Thank you for your reviews! Here's the next chapter! And I'm writing as fast as I can, honest...
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Chase looked sheepish when he joined the rest of the House-hold outside in the waiting room. Foreman smiled widely as he saw the Australian.
"Well, well, well," Foreman gloated. "I see you have recovered from your ordeal."
"How do you think you would have survived the experience," Chase asked surprisingly good-humouredly. "House and Cuddy having kids and depending on you to save them if anything went wrong? Yeah, I fainted, I admit it. But you have no idea how relieved I was that I wasn't needed there. And not just for them and the kids."
"I don't think I would have handled it any better," Cameron observed.
"You wouldn't have taken on the job," Foreman pointed out. "Though I don't think they would have asked you; you're too emotional."
"I'm also and immunologist, not an intensivist!" Cameron snapped at him.
"Calm down kids," Blythe decided to interfere before their relief turned into a fight. "All is well and that is all that matters. Greg said we can see the children for a moment as they leave the delivery room. Let's not start a fight here or he will change his mind."
She had barely got the words out of her mouth when House opened the door for the nurse who was wheeling the crib holding the triplets.
"Ok, the circus is in town everyone have your tickets ready?" House announced.
"Gregory!" Blythe gave him a very short admonishing look before concentrating on the children. "Oh, they are so beautiful!"
Cameron and Miss Hill followed suit and went all gaga (in House's opinion) on the kids. Kasumii handed Aiko to House and joined the choir. The men stood aside, waiting for their turn, but Blythe drew Dr Higa closer to look, too.
"Go on Foreman," Chase gave his colleague a superior smile. "No need to pretend with us, we know your secret."
"What secret," Foreman frowned, though he did have his suspicions.
"That you adore babies," House observed dryly. "Aiko has you totally wrapped around her little finger and you turn into a total marshmallow any time you're within fifty feet of a baby, any baby."
"I ..." Foreman started indignantly, but then he looked at the babies: "Oh, shoot." He gave up; he knew he wasn't fooling anyone, so he just joined the ladies and Dr Higa.
"And how are you now Chase?" Wilson asked him.
"I'm just fine," Chase insisted. "Too much adrenaline and too little food."
"I told you to go and eat something," House told him.
"You did, and I should have listened to you," Chase admitted. "But no matter, the babies are fine and Dr Cuddy came through with flying colours. All is well."
"And that is the main thing," Wilson stated as he, too, went over to the babies.
"Hmmm," House agreed – he was making fish-faces with Aiko again. "That is all that really matters. You're not interested in adoring the kids, though Chase?"
"I saw them already," Chase shrugged. "And though I like babies just fine, and absolutely love Aiko, I don't really have this urge to worship them. And I suspect I'm not alone in that position."
"If you want to know my opinion," Grey observed from the sidelines. "I definitely see your point of view. I'm ok with babies, and some of them – like Aiko and I expect the Trips, too – I learn to love as they grow and I spend time with them, but I have no special urge to go and adore every infant that I come across. Babies are ok, and I expect I will love my own the moment they arrive, if Kasumii ever wants any, but that's it."
"I hear you," House nodded. "So Aiko, do you want to see your siblings?" House asked his daughter. Aiko wasn't so sure. She frowned at House and said: "Dada!" in a very demanding voice. "Yes, I am still your Daddy," House told her. "And I will always be your Daddy, never fear. Just because I'm Daddy to your two sisters and your brother, does not mean I'm any less your Daddy. You'll see; it will be fine. And you will love Ben and Greer and Priya just as much as MamaLisa and I will. It will all work out." Aiko looked a little doubtful but she allowed House to carry her to the crib without a fuss. She did look at her siblings but didn't appear to be greatly impressed by them and soon the nurse wheeled them away.
"They are beautiful babies," Dr Higa told House. "You can tell Lisa that she has every right to be proud of them."
"I will," House said. "She did well."
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Cameron was standing in the corridor watching the nurse wheel the triplets towards the maternity ward. Blythe came to stand next to her.
"They are beautiful," Cameron stated. "So small, though perfect."
"And real," Blythe observed causing Cameron to turn to look at her.
"Yes," Cameron acknowledged. "I suppose you could say that."
"You need to let go, Allison," Blythe told her gently.
"Because he belongs with Lisa now?" Cameron asked almost rebelliously.
"No," Blythe denied. "I cannot say that, not yet at least. I really don't know what is going on with those two and to be quite honest, I don't know if my son has it in him to belong to any woman, to trust anyone enough ... there are some things ... No, never mind those. He is a very complicated man, even more so than even I thought. I don't know how much the children can heal him. It is possible that he will never get together with Lisa, in the real sense of that word. But that may be true of all women."
"You are telling me that I have no hope," Cameron was resigned.
"I have no idea if you do or not," Blythe said. "But the one thing that I do know is that for now Greg's only priority will be his children. That may be all the commitment he is even capable of, but I cannot say for sure. But no matter how that goes, for your own sake you need to let go. Stop dreaming. I'm not telling you to stop loving him or hoping that one day you might have a chance with him, because I know that that is not something you can control. But I am telling you to put a stop to your pointless longing for him. Stop waiting; go on with your life. If you find someone else, good. If not, well, there are worse things in life than being alone. But right now you are letting your feelings for him stunt your growth as a human being. And that is what you need to stop. Put your feelings aside; take control of your life and grow. Be yourself. Because if you're not, then you absolutely will have no chance with him, ever."
"But how do I do that?" Cameron wanted to know. "How do I ignore my feelings for him when I work with him every day? How do I let go of my longing when I see his softer side every time he is with Aiko – and from now on with the rest of his children?"
"That is why he told you to find another job," Blythe reminded Cameron. "You need to get some distance between you two. He does care about you; it just isn't the way you want him to. And you have to stop waiting for him to change. For your own sake."
"Yes, I know you are right. My mind tells me you are," Cameron admitted. "He belongs to his children for now and it is indeed possible that that is the situation for the rest of his life. I need to move on, find something else to fulfil my life. I just don't know how."
"You need to figure it out," Blythe wasn't giving any quarter here. "Because if you don't figure out how you can move on, he will push you and that will hurt. Much more than you can predict right now."
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Cuddy woke up to find House sitting in a chair near her bed. She blinked once feeling disoriented, not quite sure where she was and what had happened that made her feel so different. Then she smiled and looked around.
"They're all here, right next to you," House told her and indeed she saw a crib next to her bed where her three newborns were sleeping peacefully.
"Aren't they crowded there? All together," Cuddy frowned.
"They are used to crowded, remember?" House pointed out. "The nurses wanted to be all protocol and have them all in individual cribs, but I told them no, not unless they need treatment or oxygen. There is no need to separate them yet; its shock enough for them to be outside, no need to make it worse by making them face it alone."
"You have some very unusual ideas, you know," Cuddy observed, not that she disagreed with House, but she didn't think anyone else saw things the way House did.
"I was just thinking how I would feel in their shoes," House shrugged. "Not that they have shoes, but you know what I mean."
"Yes, I do," Cuddy started to move to get into a sitting position.
"Hey, don't do that," House tried to stop her but Cuddy ignored him, only to wish she hadn't as soon as she got into a sitting position. House gave her a knowing look: "I told you not to sit up. I know the trips are small as far as scraps of humanity go, but they still left you pretty sore. And since you didn't take any painkillers you are bound to feel it." House limped to the bed and used the mechanism to get it into a reclining position which still allowed Cuddy to see her kids, but didn't put that much pressure to places that didn't like pressure right then. Once he had done that, he leaned closer to her and kissed her on the forehead: "You did good." House murmured to her.
Cuddy smiled: "I did, didn't I?"
"Yeah," House nodded. "You have every right to feel smug and superior. Especially when Chase is around."
"Chase!" Cuddy remembered suddenly - and now she actually cared, too. "How is he?"
"Just fine," House told her. "And next time when I tell him to go get something to eat or at least have sugar in his coffee he will listen to me."
"Was that all that was wrong with him?" Cuddy asked.
"Pretty much," House nodded. "Though he did have quite a lot of adrenalin running through his veins as well, just in case, so when none of it was needed – thankfully – it hit him rather hard."
"And he looked so calm there," Cuddy shook her head smilingly. "I would never have thought he was nervous."
"Then you weren't thinking," House told her wryly. "Had there been any need, Chase would have done the work and he would have saved the babies if humanly possible, but just think: they are our babies. You are the head of this hospital and I'm his boss; in addition to that we are his family of choice. Of course he was a nervous wreck!"
"Of course, you're right," Cuddy realised. "Somehow I just didn't think of it. But then I was somewhat otherwise occupied."
"So you were," House smiled. "And, as usual, you did good work."
"So did you," Cuddy told him. "I'm not sure I could have done it without you."
"Sure you could have," House dismissed. "I'm not so sure about the nurses, though. Had you ranted and cursed at them the way you did at me, they would all have resigned there and then. So I'm sure they, too, were happy to have me there to take the brunt of your displeasure."
"I wasn't that bad!" Cuddy insisted. "I didn't curse and rant. I never do!"
"Then it must have been your doppelganger," House mused. "Because it sure is someone I have on tape doing those things."
"On tape!" Cuddy exclaimed.
"Well, this is a teaching hospital," House pointed out innocently. "And it's not every day that we have a chance to video triple delivery. I was just thinking the good of our students when I told them to tape it."
"You..." Cuddy was lost for words. "I..."
"Relax," House decided to stop playing games before Cuddy burst a blood vessel. "It is on tape, but I gave it to Miss Hill. She promised to guard it with her life until you have seen it and can decide if you want to keep it or not."
"Anna has it?" Cuddy was not sure she could trust House with something like this.
"Yes, and it really is the only copy and nobody has seen it as yet," House stated.
"Ok, if Anna has it, then ok," Cuddy sighed with relief. "I didn't really curse and rant?"
"I'm afraid you did," Helen Jordan stated from the door as she walked in. "But I've heard worse. It is a rather stressful situation after all."
"Helen!" Cuddy greeted her. "Good to see you. And thank you!"
"All in a days work," Helen smiled. "I just wanted to see you and check how you and the kids are doing. There are people out there who want to see you."
"Cuddy seems to be pretty much her normal self," House said as he stood up making ready to leave the room. "And the lobsters are sleeping peacefully, too."
"House!" Cuddy cried indignantly. "They are not that red."
"I suppose not," House conceded as he walked out of the door. "Not that red, but they are still red and wrinkly."
"Why on earth did I ever think having kids with him was a good idea!" Cuddy appealed to higher powers.
"Probably the disparity between his words and actions," Helen observed. "He may say the most outrageous things, but he is amazing with his daughter and I have rarely seen any man be as sure and yet tender with his newborns as he was with the triplets. And he really was there for you, too."
"Hmm. According to Dr Wilson, one of House's patients once pointed out that it's not what he says but what he does that matters," Cuddy conceded. "And it is true that some of the biggest, personal donations that he has got have come from patients that – at the time – seemed to hate him the most."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," Helen smiled as she got ready to take Cuddy's pulse and blood pressure.