Stolen Moments:
Seasons
A/N: Stolen Moments goes hand in hand with Life as a House, a collection of stories chronicling House and Cameron's life together, which you should probably read first. This will be mainly smaller moments in the life of the House family or short musings about them rather than the longer storylines in Life as a House. This will be extremely fluffy, and maybe I'll add some smut later on, who knows. Enjoy!
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Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.
Abstract: This is an insight into the personalities of each House family member, and gives you an idea of what their lives are like.
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James House thought summers in the House family were the best. Summer meant pool parties in the backyard with friends, and Mom's homemade lemonade recipe that she learned from Grandma.
It meant tree climbing, which was always a good way to get Mom or Dad to come outside and play with him. He didn't understand why they got so worried. He had only fallen once and he was just a baby back then.
Summer also meant visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Indiana without his parents. He and Grace would run wild—nothing could hurt them on the farm. His friends would never let him live it down if he admitted it, but those were his favorite two weeks of the summer, a last escape before school started again.
During that time his parents would be off on some vacation that sounded very grown up and boring, an early anniversary trip, leaving him and Grace to their own devices with Grandma and Grandpa. And boy did Grandma spoil them! They had homemade ice cream and dinners like they had never imagined. They might have gained weight if they weren't outside every other moment of the day. They always returned lanky and tan to school in September.
Grandpa was always teaching them things. They were the only kids on their block who knew how to caulk a boat or milk a cow. Jamie was always very sad when summer came to an end.
Gregory House, on the other hand, preferred fall. Getting the kids back in school was always a relief—he never felt so bad for working long hours as he did in summertime. When school started, Greg House was in his element; he was the best tutor either child could ask for.
The fall also contained two of his favorite holidays, Thanksgiving, and his anniversary. Okay, so only one of those was a holiday, but his anniversary was probably his favorite day of the year. It reminded him of the best (and most terrifying) choice he'd ever made.
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, was House's chance to get his mother-in-law's amazing homemade meals. He had warmed up to his wife's mother the first time he sat down to a meal with her. You just can't hate someone who cooks like that.
Once they had started coming for each Thanksgiving, the other siblings started coming home for it as well. His wife didn't claim to have any influence in their decisions, but House knew better—Allison was always the favorite sibling.
House was loath to admit it, but he enjoyed being part of what felt like a "real" family. He taught Cameron's brothers to cheat at cards, and they taught him new ways to tease his wife. Yes, Gregory House preferred fall.
Allison Cameron House liked winter best, she always had. She loved the coziness of having her own family surrounding her while it snowed outside.
Greg's mother would come and stay with them for a week or two at Christmas, regaling them with the stories of Greg's childhood that Cameron otherwise never would have known.
Winter to Allison was snowmen with the children, the smell of baking cookies, the warmth of their fireplace, and Greg playing Christmas carols on the piano.
She loved lights and tinsel, and candy cane jokes at the expense of her dear husband. She loved shopping for the perfect gift, and seeing her children's (and Greg's) faces light up when they received exactly what they wanted.
She loved New Years parties with the Wilsons, and the excitement of wondering what each year would bring. Winter to Allison House was about celebrating with friends and family.
Grace House would say that she liked all the seasons best, but secretly she preferred spring. She liked it warming up just enough to go play outside again in the sunshine before it got too hot. She liked flowers, baby birds, and green trees. There was a reason her parents called her their sunshine.
Spring to Grace was dancing in the rain and picking flowers for mom. Nothing compared to the smile on her mom's face when she brought her a hand picked bouquet of daisies from the schoolyard.
Spring was new beginnings and being let out of school. Spring was painting eggs with Nana who always came to visit for Easter. It was also spring break trips to Atlantic City or Chicago with her cousins.
Grace's favorite thing about spring, though, was that Dad would always take her out of school one day and bring her to work with him. It was always in spring, and that's why Grace liked spring best—but don't tell anyone. She wouldn't like the other seasons feeling left out, now would she?
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