Title: Succumb (24/25)
Summary: We have to succumb to the feelings we can never face.
Rating: PG-13

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It wasn't often House felt comfortable disclosing details about his personal life.

He wasn't even sure why he had told Cameron about his father. After she told him about Brooklyn's father, it just felt natural to return the favour. Of course, now she had revealed to him another detail about her mysterious history, and he probably owed her for that one, too.

Brooklyn was just as unfussy with her dinner as she was with everything else. If it was anyone else's child, House would have had them examined, but with Cameron as her mother, it was only too fitting.

She did, however, have an unduly fascination with his piano seat. He knew if she had the opportunity she would start banging around on his baby grand itself—what toddler could resist that?

Cameron was typically apologetic and tried to distract her, but at last House gave up watching her futile struggle, and crossed to his piano. He slumped down on the low bench, swivelling so he was facing the sofa, propping his cane up against the piano. Brooklyn titled her head up to him, grinning widely, tugging on his pants. Most children seemed to shy away from him after a while, and tended to find his presence intimidating- but Brooklyn never quite caught that hint. Now that he didn't actually mind, she was only more relentless in seeking his attention. Mother and daughter shared a certain resemblance there.

"Up," she chirped in her high-pitched, cherub-like voice; like he hadn't already figured as much.

Cameron eyed him nervously. "House, she'll break something," she warned.

He sighed, and lifted her up, careful to rest most of her weight on his good thigh. Secretly, he just liked favouring her. "Unless she has the strength of an elephant, I doubt it."

He felt Cameron's eyes on him as he demonstrated for Brooklyn, by pressing down on one of the ivory keys. She immediately lifted a tentative finger, hitting one of the lower notes. The deep sound that filled the room was hardly melodious.

Cameron shook her head, but he could see a subtle smirk touch her lips in the corner of his eye. Brooklyn grew more confident, and started to hit a few more random notes, giggling lightly at the sound.

House held out his hands to prevent her from damaging anything. "Uh-uh. No killing the piano. It was way too pricey to deserve it."

Cameron relaxed back in the armchair she was currently occupying, content to watch their interaction, remaining silent in her observation. She finally spoke up. "Play something."

He glanced at her, lifting a silent eyebrow over Brooklyn's head. Playing his piano was generally a solitary activity, and one he didn't like to do around others. But Cameron's request was basically harmless, and it wasn't as if he would ever back down from a challenge, anyway. He pursed his lips; shifting forward again, maneuvered his arms carefully around Brooklyn's tiny frame. He stretched his long fingers deftly over the keys, and began to play Chopin.

Brooklyn was completely still, engrossed by his fingers' swift movements. He could feel Cameron's eyes on his back, displaying similar interest. When he finished, the jazzy music peppered out, and he glanced back at the immunologist, who was still silent.

She was grinning at him.

"Impressed?" he prompted, attempting to hide his discomfort.

She laughed. "Considering the only thing I can play is 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'? Very."

Brooklyn started to tap the keys again, in an attempt to imitate him, and House grimaced. "Clearly someone is going to have to teach her how to do that properly. The manufacturer is probably spinning in his grave."

Cameron shifted further back in her seat, crossing her legs comfortably. Her earlier anxiety appeared to have dissipated. He wasn't as uncomfortable as he had expected to be a few weeks ago, seeing her fit so effortlessly into his home. Seeing her and her daughter fit so effortlessly into his home.

"Maybe you should take it up?" she suggested simply.

It was yet another reminder that he might become a permanent fixture in Brooklyn's life.

He nodded silently, because he didn't know what else to say. When Brooklyn started tapping keys again, it felt natural to reach around and help her. So long as no one outside this room saw him acting this nicely, he figured that was okay.

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He was starting to get paranoid.

The last time things in his personal life had been going so well; he ended up in the hospital missing half of his thigh muscle.

He wandered into his office, thankful that his team were elsewhere for the moment. Cuddy had finally referred him to a new case, and though he had put up the usual fuss, he was secretly glad to have the distraction. Foreman and Chase were off doing an MRI, and Cameron was speaking to the patient's family and collecting a history.

He entered his office, switching on the portable TV on the way, determined to settle in for an episode of General Hospital and give his mind the chance to mull over their current symptoms.

Five minutes after the first commercial break, a shrill sound erupted from the adjacent room. A heavy scowl crinkled his features, and he ignored it, waiting for it to stop.

Whoever it was must have been determined, because five minutes later the same sound interrupted his meditation. House grunted under his breath, using his cane to lever himself to his feet. He strode through the glass door into the next room, and took a moment to locate the source of the disturbance.

The cell phone on Cameron's desk was vibrating. He frowned, noticing that her pager was also beside it. And people thought he was disorganised. He paused, then shrugged and flipped it carelessly to his ear. He probably would have done so even if they weren't dating.

"What?"

The voice on the other end of the line sounded suitably dismayed by his blunt greeting. "Uh, hello… I'm looking for Dr. Cameron?"

"She's indisposed," he grunted, intent on getting rid of her as soon as possible. Probably one of those stupid telemarketers.

"Oh. Well… I'm, uh, calling from the day-care centre. It's about her daughter."

House frowned, tensing unconsciously. "What about her daughter?"

"She was hurt. It's nothing serious, just a scraped knee. We're just having a little trouble calming her down, and I thought her mother might be able to help."

He knew Cameron had put Brooklyn in the PPTH day-care centre for the morning, so she could take her to her afternoon appointment with minimal trouble. His frown deepened. She didn't have her pager on her, and he was in no mood to traipse around the hospital looking for her. It would just be easier if…

"I could come up and… take care of her," he suggested reluctantly. He had been trusted with Brooklyn many times before, sure, but this was completely different. He felt distinctly uncomfortable about making the call without Cameron's approval.

The woman hesitated. "I don't know…"

He sighed impatiently. "You really think I just decided the randomly answer her phone? I'm her boss. She isn't here."

She was silent for a little while longer, and he thought he heard her shuffling some papers. When she spoke again, she seemed strangely satisfied with that arrangement.

"All right. I'm sure that will be fine. You know where we are?"

He rolled his eyes. He had only worked in the hospital for twelve years. Granted, he didn't have much to do with that department, but still. "I think I could find it," he said sarcastically.

"Okay then. I'll see you soon."

He flipped Cameron's phone closed, sighed deeply. His concern for Brooklyn overrode his irritation with the situation.

The elevator was empty, and he watched the numbers above the door light up as they neared the sixth floor. He strode down the hall as they slid open, thankful that he was unfamiliar with most of the staff on that floor. He wasn't ashamed – it wasn't as if he gave a damn what people thought of him – he just didn't need tongues wagging any more than they already were.

He swung through the glass door into the colourful day-care centre, wincing at the sound of raucous laughter and the loud, intermingling voices of lots and lots of children. Brooklyn, he could handle. That didn't mean he was any fonder of her snivelling little playmates.

He walked over to the reception desk, where a middle aged blonde woman was standing, looking harried. She glanced up as he neared. "Dr. House?"

He didn't remember giving her his name, but he assumed his reputation preceded him. "That'd be right. Where's Brooklyn?"

She looked slightly doubtful, but to her credit, she hid it well. He had always had the impression that people who were used to dealing with children all day were inept at adult communication. He decided then and there he would reassess that opinion.

She gestured him through the toddler height gate cordoning off the main play area from the reception, and he followed her, ignoring the cheery, bright flowers and fuzzy animals decorating the walls around him.

Brooklyn was sitting on a small plastic chair with a bandaid on her knee. It looked like nothing more than a small scrape, and her knee was still red from where she had skidded on the carpet. Another, younger woman was with her, making nonsensical soothing noises. She glanced up as House neared, and a worried look momentarily crossed her face. He wagered half the doctors and nurses who left their children there were just as judgemental and paranoid about their kids' injuries as normal parents were.

Brooklyn's face was covered in tears and her shoulders were shuddering as she sobbed. The young woman stood up as House neared, and her expression was similarly doubtful, but she didn't bother hiding it.

House ignored her, placing his cane on the empty table, concealing a wince as he crouched down in front of Brooklyn, and put his weight on his good leg.

"Hey, now, what's all this?" he murmured, mindful of the two women hovering behind him.

Brooklyn's head lifted, and her dark brown eyes blinked up at him. She slowly stopped crying.

He nodded. "That's better. You're okay now, aren't you?"

She shifted forward, jumping off her chair, immediately clinging to him, huddling against his much bigger frame.

He shifted, slightly uncomfortable with this open display of affection, automatically wrapping an arm around her and feeling her soft hair tickle his chin. An odd feeling surged through him. He glanced back at the two women, who looked pleasantly surprised. It wasn't too often he garnered that look.

He nodded curtly at them; a dismissive gesture they couldn't misinterpret. The younger one frowned, but the older one gave him a faint smile. Both of them wandered back over to the reception desk.

Brooklyn remained in the crook of his arm for a while, but he gently drew back, quietly dumbfounded by her attachment to him. "Do you want your Mommy?" he asked carefully.

She mutely shook her head, still staring at him with her wide brown eyes. He sighed, reaching out and gently wiping the tears from her face with his sleeve. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do in this situation.

Brooklyn seemed perfectly happy with the attention he was giving her, and offered him a tentative smile. "Bodie." She pointed at a blonde boy across the play area, who was racing around the room like he had ADD.

House rolled his eyes at the overactive kid. "Looks like someone gave their little ray of sunshine too much sugar this morning," he observed critically. He glanced down at Brooklyn. God, Cameron was going to have trouble with this girl. She was already showing the signs of being a stunner, just like her mother.

He figured out what she was trying to tell him. "Did he push you?"

She nodded emphatically. He glanced back at the two day-care workers, who were busily chatting at the front desk. He narrowed his eyes. A familiar voice momentarily distracted him from telling them a thing or two about doing their jobs.

"House?"

Oh. Crap.

He winced, straightening slowly, keeping his back to her until he was on his feet. He left his cane on the table. Brooklyn blinked curiously, sensing his sudden irritation.

"Dr. Cuddy," he acknowledged sardonically, concealing a grimace.

The hospital administrator stood opposite him with a folder in one hand, clad in one of her more revealing black power suits. She barely tried to hold back her grin, taking in the sight before her. "Well. Can't say I ever imagined I'd find you on this floor."

He glared, just daring her to continue. "My adventurous side deemed otherwise. So, what's your excuse? Finally feeling that biological clock tick away, or did you just get hungry?"

Her lips quirked mischievously, and she folded her arms, tapping the clipboard against her side. She was enjoying this far too much. "Budgeting."

"Uh-huh. Don't we have people who do that sort of thing?"

"Well, obviously it was very lucky I decided to come up here myself."

House scowled, before giving her a pointed, appraising look. "Tell me, isn't that outfit a little frightening for the children? Might be a little early for that kind of education."

She rolled her eyes, but she ignored his sexually charged comment, as she had a tendency to do. Her light blue eyes trailed down over Brooklyn, and she surveyed her with noticeable curiosity. "So this is Cameron's daughter. She's beautiful."

She bent down in a crouch, offering the timid toddler a kindly smile. "Hi, sweetie. I'm Lisa." House watched, faintly bemused at the behaviour little kids seemed to rouse in adults. Brooklyn shifted slightly, hiding behind House's leg.

Cuddy smiled at her reassuringly. Her scrutiny was even more annoying than Foreman and Chase's. Probably because she knew him so well. "Don't be shy, it's okay."

"Must be your funbags," House declared, eyeing her from above with a hint of unease. There was no way she wasn't going to hold this over his head. It was too perfect. "She thinks they're coming to get her. Which is an understandable fear, really."

Cuddy straightened again, steadily meeting his gaze. She could obviously sense his discomfort, and seemed to take a grim sort of satisfaction from it. "Tell Cameron she's very lucky," she said, and her tone was sincere. She stared at him pointedly. "Maybe remember that yourself, too."

He pursed his lips, saying nothing as she turned and sauntered back over to the front desk. He stayed with Brooklyn a little longer, but she seemed perfectly happy to play on her own, and as he glanced at his watch, he realised it was nearing lunch hour. Cameron would probably be coming to collect her soon.

He retrieved his cane and started to the exit, pushing the encounter with Cuddy to the back of his mind. On his way, he came across the older of the two women, who smiled at him a little too pleasantly. "She seems really taken with you, hmm?"

He frowned, eager to avoid meaningless, awkward chitchat with this stranger. "Sure," he said briskly, eyeing the exit.

"It's so nice to see. I mean, half of the fathers we have in here don't have that kind of bond with their own kids, you know?"

He frowned impatiently, fixing her with his cold stare. "Yeah. Listen. You might want to spend less time making with the chitchat, and more time watching the little munchkins. You know. Avoiding lawsuits and all that. The boss doesn't really like them."

Her lips tightened noticeably. She looked annoyed. "I can assure you we keep a close eye on all of the children here, Dr. House."

"No kidding. Wonder how it is that Brooklyn got shoved over by that little blonde brat over there then?" He frowned, as another thought struck him. "And you just let anyone come up here? What makes you think I'm not going to heave off with one of the tykes just because I said I'm Cameron's boss?"

She scowled. "If you must know, Dr. Cameron listed you as an emergency contact."

He blinked, momentarily unable to conceal his surprise. The woman took this as an excuse to escape his recriminations. If she'd just seen him talking to the boss, he was sure she was fully aware of the pull he had in the hospital. "If you'll excuse me..."

She manoeuvred around him, disappearing rapidly towards the play area. He ignored her brisk tone and fearful exit, frowning slightly to himself.

He was again taken back by the effortless display of Cameron's trust. There was no way to ignore the implications of her decision.

He just didn't quite know what to do with it.

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