Chapter 37

April

"You keep looking at your watch. What's going on?"

House stuck another fry in his mouth and sighed. "I got an answer to my email. Kate's Skyping me in ten minutes."

"Skyping? Skyping?" Wilson rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "Did you tell her?"

"Tell her what?"

"What did you say in that email?"

"I just said that it was time that I had some news about my son. He's eight months old. The last time I saw him was in December. I just want to know how he's doing."

"Oh, that's really rich coming from you. She sent you a photo of him three months ago and you told her that you didn't want to be reminded that your son was growing up without you. You're feeling guilty."

"Guilty?" House snorted and shook his head. "No, I just want to know that he's okay."

"Why? You don't send her money for his support; you don't talk to her or write her. No, you're doing this because you feel guilty."

"Oh, bull. I don't feel guilty."

"You want a connection to Kate because Lydia's back. You're feeling guilty, like you're cheating on Kate by sleeping with Lydia."

"Lydia left her kids and came back to me, to Princeton."

"She didn't Ieave her kids, they're joining her after school is out in Arizona. The divorce settlement gives her physical custody. Unlike Lydia, Kate can't just come to Princeton. They practically built a whole hospital around her and her talent last year. That part of Oregon needs a good oncologist, she can't be replaced that easy." Wilson sat back in the booth and let what he said sink in. Then he asked, "House, is she the one? Are you sure that Lydia is the one?"

"She's here isn't she?"

"That doesn't mean she's the one. Cuddy's here too and she's not the one. Cuddy had one kid, Lydia has two and they aren't small, they'll come with lots of baggage."

"Gotta go."

Wilson followed House into the elevator. House said nothing, choosing to ignore him. Settling down next to the computer, House adjusted the camera angle so that it revealed only his image in the little box in the corner, the same view that Kate would have. Surprisingly he was nervous, excited about seeing her, talking to her. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Wilson talking to Chase in the next room, but he didn't have time to worry about Wilson's motive. He clicked on his Skype button and set his account to active. A few minutes later there was a notice that Kate Monaghan was trying to contact him. He clicked on her name and a window popped up. The screen was filled with Michael.

"Hello?" She said tentatively. "Greg?"

"Hi. Wow, he's gotten big."

"He's eight months old."

"Yeah, I know, I was there when he was born, remember?" The sarcasm was so thick even House recoiled, wishing he could start over.

She was silent.

"How is he?"

"You can see for yourself. He's healthy and happy." Her voice had switched from warm to cold.

"Is he up to speed on his motor skills?"

"Oh, he's ahead of target. He's been crawling for months and he's cruising the furniture all the time. He's going to walk soon."

"Walk?"

"I recognize the signs. He tries when he's cruising to cross to another piece of furniture without crawling. He falls and cries, but then he gets up and tries again. It won't be long."

House watched as Michael bounced up and down on what was obviously Kate's lap although he couldn't see anything but Michael on the screen. Michael started blowing raspberries and was vocalizing as they talked. House smiled, the baby was amusing and now he was trying to get off his mother's lap.

"Michael, Michael, no…you can't get down. Look—" A finger came into view pointing at the screen, "That's Daddy. There's Daddy." The boy stopped and looked directly at the screen.

House felt as if he needed to perform. He waved and crossed his eyes causing the baby to soberly study him. There was a slight giggle from Kate and then the baby turned and looked up at her.

"That's Daddy, honey."

Michael looked again.

"Hi Mike, how's it hangin'?

The baby's blue eyes looked at the screen suspiciously and then back at his mother who was still off screen.

"Turn the camera, I want to see you."

"You said you wanted to know how your son was doing, not me. I'm not the reason for this call, Michael is."

"Come on, Kate, let me see you."

"Are we done here? Are you satisfied that I'm raising your son properly?"

"Kate—"

"No, Greg. We haven't talked to each other in person since Christmas. We traded voice mails and then nothing. Whatever we thought we had was just an illusion…let's not try and resurrect a friendship from the ashes. I'm just not ready."

"Fine." House said with anger in his voice. "You're making it easy."

"Making what easy?"

"Nothing. Thanks for letting me see him. He looks robust."

"He's definitely robust. Well, anytime you want to see him, just let me know and I'll arrange another Skype."

House hit the button without saying goodbye and then looked up, realizing that Wilson had been in the room the whole time. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"Yes. And you made a balls up of that didn't you?"

"What?"

"You handled it poorly. You should have told her that you missed her, that you were happy to see Michael doing so well."

"Give me a break."

"You should have told her about Lydia."

"Why?"

"Because if you're not going to pursue a relationship with Kate, she should know that there's someone else, know that you're not going to be there when she is ready for a friendship."

He shook his head. "It's dead on arrival. There is no relationship now or in the future with Kate. We were trying to create a relationship over a mistake."

"Mistake?"

"Failure to use birth control when we did the nasty."

"I don't believe that for one minute. You have feelings for her…or at least, you did."

"I had feelings for Cuddy and look where that got me."

xoxo xoxo xoxo xoxo

"I remember you. You're Greg's friend, the Oncologist, right?"

"Yes, we met when you came looking for him at the hospital."

Kate's voice jumped an octave, "Is he alright?"

Wilson smiled; she did care about him. "Physically, yes. But there's something you should know."

"Know? What?"

"Lydia is back."

"Okay? I'm happy for her. Who is she?"

"House had an affair with her when he was in Mayfield. He developed feelings for her but she moved away with her husband. But now they're divorced and she's back."

"Back? As in, she's back in his life?"

"Yeah, she is."

"I see."

Wilson could hear the disappointment in her voice. "He still has feelings for you."

"And you know this because?"

"As soon as she walked back into his life he wanted to make contact with you. He's feeling you out, wondering if there's a possibility you two could be together before …"

"Before he commits to her."

"Yes, I think he's lonely for you and she fills a void."

"He's not lonely for me. If he were lonely for me, he'd have come back to see us."

"Then you don't know House. He's stubborn and irrational when it comes to relationships. If the relationship doesn't come easy, he runs. He's been burned in the past and he wants love to come to him."

"And this Lydia has."

"Yes."

"He's never told me that he loves me."

"Have you told him?"

"No, because I don't want him to feel obligated to reciprocate or even worse, have to tell me he doesn't feel the same."

"So you do love him."

"I'm an adult, James. Loving him has little to do with whether we should be together."

"But you love him?"

"I've only really been around him for a couple of weeks."

"But you love him?"

There was a long pause as Kate took a deep breath and looked down at the hardwood floor under her feet. She placed her hand over her eyes as if to keep the repercussions from hurting her. "Yes, I love him."

"Come to Princeton. I have an extra room; let him see what he's missing."

"I don't know."

Wilson noted that she didn't say no. "Please, I think House wants to be a father. I know he has feelings for you—"

"Yes, he says that…but he never says he loves me."

"Oh believe me, 'I have feelings' is Houseian for 'I love you.'"

"I'll believe that when he actually says the three words."

"You won't hear them in Portland."

"I'm not in Portland, I'm half way between Portland and Astoria."

"Okay…great…come to Princeton."

"I'll call you back. Will you be at this phone number tonight?"

"Yes."

"Fine, I'll call you tonight."