CHAPTER TWENTY – FOUR

Oh, god…my head hurts…owww, what happened…I know I wasn't drinking…okay, I'm on a couch…my couch? Who's couch…wait… Cameron…oh, damnit…

House tried to sit up, but his head prevented him from doing so. He'd woken up from drinking fits before, but this was the first time he felt this badly. He reached up to feel his head to make sure it was still attached; it was. He moaned softly and tried to force his eyes open.

"House, relax…you're fine."

House recognized the voice and was finally able to open his eyes and looked at Cuddy staring down at him, in her office; he was lying on her couch.

"Cam…where is she…the baby…"

"Cameron was taken to maternity about two hours ago – she's still sleeping – and the baby is fine. She's beautiful, actually," she said with a smile.

Again he tried to sit up and with some effort, made it. "Oh, god," he moaned, holding his head in his hand. "I can't believe I passed out."

"Yeah, you did. You've made it in the PPTH afternoon edition," she teased.

"I have to see her."

"Sure, I'll take you."

Cuddy helped him off the couch, first letting the wave of dizziness pass, handed him his cane and they walked to the maternity ward. They came across the ward with the infants before they made it to Cameron's room, and House wanted to go in to see his little girl; Cuddy waited outside and watched him.

She was the third baby in the left row, and it seemed he went directly to her, as if he knew which one was her just by instinct. When he saw his sleeping daughter, tears filled his eyes, but because of the nurses in the room he tried hard to cover it.

The baby girl was 7-lbs, 3-oz and was 17-1/2" long, with dark hair on the crown of her head with a medium shade of blonde at her temples; her face was plump, with a square chin and a somewhat big forehead; her bottom lip was just like her daddy's – protruding a little further than the top. But her hands and feet were small and petite; her nose and eyes, although they were closed, were like her mommy's.

"Ah, poor thing – she looks like me," House said with a little laugh.

He looked up at the closest nurse to him and saw she was smiling at him. He suddenly felt so open, vulnerable, that immediately he closed himself off again, but was too awestruck to allow snarkiness to come. "Has she seen her?"

The nurse shook her head and said, "No, but I think now is a good time to take her." She walked to the basinet and made sure the baby had everything for the short journey to her mother's room. "Just take your time – she's

one of our best babies; she hasn't cried at all, yet."

House turned to look at Cuddy, who watched him with such love it overwhelmed her. He nodded to her, and she knew he wanted her to push the baby for him, knowing how difficult it was to move around.

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Debra and Wilson were in the hospital's cafeteria eating a late lunch. After Wilson told her he talked to his brother, she thought the best way for him to get over his funk was for him to talk to her, but she didn't push him. She knew about Caleb but she wasn't aware of another sibling. She waited patiently yet anxiously for him to say something after he took a few bites of his salad.

"No, I have two. You only met Caleb, but we have an older brother." She took a bite of her roast beef and continued to watch him, eager to know the story. "His name is Aaron. I haven't seen him in over nine years, almost ten."

Debra almost choked on her sandwich. "Why? Where is he?" She had to stop herself from asking too many question for fear of interrogating him.

"He, uh, was the bad seed of the family, I guess you could say. He lost his apartment, wife, basically everything when he was busted for drug possession at 32; he spent two years in jail. When he was released he was living on the street; I saw him last on the corner of Smith and 12th Streets. That was the last anyone heard from him."

She sat for a moment, contemplating. "Are you going to meet up with him?"

"I don't know. He said he's cleaned up his act, but…I don't know."

"Do you think he deserves a second chance?"

Wilson nodded his head. "Of course; he's still my brother."

"Well, don't sit on it for too long."

Wilson nodded his head again and took another bite of his salad.

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Cameron was still asleep when House and Cuddy entered her room. Cuddy pushed the basinet to one side of the bed and left, telling House to page her if he needed her; although House hadn't suffered a concussion when he passed out, she still needed to keep an eye on him just in case.

He quietly pulled out a chair between the bed and the basinet and watched Cameron sleep for a few minutes. His head still hurt but somehow, being in the company of his daughter and Cameron, it didn't seem to be so bad. He didn't understand the emotions that were running through his mind. Having a baby was something he never really wanted, even with Stacy – that's why they never had a child when they were together. He didn't want to take the chance of being like his father and torment his child as his father did to him.

Now that he had a daughter, everything was different; he didn't feel like he thought he would. He wasn't apprehensive or frightened to death or worried the world would come to an end with a baby in his life. Maybe he had changed a little; maybe Cameron had changed him a little; maybe he had finally grown up.

He couldn't be sure whether all that was true, but he remembered what he told Debra within the past year: All we can do is live for today. You don't know what'll happen tomorrow. But don't lose what you have now.

Cameron moaned softly in her sleep and turned her head toward him. He leaned in closer and held her hand.

"Cam…it's me…we're here."

She didn't seem to respond right away, but he could only imagine how tired she was after 16 hours in labor. He waited patiently until she came around more. The baby started to kick her feet and suckle at air, and he figured the one thing that would bring Cameron around would be to have her first child in her arms.

He took a deep breath and held it, reached into the basinet, cupped her head with his right hand and her body with his left. She was so tiny in his huge hands that he was confident he wouldn't drop her, but just her fragility at any minor mishap set his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He managed to bring the baby to Cameron without dropping her, and only when he placed her in Cameron's right arm did he start to breathe again.

"Allison…I've brought you something," he whispered, keeping his left hand on the baby and his right on Cameron's shoulder.

After a brief moment Cameron finally opened her eyes and looked up at House. When the baby moved in her arm she looked down and realized she was there. She looked back up at him and smiled. He leaned in and gave her an affectionate kiss, with her returning it.

"How does it feel to have Anjelina in your arms?" Immediately her smile faded and she fussed at him for naming her that. But when he laughed and squeezed her hand, she knew he was just kidding, but it still was mean. "Actually, what do you think of the name Hilary?"

Cameron crinkled her nose and shook her head. "Amanda."

It was House's turn to shake his head in refusal. "How about Abigail?"

"Oooh, I like that! Perfect." She looked down at the baby again and was overcome with so many emotions she couldn't help but cry.

"Abigail Amanda House – her initials will be AAH!"

"No! We are not…"

House laughed under his breath and buried his face in her neck, making sure not to lie on the baby, and whispered in her ear, "Have I told you how proud I am of you?"

Cameron yawned and said groggily, "No."

"Have I told you how much I appreciate you?"

"No." Cameron really wasn't grasping what he was saying to her; she was listening to his soft, deep, melodic voice that was so reassuring he could lull her to sleep anytime he wanted.

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

She turned her head slightly, smiled sleepily and said, "No. But I love you, too."

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Okay, there will be one more chapter, an Epilogue. I know I've left Wilson's brother storyline open, but it will be covered in the last chapter.

God, I'm going to miss this story:o)

Thanks for all the comments and reviews! I wouldn't have kept writing if it weren't for those.