A/N: Hello everybody and welcome to Chapter 10. It's a little longer and fluffier than the previous chapters, but please forgive me. I've had the pleasure of being off of work for the past week, but I have to get ready to go back, so the chapters may becoming a little slower, but the story will continue. We are about half way through and I am working out the ending.
I want to say a HUGE thank you for everyone who has left reviews of any kind. All reviews are greatly appreciated, as well as any suggestions and comments. Please continue to review and let me know what you think. Happy reading!
Chapter 10: Dads and Daughters
The flight to Chicago was uneventful and Lisa was delighted when they finally pulled up to the front of the hotel that they would be staying at. House gave the keys of their rental car to the valet, while two men emerged from the lobby to gather their luggage. He placed his hand at the small of her back, directing her towards the door that was being held open for them.
"Welcome to The James Chicago," the gentleman says to them in a pleasant voice. Lisa stops and stares at House in shock.
"You have us staying at one of the most exclusive hotels in Chicago?" She asks him turning to face him.
"We'll be here a month, we should at least be comfortable," he replies with a shrug.
"We can be comfortable at the Days Inn," she says sarcastically. "Here at The James Chicago we'll be too pampered to go home."
"Then I guess I better change our reservations to extend throughout your pregnancy," he says with a smirk. His smirk turns into a grin as he watches her mouth drop open, and her grey-blue eyes grow wide.
"You are so sure of yourself," she snarls at him.
"Of course I am," he responds, once again guiding her towards the reception desk. "I have every intention of leaving Chicago with you, pregnant with my child; no matter what I have to do to achieve it." He managed to shock her into speechlessness again; just what he had intended.
"Welcome to The James Chicago, how may I assist you today?" The lovely woman behind the counter greets them.
"Dr. Gregory House checking in," he replies with a smile, handing over his credit card. The young lady taps a few keys on her computer and then looks up to House with a gracious smile.
"I have your reservations for the Penthouse Loft for a complete month," she says taking his credit card and swiping it. Lisa rounds on House again, but before she can say anything, he bends down and kisses her lightly on her lips.
"Just let me do this Lisa," he whispers against her lips. "I want nothing more than to take care of you for the next month. I know that after that all bets are off."
She nods her head unable to give voice to any of the thoughts pouring through her head. He had managed to not only stun her, but also make her feel as if she means something to him. She quietly lets him finish the transaction with Brittany, the receptionist, and get their keys. Brittany lets him know that the concierge is available 24 hours a day, and that there is a spa on the premises. She also lets him know that their luggage had already been taken up to the room, and to not hesitate if there is anything that they need.
House and Cuddy ride up in the elevator in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. They have a meeting at the clinic tomorrow morning, but nothing to do between now and then. Greg smiles, a thought running through his head that they should probably avoid being alone together anywhere near a bed, or they could cancel their meeting and hope for the best.
"Why are you grinning like you've hatched some evil plan?" She asks him, giving him a sideways glance. The elevator arrives on their, and the doors slide open soundlessly. They exit and approach one of only two doors on the floor.
"Maybe I have," he replies, his grin getting wider. If he didn't watch out he would erupt into giggles, and then she'd really become worried. Probably have him committed for a couples night observation.
The Penthouse Loft was a spacious two bedroom affair with a large living area, and a small private dinning area. The furniture was modern and the rooms were decorated in a soothing array of colors. Lisa looked around, actually glad for the space; even though she knows that the price for their accommodations was staggering. She was not use to House spending his money so freely.
Lisa was surprised to see a computer and fax machine set up on a desk that was set by the large windows that overlooked the Chicago landscape. There was also two phones set up, a printer, and her Rolodex. She looks at Greg and sees that he is watching her intently. Lisa raises one elegantly arched eyebrow in a silent inquire.
"I know there is no way to actually get you to leave your precious hospital for more than a few days, much less alone for a whole month," he quips sarcastically. "You have everything you need to do most of your job from right there at that desk; but your not allowed to work more than a few hours a day. You've got more pressing things to do while here in Chicago."
"Thank you Greg," she says walking over to him and lightly touching his arm. The small jolt of electricity that passes from her fingers to his sleeve startles them both, and they jump. She drops her gaze down to her hand that's still lightly touching him. Greg takes a deep breath to get himself under control, and wonders how in the hell he is going to manage to keep his hands off her.
"I know you want to check in with your staff, so I'll leave you to it," he tells her taking a small step to the side. "I'm going to crash for a few hours. When your ready for dinner, come wake me and we'll cruise the Chicago Mile for something decadent." With that he limps away to one of the two bedrooms and gently closes the door.
Lisa watches him go, wondering if he was really tired, or if he just wants to get away from her. He confuses her with his push and pull, as if he's waging an internal battle. Well there's nothing she can do about it right this second, so she might as well get something done. She sits at the computer and powers it up, while she places a call to her hospital.
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Several hours after the sun had dipped down below the horizon, Lisa stood up and stretched her tired muscles. Once her staff knew how they could reach her, they called about every silly thing. She was forced to give the a guideline about what they could bother her with, and what they could take to Wilson. Her assistant had faxed over reams of paperwork, and at one point Cuddy thought about unplugging the damn machine.
She had spent about an hour on the phone with her parents; taking the time to answer all their questions. They were thrilled at the prospects of becoming grandparents, although the reasons why were quietly pushed to the background. Her parents assured her that they wouldn't allow the reasons why she was having a baby interfere with showering said child with as much love as they could.
After talking with her parents, she placed a call to Braeden. She was worried about him being stuck in a hospital while his parents were in another state, trying to have a baby to save his life. She hoped that Wilson was dropping by often to keep the young boy company.
"Hello," came his distracted reply.
"So what has you so engrossed, you sound like you'd rather chuck the phone out the window than talk to me," she chuckles.
"Hi mom!" He exclaims. Lisa's heart constricts at him calling her mom. It didn't seem to make him uncomfortable in any way, and his easy acceptance of her made her warm all over. Without warning she feels the hot tears coursing down her cheeks.
"Chase and Foreman are here," he explains. "Something about they don't have a patient, and they owed me a whupping."
"So are they winning?" She asks him.
"No, and it's not likely that they ever will," he laughs at the look that Foreman throws him.
"Are you ok?" She asks unable to disguise the concern in her voice.
"I'm fine; don't worry about me right now," he gently chides. "You got a lot to worry about there in Chicago. Wilson says that I should be able to go home at the end of this week, and back to school on Monday."
"You're up for all that?"
"YES!" He exclaims. "I hate sitting here all day, although Audrey is good company. Maybe I can convince her to drop in and check on me."
"You sound like your father," she laughs.
"Is he around?" Braeden asks.
"He's sleep in the other room," she replies. "I can wake him up for you."
"No, that's ok. I'm sure he'll call me later."
"Then I will let you get back to teaching Chase and Foreman their lesson for the day," she tells him before hanging up. Lisa had a smile on her face when she got off the phone with her son. He already had her wrapped tightly around his little finger, and it wouldn't be long before she catered to his every whim.
She got up from the chair she had spent the last several hours in, stretching aching muscles, and realized that it was too late to go out for something to eat. Plus it was unlikely they could find a restaurant with available seating. She grabbed the room service menu and ordered for both of them.
Lisa let Greg sleep while she went into her room to unpack while waiting for room service to arrive. She was nervous about tomorrow's meeting at the clinic, and if she was honest with herself; about what the next month with House was going to be like. They hadn't had to spend so much time in close quarters together and she was sure that when it ended she was going to be nursing a broken heart.
She barely heard the knock on the door indicating that their food had arrived. She went out and signed the check, leaving a generous tip for the waiter. He set everything up on the table in the dining area, and left taking the serving cart with him. It was time to get Greg up so they could eat.
Cuddy walked quietly into his room to find him sprawled across the bed. He was on his stomach with one arm hanging off the side of the bed. She was surprised to find that he had put away his clothes and stowed his suitcase in the closet. Lisa lightly ran her fingers through his hair and down the side of his face; his stubble was rough against her sensitive finger tips. His light sigh brought a smile to her lips and she leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"Come on sleepy head, I have dinner," she says right against the shell of his ear. He murmurs something incoherent, and opens his eyes to look at her. She is taken aback by the unguarded emotions in his blue gaze, and can't help placing a swift kiss on his lips.
"Food Greg," she says again. He stares at her hungrily for a moment, then nods his head. Lisa leaves him alone so that he can get himself together, and he is grateful for the few moments of privacy. His leg is throbbing and he has to struggle to a sitting position; it's something he doesn't wish for her to see. He looks at his night stand, notices the glass of water and the two pills. He smiles, she already knows.
"What did you get us?" He asks coming to join her in the dining niche. She had most of the lights turned low, and soft jazz was playing over a stereo he couldn't place. All the curtains were pulled open, and the view of Chicago was stunning. He pulled out his chair and dropped down heavily.
"Gorgonzola salads, porterhouses, double baked potatoes, steamed asparagus in lemon butter, a nice red wine, and if you are a really good boy, banana cream pie with Foster sauce," she replies uncovering each dish. Greg sigh gustily and looks at her with a devilish grin, she definitely knows how to bring him to his knees.
"I will be a really good boy and eat everything you put on my plate to get a piece of that pie; and anything else you want to offer," he tells her, a wicked grin playing around his mouth. Lisa leans back and watches him attack his food, and she feels her heart plummet into her stomach. She was already falling hard for Gregory House; again.
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When Lisa wakes the next morning, she finds that Greg is already dressed, has ordered breakfast, and is talking to some one on the phone. She hops in the shower and then quickly gets dressed. She's still nervous about the meeting at the clinic, and glancing at her watch realizes that they need to be there in about an hour.
She breezes from the room and makes a bee line for the table. She pours herself a cup of tea and grabs a piece of toast; she's to wound up to eat much more than that. Greg finishes his conversation and comes over to the table, where he makes a sandwich and downs his own cup of coffee.
"The twerp says good morning," he tells her.
"I talked to him last night," she replies. "He was entertaining Chase and Foreman."
"Your parents are with him now. Wilson is sending him home tomorrow," he says glancing at her.
"Is that a wise decision?" She asks nervously.
"He'll have 2 sets of grandparents; plus I'm sure that Connie can handle anything that comes up," he says trying to sooth her fraught nerves. "Anyway Connie is a registered nurse, so she can definitely handle any emergencies."
"Your housekeeper is a registered nurse?" Lisa asks dumbfounded.
"I needed some one who could help me medically once I had been released from the hospital," he says with a shrug. "She was willing to live in, take care of all the household stuff, and be there for Braeden when I couldn't. It's been that way ever since."
"She must be really awesome to have stayed with you all these years," Cuddy replies grabbing her coat.
"Actually I pay well. Trust me when I say that it hasn't always been easy, but Connie has been worth every penny and every fight that I've had to go through to keep her."
"I'm sure there is more to this story that you're sharing," Lisa says gliding into the elevator with him directly behind her.
"And if you're a good girl, I'll tell you all about one day," he says with a smirk. She huffs at him when she realizes that he isn't going to tell her anymore. Greg chuckles silent at her mutinous expression.
The trip to the clinic goes by swiftly, and before Lisa knows it Greg is pulling into a parking spot, and escorting her through the front doors. Noticing how nervous she is, he takes her small hand in his and gives it a gentle squeeze. The slight reassurance relaxes her, and she allows the tension to slowly slide away from her.
"Good morning," a pleasant male voice greets them from behind a large reception desk. Having thought about this place as a clinic was not doing it any great service. Lisa looked around and felt as if they had entered the office of an upscale plastic surgeon. The floor beneath their feet was carpeted in a plush deep green, and the wall were painted in a soothing lighter green with white wainscoting. The reception desk was a huge cheery wood affair, and the young man seemed to have been swallowed whole by it.
"How may I help you?" He asks directing his question towards House.
"We have a 9:00 appointment with Dr. Crenshaw," House states rather mildly. The young man doesn't hesitate, but picks up his phone and after a very brief conversation looks at House and smiles. Lisa bites back a grin when she realizes that the young man is openly infatuated with Greg.
"Please follow me, Dr. Crenshaw is waiting for you," he replies coming from around the desk and leading us down a hallway. He stops in front a frosted glass door, opens it and gestures us inside. I turn to say thank you and see the dreamy smile on his face as House brushes pass him into the office. Greg throws a hard glance my way when a small giggle slips, and before Lisa can help it, she outright laughs.
"I'm glad you enjoyed that," he growls in my ear.
"At least you know that if all else fails, he'll be more than thrilled to hold your hand through it," she replies.
House turns his back on Lisa, and faces the Doctor who is standing by his desk waiting for them to join him. He has a file in his hands, and a amused expression on his face. He caught the entire exchange, and Lisa laughs again as Greg's cheeks pinken.
"Dr. House, Dr. Cuddy; it's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," Dr. Crenshaw extends his hand first to Lisa and then Greg. "Please call me Michael, since we'll spending quite a bit of time together. Instead of returning to sit behind his desk, he leads them over to a small conference table, and indicated for them to have a seat. He takes a moment to go through the file that he is holding and then looks up at them.
"You two are not married, but have a 12 year old son, Braeden who is suffering from aplastic anemia," he says. They both nod, hoping that their not being married won't cause any major problems. House reaches into the bag he was carrying and pulls out several large manilla envelopes.
"We share joint legal and physical custody of Braeden," he began. Lisa draws in a sharp breath, not having realized that he had other papers besides the ones she signed drawn up. With out realizing it, tears pool into her eyes and she needs to take a moment to compose herself.
"We have also drawn up legal documents for the disposition of any children born to us through this procedure, and to any embryos that may result," he says handing the papers to Michael. "If that is not sufficient, then we are prepared to do whatever necessary to make the clinic feel..."
"No Dr. House, all we are really concerned with is the legal aspect," Michael interrupts him. "Marriage doesn't guarantee that our clients will behave well ten years down the road. Having these already drawn up saves both of a lot of time."
Lisa and Greg both visibly relax when they realize that they are not going to have to jump through any hoops for this to move forward. House notices that her hands are still shaking and he reaches over and clasps them lightly.
"I didn't know that you were sharing custody of Braeden with me," she leans over and whispers into his ear.
"It was a surprise," he says with a smirk.
"Alright," Michael begins. "You're both doctors so I believe we can cut right to the heart of everything. Lisa you will need to start fertility shots on the third day of your menstrual cycle; which according to the information given to us by Greg, should be in 2-3 days," he glances at her.
"Today is day one, so 2 days," she affirms.
"Ok then, we will need to do a physical and blood work today," he continues. "That goes for both of you, and Greg we'll need a semen sample from you today." House grimaces, but nods silently. "On day 10 of your cycle we will have you come back for an ultrasound to see how the eggs are maturing, and if everything looks good, we'll schedule on day 14 for extraction. We will also fertilize the eggs that day, and they will be frozen for 3 days before we can do the HLA testing. On day 4 after fertilization, you'll be advised as to how many are a genetic match to Braeden and day 5 is implantation. Any questions?" He asks looking at them both. They both shake their heads ad they pretty much had known all this.
"I do have one," Greg says startling Lisa. "Can we know if the embryos are boys or girls?"
"If you want to," Michael says with a smile. "It's a test we don't routinely do for this, and it's not covered by insurance, but we can do it if you want."
Lisa places her hand on Greg's arm. "Do you want to pick the sex?" She asks. She's not quite sure how she feels about it, but she's willing to let him if that is what he really wants.
"No, I don't want to pick the sex of our baby," he says shaking his head. "I do want to know how many of each there are though."
"Well then let's go in the back and get everything started," Michael says standing.
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"If this work, are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" Lisa asks Greg, watching him stretch out on the sofa. Since they had gotten back, she had been dealing with stuff from the hospital, while he had been watching his beloved General Hospital.
"Honestly?" He asks.
"Yeah, I want to know what you want," she says grinning at him. "You have experience raising a boy, would you have any idea what to do with a little girl?" She watches his blue eyes grow dark with whatever thoughts her question evoked.
Greg almost stops breathing as he pictures a small replica of Lisa, with her long dark brown hair, and grey-blue eyes. He thought about how quickly she would have him wrapped around her little finger, and everything she desired would be his new quest in life. He pictured himself and Braeden chasing of all her male suitors, starting with the little monsters in her pre-school class, on up to the idiot who thought he would get to marry her. Oh God, the thought of having a little girl terrified the very life out of him.
"Greg, are you ok?" Lisa asks watching the look of terror cross his face.
"I thought I wanted one of each, but now that I think about it, I better stick to another boy," he replies.
"So you wanted a little girl, but now you've changed your mind," she says reading the fax that had just come over the machine.
"I just thought about my little girl and all the boys I'd have to beat of with my cane; and trust me when I say I think I just lost 10 years off my life," he says getting up off the couch. "So if you value my sanity, please give me another little boy."
Lisa laughs at the expression of horror that crosses his face. He seems truly terrified of the prospect of having a daughter, so much so that she begins to secretly hope that if this works, she does indeed have a little girl. She thinks Dr. Gregory House could use being brought down a peg or two, and if takes a little girl to do it, then bring it on.
"Come on you," she says grabbing her purse and key. "We have reservations at Smith & Wollensky's; my treat."
"Well why didn't you say so earlier," he grins, grabbing his coat and pulling her from the room. The man really was just a stomach on two legs.
Come on, hit that little purple button on your way out the door!