Part Three
A sharp rap at the door signalled the couch delivery and on cue, Goose emerged from the bedroom, chest puffed up and meatball head tilted up in curiosity but ready to protect his humans should the situation change.
The delivery guys were quick and efficient, removing the old couch and replacing it with the new fold-out, but caused quite a commotion in the process, waking Izzy up from her much-needed nap.
"Goose?" Her tear-strained voice called out meekly and immediately Goose waddled back to the bedroom.
Cameron saw the flash of hurt dart across House's face that Goose was the first thing Izzy had called out for instead of him. She wanted to remind him that Goose had been curled up beside her, a physical and noticeable presence but didn't want to draw or add more attention to it.
"Should probably go and check on her."
"Okay, I'll just get things straightened up in here."
He managed a weak smile as he hobbled towards the bedroom where the door was already ajar from Goose coming in and out. House peered his head in and saw Izzy propped up against the pillows, Goose lain by her side and his big head on her lap and her fingers buried in his silky silver fur but most noticeable of all were the tears streaming down his daughter's pale cheeks.
"Hi Princess," he whispers gruffly, his own emotions barely holstered, "you sleep okay?"
Her face creased up with the fresh wave of emotion, "I dreamed about Mommy," she squoze her blue eyes tightly shut, "do you think Mommy misses me?"
House covered her little hand, "I know she does. You were her favourite person in the whole wide world."
Her tears were falling thick and fast, soaking into the bedsheets, each one breaking House's heart seeing his daughter in such anguish. Hearing her sobs, Goose craned his meatball head up and gently licked her salty cheeks, rewarding House with the sweetest sound of Izzy giggling.
"Think you've got a new best friend there, Izzy Bee."
Her smile faded into a frown, "What will happen to me, Daddy? Will I have to stay with Gan-Gan and Pop?"
Gan-Gan and Pop were Izzy's names for her maternal grandparents, while they were good, salt-of-the-earth people who would do their absolute best for their granddaughter. But they were also much older and Izzy would've been too much of a handful while they should be enjoying their retirement.
"You'll be staying with me now, Princess. I'll be looking after you."
Izzy nodded but House could still see the questioning look in her eyes. He reached forward and took her little hand, "You'll see Gan-Gan and Pop when we say goodbye to Mommy and if you feel up to it we can ask if you can stay with them for a couple of days."
"I don't, I don't want to, Daddy. Please. Do I have to say goodbye?"
"I know Iz, but I think it's important that you do. I know it's very sad but I'll be with you, so you can cry, you can scream, it doesn't matter how you do it, it's just important you say goodbye."
"Can Goose come too?"
"Not to the funeral, Princess. But you can see him when you get back."
Izzy managed a watery smile and nodded her head. House knew it was a lot for her to take in at such a young age, but she's a smart kid, his kid and he wasn't going to sugarcoat or keep things from her. She had the right to know that her life was changing, that way she could ask as many questions as her heart desired and he'd do his best to answer them.
"Come on, let's go and get some fresh air."
"Okay," she nodded and held her arms out for her Daddy to pick her up.
"One, two, three…" House lifted Izzy to his left hip and playfully groaned, "ugh! Next time you can carry me."
"I can't carry you, Daddy, I broked my wrist!"
House met Izzy's gaze with playfully stern eyes, "alright you, less of the sympathy vote. Daddy's the cripple, I've even got a badge in my car to prove it."
Cameron greeted them with a warm smile, relieved to see Izzy looking somewhat brighter after her nap, "hey Izzy, was Goose a good boy?" She asked, not wanting to draw too much attention to the elephant in the room.
"He's the best!" She chirped, eyes lighting up with pure delight which quickly faded into a frown so much like her dad's, "but Daddy said Goose can't come to say goodbye to Mommy."
House pressed his lips to Izzy's forehead before the inevitable tears began to fall, "shh, it's okay Princess. We don't have to talk about this now."
"Izzy, would you like to take Goose on a walk with me?"
Cameron heard House's sigh of relief at her interjection, keeping Izzy distracted would be the way forward.
"Yes please!" She turned to face House and held his bearded cheek, "Daddy can I?"
"Do you promise to look both ways when you cross the street?"
"Yep," she nodded.
"And make sure that Cameron behaves herself?"
"Yeah!"
House furrowed his brow pretending to ponder the idea before slowly nodding, "well, alright then."
Izzy squeaked in delight, flailing his legs and making House place her on the floor before she inadvertently caught either his scarred leg or something equally as delicate.
She took off as soon as her feet touched the floor in search of her sneakers, a matching pair to her dad's favoured Nikes. She carried them back over to the couch and despite the hindrance of her broken wrist and the offer from both House and Cameron to help, Izzy was still able to tie her laces albeit very slowly and without assistance.
She jumped up to her feet all eager and ready to go with Goose equally as bouncy and excitable. House caught her attention and held up her hospital issue sling.
"Nu-uh young lady, not without your jacket and sling." Izzy rolled her eyes but allowed her dad to help her into her black leather jacket, not too dissimilar from his own as well as the sling, "there you go."
Once Cameron had managed to wrangle Goose and got his leash on, she took in the sight of Izzy dressed in her jeans, leather jacket and Nikes and couldn't help giggling.
"What's so funny Cameron?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not laughing it's just Izzy really is the little girl version of you. It's so adorable and so alarming at the same time."
House rolled his eyes at his duckling but inwardly smiled, he loved that the similarities between him and Izzy were so obvious. It made his chest swell with pride.
He opened the door for them and nudged Izzy, "Now, remember what I said, keep an eye on Cameron for me."
"She'll be fine, Daddy!"
With her good hand, Izzy caught hold of Cameron's and swung her arm as though testing the grip. She smiled up at Cameron and then over her shoulder at her Daddy as he stood on the front step watching the trio walk down the sidewalk. House swallowed down the lump in his throat as they crossed the street and rounded the corner, dipping out of sight.
He sat down heavily on the new couch and took a few deep breaths, waiting for the wave of emotions to crest and flow away. While he had some time alone, he made a start on putting Izzy's things into the closet, leaving her favoured organ plushies out on the coffee table knowing they'd be a great distraction.
He checked in with Chase and Foreman who updated him on their patient. Cameron's thyroid hunch turned out to be correct, a contrast MRI scan detected a small cancerous mass which they were treating with radio and chemotherapy.
"Uh House, when are you back in? Come to think of it, when's Cameron back?"
Of course, the Aussie would be pining, he was the irritating kid at the front of the class constantly questioning and too curious for his own damn good.
"Are you missing me? Worried I've run off with Cameron to some sleazy motel? Maybe I have, maybe she's bound and naked waiting for the next round…"
"A simple 'none of your business' would've been enough."
"I'll remember that for next time." House chuckled, loving how easy it was to rattle Chase's cage, "gotta go, Cameron's giving me the eye."
He sat back down on the couch and picked up the organ plushies, they were Izzy's pride and joy, combining her love of soft toys and medicine. The first plushie he'd got her was a tooth that he'd won at an arcade when she was barely three. Within six months the pristine white fabric was stained with god only knows what, and unlike her own teeth, the plushie wasn't getting brushed twice daily merely over loved.
But Izzy's absolute most treasured plushies were her kidneys, two of them of course, symbolising her Daddy's specialty in Nephrology. They were a gift on her fourth birthday and when House explained what they were and how he's a doctor for them, Izzy clutched the plushies to her chest and cried tears of pure joy. They travelled everywhere with her, Izzy just couldn't bear to be without them.
Unfortunately, on one misadventure in Kindergarten where playtime had gotten a little too vigorous and one of the kidneys was torn. Fearing her beloved plushie was beyond repair, Izzy tearfully asked her Daddy to save it and being the brilliant doctor he is and not wanting to see his little girl hurting, House took the plushie into his care. He set up a little surgical area with a needle, thread and pair of surgical forceps to help draw the torn fabric back together. Under Izzy's watchful eye, House precisely sewed the kidney back together as he would stitch up a wound on a patient. He even went as far as to dab the sutures with a piece of gauze before handing it back over to Izzy with a smile.
"There you go Princess, good as new."
House held up the repaired plushie and admired his handiwork, still holding up well even after 18 months of Izzy's overzealous loving.
A knock at the door heralded Cameron and Izzy's return, House hobbled over and opened the door only to be bowled over by Izzy wrapping her good arm around his waist, and squeezing him tightly.
"Daddy! I missed you!"
"I missed you too, Izzy Bee." He stroked his hand over her mousey brown hair, looking up at Cameron he mouthed, "she okay?"
Cameron nodded allowing House to breathe a small sigh of relief, "was Cameron a good girl, Iz?"
"Yes and Goose was a good boy, we played fetch."
"Sounds fun, why don't you show Goose your plushies? They're on the coffee table."
Izzy pulls back and grins wildly, "Goose, come and see the plushies!"
Cameron released his leash and he bounded after Izzy. Standing beside her, House and Cameron watch the pup and youngster bond. Goose sat like an attentive pupil on the rug beside the coffee table tilting his head in curiosity while Izzy pointed out and showed him each plushie, telling him the organ's name and where it lived in the human body. It was an adorable sight to behold and highly amusing when Izzy tells a bemused Goose that she was sorry but she doesn't know where kidneys live in dogs.
"She is so smart, at this rate she'll be a doctor by the age of ten."
House couldn't hide the prideful smile from his lips at the thought of his little girl quite literally following in his footsteps.
"When she was a baby, I didn't have anything for her apart from a small cot, her mom had everything at her place. So what I would do to get Izzy to sleep is read medical textbooks to her. I'd have her propped up in a nest of pillows next to me either on the couch or the bed and I'd read to her, but instead of falling asleep she would smile and giggle. No nursery rhymes or fairytales for Izzy, she's all about the medicine."
"Your face lights up when you talk about her, House. It's beautiful to see."
House quirks his brow at her, "beautiful, am I beautiful Cameron?"
"Yeah, you are… modest too."
.o0O0o.
Just after 5 pm, a knock on the door heralded Wilson's arrival. Izzy frowned unsure who to expect but her frown was soon replaced by a beaming grin seeing who it was.
"Wilson!" She squeaked in delight, holding up her casted wrist, "I broked my wrist!"
"Oh no, sounds painful Iz. Do I get a hug or am I not cool enough?"
Izzy rolled her eyes as she walked over to him just as her dad would. She wrapped her good arm around Wilson but her attention and focus were on the large takeaway bag under his arm.
"I'm hungry."
Her big blue eyes were in full effect, she could win over and emotionally blackmail the coldest of hearts with them. Wilson dipped into the bag and retrieved a large hamburger and fries which were promptly snatched much to Wilson's disdain.
"Her manners are none existent."
"Don't criticise my kid," House held out his hand, "hand over the food."
He got hold of the bag of food and ferreted out a hamburger for himself and some fries before passing it over to Cameron, he stuck his tongue out at Wilson before joining Izzy in the living room.
"That explains where Izzy got him from," Wilson sighed.
House and Cameron sat on the couch with Izzy sitting between their feet and a very attentive and drooling Goose by her side while Wilson sat on the piano bench marvelling at the easy dynamic the trio had formed so quickly.
Wilson wants to ask Izzy about how she's doing, and how she's feeling, but seeing her so happy and content, he doesn't want to spoil that. So instead, he draws the conversation towards work, "I had a consult on your patient today, the thyroid case?"
"Was it his thyroid?" Cameron asked.
"Your hunch was right, a small tumour on the posterior aspect. Good diagnosis Doctor Cameron."
Izzy craned her head up, "Daddy, I haven't got a thyroid plushie."
"Oh," he muttered, looking at the various organs littering his rug, "Maybe Uncle Wilson will buy you one if you ask nicely. He buys me lunch when I ask nicely."
"Izzy, your dad never asks nicely, he often bullies me into buying his lunch or stealing mine."
Izzy studied Wilson for a moment before confidently replying, "but I'm not a bully."
"Well no, no you're not Iz. You're a sweetheart considering how your dad behaves."
"Cool! So you'll get me the plushie?"
Wilson's jaw dropped before snapping shut again, Izzy had inherited House's expert manipulation tactics and knew how to work and weasel around to get what she wanted. That combined with her puppy blue eyes left Wilson powerless to resist.
He sighed deeply, "I will get you the plushie at the weekend."
"Yay!"
.o0O0o.
Once dinner was finished, House, Cameron and Wilson went into the kitchen for some space to chat leaving Izzy still very much engrossed with Goose in the lounge. Their conversation soon turned to what House was planning on doing about the apartment and Izzy's schooling. It was a lot to deal with all at once, he'd barely had time to process what was going on, let alone get any sort of plan formulated in his head.
"I know, I know it needs sorting out, I'm not a moron. But I can't think about it just yet, I just want to get the next couple of days out of the way and let Izzy settle. She's just lost her mom for god's sake."
Wilson nodded and turned to watch Izzy and Goose interacting with marked intrigue. Clearly, there was pain in her eyes, her grief still a freshly opened wound barely aired or allowed a minute to start healing. But to see such happiness in spite of it was a very welcoming and reassuring sight. She was a tough and resilient kid.
"Goose would do well as a therapy dog, the patients would love him."
"I did think about that, Wilson. Probably a good job that I didn't, if Izzy is anything like her dad, I don't think she'd want to share. In fact, I'm not even sure I can still call Goose my dog, he's barely given me any notice all day."
.o0O0o.
By the time the grownups finish their chat, all has fallen silent in the living room. They found Izzy and Goose curled up together fast asleep on the rug. House picked up her kidney plushie before carefully lifting Izzy from the hard floor and carrying her through to the bedroom. She didn't even flinch or move, so deeply asleep, even so, he does his best to get her changed into her pyjamas and tucks her into the bed with her plushie nestled safely in the crook of her arm and of course, Goose is by her side too.
He kissed her forehead, resting his lips against her soft skin just listening to the breathy snuffles as she sleeps. He stroked Goose's fur as he left the room with the door ajar in case Izzy needed him through the night. Suddenly the emotional and physical toll of the day caught up with him with a vengeance, his shoulders slumped and his bones felt hollow and useless, even yawning felt like a monumental and draining effort.
Seeing this, Wilson bids them goodnight and offers to stop by in the morning with breakfast which is greatly appreciated.
Once they're alone, Cameron turns to House, "You're exhausted House, let me help you set up the couch and I'll get going too. It's been a long day."
House nods and heads to the laundry closet and picks out a clean sheet and several large blankets seeing as he doesn't have a spare duvet. By the time he returns to the lounge, Cameron already has the couch properly folded out and ready to be made up. She takes the sheet from him and covers the mattress and arranges the couch cushions and blankets into some semblance of a bed.
"There you go, that should be pretty comfortable for you," She fluffed up the cushions a little, suddenly feeling awkward for the first time, "if it's okay, I'll leave Goose here. I'll come back first thing and get him, I just don't want to face the wrath of Izzy for taking him off her."
Cameron went over to the piano and picked up her bag, she hooked it over her shoulder and looked back at House with a small smile, "see you tomorrow."
"Don't go."
"House…"
Even though his eyes were bloodshot and heavy, they were glistening and emploring with her, "I need you here, and so does Izzy. Besides your dog's here, you can't abandon him. You need to stay, please."
She wants to stay, of course she does. In the space of several hours, she had bonded with him on a level she never thought possible. He had confided in her, and asked her for help and support with his daughter in his hour of need. In that short space of time, she had also bonded with Izzy too. She was already in too deep and saying no just wasn't an option.
"Okay, I'll stay."
He went into his bedroom and retrieved one of his t-shirts and some jogging bottoms wanting Cameron to feel comfortable. An awkwardness hung over them as they pussy-footed around each other getting ready for bed. It was only once they were laid down together face to face did the awkwardness break.
"I don't say it often, but thank you for today, for everything." He swallowed thickly, "I was out of my depth entirely."
"You're welcome. She's a great kid and adores you. It'll be difficult, especially for the next few days, but you'll be fine."
"She's not usually good with new people, takes her a while to warm up, suppose she gets it from me. But she's a good judge of character and I know she likes you and that's important."
"Well, not as much as she likes my dog but I'll take it as a compliment nonetheless."
House chuckled and shifted his leg, grimacing as he did so which Cameron noticed straightaway.
"Your leg okay?"
"Think the day has caught up with me, it's aching like a bitch."
He smoothed his palm over the gnarled scar, trying to ease the tension and tight knots that pained him. But with every sweep of his hand, his knuckles inadvertently brushed Cameron's thigh, making her breathing deepen trying to control herself.
Whether it was the close proximity clouding her judgement, or the want to help him, but Cameron found herself suggesting, "if, if you want, you could rest your thigh against me. The body heat would help ease your tension, if you want to. Or, or not, it's entirely up to you, it's your body and I just thought that-"
"Cameron, are you suggesting I spoon you?"
"I think so?"
He flicked his head, gesturing for her to turn away from him which she promptly did. He could hear her breathing change in tempo, becoming faster and slightly ragged, knowing his own wasn't far off. He scooted up behind her so their bodies silhouetted perfectly, very conscious of the fact his groin was pressed against the supple curve of her backside and not wanting to unwittingly wake up Little Greg. House nestled his infarction-marred thigh against Cameron's warm skin. The effect was instantaneous, he sighed in relief feeling the heat of her skin penetrating his aching muscles.
"Better?"
"Much," he murmured back, "thank you."
His hand tentatively moved to her waist unsure if it was a step too far, but he smiled into her hair when her fingers found his and peace and serenity came over them, easing them both into blissful sleep, something that hours ago seemed an impossibility.