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Baby steps.
Allison must have reminded herself a dozen times in the next month to take it slow. Greg was obviously moving cautiously and she wasn't about to do anything to spook him. They 'non-dated' several times before they were both willing to admit even to themselves that they were dating. And even then they kept things casual. No big romantic gestures were given or expected. Just a couple of dinners and twice to the movies. Afterwards they would stop for drinks and dissect what they had just seen. They discovered a mutual love for music, although they argued good-naturedly over genres and favorite artists.
They kept the relationship totally quiet except for Wilson who received regular updates from House. Somehow they both new at this fragile starting point the relationship couldn't stand up to too much scrutiny. Over the next month they saw each other a couple of times a week, always parting at Allison's door with a kiss. Granted the kisses became more and more heated, but Allison was getting frustrated and sensed it was up to her to make the move that would take them beyond just dating. So one night when House came to pick her up she seduced him. She met him at the door in just her robe, and when he made a snarky remark regarding the fact that she wasn't ready yet he was suddenly pinned against her front door and shown in no uncertain terms exactly how ready she was.
House decided he really liked this new side of Allison. So much so that he actually smiled twice the next day while on clinic duty, which of course sent up red flags all over the hospital immediately. It didn't take long for Wilson to catch wind of the fact that his friend was in a good mood, and knowing there was only one explanation, he immediately sought him out and dragged him off to lunch.
"So, things are going well with you and Allison?" he teased.
"What makes you ask that?" House grumbled trying to keep the twinkle from his eye as he remembered just how good things had gone between them the night before and again that morning.
"You are positively scary today. There is almost a bounce in your step," James told him.
"Oh, that! I put my plot for world domination into effect this morning and I'm still on a maniacal high," House told him.
"Well that explains it, because it was either that or you had fantastic sex last night," James grinned. "You know you two are going to have to tell people now, because if you come in one more day looking like this again with no explanation Cuddy will have you committed."
And so after a brief discussion that night with Allison (followed up by more fantastic sex) they let the rest of their co-workers in on their relationship. Chase and Foreman couldn't resist giving Allison grief, and Cuddy warned them both that she would put up with no hanky-panky while on duty. Actually she'd said no inappropriate behavior, but since that was too broad a category for House to even imagine, he changed it to no hanky-panky in his mind.
Of course the romance became a five day wonder, finally usurped as the top gossip item when the head of the nursing staff was found in a storage room with one of the new surgical interns half her age. There was both hanky and panky going on according the account House heard.
After that, things settled into a more normal pattern again, the main difference being that everyone agreed that Allison was a very good influence on House. Oh, he was still gruff and impatient and rude, but where before there had almost been a cruel edge to his remarks, now he seemed more aware of when he was pushing too hard and actually backed off. And after some initial awkwardness, the team began to work more and more as a well-oiled machine when it came to diagnosing tough cases.
On the home front, change was gradual for Allison and Greg. Allison made sure of it, still not wanting Greg to give fright and bolt. A few weeks after going public they spent a whole weekend together, and when they both made it to Monday morning in one piece House began to relax a bit. Whereas previously they had spent most of their time together either out or at Allison's, he now invited her more and more to his townhouse. And while at first she was careful not to leave her things all over the place, eventually a few favorite books and articles of clothing along with some personal items became permanent fixtures there. To her surprise, Greg never once complained.
Still as summer came, she went alone to her niece's high school graduation, and when Greg's mother stopped by for a day on her way from her winter home in Florida to spend the summer with her daughter in Connecticut, Allison made herself scarce. And although she was a bit depressed as she rattled around her quiet apartment that evening, she knew it was for the best. If House was ever ready to do the 'meet the parents' thing he'd let her know. Until then no good would come of pushing him into anything.
Baby steps.
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They'd been together for eight months (which made Wilson a bundle as he was the only one that had bet on more than six months in the pool) when the next set of events that would turn their worlds upside down began to unfold. It would eventually cause both House and Allison to face some of their deepest darkest fears.
It didn't start out as anything unusual. As a matter of fact the scene had been repeated many times in the past two years. House was at the white board having just completed summarizing the patient's symptoms. Now they were throwing out ideas trying to make a diagnosis.
"Influenza," Chase declared. "It's the simplest solution."
"Except the patient has been treated for the flu with antibiotics for two weeks with no improvement. Her breathing has actually worsened. What else?" House asked even as he wrote the word 'FLU' on the board as a possibility.
In the end they had a list of six candidates, none of which fit all of the symptoms. House ordered up a series of tests and his three proteges scurried off to take blood and make slides while House pulled out his Gameboy with a sigh. Occasionally his eyes wandered to the board to scan the list, but nothing jumped out at him. He scanned the patient's history twice as random ideas occurred to him. Nothing fit. After a couple of hours he headed off to see if what the ducklings were up to in the lab. He couldn't help but admire the view of Allison as she bent over the samples she was studying. Then she looked up and he realized that she looked exhausted.
"Do we have anything yet?" he asked.
"Not yet. We are still waiting on some of the labs," Foreman said.
"Let's call it a day kids. Hopefully all of the results and the answer will be waiting for us in the morning," he suggested.
Chase and Foreman didn't need to be told twice. It was late and they had both been thinking the same thing. Even Cameron was too tired to argue. Since they had driven in that morning together Allison wasn't surprised to find that Greg took her back to the townhouse without question. More and more lately her apartment was just a place for her mail to be delivered. As she looked around that evening she was surprised to see just how many of her things had migrated over. They were in effect living together. She wondered if she should suggest to Greg that she give-up the apartment. Maybe she would mention it when it came time to renew her lease in two months.
She ended up going to bed early that night, but even in sleep something was nagging her. Something about the case that she should remember from past experience.
If she could just put her finger on it.
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The next morning Allison felt like she'd barely slept and on top of that she was a bit nauseous. Hopefully what ever Mrs. Colson had wasn't about to spread through the hospital. As she sat drinking tea to settle her stomach she studied the white board. And suddenly all of the pieces fell into place. As if drawn by a magnet she walked up to it and circled four of the eight symptoms listed: 'Fatigue, Nausea, Vomiting, Tenderness of the Breasts'.
House immediately sat up straight in his chair. "Someone please tell me we aren't chasing a case of 'Knocked-up Syndrome'," he growled looking at Foreman who was already flipping through the chart.
"No way," Foreman replied shaking his head. "Onset of symptoms was four weeks ago. Last period was two weeks ago," he stated.
"Except it's not unusual for a woman to still menstruate during the first month of pregnancy," Cameron pointed out.
Chase groaned and then stood. "I'll go do a pregnancy test."
Cameron chimed in. "I suggest we put Mrs. Colson on a breathing regiment. I suspect she has acute bronchitis that is being very stubborn due to the early stages of pregnancy. A woman's body can have a hard time fighting off infections during the first trimester when everything is in such flux," she reminded them.
"She's been off all medication for over twenty-four hours, right?" House confirmed.
"Yeah, we wanted to see if one of them was causing the nausea," Foreman confirmed.
"Good. Once we confirm the pregnancy we can put Mrs. Colson on a general antibiotic that will be safe for the baby in case the bronchitis is bacterial instead of viral. Between that and the breathing regiment she should show signs of improvement quickly. Keep an IV in for hydration. It will help with the morning sickness," House ordered.
Two hours later Mr. and Mrs. Colson were recovering from the news that they were going to be parents, and Mrs. Colson was already breathing easier after her first treatment on the machine. Allison waited until Chase and Foreman went to lunch and then she cornered House in his office.
"Nice work," he commented. 'I'm glad someone around here still thinks to look for the simple answer once in awhile."
Allison took a deep breath. "Thanks. It didn't hurt that I suddenly realized I'd been suffering from the same four symptoms for days even though I just had my period."
The room fell deathly silent. Finally House found his voice. "Allison are you…?"
"Knocked up?" she grimaced at his earlier choice of words. "Most likely. I ran upstairs a bit ago and drew some blood. I'm running the test now. The results should be ready after lunch."
House just nodded so she added, "I'll get back to you as soon as I know for sure," and she turned and left him to absorb the shocking news.
Wilson found him there an hour later and was instantly concerned. Greg wasn't watching the soaps or playing with his Gameboy or even listening to music. He was simply staring off into space.
"I thought you cracked the mysterious case of pregnancy," James teased trying to gauge just what this mood stemmed from.
"We did, or rather Allison did," House confirmed woodenly.
"So what great world problem are you contemplating now?" James asked seating himself across from his friend.
"Fatherhood," House sighed finally meeting Wilson's eyes. "Allison thinks she might be pregnant."
Wilson pursed his lips into a whistle and let that little bombshell sink in for a minute. Then, because he'd known the man sitting across from him for a long time he asked the obvious question to determine how much damage House had already done. "What did you say when she told you?"
House frowned for a minute trying to remember. "I don't believe I said a word. I was pretty stunned."
Wilson breathed a sigh of relief. 'Nothing' wasn't the best response but it was a lot better than some things he could imagine House blurting out without thinking.
"And now? How do you feel now?" Wilson asked.
"Scared to death," House admitted. "Damn it James! Can you see me playing happy family?"
Wilson couldn't hold back the snort of laughter at the thought of his friend changing diapers.
"Exactly," House grumped. "This has disaster written all over it."
Wilson regarded his friend for a moment and then spoke his mind. "Perhaps. But maybe it's not so bad. After all Allison is the mother. And if you are going to play happy family you sure picked the right person to do it with."
House just scowled at his friend even as he silently agreed with him.
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Wilson eventually left House to brood, after promising not to say a word about this to anyone. As he walked away he realized that it was past lunchtime. Since the original purpose of his trip to House's office had been to ask Greg to lunch he started to turn back but changed his mind. Better to let him think this through in peace and quiet. Besides, he needed some time to get used to the idea of his best friend's impending fatherhood. Once again the thought caused him to laugh out loud. He really needed to get that reaction under control.
As it turned out he was glad he was alone at lunch. He was just finishing his sandwich when he noticed Beth Ruter heading towards his table. Beth was nurse on the maternity floor and they had gone out a few times the last time he and Julie were separated. His first instinct was to look for an escape route.
"Relax James. This isn't anything personal," Beth grinned reading his nervousness correctly. Then she turned serious. "I just thought you could pass along a message to your friend Dr. House. One of his young associates has been sitting up in maternity for the last hour and she's not looking too good."
James was instantly concerned. "Thanks Beth," he replied as he hastily picked up his tray and cleared the table.
Five minutes later her rounded the corner in the maternity ward to find a lone figure huddled on the couch that sat against the wall across from the window used to view the newborns. With a sigh he walked over and gently sat down next to Allison.
"Greg told you?" she whispered.
"Yeah. I found him practically comatose in his office," James told her. "I've often wondered what it would take to render him speechless. Now I know," he offered trying to lighten the mood.
"What am I going to do James?" Allison asked looking up at him with huge lost eyes.
"Well, first you are not going to panic before you know anything for sure," he counseled.
At that she held out a piece of paper with the results of the test she had run. "No doubt about it," she sniffled.
"I guess you need to decide what you want, without factoring Greg into the equation" he told her.
"If you mean do I want to have this baby, then the answer is yes," she told him with a bit more confidence.
"Then you give him time to figure it all out," James told her. "He loves you and he would never abandon you or the baby," he assured her.
"No, but that doesn't mean he won't harbor a bit of resentment at being forced into this," Allison pointed out.
"He is the king of harboring," James acknowledged. "But I have a feeling once the shock wears off, you may be surprised. He might not be able to picture himself as a father right now, but I think he'll grow into the role very nicely."
By now Allison was calming down a bit. "So take it one day at a time?"
"Yeah, can you do that?" James asked.
"James, I've spent the last eight months practicing that one," she said with a teary grin.
Baby steps.
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TBC