Chapter 13
"I heard you and Cameron got engaged." At the sound of the familiar voice, House looked up from the file he was reading as he walked towards his desk.
"Yes. Will you get out of my chair now; I have some important business to attend to."
"Why didn't you tell me that you asked her?"
"Because we haven't been together in 5 years. Besides, Cameron was going to tell you tomorrow when she meets with you."
"You don't think that out of courtesy that you should tell me?"
"Stacy, you're married. Remember Mark, your sick husband that you brought to me to treat? You didn't tell me when he asked you to marry him. We've both moved on with our lives. The only reason that you are remotely involved in mine right now is because Cameron wanted a lawyer that she knew to help with the adoption. She was so adamant that you not help that she went to someone else to help with our new wills. It wasn't until Cujo showed that she wanted anything to do with you."
"I don't expect her to like me all that much. Especially after how the two of us ended."
"How we ended was you left. You did this to me," House said pointing to his leg, "and then you left."
"I didn't come in here to fight with you."
"And you're doing a very good job of that. Get. Out. Of. My. Chair. And then find your way out of my office."
"Look, Greg, I'm sorry. I really just came in to congratulate you."
"Thanks. Good-bye." House sat at his now vacated desk and began looking for his game boy.
"What is wrong with you?" Wilson asked as he stepped into Stacy's office.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about what happened in House's office. If you want any sort of friendship with him, you don't do that."
"I didn't do anything."
"Stacy, get real. If you want to continue whatever kind relationship you have with him, you don't do it by going after Allison."
"I don't know what he told you, but I don't go after my clients."
"Yeah, you did. You went after House. Just because he said he had no problem with you working here doesn't mean that he told the truth. He and Allison were together when you started here. He didn't want to throw up any red flags."
"How long did it take you to notice that they were together?"
"They told me about 2 months ago."
"I knew about 3 weeks after coming here. Keep in mind that my husband was sick during that first week and Greg was keeping his distance."
"So I'm not as observant as you are when it comes to his subtle mood shifts. I have other things to pay attention to than him."
"Jimmy, you're his best friend. You should have noticed that he had a girlfriend," Stacy said evenly.
"I don't know what's up with you, and I didn't come to fight, but you need to knock off whatever you have cooked up."
"The only thing I have 'cooked up' for Greg and Allison is for them to adopt Charlie."
"You make sure that's all you do," Wilson warned.
"Thank you Dr. Wilson for the advice, but I can do my job and that's what I'm planning on doing. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to work."
"Fine." Wilson said as he left her office. He had a bad feeling and didn't know what was going on, but he felt that Stacy would be involved.
"Hey Charlie. Should we go get lunch?" House asked as the little girl run up to him in the day care center.
"Nana and muk," she asked.
"Sure, but I think Momma would want you to eat something else too."
"Umm, nutter nana and muk?"
"You want peanut butter on your banana?"
"Yup." She nodded. She walked up to the door and pushed on it until House followed behind to help push the door open.
"Momma too?"
"You want to eat with Momma?"
"Yup. Hand?"
"You are going to ruin my rep, kid." House said as he took her hand
"Rep?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Nigh-nigh story?"
House sighed. "Sure."
House and Charlie stepped in to the elevator to go back to Diagnostics to find Cameron for lunch. The elevator stopped one floor down and a man wheeled in a woman in a chair, was holding a vase of flowers.
Charlie stared at the many-colored flowers.
"Ouse? Momma pretties," she said pointing to the flowers.
"You want to get Momma flowers?"
"Peas?"
"Maybe later."
"Such a nice little girl you have there." The woman in the wheelchair said.
"I didn't have much hand in that. She's my niece." House answered not knowing if he should call Charlie his.
"My Ouse." Charlie announced to the woman as she tugged on House's arm.
The elevator stopped on the second floor and the doors opened to reveal Cameron.
"Momma, Ouse nutter nana and muk."
"Oh yeah? He promised me a nutter nana too." The only thing that told House that she wasn't talking about food was the look in her eyes. Cameron reached down to pick up Charlie. "What are you doing with her? I thought that we agreed to let her stay all day in day care."
"We did, but I wanted a lunch buddy since all mine were busy."
The door opened to the 1st floor and the little family waited for the former patient to get out of the elevator before leaving.
"You have a lovely family," the woman said as she left.
"Thank you," Cameron called after the woman. "Lunch time now. I ran in to Stacy earlier. She said my parents' lawyer contacted her. They want to visit with Charlie before the trial."
"What did she say that we should do," House asked. Cameron smiled at his use of 'we.'
"It's up to us. She said that it wouldn't hurt us if they spent some time with her, but it could hurt their case. Like if she threw a temper tantrum, because she didn't like them."
"What do you want to do?" House asked as they stood in line for their meal.
"Part of me wants to keep her as far away as possible and the other part wants to see if she will throw a fit when she's with them."
"Do you trust them enough to leave her with them?"
"No, I think that if I did allow a visit it would be up in day care, after hours, with someone we know watching. I don't really want to see my parents."
"I'm going to let you decide how you want to handle this, because I don't know your parents. But if you think that you want them to have a chance to see her before the trial I will gladly sit with them."
"I'm not sure that would be such a great idea. I was thinking more along the lines of Wilson or maybe Foreman."
"You don't trust me to be with them," House asked looking at before turning his attention to the clerk behind the counter. "Can we get a few peanut butters?"
"It's not that. It's just that I know you, I know my parents, and I know how well the three of you being in the same room would work out. And I don't want you to say something that would hurt our chances. Why are we even talking about this? I haven't even made up my mind yet."
"I think you have." Cameron shook her head and went on collecting her lunch.
As they sat down, neither realized that they both had grabbed lunch for themselves and Charlie.
"I'll save the leftovers for a snack later," Cameron decided.
"A snack for whom? You or Mini-you?"
"I wish you wouldn't call her that."
"Why not? She looks just like you. And acts just like you, all lovey and ruining my rep as the local bastard."
Cameron watched as Charlie opened her mouth, "Don't you be repeating what he says." Charlie then promptly reached over for another slice of banana smeared with peanut butter. "Speaking of grandparents."
"Were we? I hadn't noticed." House said. He noticed a glint in her eye that he didn't like.
"Have you called your parents and told them that we're engaged? Or that we're in the process of adopting my niece?"
"You want some more banana?" House asked Charlie.
"Greg House, you didn't tell your parents? I think it might be a good idea. At least then she can have one set of semi-normal grandparents."
"My mother is the only one that will be happy about our arrangement. My father, on the other hand, I don't have the foggiest idea how he would take it."
"At least think about it; for me? Please?" House just nodded and spread more peanut butter on Charlie's banana slices.
"If you think about forgiving your parents enough to let them visit with Charlotte. Maybe even enough where you could invite them out for Charlie's birthday and I'll think about telling my parents."
Cameron knew what he was saying. That is was going to be just as hard for him to tell his parents as it was for her to forgive and maybe forget part of what her parents put her and her brother through.
------------------------------------------ Fat-Fingered Stacy is still looking for FB. :-)