Betazed

Chapter 4

Feelers

I stood in front of the sink in the women's bathroom under the stark florescent lights and looked in the mirror. The light made me look surprisingly like a green vulcan without the ears. I shook my head. I started out this morning with my schedule in my hand, ready to go to a Star Trek convention and now I was embroiled in a family drama. Greg obviously identified with me, I understood that, but it made me sad to think he wanted me to hook up with his dad and that wasn't going to happen. I could tell Dr. House was doggin' a Urologist attending the medical convention. He had no interest in me except for the fact that his son had become attached to me. It was going to break Greg's heart when he discovered that this was not a match made in heaven. I put on some more mascara and lipstick then slipped out the door. I knew they were waiting for me; I could feel Greg's excitement.

"Hi! Well, where do you want to go eat?" I asked.

Dr. House said solemnly, "There's a little cafeteria upstairs."

"But Dad! You said no Convention hot dogs!" Greg practically screamed it. He wanted us to go out to lunch so that we would have to spend more time together.

I laughed. Greg had grassed out his father. I looked away from the good Doctor, so that he wouldn't see that I knew he was trying to get away from me, but I couldn't help but laugh.

Uncle Jimmy asked, "Uh, Miss..."

"Auri. Auri Ferrell."

"Auri, you're from here. Why don't you suggest a place to eat nearby?"

"Okay, there's a place just up the road, Kansas City Barbeque. It's where they filmed the bar scene in Top Gun." I thought little Greg might like that, but in reality it was Dr. House who was more excited about going.

Dr. House nodded, "Yeah, I remember that. That sounds good!" He looked at his son and grinned enthusiastically.

We walked up to the restaurant. It's just what it looks like in the movie, a hole in the wall. But the food is good and the drinks are reasonable. Greg walked by my side all the way down the road telling me all about his collection of action figures. He was surprised when I told him that I had, mint in box, the original star trek figures and the Star Trek Next Generation figures as well as collectible plates.

After sitting down, the waitress passed by without stopping. Dr. House yelled out, "Nurse! We need fluids."

The waitress stopped and grimaced, turned and took our drink order.

"Modelo Negro." He said. "Furey?"

"Milk."

James looked up at the waitress, "Modelo Negro is fine."

Then the entire table looked at me, "Uh, diet coke."

The doctors looked somewhat disappointed in my choice, but I'm a lightweight and didn't really want to be drunk when I went to the next seminar. I looked at the menu and decided on the roast beef plate with baked beans and fries. I glanced over and saw that Greg was busy choosing his meal. I looked at his father. He was also still reading the menu. He had a rough beard and deep creases where he frowned, but there was such a look of intelligence. Dr. House looked up and our eyes met. I smiled briefly and then looked away, embarrassed to be caught watching him. The waitress sat our drinks down.

I patted Greg's hand, "So, Greg. Your Dad calls you Fury...is that for fists of fury?"

He laughed, "No, my last name is Furey."

It felt like a blow to my stomach. I felt the blood drain out of my face as I looked at Dr. House, "I thought your name was House?"

"It is. But his mother's last name was Furey."

I jumped up, bumping the table as I did. My coke went everywhere. The waitress rushed over and sopped it up. I didn't move; I was paralyzed. I could feel little Greg trying to read me, pushing into my mind, combing through my thoughts. I pushed him out of my head and sat down slowly.

I stared at little Greg, my heart racing. My voice was wobbly, "Furey? You're Teagan's son?"

Now it was their turn to be shocked. Their eyes grew wide and Dr. House leaned forward, "You knew Teagan?"

I nodded, "We were close friends at Quantico."

Dr. House looked even more shocked.

Greg was now trying to figure out why all the adults were upset, "Dad, what's Quantico?"

I looked over at the little boy who was looking frantically at his father for answers. I answered, "Quantico is where the FBI trains and does some work."

"My Mom was in the FBI?"

"Yes and no, she helped the FBI solve cases, but she wasn't a real FBI agent."

Dr. House leaned forward and asked almost in a whisper, "What were you doing at Quantico?"

"I work for the FBI." I pulled out my i.d. from my purse and flashed it.

Dr. House looked at me with a certain appreciation, but it was little Greg who was the most excited, "I knew you were connected to my mother. Were you good friends?"

I smiled gently at him and looked for a glimpse of Teagan in his face. I found none, but he had her gentleness, her kindness. His big blue eyes searched my face for answers, "We were very good friends. We were both very young when we were at Quantico. Your Mom left after a few years and I didn't get to see her much after that. I didn't even know she had a little boy."

He turned serious, "Did you know that she died?"

I nodded, "Yes, someone at the Bureau eventually told me. I was really sorry that I missed her memorial service. I'm so glad it was in Yosemite; she loved it there."

Furey squirmed in his seat, "What was she like?" I could tell that he was so happy to talk to someone who knew her, that didn't feel such deep sadness every time her name was mentioned, like his father.

"People thought we were sisters because we were about the same height and coloring. But I had more freckles and was a little more irreverent than she was. She was very serious about what she did. We shared an apartment in Virginia and I was a slob, she was very neat. She also made the best pies."

He turned and looked at his father, "Is that true Dad? Did she really make the best pies?"

Dr. House ruffled his son's hair, "She made the very best. They were so good that she sold them at the store by the cabin."

Little Greg was beaming. I could feel him soaking up everything I said like a sponge. He wanted so much to hear about her, but I didn't dare tell them everything, about the tests we were put through, the serial murderer cases that we worked up. I wondered how much Dr. House knew about her link with the FBI.

I looked over at Dr. House, "Were you and Teagan married?"

He looked down at his hands, "Yes, for a few months. She died not long after we were married."

I nodded. I wanted to ask him so much, but not in front of his son. I could tell from the look on his face that he wanted to ask me questions too. Greg asked me more questions about his mother and I answered as best I could. We walked back to the convention and stood in the lobby as Jim and Greg debated as to who was going to stay with Greg and who would get to go to the next medical seminar. Apparently, Dr. House had managed to score coffee with the Urologist, but it was during a seminar on new types of surgeries for cancer patients which Jim had wanted to attend.

I put a hand on little Greg's shoulder, "Gentlemen. I can escort my new best bud, Greg, to the convention and then you both can enjoy your conference. Here's my cell phone number, just give me yours."

They looked at each other. James shrugged and said, "She is an FBI agent. I think he'd be in good hands."

It was decided; when they were through with their appointments, they would call me and we would meet up so that they could pick up Greg.

I escorted Greg to the costume contest and we had a good laugh at the dozens of zealous Trekkies. The costumes ranged from homemade botched jobs to intricate and impressive. Both of us picked up on the emcee's thoughts.

"He really doesn't like what he's doing does he?" Greg asked.

"I guess not."

The emcee frowned, These fucking Klingons need to bathe and stop eating garlic. Christ, what is it with them? At least the Romulans never stink.

Greg and I started laughing. The Klingon group won, much to the dismay of the emcee. It meant that they had to stay up on the stage longer, their odor wafting up the nostrils of the now nauseated emcee. He started gagging as he handed out the gift certificates. We laughed as the Klingons all gave him bear hugs.

Greg and I went to the previews for the new Trek movie and yelled our heads off when the Star Trek theme song started to play on the screen. The whole place erupted into screams of celebration. There was nothing like a Star Trek Convention to make you feel glad to be alive. Around 6:30 pm we found his Dad and James waiting for us in the lobby under the five story atrium. I took Greg over and dropped him off.

"Dad, we had a blast, you should have been there!" Greg ran over to big Greg and hugged him in his excitement.

Dr. House winced and patted him on the shook his head, "Wookies give me the creeps."

Greg and I looked at each other and giggled.

Dr. House stared at us, "What?"

Greg chastised his father, "Wookies are Star Wars, not Star Trek."

He glared back at us, "You don't think I don't know that? But tell those two Wookies behind you."

We turned and sure enough, there were two Wookies walking through the atrium with their Star Trek Convention bags. I turned back and smiled at Dr. House. He surprised me by smiling back.

She's really pretty when she smiles and she looks so relaxed with Furey. The Urologist was hot, but boring. I wonder if the FBI agent has a gun? Handcuffs? She does remind me a little of Teagan. Maybe that's why I didn't want to be around her.

I was a little surprised by his self-confession. He still didn't know that Teagan and I were in the same Intuitive experiment at the FBI. For some reason, little Greg hadn't told his father about me and, for now, I was grateful.

Uncle Jimmy poked Dr. House in the side, "Come on, ask her."

Dr. House looked annoyed as he shifted his weight, "Yeah, okay. Auri, would you like to join us for dinner?"

I was nonplused. Although he had been prodded into it and he gave the impression as if he was just going through the motions, I could tell that he wanted me to join them. I thought about it, "Uh, I have to get home and walk my dog, feed her too. But I could order a pizza and we could all eat dinner at my house. It's only eight miles from here."

Jimmy looked at Dr. House and Greg. He said, "We didn't rent a car."

"Oh, I think I can give you a ride both ways. Come on, it will be fun."

They all looked at each other and nodded. Little Greg once again accompanied me the whole way to my car, walking by my side. We talked about living in Princeton and his school. He apparently went to a private school and was in the fifth grade despite being so young. I was worried about him. His intelligence was pushing him ahead of his friends so quickly that he was going to leave them behind soon. I was afraid that he might become isolated by the combination of his talents and his intelligence. He was a wonderful kid. I could sense and tell from Jim's intense affection for Greg, that he had a lot to do with raising him. There was so much love from these two men for the little boy, that I had to smile at the mushy core inside both of them.

We piled into my hybrid SUV and drove home. On the way I ordered a pizza from our local pizza parlor and we stopped by to pick it up. I have a three bedroom house located in an area south of San Diego known for being a rural enclave in the middle of urban sprawl. There are horse trails, golf courses and plenty of parks, including one with wetlands, to hike. I love the area because it's so peaceful despite the fact it's surrounded by other surban neighborhoods. My house is a late twentieth century Spanish-style home with a swimming pool in the back. It's a one story, three bedroom, two bath tract home.

We walked in and Greg was immediately cornered by my dog, Wilma, who started licking the poor boy to death. She's an Australian Shepherd and a very sweet dog. They all came in and we went to the dining room. After setting the table and getting drinks we sat down and ate. Greg and I talked a blue streak about the convention, telling Jim and Dr. House about the smelly Klingons. Within minutes, Jim and Dr. House were telling us stories about the clinic and the smelly patients they had encountered. We started laughing until I had pains in my side.

"Dr. House, she didn't really flirt with you?"

"In her syphilitic mind, I was a hunk." he wiggled his eyebrows.

You are good looking. I can understand the old lady's infatuation.

Greg giggled and kicked me under the table to let me know he had heard me.

I told you that you'd like my Dad.

I think George Clooney is good looking too but it doesn't mean I'm going to ride off into the sunset with him.

Little Greg smiled at me, But maybe!

Dr. House caught my attention, "Call me House or Greg."

"Two Gregs? Who knows which one I'm talking to?" I asked.

Little Greg leaned up on the table, "You can call me Furey if you want. I like it better than Greg, sounds meaner." He flexed his muscle to demonstrate his strength.

I chortled, "Boys!"

Furey and Uncle Jimmy took Wilma for a walk. Greg and I were left alone.

"How did Teagan die?" I asked.

I could feel him flinch, his emotions running rampant, "I failed to diagnose a tumor before it was too late to remove. She eventually had a stroke. It killed her in the parking lot of the grocery store."

I put the dishes in the dishwasher and turned it on. "You've done a great job with Furey. I don't know when I've met such a smart, kind and understanding kid." I was hoping that by saying that he would open up to me about Furey. But he didn't. I opened the gate and discovered that he was reliving the last few days with Teagan. I had to shut it; I was about ready to cry from his pain, his guilt. He truly thought it was his fault she died, that he hadn't diagnosed her in time. He loved her deeply and from the images I received before shutting down, she loved him equally. I thought about how rude he had been and it begged the question of how she could have fallen in love with him. Teagan wasn't easy to get to know. She was good natured, but her talents had caused her to go inward, not out. If she could love this man, then there had to be something I wasn't seeing just yet.

The boys returned rather quickly. I kind of felt sorry for Wilma, I usually took her out for an hour or so. I showed Furey my Star Trek collection and let him take several books out to the living room to read. We all sat in the living room and talked. Around ten I drove them back to the hotel, "mean-sounding" Furey in the back, asleep with his head in Jim's lap.

I looked in the rear view mirror, "Jim he's very close to you." I mentioned in the hopes he would tell me why.

Jim smiled and looked down at Furey, "He's the son I never had."

House looked over his shoulder at his son, "I screwed up after Teagan died, Wilson and his wife, Jennifer, took Furey in for almost two years until I unscrewed myself."

I sighed, "When I heard about Teag, I was working a really energy sapping case. I tried to find out how to send flowers to the memorial, but I was too late. I didn't even know that she was married. The last time I talked to her she was still living near Yosemite in a small cabin. I spent a few weeks with her in the cabin one summer. We had a blast picking blackberries."

"Did she have a nickname for you? The only person she ever mentioned from the FBI was "Max." Greg asked.

I smiled at the memory of my nickname. "Yeah, my name is Aurigae Beta. She called me Beta Max or Max."

House shook his head, "It's crazy that we met this way." His voice was surprisingly shaky.

Grinning, I looked over at him, "Yeah. But I'm not surprised. Everything about Teagan was special or crazy."

Nodding at me, Greg gave me a smile. I felt a wave of his loneliness hit me. He missed Teagan. Talking about her had stirred up images and feelings that were hard for him to deal with. I could feel him pull away from me as he tried to pull away from his memories. I wanted to reach out and touch him, although I wasn't sure he would appreciate it. But my hand didn't listen to my doubts; I grabbed his long fingers out of his lap and squeezed them. I also risked him discovering my secret by sending a low wave of calm, warm feelings. He looked at my hand holding his and I sensed that he wanted to jerk it away, but he didn't. He just stared straight ahead as I continued to hold it. The only problem with doing this, allowing my own feelings to slip through to him, was that it formed a link. This link would make it easier for us to hear each other. I knew how to block my thoughts, but Greg didn't. On those occasions when I let the gate down, which happened when I purposefully did it or I was exhausted or ill, I would be able to hear him if he was experiencing something traumatic or trying to communicate with me. I already had the bond with his son.

I wondered what Jim was thinking about in the back seat. He could see us holding hands, but he remained quiet. I opened the gate and searched his mind.

Is she flirting with him or comforting him? I wonder what she would think if she knew that he never allowed us to talk about Teagan. He doesn't talk about her around Furey. He's probably going into withdrawal, he always does around Teagan's birthday or if we come close to talking about her. I wish he'd open up to Auri. It would be ideal...she could lance his wound and then we'd fly home and then maybe he could finally get on with his life.

I have to admit, I didn't relish the thought that I would be just a soft shoulder for Greg to cry on and then send him on his way. But I could tell his life was blocked by his inability to deal with his grief. If I could help Teagan's husband and son in some way, I felt obligated to do so. It was the least I could do for letting my best friend slip out of my life.

Jim got out of the back, waking Furey up to go inside. The little boy managed to give me a sleepy smile and wave goodnight. Greg didn't get out of the car. He sat, very still, staring out the window.

He finally turned to face me. "Auri, did you know about Teagan's abilities?"

I laughed, "Of course I did." I saw that he was extremely serious and my laughter was inappropriate.

"I don't know what to do about Furey. He's intuitive too, just like his mother."

I wanted to say, "He might be even more intuitive," but didn't.

He continued, his eyes sad, "I worry about him feeling as isolated as Teagan. When I met her, she had almost become a hermit, living in her little cabin in the mountains. I don't know what to do to make sure it doesn't happen to him. Did she ever say anything to you about growing up, about being raised away from everyone? She told me that her parents eventually moved her to the mountains because being around so many thoughts and feelings was tearing her apart. Did she ever tell you anymore?"

I thought about what he was saying; Teagan was very self-sufficient, but her empathy was off the charts. She was tortured by the pain in others. It was hard for her to exist in the real world around hundreds, thousands, of people in pain. But, I could already tell that Furey had some of his father in him. He had some of that intolerance for weakness that his father has. Furey was empathetic, but with some training, he wouldn't be haunted by it like his mother.

I had learned a long time ago how to control my empathy. I had also learned how to absorb some of the emotions of others and diffuse them so that the effect on me was minimized. It didn't mean I wouldn't feel it, but I could recover faster than Teagan could. She felt it to the core, causing her intense pain when we profiled murders.

"Greg, he's a sweet boy. But he's also very tough. He's got a lot of Teagan in him, but don't kid yourself, there's a lot of you too. He just needs someone to guide him, let him know that the feelings he picks up aren't his, those feelings belong to someone else."

He sighed and then shook his head, "Seeing him with you and with Wilson's wife always makes me sad that he doesn't have a mother. I just haven't been able to get out and date, let alone really get serious about someone. I always feel as if I'm cheating on Teagan."

My heart felt tight and ached, He really did feel guilty. I reached over and gave this stranger a kiss on his cheek. "You don't like to acknowledge it, but inside of you is a very decent man kicking and screaming to be let out. You're a cruel jailer, keeping him locked up inside so long."

He rolled his eyes, "Now that sounds like something Teagan would have said. Christ are all women marshmallows?" He turned and gave me a very warm smile which made me go all mushy. "Well, I'm going to go in and get some sleep. I go to the Trek convention in the morning and Wilson said he'd relieve me in the afternoon. Want to have breakfast with us?"

I nodded, "Okay."

I really wanted to spend as much time as I could with Furey. I was rather fond of him already. I was starting to warm up to his father too. I had immediately taken a liking to Jim, he had a kind soul. I also felt a soft spot for him because of what he did for Furey after Teagan died. His dedication to Greg and Furey was easy to appreciate.