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Allison insisted that they stop by her apartment on the way home. She needed to pick up her purse and cell phone from her neighbor, and she wanted to get her car, and the box that she had just put in the back seat when the whole hit-and-run drama had begun. Once she was behind the wheel she yelled at House that she would meet him back home. Suddenly lunch seemed to have been a long time ago and she remembered she had left the meal unfinished. That explained the fact that she still had a craving for fast food.
She was pleased to see Greg waiting in the driveway for her when she got home. "Oh, great. My hands are full," she grinned holding up the fries and shake that were already half gone. "Could you get the box out of the backseat for me? It's not very big."
Greg shook his head and frowned at her choice of food. "That stuff can't be good for you or the baby," he warned.
Allison shrugged. "This child already takes after you. I wouldn't be surprised to find cold ruben sandwiches on the list of cravings soon. Don't worry though. I am still starving. You can make me a wonderfully healthy dinner," she promised. "But first I need a shower."
Greg was just putting down the box when she made that declaration. "Alone?" he asked hopefully.
She thought back to that kiss in the supply room. She had no doubt that Greg still felt the need for some physical contact to reassure him that she was fine. And if that kiss was any indication he might be in the mood for something a bit wild. Her toes curled at the thought. Sometimes you had to love those raging hormones.
"No, not alone. I was hoping you could give me a thorough examination Dr. House," she offered with a sexy grin.
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Much later, shower and dinner over with, Allison sank into her favorite chair feeling satisfied on oh so many levels. Still there was something she had promised herself she would do earlier in the day and there was no more putting it off.
"Greg would you hand me the box you carried in earlier?" she asked with a sigh.
He was all ready with a snide remark about her being pregnant not crippled when she met his eyes with a serious look. He automatically picked up the box, now more curious than anything. Even more so when she nervously ran her fingers over the top instead of instantly opening it. He was just about to comment when she spoke.
"Do you remember the epidemic in the maternity ward?" she asked.
"Of course," he nodded, taking a seat on the couch near to her.
"You asked afterward if I'd lost a baby," shed reminded him.
"And you told me I could be a real bastard. Way to state the obvious by the way," he acknowledged.
Allison nodded and gave a small smile in agreement. Then she sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn't choose today to regress back. Today, more than ever she needed him to be the supportive, caring person that only she and a few others ever got a glimpse of.
"His name was Jacob. When my husband Kevin found out he had cancer we were already engaged. We moved up the wedding and took just a three-day honeymoon so we would be back in time for him to start chemotherapy. Jacob was conceived on that honeymoon weekend. I had a lot of problems during the pregnancy. Spotting, and high blood pressure. Mostly as a result of the stress I suppose. I went into premature labor at seven months, and Jacob was born with a faulty aortic valve in his heart. He died four days later.," she told him. "I've always thought that was the exact moment that Kevin gave up fighting because he only lasted another two months after that."
She paused for a moment and House let her gather her thoughts, simply reaching out and putting one of his hands over hers on top of the box. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was in there now.
"I put everything in this box the day after Jacob's funeral and I haven't looked at it since then. I haven't held a baby, attended a baby shower, or even gone into a toy store either," she explained.
"You treated those sick babies," Greg corrected.
"I didn't hold them. I took blood, and I gave medication. And just that much had me in the ladies room shaking like a leaf for a half hour," she confessed.
They sat in silence for a few moments. House was remembering how hard he had been on her for her seeming lack of ability to give the parents of those sick babies general updates without giving them any real information. Now he realized that it wasn't that she didn't know the slick platitudes to use, it was that she knew them too well, and knew better than any of them how useless they really were to a parent who was facing the death of their newborn.
Finally he broke the silence by tapping on the box and challenging, "So are you going to open this now or not?"
It was a small box, as it only held a few items. On the top were two envelopes. Allison opened them and laid them side by side on the coffee table in front of her. One was a certificate of birth, the other a death certificate. The dates so close together you had to look carefully to see the difference. Next came a small blue blanket, hand crocheted in an intricate pattern. If House had asked he would have been surprised to learn that Allison had made it herself during the long hours she'd spent at her husband's bedside. Under the blanket was a teddy bear. Unlike the much-loved companions kept by most mothers, this toy looked new enough that House wouldn't have been surprised to see the price tag still attached.
On the bottom of the box was a book containing the few precious pictures she had of her son. Allison fingered it for a moment before she got up and moved over to the couch next Greg. He didn't say a word, just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned into her to get a better look at the pictures. He hoped it was enough to signify that he was there for her because he was honestly afraid to open his mouth and say anything. Since Allison had been preparing herself for his sarcasm, she was pleasantly surprised by his reticence and buoyed by his close proximity. Taking a deep breath she opened the book.
House was mesmerized by the very first picture. Allison looked so young and yet so bowed by grief. In her arms, attached to a multitude of wires and tubes, was an unbelievably small bundle. Even though Jacob appeared to be asleep he had one hand out of the tiny blue mittens and was grasping the material of Allison's scrubs as if he was hanging on for dear life. And even in sleep his lips were turned into a perfect little smile.
Dr. Gregory House, skeptic, cynic, and grouch, was suddenly bombarded by feelings he had never thought possible. He could feel the grief rolling off the woman in his arms in waves and he wanted more than anything to help ease that pain. At the same time, looking at the baby in the picture he was suddenly filled with awe at the thought that a similar miracle was in process even now. His baby and Allison's, growing inside her.
House had a sudden need to break the silence and the tension. He said the first thing that came to his mind to try to cheer Allison up. "I thought babies didn't smile."
There was a definite sniffle from Allison, but it was followed by a chuckle. "Doctors lie."
"Good to know," House replied with a twinkle in his eye.
It only took a couple of minutes to flip through the rest of the pictures. Allison pointed out her husband, looking pale and fragile, and her parents and brother. Then the book was closed.
"So what now," Greg finally asked.
Allison put the book aside and curled into him for support. "Now I can put the box away again, and hopefully move on. But if I start to get freaked out during this pregnancy you'll understand why."
"That's helpful. But I was more thinking about whether we tell people you're pregnant right away or wait," he replied. Then he groaned. "We are going to have to do the whole meeting each other's families thing aren't we?"
"I don't think there is a big hurry. Other than James, we can keep this quiet until I start to show. As for our families, we should probably at least let them know we are dating so we can work up to the whole pregnancy thing. Unless you are planning on hiding the baby and I in the basement the next time your mom stops by," Allison told him.
"We don't have a basement," he reminded her.
"Still, there's no hurry," she told him. "We just take it one step at a time," she counseled.
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Over the course of the next two weeks Greg started to relax as there were no huge changes in their lifestyle. Although Allison's food craving started to border on the bizarre, and she slept a lot more, life continued on as it had before he'd found out he was going to be a father. Allison did tell her family about Greg the next time she talked to them. Besides letting them know they were seriously dating she'd gone ahead and told them they were living together, giving her step-mom the new address and phone number. Greg had only heard her side of the conversation, but it hadn't sounded like they much approved of her living in sin. Allison didn't mention the 'M' word though and he certainly wasn't about to bring it up.
Besides, soon they were way too busy to even worry about anything much outside of work. As Allison entered her ninth week of pregnancy House's group was bombarded with four new cases within a week. Luckily two of them had been diagnosed quickly and one had been released already. Mrs Jenkins was due to go home the next day. Mr. Marcum had ended up having a rare form of epilepsy that they had finally been able to confirm the day before. He would be under observation for a few days to get his meds balanced. With any luck he should show marked improvement over the week-end.
That left ten-year-old Beth Landry. Brought in two days ago with a variety of symptoms from muscle aches to an erratic heartbeat, she was still a mystery to be solved. Her mom and dad had been at her bedside for two solid days when a trip home for fresh clothes and a decent night's sleep had become a necessity. Chase and Foreman had checked on her several times during the night and now were both sacked out themselves along with House. One of the three was snoring. Allison knew it wasn't Greg as she was accustomed to all of his nightly noises. Whomever it was she doubted she would get any sleep, especially since her stomach was churning slightly. She slipped quietly out of the room they had commandeered down the hall from Beth's, made herself some tea, and wandered down to check on the young girl. Beth was wide awake and looking slightly lost.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" Allison asked.
"Can't sleep. I think I'm all slept out," Beth sighed.
"Well if that's the case you should think about becoming a doctor. Not needing to sleep would be a great trait to have," Allison teased even as she mentally added insomnia to Beth's symptoms.
Beth frowned. "Am I going to live long enough to even think about that?" she asked fearfully.
Allison looked the girl in the eyes and told her the truth. "There are no guarantees in life, and we don't know what's wrong with you yet, but you definitely came to the right place. Dr. House is the very best when it comes to solving a medical mystery," she said.
"I haven't met Dr. House," Beth informed her.
"No, but he's been busy trying to figure out what makes you tick," Allison assured her.
Just then a voice from the doorway spoke up startling then both. "Strangely enough it's her heart that makes her tick."
Allison had to smile. He could be so damn quiet when he wanted to be. He'd probably been hovering outside just waiting to hear what the two were talking about. "Beth, this is Dr. House," she introduced the man to the girl.
"And someone forgot to invite me to the pajama party," he commented. "Aren't you both supposed to be asleep?"
"I'm all slept out," Beth informed him.
"And your excuse Dr. Cameron?" House asked, tapping his cane.
"Dr. Foreman was snoring," she informed him with wide innocent eyes.
"I don't suppose either of you have eaten, either," he responded with a sigh.
Beth and Allison shared a guilty look. "No sir," Beth finally answered. "But I'm not very hungry."
"Well I am. Cameron, make yourself useful and go get me some breakfast. And bring back something for you two anorexics too," House ordered.
After Allison slipped out the door, House sat down with a sigh in the chair she had just vacated. Unfortunately for him Beth had caught him staring and smiling at Allison's backside as she left.
"You like her," Beth accused with a giggle.
Since it wasn't any big secret House just raised an eyebrow at his young patient. "So?" he asked. "And before you suggest that I'm too old for her, let me remind you that I have a huge say in how big the needles are that they use on you."
Beth's eyes widened for a moment but then she smiled. "I would never dream of bringing up your age. Have you met my parents?"
"Dad has a few gray hairs?" House inquired.
"No, Mom does. She's ten years older than my dad. So I know age has nothing to do with who you love," she told him.
"Exactly when did we go from like to love?" House complained.
"When you were more concerned about defending your age then denying that you like Dr. Cameron, " Beth stated wisely. "Do you want me to drop a hint in her direction?" she offered.
"What are we ten?" House objected.
Beth just raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah." House smirked. Although a small part of him would have loved to have seen Allison's reaction to Beth's matchmaking he declined. "Well believe it or not, I am perfectly capable of talking to her myself. Now it's getting close to 7:00am and I'm betting that your parents will be making an appearance soon. Tell Dr. Cameron to bring my breakfast to my office so I can escape before they show up. I don't do parents unless absolutely forced to."
"Probably a good idea," Beth agreed cheekily.
As it was House narrowly escaped bumping into Beth's parents, who questioned their daughter as to the identity of the strange man they had seen leaving.
"Who was that?" her mom asked in concern.
"Dr. House," Beth told them.
"The Dr. House?" her dad exclaimed. "What did he have to say?"
Beth chuckled. "Well for one thing it's my heart that makes me tick. I feel much better knowing that, don't you?"
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House was waiting for Allison when she arrived back at his office and led her into the conference room where Chase and Foreman were sitting trying to wake up. Allison had brought plenty of food so they all grabbed something and then attacked the white board.
"Add insomnia," House instructed needlessly. Allison already had the marker to the board adding it to the list.
Meanwhile House was going through Beth's file. "And her mother was over thirty-five when she was born… and bingo! Beth was the first born," he confirmed.
"You're thinking birth defect," Foreman offered, leaning forward to study the board.
"It's possible," House mused.
"A chromosome disorder could definitely cause the heart problem, but it should have made itself known by the time she was two," Cameron thought aloud.
"The insomnia doesn't fit," Chase pointed out.
"It could be just what she said, too much sleep," Cameron conjectured.
"But maybe not," House frowned. "Which is why we are going to keep looking while we run a complete DNA analysis."
And they were all off and running.
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It was another two days before they had a definitive diagnosis. Marfan Syndrome, a genetic abnormality that causes a lack of the protein fibrillin. Without the protein the structural support of connective tissues is weakened. It can cause ruptures in major arteries, blindness and severe skeletal deformities. Luckily, Beth's case was mild. She would never be a professional athlete, and she would probably need beta blockers to help with the heart condition, but for now she was in no danger, and could lead a fairly normal life. Only time would tell how much of her body would be affected and to what degree.
Normally the disorder was inherited, but after testing both mom and dad (and ensuring that they were indeed Beth's biological parents) they determined that Beth was one of the unlucky small percentage of sufferers that had been afflicted by a simple mutation when she was but a cluster of cells. Which gave both Allison and Greg another thing to worry about for their unborn child. Sometimes it really sucked being a doctor and knowing everything that could go wrong.
Luckily they didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it. Another small crisis was looming and it all started with a groggy Allison answering the phone two days later.
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TBC