The music for this chapter is – surprise, surprise – Valse Triste, op 44 by Jean Sibelius, who composed it (and five other pieces) for the drama Death written by his brother in law. And again a possible tissue warning is issued.

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Eric Foreman's life had turned upside down. He didn't know what was going on anymore. First that morning Wilson had run into the diagnostics room brandishing his mobile phone and exclaiming that Aiko was walking. Blythe had sent him the video of Aiko's first steps to his phone first thing in the morning and he had to share! Not that the team minded, they were all as excited, even Petra who had only just met Aiko. Though still within the normal range, ten months was young to learn to walk, but this was their clever Aiko. But what really rendered them all speechless was seeing House's reaction. This was the man who hadn't had any kind of reaction to Aiko's first word! What had changed? And from Aiko's behaviour it was quite obvious that this hadn't been the first time they had played kissy-face. The whole scenario was so different from what Eric had stubbornly believed of House – though others had been pointing out evidence to contrary – that he didn't know what to think anymore. But even so the others had been equally surprised at what they saw.

And now he was in House's house, watching his parents talk with his brother! Eric couldn't believe that House had gone to all the trouble of getting permission to bring Marcus here to meet his mother. He was sure that Dr Cuddy and Miss Hill had cleared most of the red tape to make this happen, but it had to be House's idea. Sure, they had two officers and one burly hospital orderly watching over Marcus and making sure he neither escaped nor poised any threat to anyone, but Eric was still amazed.

The Foreman's had arrived around noon and Eric had met them and escorted them to the house. Blythe greeted them there and helped them settle in. Both House and Foreman senior had agreed that telling Mrs Foreman what was going on with Marcus was pointless as she probably didn't even remember who Marcus – at least as an adult – was. Rodney Foreman had told his wife that they were visiting friends of his and one of them was going away for a long time and there would be a small farewell gathering. Eric had at that point wondered how they were going to explain why the gathering was taking place in a hospital, but then he found out that House had already taken care of that. Of course Blythe could make House do almost anything, but she had made it clear that she had had no idea of the plan until House told her about it.

Not knowing about a party much in advance hadn't fazed Blythe, though. A military wife was like a scout: always prepared. She had put this gathering together in couple of hours and everything looked like she had been planning for this for weeks. Eric's head was whirling. He could not understand how and why this was happening. Why was House being so nice to his family? It wasn't in his nature – that everyone had to agree on. House was never nice just for the sake of being nice. He had to have something up his sleeve. Blythe and Cuddy and the rest of the gang were nice to people they knew, they and their motivations didn't puzzle Eric. But House? What was his angle? Eric watched House invite Alicia Foreman to the piano, and seat her next to him. They talked while House played something old, something Alicia seemed to remember. Then House asked something and Eric saw his mother shake her head and laugh. House insisted and then he took Alicia's hand and used it to press three keys on the piano, one by one. He repeated the sequence and then let Alicia practice it a few time and after that he joined with his other hand playing a more elaborate sequence; but together the two sequences worked into a nice little tune.

"God, I need a drink," Eric muttered to himself feeling faint.

"I know," Chase's voice game from behind Eric. "Too bad Blythe banned anything but soft drinks from the house for this. Understandable with your mother's medication and Marcus' situation, but still, some of us could have used something to steady our nerves. Here, have some coffee. At least it has caffeine in it."

"Caffeine is a stimulant, not exactly steadying for the nerves," Eric pointed out dryly accepting the mug Chase gave him, nevertheless.

"We're doctors," Chase shrugged. "We have coffee in our veins. It doesn't work with us the way it does with normal people."

"Speaking of normal," Eric still couldn't get his eyes away from House who was now conversing with Alicia and both the other Foreman men. "What is House after now?"

"You don't think that he is just being nice?" Chase asked – clearly not thinking anything of the kind himself either.

"House is never just nice," Eric stated. "He has to be after something. And whatever it is, I'm sure he wants it from me."

"Probably," Chase agreed. "You will be the head of neurology of some hospital or another one day fairly soon. I think he likes the idea that he has you in his pocket should he ever decide to call in the debt. And he probably likes the idea of you waiting for him to call it in even when he isn't going to."

"Chase, have I ever told you that I really don't like you?" Foreman groused.

"Yes, I believe you have," Chase smiled. "I think it's quite an honour, actually, since the only other person you really don't like is House. ... Seriously, though, I don't think House did this only to get to you. You know how he is about people whose brains don't function normally. I think he actually has a point, because the best way to find out how brains work is to observe them when they don't."

"So you think my mother and brother are just guinea pigs for him?" Eric asked.

"No. He really likes people who think differently, even if it is because of a malfunctioning brain. You have seen it before." Chase observed. "Besides, he respects your father."

"Why?" Eric couldn't believe Chase's claim. He wasn't used to having people like House – rich, highly educated (never mind highly intelligent) white men – give respect to someone like his father, a black man from the ghetto.

"Because your father knows who he is and doesn't try to be anything else," Chase stated. "He is real and House respects that."

"I find it hard to believe that House respects anyone or anything," Eric admitted. "But it seems that I need to start considering the possibility. He certainly respects his mother and Dr Higa. And maybe he is starting to show respect for Dr Cuddy as well. It's just not something I have learned to expect from him."

"The problem is that he rarely shows respect even when he feels it," Chase mused. "I'm sure he has always respected Dr Cuddy, which is why she can make him do things he doesn't want to, but he just doesn't show respect the same way most people do."

"You're such a suck up," Foreman sighed though not scornfully – at least not this time.

"Whatever," Chase didn't care. "But the two hours Marcus was given are near gone, so get ready to say your goodbyes and then Cameron and I will take you out for a drink."

"Thanks," Eric nodded. "I can't drink much, since I'm coming back for dinner tonight, but I need something soon."

Just then Blythe made her way to Eric: "Eric, dear, time to come and say goodbye to your brother. Though you will of course go on seeing him in the hospital for some time yet, but since this is a farewell party we will say our goodbyes."

"How has mother been?" Eric asked. He hadn't had much conversation with her as he was going to be there that night again and had therefore made room for Marcus. Alicia had been her usual kind and cheery self but Eric was sure her husband was the only person she knew in the room.

"She has enjoyed herself," Blythe informed Eric gently. "It is so fortunate that her basic nature is trusting and happy so she isn't afraid even among strangers – at least not yet. She doesn't know who Marcus is, but has been happy to talk to him and reminiscence over things that her sons used to do when kids; and don't worry, she remembers only good things. I suspect that she won't remember this party anymore once you come over for dinner; House thinks her short term memory is almost gone, but right now she is having fun and Marcus seems content, too. I know this is hard for you, but you're not alone. Any help we can give just ask."

"Thank you, Blythe," Eric found it still a little difficult to call House's mother by her first name, but since he had been told to do so, he did his best to comply. "I'm ok. This is hard, but I'm ok."

"Good," Blythe accepted, though obviously she didn't really believe Eric. "This is over soon and then you can go for that drink." And she walked away leaving Eric and Chase follow her at their own pace.

"You told her about the plan?" Eric wondered to Chase.

"No," Chase denied. "But she is House's mother. I'm not at all surprised that she knows things nobody has told her."

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Chase, Cameron and Foreman were at their usual bar drinking their usual drinks. Cameron was creditably curbing her sympathy (though it had taken a couple of painful kicks under the table from Chase to help her do so) and Foreman appreciated the companionable silence in their table.

"So what plans does House have for your brother's treatment?" Chase asked. There was no point in pretending that what was in all their minds wasn't so they might as well talk about it. Only it was better to talk about the medical side and leave the emotions and such out of it.

"We started him on the usual combination used for early onset Alzheimer's this morning and we are still monitoring him to see if there are any adverse side-effects," Foreman responded. "But there's not much else to be done."

"Aren't there quite a few clinical trials going," Cameron frowned. "Surely you are trying to get him on one of them? Even if they don't work for him, I would think he would like to help gather as much information as possible about this illness. You mother has been involved in some, hasn't she?"

"Yes, she has," Foreman nodded. "But Marcus cannot take part in any until he is out of prison. We met with the hospital lawyer this morning and while Marcus was getting papers drawn about his wishes about his treatment we also discussed that possibility. It appears that using prisoners for medical testing is a big no-no. I can sort of understand that since you could run into huge ethical problems there, but it still sucks. The lawyer even advised us not to mention anything about clinical trials during the parole hearing."

"You mean if you're in prison you cannot take part in an experiment that could even possibly save your life?" Cameron was indignant.

"Yes, that is what I mean," Foreman said.

"Is there no way around it?" Chase wondered.

"We could go to court and see if we get an individual court order, but that would take a lot of time," Foreman explained. "The lawyer thinks that he can get Marcus' parole hearing moved up sooner than what it would take to get a court order to allow him to take part in a clinical trial."

"That's good," Chase concluded. "So at least you can start looking at the trials and find out which looks most promising for him. Need any help?"

"Thanks, but no," Foreman declined. "I'm pretty current on everything going on with Alzheimer's, for obvious reasons."

"And how is Marcus holding up?" Cameron asked sympathetically. "I know he refused to see the therapist at first, but has he changed his mind?"

"No," Eric informed her. "He is still refusing to see her. I did talk to him and he promised to think about it, but I'm not sure what he is going to do. He is depressed, though not as much as some I've seen. He has spoken with House for some reason and that seems to have helped a little. Why, I cannot imagine, but it has. Though even so House has told them to watch out for any suicide attempts."

"You think he is that depressed?" Chase was a little startled. Marcus had been quiet but hadn't looked suicidal at the party.

"House thinks so," Foreman answered. "And I'm inclined to agree with him. I mean, why would he not be? He has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and he knows exactly what that means. He is in prison which means he cannot get the best care even when with me working in the hospital we could afford it. He cannot even contribute to finding a cure to this illness due to being in prison and quite apart from all that, I don't think this is the ideal illness to have whilst in prison. Especially as his symptoms include sudden bouts of aggression, which means they probably need to keep him either in isolation or in hospital – where he would need to be in isolation too."

"Yeah, that's a pretty grim picture," Chase agreed. "Does his medication include antidepressants?"

"They will once we know how he reacts to the Alzheimer's medication," Foreman nodded.

"Your mother was very nice," Cameron inserted as the subject of Marcus seemed to be exhausted. "And she seemed to enjoy herself, even if she wasn't quite sure where she was and why."

"Yeah," Foreman replied shortly staring at his drink morosely.

"Ok, we need another round," Chase decided and went to get the drinks.

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Eric had dreaded the dinner that night even though he knew that Chase, Cameron and Wilson were not going to be there and therefore there were at least a few people who would not hear his mother tell stories about Eric's childhood. Sure they had heard a few of them already, at the party, but fortunately his mother had mostly spoken with Marcus and her husband and people – knowing the situation – had left them mostly alone. But House was still going to be there and Eric was sure the juiciest stories would be repeated.

In reality the evening hadn't been that bad; mostly because House had brought Aiko to the table as well and she, by her mere presence, dominated much of the conversation. The childhood stories had been told, but not only by Alicia but also by Blythe – which gave Eric some blackmail material should he need any. (I won't tell that story if you won't tell this one!). Dr Higa had even got Eric a shot of sake before dinner, so with the couple of drinks he had had earlier he was fairly fortified. Now the dinner was over and no big disaster had hit and Eric found that he had actually enjoyed it all.

The table was cleared and they were drinking coffee in the living room when House's phone rang. Eric groaned a little; this could mean a new patient and he really wasn't up to it right now. House spoke briefly (and he hadn't even answered with his normal remarks about House's house of whining or something, but that was probably because his mother was present) and then he hung up. He didn't say anything at first but then suggested to Foreman senior a stroll in the back yard, as he was also taking out some cigars from a stash in a side table the ladies correctly assumed that the stroll was just a euphemism. Rodney declined the cigar but at House's insistence agreed to come with him. "You too, Eric," House invited and something in his tone made Eric assume that there was no choice.

As soon as they got out House told the Foremans to take the swing on the porch leaning against the railing himself he stashed the cigar back into his breast pocket. He turned to Foreman senior and said: "I'm sorry, but that call was from the hospital. It seems that Marcus had an unexpected and delayed reaction to his medication. They were unable to help him. He died fifteen minutes ago."

"Died... " Rodney found House's words hard to accept. "He was... How ... Was he in pain?"

"As you saw the call was very brief so I don't have much information yet," House explained. "However they did tell me that it was very quick so I don't think there was pain. I need to go in tonight and I'll take Eric with me. We'll have more information for you in the morning once we have done the autopsy."

"There will be an autopsy?" Rodney wondered, though mostly just to say something.

"Dad, Marcus wanted it," Eric explained. "When we met with the lawyer this morning, we discussed everything and Marcus said that if cutting him open after death would help get information about this illness he wanted it done."

"You'll be there when it's being done?" Rodney asked his other son. "I don't... I think you should be there."

"I will. I will be there," Eric promised.

"Alicia... What..." Rodney suddenly remembered. "I can't tell her."

"No, there would not be much point," House agreed. "I'll inform my mother of the situation and she can keep company to your wife until you feel up to it and I'll send Dr Cuddy to you. She'll give you a mild sedative that ought to help you cope for now."

"Thank you," Rodney accepted. "I suppose you need to go now."

"Yes, I think we should," House said walking towards the door. "I'll just go in and tell my mother what happened and then I'll come back for Eric."

Once House was gone Eric didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just hugged his father who was quietly praying while tears made their way down his cheeks. Eric felt tears in his own eyes too as he thought back to the farewell party. And he was glad that he had hugged his brother and said his goodbyes even though he had been sure they would meet again soon.