I am sooo sorry! This was listed right below chapter 1 and I didn't have my glasses on when I posted it.
Chapter 10: Betrayal
Gabrielle was upset about her mother for the rest of the day, but there was no way she was going to show it. Not this time, this time she had to be strong for herself. She had to think about what was going to happen next, how she was going to finish school, where she was going to live. Right now though, she thought that she should be thinking about some one in particular. Some one very important in some one else's life.
Gabrielle sighed as she sat in hr temporary room. Before her, her sketch pad. It was open to the page that she had written the number and address down on. "Mike Suder," she said to herself. She had to do something with this information to figure out who he was and why he wanted Rachel so bad. There had to be more behind it.
Gabrielle gathered her courage and reached for her phone. She knew what she had to do, just didn't really want to. She was going to just start out by sending a text and see where it went from there. The worst that could happen was that he would find out who she was and tell Cuddy about it. Gabrielle cautiously entered the number into her phone and then saved it to her contacts. That way she could always have his number even if she lost it. For some reason she like she was going to need it a lot.
It was now or never. She held the phone in her hand. Everything was ready. Nervously, she started typing in her text.
[ Hey Mike, just wnted 2 c if u really xisted or not]
Gabrielle sent the message and closed the phone. Every muscle in her body tensed as she waited for the response. She started to think that this was taking a long time, but then again, she was as anxious to receive a response as a kid would be to lose a tooth. The sooner if happens, the better and less painful it is. Also if done right, you receive rewards for it. Gabrielle jumped as the phone vibrated. With every once of courage she had, she reached over and opened the phone.
[ yeah, I xsist. Y wouldn't u think im real? Who is this? ]
Gabrielle thought for a minute and then gave her answers.
[ I just know lisa. Actually, I hate her and wuld have luved 2 have rubbed it in her face in frnt of evry 1 if her bf didn't xsist. I think tht she is lonely and pathetic and tht she is not capable of getting a bf ]
She sent it and waited for the response. This time the waiting wasn't nearly as terrifying.
[ y wuld u hate lisa? Its not ur life tht shes ruining ]
Gabrielle just stared at that long and hard. There had to be more behind that. Now she was beginning to be intrigued by this man.
[ wat did she do 2 ruin ur life? Cant b as bad as mine ]
Gabrielle waited.
[ I need her baby. She wont let me take her baby. She said tht she luved me and wuld do anything 4 me and then she wont let me have the baby. Its not evn hers ]
Gabrielle looked down and studied the message.
[call me]
All she had to do was wait. It took five minutes, and then her phone vibrated.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Hey, I hear you don't like Lisa too well," Mike said. His voice was deep and almost frightening.
"You know how I told you that I work for her? Well, not any more. The bitch fired me right after I told her that I needed a raise to keep my three year old alive. Now little Annie's going to die and it's all Lisa Cuddy's fault," she said as angrily as she could.
"Jesus Christ, the woman's even worse than I thought," he said.
"I know." she said. There was a pause as she gathered her thoughts. "What do you need her baby for?"
"What?" Mike asked. He was completely thrown off by the question.
"What do you need the kid for? Maybe I can help you," Gabrielle said.
"I don't need any one's help. Besides, what makes you think that I can trust you just like that?" he asked.
"Well, admitting that instead of making up some lie shows that you do trust me a little bit." She was getting impatient with this all the sudden for some reason.
"Like to analyze everything huh?" he asked.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said. There was a long pause. "Hey, if you do need help, I'm very good at twisting around words and events while keeping them truthful, you know, like in court. I also know how to get into her house if you just want to kidnap the kid."
"Okay, meet me at her house tomorrow night at ten. We'll both show her what it felt like," he said.
"Damn right we will. Mind if I take the first stab at Lisa for Annie who is now very sick and might not be around to hear of this justice?" she asked.
"Sure, why not. As long as I get the kid I'm happy. I need something to prove to my wife that I didn't kill our kid. If she found out, I would be in jail now," he said.
"And we don't want that." Gabrielle lied through her teeth.
"Right, just be there tomorrow night," he said.
They both hung up. "I should really consider going into acting," Gabrielle praised herself as she closed her phone. Gabrielle then sighed and dialed he number.
"Cuddy? It's Gabrielle, we need to talk," she started.
"Gabrielle? Something wrong?" Cuddy asked. She stood in the kitchen as she started to get nervous.
"Mike Suder is out to kill you and take Rachel. He murdered his own child, now he's after your's to protect his own ass," she warned.
"How do you even know his name?" Cuddy asked getting irritated.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. She's trying to save her and all the woman does is get mad because some one went through her things. "I snooped a little while I was there. No damage done, besides, don't you care about what I'm telling you?" she asked.
"Yes I care! I also care that I told you to keep out of it! I care that you went through my things!" Cuddy said.
"Look, I don't care if you're mad. Hell, I don't even care if you hate me, just get Rachel and get out of that house by tomorrow night. I suggest that you take Rachel to work with you tomorrow and I guess you two can stay here for a couple days," Gabrielle said.
Gabrielle's tone was so stern and serious that it struck her. It made her feel uneasy. "I'll talk to you in the morning. But first, one question," she said.
"Shoot," Gabrielle said.
"Are we supposedly safe tonight?" she asked.
"Would I have told you to wait until tomorrow if you weren't safe now?" she asked.
"Okay then," Cuddy said.
They both hung up and Gabrielle sat there for a minute and blankly stared down at the phone. She then heard House out in the living room playing the piano. She decided to get up and go out and join him. She walked out and sat down on the couch.
House looked up and saw her walk out and sit down on the couch. He wanted to know what was going on in her head. He had heard the news about Maria and was planning on seeing her the next day. There was no doubt that it was going to be awkward, but something told him that he should. "Need something?" he asked looking at his daughter. His daughter, he still couldn't believe that he had one. Cuddy had pointed out to him that he did enjoy having her around. Maybe he did, but that was nothing he was ever going to confess.
"Nothing," she answered. "Just like your playing. That's all."
"You ever play?" he asked.
"Not the piano, I'm more of a guitar person myself," she said.
Gabrielle just sat there and listened to him play. It calmed her. She really did enjoy it. With out realizing, she fell asleep while listening to him play. House looked over and saw her asleep. That was when he decided it was time for him to go to bed too. He got up and covered her with a blanket. He watched her for a second. "Maybe the kid is a little like me," he mumbled and then went to his room.
The next day, Gabrielle made sure to go directly to Cuddy's office. She hoped that she would be there with Rachel. Sure enough, she was. Gabrielle could hear her cry when she knocked on the door. She knew that there was no way that Cuddy would ever hear her over Rachel, so she just walked in. "Morning," she greeted as she saw her there trying to calm the baby.
"Nice idea you had there," Cuddy said.
Gabrielle rolled her eyes. "At least she's safe here," she said and then sat down. She simply watched Cuddy for a minute as she walked back and forth with Rachel. "May I make a suggestion?" Gabrielle asked.
"Sure," she said getting irritated.
Gabrielle got up and walked over to Cuddy. "Put her down in the baby seat," she said. Surprisingly enough, she did it. "And do you know the theme to Green Acres?"
Cuddy just raised her eyebrow. "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.
"Sing it and she'll stop. She enjoys that song," Gabrielle explained.
Cuddy looked over and glared at her. "This better work because I'm going to have to sing awful loud to get over her," she said.
Then, they both bent down towards Rachel and started singing. "Green Acres is the place to be. Farm living is the life for me."
With out either of them knowing it, Wilson walked in. "It can wait," he said upon seeing the two.
Cuddy looked up. "Wait! Wilson, what is it?" she asked as she hurried over to him.
Gabrielle just stayed there and quietly sang to Rachel. She had no interest in anything that was going on here. She already had enough going on right now without any more. She smiled down at Rachel as the little baby laughed.
House walked down the hall. He was ready to go see Maria. He vaguely remembered her, but he knew that with the damage, it wouldn't matter. He finally found her room and poked his head in. There was nothing that surprised or shocked him, he had scene patients like that before. The only thing that did bother him was that it was Maria, some one he knew. "Maria?" he asked as he sat down by her bedside.
Maria turned her head as much as she could and opened her eyes. "Greg," she said. Her voice very weak, yet didn't lack any sharpness that it needed when she mentioned his name. She sighed and closed her eyes. "Please state your business and leave," she calmly stated.
House just watched for a minute. "I finally met Gabrielle," he said. That was the only thing that he knew he could bring up. Anything else would have just ended right away.
"No, she went to you and you had no choice, " Maria said. She was getting more and more agitated by the minute.
"At least she had the courage to come to me," House said. He was now truly mad at her. First she leaves him and keeps a daughter from him. Now she is blaming him for everything. "Unlike you who just ran."
Maria looked up. There was pure hurt and betrayal in his eyes. "Since when do you care about others? Since when would not having to take care of a child bother you?" she asked. There were tears starting to swell in her eyes.
"You still should have told me," House said growing more and more angry.
"Most men are happy if their knocked up girlfriend doesn't force them to help out with the kid," Maria stated.
"I should be the one mad here! You hid things from me while you kept telling me that we needed an open honest relationship! And you're right, I don't care about a lot of people, but only because I don't want to put up with all their bullshit! So if I won't put up with their's what the hell makes you think that I'm about to put up with your's? You kept her secret and you left me!" House stated sternly trying to keep his voice down.
"The only reason I kept her from you was to protect her. You suck at being a human. I cringed at the idea of carrying your baby and I cringed at the idea of some one like you being a part of her life. With you as a Father she'll end up with three kids and no home while scavenging for drugs at the age eighteen. With out you in the way I had a chance to raise her decently and I sure as hell don't want you completely erasing all of that," Maria warned.
"Well Gabrielle sure didn't learn a thing from you, she's a decent person!" he said and then got up. He limped over to the door and then turned around. "Oh, and about that honesty, I hope you didn't make that deal with your daughter, because I can be one hundred percent sure that you only lied to her," he said.
"What would I have to lie to her about?" she asked.
"You said that you loved her while just now you told me that you hated the idea of having my baby. If you loved her so much, why did hate her to begin with?" he asked and then left. House was truly hurt as he walked out into the hall. He leaned against the wall and popped two of his pills.
Gabrielle sat in Cuddy's office while she stared out the window. She had nothing to do now that Rachel was asleep. There was no reason for her to go and wander the halls. So, she just sat there and stared while Cuddy signed some papers. That was when she decided to mess with the woman's head. "Do you like me?" she asked.
Cuddy looked up with confusion. "I think you should learn to respect other people's privacy, but other that, yeah."
Gabrielle smugly smirked. "Does my being House's daughter have anything to do with it?" she asked.
Cuddy put her pen down and laid her head down on the desk. "Why must you keep at this?" she asked.
"My Daddy likes you, I know he does," Gabrielle said. "I just want to see how you feel about him. Besides, you two are the only ones who really need to be set up here. There are no other lost couples here, trust me, I looked."
Cuddy lifted her head and rolled her eyes. She was about to say something, but the door flew open. "Gabrielle," House called as he limped in and closed the door behind him.
"Yes grumpy?" Gabrielle asked as she turned to face him.
"You're staying with Cuddy for the rest of the time that you're out here. Then after that you'll either go live with your Mom again or you'll go over and live with one of your relatives," he stated.
Cuddy stood up and saw Gabrielle's face. "Actually, I was hoping Rachel and I could spend the night at your house tonight. Mine has a bug infestation and they need to take care of it while we're gone," Cuddy said.
"Fine, but after that you'll be out of my house. Understood?" House asked.
Gabrielle was truly hurt by this. "No! No I don't understand! What happened? Why am I suddenly kicked out?" she asked.
"Because, that's how life works," House said and then left.
Gabrielle stood there in shock with tears beginning to streak her face. It had all happened so suddenly. Her own Father kicked her out. Cuddy turned and was about to say something, but Gabrielle lifted her hand. "No, please. Just don't say anything. What ever you do, don't say anything. No matter what words come out of your mouth, it won't help," Gabrielle explained. "And don't go after him either. Just, just stay here or, or what ever." Gabrielle stood there for a minute in silence and looked up towards the ceiling. That was when she figured it out. "Mother," she said to herself and the rushed out the door.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. For those who were wondering, they found masses in her lungs. The only problem is that she isn't strong enough for surgery and they don't know whether or not they are cancerous or not. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!