When House arrived at home, he found Jade sitting in his chair, looking concerned. He was surprised to see her there. She had gone home with Cuddy, right? They simply looked at each other for a while. Then House made his move, saying,
"I still don't get how you got here." Jade sighed and said,
"Elementary, my dear Watson. I thought you looked at little weird, so I looked through your car, found a loaded gun and a suicide note. I decided that for your own good, I would hide in the trunk of your car. I figured that if you did shoot yourself, I could drive you back to PPTH, thus saving your life. I debated whether or not call Mom. I decided against it, for some crazy reason. I figured that you were a big boy, and you needed to make this decision by yourself." House nodded. Jade smiled warmly at him, and he half-way returned it. Albeit, his smile looked more like a grimace, but who can tell the difference when you constantly live in pain? House went to the piano, and played 'Joy's Memorial'. He needed to hear the bittersweet tune to remind him why he wanted to live. Jade sat down next to him, and studied his fingers. When House finished, Jade tried playing it as well, and did pretty good for the first time. When she started to get confused, House put his fingers over hers, and they finished the song together. They sat at the piano a few minutes longer, not a sound made in the entire apartment. Jade got up, and crossed to the wall that held all the instruments her father played. The dominant instruments were guitars, by a long shot. Jade picked out a guitar that was black with silver swirls on it, and brought it over to her father. She asked softly, not wanting to break the spell that bound them,
"Will you teach me?" House nodded. House crossed to the wall, and picked out a traditional acoustic guitar. They sat down together on the couch and House, showing a rare moment of patience, taught Jade the fingerings for the guitar. They tamed the guitar from 10 pm to 12:30 am. Jade put the finishing note on her song, sighed, and turned to her father, saying, "We should probably go to bed. The last thing we need to have happen is I miss school, we both get chewed out, and Mom ends up with a problem concerning my sibling." House sighed, looked at his clock, and said,
"Damn. The nighttime soap operas come on at one." Jade smiled and, for the first time, kissed her father good-night. She went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. Once the bathroom door was shut, House gently rubbed the spot on his cheek where Jade had kissed him. Her lips had felt just like her mother's. House sighed contentedly, feeling immensely happy that he hadn't brought that gun to his head. He sat unmoving on the couch until he heard the water shut off. House rose, and went to his bedroom, leaving Jade alone in the living room that was temporarily converted to a bedroom.
House was chained to a grimy stone wall. Across from him he saw Cuddy, Jade, and Wilson were chained to their own respective walls as well. House strained against the bonds that held him in place, but they didn't budge a centimeter. House looked across from himself at Cuddy. She looked farther from normal than House could possibly imagine. He clothes were filthy and in tatters. Her long ebony locks were greasy. She was pitifully thin, except for the large swell of a child within her. She looked up at House, and he felt as if someone had ripped out his heart, slashed it with a rusty serrated knife, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. Her usually sparkling eyes held no emotion but hopelessness. They were sad, and there was no shimmer of happiness, anger, or any other positive emotion. House struggled even harder against the shackles on his wrists, but they still wouldn't move. Then, he realized something: His leg didn't hurt. House, thinking this too good to be true, tentatively flexed it. Still no pain. He stretched it out to full length, and it still didn't hurt. If he wasn't looking at this pitiful shell Cuddy, he would have actually laughed in happiness. House was distracted from her face by the sparkle of something on her hand. His eyes widened when he realized that the sparkling thing was a wedding ring.
The ring was a band of gold, with a ruby shaped like a heart. Inset in the ruby was a small diamond. Though he couldn't see it, House knew that on the inside of the ring was inscribed "Marry Me". The ring Cuddy wore was the same one he had privately debated giving her anonymously. House's eyes were drawn from Cuddy at the sound of two sets of approaching footsteps. House immediately did his best to look as beaten down as Cuddy did. The small door beside Cuddy opened, and House saw a face he loved and hated, a face he had thought to never see again.
Stacy had entered, followed by a brick of a man. House looked at Stacy, all pretenses forgotten. He shouted down at her,
"You nasty backstabbing bitch! What the hell are you doing to us! Let my family down! You sickening, nasty, bitching, asshole of a bastard!" House continued cussing out Stacy, but for all the notice she gave, be could have been a wooden stick. Stacy made a signal to her henchman, and he proceeded to rape Cuddy. House said nothing, agape at the horror that he was witnessing. Though he was unaware of it, tears fell faster down his face than the racing heart that pounded in his chest.
When the man was done with Cuddy, Stacy turned to House and said,
"Are you willing to comply with my demands?" House tried to ask what those demands where, but he found himself mute. Stacy continued to look at him waiting patiently. When no answer came forth, she made a signal to the man. He walked over to Jade, and gave her the same treatment he had given Cuddy. House suddenly found his tongue, and screamed.
House sat up in his bed, still screaming. He immediately shut up, and realized that he was drenched in sweat. God, that was so real, thought House, I hope I didn't wake Jade. Just then House became conscious of Jade sitting next to him, her hand on his sweaty back, murmuring, "Shushshshshshshshshshshsh…" House couldn't believe himself. He had awoken from a nightmare screaming and was being comforted by his 16-year-old daughter. And despite how much he hated himself, he still had a strong wanting to simply curl up in Jade's arms and cry himself back to sleep. He tried to stop himself, but his instinct won. He curled himself up, his hurt leg sticking out awkwardly, and let Jade wrap her arms around him and comfort him while he had a long-needed cry.
House cried for almost an hour and a half, all the while hating himself for unloading all his screwed-up-edness onto his poor daughter. Jade held him the entire time, her maternal instinct to comfort those who cry taking over.
At 3 am, House managed to stop crying and act more like him. Jade sensed that he was OK now, and silently got up and went back to the make-shift bed on the couch in the living room. House was happy that she had left right away, because it saved him having to explain to her his nightmare. She seemed to understand the kind of privacy he wanted. House laid back down and fell back to sleep almost instantly. Jade fell asleep soon as well, and all was quiet in the apartment of Gregory House.
The next morning, Jade was still up at the early hour of 4:30, even though it was a Saturday. She came to the conclusion she should stay with her father only on the weekends, so that if she had more sleepless nights, she wouldn't perform bad at school. Jade got up, and stretched, realizing just how disgusting her hands were from her father's sweat. Despite the fact that she had to wash her hands for 5 minutes, she still didn't regret going to her father when he had screamed earlier that morning. She had been lying awake in bed when she had heard her father start twisting about in his covers, and a quiet whimpering sound. She had gotten up and practically run to her father. She had sat next to him while he continued to dream and twitch, doing her best to rub soothing circles on his chest and all the while whispering "Shushshshshshshshshshshsh…" She had known that her father would be somewhat embarrassed about his weeping. She had known that he wouldn't want her to know anything about his dreams, and Jade had respected his privacy. She, being his daughter, could relate very well to his needs as far as comforting went. Jade shook herself out of her ponderous thoughts, and went about the business of making pancakes for her father.
House awoke earlier than normal to the intoxicating scent of pancakes and muffins in the oven. It never ceased to amaze him that Jade could make these delicious breakfasts with the few ingredients that were to be found in his kitchen. He rose from his bed, and feeling all the sweat that had dried there, he remembered earlier that morning. He flushed the tiniest bit when he remembered his childish bawling. Still, as long as he didn't mention it, Jade wouldn't mention it. Hopefully. He got dressed, and went out to the kitchen to join his daughter in her breakfast of pancakes, muffins, and scrambled eggs. Jade was already seated at the table, eating eggs while the pancakes and muffins cooked. She waved at her father as he walked in, and he blinked at her. Jade rolled her eyes, but continued eating. House helped himself to some eggs from the pile on a plate, and dug in. Yet again, a wonderful variety of tastes flooded his mouth, washing over his tongue. House wished yet again that it was Cuddy's tongue in his mouth instead of scrambled eggs. The timer on the oven dinged, and Jade got up to retrieve the muffins. She brought them back to the table, and House immediately grabbed one, burning his hand on the still hot muffin. He dropped it out of surprise, and Jade chuckled as she got him an icepack wrapped in a towel. She said,
"Has your old age forced you to release some of the little bit of common sense you possess?" House looked at her and said,
"To early for long words. Shut up." Jade smiled again, but remained silent. She then grabbed a muffin using the tips of her long nails to avoid burning her fingers. With a remarkable amount of poise, she nibbled at the muffin while balancing it on the tips of her nails. When Jade finished, she smiled smugly at her father, who muttered,
"Show-off." He grabbed a muffin with his hand, and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. Jade outright laughed at the sight of her father having chipmunk cheeks. House swallowed his huge bite, and took a great gulp of orange juice. He almost spit the liquid out. He stood up quickly and exclaimed, "ORANGE JUICE? WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?" Jade shrunk up in her chair. She had never really seen her father this mad. She said quietly,
"W-Wilson dropped it off." Jade brought her knees up to her chest, and squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating a hit. There was none forthcoming. Jade opened one eye to just a slit, and saw her father had sat back down, and was looking at her rather curiously. Jade slowly, cautiously, let her legs extend back down to the floor, and let her eyes open. She eyed her father warily, and he looked at her with pure curiosity. Jade sighed and explained slowly,
"Back at my foster mother's home, she would occasionally beat me when something I did surprised her in a way she didn't like, or when I did something stupid. I guess the flinching and trying to hide is just a habit. You can't tell Lisa. I don't want my foster mother to get in trouble." House simply stared at her. His daughter and he had had similar childhoods, and he hadn't known about it for four months? His daughter had been beaten, and she had still turned out OK, and not hating humanity the way he did? House sighed and said,
"I won't tell Cuddy. If you tell me the truth about your life up until now. I'll call in to the hospital and say you're sick." Jade's eyes started watering up, and she smiled happily. Her mother was kind to her, but she was kind in the way people are kind when dealing with elderly people. They sometimes were just dealing with you. House, on the other hand, was gruff and blunt, but when it really mattered, he was really there for her. Not that Jade doubted Cuddy would do that for her, but it just felt more like House really did care about her life. Jade waited patiently as House called the hospital.
When he returned, Jade hadn't moved. House sighed, and said,
"Look, I know that bitch of a foster-mother might have beaten you, but I promise I won't hit you. Now, will you please stop looking like I am strangling a small animal in front of you and I am laughing while I do so?" Jade smiled a little bit, but the fear was still in her eyes. It was just hiding beneath a layer of deflecting. Only then did House realize just how hard it was for his daughter to go through day-to-day life. He also then realized just how much she was like him. They both had an abusive childhood, and they both coped with pain every day. His pain was physical, but Jade had emotional pain, the kind of pain that no drug can cure. No drug would ever be able to put a strong barrier between Jade and the hand that struck her. House sighed, and pulled his chair over next to Jade. He put an arm around her shoulder while she quietly cried into his shoulder. Jade knew that this was the only person that she could ever let herself cry in front of, or even into when there really wasn't a plausible excuse for t, other than her world was screwed up. She knew that he wouldn't betray her to anyone, and he wouldn't tell anyone.
House also realized that Jade was the one person he could cry in front of and not feel ashamed or embarrassed. They were the shoulder for the other, the ear that was always there for those moments when the other needed someone to listen. If I was a generation older, Dad and I could actually be a couple. Thought Jade. She smiled at the idea of her mother walking down the isle to her father at the end. House felt the muscles in Jade's face twisting, and he knew she was smiling at something. Jade got up, and walked over to the couch. She knew that this was going to be her talk with her father when they learned all the little details about each other. House followed Jade, if only to make sure that she was OK. Jade sat on the couch facing her father, and her father faced her. Jade took a breath and said,
"Everything in this conversation will not reach the ears of anyone else. This conversation is strictly confidential. If Lisa or Wilson ask anything about this conversation, we never had it." House smiled at the way his daughter was closing all the loopholes. He knew that what she was doing was unnecessary. He wouldn't have told anyone about the way his daughter was, because they would know that was the way he was. Jade continued talking, "I have had 8 foster parents, 7 of which beat me. The only one that didn't was too old and feeble to do so. The first pair I had enjoyed beating me whenever they got bored. When I was taken away from them, the next people that took me in seemed very kind at first. Then, I discovered they were very controlling. When I tried to run away, they caught me and beat me. I called 911 this time, and I was taken away from them as well. The next people were a family where the son was still living with his parents. The son would hit me on his way to work, and the parents made me there personal servant. They beat me when I didn't something fast enough for them. Then, the last woman that you took me from, she was the one that didn't beat me because she was in a wheelchair, so she couldn't. But on occasion she did get her son to help her on that front. I had to help her with everything, though. I guess that's why I jumped at the chance to get away. I figured that if Lisa wanted me enough to send someone all the way from New Jersey to get me, she must want me very badly. At the time, you guys just seemed like the saving grace. Now, you and Lisa are much more than that. Yes, Dad, even you." House nodded. He said quietly,
"You know, my dad beat me when I was a kid. When I was 12, I found out that he wasn't even my dad." Despite her own pain, Jade felt a multitude of pity for her father. He had experienced abuse his whole life from the same man, and then found out that man wasn't even his father. Jade moved toward her father cautiously on the couch. Jade was afraid that he would walk over to his bedroom and shut her out. Jade tentatively reached her arms around her father, and she felt him stiffen slightly. She knew that if she didn't get this over with soon, she would lose her chance. Quickly, Jade embraced her father in her arms. She hugged him tightly to her, like he was the only thing that could save her from death. Hesitantly, House put his arms around her. Jade felt his arms, and knew instantly that she had done the right thing. She let House hold her tightly like she held him. They sat like that for a few minutes, letting a sense of safety and security envelope them. Jade let herself release some tears into House, knowing that this was one of his few human moments. She felt something warm and runny on the back of her neck, and knew that her father was crying as well.
Jade let her grip on her father relax, and she slowly got up. She crossed to the piano, and played 'Joy's Memorial'. House sat on the couch, crying slightly as he remembered that night. Jade continued playing the song, studying her father's face, trying to figure out the secret behind this song. She knew that whenever he played it, he seemed more human, and the human that he became showed that the song evoked a feeling of sorrow and pain in him. Jade played the song for almost an hour, until she could glean no more information from her father. She got up, and went back to the couch to comfort the unwholesome man before her. She softly whispered to him,
"What's that song called?" House whispered back to her,
"Joy's Memorial." Jade nodded. She thought over his answer. Okay, thought Jade, her deductive and reasonable brain kicking in through all the swirling emotions in her, Dad would never compose a song to the loss of an emotion, so Joy must be a person. By the way he is acting, I would guess that Joy died. That also makes sense since it is called 'Joy's Memorial'. Jade asked,
"Who was Joy?" House wiped his tears away, and Jade could see that he was closing up to her. Jade asked again quickly,
"Who was Joy?" House frowned as he thought this over. He then said,
"You should probably know this anyway. Joy was a baby that Cuddy was going to adopt. The mother was a crack addict, and she thought that she wouldn't be able to raise the spawn, so she put it up for adoption. When the baby was born, the mother decided that she wanted the baby, so she didn't let Cuddy adopt. That's the story of Joy." Jade nodded again. She asked,
"Why did you write a song for her?" House sighed, and said,
"That was the first time Cuddy kissed me in almost 15 years. If you tell anyone else that I told you, I will wring your neck. No, I would not actually do that." Jade smiled. She cuddled up close to her father, and fell asleep like that. House stroked her hair, until he too fell asleep.
House and Jade slept the whole day away, until Cuddy came over at 5 pm. She intuitively walked in slowly, subconsciously sensing that loud noises were not a good idea. She quietly set the supper that she brought on the table, and quietly walked around. When she saw House and Jade curled up together on the couch, she smiled, and almost started to cry at the heart-warming sight that she looked upon.
Just then, Jade sleepily opened her eyes. She looked around slowly, taking her time to wake up. When her eyes came to rest on her mother, the instantly became more alert. Jade slowly disentangled herself from her father, and walked over to hug her mother. Jade and Cuddy walked slowly over into the bedroom, and closed the door. Cuddy hugged Jade again and said concernedly,
"House called in and said you were sick." Jade shook her head happily and said,
"No, I wasn't sick. We just had a talk that had to happen. I'm sorry Mom, but we agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone about what we said. One of those father-daughter things. Come here." Jade took her mother's hand, and opened the door. She pulled her over to the couch where House still slept. Jade whispered in Cuddy's ear, "Curl up in his arms. You know you want to." Jade smirked devilishly at her mother. Cuddy sighed quietly, but knew that any arguing would awaken House. She slowly moved up next to House, and curled up in his arms like she had seen Jade do. Jade smiled encouragingly. Cuddy couldn't fight it anymore; she gave into the wanting that she had held secretly for the past 20 years. She let her self shift until she was more comfortable. House's arms tightened around her until it was impossible for her to escape with out awakening House. Cuddy let her self relax, and she was soon fast asleep.
Jade smiled at her parents, knowing that this was what she wanted. Her parents holding each other, her mother sleeping peacefully in her father's arms, and looking like a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet. Jade went to her bag, and quietly pulled out her book. She walked over to House's bedroom, and settled in for the next few hours to read while her parents embraced and slept together in blissful happiness.
When House and Cuddy woke up at 7 am the next morning, they found themselves tangled together on the couch. House looked at Cuddy alarmed and at the same time happily. Cuddy looked at him sheepishly. House smiled at her, and brushed a curl of chocolate hair behind her ear. Cuddy whispered to him,
"Hey you." House whispered back sexily,
"Hey yourself." Cuddy put her light hand on House's chest. She said seriously,
"House, I'm pregnant with your child." House nodded, smiled, and said,
"I know." Cuddy smiled back at him. She didn't ask how he knew or what methods he used to know. She just accepted that he knew. They kissed each other passionately, and let themselves hold their pose for almost half an hour. They got up, and prepared for yet another day at work.