Epilogue
When Wilson walked into his apartment that night, he found his best friend, per usual, lying on the couch, staring into the distance.
"Hey," Wilson greeted him. House replied with the same syllable. "How'd it go with Nolan?"
"Fine."
As usual, it was all he was willing to give away.
House had naturally moved back in with Wilson after Cuddy had died, under the pretence that his friend wanted to keep an eye on him and help him deal with the funeral, even though he could count on Arlene and Julia for that.
Two months later, he still hadn't talked about moving back into the house or into his apartment.
House had kept his promise to Cuddy and had stayed away from the Vicodin, the alcohol, the prostitutes – anything that might qualify as 'funny business'. He had even started seeing Nolan again, a couple times a week. Rachel had moved in with Julia, just like Cuddy had decided during her health scare a couple years before, but she still visited them every weekend, including today, as well as whenever she asked her aunt to drive her.
"Yeah, I made the bed," House replied to Wilson, who reminded him that Rachel was coming over. "Everything's ready."
"'You sure you don't want me to sleep on the couch this time?"
House shook his head, still staring at the ceiling. Wilson sighed inwardly, and walked towards the closet to put his coat away.
He was worried about his friend, even though he would never dare tell him. House had stayed away from the hospital, claiming that he wanted to avoid all the employees looking at him or talking about their late, beloved boss, which he knew would last for weeks. When Wilson had stepped down from his job of interim dean and Foreman had taken over, House said he wanted to be sure he was ready to face Cuddy's absence before he went back to work.
And nothing had changed since – he saw Nolan twice a week, played the piano, and stayed home. There were no medical puzzles to decipher, and he had not sought them out. Wilson had tried giving him a case from the ER, baiting him with the usual bizarre symptom ; House had stared blankly at the folder, and after a few seconds Wilson had saved him by saying that he should keep the diagnostic secret until his team could figure it out.
That was what worried Wilson the most – but how could he blame his friend?
He'd tried to compare his friend's situation to his own after he had lost Amber, but he had quickly given up on the idea.
They'd both brutally and suddenly lost the love of their life, but their reactions had been radically different – Wilson had sought out change and tried to leave the hospital. House had fallen into a state of catatonia and stopped talking, unable to make decisions for weeks – although it had gotten a little better since Wilson had had the piano moved in.
Besides, as much as Wilson had loved Amber – Cuddy was the mother of his children. The woman he'd loved and known for over half of his life. Was there any coming back from that?
As unwilling as he was to admit it, there was no handbook on how to navigate your best friend through such grief.
The best he could do, he figured, was offer his support at any time. If it meant letting him sleep in his old room for years and giving him the space he needed, so be it.
The only time he wasn't worried, is when Rachel visited them.
House suddenly jumped into life when he heard the bell ring, and hurried to answer the door. Rachel ran into his arms and hugged him tightly, before running towards Wilson and embarking on her usual tour of the apartment.
"Hi," Julia said as she handed him the kid's overnight bag. "I think she brought Nemo again. You're gonna have to suffer through it one more time."
He smirked. "It's Wilson's favorite, anyway. He just won't admit it."
"How have you been?"
He shrugged. "You know."
They were interrupted by Rachel informing them that Sarah was sleeping on Wilson's bed. "She so cute she got her paw on her nose!"
House rolled his eyes. "She's the most dramatic cat I've ever seen."
"Aren't all cats?" Julia quipped, before she caught a glimpse of Wilson and greeted him with a kiss on the cheek. The adults chatted for a bit, before Julia gave Rachel a hug and told her she'd pick her up on Sunday night. "Two sleeps from now," she said.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "I knowww, I'm not a baby!"
Once Julia had left, House sat Rachel down on the couch and, per usual, handed her the Chinese take-out menu so she could choose what she wanted to eat. When it was time to order, he handed her the phone, but Rachel, embarrassed, burst into giggles.
"Should we get anything for Sarah?" he asked as he dialled.
"Sarah's got her own kibbles, thank you very much," Wilson called out from the kitchen. "It's almost time for her insulin shot anyway."
As if on cue, the cat walked quietly into the room. Wilson grabbed an insulin vial from the fridge and picked up Sarah. Immediately, Rachel hurried to help him by petting Sarah to reassure her, like she always did.
"I see we have a future vet in the room," House said as he ruffled Rachel's hair. Sarah, freshly injected with insulin, walked away proudly. "Do you remember what insulin is?"
"It's the hormone that lowers your blood sugar!"
"Very good!"
"And what does that mean, Rachel?" Wilson asked.
She giggled. "I dunno."
When the food was delivered, they settled the cartons on the coffee table. Rachel turned on the DVD player and everyone sat on the couch, eventually including Sarah – who took her sweet time grooming.
After the film was over, they planned what they would do the following day – hit the park, obviously, maybe get a hot dog for lunch.
Then, Rachel pointed at the piano. "Play me Mommy!" she demanded.
Wilson withdrew wisely. A few seconds later, he heard House playing the piece that filled their apartment almost daily, sometimes nightly, followed by the notes House had added this week. Rachel gave him her opinion, and they modified said additions accordingly.
He played the entire piece one more time for her – Wilson knew it by heart: how it started light and easy, how it followed the timeline of their relationship and translated the years when they were apart by scattered, melancholy notes, how he could discern his friend's infarction and their reunion in the tempo going threateningly crescendo. From then on, the piece was an homage to her; everything that was Cuddy transpired in the piece. Wilson could hear how heartbroken House was by her absence, how bittersweet it felt to conjure up happy memories with her, how thankful he was for those fifteen years with her.
It was a gorgeous piece.
"You write more for next time?" Rachel asked.
"Yes."
"Will you finish it one day?"
"I don't think so, kid."
"We can keep writing it forevah and evah!"
Wilson heard the smile in his voice when he acquiesced. Rachel seemed satisfied with that answer, because she hopped down from the piano bench and said they had to find uncle Wilson and brush their teeth.
They brushed their teeth together, and Wilson kissed Rachel goodnight before leaving the room so that House could get her ready for the night.
She climbed in House's bed, laying strategically right in the centre of this enormous adult's bed.
"I miss Mommy," Rachel told him as he tucked her in.
"Me too, kid." He smoothed out the part of the sheet that was covering her. "Me too." Rachel looked at him. "I'm glad you're here."
She grinned. "Me too."
"I'll play one more time and then you go to sleep, okay?" She nodded vigorously. "Sleep well, Rach," he whispered before kissing her forehead. On his way out, he turned to her one last time before switching the light off. She gave him a little wave and he left the door ajar.
He passed Wilson, who was just going to bed.
"'Night, Wilson. Be ready to hit the park tomorrow."
Wilson gave him a small smile. "'Night, House."
House sat at the piano bench again, and played Cuddy's piece from memory.
When he glanced up, he almost saw her sitting on the couch, listening to him with a smile.
End
Well, here we are. The end of this story...
As justlobe pointed out last time, it has been six years. (!) When I first had the idea for this story, I was 14 years old, in my last year of middle school. Now I'm almost 21, it's my fourth year at university. In the time it took to write this story, I feel I have grown a lot as a person (I mean I certainly fucking hope that I'm not the same person that I was when I was a teenager!), and so did my writing style (as I can't re-read some of the old chapters without cringing. :P)
I am eternally (eternally!) grateful to every single person who has supported me while I was trying to achieve the longest project of my life so far: A fifty-chaptered fanfiction in two languages.
First of all, a heartfelt thank you to IHeartHouseCuddy and BJAllen815 who agreed to lend me a hand when I was still unsure of my English.
A heartfelt thank you yo antares.78 for helping me out with the medical details.
A heartfelt thank you to House-less and IndyStarkJr for being my occasional white board in those last months filled with doubts.
A heartfelt thank you to all of you, for leaving reviews and adding this story to your alerts and/or favourites: House-less, IndyStarkJr, justlobe, JLCH, vickyvicky890, Laudys, sammie1million, Reader, antares.78, calianabergman, HOUSEocdfan, ReaderLeeh, Gemilh, OldSFfan, Abby, IHeartHouseCuddy, Niila, CoolMHouse, Tipititralala, HRL, New, Juicism, Jullyenjoy, lenasti16, amme7, touchatoucha7, FernandaDemas, sin101, KawaPlease, HarmoSeriesAddict, Huddyphoric, Lenaor, Borracuda, Soso, red blood, itsbiz, Houserulez, Fernanda, Mon Fogel, newdayz, ellen, phyna, Ames, hughsoulingregsmind, Temo, HuddyGirl, Trina1994, Azes, hollyhouseholly, iridescentZEN Captain K8, colleen143, Aimee, Anny Rodrigues, oarla, Anna, Anais, djnoe, Sweetydu972, Solealuna, delen, Ficseuse, FranckyDB, huddy92, BluePost-it, Josam, sagmig, Mac, Goldenwolfhowl, Hanalou, Hspirito, Mrs Grayson Harper, karolprado, kath-housemd, Madi M.D, housemsec, MaileS, houseandgrissomfan, eastpe, Cowenlis, joraco14, jordanrae17, sbucy1124, tingeltangelmary, xxClouds, justdeambigx3, Framb0716, huddy-lover-gregandlisaforeva, ReidItAndWeep, huddy4lyf, imanuzinha, ja9hilarious, croux49, Am, HouseIsMyVicodin, .545402, dragonfox123, forge24, gillianamber, houseandfriends, Luzydeath, XxRawrSmoresxX, alddi, anasassy, bebehuddy, browneyes620? Miss Vengerberg, CharlyAndLiz, Lisa House, bere, Melo03, AmiraElahzan, Bakerstreet Blues, finny94, Foosball45, Caitlyn Laurie, .45, DeBoscherie, Noma Potter-Snape, SwanEvil, La, Fanhouse07, OUISTI7, Soph59, ellasara, loula89, moonydaf, HouseandCuddy, Sarah, Herrera, Isabel Bernardi, Jow-02, mandapanda, angie stark, CGCath, Flo45, Floripondia, emiliedu88460, oOEpTaoO , TetraFish06, Sineade, Mary, ThisLadyWrites, HeliosDeNoierie, Jilly, anons, Anon, Mikey, DPPH, Pdubou, limptulip, Jenna, Alex, Amlie, Amy, Steph, Jenny, Liv, Reinettes, Belle-Cuddy, Lola, DarkBlue1, Jojo, Estelle, Thayy, LoveHuddyFic, lynx00, meoho, LittleMonkeyPo, huddy92, redlynx00, physics is fun, gildedlily89, Isabelle, BETEDELSTEIN, housebound, KATSEV, LisaE-fan, backdrifting, hfspc, hitx3thelightsx3, bladesmum, coastspy, Ruflypicture, Tanyakoshman, TheFeels02, Vanimedle, arcadia1328, SoulmatesLulla, Alex, Jas565, tanya, Idontwritee, InMyDreams06, huddylove, newdayz, scoradi87, HUDDY23, southpaw2, AwesomexSauce, CaskettAddict1993, razortooth, linda12344, lili, Illiana, Castle38, Une-Ame-Voltige, ManonSnape, magicard, kimberr94, lexiaoyao, literacygirls, Missy, regina mills, Emmer, Leevia, Chloe, and all of the anonymous guests!
A heartfelt thank you to YOU for reading!
It's been nuts. It's been incredible. I hope to see you soon for another journey like this...
-Liz
