The time had come for Lisa to open her presents; a set of ooohhs and awwws just for her. Mary was her gift organizer, dutifully writing down on the cards which presents went with which names. Michelle held Morgan House LePointe in her arms. The party was small as there was only one side of the family and friends in attendance, only about twenty five women. A home shower hosted by Lisa herself. Just cake and coffee, no frills, no registry. Neutral yellow and green pastels steamers hung from the ceiling. The sex of the baby was not revealed, at least not to Lisa. Although, she was sure House had somehow gotten the information either from stealing her chart or bribing Kohl.

"Okay," said Lisa. "This gift is from my Aunt Cherri." She tore open the gift bag, "It's a hat and bootie set!"

"Awww," cried the crowd in unison.

"And, we're done. Finally." Mary announced.

The cake had yet to be cut, so the party went into Lisa's dining room. The cake was ordered by Wilson. A grand gesture on his behalf after he finally discovered, after eight months of intense investigation and brow-beating, that the baby was House's. And, of course, he was thrilled to be considered its "Uncle Jimmy". The cake was decorated in light blue and pink flowers and read, "Congratulations Lisa! Happiness, Health and Love to You and Your Baby."

Lisa's mother read the inscription aloud to the party. "How nice of Dr. Wilson," she said aloud. The cake was a large sheet cake that was intended to feed fifty. Wilson's stipulation was that the cake be cut only on the "Congratulations Lisa" part and that the left-over would later be given to House as a celebration of his role in the entire hullabaloo. Wilson was tickled at the 

thought of House receiving a cake with light blue and pink flowers that read, "Happiness, Health and Love to You and Your Baby."

When the guests had left, Lisa, her mother, cousins and aunt were left to clean-up duty. Lisa was in the bathroom, a room which she spent the majority of her time nowadays. Lisa's mother took one last look at the cake. She said, "Such a nice man, that Dr. Wilson. She could have married him. There could have been two names on that cake."

"There are two names," said Mary. Her tone was astute, academic. "Lisa's and the baby."

"Mary." Warned her mother.

"What Mother?" She rolled her eyes, "Seriously, this is Lisa's special day. We shouldn't end a perfectly good party, especially a baby shower, with cynicism."

Mrs. Cuddy was clearly put-off by Mary's remarks. Her face was red with anger. She pointed the cake knife at Mary, shaking the blade in her face. "You better watch out or you're going to end up like your cousin Lisa. Alone, without a man, having a baby in the middle of your life."

"Mother?" Lisa's voice came out small. She was standing in the hallway, vulnerable and beaten. Her hand lay protectively on her stomach.

"What?" She answered in a tone of disbelief, as if she were shocked that anything she said could have been construed as negative. "Mary needs to be put in her place," she affirmed.



"I think this is my house and you all should leave. Now." Anger was the only emotion that Lisa could register. She was seeing colors. The baby moved, stirring to life, preparing for a fight. "Get out!" Lisa screamed.

Mary was the savior of the moment. "Let's go. Let's go." She repeated, gathering everyone in her family like a heard dog and pushing them to the door. Aunt Cherri was holding the arm of her sister. Mrs. Cuddy wailed as if she was in labor, crying out. "At least you had one child who lived a good life, Cherri." Cherri was pushing her sister out the door, slamming it on Mary in the hopes of drowning out Mrs. Cuddy's tirade. Though, she could still be heard through the windows in Lisa's house. "Michelle did the right things at the right time!"

"Jesus Fuck Christ!" Screamed Mary, shaking her hands in the air. "Your mother is a fucking nightmare!"

Lisa was silent. She stood still in the hall. "Lise?" Mary looked at her cousin with concern.

"You need to go with the family." She was sobbing, "You don't want to be like me." She waddled into her bedroom. Mary followed her, but the horn of Michelle's minivan sounded. Mary rationalized that the best thing was to get Mrs. Cuddy out of the situation, that nothing she could say to Lisa would sound comforting. She ran after the family van which was already pulling out into the street.

Lisa was alone, huddled on her bed.

--



House sat at his piano with a glass of bourbon. He was composing. Banging notes. Writing them down. Stringing together lines of a melody that sounded—ethereal. Never had his work sounded, light, playful. Playing a high C, the phone rang.

House let the answering machine get it. He was screening, of course. Why let some idiot, probably someone he works for, ruin his good mood? If it was someone important, they would leave a message or call his cell. The machine beeped.

"Hi." It was the voice of a girl. House stopped playing.

"This is Mary. Lisa's cousin. I don't know if this is your number Dr. House…"

He scrambled toward the phone, leaving his cane on the bench. He was breathing heavily from the dash. "Hello?" He breathed. "Is she having the baby?"

"No."

"Why are you calling, then?" His tone registered as anger.

"I'm sorry to bother you."

"Fine. Whatever kid. Obviously, you have a reason to call?"

"Something awful happened at the shower and I think Lisa needs a friend right now."

"Why are you calling me?" He asked.

"Because." She said, "Do I need a reason? Can't you just be concerned for Lisa? I guess I could call Dr. Wilson…"

"No."



"Are you going to check on her, then?" House could hear that her voice was urgent, pleading.

"What happened?"

"I can't go into detail." House heard a woman yelling in the background,
"I have to go!" She abruptly hung up the phone. House stared at the receiver, puzzled. He immediately dialed Cuddy's number. The dial tone beeped in his ear. She must have taken the phone off its hook. Panicked, he quickly grabbed his cane and bike keys, leaving the unfinished melody he was composing.

At her house now, he searched for the spare key under the plant. When he tried the door, it was unlocked. The lights were on all throughout the house. The decorations were still hung. In the corner of the room, there was a tower of presents stacked from the day's festivities. Cake plates lined the living room. He was silent, unsure if he should make his presence known to Cuddy.

Instead, he walked into the kitchen. The cake was still out, sitting on her kitchen table. He read the inscription, "Happiness, Health and Love to You and Your Baby." He smiled. He was sure that this message was meant for him as well, knowing Wilson, it was probably some stipulation. He was such a loser! House put the left-over in the fridge and took a trash bag from her cabinet. He went through her House, cleaning, throwing away anything that would remind her of today.

Her door was closed. He hesitated, on the brink of entering Cuddy's nightmare. He wondered if he was the one that should be picking up the pieces after today's events. He figured that knocking was worthless. She knew it would be him.