Curiosity
Cameron had finally composed herself around noon, and it was good timing too because she was getting hungry. She noticed that House was no longer in his office. She decided to check the Clinic. He wasn't there (why did she even bother looking?). Her stomach grumbled. She decided that she could survive one lunch without House, so she went down to the ICU to fetch her sister and niece; they could go eat with her. Much to her surprise, only Angela was there, though.
"Where's Gracie?"
"House took her," said Angela.
Cameron was shocked. "Where did he take her?"
Angela shrugged. "I have no idea, but they've been gone for about an hour."
Cameron was interested now.
"Where do you think he could have taken her?" asked Angi.
Cameron shrugged. "I'm sure they're fine; you wanna go grab some lunch with me?"
Her sister's response alarmed Angi slightly, but she quickly calmed down and followed her sister to the hospital's cafeteria.
&&&&&
House sat in Room 221, an outpatient room in the Witherspoon Wing, with Grace and two other people. Elizabeth Mattock was in her hospital bed while Martha, her mother, was sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair in the corner (House had taken the comfy one).
Elizabeth and Grace exchanged stories about Cameron and House, laughing all the while. Elizabeth told Grace about how House and his team had helped her, and Grace told Elizabeth about the long road trip (according to House) that they had taken to Louisiana. Both stories interested the children, but the latter one made Elizabeth laugh.
House soon became bored with them, so he pulled out his PSP and began to play video games as Martha flipped on the television. The children didn't notice because they were too busy chatting away about their friends and their hobbies. It pleased House how well his plan was unfolding. Not only was Grace in higher spirits, but he had a chance to eavesdrop on the conversation. He was learning more and more about the little girl's lifestyle by the second.
House discovered that Grace played lacrosse and was just learning to play the guitar. She had tried the piano, but didn't like it quite as much as the guitar. Her favorite subjects were math and science (it shocked House how similar the two of them were). Her best friend's name was Anna. Blah, blah, blah. The conversation began to bore House as less important chatter began to spill from the children's mouths. That is, until he heard something that interested him more than anything else he'd heard so far.
&&&&&
Ally and Angi had finished off a decent lunch and were pondering places that House could have taken Gracie. They checked Pediatrics and Oncology (why, they have no clue). They checked the Daycare Center. They checked Wilson's, House's, and Cuddy's offices. The two were no where to be found. A quick peek in the parking lot, though, told them that House was still at the hospital (or at least his bike was). Finally giving up and deciding that House would return Grace to her mother when the time was right, Cameron decided to introduce her sister to Ray.
Cameron walked into the research lab, uninvited as usual, to find only Whitner. "Hey Whitner," she said. "Have you seen Ray?"
"You mean Grant?"
Cameron smirked. "Yeah."
"She's with her patient I think."
"Do you know what room her patient's in?"
"Um… no," said Whitner. Why should Cameron be so urgent to see Grant anyways? "I think she's in the Witherspoon Wing, though."
Cameron nodded and said her goodbyes as she led her sister out of the research lab.
&&&&&
Ray was stunned when she entered her patient's room to discover that her cousin and some random child were in there as well.
"Um… hi, Greg," said Ray. "Whatcha doin' here?"
House shrugged. "We just came to hang out."
"Of course you did," said Ray incredulously. "I don't believe we've met." Ray walked over to Grace and greeted her.
"I'm Grace," said the girl.
"I'm Dr. Grant," said Ray, still confused as to why this child and her cousin were in Elizabeth's room.
"She's Cameron's niece," clarified House. "She was getting bored, so I thought we'd drop by and say hello."
"Right..." said Ray. There had to be more to this story.
&&&&&
Angi and Ally walked down the halls towards the Witherspoon Wing in pursuit of Ray. Little did they know that they would also find what they'd been looking for all day.
"What are you doing here?" asked Cameron in shock. "We've been looking for you two everywhere!"
"Hi, Mommy!" said Grace quickly with a grin plastered on her face.
Angi smiled. "Hi sweetheart," she cooed. "Have you been here all this time?"
Grace nodded. "This is my new friend, Lizzie."
Angi smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lizzie."
Elizabeth smiled and welcomed her new friend's mother.
House, on the other hand, was eager to leave now that Grace had proper supervision. "Can I talk to you?" he muttered to Cameron.
Cameron nodded in curiosity as House took her arm and led her out of the room.
&&&&&
House had to know if what Grace had said earlier was true, and he knew asking Angi wouldn't be the right thing to do, so he decided to confront Cameron about it.
"Is Grace really Charlie's daughter?"
Cameron shushed him. "Be quiet, Grace doesn't know about that."
House smirked. So it was true. "Yeah, she knows."
Cameron's jaw dropped. "She knows?"
House nodded. "Whose kid is she?"
Cameron tilted her neck in frustration. House really did need to learn to control his curiosity. "You set this little play date up just so you could eavesdrop, didn't you?"
House didn't respond, but his reluctance was enough for Cameron.
"Angi was divorced before she met Charlie," she said. "She was also pregnant. No one ever told Grace because we didn't think it mattered. Charlie's been the perfect dad for her even though she isn't his own, so why should she have to know?"
House shrugged. "She's a bright kid."
"How did she find out?"
House shrugged again. "It's kind of obvious considering she has reddish brown hair, your sister has brown hair, and Charlie has black hair. And then there are the eyes--."
"I get your point," sighed Cameron. "So she knows?"
House nodded.
Cameron was in awe. "I never doubted she was a smart kid."
&&&&&
House, Cameron, Angi, and Grace all decided to bring Charlie some take-out for dinner. Angi felt bad for not spending the day with him, and Grace felt just as much remorse. Charlie, on the other hand, didn't seem too bothered by their absence. He had been too busy catching up on work on his laptop anyways.
"Daddy!" squealed the little girl. She ran to her father's bedside and gave him a kiss.
"Hey, Sweetie," he smiled. "How was your day?"
Grace proceeded to tell her father all about House and Elizabeth. Everything seemed to completely fascinate Charlie.
House quickly came to the conclusion that maybe Cameron and Angela hadn't made a mistake in hiding Grace's paternity.
