Chapter 15

House walked into the conference room the next day to find only Cameron sitting there. She looked up at him with sad puppy dog eyes, as if she was about to cry. He sighed, rolled his eyes and then figured if he didn't put her out of her misery, she would be useless for the rest of the day, possibly the week.

"She didn't do it." He said.

"What?"

"Did you lose your hearing in two days?" He spoke louder. "SHE DIDN'T DO IT."

"You mean she's still…you're still…you're going to…oh, my God!" She broke out in a grin. "This is fantastic! This is so wonderful!"

House rolled his eyes again. "Can we keep the cheerleading down, Suzy Sunshine? First of all, I'd rather the whole world not know this just yet. So if I hear Chase and Foreman gossiping about it, I'll know where it came from! And second, well, I don't how wonderful it is."

"Of course it is. You're going to be a father!"

"Yeah, I know." House left her and went into his office.

Later that day, House was sitting at Wilson's desk, eating Wilson's sandwich.

"Can't you ever eat your own food?"

"Nope." House replied. "Gotta save my pennies."

"That's all you do is save them. You never pay for anything. What are saving it for?"

"Got another mouth to feed."

"Kate makes her own money."

"Not talking about Kate."

Wilson looked at him, perplexed. He started to answer, then a thought occurred to him. He almost dismissed it, but looking at House, it started to make sense. It couldn't be, but…

"Are you telling me…is Kate pregnant?"

"Yep."

Wilson sat back in his chair, stunned. "How did that happen?"

House gave him a look, then said, "Didn't they cover that in med school or were you absent that day? Though, come to think of it, if you have to ask, maybe now I understand how your marriages failed."

Wilson ignored his comments and said, "I mean, did you plan it?"

"Nope."

"How do you feel about it?"

"Scared shitless."

Wilson smiled. "How does Kate feel about it?"

"The same."

"Then why are you…"

"We tried the alternative and it didn't work for us."

Wilson gave him a look, so House related the events of the day before.

"So, you're going to be a daddy."

House groaned. "If you say that word, I promise to hurt you –badly."

"It might not be so bad."

"Can you honestly picture me as a father?"

"Doesn't matter whether you or I can or not, it's happening. You may find that you enjoy it more than you'd imagine."

"Parental advice from the man with three marriages and no kids."

"Doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. Though I agree you're not exactly the fatherly type, you might surprise all of us."

House just looked at him and since the sandwich was done and the conversation not to his liking, he left the office.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kate was determined not to tell anyone at the police station right away. She wanted to be able to do her job for as long as she possibly could without everyone worrying about her and the baby. She knew that once she began to show, that would be it. She knew that her reflexes in the field would probably be compromised by the baby weight and she wouldn't want the job affected by her, nor would she want to put her fellow officers in danger. But until she felt that slowdown, she wanted to work unimpeded.

She went to lunch with Joanne that day. She hadn't said anything about the baby to her friend, but she forgot how perceptive the older woman was.

"Feeling better today?" she asked Kate.

"Sure, I'm fine."

"You seem a little pale."

"Just a bug."

"Mmm-hmm. The kind of bug that takes months to clear up and never really leaves for at least eighteen years."

Kate looked at her in amazement. "How did you…"

"You forget I spent a long time working with teenagers, many of them female. I learned how to recognize the symptoms."

"Please don't tell anyone at work yet." She explained her reasoning for this.

Joanne understood, she knew how the police hierarchy worked and their attitude towards female cops and their issues.

"They won't hear it from me. But tell me how you feel about this."

"I'm petrified. What do I know about being a mother?"

"What does anyone know before it happens? Everyone goes into it blind."

"Yeah, but I grew up in foster homes. I don't even know how a family should be."

"Of course you do. A family is whatever you want it to be. You already have it. You and Gregory together are a family. The friends you bring into your life are also part of your family. Jimmy and I, for instance."

"That's not the same as raising a child."

"No, it isn't. But both of you are good, intelligent people and you will figure it out. I saw many types of families as a teacher. Some good, some bad. There was no rhyme or reason as to how they became either. You have just as much a chance for good as bad. Probably more for good, since you know what not to do."

"God, I hope so." But Kate wasn't completely reassured. There were too many doubts going through her mind. The only thing she was sure of was that she hadn't made a mistake in not having the abortion, but beyond that, she was lost.

That night, as Kate and House relaxed at the piano, she tried to put some of her thoughts into words.

"Greg, how are we going to do this?"

"Probably you're going to carry the baby for approximately nine months, then give birth to it. I could be wrong, but I'm not usually."

"That part doesn't bother me." She said, then added. "Well, not too much. It's after I give birth. What do we do then?"

"Actually, in the beginning, we should do okay. Little babies just need food, baths, diaper changes. Pretty basic. I can keep him pretty healthy, you can baby proof the house, not too hard. It's once he starts talking that the problems begin. Because then we have to answer him and tell him things."

She cocked her head and looked at House. "You keep saying 'he'. You want a boy?"

House considered. "I didn't really think about it. I don't know." He started to think. Oh, man, a boy would be bad enough, but at least they could have sports and motorcycles in common. What the hell would he do with a girl? Giggles and dresses and makeup. Then he looked at Kate. She wasn't all girly, she was okay. Chances are their daughter would be too. Chances are their daughter or son would be an intelligent mix of the two of them. Then again, he or she could be a mix of his bad moods and Kate's stubbornness.

Would his son look down on a father that couldn't play ball with him? Would a daughter be ashamed of his infirmities? Was he crazy?

Kate was lost in thought as well. What if the kid asked about her family? How much do you tell a child? And how the hell did you nurture a child? She wasn't even sure she understood the meaning of the word.

They went to bed that night still filled with these anxieties. They both tossed and turned with their worries. In the morning, House had made a decision. He needed to make some plans before he told Kate.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

At work, he made a few phone calls to get the information he needed, and then went in to see Wilson.

Without greeting his friend, he said, "I'm going into rehab."

"What? Really?"

"I'm not going to be much of a father addicted to a narcotic. I need to get this worked out. I called Dr. Harbison, that guy you recommended to me."

"And?"

"He has a four week program that he thinks will work for me. I don't want to be gone longer than that. I need to be there for Kate."

Wilson smiled. He had so hoped that House would come to this. Although he knew in his heart that House would be a good father, his decision to do this solidified that belief.

"You have to do something for me while I'm gone."

"Anything." Wilson said.

"Take care of Kate. Make sure she eats right, doesn't lift heavy stuff, puts her feet up."

Wilson couldn't believe his friend cared this much, but he was happy he did. "Of course I will. Don't worry."

Kate was shocked when House told her.

"Are you sure? You don't have to do this, I mean, I know how much pain…"

"I have to do this. I know I'm not going to be the best father in the world, but I can at least try not to be a drug-addicted one."

"Thank you."

"You have to do something too."

"What?" Kate asked, perplexed.

"Go to therapy."

"What…no!"

"Kate, if you don't deal with the things that happened to you, you'll never be a well-adjusted mother to our kid. I'm gonna face my demons and try to beat them. You have to do the same."

She swallowed. "What if the therapist tells the police?"

He shook his head. "Can't. Doctor-patient privilege. Anything you tell him is confidential. He could lose his license. It wouldn't be worth it to tell on a twenty-five year old crime that was self defense at the worst."

She looked at her feet. She knew he was right, but it was still a hard decision to make. "Can I think about it?"

"Sure." He rose from the sofa. "I need to pack some things."

"Wait, when are you going?"

"Tomorrow. The sooner I start this, the sooner I'll be done."

She looked dejected. "I'm going to miss you."

"Of course you will. But you can come and visit. It's not far."

"Do they allow conjugal visits?"

He smiled. "I'll definitely have to find out."