"One And Only" – A sequel to "Set Fire To The Rain"
Thanks for all the reviews you leave me (or I force you to leave! xD) because they really inspire me to write more. I get people liked the fluffiness of this story, but I decided to add some mild drama, nothing too dramatic. And maybe what happens in this chapter would lead to "something" in the 9th chapter, huh? Got the hint, chicks? (You asked for it xD). Wilson appears in this chapter and will be mentioned in the next ones too; and because of Sheis1963's manipulative teddy bear-y skills there will be a woman in his life (not a wife, just a girlfriend). I forgot to thank partypantscuddy in the last two chapters, but hey, you know who she is and you already know she's my beta for this story!
- FIGHTING IN A FLAT READERS - I might update next week :) The new chapters are already done and translated, I'm waiting for my other beta to find some free time to conclude the editing.
Chapter 8
So I dare you to let me be all, the one and only
I promise I'm worthy to hold in your arms
So come on and give me the chance
To prove up I'm the one who can
Walk them miles until the air starts
"Mom, where's Lisa?" Julia asked exiting the kitchen followed by David and the kids. Arlene smirked. "I wouldn't be surprised if those two were already going at it." The three adults laughed at the elder woman's comment. In that moment House and Cuddy came into the living room, causing another laughing fit. Eric leaned towards Rachel with a puzzled look. "Rach, why does your daddy have auntie Lisa's lip gloss all over his face?" Rachel stared at her cousin and shrugged, too focused on coloring her book. But she knew that wouldn't the last time her mommy would share her make-up with House.
Contrary to her family's and friends' belief, Arlene could be a very nice and understanding grandmother. She unconditionally loved her grandchildren even if she thought that kids were awful and every time she happened to baby sit them she'd end up with a cold, but the sneezing and headaches were worth the fun and pride to have such healthy and happy kids calling her grandma.
That Saturday morning Arlene was awakened by the loud cries of Emma. She paced silently down the hallway to find both her daughters collected around the baby's crib. Lisa was leaned down towards the crying baby, a hand touching the overly warm forehead. "Jules, I need a thermometer. You still remember where mom keeps them, don't you?" she asked in a whisper, lifting the kid in her arms and rocking her gently, trying to make her stop crying. Julia nodded and immediately flew out of the room, glancing briefly at her mother who had now reached the door.
"Lisa... what's wrong?" she asked truly concerned. "Emma's running a fever and it's getting worse." she informed her mother trying her best not to tear up. "Aren't you a doctor?" she asked one more time to her daughter who in reply scoffed and tuned her attention back to her crying daughter. "Come on Lisa, hand Emma over and call House." she offered with a small smile. Cuddy nodded and eased Emma in the elder woman's arms. "Mommy will be right back, honey" she reassured the baby and left the room, looking for her phone. When she finally found it, she immediately dialed House's number which she knew by heart, and impatiently waited for him to call. "House." he greeted in a groggy tone. "House, it's me. Emma's feverish and she's been crying for almost half an hour." she informed him. "I'll be there in half an hour top." He could hear her sobbing lightly from the other end of the phone and tried to find the words to comfort her, but he wasn't really that type of person, so he told her to stay with the kid, monitor her and make sure the fever won't get higher. "It's going to be okay. I'm already on my way." he said, ending the call.
Arlene was still trying to soothe her youngest granddaughter, when both Julia and Lisa entered the room. Julia handed the thermometer to Lisa, who immediately scooped her daughter up from her mother's arms and checked her temperature. "Shit!" she exclaimed a couple minutes later. "Julia, get me a basin, fill it with cold water and bring also a washcloth." Arlene ordered her younger daughter. She approached her daughter and the crying kid and kissed Lisa on the crown of her head. "I'm sure it's nothing too serious. When House gets here he'll call you stupid for crying over this." she said, earning a small sad smile from Lisa. Emma in the meanwhile had started dozing off in her mother's arms, snuggling into her chest seeking for warmth.
When Julia emerged from the hallway with the items her mother had requested, she sat everything on the bedside table and sighed. "The kids are waking up. I'll take care of them, you stay here with Emma. I guess House is coming over-" Lisa nodded. "-then I'll send him up as soon as he gets here." she concluded, kissing her sister on the forehead. Arlene, in the meanwhile, had wet the piece of cloth and was caressing Emma's forehead with it, trying to soothe the now sleeping baby. Emma didn't even fuss, but leaned into her grandmother's soft touch. " Thanks mom." Lisa said in a whisper. "It's okay, honey. I have done it for you and for your sister when you were kids, I don't see why I shouldn't do it again for my granddaughter." she admitted. Cuddy leaned onto her mother's side, placing her head on her shoulder. "Happy birthday mom." Arlene smiled and kissed her daughter's head.
Twenty minutes later, House finally drove up to the Cuddy household's driveway in his Honda. He had chosen his bike in order to avoid the morning traffic because even if it was Saturday, people were leaving early in the morning to enjoy the weekend away from the city. When he rang the doorbell, he was immediately greeted by David, who opened the door and told him to go upstairs. House climbed the stairs as fast as he could, groaning in pain when he put too much pressure on his leg. Cuddy met him outside the door. "Hey." She said. "She's sleeping now. After I called you I checked her temperature and it reached 102.4 °F." she informed him.
He followed her inside the bedroom, bringing his backpack with him and noticed that Arlene was there too, holding a washcloth on Emma's forehead. "Mrs Cuddy…" he said and leaned towards his daughter, looking for any new symptom. "She usually wakes up at about midnight to be fed, but when she didn't wake up I went to check on her and she was shivering lightly, so I checked her forehead and she was warm but I didn't give her any meds because she wasn't that feverish. She woke up about an hour ago, crying and… I have no idea what's wrong." Cuddy explained. House stared intently at the kid, analyzing the way her little lungs made her chest rise and fall in a slow but steady rhythm. "Has she being coughing lately?" he asked. Cuddy shook her head no. "Nope, but I noticed that her eyes were a little red last night." House nodded. "It could be a simple infection, Cuddy. Nothing to worry about. We have to keep her temperature low, but if it gets higher, I'm taking her to the hospital." he said.
Cuddy sighed. "I'm a doctor, why didn't I think of any of this!" she cried. "Lisa, it's normal. It's the first time Emma gets sick, it's normal to go into panic a little." Arlene informed her daughter. House nodded and looked up at Cuddy. Arlene excused herself and left House and Cuddy alone with the sleeping infant. "I should have known." she said. "Come here." He said, gesturing her to come closer. She sat on the bed at his left, next to where Emma's crib had been moved. She leaned against his side and nuzzled her nose in his neck, in response he wrapped his arm around her mid-section comforting her. "It's okay. Stop feeling guilty over nothing. She's going to be fine." He said, kissing the crown of her head.
"I'm going to give her some Paracetamol through an IV." He informed Cuddy, while scooping up his backpack from the ground and extracting an IV bag. "How come you have an IV bag in your backpack?" she asked puzzled. "Stole it on my way here from the hospital." He informed her with a boyish grin. She smiled a small smile and shook her head, while leaning towards her daughter to make sure she stood still, while House pinched her with the needle. Emma didn't wake up, but fussed a little, only to be stopped by her mother's caresses.
After a couple minutes, Emma started whining and when she opened her eyes, House immediately came closer to check. "Fuck. Cuddy, I'm taking her to the hospital. Her liver's not working well. Take Emma, I'll grab your purse and your car keys." He said in a hurry. Cuddy stopped dead in her track: her daughter needed to be taken to the hospital. A tear ran down her cheek. "Cuddy, I don't want you to panic right now. Emma doesn't need this. Come on." House said, walking down the stairs. Cuddy nodded and quickly held her daughter in her arms and cautiously ran down the stairs. After informing everyone about the bad news, House and Cuddy entered her car and he drove them to Princeton Plainsboro.
Fifteen minutes later, they finally entered PPTH's parking lot. He parked the car and helped Cuddy to get out of the car, and together they walked as fast as they could towards the big glass door of a well known place. Nurses and doctors stared in disbelief at the two doctors but especially at Cuddy who was holding a kid in her arms. They didn't talk to anyone, but simply took the elevator to reach Pediatrics. Upon seeing her ex-boss and the Diagnostician, Dr. Emerald ran towards them. Seeing the pained expression of the older woman, holding the baby tightly in her arms, she approached them quickly. "Dr Cuddy, what's wrong?" she asked, taking the baby in her arms and examining her while walking inside one of the free rooms. "She's been running a fever, it reached 102.4°F earlier" Cuddy informed her. "We ruled out a simple infection when we saw that her eyes and her skin were slightly yellow. Her liver is not working fine. I'm not a pediatrician, so we took her here." House concluded. "You did the right thing. You can't imagine how many doctors did the mistake of taking care of their one kids but without being specialized in pediatrics." she said, while examining the baby scrupulously. "And judgment can be misleading if you're treating a member of the family or a friend." She concluded. "Her fever's high. Did you give her anything for it?" she finally asked. "We gave her Paracetamol through an IV." Cuddy answered. The other doctor nodded and kept examining the kid. "Oh, and she had a mild case of conjunctivitis. Her eyes were a little red last night." she added.
"I confirm what House ruled out, a simple infection or a liver infection would have caused other symptoms. High fever, high sensibility to the light and conjunctivitis lead me to think she had a severe case of Exanthema Subitum." Dr Emerald explained. "And the liver dysfunction?" Cuddy asked concerned. "It happens, in rare cases and her being so little can be an incentive to that." she said. House nodded and thanked the doctor. "We'll keep her under observation for today and tonight, if the fever gets down and the antibiotics work then you could take her home by tomorrow afternoon." she informed them, before calling a nurse and ordering her to set a room for the kid and for her parents. "There's nothing to worry about, Dr Cuddy. When you were here, you made sure to have the best stuff over here." She said with a smile. "Thanks Ines." she said.
"In a couple days the fever will be completely gone but, as you already know, she'll start showing a red rash, luckily it's not itchy nor contagious. Has she been in any contact with other kids from 4-6 months till 2 years?" she asked while walking down the hallway, following the nurse who was holding Emma. "Rachel is almost 4, but she had already had roseola." House said. Cuddy stared at him puzzled. "You were at that conference in Chicago, you left me baby-sitting." he confessed. "And you didn't tell me? What the hell, House!" she half yelled. Dr Emerald laughed. "I see that nothing has changed between the two of you" she said with a smile. Cuddy shook her head and managed a small smile. "Believe me, a lot of things have changed." She said. "Well, James has been talking about you since you left." Dr Emerald informed her ex-boss. "Wilson?" Cuddy asked. "Please tell me you're not dating him." Emerald giggled and nodded. "Oh god." Cuddy said. "Oh come on Cuddles, you seriously thought out Wonder Boy of Oncology could keep it in his pants that long after Sam dumped his sorry ass?" House said with a smirk. "No, but I thought he was more clever and wouldn't date someone from the hospital." she admitted, but corrected herself when she met the other woman's glare. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you two and I'd make sure to give you hell if you end up hurting him or vice versa." She said with a smile, earning another in return from Ines.
"We're here." She said when they finally reached the room where Emma was supposed to be. She lead them inside and before closing the door behind she talked. "I'm sure the rumor mill is going crazy right now about you being back and entering the hospital with House and a baby… so, what do I have to say?" she asked. Cuddy sighed and massaged her pounding forehead. "Do you have a patient soon?" she asked. Emerald shook her head. "I guess it's time we tell Wilson too." she told House, who nodded in reply. "I'm paging him." Emerald offered. Cuddy nodded and sat next to Emma's little bed, staring at her and thinking that she what she had kept a secret for so long, was now due to be known by the entire world. She sighed and caressed her daughter's forehead, before leaning onto the chair and looking up at House, who perfectly knew what she was thinking.
A good five minutes later, Wilson finally came into the room. His jaw dropped to the floor at the sight of Cuddy, and his heart started to beat a bit faster when he noticed that there was a baby next to her in a crib. His eyes darted from House to Cuddy to his girlfriend before stopping definitely on the sleeping infant. "Oh my god!" he said before slumping back and leaning against the door, trying to overtake the feeling of dizziness and incredulity. "James, are you okay?" Ines asked approaching him from the side, trying to hold him up. "Yeah, I… I'm fine…" he said before taking another glimpse of the baby. "No… I'm not fine…" he said. House couldn't help but smirk. When Wilson finally sat down on the nearer chair, Cuddy cleared her voice and started telling him everything about the previous months.
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