Author's Note: A big thank you to my new beta i luv ewansmile. I greatly appreciate you stepping up to the plate on the 9th inning. You rock!

Warning: Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened until the plane comes to a complete stop ;-)

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Fast Forward One year, three months, and three days
He wakes up and sees blur of people walking nearby. He tries to look around but his vision is a little hazy so he waits until his eyes have properly adjusted to the light. After about a minute, he quickly deduces from the bed, the number of IVs sticking out of him that he's in a hospital room. He spots a picture frame by his bedside, and stacks of magazine at a nearby sofa. He tries to sit-up so he can reach for the frame to get a better look at the picture but immediately feels dizzy. He yells for help but notices that no sound is coming out of his mouth. He patiently waits for someone to walk by in the hopes that they will notice him. But after a few futile attempts, he finds himself too exhausted and instead falls sleep.

The second time he wakes up, he sees a blonde nurse checking up on his IV and he asks "where am I?"
The nurse is initially shocked but quickly replies "Oh my god! Dr. House, you're awake."
"Where am I?"
"You're in the hospital. You've been in a coma for more than a year."
"I'm not in Princeton?"
"No, you're at Hopkins sir. Let me call Dr. House, he'll be ecstatic to hear that you're awake."
"Dr. House?"
"Your son, Dr. Jake House. He's one of our residents."
"Yes, of course." Thousands of questions swirl through his head. He's been in a coma for more than a year? Where's Lise? Why is he at Hopkins and not in Princeton?
When the nurse asks "do you need anything else before I leave, Dr. House?"
He nods and asks "can you hand me that picture?"
The nurse nods and hands him the picture frame.

House stares at the picture of his children—the boys were all wearing suits, ties and yamakas, while little Lizzy is wearing a beautiful pink dress. House is awed at how the twins have grown and how Lizzy looks like a miniature version of Cuddy with her dark curly hair and lopsided smile. Cuddy is not in the picture so he speculates that she must have been the photographer. Then it hits him like a ton of brick, the memory of that morning—all the awful things that he had said to her come rushing back. Tears start streaming down his cheeks as he searches for his wedding ring or any semblance that he is still married and that she hasn't moved on.

House clutches on to the picture frame as if his life depends on it. If Cuddy has indeed left him, the kids are all he has. He wonders if they remember him or do they want to spend time with him.

He quickly wipes away the tears upon seeing Jake running towards him.
"Great to have you back Dad!" Jake says as he gives his father a big hug.
"Thanks! You look good son."
Jake nods and replies "I wish I can say the same about you, but I'm sure you'll put on some weight as soon as Oma gets a hold of you."
House smiles upon remembering that Blythe comes by every other day to read him the newspaper.
He asks "why Baltimore?"
"I'm doing my residency here and Oma is nearby."
House nods his head but doesn't inquire further. Instead, he points at the picture and asks "someone's wedding?"
"Yeah, Wilson's wedding last summer."
House rolls his eyes at hearing that Wilson has remarried again. He nervously asks "anybody I know?"
"Yeah, Aunt Rachel."
Then another piece of information unfolds, House announces "Wilson knocked her up."
Jake nods and asks "how do you know?"
He shrugs his shoulder and replies "I don't know. I must have overheard it from somebody."

House continues starring at the picture and declares "they've grown so much" as he gently touches the faces of his young children.
"Yeah, Lizzy was the flower girl at Aunt Rachel and Wilson's wedding. She sat on a red wagon like a princess and had the twins pull her down the aisle."
House smile at the story and hesitantly asks "is your Mom around?"
Jake smirks and retorts "when is she not around? She'll be pissed to find out that you woke up when she's not here."
House breathes a sigh of relief and smiles again as he remembers another piece of information. Cuddy has been visiting him every day, reading him articles from medical journals and telling him about her day as a full-time endocrinologist. She'd fuss about his hair not being combed correctly or that his beard is not trimmed properly.

Jake adds "Mom will be here shortly. She usually picks up the twins from school around this time."
House nods and asks "will she bring them today?"
"Yes, I just spoke to her and she's very excited."
"How are you holding up son?"
Jake shrugs his shoulder and replies "I'm fine Dad. How about you?"
"I feel surprisingly good. Considering I have been asleep for… how long have I been out? What's today?"
"It's Wednesday, February 4, 2009. You've been asleep for about 15 months."
"How did I end up in a coma?"
Jake asks "does it matter?"
"Yeah! Did I have another Ketamine treatment?"
"Yes, only this time they were not able to reboot your system as quickly as before. Does your leg still hurt?"
House reaches over to his right leg and shakes his head "I remember feeling unbearable pain in my leg. I remember saying hurtful things to your Mom and making her cry. I remember…"
Jake gently comforts his father "its okay. Whatever it was that you said, she forgave you a long time ago."
"She deserves better. She deserves someone better than me."
Jake pats his father on the shoulder and states "she probably does, but she chooses to be with you. If you love her as much as she loves you, I think that's all that matters."
House's gut response is to chastise his son for watching too much of the Dr. Phil show, but he bites his tongue and simply nods.

Father and son are catching up on the news when Cuddy walks into the room
"Greg?"
House looks up and catches a glimpse of the most beautiful sight he thought he'll never get a chance to see again—his family.
"Lise."
Cuddy carries Lizzy over while the twins cautiously peek behind their mother. House quickly reaches out as Cuddy gives him a big hug. She kisses him on the lips but Lizzy pushes away House's face and says "no! Don't kiss my Mommy!"
House smirks at the spunk of his daughter, while Cuddy calms her by saying "it's okay baby girl. It's Daddy. Do you remember Daddy?"
Lizzy shakes her head and holds on to her Mommy tighter.
House smiles and tell his wife "its okay Lise. Maybe later?"
Cuddy nods and gently encourages the boys to "go say hi to your Daddy."
Ethan was the first one to step out and extend his hand to his father.
House quickly take Ethan's hand and shakes it. He looks at his son intently and asks "do you remember me?"
Ethan nods, while Charlie asks "do you remember us?"
House smiles and replies "of course. You're Charlie, the artist in the family. And you're Ethan, the other pianist in the family."
Ethan innocently inquires "are you going to be our Daddy again?"
House can only nod his head as he fights back the tears. "Do you mind giving Daddy a hug?"
As Ethan gives his father a hug, House whispers "I love you very much and I will never stop being your Daddy."
"Why are you crying? Are you sad?"
"No, these are tears of joy. I'm just happy to see you and…everyone."

While the twins reconnected with their father, Cuddy nervously watches from a few feet away.
From time to time, she and House will exchange looks and smile at each other.
Ethan beamingly tells his father that he has memorized all 206 bones of the human body. He goes on reciting them "Ethmoid, Frontal, Occipital, Parietal, Sphenoid, Temporal…"
Lizzy joins in and starts singing the alphabet.
Not to be outdone, Charlie informs his Dad that he broke Mikey's nose.
Cuddy groans at Charlie's story, while House smile and asks "who's Mikey?"
Ethan offers "he's a kid from school. He said some bad things about our family, so Charlie whacked him on the face."
Lizzy starts singing "with a quack, quack here and a quack, quack there. Here a quack there a quack everywhere a quack, quack."

Both Cuddy and House looks at each and laugh at Lizzy's singing.
Charlie adds "you should have seen the blood gushing out of his face Daddy."
Cuddy admonishes her son "Charlie, that's not nice."
Charlie puts his arm on his hips and declares "that boy has serious issues Daddy. His father left his Mom for a bimbo and…"
Cuddy yells "Charlie!"
Lizzy asks "what's a bimbo?"
While the twins start laughing, Cuddy roll her eyes and look at her husband as if to say "this is what you've been missing."

Shortly after, Blythe joins the clan and greets her son warmly.
"How are you feeling?"
House smiles and replies "well rested. And you?"
"I'm better now that I know you're okay."
"Thanks for dropping by and reading me the newspaper."
She surprisingly asks "you heard it?"
"Yes, I heard everything." House leans over to his Mom and whispers "including the part where Mrs. Patterson is a hussy for going out on a date with Major Nixon."
As Blythe turns crimson red, Cuddy takes the cue to excuse herself. She walks over to her husband and says "I think I'll take the kids down to the cafeteria for some snacks, do you want anything?"
House signals for her to come closer as he whispers "I love you Mrs. House. Do you think I can I have some jell-o please?"
Cuddy smiles at her husband and softly replies "I love you too Dr. House and we'll see if the kids are willing to share a jell-o with their Daddy."

After Cuddy and the kids left the room, Blythe moves her chair closer to her son's bed.
She leans over and said "while you were sleeping, John passed away."
House nods and replies "I know."
"How did you know? I never told you..."
"Lise mentioned it. You weren't the only one who's been talking my ears off" House teases his Mom.
"I never mentioned it because I didn't want you to get upset."
House thinks to himself "are you kidding me? I would have been doing the jig if I could actually move." But instead, he asks his Mom "how are you holding up?"
"It's not the same. But Lisa and her family have been wonderful. I've been keeping busy babysitting my granddaughter. While she might be a spitting image of your wife, she's definitely your daughter."
House smirks at the mental picture of Lizzy riding a bike with him and raising hell through the corridors of Princeton Plainsboro Hospital. Speaking of Princeton, he made a mental note to ask Lise why she quit her dream job for Hopkins.
TBC

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