Hello everyone!
Finally an update from me :) This chapter is a little festive. Well, since it's Christmas holidays and all I had to write a chapter about it. So in this one you will see Beth decorating the Christmas tree with her parents. The next one will be about Christmas day and Cameron will make a move to approach her parents ;) I'm not saying anything else :p
I'd like to thank you all for your wondeful reviews and for still supporting this story! I'm working on another story as well but it will be posted after I finish with this one. The only thing I can tell you is that it takes place after the end of season three.
Sooo, I wish everyone happy holidays and I hope that you will have a wonderful time!
I also hope that you will enjoy this chapter :)
Disclaimer: I don't own House M.D.
Chapter 24: Christmas preperations
"Wake up…" Beth whispered in her father's ear, shaking him lightly.
House groaned and buried his head under the pillow. Beth let out a frustrated sigh and she turned to her mother.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up…" she repeated over and over again making Cameron finally open her eyes and look at her.
Beth had a wide grin on her face and looked at her expectantly. Cameron looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and she covered her face with her hand.
"It's 6.30 in the morning…" she mumbled sleepily to her daughter.
"But you promised!" Beth exclaimed and she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Yes, when the sun would be up…" House replied, not bothering to remove the pillow from his head.
"But you said we would decorate the tree when I would wake up!" Beth said taking the pillow from him.
He opened an eye and he studied his daughter's face who looked at him with a small frown.
"Sweety, it's too early…" Cameron tried to reason but she wouldn't listen.
"But it's Christmas next week and we still haven't decorated the tree. My friends have decorated their trees." She said lying down between her parents.
They looked at each other and they turned to their sides so that they could face Beth.
"We didn't say that we are not going to decorate the tree today. We just said that it is too early." Cameron explained tucking a stray strand of hair behind Beth's ear.
"So we are going to decorate it later?" she asked hopefully looking from House to Cameron.
"Yeap!" he replied smiling down at her and she grinned.
"We are also going to go shopping together." Cameron said making Beth smile even wider if that was possible.
"Really?" she exclaimed sitting on the bed.
"Yes, but for that to happen the stores must open first and it's way too early for that. So now, we are going to sleep some more." House said and before Beth could protest he had retrieved his pillow and he buried his head under it again.
Beth looked at Cameron who had an amused smile on her face and then back to House.
"I'm going to wake you up again, don't sleep." She stated and started shaking him.
"Hey!" he protested and he threw the pillow on the floor in order to look at her.
She looked at him innocently and he let out a sigh.
"You do realize that even if I do get we are still not going anywhere, right?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes but we can watch cartoons!" Beth said happily. "And make pancakes, can we please make pancakes?" she pleaded looking at her mother with her best puppy-dog eyes.
Cameron ruffled her daughter's hair and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Fine, go brush your teeth and then we will make breakfast together." She said and Beth squealed happily and run out of the room.
House lied back down and draped the blanket over his head.
She scooted closer to him and she pulled the blanket down. He opened his eyes to look at her and he found her smiling at him.
"I'm still not exactly used to the whole Christmas thing." He admitted and she leaned in to place a kiss to his lips.
"You will get used to it someday." She stated with a smirk.
He dragged her to him so that she was laying her head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her body.
"She's excited. Even if I don't get used to it this is good enough for me." He said seriously and he felt her smile against his chest.
"Come on, let's go to the kitchen. She is waiting for us." She said and stood up after placing one last kiss on his lips.
"Nope, she is waiting for you." He replied with a smirk.
"Yes, but she wants to watch cartoons with you." She replied to that and he sighed.
"Even when she was a baby she didn't wake us up in six thirty in the morning." He said matter-of-factly.
She handed him his cane and he made his way to the kitchen with her where Beth was already waiting.
"Daddy, Sponge Bob is wearing a Santa Claus hat!" Beth exclaimed with a smile the moment she saw him.
He smiled back at her and he sat on a chair next to hers.
"Then I say we make those pancakes quickly, we don't want to miss that." He told her and she nodded vigorously.
"I have to write a letter to Santa too!" she announced.
"Hey, do you think he can get me that new game for Play Station?" he asked making Beth giggle.
"You should write a letter too daddy! But I think that he only sends toys to children." She said thoughtfully.
"And since your mom says that I'm a big baby then I think he will send one to me too!" he said enthusiastically making both Cameron and Beth laugh.
"Maybe I'll ask for a pony too…" he continued, rubbing his hand over his chin.
Beth raised her eyebrows and considered that idea for a while.
"You can forget about that young lady." Cameron said before Beth could say something.
"Daddy will ask for one." Beth replied with a pout.
"And he is not going to get one." Cameron stated and looked at him sternly.
"But mommy I was a good boy this year!" he whined childishly.
"No pony." She told them in a serious tone.
They looked at each other and they crossed their arms in front of their chests.
"Fine…" they said simultaneously, finally giving up the idea.
xOxOx
Half an hour later and they were all sitting on the couch in front of the TV watching Beth's favorite cartoon show.
"Can I take Ricky with me when we go shopping?" Beth asked hopefully looking at her parents.
"The bunny stays here. I can't run around the store to catch him when he manages to escape." House said seriously.
"But I will hold him tightly." Beth explained.
"It's still a no. He can watch when we decorate the tree later but he will stay here when we go shopping." Cameron said this time.
"Can I take a Santa's hat for him?" she asked again making House smirk.
"I don't think he is going to enjoy this but I guess it's ok." He replied and Beth smiled.
"Ok!" she said cheerfully "I'm going to feed him and tell him about the hat!" she announced and she headed to her bedroom.
Cameron snuggled in his right side and he draped an arm over her shoulders.
"Poor Ricky…" he mumbled, amusement evident in his voice.
"Tell me about it…" she replied with a smile and she rested her head against his shoulder.
"I talked with your parents…" he said after some silent moments making her turn to look at him.
"About what?" she asked curiously, her eyes locking with his.
"I asked them if they still had your guitars. They told me they hadn't touched your room since the day you left and your guitars are still in there." He explained.
"I also asked them if they could give them to you again and they seemed ok with it. They told me that it was the least they could do. They actually want to return them to you themselves." He continued, studying her expression.
She didn't know what to say to that. She was surprised by what she had just heard and she really had no clue what to say to him.
"Hello, earth to Allison." He said waving his hand in front of her face.
She looked in his eyes again and she let out a sigh.
"What did you say to them when they told you they wanted to give them to me?" she asked.
"I told them that I would have to talk to you." He replied with a small shrug.
She nodded curtly and she turned her attention to the TV.
"Christmas's on the way. And you have been holding them in a distance ever since they came. Haley is being discharged next week on Christmas Eve. So the question is, what are you going to do?" he asked, tilting her head with his hand in order to look into her eyes.
"How many times had you told me to give my father a chance in the past? Maybe it's time for you to follow your own advice." He whispered and she smiled at him.
"Wow… Gregory House is giving relationship advice." She said teasingly.
"You are going to pay for that." He said with a smirk and he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and pinned her to the couch, trapping her effectively with his body.
She smiled innocently at him and she drew him to her in order to claim his lips with hers. He gave her a soft smile and he rested his forehead against hers.
"What's it going to be?" he asked in a whisper.
"I guess it's time to stop hiding in the past and do something." She replied looking straight into his blue eyes.
He kissed the tip of her nose and he pulled back. He sat properly again, drawing her in his embrace once more and moments later Beth returned in the room.
"Are the stores open yet?" she asked impatiently and took a sit next to Cameron.
She took Beth in her arms, making her sit in her lap and House kissed her cheek softly.
"Not yet." He replied "But they will be in an hour or so and then we will go." He said surely and Beth smiled.
"Did you feed Ricky?" Cameron asked and Beth nodded.
"He ate all his food! And then we played a little. But I put him back in his cage because I thought that we would leave." She explained.
"Why don't you go play with him some more? We are going to call you when it's time to get dressed." Cameron said to Beth.
"Ok mommy!" she said cheerfully and headed back to her room.
She spotted him looking at Beth's retreating form with a smile and she nudged his shoulder.
"What are you thinking?" she asked but he didn't answer. He lied down so that his head was resting on her thigh and he tilted his head to place a kiss on her lower abdomen.
"That in a few months we'll have two of them to wake us up at six thirty in the morning demanding to go shopping and decorate the tree." He replied with a small smile.
She leaned down and captured his lips with hers in a tender kiss.
"That is definitely something to look forward to." She stated making his smile grow even wider.
They stayed like that for long minutes just enjoying their proximity 'til it was time to get up and start preparing for their trip to the mall.
xOxOx
"Daddy I need help!" Beth shouted from down the hall.
They had returned from their shopping trip an hour ago and after they had put the presents away they had started moving the boxes with the Christmas ornaments and tree to the living room.
So, now, Beth was trying to drag a particularly heavy box by herself, a really hard task to complete without help.
When House went to the hall he found her sitting down next to the box looking helplessly at him.
"It's too heavy." She said with a small shrug and he smiled at her.
"Come on, let's move this to the living room." he said and e helped Beth move the big box out.
The moment they were in the living room he saw Cameron, another box in her hands, and she was trying to figure out where to put it.
"Hey, no lifting heavy things!" he said sternly and walked to where she was standing in order to take the box from her hands.
"It's not heavy." She said, smiling innocently at him.
"Gimme." He instructed, his eyes locking with hers.
He placed his cane on the couch and she handed him the box. It wasn't as heavy as he expected it to be so he just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"See? It's not heavy." She said and she went to Beth in order to help her extract the ornaments from the box.
"Hey, where do I put this one?" House inquired.
"Just put it on the couch." She replied.
He considered dropping it on the floor but he decided against it. He placed it on the couch, took his cane and he went to sit on the floor next to his daughter.
He winked slightly at the pain he felt and he then remembered that he had actually forgotten to take his pills.
Cameron noticed it and she got up in order to find his pills.
Beth looked at him and scooted closer to him.
"Are you in pain daddy?" she asked in a low tone, resting her little hand on his right thigh.
He hated that. He hated that his little girl knew that he was in pain and he couldn't hide it from her anymore. For a five year old she was very observant, he knew because he was like that too. He used to pick up on things that most kids never noticed.
He caressed her rosy cheek with his thumb and he kissed her forehead lightly.
"I'll be ok sweety, I just forgot to take my meds." He replied reassuringly and a small smile found its way to her lips again.
Cameron returned with a glass of water and two pills for him and then she sat back down on the floor.
He swallowed the pills with some water and then he winked at Beth. She gave him a grin and then she started to snoop in the big box, taking out her favorite ornaments and showing them to her parents who smiled at her enthusiasm.
They took their time sorting everything out and after everything was settled and the Christmas tree was set up they started decorating it.
Beth was smiling widely all the time as she chose the ornaments carefully and she placed them on the tree. House and Cameron helped her when she couldn't reach some branches and together they decorated the 'best Christmas tree' as Beth announced once it was finished.
After the house was decorated and everything was settled the three of them sat on the couch, the only light in the room coming from the fireplace, the Christmas lights and the flickering of the TV.
Beth was settled between them on the couch, her legs in Cameron's lap while she leaned her back against House's side.
They were watching one of the Christmas movies that Beth had chosen and it was really quiet apart from the sounds coming from the TV when Beth suddenly spoke.
"I don't want a pony after all…" she stated matter-of-factly making both their parents look at her.
"Oh yeah? And what do you want now?" House asked ruffling her hair slightly.
"I'm going to ask Santa to help make your leg better…" she said in a soft tone catching both her parents off guard.
They looked at her in amazement. House was sure that if he blinked tears would fall from his eyes.
Cameron noticed him and smiled softly at him.
She leaned down and placed a kiss on Beth's forehead and then she hugged her tightly.
"I don't think that Santa can help angel." She said, smiling tenderly at her daughter.
"I'm going to try anyway…" she replied with a small shrug.
House took her in his arms and hugged her tightly to him, his eyes connecting with Cameron's for some moments and then slipping closed.
He kissed her cheek and he looked at her with a small smile.
"I think it is already a little better." He said and she smiled at him.
She gave him a kiss and then she settled back down between them and she fell asleep minutes later.
He looked from Beth to Cameron and he smiled softly at her. She entwined her fingers with his and she rested their joined hands at the back of the couch. He let out a small laugh and he looked at her again only to find her looking back curiously.
"Sometimes I really believe she is an angel…" he commented, his eyes locked with hers. Some years back he wouldn't even think of saying something like that for anyone but now he couldn't help himself.
Cameron smiled lovingly at him and she squeezed his hand gently.
"Sometimes I think you are one too…" he admitted in a whisper.
"I'm no angel…" she said and he shrugged.
"Yeah, if angels did the things you do in bed then where would we be?" he asked incredulously trying to break the over sentimental atmosphere.
She laughed and smacked his arm playfully.
He smiled goofily at her and he gave her hand a small squeeze. He turned his gaze back to the TV and she continued looking at his relaxed face, a small smile still on his lips.
Some moments later she turned her gaze to the TV as well, but their hands remained entwined together.
They would take Beth to bed later. At that moment they just wanted to enjoy being like that for a little longer…