Disclaimer: I only wish I owned House M.D.

Chapter 9

House pushed open the door to the apartment, tenuously balancing a stack of DVDs in one arm and his cane in the other. It was Ava's first full day home from the hospital, and while he assumed that she would spend most of her time sleeping, he figured some of her favorite films might cheer her up. He entered the living room to find his daughter and wife on the couch, Remy spooning some jello into Ava's mouth.

"Hi daddy," Ava said with a grin, a drop of cherry goop falling from her chin.

"Hey there, Jitterbug," he said, placing the DVD cases on the coffee table. "I picked you up some movies. What's your pleasure?" he asked. House knew the answer before Ava even responded. Like most other girls her age, his daughter had an uncanny fixation on the film Frozen. Normally, the music made both House and Remy want to drive a nail through their heads, but it was an unspoken agreement that at least for the next few days, what Ava wanted Ava got.

Which is why about 10 minutes later, Remy and House found themselves singing along to "Do You Want to Build A Snowman." "Thanks so much for picking up movies, Greg," Remy said sarcastically, laughing at the smile that House was forcing.

"Shhh!" Ava hushed loudly, chiding her parents. "This is one of the best pawrts." Remy pursed her lips to quell a chuckle. Ava was a good-natured kid, but had the tendency to be a bit demanding. While many attributed this less charming trait to her being an only child, Remy speculated that it probably had a bit more to do with genetics, she and House being stubborn in their own right.

The group watched in focused silence – well, at least under the guise of focused silence – Ava humming along to all of her favorite tunes and quoting her favorite lines of dialogue. Lord knows how many times she had seen the movie, Remy thought to herself. She was surprised they hadn't purchased it yet, and made the mental note to add it to Ava's Christmas list.

By the time Elsa was ready to let it go, House had also had enough and excused himself with the pretext of having to "check in with the team." Remy gave him a smoldering glare, envying his escape route, and he smirked at her before hobbling off to the bedroom.

Grabbing his cell phone out of his pocket, he hit his third speed dial button, the text HOMIE lighting up across the screen. Foreman answered a moment later.

"How's the case?" House asked, skipping the niceties. While he and Remy had been given time off while Ava recovered, the team had been set to task with diagnosing a forty-year-old housewife whose contentment with her life was as fake as her blonde hair.

"The case is being managed… by me," Foreman responded, irritation and possessiveness clear in his tone.

House rolled his eyes. "Relax bro. This case isn't difficult. It can be your baby. What is difficult is my baby making me watch an animated snowman lose his nose for the fiftieth time this year."

House heard Foreman exhale in frustration, his ego deflated by House's flippant remarks about the ease of the case. "We started her on IV interferon for M.S. She's responding."

"Good," House said, taking a seat on the end of the bed. "And how are… you?" He was met with silence and could envision the confusion plastered across his employee's face. "There are still 34 minutes of the movie left," the older man explained.

Foreman chuckled. "I am on my way to tell the husband that his wife –" A panicked yell of his name interrupted House, and he slammed his cell phone shut, rushing down the hall. The tune of "Winter's Waltz" echoed through the living room, but rather than watching, Ava lay whimpering on the couch. House met Remy's terror-stricken eyes.

"She can't move her legs."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Page Break ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Page Break ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The room was still and full of tense silence, as House and Remy looked over their daughter, once again looking small and pale against the large hospital bed. They had rushed her back to Princeton-Plainsboro, bypassing the emergency room and, with Cuddy's go ahead, getting her immediately into imaging. Not that it had been helpful. The CT scan showed no structural abnormalities and offered no explanation for her sudden muscle weakness. While Ava had regained some ability to move her legs over the past several hours, her gait was uncoordinated and she could hardly stand, let alone walk.

As he furrowed his brow, desperately trying to come up with an answer – or at least a plan of action, Remy's hoarse whisper interrupted him.

"What if it's…"

"No," House said harshly, shaking his head.

Remy looked at him, her eyes threatening to spill over with heavy tears. "The test could have been negative," she managed to say. "We never re-checked it. We should have…"

"It's not Huntington's," House responded angrily. Seeing the panic in his wife's eyes, he softened only slightly. "She doesn't have any tremors…"

Remy shook her head rigorously. "Juvenile Huntington's doesn't present like that in most cases," she countered, clearing her throat, "Leg stiffness, rigidity, lack of balance. We have to test her."

"No, we don't," he growled. "She doesn't have Huntington's. The test…"

"It could have been wrong!" Remy cried out. House turned towards her, ready to yell back but faltered when he saw Remy. She was weeping heavily now, arms wrapped tightly around stomach as though she was trying to hold herself together. House sighed, guiding her out of the room into the empty hallway so they wouldn't wake Ava. Once there, she fell against his chest, sobs wracking her small frame. House supported her body against his, his icy blue eyes becoming cloudy. "We have- to re-test her," Remy hiccupped.

House pulled her more tightly against him. "I know."

A/N: Please review and I'll try to get another update up soon!