Holy cow, you guys, your reviews rocked my socks! I am so glad I have a terrific audience like you to review my work. I really appreciate you're hanging in there with me throughout this project; it's been a lot of fun so far, promises to continue to be fun, and has only been made better by you all!
Amber Chase: Haha, thank-you for the vote of confidence on the whole Julia/Chase or Julia/Wilson thing! Hopefully the romance thing works out well...not sure if I can right a satisfactory romance scene, seeing as I haven't had as much experience in that department as Chase and Wilson have. :P LOL, thanks for stopping by!
Jeevesandwooster: I 3 you for not bashing Chase! He's an arrogant jerk sometimes, I'll give you that, but I kind of like him. :P He's very physically attractive, has a lovely voice, and I wouldn't mind one bit if he was my doctor. :P LOL, hopefully Alma will grow up soon. No worries, things will turn out okay!
Runs with sissors: The ducklings are the most important part of the story, man! They provide the comic relief:P Thanks for reading!
irock708: I've got you covered; the next few chapters are outlined and waiting for any tips from the readers that might be of help. I'll be updating! Thank-you for your time and comments!
Iscariot: May I say "wow" to you as well? That was by far one of my favorite comments ever:P I so much appreciate everything you had to say, and thank-you for the compliments! I've worked very hard on the grammar and puncuation (haha about the possessive apostrophe thing!), and figured the dialogue and character development and whatnot were in the hands of God. :P He must exist after all! You have no idea how muchyour praise means to me; it is afantastic motivation to keep writing...and may I say, your vocabulary is impressive as well. :P Not to be a sycophant; I'm serious!
Badr: Thanks for reading; I'm very glad you're enjoying it! You've been reviewing from the beginning and have had very positive things to say; I'm very grateful.
Nikelodean: Haha, can you imagine Chase and House as father-and-son-in-law? That might be a bit of an awkward family reunion...:P
Sweet A.K.: Haha, the heart monitor thing probably isn't possible, but that's okay! Glad it made you laugh!
Eternalgorithm: Thanks for reading; glad you enjoyed!
Mollisk: Julia and Chase are a match made in heaven, LOL! And this is only the beginning of the story, man, I've got miles to go! (Bet you're sorry now...) :P
Sincerely Juicy: The heart monitor thing isn't possible, probably, but I'm glad it was entertaining anyway! And as for everybody else finding out...I've got you covered. Havea read of this chapter; I think you'll find what you're looking for.
"More coffee?" Foreman asked Cameron politely.
"No thank-you," she said tiredly. She paused, flipped another page in her 3-pound book of medical conditions, and sighed. "We've exhausted all possible options. We must have screwed up a test or something, because I can't find anything else."
"Relax," Foreman said soothingly. "Cuddy came by and said she had the HIV test ready to go. It shouldn't be too long before –"
"It sounds like you want her to be sick," she spat out. "You don't have to sound so inconvenienced when all they want are answers. You know, these are real people who have to live with real illnesses."
"And they might have been really stupid," Foreman said. "Don't forget that one."
"I agree with House," she said. "It's not HIV."
"You're the one who told him he had to consider it!" he exploded. "I don't understand you! First one way, then another. You keep going back and changing your mind."
"Science is science, and ultimately, it doesn't matter what I say, now, does it?" Cameron demanded. "I don't want to fight with you, okay? I'm tired, you're tired, we're both stressed out because of this whole thing…"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Foreman muttered. "Truce."
Chase walked into the room – well, he actually more glided into the room with a grin on his face. "Hey, there, Foreman, Cameron," he said, pouring himself a mug of coffee. "How's it going?"
Cameron and Foreman exchanged a glance that said, Since when is Chase the only one of us in a good mood?
"Chase," Cameron said with forced cheerfulness. "You look so happy. What happened during your lunch break?"
"I found out that among Julia's most pressing problems is a humungous crush on yours truly," Chase told her with a grin. "It's so obvious."
"I think someone's fallen a little too much in love with himself," Foreman replied.
"No, but you can tell," he protested. "I mean, I'm okay with it. It doesn't bother me at all –"
"Because Chase has a crush on her too!" Cameron cried, clapping her hands. "This is perfect."
"Chase has a crush on who?" Wilson asked, barely able to drag himself through the door. His lunch break had been terrible.
"Julia," Foreman said, getting him up to speed. "You guys are so juvenile. This isn't high school; it's a hospital."
"I don't have a crush on her," Chase said quickly. "She has one on me. It's not my fault, you know."
If Wilson thought he had been having a bad day, he hadn't seen nothing yet. "Julia Peterson? Cute 19-year-old in room 116? Are we talking about the same person?" he stammered.
"Yeah, that's her," Chase said, dumping packet after packet of sugar into his coffee. "She's sweet, though. I kind of like her too. In a different way, I mean. Doctors aren't allowed to get into that kind of mess with their patients, and she's a little too young…"
"You're a little too old," Cameron told him. "She's so mature. I love that kid."
"Well," Chase said thoughtfully as he recalled their conversation, "I'll give you that. She's very insightful."
"You'd better not let her dad find out," Wilson warned him, sinking into a chair with a sigh.
"You mean her step-dad?" Foreman wanted to know. "I'd put my money on Chase. It's a tough call, though."
"No, I mean her real, honest-to-God, biological father," Wilson told him, enjoying the moment.
"We haven't seen him yet," Cameron said.
"That is strange, though," Chase added. "Now that you mention it, we haven't. I wonder what's keeping him…"
"Oh," Wilson said slowly, a smile spreading across his face. "I think you've seen him. You actually know him quite well, in fact."
"Well, don't keep us guessing," Foreman demanded. "Who is he?"
"Don't tell me you don't know."
"We really don't," Cameron pleaded. "Come on, tell us!"
"I'll give you five bucks if you can guess."
Chase opened his mouth to take a crack at it, but before he could get any words out, Cuddy stepped into the room. "There's a prize involved? For what?"
"Guessing Julia Peterson's real father," Wilson told her. "Five bucks to the first person who gets it."
"Oh, that's easy," she said, smiling. "Dr. House."
They all gasped, Wilson because he hadn't been expecting her to get it, and the others because they couldn't believe it. "You're kidding," Cameron breathed.
"How did you…how…" Wilson was dumbstruck, unable to finish his thoughts, let alone his sentence.
"It's perfectly obvious," Cuddy told them smugly, taking in the glory of having them awed at her. "Come on, haven't you looked her in the eyes since she's been here? Identical to Dr. House's! Then the way she talks! I suppose it might have taken a while to pick out the witticisms in her speech because she's not constantly waving it in front of your face like a red flag as Dr. House is prone to do, but that's obviously something that had to have been inherited. No 19-year-old girl talks that eloquently without a little bit of genetics on her side. Then there's the way Dr. House has been acting…"
"Jesus," Cameron said. "I thought…" I thought he might have been in love with her for minute. Thank God I was wrong about that!
"It makes perfect sense," Foreman said, then slapped himself in the knee. "I can't believe we didn't think of this before!"
Chase was speechless.
"Dr. Chase," Wilson said, finally able to gather everything exploding inside of his brain into a coherent sentence. "Maybe now you understand why you should probably not let her father find out. He's a lunatic!" He turned to Cuddy. "How did you know? It took me forever to figure it out."
"Please, Dr. Wilson, I found out the same way you did," she said, turning to leave. "Anybody can tell once you get a look at those eyes right next to each other. Listen, I'm gonna go check up on her blood tests, okay? We don't need to tell Dr. House about them in case one comes back positive. I trust you're all understanding what I'm telling you? Yes…" She nodded, encouraging them to nod with her. "Good. Bye, guys."
"At least she didn't ask for her five bucks," Chase said once he was sure she was out of earshot.
"Who cares!" Wilson asked, suddenly animated. "House is going to kill me when he finds out I told you! I just couldn't stand it anymore, you know? He's acting like he owns her, for God's sake!"
"What do you mean?" Cameron asked.
"He's like, 'No one understands her but me, Wilson. I know what's going on with her, I'm in control, and damn, did I do some amazing work!'" he mimicked. "Look, don't tell him I said anything. Tell him you guessed. He'll kill me, he really will."
"Why can't we just pretend like we don't know?" Foreman asked. "It can't be that hard."
"Please, it'll be impossible," Chase assessed. "Knowing something like this…a trained actor wouldn't be able to fake it."
"Come on, you guys," Foreman persisted. "We've been in tough spots with him before. Of course we can pretend we don't know. Just go on, business as usual, and it'll be fine."
"No," Cameron said. "Chase is right. He can smell lies, just like he smells fear, and B.O., and everything else. I don't know about you, but I'm just going to own up to it. I know! I know, I know, I know, I know, I know!"
"Know what?"
"Shit!" Cameron spun around wildly in her seat at the sound of his voice. "Absolutely nothing," she said, suddenly feeling like Molly Shannon between the hushed tone of her voice and the frighteningly painful maneuver she'd just completed. Superstar!
"That's what I thought," House said, walking past her.
Wilson, Cameron, Chase, and Foreman couldn't take their eyes off of him. He made it to the coffee machine before he felt their gaze. "What, did I cut myself shaving? Strange…I haven't touched my razor in about three days." He poured himself a cup of coffee, then glanced up at them. They were still watching. He remembered the restraining order he'd mentioned to Julia yesterday and considered trying one out. "I knew Cameron was enamored with me, but I had never mistaken you guys for queers. Well, maybe Foreman and Chase after the dress thing, but not you, Wilson." He stirred some milk into his coffee, his thoughts in a frenzy. Do they know? Did Wilson tell? That little weasel! He looked up. They were still watching him! "What? What's going on?"
Cameron stood up and walked over to him. "Dr. House," she said, then took a deep breath. Now what are you going to say, smart one? she asked herself, mentally kicking herself. "I…ummm…need to tell you something."
"Shoot," he said, sipping his coffee, actually relieved she was breaking the silence.
"Umm…" she said. "Well, you see…" Cameron spied the coffee pot, half-full, just sitting there on the counter. Light from the window caught the side and grinned stupidly at her. We'll just see about that…She mumbled some more "umm, here's the things" as she pretended to prepare to fix herself another cup.
Wilson saw what she was doing. Is she crazy? She can't fake that, not to mention the fact she's going to burn herself into oblivion!
"I told them!" he blurted out, just as Cameron "dropped" the coffee pot and spilled the simmering liquid all over herself.
"Shit!" House and Cameron screamed in unison.
"Oh my God, that's hot!" she said, tears of pain stinging her eyes.
"What did you think, genius?" House asked her as he maneuvered her towards a seat. "Nice going. You got it all over your…" He didn't want to say it, he really didn't. But then it wasn't his fault she had gotten it all over her chest, was it? "Bosom," he finished.
"I can see that," she gasped, swiping at her chest with a napkin. "I can feel it, too! Jesus, it's so hot."
"Are you going to sue McDonald's?" he wanted to know. "They didn't make the coffee; they just always seem to take the blame for people's clumsiness." Confident Cameron could handle things from here, he turned to Wilson. "Now," he said, "am I correct in thinking that I just heard you say that you told them?"
"Yes," Wilson said.
"And am I correct in thinking also that you mean to say you told them about that thing I specifically told you not to tell them about?"
"Yes," he moaned.
"And am I correct in thinking, Dr. Wilson, that I told you in no uncertain terms that you were not supposed to tell them?"
"What do you want from me? I confessed! I told you the truth!" Wilson, a brilliant idea suddenly occurring to him, pointed at Chase. "It was all his fault! I was protecting her, House. From Dr. Chase, who seems to like her!"
"You expect me to worry about Chase?" House asked, cracking up.
Wilson nodded slowly. "Yes. I was under the impression that you really didn't like him that much."
"Hey!" Chase said, though it was no surprise. And it made him feel better to think that he really didn't like House that much either.
"That much is true, but I've grown to respect Dr. Chase," House said in a booming voice as he came up behind Chase. Putting an arm around his shoulder a la friendship, he continued. "I can only hope he has done the same. Not to mention the fact that Dr. Chase seems to know that I'd beat him within an inch of his life if he came near my daughter. Which is a fact that you, I might add, haven't seemed to grasp yet."
Wilson held up his hands as if to defend himself from House's words. "Julia and I are friends," he said. "That's all. No funny business."
"That's how it always starts," House told him. "That's what you say every time. Well, let me tell you something: you're not adding Julia Peterson to your list of 'Women I Have Cheated With While My Wife Sits At Home Wondering Where I Am.' Not that I don't have every confidence that she would tell you the exact same thing should you propose such a heinous idea."
"Way to go, Dr. House," Foreman muttered under his breath.
Cameron finished mopping herself up. "Dr. House, I've got to ask…what are you going to do? After she gets out of the hospital, I mean?"
"I fail to understand why I owe you an explanation, but I see no harm in telling you," House said, sitting down. "Things are going to go back to the way they were. Julia will leave, bewildered but healthy, and will return home with her mother and pig of a step-dad. I will continue to work here with all of you, tolerating your blunders with the coffee pot, Dr. Chase's crush on my daughter, Dr. Foreman's surprising willingness to wear a dress, and Dr. Wilson's violation of my trust. And I will never look back."
They had no doubt of what he said, which is why they all turned their attention to drinking their coffee and searching for another medical condition that could explain Julia's worsening symptoms.
Dr. Cuddy sat in her office, her hands shaking. She had read the test results three – no, four times, and she didn't believe it.
She sipped her water anxiously and read them once more. Definitely correct. There was no denying the results. The black ink screamed at her from the page. You've all been defeated!
Dr. Cuddy didn't know why she was so disappointed by this. Of course it was sad – it always was…but she didn't know how Julia would take it. How House would take it. Jesus, how was she ever going to tell him?
"Dr. House, your patient, Julia Peterson, has contracted HIV…"
"House, I did ELISA on Julia's blood, and she's positive for HIV…"
"Greg, I'm sorry. Your daughter is going to die of AIDS."
Now, when was the last time she had called him Greg? Had she ever? She couldn't remember. Not that it even mattered!
Cuddy put her head in her hands. She didn't know why, but she was feeling more helpless than she had in a long time.
She spent the entire night trying to get her heart to stop aching. For herself, for House, and for Julia.