A/N: Wow, I bet you didn't expect that did you? Let's move right back into this thing!

Thanks to Cherokee Jedi for always sacrificing her time to read this in advance to make sure it makes sense.

Thanks to everyone reading it!

Thanks to all those Huddy fic writers who keep churning out the love. Keep up the great work!

"What's a tattoo?"

"Well, it's kinda like artwork on your skin."

"It washes off?"

"No, not exactly, it's permanent. Once it's there you can never get rid of it. Ever."

"That's stupid."

"That's my girl," he quipped.

"I thought art was sposed to be pretty. That's ugly," she said pointing to the woman with the big tattoo on her leg.

House couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, it is, but not all tattoos are ugly."

"Do you have one?"

"No."

"Does mommy have one?"

He chuckled. "Tattoos are for idiots and your mom definitely is not an idiot." He continued to play the game with Rachel until a few minutes later, they heard a shout.

"Oh my God, he's choking!" Someone yelled from the other side of the planter next to them. "Help! Please!"

House looked up and Rachel cried "Howse!" and pointed her little finger to the plant next to them. Through the leaves, House could clearly see an elderly couple seated on a bench there. The man was bent over clearly in distress. House jumped up immediately then looked back at Rachel and said sternly, "Don't move!" She nodded emphatically and he turned around and limped over to help the choking man, leaving his cane behind.

A few minutes later, House had successfully performed a tracheotomy using just a small pen knife borrowed from a bystander and a straw from the man's drink. He had the man stabilized and was applauded by the crowd when the EMT crew arrived moments later. The man's wife hugged House and thanked him profusely after which he managed to escape and made his way back to the bench where he'd left Rachel. However, when he got there...

Rachel was gone.

"Rachel!" House yelled. He looked around frantically. His heart pounded wildly in his chest. On the floor lay the bags containing the things he'd bought for her.

"Rachel!" He yelled again looking around as strangers gave him odd looks. He snarled at them all not trusting anyone, knowing one of them could've taken her. He didn't want to venture too far in case she was able to make her way back but he had to find security. He limped frantically over to the security guard in front of a nearby jewelry store. The security guard was on his cell phone.

"Need your help!"

"Hey you're the guy who saved that guy's life. Great job, man," he said as he hung up his phone.

"Yeah whatever, listen, I lost my...my girlfriend's daughter is missing."

The security guard quickly turned serious and grabbed his a pad and pen from his chest pocket and then reached for his radio. "What does she look like?"

For the next two minutes House gave the security guard a complete description of Rachel, down to the clothes she was wearing and the color of her shoes. The officer told him, "Go back to where you last saw her and wait in case she returns."

"I can't just sit there doing nothing!" He exclaimed.

"Right now you need to go back to where you last saw her," he said. Noting House's apprehensiveness at leaving, he added, "Sir, trust me. We train for this all the time. We will find her."

House let out a deep breath and watched the officer relay the information over his radio and then he limped back to where he'd last left Rachel. Suddenly he heard a voice over the public address system issuing a "Code Adam" lockdown which informed mall patrons that a child had gone missing and nobody was allowed to leave. House heard the detailed description of Rachel broadcast and it sent a chill up his spine. He cursed himself inwardly for turning around to help that man. But Rachel was a smart little girl and she listened. No, he thought. She would not leave on her own. If anything, someone took her from that bench. That made his heart sink more, the thought that she had been kidnapped.

Kidnapped. Suddenly, all the terrible things that could happen to her went through his mind all at once. The world started to spin around him and he felt nauseous. He grabbed hold of the planter and steadied himself, knowing he had to keep it together to find her. He knew the guard had told him to stay where he was but he couldn't just sit by and do nothing. Determined to find her, he went from shop to shop in the vicinity showing people the picture of Rachel he had in his wallet but sadly, no one had seen her. He saw police everywhere talking to store owners and mall patrons. He leaned against the wall in frustration. For a moment he thought about calling Cuddy but he knew she would be hysterical and it wouldn't help the situation. She had trusted him with Rachel and he'd let her down. He knew that if anything happened to Rachel she would never forgive him but that was the least of his worries. His first priority was finding her. As he headed for stores in the opposite direction, he heard it.

"Howse!"

The sound of her voice nearly brought him to tears. He turned around and there she was, breaking free from the grasp of her police escort, running to him, a huge smile on her face. House kneeled albeit painfully, letting his cane fall to the floor. He grabbed her and held her tightly to him, then looked at her to make sure she was okay. Her face was streaked with tears, which he wiped away gently with the pads of his thumbs.

"I got lost," she said.

"Don't ever do that to me again." He whispered into her hair.

"I'm sorry Howse. I'm sorry." Rachel cried into his shoulder.

"Shhh it's okay kid, I'm not mad. I'm just glad you're okay." As he held her, he actually felt a pain in his chest at the thought that he nearly lost her. As he held her tightly, the crowd around them grew larger and the people began clapping and smiling. House opened his eyes and saw the security guard he'd spoken to earlier standing next to the officer. He made a motion that he needed help standing up and the guard assisted him and handed him his cane, then ushered them to the same bench they'd been sitting on before Rachel disappeared. House looked up gratefully and nodded, noticing the happy crowd dissipating around them.

"Thank you," he said. "For finding her."

The officer smiled. "We didn't."

"Huh?"

"She found us." Noting House's confused expression she explained. "She apparently wandered for awhile, getting lost in the crowds and then found me and said, and I quote 'House told me if I get lost, look for a policeman and give them his name.' That was good thinking Dr. House." House glanced proudly at Rachel who beamed back at him through her tears, then gave the officer an odd expression, wondering how the she knew he was a doctor.

As if sensing what he was thinking, the officer offered an explanation. "She told us all about you being a world famous doctor. Said you healed lots and lots of sick people, isn't that right Rachel?" The officer smiled at Rachel. "Seems that you have one smart little girl there."

"I guess I do." Turning to Rachel he asked, "Why did you leave? I told you to stay put."

She looked down, afraid to tell him.

"It's okay kid, I won't be upset."

"Umm...I had to go pee really bad and the door was right there," she said as she pointed to the door three feet from them that had the gold plated icon of a girl in a dress on it.

"You knew that was the girls bathroom?"

"Uh huh."

"But nobody saw you come out. How did you get out?"

"Lots of people were in there and I went out the door and...I just got lost." She said. Her lower lip trembled a bit.

The security guard touched House on the shoulder. "There are two entrances to the restrooms, one on the north side here," he said pointing at the door facing House. "And another door on the south side. Apparently she got out on the that side and lost her bearing and wound up getting lost trying to find you."

"I shouldn't have just left her here." Looking over at Rachel, who yawned, he said, "Come on squirt, I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

"Are you going to tell mommy?"

"Yep."

"I sorry Howse, I didn't mean to scare you." She hugged him tighter than she ever had before.

"Hey it's okay, it's not your fault." He ran his arms up and down her little back to reassure her.

"I was scared until I saw you," she said. "Then I wasn't scared anymore."

"Is that so?"

"That so," she replied."You always make me feel safe." She smiled wide and House couldn't help himself.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah!" She nodded emphatically with big blue eyes.

"I was scared too."

"You were?"

"Uh huh."

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "You don't have to be scared Howse. I'll take care of you." She patted him on his good leg which brought a chuckle from the officer and security guard. It also lightened House's heavy heart.

"We'll take care of each other, how's that?" He raised his hand up for a high-five.

"Okay!" Rachel smacked his hand.

The security guard held out his hand to House. "Dr. House, it was good to met you. I'm glad you've got your little girl back." In an unusual move, House extended his hand and reciprocated. "Thank you...for everything."

"You're welcome." The security guard ruffled Rachel's hair and walked away.

"Dr. House, is there anyone I can call? Do you need help?" The officer asked.

House looked over at the bags that were on the floor next to the bench. Before he could open his mouth, she said, "Come on, I've got it." She smiled and picked up the bags and escorted them out of the mall.

They got to the car and the officer put the bags in the trunk. House buckled Rachel in and checked it twice. He turned around to bid goodbye to the officer.

"Thanks for your help." They shook hands and parted ways. House watched her walk away then got in the car and buckled himself in, looking at Rachel in the rearview mirror.

"You ready to go?"

"Yep."

"I think I'm gonna call your mom first."

"Uh oh."

"Yeah, uh oh," he murmured. Though Rachel was safe, he worried about Cuddy's reaction. He took out his phone and dialed Cuddy's cell phone and waited.

Twenty minutes later, House and Rachel arrived at Blythe's house. When they exited the car, Cuddy was there to greet them. She hugged Rachel and House looked on, silently.

"You had some day, didn't you?" It was then that Rachel began to cry.

"Oh honey, what is it?"

"Please don't be mad at Howse."

Cuddy looked shocked. "Why would I be mad at House?"

"It wasn't his fault. I had to pee."

"I know, House told me." She wiped Rachel's eyes. "You and I have always talked about how important it is not to wander off, right?" Rachel nodded. "So you know you shouldn't have done it, but..you're just a child, you didn't understand what could happen."

"I'm sorry mommy," she said sincerely.

"I know baby. Please promise me you will listen to us from now on. We're only trying to protect you."

"Okay."

"That's my girl."

"Mommy, Howse saved a man."

"What?"

"A man was sick and Howse helped him."

Cuddy looked up at House. "You didn't tell me that."

"Didn't seem important at the time."

Cuddy stood and put her hands on Rachel's shoulders, steering her into the house. "Come on you two, let's go inside and we'll hear all about it."

Rachel ran into the house, followed by House and Cuddy. Before the entered, she turned around and grabbed his shirt and kissed him, unexpectedly and passionately, taking him completely by surprise.

When they parted slightly breathless, he asked, "What was that for?"

Without a word, she smiled, then smoothed his shirt and continued into the house ahead of him.

The four of them sat in the living room discussing what had happened a few hours earlier. House had said very little outside relaying the facts of the story. He still felt guilty about what had happened and when he excused himself and went into the kitchen, Cuddy knew it was her chance to talk to him. She found him at the sink with a glass of water, staring out the window.

She walked and stood behind him. It was anothe minute before he spoke.

"I screwed up."

"No, you didn't."

"I left her alone."

"From what you told me, you were only a few feet away."

"That's all it takes, you know that."

"I do, all too well."

House gave her a curious look and she explained. "Last year in the grocery store, she said she was too big to ride in the cart so I told her she could walk with me if she walked ahead of me and didn't run off. I turned around to get something and when I turned back around she was gone. I panicked and freaked out only to find she was a few aisles over, petting a guide dog. She'd never seen one before. So see...it can happen to anyone."

"You trusted me with her."

"I still do," she insisted. "House, it's just impossible to keep an eye on her every single move twenty-four hours a day. I know you and you would never do anything to hurt her."

He looked at her and started to speak and she had the feeling she knew what he was going to say. She put a finger to his lips. "No. Don't say it. You were out of your goddamned mind and I forgave you. I know you, the real you. I trust you with my life and with Rachel's."

He sighed in relief and before he could reply his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID he groaned. "It's the team, I gotta take it."

Cuddy smiled and kissed him, then turned around and left him to his work.

A few minutes later House had finished up with the team. The toddler had Eisenmenger Syndrome, a heart defect that had not shown up on previous tests. He turned off his phone after telling Chase he would not be available.

He knocked on his mother's bedroom door and found her sitting on the bed, perusing an old photo album.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course dear."

He leaned against her dresser. "Listen, I'm sorry I ran out earlier. I just wasn't ready..."

"I understand. I don't want to push you."

"I'm okay, it's just that I'm not good at...you know...all this."

She laughed hesitantly. "I know."

They sat there for a few minutes feeling out the situation. His mother spoke again.

"We tried but I couldn't get pregnant. I gave up after awhile."

"Did he really want kids?"

"Yes. He thought it would be nice to pass on the family name."

"Well that's a good reason," he replied sarcastically.

"He wanted what I wanted and I wanted children."

"But you cheated on him. If you didn't want to be with dad, why not just divorce him?"

She sighed. "Divorce? That was never an option. It's not how either of us was raised. I married your father because I loved him. He'd always been a strong and aggressive personality but early on he wasn't so bad. It wasn't until later..." she said, staring at her hands. She took a deep breath and continued. "Anyway, your father and Thomas were good friends. They went to college together. Thomas joined the Navy but after a few years he realized he didn't want to make a career of it like your dad did. He felt he had this higher calling, something else he was meant to do. Obviously you know what that was. John and I had been married about a year when my father died. John was overseas and couldn't come home. Thomas was home on leave visiting his parents and came by to cheer me up. He made me laugh and helped me through a very difficult time."

She looked up at House who sat listening silently.

"Thomas was so different from John. He was gentle and patient and understanding. It was easy to talk to him about certain things. We had deep, heartfelt conversations about life and what we wanted out of it. It was just...nice. He was so intelligent and he questioned everything. He always felt there was more to everything than we could see, hear, touch or smell. He was intuitive and curious. You're like him in many ways Greg. Anyway...that week when he visited, that's when it happened, between us. I was lonely. I missed John and I was so sad about my father's death. We were together...and it felt so right but we felt very guilty afterwards. We swore John would never find out. "

"And then you got pregnant."

"I did. I was with Thomas in October and your father didn't come back home until Christmas."

"How did you keep it from him?"

"He was on maneuvers and in training so much during the pregnancy, I just didn't tell him everything. He wasn't there when you were born, Sarah was with me. She knew immediately you weren't premature and I had to tell her. She promised she would never tell. And she didn't."

This news did not surprise House. His aunt Sarah was his favorite aunt. She knew how to keep secrets.

"I was young and scared of being alone. Then there was the stigma of adultery and having a child out of wedlock. I also didn't want to hurt him, I mean he hadn't done anything to deserve it. Take your pick of any number of reasons I didn't tell him. I suppose now it doesn't matter. He'd wanted a son and you were born and as time went on I just perpetuated the lie, there was no good time to come clean and then you were twelve years old and you knew. I always worried what would happen to you...how he'd treat you when he found out."

"Yeah," House said softly. "He was way ahead of you."

"He came to me the night you'd confronted him. He told me that he was hurt and angry over what you'd said but that it was time for the truth."

"He'd already known?"

"He suspected. As you got older, he noticed those changes. When he realized that even you knew, he felt like a fool. He demanded the truth, so I told him."

"I can't believe he stayed with you and raised another guy's kid."

"He didn't get to that decision lightly. The night I told him, he packed his things, said he needed time to sort this out and left. I told you he was on maneuvers but he'd lived at the base all week. When he got home, he asked if I'd told Thomas and I said yes. He told me that I had to make a choice, either him or Thomas. Of course I chose my family."

"Dad gave you the chance to walk away and you didn't."

"I did what I had to do." She drifted off and then returned to her focus.

"What did Thomas say when you told him?"

"I thought he'd be surprised but he wasn't. He was perceptive. Some things clicked for him. There were things about you...mannerisms...he said there was something different about you but he couldn't put his finger on it. He really liked you and there were times you loved hanging out with him. In the end, it was about not tearing you away from your family. He knew you belonged with us. He wanted you to have the kind of childhood you deserved."

"Did he even want a child?"

Blythe bit her lip. "No, he did not."

House frowned. "Did dad confront Bell?"

"He did. The day I made my decision, John went to see Thomas. He was gone several hours. When he got back he told me Thomas was leaving."

He looked perplexed for a moment and then it hit him. "That would explain why he moved away. I remember riding my bike to his house and he was packing up boxes. He never would say why he was leaving. He would barely talk to me. He gave me his baseball glove, told me he'd used it in high school, said I should take care of it."

"He moved to the west coast, got his Masters in Theology and eventually became a minister. He had his own church for over twenty years. He even published a few books."

House stood up and paced the room. His leg hurt and he needed to move around. "You should've told me."

"You were a child."

He turned to her scowling. "I grew up didn't I? Nobody bothered to tell me the truth, I figured it out on my own and only confirmed it years later by testing dad's DNA after he died." He saw his mother frown. "Oh come on mom, you know me, I had to know for sure. What sucks is that once I confirmed what I'd already suspected, it didn't bother me. It should've but it didn't."

"I screwed this up," she said sadly. "I perpetuated this lie. Why couldn't he just be normal?" She asked in a loud, exasperated tone. "He thrived on the discipline and rigor of the Corps. He grew up with that with his own father and he needed it in his own life. He was the perfect Marine officer, the perfect leader and people wanted to follow him. While he was not always well-liked he was respected and the men who served under him knew that with him, they had a good chance of going home in one piece. Sadly, he tried to instill the same discipline and rigor in his own house, with his own son, and it didn't work. When you were a child you emulated him, you wanted to be like him and that made him so proud. But as you got older, you changed. You no longer wanted to be like him. You were open-minded, outspoken and rebellious, and...well you became everything he could never be."

"And he could never get past it."

"No. It hurt him that how you were going your own way and didn't need him."

"I needed him," House emphasized. "He just didn't need me...or want me."

Blythe shook her head. "That's not the way it was though sadly I know he made you feel that way. He felt like a failure, that he hadn't done his job properly but he couldn't figure out why or where he'd gone wrong. What kind of leader was he when his own son didn't want to follow him? Didn't respect him? He wanted to be able to congratulate himself as much as you for your accomplishments but he couldn't because he felt none of it was his doing."

House looked at her thoughtfully. They both knew he was indeed like John in many ways. "Genetics doesn't have anything to do with parenting."

His mother nodded her agreement. House pinched the top of his nose. He was already overwhelmed and the conversation wore him out. "So did you ever see or talk to Bell again, I mean before dad died?"

Her eyes conveyed a bit of sadness when she replied. "No. Mutual friends told me years later that he'd gotten married to a schoolteacher. They never had any kids. I never saw him until your father died. I found out he was widowed and living in Virginia again and I asked him to come to the funeral."

House nodded. "How did he die?"

"Cancer," she replied, then she laughed weakly. "Never smoked a day in his life and he died from lung cancer. By the time they found it, it was too advanced. We talked a lot those last few weeks. He was very proud of you, Greg."

House looked up curiously, suprised at this news. "He hardly knew me."

"He may not have wanted children but he was always interested in what you were doing. He followed your career."

"Which means he knew everything."

"We talked about a lot in those final days. He didn't judge you, he just said that he hoped God would help you find a way to heal and move on with your life. He wanted you to be happy."

"God." House chuckled to himself. He leaned forward, resting his weight on his cane. "So what now?"

"Now," she said with some trepidation. "We figure out a way to move on from this. I understand if you are angry with me."

"I always wondered how this conversation would go. I was angry, I'm not anymore."

"You've come a long way."

"Being angry doesn't change what happened."

She got up from the bed and walked to where he stood, now looking out the window. "I will always love you with all my heart and nothing would make me happier than to see you let the past go, accept what you have now and look forward to the future. You are my pride and joy, the one thing I did right in this world. You have faced extreme obstacles at times in your life and you never gave up."

"I wanted to."

"But you didn't son, in the end, you didn't. You survived."

"Sometimes I don't know why after what I did."

"Look at me," she said. When she was gazing into his beautiful blue eyes, her voice softened. "Everything you ever wanted...you have. That woman," she pointed out the door, "Loves you and that little girl does too. They count on you, they need you."

"That's asking a lot mom."

"No," she said. "That's just asking you to be you. A lot of things have happened in your life to make you an angry, bitter man, and even though certain aspects of your personality lie dormant, they exist and you can't get rid of them no matter what you do. This is who you are. You hate change but you have changed and you did it because you wanted to not because anyone made you. Allow yourself to move on and not let this baggage hang over your head."

"I need to make sense of it."

"I understand that, but we both know that analyzing it to death won't do any good. It doesn't change anything. John was proud of you but he could never tell you. He did not know how to be the father you needed and he gave up on himself and on you. Being a good dad took more than just rules and he didn't get that. John is dead but you are here. Live the life that he never could."

The room went silent as they contemplated all that had been said. Suddenly House looked up at her, noting her sadness. He hated seeing her like that.

"There were good times, mom," he said, suddenly.

She smiled. "You remember?"

"Yeah, I've been talking about it in therapy."

"I'm proud of you. There were some good times. I want you to hold on to those." She put her hand over his. "Greg, I'm sorry for everything I put you through. For John...and the relationship with your father you should've had. And I'm sorry about Thomas...that you never really got the chance to know him."

"It wasn't meant to be," he replied. It was meant to sound casual but it contained a great deal of feeling on his part.

"Will you be okay?" She asked.

"I guess I don't have a choice do I?"

She stood in front of him and grabbed both his arms gently. "I suppose not. But I know my son and you will be okay." She put her arms around him and brought her close to him. Her son had never been the hugging type but it felt so good to her. For a moment it reminded her of when he was a little boy and hugged her all the time. "I love you Greg with all my heart and I wouldn't change a thing if it meant I would not have you."

House was rigid at first but hearing those words, feeling his mother's embrace, it was too much and so he let himself relax in her embrace. When he did, he could feel her do the same. They pulled apart mutually and House grabbed his cane which hung on the dresser. He turned to walk out but looked back at his mother.

"Mom?"

"Yes Greg?" She looked up and saw his eyes were tired but he seemed much more at ease than before they'd talked.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome dear," she said as he turned and walked out the bedroom door, down the hallway and into the living room. She sat on the bed and opened the album again. She gasped when the first photo she saw was an old five-by-seven photo of John in fatigues and a four-year old Greg sitting on a table in front of the ice cream shop on base, eating cones and smiling, not at the camera but at each other, neither of them seemed to be remotely aware of the camera. Then she broke down in tears.