Thursday came quickly, and the three found themselves back at Dr. Wardner's office. David told her about the time he had been spending with House, and then went back out to the waiting room to let House and Wilson have their sessions. He flipped through the waiting room magazines and vowed to bring a book next time. Now he had nothing to do but sit and wonder what was going on inside that office.
Finally, he was called back in. He took a seat right next to House and grabbed the doctor's large hand. All three adults noticed that David was being abnormally clingy.
Dr. Wardner cleared her throat and began. "So, David's told me that things are going a lot better at home. I'm sure that will be a relief to you, Dr. Wilson."
Wilson nodded.
"And Wilson has told me that he's going to be hanging out with you this weekend, David. What are your plans?"
"We're going to the library," David answered excitedly. Dr. Wardner laughed.
"Sounds like a fun plan. Is there anything special going on at the library?"
"No, just the summer reading program. If I read twelve more books, I can get a free pass to Six Flags."
Dr. Wardner's eyes twinkled in amusement. She reckoned that did not include a free pass for an adult, or gas to get all the way to Lakewood. But the fact that David wasn't thinking about those things was a good sign.
"So how do they know how many books you've read?"
"Wilson signs off on my sheet. I've read eight since I started," David told her proudly.
"That's great! Can House sign off for you, or is it just Wilson?"
"House could do it too, but..." David suddenly trailed off.
"But what?"
David shook his head. "Never mind. Nothing."
House and Wilson exchanged a quick look. They were both fully aware that it wasn't nothing. Dr. Wardner changed her tactic.
"So who will be taking you to Six Flags when you win?"
David shrugged. "Wilson, I guess." He wanted the answer to be both House and Wilson, but he knew that wasn't possible right now.
"House can't come?" It was as if Dr. Wardner had read his mind.
"He can come, but..." Again, he trailed off. This time House broke in.
"I'd like to go, David. But only if you want me to come," he added tentatively.
David looked up at House in shock. "Of course I want you to come!"
"Then why won't you ask me?"
David looked down and mumbled something.
"What was that, David?" asked Dr. Wardner.
"I didn't want to bother you," he told House, still looking down.
House looked at Dr. Wardner as if seeking some sort of answer. She just nodded at him, as if to say, go ahead, let's see what you've got.
"David," House began, "you're not bothering me. I love spending time with you. I want to look at your library sheet. I think it would be really cool if we could ride the Superman coaster together."
David was quiet for a minute. Finally, he softly told House, "Okay."
Dr. Wardner broke in. "David, I'm sure Dr. House doesn't want you to feel like you're a nuisance or that he doesn't have time for you. What can we do to make sure Dr. House can spend enough time with you when you need him?"
David thought about what he really wanted to say. "The problem isn't time. He has enough time," he whispered. "The problem is that sometimes he gets really sad, and doesn't want to do anything. With anybody. I tried everything I could think of to make him feel better, but nothing worked."
House wanted to die. Here David was diagnosing him with depression, when he himself had not even realized David was suicidal just over a year ago. How could he have put so much responsibility on David's shoulders? And how could he reclaim that responsibility?
"David," House said, squeezing the nine year old's hand. "You don't have to make me feel better. That's not your job. And besides, just by being you, you make me happy most days."
"Not this summer," David protested.
"No, not this summer," House agreed. "But I was really hurting this summer. There was no way you could have brought me out of it."
"Because of what Wilson did?"
Looking at Wilson, House nodded. "Yes. He hurt my feelings, and I was sad about it for a long time."
David considered House's words. "What did Wilson do?"
House hesitated. "It was a grown-up thing, babe."
"So you're not going to tell me?" David looked at Wilson. "What did you do, Wilson?"
"Sweetie, like House said, it was a grown-up thing."
David wasn't buying it. "How can I keep myself from doing the same thing if I don't know what it was? What if I make House sad, too?"
Appalled, House answered, "You won't. Trust me."
"But how do you know?"
House sighed. Looking at Wilson for a sign, the two reached a silent agreement. House launched into the PG-rated version. Dr. Wardner listened politely, curious to see how House was going to explain this.
"Okay. You know Wilson and I love each other, right?"
David hadn't been so sure recently, but he nodded. House continued.
"Well, we sort of promised each other that we would only love each other – and you. That we wouldn't love other people. And Wilson...found somebody else to love for a while. And that was very hurtful to me. Does that make sense?"
David pondered. "I think so. It would be kind of like if Sammy had a different best friend for a while and didn't like me anymore?"
"Yes, sort of like that. So that's what happened." House was glad he had gotten away with the kid-friendly version. "Do you have any questions?"
"Yeah...why did Wilson want somebody else? Why wouldn't he love you the best?"
House choked up for a second. Wilson took over. "I don't know, sweetie. It was a mistake. I just didn't realize what I had with your daddy."
"Do you miss him now?"
Wilson nodded fiercely. "Very much."
"He misses you, too. Right, Daddy?"
House didn't want to be dragged into this conversation, but because it was David asking, couldn't help nodding slightly.
"Are you done loving the other person, Wilson?"
"Yes, it's been over for a long time now."
"Then I think you should come back home."
Now it was Dr. Wardner's turn to take over. "That's not your decision, David. That is something that Dr. House and Dr. Wilson will need to discuss between the two of them, on their own. But we all value your opinion. Right, gentlemen?"
House and Wilson both nodded their assent.
"Do you have any other questions, David?"
"No, not really. I think Daddy explained it pretty well about loving someone else. I guess I didn't understand what had happened – I thought Wilson had met someone and had sex!"
Wilson turned bright red and looked away from David, hoping he hadn't noticed. Dr. Wardner had a slight coughing fit, and she could have sworn she saw a twinkle in House's eye.
The next day was Friday, and House decided to play hooky. He called in to work, then went right back to bed. He didn't even bother to wake David up. House figured David, who was still getting hardly any sleep at all, could use the extra time. Around ten, House got out of bed himself and brewed coffee, the thought about breakfast. If Wilson had been around, he would have made pancakes. That was never House's style.
He got out milk and cereal, all the while thinking that this is what David had been doing for weeks. Before he could let himself feel bad, he got online to check some details, then couldn't wait any longer to wake David up. David shuffled into the kitchen and tried to wolf down his cereal. House just watched.
After a while, David noticed that House was watching him, and became slightly nervous. He put down his spoon.
"How would you like to go see Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix today?" House asked. David's eyes lit up.
"Could we?"
"Sure, I took the day off of work."
"Cool! When can we go?"
House shrugged. "There's a matinee showing at noon, if you think you'll be ready in time."
David jumped out of his chair and ran to the bathroom. House grinned as he heard the shower turn on not one minute later. Soon David was ready, and the two piled into House's car. House took a route that David was unfamiliar with.
"Daddy...where are we going? I thought we were going to the movies?"
"We are," House reassured him. "But I thought it would be neat to see this one on an IMAX screen."
David's eyes got wide. He had heard of IMAX, but had never actually been to one. By all accounts, movies on IMAX were totally cool. House found a parking space, and the two went inside to buy their tickets.
The movie was amazing. It was almost like experiencing it in 3-D – the screen was so large that it felt like it surrounded David. At the end of the movie, when Dumbledore explained to Harry his reasons for remaining distant, David felt a pang of emotion. He, too, had just come out from a summer spent being distant from the one he loved and looked up to most. He reached out and grabbed House's hand, just to see what the doctor would do. House squeezed back. David smiled.
The two went to a diner for lunch, then returned home for a lazy afternoon in front of the television. After a while, David became bored with the t.v., but didn't want to leave House. He came up with a compromise. He went to his room, grabbed his laptop, then returned to his place by House's side. The two stayed together on the couch for hours, House watching t.v. and David surfing the net.
When David awoke the next morning, his first thought was, Wilson's coming today! He scrambled out of bed to get ready in time. On their way to the library, David decided to find out what Wilson really thought about coming home.
"Wilson? How long do you think Daddy's going to stay mad at you?"
Wilson wasn't really sure how to respond. "I don't think he's actually mad anymore, sweetie. I think he's just really hurt right now."
"Have you tried apologizing? Remember when I had that fight with Sammy after I got found in New York? I was pretty stupid, but when I apologized, he said it was okay. Then we were friends again, even though I punched him."
Wilson almost laughed. "Yes, I've already apologized. House knows I'm sorry."
"Then why won't he forgive you?"
"Because...because I did a really bad thing."
"Worse than giving Sammy a black eye?"
"Yes, worse than that. And if I try to rush House, or push him too much to accept my apology, then it's only going to make him feel worse. So I'm giving him as much time as it takes. Understand?"
"Sure," David said uncertainly. But inside he was scheming.
It started when a bouquet of flowers showed up at the house. David had bought himself a prepaid Visa debit card at the grocery store, then used it to order the flowers online. When they were delivered, House looked at them strangely.
"Where do you suppose these flowers came from, David?"
David shrugged innocently. "Probably Wilson. Why?"
Wilson had never sent House flowers before, so the man had no reason to doubt their origin. But something didn't feel quite right to House.
Later, when David had already gone to sleep and he knew he could talk privately, House called Wilson.
"I got a bouquet of flowers today."
Wilson became somewhat agitated. "Who from? Have you been seeing someone?"
Ah hah, thought House. "So they're not from you?"
"No," said Wilson, sounding very confused. "Why would I send you flowers?"
"I have no idea," answered House. He went to bed with his mind racing through the possibilities.
A few days later, when Wilson picked David up, as soon as they were in the car and out of sight from House, David handed Wilson a nicely decorated bag. Wilson took it and opened it. It contained another, smaller plastic bag full of brownies, and a card. He looked at David. David shrugged.
"House says this is for you."
David had figured out how to make brownies from a mix. After his summer, something like making brownies no longer seemed like a monumental task. House had asked him what he was doing, and in order to ward off suspicion, David gave House a brownie. House never seemed to notice that after all that work to make an entire batch of brownies, there was only one left in the end.
David had carefully written the note on the card, then forged House's signature. He used to forge his mother's signature all the time, because he never knew what little thing – a field trip permission form, a note about his hygiene, a teacher's beginning of the year letter – would set her off. He had never tried to forge House's signature before, because he had never had a good reason. But now he had found a reason, and Wilson seemed to be buying it.
This time it was Wilson who called House.
"Thank you for the brownies," he said hesitantly.
House was lost. "Is that...some kind of code?"
"No, the brownies. David brought them today."
House racked his brain. He vaguely recalled David making brownies, and now couldn't remember what they had done with the rest of them. Had those brownies been for Wilson?
"And thank you for the card," Wilson continued. "It was very sweet."
What card? It was time to come clean. "Wilson, I have no earthly idea what we're talking about."
There was a long pause. Then, "You didn't send brownies and a card for me with David?"
"No."
An even longer pause as both Wilson and House realized what was going on. "I feel like such an idiot. Of course you wouldn't be sending me brownies. Not when you hate me."
Now House felt bad. "I don't hate you, Wilson." House thought about what he was saying, and realized it was actually true. "I still love you. I just...can't believe you would hurt me like that."
Wilson began to choke up. "I never meant to hurt you, House." After a pause, he added, "I never meant to hurt David, either."
"What do you mean? I'm the one that hurt David."
"Because of what I did to you."
This was the fist time House had thought about the situation from that perspective. He wasn't sure what he felt, but he thought it might be relief. Maybe he wasn't the only one responsible for this fiasco of a summer. As much as he loved David, in some ways having a child was a burden. Maybe this burden was still shared with Wilson. As much as House had always expected to be abandoned by Wilson, the younger man was still here. Still helping him to look after David. Still trying, even though he thought House hated him. House was lost in his thoughts, trying to sort everything out.
Wilson became nervous when House didn't respond. "Greg? Are you still there?"
Wilson had called him Greg. It had been months since House had heard his first name – nobody besides Wilson ever used it. And recently Wilson had been distant, either emotionally or physically. House fought the urge to tell Wilson to come home immediately. He knew if he let Wilson come home without setting some sort of boundaries, that it was very possible that Wilson would stray again. The problem was, House had no idea how to go about setting those boundaries. They were going to need professional help.
