Chapter 18.

After I finished talking to Jess, I had second thoughts. Or maybe it was third or fourth thoughts. What the hell was I doing, planning to travel to Florida with this young woman I hardly knew, on what might just be a wild goose chase? Granted it might get us answers about what was wrong with Christopher, but what did it have to do with making sure my life had a meaning? I knew what happened when you assumed too much, and that's just what we were doing about Petey. But I couldn't back out now. I closed my eyes tightly and took a few breaths, then stood up and finally went to find Foreman.

He wasn't far away, sitting in the conference room, looking glummer than usual. "Cheer up, you don't have to go anywhere," I told him.

"So how are you going to find Christopher's father?" he asked.

"What, now you're volunteering to go?"

"No! I just..." he stammered.

"It's OK. I'm going instead, with Petey's sister Jess."

"The one who came to see the baby?" he asked.

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"Chase told me about the way she looked at you," Foreman said with a smirk.

"Jess?" What was he talking about?

"I thought you wanted to be here to make sure the team does everything possible to take care of Christopher."

"I have faith that Chase and Thirteen have everything under control," I said pointedly.

"Meaning you don't have faith in me or Taub."

"Should I?" I expected a roll of the eyes instead of an answer and that's just what I got.

Taub walked in at that moment and looked from one of us to the other. "What are you up to now, House?'

"He's decided to go to Florida to look for the errant father," Foreman informed him, but he was watching me.

"I thought you were sending Foreman," Taub said.

"And why should I let him have all the fun? Who wouldn't want to go to Disney World?" I asked, staring back at Foreman.

"He's going with the baby's aunt," Foreman said.

"I assume you mean the aunt who was here to see the baby. Well, she IS rather pretty."

"I hadn't noticed," I said. Seen next to Nina, Jess faded into the woodwork, but I guess, alone, she was kind of a good-looking woman. That wasn't motive enough for what I was going to do, though. In fact, I still wasn't sure what had prompted me to offer to go with her to find Petey.

"Why aren't you home packing?" Thirteen asked Foreman as she joined us, so we had to go through the whole thing all over again.

"You're more intrigued by Jess than Christopher?" she asked me when we'd finished.

"No!" I protested. But maybe that was closer to the truth than Taub's guess that it had something to do with her looks. "You and Chase are in charge of Christopher's case until I get back," I told Thirteen and watched Foreman grimace yet again, and Taub frown. Thirteen smirked at them, then left to give Chase the news.

Meanwhile, I went to let Ellie know my plans. She sat in her hospital bed, holding the baby and talking to him. He seemed to be focused on her face, especially her lips.

"I just talked to Jess," I said. "She and I are going to Florida to try to find Petey."

"Why?" Ellie asked, a puzzled look crossing her face.

"So we can test him."

"But I thought that what's wrong with Christopher was because of my genes," she said, sounding as confused as she must have been.

"Actually, we're still not sure of that. It could still be something he inherited from his father or his father's family," I explained.

"Oh!" she said.

I wondered if she'd been feeling guilty about causing the baby's condition. I never really understood the guilt thing.

"How do you think you'll find him there?" she asked. "I don't remember him having any friends or relatives in Florida."

"Jess says he likes amusement parks," I said.

Her face finally cleared. "Yes. He always has. One thing he'd been looking forward to doing with Chris was to take him to Great Adventure."

"Well we have to make sure Chris makes it to an age where he'll appreciate that," I told her, then decided I still didn't know a lot about what happened to make Petey leave. "Ellie, where were you when Petey left you and the baby?"

"In a motel in Trenton. He'd tried to get a job and couldn't find one that paid more than minimum wage. One day he said he was going to try one of the towns nearby, and he never came back. I found he'd taken some of his clothes and most of our remaining cash." She paused to look at Christopher. "I never saw him again."

"So you went to stay with your sister?" I still hadn't met Jackie, just talked to her on the phone, and I wasn't sure how close the sisters were.

"Yes. I knew she would help me, even if she didn't have much herself," Ellie said. "I spoke to her yesterday and she said she's going to try to come for a visit next weekend."

I nodded. It might be interesting to meet Christopher's other aunt. "I think Jess and I will be leaving tomorrow," I said. "If we can get a flight at such short notice."

"Why do you have to go? Can't you send one of your staff?"

"I thought of that, but I really think it has to be me."

"But what will happen to Chris while you're gone?" Her voice was becoming panicky.

"Thirteen and Chase are in charge while I'm away. They know what to do, and I think you trust them."

Reluctantly she nodded. "And the other two?"

"Foreman's got his own ideas about what's wrong, so I'll let him pursue them. If nothing else, that'll keep him out of mischief."

"Is Foreman prone to mischief?" she wondered aloud.

I fought the urge to laugh. The man didn't have the imagination required for real mischief. "Not really," was all I said. "Taub will do whatever has to be done. You'll be in good hands, you know."

"Yes, I guess so," but she didn't sound too reassured.

"And when Jess and I bring Petey back we'll test him the way we did everyone else."

"OK," she agreed. "Only, I'm not really looking forward to seeing him again."

I hadn't really thought before about how she felt towards her husband. He was Christopher's father, after all. "You may not have to, but I think he'll what to see Chris."

"Then why hasn't he tried to get in touch before this?" she asked. It was a damned good question.