The Ghosts of the Past

by purpleu

That which haunts us doesn't exist only in our minds. As an image on a screen preys on House's psyche, he learns that some who have touched upon his life are in pain, too. When they come knocking, seeking his help, will he slam the door on them, or will he relent and let in "The Ghosts of the Past."

4. Chapter 4

Ghosts of the Past

Chapter Four – "The Rattling of Chains"

By: purpleu

"Answer it." House wanted to know who the hell was playing games. "Answer it!"

"What's the matter?" Lydia asked.

"The caller ID says 'Lisa Cuddy,''' he replied.

"What?" was the response of House's team as they jumped up and moved closer to where Wilson stood. With great reluctance, Wilson answered the call.

"Hello?"

"James? Dr. James Wilson?"

"Yes…yes…this is he."

"Put it on speaker," directed House. Wilson hit the speaker button.

"Oh…oh thank God. I was hoping Lisa had the number in here correctly. I tried to call Dr. House, but his phone must be off."

"My phone is off but I'm on," House snapped. "Who the hell is this?"

"Arlene…Arlene Cuddy, Lisa's mom." Tom and Slick had come over to join the group. They both knew Cuddy through their association with the hospital. They exchanged wary looks and Lydia put her hand on House's shoulder. All had the same thought; why would Arlene be trying to contact any of them at this hour if it weren't for bad news?

"What's…what's up?" Wilson asked hesitantly.

"I need your help; more precisely Lisa needs your help," Arlene replied. There was an audible sigh of relief as it became apparent that Cuddy was still alive.

"Is she still hanging out in the produce aisle?" House inquired.

"House!" Everyone exclaimed. Annie rolled her eyes and waved a finger to admonish him.

"What was that? I'm sorry, what did you say, Greg?" Arlene asked.

"Nothing worth repeating," Wilson said giving his friend a look.

"I'm so glad you and Greg are together so I can have things explained to you," began Cuddy's mom. "One of the doctors from the facility Lisa is in wants to talk to you."

"Actually, House's whole team is here as well as two other doctors from the hospital. We were just having a little Halloween get-together with the kids," Wilson explained.

"Kids? I didn't know you had any children." Wilson laughed as he sat back down on the couch. He felt much more relaxed now that he knew Cuddy was OK, or at least alive. House, Lydia and the rest of the group also returned to their seats.

"No, not yet I don't. I'm getting married at the beginning of December and my fiancée and I are expecting a baby in May. Plus, House's girlfriend Lydia has two children, as do friends of ours." House started strongly tapping his foot to show his impatience with Wilson's social conversation.

"I'm so sorry to be interrupting your get-together, but I need you to talk to Dr. Stein, the director of medicine here; things are getting bad for Lisa."

"How did you think things would go after she had a building dropped on her? And given the inappropriateness of the facility she's in?" snapped House. "You put her in what's basically an old age home with a few dementia and Alzheimer patients. She doesn't belong there; she never did."

"I wanted to ask Lisa's doctor what was the best thing to do, but…"

"Why didn't you?" demanded House.

"You…you were still in a coma, and Dr. Wilson and your team were busy tending to you. I mean, they were wonderful in trying to treat Lisa also…but it was all too much." Arlene's voice began to crack as House began to feel pangs of guilt. He couldn't help being in the coma, but if he had listened to Cuddy and convinced Hannah to amputate her leg earlier on in the evening, Cuddy wouldn't be in the shape she was in now.

"I thought she had switched to another doctor a while ago," House said flatly.

"Lisa was never sick; and other than a yearly visit to her gynecologist, I don't think she ever went to see a doctor of any kind. Obviously she didn't even see you," Arlene replied. "I know the hospital required a yearly check-up for all of its employees, but I think she just filled out the forms herself."

"Did the same thing I do. And she bitched at me for bending rules," House muttered.

"All that doesn't matter now; I need you to talk to Dr. Stein…please."

"Put him on," Wilson quickly said. It was obvious Cuddy's mom was desperate. House made a face at Wilson's willingness to get involved in this, but he had to admit he felt he should at least find out what was going on.

"Dr. House? Dr. Wilson?" a male voice inquired.

"Among others in the room at the moment," House answered. "You're Stein?"

"Yes; I oversee the medical needs of the patients at Southern Jersey Assisted Living Facility, which are few. I tried to emphasize that to Arlene when she asked that Dr. Cuddy be placed here. I told her that most of the residents are not bed-bound and require little assistance; her daughter would be much better off at a facility with a greater care staff. But we are only fifteen minutes from her home and she wanted the proximity so she could visit frequently. It seems her granddaughter begged her to see her mother every day."

"So not only is she torturing her daughter by having her receive improper medical care, she's probably giving the kid nightmares by letting her witness the result of that botched care."

"Dr. House, we're doing everything we can. We are not equipped with alternating pressure beds, wound vacs…all things Arlene's daughter needs right now due to a sacral decubis. We don't even have proper staffing to take care of Dr. Cuddy sufficiently," Stein replied testily. "I argued with the director of admitting when Arlene came to us; my pleas to re-direct her to a better facility fell on deaf ears." He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry to say that no matter what, Lisa…does not have very long due to the severe nature of the injuries she received. It wouldn't have mattered whether she had been taken to somewhere that dealt with only medical issues or not. What Arlene has asked me, is if I thought she could survive another two or three months."

"What's the significance of that time frame?" Wilson asked. He saw House roll his eyes and was afraid of what kind of comment he would make.

"Arlene would like to get through some upcoming events that are important to them; Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and Rachel's birthday. After that…she's willing to let Lisa go," said Stein.

"Yeah, and then comes Fools for Love Day and the Vernal Equinox; oh, and don't forget another one of the American Dental Association's favorite holidays…Bunny Day with all its cavity causing goodies. How many other excuses is she going to come up with to put off the inevitable?" sniped House.

"Could you excuse us a second, Dr. Stein? Be right back." Wilson pushed the mute button on his phone. "House, you of all people…after what you said earlier…can understand wanting to be part of certain events in your life. Cuddy may not be aware of anything going on around her…then again, maybe she is… but it would mean the world to her mother and daughter if she were there."

"I well know my reputation as a cold-hearted bastard, but somehow I think a kid shouldn't have to watch her mother slowly and painfully die," House said looking away from Wilson.

"Nor should a parent ever have to bury a child," Slick said knowingly.

"House, look; I know this isn't the type of case we normally take. We're basically going to know what's wrong with Cuddy going into this," Chase pointed out. "But between the whole team, we could always divide ourselves up if a regular case comes in. We could handle that and Cuddy, too."

"Besides that, it sounds like we may need to bring wound care in for a consult on this if the sacral bed wound is that bad," Taub noted. "Or if there are any others in the usual spots."

"If things really get dicey," Slick said, "I can always dive in and help. Don't forget, underneath this future barkeep façade, I'm still a licensed M.D."

"I come close, being a Physician's Assistant and all," Tom noted. House rolled his eyes as each spoke. He turned and looked at Lydia.

"I'm not even close to being a doctor, but I do know a thing or two," she said. House looked down at the floor. He could simply say 'no', but he knew his team would find a way to sneak Cuddy into the hospital and treat her anyway; not like he wouldn't figure it out. House knew his hesitance to treat Cuddy was due to recent events and the thoughts that haunted him about things from long ago. Still, he didn't want to give in so easily…

"What is the big deal with all of you wanting to play Underdog and race to Cuddy's rescue?" he asked in annoyed tone.

"She used to be our boss," said Foreman.

"And for some of us, our friend," added Wilson. House shot him a look; now was not the time to argue that point. Might as well get it over with.

"Put Stein back on," he said nodding his head toward the cell phone. Wilson pressed a button to bring Stein back.

"Dr. Stein? Sorry to keep you waiting," Wilson said.

"No problem; I thought you'd need to talk things over," the doctor replied. "So, have you reached a decision?"

"Under extreme duress, yes; we'll take her on. Give us a rough idea of where things stand; a sneak preview would let us know how much of the hospital's resources we'll be wasting," House said. "But don't forget to send both her beside and master charts tomorrow."

"We don't use bedside charts," Stein said, almost sounding embarrassed that the fact was so far out of normal protocol. "There's rarely a need for them here." House made a face of disgust as he looked around the room.

"That's OK," Wilson said. "Just give us a basic outline of things and I'm sure we'll be fine." Lydia reached for a drawer on one of the end tables; she pulled out a small note pad and a pen. Her boyfriend almost smiled; leave it to Fraulein to be organized and on top of things.

"Well, as I said there's the sacral decubis in the typical location, at the end of the tailbone. I'd say it's stage two overall, with an area near the top of the wound that's looking like stage three with necrotic tissue and yellow slough," started Stein.

"What are the wound's measurements?" Lydia asked. Everyone was surprised at how quickly Lydia jumped in, except for House, Wilson, and Annie.

"Let's see…" Stein could be heard flipping through pages of what was assumed to be Cuddy's chart. "When last measured, it was five centimeters in width and four centimeters in length."

"And the depth?" Annie was the first one to crack a smile at Lydia's professionalism. Although not surprising to Annie, it still amazed her to hear how much her friend knew without really being given the chance to prove it.

"Umm…there's no notation of depth," Stein replied. "Nor of when those measurements were taken."

"I would think that the measurements were taken when the dressing to the wound was changed," Lydia said with a hint of annoyance coming into her voice. "I would hope that was earlier today." Stein sighed.

"I told you…we have a shortage of RN's to do the work. If it were just the other patients, we'd be fine; but throw Dr. Cuddy into the mix and things become…complicated. Her dressing was changed on Wednesday."

"And today is Friday," House noted. "Giving the bacteria plenty of time to be fruitful and multiply."

"I had a culture sent out on the wound on Wednesday; the results won't be available until Monday, but I've started Dr. Cuddy on Avalox and Floxin, so she at least has some sort of antibiotic going into her," replied Stein.

"And for all you know, the bacteria in the wound is resistant to both of them," said House. "What else is wrong with her?"

"She has a highly elevated white count, she's anemic and dehydrated," Stein said. "We pulled a metabolic panel yesterday; I got the results this afternoon."

"I'm guessing that included a CBC with differential," Lydia said. "What were the numbers?"

"Let's see…WBC 22,000, RBC 3.0."

"Her platelets and hemocrit?" House felt an odd sort of wave of anger; here Lydia hadn't even finished studying for her undergraduate work and she knew to ask questions and pursue avenues that normally a doctor would. For anyone…her parents or her jackass of an ex-husband…to ever have assumed she wasn't an intelligent, smart woman who could handle this kind of work…was really pissing him off right now as he listened to her in action. Obviously she had a long way to go, but for someone who had to fight for every bit of knowledge…she was to be admired.

"Uh…platelets, 500,000 and hemocrit 50. She has been given Heparin daily by either one of the RN's or myself."

"With that platelet count, there's still a risk of clotting despite the Heparin," Chase said.

"And that hemocrit level clearly indicates dehydration," added Taub. Lydia looked thoughtful.

"What are her creatine and B.U.N. levels?" she asked. Good thinking, Fraulein, House said to himself. That level of dehydration calls the kidney functioning into question.

"Her creatine is 2.1 and…her B.U.N. is 26," Stein replied. "Her kidneys were starting to be stressed, but not to an extreme extent. Then we had trouble keeping her blood pressure at an acceptable level."

"So you pushed fluids to raise the blood pressure which then put additional strain on the kidneys," Lydia said. "A catch-22. What was her blood pressure running?"

"Anywhere from 90/60 to 70/35."

"Crap!" Thirteen exclaimed. She looked at Foreman, Chase and Taub; all three were shaking their heads.

"Getting her ready for dialysis yet?" House snarked.

"Not yet; I'm trying to avoid that torture for her by having you step in. Dr. House, if you and your team are unwilling to take on Dr. Cuddy, then let's end this conversation so I can find someone who will," Stein said in a testy voice.

"I have no problem taking on Dr. Cuddy," House said. "It's not like I haven't done it many times before." He looked at his team. "Give us a minute." He indicated to Wilson to mute their side of the conversation.

"We've got to get her here as soon as possible," Foreman said. "Like tomorrow morning." House made a face.

"Damn! And I was going to spend the day watching the episodes of 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' that I Tivoed," he complained. "This is going to put a real crimp in my style."

"To hell with your reality TV!" Thirteen admonished. "You heard what Stein said; Cuddy's got to get to a hospital…now."

"There are plenty of hospitals closer to them as well as between down there and up here; why make the trek?" questioned House.

"I guess he thought we'd care enough to say 'yes'," Wilson said quietly. House let out a sigh and looked down at the floor.

"Put him back on," he said. Wilson brought Stein back into the conversation. "Do you think you can keep her alive overnight?"

"I planned on spending the night here so I could keep an eye on her," replied Stein. "Yes, I can." There was a brief silence in the room.

"Get her up here by nine tomorrow morning," House said rising up from the loveseat.

"Thank you, thank you very much Dr. House," Stein said with an audible sigh of relief. "Arlene will be thrilled."

"Don't thank me yet," House answered. "Stein? One more question…what's the deal with you and Mama Cuddy?" Everyone knew how House could be, but the inappropriate question surprised them. "I mean, you're really going out of your way to be helpful to her and try to fulfill her fantasy wish of having her daughter survive until she says it's OK to let go."

"It's not what you're implying," Stein said indignantly. "My wife is one of Arlene's best friends. I've known the family for years, Lisa since she was a little girl. It has broken our hearts to watch Arlene deal with this and take care of her granddaughter by herself. She's not a young woman and has a few health issues herself. We've tried to help where we can…but it hasn't been easy."

"Cuddy has a sister; where's she hiding during all of this?"

"Paula's husband is very sick; she's had her hands full taking care of him. It's Lupus, I believe," said Stein.

"Whatever excuse she's using, it's not Lupus," House muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, Dr. Stein," Wilson said. "So you can arrange for transport for Dr. Cuddy tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I'll call the ambulance company tonight; you want her there by nine." Stein confirmed.

"Yeah. Have them bring her to the emergency room entrance," House said. "My team will be there."

"Thank you…I can't tell you how much I appreciate this…and Arlene will, too. Hold on, I'm going to put her back on with you. I'll see you tomorrow morning; I'm going to ride up with the ambulance."

"See you tomorrow, Dr. Stein," Wilson said. He looked up at House who had begun to pace. Wilson knew he was not on board with this for several reasons; not the least of which would be dealing with the irony of it all if with Cuddy's poor condition, he couldn't save her when he had helped so many others in the past.

"James? Greg? Richard…I mean Dr. Stein just told me you'll help Lisa," Arlene said as she got back on the phone. House made a face at Arlene Cuddy calling him by his first name; he's put a stop to that tomorrow.

"We'll try and help Cuddy," House corrected. "Not promising anything."

"I know, I understand…the difficulty of the situation. This whole thing is just…I don't even know where to begin. Now I'm having trouble with the hospital and how they're handling this as far as workmen's comp is concerned." Lydia tilted her head to the side; Arlene was talking about her specialty now.

"Are they refusing to cover some of the bills?" she asked.

"That's what some of the letters make it sound like; others are pushing for me to make a settlement…I'm just so confused." Arlene sounded weary and stressed out. "Rachel is only four; I just turned seventy-four. I have to make sure I can take can of her future, as well as her mother's care now."

"Bring all of your papers up with you tomorrow," said Lydia feeling sympathy for the woman. "We can go over them then. I assume you're coming up with the ambulance?"

"Yes, I'll be driving up. But I was told I had to speak to someone from the hospital who knew about insurance matters."

"That's exactly who you're talking to," House noted. "Lydia Strohman, director of billing and insurance relations; aka my girlfriend." He didn't know if Cuddy ever said anything to her mother over the years about their unique relationship; but if she did, it gave him a certain perverse pleasure to point out that he had someone in his life. House was also proud of the way Lydia handled herself when talking to Stein earlier. As hard as it was for him, he would make sure he would convey that pride to her later on…physically if not verbally.

"Mrs. Cuddy, just bring everything with you tomorrow and while Dr. House and his team are taking care of your daughter, we can sit down and look things over," Lydia said.

"That will be a little difficult, I'm afraid. I'm going to be bringing my granddaughter with me; I don't have anyone who can watch her."

"How old did you say Rachel is?"

"She's four," Arlene replied. "Very smart. Her pre-K teacher asked me if they could test her reading and math skills; she can read and do math meant for third graders." Once again begging the question of nature or nurture, House thought to himself.

"My son is eight and my daughter is also four; both are exceptionally bright, too," Lydia said. "They don't have any plans for tomorrow…perhaps they could keep Rachel company."

"That would be wonderful! Thank you so much…Lydia is it?"

"Yes, Lydia. I'll meet you at the hospital tomorrow and we can go from there."

"Sounds great. Thank you…thank you, all," Arlene said starting to choke up.

"We'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night." Wilson disconnected the call.

"I know very little of what you guys just talked about, other than that blood pressure number sounds awfully low and hema- begins any word that talks about blood," Annie said. She turned to Wilson. "How bad is Dr. Cuddy? She's the one that you and Eric are stepping in for, right?"

"Yeah, she's our former boss. And far as what shape she's in…bad. We…can probably save her now, but this kind of strain on her already fragile health…" Wilson let out a deep breath. "It's going to be tough."

"And not something that we should have gotten dragged into," House noted. "Cuddy's mother is going on an assumption that her daughter would give a damn about being a zombie in a corner at these events rather than not making her family suffer through watching her like this."

"Maybe you don't want to want to watch her suffer through this," Foreman pointed out. House shot him a cold, hard look. "I take it with your opposition to this, that you won't be there tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there," House said in a steely voice. "If only to make sure you morons don't screw anything up." He turned, walked into the dining room to grab a beer, and then went out on to the deck.

"I guess since it's going to be a fairly early morning, I should put on a pot of coffee and get the cake and cookies going," Lydia said as she stood up.

"Can I help you?" Marianne offered.

"No, I've got it. Decaf anyone? Tea?" Lydia asked.

"Not that any of us have had too much to drink, but I think straight coffee would be good for everyone right now," Scotty said. "Look, I know Misty and I can't help with any of the medical stuff or the insurance problems…but if you need any help watching the kids, we'd be glad to help out. We've babysat before and the kids had a good time with us." Slick smiled; his nephew and his girlfriend were really good kids, and proved that time and time again. If he could get away with smacking his half-brother upside his head for the way he treated his son, Slick would do it.

"The children seem to be comfortable with me, too," Thomas pointed out. "Just say the word and I'll dive in." Now it was Lydia's turn to smile.

"Thanks for all the offers of help. We may have to actually take some of you up on them," she said. Lydia turned to walk to the kitchen, then hesitated and looked over her shoulder. "Thomas, could I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course," he said rising up from his chair. He followed Lydia into the kitchen where she began to pull out her coffee pot and coffee.

"I thought I'd use the large pot and the coffee maker since so many will be having regular coffee," she explained. "Could you start setting the two up while I get the cookies and cake out?" Thomas nodded and set to work on the task.

"Lydia, could I talk to you about Greg?" Lydia smiled.

"Of course. I looked over at you once in a while during the conversation about Dr. Cuddy," she said. "I'm guessing it's the first time you've seen Greg in full battle mode; it must be something new to you."

"Yes and no," Reverend Bell said. "I watched him deal with people in reference to his mother's estate, and very quickly realized he has no tolerance for abject stupidity. Even someone like Blythe's lawyer, who is good at what he does…he lacked the gut instincts, the street smarts that sets Greg apart. Not that I thought the lawyer was even close to Greg in intelligence, of course…"

"There are few people in this world who are," Lydia noted. "He is a unique and special person; he can enjoy a reality show like 'Real Housewives' as much as a scientific one about astrophysics. Greg has so many facets to his mind and heart and soul; I think some he himself is still discovering. That's why I love him so much; for the most part, he's letting me take the journey with him. I don't think he's ever done that before." Bell placed his hands on the counter, and looked down.

"I had a chance to spend some time with Greg as a boy, as a young man…but then he left to make his own way in the world…and get away from him." Lydia assumed by 'him' Bell was referring to John House. "We spent a lot of time together settling things with Blythe's estate, but I still feel like there's so much more I need to find out. I knew him as Blythe's son, Greg, when he was a little boy…I want to know our son, Greg…as a man." Lydia looked over at Thomas; she could see he was fighting back tears. So was she.

"Like I said, I'm still discovering things about him, too; I guess that's part of what keeps a relationship going. But, maybe I can fill in a few blanks. What do you want to know?"

"Well, the way he acted toward Dr. Stein…Stein is a colleague; I would have thought Greg would have at least given him the courtesy of some respect…"

"Not if he doesn't think it's deserved; it doesn't matter who you are, what titles you hold or how educated you are…if Greg doesn't think you're being smart about things, he writes you off as a moron. People think Greg is anti-social; he's really not…he's anti-idiot. As far as Stein is concerned…to tell you the truth," Lydia said as she finished setting up the first platter with ghost and bat cookies. "I thought Dr. Stein was pretty damn foolish myself. He should have argued more against Cuddy coming in as a patient and done more to get the proper resources in to take care of her. If that wasn't possible, he should have insisted on her being transferred, not cared for with some piecemeal arrangement."

"I see you have the same bluntness that Greg possesses," Thomas said with a smile. "Only you seem to be able to tame your words a bit more when needed."

"I have streak of diplomacy in me," she admitted. "Greg always says I inherited that from my father; he worked for the German diplomatic corps, which why we traveled around the world like Greg and Blythe did." Lydia sighed. "I'm sure Greg's right about where I got my diplomatic skills from."

"There's little that he isn't right about," Thomas noted. "Lydia…I noticed a reluctance on his part to handle this case, and I get the feeling it had nothing to do with the fact this isn't the usual beast Greg and his team try to go after. It has something to do with the woman, Dr. Cuddy." He saw Lydia bite her bottom lip, and had the feeling he hit the nail on the head. "Did he not get along with her as his boss…or in another type of relationship?"

"Yes and no on both questions," Lydia answered. "They would butt heads many a time over things happening at the hospital. When needed, Greg was very willing to try a radical approach to things to save the patient; Cuddy was much more conservative, by the book." Lydia kept her voice low, so no one could hear what she was saying. "He would go behind her back and do what he thought was best; or do it blatantly right to her face. He was right…99% of the time…and of course would be smug about it to all who doubted him. And with good reason, if you ask me. You know how brilliant he is; he gives you the courtesy of bringing this…radical idea to you for your approval…and you deliberately give him a hard time in virtually every instance. I'm not saying Greg is always right…but hell, she followed him around like a puppy dog years ago; you knew there was something special about him." She looked over at Reverend Bell and saw he had a smile on his face.

"So there is a personal aspect to all this, too." Lydia explained how House and Cuddy met at the bookstore in college, how she snuck into one of his classes seemingly just to be near him, and finally their one night stand. Then she described their cat and mouse game over the years of seeming to really care about each other to moments of cruel actions and statements. Lydia particularly went off about the nasty trick Cuddy played on him one Thanksgiving.

"That…that's like two little kids out on the playground!" Bell quietly exclaimed. "Neither one would admit their feelings; but how could Greg even tolerate even being treated that way?"

"Because he thought after messing things up with Stacy, and how well he pushed everyone away, that perhaps Cuddy was his last chance."

"Well, we now know that's nonsense," Thomas said putting his hand on Lydia's shoulder. "And that pushing people away stuff…he got that from his mother, you know." Lydia had to laugh as Thomas plugged in the coffee pot. "Stacy…I think I know who she is, but how exactly does she figure into Greg's past?" As Lydia pulled out the haunted gingerbread house she and the children made, and placed it at one end of the "graveyard" cake she made out of cookies stuck into it representing tomb stones, she launched into the history of House and Stacy…their moving in together five days after meeting, how while it wasn't a perfect relationship, they loved each other very much…and then came his leg.

"The way he felt about being crippled by the surgery was bad enough," Lydia said. ":It was the fact that he specifically told Stacy what his wishes were, and when Cuddy came to her presenting this other surgery option, Stacy went against Greg's wishes."

"But you said Cuddy was his doctor," Thomas said as he poured milk into the creamer. "Didn't she know what his wishes were?"

"She did, and presented the option to Stacy anyway," Lydia said as she put the final touches on the cake.

"So I can see where he'd have several issues with this Cuddy woman," Bell said. "It would explain his reluctance to deal with her case, but…he'll take care of her properly, won't he?"

"Greg, in theory, never lets emotions enter into a case; he'll have James and his team to keep any eye on him," she replied.

"And you, too," Bell said. "I didn't really understand any of what was being said in reference to Dr. Cuddy, but you surely did." Bell could see the expression darken on Lydia's face, but he wasn't sure why.

"I'll help Greg deal with Dr. Cuddy…in whatever way he needs me to," she said as she carried the platter with the cake into the dining room. Thomas thought back over what Lydia had just told him about House and Cuddy, and began to understand her reaction. As Lydia set the platter down on the dining room table, she saw that Wilson had joined House out on the deck. Good, she thought, maybe the two of them talking things over will help the situation.

"Not as cold as you'd think it would be for the end of October," said Wilson, attempting to start a conversation. He leaned his arms on the railing much in the same way House had. His friend didn't respond. "Everyone got great pictures today; you and Ben looked really good. Too bad he's not just a little taller so he could have actually used the stethoscope." Silence still filled the air. "How much candy did you snag from the kids?" House continued to stare straight ahead, but finally spoke.

"I'm not one of your patients that you're trying to break bad news to. If you want to ream me out, do it and get it over with." Wilson straightened up and took a swig of his beer.

"I can't believe…how unbelievably rude you were to Dr. Stein," he began. "He's trying to help Cuddy…"

"If he was trying to help Cuddy, he should have either gotten her proper care or put a shot of cyanide into her IV. At least she has an IV," responded House.

"You don't want to deal with this because…you're still feeling guilty about what happen to Cuddy; you still think it's your fault," Wilson said. House rolled his eyes.

"No, it's the fault of whoever didn't clearly convey to Cuddy that the firefighter and I survived and Hannah didn't make it," House said in an annoyed voice. "The only culpability I hold is the fact that I chose to try and help Hannah hold on to her leg, and Cuddy thought nothing of hacking it away."

"Is…is that what you were thinking?" Wilson shook his head, turned away from House and turned back. "You were…trying to prove to Cuddy…that she was wrong with what she let happen to your leg…by trying to save Hannah's?" House dropped his head down.

"Hannah was a young woman; I wanted to give her a chance at having a normal life. I finally did say, albeit in my hallucination, that it was only a leg." House had spoken unusually quietly. Wilson realized the events of yesterday's ultrasound combined with the unexpected phone call was getting to House. It's not that House let it show, he just knew his friend.

"Look, we'll…we'll stabilize Cuddy, improve what we can and direct Arlene to a more appropriate facility. After that, we can wash our hands of the whole situation." House nodded.

"If she makes it to New Year's, she gets a party hat and a noisemaker; if not…life sucks. Deal with it." House lifted his beer bottle and downed the last of its contents.

"Don't really feel like having any coffee," Wilson said. "But that haunted house/graveyard cake looks incredible; Lydia and the kids did a great job on it!" Wilson looked in through the window from the deck to the dining room, and admired the handiwork.

"I helped out, too," House noted. Wilson looked at him skeptically.

"What…could you have possibly done to contribute to that creation?"

"I wrote the sayings on the tombstones," House said as he passed by Wilson to head back to the party.

"Why am I not surprised?" Wilson muttered as he followed his friend inside. Up close, the cake looked even more impressive than it had at a distance. The kids had joined the adults in inspecting the goodies.

"Lydia, that cake is so cool," Misty said. "Did you buy a kit for the haunted house?"

"They sell them, but I've had the molds to make gingerbread houses for years. My grandmother taught me how to alter her soft gingerbread recipe so it would be firm enough to hold up for a structure," Lydia said. "We just added a few structural details and the ghosts in the windows, and we were all set. Greg even helped with it." Eyebrows raised all around as everyone gave House a look.

"He took on an appropriate job," Wilson announced. "He decorated the headstones." Tom bent down to see.

"Yeah, these have his name all over them," Tom agreed. "'You kill 'em, we chill 'em'; 'You stab 'em we slab 'em.' Yep, that's your style."

"Fraulein wouldn't let me write things that were more in keeping with the spirit of the holiday," House explained.

"They were nasty," Lydia said shaking her head.

"You'll have to tell us them at work one day," Chase said. Lydia cut up the cake and set the pieces out on paper plates. Thomas retrieved the creamer and sugar from the kitchen and set them next to the coffee pots that Marianne brought in. Slick grabbed the Styrofoam coffee cups and plastic utensils, and everyone was set to dive into the goodies.

"Great teamwork," Lydia said with a smile.

"From everyone but your boyfriend," noted Foreman.

"My job is taste tester," House said as he picked up a slice of the devil's food cake that had a sugar cookie tombstone in it. "If there's something wrong with this, I'll have to take another piece to see if the problem runs through the entire cake."

"I've watched you pile stuff on your plate all night," Scotty noted. "What kind of workouts do you do to stay in such good shape?"

"You're…what? Twenty? Twenty-one years old, you have a girlfriend…and you have to ask me that question?" House shook his head as he headed into the living room.

"You're at the point, you don't even blush anymore when he says stuff like that," Slick said to Lydia.

"Nope," she replied. "I just smile…and with good reason." She heard the sound of laughter behind her as she went into the kitchen to settle the kids in on the stools by the counter extension. Despite the earlier phone call, all were having a good time enjoying the treats Lydia made; but soon it got to be late and they began to realize that most of them had an early day ahead of them. House had decided just to have his team, Lydia and Wilson be with him at the emergency room bay; Thomas would drive over with his own car a little later to see if he could help out with the kids. House would reserve Tom and Slick's help for further down the road if they were needed. Slowly everyone departed until only Thomas, and Wilson and Annie were left.

"Do you need help with cleaning this up?" Annie asked.

"No, thank you. There's not much left; I think the choice of food and the desserts were a hit," Lydia said as she rinsed off the now empty plates and put them in the dishwasher.

"And what's left over, I can help with," House said as he popped another cookie in his mouth.

"Annie, I wanted to thank you so much for offering your apartment to me to stay in tonight," Thomas said. "I'm looking forward to the children's soccer games on Sunday, and since Greg and Lydia asked me to stay Saturday, too, this is perfect."

"Except I didn't quite plan for our activities to include the attempted rescue of a hopeless case," observed House. Annie ignored him.

"Any time you'd rather avoid that long drive home, just let me know. We alternate between staying here and at James' place, so it's no trouble, ever."

"Thank you, so much. I think I'll turn in now; I'm going to need my energy to deal with the children tomorrow. Let me know when you leave in the morning," Reverend Bell said to Lydia. "I'll get up and get done and meet you over at the hospital."

"No problem. Do you know the way there?" Bell smiled.

"GPS is a wonderful invention," he said. "I'll be fine. Night, all!" Thomas made his way down the stairs to Annie's apartment.

"I appreciate you letting Thomas stay downstairs," Lydia said.

"Yeah, I don't think he was thrilled with the Harry Potter sheets on Ben's bed," House noted.

"I'm sure Ben's bed is comfortable, and his sleeping bag is cushiony, but I can't see the poor kid sleeping on the floor," Annie said.

"I think the kids were so tired they'd sleep standing up," Wilson said. "I thought they'd be wired out from the events of the day."

"First lesson in parenting; if you want kids to get sleepy, have them watch a movie in a darkened room. And you are always the one who decides when it's time to wind things down."

"Duly noted," he said with a laugh. Turing to House, he said, "So, nine tomorrow at the ER entrance." House made a face.

"Yeah…and let the games begin." Wilson shook his head.

"See you tomorrow," he said giving Lydia a kiss. "Night, House."

"Night, hon." Annie gave Lydia a kiss and hug. She turned to House. "You…try to get a good night's sleep…and a better attitude."

"Not possible on either count," he replied. Annie rolled her eyes, gave him a kiss, and took Wilson's hand as he led her down the stairs. House stepped into the kitchen and looked at the counter; it looked clean except for the coffee pots that Lydia was emptying. "Anything in the dining room?"

"Nope, all put away. I'm telling you they really dove into the food tonight. There a few garlic knots and slices of pizza, two slices of hero, and some cheese and crackers," Lydia said. "That's it."

"Greedy bastards," House complained. "Any cookies or cake?"

"A thin slice of cake…nothing else."

"No cookies?" House asked indignantly. "They're all gone?"

"Yes…except for the ones I hid in the plastic containers on top of the refrigerator." House actually smiled as he reached up and found two bins; one with sugar cookies in the shape of ghosts and bats, and the other round, plain soft gingerbread cookies.

"Mmm…and people actually wonder why I love you," he said as he took a bite of one of the gingerbreads. Lydia gave him a look.

"I think you've reversed that sentiment," Lydia said as she wiped dry the glass pot from the coffee maker. "Especially after the way you reacted to that phone call tonight."

"I had my reasons," House said flatly as he looked at the floor. Lydia put the pot down and came over to him.

"I know you did, Hon. It's not just that you think it's wrong to prolong a life that…will soon come to an inevitable conclusion. You have your personal reasons for not wanting to help Cuddy; they're raw, and at the surface after everything we've discussed in the past two days. But last I checked, the Hippocratic Oath doesn't make exceptions for personal feelings."

"I know; 'First do no harm.' I think I blew that when I didn't get Hannah out of there sooner. If that idiot firefighter had better assessed the situation, things wouldn't have gone the way they did." Lydia shook her head and reached for him.

"Greg, you have to stop obsessing over that. The best that I can say is to stick with medicine; firefighting is clearly not your field." Lydia saw House had a look of disgust on his face. "You're not perfect in everything; it's what makes you human." House looked away from his girlfriend.

"Thanks, just what I've always tried to be," he said grimly.

"I think you've done a pretty good job in bringing out more of your humanity; of course you have a long way to go." House pulled Lydia in to him.

"Promise you'll give me a hand working on it?" he asked as he brushed hair off her forehead. "This is uncharted territory for me."

"You know I will." Lydia leaned forward, gave House a kiss, then a hug.

"You almost finished here? I want to get you into the bedroom," House said with a smile.

"Greg! The kids are up here and Thomas is downstairs. Behave yourself!" House feigned innocence.

"I didn't say anything about hanky-panky. I just want you to fall asleep in my arms…but if that's a problem…" House said as he turned to leave.

"You…are…a…brat!" Lydia said shaking her head. "I'll be in as soon as I set up the coffee for tomorrow morning." House continued out of the kitchen and headed to the bedroom. It had gotten a little cooler, so he decided to keep on his boxers and the black t-shirt he wore to the party. He slid under the sheets and was happy with his decision; he knew he needed Lydia's body heat to properly warm the bed. He didn't have to wait long; Lydia came in a few moments later and joined him.

"This feels good at the end of a long day," she said as she snuggled into House's arms.

"A long two days," he corrected. He was quiet for a second. "By the way, you did a great job talking to Stein on the phone tonight. You asked the right questions, took information and followed it through to the next step…just the fact that you took the lead by making notes…it was really good." Lydia sat up and leaned on her elbow to look down at him.

"Thank you; I didn't mean to try and take over, I just thought you and your team would want to have the notes to look over for tomorrow."

"They'll want them; I remember what was said," House noted. "There's something I have to tell you…after you get your Bachelor's in May, you are going on to get the whole nine yards. You're too damn smart not to." Lydia was touched by House's words. She knew he wasn't one to give compliments, so this was extra special. "I don't mean just what you did tonight; that's fairly low in the scale of medical marvels. It's the incentive you showed…and it's other things when it's just the two of us." Lydia gave House a curious look. He saw it and responded. "I make a joke while we're watching 'SpongeBob,' you get it. We watch a nature show, or a documentary about the universe…you either understand it or ask intelligent questions to gain more knowledge. You get me. You're the closest thing I've ever met to me…and it one of the things I love about you the most. Aside from your cute ass." Lydia laughed as she hugged House. "That's why I want you to go on and get the education you need and deserve." Lydia sat back and looked at him.

"I'm still thinking all of that over, Hon. If I get the Adult Scholar Award, I have two years to decide whether to take advantage of it or not…"

"You're doing it. And you shouldn't wait to do it. I've waited for years to do my leg…I can wait to do it until you become a doctor for real," House said firmly.

"Absolutely not!" Lydia said sitting straight up. "Here you were bashing Arlene tonight for wanting to delay her daughter's death. But you had a list of reasons, very real ones, for delaying your surgery six months. And it's not OK if I choose to wait a short amount of time to grab my dream?"

"How many years have you waited to achieve that dream?"

"About as many years as you've lived with your leg." House sighed as he looked away from her; damn her being smart, he knew she was right. "Greg, in the year that I'll be helping to take care of you, we'll be spending a lot of time together. Think of how much you could teach me, not just about what's going on with your leg, but about medicine in general. I'll learn a hell of a lot more from you than I will in any classroom." House closed his eyes; the roles of student and teacher might prove difficult for them. But then he let his ego kick in a bit; she would learn more from him than from any stuffy professor.

"Look, six months from now, you graduate. One year after that, my leg should be a hell of a lot better than it is now." House turned to look at his girlfriend. "I want you to promise me that the first semester after that, you'll start medical school." Lydia was touched by his continued encouragement.

"I don't even know yet if I'll be accepted into the program, or if I'll win the scholarship," she said trying to hold back tears. House gave her a little smile.

"You have a 4.0 with volunteer and clinical work out the wazoo; you'll be accepted…and win the scholarship, too. Even if they don't give it to you…don't worry about how to pay for it." Lydia's eyes opened wide.

"Greg…no, I can't…"

"Yes, you can; but it's not even going to be an issue. We'll discuss the situation six months from now." Lydia fell against her boyfriend, crying. "Look…John House did his damnedest to make my life hell all the way through adulthood, but he certainly tried to pull the plug on me going to medical school. Your parents, they didn't mean to, but they actually stopped you from going. And your idiot ex-husband, instead of realizing how amazing you are and encouraging you, practically held you hostage and terrorized you. I want to end the destructive cycle. For both of us."

"My-ex terrorized me until I met you," Lydia said brushing away her tears. "And then I found the courage to fight back." House shrugged.

"I'm just glad you got away from him. Because you are too amazing…as a person and a woman…and I just want you to finally get what you want and deserve."

"I've got exactly what I want and deserve right here," Lydia said running her hand down the side of House's face. He shook his head.

"You aim too low. You deserve someone with a hell of a lot less baggage," he replied.

"I'll carry yours if you carry mine," she said. House smiled and kissed her. She returned his kiss, and eventually House had lowered Lydia on to her back on her side of the bed.

"Greg," she said after a minute.

"I know…the kids, Bell…"

"And the early morning," she said hating to break the mood by reminding him.

"Yeah…I know." He looked down at Lydia; she was illuminated only by the faint glow of the nightlight streaming in from the hallway. "Promise me you'll go to medical school sooner rather than later." Lydia removed her right hand from House's back and presented her pinky finger to him.

"Pinky promise," she said smiling, after seeing his confused look. He smiled; how the hell did she always manage to do that to him, especially when he didn't want to? He reached over and hooked his right pinky into hers, then leaned down to kiss it.

"I love you," House said.

I love you, too." Lydia replied. "And don't worry; I'm serious about medical school. As long as I have you behind me." House nodded.

"You've got me," he said. In more ways than one, he thought as he dropped his head.

"Let's get some sleep," Lydia said. House nodded, gave her a kiss, and rolled onto his side of the bed.

"Mommy, who is this little girl?" asked Elise.

"She's the daughter of Dr. Cuddy, who used to be House's and Wilson's boss. Dr. Cuddy was very badly hurt in the crane accident that hurt House, and now she needs to come back to PPTH for some extra help."

"It sounds so much nicer when you candy coat it," commented House.

House, Lydia and the kids were in the van and heading to the hospital. After loading up a thermos with the coffee they had made and another with apple juice, they did a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts to pick up an assortment of muffins, bagels and munchkins for themselves and House's team. Lydia didn't know who had a chance to grab any breakfast, but she wanted to make sure everyone had some food in them to make it through this. House pulled into a handicapped spot near the ER entrance at about a quarter to nine; his team and Wilson were already there. There was no sign yet of the ambulance.

"Does she play soccer, Mom?" Ben asked.

"I don't know, honey; you'll have to ask her," his mom replied. "But just remember, she may be littler than you; you two are big for your age." House popped the rear hatch and exited the car.

"Chuck wagon's here!" he called out. Wilson and the others had already started to walk over.

"Got a call from Arlene a little while ago," Wilson said. "They've hit some construction on the parkway, but it sounds like they're not really delayed all that much."

"Just Cuddy's mom being paranoid as usual," noted House.

"Lydia, I don't believe you stopped and got all of this!" Foreman said. "I was just going to try and survive on coffee until later on."

"No need to," Lydia said. "I didn't have anything ready for a quick breakfast at home, so I just made the coffee, grabbed the juice and bought the rest. I'm sure Dr. Stein, Mrs. Cuddy and Rachel didn't have a chance to eat, so this takes the edge off of things for everyone." Lydia set out the boxes with the muffins and munchkins, and the bag with the bagels. "There's butter, cream cheese and jelly in there, too."

"Good morning!" Elise shouted out to the crowd.

"Morning!" Thirteen replied with not much energy. "Leave it to a kid to have that much get up and go."

"Mine's got up and went," Taub noted as he picked up a corn muffin. House looked over at Chase; he looked bleary-eyed and was moving slowly.

"What or who kept you awake last night?" his boss asked.

"I decided to meet a couple of friends at the bar down the block from me," Chase explained. "It was the Zombies."

"The drinks or the people?"

"Both."

"Well, I think you'd better shake it off," noted House. "We have company." He was looking down to the end of the driveway, and saw a private ambulance followed closely by two cars pull in. They crept along the road, finally turning onto the path that led to the ER.

"Hi!" the driver of the ambulance called out. "Do you want us to back into the bay as usual or are we dropping her off on the side?"

"Into the bay," Wilson called out. The two cars that followed the ambulance parked in spots a few away from where the van was parked.

"You kids come out now," Lydia said. "Take your juice cups and you can have a little more to eat after we get into the hospital." She noticed both had already eaten the half-bagels she had given them. Her children obeyed and in just a few moments, they were standing beside the car as Arlene and Rachel approached.

"Lydia?" Arlene asked.

"Yes, it's me, Mrs. Cuddy."

"Oh, please; call me Arlene." House came and stood next to Lydia. "Greg…oh my God…I haven't seen you in years, but you look just the same." She stepped forward and gave him a hug, which he did his best to shrink back from.

"I'll answer a lot faster if you just call me House." He looked at the girl who was standing behind Arlene; she looked like the picture Cuddy used to keep in her office.

"This is my granddaughter, RacheI; Lisa's daughter." Status symbol is more like it, thought House.

"And these are my children, Ben and Elise." Rachel seemed to lose some of her shyness as she came forward to meet the children. "Dr. House is planning on taking your daughter straight up to the ICU and admitting her from there. There's a lounge area on the floor where the children can play, have a little something to eat," she said indicating the food. "And we can sit and talk."

"Then you'll be needing this." A man joined them by the van; House had to assume it was Stein. "This is Dr. Cuddy's chart. Her vitals from this morning are in there." Lydia took the book from the man and extended her hand.

"You're Dr. Stein?"

"Yes, I am. And…I'm sorry doctor, I didn't catch your name." House had to look away so he could control the smile fighting to come over his face.

"I'm not a doctor," Lydia started to explain.

"She's a medical assistant who works with my team," House said. "Lydia Strohman."

"Oh…Ms. Strohman, nice to meet you. And I take it you're Dr. House."

"The one and only." House looked over at the ambulance; they hadn't opened the doors yet, but Wilson and his team had gathered around. He started to walk away to join the group.

"I'm going to close this up for now until they get Dr. Cuddy settled inside," Lydia said reaching up to secure the hatch. "Then we can have some breakfast."

"Thank you," Arlene said. "We really weren't in the mood to eat this morning." Lydia set the alarm and hurried to catch up to House.

"Medical assistant?" she whispered to him.

"Yes, and you notice he didn't bat an eye." House was glad to see the smile on Lydia's face, but his good mood quickly faded as he approached the ambulance.

"I'm hoping what I'm seeing through the doors is just due to the shadows being cast," Foreman said quietly as the group from the van approached.

"God, I hope so," Wilson said looking over at Chase, Taub and Thirteen who all nodded. Finally, the doors to the ambulance opened.

"I have to warn you," Arlene called out as she appproached. "She doesn't look like the Lisa you knew." As the ambulance crew slid out the stretcher, all saw just how sadly that was true.

"She…she looks half-dead!" Wilson whispered as he moved over next to House.

"I'll go in all the way…she looks like a ghost."