Celeste

I'm extremely sorry for the delay but school has been a real nightmare. But now that school's over I hope I can manage to write more :) A big fat cuddly thank you to my beta, partypantscuddy, and to my fellow lisabians who gave me a second opinion about this chapter, Sheis1963 and LiaCuddles.

Chapter 4

"Daddy?" Celeste mumbled, poking at her father's side. "Come on dad, we have to be at the hospital in less than an hour." she continued, causing her father to roll onto his side, giving his back to her. "Come on! I'm giving you five minutes or I'm coming back with a bucket full of water."

"Using the same threats your mother used with you, isn't subtle at all." the man mumbled sarcastically while slowly getting out of bed.

"Ah ah ah." she yelled from the hallway. The man smirked and shook his head.

"So..." the girl started as he entered the bathroom. "I've already had breakfast and I've packed something for you to eat after therapy since the doctor said you can't eat before." she said gesturing with her toothbrush to the kitchen, before rinsing her mouth with water. "Got it?" she asked as her father stared at her dumbfounded.

"Got it." he said with a smile, coming closer to her. "What would I do without you?" He said as he hugged her.

"You'd starve to death." she said with a smirk.

"That's for sure." he confirmed, attempting to brush his hair.

"I was wondering..." she started, pausing mid-sentence. "Will she be there at the hospital?"

"I'm positive she'll be there, though I don't know if you'll be able to see her. Her job keeps her extremely busy from what I know." he explained.

"Ok. And will you tell me if we see her?" she asked.

"Celeste..." he said turning towards her. "Are you really ready for this? I know I've put you in no condition to chose, but I want what's best for you."

"And how do you know this is what's best for me? I have never seen this woman and she has never seen me. What if she doesn't want to meet me? If she doesn't want me?"

"Celeste... baby... she loves you more than you could possibly realize." he concluded, hugging her tightly to his chest.

"I don't want to lose you." she cried against his shoulder.

"You won't lose me, love. Never." he whispered in her ear, kissing the crown of her head. "Never."

. . . . .

"House!" she called his name.

"Dr Cuddy, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked, limping towards the elevators. Cuddy followed him and stopped in front of the automatic doors.

"I have a case for you." she said with a small smile.

"Good." he said, once again calling for the elevator. "Care to join me upstairs?" he asked, as the doors opened. She walked past him and smirked.

When the elevator closed she turned to him.

"Hi..." she said biting his bottom lip.

"Good morning sunshine." he greeted with a small smirk.

"I missed you last night." she said, lifting herself on her tiptoes to peck his lips. "I'm sorry I had to work late." she concluded pouting.

"It's no big deal. As much as I've missed a mind-blowing sex session, there was a new episode of Jersey Shore on TV, so..." he trailed off.

She slapped him in the chest and looked outraged. "You've got to be kidding me!" she said in disbelief.

"Seriously Cuddy? Do you really think I watch Jersey Shore?" he asked. Cuddy glared at him. "Oh, come on! I haven't watched it since Snooki got pregnant and decided to broadcast the birth of her kid. Though it kind of sounds appealing..." he trailed off again, earning another slap from Cuddy.

"Abuse, woman! Abuse!" he whined. Cuddy still glared at him as they exited the lift and headed towards his office. "I was kidding, you know that right?" he asked.

"Of course I know. I just like to manhandle you." she replied, smiling subtly, earning another smirk from him.

"So... today's the day." he said while settling at his desk. Cuddy nodded and leaned against his desk at his right. "I have checked Foreman's agenda and the first group starts at 10."

"Yeah, I know." she confirmed.

"Twenty minutes from now." he continued.

"I know."

"Then why are you still here?" he asked. Cuddy looked up at him confused. "Aren't you supposed to sneak down to Neurology and get a peek of her?"

"No!" she almost barked angrily. "I can't."

"Why? You've waited this moment for the past 16 years." he continued.

"I know... I just... I can't." she mumbled. "I'm pathetic. I have a daughter whom I've never seen and yet, when she's in the same building as me, I can't muster the courage to go down and meet her."

"I didn't say you need to meet her. Not for now." he said standing up. "You just... go down to Neurology and look at her. No talking, no hugging, no crazy stalking kind of thing though." he said trying to cheer her up. He caressed her arm and kissed her forehead after checking that no one was watching.

"Should I really do that?" she asked, leaning her forehead on his chest.

"You should." he nodded.

"What about you?" she asked looking up at him.

"Me what?"

"Don't you want to go see her?" she asked.

"I... It's not that I don't want to see her... It's just that..."

"You have already seen her." she stated shocked. "You have, haven't you?" she asked angry at him.

"Cuddy..."

"Where you even going to tell me?" she asked stepping away from House. "You know what? It's no big deal. Really..." she said walking towards the door. "I'll see you later, okay?" and with that she stormed out of his office, leaving House completely dumbfounded.

What the hell was wrong with her? he wondered. It's not like he had actually met Celeste. He had simply taken a glimpse of her as she walked through the park with her father.
He had been shocked when he saw her. He was faced with a 16 year-old version of Cuddy, but she had her father's deep blue eyes. House had shook his head in disbelief. He had hoped that puberty would have changed her a little, leaving only a slight resemblance to her birth parents. But no. She had grown to be the exact copy of the two of them mixed together. Her eyes were House's blue, but the shape was definitely Cuddy's. Her lips were thing like his and her cheeks as rosy as Cuddy's. Her curly hair was just like her mother's but a shade lighter.

In that moment House had realized that his life had a new sparkling light in it. Celeste was actually his daughter. His and Cuddy's. And he was going to make a positive future out of that situation.

. . . . .

"Dad, this hospital is great!" Celeste said pointing towards the paintings in the hall. "It looks professional and yet classy. Whoever designed this entry gets my approval." She said smirking.

"Looks like you're still set on studying internal design, huh?" her father mumbled.

"Yes, I am dad." She confirmed with a smile. "So, here says Neurology is on the second floor…" she stated, calling for the elevator.

"Dr Cuddy!" they heard a nurse call. Celeste immediately tensed.

"Is that her?" she asked in a whisper, not daring to turn around to see her.

"Hey, it's okay. She's as scared as you are." He tried to soothe her.

"I can't. I really can't." she mumbled. "As much as I want to see who she is, I can't." She immediately walked inside the elevator and tugged at her father's hand. He glanced at the woman as the nurse walked away from her and nodded at Cuddy with a small smile, before entering the elevator.

. . . . .

"I'm an idiot." she mumbled under her breath. "I'm a fucking idiot." Cuddy repeated one more time as she walked towards her office.

"Dr Cuddy!" Nurse Brenda ran after her. "Dr Foreman and Watson want to know if you plan on introducing the trial to the patients and family."

"I don't think it's necessary." The doctor replied firmly. "Just tell them that if either the families of the patients want some explanation they can come to my office, okay?" The nurse nodded and ran back to her desk.

Cuddy's attention was drawn to a man standing by the elevator with a girl. Mr Thompson nodded at her and smiled. She replied with a nod as the girl tugged at her father's hand, looking like she was completely oblivious to her.

As he entered the elevator right after Celeste, Cuddy stalked through the crowded clinic and closed the doors to her office behind her. She sighed and shook her head. She could do this. Today wasn't anything special, she tried to convince herself. She'd have more than one occasion to finally meet her. She could wait a little more.

. . . . .

"Good morning Dr…" Mr Thompson said, offering his hand for the man to shake.

"Dr Foreman." The man replied shaking his hand and Celeste's.

"Andrew Thompson"

"Nurse Amanda will show you to your seat." The Neurologist said. Amanda smiled gently at the man and pointed towards one of the free seats. "I'm sorry, but family can't assist to the first part of the treatment."

"Oh…" Celeste stopped in her tracks.

"Can't you make an exception for this time?" Mr Thompson asked.

"I don't think it's possible." The doctor confirmed.

"Come on, Eric. Let the girl stay." The woman sitting next to Celeste's father said. "Nothing will happen." She continued, gesturing to the chair in between the two seats. "And I'm sure she can entertain us for the next hour or so." She concluded with a smile.

"Okay, but if Dr Watson comes here, the responsibility of this is on you." Dr Foreman agreed.

"Thank you." The woman said with a smile. "You have to stop being so uptight." She smirked.

Celeste thanked the doctor and sat in between the woman and her father.

"Thank you." She told the woman.

"You're welcome." The woman smiled. "I'm Dr Remy Hadley, but everyone calls me Thirteen so… fell free to call me that." She said offering her hand.

"I'm Andrew Thompson and this is my daughter Celeste." he greeted shaking the doctor's hand.

"You're a Doctor?" Celeste asked. Thirteen nodded.

"And do you work here?"

"I do. I work in the Diagnostic Department with Dr Foreman." She said. Seeing that Celeste was now looking at her confused., she explained better what her job consisted in.

"So, you are part of a team of doctors that tries to diagnose weird stuff." Celeste resumed.

"Mmmm… that's a way of putting it" Thirteen said with a smile.

"Good morning to everyone." Said a female doctor, who stood next to Dr Foreman. "I'm Dr Watson and I'm head of this trial. Everything you need to know, you can ask me or Dr Foreman. For anything else, the Dean of Medicine will be glad to answer to all of your questions. Her office is on the ground floor, just inside the clinic." She paused looking at Celeste for a while. "I'll call your names one by one and you'll come to my office and I'll ask you some questions. So… Goldstein Adam, come with me. Mr Andrew Thompson, you're up next. Dr Foreman will show you to my office in a while." She concluded and with that she left, followed by Mr Goldstein. Less than five minutes later Foreman motioned for Mr Thompson to stand up and follow him.

"So… you live here in Princeton?" Thirteen asked.

"Nope. We live in Detroit, though we moved to Philadelphia with my aunt after my mom passed. And now we're in Princeton for this experimental trial." The girl replied, shrugging in despair.

"Wow… you went through hard stuff. I've lost my mother too when I was a kid too. I know it's hard to deal with all that, but you seem to be a strong one and what you're doing for your father is brave. I'm sure he's proud of you."

"I know he is. I just… I'm so afraid of being alone." Celeste said wiping her eyes even though she wasn't crying.

"You'll go through that. I can assure you. See? I'm still alive and even though I have Huntington's I'm not giving up on my life. I have a great job, a nice boyfriend and I'm happy. Your father is not going to leave you anytime soon." Thirteen tried to comfort her.

"I hope you're right." She said sniffling. "Can I ask you something?" the girl asked as her father left the room with Dr Foreman.

"Of course. Ask away." Thirteen smiled.

"Do you know Dr Cuddy?"

"Of course I know her. She's the boss here." The young doctor explained.

"Really?" Celeste asked surprised.

"Yes. Dean of Medicine and Chief Administrator. The place wouldn't survive without her."

"Wow…" she stated still in disbelief. "And what does she look like?"

"Dark curly hair, light blue eyes, thin and always impeccably dressed. Not the usual Dean of Medicine, I'd say though she's perfect for the job." Thirteen described her. "Now that I think of it, you look a lot like her."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do. A lot." Thirteen confirmed. "Why are you so interested in her anyway?"

"I… I guess I had heard my father talk about her with someone a couple times and I was curious to know who she is." The girl replied flatly.

"Thirteen…" Foreman called for the doctor, who smiled at Celeste and left.

Celeste sat there waiting as her father laid on the armchair next to her, scratch pad on her lap. She drew and wrote random stuff, wondering when she'll be able to actually look at her biological mother in the face.

. . . . .

Later…

"Hello dear, what can I do for you?" a nurse asked Celeste as she approached the main desk in the clinic.

"Hello, my father has joined the Huntington's experimental trial this morning and he feels nauseous. I was wondering if you could give me something for him." The girl explained.

"I'm sorry honey, but I can't give you anything without doctor's orders, plus you're underage and it'll be a lot of trouble." The nurse explained right before Nurse Brenda arrived. "But I'll see what I can do." She smiled politely at her. "Brenda…" she called the Head Nurse and explained to her. "Is Doctor Cuddy still here?" she asked at the end.

"The lights are on in her office." Brenda said. "I'll ask her. Come with me." She told the girl. Celeste froze. "Hey, are you okay? She's not going to eat you, you know?" Brenda joked.

Celeste walked towards her and together they made their way through the clinic and inside Cuddy's outer office. Brenda knocked on the door and smiled at Celeste.

"Come in" the doctor said, without looking up from her laptop. Brenda motioned for Celeste to remain outside, while she entered the office.

"There's the daughter of a patient of the new experimental trial asking for some meds. Her father couldn't make it to the hospital so she came here alone, but she's underage. What are we supposed to do?" Brenda asked.

Cuddy froze in her seat and looked up at the nurse.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"She's just outside the door." Brenda informed her.

"O-Okay. Let her in. Thank you Brenda." Cuddy said standing up from her desk and looking outside the window. She heard the door open and close and few steps.

It took Celeste a while to actually take control of her voice but, after she choke the first few words, she managed to talk properly. "Ehm… I'm sorry to interrupt your work, but my father is not feeling well. I need something for his nausea. Dr Watson, I think her name was, said we could come to you if anything was needed."

Silence.

"I would have looked for Dr Foreman, but I have no idea where to find me and the nurses outside took me here." She continued.

Silence.

"I-…" she started again.

"I'm sorry." Cuddy finally said. "I'm so terribly sorry."