Chapter 8 Two nights later

Chapter 8 Two nights later

Marquette, MI Airport

House limped out of the bathroom while wondering (for the 10,000th time) how the Hell he'd let Cuddy talk him into this trip. She thinks we'll be able to live up here? Yeah right! He saw her sitting on a bench and waiting for him. "Get used to the cold yet?"

"It isn't that much worse than Jersey. Deal with it," she retorted, not giving him an inch. "Besides Patty's waiting for us."

"The strong arm committee. Wonder if they called Dad in too?" he inquired sarcastically.

"I told her not to," she assured him. "Let's try to have some fun this weekend. I'm glad not to have a budget in front of me for once. Besides…." She grinned. "…you owe me for the last time."

"I owe you?" He snorted. "Right. It isn't my fault you can't make s 'mores straight."

"This time, House, I'll be ready. I'm taking my title back," she asserted.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. You're pissed that I escaped Clinic duty for the last month and a half," he retorted.

"A bet's a bet. I'm good for them," she insisted before seeing their friend waiting for them on the other side of security. "There she is." She waved.

"Oh goodie!" he deadpanned.

She elbowed him in the side. "Behave."

He rolled his eyes but did so.

"Hi, Patty! Thanks for driving up to get us!" Cuddy greeted as she embraced her former classmate.

"No trouble at all, Lisa! It's great to see you both again. I'm sorry about what happened," Patty indicated.

"Politics and all of that stuff," he discounted.

"Still, it's a shame that you'd have to lose your jobs over it," Patty continued while glancing at Cuddy's new ring and then back at him. "At least you're standing by her, Greg. I knew you two had something special."

"Yeah well, she'd hunt me down if I didn't," he jabbed albeit seriously.

Cuddy chuckled. "That's the truth. We're going to be a family now. I just hope the world can stand it."

Patty smiled warmly. Underneath their banter, she detected the same shared warmth she'd felt on their previous trip. "Enough of that for now, guys. This weekend, you're just going to have fun…Well other than one morning, that is."

"One morning?" Cuddy asked.

Here we go, he realized to himself.

Patty shrugged and offered a guilty smirk. "When you said you were coming, I called Cold Harbor Hospital. They insisted I bring you both up for interviews and a tour."

"Hey, Lisa, don't look now but that's the welcome wagon, right?" he queried, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Shucks! Too bad I didn't bring my suit!"

"You didn't. I did," Cuddy clarified with the gotcha smile.

"Yeah. Sorry I missed that," he apologized half-cynically while trying not to roll his eyes.

"We'll be glad to tour the facility and talk with them," Cuddy accepted. "Meantime we need to get to baggage claim."

"Follow me. We'll get dinner on the way back to the OC," Patty agreed as she led them down the hall.

He felt his leg getting sore again. To combat it, he shoved several more Vicodin down the hatch. Now they're calling it the OC? Yeah don't they wish! He limped after them.

Edwards Inn—Orchard Cove—Later that night

To their credit, Patty, her husband and the rest of the town chipped in on a wonderful surprise dinner for House and Cuddy thoroughly shocking the two guests of honor in the process. Everyone enjoyed the festivities, using the opportunity to catch up and even stage a mini-reunion to make up for the aborted one from two months earlier.

The new sheriff officially "lifted the ban" so to speak, apologizing for Struthers' actions.

While he kept a straight face for Cuddy's sake, House wasn't comfortable with the affair. He knew that this was all part of some hidden agenda to get them to move back there. Admittedly, he was already missing his soaps and the equipment at PPTH. He was going into 'puzzle withdrawal'. He needed a case or something.

Maybe this tour would be a good thing…..

Later in the room, he couldn't sleep. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling and counting the tiles over and over again. He glanced over at her. Glad she could sleep through a freight train going by! Must be nice!

The memories were stirring, bugging him again. They swept him in their wake. Back in time once more.

Back to his past…..

Cold Harbor Hospital—February 1984

House sat in the cold hospital room, waiting for the doctors to finish looking at his uncle. Why him? Why now? He rolled his eyes. He knew the older man had issues with tremors and seizures but that the latter took meds for them.

Everything had been under control just hours earlier when they were fishing along the lake. They were pulling everything up in sight from the water, racking up quite the killer count.

Then the elder man's eyes rolled back into his head. He grabbed his chest and collapsed to the dock.

Now all he could do was wait for the word to come back. He saw doctors running in and out of the room frantically; their facial expressions indicating that they had no idea what was going on.

"Keep an eye on him," a familiar and unwelcome voice commanded in passing.

House looked up to see his father marching down the hall toward his brother's room.

Just what we need! The teenager winced in pain.

"Greg, it's okay," his mother assured him. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why's he in there? This figures!" House retorted.

At that moment, his father snapped, "What'd you do now, Boy? What the Hell did you do?" He backhanded his son across the face.

"What did I…?" He scrunched his eyes defiantly at his father. "It's his stupid condition, Dad! I was just fishing! I got 911 as fast as I could!"

"Don't call it STUPID!" Jeff House growled while hitting him again.

"Jeff, stop! Greg didn't mean it like that. Quit hitting him," his wife tried to intercede.

But another fist crashed into his face and all went black.

Modern Day

"House! HOUSE!" Cuddy shook him hard to wake him up.

He sat up suddenly; his eyes wide open. "Don't hit me again!"

"Nobody's hitting you! It's a nightmare." She embraced him tightly, holding him against herself. "It's okay. You're with me in the hotel room."

Within a minute, he had his bearings again. "Wow."

"Want to talk about it?" She had gotten up and put on her robe.

"Just my uncle and old stuff. Welcome back to the old town, ya know?" he supposed while heading for the bathroom. He stood in there, looking in the mirror at his reflection.

As with the last trip, he saw the traumatized teenager staring back at him.

Great. This crap again! He poured several more Vicodin into his hand and dry swallowed them. How am I going to deal with that damn hole if I can't deal with the memories? Cuddy needs this job. Hell, I need this stupid job.

"It's your father, isn't it?" she supposed.

"Ooh now we're getting back into the Susie Freud routine. Really clever there, Cuddy," he snarked.

She stepped right into his path and shook her head. "Now I know something's wrong."

"And clairvoyant too? Wow. Save that one for the interview tomorrow. You'll be the hot shot administrator again in no time," he continued.

"Your father isn't there, House. We can stay away from him. It's okay," she assured him.

"Whatever. I need coffee. I won't sleep now," he declared tersely.

She rolled her eyes. Neither of us will now! What happened? And why do I get the feeling that this trip tomorrow is going to blow up in our faces?