Chapter 2: In the Past
House and Andy stood outside on the front lawn as Tommy tried to show Jason how to throw his new football.
"Hey Tommy!" House called over as he watched Tommy try to explain to the toddler what he was doing. "Why don't you try learning how to throw before teaching someone else?" he asked.
Tommy just stuck his tongue out at House and continued on with what he was doing. They could tell that he was getting a little annoyed though, with the fact that Jason kept looking away and playing with the grass in front of him by tearing it out and throwing that at Tommy.
"You think you should really keep insulting him like that?" Andy questioned. He still felt a bit uncomfortable around House, but it was getting better.
House briefly glanced to Andy and then looked back to Tommy. "You're right, the kid looks completely devastated," he remarked. After a brief moment of getting no reaction from Andy, he turned to him and started to explain. "See, unlike you, the ten year old over there knows when not to take everything personal. Maybe you should take some lessons from him."
Andy rolled his eyes. He couldn't say too much. Gabrielle was the same way with Jason at times. She would tease him and he would raspberry her. It was a big game.
"I'm just trying to keep him from turning out just like you, that's all," Andy attempted.
House could tell that he was nervous while he was making the comment and laughed at him. "And what does my daughter see in you?" he implored.
Andy sighed. "You know that on our wedding day, I honestly thought that you weren't going to let her go once you finished walking her down the isle?" he asked.
"Gabi would've killed me if I didn't," House replied.
Andy stood there and watched the two boys for a moment as they both started throwing grass at each other. "You really hate me that much sir?" he seriously questioned.
House just looked over to him. Honestly? He didn't care for him. While Gabrielle was younger they were constantly breaking up and getting back together. He had seen this man break his daughter's heart before and he hated him for hurting her. "Well," House breathed out. "You do take good care of her, and she is happy," he started and then shrugged. "So I guess I don't completely hate you."
Andy nodded. "Good to know sir," he responded.
"But, if you do hurt her, I'll just have to kill you," House casually stated.
"I'll remember that," Andy replied.
Oooooooooooooooooooooooo
Elisabeth sat in the living room with everyone else as she watched out the window. She wanted to go out there and join them, but she knew that Gabrielle wanted to leave them to talk to each other. It wasn't often that House and Andy would go off by themselves, so when they did, she wanted it to last a little while.
"I think they might be doing okay out there," Rachel stated. With the seat she was in, she could see the window.
"What do you think Ellie? See any blood?" Gabrielle questioned.
Elisabeth turned around to Gabrielle and smirked. She took her hand and made a gun and pretended to shoot it then changed her position again to be the other person and pretended to get shot and then fall over, holding onto her chest.
"That's what I thought," Gabrielle responded.
"Why doesn't he like Andy?" Jessica asked.
Gabrielle slightly laughed. "Well, when I was in high school and then right after, we had this relationship where we would date for a while and then break up, then get back together. One of the times, I caught him cheating on me with one of his ex-girlfriends and then broke up with me before I had a chance to say anything about it," she explained.
Cuddy looked over to Gabrielle and offered a small smile. "You can see why he was unsure of you two getting married can't you?" she implored. She too was mad at Andy after that whole thing. Yes, it was eight years ago, and he had changed a lot, but it was still the same man. And he was still the one that caused Gabrielle to lock herself in her room for a couple of nights.
Gabrielle nodded. "Yes, and I would be worried if he wasn't. I mean, I didn't expect us to get back together again after that either, but it happened. After Missy dumped him again, he came back to me as friend and then we ended up dating again somehow. After a year of dating he popped the question and then a year after that, well, we got married. Three years now, and I haven't suspected him of doing anything even close to cheating," she said.
"I think I slightly remember that," Rachel stated. "Was that that night you came in yelling about him being a bastard and that you hoped he died or something like that?" she asked.
Gabrielle laughed. "Yeah. A lot went down from the time I turned eighteen up until twenty five," she mentioned and then looked over to Cuddy. "Andy and I met up with everyone down in Ohio. You and daddy got married. I broke up with Andy. Cori and I found out that you can't jump on a trampoline off the roof and into a pool. Got back together with Andy. Graduated valedictorian, and then Tommy was born," she said, thinking back on everything.
She then looked around to both Jessica and Rachel. "Daddy ever use you to teach his team?" she questioned. She knew that he would never even consider Elisabeth, she was a little to fragile to risk it.
They both looked perplexed as they shook their heads. "No," Rachel answered for both of them.
Gabrielle softly smiled and nodded. "I see," she responded. There were a lot of things that House did just with her, and she knew that. She was still the one to go and talk to him when something went wrong. She was still the one who would step up for him when he left. Everyone there in the room knew that House had a problem with Vicodin. That was never a mystery to anyone, even Tommy knew about it. But, she wasn't sure if any of them had seen him at his worse like she had. She was always going to be just a little closer to him than the others.
There was also the fact that Cuddy was always less strict with her. She never knew if it was because she knew that she could handle herself, or if it was out of pity. Both parents encouraged her to go out to the few parties that she had been to since she moved in with them. Now, she was pretty certain that neither of them would let any of the girls go out and do half the things they let her do. Tommy, maybe, but none of the girls.
"I think you were slightly different," Cuddy explained. The more she thought about it though, Gabrielle was the only one who had actually been in the hospital a lot around his team. She knew them more than the others did. She was the one who had been there and helped House find a replacement for Thirteen when she left, and then Taub. House would pick people based on their skills at first, and then she would go through and help him along with a few games to see which one was the most clever, the trickiest. Most of all, she would play with their heads and see who could handle it for the longest amount of time. Now, she was babysitting Chase and Cameron's little girl, Erin, occasionally.
Elisabeth sat there and listened in. Yes, she knew that Gabrielle was the outcast of the group. She saw it each time that she was in the hospital and Gabrielle would be the one to take House into her room to see her. She saw it when Cuddy needed someone and House was off hiding. In a way, she was the leader. When things started getting bad, she stepped in and did anything she could to keep everyone from falling apart.
There was something missing though. She knew that Gabrielle's real mother was dead and that House was her real father. She knew that she came from Ohio and had a half brother named Jake. Other than that, she had no idea what Gabrielle's life was like before moving out here. There were a few scars that she had seen on her, one on her side, a tiny one on the front of her neck and a small one on her shoulder.
The others continued talking while she went and grabbed some paper and a pen. This was something she wanted only Gabrielle to see, that way she had a better chance of getting an answer. After she was done writing, she folded the paper and handed it to Gabrielle on her way back to her seat.
Gabrielle took the paper and read it. Her face fell. "My mom?" she implored, looking up over the paper to Elisabeth.
"What about mom?" Jessica asked.
Gabrielle turned to her. "My mom, she wants to know what she was like," she explained.
Jessica, confused, looked over to Elisabeth. She was about to say something, but Rachel leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Daddy was with someone else before our mom."
Gabrielle laughed. "I'm sorry, I thought all of you knew that she wasn't my biological mom," she stated. She then sighed. "Anyways, my mom. Her name was Maria," she started and then stopped a moment to think. She had to find a way to describe her mother without making her sound bad. Like everyone, she had her good and bad points, but her bad points overshadowed her good. "She was very creative, um, I remember playing dress up with her a lot and baking. She was very honest, and would push me to do the absolute best that I could. She definitely trusted me and she liked to have fun," she informed them.
"Who are we talking about?" Andy asked as the four of them came back inside.
"Wait," Jessica ordered and then stood up and looked over to Tommy. "Does Gabrielle have the same parents as us?" she questioned.
Tommy shook his head. "Nope," he replied.
"How did you know that?" she asked.
"At the wedding, the priest guy up there asked if Gabrielle Zbin took Andrew Richards to be her husband. I asked Rachel after wards and she told me," he explained.
House stood there and looked to Gabrielle with concern. Her past was her sensitive spot and was trying to see how she was handling the line of questions.
Jessica looked over to Rachel. "How did you know?" she implored.
"Before I answer that, you do know that I'm adopted, right?" she asked.
Jessica rolled her eyes. "Any idiot could tell that just by the way our birthdays fall."
Rachel laughed. "She talked to me after I found out when I was like six. My mother died not too long after I was born, and her mother had died. We had something in common," she informed her.
Gabrielle nodded as she thought back on the night.
Gabrielle sat at her desk. Her room was now up in the attic while the three girls got her old bedroom. She was working on a paper for school.
"Gabi?" Rachel asked from the doorway.
Gabrielle looked over and saw that the little girl had been crying. "Hey kid, why the tears?" she questioned.
"You would be sad too if you found out that your parents didn't want you," Rachel informed her.
Curious, Gabrielle turned her chair to completely face Rachel. "What do you mean?" she asked. She wasn't about to tell her why she was off with that statement, and how bad it could really be.
"Well, my mommy died and then my daddy didn't want me, so he gave me to Greg and Lisa," she explained.
Gabrielle slightly laughed at the fact that she had called Cuddy Lisa and House Greg. "I see," she replied. "You know, Lisa's not my actual mommy either. Greg and my mom, Maria, were together for a while. She took me and left Greg and then when she died, Greg and Lisa took me," she informed her.
"Yeah?" Rachel questioned, wiping the tears from her face.
Gabrielle got up and sat down on her bed. "Come here," she requested as she patted the space next to her.
Rachel complied and joined her. She stared up to her, waiting to hear what she was going to say next, even though it wouldn't change what she was thinking.
"I don't know if this means anything to you now, but it will later on," she started. "Lisa, she definitely wanted you, more than anything. I know she did. Your real parents were very young and couldn't take care of you as well as she could. Greg and Lisa really, truly love you. And honestly, when it came to my mother, Lisa has done more for me, than she ever did," she explained.
Rachel looked to her as she tried to fully understand what she had just told her. "Why do you call her mom?" she implored.
Gabrielle smiled. "I don't know," she admitted. "I guess because she is my mom. Your mom isn't just the person who gave birth to you ya know," she said.
Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she asked.
"No. A mom is the woman who loves you and takes care of you. In your words, it would be the one who never forgets to check your room for monsters after tucking you in just the right way and then leaves the door cracked open for you," she explained. "And then a dad is basically the same, except for the fact that he's a man of course. And he might be a little bit more protective over you when it comes to boys," she added.
"So, they really are my mommy and daddy?" Rachel questioned, seeing if she got the point.
Gabrielle nodded in approval. "Pretty smart for a little kid," she commented.
Gabrielle was brought out of her thought as she heard Jason come into the room.
"Momma! Look! Look!" Jason exclaimed as he ran in the door and over to Gabrielle on the couch.
Gabrielle laughed as she looked down and saw his hand closed, holding something. She looked back to Andy who shrugged and then went back to Jason. "What've you got there?" she questioned, bracing herself.
"Idy!" he announced as he opened his hand, revealing a spider.
Gabrielle just laughed. "Sorry kid, it's not a poisonous one. Want me to take it back outside for you?" she offered, putting her hand out.
Jason let out a heavy sigh of disappointment. "Here," he said, dumping the nearly dead spider into her hand and walking away.
Gabrielle looked over to Cuddy as she got up. "Don't ask," she warned and then headed to the door and tossed the bug outside.
"He just likes things that crawl," Andy remarked as he went ahead and closed the door for Gabrielle after she was back inside.
"Apparently deadly ones," House added.
Gabrielle shrugged. "He doesn't like cute and cuddly," she stated.
"Either that or he's like you and thinks everything is cute," he suggested.
Gabrielle smirked. "Hey, I was a young girl helping along a relationship. A lot of things were cute to me," she defended herself.
Elisabeth was starting to get her own ideas of what was going as she sat back and watched. That was the one advantage to not being able to talk, she wasn't expected to speak, so instead, she could just listen. She could observe. Right within the last few minutes, she had gotten something about everyone in that room.
She saw the look between House and Gabrielle, he knew something about her, something about her relationship with her mother and he knew that she didn't like it. Maybe a mutual feeling? There was definitely some sort of guilt there. He seemed to understand more than anyone else did.
Cuddy was a bit sympathetic too. She knew something. It was common sense that she most likely knew as much as House about what had been going on, but there wasn't the same understanding that she saw with him.
Andy just stood back and stared. He was there with her, so he had to know more than House or Cuddy. He could understand a bit, but he seemed to just want to ignore the entire subject all together. To just change the topic and forget about it.
Rachel didn't know anything, but she was fine with it. Making her feel left out was nearly impossible, she was secure with herself most of the time.
Jessica on the other hand, was somewhat insecure. She couldn't handle not knowing one thing that everyone else did. There was a feeling of entitlement, that she deserved to know what everyone else in the room knew.
Tommy was like her, he watched everything and found the things that Jessica didn't know, to be pretty obvious to spot.