The usual "I don't own House disclaimer goes here!

Thanks for the lovely reviews and insights! This chapter was bound to happen at some point, so here it goes!

Like Father, Like Son

Chapter 22

After the patient had gone, House meticulously disinfected the exam table, grabbed a teen magazine and started to browse its contents.

"Oh! Oh! Here's one that you could use! 10 Clues That a Guy Really Likes You. Well you aren't really looking for a guy, but I'm sure that there's something in this that you can glean for future reference! Number 10 – see they're saving the best for last. You can always tell."

"Dad"

"10: You see your name written on their arm. 9: You keep running into him even though you know that his classes aren't anywhere near yours. 8: (Oh you can really use this one!) He waits until all the tables are full so that he has to ask you to make room for him at yours. (See, now that might come in handy!)

"Paging Greg House!"

"7-"

Greg ripped the magazine from his father's grasp and House looked up at his son. "I guess it was pretty lame but I would like to know what number one was. Eight should have been ranked higher, don't you think?"

"I don't care!"

"But your love life!"

"I'm perfectly happy with my love life just the way it is!"

"You have a love life? Now I really know that I'm out of the loop! Son, we need to talk more!"

"Just shut up!"

House sat up and stared dumbly at Greg.

"Are you ever going to act like a dad? You're a great best friend but you really suck as a father!" Greg's face was red with fury. "You should be so pissed at me right now. For five weeks I've been doing stuff without your knowledge. I've told you that I was going to be at the music store when I was here. I've gotten to know Wilson, Dr. Cuddy, and your team right under your nose and you're talking about a damned magazine article!"

House started to say something, but Greg cut him off.

"Do you realize that I've worried since the day I started here what you were going to do to me when you found out? If my real family was alive it sure wouldn't have gone this far. My grandma would have asked me what I did with my day and I would have told her what I wanted to tell her, then she would have gotten that look that said 'Spill it now!' and I would have told her every second of my day. Then she would have made me think about what could have happened and how she would feel when she thought I was safe doing one thing, but found out that I was really doing something else."

"It's good that you don't have to hear that crap anymore, huh?" House commented softly.

"No, it's not good! That guy with the poison ivy that we just treated will be back if his infection gets worse. He might come in yelling that you were playing a game and let some damn kid treat him. Who's responsible for that kid, Dad? YOU! You're all worried about how Wilson is going to react to your new-found parenthood, but you aren't going to be giving him any reason to believe that you've stepped up!"

"I've given you everything that you've needed."

"No, you've given me everything that I've WANTED. I NEED your time and your advice and your boundaries. When we first met and you gave me your charge card and your money and sent me off to get bikes and a cell phone, I thought it was so cool. Do you know how long it took me to change my mind?

House shook his head.

I wasn't even to the cell store yet. I'd never bought anything bigger than a DVD by myself before coming to you. My family was always there making sure that I'd thought things through and instructing me on what to look for, good and bad. You need to tell me to get a haircut; that my clothes need washing and your shirts and ties don't fit me! I NEED MY DAD!

Cuddy opened the door and stuck her head in.

"Is there a problem in here?" Clearly there was. Her new intern had been reduced to tears by House and she would need to deal with the fallout. Instead she heard….

"No Ma'am, I was just venting and Dr. House got an earful. I'll leave now, if that's okay." Without waiting for a response, Greg brushed past Cuddy and left.

House scrubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands before he spoke to Cuddy. "Do you have a minute? Can we go to your office and just talk?

This was a House that Cuddy had rarely, if ever, seen. He was a mature adult. There was no humor, sarcasm, or play evident in his demeanor. The mask was gone.

"Of course, House." Cuddy headed to her office followed by a silent House. Once they sat down, Cuddy continued to carefully observe her most difficult doctor. She could see the wheels turning behind his eyes. Whatever it was he was trying to find the words for seemed to be just out of reach. If Cuddy were able, she would have spoken the words for him just to help him get beyond this point. Once she heard the question, she was almost too stunned to answer.

"How do you know the difference between what Rachel needs and what she wants?"

Two things stood out. House called Rachel by name and he was posing this as a serious question. There was no hint that mockery would follow on the heels of her response.

"I don't know. She's still so young. She eats, she sleeps, and she poops. She's using a few more words and she's expressing more opinions in her own way. What is this about?"

"So how do you know when to tell her 'no' and which battles to pick?"

"I tell her 'no' when she's in danger and when it just isn't the right time for whatever she wants. As for the battles, it depends on how tired I am, some days, I'm willing to do whatever she wants because we can and some days we do whatever she wants just because I'm too tired to fight her."

"What about Lucas? Is he a good dad?"

"He gets to play with her more than I do, although sometimes he'll take over with the menial stuff so that Rachel and I can play. We don't look at it as Lucas being her dad, though…at least I don't. How could this possibly be helping you?"

"Maybe I just need to go to University Book Store and get the manual for this."

Cuddy laughed out loud! "THE manual for child rearing; there isn't just one! House, there are aisles and aisles of books by people with opinions on how to raise kids! Not any single book has the answer for any single child."

"So, how do I match the right book with the right kid?"

"You don't. You take what you learned from your parents, both the good and the bad stuff, and add your experiences, some intuition and just do the best you can. Some things work and some things don't. Try it and let it go. No parent is perfect and no kid is going to be easy all the time. You butt heads, and then say I love you and keep moving forward."

"How long did it take you to get to this point? You really seem to have it together."

Again Cuddy laughed. "I have it together now, because I'm at work. When I get home, Rachel is going to want to eat cookies before dinner and I'm going to tell her 'no'. She's going to say 'need them', and then I'm going to say 'you will not die without them, you don't need them'. We have had this same conversation since Lucas taught her to say 'need them' three weeks ago. I'm not sure if either of them is going to be safe if we have the same conversation tonight. We will argue over bath or no bath, when it is time to get out of the tub and how many books we will look at before I stick her in her crib. The kid has, like, 100 words, but she totally knows how to get her point across!"

"You need something if you will die without it…. Greg said something along those lines to me when he was yelling at me a bit ago. I guess I know that. Alright, a kid needs food, clothing, shelter, and you could argue for education, even."

"Love, too," Cuddy added. "Kids in orphanages can have all the essentials provided to them but if you leave out love they demonstrate autistic tendencies after awhile."

"I think that you are oversimplifying those studies, but I get the point."

"He must have done a real number on you today."

"Who?"

"Greg Dubois. Should I let him go? After what I saw today, he clearly has authority issues."

"No, that would be me, remember?" House shook his head trying to dispel Greg's words echoing in his mind. "I'll handle it. He's fine. How much did you hear, anyway?"

"The door muffled all his words, so I didn't really hear anything."

"Good to know. Thanks Cuddy."

House left Cuddy's office leaning heavily on his cane. Cuddy's original thought had been that House would be too hard on Greg, but now she suspected that maybe it would be the other way around. Whatever the young intern had been saying sure did a number on House, Cuddy thought as she tidied her desk.