Thermy: Thanks for breaking the policy on responding to other people's reviews; I couldn't have explained that as nicely. :P I'm glad you're interested!
Nikelodean: Sorry about Wilson being out of character...I tried to play it safe in this chapter, and hopefully he'll get better in future ones. I agree; after reading over Chapter 11, that really isn't something he would do. Not this soon, anyway.
Mollisk: Nope! Julia/James romance isn't going to work out, but hopefully they can at least repair their friendship!
JacobedRose: Thanks for complimenting House's reaction! I wasn't sure if that was a little too understated for him. Also, I'm hoping to repair the Julia/James friendship, so telling him the truth would have made that harder to accomplish realistically.
Runs with sissors: Glad you liked the twist! It was an interesting idea...I'm not feeling too confident about it, but hopefully it will fit into the story better as more chapters keep coming. And her reaction to him will make more sense in (I believe) the next chapter. Keep reading; I appreciate that you've been reviewing since the beginning!
Regina Halliwell: I'm glad you like the story! Thanks for taking the time to let me know; I appreciate it so much.
Sincerely Juicy: I'm going to use Thermy's words to explain the seizures and dizziness thing. "Seizures and dizziness are symptoms of late-stage AIDS, actually to be more accurate they're symptoms of the opportunistic infections associated with AIDS." I know I skimped a little on keeping things like hospital procedures true to real life, but I DID research the disease before I started writing this! I will admit, though, that I have been using HIV and AIDS interchangeably, and that's not correct. Just to confirm; Julia has full-blown AIDS and the reason why she contracted it and the fact that she has gone so long untreated mean that it is a death sentence. Also, in regards to the whole needing-more-House/Julia interaction...you are so right! This is going very slowly, but I believe the next chapter (and some in this chapter) will have some of what you're looking for. Thanks for taking the time to review and tell me what's on your mind!

Here's Chapter 12, it's really sad, and kind of short. Next chapter will probably be very long, though, so no worries!

The first thing Dr. Cuddy usually did in the morning was take an aspirin in preparation for her day and go to her office to read the paper. This morning was different. She figured starting out the day on the right foot wasn't going to help at all once she did what she had to do; that was breaking Dr. House's heart. But it wasn't only him she was worried about; it was the rest of the doctors, everyone from Wilson to Chase, Cameron, and Foreman. She was worried about Julia, and her mother, and that step-dad of hers. How would they react?

She went to the lounge and started the coffee machine. Then she sat down and waited.

Dr. Foreman was the first to arrive. "Good morning, Dr. Cuddy," he said, sounding surprised.

"Hi," she said nervously, feeling very out of place and very anxious. She watched him watching her. "I'm not here to bust you for working on the newspaper crosswords instead of doing your job, Foreman; I just have something I want to share with you and the others when everyone arrives."

"I wasn't worried about that," he lied as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

Dr. Cameron arrived second. "Morning, Foreman, Dr. Cuddy," she said, not sounding surprised at all to see her boss.

"Cameron," they said in unison.

"I have something I need to tell you all once the others arrive," Dr. Cuddy told her.

Alison Cameron always hoped for the best, but she wasn't stupid and could guess what Dr. Cuddy wanted to tell them. "I see," she said slowly as she prepared her own coffee.

Dr. Chase arrived next, two minutes after he was supposed to be there. "Sorry I'm late," he began, then stopped as he saw Dr. Cuddy. "Good morning, Dr. Cuddy."

"Dr. Chase," she said. "I need to tell you all something after Dr. House gets here."

He nodded, then set to making his own coffee.

Dr. Wilson, looking like hell, came in next. "Hello…everyone," he said, eyeing Cuddy. Was she about to bust him for last night? Had Julia told on him?

"I have something I need to tell you all," she repeated, sounding bored but not any less scared of the statement.

Relief washed over him, and he nodded and poured himself coffee. This morning he didn't take anything with it; he needed it as strong as possible. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

Ten minutes later, Dr. House still hadn't arrived.

"If he doesn't get here soon, I will need to get going," Dr. Cuddy told them all.

"Couldn't we just pass the message along to him?" Cameron asked.

"I'd rather he hear it directly from me," she said.

They fell silent again, and waited for another five minutes.

"I'm sorry," Cuddy said. "I need to tell you all now. When Dr. House gets here, would you please send him to my office? Don't tell him anything."

They all nodded.

"It's about Julia Peterson."

Cameron felt her heart drop, Foreman narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, Chase's face donned a look of concern, and Dr. Wilson mentally rolled his eyes.

"She has full-blown AIDS."

No one spoke.

Cameron began rummaging through her purse for a tissue. "Oh, my God," she murmured, swiping at her eyes. "I can't believe this."

"House will be devastated," Foreman observed quietly.

Chase swallowed, his mouth dry. "I wasn't expecting this," he stammered, wondering how this had come to be.

Dr. Wilson just stared ahead, his right hand making a fist. His knuckles turned white. He had no idea what to say. He felt bad for her, of course, but AIDS was a disease that was almost always the infected person's fault. And the alternative – the infected person not having any choice in the matter – wouldn't make him feel any better. He lost, she lost, they all lost either way.

"Cameron, do you have any more tissues?" Cuddy asked.

Dr. House was in a panic. He was late – damn traffic – and he didn't know what he should do first. Should he go visit his daughter, who was no doubt not in the best condition at this point, mentally or physically, or should he report to the lounge, where he would find his much needed and deserved coffee?

Daughter, he decided begrudgingly. I need to check her vitals anyway.

House made his way to room 116 and pushed the door open. "Good morning, sunshine," he said, not sounding particularly sarcastic or sincere.

"Good morning, Dr. House," Julia croaked.

He narrowed his eyes when he heard her voice. "You sound…worse," he observed decidedly.

"I know," she said miserably. "What do you want from me?"

"You think you can manage to walk over to the scale and stand on it for five seconds while I check your weight?" he asked.

Julia glared at him. "I wouldn't do this for just anyone," she growled, slowly but surely sliding herself out of bed and walking over to the scale.

"108 pounds," he announced. "Two less than yesterday. How tall are you?"

"5'3"."

"Hmmm. A bit less than one would expect for your height," he mused. "Okay. Let's do the temperature thing." The thermometer showed a 102.9˚F. "You have a fever," he told her.

"Big surprise there," she shot at him.

"Jesus, you're hostile today," he commented, recording her stats on a clipboard.

"Well, you're in the best mood I've ever seen you in, so I guess we're even," she argued. "You have nothing new to tell me? I'll even give you credit for something obvious, like, 'You're really sick.'"

"Nothing," House replied. "We're working on it, alright? These things take time."

"What, you think I want to get out of here? This has been like a vacation, compared to being at home. Yeah, it's terrible to say, but Mom is no picnic. You have no idea how much I'm enjoying having someone clean up after me when I get sick for a change."

House rolled his eyes. "Are you going to tell me that you want me and your mother to start a joint custody arrangement next? You know, you're 19 years old, technically an adult. You could just leave. Get a place of your own."

"I can't afford to take care of myself and get into college while I'm still under middle-age on a waitress's pay," Julia told him. "And I wouldn't move into your place if you asked me to. Not for five minutes."

"Why not?"

"We probably have very different interior decorating tastes, I can guarantee there's not enough closet space for the both of us, and we don't like each other."

House narrowed his eyes. "What petty reasons you give," he said. "Surely we could work something out."

"You won't even let me call you dad!" Julia shouted.

It was hard to come up with a response for that one. "Don't tell me you actually want to call me dad. I'm a jerk. I haven't been there all through your childhood, I'm treating you badly now, and I will continue to treat you badly unless…"

"Unless what?"

"There's nothing I can think of that would get me to stop treating you badly," House decided. "Therefore, this argument is pointless."

"You're the one who brought it up!" she screamed. "I don't get you. You want me to move into your house –"

"Apartment."

"You want me to move into your apartment, and yet you won't let me call you dad."

"I never said I wanted you to move in," House protested, suddenly feeling panicky all over again. "I just wanted to know why you wouldn't."

"Then this whole argument is pointless," she assessed.

"I said that ten seconds ago," he told her, walking to the door. "Try to keep up with the rest of the class."

He shut the door, not knowing exactly how he felt about what had just happened. It would be weird as hell having some teenager living in his apartment, that was true, but…for some reason, he wanted her to want to try it out. He wanted her to wish things were different between them. But…why? So he could throw it back in her face that he didn't care? That didn't seem right.

"Kids," he muttered to himself as he found himself at the door to the lounge. He pushed it open, and stopped. Cameron and Cuddy were sitting at the table crying, Wilson looked angry, Foreman was wearing his concerned-doctor look, and Chase looked truly saddened.

"What's wrong?" House asked as cheerfully as he could, walking towards the coffee. "Waiting for me? Concerned I had gotten into a car accident or had a stroke and ended up on the bathroom floor? Relax, my friends, I'm here. Nothing to worry about."

Cameron, the only one who really showed any visual reaction to this, burst into a fresh wave of tears.

"Tears of relief, I hope, Dr. Cameron," House said.

She glared at him. "Would you kindly shut up?" she demanded. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

This was interesting. He'd never known Dr. Cameron to be mad at him. Frustrated, certainly, but never mad. She was much too enamored with him.

"Dr. House," Cuddy said, sounding like she had a terrible cold. "I know you asked me not to, but I ran ELISA for Julia Peterson. I just wanted to rule it out…"

"And…"

"It came back positive."

House stared at her. "What?"

"She has AIDS, House. Julia Peterson is dying of AIDS."

He wouldn't talk to anybody at first. Cuddy had graciously decided not to push the issue of work with him, and just let him sit in his office and sulk. She offered him her condolences and decided she should just leave him alone. Foreman and Chase had said they were sorry too, but they didn't know what else to say. They figured maybe he needed time to himself. Wilson hadn't come near him, having his own thoughts to deal with. And they had all urged Cameron not to try it.

"He'll get mad," they said. "He'll yell and scream and it won't do him or you any good."

"He's her doctor," she insisted. "I don't care how he feels about it. He should be the one to deliver the news to her, at the very least." Armed with nothing but her bravado, Dr. Alison Cameron knocked on House's door.

No answer. It was a formality she'd decided to take, just to be polite. She pushed open the door and walked in. "House? How are you doing?"

Nothing.

"I guess this is pretty hard for you," she tried, knowing how stupid she must sound. "Julia has a way of working herself into your heart pretty quickly, doesn't she?"

"You make it sound like she's everyone's daughter."

She almost leapt for joy; he had spoken! "Of course not," she said softly. "I just know that this is very hard for me. I can't imagine what it feels like for you."

"I don't know her," House said. "Just because someone shares your genes doesn't mean that you love them. Families are people who are unlucky enough to be stuck together. They don't automatically love each other. I'm fine. Alma's the one who's going to need your cheap condolences."

His indifference hurt her, partly because she knew how much it would pain Julia to hear it. "House, you know, you're her doctor. I think you should be the one to tell her."

"She won't see it that way. She won't see it like you do." House looked her in the eyes, and she saw him struggling to keep his nonchalance at the surface of his emotions. "Julia will see it as me, the man responsible for her life, taking it away from her. And I don't know about you, Dr. Cameron, but I have had quite enough of hopeless tears for some time."

"You know, either way, you're screwed."

Her boldness surprised him. "What do you mean?"

"If you tell her, yeah, she'll probably cry. A lot. If you don't tell her, she'll come to you anyway. You're her father, damn it. You're supposed to be there for her. Not just when you want to be, but whenever she needs you."

"Since when did you become the authority one what I'm supposed to do?"

"Since when did you decide you know everything about parenting?"

"I want out," House said. "I never asked to be a father! She's 19 years old; she doesn't need a dad."

"Even if she never had one before? And now, will never get the chance to have one again?"

"Stop talking."

"Why? I'm just putting into words what your conscience is already putting into your heart."

"I don't have a heart."

"I beg to differ."

"What do you want from me Cameron?"

"I want you to do your job."

"What would that be? I don't know who I am anymore. The lines of doctor and father kind of run together."

"Then does it matter what position you choose either way?" Cameron leaned closer to him; he was behind his desk, she was in front. They were nose to nose, and she could have done anything at that point. She chose to do her job. "House, tell her that she is dying. And be there with her when it happens." She turned and walked out of the office, knowing she had done all she could to bring this family together.

Chapter 13 is coming soon! If you could tell me what's going through your mind after reading this, that would be great. Thanks for stopping by!