Life and Limb
Chapter Fifteen – "Life Goes On"
By: purpleu
"Oh, my…Oh my God, Annie!" Lydia, who was still standing by Wilson's bedside, was frozen in the spot by her friend's news, but it only took a moment for her to grab Annie and squeal. "I…I don't believe it! They told me that after what you went through, what those bastards did to you…that it would be nearly impossible for you to have children. How…"
"Fraulein," House said as he picked up his coffee cup. "You told me your mother had this talk with you years ago. Did you forget how this works, or did she try to pawn off the stork fable on you?" Lydia gave him a look as she continued to hug Annie.
"What the doctors didn't know," Wilson said smugly. "Is how strong and determined my sperm are." House rolled his eyes.
"More like one of them spazzed out and got lucky. When is your due date?" he asked Annie. A big smile came across her face.
"Elise's birthday," she replied looking at Lydia.
"May 17th? That means it could even be your birthday since yours is the 18th," Lydia said bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. House couldn't help smiling; even more good news coming to them plus Lydia looking like a kid in a candy shop warranted a positive reaction. But just as quickly, House knew that there was a reason for caution.
"Hey baby mama; who's your baby doctor?"
"Dr. Wexler. Dr. Lutz has been my gynecologist, and Dr. Wexler is the high-risk specialist who works with him," Annie answered. "They've been super supportive and understanding ever since I first went to them. Much more so than the ones I went to out in Arizona."
"Or the one connected to Mayfield," noted Lydia. "At least the doctors who operated on you after the attack gave you a reason to be a little optimistic."
"Well, Dr. Wexler is still being very conservative about things. I asked him if I could keep playing and teaching; he said the travel back and forth to Philadelphia is the biggest issue. I'll be able to do the concert at the end of the month with the Philharmonic; the holiday performance with them would be iffy, but the one with the university orchestra is a possibility. I probably won't be back playing for a long time, but…it will be so worth it. Wexler estimates I'll be on bed rest right after the first of the year." Annie stepped closer to Wilson's bed and took his hand. "He said to forget about forty weeks like a normal pregnancy; we'll be lucky to get to thirty weeks, and that anything beyond that would be a miracle." She looked at her fiancé. "I'm so afraid something is going to go wrong." Annie began to cry.
"Cut that out. You…are going to get back on that stage in Philadelphia, if for no other reason than to…further stick it to those SOBs who attacked you," Wilson said firmly. "We'll see how you're feeling after that. Maybe you can arrange with the college to teach some students at home, or take on some younger, private students. You're going to keep playing if only to let the baby hear how…talented and beautiful its mommy is." Annie smiled and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She leaned over and gave Wilson a kiss.
"I want to make sure you're OK, too," she said glancing over at House and Lydia.
"He'll be fine. I'll be loaning him one of my canes before you know it," House said. "I was thinking either the skulls or the flames."
"And the cancer?" Annie asked cautiously. House looked at Wilson.
"He's damn lucky it's been caught early. And I now get why you want some chemo; we'll keep it to a dull roar so I don't start calling you Vin Diesel." Annie started giggling.
"Oh please don't. I'll love James any way he looks, but that one doesn't do a thing for me."
"That's OK," Wilson said. "I don't think I'll be able to do anything concerning that subject for a while. Actually, with your pregnancy…you're going to have to be careful with all activities, especially as you progress."
"Don't either one of you dare worry about taking care of anything," Lydia said. "While you can still do things, go for it. But when things start getting harder, you better remember you have a whole group of friends who will help get you through recovery," she said to Wilson. Lydia turned to Annie. "And you through to motherhood."
"And you to aunthood," Annie said with a smile. Lydia looked confused for a moment. "If your kids are my niece and nephew, then my child is their …"
"Cousin!" Lydia exclaimed. "The kids were just asking me about this at dinner last night! Marianne's sister, Erin, was over with her two kids; Ben and Elise asked me if they would ever have cousins like Tommy and Shelly do. I told them I didn't think so."
"Well, you'll have to tell them you were wrong, Aunt Lydia," Annie said glancing at Wilson and smiling. She turned her attention to House. "And if she's Aunt Lydia, that's makes you Uncle Greg." House looked like someone had just sucker punched him.
"No it doesn't," he quickly said. "Fraulein's not married to your brother anymore; this doesn't make her an aunt."
"Thanks for pointing that out," Lydia said sarcastically.
"She," Annie said coming over to Lydia. "Would be Aunt Lydia no matter who she's with. But since she's with you, it's Uncle Greg." House was frustrated by Annie's continued insistence that he be given such a title; he could see he was going to get no help from Wilson, who had a mile-wide grin on his face.
"Uncle House," he said as he put his coffee cup down and began to pace. "It's the only name that won't be confusing to the bambino since Ben and Elise already call me House."
"OK," Annie said laughing, "Uncle House it is." House shook his head at their obvious delight in getting him to agree to the name. He didn't feel like debating the issue too much; he still had a headache from last night. By the end of the day, he was going to be dealing with his mother and the dear Reverend Bell; he needed to keep his wits about him.
"You do realize this is a red-letter day for you," House said as he approached Annie and Lydia. "And not just because of the handiwork of Lover Boy over here," House said, holding up the "ring" Wilson made Annie and pointing at her stomach. "I'm in a generous mood; you're actually going to get a second hug from me."
"Whoa…you are in a good mood," Annie said as she opened her arms and hugged House. Lydia went over to Wilson.
"Get used to it," she said to him indicating her boyfriend and best friend. "All the attention goes to the mom-to-be; it's like the dad had nothing to do with this."
"He'll be getting plenty of attention from his own medical foibles," House said. "At the very least from me busting his chops."
"House, as long as you leave my bride and child-to-be out of your commentary, I don't care what you say about me," Wilson said. House looked disappointed.
"Don't give me an open invitation…there's no challenge to that."
"Don't worry, James; I'll protect you," Lydia said giving him another hug. Suddenly, the monitors attached to Wilson started to go off.
"Hey, hey, none of that," said House as he stepped between the ladies and Wilson. "It's one thing when Songbird sets off the alarms. You're not supposed to," he said scowling at Lydia.
"Jealous, House?" Wilson inquired.
"Hardly." There was quiet for a moment as House looked down at Wilson in his bed, with tubes, leads, and IV's coming from him everywhere. "I guess this is where I give my blessings for the upcoming nuptials and the impending birth." Wilson shook his head.
"You don't have to…but…I have to admit, I'd like it if you did." House couldn't hold back a little smile as he held out his hand for a fist pump.
"Congratulations," he said quietly with a hint of emotion. House was startled when Wilson opened his fist, grabbed House by the arm and pulled him forward for what amounted to a hug.
"House, we need to talk," Wilson whispered. At first House tried to maneuver away from Wilson's attempted display of affection; but seeing the look on his friend's face, he knew this was serious. Although he was still stressed over everything going on, House promised himself he'd do what he could to help Wilson through things. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Lydia and Annie were busy talking closer to the door of the room. He turned back to Wilson and gave a quick nod. Straightening back up, House made it seem like he was looking at Wilson's IV infusion.
"Sweetie, your parents just texted me," Annie said. "It seems they didn't follow the directions I gave them correctly and now they are about ten miles outside of town. I'm going to go sit in the lounge by the elevators and guide them back onto the right course. It'll be quieter there."
"Don't go running around to try and get them straightened out. They can text a message, but they can't follow directions," Wilson said shaking his head.
"Take it easy, James; I'll take a walk with her. I told my department I'd be here today, but I didn't know for how long," Lydia said taking out her phone. "I'll check in with them, but I'm not stepping foot in there, or I'll get dragged into something that I know they can handle by themselves." She looked over at House. "I'm on a different clock today." Lydia stepped over and gave him a kiss; Annie did the same to Wilson.
"Be back in a few," Annie said as she and Lydia left the room. House and Wilson both just stared at the door that the ladies walked away through.
"You know, if someone asked me, 'How lucky are you that you have Annie?' I don't think I'd be able to find the words to express how I feel right now," Wilson said shaking his head. "I am so…the fact that she's been with me through this…whole thing, with the same loving attitude that we've done all the fun stuff with…it's amazing. But with good times come bad and she's been here for me in both; it's my turn to do the same for her through this pregnancy and beyond." House turned to look at his friend. For better or worse, in good times and bad. He had the feeling that in the coming months, he was about to see those words in action.
"Nervous now that you actually asked the question…again?" House inquired as he pulled a chair over by Wilson's bedside. "Or are you already having nightmares about spitting up, colic and diaper rash?" Wilson tilted his head back against his pillow.
"I think I know how you felt yesterday; everything's coming at you from all directions and…you…you just want to run and hide." House looked down at the floor, away from Wilson.
"Hiding doesn't solve anything; when you come back, the problems are still there, and people are pissed that you ran away," he said. "The few moments of relief you get, is not worth the hurt you cause others."
"House, I wasn't mad that you ran out. I was worried about you; I know what you're capable of and how I've found you in the past. I also…" Wilson let out a deep breath. "…I was worried how you and Lydia were going to handle this; it was a lot of stress to put on a relationship that's still developing. You two are OK…aren't you?" For once, House didn't feel like joking around about the subject.
"I think better than ever," House said hesitantly. "Which scares the hell out of me." He sat back in the chair. "How do you know?" Wilson was startled as House picked his head up and looked directly at him.
"How do I know what? About Annie finally being the right one?" House nodded. Wilson thought for a moment. "She's…the first woman I have ever been with…who doesn't want me to be anyone but myself. It's not Dr. James Wilson, who can help make my medical career easier. Or Dr. and Mrs. Wilson who are having 'friends' over for dinner every single week, but not their families. Then there were the cocktail parties where I'm paraded around like a prize from a carnival…'Look, what I won, the Boy Wonder oncologist!'" Wilson shook his head. "She wants James Wilson, who happens to be a doctor. Who also happens to love and admire her skill and talent with music; who also gets silly over the same pop music as she does, and who also likes to cook together to make these really great meals. And take the kids bowling and out for ice cream. When we're having friends over, they're our friends. Most importantly…Annie adores my best friend; that's something that hasn't happened before. A sure sign that this is the right thing," Wilson said smiling at House. "She wants to be with me, for no other reason than I am James Wilson. And no woman has simply wanted that before." House was surprised by Wilson's comments. He knew that there was blame to be placed on both sides for his prior marriages breaking up, but Wilson never wanted to talk about his attempts at wedded bliss before. It also jolted House that at the heart of what Wilson was saying, was the same thing Lydia said to him: I don't love someone like you. I love you. "House? House, you OK?"
"Yeah." He knew that Wilson needed to talk, but House also needed to release the emotions and confusion he had swirling around inside. Even if he had to keep the girls and Wilson's parents out of the room, they would both get a chance to vent. House told Wilson about Lydia's reaction to his follies from the night before; how she was more concerned that he could have choked than the fact that he could have taken Vicodin, and all the mess she was willing to deal with. After he finished, House saw that Wilson was shaking his head.
"You're going to tell me you have a problem with the way she handled it; that you don't understand why she reacted the way she did," he said giving his friend a disapproving look. "House…you have been handed…everything, everything…a man could want from a woman who is just his girlfriend. What your problem is, you know Lydia also has everything a man could want in a wife. And it scares the hell out of you." House closed his eyes.
"What scares me is I don't know what to do with it. Despite the fact she says she doesn't care about tripping down the aisle…I know it would make her incredibly happy." House put his face into his hands. "I've never given a rat's ass about making someone happy; not like this. Not even Stacy," he said quietly.
"House, you have to stop being afraid of getting hurt. I know you've had too many bad experiences in the past; not just in your love life, but with people in general. Hell, we've had our rough spots over the years. But I don't believe that Lydia would ever hurt you. She will never suddenly decide that she wants someone else, or try to change the essence of who you are, or try and make you into someone you're not. She loves you the way you are. Like I've heard her say, she just likes to bring you a different perspective on things, and let you…think things over from another point of view. And if you still disagree, she's OK with it because she respects you. Respecting someone you love is a big part of the picture. You know, if I had to build the perfect woman for you, she would have Lydia's personality, intelligence, playfulness, caring…
"And her great ass and well-stacked chest," House interrupted. Wilson laughed.
"That and her culinary skills, too," he said. "House, the only reason you never thought you'd be happy with the whole…domestic scene…is because you never thought you'd get it right…for a myriad of reasons. You hate to fail, and trying for this goal seemed to be a certain disaster. You have to learn to trust Lydia, and …believe…that you really are the person she sees when she looks at you." House nodded his head slowly; what Wilson said made sense. The question was, could he make it happen?
"I have a feeling it's going to be a long, slow process," House said as he stood up. "Then again, I'm not in a rush to go anywhere. Unlike some people." He gave Wilson a look.
"First of all, I asked Annie to marry me before she told me she was pregnant. We actually did talk, besides whatever else we did, Tuesday night when she came back from Philly. She still kept saying to me to slow down, I'll know when the time was right. Well, last night when everyone left and the two of us were talking…I said after all this, if this isn't the right time, when would be? She…agreed; I formally asked her and she said yes." Wilson had a huge smile on his face. "Then she said we'd better make sure we have an extra bedroom and yard space with whatever house we look to move into because she was pregnant."
"When did she know?" House was hoping Annie hadn't delayed things too long; she needed to be followed by a high-risk specialist from as early on as possible.
"She began to suspect something about a week, maybe ten days ago. With these birth control pills that allow a woman to have her period only once every three months, they run the risk of being pregnant, and not even know it," noted Wilson. "But Wexler is pretty certain of her due date, so she's about six to eight weeks along." House never had a problem asking personal questions; nothing phased him. But for some reason, delving into the nature of the damage that Annie sustained in the attack bothered him. Lydia had only ever given him an overview; the gory details were too hard for her to discuss.
"What," House said as he picked up his coffee and returned to the chair by Wilson. "Was the exact nature of the injury she sustained to her uterus from the attack? I know a knife was involved." Wilson closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
"You know these stories you hear on the news where a pregnant woman is kidnapped, and the kidnapper tries to do a C-section to remove the baby so they can claim it's their own?" House frowned and nodded. "Imagine basically the same thing, only there's no fetus there." For once, House was allowing his personal feelings toward a "patient" to overrule his logical mind.
"What the hell did they do that for?" It was a good thing the three men who hurt Annie were killed in a car accident; if House could get his hands on them…
"Why the hell did they do any of what they did to her?" Wilson asked getting choked up. "But the police…thought they were probably on LSD or something and hallucinating, just from the way they went after Annie and completely trashed the apartment. Thank God she had left her cello back at the recital hall; that would have devastated her if when she woke up from all the trauma, she found that her cello was destroyed." House got a far-away look in his eyes as he remembered things at Mayfield.
"I'll never forget the look on her face when I brought the cello case over and told her Lydia brought it in. She got teary-eyed, and when I laid it on the ping pong table…she ran her hands over it like it was the Holy Grail." House shook his head. "Opening the case released the floodgates; it took the damned nurses five minutes to bring her tissues." House knew what he was bringing up was a bit off topic from Annie's medical history, but he didn't care; he was enjoying the memory. "Songbird asked me to set her up in a chair where Fraulein could see her when she walked in. I knew what time she would be there, and I watched by the window." House took a deep breath and looked at Wilson. "I think I enjoyed meeting her at the elevator that day more than I had enjoyed anything in a long, long time. I took her hand, and said 'Got a surprise for you.' When we walked into the day room, and she saw itwas Annie playing, not a radio or recording…" House smiled. "One the few good memories I have of that place."
"And I'll bet all of them involve Lydia," Wilson said. House shrugged.
"Making Freedom Master happy for a few hours was good; unfortunately his over enthusiasm put a damper on my hard work." Refocusing on the obstacles to Annie's pregnancy, House continued his questioning. "Don't want to ask this any more than you're going to want to tell me, but…how…"
"They were able to reattach the parts that has been severed; the bastard did it with a carving motion, like on a turkey, rather than stabbing or slashing. About a third of the uterus sustained damage; none of the ovaries or fallopian tubes were overly compromised. The main problem?" Wilson said grabbing a tissue. "Is that as the fetus grows and stretches things out in there, it's going to put a strain on the re-attached parts of the uterus that it may not be able to handle." He put his head down and took several deep breaths. "House, I'm…going to ask you a huge favor. I know this isn't what your cases and work are usually about; there's no mystery involved, but…please…help me let Annie have this baby. She's wanted nothing more than to be a mom since she was a little girl; she said the only thing she was waiting for is to fall in love with its daddy." Wilson laughed for a moment at the thought of Annie as a child making that declaration. But his good mood quickly passed. "I don't know what kind of shape I'm going to be in to help with things physically or mentally. I will try, believe me, I'll try to do everything I can; but I may not be strong enough to handle it. And I've got to be there for her. I may have been…stupidly… called a 'Boy Genius Oncologist'… but you're the real genius around here." Wilson saw House make a face and look away from him. "House, please. It's not just about the baby; it's Annie, too. Her life could be endangered by this pregnancy and as much as I want a child with her…I want her, first and foremost." House stood, put his coffee cup down on Wilson's bed tray, and readjusted the connection on one of the EKG leads.
"First of all, stop whining and pleading; the last time I said no to you on anything is when I turned down your invitation to spend a weekend watching 'Andy Hardy' movies. Secondly, given who my girlfriend is, do you think there's a chance that I would have a choice in the matter of whether to help out or not? And third," House said as he finished resetting the lead. "My insatiable curiosity wants to know how a Daddy Wilson would handle a Baby Wilson; speaking non-metaphorically, of course." He took a sip of his drink. "The fact that Annie has a cookie in the oven, would appear to be proof that you do know how to handle the Little Wilson despite reports to the contrary." Wilson was about to say something, when there was a knock at the door.
"You can't come in!" House called out. Despite his warning, the door slid open a bit anyway.
"Why not?" Lydia asked as she poked her head in.
"Cause Wilson's naked and in pain and I'm making him feel better." Lydia gave him a look.
"No, you're not," she replied rolling her eyes. "At least I hope not. Because there are two little ones who want to say a quick hello." Lydia disappeared out of the room for a moment; when she came back, Ben was holding one of her hands, Elise the other. Annie came following in behind them.
"Hi, House! Hi Wilson!" Elise said as she waved. While she came over to give House a hug, she seemed a little intimidated by all the things attached to Wilson. The future Doogie Howser, Ben, was not bothered at all. He was more fascinated than anything else.
"Hi," Ben said giving a wave to House and Wilson as he studied the IV infusion unit.
"Want a quick lesson?" House asked coming behind Ben and going over to the IV machine. "Just do me a favor: if Wilson's ears start to have smoke coming out of them, ignore it." Ben laughed as House explained the infusion rates of the different bags Wilson had hanging up and what each was for.
"Wow, that's really cool. I didn't know you could piggyback so many things in through one needle," the boy said, still amazed that he was so close to the real thing.
"I have a couple on this arm, too," Wilson said holding up his right arm. "It also depends on the bore, the size of the needle."
"But you're OK now, aren't you?" Elise asked.
"He has to have an operation in a little bit to take a tumor, a lump, out of his chest," Annie said. "But after that, we're hoping things will be OK."
"Mom said last night it might be cancer," Ben noted. "Will you have to have chemo and lose your hair?"
"Well, yes to the chemo," Wilson said. "But I hope I'm not going to lose too much hair." He looked at Annie and winked. "I don't want to be bald when your Aunt Annie and I get married."
"You're getting married?" Elise exclaimed.
"Seriously?" Ben asked. Annie nodded.
"Yes, seriously. And I was talking to your mom before, and I told her that we'd like you to be our ring bearer," she said to her nephew. "And you to be our flower girl," she said to her niece. The volume in the room exploded.
"Really? Cool! What kind of flowers will I have? Will I get to wear a tuxedo? Do I get a pretty dress with ruffles and lace?" The kids' questions came fast and furious.
"Slow down," Lydia said. "Give Aunt Annie a chance to talk."
"And my head a chance to recover," House said looking dazed by the children's outburst.
"Are you feeling better now?" Elise asked. "Mommy said you didn't feel good last night." House glanced quickly at Lydia; he was sure she didn't tell them exactly what happened, but she did like to be very honest with her kids. He was just hoping she hadn't been too honest.
"I'm feeling hunky-dorey; just have to get rid of this headache which means loud noises aren't a good idea," House said looking back and forth between Elise and Ben.
"In that case, you're going to need some earplugs," Wilson said with a smile. "We do have one more thing to tell you: Aunt Annie and I…are going to have a baby." There was silence; both kids just stood there, seemingly not comprehending the good news.
"Does…does that mean we're going to have a cousin?" Elise asked, almost in a whisper. Annie laughed at her reaction.
"Yes, sweetie it does," Annie replied. It took barely a second this time, before Elise started screaming.
"YAAAAAAAAY! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A COUSIN! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A COUSIN!"
"HEY!" House barked out almost as loudly. "Turn down the volume!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Elise said very quietly. "Is this good?"
"Not talking at all would be even better," House noted.
"No can do," Elise said as she went over to hug Annie. This time, the machines didn't bother her as she took Wilson's hand and gave it a kiss.
"You know this means you get to call me Uncle James after your aunt and I get married." Elise looked confused.
"You mean Uncle Wilson," Elise corrected.
"No, sweetie," Annie said crouching down by her. "You get to call him Uncle James."
"But we call him Wilson now, so his name will be Uncle Wilson," Elise said nodding her head. House didn't say a word, but showed his pleasure at the girl's logic with a smirk.
"Well, we'll work it out before the baby comes," Lydia said stepping in. "I'll be Aunt Lydia, that's for sure."
"And that means you'll be Uncle House," Ben said as he looked up at him. House looked down at the boy and over at Elise who was vigorously nodding her head.
"I knew I put up with you two for a reason," House said as he took the baseball cap Ben was wearing and placed it on his own head.
"Hey!" Ben exclaimed. He started trying to jump up and retrieve the hat.
"Unless you undergo a metamorphosis into a flea, you'll never get it," House pointed out.
"Why?" the child asked as he continued in vain to get his hat back.
"Because a flea can jump two-hundred times its own body length. That would be like me jumping about nine-hundred feet." The scientific fact stopped Ben from jumping for only a second.
"Behave yourselves, children," Lydia said tersely as she flipped the cap off of House's head and handed it back to her son. She teasingly shook her finger at her boyfriend which drew laughter from the kids.
"I told you from the beginning, you'd wind up having three kids," Wilson said shaking his head.
"Yes, and see what you have to look forward to?" she replied.
"You're having three babies?" Elise asked in amazement. Annie laughed.
"No, I'm only having one; and I have a feeling that will be it," she said sadly looking at Wilson.
"Hey, we talked about…options the other night," he said, reaching for Annie's hand. "The possibility of adoption is still on the table so that this little one has a brother or sister. Right now, let's take it one step at a time." Annie nodded as she started to tear up; she did her best not to cry in front of the children, but she could not hold back. She sat on the side of the bed, and leaned into Wilson.
"Why are you crying, Aunt Annie?" Ben came over to her; he awkwardly reached out his hand and tried to pat hers. No one knew what to say; they hadn't prepared themselves for any questions the children may have.
"She's scared," House said. "Well, maybe nervous would be a better word." Lydia, Wilson and Annie looked at House apprehensively; to say that House was capable of saying the wrong thing was an understatement.
"Why is she nervous?" asked Elise as she walked over to her brother and aunt.
"Ben, you remember what we talked about as far as patients are concerned? How to assess them?"
"Yeah, you said that even though there are general rules that you apply to diagnosing a case, every patient is different, and you have to look at the person as an individual." House knew Ben wasn't just being a parrot; the kid understood the concept.
"Right. Most women go through their pregnancy with very few problems; some have big problems from the beginning." House looked at Annie. "Your aunt is somewhere in the middle. There's going to come a point during her pregnancy where she's going to have to stay in bed except to go pee. That's so she can protect the baby…and herself." House moved his gaze over to Wilson. "She's going to need people to help her get something to eat and drink, to keep her company so she doesn't go nutso, do whatever it is she needs. And she was nervous that if she asked you to help her, you'd think she was a pain in the butt or something."
"No way!" Elise said shaking her head. "We'd do anything for you and the baby. I'll sing you songs, and we can read, and watch movies…" Elise continued on with an extensive list of activities, while her brother made his way over to House. Lydia had come to stand near her son and boyfriend; she knew her son's curious mind would want to delve further.
"House, Aunt Annie…she's going to have a problem isn't she?" House kept a blank expression on his face.
"What makes you say that?" Ben shrugged.
"I don't know; I guess it's that I don't think Aunt Annie would be afraid to ask us for help." House smiled a little and nodded.
"That explanation was for your sister; I knew you'd see right through it." House glanced at Elise still babbling away, unaware of the conversation he was having with Ben. "The baby's probably going to be pre-mature; we don't know for sure by how much, but the timer's going to pop up on the turkey long before forty weeks."
"So that's why she'll have to stay in bed?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, probably after the first of the year, maybe sooner," House replied. There's going to be a lot of help needed around here, especially while your mom and I are gone. Both Wilson and your aunt will need someone to do their bidding. I was hoping you'd volunteer to play go fetch it." The boy looked like he was thinking things over.
"There's a lot I could do to help; even Elise could." Ben nodded. "We'll take care of them while you're gone. And after you come back too."
"Thanks," House said pretending to grab for Ben's cap again. "I figured I could count on you." The boy smiled, but then his face took on a serious look.
"What's wrong with Aunt Annie that the pregnancy is a problem?" That was the question even House didn't want to deal with; he was glad when Lydia stepped in.
"It would take too long to explain now, and I know you'd have too many questions," she said to her son. "You have to get to school soon. We can talk about things another time." Ben seemed satisfied and thankfully dropped the subject. As he walked back to his sister, Wilson caught House's eye with a questioning look. House simply nodded to let him know everything was OK.
"That was very nice what you did," Lydia said quietly to House. He looked at her questioningly. "First of all you saved us from trying to explain to Ben what was happening with Annie. Secondly, you made him feel like you trusted him and felt you could count on him to act on your behalf while we're away. That is a very big deal." She gave him a kiss on the cheek; House could see by the look in her eyes, he said the right things. Funny, he thought to himself…I was just winging it.
"Mom, can we stay here with you until you and House leave?" Ben asked.
"No, babe. It would be better for you to go to school and keep busy there. Besides, you have your spelling bee to practice for on Tuesday; I think today's the practice round, isn't it?" Ben shook his head in the affirmative. "Well then, you'll head out in a few minutes. Hon, your team," Lydia said to House. "Is out at the desk. So are Marianne and Tom and their kids. I was thinking of having them come in now and let the happy couple give them the good news."
"Great idea," Annie said. "James' parents should be here soon. I told them to call me when they're in the parking lot, so we have a fair warning. We can tell the gang, and then tell his parents privately."
"Yeah, I'd…much rather do that without an audience; I know how my mother can be," Wilson said rolling his eyes.
"I'll go get everyone. Now you two," Lydia said to her children. "Don't give it away. Let Aunt Annie and Wilson tell them."
"Uncle Wilson," Elise said.
"You can't call him that until they get married," Ben said.
"And then it's Uncle James," Wilson noted.
"No, Uncle Wilson!" Elise insisted.
"How about Uncle Jesse?" House asked referring to the character from "Full House."
"No," Lydia, Wilson and Annie answered in unison.
"Stop it," Lydia said as she walked past House and headed to the door. "You're worse than they are."
"And I did warn you…" Wilson said.
"Hush!" Lydia slid open the door and poked her head out into the hallway. "Um…could I ask all of you to come into James' room for a minute? There's something he needs to talk to you about." Lydia kept a solemn look on her face as House's team and Tom and his family filed past her. They all looked at her curiously, but she wouldn't break. Lydia closed the door and joined House and her kids over by the window.
"Thanks for coming in," Wilson began looking at Annie and dragging out the drama of the scene perfectly. "There is something that we need you to do for us. If the answer is no, we understand."
"Wilson, you know whatever you need…you or Annie," Tom said. "We'll help out however we can." The others who had just come into the room voiced their agreement.
"Good," Annie said. "Because we need you to keep the first Saturday in December free."
"What?" Taub asked. "Why?"
"Because…that's when we're getting married." Annie said.
"Oh...oh my God, Annie!" Marianne squealed. "James! Oh, I'm so happy for you!" Everyone in the room was smiling as they congratulated the happy couple.
"But, that isn't the best part," Wilson said. "She gets to become Mrs. James Wilson in December; I get to become a daddy in May." Whoops of delight filled the room as everyone gave out congratulations again.
"HA! I told you! You each owe me twenty bucks!" Thirteen said to Chase, Taub and Foreman. "I said to them, 'I think Annie's pregnant.' And I was right." She hugged Annie, then Wilson; next she held out her hand to collect her winnings.
"What made you think she had one in the microwave?" House asked.
"The other night when she got coffee, she asked if it was decaf; same thing when she picked up a bottle of iced tea. I heard her mutter, 'Whoops! It's got caffeine.' But then yesterday when she was nauseous in the morning, I knew for sure. These three," she said indicating the guys. "Didn't believe me." Thirteen smiled as each handed her a twenty. "I'm surprised you didn't pick up on it, House."
"I had a little more on my mind than the recent mortality of a rabbit," he replied.
"So you've set the date already," Foreman said. "Do you have any idea where you're going to have the ceremony or the reception?"
"We actually haven't set anything firmly yet," Annie said. "James asked me just last night."
"Yeah, check out the rock he gave her," House said holding up Annie's hand with the straw wrapper ring. "With what things cost around this place, it's at least two months' salary."
"I told you, I did the best I could with what was available," Wilson said rolling his eyes. "My mom's brother, Arthur works as a diamond setter in Manhattan. I don't think I'll be up to going to New York anytime soon, but maybe he can send us to someone local that we can trust."
"And your due date is in May?" Chase asked.
"That's…if I were to go full-term. Dr. Wexler says thirty weeks is a more realistic goal." Everyone knew there had been an issue of damage to Annie's reproductive system in the attack; while they didn't know details, they knew the fact that Wexler was already involved wasn't a good sign.
"Wexler is one of the best in the country," Foreman said reassuringly. "We get letters from his patients all the time saying they wouldn't have been able to have their families if it weren't for him. You're in good hands."
"And you know you have tons of help waiting in the wings if you need it," Thirteen said.
"We appreciate that so much," Annie said looking at Wilson. "You're all wonderful."
"And don't forget: The chapel here at the hospital is on the small side," Foreman said. "But it's yours to use if you'd like."
"Thank you, Eric; that's very sweet of you." Annie came over to him and gave Foreman a hug.
"Chase? Taub? Any word on how thing are going down in the OR? I take it with you two not even scrubbed in yet that I shouldn't hold my breath," Wilson said.
"We're going to have a thirty minute heads up," Chase said indicating his beeper. "Last time I spoke to any one down there, you were still looking at a ten o'clock start." Wilson looked up at the clock and shook his head.
"One part of me wants them to…hurry up so I can get this over with and move on to bigger and better things," he said looking at Annie. "The other part of me doesn't want to know." Annie, who was stroking Wilson's hair, jumped when her phone buzzed.
"Your parents are in the parking lot looking for a spot," Annie said reading the message.
"Why don't they just park in Wilson's spot?" asked House. "He won't be using it for a while."
"Thanks for reminding me of just how incapacitated I am," Wilson said sarcastically. "And if they park in my spot, they'll be in here all the sooner."
"James, you'll feel terrible if you don't spend a little time with them before the operation," said Lydia smiling. "Besides, you two have big news to tell them."
"A wedding and a baby, a baby and a wedding," Elise sang while clapping her hands and dancing with Tom's daughter Shelly.
"OK, time to settle down; you kids have to get to school. Why don't you say your good-byes and then you can get going," Lydia turned to Marianne. "Are you sure you're OK with them staying at your house? I don't know when we'll be back," Lydia said glancing in House's direction.
"Lydia, your kids are like my own. I don't want you to even think twice about how long you'll be away," Marianne said. "I just feel so sorry for Greg. There's no way this can have a happy ending." Lydia looked at House, who was busy talking to his team about Kevin Sheeler's case.
"Greg isn't expecting a happy ending; he never does. But there are things he and his mom need to talk about that will bring closure…and maybe some surprises," Lydia said with a smile.
"I hope so. I'm going to take Tommy and Shelly with me and bring the car around to the front doors. It'll give you and Greg time to say goodbye to the kids."
"Thank you so much, Marianne," Lydia said giving her friend a hug. Marianne had her kids say goodbye to everyone and they left to get the car.
"It's time for you to say goodbye; you've stalled long enough," Lydia said to her children. "You'll be back to visit Wilson in a few days." Ben and Elise said goodbye to House's team and Tom, then went over to Wilson's bedside. Elise attempted to climb up on the bed so she could hug Wilson.
"Hey, easy," House said coming over to her. "You're not a mountain goat and he's not the Alps." House picked her up and supported her on the edge of the bed so she could give Wilson a hug and kiss.
"I don't know if I'll get to call you Uncle James or Uncle Wilson," the little girl said. "But I'm going to be really glad just to call you my uncle."
"Me, too," said Ben who was kneeling on the chair House had been sitting in. The boy offered his hand up in a high five. Wilson was becoming emotional over the children's delight in having him become a part of their family.
"Thanks, guys. I'm going to be really proud to have you be my niece and nephew." He gave a kiss to Elise on top of her curls, and matched Ben's upraised hand.
"Are we your only niece and nephew?" As House watched Wilson's face, he wished he could have kicked everyone out of the room except for the kids, Annie and Lydia. None of the others knew the story behind the discord in Wilson's family; they were going to question what the problem was. It was a well hidden secret that Wilson's older brother Michael had twins, a boy and a girl; sadly the only time Wilson ever saw them was in a picture that his sibling sent to a family friend. He had no contact, never kissed them or held them.
"No, you're not my only niece and nephew. My brother Michael has twins, a boy named Jason and a girl named Katherine; bur I never get to see them because they live so far away." House kept his surprise at Wilson's frankness well-hidden; he would chalk it up to the fact that the slight swelling on the brain was still making Wilson bluntly honest. Ben and Elise seemed satisfied with his explanation for now.
"Maybe someday we can all visit," Elise suggested.
"Maybe," Wilson said sadly.
"Come on, kids; let's head out to the car." The children hugged Annie and waved goodbye to everyone else. They headed out into the hall and started walking to the elevators. "Are you coming with us?" she asked House. He glanced over at Wilson, who seemed to be OK.
"Yeah," he replied.
"House!" Tom called out. "When you come back, we need to talk to you about something." House looked at his team.
"We? Is there a problem? Am I going to be forced to eat my last meal from the ptomaine palace?" House asked, referring to the cafeteria. Tom laughed.
"No, nothing like that. Just something we want to go over with you." He wasn't comfortable with the mystery of Tom's statement, but House figured all would be revealed soon enough. He didn't say a word, but turned and walked quickly to catch up with Lydia and the kids. They were going on about different things coming up in school, in soccer; but it was all a blur of noise to House. Little chirping voices grated on his nerves right now. Lydia had pushed the call button for the elevator before he joined the group, so they didn't wait long to enter a car.
"Now, remember; I don't know how long we'll be away, so don't drive Aunt Marianne crazy with a bunch of questions. I'll call once a day and you can talk to the both of us," Lydia said indicating House and herself. The doors on the elevator opened to reveal the lobby; the business of the day was just beginning, so it wasn't too crowded yet. Lydia looked out and saw that Marianne hadn't pulled up with the car yet.
"House? Isn't there anything you can do to help your mom? I mean…you're the best in the world," Ben said looking confused.
"Yeah, well it really sucks when you're the best at something, and you can't do a damn thing to help." House knew Ben would understand, so he elaborated. "Her cardiac system is failing and so is her vascular system. You can work at trying to keep it healthy with all these fad diets and miracle exercise programs they push at you these days; the truth is, when it's time to go…that's it."
"Sometimes the best you can hope for," Lydia said. "Is that the person doesn't suffer for too long and finds peace." House had a whole litany of responses he could give to Lydia's statement, but he didn't want to think about it right now.
"Aunt Marianne is here!" Elise called out. House and Lydia walked the children to Marianne's van. They helped the children into the car and booster seats and made sure they were secure.
"Everyone have a good day at school," Lydia said. "I'll call tonight to keep you updated." Lydia kissed her son; Ben and House exchanged fist pumps.
"Remember what I told you," House said. Ben smiled and nodded. Lydia kissed her daughter, then moved aside so House could say goodbye.
"I'm sorry about your mommy," Elise said. "She's a nice lady." House made a face.
"How do you know she's nice?"
"Because you're her son, and you're a nice person." The simplicity of the child's thinking could easily be dismissed by someone as cynical as House. But he had come to know both Elise and Ben over the past months, and he knew what she said, she really believed.
"Thanks," House said quietly as he gave her a fast hug.
"You guys have good day, too," said Lydia to Marianne's children as she closed the van's door. "Bye!" She stood by the curb of the circular driveway and waved as the van pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the road to the kids' school.
"If you want me to go by myself, I promise not to do anything irrational or otherwise dangerous to my health while I'm gone," House said. Lydia turned and looked at House with surprise.
"Why would I want you to go by yourself?" she asked. "I want to be there with you while you deal with this; plus, I would like to meet your mom. Elise was right: she has to be a special lady to have raised you." House turned and started to walk back into the hospital.
"Let's change the subject," he said letting out a sigh. "Tom told me before I met up with you and the kids that he and my team want to talk to me about something. Don't know if it includes Wilson and Annie, but I don't have a good feeling about this."
"What could all of them want to talk to you about?" Lydia asked as they passed through the sliding doors and entered the hospital.
"Not sure I want to find out."
"Greg! Lydia!" It was Wilson's parents entering the hospital a short distance behind them.
"Marge and Homer are here," House said sarcastically.
"Oh, stop! They're nothing like the Simpsons," Lydia said quietly.
"Good morning!" Claudia Wilson said as she and her husband caught up with the pair. "Heading up to see James?"
"Heading back up, actually," Lydia said. "We were just saying goodbye to my children."
"Are they going on a school trip?" Henry Wilson asked. The group had made it over to the elevators, and the doors opened just as they did. The four of them stepped inside; House was very glad that the ICU was on the second floor.
"No, they're staying with our friends Tom and Marianne while Greg and I go down to see his mother."
"So…you're not staying for James' operation?" Mrs. Wilson asked. House was too tired and had too much of a headache to deal with these kind of questions.
"If we weren't staying for his operation we would have been on the road already," he snapped. "We're leaving after I write his orders when he's brought into recovery." Mr. Wilson eyed House up.
"I didn't think you'd be in any shape to do much of anything after the way you tore out of here yesterday. I assumed you had a very bad night." House was ready to rip into Henry Wilson; but he glanced over at Lydia and realized he actually had a good night. A very good night.
"Nah; Just a few drinks, a little time to think things over, and a little bit of talking," House said as he stepped aside to let Wilson's parents exit the elevator. He caught Lydia's eye as she left the car; he could see she approved of the tactic he was taking.
"Oh…I…um, I…I'm sorry," Henry said clearly embarrassed at his assumption. "I'm just glad to see you're here for James."
"Wouldn't be anywhere else," House replied, feeling very self-satisfied that he got the better of Wilson's dad. As they made their way down the hall, House could see that his team and Tom were outside of Wilson's room as was Annie.
"Hi, good morning," Annie said as she greeted Wilson's parents with hugs. "Did you sleep well?"
"As well as we could knowing what was happening today," Mrs. Wilson said. "But, yes it was far better than a chair. Um, I noticed that I didn't see too many of your things at James' apartment. I assumed you and James lived together." Annie was a little taken back but knew in a few minutes, the Wilsons were in for a big surprise.
"Well, we bounce back and forth between my place and his, depending in what's going on," she said smiling at Lydia and House. "I see you have your coffee already, so why don't we head inside and spend some time with James?" Annie slid the door open and led her future in-laws into their son's room. House looked at Tom; he had a feeling he was a bit friendlier than the rest of the group would be.
"So, what are you looking for? Stock market advice? New ways to prepare squid?" quipped House.
"None of the above," Tom said. "The metamizole that Lydia found at the Sheeler's house is their property. But since the drug is not approved for use in the U.S., and the Sheelers certainly don't want to lay eyes on it again, technically the hospital should take possession of it, and see to its proper disposal."
"So far, I haven't learned anything I didn't already know; have you?" House asked Lydia. She shook her head. "Just as I thought…BORING!"
"Don't be so quick to play judge, jury and executioner," Tom said with a smile. "I think you'll soon find this very interesting."
"There's regulations for the disposal of medicine in the United States," Chase noted. "But those apply to drugs that are under the auspices of the FDA."
"For drugs that are manufactured and sold outside of the states, the same regulations don't apply; the rule are far more vague," Taub pointed out.
"So, since we had no idea of how to get rid of the drug, we put our heads together," Thirteen said. "And came up with a really smart idea." House was scowling at each of them as they spoke.
"It didn't occur to any of you morons to simply throw the bottles away? Toss it in the dumpster behind your local sushi place; if anyone gets sick, it can be blamed on some bad samshi."
"Actually, someone did want to take a different course than the one we're suggesting," Taub said looking at Foreman. "But we managed to change his mind." Foreman shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he listened to the conversation.
"So, what clever solution did the gang of four come up with?" House asked.
"Well, this is only going to work with your help," Tom said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag that had the two unopened bottles, and the one partially used bottle of metamizole. "After Wilson gets picked up to head down to surgery, you're going to get an EKG and blood work done. If it checks out OK, Lydia gets to hold on to this," Tom said holding up the bag. "And she'll make sure you don't go beyond the recommended dosage." House started to reach for the bag. "Ah, AH! Not so fast. There are rules; if you feel any sort of problem…a racing heart, dizziness, lightheaded, sore throat…anything, you stop taking it and get yourself to the emergency room immediately, if not sooner. The minute you get back here, you have to submit yourself to another EKG and blood work. If you don't get any of these problems, we'll stick to an EKG twice a week for two weeks and blood controls twice a week for a month.
"Hey, you're taking the caution stuff a bit to the extreme," House complained. "I'll get anemic from all those blood draws."
"Hardly," Tom said making a face. "We'll stick to capillary blood draws most of the time, like we did in the good old days and like we do with babies. The big needle will come out every two weeks, tops." He went to hand the bag to House, but then pulled it back. "Oh, and one more thing…save the bottles as you empty them out; we have to have something to put with the faked paperwork we'll be filling out," Tom said looking over at Foreman who was shaking his head.
"I figured if I need any help with the forged papers I could always ask you to help, House. You're good at that sort of thing." Tom held out the bag to House; he reached and took it as if he were in a daze.
"You know about this?" he asked Lydia.
""No," she said shaking her head. "I had no idea." She looked at Tom, and then House's team in amazement. "You know there's going to be an inquiry into the whole situation by the two fire departments Kevin works for; there's going to be a lot of questions."
"Hence the need for House to bring back the empties," Tom said.
"Why?" House asked. Lydia inwardly winced; she knew why House's team and Tom were doing this. But while House understood what the result of the gesture would be, he couldn't fathom the reason why his team and therapist did it.
"House, each of has lost at least one parent, one way or another. Most of us have lost two," Thirteen began to say. Suddenly there was loud voices coming from Wilson's room.
"His parents know they're getting married," House noted. He looked at Thirteen.
"We know how hard this would be for anyone," she said continuing. "If you had a little less pain from your leg, we thought it might be a way to make things a little less difficult for you." A shriek came from Wilson's room.
"Now they know they're having a grandkid," Lydia said smiling. House looked down at the bag in his hand. It would make things somewhat easier; the few drops he took yesterday to sample the medicine, did bring some noticeable relief.
"Now, understand this, House," Tom said. "All those rules are because I haven't had a chance to contact my broker to pick up extra stock in the tissue market; cause if anything happened to you…" Tom looked at Lydia and smiled. "I would not want to deal with her. Also don't want to see the dogfight that would ensue over who gets to be the head of diagnostics." House's team started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" House asked. "It's notated in my will." He looked at the bag of medicine again, and handed it to Lydia. "Thanks." A rattle of noise from down the hall caught everyone's attention.
"Son of a bitch!" Chase exclaimed as he looked at his beeper. "We were supposed to get a thirty minute warning." Taub looked at his pager.
"I didn't get anything either," he said.
"Doesn't matter," House said. "It's time."