Disclaimer in part one!

Last chapter! Thank you everyone who stuck through this to the end--I know it's ridiculously long, but hopefully it was worth it. Please review to let me know what you think about the entire story! I'll be posting an epilogue at the beginning of next week!

Love!

Two Drifters, Off to See the World

There's Such a Lot of World to See,

We're After the Same Rainbow's End--

Waiting Round the Bend

--Henry Mancini "Moon River"

The first thing he noticed was the large Australian flag now framed over the fireplace. Previously the spot above the fireplace had been empty. "That's new," House said, to announce his presence. He leaned more heavily on his cane. It was cool from sitting for weeks, but it still fit in his hand, the worn crevices perfectly aligning with his grip.

"House!" Chase said, looking up from his paperwork. Why he still insisted on filling it out House never knew. "You're walking," he jumped up as soon as he noticed that House wasn't exactly walking, more like desperately trying to remain standing and putting most of his weight on the doorframe or the cane. Chase pushed his own shoulder under House's armpit and they together walked to the armchair.

"New decorations?" House asked, nodding toward the flag.

Chase shrugged. "Yeah, had it for a while in the attic. Cameron and I are thinking a family trip to Oz right before the girls go off to school so—yeah."

House raised an eyebrow. "You want to play a final game?" he nodded toward the board.

"You all packed?" Chase asked.

"Cuddy's taking everything over; then Cameron decided we'd all go out to dinner," House said. He knew that Cameron was immensely suspicious of his motives, even though Chase had told her to lay off and Elizabeth, before leaving for school again, had repeatedly assured her that everything was okay. Despite this, Cameron still had that beady, shrewd look in her eyes whenever she saw House.

It had barely been a week since Cameron's mother's funeral; Cuddy had left on Saturday, hastily packed and cleaned everything, then, yesterday, she'd dumped it in his guest bedroom and was currently sorting it out. She was coming to pick him up, to "officially" start this whatever, quite soon.

Truthfully, he was glad to be done with Cameron and Chase. Living with them had not been the unmitigated disaster he'd been imagining—they, and their kids, were much more resilient than he'd ever given them credit for—and he hadn't minded them seeing him in such a state. He was too old to care by this point.

But seeing them so close—seeing their scars and quirks and ticks and ugly sides—had been too much for him, a flame next to ice. It was easier to be friends with them, to not be so close to a family dynamic; fragile by definition, he honestly didn't want to even touch what was happening there. Yes, it was probably objectively better that Cameron and Chase had had these discussions, put those problems out there, stopped pretending their lives weren't carved out of grief; he just didn't think he could be there for the fallout without absolutely messing those kids up. Distance made them simpler.

Plus, he wanted to be with Cuddy. Something that was actually simple.

Chase dutifully pulled out the chess set, rotating the table so House would go first. They played in silence, both hunched over, their knuckles under their chins. House won, again, but barely; Chase triumphed in the second game, and House saw a skeleton of a smile on his face.

"Rocco really wants to play against you, you know. He's been reading chess books. Thinks it's like soccer."

"Yeah, it totally is," House deadpanned.

"Hey, if he's starting to think strategically I'm not going to mind. Best of three?" Chase offered, motioning to the board.

"Yeah, sure," House said, and Chase rearranged the pieces.

They played, again in silence—it was really the only way to play. As one of House's knights scooped Chase's bishop, he said, "I'm going to need a doctor."

Chase looked confused. "House, you are a doctor."

"Yeah, but right now you have privileges in a hospital and I don't."

Chase looked visibly shocked. "You want me to be your doctor? As in personal physician?"

"No, I'd like you to run tests on other people's blood and then give it to me, like you already do."

"Why not Wilson? And Cameron is actually a practicing clinician."

"Yeah, like I want to be the one Cameron delivers bad news to. That will go over well on all fronts."

"Give her a little credit."

"Cameron will always be emotionally attached. She cares. Plus, she'd totally tell the kiddies. You wouldn't." He studied Chase's reaction, which was, as usual, near-unreadable. "I don't want this to be a big thing."

"Having a doctor usually isn't."

"I haven't had a physician in 20 years. Why did the artery buildup get so bad? I went once 20 years ago and Wilson's been writing my scrips ever since."

"Yeah, we all know that," Chase rolled his eyes. "Why not Wilson, anyways? If you're honestly worried, that means you think it'll be something like cancer, or at least something long-term. And that's … kind of his thing."

"If anything does go wrong," House said, slowly picking up his bishop, "Wilson will only feel guilty about 'enabling' me since time immemorial."

"Oh, and I won't?"

"I odn't think so," House judged his face. Sometimes Chase just liked to play devil's advocate; he was sure this was one of those.

"What –What do you think you have, anyways?"

"Probably nothing yet. It'll come soon though."

"What are you thinking?"

"Check-ups. Once a month."

"I don't do checkups."

"Everybody does checkups."

"You want bloodwork, everything, but hush-hush from Cameron? Who oversees the billing for regular clinical patients?"

"You don't think you can find a way around that?" House could name 1,000 already: File it under the department Chase ran, for instance.

"Alright," Chase said. Then, "Checkmate."

House stared at the board. Damn. He'd stopped paying attention. Chase grinned. "Come on. Let's finish getting you packed. Cuddy'll be back any minute."

They walked back to House's room, Chase helping him walk along the way. "You sure you don't want the wheelchair?" Chase asked skeptically as he straightened the bed and handed House his last bag.

"Positive, actually," House said. He could walk. Not far, but it wasn't far to the kitchen. It wasn't far from there to the car.

They made their way across the great room slowly; House stared at the massive portrait of Chase and Cameron and simply shook his head. It was a good picture.

Cuddy was already waiting in the kitchen, sitting at the table like she belonged and talking to Cameron. He grinned when he saw her. She was still slightly saucy, still edgy—the best things never changed. The three kids had all hugged him earlier that morning before heading to Saturdays packed with practices and studying. They knew they'd still see him constantly.

"You're all set?" Cameron's voice was a little tremulous. Oh God. She was not going to cry.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I left behind some surprises. You'll love them when you see them, but they'll need a few days to grow." It worked; she no longer looked like she could be set off.

"You know you're coming over for dinner on Tuesday, right?" she asked.

"Yes, Mom," he said. He didn't understand why Cameron had suddenly shoved down the personal-space barriers the family had erected—he wished they were still up—but Elizabeth had told him she pretty much wanted him over once a week for meals.

"Ready to go?" Cuddy asked, rising from the table.

"Yes," he said definitively. They walked outside, the three of them circling him in case he should fall. He rolled his eyes. Of course. In the driveway, he hugged Cameron, who looked like she was going to cry again. "Quit it, or I will make you cry," he threatened, before slapping Chase on the back. "See ya around."

"Yeah," Chase said, his expression careful.

House hobbled around to the passenger's side as Cuddy said goodbye to Chase and Cameron. Chase slipped an arm around Cameron's waist. Cameron unconsciously squeezed his hand and leaned into him.

"All set?" she asked as she slid into the car as well.

"Yes," he said, sighing dramatically and slumping back in his seat. He placed a hand over hers. Through the rearview mirror he could see Chase and Cameron waving. Of course. "Let's go home. I think this is the start of a beautiful relationship."

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