Disclaimer: I may not own House or Cameron or Wilson or Cuddy or Foreman or Chase... But I DO own Zoe and Brian, and I play with them like paper dolls.

November of Zoe's senior year brought on the college application process. She'd applied to five schools, all of them renowned for their theatre programs. Greg and Allison couldn't have been happier; neither of them had wanted their daughter to go into anything medicine-related. Both of them were positive that she'd get into all of the schools that she'd applied to. After all, her GPA was flawless, and her theatrical experiences were beyond compare.

Zoe, on the other hand, was quite nervous about the whole thing. She had auditions in February and would find out about admissions in April. As it was, her father was helping her prepare for her musical theatre auditions by playing accompaniment for her as she sang. He told her that she sang like an angel; she thought she sang like a dying cow.

But she continued to work, singing a multitude of songs from a multitude of musicals and choosing which ones she wanted to audition with. She needed three; she'd cut it down to five to choose from.

At school one day, during lunch, she sat down with Brian and they picked through the pieces that she had left. As they discussed the music, one of the many women after Brian (and one of the more persistent ones that Zoe couldn't stand … nor could she remember the name of) pushed her way in between him and Zoe.

"Hey, Bry," the girl said sweetly, chewing gum as she spoke to him. "How's it going?"

Brian frowned. "I'm kind of busy right now, Liz," he told the girl, trying to gently push her out of his way. "Maybe we can talk in class."

"Oh, come on. It's just House. You've known her, like, all of your life," Liz persisted, leaning against Brian's arm and gazing into his eyes.

In the background, Zoe mocked gagging, choking herself, and hanging herself.

Brian tried not to laugh. "Come on, Liz. Later. Zoe and I are busy trying to figure out some music for her auditions."

"Oh, I know all about music!" Liz exclaimed in a high-pitched squeal, which made Zoe cringe and rub her ears. "I, like, took this music class last year and played music and everything! I can read it really good."

"But you can't speak really well," Zoe muttered under her breath, causing Brian to snort.

"Seriously, Liz. We'll talk in gym class or something."

Liz pouted. "How come you're always pushing me away, Bry? Are you gay or something?"

Zoe laughed hysterically. "You think Brian's gay?" she asked with a disbelieving smile.

"Well, yeah. I mean, he doesn't date any girls here."

"No, he dates girls from the Catholic school across town; because he's a smart boy," Zoe sneered. "I've interrupted so many of his sexcapades that it's ridiculous. Go spread your legs for another football player; he might even pay child support when he knocks you up."

Liz's mouth dropped open and Brian covered his to stop his laughter. "Are you calling me a slut?" Liz asked, her voice slipping to a high-pitched tone that had Zoe cringing once more.

"Yeah. Pretty much. But at least I said it to your face instead of behind your back. It's a good thing; everyone else smiles at you to your face and then tallies your conquests when you turn away. Someone has a bet going on whether you have gonorrhea or syphilis. I'm rooting for herpes. Which is it?"

"Fucking bitch," Liz spat.

"Yeah… I know."

"You're such a dyke."

"Hey, now. I like penises just as much as the next girl. The occasional pussy isn't bad or anything, but it's not my main sexual staple."

Brian grinned and put a hand on Liz's shoulder. "Zoe House has a tongue sharper than a katana. Go on and hang out with Laney; I'll catch you in gym, okay?"

Liz frowned at the two of them and stormed off.

"She's gonna go tell her little blonde friends that I'm a bitch and a dyke," Zoe said carelessly. "…Awesome."

Brian laughed and kissed Zoe's temple. "You're the coolest person I know, you know that?"

"Yeah, I am pretty damn cool." She pushed the music at him. "We need to cut one more."

For the remainder of the lunch period, they worked on the music and, by the time the bell rang for them to go back to class, they'd cut the pieces. She had her music for auditions. She was ready to practice.

February rolled around and Greg and Allison both took one week off of work to take Zoe to her multiple auditions. They'd gone to New York for two of them, Chicago for two of them, and their final stop was Michigan, where Zoe was auditioning for the University of Michigan's musical theatre program. After all, U of M was her dad's alma mater.

As they walked toward the performing arts center, Greg frowned. "I forgot how fucking cold it gets in Michigan in February," he said gruffly. The cold was killing his leg.

"We're almost there, Dad."

"I know." He looked around the campus and let out a slow breath. "To think I finished med school here."

"It could have been Hopkins if you hadn't cheated," Allison teased, nudging him in the side.

"Hey. He cheated off of me and we both got booted. I've never had to cheat."

"Me, neither!" Zoe exclaimed merrily, music tucked safely under her arm. "What's going to happen if I don't get into any of these schools?" she asked worriedly.

Greg smirked. "You'll go into medicine. It's really that simple."

"Ew. No."

"Then I guess you'd better get into one of these schools."

Allison laughed lightly and elbowed Greg in the side. "Stop that."

"I'm just telling it like it is," he said innocently. "If she doesn't get into a performing arts program, she goes into medicine. It's settled."

"Daddy? You're an ass."

"Aww. She loves me."

They walked the rest of the way in silence and waited in the lobby of the performing arts center. One of the adjudicators came out and called Zoe in. Greg and Allison both dropped a kiss on her forehead and wished her luck, watching as she disappeared into the theatre.

"She's going to be brilliant," Allison whispered with a smile.

Greg grinned. "She already is."

When April rolled around, Zoe got her acceptance letters. She'd made it into four of the five schools that she'd auditioned for and had been wait-listed on the final one.

Greg smiled brightly and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. "Which one are you going to?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm waiting to see where Brian goes. We've applied to three of the same schools."

Allison grinned. "You want to go with Brian, then?"

"Well … yeah," Zoe said with a shrug. "I mean, it only seems right. We've known each other all of our lives and it would be cool to go somewhere where I already know at least one person."

Greg and Allison exchanged knowing looks. "So … is there something going on between you and Brian?" Greg asked casually.

"What?" Zoe asked, confused. "Uh… No… He might as well be my brother. Besides, he's got girls all over him. Even if I were interested, which I'm not, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"I think you'd be surprised," Allison said with a small smile. "Brian seems pretty smitten with you."

"Please, Mom. He's just nicer to me because we're so close. It's not that big of a deal."

"I just think you might want to consider the fact that you and Brian are more than just friends," Allison said sweetly.

"You're bonkers."

"It's why I married her," Greg admitted with a shrug. "She had to be bonkers to want me."

Zoe grinned. "You're both completely nuts. There isn't going to be anything between me and Brian. Ever. I just want to go to the same college that he goes to. We've already discussed it; we talked about it before my auditions."

"And what if you hadn't gotten into any of the schools that he had?" Greg asked curiously.

"He would have applied to one that I got in to."

"Even if it didn't have premed?" Allison inquired.

"Yeah. He said he'd major in chemistry or something and just take his classes when he could." She shrugged. "He's just a really good friend."

"Who has a thing for you," Greg muttered under his breath, quiet enough to keep Zoe from hearing him. "Why don't you go see him? Decide which school you two are going to."

"Okay." She shrugged and grabbed up the car keys. She'd gotten her license without another accident like she'd had before, and she'd passed her road test with flying colors. "I'll be home for dinner."

"Alright, sweetie," Allison replied, kissing Zoe on the cheek on her way out. Once Zoe was gone, Allison sat next to Greg on the couch. "That girl's in trouble."

"Yeah… At least it's Jim's kid, though. I'd kill anyone else for touching her."

Allison smiled a secret, womanly smile. "Greg. She's eighteen. You don't really think she's still a virgin, do you?"

Greg went completely still and stared at Cameron. "She'd damned well better be."

Allison laughed. "Greg… No, honey. Zoe lost her virginity last year."

"She what! To who?"

She placed her hand on his arm to calm him and kissed his cheek. "Never you mind. She's a big girl, Greg, and she knew what she was doing. She used a condom; she's on birth control."

"Yeah. Birth control that you said was for her dysmenorrhea," he said accusatorily.

"Well, it was. Partially." She paused and sighed when he glared at her. "If I'd told you the other part of the reason, you would have locked her in her room until God knows when."

"Damn right I would have."

"She would hate you for it."

"She should still be a virgin, Allison. What does she need to have sex for? She's eighteen; she needs to study, not fuck."

Allison laughed. "She has straight A's, Greg! She's fine." She curled into his side and let out a sigh. "You're just upset that your little girl didn't tell you something."

He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. So Allison was right. So what? She could be right every now and again, he supposed. But it wasn't fair that Zoe wouldn't tell him. It really wasn't. A part of him realized that she was smart not to let him know. He would have hounded her until she'd told him who she'd had sex with and where he lived. But could anyone blame him? Zoe was his little girl, and he loved her more than he ever thought possible.