Do You Hear What I Hear?

December 9, 2007 – 8:12am (Sunday)

Everyone in the Cameron house was awoken quite abruptly the next morning by the bloodcurdling screams of Lily and Matt.

Cameron sat upright in her bed and glared at House. "What did you do?"

House had a smirk on his face. "Absolutely nothing, my dear."

Cameron scowled at him. "Tell me why they're screaming, now, or… or…"

House almost laughed as he sat up. "Or what?"

Cameron's scowl turned into a smile. How could she stay mad at him? "What did you do?"

"I already told you! I didn't do anything!"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Yeah? Well, we'll see." She got up and poked her head out the door. Everyone else had done the same thing.

"What's going on?" asked Angela.

House got up and noticed a guilty, but amused Joe standing behind her. He put his finger over his mouth, telling House to keep quiet. House smirked.

Matt and Lily's door had yet to open, but everyone could hear their shouting throughout the whole house.

"What the heck did you do!?" shouted Lily.

"Me?! You put make-up on my face, you jerk!" retorted Matt.

"I didn't do that!"

"And you think I put your hand in a cup of warm water? God, Lily, I'm not 8 years old anymore!"

Both Joe and House laughed at the comment. This immediately caught the attention of Cameron and Angela. They both looked at their men.

"What the hell did you do?" they asked in unison.

House and Joe both replied in unison, as well. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

& - & - & - & - & - &

Wilson and Cuddy were getting ready for work when there was a knock at their door. Who could that be so early in the morning?

Cuddy answered the door to find her parents. "Oh, Mom…. What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Cuddy smiled. "Well, your father and I decided that we would spend the day with Riley."

"Oh, that's really not necessary, Mom."

Mrs. Cuddy frowned. "You're getting ready for work, aren't you?"

"I already told you, it's a busy season, Mom."

"Lisa, it's the weekend. You should stay home with your son."

Cuddy sighed. "I would if I could, Mother." She finally let her parents into the house.

"Well, if you won't be spending the day with your son, then I don't see why we can't."

Wilson walked in to find Cuddy's parents in the living room. "Oh, Mr. Cuddy… Mrs. Cuddy… So nice to see you."

"Are you going to work today, too, James?" asked Mr. Cuddy.

Wilson sheepishly nodded. "I have to finish the paperwork for a few of my patients. They're trying to get into drug trials, and um… I'm sorry… Why… are you here?"

Mr. and Mrs. Cuddy both blushed.

"How rude of us," Mrs. Cuddy said politely. "We just stopped by to see if you needed a babysitter for the day."

"Oh, that's really not necessary," said Wilson.

Cuddy shrugged her shoulders. "See, we're fine, Mom. Thank you though."

Mrs. Cuddy was becoming impatient with her daughter. "Lisa, I don't see what the big deal is with letting your mother baby-sit your son for the day. He is my grandson after all!"

Cuddy sighed and turned to look at Wilson, who obviously didn't want any trouble.

"I guess if they really want to baby-sit, they can, Lisa." Wilson shrugged.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll be home as soon as possible."

Mr. and Mrs. Cuddy both assumed that that meant late.

& - & - & - & - & - &

Foreman was excited to hear that Adler had admitted a patient. That meant no more clinic hours… at least for a little while. Hopefully it would go better with this patient than their last one. Foreman went to complete the medical history while Adler drew some blood.

He began by making sure her fainting spell hadn't damaged her brain. It probably hadn't. "Can you tell me your name?"

"She fainted," said the man at her side. "She didn't crack her skull open."

"Will you just let her answer?" asked Foreman.

"Excuse my husband," said the woman. "Frank always gets grumpy this time of the year. His office always gets busy during the holiday season."

Foreman snorted. "Yeah, we do too. Can you tell me your name?"

"Holly," she replied. "My name's Holly."

Foreman nodded. "When did your symptoms start, Holly?"

She gave a description of her symptoms while Adler began drawing blood.

"I started feeling nauseous four days ago, and two nights ago, I started throwing up."

"Do you remember what happened in the Clinic?"

Holly thought for a moment. "I was talking to you," she said, pointing to Adler, "And then everything went black. I don't remember anything after that."

Foreman nodded. "Do you have any other illnesses?"

"Just hayfever," she said with a chuckle. "I guess it's kind of ironic for a florist to have hayfever, huh?"

Foreman shrugged. "We have a crippled doctor on our staff."

The woman smiled. "It's not exactly the same thing."

Foreman shrugged. Maybe not. "Do you have a family history of mental illness, heart disease, or any other medical condition?"

"My uncle died of a heart attack I think," she replied. "I think everyone else is healthy in the family."

Foreman made the note on her chart. He was about to ask her another question when he noticed her humming a familiar Christmas tune. "Holly?"

Holly seemed distracted, but after being called by Foreman and Adler several times, she finally responded.

"Holly, are you okay?" asked Foreman. "You seemed a little distracted."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just love that song."

Foreman and Adler looked at each other. "What song?" Foreman asked.

Now Holly was confused. "Carol of the Bells… didn't you hear it?"

Everyone in the room shook their heads. It looked like they had a new symptom.

& - & - & - & - & - &

As soon as Pam heard that Chase, Katie, and Carly were all staying for a few more days at her expense, she was outraged. She only hoped that if she paid for this, Carly would drop the talk about going to Princeton.

Katie was very satisfied with herself after booking the room for a few more days, though. "You know, Carly, the apartment wasn't your only birthday present."

Carly grinned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I didn't know that Robbie was going to ask me to move in with him, so I made sure to buy you another present ahead of time."

Carly's smile widened. "Really? What did you get me?"

Katie reached into her purse and pulled out a small envelope. She handed it to Carly.

Carly opened the envelope and nearly jumped with joy. "Tickets to the Sydney Opera House?! I've lived in Australia all my life and I've never even been there! Thank you so much, Katie!" She gave Katie a great big hug.

Katie laughed. "I'm glad you like it because we're going tomorrow night."

Chase and Carly gasped as they looked at the date on the ticket.

"How did you know we'd be able to go?" asked Carly.

Katie shrugged. "I figured we'd find a way to escape that house one way or another."

Carly squealed with joy. "Oh, Katie! We have to go buy dresses today! Robbie! You need to get a tux! We're going to the opera!"

Chase didn't seem as excited as his little sister, though. He leaned into Katie's ear and whispered quietly.

"You're making me go to the opera?"