CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Two weeks had passed since House was shot and endured surgery and Sarah was home but receiving radiation to rid her cancer. House had a little difficulty adjusting to his apartment now, considering a man died on his living floor and the man shot him there. That particular Thursday night he sat on the couch reliving the moment over and over in his head, wondering what he could have to prevent being shot. But there were no lingering problems from surgery except a little bit of pain. The Vicodin took care of that, with a little Scotch on the side.
C.T. was happy playing by herself but recently he felt bad for her because she didn't have any others her age to play with, other than Charlie. He told himself he'd check into DayCare because with Sarah's treatments having both kids would be too difficult on her. He thought he heard a noise come from her bedroom and realized it was just her turning over.
There was a quick, bright flash the came from his window but there was silence. He looked at his empty glass of Scotch, groaned, stood up, walked to the bar, refilled his drink and walked to the window, slowly pushing the curtains aside. He heard a distant rumble that gradually grew louder then faded away. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, AND hearing. There was a wild wind of heavy flurries blowing around and it had just thundered.
"End of March…just turned officially Spring and it's freakin' flurrying." He said out loud. He walked back to the couch, popped a couple of Vicodin for the night's sleep and finished off the Scotch.
The early evening news was about to come on and he wanted to stay up to watch what was happening with the snow, considering it might keep away from work the next day, with any luck.
He just sat back, turned up the volume when the phone rang. He looked at the clock; it read 10:02pm. He grunted, closed his eyes and reached for the phone, answering without opening his eyes.
"Dr. House, it's Dr. Parker." She simply said. House remained quiet.
"I wanted to remind you of our 9:30 appointment tomorrow."
"Oh, I forgot to call you. I have an MRI to do and then a CAT scan then…"
"No, you don't."
"Yeah, I do." He answered, sounding like a kid trying to get out of homework.
"Dr. Cuddy said you'd say that. She told me to tell you if you don't come you'll have 20 more clinic duty hours added onto the 374 you have left." He again remained quiet. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.
"Yeah."
Dr. Parker hung up the phone and smiled triumphantly.
Early the next morning, Cameron was up earlier than normal, had made coffee and was sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper folded out in front of her. But she wasn't reading it; her mind was on the day she and Chase watched C.T. while House was recuperating at PPTH from the gunshot.
She was already 33, had a great career, had a wonderful man that cared about her but she still felt something was missing. She questioned herself the past two weeks whether it was because she wanted a baby of her own. She knew she loved Chase but something inside her made her scared. Her mother adored Chase and her father liked messing with him, which was a good sign also.
And yet, she also had to be honest with herself: Had watching C.T. given her an 'edge' over House? Why was she even thinking about that? She shook her head and finished her coffee then stood up and placed the cup in the sink.
There was a knock on the door. She looked at the clock and realized it was Chase to pick her up so they could ride to the hospital together. She grabbed her light sweater, purse and lab coat and headed for the door, without looking through the peep hole.
She opened it and was about to take a step when she saw the unfamiliar shoes and looked up at the person wearing them: Dr. Gregory House. He had little Charnie in his left arm and looked very awkward holding her. She stood there a moment, not quite sure what to say.
"Uh, do you think you can help me and take her for a sec?" He asked. C.T. smiled when she saw Cameron and put her hands out before she reached to get her. When C.T. was in Cameron's arms she started running her hands through her long hair; she hadn't put it up yet.
"What are you doing here, House?"
"I have a favor." He said, trying to act as charming as he could, even batting his eyelashes.
"Oh, no. I can't watch her. You know I have to wor…"
"It's not that. Do you think you can find a good daycare for her?" He finally got to the point.
"Couldn't you have asked me at work?"
"But we always talk about work at work. I'd never get a chance to sit and have a nice heart to heart talk with you.
She smiled. "Since when have we ever had a heart to heart chat?"
"There was…then there was…uh, never but there's a first time for everything."
"House, Chase is taking me to work and he'll be here any minute."
"No, he won't." He simply said.
"Yes, he will…"
"He called me to take you. He got a flat tire and will be to work late." He said with a half grin.
"Why didn't you just say that!" She said as she walked through the door and started down the hall, leaving House to scamper fast to meet up with her.
"I like to keep you on your toes. Besides, that's what makes a good doctor." He snickered.
"Seeing patients and diagnosing is what makes me a good doctor. So, does that make me a better doctor than you?" She asked as she reached for the 'down' button on the elevator.
"Psshhaww, I don't think so." He said as the elevator doors closed behind them.
Foreman and Rog both looked at each other with raised brows when House and Cameron holding C.T. came into the conference room.
"What? Never seen a baby before?" House snickered as he headed to his office, dropped off C.T. bag and his duffle bag and came back to the others.
"Dr. House, Dr. Parker called this morning to remind you of your 9:30 appt." Rog told him as Cameron set C.T. on the table in front of him. She smiled and he carefully but lovingly removed her spring coat. Cameron went to the coffee machine to make the second pot for the day.
"Don't break her arms getting them out of the sleeve, and watch out for the…" House started to say before Rog interrupted him.
"House, I do have two nieces and I've not broken one bone in their body." Rog told him throwing her coat on the chair beside him.
"Hey, what are you doing for the next 15 minutes?" House asked Rog after he glanced at his watched and realized he was two minutes later for Dr. Parker (like he really cared?).
"Say no, Rog! Say no!" Foreman whispered from the corner of his mouth loud enough on purpose for House to hear.
"I'm hoping to go through mail and find something to do." He retorted.
"That's Cameron's job!" House said as he looked at Cameron and winked at her. "Oh, wait, I've given her another project. Ok, you get to watch C.T. while she does my project." House said as he walked toward the door.
"WAIT!" Rog yelled. "Either way I'm still supposed to watch her?"
"Wow, you're smart! You should be a doctor." House said as he walked through the door and it closed behind him.
"You suck at dodging House, Rog." Foreman teased as he stood up to get a cup of coffee.
"Hey, I love watching C.T., don't I Charnie Barnie! I just didn't want him to know I like watching her."
As Foreman came back to the table he gave Rog a high five. "I knew there was a reason why I liked you."
"You guys need to grow up." Cameron said as she, too, came back with a cup of coffee and also high fived Rog. The three doctors all burst out laughing.
But up in Dr. Parker's office there would be nothing to laugh about, nothing at all.
House knocked on Dr. Parker's office door and waited. There was a soft, "Come in." House took in a deep breath and walked into her office.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the occupants of the chairs sitting across from Dr. Parker, with an empty chair in the middle with his name written all over it…
Mom and Dad House.
House smiled at his mother who looked happy to see him, then looked at his father who didn't look happy to see him then at Dr. Parker who looked very apprehensive about the whole meeting. House himself looked shocked because hated surprises, especially ones that he couldn't prepare himself to think of excuses, or valid excuses. Mom House stood up and gave her son a warm hug while Dad House sat in the chair and coldly put out his hand but House didn't reach out to shake it. He sat in the chair slowly and grimaced, trying not to look like he was in pain from the gunshot but his mother looked at him worriedly.
"What is it, Greg?" Mom House asked.
"Heartburn." He lied.
"Dr. House, please." Dr. Parker said, knowing he'd been shot just two weeks earlier. "I called this meeting hopefully to bring some light on why there is such a distance between you and your parents. This isn't the time to lie."
House looked at her in defeat but still tried to think of ways to get out of the truth. He finally nodded his head.
"Greg, what happened?" Mom House asked.
"I was cleaning my shot gun."
"You don't have a shot gun." Dad House said.
"WHAT?" Mom House said.
"Probably tried to hold up a bank to pay for the bike you'll eventually wreck." Dad House muttered.
"Mr. House, there will be none of that in here. Dr. House is in a lot of pain and…" Dr. Parker started to say.
"That's Col. House." Dad House snottily corrected then she apologized.
"Please tell me what happened, Greg!" Mom House demanded.
House told his parents most of the events of what happened with Kirsten dacosta and Thomas, leaving out some of the more important details, specifically regarding Liz.
"Why didn't you call us? We could have come down. What happened to Charnie? Was she hurt?" Mom House asked.
"She's fine, Mom. Cameron's watching her."
Her face lit up with excitement. "You mean she's here?"
He nodded his head. "In my office."
"OH! I can't wait to see her!" Mom House said as she looked at her husband, who sat staring out at the window.
"Let's get down to business." Dr. Parker said authoritatively. "Col. House, what was your childhood like?"
Dad House looked at her like he was about to go off on her. "Like any other childhood. Did what Father told me while he was away in WWI. I was 16 when Mom died and he was overseas. I had a younger brother to take care of so I took responsibility at a young age. I grew up fast. I had to."
Dr. Parker nodded her head then asked "How was your relationship with your parents?"
"Father was very controlling, unemotional and strict. But he had a family to support. I never argued with him. I understood where he was coming from when we had Greg." He added that last sentence with a smirking glance toward his son as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. He quickly looked away from listening to his father.
"Mrs. House, what was your childhood like?"
"Very loving. I had four brothers and a sister and we were very close. My parents always supported us, within boundaries. Daddy died at the Battle of the Bulge but his death only made our family closer and stronger."
"So, on one childhood spectrum we have a controlled, strict environment; on the other we have a supportive, loving home. When you two planned on having children did you two discuss how you would raise your children?"
The three sat in silence for a moment. "I'd say that is a no." House snipped. Dr. Parker gave him a 'warning' glance.
"We never had a class on parenthood like there is now if that's what you mean." Mom House said. "Everyone back then did the best they could with what they had and they were happy with it, with what they had, I mean."
"Times were so different then, too. No one appreciates anything they have nowadays." Dad House threw in.
"That's true. Things were different back then. But don't you agree that those that don't appreciate anything were never taught how to appreciate it?" Mom and Dad House didn't respond, whether it was from the abrasiveness of her choice of words or whether she indeed was right.
"Dr. House, how would you describe your childhood?"
He thought for a moment then said, "Rough."
"How so?" Dr. Parker asked.
"Well, why don't you ask him. He was the one that had a problem with Liz."
"Greg, honey, don't st…" Mom House started to say.
"Oh, so your problems were all caused by me, huh? Nice, son." Dad House said sarcastically.
"I didn't say that. You two always butted heads and I was stuck in the middle."
"You put yourself in the middle."
"Someone had to! You were always too hard on her." House said, starting to get defensive.
Dr. Parker noticed Mom House sink deeper into her chair but remained silent, hoping the two men would get what was really bugging them out.
"How so? She never listened to a word I said, now did she?" Dad House spat.
"What you never got about her was she did listen to you. But did you ever listen to her? She didn't need to be told how to make a grilled cheese sandwich the 'right way' or how to pick out clothes the 'right way' or how to live her life the way you did." House said. "If she wanted to go to China to get to New York then let her! What difference did it make?"
"Now, wait, Dr. House, Col. House. We're not discussing your sister. We need to figure out where the tension is coming from between the two of you." Dr. Parker said.
"That's a lot of the tension right there." House said, not looking at his dad.
"Dr. House, can you tell me what one thing you've wanted from your father that you felt you never got?" Dr. Parker asked.
House didn't answer for the longest time and the silence was killing Mom House.
"Someone to support me." He finally answered.
"Support you? You had to learn to be a man an…" Dad House started to say but House interrupted him.
"Because I didn't choose to go into the military but chose medicine; because I didn't marry as young as you did and raise a family; because I didn't do a lot of the things you had the chance to. It was never good enough for you. Everything I did wasn't good enough, was it, Dad?" House asked with anger in his voice.
"Greg, now don't talk to your father like that." Mom House scolded.
"Mrs. House, this is good. They're saying what they need to. Greg, what type of relationship do you feel you and your mother share?"
"Unconditional." He simply answered as Mom House smiled a bit.
"Oh, are you saying I don't love my own children?" Dad House said, a little loud than he meant to.
"Not without your own set of rules." House replied rather nastily.
"What's wrong with rules?" Dad House asked.
"Rules suck." House answered in a childish tone.
"Ok, we're going backwards now." Dr. Parker broke in. "Col. House, why do you feel it is so important for you to control things, in particular your son?"
"Because if I don't no one will." Dad House simply said.
"But then that's my choice, isn't it?" House said angrily as he stood up and limped to the window, turning his back on the others in the room.
"It's not your responsibility to dictate the rest of his life, Col. House. In order for him to grow himself he needs to do things on his own, make his own decisions. And if they are the wrong decisions then he has to live with the consequences, not you." Dr. Parker pointed out to Dad House as she looked at her watch.
"I'm afraid time is up for now. But as you know," Dr. Parker said as she looks at his parents "we'll meet again tomorrow, same
time, to continue where we left off."
"You have got to be kidding me!" House said as he turned back to look at Dr. Parker as if she were kidding.
"I'm not a kidder, Dr. House." She replied.
Mom and Dad House stood up and walked out as House continued to stand at the window.
"Dr. House, you have to leave." Dr. Parker told him.
"Oh, I'd love to, really love to, just leave." He said, then sighed and walked out of her office.
House stopped at the elevator where his parents were already waiting for the next car, although he really wanted to be alone and 'come down' from his emotional interrogation. But he knew his mother would want to meet Charnie so he figured he'd get it over with.
"I can't wait to see my grandbaby! I've bought her some things." Mom House said as she lifted a bag by the handle with a huge smile. House could see a stuffed animal and some clothes and smiled at her. "I cannot believe how expensive baby clothes have gotten! But she's worth it."
Dad House stood in the corner of the elevator and seemed to be in a world of his own. When the doors opened House stood aside and let his mother get off, then purposefully stepped in front of his father to be the next out. House swore he heard a noise escape his father's lips but as his father just did, he ignored him.
Mom House opened the door to the conference room so her son could walk through and as Dad House approached he grabbed the door and held it open for her. Rog was sitting on a blanket on the floor with Charnie, reading her a medical book, Chase and Foreman were sitting at the table and Cameron was on the phone in the privacy of House's office.
"Dr. House!" Rog said as he quickly closed the medical book, like he'd been reading her a Playboy magazine or something.
"Are you showing pictures of blood and guts to my daughter!" House said, trying to sound serious but also joking.
"No, well, yes, I just…well, no…" Rog stuttered.
"Relax. I was joking." House said as Mom House stepped toward Rog and bent down to get a better look at Charnie.
"Hey, little one! I'm your grandma! Yessss, I aaaam!" Mom House said as she picked her up and held her out in front of her. "Oh, Greg, she's precious, just precious."
House barely nodded his head, pulled out a chair and sat down. He pushed out the chair across from him with his left foot and looked at his father, meaning for him to sit in that chair. But Dad House walked toward Mom House and took Charnie out of Grandma's hands.
"We call her C.T. It's confused Charlie." House told his parents.
"Who's Charlie?" Mom House asked.
"Oh, Wilson's boy. His mom, Sarah, has been watching her while I work."
"Oh, did you get references on Sarah and do you know what…" Mom House started to say when she cut her own self off. "I'm sorry, honey. It's the grandmother bug that escaped. I'm sure if she's James' wife she's just fine." House was about to correct his mom when her attention was again on C.T. House looked at the scene in front of him and held his breath.
He previously saw Rog disappear to his office where Cameron was but surprised Chase and Foreman were still sitting at the table. He looked at each of them mentally channeling them to leave, like, pronto. But it didn't work. As Dad House stood with Charnie in his arms House finally threw introductions around then said, while looking at Chase and Foreman, "Don't you two have an MRI or a PCT or a LDM to perform on some sick person?"
"What's an LD…" Rog asked as he came back into the room but Foreman was already headed toward the door and elbowed Rog's shoulder hard but not to be mean, just to make him shut up and follow them, which he did.
Just when Mom and Dad House sat down at the table Cameron strolled into the conference room acting as if she were about to burst with some great news but kept it toned down a bit as she said hello to her boss's parents.
"Dr. House, those reports you wanted, about the conference centers…" She said, with an apparent emphasis on 'conference centers', "…they're on your desk. A few places look promising."
House said thanks and Cameron stood there for a moment, like she was waiting for an invitation to stay. When that didn't come she dismissed herself and walked out into the hallway. She turned the corner, stopped, and turned back around, peeking at House's office where she had a clear view of him with his parents. The first thing she noticed was how much more comfortable he looked with his parents, more so than when she'd seen them the first time in the cafeteria eating dinner.
She stood watching Dad House holding Charnie and Mom House putting the baby's shoes back on and Father House looking at his parents with their only grandchild. She couldn't help but smile, when suddenly she felt eyes bearing down on her. She tore her eyes away from Charnie and looked at House, who was looking directly at her! She quickly hid behind the corner, knowing full well he had seen her, but hoping he didn't. She continued down the hall to check on patients.
While Foreman, Chase and Rog headed down the hallway to the cafeteria (it was lunchtime) all three were perplexed at the arrival of House's parents.
"I never thought he'd introduce us." Foreman said.
"Well, I don't know if House getting counseling with his parents is a good thing or bad thing." Chase said. "Oh, crap! I'm gonna have to run. I'm planning on something for Allison and…later!" He said as he dashed off.
Foreman turns to Rog and says, "I don't know what's gotten into him! Ever since he's been with Cameron he's been so…oh, I dunno…"
"Flighty. I think the word you're looking for is flighty." Rog intervened.
"Yes, exactly! Rog, you're beginning to become one of us." Foreman said with a laugh.
"As long as House doesn't rub off on us, I'm fine with that." Rog said as the walked into the cafeteria.
Chase ran to Cuddy's office and found her already on the phone and just caught the words, "prefer someone taller…" when she excused the call, hung up and said hello to Chase, heard what she'd said but pretended he didn't, although he made himself a mental note to himself.
"Dr. Cuddy, can you do me a favor?" He asked excitedly as he sat down.
"Sure, as long as it doesn't involve House. I do him enough favors." She said with a laugh.
"When we go to Atlantic City in two weeks for the conference do you think you can make a few small special arrangements? I'll give you the money up front."
Cuddy slyly grinned at him and wondered what he was up to. "Does this have anything to do with you and Cameron?"
"Well, sorta. Is there anyway we can have our own room?"
"Oh, is that all? Not a problem." She told him, seemingly relieved.
"And there's a few more things…" He said, rattling off a small list of items he wanted and she happily agreed to every single one.
Back in the conference room House was still with his parents and C.T. Mom House was holding her granddaughter after they'd been playing with the stuffed monkey. She decided she'd change her into the clothes she'd bought her and put her into a
cute red playsuit with red sneakers, red socks and a red sweater.
"Don't you think there's a little too much red?" House asked, mainly just playing with his mom.
"A little girl can never wear too much red. Right, Charneeee? I've dressed two children and I think…" She said but her thoughts drifted off.
House knew what that meant: she was thinking of Liz. And seeing her husband with a little girl in his hands again only made the stinging worse. House had no idea how he was going to handle C.T., considering the relationship with his own daughter years ago.
But what his parents didn't know yet is how their daughter actually died, or was murdered. All they knew was she committed suicide, and House knew after all these years that his father held some guilt for that. Maybe he was coming to terms with it by being playful with his granddaughter, but who knew. House was never sure of anything when it came to his father.
"Isn't it time for lunch?" Mom House asked.
"Why don't you three go so I can look over the paperwork Cameron left on my desk." House said, hoping they'd go for it as he walked to C.T.'s diaper bag, pulled out two jars of BabyYum Baby food, a spoon and bib, handing them to his mother.
"There you go, pulling yourself away from us again. Don't want to eat with us, or are you embarrassed of us?" Dad House said a little agitated.
"Dad, no, I'm not. Don't you want time with your granddaughter?" House said completely genuine.
"Leonard, come on. He does have work to do." Mom House said as she headed for the door. Just as she turned her head away she gave her son a little wink.
"Dinner. I'll try to be done so we can go to dinner." House offered.
Dad House nodded his head and told his son they'd be back shortly as they walked out.
Chase had one more thing to do before he met the others in the cafeteria. He had a phone call to make. The most important phone call Dr. Robert Chase has ever had to make.
He walked to Wilson's office to use his phone because he wouldn't be there; he'd been spending more time at home than usual since Sarah had been getting chemo. He'd come in for a few hours every other day to check up on previous patients.
Chase sat down at Wilson's desk, took a deep breath, picked up the phone and dialed the number. His heart was pounding in his chest and his palms were a little sweaty. When he heard the man's voice say hello he choked on his own words.
"Hello, Mr. Cameron, may I speak to you and your wife for a moment?"
Rog and Foreman sat in the cafeteria. Rog was eating a roast beef sandwich (light on the mayo, no tomato w/lettuce) and Foreman was eating a Reuben, everything exactly how House eats his.
"Foreman, did anyone tell you you're becoming a Mini House?" Rog asked playfully.
Foreman shot a death glare at Rog but then his face softened. "Uh, I've been insulted before but not THAT insulted."
"I've heard you two wore the same sneakers and you even got Mo…Cuddy pissed at you when you wouldn't treat that lady who thought she had breast cancer. Admit it! I mean, what's next? You two gonna wear the same underwear?"
"Oh, shut up, Ro…oh, hey Chase." Foreman said as Chase sat down at their table empty handed.
"You're not going to eat?" Rog asked as he tried to hold back a laugh from his teasing Foreman.
"Don't have much of an appetite."
"Why not? What's up with you?" Foreman asked.
"Just have a lot of things on my mind." Chase said, as he suddenly noticed Col. and Mrs. House with C.T. in her stroller.
"Oh, no. As if one weren't enough…." Foreman mumbled under his breath.
"Be nice, Foreman!" Cameron said as she sat down with a salad, no dressing, no croutons or sunflower seeds, a plain old nasty dry salad. She made sure she had House's parents in the corner of her eye, though.
"Invaded the garden patch in the back, Cameron?" Rog teased her.
"Have you been following House's parents?" Chase asked.
"Cameron, does Chase wear boxers or briefs?" Foreman asked, playing along with is coworkers.
Cameron responded to Foreman's comment with a rounded off 'bam' right on his shoulder. He cried out and started rubbing it, but it didn't really hurt…not too bad.
"Oh, come on, Foreman! Don't be such a wuss!" Chase ribbed him. "I've been hit many a times by her."
"Hey, Foreman, is Nancy coming to A.C. with us?" Rog asked, trying to change the subject.
He looked at Rog and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. She's already got plans but she might be able to rearrange them. But it's doubtful." He said sadly.
"Becka is coming in next week; she might be able to stay longer and come with us." Rog said excitedly.
"That'd be great." Cameron said, obviously distracted.
"Girl, you need to stop staring!" Chase said, lightly tapping her on the shoulder with the back of his hand.
"What! I'm not staring at anything." She said.
"Hey, Chase, did you notice that orange outfit C.T. is wearing!" Foreman edged him on.
"It's not orange. It's….oh, hell." She said with a laugh.
"Why do you care so much about House's parents? Do you think they're as damaged as he is?" Foreman asked, taking a huge bite from his sandwich.
Cameron shrugged her shoulders then she felt something brush her back softly. She turned around to see Dr. Gregory House look down on her. She felt her heart skip a beat and could have sworn Foreman blushed.
"I'm not damaged, I'm special." He said, eyeing each of the doctors and walked away toward the food counter.
After House got his food he walked toward the table where Mom and Dad House were and apprehensively sat down, pinching C.T.'s cheek when she giggled at him after he made a funny face at her. They noticed his father said a word or two and House looked at him hurt, or so Cameron thought to herself.
She pushed her half-eaten lunch away from her, stood up and walked toward them, looking confident. When House saw her approach them his eyes read, "Ok, I thanked you once before for not inviting yourself to dinner when you first met my parents. Now isn't the time to meet them, either." But, as Cameron is Cameron she didn't pick up on his vibe.
"Oh, lord, it's gonna hit the fan now." Foreman said and shrunk in his chair.
Chase looked at him funny and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Just look where she's going." He answered, tilting his head toward where Mom and Dad House were sitting.
"I don't see anything flying yet, boss." Rog said with a smile.
"Give it a sec." Chase said and snickered along with Foreman.
When House realized Cameron wasn't going to back off he invited her to sit down.
"Oh, how are you Dr. uh…I'm sorry. I've forgotten your name. That was such a while ago when we first met." Mom House said as she handed C.T. a cracker, who took it happily and stuck it in her mouth, not really sure what she was supposed to do with it.
"Why, it's cute little Dr. Cameron." Dad House said, giving her a wink and a half grin. Cameron felt about three years old when he said that but she let it fly off her shoulder.
But suddenly Cameron went tongue tied and couldn't think of a word to say. She looked at House to start some kind of conversation but she should have known better. He only raised his eyebrows as if to say, 'You got yourself into this.'
Just then Cameron's pager went off. She reached in her lab coat pocket, pulled it out and sighed (with a bit of relief), "It's Dr. Wilson. He needs me."
"For what?" House asked, trying not to sound jealous.
Cameron stood up and pushed in her chair. "Now, if I knew what he wanted he wouldn't have had to page me, right?" She said then walked away.
"She's a spicy number there, son. You ever hit on her?" Dad House asked as he picked up the cracker C.T. just dropped on the floor.
House shot his father a look but Mom House intervened, luckily for House. "I was wondering, think we could have her for the rest of the day and meet you at your apartment?"
House was just about to argue because, well, he always had to argue. He thought about it for a minute and said it wasn't a bad idea.
"How about inviting Cammie?" Dad House asked, rather teenager-ish.
Just then House's pager went off. He didn't even bother looking at it when he stood up and said he had to go. "Meet me in the lobby around 5:00. I've moved." He said rather coldly and walked toward the door.
He pushed the door open and there, before him, were Foreman, Rog, Chase, Cameron and Wilson. He looked at each of them perplexed.
"Ok, I should either ask what the hell is up or thank you from the bottom of my cane." House said.
"Nah, just thank us. I could tell Cameron needed to be rescued." Wilson said with a sly grin.
"And from Cameron's topic of conversation we figured you needed to be rescued." Foreman said, extending his hand for a handshake.
House reached out for it and just at the last minute pulled it back and ran his hand through his hair and walked away. As the elevator door opened House took a step so that the others couldn't get on and just as the door 'dinged' he stepped further inside, shutting the others out and left them standing in the hall.
"Geez, he could be a little more grateful, don't you think?" Rog asked as they headed for the bottom of the stairs.
"Hellow! It's Dr. House we work with, Rog! Where have you been?" Foreman said as he laughed and patted him on his back.
House headed back to his office although he wasn't sure why. There had to be somewhere he could 'hide' from everyone for a while. But it didn't matter, they always found him anyway.
He sat behind his desk and looked through the 'conference papers' Cameron had researched earlier that morning, which were daycare centers. There were years of experience, years the day care was at the previous location, number of employees, names of references…so much information he couldn't comprehend it all.
He sheepishly looked at the phone, picked up the receiver and said, "I've decided to go into rehab. Can you help me?" The person said they'd be right up. House put his hands on the back of his head, sat back in his chair and waited for the person to come in.
A few minutes later Cuddy sauntered in with a relieved expression on her face. "I am so glad you finally dec…"
"Cuddy, help me pick out a day care for Charnie."
Cuddy looked at him confused. "You lied to me!"
"You know the Smothers Brothers? Their song Vat of Chocolate – Tommy Smothers' philosophy when he fell into the vat of chocolate was to cry out FIRE instead of CHOCOLATE because no one would have come to his rescue if he yelled chocolate."
"Are you on crack now?" Cuddy asked.
"Seriously, there's so much crap here I have no id…"
"Fine, fine." She said.
The two spent almost an hour reviewing and narrowing the choices down to three centers. House would visit each location – actually he'd send Cameron out to visit each location and choose which she liked the best – and then he would sign her up.
A few minutes after Cuddy left Wilson came in, flopped himself on House's couch and deeply sighed. Both the men remained silent mainly because Wilson was completely defeated and House didn't really care.
"Ever have the feeling you are in the wrong reincarnated body?" Wilson asked very seriously.
"Well, I liked being King Edward the first until he/we/I got beheaded, and then there was the time I was a cockroach and that was horrible, everyone kept chasing me…then I was Elvis before the Elvis we all know and love and then I guess my favorite life was Steve McQueen, no…Clint Eastwood…no, wait….."
"House, no more coffee for you, ok?" Wilson said without looking at House. He was exhausted enough with worrying over Sarah while he was at work and seeing Charlie pick up the slack that any 5-year old shouldn't. Wilson was simply at his wit's end.
Later that afternoon, Cuddy was sitting in her office finalizing the preparations for the conference in Atlantic City. It was a little difficult getting the requests Chase asked her for but she was able to pull it off for him. She made herself a mental note to make an appointment with Dr. Parker.
She was actually looking forward to it. She swore to herself there was no way she was going to babysit House because she was going to be hitting the slots herself. Along with the slots she was thankful for the chance to hang out with Rog a bit more. They'd been able to work through some of the issues between them but it was strictly on a professional level, not personal.
Back in the conference room, the gang was sitting around twiddling their thumbs while House sat in his office ignoring Wilson, who was still sitting on his couch.
When a commercial came on he asked Wilson, "What do you think about that Tiffany falsifying those adoption papers? It was her kid to begin with…"
"I really don't care. House, do you know if there are any medical researches out there for cancer treatment?" Wilson asked forlornly.
House glanced at Wilson for the first time. "I heard she's not responding to the radiation. Check with Rog. I thought he had someone in mind when Melissa…" His voice trailed off as he heard himself say her name for the first time in a while.
House saw his parents walk toward the door and swiftly picked up the phone, even though it hadn't rung, and started spewing medical terms and medications. Wilson stood up, shook Dad House's hand and motioned for them to sit on the couch. He excused himself and walked out.
C.T. had fallen asleep on Grandma's shoulder and Dad House grabbed a pillow and placed it under her elbow. House watched them the whole time and inside started seething. He sure as hell never treated Liz that way. He continued to talk and Dad House was visibly becoming more impatient with his son.
That was fine with House. He loved egging his father on. But he'd have to be careful how he treaded because he may just piss him off enough to not watch C.T. when or if he needed…wait, what was he thinking? He ended the call, hung up the phone and turned to his parents.
"How long are you two staying?" House asked, even before he realized it.
Mom House shrugged her shoulders and said, "Honey, what do you think of us finding a house here so we can watch our granddaughter while you work?" Mom House asked, and House had never felt a wave of nausea hit him as quickly as it had now. He reached for his bottle of Vicodin, popped two and swallowed them down eagerly.
"Just like I thought, Gladys. He doesn't need us, he's got his uppers. Let's leave. I knew he didn't want us here anyway." Dad House said as he stood up.
At first House couldn't think of anything to say. He wasn't sure if he wanted them to stay or leave. All he knew was he had to think, and quickly.
"Leonard, stop it. He just needs to be alone." Mom House said understanding, stood up and handed C.T. to House. He smiled at his mother appreciatively, avoiding eye contact with his dad.
"Honey, we'll do dinner tomorrow, before the weekend, ok? We're staying at the Doncaster. I'll call you later." She said as she she grabbed her light coat and purse.
"Great, fine." House answered, unemotionally.
Mom House smiled back and the two walked out. House had never been so relieved in his life. He looked at C.T. and smelled something funny, or nasty, really. He crinkled his nose, looked for her bag and realized his mom still had it. He cursed quietly, grabbed his cane and ran after his parents in the hallway, holding C.T. awkwardly. He reached them just as they stepped onto the elevator. Mom and Dad House stepped out just in time before the doors closed.
"I forgot...you've got..." House said but he looked at the bag under her arm.
"Don't drop the baby. It breaks, you know." Dad House said, but House ignored him.
"Oh, silly me." Mom House said as she handed the bag to him.
"Hey, at least it was the bag instead of the baby you forgot." Dad House noted.
House shot his father a look, of warning more than anything. Mom House elbowed Dad House in his side and he flinched, but didn't say anything.
"Thanks, Mom...for today." House said sincerely, taking the bag from her and walked back to his office.
When House walked in Cameron was standing by his desk. He gave her a look, put C.T. on the sofa, got out her little stuffed animal she had to have when her diapers are changed and got out her diaper and baby wipes. Cameron didn't offer to change the diaper, though. She just stood there watching him, as it was the first time she seen him change her diaper, any diaper. It was the first time she'd seen him do anything manly-like.
After C.T. was cleaned up she got cranky for her bottle, so House laid her on the couch with her bottle; it was time for her nap anyway. House and Cameron walked into the conference room, where Cameron sat next to Chase and House went to the coffee pot and poured a cup. He turned around and looked at the blank white board, wishing there was a case he was working on to keep his mind off his parents, specifically his father.
"What?" House asked the gang, who were all eyeing him waiting for him to say something.
"Nothing. We were just wondering..." Foreman started to say but Chase interrupted.
"I've got to go make a phone call." Chase said as he stood up and walked toward the door. Cameron eyed his back the whole time and of course House caught it.
"Chase has a girlfriend! Chase has a girlfriend!" House said childishly, making Chase stop, turn and stare House down.
"Yeah, I do. And she's sitting right there." Chase said, pointing to Cameron. "Hands off. She's mine." And Chase walked out.
Cameron looked at Rog and Foreman, who were now eyeing her. "He's been acting strange lately." She stated.
Rog shrugged his shoulders and Foreman asked, "You think he might have a girlfriend?"
Chase walked into an empty room, reached for his cell phone and made a couple of calls.
"...That'd be fine. But I think she's starting to suspect something." He said to the woman on the other end. They exchanged a few more words and hung up.
Chase told himself she doesn't know anything, but he'd have to play it cool for a while so she wouldn't 'go over the edge.'
Later that night, House just put Charnie to bed after they took Wayni for a walk. The puppy was getting bigger, but getting such a rambunctious personality. If it weren't for C.T. he would have taken her to the pound. But she was too irresistible now; she even made her 'daddy' put a blanket in the corner of C.T.'s room and slept with her.
House walked to his piano, which he hadn't played in almost two months. There had been too much going on, mainly because of C.T. But he was okay with it. He was happy. He played a few quick melodies when the phone rang. He ignored it until it stopped ringing, but a moment later he started ringing again. He ignored that call, too and let the answering machine pick it up.
'Greg, it's Mom. Dad's had a heart attack. Meet us at PPTH, please!' She pleaded but House still didn't get up to answer the phone.
He didn't care if his father had a heart attack. There were plenty of doctors there that would take care of him. He belted out a few more tunes on the piano...
An hour later, after Cameron came to his apartment to be with C.T., House walked into PPTH and headed to the ER, where Dr. Slater had initially seen Dad House as he was brought in.
When he turned the corner where his father was lying on the examination table he stopped in his tracks. There was a tube in the back of his hand which was providing nitroglycerin in small doses to get his heart beat regular, an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and he looked pale. He was unconscious but his mother was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.
Her eyes flew open when she saw him and she rushed to her son, who held her with his left arm as he looked at his father. She cried on his shoulder, which he hated, especially since Liz did that when she and their dad had a little 'tiff'.
"Greg, he's not doing well. His electro-cardiogram was all over the place...the doctor said..." She said but was interrupted by Dr. Slater who approached the two.
"He's somewhat stable now. Let's go outside where we can talk a bit more." He said as he escorted them into the hallway, where House helped his mother sit because she was starting to shake.
"House, Mrs. House, I won't lie to either of you. Col. House's condition worries me. His heart rhythm has stabilized but it is still sporadic. The nitroglycerin and Rosoxol aren't working as quickly as I'd like. There are a few tests I'd like to run, first."
"DR SLATER! HE'S IN CARDIAC ARREST!" A nurse hollered out from Dad House's room and he rushed in to try to revive him.
Mom House started to stand up but House grabbed her elbow which prevented her from standing. "Let's stay here." He said.
"Greg, I can't just sit here..."
"CLEAR!" Dr. Slater called out.
Mom House's attention went to the room where her husband was but a nurse had drawn the curtains.
"Still in b-fib!" A nurse cried out.
Mom House covered her mouth in horror at hearing them yell and the high-pitched whine of the defribulator.
"CLEAR!"
"Oh, Greg! No..." Mom House cried. She really tried to be brave but it was becoming more difficult.
House sat holding his mother and let her cry while his thoughts wondered off...
House walked into the examining room where his father lay. For the first time in his life, he thought his father was going to die. He looked so pale, and so weak and fragile. He had never seen his father lie in a hospital bed with all the tubes and monitors flashing his vitals.
There was so much that he wanted to tell him, to make him understand why his son was the way he was but he wasn't sure how to. His father was awake but extremely weak. House walked to the window with his back to his father.
"Greg, there's something..." Dad House started to say but his voice trailed off.
"Not now, dad." House said, turning around and looked at his father.
"No...no, I have to tell you..."
House shook his head. "Later, ok? You need your..." House started to say.
"Will you shut up and listen to me?" Dad House said loudly which made his heart become erratic and he took a moment to calm down before he started talking again. House looked up at the ceiling. He didn't have any strength to argue with his father.
"Do you regret your childhood?" He asked.
House looked at him confused but gave the most honest answer he could. "Not always."
"I did the best I could, you know? I never failed to provide you with a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food on the table. Did I?"
House nodded his head without a word.
"I did all that for you and Elizabeth, but it was never enough for you two." Dad House said, taking in a deep breath because he had become a little short of breath.
House shook his head. "That's not true, Dad. You know what we always wanted from you?" He asked, not really wanting to tell his father but knew he had to.
"We wanted you home at night for supper. We wanted you home on the weekend so we could take little trips in Egypt and Germany and everywhere else. But instead there was absolutely nothing for Liz and I to do but hit the streets and find us something to do."
Dad House looked at his son, taking in all that he was saying.
"Maybe we screwed up because all we wanted was attention from you, not the bad kind but just so you knew we existed. But it
ended up being more on the bad side, you know what I mean?"
"Son, is that what you think? I never gave you two enough attention?" Dad House asked surprised.
"Not the positive kind, but yes, we both did. Then you took out all of your frustrations out on Liz because she wouldn't listen to you, or so you thought. She did, you know. But sometimes she didn't want to. How can she listen to someone who she sees a couple of hours a week?"
"You two never gave me any respect..."
"That's not true!" House said. "Neither of us understood you! Don't you get it?"
Dad House looked at his son speechless.
"Both Liz and I wanted to be out there, explore everything past our backyard but you had to control every single damn aspect of our lives. Why else do you think we never listened to you?"
"Greg, I was protecting you."
"From what? We never saw anything so how are you going to protect us?"
"All I can say is that when C.T. gets older, you'll understand what it's like to be a father." Dad House said taking in a deep breath that House knew caused him discomfort.
"Can I get you anything, Dad?" House asked, trying to hold back the tears from their words.
"Yes. Elizabeth. Where is she? Oh! There she is. Hi, honey." Dad House said, looking at the wall at the far end of the room.
House knew his father was hallucinating and it worried House. He checked the heart monitor and noticed it had become sporadic...
"Greg. Greg!" Mom House screamed in House's ear and he finally came out of his daydream. "Dad's back." She said with a smile of relief on her face.
Now, if only House can say those exact words, and Dad House say the exact words, everything would be okay between them.
Or so he thought a few days later.
Mom and Dad House were sitting in Dr. Parker's office with their son for their counseling session that had been put off a few days because of the heart attack.
"Are you sure you're up for this, Col. House?" Dr. Parker asked before the session began.
"I am quite sure." Dad House replied.
And their session began...
In the conference room, Cameron had several letters addressed to House for referral appointments sitting in front of her. Rog was putting them in stacks by order of medical importance, from 'Will Recover' to 'Might Recover' to 'Eventually Dead'.
"Rog, there's nothing wrong with this 'ED' patient! It's a bladder infection." Cameron said exasperatingly as she took the paper and moved it to the 'WR' pile.
Rog rolled his eyes as he shook his head. "Look at the BH level and chromosome count." He said, grabbing the paper and shoving it in her face to read. She frowned as she read it and nodded her head.
"Allison, what's wrong with you today? You've been kinda 'out of it'." Rog asked as he sat back in the chair and stretched. He noticed she hadn't been acting right lately but decided not to get involved, especially since three work together.
"Rog, if I ask you a question will keep it between us?" She asked.
"If it's about anyone other than House, yes." Rog said with a smile.
Cameron hesitated a moment, took a deep breath and asked, "Is Robert seeing someone else?"
That was just the question Rog didn't want to hear. "I really don't know, Cam. He's never said anything to me. By the way, where are Chase and Foreman?"
"Oh, they're covering House's clinic duty because of his counseling."
"I never thought I'd hear those two words together in one sentence." Rog said as he stood up and headed for the door.
"What two words?"
"House and counseling." Rog laughed and walked out, leaving Cameron to crack a smile even after her insecurity worry about Chase.
During the same time in Dr. Parker's office…
"Dr. House, SIT DOWN!" Dr. Parker yelled at House, who been standing right in front of his father, six inches from his face, and she was afraid he would hit Dad House.
There was no help from Mom House, who became withdrawn from the conversation because she was stuck in the chair between the two men and not happy about it. After all, the two men in her life she loved more than life itself were at each other's throats. She'd hoped it would never come to this, but deep down she knew it would have, eventually.
"Let me just tell you a little bit about my childhood, in case you didn't know." Dad House said sarcastically, as if he were making a point to justify all his actions between his son and daughter.
"You know I lost my father when I was 14 and little Melvin when he was 8. It wasn't easy on Mom to raise five boys on her own, and I was sent to Uncle Mark's, who with Aunt Marsha raised me. But what you don't know is what happened before I was sent there."
Dr. Parker sat in her chair paying rapt attention on the outcome that was about to happen because she noticed Dad House seemed to be preparing to describe what his life was like before his Dad died. She could tell House didn't want to hear it because he wasn't looking at his father.
"When my brother Teddy was 10 he snuck out of the house one night and the cops brought him home. Mom and Dad had no idea he was ever out. Only after Dad died Teddy told me that dad was SO angry he hit him, leaving a mark on his cheek for two days. I found out later from Mom that Dad made her promise to discipline the boys because of hitting his son out of anger.
"So, I traipsed off on my own, so much so that Mom didn't like it at all. But then she went overboard with the discipline. One day I was off in the woods the whole day, after the ump-teenth time, and Mom had enough of me, I guess. She got a dress of cousin Martha's that she'd left at the house and made me wear it for two days. I never left the house that weekend."
House finally looked at his father out of shock and disbelief. When he looked at his mom she had tears in her eyes but they hadn't fallen down her cheeks yet. Dad House continued to talk.
"When I joined the Army I did it to have the freedom I'd always wanted, and not have to worry about living by Mother's rules and her way of discipline. But I swore to myself then that I would never do that to my children…"
"But you did anyway." House interrupted.
Dad House sadly nodded his head. "I was more overprotective with Elizabeth, I realized that after…" He hesitated a moment. "And you, damn. You turned out to be just like me."
House frowned at his father. "What was there for us to do except go out and explore? She and I learned how to be independent
early and you resent that, don't you?" House said harshly.
"I supposed I did. But you never listened to me, Greg. I tried to keep you out of trouble because I knew what the consequences were."
House wavered a moment getting his thoughts together. 'It had to be a deeper issue than that.' House thought.
"What do you mean you knew what the consequences were?"
"I killed a man." Dad House said, not looking at his son.
House was flabbergasted and waited for his father to give more but he didn't. "What do you mean?" He finally asked.
Dad House looked at his wife then reached and squeezed her hand. "I was 16, got in a fight with a kid over something stupid and we fist fought. We were beside a concrete barrier that blocked off some construction they were doing at school and I punched him. He went flying back, hit his head on the concrete and it killed him."
House was now sorry he asked his father to explain more but he continued to look at his father for more of the story.
"That's why I was sent to Uncle Mark's. I was expelled from school and served two years probation. When I turned 18 I joined the military." Dad House was finished and House sat in his chair, dumbfounded at the new insight to his father.
House just had one more question. In a soft voice House asked, "Do you blame yourself for Liz's death, Dad?"
Dad House looked away, and that was the answer House was looking for. He explained to his parents all that Kirsten dacosta told him about the day she sat in the car, in the garage and died.
"She was pregnant, yes, and I didn't no; she never told me. But have you ever asked yourself why?" House said, anger beginning to erupt from his voice.
Dr. Parker sat up straighter in her chair, ready to come between the two men if need be.
"All she was looking for was someone to love her. Oh, we were close, but love from a parent is so much different than a sibling." House stood up and walked to the window, trying to remain calm.
"And you sure as hell never gave it to her…" House was interrupted by sobs; sobs that he thought were his mother's. When he turned around, he saw that his father had leaned forward in the chair with his face in both of his hands. And he was crying.
A few hours later while his parents were at his place with C.T., he sat at the bar, alone, drinking and highly amused at himself. He finally stood up to his father, something he had never, ever been able to gain the courage to do. There were others sitting at the bar and happily chatting with their friends, discussing work, lovers, family…anything to keep their conversations going.
He sipped his Scotch and thinks of all the things he'd ever done and finally feels vindicated: for wrecking his dad's new El Dorado at 15 when he 'borrowed' the car and ended up in a ditch; for the car he stole from Arthur's Arts at 12; for lying to Lynne Mitchell that he would take her to the prom, but backed out when that hottie Tammy asked him; for hurting his mom when she found that 'oregano' hidden in his closet at 13; for not studying for the SATs like he should have.
In a nutshell, he felt vindicated for every evil, thoughtless, hurtful thing he had ever said or done in his entire 46 years of breathing. It wasn't him that made him this way; it was his father, his father's fault. His past had dictated what House's life would be.
But was he angry at his father? He wasn't sure, but he downed the rest of his Scotch, threw the money for the tab on the counter and walked out, to go home, to his place, to his daughter, to his life.