Disclaimer House and Wilson aren't mine since they belong to David Shore. Greg Jr. is mine and I've grown quite fond of him!

Thank you everyone for your patience. It's been way, way too long since I've posted. I hope you enjoy!

Like Father, Like Son

Chapter 25

Wilson placed a platter piled high with Macadamia Nut Pancakes on the table in front of his best friend. House was high on their fragrance and excited that Greg was going to get his first taste of them. Greg sat down, still trying to shake off the sleep that seemed to refuse to loose its grasp from him.

"Eat these," encouraged House. "They are the reason that I remain friends with Wilson."

Greg only nodded and dozed at the table.

"Are you like this every morning?" Wilson inquired.

Greg shook his head and winced.

"You didn't switch from root beer to beer after Wilson and I went to bed did you?"

"Weasel piss." Greg whispered through a scratchy throat.

"Go back to bed," ordered House and Wilson simultaneously.

House glared at Wilson then continued. "You have the opinions of the two finest doctors at PPTH. I'll let your boss know that you won't be there."

Greg looked up stunned. "You're gonna tell Cuddy who I am while I'm not there? Dad! Besides, it's my first day to work with you and the team! I gotta go!"

"Your head hurts, your throat hurts, and we can tell that you're running a fever without even touching you. I'm gonna look down your throat, and then write you a prescription for antibiotics because I'm almost certain that you have strep throat. It's a miracle that you haven't come down with something before now. Most people get sick all the time when they first start working in a hospital – especially the clinic. We can blame this on Wilson." House checked Greg's throat, made a face and called in a prescription, instead of writing it. He used the corner drug store rather than the hospital pharmacy so that he didn't need to explain that the Greg House the prescription was for wasn't the same Greg House as himself. Before House had finished the call, Wilson had left to go pick up the drugs. When House closed his phone, he noticed that Greg had fallen back to sleep using as a pillow the stack of three pancakes that Wilson had given him.

After leading Greg back to the couch, House called the team and told them that he was taking a personal day. Fortunately, there wasn't a patient on the verge of death. House called Cuddy and assured her that all was well and he wasn't coming in. To House's surprise she informed him that Wilson had contacted her regarding Greg and told her that he had strep and wouldn't be in so that he was off the hook. Wilson could be remarkably efficient when he put his mind to it.

Wilson returned from the drug store with Gatorade, a thermometer, popsicles, three different kinds of cough drops, the prescription and a tiny stuffed grey kitten. "I didn't want Greg to get lonely today" was Wilson's only defense.

"I'm stay home with him. Thanks for calling Cuddy, by the way. Thanks for the other stuff, too." Wilson noticed that House didn't offer to reimburse Wilson for anything that he'd purchased.

After Greg had been dosed and was sleeping again, Wilson reheated the pancakes and both men sat down to eat.

"Greg's going to expect breakfasts like this all the time if you're not careful," House said around a mouthful of food.

"I think I can live with that," Wilson replied, "I cook breakfast like this for us most of the time anyway."

"Yeah," House responded, realization dawning, "I guess you do. I guess I ought to say 'thanks'."

Wilson waited for a few seconds. "Well, are you…going to say 'thanks' that is."

"No."

GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH GH

House watched his son as he slept. Since Greg was camped out on the couch, House didn't feel like he should have the TV on. He'd tried to read a medical journal, but his eyes kept wandering toward Greg. He realized that he'd never really gotten to look at Greg up close. For one thing it would have been creepy to stare at him while he was awake, and for another, House didn't ever think to do it before. Now was a perfect time to take the opportunity.

Greg's hair was light brown and curly; just like House's had been when he was that age. The mouth was his, too, but Greg smiled far more than House. Renee smiled easily and so it made sense that he son would, too. The nose was all Renee's. It was a little broader than House's and turned up a bit at the end. Greg was a handsome boy. House thought to himself that he and Renee hadn't made junk.

Just then, Greg stirred and scratched at his belly as he spoke in his sleep. "Mommy, my belly itches! Make it stop."

House pulled Greg's blanket back and lifted his shirt. A rash covered Greg's torso and before long it would be covering the rest of his body.

Shaking Greg gently, House woke him from his slumbers. "Hey, you're breaking out in a rash. I need to get some antihistamine into you. Shake off the sleep while I see if Wilson keeps anything around here that you can take"

Greg mumbled a reply and sat up while he continued the scratching that he's started as he slept.

As he was rummaging in a medicine cabinet, House heard Greg's hoarse call. "Dad! Dad!"

House grabbed what he needed, and hurried to his son's side.

Greg looked scared. "Is this what killed my mom?"

House hadn't even considered the possibility and truthfully he didn't know the answer. "I doubt that it was this specific antibiotic that killed her and even if it is, although your itching is inconvenient and uncomfortable, it isn't acting like it will kill you." House held out two small, pink, oblong pills. "These will reverse the reaction you are having. You'll probably be sleepy and that's normal with antihistamines. Let me know if it feels like you're having trouble breathing because then we might need to worry."

House got Greg a Coke so he could take his meds. "Sorry I didn't think to ask you about any allergies you might have. Most of my patients are idiots and can't be trusted."

"Not even with the easy stuff?"

"By the time they get to me, hopefully the easy stuff has been discounted. Sometimes, though, it's the easy stuff that gets overlooked." House swatted at Greg's hand as he started scratching his arms. The rash had continued to spread and the boy was growing more uncomfortable.

"Hey! It itches! I've gotta scratch it!" Greg glared at his dad.

"You don't want a bloody mess or risk getting that infected. Lay off. The meds will kick in soon and it won't be so bad."

House moved to get his guitar and returned to Greg. He played random snatches of songs in an attempt to distract his son from his misery. Before long, Greg's eyelids grew heavy and he was once again asleep.

Pacing the loft, House's thigh ached. He knew it was because he was furious with himself that he hadn't considered asking Greg if he had any allergies….to anything! He needed to get his hands on Greg's medical records and he needed to find him a doctor and a dentist. It was dawning on House that parenting wasn't just living with a kid. There were needs that needed to be met which wouldn't cry out to be addressed. They would lay dormant until some sort of emergency arose. Given the way Renee died, Greg could have been seriously ill …or dead by now! House sighed and realized that he was thinking like Wilson. Nothing serious had happened and hadn't been likely to. Kids get sick and their parents deal with it. Rarely was anything ever very serious, but House had the disadvantage of always seeing the worst of the worst. Maybe he needed to pay more attention to what he treated in the clinic. These mundane cases were what made up the majority the illnesses that were out there. House needed to remember that and not jump to conclusions every time something like this happened. Greg was lucky that House hadn't hauled him in to PPTH and started running a battery of tests! House also needed to get Greg on his insurance policies. This wasn't something that could wait for long.

Cuddy needed to know about Greg, and then HR needed to be told. House had wanted to have fun with all of the big reveals that could be made regarding Greg, but maybe things needed to be moved along a little more quickly. Wilson knew about Greg now and he was lousy at keeping secrets. If House didn't hurry up about it, Wilson would certainly tell all. First, Greg needed to get well, and then House was going to have his fun. It might not be on the same time table that House had originally intended, but that didn't mean that all was lost!