SILLY GOOSE
By The Madhatter
Disclaimer: Don't own House M.D. Yadda, yadda.
Rating: K/G
Pairings: HouseCuddy friendship
A/N: Just a bit of fluff that popped into my head during church. I couldn't leave it alone. I've always wanted to do something like this ever since that one scene in "Need to Know" with House and the kid. I hope you enjoy this. I'd love to hear what you think.
Btw, the little girl in this fic is based off a little girl named Jaylen in my church. She's just so cute! I couldn't resist.
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House sat down in the waiting room with his leg propped up on the seat beside him, reading a newspaper. He frowned when he read the stats on his favorite baseball team. "Damn it, I owe Wilson fifty bucks," he muttered, rustling the paper.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"Reading. What does it look like?"
"Whatcha reading?"
"Nothing. Go away."
House glanced over to his right and found a little girl about six or seven years old with blond, curly hair, bright blue eyes, dressed in a pink jumper with a striped shirt underneath. He raised an eyebrow at the choice of clothing – she either dressed herself or her dad did, he suspected – and returned to his precious sports section. As he scanned the rest of the page, he could feel the eyes of the mysterious, curious, little girl boring into his skull. He slammed the paper down on his lap and eyed the wide-eyed girl.
"Where are your parents?"
She shrugged. "Dunno. Where are yours?"
"Dunno," he mimicked, then sighed. "Do you remember where you came from? Or which way you came from?"
The girl shrugged again. "Dunno."
"You didn't just magically appear."
"I guess."
House glared at the little girl and pulled out his cell phone. "I need help. No. No, you're not. Look, I have an annoying pain at my side and I need you to get rid of it." He closed the phone and put it away with another sigh.
"Who was that?" the little girl asked innocently.
"Aren't you nosy?"
"What does 'nosy' mean?"
Despite his best efforts, a grin escaped and he reached out and pretended to grab her nose. "I got your nose!"
She touched his outstretched hand and then touched her own nose. "No, you didn't, silly goose!" She giggled. "It's still here!"
"Oh, you're right. I must've stolen mine."
"Nuh uh. Yours is right here." She tapped his pointed nose once. "You're a silly, silly goose."
"Is this the pain in your side?"
House looked up at Cuddy standing behind him with a smirk on his face. "No. I said, 'pain at my side.' You should get your ears checked, Cuddy."
She rolled her eyes and squatted down to the little girl's eye level with a smile on her face. "Hi. I'm Lisa. What's your name?"
"Jaylen," she replied shyly.
"Is this big, mean man scaring you, Jaylen?"
House glared at her, but it quickly turned into a grin as he snuck a peek down her blouse.
"No, he's not scary. He looked sad and I didn't want him to be sad."
Cuddy hid her surprise well. Who knew how much a child could pick up? She smiled at Jaylen. "That was very nice of you."
Jaylen grinned back. "He's a silly goose!"
"I am not!" House retorted. "I'm a silly, silly goose."
She giggled. "See, I told you!"
"Where's your Mommy or Daddy?" Cuddy asked gently.
Jaylen turned and pointed at the empty hall behind her.
House frowned. "How come you didn't tell me when I asked you?"
"I'm better on the eyes," Cuddy replied dryly. "And I'm nicer."
He eyed her chest and shrugged. "With that rack, I'd have to agree."
It took Cuddy everything she had to stop from hitting the irritating, overgrown child she knew as Greg House.
"Daddy had to pee and left me here by myself for a bit," Jaylen said, replying to Cuddy's original question. Cuddy frowned.
"Where's your mom?" It wasn't Cuddy who asked, but House. That was interesting. Cuddy could swear there was a hint of concern in his tone.
"Sur…gery?" Jaylen said slowly, experimentally.
House and Cuddy glanced at each other. "How about we go find your dad?" Cuddy asked softly, reaching out.
Jaylen nodded and took Cuddy's hand. "Okay."
Cuddy led her down the hall, holding her hand gently. "He's not sad anymore." Cuddy looked down at Jaylen, mystified that she could read her mind, much less her worry. "Well, he's a little sad, but it's not the same."
"What do you mean?"
Jaylen shrugged. "I dunno. It's weird. He wasn't sad when you were there."
"Jaylen!" The shout cut off the next question Cuddy had on the tip of her tongue. She looked up and saw a distraught man running up to them. "Jay-len," he panted, out of breath, worry etched on his face. "Are you okay? Where'd you go? I told you to stay put!"
Cuddy cleared her throat. "She's fine. She was getting to know one of our staff members. Don't worry, she's perfectly safe here."
The father sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God. Thank you so very much. I hope she wasn't too much trouble."
Cuddy smiled. "Oh no, sir. She's very charming."
He smiled slightly down at his daughter. "Yeah, she is. Come on, let's go get something to eat, Jay." He looked back at Cuddy and shook her hand. "Thank you, Miss…"
"Doctor Cuddy," she replied, firmly shaking the man's hand. "No problem. Everything will be okay."
Cuddy watched them go, before turning back to the waiting room, where she found House back in his original position. "Mom just got out of surgery," he greeted, his eyes staying on the newspaper before him. "She's gonna be fine."
Cuddy stopped beside him, staring, hands on her hips. "Uh, thanks. They just went to the cafeteria, but I'll send word."
She continued staring, wondering about how true Jaylen's insights were. Cocking her head to the side, she knew one thing: House wasn't bad with kids. It was actually kind of… cute. Of course, she'd never admit that to him. The thought put a smile on her face.
"If you're just gonna stand there, at least come down to my eye level so I can see the twins."
Snapping out of her thoughts, Cuddy managed a weak glare before snatching the newspaper out of House's hands, rolling it up and swatting him upside the head. "Go back to work. You owe me two more hours of clinic duty –"
"—Hey!"
"—You silly goose."