Part two of that update I promised. I love each and every one of you.

Oh and before I forget, I'm off to uni very soon so updates may be um... okay just sit tight. I do have some idea what I'm writing, but time will be the issue. I'm sorry.


Radiology

House stepped backwards and hit the wall with a thud before sighing dramatically. He had never really thought how he would cope with Madeline at home, only that he would and everything would turn out okay. In the end. His cane was long forgotten, so the wall actually was more of a necessity to keep him standing now although he hoped he would come across it again soon enough. The pills in his jean's pocket rattled impatiently.

It was if they knew he didn't want to take them.

Across the room, Cameron watched him with tired eyes. She nodded sympathetically before closing the gap between them.

"How about I run you a bath?" She brushed up and down his arm with her fingers. "You look like you could do some time with yourself."

"I..." House huffed and listened to familiar sounds echoing in the background, causing him to cringe. "Maybe later" She nodded then sidestepped away, back down the hallway towards the sitting room. Taking a deep breath, and lunging for the other wall House followed.

"Allison dear, do you fancy some chicken and rice?" House could smell the delightful cooking that could only mean his mother had found her way around the kitchen.

"Blythe, I told you that you're here as guests." Cameron had her arm on her hip and a grin on her face when House caught up with pair, and knew that this was no time to refuse cooked food. He looked distractedly back around the sitting room, where his dad sat eating his share.

"But I enjoy it..."

"She does," House said with a smirk before grabbing a plate and stepping towards the stove. "This smells great mom." She kissed him on the cheek.

"You're welcome sweetheart." She paused to look past them. "Could you help your dad with the TV? He's been cursing for ages." House grunted before walking, somewhat normally, back into the other room. Sure enough, his dad had found the TiVo page, and was about to delete the O.C .

"Dad, that's not the programme guide, you know that right?"

"Sure" His reply wasn't very reliable. "How much TV does Allison watch?" House shrugged and sat down, a large space between them both.

"I've no idea, that's mainly my stuff on there."

"You watch the O.C.?"

"Do you even know what it is?" House replied unconvinced and now annoyed by his Dad's control over the remote.

"It's not a show that you should watch," His dad began to flick through the channels, and somehow found a film about WWII.

"Is this what I should be watching?" John shrugged and started to eat his meal again. The room went quiet and House could hear Cameron and Blythe chatting animatedly, probably about dish soap, and ignored what was on the TV. As long as the nursery was quiet, he was relaxed.

"So, Maddy asleep then?"

"For now," House replied while trying to be as grotesque as possible by chewing while he spoke. Anything that could annoy his dad was a bonus. "She'll probably wake up for a feed in the hour though," he glanced at the clock. "It's been a while." He inwardly smiled on seeing his dad wince at the sight. However before he could respond Cameron and Blythe walked in both carrying plates of food too.

"Budge-up" She said prettily to House while stepping over his outstretched legs. He did so, and so did his dad, so she could sit between them with a delicate arm on his thigh. Dressed in a baggy dress-shirt and leggings Cameron was determined in returning to her previous figure quickly, though House had insisted that if she kept a few curves here and there he really wouldn't mind. She snorted at this, and remained steadfast on returning to pre-pregnancy weight. He stole a piece of chicken from her plate while she nudged him a little to which she smirked, and Blythe chuckled.

"Honey there's plenty left over; I've made enough for you to freeze at least another meal for both of you."

"Thanks Blythe" Cameron said with a smile. "But this is merely fuelling his belief that anything tastes better on someone else's plate. Did it?" She asked him, and House smiled but didn't answer. John had remained ignorant of the conversation, more interested in the food and television that his son's antics. Although there was still visual tension between the two males in the house, they had not verbalised anything more since the phone call. There was no need and House had the upper hand since seeing his father turn his frown upside down.

His leg twitched uncomfortably again. Cameron brushed his other gently, letting him know she understood. He smiled appreciatively.

"We booked ourselves on the 9:30 flight tomorrow," Blythe said with a smile. "So we'll be out of your hair soon. I know you'll be fine on your own... but if you should need anything, then... well you know where we are."

"Thanks for all your help Blythe" Cameron said softly. "But I think we'll be okay." They looked at one another. House smiled and crossed his fingers and Cameron chuckled. "Yeah, we'll be alright."

They continued to eat their meal and watch the end of a film that, bar John, no one had any idea about what was going on. Just that there was some firing of guns and a couple of men shouting about God and America. House managed not to make any comments about its contents, which surprised Cameron the most although she didn't mention it. Once the plates were cleared Cameron grabbed everyone plates and headed out to the kitchen and although Blythe wanted to help, House beat her to the sink and ushered to sit back down. This was even more surprising.

"What on earth are you doing out here? Did someone leave some food on their plate that you want to eat?"

"Ha ha." He muttered while rolling up his arms. "I can clean you know."

"I know... you've done it twice before, although you can prove it to me again if you like." She smiled while offering him the dish soap and a cloth. He smiled awkwardly before taking the offered items. Cameron stood close enough so that she could whisper. "Your parents know you clean Greg, you don't need to prove it to them."

"Maybe I secretly enjoy it huh? Maybe I want to do it."

She stepped backwards, seeing a glare hidden behind his smile.

"Oh that must be it." They stood side by side watching as the bubbles appeared while the tub filled up. She touched his hand making him turn it over before she placed two Vicodin pills inside. "I sneaked them from the spare canister in the bathroom earlier; I've been itching to give them to you for ages." He swallowed them quickly while reaching for the first plate.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" She smiled at him.

"You can be touching when you want to be."

"I know," He looked back into the sitting room and checked his parents weren't looking at them before kissing her on the forehead. "I want to actually be touching you though... quite a bit." This made Cameron snort with laughter and drop the plate he'd given her back into the sink. It splashed them both, House more so. "Oh well thank you very much." He grabbed some of the foam and threw it at her face before smiling triumphantly.

"Greg," She warned, before pushing him sideways and grabbing more bubbles to crush into his face. "You know we can't do that yet." He dodged her hand and managed to scoop up some of the running water and aim for her chest. Soaked, she gasped in shock before reaching for the hose used for rinsing the dishes.

"Ah spoil sport." House replied before joining her in trying to grab the water.

"Children" Both House and Cameron stopped abruptly and turned to face Blythe who was standing in the archway. Both were wet enough to be dripping onto the floor, but Blythe just smiled and handed over the plates. "Behave yourself. We're going to go and grab a cab and head back to the hotel now." Cameron found a dishcloth and managed to wipe her face and her arms enough so that they could hug, without covering Mrs. House in water. House stood still and smiled at his mom.

"Thanks again Blythe. I'll miss having you around to help me."

"Well not to worry, Greg will be very helpful, won't you darling?"

"Of course mom." He faked a happy gaze, which his mom saw through, making him make a more honest frown. "I'll try my best." She let go of Cameron and headed over to her son, ignoring the wet splodges that were still dripping.

"Which is the most important thing, and means you'll be brilliant." She hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek, whispering in her ear. "Look after them. They already mean the world to me, and can only mean the world to you too."

"I will mom."

"Come say goodbye to your father." House dropped his head in defeat. "I'm going to go and say good bye to my little cherub." She added sweetly before turning around and heading to the nursery. Cameron smiled and followed Blythe out the room, leaving House alone with John.

His dad stood between the piano and the couch, looking intently at the two guitars that hung on the wall. House decided to join him and limped across to the arm of the chair.

"I remember this one," John said softly, pointing to the one on the right. "How old is it?"

"Old..." House muttered softly. "Well the strings aren't, and neither is the strap-"

"Greg." His father said softly, hoping he'd just stop talking occasionally. "It's the first one you bought right?"

"Uh-huh..."

"I still sometimes think I can hear you playing the Smoke on the Water rift when I walk past your old room. Over and over..." House smiled and then John looked at his son. "...Over and over until you had mastered it to perfection" They exchanged a smile. "Can you still play it now?" House shrugged, allowing the moment where he could have promote his talent to pass, and watched John nod while glancing across to the piano. "Of course you can. I wonder if Madeline will be musically gifted like you"

"It doesn't matter." House said bluntly with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'll be proud of her whatever she decides to pursue." They both looked at each other, silently acknowledging that this conversation would lead down a dark path. Neither said anything until Blythe popped her head back in the room and then they turned to face her.

"Look who was awake when we visited them" In her arms was Madeline, wide-eyed, and pretty alert. Cameron stood next to her and looked across the right arm and to her daughter. She held a thicker blanket. "You were, weren't you Madeline!" Blythe chirped happily. "Yes you were." House and his Father both shook their heads at the nonsense baby talk she'd adopted on seeing her granddaughter, but didn't mention anything. It was funny to watch it happen, House thought while smiling. "Look John, she's the spitting image of Greg." John took this as his cue to crowd around Madeline's form, grunting in agreement. House remained standing by the piano. "I knew I should've brought baby photos..."

"No you needn't do that Mom. Really the embarrassing stories are enough."

"But honey, she's so much like you." Blythe persisted with a gentle gaze. "When she yawns, I can't believe it." Then she gasped and pointed at her purse at the same time. "Oh John, before we go I want a picture of the family, I promised Aunt Sarah-"

"Of course you did" House muttered quietly to avoid his mother hearing. Cameras and photos did not make for a happy House. "Mom is it really necessary to have photographic evidence for how I look right now?" His father had already grabbed the purse and was pulling out the digital camera from within. Blythe stepped forwards and smiled at her son. "Just one -I promise."

He sighed dramatically.

"One" Soon Blythe had made up the rest of the distance between them and had handed Madeline into House's arms. Cameron was ushered around to his other side, before placing the blanket on top of her daughter.

"I know Mads..." His daughter was staring directly at him. "...I tried, but you've put your faith in getting out of this mess on your crippled dad. For future reference your mom's the one with the running ability." Cameron chuckled softly before kissing her daughter's forehead.

"He's trying to pretend that he doesn't want his photo taken with you."

"Am not..." He countered with a pout.

"And for a crippled dad he can move pretty quickly if he wants too." Blythe cleared her throat and stood with her fingers clutched around the camera.

"Right by the piano is perfect." She said with a smile before waving her arms back and forth slightly. "You need to move in a little though, Allison sweetie." Cameron grabbed House's sleeve and leaned in further before looking down at Madeline. As she breathed in and out through her mouth, a bubble appeared before popping and dribbling down her chin.

"Eww Mads..." Cameron cringed before wiping it away with her thumb. "How can you do something so icky and yet still look adorable?" She looked up innocently at her parents.

"Hold the dribbling till after the picture Mads," House said softly to her. "Otherwise you'll be regretting it when Grandma pulls it out at your 21st birthday." House then twitched at the time he had just managed to skip before quickly jiggling her again. "Okay look at the hypothetical birdie."

Cameron laughed sweetly before leaning against House's arm and then looking at her daughter. The flash blinded everyone briefly, especially Madeline who now was so confused that she started to wince a little. Cameron leant down and kissed her daughter's forehead before playing with her hands.

"It's okay, honey that was just a picture, it's all gone now. All done" Madeline looked a little bit sceptical, and so she should since her Grandmother piped up moments later while waving the camera.

"I had it on manual focus and well... you're all blurry."

House grunted something before looking at his daughter again.

"Your grandmother isn't the most technology able Madeline. We'll be here all night." But the second photo did appear on the screen of the camera with Blythe's approval so that the family were no longer on show, and could relax once more. House nodded at his father, while receiving another kiss from his mother before they said goodbye to Madeline and Cameron. Finally after another five minutes of flapping for their belongings they stepped out onto the sidewalk and into the waiting cab.

House's sigh when collapsing onto the sofa was loud and dramatic, but thoroughly deserved. He'd behaved himself far more than Cameron had predicted.

"Finally Mad's," he murmured, closed eyes and his head resting on the back of the sofa. "Finally."

"Finally for you maybe..." Cameron answered while sitting next to him and stroking her little girls face. "She liked grandma and grandpa's attention didn't you honey? She liked all the holding and the cooing and the constant attention." He opened an eye and looked down at Madeline's little face, rosy and pink with bright blue eyes and soft pale lips, and smiled. "Like she won't have everyone doting on her from work and us. I know Wilson, and I know Cuddy. They'll be round all the time. She has nothing to worry about." The phone rang. "Speak of the devil it's probably Wilson wanting to know when he can move onto our sofa." Cameron slowly got up and took Madeline from his arms.

"Well answer it then. I'm going to take her to bed and feed her so you can gossip in peace." He smirked at her fondly before reaching for the handset and watching her leave the room. "No gossiping about me though, or you'll be sharing the sofa with him."

"Wilson. What can I do ya for?"

"Can you talk? Have your parents left yet?"

"Gone. They just got their cab." He smiled. "Why are you scared of the old man?"

"I didn't want you to get in trouble." Wilson said with a chuckle. "And you're the one to talk."

House snorted and played with a loose thread on his jeans.

"So, what do you need to get off your chest?"

"I'm fine. I just wondered how Madeline was doing."

"You want to come round? Because I'll be honest and say, I don't want you to. I haven't been alone with her yet."

"You protective father you," Wilson cooed. "Nope, I did fancy popping round tomorrow though. I saw something for her."

"Fine. Bring pancakes and you've got yourself a deal." Wilson agreed and half-way through saying goodbye House hung up the phone. The TV was still on, but adverts littered the screen and rather than watch them he turned it off, got up from the sofa, and limped slowly to the hallway. His leg was throbbing from all the cane-less walking he'd been doing earlier and the call of a hot bath did tempt him. However, the faint whispers of chatter pulled him to the bedroom. He stood just out of sight, and listened carefully.

"...We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We're not scared."

House smirked before stepping over the threshold spotting Madeline nursing quietly while Cameron had the card book on her lap so she could turn the pages with one hand. She spotted him only when he'd made it to the side of the bed, and smiled before closing the book and patting the bed.

"No go on, carry on reading about blood sports. Don't let me stop you." He relaxed on the bed next to them in a slouched but sitting position and smiled. He then picked up the book and flicked through it, well turned the hard board pages as quickly as he could.

"Don't be silly. She likes it."

"Yeah... what doesn't she like?" He looked down at his daughter and brushed her fingers, which opened so that he could pinch the palm delicately between his forefinger and thumb. "Hmm Mads? So easily pleased." Madeline chose to ignore her father, and kept her eyes closed and continued to suckle through heavy breaths. She was getting tired again.

"So beautiful." Cameron murmured, while playing with the tuffs of dark hair sticking up haphazardly on her daughters head. The fluffiness felt so light and fragile in her fingers that Cameron stopped playing with it and returned to stroking her cheek. "You know when you see new parents leaving the hospital, they look all silly don't they? Beaming smiles, maybe some tears, they're in awe of their child. And you think to yourself, how can you be that joyful over a process which has happened billions of times in the past? How can someone fall in love so fast with someone who 9 months ago didn't exist and has only breathed air for a few hours?" She paused and swallowed hard. "And then, there she was... all pink and fretful, sticky and crying, a casebook newborn. But, she's ours and she is perfect. I fell head over heels in love with her. Seconds it took for that to happen." Cameron looked at House who'd been watching their daughter intently. "I love her Greg, I love you and her... I love you, I love you both so much"

House instantly noticed the tears falling from her eyes and shook his head with a smile. Casebook hormones.

"Allison Cameron" He said while reaching an arm round to hold her to his chest, but not preventing Madeline from feeding. "If I thought you would cry this much through the pregnancy, birth and aftermath of our child I would've had second thoughts." He said, and then started to cry harder. "Oh god, no I didn't mean that, you know I didn't mean that. I love her too much."

"Really?" Cameron asked her face buried in his shirt.

"Of course!" House sighed. "Anyway what brought this on?"

She sniffed heavily and pulled her head up.

"I don't know, I was just thinking I guess."

"Well no more thinking okay?" House scolded playfully. "No more until your hormone levels are balanced again... well at least as close as they were before. I can only handle so much crying, and Madeline had her outburst this morning so neither of you can drop another tear until I've recuperated. Okay?" Cameron smiled and giggled lightly.

"Okay. I love you."

"Uh-huh." She looked at him until he sighed once more. "I love you too."


Extract from: We're Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen (Author), Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator), and yep there's a good chance you'll be reading extracts from other books in the future. Especially ones I remember having. :)

Love you all. A review would be simply delicious if you could spare a moment. Martini xx