomed the mother and child into his home as often as he could. Rachel had become as comfortable in his apartment as she was at home, which meant that House's once-glorious bachelor pad was now somewhat of a child paradise, littered with pictures on every spare surface of Rachel, and the drawings she had spent hours making especially for House. There were little, subtle hints that the child had been around both at home and in the office, like the remnants of a fort on House's couch that he didn't feel like cleaning up before he left for work, and little smudged fingerprints he'd just noticed on his office computer from where Rachel had touched it. House smiled to himself as he thought of the sweet little girl and turned to join his team in the other room.
"Why are you all so happy?" House asked putting on his best foul mood as he sat down at the table to interact with his team.
"No reason," Chase smirked as he held out his hand and every other person at the table put twenty dollars into his palm.
"What did you win?" House asked.
"Chase decided that the current patient that Team Wilson was working on did not have cancer." Cicciliano stated.
"We all bet he was wrong," Taub sighed, "it seemed like a sure thing."
"And now I am sixty dollars richer," Chase smiled.
"You brought Wilson that case from your rounds in the ER." House stated.
"Yeah, I know," Chase smiled, "all signs pointed to cancer, but it's not cancer, yet," he added and pocketed the cash.
"It was Myelodisplastic Syndrome," House stated.
"You got it boss," Chase smiled.
"Good Call," House smiled and high-fived Chase.
"In other news," Cicciliano sighed.
"You've invaded France?" House asked, "you know the war is over, right Mussolini?"
"Ha, ha yeah apparently some unknown illness is waging war on our new patient," Cicciliano stated sarcastically. "Shall I put the troupes into motion?"
House took the file that Victoria offered and read through it, "interesting, what are you sending to the front lines?" he asked.
"I suggested steroids, it looks like sarcoidosis," Forman stated.
"No, its cancer," House said sliding the file back across the table. "Take it to Wilson, or would you like to bet that I'm wrong?" He said and looked up to see Cuddy walking down the hall, her cell glued to her right ear.
"I've learned my lesson," Taub stated, "I'm not playing these games anymore, with any of you."
"Don't be such a baby, Taub," Chase laughed and leaned back in his chair, "you know you'll get sucked in again."
House started to stand as he watched Cuddy dart into his office and stride past everyone to his desk. Silence fell as everyone followed her with their eyes and she disappeared behind the solid wall. House was the first to enter his office to see Cuddy flipping thought he television channels.
"You know I don't get cable up here, Cuddles," he stated, "Management has been denying me that prime diagnostic tool for years," He added with a smile.
Cuddy turned too look at him, tears in her eyes and panic in her every move but she could not speak, could not bring herself to tell the terrible news. It didn't matter, soon everyone would know, soon the peacefulness they had known would end.
"What's wrong?" House asked as she turned back to the TV and started flipping the channels again.
House reached out and caught Cuddy before she lost all of her composure. A sob escaped her as the channel cleared and the scene started to play out. The TV flashed the news story; Cuddy sobbed again, the team rushed into the office as the completely senseless act of terror caused everyone to hold their breath. The building was a pile of rubble, the emergency services and news vehicles started arriving on the scene and the injured and surviving littered the streets.