Disclaimer: Don't Own, etc., Except OCs
Cuddy's amnio was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. She had a little free-floating anxiety about the procedure, because she knew it could be somewhat painful, and even more so because she knew it carried the risk of miscarriage, even if it was a small one. They decided to do it because the results could give them a lot of information about any serious defects the baby had, so they could either decide to abort or be prepared to deal with whatever the issues were. Of course, what Cuddy really hoped was that they would find everything was okay, and it would give them some peace of mind.
House wasn't hoping for anything, since that was for sissies, but he did really want to know if anything was going on. It was part of his need to solve puzzles, or so he had almost convinced himself.
House met Cuddy in the exam room in obstetrics. The obstetrician arrived shortly afterward.
The physician's assistant had already done the preliminaries for Cuddy's exam. "Well, your blood pressure and heart rate are good, and your weight gain looks just about right," Dr. Zimmerman stated, looking at the file. "And your glucose tolerance test came back within normal limits as well."
"Being doctors, we probably would have noticed any raging gestational diabetes symptoms, like Cuddy drinking gallons of liquid and peeing like a racehorse," House snarked.
Cuddy shot House a warning glance. "Thanks for the information, Ronda. It seems like it's all good news so far."
"Let's hope for some more today, Lisa," Zimmerman said as she scowled at House. "And you wanted to know the sex of the baby, right?"
"Unless you can do this with the ultrasound screen covered, which I wouldn't recommend, I'm pretty sure we're going to see it, again, what with us being doctors and all," House replied sarcastically.
"Fine," Zimmerman responded tersely. She could see why almost every other doctor in the hospital couldn't stand House. Only Dr. Wilson could tolerate him, and Zimmerman had always thought he was a little strange. What Cuddy saw in House she couldn't imagine. Must be amazing in bed she thought.
"Let's get this going; I'm sure your bladder won't appreciate a long session," Zimmerman stated, mindful of the water Cuddy was required to ingest prior to the procedure. She put the gel on her abdomen and began to look at the monitor. "Well, there's the baby."
Since Zimmerman was focused on the task at hand, she didn't notice House's eye roll at her totally inane narration. He kept looking for a view that would tell them what they wanted to know.
"There it is," Zimmerman exclaimed and turned the monitor so Cuddy and House could see. "It's definitely a boy."
Cuddy beamed and let out a soft cry of happiness, almost like a joyful squeak. What she wanted most was a healthy baby, but, since she already had a little girl, she had secretly harbored the hope that it would be a boy. House's son. When the reality of that fact began to sink in, she decided she had to call House's mother, just to find out what she was in for.
House's face remained expressionless, processing the news. As usual, his emotions were completely mixed. On the one hand, he was afraid that with his relationship with John having been so bad, he wouldn't know what to do or he would do the wrong thing. On the other hand, if he could just keep himself aware enough, this gave him the chance for a do-over. He could make up for at least some of the pain of his own childhood by being a loving (or, as loving as he was capable of) father to his own son.
"Needle time," Zimmerman announced none-too-delicately, figuring that both House and Cuddy had witnessed and participated in multiple amniocentesis procedures through the years, so they wouldn't be surprised at what came next. She slid the needle into Cuddy's abdomen.
"Ow," Cuddy exclaimed.
"The needle shouldn't hurt too much," Zimmerman stated.
"It's not the prick of the needle," Cuddy responded, not that that was the most fun she had ever had. "Apparently my uterus doesn't like having things stuck into it. The muscles are protesting."
"Are you getting cramping?" Zimmerman asked, with a small amount of concern in her voice.
"Um, it's not like that." Cuddy replied. "It's more like the worse pinch I've ever had in my life."
"That's not uncommon, but it's sounds a little more severe a reaction than we'd like," Zimmerman said. "I'll try to get the sample as quickly as I can."
House could see from the monitor screen that Zimmerman wasn't having any success.
"Sorry, but this isn't working." Zimmerman told them. "I'm going to have to try another spot."
Cuddy wasn't thrilled about another needle jab, but she really wanted to be able to have the tests run, so she agreed.
The second attempt was no more successful than the first, and the pain was worse.
"I think we better stop for today," Zimmerman stated, with the concern evident in her voice.
"But you didn't finish the test," Cuddy protested.
"I don't think you want to take the chance of having a miscarriage," Zimmerman reminded her. "We can try again next week, if you want. In the meantime, consider whether you think the benefits of the test outweigh the risks."
Zimmerman handed Cuddy a tissue to wipe off the gel. "I know you must need to go to the bathroom right now, but I want you to take it easy. So, let House help you, okay? And call my office as soon as you know if you want to retake the test." With that, Zimmerman left the exam room.
"Let me help you walk somewhere? She must have forgotten I'm a cripple," House snarked, trying to get Cuddy's mind off the test not working.
"I really do have to pee," Cuddy said, with some urgency in her voice.
"Any cramping or other pain?" House asked.
"It's sore around the sites where she used the needles, but, other than that, no," Cuddy replied.
"Okay," House said, motioning for her to get down off the table and holding out his arms for her to use as a support. He led her to the bathroom where she relieved herself.
"Any spotting?" He asked, more in doctor mode than anything else.
"No," she replied, deep in thought. She wasn't devastated by any means. They could always try to have the test done again. By next week, the volume of amniotic fluid could be greater, which would mean the odds of getting results would be higher. Still, since they were trying a second time, this would, in effect, double the risk of miscarriage. (House wasn't the only one who could do the math.)
She was preoccupied enough with what had happened and with getting dressed carefully that she didn't notice House leave and come back with a wheelchair. "Is that really necessary?" she asked in frustration. "You know you wouldn't use one."
"First of all, it's not likely I'd have to take it easy after an amnio, since the odds of me being pregnant are non-existent," House informed her. "Second, I'm a stubborn self-destructive ass who cares more about people not pitying him than he does about his own health. Don't think you fall into that category."
"I'm pretty good at the stubborn part," Cuddy said, still eyeing the wheelchair askance. "Oh well, I guess I should use it. Could you at least take me out the back way so I have fewer people gawking at me?"
"No problem," House replied. "Of course, the downside is that the rumor mill will no doubt be in high gear."
"Hey, after you've had sex in your office and Wilson knows about it ten minutes later, how much worse can this be?" Cuddy asked rhetorically.
House smirked at the memory of their celebratory sex in Cuddy's office after she told him she was pregnant. He decided not to dwell on the fight they had afterward.
They made it to the parking lot with minimal interaction with the staff. House helped Cuddy into her car and left to return the wheelchair. When he got back to the car, Cuddy was finishing up a phone call.
"Did you call Wilson?" House asked.
"No, you're the president, CEO and sole employee of the Inform-A-Wilson Company, so I'll leave that to you." Cuddy stated flatly. "I just asked Andie if Rachael could stay at her house until after dinner, so we could have the chance to talk about this . . . situation."
"Okay," House said. He got in and started the car. They were quiet on the way home, each lost in their own thoughts.
Andie came over with Catia to wait for Rachael.
House went into the family room to watch TV and Catia followed.
"Do you care if she watches Judge Judy?" Cuddy asked.
"No," Andie answered. "Most of the people on that show are garden-variety stupid as opposed to perverse stupid like on Jerry Springer. She's going to need to deal with that at some point in her life, so that's okay."
"I guess I never considered Judge Judy as a learning opportunity," Cuddy said. "Just don't tell House that, or I'll never get him to do any work in the afternoon."
"Sure. Hey, do you want to pack a bag so Rachael can stay overnight at my house and go to school from there?" Andie asked. "Wilson is coming over, so she probably won't feel too lonely or homesick."
"Are you sure you want a kid running around when you are on a date?" Cuddy asked
"Well, we're trying to pretend that when we get together it's not a date. It just takes the pressure off a little bit. And, it's not like Catia isn't going to be there anyway, unless we lock her in the closet for a few hours," Andie responded.
"If you don't mind taking her, that might help," Cuddy said.
"If I minded, I wouldn't have suggested it," Andie replied.
Cuddy went to get a backpack to put some of Rachael's things in it. When Rachael got home, she kissed Cuddy and House an early goodnight and went next door.