A Chip Off the Old Block

.

House entered the storage closet as fast as he could. He pulled the door shut behind him as quietly as manageable. He was a little surprised to find that the light was already on. He pulled a thick cloth, rolled it up lengthwise, and shoved it under the door to prevent light from streaking out.

"Hi."

House smirked at Rachel who, apparently, was hiding from Cuddy as well. She was tucked in one corner of the closet, an Oreo halfway to her mouth.

"So... What did you do?" House took an Oreo from the pack she offered him.

Rachel grinned, not answering. House obviously already knew why.

"It's really not that hard to eat dinner first before bribing your way to cookies," he told her as he chewed. Besides, Cuddy always gave in to Rachel's requests whenever she finished her dinner.

"What you do?" Rachel watched him suspiciously as she took another cookie from her pack. She bit onto it, batted her eyelids, and continued staring at him.

"Well..." House's lips firmed into a very thin line.

Rachel started to grin lopsidedly. She knew he was in for a lot more trouble than she would be. Even if she ate cookies before dinner, she knew she'd be able to finish her dinner anyway. She wasn't going to eat so many cookies that her appetite would be spoiled.

"That bad?" She chuckled quietly at House who just smirked at her in return.

"Not really," House shrugged. "I just did something really cool at work." He winked at her which made her eyes widen with excitement.

"No!" She gasped quietly. She loved his stories about his patients and the very risky procedures he had to perform or have done to his patients.

"What did you do?" Rachel insisted, her voice a little louder. She clamped a hand on her mouth, but her bright blue eyes were still wide with curiosity and excitement.

House squinted one eye as he said, "I... Well. I kind of drilled a hole into my patient's skull."

Rachel's mouth fell open with shock and she slowly smiled with delight. "That's awesome!" She whispered in awe. In a voice she was obviously trying to keep controlled, she asked, "Did it help? Did you find out what's wrong?"

"Yup." House answered with pride.

Rachel chuckled. With a slightly confused look, she inquired, "Then why are you hiding from Mom?"

"I didn't ask for her permission," House divulged, making Rachel giggle. "And the patient's parents are really mad at me."

"You cured their kid."

"I didn't ask for permission. I just did it. Because we were running out of time."

"So, Mom's out for your head, because you didn't ask for the patient's parents' permission?" Rachel asked to clarify, biting into an Oreo and handing him the pack again. He took two. "Even if you helped their kid get better?"

House nodded. "Yup."

"The parents are morons," Rachel huffed.

Grinning, House nodded again, "That they are."

"What will Mom make you do when she finds you?" Rachel asked curiously.

"She'll make you go do your homework and him go back to work and apologize to his patient and her parents," Cuddy cut House off before he could even say anything. She swung the door open wider, smirking at the partners in crime.

"Or?"

Rachel stifled her grin as she awaited her mother's reply.

"You're sleeping on the couch with Rhino," Cuddy retorted seriously, staring House down. "For three days."

Rhino was their beagle puppy. Rachel named him after Rhinovirus. He used to sneeze a lot.

Rolling his eyes, House stood up and smirked. "You're mean," he whined at Cuddy as he started to make his way to the front door.

"You're crazy." Cuddy smirked back at him.

"You love me anyway," House threw back, glancing at her once, loving how he could always make her eyes soften when he was being playful like that.

Cuddy walked towards him, already near the front door.

"I do," Cuddy smiled as she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "But not so much when you break hospital rules and policies. And facilities."

A hand settling on his stomach, she asked, "Don't you get tired of me, bossing you around?"

Grinning as he gazed down at her, House shook his head. "Never."

Cuddy snorted. "You're probably the only man who likes it when I get angry."

"I'm sure I could rally all the men at work who loves it when you're fuming," House replied mischievously, bobbing his eyebrows up and down. "Especially since you're chest heaves when you're mad." House leered at her for a couple of seconds before adding, "Well. Some of the men. Others are afraid you'd take a letter opener and cut their balls off if they made eye contact. "

Rolling her eyes, Cuddy backhanded him on the stomach as she stepped back. "You're a pig."

House only smiled, cupping her elbow and drawing her back to him.

"What's for dinner?" he asked.

"You'll find out later. Apologize to your patient and her parents and maybe I'll add in a dessert... Or two." Cuddy winked seductively at him before making her way back to the kitchen.

"Don't even think of faking it. I've asked Wilson to supervise!" She called out over her shoulder.

House smirked.

"You're going to need this," Rachel said as she approached him. She handed him the pack of Oreos which still had five or more cookies in it.

"Thanks," House said, taking the pack.

"I think it's unfair that you have to apologize," she said, pouting a bit. "You helped. You don't have to apologize for helping."

House nodded. "Well, I should have asked for permission."

"Why didn't you?" Rachel asked curiously. "If you knew you had to have permission first, then why didn't you ask for permission first then do the cool surgery?"

House opened the front door, took a cookie from the pack and shoved it into his mouth.

Smirking, he told Rachel, "Where's the fun in that?" before closing the door behind him.

A brow still arched, Rachel followed her mom to the kitchen.

She sat herself on one of the bar stools, arms folded on top of the sleek surface.

"Mom?"

Cuddy looked at her daughter once before training her eyes back to what she was cooking.

"Yes, honey?"

"Why does Dad always get in trouble at the hospital even if he does something right? Even when he helped someone get better."

Sautéing away, Cuddy answered her and House's daughter's question. House had adopted Rachel when she turned five.

"Well, there are times when your father just... solves his case out of the blue. We call this an epiphany. Sometimes he gets really carried away that he forgets to ask for consent or permission, if one is needed. Like earlier today, when he and his team drilled into his patient's skull to get something that's been causing the patient's problems. Sometimes, he just doesn't want to get my permission. There are times when he goes behind my back and does something against the rules."

"But he did save his patient, right?"

"Yes," Cuddy said, glancing at Rachel from time to time as she moved around the kitchen.

"Then what's the problem?"

Cuddy was actually proud of their nine year old for having many questions.

"The problem is, without a signed consent, if something went wrong during the procedure, your dad would be in a lot of trouble. The hospital could get into really big trouble. If he made even the smallest mistake, he could go to jail for it, especially if he didn't have consent and waiver forms signed," Cuddy explained, keeping her words and examples simple.

"Well, what if the parents didn't agree and the procedure was the only way to keep Dad's patient alive?" Rachel asked worriedly.

Cuddy smiled inwardly.

"Normally, that'd be hard. We would have to get more proof that the procedure is the last and only option. When it comes to your father though, he keeps breaking that rule. That's why he gets into a lot of trouble."

"Was Dad ever wrong?" Rachel's brows drew together.

Smiling, Cuddy said, "Your Dad says he's always right."

Rachel chuckled. "Is that true?"

"Most of the time. But sometimes he's not. There have been a couple of times where he got things wrong. But he fixes them in the end. All your Dad needs is a really good kick in the butt."

Rachel giggled.

They remained quiet for a while, Cuddy cooking while Rachel watched her, chin propped on her folded arms, eyes observant.

"I want to be a doctor like you and Dad, Mom. You and Dad help a lot of people."

Cuddy glanced at Rachel lovingly, her eyes soft. She smiled as she set the knife she'd been using down on the chopping board. She wiped her hands on the towel next to the board and approached her daughter.

"I think you'll make a great doctor," Cuddy told Rachel, looking into her eyes. She caressed her daughter's cheek, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Really?" Rachel asked, looking up into her beautiful mother's honest gaze.

Cuddy's smile was still intact as she nodded and said, "Yes."

Rachel smiled widely at her mother, feeling really happy all of a sudden.

Cuddy went back to cooking while Rachel jumped off the stool and retrieved her books and notebook from her school bag, Rhino scampering after her. While her mother made dinner, Rachel worked on her homework.

Later that night, House helped Cuddy with the dishes. She washed, he dried.

House suddenly noticed her lips tug up in a small smile out of the corner of his eye.

"Why are you smiling?"

Cuddy glanced at him, her smile widening as she told him, "Rachel told me she wanted to be a doctor."

That made House return her smile.

"She's really smart. She'd make a great doctor someday," House stated proudly.

Cuddy suddenly chuckled.

"What?" House asked, an eyebrow arched.

Smiling fondly up at him, Cuddy handed him another plate to dry off and teased, "I couldn't imagine there being another Doctor House in Medicine."