Awe, HuddyTheUltimate, I love you too. Lol

Have lots of chaps to put up today, well, by lots I mean three. Here is the first one. I have to proof the next two before they go up. Enjoy!


MEET THE PARENTS

Blythe fussed with John's tie until he slapped away her hands. "You're just messing it up. Let me do it." John turned into the mirror and with marine precision adjusted his tie to perfection. "They're late." He turned to his wife for approval.

"They're not late, dear, remember? We moved it back an hour?"

"You mean Greg moved it back an hour," the old man said bluffly.

"Yes, dear, Greg asked if we could move it back because Lisa's parents are driving down from Chicago. I think it was very sweet of him to invite them." She began to dust off his shoulders for no apparent reason.

"Hmmm, well, I'm sure he's up to something." He saw his wife's disproving face. "That boy is always up to something."

"John," his doting wife said patiently, "Greg is hardly a boy anymore." She took a step back and looked him over. She was pleased with what she saw.

"Did I finally pass inspection?" John asked glumly.

"With flying colors," she beamed. He smiled back at her. Their moment was interrupted by a loud sound outside.

"Stupid kids," John grumbled, marching out the front door to yell at whatever teenager thought it was funny to race down the otherwise quiet residential street. "Oh hell!" He groaned when he saw the black sports car in his driveway. "Blythe, come see what your son has gone and done this time."

Blythe came out, ignored the car completely, and threw her arms around her seated son. He'd gotten the door open, but that was all he could accomplish before the woman who gave him life attacked him. "I'm so happy you made it Greg." She kissed him warmly and ignored his attempt to push her off him. He could feel Cuddy grinning at his discomfort as she got out of the car with ease.

"Hello Mrs. House, Mr. House." She nodded at House's parents respectfully.

"Oh, Lisa, call us Blythe and John." Blythe came over and hugged the much too thin woman, feeling her arms and shaking her head in disapproval. "Well, we'll have to make sure you get seconds."

John came over and after grudgingly shaking his sons hand, he hovered in front of Cuddy, clearly unsure what the boundaries were. It was House's turn to snicker at Cuddy's discomfort as she tried to anticipate what John was going to do.

"Oh, John, she's practically family. Give her a hug." Blythe shoved her husband into their guest and he embraced her quickly, then stepped back and resumed his rigid military stance.

"I want to thank you both for inviting me to dinner. That was very kind of you." Cuddy handed Blythe a bottle of wine she'd brought as a thank you gift. "I wasn't sure what you needed, for food..."

"This is fine, dear, thank you." Blythe handed the bottle to John, and walked the not so young lovers into the house. "Your parents should be here shortly..."

House dropped his cane. SHIT!

"My what?" Cuddy looked back at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Surprise," House said meekly.

As realization washed over Cuddy's face, it met anger, and they got on like a house on fire, which was something she'd like to see at the moment, namely Gregory House on fire. "You didn't?"

"Gregory, you didn't tell her you invited her parents?" Blythe seemed surprised, but John was making an 'I told you so' face behind her.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," House said weakly. He should have known not to tell his mother anything. "Thanks for ruining it."

Cuddy shot daggers at House then turned to his parents with a smile. "You know Ho...Greg. Full of surprises." She continued into the house with Blythe, but shot House a warning look that said 'you better stay as far away from me as possible'.

"Well, the more the merrier I say," Blythe went on, oblivious to the tension now filling the room.

John walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. House walked over and joined him.

"Didn't tell her, huh?" John said disapprovingly.

"Nope."

"I take it she doesn't get along with her parents?" John filled two glasses with ice.

"Nope."

"Well, you two have that in common then." John poured whiskey into the two glasses.

"I get along fine with Mom." House took the drink his father shoved into his hand.

When they turned back, Cuddy and Blythe had gone missing.

Blythe was taking Cuddy on a tour of the house. They started in the back room, where Blythe informed her she and House would be staying. "I hope that's alright dear. I just assumed you'd want to stay in the same room."

"The day is young," Cuddy grumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing. This is fine." Cuddy plastered a smile on her face, but it lacked that usual sparkle in her eyes. It was enough to please Blythe, however, so they moved on.

House sat down at the stand up piano and plunked at a couple of keys. "It's out of tune."

"No one uses it." John sat down and turned on the television. "You watch football?"

"Baseball."

"Figures." John mumbled something about a sissy's game and flipped through the channels till he found what he was looking for.

"Thinking man's game. You wouldn't understand it." House mumbled something about mindless thugs and began fiddling with the piano wires.

"Leave that alone," John complained, turning up the volume on the television.

"I'm tuning it." House stuck his head back in amongst the wires.

"Why? No one is going to use it."

"I might." House snapped. Now he would, just to spite his father. "After dinner."

"What? So we can all sit around and have a family sing along? Who are you trying to impress? Lisa?" John laughed.

"I'll be impressing her much later on tonight, but that's really none of your business." House hammered extra hard on one of the keys to test it.

"Don't be vile." John turned up the volume some more.

Blythe led Cuddy back downstairs, and into the living room. She put her hands over hear ears to drown out the competing sounds of a loud television and angry piano tuning. "Would you two please stop it?" She didn't shout, and wasn't even particularly loud, but her message got through and both men returned to reasonable noise levels. "Thank you." Blythe smiled, and Cuddy suspected it was as fake as her own.

"Now, I'm going to check on the turkey, John, why don't you show Lisa your collection?"

"Oh God," House groaned.

"Collection?" Cuddy looked around for an answer.

"Dad makes miniatures, tanks and things. It's a hobby." House explained flatly.

"It's nothing," John seemed like he would have blushed if he knew how.

"I'd love to see them." Cuddy knew that would piss House off. She smiled as she followed John into the basement.

House sighed and headed into the kitchen. "Didn't I tell you it was a surprise, Cuddy's parents coming?" He dipped a finger into the gravy and licked it off.

His mother slapped his hand playfully. "That's for the turkey. And no, you didn't say anything about a surprise."

"I'm pretty sure I did." House looked around for a spoon, and stuck that in the gravy.

"Greg!" Blythe swiped the spoon right out of his mouth. "You have to wait like everyone else." She tossed the spoon in the sink and went back to work.

"Well I meant to." House sat down and watched his mother cook.

"So?" Blythe, assured that everything was cooking on schedule, sat down across from her son, wiping her hands on her apron.

"So what?"

"You and Lisa? Is it serious? Is there a special reason you asked her parents to join us?" She nudged him in the arm.

"It was cheaper than buying her something." House looked at his mother with concern.

"Something like a ring?" Blythe wanted grandchildren before she died. She had been hopeful when he moved in with that Stacy girl, but nothing ever came of that. But Lisa, she brought new hope. She would have beautiful babies with Greg.

"A ring?" House knew what she was hinting at, and he refused to play along. "You'll just have to wait and see like everybody else. It wouldn't be fair if I told you now. Besides, you can't keep your mouth shut." He got up. Back in the day he could have run off before she could say anything, but those days were long gone.

Blythe got up and beat her son to the door, stopping him in his tracks. She looked up into his big blue eyes, and he almost felt guilty when he saw the trickle of a tear in hers, until she spoke. "You would make such beautiful babies together."

"Some family lines are meant to die out." House pushed her aside and stormed into the living room.

The doorbell rang, saving him from any further discussion with his grandchild crazed mother. "Ah, you must be Dr. and Mrs. Cuddy." He smiled at the attractive couple standing before him. He was right about Mr. Cuddy. He had definitely married Lisa's mother for her looks.

"Call me Leila." Leila walked in and gave him a gentle hug.

"I'd rather call you mother," he teased. She giggled.

"You must be Gregory House," Dr. Cuddy said, all business.

"Only on weekends and holidays." House grinned.

"Jakob," his wife warned.

"Can I call you Daddy?" House held out his arms, waiting for a hug.

"Over my dead body," Jakob replied.

'Don't tempt me,' House thought.

Cuddy came up the stairs from the basement and stopped dead in her tracks. John nearly crashed into her, causing her to move into the room.

"Mom, Dad." She nodded to her parents.

"Well?" Jakob looked around the room. "Why are we here?"

"Jakob," Leila warned. She had obviously told him to be on his best behavior, and he was obviously failing.

"Nice to see you too Dad." Cuddy walked over and gave them each a perfunctory hug.

"Lydia was devastated when we cancelled on her." Jakob complained.

"I'm sure she was." Cuddy sighed heavily. She would have preferred her parents go spend Thanksgiving with her younger sister as well. It's clearly where they wanted to be, playing with their grandchildren and rubbing her once again pregnant stomach.

"Your father's just cranky dear. It was a long drive." Leila was trying to be the peace maker. Suddenly she realized she was still holding the bottle. She came over to Blythe and held it out. "I brought some champagne."

Cuddy looked at her. "What's that for?"

"I thought we might want to celebrate, later." Leila's eyes fluttered over House before looking back at her daughter. Then she shared a motherly smile with Blythe and they ran into the kitchen like old friends.

"What does she think there is to celebrate?" Cuddy watched them go.

"You're mother thinks...well, I told her...oh, never mind. She'd kill me if I ruined the surprise." Her father watched the two women go in thinly veiled contempt.

"What surprise?" Cuddy looked at her father, then at House. Something was going on. House was clearly up to something, and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it, whatever it was.

"He has no idea what he's talking about." House took the older man by the shoulders and led him to the couch. He gave him a gentle shove toward his own father, who was glued to the game.

"House, can I talk to you in the other room?" Cuddy didn't wait for an answer. She grabbed House and pulled him into the bedroom.