Pact For Love Chapter 11, a house, m.d. fanfic

Pact For Love

House and Cuddy are married and have 2 children. Shocking news leaves them to debate their futures, and their children's. They are elderly now, and their children are grown up, but does it mean that they feel better about leaving them behind?

This is not for everyone, but this is an issue that comes up frequently in my Ethics class. So I'm warning you now, you might find this fic very sad and/or quite disturbing. And I apologise for that, but it's an issue that needs to be addressed.

Chapter 11

Gaby was at Noah's with all of the family, waiting for their parents to come and see them. Ever since they'd heard about their Mom's illness, every Saturday had become a family day, where everyone cleared their schedules for each other and met up.

'I wonder where Mom and Dad are,' said Gaby out loud.

'I was just thinking that Gabz,' said Noah in reply. 'We reminded them on Thursday that we were gonna be at mine this week.'

Almost as if on cue, the doorbell rang.

Noah got up to go and get it.

On the other side of the now open door stood Wilson, tears in his eyes, falling fiercely down his face, which was almost crimson red and swollen from his crying.

'Wilson, what's wrong?' asked Noah gently, pulling the older man into a hug.

'I need to talk to you, Gaby, Jas and George, the kids can't hear this,' he meagrely whispered.

This alarmed Noah.

'Sure,' he replied.

He moved into the living room, followed closely by Wilson.

After whispering to Jas, George and Gaby, the adults left the room in favour of the kitchen.

'Wilson, you're scaring me. What's wrong?' asked Gaby, concerned about his news.

'I've just come back from your parents house,' said Wilson quietly.

'Oh God. Is it Mom?' asked Noah in despair.

All Wilson could manage was a nod. Gaby wailed out in emotional pain and George pulled her into a tight hug. Noah's eyes watered as Jas held him close.

'Oh God, how is Dad?' asked Gaby, still crying. 'He must be devastated.'

'Your Mom and Dad were found together,' said Wilson, his voice barely above a whisper. 'They died together.'

The others knew that when he said 'they died together' that translated to killing themselves. This news sent Gaby into a deeper state of shock, crying constantly until there were no more left, and made Noah more introverted, the only action showing was his grip on Jas' hand.

'They found these envelopes beside them, 1 for Gaby, 1 for Noah and one for me. I don't know what they say, but maybe it will explain why this happened,' murmured Wilson, his emotions sending him into hell.

He gave them the letters, then gently hugged them both, as well as Jas and George.

'I'll give you some time alone to read them,' said Wilson, excusing himself.

'No,' said Gaby and Noah in unison.

'Stay here,' said Gaby.

'We'll read them out so that we all can hear,' whispered Noah, his first full sentence since hearing of the news.

Gaby opened hers first. 2 sheets of paper fell out. She picked one up and began to read out loud

Dear Gaby,

We're so sorry for having to put you through this. You've probably figured out by now that I didn't die with your mother of natural causes. I write you this letter to tell you that we did take our lives together, a pact for love to die, and reunite in heaven together.

I want you to understand why we did this. I love you all dearly, but the thought of life without your mother is just too torturous. I would die a thousand deaths to keep her alive, but I'm powerless in the situation we were handed, we all were. So, I took the only other option in my book. Your mother refused at first, she wanted to leave me behind to take care of you all, but I am an old man, and my strength is not what it used to be. Without your Mom, I would wither and die, because she kept me alive.

I wish that fate had dealt us a better hand, and I'm sad that it had to end this harsh way, but your Mom deserves more than an undignified death hopped up on morphine.

Don't cry for us, because we're in a better place. You look after those kids of yours, and make sure that they don't forget us. We'll always be watching you and we'll always be here to guide you (although I advise you to listen to your mother, because I'm really substandard at advice giving). And as for the pregnancy you were keeping quiet, we already knew...Make sure that the stress doesn't harm the baby from all this, because we'd never forgive ourselves if it did. And don't hate us, we simply did what we had to do, for love.

Love forever and always,

Dad

Her eyes swelled up and the tears fell again.

'I was gonna tell everyone today, how did she now?' whispered Gaby.

'Mom's know these things,' replied Noah softly. 'She probably knew before you did.'

'There's another one here too, from Mom,' whispered Gaby once again.

'Read it,' encouraged Noah.

My Darling Gaby,

I use what little is left of my strength to write this letter to you, and one for your brother and Wilson.

First I beg of you not to hate me and your father for taking our lives together, we simply couldn't bear the thought of life or death apart. I know I seemed like I was strong, fighting this disease, but inside I was crumbling down slowly, and only your father could see it.

I'm deeply sorry for putting you through this, but all that was left of my life was a hospital bed and morphine. I didn't want that, I wanted the end of my life to be about love, peace, slipping away painlessly and quickly, not knowing.

In a way, I resent the crap that our family has been given over the years, but I thank God for blessing me with you and your brother, and our beautiful grandchildren, mirror images of the babies we brought into the world 25-30 years ago. Life has that not so humorous way of ending the good things, but thinking back on the good things has made the prospect of death somewhat more bearable.

Don't cry for me, celebrate my life and your Dad's, because it has been a long and fruitful one.

We'll be reunited with each other, Poppy, Aiden and your grandparents in heaven, and all the cruelty we have been victim of in life will turn to paradise there. Know that I will always be watching you, keeping an eye on you.

And when you give birth to that little baby of yours, know that I'm right there with you in the delivery room, holding your hand as you break it and terrify George.

All my love,

Mom

After reading this letter, Gaby began to cry again.

'I could never hate you Mom,' mumbled Gaby, kissing the letter with her Mom's handwriting on.

'She's right you know,' said George gently. 'She's been by your side through all your births, why should this one be any different.'

And with that he hugged her softly, rubbing her back to soothe her.

Noah realised that it was time to open his letter.

As it did with Gaby's, two pieces of paper fell out.

'This one's from dad,' he whispered, gently fingering the crisp white paper.

Dear Noah,

My deepest apologies go to you for having put you through this ordeal. Sorry to state the obvious, but I didn't die naturally with your mother. Hopefully, this letter will give you some closure over all this that happened.

Firstly, your Mom and I could not face life or death without each other, and so we decided to die together. Even though your Mom put on a brave face, she was slipping away slowly and painfully. Everyone could see it, and so could we. Behind closed doors, we settled on a pact for love, a pact that was a promise to die together. If there was another way, you know we would've took it, but we had no choice but to act now. Your Mom grows ever weaker, and the pain she endures is not fair. She doesn't deserve this death, she deserves it in a dignified way. And that's why we have done it together. Peacefully and painlessly dying in each others arms, the way we'd always dreamed of.

Fate has that funny way of ruining good things, and that's what's happened here. I don't want to die, but facing life without your Mom is agony at the mere thought of it.

Don't shed a tear for us, because the place we shall end up should show up to be heaven. You'll get to watch your babies and grandbabies grow, just like I did, and relish every moment because one day that will all be gone. We'll always be here, watching and guiding you. Don't hate us for what we did, mourn yes, but understand that we did it for love.

Love forever and always,

Dad

He didn't cry like Gaby did, just remained quiet.

'The love Dad had for Mom, you can see it within these lines. Their love was so true that life without each other made them want to die. It hurts that they're gone, but knowing that they did it for love, for each other, it comforts me. And they've both taught me so much, I owe it all to them,' he said on the border of tears.

Sensing this, Jas moved closer and put her arms around him.

'This other one's from Mom,' he whispered.

My Darling Noah,

It finally happened, although not in the way that you were expecting it. Your father and I took our lives, that is a fact, and you probably hate us for it. This letter should hopefully provide you with the answers you've been seeking, and restore your peace of mind.

My strength is rapidly being sapped from me, so much that I probably will not be able to start to write Wilson's letter before it happens, so while I have the energy, there are some things I want you to know.

I want you to know that I am so proud of what you have accomplished with your career, you've done so well. I think that a promotion may be in order one day for you. Carry on working hard, and if you're stuck on a particularly difficult diagnosis, your father will be there for you, twittering away with his euphemisms, metaphors and sarcastic comments.

I also want you to cherish every moment with your family. If this disease has taught me anything, it is that life is precious, every moment matters so never forget.

I beg of you not to hate us. We did what we had to do. I slip away more and more as the days go by, and I won't last much longer. Your father is a good man, a man in love, who doesn't want to live without me. I tried to sway him, for your sakes, but he would not budge.

Don't cry for me, celebrate my life and your Dad's, because it has been a long and fruitful one.

Keep Stong,

Love Always

Mom

This was the last straw for Noah, who after reading this letter broke out in a fit of tears. The others all gathered around him and hugged him close.

'I'll do it for you Mom and Dad,' he whispered softly. 'I'll get that promotion, and I'll savour every moment.'

'Wilson,' spoke Gaby softly. 'Will you read us yours?'

He nodded and began to read.

Dear Wilson,

Lisa grows worse hour by hour, and finds herself lacking the strength to write you a letter, and so it must fall to me.

Please understand why we both took our lives. We love each other so much and trust each other implicitly. So it made sense to escape the torture of living without Lisa was to die with her. Do not think we suffered, it was painless and peaceful, in each others arms, just the way we wanted.

Please help the children to grieve properly, and be there for our grandchildren.

You've been the bestest friend, and I couldn't of imagined life without you.

Remember the good times.

Greg

Wilson's tears started up again, and so they all grouped around him, hugging him to try and comfort him.

'I will do Greg,' said Wilson tenderly. 'For you.'