House paused a moment, frowning at the mechanics of disrobing the small, wriggling boy. Even after four years, it was still a mystery as to how such simple matters as pulling off a t-shirt or unbuttoning overalls could become such an endless procedure of trial and error.
"Hm?" he said. "Yes?" Benjamin drew a deep breath and managed to stand still for just a moment, allowing House to lift the boy's chubby arms high above his body and slip free the t-shirt sleeves.
"Tell me a story about Daddy." He seemed not to notice House's quickly indrawn breath, and giggled as House's fingers tickled his hair, smoothing it down where the t-shirt's collar had ruffled it.
"What do you want to know, champ?" House asked. "Which story this time? How your Daddy met your Mommy? How your Daddy met me? How we all decided to have you? How I'll send you back to Mars and have you eaten by polar bears if you don't take your vitamins?"
The little boy laughed. "No polar bears on Mars! Will Mommy come by tomorrow?"
House blinked; the kid had surprised him again with his ability to turn a conversation on a dime. He picked the child up, cradling him into his chest.
"As far as I know. I don't think she has any administrative meetings tomorrow."
"Ad-min-iz-stray-tiv," Benjamin murmured, his warm breath soft on House's shoulder.
"That's right, tiger -- administrative. It means office work, tedium, hellish boring crap that hopefully you'll never have to suffer through."
"Mommy says you shouldn't say 'crap'," the child said automatically.
"Yeah, well, your Mom says a lot of things. Pay attention to only half of them and you'll be okay."
House turned towards the bedroom, patting the little boy gently on the back.
"I miss Daddy," Benjamin said.
House stood very still.
Benjamin's voice was drowsy; he was fast falling into sleep. "I miss Daddy," he said again. "I wish he hadn't gone away."
House's arms tightened as the boy's head burrowed into the warm hollow space between his neck and collarbone. "Daddy didn't want to go away. You do know that."
"I know." Benjamin's voice was fading fast; House wouldn't even have to read him a story. Darwin and Lewis Carroll could both stay on the bookshelf tonight. "I still miss him. I wish he was here right now."
House lowered his head. He nuzzled Benjamin's fine brown hair, inhaling the fresh, clean scent of the Johnson's Baby Shampoo that Wilson had always bought.
"So do I, tiger," he said softly. "So do I."
fin
Author's Note: The title of this tiny fic is from the Lewis Carroll poem of the same name.