A/N: Hi! So this is a new project I'm really excited about, some of it takes place in present day time for the show, and some of it takes place several years into the future. It will alternate with each chapter. This chapter is a future chapter...enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own House or any of the characters. Actually that's not true, I own Ms. Harvey, Robbie, and Hayden. I share Leia with Revengent who is awesome and read this over for me before I posted it :)

Lawrence Kutner couldn't remember ever walking down this hallway before. He had been working in the hospital for several years now, but never before had he seen the life sized cartoon characters that were now grinning down at him from every direction. But then again, he had never had any reason to be going to the daycare before this. He had only been working in pediatrics for a few months, ever since his fellowship with House had expired, and Cuddy had offered him the position and a raise. It was true that he had seen some of the daycare residents when they got sick, but this was his first experience with an "outbreak" and therefore his first time in the daycare.

It had started when little Robbie Chase had been brought up from the daycare with a fever and a nasty rash. It was a classic case of Scarlett fever. One of the other pediatric doctors had written up his prescription while a nurse calmed Cameron down, and that had been that. But then 3 more kids from the same section of the daycare had come in with identical rashes and fevers. There were twelve kids in the toddler room of the daycare, one third of them had gone home sick, that officially classified it as an "outbreak". Or at least that's what the other doctors in pediatrics had told Kutner before handing him a pair of latex gloves and a thermometer.

"I hate being the newbie." Kutner mumbled under his breath, as he opened the door to the daycare.

The small room used for the toddlers in daycare was already buzzing with anxiety when Kutner walked in, or at least the teacher was. Most of the kids were scattered around the room, laughing and playing as usual, but the teacher was bouncing nervously around, stopping to check on every child for just a moment before moving to the next. In her worry, she hadn't even noticed Kutner walking in.

"Ms. Harvey?"

The woman looked up from pulling a block out of a little boy's mouth and there was an obvious look of relief on her face. She dropped the block and walked over to Kutner.

"Hi, you must be Dr. Kutner."

"Yeah, I have to take all the kids temperatures and make sure they don't have a rash." He explained, his hands sweating slightly in the gloves. Ms. Harvey nodded,

"Right, of course. Hold on a second," Ms. Harvey turned to the kids and cleared her throat, "Okay boys and girls!"

Most of the little kids looked up at her expectantly and she offered a warm smile.

"This is Dr. Kutner, he has to take your temperature, and then when he's done we can all go outside and play! So I need you to get in a line by my feet, single file!"

After a few seconds hesitation, one little girl stood up and stood obediently at Ms. Harvey's feet. Soon the other children did too, deciding that going outside was worth getting their temperature taken. Ms. Harvey stepped aside and Kutner kneeled down at the first little girl,

"Hey there, what's your name?" he asked, taking the cap off the thermometer and putting the protective film on.

"Hayden." She answered around the thumb in her mouth.

"Alright Hayden, have you been feeling sick at all?" Kutner asked her, tucking her a lock of her long dark hair back and sticking the thermometer in her ear.

"No. But my bwother is sick. So is I too?" The little girl questioned, taking her thumb out of her mouth. Just as Kutner was about to answer the thermometer clicked and he took it out of her ear, reading the display,

"No fever. Can I look at your tummy for a second?"

Hayden nodded and lifted up the bottom of her shirt, showing that she had no rash. Kutner smiled,

"You're fine. Why don't you go see Ms. Harvey?"

Hayden stuck her thumb back in her mouth and hurried over to her teacher while a little boy stepped forward. Kutner gave a forced smile,

"Hey there, what's your name?"

For the next few minutes Kutner checked the kids, each one perfectly fine. When he had determined that the last one was healthy Ms. Harvey smiled, addressing the children.

"Who's ready to go outside?" she asked, earning a unanimously happy response from the toddlers. She laughed,

"Okay, everyone get with your buddies."

She walked over to Kutner as the kids scrambled around, looking for their buddies.

"Thanks for coming to make sure they're okay. We don't want the all getting sick." she said sweetly. Kutner realized for the first time just how pretty she was and he grinned goofily.

"No problem, after all it is my job."

Ms. Harvey laughed and was going to say something else when she felt a tug on her pant leg.

"Ms. Harvey!" It was Hayden, her thumb once again in her mouth. Ms. Harvey crouched down, gently moving the little girl's hand away from her face.

"Yes Hayden?"

"Will you be my buddy?"

Ms. Harvey frowned, "Hayden, you're supposed to be Leia's buddy, remember?"

"Leia not here" The little girl said matter of factly, looking over her shoulder at the other children all lined up in pairs. Ms. Harvey stood up, her frown growing, and turned to Kutner,

"You didn't happen see a little girl with a Chewbacca doll did you?" She asked. Kutner shook his head,

"No, I think I'd remember that."

"Hang on a second, I have to go find her..." she walked off to the corner of the room, pushing aside one of the bookshelves and sighing audibly.

"Leia, what did I tell you about hiding back here?" Ms. Harvey was crouched down, talking to a little girl Kutner couldn't see. She said a few more things Kutner couldn't quite hear then stood up. He watched as she held her hand out until a tiny hand reached out from the small hiding spot and took hold of it. Then, as if out of nowhere, a little girl appeared and left Kutner momentarily breathless.

She was smaller than the other children, though she must have been around the same age. She had tan skin, and curly black hair that tumbled loosely down her back. He took notice of the many brightly colored jelly bracelets around her arm, which was clutching a stuffed Wookie tightly to her stomach. The thing that really got him though were her eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue, or maybe it was green, that he had only seen once before. They looked so familiar, in fact the little girl in general looked familiar, but he couldn't place her.

"Sorry about that," Ms. Harvey apologized, still holding the little girl's hand as she stopped in front of Kutner, "She's always hiding."

Kutner nodded, kneeling down in front of the little girl and pulling out his thermometer again.

"Hey there, what's your name?" he asked for the eighth time, moving her hair away from her ear. The little girl didn't answer though, just held the wookie closer.

"Her name is Leia," Ms. Harvey filled in, "She doesn't talk at all. Not here anyways, her mother says she talks at home."

Kutner kept his smile up because he could see Leia watching him intently, but there was nothing good or humourous about his next statement,

"Has she seen a psychiatrist or at least a speech therapist?"

"Several, she just doesn't talk in public."

"Did the mom tell you that?"

"We have the records."

The thermometer beeped just then and Kutner took it out of Leia's ear, looking down at the display and frowning.

"She's got a bit of a fever," he reported before looking up at Leia, "Can I look at your tummy Leia?"

There was no answer, he hadn't really expected there to be. Cautiously he reached out and lifted her shirt slightly, unsurprised when she recoiled at the touch. But he still lifted her shirt revealing the rash he had been expecting to see.

"You should probably call one of her parents." He instructed, dropping Leia's shirt and offering a weak smile to the little girl who responded by hugging her doll tighter and looking distressed. Ms. Harvey nodded and walked off to make the call while Kutner tried to make Leia feel a little more comfortable.

"So Leia, do you like Star Wars?" He asked playfully, causing Leia to step away from him and look anxiously around the room. Kutner sighed, watching her without saying anything more. Then, after a few moments Ms. Harvey came back over, looking slightly distressed.

"I just put a call in to her mother, but she's in surgery right now."

"I didn't know there were any women on the surgical team." Kutner blurted, confused.

"She's not a surgeon, the receptionist said it's one of her patients and she's observing to make sure everything goes okay."

"Okay," Kutner sighed, looking back at Leia who was staring at him, "Well what about her father?"

"She doesn't have one," Ms. Harvey blushed, realizing what she had said, "I mean he's not in the picture. It's only her mom. But the receptionist said that the surgery was almost over, and she would send her down when it got out. I just don't think it's a very good idea to keep Leia with the other kids when she's contagious."

Kutner nodded in agreement, "Well, why don't you take the rest of the kids outside like you were going to? I can stay here with her until her mom comes." he offered, all hopes of ever having lunch slipping through his fingers. But it was worth it if meant maybe getting a date with Ms. Harvey, who at the moment looked impressed that he would offer to stay with Leia.

"Umm...okay. Thanks. Her mom should be down here soon," she hesitated, glancing down at Leia and tucking a strand of hair behind the little girl's ear, "And just don't take it personally if she moves away from you or doesn't want you to talk to her. She's extremely shy and she has a hard time communicating with others."

Kutner stayed with Leia while Ms. Harvey gathered the rest of the kids and, holding Hayden's hand, led them out to go play in the hospital's playground. Leia watched them, her eyes wide, and let out a quiet whimper, pointing out the door they had just left.

"No, you have to stay in here and wait for your mommy to come get you." Kutner told her, feeling his heart sink when tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. He had seen that look before, that exact same look. The eyes big and shining, the face contorted in a twisted sort of sadness, the bottom lip twitching just slightly. But he couldn't place it, and became more distracted by Leia's quiet sobbing.

"Shhh," he said gently. Glancing around he located a box of tissues on one of the tables and grabbed it, carrying it back over to where Leia stood and setting it on the ground. Then, he reached out slowly, so not to scare her, and put one hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. Leia's initial reaction was to move away from him, hugging her wookie tighter, but after a few moments she seemed to get more comfortable. She visibly relaxed, allowing Kutner to touch her, and soon after her tears subsided. Kutner smiled,

"There we go," he took a tissue and gently wiped her eyes and nose, "See? it's okay."

Leia stared at him for a long moment, then dragged her arm across her eyes as if to wipe away any last tears. Kutner smiled at her, but the gesture was not returned as she brought her doll up just below her eyes and studied him from over it. Finally, one arm released the wookie doll and she took a step closer to Kutner, grabbing two of his fingers in her tiny hand and pulling him towards the cubbies in the back of the room. Surprised, Kutner could do nothing but follow as she led him to the cubbies and pointed up into one of them.

"You want your bag?" He asked, looking along the rows of bags for one that might stand out as Leia's and found it, a backpack in the shape of R2-D2. Smirking, Kutner took the bag down from the cubby and handed it to Leia, who set it on the ground and unzipped it. After some digging, she pulled out a picture book and held it up to Kutner, who took it and laughed,

"Your mommy bought you a Star Wars picture book? I want to meet her. Come on, let's read it." Kutner held out his hand and Leia hesitantly took hold of it, following him over to the rug, where he sat down with the book. Leia surprised him, sitting down next to him and leaning against him slightly. Kutner couldn't help but grin down at her, and in return she looked up at him in annoyance and hit the cover of the book.

"Alright, alright," he opened to the first page and Leia leaned in closer as he began to read, "Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away..."

They were halfway through the picture book when the door opened and Kutner felt Leia bolt up from her spot next to him. She ran to the doorway where her mother now stood,

"Hey princess." Her mother said with a sad smile, scooping Leia up into her arms and kissing her on the forehead. She didn't notice Kutner, now standing on the rug staring at her in disbelief,

"Thirteen?"

Suddenly it was if the world had slowed down until it was hardly moving. Thirteen looked up at Kutner with the same gorgeous eyes he had recognized in Leia. Of course it was her, he should have known, he should have remembered. But it had been almost three years since he last saw her, three years since he saw the tears in those beautiful eyes. Three years he had been alone.

"K-Kutner? you work in the daycare?"

He shook his head as she walked over to him, Leia cuddled against her chest comfortably.

"No, I work in pediatrics, four other kids were sick I had to come down here and make sure none of the other kids were, but..." he gestured to Leia and Thirteen nodded,

"Oh..." she looked down at the little girl in her arms and under her breath mumbled, "Cuddy should have told me you were here."

He wasn't meant to hear it. It was a statement made for her to hear, and no one else, but still he caught it and a wave of confusion hit him. She didn't want to see him? Why wouldn't she want to see him? He looked down at Leia again and it hit him.

"How old is she?" he asked shakily, not taking his eyes off the sleepy little girl in Thirteen's arms.

"Kutner..."

"No, seriously how old is she? Because her skin is darker than yours, and so is her hair. And I know you don't like Star Wars that much, and I know you know I do. And there was that one time where we..." he trailed off, his thoughts in a frenzy and finally looked up to meet Thirteen's eyes, finding the same expression Leia had worn when the other kids had gone out to play and left her with him.

"I think," she began, taking a deep breath, "we need to talk."

A/N: Review?