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Chapter 26.

Jess stared at her brother, who just stood there in the aisle, stopping the line of passengers behind him until a stewardess urged him on. Jess' eyes followed him as he stepped into the seat behind us to let the others go past, and when they'd all gone, he returned.

"You changed your mind!" Jess said with a smile.

"Lester said I was being an idiot," Petey explained.

"Lester is a wise man," I told him, but he glared at me.

"Well, I'd better see if there are any seats left in coach that aren't at the very rear of the plane," he said, and moved off again. I had a feeling he'd wanted Jess to go with him, or maybe for me to offer to switch seats with him, but that wasn't going to happen.

"Do you really think he's here because Lester shamed him into it?" Jess asked me. I was sure she hoped it was out of concern for his son.

I shrugged. "I don't care why he decided to come back with us. I do know it'll be easier to have him around in case I need to do any tests on him."

"Do you think that's likely?" she wondered.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

She frowned as she considered that. "Those questions you were asking earlier about Petey. You think he may have a milder form of what Chris has, don't you?"

I nodded once. "Certainly if he does, it hasn't been as obvious."

She sat back to think about that just as the flight attendants began their spiel about seat belts and flotation devices and all those other safety things that you've heard a million times. Unless you haven't been on an airplane in the last thirty years.

I took the catalog out of the seat pocket to glance through, although that, too, probably hasn't changed for at least five years. Still, it was fun to look at the pictures and wonder if anyone ever bought any of this junk. The prices alone on some of it made my head spin. Although there was this neat set of headphones...

The plane taxied down the runway, and after another wait, we were off into the wild blue yonder. My mind kept wandering back to my earlier discussion with Jess and the questions she'd asked. She was right, I was considering that Petey might have the same condition as his son. I wondered if I could get him to go through more extensive testing. There were always ways to trick someone into doing what you wanted, of course, and I'd probably resort to them if I had to.

I was glad the flight was short. I might not always answer my phone, but when we had a case like this, I hated to be out of touch. While we were airborne, there was no way I could reach my team or that they could reach me. So the minute we touched down and I could turn my phone back on, I checked for messages. There were none, but to be sure, I called the hospital. I felt Jess' eyes on me and knew without looking at her that there'd be an anxious frown on her face.

As we walked out onto the walkway, I asked Chase for any news on Christopher.

"No change," he said.

"Well, the good news is that we have Petey's samples with us AND Petey," I told him.

"He came back with you?" Chase sounded surprised.

"Yes. Now all we have to do is convince him to undergo some tests," I said. We were out in the gate area and Jess and I had stopped to wait for Petey to join us.

"What kind of tests?" Chase asked. "Do you think he has a form of the same problem as Chris?"

"Bingo!"

"Alright," he said. "Bring him in and we'll see what we can do."

"Gotta go," I said. "See you soon." We'd spotted Petey coming through the gate and looking around.

Jess walked to her brother and told him we'd be going directly to the hospital. He nodded and didn't object. One possible obstacle eliminated. Petey went with her to her car and I found mine in the crowded lot. We drove separately to PPTH, but met up again in the lobby.

"I'll take you up to see Christopher before I take these samples to the lab," I told Petey.

He wasn't all that enthusiastic about seeing his son, but I hoped that the experience would arouse his paternal feelings if he had any. Thirteen was in the room with the baby, checking his vitals. She looked up at our arrival. "House, you're back."

"Nothing like stating the obvious to demean your intelligence," I said. "This is Petey," I indicated the young man with my cane as Jess moved closer to look at her nephew.

Thirteen's eyes took Petey in and she smiled, making me roll my eyes. OK, so he was a good-looking guy. That didn't stop him from being a pain.

Chase and Ellie entered right behind them. "Petey, what are you doing here?" she asked, less happy to see him than I expected.

"Didn't Chase tell you we were bringing him back with us?" I asked her, then looked at Chase. "Any changes?"

"Since I talked to you, what, an hour ago?" Chase asked. "I'm afraid not."

"Well, I'll bring Petey's samples to the lab. Hopefully they'll give us a new clue," I said, leaving the room and its occupants. I didn't need to be a witness to any drama that might unfold.

The lab was busy as usual, but I was able to convince one of the techs that I needed the samples analyzed, stat. I'd been thinking what other tests I wanted to subject Petey to, and left the lab to formulate a plan.

As I passed the conference room I noticed that Taub was the only one there. I didn't bother to stop, but kept right on going to Wilson's office, pushing the door open without knocking.

Wilson looked up from the file he was reading. He didn't seem surprised to see me. Was I that predictable? "How was the Sunshine State?" he asked.

"Sunny." I sat down on his couch and began tapping my cane.

"What do you want, House?" Wilson finally asked, trying to look stern and failing. Considering all the practice he's had with me, it's a wonder he hasn't gotten any better at it.

"Oh, nothing from you," I said. "Just needed a place to put some pieces together without being disturbed."

His curiosity got the better of him. "What pieces?"

"Everything I know about Peter Giordano, Jr." I said. "And what it has to do with his son's condition."