Author's note: I don't own House MD. Yeah, if I did, Amber and Kutner would still be alive. But unfortunately, I don't. P.S. this is an old story, submitted on DeviantART a few months back. Set a few years after the 'present era' of House MD.
The car drove steadily into a stop, the middle of an empty parking lot. "Stay here, honey." she demands to the blonde child, whom wouldn't keep still. The girl nods her head silently, eyes full of curiosity as she looks out the window, her handprints are shown in the dense dark. The woman gets out of the car, wind teasing at her face and body. She walks at the entrance of the store, her heels tapping on the pavement. Click, clack, click, clack.
The blonde child moves her head, waiting in the car. The silence gives her goose bumps, she's not used to it. She makes a frightened face, her only comfort is the brown teddy bear she grips around her arm. The 'hairs' on the bear's head tickles her chin and left cheek. The girl tilts her head, almost half of her face is smothered against the bear's head. Her blonde hair flows, covering the bear's fuzzy back.
All of a sudden, the silence is broken with a loud yell. The girl unbuckles herself. Click! She opens the door and gets out of the car, silently with her bear clutched by her side. She pokes her head at a nearby bar, across of the store. Her warm hands touch the car's cold surface. She gives off a slight shiver.
"And stay out, you damn poor drunk!" a buff looking man, as tall as six feet says and throws a man out of the bar. His voice is intimidating and tough. Deep and frightening, it gave the girl shudders and worries. "Don't even try to come in through the back door like you did two weeks ago! You think the bar is just some free place to get drunk and meet hot women? You're an idiot!" the man warns in a gruff tone to the injured man before leaving, entering back into the bar.
The injured man gets up slowly, the girl can hear his erratic breathing. Unsteady and in pain. His back was faced at the blonde child, but by the looks of it, he seemed at his late fifties or early sixties. Once the man gets his balance, he yells, "What about my cane?!" but there was no answer. He turns around, now facing the girl, gulping down the remaining liquid from the bottle in his hands. He throws the empty bottle at the cold, hard cement. The glass shatters into tiny pieces, one of them slices across the man's cheek. It was a minor cut, fortunately.
Worried, the girl drops her stuffed bear and runs hastily to the drunk man. "Hey! Are you okay?" she asks, huffing wildly from the run. "You need help!" she grabs onto the man's arm but he wouldn't even move an inch. "C'mon! We need to get you to a hospital!" the blonde grunts, trying to get the man to move.
"You're Cuddy's kid." the man says, the words lodged into the girl's head. The three simple words were calm and soothing, unlike his appearance, messed up and hurt. "Rachel, right?" he lifted his arm and pointed at her, his dark blue eyes does not shine. No sparkle is present, even with his gentle voice, his eyes are hollow. He awaits an answer.
"Yeah, mommy's in the store picking up a few things." the blonde, or now known as Rachel Cuddy, replies. "Can you come with mom and me? We can help you, Doctor House." she says in a comforting tone, beautiful and elegant. Like her mother's…when she's not ranting at someone. "C'mon." she guides the man, House, to the vehicle. She opens the door and House gets in, tired and hurt. Rachel shuts the door but not before saying "I'll get mommy!" to him and picking up her bear, leaving it on House's lap. The blonde runs to the entrance of the store but sees her mother walking out. "Mom! Doctor House is hurt! He's hurt! Help him!"
House looks at both of them, their mouths spoken but it's difficult to hear what they were saying. Their conversation were just murmurs. He droops his eyelids, his eyesight becoming blurry before passing out in the car. His head drops on the base of the bear's head. His stubble scratching along the 'hairs' of the stuffed animal.
By the time House awakens, he is in the living room of a familiar home. He groans softly, shifting his position of his body. He touches cheek gingerly, a bandage has been covered on the minor scratch from the incident of the bar. He shifts his eyesight at the ceiling. His body aches, like millions of needles puncturing deep into his skin. He can't stand this type of pain. And what makes it worse, he hasn't had a Vicodin pill since yesterday. His leg hurts but it doesn't match to the excruciating pain he's feeling at the moment. His groans become louder and more sharp than when he woke up. This catches someone's attention. His eyesight is still fuzzy, but all he could decipher was someone in blonde. Probably Rachel… he thinks. "Hey, kid, stop." he waves his arm weakly at her. His eyesight now becomes sharper, and just like his previous thought, it is Rachel.
Rachel huffed childishly. "No! You still need help!" she sat on the floor beside the hung-over House, whom was lying on a comfy couch, relieving some pain from his body. Rachel is in her pajamas, it's a Sunday. The sun is shining brightly and determined to bring a smile on everyone's face. It's probably near 8 AM.
House looked at Rachel, bags under her eyes. "Did you go to sleep last night?" he questioned softly. When she shook her head, he frowned. "Why?" House furrowed his eyebrows, trying to deduce this.
"Because mommy didn't sleep. She was worried about you." Rachel smiled, her smile was adorable and heart-warming. "She tried to tell me bedtime stories. One was one about Superman. Well, what she sees as Superman. Mom said that Superman was an old man, but he was healthy. He would always break the rules and do whatever he wants. He would excite everyone," her smile grew larger. "And he had a bad leg. It was weaker than his other." she looked at House, he was intrigued with the story. His facial expression didn't say much, but his eyes, unlike the night before, sparkled.
"Go fetch me a cup of water, kid." House said, interrupting.
Rachel pointed at a cup of ice-cold water on the table near House. The blonde handed the cup to him as he gulped it down and gave out a satisfied 'Aah.' She smiled and took a big sniff. Rachel turned around and looked at the kitchen, her mother was making bacon and eggs, the table all set up. Three plates, for all three of them.
"And the other?" the man moved around, adjusting his position. "What was the other story?"
"Oh! Um, well, mommy said about a knight in shining armor. And Uncle Wilson was there, too! He was Prince Charming!" Rachel giggled innocently, now in a hushed tone. She leaned in closer to House. "Do you like mommy?" the optimistic blonde questioned, awaiting a reply.
House hesitated in answering this question, of course. Telling a seven year old something personal? Out of all the people, why me? he thought, giving out a rather aggressive look at her. House then looked inside the kitchen, Cuddy's still cooking. "I'm grateful she hired me." he said after a long period of decisive word choice.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'. A firm one at that," Rachel's smile brought warmth in the room, even to a miserable misanthrope. "Do you love mommy?" she added, with a sly smirk. Huh, something you don't see everyday.
This took House off guard, of course, a child asking if they like someone? Especially if that someone is indeed a child at heart. Or at least mentally seventeen. He had many attempts in saying a few things but nothing ever came out of his mouth. Rachel grew fonder and fonder of House's upcoming response.
Something broke the conversation between the anticipated blonde girl and the reluctant man. Cuddy's voice. "Hey, you two." she came walking into the den. "Breakfast is ready, you two need it," she knelt down to Rachel's height and kissed her forehead gently. She took a quick glance at House. "Especially you, big boy. You got hurt real bad last night." she commented about House's condition. Once she heard House's scoff and mutter, she immediately punched him lightly on the arm, causing him to wince from the impact. "Yeah, you're doing just fine." sarcastically, she rolled her eyes and headed back into the kitchen, preparing breakfast.
Rachel focused her attention on Cuddy but then looked at House. "Can I get my answer nooow?" she beseeched in a whiny tone. "C'mon, it'll be our own little secret. I know you love mommy like the way I love her. She's family. Even if you guys fight a lot…" her smile fades into a saddening frown, her shoulder slumped a little.
House furrowed his eyebrows and begins to sit upright on the couch. "Listen, kid. I don't know how you got the idea that I would ever love your mom, bu--"
The blonde huffs, folding her arms in a childish manner. "No! I'm not some dumb kid! Uncle Wilson said so! I believe him! He's your best friend!" she begins to pout, almost on the verge of tears. Her eyes begins to water.
"Hey, don't cry. Stop it. I'll shove my cane up your ass if you do, if I retrieve it back from that moron of a bartender." he moved his head left and right before looking into the kitchen, Cuddy is still preparing. This could save him some time. "Stop it." he said in a demanding tone. He had no other choice but to try and comfort her. He raised his hand and pats her soft and silky head. "Stop, okay?" he says.
Rachel sniffs and wipes her tears away, they become a bit red. "O-Okay." her smile returns in a flash and hugs House, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She whispers something into his right ear, nuzzling her head onto his stubble afterward.
With Rachel being comfortable and safe, this sent House into a paralyzed and speechless state. This doesn't happen with him often. The pain returns to his chest and his neck. He groans slightly and requests for her to get off him. She does so and walks merrily to the kitchen, hugging her mother. He looks at both of them, before walking towards them.