Daddy's Girl

Light poured into the room. House rolled away from the window and hoped to get another six or seven hours of sleep. He heard water running in the bathroom and groaned. Soon Cameron emerged with a towel turban and her bathrobe. "Okay, it's all yours."

"Do I have to?" He moaned into the pillow.

"If it's any consolation we're having breakfast at Meemaw's." She sat on the edge of the bed and towel dried her hair.

"Not really." He said, slowly getting up. "How much sleep did we get?"

"Not enough. You can sleep in the car on the way to Cherokee though." She took out her make up bag and started putting on her face.

"Urgh." House complained as he limped into the bathroom.

"I appreciate you!" Cameron called in to him.

"Nuarg." He answered.

Abby and Allison were drinking coffee upstairs by the time he was ready. He stood at the foot of the stairs and glanced up at the main level. He rubbed his leg and started up the stairs. If it weren't for the coffee, he'd have stayed down there until they had sent a search party.

"Don't worry about me. I'm doing just fine with these stairs." He called up.

"Great!" She replied and turned back to Abby, "So we're taking off after breakfast?"

Abby sipped her coffee and nodded, "Yup. The four of us are going to the casino and Scott and Dave are taking the kids tubing. Alana is hanging out with the bridesmaids. I'm not sure what they're doing, but they're all doing it together."

Allison acknowledged House as he poured himself a cup. "So have you heard anything? Is she pregnant?"

"Nope. Still a virgin." She drained her cup. "Come on Greg, just bring it with you."

Allison and House stood at the SUV and waited for the rest of the family to join them. "You don't have to be pleasant to anyone. Just eat something and grunt politely."

When they got to Meemaw's, food was already spread out in the kitchen. House usually didn't eat breakfast, but he didn't think that was an option. Allison made him a biscuit and ham sandwich. He nodded his thanks and went onto the back porch with the Bubba's.

Scott and Dave wore cut-offs and flip-flops. Ben waded into a giant plate of biscuits smothered in white gravy with sausage ground on top of it. House drank his coffee and tried not to feel sick.

"Hey Bubba, how come you're not eating?" Scott asked as House stared into his coffee.

"I don't like to eat on an empty stomach."

"You don't know what you're missing." Scott said as he ate a spoon full of grits and eggs.

"I'm missing bagels and cream cheese." House replied petulantly. "You ever had matzo brie? How about a bialy?"

Ben chuckled, "Leave him alone. I don't think he's a morning person." He glanced at his watch, "We need to saddle up. I'm feeling lucky. You guys okay with the kids?"

Dave nodded, "Yup. We've got the cooler full of pop and snacks. We'll drive them through for some burgers before we head back."

"Come on Greg, let's grab the girls and get on down the hill." They went back into the house.

The kids were sitting at the dining room table. The older girls, the ones who were in the wedding party, were wearing summer skirts and T-shirts in preparation for a day of manicures, pedicures and sitting around talking about boys. The younger kids were in bathing suits and shorts, keyed up about tubing. Meemaw watched to make sure that each of them had eaten enough to satisfy her.

Simon turned to her after polishing off his third biscuit. "Meemaw, that was L gravy."

House chuckled and Alana huffed, "She doesn't get it."

"Sure I do. I'm glad you liked it Baby. Now, Ben, you drive carefully." She said as they made for the door.

"Will do, y'all need anything?"

"No Sir, I believe we have everything we need." She waved at them from the porch before heading back into the house.

House snoozed on the way into Cherokee, barely sensible of the conversation, which mostly centered on family members. He woke when Cameron nudged him "We're here."

They walked into the casino; it looked like any casino in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. Smoke hung in the air. The one thing missing was cocktail waitresses. "It's a dry county." Ben explained. House smacked his forehead.

After registering for their "player's cards," the men went to play blackjack and the women found some nickel slot machines.

Allison and Abby sat next to each other and played. Allison had picked a game involving a frog and a princess. Abby played a machine with a surfer dude. "You know, I feel like I'm being bad or something." Allison pressed the button and a fairy godmother appeared. "Hey did I win?"

Abby leaned over, "Yeah, you've got to pick three out of seven of those treasure chests."

Allison tapped the screen and realized that she had won. "Oh! Yea! So what did I just win?"

"About sixteen bucks. It's small stakes, but it's just as much fun." Abby's surfer dude just shouted 'Radical!'

"So Greg and I talked about having a family." Allison said as she hit the button on her machine again.

"How'd that go?" Abby's eyes had glazed over as she hit another jackpot. "Hey, I just won another seven dollars."

"He seems okay with it. I don't know that I'm ready for kids just yet, but it's good to know that there's no opposition there." She clapped as she won another bonus. "Oh! I get to kiss four frogs!" She tapped the screen and even more points were added to her total. "You know, I'm not stupid, but it's hard to figure out how much I'm winning with this point total."

"That's the idea. If it's points, not money, then you won't freak if you lose a fortune." Abby too, won another bonus and had to pick different fast food for her value meal. "Oh crap, I think I just won some serious money." The two squealed with excitement as the total continued to climb. "This is the most fun!"

House saw that the dealer's up card was a four and decided to stand on seventeen. "So explain to me about who Granny and Cookie are. I'm confused." He asked as Ben collected on a blackjack.

"Cookie is somebody's maiden aunt. She's been Meemaw's friend forever. Granny is actually the Colonel's aunt. Abby and Ali's real grandmother passed about twenty years ago." He put some chips down as a new hand was dealt.

"Oh, you can't tell the players without a scorecard." House said, deciding to let his winnings ride. "So how seriously should I take this asking for Allison's hand thing?" He tapped his cards, indicating that he wanted to hit. He stayed at twenty.

"Oh, the Colonel is a serious guy. When I asked for permission to marry Abby I had to tell him about my finances and everything. Luckily, I had a good job and she was working too, so he didn't have anything to kick about. He might get personal though."

"So what's my strategy here?" House asked, sipping at his coke.

"Be honest I guess. What's the worst that could happen? He says no?" Ben stayed on his nineteen.

"That would be bad. Allison puts a lot of stock in him." The dealer turned over a ten, making Ben's twenty a push.

"But she'll still marry you." Ben said. "She married Bobby against her Daddy's wishes."

"Really? That surprises me." House placed another bet.

"It shouldn't. Allison is headstrong when she wants something. But you know that." Ben looked at his new cards and indicated that he wanted a hit. "Busted."

"I guess I do. Hit me." House drew a six, making twenty-one.

At around one, Abby and Allison found House and Ben. Abby put her chin on Ben's shoulder, "So how much?"

"I'm up about a hundred." He said, indicating his stack of chips, "What about you?"

"I won nearly three hundred." She said.

"Great, you're buying lunch." He twirled around in his chair and tossed the dealer a ten dollar chip.

"What about you?" Allison asked House.

"I did a bit better." He took his small stack of hundred dollar chips. "What about you?"

"I hit a jackpot." She said. "In nickel slots you never make a killing, but I won about four-hundred."

"Great, we've just paid for the trip."

After wandering around, they found the cashier and cashed out. The ate some lunch and headed back early.

House reclined on the bed while Allison fooled with the remote. She left it on an old movie. "So what did your dad have against your first husband?"

"Oh. Are you fretting about that?" Allison rubbed his arm.

"You have to admit, he's intimidating and I don't do well with conflict." He squeezed her fingers.

"Yeah. Right. Daddy didn't like that we were so young. He didn't like that we were both still in school and he especially didn't like that Bobby was dying. He wanted me to wait. I knew we didn't have the time, so we married anyway."

"But everyone showed up. You had a big wedding." House turned to face her.

"Yes. But it was obvious that he didn't approve. The Bubba's were great. That was a terrible time. Looking back on it, I can see why he didn't want me to do it. I'm glad I did, but no wedding should be that sad." She grew quiet.

"I'm sorry if I opened up old wounds." House stroked her hair.

"No. Have you ever done something, and you knew that it would end badly, but it was also the absolute right thing to do? If I had it to do over again, I'd do the same thing." She kissed him.

"What was that for?" He lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

"For putting up with this nonsense. I can't wait to get home." She flopped over on her stomach and screamed into her pillow.

House laughed, "Tense much?"

"Ugh. Abby told me that I shouldn't tell you about winning. She said that I should put the money aside in an account, in case we didn't work out." She screamed again. Even muffled by the pillow it was shrill and loud.

"So? That's not bad advice." He stretched his arm and was rewarded with a nice 'pop'.

"Yes it is. First of all, I'm grown woman and a doctor. I have quite a decent savings account. Secondly, how sad is it that she thinks that four-hundred dollars is some kind of small fortune to me? I have shoes that cost that much. Not many pairs, actually only one pair, but you know, I'm not a child. Thank you." She kissed him again. "For treating me like a grown up."

"Gee, I'd come here more often, if only for the extra affection that I'm getting from you."

"I told you, I've got about 36-hours in me. Then I turn to drink. I'm ready to go home now."

"Lie down and have a nice nap. You'll feel better." He said as he yawned.

"I'll feel better when you and I are in our own bed and I can pet my cat." She rolled over and watched the movie until her eyelids closed.

House found the Colonel standing by the fireplace in the living room sipping Jack Daniels. He nodded at House, "Are you ready for that talk?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." House said, following him into the den.

The room was paneled in knotty-pine on three sides, with a flagstone fireplace on the far wall. House sat on a leather sofa while the Colonel sat in a wing chair. "So you want to marry Allison?"

"Yes sir, I do." House said. It didn't seem like a good idea to draw it out. Just get it all up front, deal with whatever he was going to dish out.

"You're quite a bit older than she is." He observed.

"That's true, but I don't think that she minds." House said, trying not to let his natural sarcasm creep in.

"Allison is comfortable with people her sisters' age." He conceded. "But don't you think that she'd be better off with a fellow closer to her age?"

"I'm as surprised as you are. She's had ample opportunity to decide, and oddly enough, she wants me. Who are we to question her judgment?" House wished that he had a cocktail.

The Colonel sighed, "Allison is my youngest and maybe I'm too protective of her. But she's been through a lot and she needs someone to look after her. While I love Allison, let's be honest, she doesn't have a lot of common sense. She's emotional and impulsive." He shook his head and sipped, "Are you sure that you'll do right by her? Are you willing to support her, no matter what?"

House pondered the Colonel's words, "Gosh, the way you describe her; I guess you're right. I don't want to marry her."

The Colonel gave him a puzzled look while he continued.

"The Allison I know is a bright, funny, strong woman. I'm lucky that she puts up with my bullshit, that's for sure, but I think that she's had a lot of practice putting up with yours. Now, I'm going to take care of her, just like she takes care of me. In our house, it's a two-way street." He stood, "I'm hoping that you'll welcome me to your family, but no matter what, starting now, I'll thank you not to speak of my future wife in those unflattering terms." He extended his hand.

The Colonel looked at House's hand and then up into his face. There was no mistaking the look, he wasn't kidding. He grasped his hand and shook. "I'm not sure if I like you or not, but I respect what you just said."

House left the Colonel in his den and went to find Allison. She was playing Spades in a make shift card room. "How close are we to leaving?" He asked.

"House? What did you say to Daddy?" She gave her hand to Alana to play for her and took him into one of the small bedrooms.

"We understand each other. I think he's good with it." House said, reaching for his pill bottle, but then remembering that he had better ways of dealing with stress, he sat on the bed and inhaled deeply.

"No. Really." She said. "I'm not mad."

"No, you're angry. Dogs are mad. People are angry." He corrected her.

"I'm not angry. It doesn't matter. So you pissed him off. It doesn't happen often, it's good for him." She sat next to him.

"I don't know if he's pissed off, exactly. But I think we understand each other. So go ahead, move forward with the white satin and orange-blossoms, or whatever it is you want to do. We have his blessing." House inhaled and held his breath and then slowly exhaled.

"Which is why you're nearly hyperventilating?" She rubbed his back. "I'm sorry he stressed you out. I'm sorry my family is so…"

"They are what they are. My family is crazy too. We'll live with it. As long as we have each other, I guess I can put up with anything." He kissed her. "So let's see if we can get Ben to drive us back to the Love Nest and we can prove it to each other."

"You read my mind." She responded.