CHAPTER FIFTY THREE

"Vala?" Wilson came into the kitchen nervously. "Is everything okay?"

She spun around and looked at him, her eyes red. "How can you stand to be friends with that man?"

"House? He's..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She turned back to chopping vegetables for dinner. "He's rude, selfish, obnoxious..."

"He has a good heart," Wilson figured that was better than saying nothing.

"Ha. I doubt he even has a heart." She chopped the heads off some carrots that her mind had shaped into little Greg House's.

"What's going on?" Wilson came up behind her and took the knife out of her hand. "Is this about your father?"

"Oh, you mean the...no, forget it. I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm sorry Vala. But if you change your mind, I'll be here to talk to." He turned her around and held her in a hug. Her head crashed against his shoulder in tears.

Years of practice had taught her how to push her feelings and emotions back. She pried herself out of his arms and smiled. Her eyes were still wet, and the redness betrayed her, but she tried putting on a brave face and hoping no one questioned it. "Are you staying for dinner?" She turned back to her vegetables.

"Sure, I guess." Wilson frowned. He had so many questions. None of them would be answered because House walked in.

"What's going on?" House looked at the decapitated carrots.

Wilson pushed him into the other room. "You're a jerk House. What did you say to her?"

"To who?"

"Vala. I just found her crying and assaulting the salad."

"I just asked about her father. Funny that he isn't here, don't you think?"

"What?" Wilson hadn't really thought about it. Cuddy never talked about her family.

"His daughter had a risky surgery and he didn't even call. Don't you think that's odd?"

"Sure it's odd, but..."

"But nothing. Cuddy never told him. Not about the pregnancy, not about the surgery. Nothing."

"Maybe she didn't want him to worry. There's really nothing he could have done."

"No, that's not it." House mused.

"You don't know what it is. You were pushing Vala's buttons in the hopes she would blurt it out." Wilson was both angered and awed by his friend. "That was a really rotten thing to do House."

"I know." He felt no remorse. There was a mystery to be solved and he was going to do what he had to do to solve it.

"You're not thinking of calling him are you?" Wilson fretted.

House lit up. "I wasn't, but that's a great idea."

"No. House. That wasn't a suggestion." Wilson panicked.

"It should have been. It's a great one." House was digging through a drawer. "She must have his number here somewhere. She used to call him to talk to Lizzie when she was little."

"What about me?" Lizzie came bounding out of her room, Rufus trailing behind her with a big bow on his head.

"What did you do to him?" House looked horrified.

"He wanted to dress up for Mommy."

"He's a boy. Boys don't wear bows." House made a horrified, and horrifying, face.

"If girls can wear baseball caps then I think boys should be able to wear bows if they want to." Lizzie was an open minded little girl.

Wilson snickered and thanked God that they were off the topic of Mr. Cuddy.

"Don't you think he looks pretty?" Lizzie smiled sweetly.

"I think he looks like a..."

"He looks very pretty Lizzie," Wilson nudged his friend and spoke over him, fearing House's critique.

"Thank you Uncle Jimmy." She looked around. "Where's Aunt Vala?"

"She's getting dinner ready." Wilson answered.

"I wanna show her Rufus." Lizzie ran toward the kitchen.

"I don't think that's a..." she was gone so Wilson let his sentence die. He only hoped Vala wasn't still crying over her salad.

When he turned around House was on the phone.