A/N: So in my word processor I made the list look like some were actually crossed off, but then FF wouldn't let me, so when you get there, just try to imagine it in handwriting and pretend the ones in bold aren't really bold, but have a line through them instead.


Wilson didn't even really remember going to his office. He was completely shocked when his stomach growled and the clock on the wall showed two in the afternoon. His son was already six hours old? When did that happen?

He heard a knock on his door and looked up to see Cuddy enter.

"Hi," she smiled, walking over to him.

"Hi," Wilson beamed, standing up. "Do you want to see him?"

"Of course I do," Cuddy chuckled, approaching the new father and son. "I'm sorry I couldn't get up here earlier—House only told me he was born a few hours ago and I've had a nonstop combination of meetings and crises since then."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself," Wilson said. "It...completely slipped my mind."

"Can I hold him?" Cuddy asked, and Wilson handed his son to her. She smiled down at him, rocking gently.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Wilson asked, twirling a lock of the baby's blond hair between his fingers.

"Yes, he is," his boss replied sincerely. She looked up from the baby to smile at Wilson. "Have you thought about what you're going to name him? Does Sam want a say?"

Wilson shook his head. "I have no idea...I've had no time to think about it. I don't know if Sam has any ideas about names or not. She was pretty tired after he was born, but I'll stop by her room again later. She said she didn't want to see him or hold him or anything, but I'm sure she'll change her mind once she's slept on it."

"You think so?" Cuddy asked, looking back down at the sleeping baby as she rocked him. "Between the snatches of conversation I got when you were checking in yesterday and what House told me...it sounded like you're getting sole custody."

"I'm afraid that's how it might turn out," Wilson sighed. "But if I could just get her to see him...I'm sure once she looks at him she'll want to be a part of his life, won't she?" Wilson asked, looking at Cuddy.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you," Cuddy said in a warning voice. "Don't you remember when I first got Rachel? I didn't love her right away—and I wanted to. Not all women are cut out for motherhood. Sam said she doesn't want the child, and she carried him for nine months. By all means, bring him to her and try it, but I don't think seeing him now that he's born will change her mind."

Wilson sighed, putting a finger into his son's minuscule palm and feeling the firm grip this resulted in. What a miracle. "He's so perfect," Wilson whispered. "She's his mother. How can she possibly look at him and not love him?"

"I don't know," Cuddy murmured, handing Wilson's son back to him.

"I mean, you didn't love Rachel right away, but it only took you...what? A month? And besides, you didn't have any time to plan for her, she was already born before you even know about her. I..." he looked down at the miracle in his arms. "I didn't know about him until less than a day before he was born, but I loved him the instant I knew he existed. Sam's had months..." He trailed off, and for a moment neither doctor said anything.

Then Cuddy sighed and traced the baby's face with her finger. "Listen, Wilson, take as much time as you need. We can get your appointments rearranged, anything. He can stay in the nursery for as long as it takes to get your condo ready and decide on a name for him. I..." she chuckled. "I know as much as anyone what it's like to suddenly have a child to care for with no warning whatsoever. Anything you need, Wilson, anything I can do for you..."

Wilson smiled at her. "Thanks, Cuddy."

"Good luck," she said, and put a hand on his arm for a second before leaving.

Of course she was right, he would need some time off. And he would have to start with tomorrow—even if Sam did change her mind the child would still live with Wilson, he wouldn't have it any other way. And so he needed to fix House's old room, he needed to buy a crib and a stroller and a high chair and several mountains of diapers and clothes and formula...

"You're worth it," Wilson said to his son, bouncing him. The baby opened his bleary eyes to look at his father for a moment. Then he yawned and closed them again, going back to sleep. Wilson kissed his forehead as his stomach growled again.

Right. He really couldn't just sit here holding him all day, as much as he wanted to. With a sigh, Wilson went over to his office door and then headed for the elevators. He would drop his son off at the nursery, reluctant as he was to part with him. Then he would get himself some lunch before making a few shopping trips. To the hardware store for some paint and wallpaper, the baby store for furniture, clothes, and supplies, then to the wholesale club for diapers and formula, then dinner...and then right back to the hospital. Maybe he'd sleep on the sofa in his office or maybe he'd find an empty room like House sometimes did, but he certainly wasn't sleeping at home until his son could join him.

Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital

1182 Fairway Drive

Princeton, NJ 08544

James Wilson, M.D.

Oncology Department


Name


Date


Address


Rx

Samuel

Jameson

Jordan

Jackson Jackson

Joshua

Jacob

John

Jared

Joseph

Jeremy

Jamie

Jonas

Jay

Jaden

Jeffrey

Jason


Wilson stared at his list and sighed. Why was this so difficult? It seemed like every time he crossed a name off his list, he just thought of a new one to add. Yet even of the names still on his list, none of them jumped out at him as what he should call his son. And he didn't want to choose a name by process of elimination. He should just...know.

Samuel...it had seemed perfect at first, because Wilson had thought that maybe Sam would be willing to at least hold the child if he was named after...but when he brought the baby back to her room the first night, she'd still refused to see him. And when he'd gone back the next morning for another try, it was only to discover she'd already checked out AMA. She wasn't answering her phone, and he didn't know where she lived or even worked now.

Wilson couldn't name his child after his mother. It would be too painful.

So instead he decided to name him after himself...sort of. He didn't want to call him James exactly, but he would retain the first initial. And there were plenty of names that started with J...so why couldn't he just choose one?

Because I've only had two days to think about it, Wilson answered himself. Another reason to be angry with Sam for not telling him sooner. Whenever he'd thought about having children and naming them, he'd always operated under the assumption that a) he'd have at least six months to think about it, and b) the baby's mother would have some ideas of her own and probably get the final word anyway. Since neither was the case now, he was finding this very frustrating. He didn't want to just pick a name—whatever name he picked, his child, his son would have to live with it for the rest of his life. That was a lot of pressure.

Wilson looked up as his door opened and House entered.

"Why are you at work?" House asked, heading straight for Wilson's sofa and plopping down. "If Cuddy told me I could take as much leave as I wanted I might never come back."

"I can't set up his room until the paint dries," Wilson muttered, still contemplating his list. "Besides, I'd rather be here than home right now—this is where he is, so I can go down and see him whenever I want, hold him and feed him. It would feel weird just sitting home and not having him there." Wilson honestly expected House to scoff or make some sort of snarky comment that involved calling Wilson pathetic...but he didn't. Wilson looked up from his name list and was surprised to see an odd sort of smile on House's face. Well, really, any smile other than a smirk on House's face was odd unless he was laughing, which wasn't very often at all. But even for someone who smiled often, this particular expression would have been considered odd. Contemplative, maybe? Knowing? What was House thinking?

"So you still don't have a name for him?" House asked, his expression returning to normal as he turned to Wilson.

"No," Wilson sighed, looking at his list again and resisting the urge to crumple it into a ball. "I mean, I like the names I've picked out, but I don't love any of them. None of them seem worthy for..." Another reason it was frustrating not to have picked one yet. "...for my son."

House got up and stood behind Wilson, peering at the list over his shoulder. "Wilson, I delivered the kid, so I can say with absolute certainty that he's a dude. Jamie is a chick's name."

"It can be a boy's name too," Wilson argued, but he crossed it off his list nonetheless. Though he couldn't see him, he swore he could feel House smirking behind him.

"Well, I've got better shit to do than this," House said cheerfully. "Have fun with this life-changing decision, Wilson."

Wilson glared moodily at the door that slammed behind him. He crumpled up his name list and threw it in the trash, then recovered it, grabbed his prescription pad, and copied down the few names he hadn't yet crossed off.