Chapter 28

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

The baby sitter arrived Saturday night at 6:45 p.m., a little early, but that was fine with Teagan. She had time to get to know the young lady who showed up wearing jeans, a sweater and a pair of Nikes. Teagan was ready and waiting for House, who had gotten home late and was just now in the shower. Tara was seventeen and came with her own DVDs. She asked for House's cell phone number, Teagan's cell phone and the phone number of the place they would be. Teagan had to look up the number to the hospital's community hall where the party was taking place. She also gave her Wilson's phone number as a backup.

Gregory was already charming her with his antics and attempts to walk around the room. Going over the schedule for Gregory's last bottle and bedtime, Teagan enjoyed Tara's sense of humor. She showed Tara around the townhouse. Teagan had at least unpacked and arranged the bedrooms, kitchen and living room. The rest of the boxes were in the second bedroom. So the house was looking nice, not great, but getting there.

When House came out of the bedroom in his tux, both Teagan and Tara stopped in their tracks.

Teagan gave him a big grin, "Honey, you look incredibly delicious."

"I second that Dr. House." Tara said. Teagan and House both looked at her. She stuttered, "I, I, ..uh, I mean that you look nice."

House looked at his wife. "I'm glad I took you off the market. You look very sexy in that dress, but don't you think it is a little low cut for a wife and mother?"

"No comment from you...you picked it out." It was white draped satin on the top with a clinging black satin skirt on the bottom and a jeweled belt. The skirt came about four inches above the knee and she had some lovely Stewart Weitzman black satin shoes that went with it.

"You do look great Mrs. House." Tara said with a smile.

Teagan looked at her like she had just called her Liberace. Then she looked at House and saw the amusement on his face. He knew she wanted to correct Tara and tell her she was still Ms. Furey; but she decided it was too much effort. House wrapped Teagan in her cashmere coat, gabbed his overcoat and they left.

Arriving at the hospital, Teagan was amazed at the transformation in the community center. What had been a bland, commercial interior, was now draped in red velveton two of the walls. One wall was the stage and the other a bank of windows. Silver, green and red helium balloons were hugging the ceiling with silver streamers dangling down just above the heads of the crowd. The tables were draped in red and white tablecloths. Silver stars were scattered on the tables.

As they walked through the crowd, there were many congratulations on their marriage; but when Teagan shook their hands she heard strange thoughts from the well-wishers.

I give it one month.

Welcome to the depths of hell lady.

How did House score such a sexy chick, I'd like to screw that.

She must not know House very well.

All night long Teagan listened to rude comments about her husband and their marriage. They all respected House's talents but he certainly wasn't winning a popularity contest. Finally one of the new doctors came up, she didn't know House well, so when she offered her congratulations it didn't have any negative strings attached.

Cuddy seemed to like the new doctor a lot. "Teagan, this is Margie Tarkington. Dr. Tarkington just joined us. She used to work with me at the Mayo Clinic. I finally got her to come over to Princeton-Plainsboro. Margie, this is Teagan, the one I told you saved me."

Her eyebrows went up, "The psychic?"

Everyone at the table nodded yes, including House.

Cuddy leaned forward, "Teagan, could you read Margie? She just got asked out by a really nice looking Math professor and we were wondering if it was going to go anywhere?."

Teagan wasn't happy but hated to disappoint Cuddy who had done so much for House. "Ok, but I've been having headaches. I can't push too much to see in the future, ok?"

"I really appreciate this." Margie said sweetly.

Teagan reached out and put her hand on top of Margie's. House had his hand resting on Teagan's shoulder while he looked around the room. He just wanted to make sure she didn't push because of the blood pressure concerns.

"I see the first date going very well. There's a lot of laughter." She paused, pushing a little to get past the relationship honeymoon phase. "You date for several months, but in six months you have feelings for someone else." Teagan gasped, sat up straight as her mouth dropped open. She yanked her hand away Margie's as fast as she could. House saw a drop of blood come from her nose, falling on the white tablecloth.

"Teagan, are you ok?" He asked her. She looked at him with shock and hurt. "What is it?"

Looking at everyone's horrified face, she took a deep breath to calm herself, "It's nothing, I just couldn't get a fix on your future and I went blank. It's never happened before. Sorry, but I can't give you more."

"Well at least I'll have some fun." Margie said.

"Yes." Teagan agreed, nodding her head and trying to pretend to be normal. She was quiet the rest of the evening, but very distracted. She kept looking at House and finally he caught her plaintive look.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I just have a bad headache."

"Why didn't you say something? We can go."

"You seemed to be enjoying yourself."

"I'm fine with leaving, let's get out of here." He stood and addressed the table of friends, "We're going, Teagan has a headache. Merry Christmas everyone." House helped Teagan to her feet and with her coat.

Once in the car, they had driven a few blocks when House looked over at Teagan, "Ok, what did you really see?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just get home and go to bed?"

"No. You're obviously upset and I want to know why. Don't give me the silent treatment."

She said nothing the rest of the way home. When House parked, Teagan jumped out of the car and went inside. They gave Tara $30 even though they only owed her $18 and she went happily out to her car, driving off into the night. House took off his tuxedo jacket and bow tie then started on the French cuffs.

"Teagan, please don't give me the silent treatment. I won't let you go to bed upset."

Standing in the middle of the bedroom, she shook her head, "You don't want to know this. Please don't make me tell you." She made her way towards the bathroom to take off her makeup and brush her teeth. House blocked her way with his cane and body.

"We can't start a marriage with secrets. Please?"

The air went out of her; she went back to the bed and sat down in her bra and panties. "I saw her making love to you in June of next year." She looked into his eyes and swallowed hard, "You were having sex."

He froze. This couldn't be true. In six months he was going to have an affair with Margie Tarkington? "That can't be true, your visions are wrong sometimes, aren't they? I wouldn't have an affair six months from now."

"I didn't say you were having an affair; I said you were having sex."

He felt his stomach clench. "We're divorced in less than six months?" He went over and sat down next to her, his head turned to look at her.

Her voice was soft, frail, "No, we aren't divorced either." She looked at the palms of her hands, unable to look in his eyes.

He was confused at first; if they weren't divorced and it wasn't an affair then-- "No, no, no! I won't accept this! You have to tell me that your visions don't always come true. Tell me they don't come true!" He grabbed her wrists tightly and with his eyes begged her to stop the pain he was feeling.

She tried to send him love, peace, serenity, but he was too upset, to wild with pain.

Jumping up, House grabbed his coat, keys, cane and ran out the door. He flew to the hospital and brought up the MRI, printing every single cut and put them up around him. This was too much. He started sobbing.

I could feel him crying and I hated myself for telling him, but he would have found out on Monday. It was better that he was alone when he viewed the MRI scan. It would have humiliated him if he had cried in front of the other doctors on Monday. I just wish I wasn't alone. I was so scared that all I wanted was to be held. I wasn't afraid for me, I was afraid for my two Gregs. All those plans you make. Gone. To actually know that you won't grow old together. It's hard.

House pulled out his cell phone and called Wilson. Wilson looked at the caller I.D. and realized it was House. He and Jennifer were still at the party.

"This better be good."

"I need you down at the hospital."

"Can't this wait until Monday?" There was no response, but Wilson could tell that he was still on the phone. "Ok, I'll be there shortly."

Jennifer was ready to leave the party, so they both went to the hospital. House was still sitting in the room with the MRI cuts when Wilson joined him. Looking around the room, Wilson went down the wall cut by cut.

"Ok, Mestatic Pheochromocytoma, with involvement in the liver, lungs, and brain, probably the bone too. I figure 2-6 months with chemotherapy, less without. What's this about House? This patient needs palliative care, there's nothing else you can do, but you knew this. It could have waited until Monday, I was--"

"It's Teagan."

"--having...Teagan?" Wilson ran back to the boards and looked through them hoping he had missed something. "House, are you joking?" But then Wilson saw his eyes and realized he had been crying. His heart crashed for his friend.

"Anything new, any experimental treatments?" House asked soberly.

"The University of California San Francisco Medical Center has had some luck with sending Mestatic Pheochromocytoma in late stages into remission with I 131 MIBG. The Pheochromocytoma is treated with a radioactive compound called I 131 MIBG which is taken up by the Pheochromocytoma and related tumor cells. It delivers the radioactive iodine to the cancer cells selectively resulting in their destruction. The treatment requires that the patient undergo a preliminary MIBG scan with a low dose I131 MIBG or I123 MIBG to see if the cancer cells actually absorb enough of the radioactive isotropes. A Pretreatment Evaluation and collection of Stem Cells is mandatory to determine if the patient is a candidate for the experimental treatment."

"How do we get her into it?"

"I'll call San Francisco on Monday."

Wilson walked over to House, "So this is why her blood pressure has been spiking up and down. Does she know?"

House shook his head yes.

"I'm sorry House."

House said nothing. Walking quietly back to his office, he grabbed his coat and started the car. The longest drive in his life was the nine blocks home. He sat in his car for another half hour before going in. The coat hung up, he went into the bedroom and saw that she was asleep. He took off his shoes, his socks, his pants and shirt and then went in to brush his teeth. His bloodshot eyes made the blue bluer. Holding on, he stared down into the the sink before finally heading back to the bedroom, climbed in behind her and held her. He kissed the back of her head and felt completely and utterly hopeless.

I didn't want him to have to tell me tonight. He was already so upset and worried that I didn't want to put him through the task of telling me what's killing me. I was upset, but he was devastated. I opened the gate to find out what he was thinking or feeling and he immediately felt me exploring his mind.

"I'm beginning to know when you're there. I don't know what to do. I can't fix this. I've failed you."

She turned over and looked directly into his eyes which were barely visible except for what little light there was from the moon outside. "You haven't failed me."

"The bleeding, I assumed it was from your psychic crap. It turns out that when you get stressed from the psychic crap you exacerbate a tumor on your adrenal glands that sends your blood pressure sky high. It's the tumor that caused the blood pressure problem, not your voodoo. I should have thought of that, I should have made you get checked."

"Look, I wouldn't have done it, I didn't have the money. Honey, don't beat yourself up over this."

"Right, I shouldn't beat myself up over the fact that I failed to diagnose my own wife?"

"I've only been your wife four days. Stop this. I don't want to look back. The only thing I want to know about the future is that you'll raise Gregory. Promise me that you'll take care of him and love him."

"What do you think I am? Do you think I'm going to send him out for adoption or sell him to the highest bidder?"

"No, I'm sorry, I'm just worried about him." And then she started to cry for her son.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry too. Of course you're worried about him, he's your baby."

"I'm worried about you too. You don't think much of yourself. You need to have more faith in me. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if you weren't lovable. I want you to have someone and I want you to be happy. I could try to read you, but I don't want to know. I want to think that you find someone and that you raise our son with someone who loves him. I know it's a bit of a fantasy, but it's my fantasy and right now, it's all I have to get me through this."

"There's an experimental program in San Francisco for what you have. Wilson's going to call on Monday."

"I won't qualify."

"Fuck! ...stop this! Don't take away my hope!"

"I'm sorry, I just didn't want you to get...I'm not good at this. Does anyone get good at talking about their own death?"

House turned over on his back. He physically ached everywhere. If he closed his eyes maybe he could get to sleep and not have to think about it, but neither of them slept that night.

On Monday, Wilson talked to San Francisco and they sent him the information and the prerequisites for the entrance into the treatment program. Teagan came to the hospital with the baby, dressed in a cute little Christmas outfit. She went with Wilson for tests that she knew were useless, but if they helped House get through this then it was worth the discomfort. Wilson explained that the main tumor was on the adrenal gland which sits on top of the kidney. The tumor caused her blood pressure to reach horrendous spikes and eventually, after the tumor had been there awhile, the blood pressure just remained elevated, causing damage throughout the body, including mini-strokes which probably caused her headache. Now the tumor had mestasticized and was in several of her organs and her bones.

When she was done, they were headed back to the office and Wilson turned to her, "I am so sorry...for both of you. I thought for once he was going to have some happiness."

"Jim, listen to me. He's going to be stupid for awhile, do stupid things. You're going to have to keep him steady. Keep reminding him of his son and his responsibilities. He won't like you much for doing that, but eventually he'll come to appreciate what you do for him and Gregory. So please don't lose patience with him. I don't know much beyond what happens in the next year because I don't want to know. I do know that between you and Cuddy, he's going to start to come out of it just when you think he can't sink any lower. I'm counting on you Jim. My son is counting on you too."

"This is asking a lot." He tilted his head and gave her a puppy dog look so full of sadness, she wanted to hug him.

"It's nothing you haven't done before, only this time you'll have someone to complain to...you'll have Jennifer. She'll keep you steady."

They got back into the office and House got up and gave her a kiss. Cuddy came running in with tears welling up. She grabbed Teagan, giving her a frantic hug. She looked over at Wilson, "Is there anything out there we can try?"

"We're already working on it." Wilson told her.

They spent a few more minutes talking about her options. Teagan excused herself and told everyone that she had an appointment. House looked at her suspiciously.

"What appointment?" He asked.

"To get my hair done. Now Gregory and I have to get going. Bye darling." She gave him a kiss, put her hand on his cheek and smiled. He looked as if he was going to start crying again.

Teagan drove to the lawyer's office and left him with her wishes for the will and trust. The Jersey lawyer worked with a lawyer in California and together they drafted the appropriate documents. She signed them on December 23rd. It was the same day they discovered that she didn't meet the prerequisites of the experimental treatment.

House started throwing things around his office until Wilson and Foreman physically held him until he calmed down. They drove him home.

Christmas morning she woke up to House sitting in bed in a Santa's hat and nothing else. Teagan laughed, pulled him down to her to give him a kiss, full of tongue and urgency. Pulling her t-shirt over her head, House stared down and marveled at how sweet her breasts looked, he bent over and kissed them. She reached down and stroked between his legs as he continued to play with her breasts, wanting her. She wanted him. Teagan opened her legs to take him, but he hesitated. He wanted to look at her, her body ready to be taken. She was so sexy, so beautiful, so innocent even in her passion. He entered her and then slowly let the rhythm pick up until they were both in sync and making the sounds of two people working hard at what they were doing. He came first and then brought her to orgasm. When it was over they were quiet. He was going to miss this, the intimate moments when they had met each other's most basic needs and then fell into each other's arms.

Gregory woke up and they took him into the living room to the Christmas tree, letting him open his gifts. He delighted them with sounds of cheerful chirping when he saw the toys. She handed House his gifts. There were books on Jazz artists and a three CD set of his favorite guitarists, socks, candy, a scarf that she had crocheted and his favorite gift, a framed photo taken the day they hiked Carrion Falls. He looked at it and realized that even in that photo they looked like they were in love.

House gave her his gifts, bought weeks ago before he knew. There were cashmere sweaters, speakers for her IPOD, diamond earrings and a box that contained a key. She felt the key and knew exactly what it was. She screamed happily, then she started crying like a baby. Gregory started crying too. They all put on coats and went outside. Gleaming in the winter sun, there she was, her Mustang. Running her hand down the shiny red door, she opened it and got in, touching her leather, the wheel, the dash. Loving every second.

Between the tears she asked him, "How did you get her back?"

I followed the title and told the guy your story, why you sold her and why we needed her back. I had to pay an extra two thousand, but she's yours.

"Thank you honey. Thank you. It's good to see her again."

They spent Christmas afternoon at Lisa's. Teagan brought a carrot dish and a pumpkin pie. Wilson and Jennifer brought a vegetable dish too. They all had a great time and when it was time to go home Teagan took Lisa aside and told her how grateful she was for this day. Lisa almost started to cry, but Teagan gave her a stern look to hold it together.

That night Teagan insisted that Gregory sleep with them. She wanted to have both of her boys with her. They both watched Gregory sleeping between them and smiled.

"He looks so angelic when he's asleep."

House reached over and brushed Teagan's cheek. They each leaned over Gregory and kissed each other, "I love you." he said.

"I love you too."

The next morning Teagan told House that she was going to go to the store for milk, "Can you put the kettle on for tea?"

He nodded. "Are you taking the Mustang?"

"You bet I am!" She was happy. Just as she was leaving, she turned to him and smiled, "I love my gift sweetie. You're the best husband I've ever had."

He laughed, "I'm the only husband you've ever had."

She jumped into the Mustang, cranked her over and heard her purr. It gave her great satisfaction to be with her old friend again. She thought of her life and how much the Mustang had seen of it. When she got to the store, she sat in the car as her IPOD finished playing, "Blackberry Blossom." Just as she put her head back to listen she felt a sharp, incredibly painful headache hit. It was worse than any that she had before. She started to dial House, but the face of the cell phone started to go black as did her surroundings. All she could hear was,

...I was picking berries when that crow flew above me

Carrying my lover so far away

Now each spring I lay a blackberry blossom

By a cold gravestone on the Arkansas clay

The Arkansas clay is rocky and hard

With weeds growing over in the old graveyard

And the day settles down to an evening hush

Over the blackberry blossom and the blackberry bush

The pain was horrible, she was trying to open the gate to House.

Greg? Greg?

House was on the floor playing with Gregor when he heard her panicked voice in his head, Teagan? What's wrong?

Honey, It's my head, it's exploding...it hurts. Can you come...

It was quiet, still. He didn't even feel her in his head, "Teagan?... Teagan? Oh no, no ...God no."

House arrived on the scene in the grocery story parking lot with Gregory and knew immediately that it was too late. She had a massive brain hemorrhage and was found by the paramedics that House had called as soon as he felt her presence slip away.

"Sir, you'll have to step back."

"I'm a doctor and she's my wife. I can see that she's dead. I just want to see her, touch her."

The paramedic stepped aside and House went up to the car. "I Ain't Missing You was playing out of the IPOD. She looked like she was just laying back listening to music and would look up at him any minute now. He touched her cheek and it was freezing cold. The coolness of her skin brought tears to his eyes. He nuzzled Gregory who was trying to reach out to his mother. House stepped back with his son into the cold December wind and thought to himself that sometimes life just wasn't fair. He told his son, "It's time to take your Mommy back to the mountains, back home where she belongs."

The End

Dear Readers,

If you liked this story, please leave a review. The sequel to it, Betazed, will be posted in the next few days. Look for it, or check your author alert subscription. I know this story has a sad ending, but I just felt as if Teagan's story had a sad element to it. Wait until you meet her son in Betazed! Thanks, Gorblimey2