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Hope you enjoy it.
Again, I apologize for the eventual misspelling and grammar mistakes.
House was driving Rachel back home from the hospital. Her nanny would be at their place in an hour or so. He was planning on having some rest and the a decent shower, so he could go back to the hospital to spend the night with Cuddy and the baby.
He looked at his rearview mirror to check how things were doing in the back seat. Rachel was quite, mumbling the song of a Disney cd he had put on for her. She was an easy kid to handle, he couldn't complain. His only hope was that Leah would be low maintenance too.
"So, will you be ok with Marina, tonight?" he asked the toddler.
"Yep!" she replied nodding her little head.
"Great! Your mommy will be back from the hospital tomorrow afternoon, and she will spend plenty of time at home for a while, with you and your sister." he told her trying to cheer her a little.
They arrived home and after parking his car, House helped Rachel climb out, and, as they entered the house, just before they could reach the live room the little girl looked at him and said: "Gregg?"
He had heard that before, he knew she was about to ask something that was bothering her. At that moment he wished she had chosen another time, he was too tired to came out with a decent explanation about the 'why we have a tongue?', 'where does water come from?', or, 'why birds fly?' type of questions.
"Yes?" he answered.
"Are you Leah's daddy?" she asked. She was wondering about it ever since Wilson had called Greg a 'daddy'. She was not even sure what daddy really means, she knew her uncle Thomas was her cousins daddy and the kids in the books, her mom read to her, also had daddies, but what was 'it' really about, she couldn't tell.
House knew it was coming, and it was his fault, he should have discussed this with her before the baby was born. Better, he should have had Cuddy dealt with this situation.
"Yes, Rachel. I'm her daddy." he replied, trying not to go any further with her questioning.
"What is a daddy?" she fired back almost instantaneously.
"Oh! Don't be silly! You know what a dad is, you see about it, all the time, on TV or on you books." he said, still trying to make her drop the subject.
"Yes… but what do they do? What are they for?"
He took a deep breath, sat with her on the couch and said: "Daddies are like mommies, only they are boys." At that moment, it was the best explanation he could come up with.
"So, you have milk on your boobies too?" she looked at him with puzzle eyes.
He couldn't help himself, despite the situation, it still amazed him how her mind come up with questions like that.
"No, Rachie. Only mommies have milk on their boobies. Remember, when your mother told you there was a baby inside her tummy? she nodded and he continued. "Only girls can grow a kid in their stomachs, and, only them can nurse the babies with their breasts. Daddies have to feed them with a bottle."
"But… I don't understand it. Did mommy feed me with her bobbies too?"
"No. You know you didn't grow inside your mom's tummy like your sister, right? Your mom had this talk with you, remember?"
"Yes, she told me I'm her daughter from the heart. The nice lady, who had me inside her tummy, gave me to my mom when I was a baby."
"You right, you grew inside someone else's tummy, so your mom had to feed you with a bottle when you're a baby, because she didn't have any milk on her breasts after you were born." he explained to her.
She stood quite a while, trying to process all that information. House could hear the wheels turning in her head.
"Do I have a daddy too?" she finally asked.
"No, Rachel. You don't." he, honestly, thought it will still be months before she would ask that question, or that was Cuddy who would deal with it. However, of all days, she had to choose today, to bring that up.
"Do you have a daddy?"
"I did but he's dead"
"Does mommy have a daddy?"
"She did, he died too."
"Are you gonna die too?" she asked quietly.
"No." he lied, he just didn't want to make this conversation more complicate than it already was.
Rachel still didn't look convinced. "How come I don't have a daddy?"
"Not everyone has one."
"Is it because I'm not from my mom's belly? Is that why Leah has a dad and I don't?"
He had to admit, the girl was smart for her age. In parts, she was right. Cuddy had chosen to fly solo when she adopted Rachel. But, Leah was born out of a relationship, and that meant, somehow, the kid had both parents.
"Well…" he stopped a moment, he had no idea how to explain that, mostly because it was not fair to make Rachel grow up thinking he didn't see her as a daughter, but, also, wasn't fair to impose him as her father, when he had no idea how to be a good one.
He didn't know how to answer. "Listen, Leah didn't have a choice. She was born and I was already her daddy… you… well, you're lucky, you don't need be stuck with anyone as a daddy." he said not knowing whether he was making a mess of things or not.
"But what if I want one?" she inquired.
"I don't know how that works, Rachel. You'll have to ask your mom." he said, hoping it would work with a two year old.
"Can I have a daddy from the heart, like I have a mommy from the heart?"
"Well, I don't know… I guess you can… again, maybe you should have this talk with your mom." House said, all the fatigue from the last day was starting to make him a little cranky.
"Can you be my daddy from the heart?" Rachel asked, looking him in the eyes.
House wasn't ready to have that conversation with Rachel, not knowing what to say, he squatted down in front of the little girl in the sofa, reaching out to stroke her arms and said: "Rachie, I don't know what to say… you don't want to be stuck with be as your father forever, believe me."
"Father?" she asked not following him.
"Father is the same as daddy, like mother is the same as mom."
"Oh! But I want you to be my daddy too. And I will be with you, and mommy and Leah forever!" she said with a softly voice.
Her statement made him smile a bit. It amazed him how clueless kids are.
"Look, how about if we discuss this in a few years, when you'll be aware of what all this really means?"
"Don't be silly, Gregg! I understood what you said, and I want a mommy who is a boy… and I want him to be you!"
"God, you're persistent… like mother, like daughter!"
"Please!" she begged once more.
"Ok… with one condition!"
"What?"
"You can never change your mind about this, no matter what happens!"
"Ok!" she nodded in agreement.
"Wait, it's not that simple, young lady. I've learnt my lesson; never trust a Cuddy's word." He unfolded a peace o paper he had on his pocket and took a crayon that was lying near the center table and gave them to Rachel. "Here, you have to sign a contract."
She took the paper and the crayon, made some scratch on it, and then gave them back to House.
"Done?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Ok, so we have a deal now. You're my newest older daughter and I'm your dad from the heart."
The end.