A/N: Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this receiving a record number of reviews for me! I appreciate every single reader!

Just so you know, there are 27 chapters in this story. Chapter 27 also includes a small epilogue, but I'll post it all as one chapter. Apologies that this is a relatively short chapter, but it made sense to break the story this way. That and I am evil. :)

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House leaned against the kitchen doorway and watched as Javier sat down at the table, polite and yet so awkward. Perhaps it was just the size of the man, House thought. No, he reconsidered, there was something else about the guy that just wasn't right.

As soon as Alex had put a plate down on the table, House took a couple of steps into the room.

"I think I hear Tilly," he said.

Alex frowned. "I don't hear anything."

He gestured toward the hall. "Can you check? Just in case? I'll keep Javier company."

"Okay."

As soon as Alex had disappeared, House sat down opposite the other man, leaning forward in interrogation pose. "How long have you worked for Marquez?" House asked.

Javier, in the middle of cutting up the piece of meat on his plate, didn't look up. "A while," he said.

"What do you do for him?"

At that the man did glance up, briefly. "Whadya mean?"

"I mean, what type of things do you do for him?"

He shrugged. "Things like this."

"Like what?"

"Takin' care of people."

House felt a chill go down his spine as he thought of the two ways that statement could be interpreted.

Before House could ask anything further a cell phone rang. Javier reached into his pocket and answered it, holding a brief conversation that existed only of the words "yes", "no", and "okay" from his end.

As he watched the awkward young man stuff the cell back in his pocket, that's when it hit House.

Phone.

That's where he'd seen the guy before.

House got up and staggered back a step in shock, his chair clattering to the floor.

"You installed the phone here," House muttered aloud.

Javier simply shrugged again.

The day they'd moved into the house, the guy doing the installation of the phone, the one who'd demanded to know where it should be placed . . . it was him. And then the other thing that was bothering House slipped into place: today at the front door . . . If he'd just driven from New York, why did he have all that snow on his clothes?

"You were right," Alex said as she walked into the kitchen, a quiet but clearly alert Tilly in her arms. She was looking down at the baby and so didn't pick up on the tense scene between House and Javier. "She was awake. Poor little thing is getting all congested."

"The baby is sick?" Javier asked, frowning with concern.

"She just has a cold," Alex answered with a smile as she glanced up at Javier. Her smile faltered as she took in House's alert posture, the chair on the floor behind him.

It had been a good ruse to get Alex out of the kitchen, House thought, only now Tilly was in the line of fire too. "Why don't you take her for a drive?" House suggested, suddenly desperate to get them away from the stranger he'd unwittingly invited into their home. "You know being in the car helps her settle. You could go to Wilson's."

Alex gave him a puzzled look. "I don't think it's come to that yet. She's quiet for now. Greg, what's going on?"

Before House could come up with any further reasons to get them to leave, the doorbell rang.

"More of your janitorial friends?" Alex asked with a nervous, crooked smile.

"I'll get it," Javier said, rising from the table.

"What?" Alex asked, her tone revealing her increasing anxiety. "Why? Greg, what's—"

Javier's bulk shadowed both Alex and House as he moved towards the door. "Why don't you guys go sit in the living room?" The words sounded like a suggestion, the tone revealed what it really was: an order.

"Greg? What's going on?" Alex's voice shook.

House was at a loss. He honestly had no idea what was going on. Was Javier the enemy or the protector? Had talking to Alex's father been a mistake? Was he trying to protect them or get rid of them? Why couldn't the goodies and baddies wear white and black hats just to keep things clear?

"I don't know," House said eventually. "Let's go sit down and talk."

Something in his voice must have given his own anxiety away, because Alex's expression suddenly turned terrified, and after wrapping her arms tightly around Tilly, she meekly followed him into the living room where they sat down close to each other on the sofa.

"Alex, try to stay calm," House began, "but your father sent Javier to protect you." At least he hoped that was right.

"Protect me? From what?"

House didn't say anything but he could tell from the way the blood drained from Alex's face that it only took a second for her to infer the answer.

"Oh, no. No, no, no." Alex shook her head as if trying to deny the fact.

House put an arm around her shoulders, bringing her and Tilly tight against him. "It's okay. We'll be safe."

He felt a shudder go through her body.

"Hey, at least it means you're not as nuts as you thought you were. There really was someone following you."

Alex managed a strangled laugh and she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "I can't . . ." she began, her voice catching.

"You won't have to," House said, "I promise."

Javier returned to the living room with another man, this time someone who was definitely South American. And, in contrast to Javier, this guy fitted every cliché House had about what a gangster might look like. From his tailored coat over a fine wool suit all the way to the slicked-back hair. The pair of them looked ridiculous together, though, Javier all bulk and brawn, the other guy small and elegant and precise. And yet House instantly knew which one he was more troubled by – and it wasn't the brawn.

"This is Santino," Javier said. "He works for Mr Marquez, too."

So the pretence of hospital janitor was out the window, House thought. Javier must have overheard House's explanation to Alex.

"Good afternoon," Santino said, his English strongly accented. "I am sorry to interrupt your Christmas festivities, but I am sure we can have this cleared up soon."

Alex seemed frozen and thankfully Tilly appeared unaware of the tension in the room; she lay in Alex's arms blinking sleepily.

"Have what cleared up?" House asked. In an instant his fear turned into anger. How dare these people come in and invade the first happy Christmas he'd ever had in his life? He took his arm from around Alex and stood up, towering over Santino by at least six inches and trying to make the most of it. "I've had enough of this crap. Just tell me what's going on."

"There's no need to get angry, Dr House," Santino said, putting his hands out, palms up in what House was sure was meant to be a consoling gesture. All it did was make his blood pressure rise further.

"Yeah? I think there's every need. We have had absolutely nothing to do with Alex's father and yet somehow we're involved in something. What is going on?"

"It's a simple matter," Santino said, shrugging off his coat and folding it neatly over the back of a chair. He adjusted the sleeves of his shirt, completely unconcerned by House's anger.

"A simple matter of what?"

Santino sat down on the sofa opposite, a bland smile on his face. "We just need the package that was delivered here earlier today. That's all." He waved his hand. "Please, sit down," he said, as if House were a guest.

House swore. "Marquez told me he wasn't using Alex in his business. Bastard."

"Well, truth be told, Mr Marquez doesn't exactly know that he is."

The meaning of that statement took a moment to sink in and, when it did, House slumped back onto the sofa next to Alex. They worked for Alex's father but they had betrayed him. House glanced over at Javier – the kid's blank expression gave nothing away. And then it struck him: Santino had been the man in the car. The one who had called. Guy was so arrogant, so sure of himself, that he felt he could call and wave, just to show House how vulnerable he was. It had worked.

House changed tack, trying for a conciliatory tone in his voice. "Look just take it and leave us alone. We won't tell anyone, on the condition that you leave and never involve us in this kind of shit again."

"Javier, do you know where the package is?" Santino asked coolly, ignoring House.

Javier had stood motionless through the whole exchange, his eyes on Santino. "On a table in the hallway," he said without moving a muscle.

"Get it."

Javier disappeared and returned a moment later holding the small courier box. House had completely forgotten its existence and so, by her surprised expression, had Alex.

"Excellent." Santino stood up and House didn't miss the way his suit jacket oh-so casually fell open, revealing the shoulder holster and gun.

"You can leave, I won't stop you," House said, suddenly feeling every inch of the helplessness of his situation. He had so much to lose. "We'll never say anything about this. You clearly have our phone bugged, so you can check on us."

The tension in the room was palpable and Tilly began to wail. House was aware of Alex's arms tightening around the baby, but the two men didn't blink an eyelid at the noise.

Santino gave a cold smile. "Oh, we will, don't worry. Besides, it's really much easier this time. The little one is too small to talk, and unlike my previous colleagues I have no desire to hurt her unless I have to." He paused. "Don't doubt that I will, if you are difficult," he added with a firm nod to make clear his threat. "But once you are dead, you won't say much. And anything the poor, mentally disturbed woman says is bound to be ignored once people realize she had a paranoia attack and murdered her boyfriend in confusion. How many people will believe the same thing could happen to the same woman twice? We have ways to make sure she is not a . . . reliable witness." The slimy gleam in Santino's eyes left no doubt as to what kind of methods he had in mind.

House heard Alex make a choking noise, the first utterance she'd made since they'd moved into the living room.

The next few moments happened in an instant, and yet time somehow slowed down so that House was able to note each action as it occurred.

Santino reached into his suit jacket. The Christmas tree lights glinted off the gun in bizarre incongruence. ouseHousnhhkHouse had time to think about how many times a gun had been pointed at him. He should be used to it by now.

There was a blur of movement next to Santino. The cardboard package fell to the floor with a hollow clunk and bounced twice.

Tilly's wailing stopped abruptly at the same time as House felt her small, warm body land in his lap with a soft thud.

A weight over him. Hard bone connecting with his chin. Darkness.

Two gunshots.

Silence.

Liquid warmth.

Noise and activity all seemed to come back at once.

A muffled whimper and a squirming in his lap.

Pain.

House realized he'd screwed his eyes shut when he'd seen Santino squeeze the trigger of the gun pointed at him. So much for the big, brave hero. He opened his eyes and felt a moment of pure panic when he couldn't see, before realizing that something was covering his eyes.

Hair.

Alex's hair.

The weigh on him was Alex, her head rested on his shoulder, her torso lying over his. And between their bodies Matilda gasped for breath.

"Help me," House muttered, not sure who he was talking to. He pushed against Alex, but his hands slipped, slimy and wet.

Then someone else's hands were there, lifting the weight from him and House sucked in a deep breath. His attention went straight to the bundle in his lap: Tilly lay there, terrifyingly still for a second, but then her face screwed up, her mouth opened and she howled.

House's relief was overwhelming but he squashed the instinct to hold Tilly to him and comfort her. Instead he picked her up and lay her carefully on the sofa where she kicked her legs and waved her arms in protest. He gasped in horror when he took his hands away from her and saw she was covered in blood, but then quickly realized the blood was on his hands, and not coming from her body.

He turned away from the baby and was momentarily stunned by what he saw.

Santino lay on his side, arms sprawled, half his head missing.

Javier was holding Alex, trying to lay her down from the strange, crumpled position she was in.

"Man, I wasn't fast enough. Help her," Javier said, glancing up at him.

Javier lifted Alex as if she weighed nothing and lay her flat on the carpet. House instantly saw the bullet exit wound through the right side of her chest. He looked down at himself, surprised to find his left arm bleeding copiously. From a surface wound.

Alex had protected him. And Tilly. She'd done for them what she hadn't been able to do for Kevin or Jack.

"Come on!"

Javier's urging broke the spell House had fallen into and he quickly knelt on the floor beside Alex, the hurt of his own arm barely registering. He put his slimy fingers to Alex's neck, checking for a pulse while he yelled at Javier.

"Get an ambulance here, now! And get me something to stop the bleeding. Towels, something!" House pulled his own shirt off, bunching it up and pushing it under Alex where the bullet had entered her body through her back. He pressed his palm hard against the exit wound in her chest.

House was vaguely aware of Javier's movement, but all his concentration was focused on Alex. He struggled to hear her breathing over Tilly's crying, leaning down until his ear was against her mouth and then pressed to her chest. The gasping wheeze and the sucking wound in her chest told him she had a pneumothorax. Towels appeared just as the pulse he'd been monitoring in her throat became so weak it was barely distinguishable. Grabbing Javier's hand, House pulled him to the floor and put a towel over the chest wound. "Put your hand here," House shouted. "Push hard."

As soon as Javier's hand was in place, House started CPR, watching as Alex's blood pumped out of her, as her lips turned blue, as her pulse faded and disappeared.

"Don't you do this to me," House growled at Alex. "Not after all this. Not after all the shit we've been through."

"Oh man, she's dead, isn't she?" Javier asked, sitting back.

"Don't let up the pressure!"

Javier leaned forward again, holding both hands clamped down on Alex's chest. "The boss is going to kill me."

"Not until after I have," House muttered, leaning down again to breathe puffs of air into Alex's blue mouth.

A siren sounded in the distance.

"I gotta go," Javier said.

"You're not going anywhere," House said. "Alex? Do you hear me? You're not going anywhere."