Amazing Grace- A House/NCIS story

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything House related except DVDs. Ryan is mine, though.

AN. More drama

Chapter twenty-two

Once they returned to New Jersey, and news of the pregnancy spread throughout the hospital, the betting pool grew dramatically. The couple had decided to find out the sex, and to Cameron's delight, her morning sickness faded shortly after they returned home. It was another ten weeks, before Cameron's appointment, and when she and House left the office for the appointment, Wilson and Cuddy had invaded the Diagnostics office to await the verdict.

"Chase said that most people are betting on it being a boy," Cameron informed House in the elevator.

"Good. If it's a girl, more money for us," House replied.

Cameron had chosen a doctor away from PPTH, in an attempt to separate their home life from their work life. Dr. Donna Martin was a very respected obstetrician, and even House had agreed to his girlfriend's choice, if grudgingly so.

"Ok, so you definitely want to know the baby's sex?" Dr. Martin asked them as she began the examination.

Cameron glanced at House and they both nodded. "Yes."

"Alright then… okay, there's the baby… and the heartbeat…."

"Oh, look at its tiny hands!" Cameron whispered to House.

"At least it doesn't look like a peanut anymore," House added, and she glared at him.

"Can you tell the sex?" House asked the doctor off her glare, tactfully changing the subject.

Dr. Martin stared at the screen, then smiled. "Congratulations, Allison. It looks like you're having a baby girl!"

Cameron's eyes lit up, and she held a hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying. When she looked up at House, he was smiling softly at the screen, a genuinely content smile.

"It's a girl!" she squealed as they re-entered the office half an hour later, and Cuddy beamed happily as she embraced her, Chase and Foreman following.

Eventually, once Cuddy and Wilson had left and the ducklings returned to their work; House exited his office through the balcony, and entered Wilson's office, who fortunately, was not with a patient.

"Are you busy?" he asked his friend seriously, who immediately paused in his work.

"No, what's up?"

House sighed and sat down opposite Wilson's desk playing with his cane. "I need your help," he said finally.

"With what?" Wilson asked worriedly.

"I want to kick the Vicodin without going to rehab."

Wilson's jaw dropped in shock. "What? Are you serious?"

House nodded. "I don't want to miss a second of this pregnancy. Or watching the kid grow up. And my daughter sure as hell, is not going to have a drug addict for a father."

Wilson was still attempting to comprehend what his friend was saying. "Without rehab? What about your leg?"

"I'm going to do PT on it. Allison doesn't have to know if we do it right. But the last thing she needs is to worry about me weaning off Vicodin, her job is stressful enough as it is. Are you going to help me or not?"

"No, no, of course I'll help you!" Wilson said hastily. "I'm just surprised."

"Ok, thanks." House awkwardly stood up and headed for the door. He paused with it half open and hesitated.

"You won't tell Allison?"

Wilson shook his head. "Of course not. You're right, she doesn't need this stress."

They began gradually, cutting down one pill per week. While House told Cameron that he was doing extra clinic duty in order for paternity leave, he was in fact, doing physical therapy on his leg three times a week. In order for this lie to work, he and Wilson had filled Cuddy in on the plan, and although she had been even more stunned than Wilson, she agreed and even said she would give House paternity leave anyway.

The baby continued to grow, and Cameron's stomach expanded rapidly to House's joy, and her delight and horror. At five months, Cameron and House were at home one night, he was watching a tivoed episode of General Hospital, while she chatted happily away to Ryan on the phone. Halfway through telling him an amusing story about a clinic patient, she paused mid-sentence, a strange look crossing her face.

"Allison? Hello?" Ryan called, and House twisted away from the screen.

"Allison? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I- I think maybe… the baby just kicked."

Ryan lapsed into a stunned silence, while House jumped up from his seat and threw himself onto the couch eagerly. Cameron grabbed her stomach and jerked abruptly.

"Whoa, scratch the maybe," she said, pressing House's hand against her belly.

"Allie? Is it kicking?" Ryan said loudly to get her attention, and she glanced up at House as she answered, her eyes alight and a grin spreading across her face.

"Oh yeah, she's going for it. God, this feels so weird!" she said in amazement.

"Put the phone to your stomach," Ryan ordered and she laughed.

"Why? What's she going to do, Ryan? Morse code a message to you?"

"You don't know she isn't. I don't want to be left out, so just do it!"

Chuckling, she did, held it there momentarily, then took it back. "What did she say?"

Ryan sounded stunned speechless. "Wow. I could hear it! I really could! Oh, by the way, your daughter wants to be named Riana."

Cameron snorted, and House frowned at her quizzically. "Ryan says the baby told him she wants to be called Riana," she chuckled and House took the phone off her.

"Over my dead body."

"That's her middle name," Ryan teased him.

"No, that's what her name is going to mean," House corrected him. "But I don't think there is one, meaning I may have to make one up," he said thoughtfully.

"For Pete's sake," Cameron rolled her eyes.

"What about Josh and Sam?" Ryan teased, and she took the phone off her boyfriend and hung up on her best friend.

As Cameron entered her sixth month, House enlisted Foreman, Chase and Wilson to set up the nursery, and the two seriously began to consider names, or rather Cameron bought five different name-your-baby books and she would spent any free time flicking through them and suggesting names to House, very few of which he shared her opinion on. Cameron was extremely hormonal, and became offended by anyone calling the baby 'it', so to keep the peace; many of their friends came up with their own name for the fetus. It got to the point Cameron spent a slow morning at work devising a table to keep track of them all.

Friend:

Fetus Reference Name:

Meaning:

Tony

Antonia

Female version of Tony

Gibbs

Lizzie

Short for Elizabeth, which was Kelly's middle name

Ziva

Chaya

Hebrew for 'life'

Abby

Alaia

Original… it's Abby

McGee

Allegory

Combination of Allison and Gregory

Ryan

Riana

Female version of Ryan

Chase

Kayla

After the woman he killed

Foreman

Natane

Native American for 'daughter'

Cuddy

Shiloh

???

Wilson

Monique

After his 1st wife. Don't ask.

Cameron family

Sabrina

It means 'princess'

Blythe and John

Ingrid

What they were going to call Greg if he was a girl

Also, she and House began Lamaze classes, only because Dr. Martin recommended it.

"I know everything," Cameron complained to House. "After fourteen nieces and nephews, and watching a gazillion movies and television shows, I know everything."

"The whole med school thing probably helped too, huh?" House teased her. Cameron, highly hormonal and very sensitive didn't talk to him all afternoon. House was done to three pills a day by now, and while he sometimes still felt the pain horribly, he found he truly didn't need the pills.

One night, only a week later, Cameron had gone to bed early and House was on the couch watching a 'OC' marathon. As he watched Marissa overdose in Mexico, his leg throbbed and he had a sudden urge for his own pills. Obediently, he drew the bottle out of his pocket, and tipped the remaining contents into the palm of his hand. Abruptly, he stopped and stared at them.

"Three pills," he mused quietly to himself.

That was nothing, right? There were times when he wasn't sure he could be completely drug free by the time the baby came, but as he thought it over, the more it seemed that three pills was nothing. He could easily go cold turkey from three. With the idea in his head, and smiling slightly, House stood up, his limp barely noticeable now after so many therapy sessions, and made his way to the bathroom, where he tipped the pills into the toilet. It took fifteen minutes for House to collect every Vicodin from the house and add it to the sewage system, before he was satisfied, flushed the contents and went to bed.

Three hours later, he awoke suddenly. Wondering what had roused him, he suddenly became aware that he was sweating and shivering furiously. Not to mention his leg was killing him. Silently, he got up with difficulty, so as not to disturb Cameron, and hurriedly limped into the living room.

"Damn," he moaned under his breath, collapsing onto the sofa and massaging his thigh in vain. His leg shot pain into his body in response and he gave an involuntary groan of agony. He knew he was detoxing badly, and his brain and body craved relief from Vicodin. House thought longingly of the large stash he had flushed down the toilet only a few hours prior, and suddenly, he remembered seeing an almost empty bottle stashed at the back of the medicine cupboard in the kitchen.

He hesitated a moment, then stood up and made his way slowly and painfully into the kitchen. As he reached the cupboard, his leg gave way suddenly and he hit the floor with a loud crash, pulling the rack of drying dishes along with him.

Cameron awoke suddenly out of a peaceful sleep, and her drowsy brain still processing the loud sound that had woke her up, glancing at the clock, the digital numbers read 4:56. She froze as she had a sudden thought, was there someone in the house? She drowsily turned on the lamp, and realized that House's side of the bed was empty. Curious now, she got up as quickly as she could with her large pregnant belly out in front of her, and hurried out of the bedroom, pulling her robe over her pajamas.

"Greg?" she called softly into the darkness of the house, and a moan from the faintly lit kitchen answered her. Cameron's heart leapt into her throat as she entered the room to see her boyfriend lying on the floor, clutching his leg in pain.

"I'll get your Vicodin," she said immediately, turning to get it.

"No!" he cried, stopping her in her tracks. "It's gone! I threw it out!"

"Ok, I'll get your private stash," Cameron replied.

"Allie! It's gone, it's all gone!"

Startled, she tried to remain calm. "I can get you more. I'll write out a prescription and get some right now."

In desperation, House painfully pulled himself to a standing position and half-limped across to her.

"Don't!"

In his haste to reach her, his leg seized and caved again, and he fell once more, and Cameron half-caught him, easing him to the ground as best she could.

"I need to stop!" he gasped in pain, shaking violently. "I… I need to be a f-father our d-d-daughter can be proud of!"

Cameron was confused, and was beginning to get scared. "Greg, she will be. You're her father!"

House grimaced as the pain worsened, and he rolled away from her and vomited on the floor. Cameron, watching, was terrified.

"I'm calling an ambulance!" she said shakily, moving away.

House seized her hand. "Call Wilson!"

Cameron nodded and stood up to go to the phone, dialing the number hastily.

"'Ello?" Wilson said hoarsely into the phone.

Cameron choked on a sob. "Wilson?"

"Allison?" he was wide awake now. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Greg's not. I- I think he's detoxing, but I don't know what's going on. He's vomiting, and I think he's delusional. God, Wilson I don't know what to do!"

Cameron was in silent tears, trying not to let House see or hear, and Wilson tried to calm her. "Ok, Allie. I'm on my way, okay? I'll call an ambulance, you just stay with him."

"Ok," she agreed and hung up, rushing back to House.

He was still trembling and had vomited twice more as Cameron sat next to him on the floor and smoothed his hair back of his sweaty forehead.

"It's gonna be okay. Wilson's on his way," she said shakily, tears in her eyes and her voice shaky. "Greg, what can I do?"

House gasped for breath, and grabbed her wrist with one hand, the other pressed against her rounded stomach.

"Talk to me… tell- tell me about.. the baby… names… anything!"

Cameron nodded, but her mind was blank. "Ok, names. I like Chloe…. And Hailey… Ashleigh… Olivia…"

"Olivia," he gasped, closing his eyes.

Encouraged, Cameron nodded eagerly and continued. "She'll have brown hair, and your blue eyes… she'll be sweet and beautiful and strong… she'll play the piano and do ballet…. She'll charm everyone she meets, and she'll be smart, like her daddy."

House made a funny noise, like a chuckle and a moan combined, and Cameron held him tighter, and to Cameron, it sounded as though his breathing became labored.

"Greg, come on!" she sobbed. "You can't leave me to do this by myself! I need you… just hang on a little bit longer, please…for the baby… for me… please."

House didn't answer, and as he distantly heard Cameron's sobs and the sound of approaching sirens, he gave willingly into unconsciousness.

Wilson burst into the house without knocking, the ambulance only seconds behind him, to find his best friend unconscious on the floor, in the arms of his distraught and very pregnant girlfriend. As the paramedics entered the house, he gently pulled Cameron away so they could work. She was trembling with shock, and clearly terrified.

"Wilson, what's happening?" she asked him.

Wilson shook his head. "I'll tell you in a bit. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital."

Still in her robe and pajamas, she followed him out to his car, and was silent as they drove to the hospital. Wilson took her up to his office, and sat her down with a glass of water.

"What's happening?" she repeated, and Wilson looked her in the eye and sighed.

"Since you found out the sex, I've been helping House wean off the Vicodin. He was down to three pills a day… he must have tried to go cold turkey from there."

Cameron was stunned. "What? How did I not know this? Why didn't he tell me?"

"He didn't want you to stress while you were pregnant," Wilson replied honestly.

"He'll be okay though, right?" Cameron asked nervously.

Wilson sighed. "He should be, yeah."

Cameron nodded distractedly and then burst into tears on Wilson's shoulder. She eventually cried herself to sleep on his office sofa, and Wilson left her sleeping, while he went to check on House. He was still dehydrated and unconscious, but would eventually recover. He headed down to the lobby, and saw Cuddy just entering her office, as always, at exactly 7:08.

"Wilson! You're here early, aren't you?" she greeted him then frowned as she saw he was dressed in sweats.

"Casual day?"

Wilson sighed and grimaced. "I've been here since about five thirty."

"Patient?"

"Sort of. I got a call from Cameron."

Cuddy looked up in concern. "Is she okay? The baby?"

Wilson shook his head. "House."

"What happened?"

"He was down to three pills, and I think he decided to go cold turkey from there last night. He was detoxing."

Cuddy was horrified. "Oh god! Is he okay?"

"He's still out. Cameron knows now, she was terrified."

"I can imagine. Where is she now?"

"In my office, sleeping."

Cuddy sighed heavily. "This is the last thing she needs. Damn House! Should you call Chase and Foreman?"

"They'll be here soon, I'll meet them upstairs, fill them in."

When he did, they were horrified, and immediately wanted to go see Cameron, but Wilson convinced them to let her sleep. She finally awoke just after eight and was calmer, if not more rested.

"I still can't believe I didn't notice," she whispered, as Wilson told her and the boys more about House's plan.

"That was the idea, he was going to surprise you," Wilson told her.

"I always thought his idea of romance sucked," Foreman muttered, rubbing Cameron's shoulder.

"And he's doing PT?"

"Yeah. It's working too," Wilson replied.

"Why is he still out?" Cameron demanded after a moment's pause.

"He'll be fine, he's just been through a lot," Chase assured her.

Twenty minutes after, nurse Brenda appeared in the office. "Dr. Cameron? House is awake and asking for you."

Cameron, relief flooding her features jumped up and hurried out of the office. She hurried through the corridors until she reached House's room, where she hesitantly opened the door. He certainly looked a lot better, he wasn't shaking, and his face had some color and he smiled as Cameron entered.

"Hey."

Sudden tears appeared in her eyes, and she couldn't hold them in as she approached the bed.

"Hey."

House sat up slightly as she approached the bed, and sat next to him, and he pulled her into his arms as she began to break down.

"You scared me," she whispered as she cried in his arms. "You really, really scared me."

"I know. I'm sorry," he replied soothingly. "I didn't want you to worry any more than you had too. You know that right? I was just thinking of you and the baby."

She nodded. "I know."

"It was something I had to do for me. So that our daughter and you can have a better life."

"Our lives will be fine as long as you're in it," she told him, sitting up and wiping her eyes. "Children don't judge, Greg. They love unconditionally, and they don't know anything other than what they see growing up."

House sighed and placed a hand on her stomach, smiling slightly as his daughter kicked in response to the touch.

"So, Olivia, huh?"

Cameron chuckled and nodded. "It's at the top of my list."

"As long as you stay away from the fruit names, it's fine," he answered. Then he realized how tired she looked.

"Why don't you go home and get some sleep? I'll be fine, I promise," he said, as Cameron opened her mouth.

She smiled sheepishly. "Ok, yeah."

"I love you," he told her sincerely as she got up reluctantly.

She kissed him gently. "I love you too. Get some sleep."

"Says the exhausted pregnant woman," House teased, his eyes already closing.

Cameron returned to the office, her eyes brighter and much calmer.

"How is he?" Wilson asked.

"Fine. A little drowsy, but fine," she replied, smiling. "Would someone mind driving me home?"
"Sure," Foreman agreed. "You must be tired."

"I am. But the place is a mess, and I can't stop thinking about it," Cameron replied.

"Oh no, no, no!" Chase interjected. "You can't go home and clean up!"

"Chase, Greg threw up three times last night. The place will smell something awful, and I can't sleep in a smelly house," she retorted.

Foreman picked up his coat. "No, you can't. Chase and I will take you home, and we can clean while you sleep."

"You don't have to do that!" she protested, but Wilson cut her off.

"Yes, they do. House would kill us if he found out we let a pregnant woman go home to clean up his puke."

Cameron laughed in agreement, and nodded. "Ok, fine."

Cameron felt slightly guilty about leaving her friends to clean up the mess in their home, but the minute her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep. When she finally awoke, the clock read 3:15, and the house was quiet. Chase and Foreman had left her a note on the fridge that read:

Cam- house clean, dishes done, us gone.

Hope you got some sleep.

Chase & Foreman.

Cameron read it as she smiled, and sighed as she made herself a pot of tea. She was debating whether to call House's parents, or her own, but decided against it. She did pick up the phone however, and dialed Ziva in Washington.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ziva, it's me."

"Allison! How are you, how's the baby?"

"Growing, kicking and kicking," Cameron laughed. "And I'm fine, just tired. And I keep craving chocolate mousse."

"Send Greg out to get you some, that's what he's there for," Ziva suggested, and Cameron sighed.

"Yeah, Greg's not here. He's in the hospital."

Ziva paused. "You mean, at work or as a patient?"

"Patient," Cameron replied.

"What happened?" her friend asked in concern, and Cameron took a deep breath to stop yet more tears from falling.

"I just found out he's been cutting down on his Vicodin for the past few months. He went into withdrawal this morning."

"Oh my god! Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he'll be fine. He'll probably be home today or tomorrow. God, I felt like such an idiot. He's been going to physical therapy, and detoxing for months! And I didn't notice anything!"

"Well, you've been a bit distracted," Ziva said reasonably. "Did he want you to know?"

"No," Cameron admitted. "He scared me half to death, Ziva! It was the middle of the night, and next thing I know, he's vomiting on the floor, and in so much pain…" her voice trailed off with the memory.

"That must have been awful!" Ziva said, horrified. "Hey, Allie, I'll give the phone to McGee for a minute, okay? He wants to talk."

"Sure, okay."

There was a moment of silence, then McGee came on the line. "Allie?"

"Hey, Tim!"

While Cameron talked to McGee, Ziva filled Gibbs and Tony in on what happened. Then Tony had to talk, then Gibbs, before Ziva conferenced Abby in on the call from her lab. When she finally hung up the phone, she briefly considered calling Ryan in Ireland, but decided to instead go back to sleep.

The ringing of the phone woke her up hours later, and she registered as she answered it that it was dark outside.

"Hello?"

"Hey, were you asleep?" House's voice sounded comfortingly in her ear, and she smiled.

"I guess so. How are you feeling?"

"Fine. But Cuddy won't let me come home!" he complained, and Cameron giggled.

"It's for your own good," she replied sternly. "You can come home first thing in the morning. Okay?"

"Hospital food stinks," he grumbled.

"You eat hospital food all the time! We work in a hospital!" Cameron laughed.

"Yeah, but it tastes different when you're a patient," he moaned.

"Greg, eat everything they give you, and then go to sleep. No staying up all night watching television or I'll make you stay another night," Cameron informed him.

House grinned. "Yes, mom. God, you are such a mother!"

"Thank you," she said sweetly. Then she paused.

"So… how much PT have you got left?"

"Not much. About a month."

"Ok… no more surprises? There's nothing else I should know about?"

House hesitated. "Just one. I'm not really doing extra clinic duty."

Cameron laughed. "I'm relieved. I thought you'd gone mad with the pressure of impending fatherhood."

"Not yet," he answered and bid her goodnight, his thoughts on his daughter as he drifted off to sleep.