Wow, I think this is the longest I've been between updates since I started this story. That must mean that somehow, I'm getting a life, which is certainly cause for celebration. I see this story as stretching for three, possibly four more chapters, but not much longer than that. If I get past thirty, I'm going to pull a "then suddenly a meteor hit the earth and they all died" number, because I'm getting the feeling I talk too much, and this is the proof I need.

This may or may not surprise you, but I don't own "House, MD."

Here's chapter 23! Not the best I've ever written, but not the worst either, in my oh-so-humble opinion. But I'll let you be the judge of that.

House returned home after another hour spent retracing his steps through the freezing aisles of Safeway, Wilson on his heels as they attempted to replace every melted and spoiled item. He found Julia and Chase having a water gun fight.

"What's this?" he asked, wondering what the hell went on when he wasn't at home. "Young lady, I'd like to hear what you have to say about this compromising situation we find ourselves in. Not to mention where you got water guns."

"Ummm," she said slowly. "We…got sidetracked?"

"I can see that," House commented dryly, stepping over the mess of cleaning supplies on his floor with an armful of groceries – a difficult maneuver when one has a bad leg. "Well, being the good father that I am, I went to the grocery store, and I brought home all kinds of goodies for you and your undeserving little friend to enjoy. It would be nice if you could help me bring up the remaining bags."

Julia and Chase agreed and went to his car to get the last of the groceries. "Is it just me or does it smell like boiling strawberry ice cream in the trunk?" Chase asked as he slammed the lid shut.

Julia shook her head. "Who knows what kinds of things the man had in here," she said.

They got into the elevator and went up to House's apartment. When they entered, they found him sniffing a bottle of Lemon Pledge.

"Checking to see if it's fresh," he said sheepishly.

"Mm-hmm," Julia replied, grinning. "Meaning you think it's the most heavenly scent ever. This place could always smell like lemons if you'd dust every now and then."

House resolved to do so, and then the phone rang. "Hello," he said.

"Hi, Greg," Alma said nervously.

"Alma," House said. "How are you? Do you want to talk to Julia? She's right here. She's got company, but he'll live while she takes the phone for a minute."

"Actually, I was calling for you," Alma replied. "I need some help."

House began to swing his cane back and forth, a habit he'd developed lately that showed his anxiety. "With what?"

"I'd like you to drive me down to the jail so I can see Len," she said. "I could get Julia to drive me if you'd rather not, but I'm not sure she wants to see him."

"I can't imagine anybody who wouldn't want to see that psychopath behind bars," House told her. "But I can do that. What time would you like me to come by?"

"As soon as possible."

"I'll meet you are your house in a half an hour." House hung up and told Julia where he was going. He motioned at Chase to join him privately in his room while he found a jacket that didn't have melted ice cream all over the sleeves. "How's it going?"

"Very well, thank-you," he replied stiffly.

"Naturally I'm referring to the fact that you're obviously wooing my daughter," House said. "Is she playing hard-to-get? Is she collapsing under your flattery like a ton of bricks? Or is she somewhere in between?"

"I'm not wooing her!" Chase exploded. "We're friends. Very good friends."

"Very good friends, indeed," House huffed as he raided his closet. "That explains why there are stars in her eyes and she goes around singing 'I Feel Pretty' all the time."

Chase's eyes widened. "She does that? Over me?"

"No, but she might start any day now, thanks to you," House said. "Want to back down yet?"

He shook his head. "This may surprise you, House, but I actually believe Julia when she says she likes me. You should try believing it too, and while you're at it, you might take me at my word."

"Right," House said. "You're being honest, and I'm the queen of England."

Chase rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll have to show you by example."

House chuckled as he slammed the door shut. He heard Julia asking him what was wrong. Chase struggled to make up a lie and did not succeed. He was certain he was going to hear about this later. "Show me by example, huh?" he repeated. "That'll be the day."

House arrived at Alma's house on time. They drove in silence for a while before he asked her how her "change" was going.

"It's been hard," she replied. "Much more painful than I'd originally anticipated. But it's worth it."

"That's good," he said, and they were silent again.

They got to the jail where Len was being held (with bail, of course, but it was left unpaid). House glanced at Alma and said, "This is as far as I go. If you want any more distance out of me, you're going to have to ask."

She shook her head. "You can wait here. I've been waiting to do this for a long time." Alma stood up and went in. She filled out some forms, waited for ten minutes, then was taken to a chair in front of a glass barrier. Across from her was an identical cubicle. Len came and sat down there, and she was shocked to see how different he looked. Both eyes were black, he looked thinner and pale, and his eyes seemed to belong to someone older and much more tired than he used to appear. The idea filled her with power. She picked up the phone and said, "Hey there, sweetie."

"I'm sorry," he replied immediately. "I went too far. It's just that that bitch daughter of yours is always lying –"

"She has a name, you know," Alma said irritably. "A name and a personality and a life. And in fact, so do I. None of those things agree with you, I'm afraid. I've come to say good-bye."

"What are you talking about? Soon as I get out of here, we'll be back together. Nothing's gonna change, Alma."

She breathed deeply. "You just keep telling yourself that. Look, here's how it's gonna go down: you're going to trial for domestic abuse. The prosecution will win. You get swept off to prison, and Julia and I live happy lives without you. Sound good?"

"What about when I get out, huh? You ever considered you won't be able to resist coming back to me again? It happens the same way every time. Hard habit to break, I know," Len laughed, his voice low and dangerous.

"Hard, yes, but not impossible. I've already started. For instance, notice something different about me?"

Len stared at her. "You're not shaking?" he guessed finally.

"That's right," Alma said, nodding. "At least, not from the alcohol. Withdrawal's a bitch, but it's better than living with a failing liver."

"Failing liver? What the hell?"

She nodded again. "I'm very lucky. A combination of medical science and good people managed to get me a second chance at life, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now. You really think I want to waste the time I've got left on you?"

"Why not? You've had eighteen years with me to leave, and you haven't. You're telling me you're gonna do it now?"

"Exactly," Alma said, smiling frigidly at him. "I wish I could say it's been fun, but…it hasn't. So that just leaves us with farewell. Have a nice life, Len." She stood up to leave, then turned back to him. "Oh, Julia had something she wanted to say to you too." Alma gave him the middle finger, then giggled at his shocked expression and all but skipped away. She met House before she even got to the door. "What are you doing in here?" she wanted to know.

"I've decided I couldn't help but visit that pathetic man, so I'm giving him a few minutes of my time," House told her. "I won't be long." He was taking to the cubicle where Alma had been sitting just seconds before, and smiled as he saw Len's annoyed face. "Hello, in there! How's life?"

"Who the fuck are you?" He squinted at him. "Are you that doctor from the hospital? The one I was gonna kill before the damn security goons showed up?"

"That's me," House said cheerfully. "You can call me 'Sir.' And now it's time to play the 'Who's the real father of Julia Peterson?' game." He watched as Len's expression turned from mad to confused. "Come on, now, you can do it. Concentrate…It's me! Can't you see the family resemblance?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Len said. "It's not possible."

"Oh, yeah, it's possible," House said. "Apparently we've both fallen prey to the same woman at some point during our lives. Small world, isn't it?" Len rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. "I'm not through with you yet! House shouted at him, drawing the attention of surrounding prisoners. "Don't you want to hear the diagnosis?"

Len slowly picked up the phone again. "It was nothing, wasn't it? She was just being a damn complainer, right?"

House blinked at him, wondering how he could be so insensitive. "She has AIDS."

"What?" Len exploded. "That little –"

"And you might like to know, it's your fault," House said. "You sick son of a bitch."

Len began to look human again. His face was white, his hands were trembling. "So that means I should get tested too, right? Just in case?"

House dropped the phone as realization dawned on him. "Oh…my…God…" he said. "What did you just say?"

"I mean, I never went too far," Len continued. "Her mother would have killed me if she found out, but sometimes I'd get a little too friendly. For Julia's taste, anyway."

House's voice dropped to a whisper. "Are you telling me that you molested my daughter?" he asked, venom dripping from every word. His knuckles were white, his face pressed to the glass as he stared into the eyes of the person he hated most.

"Well," Len said guiltily. "Ummm, yeah, I guess so."

House averted his gaze to the ground, his mind throbbing. I'll kill him, he fumed inwardly. I don't care how long it takes; I will kill him. Somewhere in his thoughts, he saw Chase and was grateful that he had some sense of propriety about him. Chase was allowed near Julia. Len would never get the chance again.

"You bastard!" House yelled, standing up and banging on the glass. "How could you do that? What's wrong with you?"

Alma was next to him in an instant. "Greg, calm down. What's wrong?"

"How could you not have noticed? How could you not have seen? He was abusing Julia!"

I thought we had established that, Alma thought, then she realized that what he was saying was meant on a whole other level. "He did what?"

"She didn't say anything? Not even once?" House asked. "She just took it silently?"

Alma was too much in shock to do anything. "Yes," she whispered.

"I hate you!" House screamed, looking for a way to get in at the man. "I'm going to kill you!"

Someone from security tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to leave," he said, sounding almost bored.

"That man," he seethed, "is Satan."

"They all are," the guard said as he pushed Alma and House out the door.

After a minute, Alma asked him what he meant by saying that it was Len's fault that Julia had AIDS. He told her and had to hold her back to keep her from going in and causing another scene.

Later that week, they found out that Len was killed by his fellow inmates after they found out what he'd done. Neither of them felt anything for him.

"Boardwalk," Julia sang happily. "You owe me $50, Rob."

She was sitting on the floor of House's freshly cleansed apartment, celebrating with Chase, Cameron, and Foreman, who had come by to help.

He handed her a blue bill. "That's the third time I've landed there," he grumbled.

"At least you got doubles," Foreman pointed out.

"True," Chase acquiesced as he rolled again. "Five." He moved his piece to the Income Tax space. "Crap-in-a-can!" he yelled.

"That's a new one," Cameron commented as she took her turn. "Go to jail! I just got out!" She obediently put her piece, the thimble, on the jail space.

"My turn!" Foreman cried gleefully, rolling the dice. "Free parking. Boring."

Julia took the dice and rolled.

"Fourteen," Chase said.

She gave him a strange look. "No, four. The dice only go up to twelve."

"That's how much you owe me for landing on New York Avenue," he told her smugly. Cameron and Foreman laughed at her; her face turned red.

"I'm still going to kick your ass," she said.

"We'll just see about that," Chase replied as he picked up the dice and began to roll them around in his hand.

House opened the door and wandered wearily into the apartment. The frivolous spirit and joyful banter evacuated the room, and Julia and the ducklings wondered what it was that made him look so tired.

"Dad," Julia said, knowing it had to be something terrible that he didn't even comment on the two extra people in the apartment. "What's wrong?"

"I need to ask you something," he mumbled. "I'm going to have to ask you all to leave for the time being. You can finish the game tomorrow."

They all nodded, looking down as if they were kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "See you later, Julia," Foreman said. "Bye, guys."

"Bye, Julia," Chase said, embracing her, as that had become their custom pretty quickly. "Good luck."

"Thanks," she said.

Cameron glanced from her to House, who was standing over his piano, staring into space. "I'll call you later," she whispered, squeezing her hand. "Okay?"

"That would be great," Julia replied quietly, biting her lip. "Bye, Allison." When it was just her and House, she walked up behind him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me about Len?" he asked in an unsteady voice.

Julia gulped, her worst fears confirmed. He knew. "I didn't want you to know," she said. "You know, it's hard, feeling like you can't defend yourself. Maybe you don't know what it's like, but I was practically born with that feeling. Nineteen years of constantly being taken advantage of doesn't dull it at all. I'm still just as ashamed of my weakness as I was when it first happened."

"Sometimes you have to choose between two kinds of shame," House told her. "One kind comes from asking for help. The other comes from remaining silent, bearing the pain, then having it ripped out of you anyway. Which is worse?"

She shut her eyes, fighting back tears. "The second one," she admitted. "But it's too late to change it now, okay? It doesn't do either of us any good to mull over the whole thing. Can we please just move on?"

"Okay," House said, turning to face her. "Any other surprises for me?"

Julia managed to smile. "No," she said. "I think you've found them all. Congratulations. The police should hire you as a scent dog. Those bloodhounds have nothing on you."

"I'm not much for being on my knees with my nose to the ground," House told her, grinning as he headed to the kitchen. "Are you up for some ice cream?"

Julia was about to reply, when they heard a knock at the door. House opened it and was surprised to see Cameron. "Missing me already?" he asked. "I could get you a snapshot of myself."

"Very funny," she said, pushing past him. "I left my keys on the table. Hi, Julia."

"You weren't eavesdropping, were you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Of course not," Cameron replied as she took the keys. "I'm on my way now."

"So what, you're gonna leave just like that?" House wanted to know. "We've got ice cream, and I even sprung for cones."

"I'd better not," she said coyly. "Thanks, though."

"Counting calories, or do you just not like us?" Julia asked.

"Neither," she replied. "I have work tomorrow."

"You weren't considering work when you got into the never-ending board game," House pointed out.

Cameron sighed and dropped her purse on the table. "Fine," she said hotly. "One scoop, vanilla ice cream, no toppings."

"Give her a sundae," Julia whispered loudly, then grinned innocently at Cameron, who rolled her eyes.

In short, one scoop turned into seconds, heavy on the sprinkles, seconds turned into thirds, thirds turned into, "I couldn't possibly have anymore, but a glass of water would be nice." When the moment was right, Julia snuck to her room and shut the door quietly as so not to disturb the possibilities cooking in the kitchen. House and Cameron didn't notice she was gone until 11:30 at night when she decided she had better go home.

"This was fun," Cameron admitted as House saw her to the door. "Fattening, but fun."

"I don't understand the constant worrying about fat," House said. "You're a rail, Julia's a rail, I'm not quite a rail, but hell, I've got muscle, so it doesn't matter."

Cameron giggled. "In my family, good metabolism ends the second you turn forty," she said. "I'm training myself to eat well now so I don't turn into an fat, ugly old lady."

"You'd be pretty even if you grew another head," House told her loyally. "In fact, you'd be twice as pretty. Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Well, thanks," she said, blushing.

"Aww, shucks, is this gonna be a repeat of the IHOP incident?" House asked. "And here I don't even have any Tic-Tacs on me."

"I thought we were friends," Cameron said. "You know, all that 'take one step back instead of two' stuff. Right?"

He shrugged. "We could be friends with benefits."

"Nice try," she said. "See you later, House."

"Bye, Allison." He shut the door, yawned, and went to bed, wondering how she could make him feel so elated and so desolate at the same time. That went for Julia as well as Cameron.

Wowwwwwww, I don't know what made me do that. (Shrugs) Next chapter is a leap into the future, so pull out your time machines! (When did I start sounding like a pre-school teacher?) Don't forget to review! Lots of love! Cara/house-of-insanity