Chapter 19

The baby was named Emily.

Both Kate and House were competent people, accustomed to long hours and hectic schedules. But nothing in their lives had prepared them for the whirlwind that occurred in the next few weeks.

House tried to move the settlement date back, but unfortunately, the sellers of the house had already moved out of state and were flying back to sign the papers and they couldn't change their plans. So the real estate agents, the title clerk and the sellers all met in Kate's hospital room to sign the papers.

He would have delayed moving into the new house, but he had already given notice to his landlord and had to be out by the end of the month. So while Kate rested in the hospital after her surgery, House prepared to complete the packing that Kate had started. When Wilson heard what he needed to do, he gathered everyone together to help. Over a weekend they got the packing done. Movers had already been hired, so they came and took everything to the house. A piano mover carefully moved House's piano. Carefully, because House supervised every minute of the move to be sure they did not damage his precious possession.

House was at a loss as to what to unpack. Joanne came over to help him and together they got the baby's room set up. When Kate walked into their new home, she was greeted by a living room and dining room filled with boxes. But the bed had been put together and made so that she could rest and the baby put in her crib.

The house turned out to need more work than they had anticipated. Every time they tried to put a room together, they found something that had to be done before they could finish it. Contractors, plumbers, electricians, and even a roofer were all scheduled and began arriving at intermittent times. House had a serious case at the hospital, which required long hours, leaving Kate to deal with recovery from surgery, a brand new baby, workmen swarming and unpacking.

Emily was a sweet baby, but she had inherited her father's stubbornness along with his blue eyes. She liked attention and wanted to be held –a lot.

After four weeks at home, Kate was exhausted. Emily didn't nap much, she was very alert and curious about her surroundings. On the few occasions when she did sleep, Kate tried to get some unpacking done, but usually was so tired, that she ended up falling asleep herself.

Kate was not by nature a patient person. She adored her daughter, but she felt like she was losing her mind. She was physically tired, emotionally drained and mentally at wit's end. There were workmen constantly drilling, banging, and hammering in her home. She was living out of boxes that never seemed to empty. Showering became a distant memory.

When the baby was eight weeks old, House came home early one day (having skipped out on clinic duty) to find Kate sitting in the middle of the living room floor. The baby was in a carrier on her chest, there was a box beside with its contents spread out around her. She hadn't showered or washed her hair in days and her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and she had a headache from the contractors banging. She was wearing sweat pants and one of House's t-shirts. She'd been wearing those same clothes for several days. Her feet were bare.

She looked up at him as he came in and sat down in a chair near her.

"How we doing?" He asked cautiously.

"How does it look? God, if one more thing goes wrong, I'm going to shoot someone. I may be on leave, but I still have my gun."

House made a mental note to hide it immediately.

"I look like a…a…I don't even know what I look like, but it ain't good! I feel like something the cat dragged in, dragged out again, ran around the neighborhood with and dragged back in again. If they don't stop banging on that pipe, there will be one less plumber in the world." She said, raising her voice at the last, hoping the man in question heard her. Then she looked down at Emily. "This is the only good part. She's demanding, but she's wonderful." She kissed the top of the baby's head. "She makes it all worth it."

House looked at her. She did indeed look like hell. It made him want to say only one thing to her:

"Marry me."

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Kate looked at him in total shock. She tried to speak, but was at a loss for words.

"I'm an arrogant jerk. Too many people have told me that for it not to be true. I'm crippled and even with rehab, still in need of pain medication on a regular basis. I'm selfish, childish and all together the worst person that you could ever be with. Yet, for some reason you claim to love me and you've given birth to my beautiful daughter." He reached out and touched Emily's soft hand. "I know that I don't deserve you and will never do better than you, ever. And I will never love anyone as much. So, even though you should say, no, no way in the world, I'm, asking you to please marry me."

Kate was not a woman who cried. She saw tears as a weakness, something she had fought against being her entire life. Anytime she thought about crying, she pushed past it and held strong. At that moment, tears ran down her face and she didn't care.

In a shaky whisper, she said, "That's the most amazing thing you've ever said to me."

House looked at her. He wasn't sure what she was saying to him. "Is that your answer or do you need to think about it?"

She smiled and said, "My answer is yes."

A/N: I know it's another short one, but I promise to update tomorrow at the latest. I needed to separate this from the next one which will be a House wedding!