At my nice guest: Happy 2021 to you as well :)

Chapter 33

Somehow they manage to be buckled up in Cuddy's car and ready to hit the road in under ten minutes. House had the foresight to throw two bottles of water and a banana into his backpack. He hands Rachel the banana and shoves the water at Cuddy. "Gonna need a mid-streamer once we're at the hospital." He pulls off the curb.

"I can't get the banana open," Rachel whines from the back seat.

Cuddy reaches behind her. "Let me help you with that." Turning to House, she says, "We're dropping Rachel off, first."

House objects, "Wilson can take her."

"Wilson has patients to look after and meetings to attend. He's one of my department heads, not my nanny."

"He's a girl, he can multitask."

"No," she insists, handing the half-peeled banana back to Rachel. "Pre-school's on the way. It'll be a ten-minute detour, max. I'm not gonna die in ten minutes."

Her stubbornness annoys him. "No, but urine and blood cultures take time."

She takes a sip from the bottle. "So does water. To travel to my bladder. There won't be a 'middle of the stream' when it's merely a brooklet."

He sighs in frustration. Sometimes arguing seemed a compulsory default for her. "Have one of the nurses drop her off, I don't care who does it. You need—"

"House," she cuts him off, staring at him while he keeps his eyes on the road, "I care." She lowers her voice so Rachel won't overhear her next words. "I have no idea what's going to happen in the next forty-eight hours. We're not taking her to the hospital to hand her off to someone who's a complete stranger to her."

He shakes his head at her irrationality, but succumbs to her wishes. He figures she needs a sliver of control and normalcy before the storm hits.

Cuddy continues to sip on her water and chitchats with Rachel the rest of the way.

House remains silent.

When they reach the pre-school grounds, Cuddy turns around in her seat. "House will take you inside, okay, honey?"

Rachel bobs her head up and down.

House walks around the car and unbuckles Rachel.

"Have fun today, baby," Cuddy wishes her goodbyes. "I love you." House hears the fear in her voice.

"Love you too, Mommy."

He sets Rachel down on the ground and pulls her along with him, tugging on her little hand.

"Not so fast!" she complains.

"Hurry up. First one at pre-school today gets a lollie."

"Really?"

No, but he knows how gullible she is and that they're running late. "Yep."

They rush into the building. When he finds a caretaker he recognizes, his instinct is to thrust Rachel at the elderly woman and leave, but he thinks the better of it. "Hey," he greets her, "sorry we're late. Her mother, Dr. Cuddy, is having some health issues."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to—"

"Yeah, yeah. Any bugs going around lately that maybe you haven't informed all parents of, yet?"

She looks flustered. "No."

He bores his eyes into hers. "Like, maybe one that would force you to shut this money-generator of a place for a couple of weeks and put a stain on its spotless reputation?"

She glares at him. "Sir, I realize you're upset Lisa is sick, but arriving here late, lacking provisions for Rachel," she nods at the little girl, who is dressed inappropriately for the cooler temperatures and is missing her usual bag with utensils, "and insinuating that the health of the children in our care is not our top priority… You're out of line."

House decides to shut up. He drops his head and glances at Rachel. She looks at him with her big eyes. "Okay," he mumbles, refusing to apologize. "Marina will pick you up later."

Rachel lowers her eyes without replying.

He turns around, eager to return to Cuddy. But he feels bad for the little girl and curses himself for it. "Hey, short one." He holds out his arm to her, and she trudges over to him so he can pick her up. "What's going on up there?"

It takes a while before she whispers, "Is mommy going to die?"

"No." House frowns at her. "No. Why would you think that?"

"You said she has to go the hospital. That's where people die, Granny said."

House briefly raises his eyes to the ceiling. "It's also where we make people better. You had to go to the hospital too and didn't die, did ya?"

"No."

"And mommy won't die because I'll be taking care of her. And you remember how good a doctor I am?"

She grins at him. "You're the best ever!"

"Exactly!" he smirks. "So, now I'll go do what I do best and you go do what you do best, okay?"

"What's that?"

"Oh, I don't know," he pretends to be pondering her question. "Run around, create chaos, draw on the walls…"

Rachel laughs.

"Paint a picture for your mom," he adds sincerely as he sets her down on the floor. "It'll help make her better."

"Okay."

Addressing her caregiver, he says, "Since you're so concerned for her health, find her some warmer clothes. And she didn't have a proper breakfast." Then he turns around and limps out.

Back in the car, he only needs a quick glance at Cuddy to know that something's wrong. She seems to have sunken into herself with her shoulders slumped and her head bent. Her left arm is supporting her belly.

"Cuddy?"

He cannot see her eyes because her hair obscures his vision, but her jaw tenses. Without looking at him, she states, "I've just had a contraction."