Another Chance
I am writing this just to make things clear: Rachel is now 17, Cuddy is 57, House is 65, Wilson is 61 and Arlene is 78. A huge thank you to whoever read the and reviewed the first chapter! And I also have to thank partypantscuddy for beta-ing this :)
Chapter 2
Rachel had been driving for hours stopping every once in a while to fetch something to eat or drink and to freshen up a bit. She spent the first night in Pittsburgh, in a cheap motel along the street. She didn't want to stop, she wanted to drive for a couple of more hours, but she knew that it was better to get some rest before doing something stupid and reckless that could cost her her life. She asked for a room and the woman behind the counter immediately gave her the keys, before disappearing again behind a thick blue curtain.
She opened the door to her room in a rush and immediately threw her handbag onyto the very small couch under the window. After switching on the lamp on the bedside table she inspected the room with critical eyes. She sighed and plopped onto the bed, hoping with all her heart that no one had died in there. She chuckled to herself remembering all the TV shows in which someone got murdered in one of those cheap motels. Rachel laid onto the bed and tried to sleep.
Six hours later she was paying for her room with one of the credit cards her mother had given her in case of need. Rachel knew her mother could find her easily this way, but she didn't really care. She was sure her mother knew where she was heading to.
Her next stop was Philadelphia and Rachel arrived there that evening. She stopped at the first cafe she found along the road for something to eat. She entered the place and sat in the most hidden corner, away from other people. She ordered a coffee and a bagel from the waitress and waited.
It was half past nine when she exited the place and entered her car again. She sat there contemplating on her next actions, when she decided that she couldn't stay seated in that car again. Not now. She got out of the car and walked along the streets of Philadelphia.
What she was doing was crazy.
Rachel sighed and closed her jumper up till the neck, trying to stop the summer breeze coming her way.
She had just left her mother and had drove all the way from Columbus only to spite her mother. No, that wasn't the real reason. She was doing this for herself. She really wanted to know what her parents looked like; she thought that maybe knowing them, well, knowing her father, would give her a better and more positive view of life. She didn't know why she thought that, but she felt it would have helped her be a better person. But in her plan, she had hurt her mom, the woman who had fought to have her, the person who loved her more than everything.
Rachel kept walking for another hour, looking around herself, debating whether she was doing the right thing or not. She took her cell phone out from the front pocket of her jeans, only to realize that her battery was completely dead. She spotted a pay phone and walked towards it. She stopped in front of it and sighed. She needed to call her mother and tell her that everything was all right. She rummaged through her handbag and took out few coins.
She waited for her mother to pick up the phone but when she didn't the pre-registered message of Cuddy's voicemail started playing. Rachel huffed annoyed and hung up.
She leaned her forehead against the cold glass of the phone cabin. She dialed the same sequence of numbers again.
"This is Dr Lisa Cuddy… "
"And Rachel Cuddy…"
Rachel heard herself giggle and smiled.
"We're not home at the moment…" her mother said.
"And doing something cooler than answering the phone…" Rachel continued.
"Rachel!" Cuddy scolded her daughter.
"Please leave a message." They said together.
"I hoped you'd have gotten rid of that voicemail." Rachel said. "Mom, I love you, but you have to understand that I need to do this. Only for this time, please, let me do this, alone. Don't come after me and… don't worry about me. I can take care of myself." she stopped unsure. "I'll call you. Ok?" She hung up the phone.
She looked around her and felt independent, but alone. But that's what she had always wanted, wasn't it? She had wanted be treated like an adult, to be able to do whatever she wanted to do, but she had never asked to be alone. Rachel walked back to her car and decided upon continuing to drive.
She had visited her grandmother and aunt almost every year. Her mother and her had tried to visit at least every two years during Christmas break. Rachel could still recognize some of the streets.
She smiled. She did it. She was where she wanted to be, where she could find an answer to all the questions she had been asking herself for way too long.
It was an extremely cathartic experience. When she spotted the welcoming sign, she felt her sorrows and worries, slide away and a huge weight being lifted from her shoulders.
Rachel drove to her grandmother's house, thanking the navigator Wilson had gave her for her birthday. She drove there almost automatically and as she stopped the car, she immediately glanced at the white estate.
She must have been staring for quite some time, because Arlene was now standing by the door, leaning on her cane.
Arlene Cuddy, now in her late seventies, was still as fierce as she was at the age of twenty. Her white hair, the soft wrinkles and the exhausted body were the only sign of her age; inside she was still the annoying, fierce bitch she had always been.
She stood by the door, smirking at her younger granddaughter. Rachel smiled and got out of the car. In the blink of an eye, she was in Arlene's waiting arms. The girl was clinging to her grandmother helplessly. Arlene shushed her and ushered her inside.
Rachel was sitting on the couch as her grandma brought her a steaming mug of coffee.
"You should eat something, Rachel." She suggested handing her the cup.
"I'm fine, gram." The girl reassured her.
"Just because your mother still eats all that healthy crap, doesn't mean you have to starve to death like she does. She had always been a bad influence regarding food." Arlene almost snarled.
"Gram, trust me. I have eaten so many greasy burgers and French fries to make mom drop dead." She joked.
"So… your mother called as soon as you left."
"She did?"
"That she did. She told me you were coming to Princeton because you 'needed to know things'" The woman explained, receiving a nod in return. "She also mentioned House." Arlene continued.
"You know him?" the girl asked, setting the mug on the coffee table.
"Of course I know him. He saved my life." She chuckled. "Almost killed me first, but he did save me."
Rachel smiled and Arlene could tell from the young woman's eyes that she wanted to know more about the mysterious man. She indulged her mind to travel back to those months.
"I've never seen your mother so happy. In a crazy way, House and her were perfect for each other. When she broke up with him, I was disappointed. But I guess it was partly my fault." Arlene shook her head. "She grow up aiming to be the best at everything and the high standards she has set for herself are all my fault. If I look back at her life choices, I feel either guilty or proud. She's such a beautiful woman, has a great job and everything that comes with being a woman in career, but… she is not happy. If it weren't for my influence on her, she would probably be married with a rich Jewish doctor or something." Arlene smiled sadly as Rachel snuggled to her grandmother's side.
"If it wasn't for her high standards, I wouldn't be here, would I?" she stated with a smile. Rachel yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "We've been talking for two hours." She continues, looking at the clock.
"Yeah, and I can tell that you could use some sleep. Come on, I had the guest room made for you." Arlene gave her granddaughter one last kiss on the forehead, before the girl left the living room.
Ten minutes later, the phone rang. Arlene smirked and reached for it.
"So, is she there already?" a voice asked.
"Yes, she is. But give her some time. She'll come to you when she's really ready."
"Mmmm. Okay."
"You'll meet her again soon, House. Don't worry about that."