Celeste
My best friend is evil and gave Cuddy ovarian cancer. I hate her. (I'm talking about Sheis1963's Fortuna).
Chapter 18
When the car stopped a second time, Cuddy took her time getting out the vehicle as she looked around. The cottage was in a rather secluded park, if she could call it such. The garden all around it was filled with every kind of tree and Cuddy could only imagine how wonderful it'd look in the spring.
Alex was already at the door, a rather tall and gangly man was talking to her. When he spotted the doctor, he smiled and walked out of the house and onto the rather large patio.
"You must be Lisa. I'm Robert."
"Nice to meet you." He leaped towards her, extending his hand for her to shake and tripping over his own feet.
"Sorry, I'm incredibly clumsy."
"It's no problem, really. I'd be quite clumsy too if I had such long legs."
Robert stared at her for a while before bursting into laughter.
"That is a new one." He commented, popping the back of the car open. He retrieved Cuddy's suitcase, shushing her off when she moved to take it. "Celeste is quite clumsy too. I like to think she got that from me... She is elegant and delicate while doing sports, but she can be phenomenally clumsy every other moment."
Cuddy remained silent as he led her inside. The house was warm and welcoming. Alex was in the kitchen and Cuddy could already smell Jasmine tea in the air and freshly baked goodies.
"The kid's asleep. Alex is making tea and finishing fixing supper. We set the backhouse up for you. It's not that big, I'm sorry, but I hope you can find it welcoming." He said pointing to one of the doors that lead into the backyard. A small cottage-like house could be seen beyond the line of rose bushes. "I'm going to take care if your luggage. Celeste is sleeping, but I thought you might want to go check on her." He continued, pointing toward the stairs.
"Sure, thank you. You've already done so much and it's hasn't been five minutes since I arrived. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Careful not to make any noise, Cuddy walked up the stairs on her tip toes. There were several white wooden doors in the hallway but one was slightly ajar and a soft stream of light radiated from it. She slowly walked the short distance and peeked inside.
The room was a mix of cream and black, the only touch of colour came from the canvasses on the opposite side of the bed. A wide drawing desk was covered in doodles and at its feet, four piles of books and journals made for a makeshift coffee table with pencils, rubbers, and several rulers scattered on top. The curtains were drawn and the only light in the room was from a small lamp on the bedside table, next to an almost empty cup of tea.
Celeste laid on the bed surrounded by different shaped cushions. A knitted afghan was draped on her and her hands held onto the coloured yarn tightly. Her face was almost completely covered by her riotous dark curls and to Cuddy she looked even paler and smaller than usual.
She walked towards the bed and gently sat on it, adjusting the blanket on the sleeping girl. Celeste unconsciously snuggled into it and tightened her grip. Cuddly smiled and leaned down to move her hair and place a tender kiss on the crown of her head. The girl nuzzled into her touch and opened her eyes.
"Lisa?"
"Hey..."
"What are you doing here?" Celeste asked, sitting up slowly and peering into the cold cup of tea. She gave it a sniff and then took a sip. Grimacing, she put the cup back onto the nearest flat surface and leaned her back against the wall.
"You know why I'm here."
"Yeah..."
Cuddy stared at her for a good minute while Celeste's eyes were fixed on her hands.
"I know you're not fine. I know you're in pain, you have the right to... but please, please don't do that again."
Celeste locked eyes with her mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. Lisa tossed her shoes off and laid down, dragging Celeste down next to her.
"I'm so sorry."
Cuddy shushed her and placed another kiss on her forehead.
"I don't want to hurt anymore."
"Listen to me, love. You have me, you have your grandparents, and we love you." She paused, tightening her arms around the girl's small frame.
"When I was about your age, I lost my father too. My mother and my sister took comfort in each other's' presence, but I had always been a daddy's girl. I know how much it can hurt. I know that in your case it hurts even more. You feel as if you're so small and the world is big and dangerous and unjust and you want to disappear and make it all end. But it doesn't work like that. You have to believe in yourself, believe that you can make it out of this. In a few years you're going to look back and it'll still hurt, but you'll know that you succeeded. One year from now, you'll be a completely different human being. You'll be a woman..." Cuddy let out a watery chuckle. "A beautiful young woman... and you'll have me and your grandparents."
Celeste closed her eyes and let Cuddy caress her and kiss her forehead every now and then. They laid on that bed for another hour, breathing gently and in complete silence. Then someone knocked on the door and Alexandra gently opened the door.
"Darlings, dinner is ready." She announced softly, before opening the door completely and going back downstairs.
"Come on., let's go."
Alexandra had cooked what seemed to be a feast. If that's how it was going to be for all her stay, Cuddy promised herself she'd take on running daily. Celeste had excused herself ten minutes before, claiming that Doctor Who was on TV and she wasn't going to miss it. Robert had of course run into the kitchen to make tea and popcorn for the two of them and the two were now sprawled on the couch.
Alexandra and Cuddy were still at the dining table when he came back half an hour later holding both cups.
"She dozed off."
"Lisa, is there something going on with her?" Alexandra asked. "Medically, I mean."
"Has she been sleeping this much since she arrived?"
"No, it's been like this for the past two days." she replied.
"Since she got here, she's been having trouble sleeping. After what happened yesterday, she has slept about 20 hours, on and off." Robert explained.
"Sleeping this much is a symptom of depression, but I wouldn't worry about it. Not for now. If it keeps happening though, we might need to intervene." Cuddy paused. "But as you've said, she had been having trouble sleeping, so I think she's just catching up. And we need to think about the emotional stress. The loss of a parent is something huge for anyone, especially for a teenager. The loss of two parents..." she stopped.
Both Alex and Robert nodded.
"You said you had something to tell us."
"Yes. I want you to trust me with her and I feel that I need to tell you everything."
"Darling, there really is no need... Andrew and Emma have told us all we need to know and we trust you."
"There is something they didn't know." Cuddy paused, looking at the two of them. "When I first talked to Celeste, she asked about her father and I... I told her he was never in the picture and never would. But –" She sighed, "– there have been recent developments." She paused again, feeling like she was talking about some business transaction. "There are only two people who know who Celeste's father is and that's me and House. He and I, we go a long way back and-"
"He's my father."