CHAPTER 4 - Smileys

...

"I have to go home. Marina chose the perfect timing to get sick and this means I have to take the snotty kid from school" House said in a flat but sarcastic tone, collecting his stuff and putting it in his backpack randomly, then looking up meeting Wilson's gaze.

"What?" He asked in a half-bored and half-annoyed tone as Wilson stared at him. A smirk playing on his lips.

"You're turning in the Dad of the year, House"

He rolled his eyes.

"I'm nobody's Dad!" He replied with an annoyed look, articulating every word and stretching that 'nobody', glaring at him.

Wilson raised both his hands still looking at him with a sort of sly and amused smile.

"Cut the shit, Wilson! You're turning into a smiley. Half way from the heart-shape-eyed one and the sly-smiled one."

Wilson didn't reply, just still looking at him with the same look and smile, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"I'm serious, Wilson. And it's not something good"

"What?" Wilson replied, still smiling "I'm just happy for you and Cuddy. And the kid. Maybe you two should even think about having a baby together."

House rolled his eyes again, then giving him a glare.

"Don't you dare to put that into her mind" He shot him another glare then looking down at his backpack seeking for the zipper.

"Why?" Wilson asked ignoring his way of trying to ignore him "Can you imagine a kid with both your genes? She's clever and smart and funny and, well, she's beautiful and sexy and-"

"Watch your mouth, Jimmy. It's my girlfriend you're talking about"

He didn't look up, still bustling about what looked like a jammed zipper.

"So, because she's your girlfriend, am I not allowed to think she has a gorgeous ass?"

House just looked up and stared at him.

"Fine, she doesn't have a gorgeous ass," Wilson said raising both his hands in defeat "and you're not an ass" he added, pointing his index finger toward him.

House stared at him as Wilson stared back.

"C'mon. You'll be late." He said, gesturing toward his backpack "Your girl is waiting for you"

House succeeded in zipping his backpack this time and looked up, glaring at his so-called friend again.

"My girl is in Florida" He specified "The one I have to take care of is just as much pain in the ass but without the gorgeous ass"

"Yeah, keep repeating that" Wilson smiled again, giving him a challenge look "I'm not buying it" He said with a teasing gaze "You're the master of excuses. You could have said no when she asked you of taking care of Rachel, but you didn't... And you didn't because actually you like being with that little girl."

"No. That's what happens when she asks me something during sex. You know, all I can do is to say 'Yes, Cuddy! More,Cuddy! YES, YES, YES, CUDDY'!"

Wilson looked at him with a smile, nodding.

"Yeah" he said. "Keep repeating this, House!"

...

"I said no"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes"

"I said, no, Rachel! You can eat what I'm gonna cook or not eating at all. None of my business. You're not gonna die because of 24 hours of fasting"

She pouted at him through the rear-view mirror.

"I want pizza." She said again, this time in what sound like a whisper as her voice cracked a little.

Shit!

He didn't turn to look at her, nor looked at her through the rear-view mirror, just keeping to look at the road, trying to focus on it and not on the 3-year-old behind him.

How could she have that power on him?

She was the child. He was the grown-up. Period.

They had eaten frozen pizza the evening before, and the one before that. Fine, he was for canned-food and frozen-food, and not at all for healthy food, but three times in a row were too much even for him.

Yeah, he was the boss here. He was in charge.

He looked at her through the rear-view mirror. She was still pouting, biting hard on her bottom lip, her irises trembling a little even if she wasn't crying.

I'm the boss. I'm in charge. He repeated to himself. She's just a 3-year-old throwing a fit.
Her eyes trembled more and she bit completely on her bottom lip, still staring at him.

Shit!

Bossed even by the mini-one.

"Listen," he said in a softer tone "we can't eat frozen pizza everyday"

"Why?"

"Because... because you need to eat something healthy..."

Shit! I sound like Cuddy!

She didn't reply, just staring at him with her big blue eyes.

"How is it that you're mother can have you eating broccoli and Brussels sprouts and I can't have you eating anything else than frozen pizza?" He asked again, glancing at her and focusing again his gaze on the road.

"Frozen pizza is funnier than broccoli" she simply said looking into his eyes through the rear-view mirror.

"Funnier?" He asked still looking in front of himself "Better. Tastier maybe. Why 'funny'?" He asked glancing at her this time.

"You make it funny"

Funny. That was definitely a weird adjective when attributed to him. But... shit! Hit and sank!

"Really?" He asked a little taken aback by those words "Er, I mean... yes. Fine! You want funny pizza? You'll have funny pizza." He said turning right in the parking lot of the mall.

...

"Here!" House said putting the shopping bag on the table and starting to put into the fridge some of the contents, then putting a few boxes on the table.

"Here" he said again putting a bowl in front of Rachel as she knelt on the chair in order to gain a few inches "Flour. Yeast. Oil. Salt"

Rachel looked at him with a quizzical look.

"This isn't pizza" she hesitantly said looking down at that strange powder into the bowl and then up at him again "Sand?"

"No, it's not sand, Rach." He answered as the hint of a smile played on his lips "It's dried brewer's yeast."

"...y-east?" She repeated, looking down at it again.

"Saccharomyces Cerevis-, er... a sort of... little living things" He tried to explain as Rachel's eyes grew bigger "That's why..." he added handing her a teaspoon and the sugar bowl "...that's why you have to feed them"

Her eyes sparkled.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" He chuckled at the funny look on her face "C'mon. They're like you, they like sugar."
He looked at her as she took a spoonful from the bowl. Shit! Was Wilson right?

"Not too much" She said talking to the yeast "Sugar isn't good for your teeth and bellies" She said them with a serious gaze still looking the bowl content.

House couldn't help but laugh.

"You sound like your mother."

She didn't reply, just looking up at him and smiling.

"Here!" He said, handing her a glass of warm water.

"Their bath-time?"

"Sort of" he replied smiling "Not hot water or you're gonna kill them. Not cold either, or you're gonna freeze them and they won't do their job"

She stirred, then giving him a quizzically look again as House approached her with an apron and put it around her chest instead of her waist, then tying it on her back. His lips curled up as she looked down at that piece of fabric practically covering her feet. A bit too long. Well, actually because she was too short. Her eyes lit up as soon as House put his hand into the flour bag, then putting some into the bowl, gesturing her to do the same. No way her mother ever allowed her to do that! Her little hand reached for the bag, sinking into it and then throwing a fistful into the bowl spreading a cloud of flour all around. All around... and on both of them. Yeah, maybe there's a reason for not putting a bag of flour in the hands of a three-year-old! He took a mental note of cleaning after or better to invent a sort of cleaning game for Rachel. Calling Wilson for dinner was an option too, but for sure he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of facing the proof he was right.

The corners of House's lips curled again as he watched Rachel pouting, in an attempt to blend that mix of water and flour. Her little fingers glued together with that sticky sort of dough. Her big eyes met his as he poured again some flour on her hands cleaning them with his, then quickly kneading the dough and cutting it in two pieces, finally handing one to her. The tip of her index finger examined it, sinking in the soft ball of dough one time and then another one, forming a pair of holes which look like a pair of eyes looking at her.

"It looks like you" She said looking at him. Her lips pressed together in a funny smile.

"It doesn't look like me at all. It looks like a ball of dough with two holes" He watched her as her head shook in a no "Here then!" he said sinking his finger in his own ball of dough creating a sort of smiling face "This is you. Yours doesn't have a mouth either"

He looked at her as she watched the "eyed" ball in front of her. It needed a curled up mouth to become a happy face or a curled down mouth to became a sad face. The second one fitted him more with no doubt. That way it was just an expressionless face. Or... did she really see him like that? Inexpressive?

She pressed her thumb on the ball, then watching the straight line that was supposed to be "his" mouth before looking up at him again.

"Nor happy nor sad then?" He said looking at her "What's that?"

"A smile"

He rolled his eyes.

"That's not a smile, Rach!"

"Yes, it is" She replied "You just can't see it" She said again.

Can you?

He didn't said it out loud but a glint flashed in his eyes at that thought. He watched her eyes as they moved from his gaze to the straight line of his mouth.

"See?" She said locking eyes with him again "I can"

And he couldn't help the corners of his lips from curling up almost imperceptibly this time.

"Er... fine! C'mon, kiddo. I'm starving" He said reaching for both those smileys and placing them in a bowl again "Here! If you want pizza they need some time for rising"

"Ready for beddy-bye" He said, covering the bowl with a kitchen towel.

Rachel laughed, making him look up at her.

"You said beddy-bye" She said chuckling and looking at him with a funny look, pointing a finger toward him.

"I didn't" He replied glaring at her.

Did I?

"Yes you did!" She said laughing again at the way the straight line of his mouth curled up again almost imperceptibly. Almost.

...

Two hours later, and Rachel's bath later, the two little balls of dough had grown bigger.

"Whoa! Is it a magic?"

"It's chemistry. Leavening is a chemical process in which glucose is transformed in carbon dioxide and -" He stopped, looking at her big blue eyes "Er, yeasts are alive. They eat sugar and make er... gas which leavens dough".

She looked at him with a quizzical look.

"They make gas?" She asked "Like a fart?"

House laughed loud this time.

"My College teacher is now turning in his grave but," He said laughing again and running both his hand on his face "sort of, Rach. Sort of"

...

His phone rang and he swallowed, then putting on his plate the slice of pizza in his hand and reaching for the phone, glancing at the ID, then handing it to Rachel.

"Hello? " She said with her mouth still full of pizza.

Cuddy smiled at the bare sound of her daughter's voice."Hi, Honey. What are you eating?"

"Pizza!" she replied with her usual enthusiasm.

House couldn't see Cuddy's gaze obviously but anyway he knew that she had rolled her eyes.

"You know, Mom? Yeasts eat sugar and the dough grows bigger and bigger because of their farts." She said just whispering the last word since she was not allowed to say bad words "It's the best pizza in the wowld!"

Cuddy couldn't help but smile.

"Put House on the phone, Sweetie, please"

"Hi, Honey" he said in an ironic tone.

"Hi, sweetheart" She replied with the same tone, as he could sense her smile "Did you really cook home-made pizza for her?"

"Well, actually she cooked it. And for the record it's House-made pizza"

"Yeah" She laughed again. "Thank you" She whispered in a soft tone as he pictured her biting on her lower lip.

"Get your ass over here so you can thank me like you mean it" He said in a teasing tone, looking at Rachel, too focused on trying to eat the spun mozzarella of her slice of pizza to pay attention to them.

"Actually I don't know if I really have to thank you. She ate pizza three times in a row and it's one hour past her bed time" Cuddy pointed out in turn in a teasing tone "But maybe if you cook House-made pizza for me too -" She let the sentence hanging and a smile played on his lips as he could sense hers.

"No pizza. Only fresh meat for you, Cuddy" He said in a so naughty tone than she couldn't help but roll her eyes and bite her lower lip at the same time.

"I'm a vegetarian" She replied in a flat but teasing tone.

"Not when it matters, baby" He replied in turn as she closed her eyes and ran her tongue on her lips fighting a smile even if he couldn't see it.

He waited for a sharp reply that didn't come and what came took him off guard instead.

"I love you, you know?" She whispered as a smile played on his lips.

"Mh-mh" He replied as a sort of laugh echoed from the other end of the line.

"You can't say it back on the phone, right?" She asked, smiling at the way in which his boldness sometimes faded out in front of that simple sentence.

"Do you love me, House?" She asked, teasing him as again he didn't answer.

She just listened at the silence coming from the other end of the line and smiled as she could figure him running his tongue on his lips.

"You know I can read you, right?" She teased again as a smile played on his lips too.

"You just get that gorgeous ass of yours over here" he said again.

"Yeah" She said in a soft tone "See you tomorrow, House"

He nodded. See you in fifteen hours and forty minutes, Cuddy.

"Good night Cuddy" He just said in turn in a soft tone that was enough to melt her.

"House?"

She called him before he hung up.

"Mmmhhh?"

"You know Professor Doyle is turning in his grave right now, don't you?" She said smiling as he smiled in turn.