House pushed open his office door just after seven the next morning. Cameron looked up from where she was looking into a microscope. "Good morning, Dr. House."

"It would be a better morning if I hadn't gotten called in the middle of the night to let me know everything is fine."

Cameron smiled as she turned back to her microscope. "You said to keep you apprised of her condition. I was just following your orders. Her condition changed and I let you know."

House frowned at her. "How is she this morning?"

"She says she feels bad, and I don't doubt she does. But everything is looking better. X-rays show the infiltrates in her lungs are clearing and her dad has gotten her to eat some broth and some jello and drink a little apple juice. Right now all she wants to do is sit in his lap and let him hold her, so that's what she's doing."

"How nice. I guess I'll drop by and see for myself how Daddy's little girl is doing."

"She's very sweet."

"Just what I need first thing in the morning: saccharin."

Cameron didn't even try to hide her smile. That was exactly what he needed.

He stood in the doorway after reviewing her chart at the nurses' station, watching in silence. Maggie was in her father's lap, curled against his body. He had one arm around her and held a book in his other hand. His voice was soft as he read to her. Her dark eyes watched the page as he read. When he finished a page, she reached out and turned to the next page, then snuggled against him again. He kissed her head and continued reading.

Clearing his throat, House came into the room. Goren lowered the book and Maggie studied him intently. Goren set the book down as House stopped near the end of the bed. Quietly, he told his daughter, "Maggie, this is Dr. House."

She sat up, holding onto her father's hand. "Hello," she said, her voice still hoarse from the ET tube.

"Hello, Maggie. Dr. Cameron told me you're still feeling badly."

She nodded. "My chest and my tummy hurt and my throat is scratchy." She tilted her head to the right and asked, "Why do you have a stick?"

"It's for beating patients who don't do what I tell them."

Her eyes widened and her hand tightened on her father's. Goren frowned darkly at the doctor as Maggie said, "That's not very nice."

"I'm not very nice."

"Dr. Cameron telled me you're grumpy. Is that why you have a stick?"

"Grumpy? Hm...that's not why I have this stick."

She slid from her father's lap and he let her. She had not recovered her endless store of energy, but she had some of it. She walked over to the doctor and studied his cane. "You're hurt," she said quietly as she reached out and touched the hand that gripped the cane.

Goren leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees, watching his little girl with the doctor. He kept silent. House glanced at him, then back at Maggie. "Why do you say that?"

"You walk funny, and your hand is tight onna stick." She turned her face up toward his. "It hurts. You hurted your leg?"

House nodded. "A long time ago."

"It's not getting better?"

"No. It's not."

"But you still help peoples and make them better. That's good. Why did you tell me you're not nice?"

"Because I'm not."

"You're grumpy because you hurt, but that doesn' make you mean. Grumpy's not mean."

He looked down at her hand, still resting on his. "So what did your daddy tell you about me?"

"He telled me you been helpin' me get better, so I can go home and play with my baby."

"Your baby?"

"His name is Tommy. Mommy and Daddy gotted him for me when I was three."

House couldn't keep a smile from his face as he looked at Goren. "That was very nice of you and her mommy, detective."

"He makes her happy."

Maggie grinned. "Tommy makes eve'ybody happy."

Goren laughed softly. "Yes, he does."

Maggie gently rubbed House's hand. Then she leaned up and kissed his fingers before turning and heading back to her father. He leaned back and lifted her into his lap, carefully arranging her IV line and montior leads. She snuggled against his chest and sighed. House asked, "Why did you do that, Maggie?"

"A kiss al'ays makes it better."

House met Goren's eyes. "I wish that were always the case," he said quietly and Goren nodded. The doctor moved closer and looked at the little girl. "May I listen to your chest?"

She nodded and turned slightly so he could slide his stethoscope against her chest. She studied his face as he listened. Then she reached her hand forward and lightly touched his scruffy cheek. He turned his eyes toward her and she smiled. He smiled back at her, then he looked at her father. "Her lungs sound better." His pale eyes shifted back to the little girl, whose hand was still resting on his cheek. He raised his hand to touch hers, and she turned it to grasp his fingers. There was no fear in this child. "Cough for me, Maggie."

She moved her free hand to cover her mouth. Her parents always told her to cover her mouth when she coughed or sneezed. He listened to her lungs as she coughed and he nodded. "Very good. There's lots of junk in there, but it's moving when you cough. The more you cough, the quicker you'll get all that stuff out."

"It tastes yucky."

"I know. You can spit it out if you don't want to swallow it."

She wrinkled her nose. "That's gross."

House laughed and looked at Goren, who just smiled and gently ran a hand over his daughter's hair. He still looked tired, but his eyes were no longer haunted. He actually looked a lot better. "Dr. House?" He looked back at Maggie, who continued to cough every few minutes. "How did that stuff get in my lungs?"

She was smart, too. A lot of adults wouldn't ask that. House leaned back against the bed and rested his cane beside him. "You have a bug in your lungs."

She looked puzzled. "Like skeetos?"

He tried to suppress another smile. This child was going to destroy his reputation. "No, not quite. They're much smaller...so small you can't see them without a special piece of equipment."

Goren pressed his cheek against her head. "They're called bacteria, and you need a microscope to see them."

"Like what Dr. Rodgers showed me?"

"Just like that." He looked at House. "The last time I took her to work with me, she got to look at some slides with a microscope in the medical examiner's office."

Maggie was frowning. "I got bac...what is it, Daddy?"

"Bacteria."

"Bacteria...I got them in my lungs?"

House nodded. "Yes. They are what are making you sick. But we're giving you medicine in your IV to make you better."

"Antibiotics," Goren muttered to her.

"Like Tommy had for his ear?"

"Yes, only a different kind. Yours isn't pink."

"I like pink."

He laughed softly. "It's not the color that makes you better, mouse."

House was enjoying the interaction between father and daughter. This father respected his child. There was no condescension in his manner at all. And she understood his explanations. He had been explaining things to her all her life. He wondered if there were any questions of hers that had ever gone unanswered. "Daddy's right. The medicine we give you is the right kind to make you better."

"Were those bugs inna water?"

"No. That was something different, but that also made you very sick because you were allergic to it."

"'Lergic? Like Uncle Mike and fresh air?"

Goren laughed again. "Not quite, baby. Fresh air really won't make Uncle Mike sick. It's more like your cousin Kerri and peanuts."

Her dark eyes got big. "Really? That's bad." She looked at House. "Kerri can' have peanut butter and jelly. She eated a peanut once and hadda stay inna hopsital for a whole week. She was all puffy and she couldn' breathe."

House nodded. "It's just like that, only your cousin's allergy is a lot more serious than yours. You are allergic to a jellyfish venom, and it's not something you'll run into every day."

"Jellyfish? Is that where they get jelly?"

Goren and House both laughed. From the doorway, a voice asked, "What's so funny?"

Maggie's face lit up. "Hi, Mommy! Where's Tommy?"

"Grandpa is taking him to eat breakfast. Then he'll bring him up to visit."

"Dr. House says I'm 'lergic to jelly."

"Jellyfish, Maggie," House corrected. "And, no, that's not where jelly comes from. You can still eat jelly."

"Good, cause I like jelly." She was quite for a moment. "Can I still go inna ocean?"

"If you're careful. Mommy and Daddy have to check to make sure it's safe for you. If there have been any jellyfish in the area, then it probably wouldn't be a good idea for you to go in the water."

"But I still can, if it's safe, right?"

"Yes."

She nodded. "I like-a water when it doesn' try eatin' me."

Goren rested his cheek against her head and kissed her temple. House pushed himself away from the bed. His interactions with Maggie had him feeling off balance. He needed to get back to his office, where he could interact properly with people. "Dr. Cameron will probably stop by before she goes home. I'll be back later. You rest, Maggie. And try to get Daddy to rest, too. He looks tired."

Maggie smiled. "Okay, Dr. House."

Eames motioned to Goren that she would be right back and she followed House out of the room. "Is she going to be all right, Dr. House?"

"Don't tell me they didn't call you in the middle of the night."

"Of course they did. I was here. Where were you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't come in when everything is fine, Mrs. Goren."

"I don't remember you being here when everything was wrong, either."

"Your daughter's care was handled just right. There were no mistakes and now she's going to be fine. What's the problem?"

"The problem is you were not around."

"I delegate, Mrs. Goren. Believe me, I was updated on every aspect of Maggie's condition. Dr. Cameron has not left the hospital since the morning your daughter was admitted. I trust my team."

She studied House through angry, narrowed eyes. "You have no idea how lucky you are that she's going to be all right. If we'd lost her, it would have killed my husband, and I do not mean that figuratively. Count your blessings, Dr. House."

She turned to leave and House said, "I would be happy with my blessings if I had any like yours."

She stopped and turned, but House was already walking away, leaning heavily on his cane.