This is a sequel to my story Now and Forever. You don't have to read that first, but you might not understand everything that happened. If you don't feel like it, message me and I'll send you a brief summary. This is different from my other stories and is not totally House-centric, so I hope my regular readers won't be disappointed. But, hey, give it a shot. I'll understand if you're not into it. Not much smut in this one, but there is drama and adult themes. Thanks for taking a look!

Louise

Chapter 1

Gregory House had never really believed in a "perfect" life. He certainly had never believed that he would ever have one. Or even that he could be happy.

But somehow he had found himself in what most – including himself - would consider a perfect life.

He had been reunited with his high school sweetheart and they were now married. Marianne was smart, sexy, sweet and madly in love with him.

The son he had not known that Marianne had bore him was a doctor and worked on his team. Michael was on his way to being as smart as his father and House was unable to believe how much this young man meant to him.

Michael was married to Alison Cameron, a woman who House respected as a doctor and a person, despite her former crush on him. Well, the woman had taste. And those House genes just got to her.

And most precious to his life was the granddaughter that Michael and Alison had produced. He understood what the term "light of my life" meant. This child was amazing.

Of course there was his job. Solving his medical puzzles made the work interesting and kept him stimulated.

And his best friend, James Wilson was married to his boss, Lisa Cuddy, so that helped him get his way at work.

Okay, his leg still hurt, but he had found alternatives to Vicodin to keep the pain in check and had also managed to avoid the problems that the drug could have caused him. Mostly because of his relationship with Marianne, but also because he had reasons to not become a mental or physical mess.

So if he added all of that together, his life was certainly bordering on perfect. He wouldn't admit that out loud or that he was happy, but he felt contentment deep inside that he had never felt before.

Which is how he knew something had to go wrong.

It started innocently enough. He came home from the hospital one day to find Marianne cooking. Not that it was unusual for her to cook, as she was an excellent cook and enjoyed cooking for him and everyone else.

But normally, for just the two of them, she made simple meals and only enough food to satisfy her husband's hunger.

That night she was making much larger quantities, which told House that they were having company. As it was an unannounced party, he assumed it was their son and his family.

"Michael coming for dinner?" he asked, putting his arms around her waist from the back.

She leaned back and turned her head to give him a brief kiss. "Yes, they're coming. He called me earlier today."

"He didn't tell me."

"Were you in your office this afternoon?"

He considered that. "No, not really."

"Well, then."

He nodded and thought about it. "Why are they coming?"

"Does he have to have a reason?"

"No, but if he called and invited himself and his hangers on, there usually is a reason."

Marianne shrugged. "He said they have something to tell us."

"Hmmm."

She looked at him with excited eyes. "Do you think Alison could be pregnant again?"

"Nope."

"Well, how would you know?"

"I can tell. Last time, her boobs got bigger and she was all weepy all the time."

"That doesn't mean…"

"Trust me, she's not pregnant."

Marianne wanted to argue the point, but she realized it would be pointless. Her husband was probably right. He was always right, the damn man. And anyway, Michael and Alison would be there within the hour and they would find out, so why bother?

House was curious, but not concerned. Michael was smart and his little family was insanely happy. Somehow the teddy bear softness of Cameron was perfect for his son who didn't have the cynical mind that House had. They worked.

They probably bought a new car or something. They were such suburban yuppies, they got excited about things like that. He wasn't concerned.

Two hours later…

"What the hell kind of crazy idea is that?" House demanded of his son and daughter-in-law.

"It's what we want to do." Michael told him. "We've been thinking about it for a long time."

"You're both successful, smart doctors. Why would you want to go to some third world country and treat people that still piss and shit in their own drinking water?"

"House, that's not…" Alison began, but her former boss interrupted her.

"Oh, come on, you know that's true. I can see some first year doctors doing this, but not doctors like you!"

"And that's the problem with the world!" Michael countered. "Doctors like us and all of the others at Princeton Plainsboro are so comfortable in their nice soft suburban lifestyles and they never give back to those in need."

"You enjoy your suburban lifestyle too!" House countered.

"Yes, I do. But that doesn't mean I don't care about other people. Dad, this is something we've wanted to do since before we were married. But then the baby surprised us and we had to put it on hold. But we realize if we don't do it now, we'll never have the opportunity and we'll really regret that."

House latched on to one thing his son had said and ignored the rest. "That's right! What about the baby? You can't take her there with all those diseases."

"Actually," Alison said, "We can take her. Lots of the Americans do bring their children with them."

"Cameron, she's already had a lot of ear infections and bronchitis. Her immune system isn't the strongest. You're an immunologist, you should know that."

Alison looked at Michael. House could see unsaid words pass between the couple. "What?" he asked.

"Well," Michael began, "Actually, we were sort of hoping, we could leave her here with you guys."

Marianne had been silent so far, but she perked up at that. "Leave the baby with us?"

"No." House said. "No way. You brought the kid into the world and you're responsible for her."

"And you're crazy about her." Marianne said. "As if you wouldn't love having her around to spoil all the time."

"Whose side are you on?" House demanded.

"There aren't sides. Michael and Alison want to help people and while I will miss them terribly and am worried about them going, they're both adults and if this is what they want to do, they're going to find a way to do with or without our help."

House glared at her. He hated when she was logical and made sense. He could counter her emotionalism, but not logic.

And he really did not want his son to travel to a country where civilization was a distant dream and medical care was a joke. The young man had been in his life for such a short time. If something happened to him …

But House would not let himself go there. Not at all.

While these thoughts were racing around his head, Michael and Alison were excitedly telling Marianne all about their plans. They had chosen Jacinta, a small country in Central America that had a good deal of poverty and had been hit by a hurricane six months previously. The people were struggling to survive and doctors were sorely needed.

"What about your jobs?" House demanded. "You're just going to quit?"

"No, it's a leave of absence. We spoke to Cuddy this morning. We won't get paid, but she'll hold our jobs until we come back."

"You told Cuddy before you told me?"

"I wanted to be sure we could do this before I told you."

House was simmering now. "And Wilson never told me."

Alison spoke up. "We told Cuddy, not Wilson."

"As if that matters. Anything she knows, hubby knows." Cuddy and Wilson had been married for about a year and had recently adopted a baby girl.

"I'll take care of him tomorrow." House muttered.

Michael just rolled his eyes. He'd had a feeling that his father was not going to accept this easily.

Later that night, as House lay beside his wife in their bed, he said, "I can't believe you're encouraging him to do this."

"I'm not encouraging him."

"You're not DIScouraging, so that means you're ENcouraging. Why?"

She sighed. "Greg, don't you think I'm worried? Don't you think I want him to stay right here, safe in Princeton?"

"Well then…"

"He's an adult. As much as I've tried to keep him as a little boy by my side, I couldn't. As the song says, 'your children start to leave you on the day that they are born.'"

"What song?"

"You probably don't know it, but it doesn't matter. The point is, I could probably throw a lot of guilt on him and maybe force him to stay, but what good would that do? This is something he wants. And despite being scared for him, I'm proud of him too."

"Oh, come on!"

"I am. Harry and I raised him to care about people and the world."

"Oh, right, Harry, the rich construction guy. Sure, I believe that."

"Believe it. Harry started his business years before Habitat for Humanity, but he was doing it on his own. He spent a lot of time fixing up abandoned buildings and donating them to community groups or poor families for homes. All they had to do was pay the taxes and take care of the upkeep. Michael learned early on that it was important to care for the world."

House hated to hear the stories about how wonderful Marianne's first husband, the man who had raised his son, had been. He knew he couldn't measure up to the man and would probably not have been as good a father to Michael.

Marianne continued. "Michael spent a summer in Alabama when he was in college building houses for the poor. He always talked about doing something like this when he became a doctor. I thought he was going to join the peace corps."

"But he didn't. He went to work to make the big doctor dollars."

"Actually, he didn't."

"Sure he did."

"No, what he did was look for you. He wanted to work with you, to learn from you. I didn't know that then, because he made his own decisions when it came to medicine and I didn't get involved. But after he got the job with you, he told me how much he'd wanted to work with you. And he didn't even know you were his father."

"So his dream comes true and he leaves it. That makes no sense."

"It was important for him to learn all that he could from you. Now that he has, he can put it to use helping the less fortunate. Greg, why is this bothering you so much?"

"I hate do-gooders. I'd expect that from Cameron, but not from my son."

"Well, I would."

"Why would you?"

"Because you put yourself out for people all the time. You've put your job, your entire career on the line for your patients time and again. You might not leave the country, but you're not a doctor who leaves the medicine at the hospital. You can't put the patient out of your mind no matter where you are or what you're doing."

House sighed. She was right and he knew it. In a quiet voice, he said, "I just got to know him, to have a – a relationship with him. What if something happens and I never see him again?"

She rolled over and put her arms around him. "It's only a year."

"A lot can happen in a year."

"I know." She whispered, then kissed him and climbed on top of him. He held her as she pulled him into her. "It will be alright. I love you."

"I love you too." He said as he filled her.

Thanks for trying it out! More to come.