Wilson was waiting for House with the ducklings. House had called him the previous night and told him that he would be at the hospital by eight o'clock to talk with Cuddy and that he wanted to see Wilson right after that. Wilson was more than sceptical about House's ability to really be at the hospital that early, but he didn't have any pressing cases and Cameron's coffee was superb.

"So did House tell you anything about what took him to Japan?" Chase wanted to know.

"No, not a word," Wilson denied. "He said that he would explain everything today, but that was all. Except that he said I would find it very hard to believe."

"Well, him going half across the world to help a friend is in itself hard to believe," Foreman pointed out.

"Yes, we know you think that," Cameron nearly snapped. "You have said it almost every day since he left."

"Ooh, watch out," Chase laughed. "Cameron is getting defensive. Lay off the man or she will refuse to make the coffee or something."

"Or serve it hot right on your lap," Cameron told him. "Not that that would be much of a loss."

"Ouch, that was mean," Foreman laughed.

"Settle down," Wilson tried to pour oil on the stormy waters. "House is back and we'll find out what it was all about today."

"If he deigns to enlighten us," Chase muttered. Hardly were the words out of his mouth than House wheeled himself inside the room.

"Well, well," House looked around. "It seems you have more or less behaved yourselves even when Daddy's been away."

"Some Daddy you..wooh..." Wilson turned to greet House and all air escaped his lungs in surprise as he saw House in the wheelchair with a baby. The ducklings had turned to stare as well.

"Nope, not some daddy, I'm the Daddy, now," House gleefully told them. "Meet my daughter: Aiko."

"Your daughter?" Cameron repeated coming closer to take a look at the baby.

"Yep, all mine," House confirmed. "Would you mind holding her for a moment I need to get her bottle ready, she is getting hungry again."

"How do you know?" Chase asked staring at his boss with his eyes wide.

"She is making sucking motions with her mouth," House stated like it was the most obvious thing. He dug Aiko out of the wrap carefully and handed her to Cameron. Once the baby was securely in Cameron's arms House stood up, unwrapped the baby-wrap from around him and started to rummage his back-bag. He also detached his cane from the holder at the back of the chair.

"What's with the wheelchair?" Foreman felt compelled to ask.

"Can't risk falling when I'm holding the baby," House stated finding the bottle and taking it to the microwave. He nuked the bottle took it out, shook it and then tested the milk on his wrist. He limped to the desk, sat down and motioned Cameron to hand over the child. He draped the towel he had also taken from the bag to protect his shoulder and settled down to feed his daughter. Aiko latched greedily to the bottle.

"So, tell me what has been happening here while I was gone," House invited brightly his stunned audience.

"Here?" Wilson asked. "Who cares what happened here! You... I ... You better start telling us what happened to YOU! And where did you get that baby?"

"Don't shout, you'll scare her," House admonished his friend. "Ok, fine, I'll tell you." He checked Aiko but she was still happily occupied with the bottle and though she didn't eat terribly much, she took her time about it, so the bottle was going to last till the story was told. "I have an old friend in Japan. His son and daughter-in-law were in a car accident that killed them. Aiko was born after that, but they were not able to save her mother. Akira is a widower and not that young anymore, so he didn't think he was the best possible guardian for his granddaughter, therefore he asked me to adopt her."

"Just like that? Wouldn't it have been better for Aiko if her grandfather had found a Japanese friend to adopt her?" Cameron wondered.

"The problem with that is that Akira wanted something better for Aiko than what she could have in Japan. They are burakus, you see, the untouchables. The only families that would have agreed to adopt Aiko in Japan would have been buraku themselves, so she would not have been any better off with them than with her grandfather. I was the only one outside Japan Akira could ask for something this big." House explained. Not that it was much of an explanation since it left his audience wondering what could possibly be the relationship between these two friends that would enable the older man to ask House for something like this – and get what he asked too. There had to be some very big debt there on House's part for that to happen.

"What are the untouchables?" Foreman asked.

"Jews in Nazi Germany, Blacks in segregation South, you know, the people that the rest of the society wants to segregate from the normal people." House said. "It's illegal now, but people haven't changed."

"So you adopted her and brought her here to give her a chance to be all she can be?" Cameron asked.

"I suppose you could say that," House nodded. "Anyway, she is going to be around you guys quite a lot, so get used to her. Oh, and her stuff will be delivered to my office soon, so stick around and you can help with the unpacking."

"Oh, I have clinic duty," Foreman suddenly remembered.

"And I promised to be in the NICU this morning," Chase followed his colleague's example. Only Cameron and Wilson remained.

"That cleared the room nicely," House mused taking the empty bottle away from Aiko and raising her against his shoulder and rubbing her back. She gave a couple of hick-ups and then rested comfortably. "Any questions you two have? Because if you do, make it snappy, I need to change her soon – if she follows her normal pattern and she invariably does."

"You seem awfully handy with this fathering thing," Wilson stared.

"It's a baby," House shrugged. "It's not that difficult. They eat, poop and sleep, usually in that order. You see that they get fed, changed, washed and stay warm and that's it. It's not like brain surgery or even advanced diagnostics."

"Precisely," Cameron said. "Something so routine would normally make you run for the hills, or something. Aren't you bored to death?"

"Well, it's not fun, I admit," House made a face. "But it has to be done. And Aiko is ok. She likes music, she has pretty regular habits – talking of which, could you hand the diaper bag from the back of the chair to me."

"Ok now it's my time to leave," Wilson said. "Seeing you care for a baby like this, is too weird to digest all at one go. I've had enough for now. I'll go and see Cuddy."

"Before you go," House called after him as he gave Aiko to Cameron to hold while he got the diaper and things from the bag ready. "I asked Cuddy if she would be Aiko's legal guardian if something happened to me."

"Oh," Wilson was disconcerted.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Jimmy," House told him. "But Cuddy is a woman. I think Aiko needs a steady female influence in her life, too."

"Ok," Wilson nodded, though he didn't quite know what to think.

"You will still be her Uncle Jimmy, you know," House reminded his friend.

"Yes, I suppose I will be," Wilson agreed and turned to go.

"Just remember, that by the time she is eighteen you will be way too old to marry her," House shouted at him as he walked down the corridor towards the lifts.

"House!" Wilson turned to growl at House with exasperation, but he was smiling as he entered the lift. As was House until he turned to the task in hand.

"Cameron, you wouldn't want to do this?" House asked.

"Nope, not when the expert is in the house," Cameron smiled and backed away from House after handing Aiko to him.

--------------------

Wilson found Cuddy in her office. They both stared at each other for a moment trying to find words to express their shock.

"He is a father," Cuddy finally said.

"I left him to change a diaper," Wilson revealed.

"House? Himself?" Cuddy couldn't believe her ears. "He didn't draft Cameron to do it?"

"If he did, he did it after I left," Wilson told her.

"I think the world just shifted on its axis this morning and I'm not even close to understanding any of it," Cuddy sighed.

"He said that he had asked you to be Aiko's guardian if anything happened to him," Wilson voiced the thought topmost on his mind.

"Yes he did," Cuddy nodded. "Are you ok with it? I think he wants a female influence on Aiko's life."

"That is what he told me," Wilson said. "And I'm ok with it. I'm stunned with all this, but I'm definitely ok with him asking you to do this."

"Stunned is definitely the word for it," Cuddy agreed. "I was sure I was hallucinating when he came in this morning. And he seems so comfortable with her!"

"Actually, when one thinks about it, I'm not sure it is so surprising," Wilson pondered. "I mean, a baby's needs are very basic. He only needs to feed her, change her, wash her and make sure she has a safe place to sleep in. Even if she gets ill or something like that, for now it's easy. All he needs to do is observe and draw conclusions. And that comes more than naturally to him. It's when the kid grows older and needs more; you know things like understanding, and love and emotional support that I see the difficulties arising."

"You are probably right," Cuddy had to concede. "Though I'm not so sure he will have problems later on either. By the time Aiko needs more than her physical needs seen to this parasite may well have wormed her way into his heart for real. In fact I think it is already happening. After all he is already choosing to sit in a wheelchair for her. He didn't have to do that. Nobody forced him to transport the baby in a baby-wrap, next to his body. He could have used a buggy and keep his distance."

"True, but I still think that once the baby is older, getting him to show that love in ways that Aiko understands, may be a little more difficult than we think," Wilson pointed out.

"Then we will just have to teach him," Cuddy determined. "If you are going to be Aiko's uncle Jimmy and I'm going to be her Aunty Lisa, we have a duty to see to it that House will really be a Father to her, in the best sense of the word."

"There is just one problem with that," Wilson said ruefully.

"What?" Cuddy asked.

"Who are we going to use as a role model for this father?" Wilson wondered. "Mine wasn't that great, House hates his and for some reason I suspect your relationship with your father isn't exactly stellar either. And House's fellows aren't going to be much help either, Chase's father was a totally hopeless case, Foreman's seemed like a decent man, but I sensed something of a story there, too, and if House is right about Cameron being damaged I'm not sure I want to ask her about her father, just in case that is where her damage came from."

"Well, at least we can combine our information and decide what NOT to do," Cuddy refused to be deterred. "We also know what we all wanted and didn't get. That, too is something we can use. I mean come on; we are three intelligent people, surely we can figure out how to raise one girl. It doesn't have to be a conventional upbringing as long as she is happy."

"I suppose we are all different enough for there to be a good chance that at least one of us will understand her," Wilson agreed. "Ok, it's a deal. You can count me in on the House-as-the-father-of-the-century project."