A/N: Hey guys! I'm bored out of my mind in scientific math class at uni so here's chapter two! Enjoy.
Cuddy had snuggled into her favourite position, curled against his side with his arm around her and her head resting on his shoulder, when she spoke.
"I have a favour to call in." Her voice was soft, the edges of sleep creeping in.
"Mmmm?" House was even closer to sleep than she was, and Cuddy knew she better speak quickly lest he claim she took advantage of him in his tired state.
"More like, I have a voucher to cash in."
"Oh noooo," House moaned, turning his head away from Cuddy and pushing his face into the pillow.
"I need… no, I want, I want you to watch Rachel for me this Saturday. I believe that was one of the vouchers, 'I'll watch Rachel for you'."
"It's a bit of a waste to use the voucher while you work, isn't it? Is Marina busy?"
"I'm not working."
That got his attention. House lifted his head and quirked an eyebrow at her.
"I'm not working, Marina deserves a weekend to herself, and Rachel's been asking to spend time with you."
"Where are you going if you're not working?"
"The Zen Den - the yoga and meditation place - they're running a yoga nidra workshop. I've always wanted to learn more about it, and I can always use more relaxation in my life, especially since I got together with you," Cuddy turned her head and pressed a kiss to his collarbone.
"Yoga Nidra? Nidra as in sleep? You're gonna skive off work, leave me with the munchkin, so you can sleep?" Of course he'd know the translation, Cuddy thought dryly.
"It's more than sleep House, it's a whole mind-body therapy thing." She rolled over further, pushing herself up to meet his eyes. "You told me yourself, the vouchers were non-negotiable. I'm cashing in. Rachel is yours from 9am Saturday morning."
"9?" House groaned in disappointment.
"Don't groan. I'll get her up, dressed, breakfast. You just have to fill 4 hours with her. Admit it House, you like watching her. You'll enjoy it, and she's been practically begging for more time with you."
House huffed. "Fine. 9am Saturday it is."
"Thank you." Cuddy leant her head forward to press a soft kiss against his lips, nuzzling closer as his arms came around her.
"Can I get my reward in advance?" His words were mumbled against her lips and she laughed softly.
"Then what is there to look forward to?" she smiled and lent in for another kiss, thoughts of sleep forgotten.
House groaned as his alarm sounded, turning it off and flinging himself across the bed, face on Cuddy's pillow.
The crinkle of paper against his cheek forced his eyes open, his own handwriting catching his attention- Valid for: 1 day watching Rachel
House groaned again, slowly rolling back over and sitting up to rub his leg and prepare it for a day of chasing around a rambunctious toddler. Ever since Rachel had learned to walk she'd been going full speed, and House knew he'd have his work cut out for him whilst Cuddy got to lie around and practice her breathing.
Limping slowly into the kitchen, he was greeted by Rachel banging her hands on the tray of her booster seat and loudly yelling "House!" across the room. He ruffled her hair as he passed, stopping suddenly and whistling quietly when the sight of Cuddy leaning against the bench in her yoga attire pushed all thoughts of the day ahead from his mind.
She turned at his soft whistle and rolled her eyes. "Not now House, I'm already running late."
He grabbed her as she tried to pass, kissing her cheek and slipping a hand down to palm her ass as she hissed and pushed him away, a soft twinkle in her eye. Despite her protestations, she loved the attention she got from him. Just not now, not when she still had to do Rachel's hair and wash up from breakfast.
Watching her rush around the table, House waved a hand. "Go."
"I… what?" Cuddy stopped in her tracks.
"You heard me. Go. I've got this. Go. Relax. Sleep." he gestured again for her to leave.
"O...Ok." Cuddy leant over and kissed Rachel's cheek, stroking her hair, "Be a good girl for House ok?"
"Ok mama" Rachel replied, not looking up from her cheerios.
"And you," she walked over to House and reached up to pull him down for a kiss, "you have a fun day. You can call me...if it's an emergency. 'I can't find the peanut butter' is not an emergency."
"Yes mom" House went to kiss her again but she ducked away and grabbed her yoga bag from the door.
"Have fun you two!" And with that, she was out the door and House was left with a 3 year old who seemed more interested in pushing her Cheerios around than eating them.
"Guess it's just you and me kid" Rachel looked up at him and grinned. House still couldn't wrap his head around why this kid was so taken with him, but he knew it made life easier for Cuddy and honestly he was now quite attached to her.
"Finished!" Rachel proclaimed, throwing her hands up to be lifted out of her booster. House obliged, telling her to go watch cartoons while he cleaned up.
Tipping the Cheerios into the garbage and wiping down the tray, House wondered when he became so domesticated… and when he started genuinely enjoying it. Being with Cuddy and Rachel made his old life seem at times like a bad dream, when he'd come home to a cold and dark apartment, no one happy to see him, no one to kiss him and sit with him for dinner. No one to cuddle with and watch a movie, no little girl begging for another bedtime story. His old life, of booze and pills, was so empty. He never wanted to go back.
The kitchen now tidy, he went via Rachel's room to collect a hairbrush and some of the ties and clips Cuddy adored her wearing. Coming into the living room he smiled to see Rachel sprawled on the floor cuddling her fluffy duck and staring intently at the Care Bears on the screen.
"Sit up Rach, I need to do your hair." Somehow. House had never done her hair beyond towelling it off after her bath. Hair was Cuddy's domain, and he realised he was slightly terrified at having to figure this out. He lowered himself to the couch as Rach scooted herself back to sit against his legs.
"Pigtails!" Rachel suddenly exclaimed and clapped her hands together. House froze, then remembered he actually knew that style. 2 ponytails. He could do this.
He lent forward and brushed the first stroke. Rachel's hair couldn't be any different from her mother's- Cuddy's was thick and curly, whereas Rachel's was wispy and straight. And tangled. He felt the brush hit a knot and saw Rachel's face screw up as he tried to work it out. She was trying so hard to not tell him it hurt- she was always putting on a brave face for him, and sometimes he hated it. It somehow reminded him of all he had hid from his mom.
"Sorry Rach. I know it hurts. Just let me get this one and we're home free."
Knots gone, he bunched what he guessed was half her hair over her right ear, tying it off with a pink tie, before repeating on the left. The ponytails were slightly uneven, and he realised too late that Cuddy normally split the hair with a comb for a neat part, but Rachel sprinted to the mirror and loudly proclaimed she loved it.
Looking out the window, it had turned into a fresh sunny day, so House gave Rachel the choice- "Ok Rach, cartoons or the park?"
"Park! Park! Park!" Rachel ran a lap of the room before coming to a stop in front of House, putting her hands on his knees and jumping up and down.
"Ok, park it is." House slowly eased up from the couch and followed Rachel to the hall closet. Zipping her into her jacket, he grabbed his before opening the front door. Rachel skipped down the front path and patiently waited for House to make his way down the steps, like she'd been taught since she could walk. She never questioned waiting for House, she just always stood and grabbed his hand as soon as he was beside her.
The park was only 2 blocks away, and House was feeling up to the walk, so they set off down the tree-lined street, Rachel throwing the occasional skip in her step, but always keeping pace with House's slow and steady gait.
As they crossed the street to the park House released Rachel's hand with an "off you go", and watched her ponytails fly as she sprinted to the play equipment while he made his way to one of the benches. Being a sunny Saturday the benches were in demand, and he ended up having to ask a woman if he could sit beside her. She gave him the up-and-down, taking in his messy hair, 3 day scruff, coat that was overdue for a dry clean, and curtly nodded.
"House! Watch me!" Rachel yelled to him from the top of the slide and he waved to let her know his eyes were on her. As she slid down he yelled back- "Good one, Rach!"
"She yours?" Now that she'd seen he was with a kid, the woman next to him decided he obviously wasn't a threat.
"My girlfriend's." His eyes didn't leave Rachel, who was queueing up for another go on the slide.
"She's adorable." House agreed. Cuddy had put her in purple overalls with butterflies on the pockets and somehow the colour set off her big blue eyes. Every time she wore those overalls people seemed to instantly assume she was House's.
"Thanks." He waved again at Rachel as she reached the top of the slide and squealed as she slid down.
"And it's so nice to see a man here, you know, kids need both their parents…" House zoned out as he fought to not roll his eyes.
"She's not my daughter."
"Oh that's just semantics. You said she's your girlfriend's, you're watching her, you clearly did her hair today… you're doing everything a father would do."
"Not all fathers." House muttered under his breath.
"You obviously care very much about that little girl. Maybe it's time to make it official."
House couldn't handle much more of this. He turned to the woman.
"Look, the relationship between, me, her mother, and her, is no-one's business but our…."
His sentence was cut off as a sharp scream came from the playground and he instinctively knew it was Rachel.
"Rach?" House was instantly on his feet, scanning the playground for her.
"House!" her voice, loud and afraid, came back to him as he spotted her lying in the bark under a bridge. She was clutching her right arm with tears in her eyes.
"I'm coming Rach!" he moved as fast as he could, knowing he'd pay the price later and not caring. Rachel needed him. Mothers who were closer were crowding around the little girl crying on the ground, and House pushed through them, kneeling beside Rachel and hissing "I'm a doctor" to one mother with the audacity to question if he should move her.
"My arm! It hurts!" Rach sat up, tears running down her cheeks and House's arms were around her in an instant.
"It'll be ok Rach." He sat her back from him and started an exam. "Your arm hurts?"
Rachel nodded, unable to talk through her sobs. House palpated the arm as gently as he could.
"It's ok, Rach. You've probably broken your arm, but it'll be ok. We'll get you to the hospital and get you fixed up. Does anything else hurt?"
"My arm!"
"Nothing else?"
Rachel shook her head, still trying to get close to House for comfort. He put an arm back around her shoulders.
"Ok Rach, I'm gonna call an ambulance and we're gonna go get you fixed up."
"The ho'pital?"
"Yeah munchkin." House pulled out his phone and quickly made the call, lying to the operator to get an ambulance there faster. It arrived within minutes, lights and sirens blaring.
As they loaded Rachel into the back, House requested they go to PPTH, as he was going to pull some strings and get Rachel treated quickly- after all, what else should you do for the Dean's daughter?
Entering the ER at PPTH, House was surprised to see Chase working the beds, and quickly pulled him to treat Rachel. Rachel could be shy, but she knew and trusted Chase which quickly helped calm her tears.
"It feels like a neat fracture, most likely oblique from the way she fell. Should just need plaster, nothing fancy."
"Right. And where's Cuddy?"
"That's medically relevant?"
"Well, since the kid is hers we're gonna need her permission to treat."
"She's unavailable. And…" House lowered his voice, "if you check her file, I have power to make medical decisions for Rachel… I… I signed guardianship papers."
Chase whistled. That, for House, was big news.
"Ok." He turned back to Rachel. "Ok Rachel, we're gonna take you upstairs for some special pictures…"
"She knows what x rays are."
"Of course she does. Ok, we're gonna take you upstairs for x rays, take a look at your arm, and see what's happened. And then we'll probably send you off for pretty cast. Sound ok?"
Tears subsiding, Rachel nodded. Chase turned to House.
"You can push her in a wheelchair? You look like you've stressed your leg."
"The leg is fine. I can push her."
Within ten minutes of reaching radiology they had bumped Rachel to the front of the queue and were in the booth waiting for the images to come through.
"What did I say? Neat oblique fracture." Thank god, House thought privately. He was already dreading explaining a cast to Cuddy, let alone if Rachel had required surgery.
"8 weeks in a cast and she'll be good as new." Chase switched the display off and they went back in to where Rachel was waiting in the chair.
"Hey munchkin," House grabbed the handles of the chair, "how are you holding up?"
"It hurts."
"Yeah, I know. We're gonna go get you a cast and then we'll head home and you can take a nap. Do you want to nap with me in mom's bed?" Rachel nodded.
Another ten minutes and again Rachel was first in line, and of course to House's horror she chose a hot pink plaster to cover her cast whilst Chase hunted down some acetaminophen to take the edge off her pain.
"No way we're gonna be able to hide this from your mom," House dryly commented as they waited for the cab to take them home. "She's gonna kill me."
"It's ok House." Rachel patted his leg gently with her left arm, ironically comforting him. "We're gonna have a nap."
"Solid plan, Rach."
She was asleep by the time the cab pulled into Cuddy's driveway- where Cuddy's car sat waiting.
House frantically checked his watch, not realising his 4 hours were up and he now had to explain to Cuddy why her daughter was suddenly sporting a hot pink cast and loaded up on tylenol.
"House?" The front door was open before House was even totally out of the cab and Cuddy halfway down the path as he lifted Rachel out of the backseat.
"House? I got home and went to meet you guys at the park but you weren't ther…." Cuddy suddenly caught sight of Rachel's new addition. "What happened?!"
"It's ok, she had a fall at the park, neat oblique fracture, 8 weeks and she'll be good as new…" Cuddy's eyes narrowed, House couldn't tell if it was rage at him or concern for Rachel. "Cuddy, I'm sorry."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"What's the point of signing guardianship papers if I still need you for every little thing…"
"This isn't a little thing, House! A broken arm! Jesus…"
"She'll be fine, Cuddy! Kids have accidents…"
"You should have been watching her!"
"I was! And I got to her within a minute!"
"A minute? Is your leg ok?" And with that Cuddy realised that not only were they having this discussion on her front lawn, but House was holding a sleeping Rachel and leaning heavily on his left leg. "Give her to me, House, let's get inside."
House handed Rachel over and followed Cuddy up the front walk, slow and leaning heavily on his cane. Cuddy went to lay Rachel down in the master bed, leaning over to kiss Rachel's cheek and brush the hair off her forehead. Returning to the lounge she found House sprawled out on the couch, heading to kneel beside him and gently massage his leg.
He lifted his head to meet her eyes, "I'm sorry Cuddy. I was watching her, but she just…"
"You're right House, kids have accidents. We can't protect her from everything every single second."
"I should have called you though."
"They made us leave our phones outside. Something about 'achieving ultimate peace' but all I could think about was all the emails going unanswered. I wouldn't have gotten your call anyway."
"Bet you're glad there was only one 'watch Rachel for a day' voucher. I'd be amazing if you ever left her alone with me again." He sighed as her hands worked their magic on his leg.
"Don't be ridiculous House. Rachel loves you. That hasn't changed. Who did she call out for? Not me. You. She loves and trusts you. I'd let you watch her again in a second. In fact, I expect it. Being a guardian means more than just the good parts, the easy bits. It means being there when the chips are down, when things are difficult. And I believe you can do it."
"How do you see all that?"
"In you? Because I love you." Cuddy knelt up to cup House's cheeks and lean in for a kiss.
House kissed back softly but was half asleep, he was nearly as worn out as Rachel. Cuddy sat next to him as he drifted off, gently running her hand through his soft hair.
She went and made a cup of tea, letting the two people she loved most in the world enjoy their nap.
