Chapter 9:
House awaited a reply from Katie, but none came.
"Katie?" He called again
That was when he heard it.
The sound he heard was like nothing he had ever heard before. It was soft and slow at times, lulling him to sleep, like a lullaby. Other times, it was fast with very high notes and an upbeat rhythm. For several moments, House stood in the doorway, listening to the music. He didn't know exactly where the noise was coming from, or why. At first, he thought it was a CD, but as he listened, he realized that someone was playing the music on an instrument.
House walked into the living, startled to fine Katie holding a clarinet.
"Oh, hi," Katie said shyly, hiding the clarinet behind her back as if she were ashamed of the instrument.
"That was beautiful," House whispered to Katie, staring at her with a surprised expression. "I didn't know you could play."
"Thanks, but it was nothing," Katie whispered back, already taking the clarinet apart.
"I would like to hear more," House admitted with a little bit of a smile.
"No, I couldn't," the girl protested, closing the lid of her case.
House didn't argue anymore with his daughter. He just nodded, going into his room to change into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
As soon as House was out of the room, Katie looked down at her hands. They were shaking uncontrollably. It was because she was nervous, she told herself. The shaking would stop as soon as the shock of being caught playing wore off.
"Hey, do you want to go grab a bite to eat?" House asked as he walked out of his room. "I know this great place just down the street."
"I'm not really hungry," Katie admitted softly, folding her hands in her lap, clutching them so they wouldn't shake.
"Well, I'm going out to dinner," House declared, "and I want you to come with me." House didn't know if was right to force Katie to come with him, but he wanted to get her to eat. He knew she probably hadn't had the chance to eat anything decent since her mom had died. If she had good food in front of her, then she would give in. She would have to eat.
"Do I have to go?" she asked somewhat boldly.
"Yeah, you do."
"Oh, okay."
House watched as she stood up on unsteady legs, slipping on her shoes. She shook slightly as she took a step forward.
"Are you all right?" House asked with an uneasy expression
"Yeah," she replied with a grimace. "I just feel a little weak."
"It's probably because you haven't eaten in a while. Get some food in you, and you'll feel as good as new."
"All right," She nodded with a shiver. "Let's go."
House escorted Katie to the car, gingerly clutching her shoulder as he gently sat her in the passenger seat. House started the car, driving down the road to his favorite diner.
"What's wrong?" House asked halfway there.
Katie was clutching the sides of the car seat, her face contorted to a grimace.
"I don't know... it's just this pain... it's..." She trailed off, her breath a pained gasp.
"What does it feel like?" House inquired.
"It's this dull, aching feeling... it's not coming from any particular place...it seems to be everywhere."
"Do you want to go home?"
"No." she shook her head. "It's going to pass in a little bit. Sometimes, I just hurt like this."
House eyed his daughter with a curious eye. What could this mean? He decided that she just needed to eat. Once she had some food in her system, she would feel fine.
"You really need to eat," House said under his breath as they pulled into the parking lot of the diner. "Come on."
The two walked into diner, choosing a booth. Katie sat on one side, House one the other. House picked up a menu from the table, eyeing it curiously.
"What would you like to eat?" House asked as he studied the menu. "They have great hamburgers here."
"I don't know," Katie said, resting her head on her hand. "I've kind of lost my appetite."
"You have to eat something," House insisted. "You'll die if you don't."
Katie swallowed solemnly as she heard House's words. Was she really starving herself to death?
"What would you two like to drink?" Katie was startled out of her thoughts by the voice of a middle-aged waitress.
"I'll have coffee," House answered, "and she'll have... a glass of milk."
Katie looked at House with a curious glance before turning toward the waitress.
"Just water, please," she said in a small voice.
"All right, I'll get your drinks right out." The waitress turned around.
"Why did you do that?" House asked Katie. "You need all the calories you can get."
"Then ask me what I want instead of just ordering it for me," Katie replied in soft, cool contempt.
"What! I'm your father. If I want you to drink milk... you'll drink milk!"
"No, I won't. You call yourself my father, but you don't even know I'm lactose intolerant."
"Oh." House leaned back, ashamed of himself. She was lactose intolerant! Who would have thought? Obviously, he wouldn't.
The two sat in silence for some time. The waitress brought them their drinks, but still none of them talked.
"What would you like to eat?" The waitress asked.
House looked at Katie. Katie looked at the Waitress. The waitress looked at House.
"So what will it be?" The waitress asked again, a little bit impatient.
"I'll have a cheeseburger," House replied with a nonchalant glance towards Katie. "Dry, no pickles."
"And you?" The waitress asked, turning towards Katie.
Katie stole a glance at House before averting her glance back to the waitress. The thought of food made her stomach queasy. Actually having it in front of her face would push over the edge into vomiting.
"She'll have the same thing I'm having, except no cheese." House looked at Katie to see her reaction. She looked a little of unhappy but otherwise unaffected.
"All right. I'll have that right out for you." The waitress left the table, disappearing through a set of swinging doors where the kitchen obviously lay.
The duo didn't say anything for a long time, each seizing the other one up. Katie thought House to be a bit overwhelming. House thought Katie to be a bit of a pushover. There he went again, ordering for her, and she didn't even seem to mind. If he were in her position, he would be arguing.
All of a sudden a plate of food was set in front of Katie and one in front of House.
"If you two need anything, just let me know," The waitress said as she once again left.
At once, House dug into his cheeseburger. He was halfway finished with it when he looked up to realize that Katie hadn't even touched her food.
"Katie," House said, trying to keep his voice even. "You need to eat. NOW EAT!"
House thought that his shouting would affect Katie, to make her cry, or to at least shock her into eating. It did none of the above. Instead, her eyes rolled back into her head as she slid out of the booth and onto the floor.
"Oh, great," House muttered as he knelt besides her, checking her pulse. He knew this would happen: she would starve herself until she fainted. But as his hand connected with her skin, he was surprised to find it very hot.
"Call an ambulance!" House shouted at the waitress who had just noticed Katie and was staring dumbstruck at the spectacle. "Well, what are you standing around for? Call 911 and tell them to take her to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, okay?"
The waitress didn't move. Nobody did.
"I'll just do this myself," House muttered as he took out his cell phone, calling 911.
I'm really sorry that I haven't update in a long time. I would like to say that I've been too busy, but the truth is, I haven't. I've been playing ToonTown, Playing Crash Bandicoot, rereading the Harry Potter series, and watching reruns of House. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and I promise the next update with come fairly quickly.