Celeste

Okay, I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry :( I really am. In my excuse I have been terribly busy with school :s I'm graduating this years and I have been under a lot of pressure (and still am even though I'm on Christmas break). A big, fat, huge thank you to Sheis1963 for being her silly self and JLCH for pushing me into writing again.

Chapter 9

Cuddy slowly made her way towards Celeste. The girl was staring wide-eyed at the scene inside the room. Her father laid completely motionless on the hospital bed, a tube coming out of his mouth and a doctor pumping air into his lungs. She didn't feel the hand on her her shoulder till it squeezed her gently.

"What's going on?" the girl asked, eyes still locked on her father.

"Respiratory failure. We had to intubate him in order for him to keep breathing." Cuddy explained slowly.

When she stopped, Celeste looked up at her and Cuddy's heart skipped a beat. Her daughter's eyes were staring up at her, red from all the tears. She could see the pain and the worry in her irises; the lack of hope was mixed with something else that the doctor couldn't really understand.

"We have never talked about this and I wish the situation was different but your father condition is critical." she paused. "You have to start thinking about what you want to do if he can't make it."

Celeste diverted her eyes from her mother's. She leaned her forehead against the cold glass wall and took a deep breath. "Is it really this bad?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. There's a small possibility he may recover, but with his syndrome and the speed of its action, your father's body has been under a lot and respiratory failure is just the first step." Cuddy informed her.

She looked at the girl next to her, slumped against the wall, eyes closed and shoulders shaking slightly. "I have to call my aunt. She's the one who has power of attorney."

"Of course." Cuddy said. "You can call from my office. Just wait a moment, I need to talk to Dr House." When Celeste nodded in acknowledgment, she entered the room and walked over to where House, Foreman and the nurse where standing.

"I'm on it" was the Neurologist's reply to one of House's requests. Soon after he left the room, the nurse finished fixing some wires and without saying a word she left the two doctors alone with the patient.

"How's she?" House asked.

"She barely spoke a word." was Cuddy's fist comment. "I explained to her about the whole medical situation. I'm taking her down to my office to call her aunt. Apparently she's the one with power of attorney on any further decision."

House nodded.

"Are you staying around?" she asked. When House nodded again, she smiled sadly. "Come down to my office in a while, huh?" her hand reaching for his forearm and squeezing gently.

"Yeah..." he mumbled.

With a whispered 'thank you', Cuddy left the room. Celeste was where she had left her, still leaning against the wall but when she saw her mother walking towards her, she took a step towards her and leaned into Cuddy's side, who in utter surprise, wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

Almost half an hour later, Celeste finally ended the call. She stood up from Cuddy's desk and sat on the sofa near the door. She looked around herself for the first time that morning. It was just before dawn and the office's lights were off. The only source of light was coming from the clinic behind the glass doors, where a couple nurses were wandering, making sure everything was fine for the next shift. Cuddy had left her in the middle of the phone call after an employee had asked to talk to her.

It wasn't the first time she had been in her biological mother's office, but in that moment she felt that she wanted, or better felt the need, to learn more about that woman. She spotted the framed pictures on the various shelves: every picture was from a different place and moment in her life, but the woman's smile was always the same, welcoming, kind and happy. The frames were polished and simple. Every photograph had a different frame: same material but different shapes and textures. They gave each photograph more importance.

She took one in her hands and smiled. Cuddy and some other doctors were smiling up at him: Thirteen and Foreman were next to each other wearing matching grins on their faces; a blonde woman was resting her head on another man's shoulder, a toothy smile on their faces; two male doctors were looking at the cameras, a glass of wine in their hands, the younger one waving hello. Cuddy was in the middle of the picture: a man had an arm loosely around her waist while her hand was on House's chest. The three of them were all laughing but only the man whose name was unknown to Celeste, was staring at the camera. Cuddy's eyes were closed in the midst of a genuine laugh whereas House was looking at her, a small smile gracing his lips. But what got Celeste attention were the man's deep blue eyes. They seemed to sparkle at the light coming from the giant Christmas tree standing tall behind them.

The doors of the office opened under Cuddy's gentle push, but Celeste got startled nevertheless.

"Oops, sorry." Cuddy said with a small smile.

"I was just looking at these photos." the girl replied. "I like this one." she said showing her the one in her hands. She put it back on its shelf as Cuddy came close to her.

"That's from last year's Christmas party." she said with a smile. "We were all pretty drunk." she commented making a funny face.

"But I think I like this one better." Celeste said, pointing to the shelf above. It was a black and white picture of a way younger Cuddy. A main of dark curls framed her face and a pair of round glasses was perched on her thin nose. She was sitting on the edge of a simple, elegant wooden desk. The surface was covered in books and papers. She had both hands around a huge mug, a pencil tucked behind her ear. Her front was facing the camera but she wasn't looking at the lens but at her feet. "Very artistic." she commented. She felt Cuddy take a deep breath next to her.

"It is" the older woman said.

"You know, I really really like it. I mean the angle is strange, but the light and everything is just... perfect." the girl said, studying the picture.

"You like photography?" Cuddy asked, eyes still glued to the framed picture.

"I kinda do. I'm saving up to buy a professional camera." she informed her. "Dad said he'd buy it for me but... I just want it to be, you know, the first thing that I buy with my own money."

Cuddy nodded. She looked at the young girl, who had now taken the picture off the shelf and was studying it with curiosity.

"Was it a professional?" she finally asked after a good minute.

"Uhm, what?" her mother looked at her quizzically.

"Whoever took the picture... was he or she a professional photographer?" Celeste asked again.

"Ehm, no." Cuddy answered shaking her head vigorously. Then after a while she spoke again. "He wasn't a professional."

"Then he must have a great eye for details." the girl commented.

That he does, Cuddy thought.

"I think you get it from him." she spoke softly.

Celeste looked up at her in shock and surprise. "You mean, he took the picture. My father took the picture."

Cuddy simply nodded and smiled sadly at her.

"Wow." was all the girl could say after that.

"So... what did your aunt say?" Cuddy asked, walking to her desk to retrieve a couple of files.

"She was about to call her boss' office to take a leave of absence. Then she was driving over here. She'll be here around lunch time..." Celeste said, sitting back on the couch.

Cuddy nodded. "Okay, so... I have to bring these files upstairs now. It'll take me a couple minutes, then I'm going down to the cafeteria to get us something. What do you want?"

"Nothing, thank you." the girl replied right away.

"Celeste..." Cuddy said with a frown. "You have to eat something."

"I'm really not hungry"

"I know." she continued. "I know how you feel. I know how hard it is, but trust me... all you can do right now is take care of yourself even though it's the last thing you want to do."

"Okay..." Celeste finally caved. "A cup of tea sounds nice right about now."

"Tea?" Cuddy asked a little amused. "You must be the only American teenager who actually wants tea instead of coffee."

Celeste chuckled. "Well, my grandparents from both sides of the family are British. I guess I sort of have it in me after all these years."

"I didn't know that." Cuddy said with a small smile.

"Yup, I usually spend the holidays with them." she explained. "They live in Surrey, just like Harry Potter" she continued in a posh British accent. "I used to brag about it all the time" she concluded, her American accent kicking back in.

"Poor kids" Cuddy commented sarcastically.

"Yeah..."

"So... what do you feel like eating right now?" Cuddy asked, making her way to the door.

"I don't know... anything." the girl said with a shrug.

"Okay. I'll make sure it has extra chocolate" the woman said before offering the girl a smile and turning on her heels.

Celeste smiled and laid on the couch. Maybe she could take a nap in the meanwhile... as soon as her head hit one of the comfy pillows, her eyes closed on their own command and she fell in a dreamless sleep.