Surprise! Here's another chapter! I know it may be short, but I hope you like it anyway.
Chapter 25
After Jake had left, I made it clear to my Mother that there would be no discussions between us regarding House until after I had a chance to talk to Rachel and get her safely tucked into bed. Additionally, I had warned my Mother that any future discussion about House would take place well out of earshot of my daughter, as my top priority as always had been protecting my child at all cost.
Entering into Rachel's room, I find her playing on the floor with a cardboard pirate ship House had made for her while wearing a patch over her left eye.
"Where's House?" Rachel asks as soon as she notices me.
"Honey, come here a minute so we can talk." I say, patting the empty space beside me on her bed.
Rachel gets up, but her face is one of disappointment as she joins me.
"Oh Mommy…can it wait? I've waited for forever for House to come home and play pirates with me."
I remove the eye patch she is wearing and place it on the bed behind us.
"Rachel, I need you to listen to me okay?" I tell her, stressing my words but keeping my voice calm.
"Okay Mommy." She agrees,her pretty blue eyes stare back at me intently, knowing by my tone that I have something important to discuss with her.
"Rachel, I know you love playing with House, but today we found out that House may not be able to play with you for quite some time."
"But why? " Rachel asks, immediately getting upset.
"Shhh…it's okay honey." I tell her while wrapping my arm around her and pulling her close to me.
"But Mommy, why can't House play with me? Did he do something bad? Like when that boy shoved me in the playground at school?"
Her eyes are shimmering with the threat of tears, and I know there's nothing I can do to make this all better…..at least not yet.
"Yes, House did do something bad. You see…..House broke something that belong to someone else and now we need to make sure he does what he needs to do to make things right." I try explaining to her.
"But can't you just pay for whatever House broke? Like you did when I broke Aunt Julia's vase by accident?" She asks me.
"I wish it was that easy honey, but it doesn't work that way. House broke the law, which is like you breaking a rule your teacher gives you, and now a judge, which is kind of like you teacher, needs to decide how House is going to make up for his mistake and until the judge decides, House needs to stay where he is. "
"But it's not fair! I want House to come and play with me! Please Mommy, tell the judge House is not a bad! He's good and he's my friend!
And now the tears start to flow from the little girl I am holding in my arms.
Rachel is heartbroken over the loss of her friend and it would be great if I could comfort her by telling her that it would only be for a little while, however filling my child with any kind of false sense of hope at this point would be the worst mistake a mother could do.
So instead, I kiss her forehead and her cheek, pulling her onto my lap and wiping away her tears.
"Rachel, I know you miss House, and I miss him too, but did you ever think about how sad House is because he can't play with you right now?"
The question takes her by surprise.
"House is sad too?" She asks me, her innocence so precious I want to bottle it up and keep hold of it forever.
I nod.
"He's very sad. In fact House told me today that he's really sorry he couldn't play pirates with you."
"Can I go see him so House and I can be happy again?" She pleads.
"Oh honey, I'm sorry you can't - at least not right now. But I know something you could do that I think would make you and House very happy."
"What Mommy?" She asks, sniffling back the threat of anymore tears.
"Well, first we're gonna need some paper and some crayons, oh and maybe the new watercolors I bought you."
For the next hour and until I get Rachel ready for bed, the two of us draw pictures for House, one is of a pirate with a black beard, I add the seagulls and palms trees as Rachel concentrates on the Pirates hat, the other is a drawing of House, Rachel and I all holding hands, and lastly I help her write a note to House, one in which she tells him how she loves the way he makes grumpy pirate voice when they play and how he makes the best oatmeal with apples and cinnamon, her small voice filled with excitement as she recounts these memories to me as well as several others, my hand steady as I write down all of her thoughts down before letting her sign her name at the bottom of the page, her tiny hand adding a few X's and O's for good measure as well.
It was only after I was sure Rachel was asleep, staying by her bedside until I saw her eyes close and watched the steady rise and fall of her chest that I had silently made my way out into the kitchen.
"Finally!" My mother says with a wine glass in her hand and a nearly empty bottle resting in front of her on the kitchen bar.
"Shh….you'll wake Rachel." I scold as I make my way to her.
Her face turns serious for a moment. "You really are a good mother, Lisa. Better than I could have ever hoped to be."
I grab the bottle from in front of her. "You're cut off."
"Why? Because I paid you a compliment? I figured you needed one considering the circumstances. Now how about getting sloshed with your dear old mom to round out the rest of what's left of this horrible day." She says, walking over to the cupboard and retrieving another glass.
"I think I'll pass."
She walks back over, taking the bottle from me.
"Nonsense Lisa, I'm your mother, and I say a glass of wine is exactly what you need." She replies filling my glass up immediately.
I hesitate, but then take the glass anyway, reasoning to myself that after the roller coaster of emotions I had experience today, the alcohol in the wine will hopefully aid me into getting a couple hours of sleep tonight.
"Good girl." My mother says, watching me as I take a sip of the wine before quickly taking a sip from her own glass.
"Sooo." She says with a coy smile on her lips.
"So?" I question.
"How was it? I mean the make-up, I'm not dead sex? It had to be fantastic, right?"
"Oh my god Mom, please stop!" I groan, walking away from her and sitting down at the kitchen table with my glass of wine.
"What? I'm not asking for all the kinky little details, unless of course you want to add those in." She says while following me and taking a seat beside me.
I know unless I give her something she'll keep badgering me and so I let out a sigh and relent.
"It was good."
"Good? Lisa, ice cream is good, chocolate is good. Make-up sex with the man you love is like a tidal wave of emotions wrapped up in the best orgasm you've ever had with a cherry on top. And since I hear House no longer requires his cane, I bet getting all that hard wood with a fully functioning leg was enough to even make a jewish girl sing Hallelujah at the end."
"Sex with House is always fantastic mother." I find myself saying before I even realize what has come out of my mouth.
"Really? Good to know." She says with a grin, leaning back in chair.
"Okay Mom, you've heard all the dirty little details of my reunion with House, so now let's call it a night."
"Are you nuts?" She responds. "I still haven't heard the best part of how you forgave that son of a bitch for smashing his car into your house and ruining your life."
My mother, much like House is a damn bloodhound when it comes to sniffing out the truth, and so even though I'd like nothing better than to guzzle down my wine and pass out in my bed, I give in once more, telling my Mother about by first run in with House at the diner, explaining to her my understandable struggle to try and trust House again, shooting daggers at her as I tell her about the break up with Jake while she grins like a hyena before finally ending with the details of House's arrest. Midway through our conversation I think of how Wilson would have surely been neck-deep in all this drama between me and House, and how the old yenta would be in all his glory as he tried to push us back together with the best of intentions, the image of Wilson's face running through my mind and piercing my heart just as painfully as the day I had received the news of the oncologist succumbing to his cancer.
"You've certainly had a very interesting couple of weeks." My mother says.
"I think it's one for the record books." I agree, my hand now cradling the empty wine glass my mother has filled up twice for me since we started our conversation.
"Go and get some rest." She orders, standing up and kissing my forehead as she takes the glass from me.
"Thanks Mom…for everything." I tell her before I turn towards my bedroom.
"Don't thank me just yet, Lisa. I'm sure I'll do something to annoy you before I had back to the land of strippers." She remarks, and I find myself smiling once more, just like I had when I had visited House in jail.
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As I settle down into my bed and turn off the light, the smell of House's cologne is still lingering between my sheets. I run my hand over the pillow where his head once was only a few hours ago, the memories of the two of us, here together, bring back the ache inside of my heart.
I miss him; miss him more than I ever thought I could,more than I ever thought I would after what had happened between us back in Princeton. As sleep takes me by the wrist, I find myself lost in the darkness, a never ending abyss of lonelinessl until the ringing of my cell phone cuts through the nightmare, rousing me from my sleep.
"Hello?" I answer, my mind still partly wrapped within the thick fog of unconsciousness
"Cuddy, it's Foreman."