Title: It's My Life
Part: 4
Author: Mlizhobie
Disclaimer: Don't own House or any of the other characters except for the OC characters.
AN: This is my first time writing any type of fandom – so be kind and review. Thanks to my Beta reader, without whose help I wouldn't have had the courage to even think about posting this.
AN2: Sorry this chapter is SO long, but I couldn't help it.
Finally Friday arrived and Lore was beyond ready to get out of town and away from the office. Normally she loved her job and could deal with the everyday office crap, but today she couldn't handle the bickering from one of the ladies and she so badly wanted to tell her off. Riley could tell that Lore was having a really bad day and suggested that Lore stay in her office until it was time to leave for lunch. Lore readily accepted Riley's offer to do anything outside of the walls of her office.
There wasn't much to do on that Friday morning, only a few places to call to set up visits and then one call to a family to schedule a trip. Any paper work that needed to be filed was currently being done by Riley and Lore stayed held up in her office.
Even Friday at the hospital was getting to the normally calm James Wilson. House was in full 'irritate James' mode and wouldn't leave the younger man's office. Greg kept saying something along the lines of his office smelling like carpet cleaner and it made his head hurt, so he wouldn't go back in unless one of the ducklings found him a gas mask. Seeing that the team had finally decided to stand up to House and told him no, James was stuck with the now pouting House.
After almost 2 hours of hearing House's whining James told the older man, "Seriously, either shut up and get over it, or get the hell out of my office House." Greg was so unused to having James stand up to him that he was literally speechless. He sat there staring back at the younger man with his mouth hanging open. When James didn't get the biting response he had expected he looked up from his desk and started laughing at Greg's expression.
Greg didn't appreciate being laughed at so he got up and left the office by way of the balcony. He climbed over the wall and entered his own carpet cleaner scented office through his balcony door. James couldn't help but laugh, he hadn't intended to piss Greg off – just get him to stop whining. But he wasn't going to complain, he did technically get what he wanted, silence. Glancing at his watch James saw that he only had 45 minutes left before he could leave for weekend. He grabbed a few patients' charts and headed out to their respective rooms.
Lorelai was finally brave enough to venture outside her office without wanting to backhand a few people in the office. She went out to Riley's desk and asked if their boss was down in her office. Riley nodded and said, "Yeah, he just got back from making his lunch run. Why you need to see him?" Lore shook her head and said, "No, I was just curious. I will go down and tell him I am leaving after while, but not yet."
She headed back into her office and began to put away all the files and other materials she had been using throughout the morning. By the time she was finished Lore looked at her watch and saw that it was time to leave. She almost cheered, but restrained herself. Instead she grabbed her bag & jacket and went out to Riley's desk. Stopping in front of the young woman's desk Lore said, "Hey Ri, I am going now. I am so happy to be getting out of town this weekend. But I am meeting James's parents, wish me luck." Riley told her good luck and said goodbye. Lore then headed down to let her boss know that she was leaving and headed out for her car.
As James was returning to his office he heard his cell phone ring and pulled it from his pocket. Checking to see who was calling James saw that it was Lore, he flipped it open and said, "Ready to get out of town kid?" Lore half laughed and said, "You have no idea how ready I am James. Are you ready to go yet?" James told her that he would be just a few more minutes and to head on over to his place, that he would meet her there. She said she would be waiting and hung up the phone.
James then went into his office quickly updated the patients' files and returned them to the nurses' station. Grabbing his brief case & coat James started for the door, but was stopped by House who was waiting just outside his door. James sighed loudly and said, "I don't have time for this today House. Lore is already waiting for me and we are leaving for the weekend." He could tell that House was jealous of the fact that he would be gone all weekend and grinned when House said, "But Wilson, what am I going to do all weekend by myself?" After hitting the button for the elevator James turned back to House and said, "Do the same thing you do every weekend; get a pizza & some beer and watch porn. I have to go now, see you on Monday." He didn't wait for House's response; he just walked onto the elevator and let the doors slide shut. Again James sighed and he leaned against the wall of the elevator waiting for it to reach the ground floor.
Lore didn't have to wait long before she heard James's key in the front door. She jumped up and headed out to meet him. It had been the kind of morning that all she wanted to do was to feel James's arms around her. When she met him at the door James grinned and said, "Well I think I can get used to this, kid. How was your morning?" Lore just buried her face against James's chest and said, "It sucked, can we run away?" James wrapped his arms around his fiancé and said, "Yes we can, but only til Monday." This caused Lore to groan and lightly beat her head against his chest, James laughed and said, "Come on, let's get out of here."
For the next 2 hours while in the car James & Lore battled over the radio station and had a contest to see who could guess the song first or sing it better. James hated to lose so he would scream out answers as soon as something popped into his head. Lorelai knew more of the right answers, but loved watching James try and win.
After a long bout of oldies James pulled into the parking lot at the hotel where they would be staying that weekend. Lore looked around and asked, "So this is how I get to spend my time on trips with my favorite doctor?" James quickly looked over at Lorelai and said, "What?" She smiled and said, "Well I mean look, we are at a really nice hotel and I get to spend the whole weekend with you, my favorite doctor. How can a girl beat that?" James rolled his eyes and got out of the car, walking around to the other side he pulled open Lore's door, leaned in and kissed her before helping her out of the car.
They went inside, checked in and headed up to their room. As soon as the bell hop left Lore had attached herself to James's back and said, "I'm hungry, let's get some lunch." Laughing James slowly crossed the room and grabbed the menu for room service and said, "Want something from here or do you want to go somewhere?" It was a long moment before Lore said, "You know what I would really like to do? I want to turn off our cell phones, order room service and not leave this room until we go meet your parents. Can we just do that?" Nodding James reached for his own phone and said, "That sounds perfect. Now you look over this menu while I get the bags out of the doorway."
He started to turn off his phone, but just as he touched it, it began to ring. Rolling his eyes he saw that it was House. Knowing that the older man wouldn't stop calling until he answered, James flipped it open and said, "What do you want House?" House scoffed and said, "I just wanted to check on you Jimmy. Can't a friend just be concerned?" James then said, "I wouldn't think anything of it, if this were a normal friendship. But considering that it's you, what do you want House?" House then said, "I didn't really want anything – just wanted to know that there are people out there who aren't total morons like these ducklings. I'll talk to you later." Before James could respond House had hung up on him, he stood there for a moment just staring at his phone. He then laughed, shut the phone and said, "He isn't right in the head."
Lore & James stayed in the hotel room for the entire night, they were up half the night watching lame infomercials for the strangest products they had ever seen. They slept until noon on Saturday and then didn't get out of bed until almost 1. James shifted slightly, felt his back pop and said, "Ok, I have to get up. This is starting to hurt my back lying here so long. I'll call for some lunch and then my parents to tell them what time I set up dinner for, you gonna get up?" Lore nodded and pushed James away from her slightly so she could have more of the bed.
At 7 o'clock that night James & Lore were sitting at a table waiting for his parents to arrive. Lore was nervously fidgeting with her napkin and when James noticed he reached over and took hold of her hand saying, "Hey kid, just calm down. They are going to love you. Besides, you are so different from my ex-wives, all of which they hated, so that's a good thing for you." She smiled nervously and tried to stop fussing with everything on the table.
A few minutes later a waiter approached the table with a nicely dressed couple following him. He stopped beside the table and pulled out the chair for the woman and said, "Here is the rest of your party, enjoy your meal." Lorelai smiled up nervously at the couple; stood up and said, "You must be James's parents; he just got up to make a quick phone call. I'm Lorelai; it's nice to meet you." The man reached for her hand and said, "Yes hello Lorelai, I'm Landon Wilson and this is my wife Debra." Debra Wilson then reached for Lore's hand and said, "It's very nice to meet you dear."
They all then sat and quietly sipped at their water waiting for James to return. When he walked back up to the table and saw that his parents had arrived he quickly said, "Oh hey Mom, Dad. Sorry about that, I had to return a call to the hospital. So I see you have met. Mom did Lore tell you that she works for the 'Make-A-Wish' foundation?" James's mother shook her head and said, "No we hadn't talked about that. That is very interesting dear, didn't you tell me it is how you two met?" Lorelai blushed slightly and said, "Yes ma'am, James had called for someone to come meet one of his families from the hospital and I was assigned. I got so brave that afternoon that I asked him out to dinner almost on the spot."
Landon Wilson quickly spoke up and said, "You asked him out? Oh my God James, weren't you feeling well that day? I am very surprised that you hadn't asked her first." James flushed bright red under his father's scrutiny and said, "Dad, stop. I was intending to do the exact same thing; she just beat me to it. And before you even ask, yes I did pay for her dinner!" James's father laughed loudly and said, "You better have."
Now that the ice had been broken Lore felt slightly less nervous and politely chatted with her future in-laws. James's parents told stories about James when he was little and how backwards he was until they had gotten him glasses. James quickly piped in how much he hated the glasses they picked for him and said they made him look like he was horribly cross-eyed. Lorelai just laughed as she tried to picture James with these massive glasses with very thick frames. Debra leaned over and quietly told Lore that she would have to find some old pictures to show her when they were over at the house.
An hour and a half later they had all finished eating and Landon's cell phone rang from inside his suit coat. He pulled it from his pocket and quietly answered it. James watched as his father's attitude quickly change from the relaxed manor he had throughout dinner to his quiet anger. James glanced over at his mother questioningly; she only shrugged and waited for Landon to end his call. When Landon hung up his phone he explained that two of the other partners at his law firm had gotten into trouble with the police and there was to be an emergency meeting of the partners held at 9 o'clock.
This news surprised James and he said, "You have to go to a meeting now? Dad, this is ridiculous. Who was it that got arrested?" Landon looked over at his son and said, "Do you remember the Brooks brothers?" James thought for a moment and then said, "Wait do you mean Nick & Peter?" His father nodded and said, "Yes, they are both partners now. Peter was in a bar on a date and apparently he tried to proposition some girl. This girl's brother was the bartender, so a fight broke out. Nick, who was also there, threw a few punches at the bartender and the police were called in. They both were arrested and Nick tried to knock his arresting officer unconscious."
James's eyes went wide as he heard the story about the two men that had gone to school with his older brother. Lore was very surprised by the news that something like this would happen to partners in a law firm. As soon as he had finished telling the story, Landon stood and said, "I am very sorry about this James, but we have to get going." Debra gathered her things and picked up her purse. She then slid her chair back and gracefully rose from her seat. Before she and Landon could leave, Debra had rounded the table and approached Lore. She leaned down and pulled the young woman into a hug and quietly said, "There is no need to be nervous Lorelai. You are absolutely wonderful and I can tell how much you love James. I just hope you & James will be happy together."
Lorelai sat back down next to James and they watched his parents leave the restaurant. James then turned to Lore and said, "I told you they'd love you." Lore blushed and said, "Yeah they are really nice James. It's weird to see a mom behave like that." James met Lore's eyes with a sad look and said, "I'm sorry kid." Lore quickly smiled back at James and said, "Hey it's not your fault my mother is so distant." They then got up, attempted to pay for dinner only to find that James's father had paid on their way out. They headed back to the hotel and were in for the evening. James called and talked to his brother Andrew for awhile.
The next day James & Lore went shopping and spent the whole day just wandering through stores. When they got back to James's apartment that night House had called and left a good 15 messages on the machine, each sounding more drunk that the previous. He kept drunkenly singing stupid songs and describing what type of movie he was watching. James just kept pressing delete and Lore couldn't stop laughing.
She grabbed the phone off its perch and dialed House's number. It took 4 rings before House answered with the answering machine. Lore again began laughing as she heard House repeat every word the recorded version of himself said. Once the machine's message had ended House said, "Jimmy-boy, you are finally home!" Lore then said, "Well Jimmy-boy is home, but he isn't alone." House sighed and said, "Damn it! I am bored out of my mind! Aw who cares, I am still coming over." James rolled his eyes when Lore had told him what House had said. So they got to spend the evening with House.
James & Lore both went back to work the following morning. Their weeks were just as busy as ever, but since taking a weekend to get away they both handled things much better. Lore didn't have to hide in her office out of fear of backhanding someone. James could stand much more of House's whining and teasing without rudely mouthing off to his best friend.
Then before either of them knew it, it was the first weekend in March and they were headed up to have James meet Lore's parents. Lore had called her mother earlier in the week to check if they were still planning on meeting them for lunch. Her mother had said that they were and told them to meet them at their country club at noon on Saturday.
Lore was driving this time and James could tell how nervous she was just by looking at how she was sitting. Her hands were tightly gripping the steering wheel and her eyes never left the road. There was no light hearted music playing on the radio for them to sing along with and any attempt James made to help lighten Lore's mood was quickly shot down. He quietly watched Lore drive the 3 hours to her parents' country club and felt so sorry that her parents still had this affect on her. In the back of his head he knew that this visit would not turn out well and now felt guilty for pressing the issue of meeting the Nelsons.
Pulling into the private section of the club the valet approached Lore's window and asked who she was. Lore quietly said, "I'm Lorelai Nelson." The young valet looked almost in awe that he was the one who had gotten to speak to her. James arched an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He just got out of the car and walked around to meet Lore. When he had reached her side he leaned down and asked, "Am I taking this wrong, or are your parents a big deal here?" Lore didn't meet his eyes but said, "Yeah, my mother's grandfather started this club." James's eyes then went wide as they walked towards the doors.
Each member of the staff instantly stilled as they saw Lore walk past. The doormen would even bow their heads as they held open the doors. James didn't know what to think of this kind of treatment, but he just kept walking. Lore kept walking and didn't ask anyone where her parents were, she just seemed to know.
She walked through the lobby, the main ballroom, and finally into the private dining area. James saw an extremely elaborate fountain just inside the doors to this private room and then saw a small group of people seated at the back of the room. Lore gripped his hand even tighter as they grew closer to the group. He looked over at her and the look on her face had changed and settled into a cold mask he had never seen before.
When they reached the table the man at the head of the table stood and said, "Hello dear, please have a seat and Hector will get your lunch." Lore smiled slightly and said, "Hi Daddy, everyone." The woman seated beside the man, James now knew was Lore's father looked him over quickly and James thought he might have seen a bit of a longing jealousy – but he wasn't sure. They sat on the far end of the table next to another young couple and told Hector what they were drinking. James was unsure about what to do, so he quietly sat looking at the painting on the wall opposite him.
Another few silent minutes went by before James felt Lore's hand on his leg. He turned to her and Lore said, "Come on, I want to introduce you to my parents before lunch arrives." Nodding in agreement James stood, pulled out Lore's chair and they approached the head of the table. Once they were standing next to her father Lore said, "Mother, Daddy, this is my fiancé James Wilson." Her father quickly stood, extended his hand and said, "It's nice to meet you James, I'm Taylor Nelson, Lorelai's father." Before he could say anything else the woman seated next to him nodded slightly and said, "Hello James, I am Michelle Nelson. Katelynn Lorelai, stop fidgeting!"
Lore's movements stilled instantly, James looked at her and she looked like a 7 year old who had just gotten reprimanded. James furrowed his brow and almost spoke up when he felt Lore's hand tightly grip his own. He quickly decided against saying what he was thinking, instead he said, "It's nice to meet you as well. This is a beautiful club you have here." Michelle again nodded slightly and Taylor said, "Why thank you James." It looked as if he were about to ask something, but Michelle pulled on his jacket sleeve and he quickly sat back in his seat. This prompted Lore to turn and pull James along with her as she headed back to their seats.
When they were both seated in their chairs James leaned over and asked, "Did I say something wrong?" Lore looked up at James and said, "No, you were fine. That's just my mother for you. Let's just eat and then we get to have 'private time' with them. I just want to get this over with and get out of here." James nodded slightly and ate his lunch in uneasy silence.
After everyone had finished eating most thanked Lore's parents and left the room. Once the last couple had left, Lore looked back over at her parents. Her mother was the first to speak, "Lorelai, both of you come up to the offices." Swallowing loudly Lore nodded and again grabbed James's hand.
They followed her parents down a long hallway and into a massive office. James did his best to try and hide his surprise at the expensive pieces of art hanging from the walls. Lorelai had pulled his arm after he had paused to look at a painting that appeared to be Lore when she was in her teens. He looked up and said, "Huh? Oh sorry, just looking at this." Lore smiled at him and said, "Yeah that was one of the pieces they put in for my graduation. Really nice present for an 18 year old girl isn't it?"
James & Lorelai sat in a pair of chairs facing the desk belonging to Lore's mother and waited for her to begin speaking. Michelle again looked James over and said, "So you are a doctor?" James nodded and said, "Yes, I am the head of oncology at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital." Lore's father then said, "The head of the department, you are so young!" James smiled and said, "Well I guess being the head of my class helped with that."
Michelle stared at James for another minute and then rudely said, "Why do you think we should let you marry our daughter?" James had no idea what to say, but Lore quickly said, "MOTHER!" Lore's mother looked over at her daughter, glared at her and finally said, "What? It is an appropriate question. I want to know why he thinks he is worthy of marrying you. Because if you think that we will give our blessing to him just because he is a doctor or the head of a department – you have the wrong idea." Lorelai took a deep breath, stood and walked over to the front of her mother's desk, leaned across it and said, "If you think that I am going to agree to marry Stan then you are sorely mistaken Mother! I am going to marry James whether you like it or not!"
James looked up at Lore wide eyed and was completely speechless. He had no idea Lore had all this rage. He knew that she & her mother didn't get along, but had no real idea of the depth of dislike Lore really had. Glancing over at Lore's father James saw that the man had retreated to the wall behind his wife's desk and wouldn't look at either woman. After another tense second James reached up and gently touched Lore's back saying, "Lorelai, maybe this was a bad idea. Come on let's get out of here."
Lore didn't respond immediately, but finally she turned, grabbed her bag & James's hand and stormed out of the room. Once they were back out into the public area Lorelai said, "Can you believe her!? If she thinks for one minute that I will ever marry Stan Morgan then she has another thing coming. That man is such a freak." James pulled Lore to a stop in the middle of the main dining room, turned her to face him and said, "Kid listen to me, I'm sorry I pressed this with you. You told me that you didn't want to come back here and I should have listened." Lore smiled a real smile for the first time all afternoon and said, "No it's ok. I did want you to meet them. But I am the one who needs to apologize. I'm sorry that she's evil. Come on, I want to get away from anything she has control over."
This time James didn't try and stop her when she headed for the door. The valet already had her car waiting when they exited the door. James thought it was odd, but figured that her mother had called and told them to have it ready. The kid started to hand Lore the keys, but after she took them she tossed them to James and said, "Get me outta here old man!" James grinned, got behind the wheel and he might have even peeled out in the parking lot on his way out.
An hour later James glanced away from the road and over at Lore and asked, "You feeling any better?" Lore sighed contently, nodded and said, "As long as I am with you and away from my evil mother – I am absolutely wonderful."
They both had to return to work on Monday; Lore again took up planning the wedding and James went back to his patients. Cameron had tried to find out what had happened with her parents but Lore refused to give any details. She didn't want to talk about anything dealing with them. The only thing Lore would focus on was planning the wedding.
Next chapter: James & Lorelai's wedding day.