Thanks for the reviews. The song in the previous chapter was – surprisingly – called For Once in My Life and it has been recorded by several people but you can find Tony Bennett on You tube singing it with Stevie Wonder or at this years American Idol finale.

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John House had got to the hospital late Tuesday afternoon. Blythe had taken him to the house as soon as he had greeted everyone and they had confirmed their first appointment with Blythe's therapist. As they were leaving House told Blythe that he had got confirmation from Dr Higa and he was arriving the next day.

"Do you want me to get your spare room ready for him?" Blythe asked.

"Thanks Mom, but no need," House declined the offer. "I called Lupe and she promised to see to it as she was coming over to clean up the place anyway."

"Good," Blythe nodded. "But if there is anything, let me know."

"Will do," House promised. "Now you just get Dad settled and we'll see you later. Patient permitting."

"You have a case?" Blythe queried on her way out.

"Just got the file, but I don't think it will take that long," House told her. "But I'll call if I'm wrong. Or I will let Cuddy know and she will tell you when she gets home."

"Fine, see you then," Blythe accepted.

Once Blythe and John were gone House limped into the conference room to do the differential with his team. Kasumii stayed in his office to keep an eye on Aiko, who was contentedly playing in her new playpen.

"So was the malaria test clear or inconclusive?" House opened the discussion.

"Malaria?" Chase asked puzzled.

"He hasn't been tested for malaria," Foreman explained. "He has not been travelling in any known malaria risk area."

"And you took his word for it? You are sure he even knows what malaria is or where he could get it?" House snarked. "The symptoms all say malaria, in fact they are pretty much standard for malaria. He started with flu-like symptoms, then headache, backache, aching limbs, lack of appetite, hypotension, jaundice, and now he has the chills. What more do you need?"

"Some indication that he could possibly have been exposed to it would be nice," Foreman pointed out impatiently.

"Are you telling me he has never been anywhere?" House asked. "Never been inside an airport for one?"

"Most airlines are aware of the possibility of insects possibly carrying infectious diseases travelling in planes which is why they are regularly disinfected especially if they fly to tropical locations," Foreman expounded patiently.

"They do here," Cameron inserted reading the file. "I'm not so sure about St. Petersburg."

"He's been to Russia?" House was immediately on alert.

"Yes," Cameron confirmed. "Finding his roots apparently. His mother comes from the Carelian Isthmus and he flew to St. Petersburg and travelled north from there to the Isthmus. He stayed for about a month there and then he returned. He's an anthropologist so he did some research too. There are some old villages there, he says, that haven't changed at all for hundred years or so. He came back about a month ago."

"I thought you said he hasn't been to any known malaria areas?" House turned to Foreman.

"Northern Europe is hardly the tropics," Foreman pointed out. "Malaria is a tropical disease."

"Now it is," House agreed. "But it was a common enough problem in Europe no less than a hundred years ago. And the last known epidemic of malaria happened only about sixty years ago. Any guesses where?"

"Russia," Chase concluded throwing down his pen.

"Technically no," House corrected. "At the time Carelian Isthmus was part of Finland and the epidemic was reported by the doctors of the Finnish army."

"How could that be?" Foreman wondered. "That far north the winter temperature is far too low for malaria!"

"And surely they don't have the mosquitoes that can carry the parasite there," Cameron doubted.

"Yes they do," House said. "They actually have three different Anopheles species in Northern Europe of which the Anopheles messeae lives in Southern Finland and the Carelian Isthmus. It's true that endemic malaria has probably disappeared from Europe, but with the Anopheles there, all you need is someone with untreated malaria to visit the area, get bitten and voila, you could have an epidemic. That is what they believe happened to cause the 1945 epidemic. German soldiers who had been transferred from Africa to the Carelian Isthmus probably brought it with them."

"So since our patient has typical malaria symptoms, and given that he has been to an area where theoretically he could have been exposed to malaria, we test for it," Cameron sighed as she stood up to go and do the tests.

"I think that would bee an excellent idea," House agreed. "I'll be in the clinic if you need me."

Chase and Foreman watched him leave the room with almost equal exasperation. "I hate it when he diagnoses people based on their travel plans," Chase sighed.

"Next time I'll skip the symptoms and just give him the patients travel history," Foreman agreed as he, too, got up to follow Cameron.

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Having disposed off their patient House got home at his usual time. He took Aiko to his flat while Kasumii and Cuddy went to the main house. It took House about an hour to be ready to join the others in the big living room. He came in his wheelchair again, though he had lately occasionally risked carrying Aiko in the house without the extra precaution. Today he didn't feel like taking any risks as he was pretty sure he would end up cutting the evening short rather than expose Aiko to John's presence for too long. And he couldn't be sure someone would be there to help him with Aiko if he decided to leave abruptly.

When House got to the big living room he saw that Wilson and Grey had joined the party. That was ok with him, since the men spent a lot of time in the house anyway, but usually they didn't come every night.

"Your Mother thought it might be a good thing to have more people present," Wilson responded quietly to House's raised eyebrow. "She figured it might make John a little less prominent."

"Well you know the rule of the house: the more the merrier," House stated dryly.

During dinner John didn't say much but he did mutter something about why hire a Nanny if you did all the work yourself. House ignored him and kept on feeding Aiko himself. Not that Aiko actually ate with them - she had had her dinner earlier - but she liked being with the others and so far she had always behaved very well; no throwing any food on the floor or deliberately smearing her hair and face with sticky substances. She also liked it when House allowed her to steal little bits of his food (deliberately selected to be safe for her and to her taste, naturally). Of course, she wasn't a neat eater and a most of the things went on her face rather than into her mouth, but nobody minded that. Or at least nobody had minded that, it seemed John was not quite as tolerant as the House-hold. However, John knew that he was on probation with Blythe so he held his tongue pretty well.

Or at least he held it until after dinner when everyone was helping Blythe clear the table (except Cuddy who had to go to the bathroom – again) and John was left in the living room with House and Aiko. House turned the TV on for news but he didn't really watch. He sat on the floor with Aiko handing her toys – or actually he was holding them just a little out of Aiko's reach so that she had to crawl to them or pull herself up to stand against House to reach them. John didn't really follow the news either; he was watching his son absorb himself with the baby.

"You know, you should really start leaving her to that Japanese girl you hired," John finally voiced his opinion. "If you wait until your real children arrive, the change will be too sudden and upsetting for her."

"My real children?" House asked in a tight voice.

"Yeah, the triplets," John reminded him – like he could have forgotten. "It will be hard enough to be a father to three babies, you cannot waist time with kids that aren't yours. I know you promised to look after her, but that Nanny on yours can do it just fine. They are both Japanese so they probably understand each other better anyway. Unless, of course, you can persuade her grandfather to take her back now that you will have your own children. You have to think rationally; you really cannot split yourself four-ways. Three kids are more than enough especially as they are all babies."

"First of all, she has a name: Aiko," House was breathing heavily trying to control his temper. He didn't think a shouting match between him and John was going to help his Mother figure out what to do with her marriage. "Secondly, she is my daughter. Mine, just as much as the triplets, if not more. Aiko is all mine, the triplets have a mother, too. My nanny has a name, too. Miss Tanaka. She will take care of Aiko when I'm not doing it myself. She will help with the other children as well. This is my house, my family and I don't need any advice from you."

"Look here son," John sat up annoyed at the disrespect that House was showing him – not that it was anything new, but this was about John's grandchildren and what was good for them, in his opinion. "I know you think you know everything, you always have been arrogant that way, but I will not have you selling my grandchildren short for someone who isn't even family..."

John didn't get any further with his tirade. House was getting ready to do something drastic but he didn't need to. Aiko had been following the argument with a frown on her face – she had never before heard anyone talk to her Daddy in that tone, or House himself speaking to someone like that – and when John started his lecture, Aiko had had enough. She let out an angry scream that went through the house like a siren. She hadn't even finished her scream when everyone in the house was in the living room wanting to know what had happened.

As soon as Aiko had started screaming House had taken her in his arms and Aiko had allowed it, but she kept looking at John with an angry look on her face. Once she finished her scream – satisfied that familiar people had come over to help her Daddy – she pressed her face against House and clung to him like a limpet.

"John?" Blythe turned to her husband. "What did you do?"

"I?" John was amazed. "I didn't do anything. I wasn't even anywhere near the kid."

"I wasn't asking what you did to Aiko," Blythe explained as she watched House motion Kasumii to bring him his chair and help him to it – since Aiko was hindering his movements. "The only time Aiko screams like that is when she thinks someone is being mean to her Daddy. So what did you do or say to Greg?"

"Nothing," John insisted. "I just pointed out to him that he needs to make better arrangements for that girl now that he will have his own children arriving soon."

His statement was met with absolute silence. Everyone but House turned to stare at John like he had suddenly spouted a second head. Nobody knew what to say. Not that they didn't have plenty in their minds but John's suggestion – especially the implied one – was so outrageous to all of them that they were unable to even begin to correct his misconceptions.

"I already told you that her name is Aiko," House said as he rolled his chair towards his flat.

"John, I think you and I better go to my rooms to talk," Blythe informed her husband. "I'm sorry, everyone, I'm sure you will be fine without us. You've been here often enough so just treat this as home, there is cake in the fritz and help yourselves to coffee and whatever. I'm not sure how long this will take." She escorted John out of there.

"I think I'll go and see how House is," Wilson stated and followed his friend.

"Right, that cut the party short," Cuddy noted. "Kasumii, Grey, let's go and find that cake. The trips want something sweet."

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"House?" Wilson called cautiously as he entered House's flat. He found them at the piano. House was playing something classical with one hand and holding Aiko on his lap with the other. "Are you ok?"

At first House didn't respond, but then he turned away from the keys. "What if he is right?"

"Right? John?" Wilson was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"What if I cannot handle any more kids," House clarified. "I have Aiko with me almost everywhere and all the time. How can I give similar commitment to the Trips? Is it even possible, when there is three more in my care? And if I do make an effort to be there for them, will I end up neglecting Aiko. I'm all she has. The Trips have a mother, too. I cannot stop loving Aiko, it's just not possible, but is it fair to the triplets? If I cannot love them as much?"

"Hey, stop that," Wilson was appalled at the effect John's stupidity had had on Greg. "The fact that you love Aiko the way you do means that you will love your new kids too. The kind of love you have for a child is not something you can measure or which comes only in limited amount. The fears you are having, the challenges you are facing are normal. All parents go through them every time they expect a new baby! You and Cuddy are not the first parents in the world to expect triplets and there are other families that struggle with these issues of how to make sure the elder siblings don't get neglected after twins or triplets are born. You are the king of research! So research! Get prepared, use your brains. Besides, the bond you and Aiko share will not break for anything. It's too special."

"But will I bond with the triplets the same way?" House feared.

"Probably not," Wilson shrugged. "But do you need to? As you said, they have a mother. Besides, usually twins and triplets share that kind of bond with each other, not either of their parents. You will figure it all out. You will find a way to make each of your kids feel special and secure and loved. You cannot lump them together anyway, they will all be individuals, with different needs and likes and dislikes. You have always been able to reach children; you have never had any problems with them even when they are your patients. True, their parents usually hate you, but somehow you can always reach the kids. Remember that autistic boy you saved? He reached out to you; he made eye-contact with you, voluntarily. You were the first person in the world he wanted to touch; to see. You will figure this out, too. I promise you."

"I suppose I could research the subject," House mused, making Wilson smile. Yes, House was going to be fine. Probably scared still, but he was going to be fine.