A/N: Thanks to fanfic55 and the two guests for your kind comments.
2008
Cameron went to see House. She let herself into his apartment using the key he gave her. He was sprawled on the couch reading a medical journal. He looked up at her and sat up. Tossing the journal on the coffee table, he patted a spot on the couch. Cameron circled around the couch and sat down next to him.
"You met someone," he told her. "So, you're here to tell me our sexy times are over but you want to be friends."
She looked at him in shock. "How did you know?"
He shrugged. "I know you. You've been acting guilty for the past week and you haven't paid me any nocturnal visits. Is he normal?"
"Disgustingly so."
"He your age?"
She nodded. "He's a couple months older. He's actually Sarah's calculus teacher and soccer coach. I met him when I went to one of her games a couple weeks ago. He took over the team when her other coach retired."
"He want kids?" House asked.
"Yeah."
"So, how serious is it with Soccer Coach?" House asked.
"I really like him," she said. "He says he really likes me."
"You slept with him yet?"
"No, I wanted to talk to you first. And he's okay with taking things slow."
"That's good," he told her.
"Are you going to be okay?" she asked softly taking his hand in hers.
"Yeah," he assured her. "I can always hire a hooker if I get too lonely."
Leaning toward him, she kissed his cheek. "I'm going to miss you," she whispered.
"It's not like you're never going to see me," he chided lightly.
"You know what I mean."
He tilted his head. "Yeah."
Once she left, House called Reilly and asked her to come over. She arrived about thirty minutes later wearing an oversized t-shirt that he recognized as one he'd been missing for about twenty years, jeans with holes in the knees and battered sneakers. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a red-gold mass of curls.
"Hey," she said as she came in and shut the door. "What's going on?"
"You introduced Cameron to a normal guy," he accused as he looked at her from the couch.
"Yes, I did," she replied as she lifted his legs and sat down on the couch. He draped his legs over her lap and she began to massage his feet. "You two with that whole casual sex thing was keeping you from meeting people. She wants babies. Nate loves kids. Nate is incredibly normal."
"Nate sounds excruciatingly boring," House told her. "And what about me? I don't see you introducing me to any normal, boring, hot women."
"Because I think you should ask Doctor Cuddy out," she replied as she kneaded the arch of his left foot.
"Why?" he said as he closed his eyes. He began to relax. "You always did give the best foot massages."
"Because, you have that whole unfinished thing going on between you. She's not normal but you need to see where a relationship with her might go." She lifted his right foot and began to rub it.
"See," he told her and then groaned when she hit a knot in his arch. He lay still until she loosened it and his entire leg relaxed. He breathed out. "This is why you need to listen to hospital gossip. Cuddy is dating Don Herrick. He owns Eastern Lube. They met online. She's apparently very happy with him and vice versa. I could break them up…."
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You stole my shirt," he commented.
"Technically I borrowed it and forgot to give it back," she informed with an innocent look on her face. Then she grew serious. "You need to date someone."
"Why? Because society says we have to pair up?"
"So you can be happy."
"Then you need to date," he told her.
"No," she said shaking her head. "I pick the wrong men."
"True," House agreed and then yelled when she pinched his toe.
"But you, you have good taste in women for the most part," she said.
"Why because I dated Cameron?"
"Well, and you had that little dalliance with Niamh," she responded.
House smiled. "She definitely made watching the sheep that day more interesting.."
"She's coming to live with me for a while. She's going to attend Parsons School Of Design in Manhattan. She's going to study graphic design. She never married and she still asks about you."
House laid his head back on the arm of the couch and considered what she said. He like Niamh very much, they had enough in common that she wouldn't bore him and sex with her was very good.
"Does she want to go out with me?" he asked raising his head to look at Reilly.
She smiled and nodded. "I was going to talk to you about it on Friday night when you came over for dinner but you called today so…."
"When does she get here?" he asked.
"Beginning of June. She's taking one class this summer and starting full-time in the fall," she told him. "She'll be here a couple years, at least."
"That's more than a little while," he said.
She shrugged. "So, do you want to date her or not?"
"What does Niamh say about all this?" he asked.
"She's the one who wants me to find out if you're open to dating her." A sly smile crept across her face. "You obviously made a lasting impression on her."
"I am good at that," he replied with a smile. Then he shrugged. "Sure. Why not? It sounds like the perfect relationship. We like each other already, we know the sex is very good and there's an end date on it."
"Oh, you're so romantic. I may swoon," she said rolling her eyes.
In June, House rode with Reilly and her daughters to pick up Niamh at the airport. Sarah and Jenny were excited to see their great aunt. House found out that after the girls were born Reilly kept up the yearly tradition of going to visit her grandparents in Ireland each summer. However, since she came to work with him, they weren't able to go.
Reilly parked in the short term parking lot at LaGuardia. As they got out of the car, House looked at his watch.
"Her flight should be coming in right about now," he commented as they made their way to the main terminal.
"It's too bad we can't meet her at the gate," Sarah commented.
"We'll meet her at baggage claim," Reilly told her. "It's almost as good. Besides, you hate going through security."
"Ugh," Sarah groaned. "I hate taking off my shoes and walking on the nasty carpet."
House held out his hand for a high five and Sarah smacked it. "I hear you on that one," he told her.
"Well, at least you don't always get pulled out of line like Mom does," Jenny told them.
House looked at Reilly with a glint in his eyes. "So, you get the full body search?"
She looked at him with disgust. "It's not funny. I hate it."
"I'm sure groping you breaks up the tedium of the security guard's day."
The entered the main terminal and pushed through the crowds. Finally they made it to the baggage claim area for Niamh's flight.
"There she is!" Jenny exclaimed.
House turned and saw her. She'd changed very little since the last time he saw her. Her silky red curls were piled on top of her head, she wore slim fitting jeans, a brown and white striped top, brown high heeled sandals and she carried a large leather tote. She smiled when she saw them and quickened her pace. Sarah and Jenny ran to meet her. Niamh wrapped her free arm around them as they hugged her. Reilly and House walked up to her and House took her tote. The girls stood back as Reilly hugged her aunt.
"Oh," Niamh sighed as she held Reilly tightly. "I've missed ya and the girls."
Reilly kissed her cheek and then pulled away. "We've missed you."
Niamh's blue eyes gleamed when she saw House. "Greg," she smiled.
House moved forward and she cupped his face in her hands before kissing him deeply. He wrapped an arm around her and returned her kiss.
"I've missed ya," she whispered against his mouth. She pulled back and looked at Reilly. "Let's get my luggage and get back to yer place," she said with a smile.
House got Niamh's two large bags off the carousel. Sarah carried her tote bag while House and Reilly rolled her suitcases out to the car. Both girls walked beside Niamh chattering like two small birds. She laughed and held Jenny's hand. When they got to the car, House loaded her luggage in the trunk as the rest of them got into the car. He slammed the trunk closed and got into the passenger seat. Niamh sat in the back behind Reilly. House looked in the rearview mirror and their eyes met. Niamh smiled a slow, satisfied smile and then licked her lips. House smiled back. He was really looking forward to the next two years.
Niamh lived with Reilly until September and then moved in with House. He tried to give her the keys to his Dodge Dynasty so she could drive to the train station and back on the days she went into Manhattan for classes but she refused. She told him she had no problem taking the bus. She wouldn't have to walk far since the bus stop was at the end of his block. She also got a part-time job as a server at Sherry's, a local bar. House found living with her enjoyable. She was easy going and she was always ready for sex. She also helped him keep their apartment spotless. Like him, she didn't cook much but loved to order take away, as she called it. Coming home to find her sitting on the couch with her laptop working on a project made him happier than he'd been for years. They spent most of their time talking. Niamh was nearly as intelligent as Reilly and she kept up with current events. She read his medical journals and often discussed his cases with him.
Shortly before Christmas, the team got a new patient. Niamh was having lunch with them in the conference room when Cuddy walked in with the files. Niamh knew about House's and Cuddy's past but didn't feel threatened by the other woman. Cuddy, on the other hand, took an instant, inexplicable dislike to Niamh.
"Forty-five year old single mom," she said as she tossed the files on the table. "Intermittent numbness and paralysis of the arms."
"I take it she's been tested for the good drugs?" House asked.
"Tox screen is clean," Cuddy told him as she stared at Niamh.
"You keep givin' me the glad eye like that and I'll start thinkin' you like me," Niamh told her with a sly smile.
"Where is your visitor's pass?" Cuddy snapped at her.
"On me bag."
"You have to wear it on your shirt."
"This is a silk shirt that Greg bought me," Niamh told her. "I'll not be ruinin' it with one of those sticky little badges."
Cuddy narrowed her eyes. House stood up and walked between the two women.
"Well, thanks for coming all the way up here to bring us the files," House told Cuddy. "You can go now." He made shooing motions with his hands. Cuddy turned and left. Once she was gone, House sat back down.
"What's her problem?" Volakis asked.
"She broke up with her boyfriend," Kutner told her.
"Really?" Volakis asked with interest. "When?"
"A couple days ago."
"Well, I love a good giggle and gossip session as much as anyone but we have a patient," House told them.
Niamh rose and picked up her bag. "I'll see ya at home," she told him as she leaned down to give him a quick kiss.
House nodded and watched her leave. Once she was out of sight, he turned his attention back to the file.
"Let's do Secret Santa," Kutner blurted out.
"Oh, I like that idea," Reilly commented with a smile.
"Me, too," Cameron chimed in.
Cameron got up and pulled down one of the stockings hanging from the cabinet over the kitchenette sink. Reilly took a piece of paper and tore it into five pieces. Cameron sat down and laid the hat next to her. Reilly wrote everyone's names down on a slip of paper and folded each in half before putting them in the hat.
"Whoa!" House protested. "I'm the head of the department so I should get to write the names down."
Reilly shot him a dubious look. "No. I know you. You'd write your name down five times," she told him as held the bag out to Kutner.
Kutner pulled out a folded piece of paper, opened it and smiled. Reilly held the hat out to Volkis, Cameron and then House. He sighed dramatically and pulled out a slip of paper. He turned away from them and peeked at the name given to him. He bit back a smile. Turning back, he put his paper in his pocket.
"Okay, enough Yuletide cheer," he told them. "We've got a patient."
A few days later, snow fell outside the window of House's and Niamh's bedroom. Inside, she lay on her back, completely naked, as House kissed his way up the inside of her left leg. He lifted it and nuzzled and sucked the back of her knee. She always put a dab of her perfume behind each knee and the scent of it filled his head. She moaned softly. He worked his way up to her core and then began to lick and suck her clit. It swelled beneath his tongue and teeth. When she was writhing with pleasure, he moved over her and thrust into her. The sharp scent of her arousal surrounded him and he pumped in and out of her faster and harder. Soon, she cried out as her muscles clamped down on his cock. They pulsed along his hard length until his orgasm spiralled through him. He groaned her name and then fell onto the bed beside her. They lay panting for air. After a few minutes, Niamh sat up and pulled the blankets over them and rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and stroked her damp curls.
"Got a question for you," he said softly.
"Sure," she responded as she traced a pattern in his chest hair.
"Woman with the BRCA gene likes kids but doesn't want to have any because of the whole breast cancer thing," he told her. "So she meets a drug addict who is pregnant but doesn't want an abortion. Druggie gives the kid to the woman to raise."
"Probably was a good Catholic crackhead," Niamh responded. "So, what's yer question?"
"Would you tell the kid about her parentage or lie to her?"
She was silent for a while. House traced the bones in her spine while she thought.
"Well, if were me," she began. "I'd be tellin' the lass once she was old enough to unnderstan'. I told me own son about his dad when he was old enough. Gave him the choice to meet him or not. After all, we pass on our DNA to our wee ones. I just found out that all fetuses start out as females which I thought about telling Arden. It tickled me to think on it. I take it this is yer patient ye're talkin' about?"
House lay still beside her. She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him. She sighed and laid down with her head on his shoulder.
"Once you've hit that moment when ya dart out, let me know," she told him.
"I know what's wrong with my patient," he told her. Sitting up, he leaned over her and kissed her. "Thanks."
He got up, dressed quickly and left. Niamh rolled onto her side, buried her nose in his pillow and went to sleep.
He was waiting in Maggie's, the patient, room with her daughter, Jane, when the rest of the team arrived. He looked at Reilly.
"I injected her with the risperidone," he told her. "Ready to do your thing?"
"Yeah," she nodded. She handed him the syringe and began a very thorough examination of Maggie's body.
"What are you doing?" Maggie asked her.
"Looking for breast tissue," Reilly replied as she kneaded the area behind Maggie's right knee. "All fetuses start out as females with breast tissue covering most of it. As it develops, the breast tissue recedes to the chest area. Risperidone causes breast tissue to expand. Found it," she told House. He handed her an empty syringe.
"Are you saying I have breast cancer even though I no longer have breasts?" Maggie asked incredulously.
"Yep," House answered. "Just like the fact my girlfriend lives here but she's still Irish."
Reilly stood up and held out the syringe. It was filled with a milky liquid. "Risperidone also causes galactorrhea," she said.
Jane looked at the syringe with suspicion. "What is galac-gala-? What is that?" she finally asked.
"Breast milk," Reilly told her.
"Open your mouth," House told the girl.
"No way-" she began and Reilly squirted some of the liquid into her mouth. "Ewww!"
"Tastes sweet, doesn't it?" House smirked. "Like victory. We'll cut out your mom's tumor and start her on chemo. She'll be fine."
Reilly and the rest of the team followed him out of the room. "Time for Secret Santa," he told them. "Then I gotta get back home."
They all went up to the Diagnostics department. Everyone pulled out a gift.
"Ready?" House asked. "And go."
He handed a small neatly wrapped gift to Reilly. She handed a box to Kutner who handed one to Cameron. Cameron gave one to House and Kutner gave one to Volakis. Volkis handed the gift she held to Cameron.
They all tore into their gifts. House crowed with delight when he saw that Cameron got him the latest version of a GameBoy. Kutner smiled broadly as he opened the collector's edition of the Star Wars Trilogy.
"Wow," he grinned at Reilly. "You found the original versions."
"You like?" she asked.
He nodded happily.
Kutner got Volakis a soft, pale green cashmere sweater set. Volakis got Cameron a delicate silver watch. She immediately put it on and smiled brightly at her.
"How did you know I wanted this sweater?" Volakis asked Kutner.
"One of Santa's little helpers told me," he responded with a wink.
She smiled and shook her head.
House looked at Reilly who stared down at the open box on the table. He got up and moved to stand behind her. He reached down and pulled the diamond bracelet from the box. Lifting her right arm, he put it on her. She ran her fingers over it lightly.
"It's beautiful," she told him. Then she stood and hugged him.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
He held her tightly for a moment and then released her. He looked at them all. "Go home," he told them. "I'll see you the day after Christmas at Reilly's." He picked up his new GameBoy and left.