December

It was the eve before Christmas eve, House and Wilson were in Gabby's house in Pampanga. The province wasn't hit much; by Super Typhoon Hannah, unlike the CALABARZON area or Bicol region.

They were playing with their godson Nick. The Thirteen-year-old was just confirmed catholic; Nick chose them to be his godparents, and they agreed to the detriment of the church.

House thought that it would be fun to get his godson a guitar. Gabby told him when he asked that Nick loved playing piano and was pestering her for an electric guitar. The kid was a natural at it.

They had a medical mission just after New Year's; therefore, they would be leaving Nick and Gaby. Nick wasn't happy. Gaby instead promised Nick that he would be going to America after the school year, and House and Wilson agreed to host them.

The next morning, House woke up, to Wilson and Gabby was preparing the midnight dinner (Noche Buena). Gabby's family would be there tonight to celebrate the holiday. "Good morning, guys, where's Nick?" he asked.

"Still sleeping, you know teenagers," Gabby said, and she chuckled.

"I want to take him to see the new Star Wars. If you want, Gabby."

Gabby looked at him with a grateful sigh. "Yes, he has begging me to take him." Wilson chuckled, "Also he would be on my hair." House smiled.

After an hour, Gabby woke Nick up. When Nick saw House, he bounded to him and hugged him. "Thank you. I've meaning to watch the Rise of the Skywalker."

House didn't like being hugged and even hugged back. "Your welcome, Nick." He pulled back. "Hurry up; Star Wars starts at eleven."

"Thank you, Greg," Gabby said when Nick got out of earshot.

They left Wilson and Gabby at home and went to SM Angeles. The mall wasn't busy except for the supermarket, which had heavy lines for last-minute shopping.

"Can I borrow five hundred pesos.? 'll pay for it when we get back home, I just want to buy a gift for mama," Nick asked abruptly, at the payout counter.

House grinned, looking at Nick. "Be fast, Nick. I don't want to be hereafter three, understand?" Nicholas bowed his head in acknowledgment

House had his noise-canceling headphones in his backpack; while Nick had a fidget spinner on his hand. They entered the theater with popcorns and coca-cola cops. Nick was following House, who sat at the back row.

The film was so-so for a Star Wars film. House thought, but his godson loved it. Growing up, he was obsessed with the first three films, to the point of his father took the VHS tapes and threw it out. The original trilogy was still amazing, in his opinion.

The film ended, House and Nick left the theater. He was already wearing his noise-canceling headphones on, so he hadn't need to put his it on.

They bought the gift for Gabby; House told Nick that he wouldn't let him pay for it. They took a grab car to the house.

Gabby's home was a townhouse. There were people inside the house; Wilson summoned them from the garage door.

"You ought to say hi to Gabby's mom," Wilson told House while walking inside the side door.

House with Wilson and Nick behind greeted the elderly lady. She kissed him on the cheeks. "Greg… Blythe's son?"

"Yes…" House said, pulling away to hugged Gabby. "Your son had a gift for you." He whispered.

The party had started already. House sat with the kids on the 'kids table' with Gabby's niece and nephews and Nick. He was happy. These people dIdn't judge him.

They ate dinner first. House sat with the kids While Wilson sat with Gabby and her older relatives talking about their jobs. Wilson stole glances on House every so often. Wilson smiled to himself; House looked good with these kids.

House and Wilson joined Gabby to church. Wilson knew that he was an agnostic, but he would go to church sometimes on Christmas with his parents under duress.

At midnight, they opened presents. House and Wilson gave Nick a ukulele. House gifted him a bottle of lambanog and a Nike polo shirt with the flag of the Philippines. He gave House a Barrel Man, a popular souvenir, the thing is made off of a wooden figure of a man encased by a wooden barrel, and when you lift the barrel off, the man's penis opened up.

"It's for your office in Princeton," Wilson said between laughs.

"Thank you," House said sincerely.

Nick and Gabby gave them bamboo hamper basket and a gift check for SM department stores, it was awesome they got to shop at the mall. House was so grateful for them.

House and Wilson left Pampanga after New Year's Day. They went back to work in a county hospital for the indigenous people, in Zambales a province of central Luzon.

One day a boy was brought with obvious autism the child was shackled and bleeding.

House cheeked to the youngster. He blanched; Filipinos were not ignoring, but he supposed that the parents were doing what the best they could do for their son. House supposed.

"Fever, cold sweats and bruising," He told Wilson after examining the patient.

"Leukemia," Wilson suggested while they were out of earshot. "God."

"Umm.," House said. "Yes, I know. I know, meaning the kid couldn't recover from this."

In the end, the boy had leukemia. House helped the family with the boy's transfer; he also gave the family money. The family came from the indigenous group, the Aeta. The Aeta came from Africa, who walked from the Subsaharan during the ice age.

They worked in Zambales until late; February with Doctors without borders. House was ecstatic to be working in this environment; because as he told Wilson every day, he felt accepted.

Weeks went on; they left Doctors without Borders on the 27th Jensen was very happy telling House that they were pleased to meet them.

They headed to go hitchhiking all around Luzon. The trek wasn't a problem because they stoped every time House was tired. One day they were in a cafe in the middle of Baguio City. "Thank you for this, Jimmy. I know it was hard for you, staying here."

Wilson smiled. "Not a problem, Greg. I love seeing you happy. You're happy here, right?"

House nodded his head, not meeting Wilson's eyes.

They left the Philippines in mid-March. The plane trip from Manila was traumatic. Wilson tried to get a seat beside him but failed. So House sat alone with a mother and her young child; while Wilson sat on his in the back row. House was wearing a pair of noise-canceling headphones on, it wasn't helping his other senses being bombarded by the environment.

They got out of the plane after almost eighteen hours of hell. This was the worst thing about traveling for House. Chase fetched them from the airport; Chase and Wilson talked and House listen.

He and Wilson got back to work that three days later, half-day in the afternoons.

Lisa Cuddy was sitting in her office when she saw Dr. James Wilson came into the clinic. She stood up and beckoned him inside. "How've you been?

Wilson sat down. "House was amazing this nine months, We would come back in July, to the conference you want him to go last year."

Cuddy looked at Wilson, and she smiled. "I thought you didn't want even to come."

"Yes, Yes, I know. But you don't know. How House would react." Wilson sighed. "He was amazing in the Philippines. He was doing the type of medicine he wanted to do."

Cuddy looked at him incredulously. "House enjoyed it?"

Wilson looked at her mock outrage in his brown eyes. "What do you want me to say, Lisa?"

"In January, In Zambales, House helped an 8-year-old kid. We were with DWB, remember? The kid was an aborigine. House knew the kid had autism; he ended up having Leukemia. House sent them to the hospital and told them it would be pro bono."

Cuddy looked at him smiling. "He had changed." She said. "You can go, Dr. Wilson."

He stood up and left, and meet House outside Cuddy's office.

The End