My Brother's Keeper
A House Fan Fic
Disclaimer: I own no characters of House. Only the story is mine.
Chapter Two
House bears his heart
That night, Georgia was exhausted. Four kids with strep throat, and God knew how many vaccination shots. On a whim, she picked up dinner at a local restaurant and went to the address House gave her.
She knocked on the door numbered 221B. The door opened.
"God, Greg. You look like hell."
"Gee, I thought I was looking my best today."
"I seem to remember you liking Chinese. I got you Chicken chow mein."
"Chicken Chow mein? That takes me back ten years ago."
House got up to get plates glasses. Georgia stopped him. "I'll get them. Jimmy sort of explained about your thigh and the infarction."
"Good old Jimmy. I should send him a fruit basket."
Georgia smiled. She knew about the banter between her brother and Greg. They'd been friends for years.
"So," House started the conversation, "You wanted to talk to me."
Here goes nothing Georgia thought.
"Ummm, ten years ago, When I left for India, I wasn't alone."
"Oh?"
"I was pregnant."
For the first time since he could remember, House was speechless. He finally found his voice. "And?"
"I gave birth to a baby girl. I named her Ariella."
"Which makes her about nine?"
"Would have."
House looked into her eyes. He saw the tears welling up in them. "Something happened. Didn't it?"
"Yes. She contracted Yellow Fever. She was six months old." By this time, Georgia was sobbing. "Greg, I'm sorry. I couldn't save her. Our daughter's dead and it's my fault."
House, feeling he needed to do something, hugged her to him. He began stroking her hair. "My god, Georgia. Why didn't you tell me? I could have done something."
"Greg I was scared. I mean Eddy tried to kill me last time. Remember?"
House's mind played back the scene. Before Mayfield. Before the Vicodin. Before the infarction that had claimed a good chunk of his thigh muscle..
~•~
It was two hours before the wedding. House was helping his friend Wilson with the cumbersome tie that came with the tux.
"Are all best men this aggravating?"
"Just help me, House. It's not everyday that one sees his twin sister get married. Although you'd be an improvement over her choice."
Before House could tell Wilson his thoughts, the door swung opened. A bloody faced Georgia came in. Her right eye was starting to swell shut.
Both men stared at her wide eyed.
Jimmy found his voice. "Georgia? What the hell?"
She could barely talk thru the busted lip.
"It was Eddy. I found him in bed with Marie. I confronted him and called him an SOB. He did this. I shouldn't have done that, Jimmy. I deserve this for calling him that."
"No you don't," House interjected. "No one deserves this."
By this time, House had Georgia sitting in a chair, while he knelt in front of her, dabbing her face with a cool cloth.
Wilson was seeing red. "I'm going to kill him!"
"Wilson! Wait!"
House knew Eddy's type. He would wipe the floor with Wilson .
He followed Wilson to the inside of the church, with Georgia in tow.
"Eddy! You piece of shit! Is this how you're going to treat my sister?"
"She's my fiance and I'll treat the bitch the way I want!"
Wilson took a swing at Eddy. Eddy blocked it and punched Wilson, breaking his nose. Eddy walked over to Georgia. He slapped her.
Before the second slap made it's mark, House had grabbed Eddy's arm.
"You should know, as a doctor, I'm pretty efficient in the OR. Lay a hand on her again and I will personally remove your balls, stuff them in your mouth, and sew your mouth shut."
Eddy tried to size House up. To make his point, House pulled a scalpel out of his pocket.
"I mean it, Eddy. Get lost."
To put her mind at ease, House had invited her to stay the night at his apartment. It ended up being a drunken mistake. The last time he saw her, She was boarding the flight to New Delhi.
~•~
House's mind was snagged back to the present.
"That night."
Georgia shook her head. "Yeah. I should have wrote you, Greg. I'm sorry."
"No, Pretty Lady. I'm the one who should be sorry. I let you shoulder this by yourself."
Georgia wiped away her tears. "Did Jimmy know that we had a one night stand?"
"Yes. He was furious. Gave me a black eye."
Georgia gave a half hearted smile.
"What about you? You said you needed to talk to me."
House spilled his story to her. The infarction, she knew about. However, he told her about the drug use, his idiotic ways of pushing people away. His part in Amber's death. His time in Mayfield. And his role as Lisa Cuddy's fiance and Rachael's dad.
"I'm glad you found peace, Greg. I'm sorry. It's me who feels like I abandoned you. So, why aren't you at Cuddy's place?"
"Oh. I'm putting the finishing touches on the apartment before it goes on the market."
After dinner, House rode Georgia home on his bike. Before she went inside, House told her to lock the door and don't answer it for no one.
"Call me if you need me."
~•~
Later that night, House walked into the house he and Cuddy had made a home. He looked at the pictures adorning the wall. Rachael was five going on fifty. He loved the school photos of her. Her smile is what hit him. Proudly displaying her missing bottom tooth.
A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "Hey. You're home."
"Yeah. I was painting the apartment."
He turned around and hugged her. " Do you know how much I've needed this, Lisa?"
House had never used her first name.
"House. You're scaring me. Are you okay? You're not high or drunk, are you?"
House lost it. He began sobbing like a little girl.
"I just need to talk."
For the next hour and half, Lisa Cuddy held House to her as he spilt the story of a drunken one night stand that had resulted in a dead child.
"I needed to tell you this because I promised you and Rachael no secrets."
"House, this happened ten years ago. It isn't your fault."
"I sent her to India because I was scared that Eddy would kill her. I'm just like my bastard father. I abandoned her."
"Greg, look at me. If it were Rachael and I in that situation, what would you do?"
"I would send you two to Antarctica to live with the penguins."
"Honey, your father's actions do not define you. Look how you are with Rachael. She adores you. And I can't imagine being with anyone else."
House hugged her again. "God, I love you."