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Here goes chapter two, I hope everyone enjoys it! = ]]
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Cuddy shut the door behind herself after guiding Riley through House's office, leaving the man alone with the boy sitting in front of him.
For long seconds, House stared at the kid, studying him and waiting for him to say something. With his arms folded on his chest and his legs hanging apart loosely, he returned the deep stare and House recognized his very own eyes looking back at him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked, after a while, completely stunned and clueless of what to say.
"Charging eleven years of Child Support" The boy replied in an insolent tone "Idiot. What do you think I am doing here?"
House widened his eyes, his shock and surprise being replaced by one uncontrollable fit of laughter due to so much arrogance.
"I came because I had no choice." The boy said bitterly "Or do you think I came because I wanted to?"
House looked at him, frowning.
"What do I think? I think? I didn't even know you existed! Who the hell are you?"
But that was a rhetorical question, given the fact House was looking at the image of himself a few decades ago.
"My mother left this." The boy unzip the bag and pulled a folder, throwing it violently on House's desk.
House kept staring at him, but the minute the sliding amount of papers hit him, he looked down and unfolded it, trying to deny the fact he was shaking.
I'm done. The next eleven years are yours. Good luck, you're gonna need it.
There was no signature, but he would recognize that handwriting anywhere. It was a feminine and a little sloppy handwriting, which belonged to one of the most beautiful women House had ever seen.
His first ex-wife.
"Where is your mother?" Housed questioned, desperate. He had one million questions to ask, but the answers seemed few and far, given the arrogant and cold attitude of that boy. His very own way of sitting already said a lot about his personality.
"I don't know," Riley replied honestly. "One thing is certain though, she's not here and she won't come back. I don't know you and I don't really need to, so let's leave it pretty clear that I'm not asking for help so if you could just…"
"Hey, hey, stop right there" House demanded, looking at the boy and seeming really angry "How did Elizabeth have a kid and never told me about it?"
"But what a big shock!" Riley said, sarcastically "Now you're going to pull the I'm so shocked card and pretend you never knew about me, right?"
House felt a wave of anger taking over him and stared at the boy in front of him. He had only known him for ten minutes, but he had already seen so much of himself that it freaked him out a little. Trying to avoid any kind of thought about that matter, he shook his head in denial.
"Your mother is out of her mind!"
"I don't think she's ever been in it" Riley despised.
"You can't be my son".
"I'm glad we agree on something" The boy replied right away.
Feeling numb and exhausted, House got up bluntly and felt the muscle in his leg protesting intensely. Cursing heavens for leaving bed that morning, he gazed the boy and told him to be there. After using his most powerful and demanding tone, it appeared to him that the boy had got a little intimidated, so he walked through the hallway straight to Wilson's office.
"You're crossed all lines this time!"
The oncologist looked up, taken by surprise.
"What are you talking about?" Wilson asked, curious by the obvious anger that came out of every inch of House's body.
"Where did you a find a kid with these looks? Even Cuddy fell for it! Even I almost fell for it!"
"I'm going to ask once again," Wilson said slowly "What are you talking about?"
"Ha!" House snapped, pretending he was playing the game "The fun is over, Wilson, you don't have to pretend anymore."
Wilson's face remained genuinely astonished and little by little, the panic started to run through House's veins.
"Elizabeth" He said, as if the word was self-conclusive.
"Elizabeth?" Wilson frowned "The Elizabeth?" And after seeing that House had nodded in agreement, he went on "You haven't mentioned her in years... What are you talking about, House? You're annoying me! She's not here, is she…?"
Wilson remembered well House's first wife. Despite the fact they never talked about her, he had witnessed all the stages of their relationship. Since the moment they met until the day she had left him for another man.
"I wish she were, so I could strangle her!" House raised his voice furiously. And then, he decided to drop the bomb for once "She had a kid, Wilson!"
"A kid?" Wilson breathed, feeling calmer "She's a young woman, House, I'm sure she still…"
"No, you moron! Not now! Elizabeth had a kid eleven years ago, when she dumped me!"
The emotions were clear in Wilson as a slow motion movie. First came confusion, then association of the facts and he did the math and finally, the big shock.
"You're telling me that…?"
"Yes, you idiot, that's exactly what I'm trying to tell you!" House sat on a chair, clueless of what he would do next.
"But how did you end up finding about that?"
"Because the person directly involved is less than thirty feet from where you're sitting".
Still suspicious, Wilson decided he needed to see that by himself and through the wall glass in the corridor he noticed the boy sitting down, looking extremely bored inside House's office.
"Oh my God!" He sighed heavily "Poor kid" He whispered to himself. Turning around to find his friend's gaze, he asked "What are you going to do now?"
"What do you think?" House said, as if it were really obvious "I'll track down Elizabeth and after killing her, I'll make her take him back to the place she brought him from".
"But, House…"
"No 'buts', Wilson" He said, firmly "What do you expect me to do? Keep him? Are you insane? This kid is better off anywhere that is as far away from me as possible. And don't try to lecture me now. After I find Elizabeth, I'll see what I'll do about him".
During the rest of the day, House, with Cuddy's help, tried his best to reach Elizabeth. He hadn't given her many details and the little information Cuddy had she had extracted from Wilson. All she knew was that Elizabeth was twelve years younger than House and that when they got married it didn't last more than three months.
Apparently, she had left him and hadn't said a word about the pregnancy. Perhaps she hadn't know herself by the time she had left, Cuddy considered. And for some reason, she might have decided not to tell House.
Meanwhile, Wilson took the boy to the cafeteria to give him lunch and he was just as unsuccessful about getting information. The kid was closed off and didn't say a word unless he was asked about something. It was undeniable the alikeness with House, just as physically as psychologically.
"Did you know your mother was going to drop you of here, Riley?"
The boy shrugged, focusing on the plate in front of him.
"Did she say where she was going to?" Wilson gave it another shot.
"I told you" Riley answered, impatiently "She said she would go get a cup of coffee".
"But you knew she was going to bring you here to see your father?"
How awkward it was to refer to House as the father of someone, Wilson thought.
"She told me we were going to see some Greg House dude. I figured he was a relative or something. When we got here she told me he was my father and that I had to stay with him for a while."
Riley was going to add that he doubted she would ever come back but he never considered bringing up his worries. Not that he cared a lot to the fact his mother might have been gone for good, her decisions had stopped affecting him a long time ago. But he was concerned about what was going to be of him from that moment on. He was only eleven, which meant he was probably going to be sent to a social service, unless his mother changed her mind. But if the first possibility became true, he knew he'd make a getaway plan as soon as possible.
"He doesn't want me here," He stated without looking Wilson in the eyes.
"It's not like that," Wilson had no idea what to say to an eleven year old who had just been abandoned by his mother, and didn't even seen to care much about that. It was obvious the kid was playing tough when on the inside, he was probably having the worst of times.
Lifting his eyes from the sandwich to look at the man sitting in front of him, Riley put on his face an expression of pure disbelief.
"Then what is it like?" He asked, sarcastically.
"He's confused." Wilson tried to be rational. "It was a big shock for him to find out he has a son, Riley."
Riley didn't believe those lies. In the world where he lived, the only one he had gotten to know, it wasn't that uncommon that children were raised only by their mothers because the fathers had only been present by the time of making the baby.
"We'll find your mother," Wilson tried to be positive, "And then we'll figure out how to handle the situation."
The kid shut his lips and raised his brows, as if daring Wilson to do it. The doctor took him back to House's office and told him he could stay there and watch TV for as long as he wanted. When it was almost nine pm, House walked in his office and Riley turned his head backwards, his eyes almost hidden by the enormous cap and the thick curtain of blond hair. He hadn't complained once during the whole day, which was admirable, considering he had spent hours kept company only by a television and a snack Cuddy had taken him a few hours ago.
When the boy saw the man standing in front of him looking upset and frustrated, Riley knew he hadn't had any success.
"She's good at disappearing" He stated, after a few seconds of silence.
If Wilson had been there, he would probably add that to the list of similarities shared by House and Riley. A slight and shy attempt of comforting, which would easily pass unnoticed to the eyes of those who didn't know how to look closer. Like his father, the boy also had a heart deep down somewhere.
"Believe me, kid, I know that." House said, sitting in front of him and stealing one of the chips from the opened bag Riley held in his arms.
Riley remained in silence and turned his eyes back to the television.
"Won't you ask me what happens now?" House couldn't believe it. During his life and his career he had dealt with all kinds of people, but he had never ever had to deal with himself.
"Is it going to make any difference? You're going to get rid of me eventually."
Tired of battling and giving up winning that fight, House stood up and demand Riley did the same just by looking at him.
"Let's go, you brat. You'll spend the night in my apartment until your mother comes back tomorrow after realizing the big mistake she's made."
Without saying another word, House left the office and left it up to Riley to decide if he wanted to follow him or not. Riley stared at the corridor for a few seconds of hesitation and after leaving a big sigh, he took his bag and followed House's steps.
Father and son walked down the hall, both with millions of questions on their minds, but with no answers being said out loud. How that night would turn out to be, neither of them had the slightest idea, but one thing was certain: that this experience, no matter how long it lasted, would change their lives forever.
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