Cuddy and Jensen were definitely the early birds among the household population, and he took a shower Tuesday morning while she was doing yoga. The rest of the house was totally still. Even the sun outside wasn't awake yet. Jensen emerged just as Cuddy was finishing up her exercises, and he headed for the kitchen, tossing a simple, "I'll make coffee," over his shoulder on the way. Instead of going to take a shower herself, she followed him, needlessly supervising the process, and once the pot was gurgling, she sat down at the small kitchen table. He dropped into the chair across the table facing her but left her to start the conversation.

"Do you think that another two days of this might be too much for Greg?" she asked with worried eyes.

She had hoped for reassurance. He gave her honesty. "I don't know," he admitted. "This is hard on both of them. If it gets too much, I'll insist on stopping. It's not ideal to slam this much together in just a few days, but her living halfway across the country complicates things, so we didn't have much choice. They definitely needed to be physically together for this. Phones or even video conference wouldn't cut it. However far we get is still progress, though."

"I know. I'm really proud of him for coming up with the idea and for not trying to do it alone."

"So am I," Jensen agreed. "You're doing a good job so far yourself staying on the sidelines."

Cuddy stared at her empty, waiting mug. "It's hard, but I was just telling him last night, I think I actually feel sorry for her. I'd still like to smack her silly while yelling how could she possibly have missed it, but I also feel sorry for her. I wondered when I first found out if she really had missed everything or was just faking it, but not after this."

"She definitely missed it," Jensen said. "That's not an act. She's not the most intelligent person around, and she also was raised in a background that set her up never to question her husband. Things were different back then."

"I know. Greg really liked Blythe's mother, though. She sounds like a neat character, just the limited view I get from what little he saw her."

"Yes, she does. Not every woman was stifled in that environment; she apparently had the humor and the imagination to still be her own person while being dutiful. The fact that she is the one his mind picked to lead him out of hell after the car accident says a lot." Jensen looked at her. "So Thornton sent presents to the girls."

"Yes. Greg balked a little on that, but he finally gave them. Thornton actually left them open at one end for inspection."

Jensen smiled. "They are a lot alike. May I ask if he sent you anything?"

Cuddy's face softened immediately, the worry lines retreating for the moment. "Yes. Just a minute; I've got it on my nightstand." She departed softly, and Jensen sat there thinking. He was proud of House for passing the gifts along, too, and also for coming to a decision on that without having to talk to Jensen first. The psychiatrist would have been willing, but not being needed for everything emotionally challenging was a true sign of progress. Jensen hadn't had an individual session with House since last week. He wasn't about to during these few days, either. Enough was enough. They would get as far with Blythe as the two of them could stand, and then House and Jensen could work on things alone in the coming months.

Cuddy returned with the silver-framed picture and with the worry lines back around her eyes. Jensen studied her for a moment before looking down at the shot. "That's wonderful."

"Yes. He looks so different with music." The coffee maker finished running, and she filled both of their cups before sitting down.

"Is he all right?" Jensen asked.

She sighed. "He didn't really sleep well last night. Not nightmares, but he's back to those bad dreams just under the surface. He was having another one just now."

"We will stop if it gets too much," Jensen repeated.

She drummed her fingers against the coffee cup for a moment, obviously hoping that her hard-headed husband would listen if it came to that point. Reaching across, she took the picture back and looked at it. Finally, trying to distract herself, she said, "I talked to Thomas for a few minutes on Christmas. Privately. That's the first chance we've ever had. I just wanted to thank him for the picture, but Rachel wanted Greg for something, so he left the bedroom. Really, the more I know of Thomas, the more I like him. He's so lonely, though."

"Did he at least have plans with friends or something?" Jensen asked.

"Yes. He said he was going to dinner later. And maybe I shouldn't have, but I told him maybe he can visit us next Christmas. It's up to Greg, of course, but maybe . . ."

Jensen considered, then nodded. "Good chance, I think."

She was glad to have his confirmation. "I was thinking about John earlier. Even before Greg, he was twisted."

"Yes. Unfortunately, mental issues weren't as accepted or treated back then. Most people just hid them, and they and their families suffered in silence. I'm sure John's background was pretty extreme itself. Not that that excuses him, of course."

"Nothing excuses him. But Thomas is such a family man. He had that himself, at least till his parents died, and that's obviously what he's always wanted in life. His wife and his other son seemed to have a great relationship with him. But about John, he was just rubbing his nose in the fact all those years ago that Thomas didn't have a wife yet while John did."

"John obviously liked to score on people. Classic esteem building by putting others down. Thornton recognized that he did it, even if he didn't understand all the psychiatric details of why. But it helped with plotting the piano, for instance."

"You think Thornton realized John was just counting coup or something? Even back then?"

"Probably."

"So why would he keep visiting? Before Greg was in the picture as a reason, I mean."

"Put Dr. House in his place for a minute. Why would he have kept going?"

Cuddy took another drink of coffee, thinking about it. "Some kind of puzzle. Blythe, maybe?"

Jensen nodded. "I think she was unhappier than she was letting herself admit, even. He noticed that at the first visit. The contrast between John's description of her and their marriage and her attitude herself would have caught his attention. Blythe said something else that was quite telling. It wasn't just curiosity. Thornton really cares about people. He's intensely family minded, like you said. Maybe he was hoping to be able to give some gentle guy-to-guy advice once he'd watched them for a while and had more information."

"It's a shame he wasn't stationed more often with them," Cuddy said. "Almost all of what he saw when he lived near them was John really being happy about the pregnancy and Greg. I think if he'd been on the same base later anywhere, he would have seen it."

"I agree," Jensen said. His head came up suddenly, and a moment later, Cuddy heard the slow, limping footsteps down the hall. House entered the kitchen, hair still rumpled on end, and dropped into a chair, stealing Cuddy's coffee cup, noting the presence of the picture next to it. She got up and filled another cup for herself, also topping off his.

"Good morning, Greg."

"Morning." He took a long swallow. Jensen was watching him a little too closely, and House glared at him. "I'm fine. The leg is worse on winter mornings."

If he was using his leg as an excuse, he wasn't fine, but Jensen left it alone. "Your mother's not a fan of mornings either, apparently. Haven't heard a peep from her yet."

"She never was." House drained half the coffee cup in a few gulps.

Jensen looked from House to Cuddy, back with the worry in her eyes. "What should we all do this morning?" he asked. House had been surprised at how much the psychiatrist threw himself into the girls and their activities yesterday.

Cuddy considered it. "It's still pretty cold. Maybe outside for a little while, but then what about a movie?" The conversation shifted under Jensen's guidance to the day and then to the girls, and slowly, both House and Cuddy relaxed a little, at least for the moment, though the shadow of this afternoon's session never quite went away.

(H/C)

Hi Thomas,

So the quest continues. Whatever you're after, I'll bet you track it down eventually.

Charles House was in the Navy. He enlisted in 1934, and he was indeed a pilot. Pretty quiet career before the war, mostly stateside. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, one of the lucky ones whose ship was only damaged, not sunk. He fought in the Pacific theater, and he really kicked into high gear after that. 21 confirmed kills, and the total is undoubtedly higher than that, as you know. Some of the battles were such hornet's nests that figures are sketchy. He was shot down in 1944 at the battle of Saipan. One year in a Japanese prison camp, liberated in 1945 after peace. He never fully recovered from his injuries and lack of adequate medical treatment while a POW, and he was discharged after he came back home, although he wanted to stay in. There wasn't any question medically, unfortunately. He wouldn't have ever been fit for service again. He was never able to work after that and lived on a pension. He died in 1958 of long-term effects of his injuries and imprisonment. Sterling war record, many awards, and his fellow pilots admired him. Per fellow POWs, he was a leader in the camp and never gave in. When peace was announced in the camp, he attacked the Jap commander of that camp with his bare hands and would have killed him even with his own injuries if he hadn't been pulled off by others. A genuine hero, but the war ruined him physically.

Semper fi!

Steve