Chapter 21

A few weeks before Christmas, Frank had a work event to attend on Friday night so he picked up the kids on Saturday morning instead. House had a patient and was stuck at the hospital. Daniel and Emma greeted their father and he sent them out to the car to wait for him. Karen was heading to the kitchen, when he spoke.

"Karen, wait!" Frank said. "I wanted to talk to you."

She turned and looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. No, that's not true. Actually, everything is wrong. I'm wrong. I mean, I was wrong."

"Frank, what are you talking about?"

He looked at the floor, then took a deep breath and said, "I was wrong when I let you out of my life. I realize now what a mistake that was. I want us to get back together."

She just stared at him, speechless, unable to believe what he was saying.

"I was wrong to cheat on you, I was stupid to stop having sex with you and I was really wrong to agree to the divorce. All I can think about now is you and how much I miss you and want you back in my life."

"I – I'm with someone else now." She told him.

"I know. But you aren't married, so I'm thinking there might still be a chance for us."

"Frank—"

"I love you. I've always loved you. I've never stopped loving you."

She didn't know what to say.

"Look, don't give me an answer now. Think about it. Think about all that we had together, the good times, before I became an idiot. Think about our children. Think about how great it would be for them to have their family together. Think about all of those things before you answer me."

"That is totally unfair, Frank."

"I know. But I'll use any weapon I can in this battle. I want to win. I want you. I need you."

With that, he left. Karen stared after him and then closed the door and returned to the house.

How could he say that to her now? After all they'd been through? After all the pain? After the divorce and selling the house and everything? Now he wanted her?

She looked at the room she'd recently furnished and House's piano in the middle of it. His face appeared to her, with those blue eyes and that quirky smile. She loved him. But did he feel the same? She thought maybe he did, but he'd never said, so she wasn't sure.

Frank claimed to love her. He said the words she wanted to hear from House. But were words all that counted? She didn't need the words if she knew that he cared. She felt that he did. She knew he wasn't an emotional or sentimental type of man.

And then there were the children. No matter how she felt about Greg or Frank, she loved her children more. They were the most important people in her life. She would literally die for them. If she truly believed that the best thing for them was for her and Frank to reunite, she would do it in a heartbeat.

But was it? She just didn't know.

She went about her day, doing what she had to do, but with the weight of Frank's words on her shoulders.

House didn't make it home until late that night. He was pissed that he'd had to work. The weekends without the kids were always time for the two of them to share time alone. But it was so late now, he thought Karen would be asleep. But when he got inside, he heard the TV from the family room.

He went in and saw Karen lying on the sofa with the television on.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." She didn't look up.

Uh-oh, he thought, what did I do?

"Everything okay?"

She nodded. He sat beside her on the sofa.

"How's your patient?" she asked.

"He'll live."

"That's good."

"Sorry I had to work. Ruined our day without the kids."

"That's okay."

When she didn't say anything else, he figured they had to be something else that he'd done that she was pissed about. Better to take the bull by the horns and get it over with.

"Okay, what did I do?"

"Excuse me?"

"You're mad at me. I probably did something stupid to piss you off. Just tell me what it was so I can apologize, you can yell at me, whatever."

She looked at him. His blue eyes looked so earnest, like a little boy's. He was so sure he had done something wrong. He deserved the truth from her.

"Frank talked to me this morning when he picked up the kids."

"O-kay." He said, wondering what that had to do with him.

She took a deep breath, then said, "He told me that he still loves me and he wants us to get back together."

House just stared at her for a few moments, then said, "Seriously?"

She nodded.

He swallowed, almost afraid to ask this. "Are you considering it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean…"

"Do you still love him?"

"He's the father of my children. A part of me will always love him."

He looked away from her. "Right."

"Greg, I don't…this is hard to think about."

"Not that hard. Either you want him or you want me." God, why did he feel like déjà vu? Hadn't he had almost the same discussion with Stacey? And hadn't THAT turned out well?

"Well," he said, "You'd better get all the sex you can now. Because if you go back to Ol' Frank, it could be slim pickings again."

"That's not fair."

"Excuse me if I'm not feeling fucking fair right now!" He got up and headed to the bedroom.

"Greg—"

He turned to her, anger flashing in his blue eyes. "I just worked three days straight. I'm really tired right now. Didn't think I'd be coming home to this. So sorry if I'm not being 'fair'. When you've made a decision let me know. I'll have to give my tenant some notice before he leaves my apartment."

He limped off to the bedroom. She collapsed back on the sofa, tears filling her eyes.

He avoided her the next day. She'd made coffee when she got up and he poured himself a cup. She had gone grocery shopping. He made sure to listen for her leaving before he got up.

As he drank the coffee, he thought about what she had told him. Ol' Frank wanted her back. Well, of course he did. The man was a fool for letting her go. It was only a matter of time before he realized that.

But House had assumed that when the man came to his senses, Karen would laugh at him and send him on his way. The fact that she was considering it was terrifying.

Not that he'd had any illusions that this would last forever. He wasn't that lucky. But he'd hoped that he'd get at least a few years out of it.

That was what he got for hoping.

Of course, she'd never told him that she loved him, but he'd assumed it. A woman like her didn't just shack up with a guy she didn't care about. But he figured she didn't love him as much as Ol' Frank.

He got dressed and went for a long ride on his bike. By the time he came home, the kids were there.

Karen, still unsure, had avoided Frank when he dropped off the kids. She knew he'd wait until she was ready to answer him. She just wasn't sure what she should answer. Wasn't sure what the right answer was.

She hid out in the bedroom when House came home. The kids were in the family room and they could sense the tension. When he went to his piano, Daniel approached him.

"Greg, is there something wrong with Mom? With you and Mom?"

House didn't know if Karen wanted the kids to know what Frank had asked, but then he figured, screw it. This affected them as well.

"You father wants to get back together with your mother. He asked her yesterday. She's thinking about it."

Daniel looked at him in open-mouthed amazement.

"That's dumb! They were miserable together. And he cheated on her!"

"She told you that?"

"No, I saw him. My friends and I were trying to score some beer one night and we snuck into this bar. I saw him with some woman. He was kissing her and had his hand on her leg. And that was way before they divorced."

House nodded. It really wasn't anything he didn't know or hadn't suspected, but it was tough for the kid to have seen.

"Well, it's her decision."

"It's a crappy decision!" Daniel protested. "Why would she want to go back to being sad? She's been happy here with you. We all have."

House was amazed that the kid was saying that. He just shrugged and continued playing. Daniel returned to the family room and told Emma what House had told him.

"Daddy wants Mom back?" Emma said hopefully.

"Don't say it like that, Em. I know you keep dreaming of them together, but it wouldn't be good. Mom would be really sad again like she was before Dad left. He wasn't nice to her."

"But maybe he'd be better to her now."

"You don't know that. And she's been really happy here. Haven't you seen that?"

"Yeah," the girl admitted, "She has."

"Don't you like Greg?"

"I do like him. I'm just… oh, I don't know!"

"Yeah, neither does Mom. But someone has to help her see what's right."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"No. She won't listen to me. I'm still a kid. But there is someone she will listen to."

He ran up to his room, pulling his cell phone out as he did. House saw him go past, wondered what he was up to, then shrugged and continued playing. The kid probably wouldn't be his business much longer.