Chapter 17

The morning was not a good one for the Diagnostician considering today was the start of the medical conference that would be taking place for the entirety of the weekend. Now, House preferred his weekends filled with solitude or taking Ulysses out to the park to 'chase' him around or pushing him a little too hard on the swings that would send him flying.

The pain that was radiating through his leg was not a welcome one and was a rare occurrence since he'd first brought Ulysses home. Leaning down on the bed, he reached down to comfort his leg with his right hand, kneading into it while he bit down on his jaw to hold back a pained groan. Of course, the pain manifested itself due to House facing an obstacle he so desperately wanted to avoid which was public speaking. Rolling his eyes, the throbbing sensation in his thigh was beginning to subside and he turned to look at the clock on his bedside nightstand.

"Oh, shit!" He cursed, rising up quickly and limping toward the bathroom, ignoring the pulsating pinching that poked at his leg with every weighted step. Opening the medicine cabinet he began his routine, taking two ibuprofen tablets, brushing his teeth, and then lowering his pants before climbing into the shower. He let the hot water stream down his entire body, encasing it in steaming liquid before he set to work on washing and cleaning it.

Climbing out of the shower, he grabbed a towel, patting himself dry before tossing it on a rack and standing in the nude. He reached into the medicine cabinet once more, grabbing a black case that read "Hemp Cream" which was filled with green colored cream, he scooped some on a hand and rubbed it onto his right leg. The cream didn't exactly take away his pain, but it was a recreational way of numbing it and it actually worked when applied multiple times in the day. The smell wasn't always pleasant and Wilson refused to write him a prescription for recreational marijuana.

"Alright." House slapped his hands on his sides as he finished buckling his tan trousers and went to grab a dark blue dress shirt which he stuffed inward. He'd combed his hair, put on a nice watch over his left wrist and sprayed cologne across his neckline before trimming his beard, applying aftershave.

Pulling on his black suit jacket, he straightened out the collar before making his way out of the bedroom, holding his brown briefcase full of important documents for his speech and information pertaining to his medical license. Checking his watch, he reached into the fridge and grabbed a strawberry smoothie pouch, shutting it and making his way into his son's bedroom where he was peacefully sleeping.

"Hey, buddy. Time to get up." House said, nudging him softly, setting the pouch on the nightstand while Ulysses blinked his eyes slowly before awakening. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes softly, his head a mess of curls and his face confused.

"We need to go. Today is the conference. We're running late." House signed to him, Ulysses eyebrows rose up at the mention of the conference and he hurriedly threw the covers off of his body. Jumping off of the bed, he quickly went to the drawers beneath his closet and pulled them out to grab a fresh pair of clothes to change into from the pajamas he was wearing.

House reached into the nightstand and pulled out a black box, shaking it softly and walked over to Ulysses. Tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention and he turned around, halting his movements to give his father his full attention.

"Are you going to wear these?" House asked, holding the box out to Ulysses who stared at it quietly and slowly reached a hand out to grab it.

"Hearing is scary." Ulysses signed, frowning. House gently got down on his good knee, using the closet to support his descent before he took the box gently from Ulysses and put it in his suit pocket.

"You don't have to wear them. The doctor said it's up to you." House informed him with a soft smile and Ulysses bit his lip in contemplation. The deep thought on his features reminded House of Cuddy and he huffed when Ulysses held his hand out once more.

"I'll wear them. She said I'll get better if I wear them." Ulysses signed with a frown, quirking his lip to the right, House pulled out the case from his pocket and handed it back to him.

"You'll be there to help me, every step of the way?" Ulysses asked with a confident smile this time and House nodded his head, a small comforting smile spreading across his aged features, he rose up on his two feet once more. Leaving the room, he went towards the closet by the front door, pulling out his winter coat and the two suitcases he packed the previous night stood waiting by the door. He reached in to grab Ulysses winter coat which was similar to his own except it was gray while his was dark brown and he pulled his cane out.

Limping his way over to the living area, he watched Ulysses run back and forth from his room to the bathroom. After several minutes, sweaty and out of breath, Ulysses brought the case to House and opened it to reveal a set of hearing aids which House pulled out.

"Alright. Bring your ears here." House chuckled and Ulysses obeyed, facing him and turning his head to the left side before doing so on the right side while his father properly installed the hearing aids into his ears.

"Testing. Testing. Ground control. House speaking." House joked, snapping his fingers once on the left side before the right side of Ulysses' face and he flinched with each snap.

"I hear you." Ulysses said aloud, reaching out to softly cup his ears wondering about this newfound ability and mesmerized by the wonder of sound.

"That's good. How do I sound? Still faraway?" House asked, sitting on the couch while Ulysses stood across from him, seated on the coffee table dressed in jeans and a blue long sleeve shirt.

"Yes, still faraway." Ulysses replied, nodding.

"Your speech skills still need work, you sound like that thing from the Goonies." House joked which earned him a soft fist punch from Ulysses small hand that landed against his left arm and House fake grimaced, rubbing the area as if it had hurt.

"I'm joking. I'm joking. Maybe don't talk to other kids just yet." House suggested with a raise of his brows, Ulysses nodded with an understanding gaze knowing what would befall him if he spoke in front of other children and he paled at the scenarios that played in his head. His thoughts were interrupted when his father stood up, towering above him, he held out his left hand which was his 'free hand' considering his right gripped his cane at all times. Ulysses blinked a few times before taking his left hand with his right and stood up from the coffee table, his red sneakers making contact with the carpet. They made their way outside of the apartment, his father strapping him in his booster seat handing him a blue Gameboy to play with, citing that the drive would be long and boring before his father shut the car door and opened the hatchback. Setting the two suitcases down, one was black and large while the other was red and small, meant for a child.

House shut the trunk, making his way into the driver's seat, rubbing his hands together to create friction from the chill of the January morning. Putting the key in the ignition, he turned it and the car roared alive; allowing it to warm up he played with the channels on the radio before settling on rock and pulled out of the parking space to the main road.

—-

Wilson had entered the lodge first, sliding the wheels of his luggage across the carpeted entryway of the lobby and he took in the surroundings of the arches of the ceiling that were rustic logs with modern flair with the surrounding furniture decorating the rest of the lobby. There were a few people sitting down on cozy furniture, sitting beside a large rustic hearth that was crackling with pine wood that sent an outdoorsy scent to the room, and Wilson found himself wanting to get closer to the fire having been outside for too long.

Cuddy had received a phone call while he was unloading the luggage, he was grateful for that since she seemed distracted by it and hadn't pressed him about his comment from earlier regarding Ulysses mother. He left the car keys with her, she mentioned in between her conversation with the other individual on the other end of the line, that she would return them to him once she was inside. He offered to take Rachel, even though he desperately wanted to be far from her, but she waved him away saying he'd helped her enough and she wouldn't be long.

Making his way closer to the front desk, he noted a line on all three sides from where three hotel clerks stood lined up behind the desk, checking in guests and he spotted a familiar figure on the right hand side. The man was dressed in a dark brown winter coat with a dark blue scarf wrapped around his neck lazily, which he assumed he'd pulled at upon entering the building and he was wearing tan trousers with dark polished dress shoes. In his right hand was a familiar light brown cane, in his left was gripping the handle of large black luggage and beside the luggage stood a small boy not too much taller than the case itself.

The boy was dressed in a gray winter coat, a scottish red printed beanie adorning his head where underneath beneath his neckline were dark curls that snaked their way out. His scarf had been removed, wrapped instead around his red suitcase handle which he held onto with his right hand, waiting patiently beside the large man with dark jeans and red chucks stained with dirt, slightly wet from the melting snow outside.

"Hey, there." Wilson greeted, reaching out a hand to tap the man's shoulder softly, feeling the thick material of the coat upon the contact and the man turned around, his aged features familiar.

"Can you believe the service here? You think they'd give us priority considering we save lives." House waggled his brows playfully which earned him a chuckle from his best friend who bit back his laughter, covering his toothy grin with a fist and House huffed with a similar toothy smile.

The boy beside House turned around, looking up to see the man speaking with his father who was dressed in a light cream colored winter coat with a dark loose scarf hanging on the sides of his neck, he had a suit jacket on underneath with two layers of clothing underneath that and dark gray dress pants.

"Apparently, there's a few military personnel staying up for the weekend as well. Given front of the line access, wanting everyone to kiss their asses. And boots." House grumbled, his mood taking a dark turn at the mention of military men and Wilson coughed to clear up the tension when the person in front of House gave him a disapproving stare.

"Sorry, I forget this country likes to be cucked by the military." House apologized to the older gentlemen in front of him who looked horrified by the insult, turning to look at Wilson who closed his eyes in apology.

"Enough about that. Gosh, I haven't seen you and the little guy here since New Years." Wilson changed the subject, balancing his brown briefcase over his right shoulder before reaching out a large comforting hand, rubbing Ulysses' clothed head and the boy smiled up at him in greeting. Blinking his cerulean blue eyes before motioning with his hands, starting a conversation with Wilson with a small pout.

"My grandma stayed with me over the Winter Break." Ulysses expressed with his hands, Wilson nodded knowing that Blythe House had indeed come up from Georgia to look after the boy since House trusted no one to look after him when out of school for the rest of winter break.

"I know. Your father told me." Wilson signed in return, smiling kindly at the boy who continued to converse with Wilson about all the things he and his grandma got up to while his father was at work.

"She never did that with me." House signed with a pout gracing his aged features to, turning his upper body toward Ulysses who had mentioned his mother teaching Ulysses how to bake her famous oatmeal cookie recipe. His mother had never done much with him as a boy since his father was adamant about raising House to be a proper man which meant fixing up cars, chopping wood, or repairs on the military houses they lived in around the world. He was grateful for the months when his father was deployed or spent long hours at work which gave him the freedom to interact with the world around him no matter the region.

"She said she'll show you next time she comes. Wilson said your cooking skills are way better than hers." Ulysses signed, House clicked his tongue, smacking his lips harshly together in the process and furrowed his brows staring at Wilson.

"I didn't say that." Wilson quickly held up his two hands in defense. "All I said was that after Mayfield, you spent a lot of time trying to solve the mystery behind culinary genius which only took two weeks and you instantly became bored of it." Wilson finished which earned him a suspicious squinted stare, but before House could reply they stepped forward in line. The older gentlemen who had given House a disapproving stare, checked into his room before complaining to the clerk about House's behavior.

"Alright, old man jenkins, why don't you skedaddle so my gay lover and our love child can check into our room. It's been a long drive." House rolled his eyes, annoyed with the older gentlemen who reminded him of his father, and motioned with his cane for the man to step aside.

His comment earned him another horrified stare, he looked at the three men with disgust and groaned in displeasure before grabbing his belongings, stalking away with surprising mobility given his age.

"That got him moving." House muttered before stepping forward, resting an arm on the front desk and smiled handsomely at the female hotel clerk who blushed in return.

"Hi, I'm sorry about all that. Not everyone approves of our relationship or our sweet boy here." House motioned between him and Wilson before bringing a comforting left arm out to bring Ulysses closely to his side, the boy looked up at the hotel clerk with an innocent stare, his long lashes making his eyes sparkle.

"We're not–." Wilson was cut off when Cuddy pulled up beside him, pushing Rachel in the stroller who was fast asleep once more.

"Oh, hush you. We're checking in under James Wilson." House swatted Wilson across the chest softly, in a flamboyant manner with a flick of his wrist and Cuddy watched the exchange with confusion before her parted mouth slowly spread into a smile as the exchange went on.

Wilson reached into his coat, pulling out his wallet and rummaging inside, presenting his ID for the hotel clerk who took it politely. She eyed the two men before handing the ID back to Wilson, she rummaged in her desk for something and pulled out two brochures regarding the children's jungle gym on the first floor.

"We also have an indoor shallow pool if you're interested." She handed House the brochures and he took them from her with a fake polite smile that Cuddy knew all too well, she watched him hand the brochures to Ulysses whose eyes widened in excitement.

It had been awhile since she last saw the boy, he hadn't seemed to recognize her or notice her and she watched House turn away towards the elevators with the boy following closely behind him.

"We're not. Together. He's just messing around." Wilson desperately tried to clear up the confusion but the hotel clerk merely smiled politely at him. She handed him his keycard for his room, informing him about housekeeping and about the hall for the conferences.

"Don't worry sir. We treat all guests with respect at this establishment. If you have any problems regarding any other guests towards you and your family, call the front desk and we will handle it." She informed him with a warm smile, her eyes full of welcome understanding and she patted his hand softly. He sighed, slumping his shoulders, giving her a small smile before taking the keycard and followed after House while Cuddy tried to bite back her laughter.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lisa Cuddy. Checking in for Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital." Cuddy greeted the hotel clerk who turned to her with a polite smile, her expression brightened and her eyes fell on the sleeping infant in the stroller.

"Hello, Dr. Cuddy. We've been expecting you." The hotel clerk greeted her and began to explain the itinerary for the medical conference, informing her about which department heads had arrived or checked in. Which halls the conferences would take place with the neighboring hospitals who had already arrived, Cuddy nodded and grabbed a few documents she handed to her before being able to officially check in.

"Oh, lookie. A hotel room." House signed before taking the keycard from Wilson, showing Ulysses how to open the door and widened his eyes for comedic effect as the door beeped, unlocking and opening. Ulysses watched in amazement, following his father inside the room which was a large room with two king sized beds, the ceiling was high and two wall sized windows brought in light from the outside. A TV stood in the front of the room, facing the large white beds, and a door leading to the bathroom beside the TV.

Wilson followed in behind them, shutting the door and made his way over to the bed closest to the windows which lead out to the balcony with a sliding door.

"Wow. They have everything here. This place offers way more than the last lodge we stayed at." House commented, lying on the bed closest to the door, having removed his dress shoes and head propped on fluffy pillows while reading the itinerary.

Wilson and Ulysses were unpacking the suitcases while he mindlessly read aloud all the activities the lodge had to offer which half of House could not physically do due to his leg and Ulysses was far too young to even be legally allowed to. Ulysses unpacked his father's suitcase with Wilson's help, who had finished his and they placed the items into the dresser in the room beneath the large flatscreen which House was dead set on watching the season finale of General Hospital tonight which Ulysses was also eager to see.

"Wow, you actually watch that with him?" Wilson asked incredulously, House shrugged from where he lay on his back.

"That's not all. He's also been watching Desperate Housewives with my mother. She lied to me the other day about it until I caught them in the act when I came home early." House huffed, flipping the page of the itinerary, clicking his tongue, he set it down and began reading the pool hours for the shallow pool. Showing interest in a swim, the pool was stated to be set to a warm temperature at all times which would be good on his leg and he wondered if he packed Ulysses swim stuff.

'Ah, it doesn't matter. He can get in with briefs,' House thought before a knock at the door interrupted the three men who were each deciding what to do next.

"You think that's housekeeping? Trying to spy on our sinful relationship?" House quipped, sitting up on the bed while Wilson walked over to answer the door only to be greeted by Cuddy.

"Hey, I just got the list for all the department heads. Turns out we roomed across from each other, do you mind helping me for a second? The playpen seems to be stuck and I can't get it open." Cuddy asked him with a pleading look, he saw the door across from the room ajar with Rachel seated in the stroller still fast asleep.

"Get loverboy to help you. You have him around for a reason." House shouted from the bed and Cuddy furrowed her brows in annoyance, turning from Wilson to look behind him at House, who was sitting up on the bed looking at the two of them in the doorway with annoyance.

"Yeah, he's at work and I wasn't asking you." Cuddy replied back with a roll of her eyes and Wilson bit his lip trying to stay out of the squabble between the two.

"You're asking my loverboy. I need him to help me with Ulysses." House folded his arms across his chest in defiance, Ulysses wasn't aware of anything going on in the entrance of the room since he was in the bathroom setting his father's toiletry bag in the drawers.

"Since you care so much, House. Why don't you help me set up the playpen, then?" She offered instead, mimicking him and folding her arms across her chest unintentionally enhancing her breasts in the purple blouse she wore that hugged her tight body.

"Fine." House replied, getting up from the bed, stalking passed her and Wilson, going into her room where he saw the haphazard attempt she made to set up the playpen herself.

"And you call yourself a mom." House jabbed at her, she rolled her eyes as she followed after him, ignoring him and going towards the bed where she unloaded her briefcase. Pulling out her laptop, she set it to the side before placing on top of it a folder she organized the previous night for the weekend.

"You know, I didn't want to say this in front of him, but…Wilson's been acting a bit weird." Cuddy announced once he'd finished setting up the playpen, his brow wet from perspiration and his right thigh aching from the strenuous activity. He felt pathetic that setting up something so simple had sent him into near cardiac arrest, he steadied himself trying not to draw attention to himself while Cuddy had her back turned to him.

"Weird, you say?" House played along dumbly while he watched Cuddy pick up Rachel gently from the stroller, she stirred slightly before shutting her eyes once more and Cuddy set her inside the playpen.

"I don't know. I was a mess when he came to give me a ride over here and–I don't know. It's probably nothing. He just seems uncomfortable with…Rachel?" Cuddy said it in a confusing tone of voice as if she wasn't sure that was what she was trying to express and House nodded his head along remaining silent.

"She's gotten big since the last time I saw her." House changed the subject, looking down at the baby who was resting peacefully in the playpen on her back. She was dressed in a pink onesie with blue overwalls, a white cardigan and a pink bow in her dark locks.

"I'm…I'm sorry about last time." Cuddy closed her eyes softly, putting a hand to her forehead recalling the last time he had seen Rachel. She watched his world shatter in that moment and then breakfast with Lucas just made it worse, twisting the already jabbed knife in his side.

"Don't be. It's in the past." House clicked his tongue, he patted the playpen and walked past her without another glance, stepping out of the room.

"Why are you being a complete idiot around the kid?" House immediately dug in to Wilson who was seated on his bed near the window, reading over his notes for his speech and the other subjects that would be presented by other oncologists.

"What kid? Ulysses?" Wilson asked dumbly, setting down the papers in front of him and the subject of choice was lying down on the carpet playing the GameBoy House had given him in the car on the ride over.

"No, the other kid, you idiot. The little Cuddy." House lowered his voice and Wilson inhaled with a roll of his eyes knowing where this was going, watching House shift in his stance already knowing what was going on.

"Look, she asked me for a ride over. I wanted to say no, but things haven't been…good with Lucas and I thought I was doing her a favor. As a friend. Since you all but have abandoned her. And me as of late. What's up with that? Are you having pain again?" Wilson furrowed his brow and pointed at House with an accusatory finger, House clicked his tongue and looked away in annoyance at the deflection.

"This isn't about me." House protested, his expression serious as he leaned forward at the front of the bed.

"I just. I still feel uncomfortable about what happened that night." Wilson replied shakily, averting his gaze and House leaned back in his stance from where he had leaned forward. His expression softened and an uncomfortable silence filled the room save for the noises of a sci fi blaster sounding off from the portable hand held device Ulysses was playing with on the floor, clicking away quickly to shoot at the aliens.

"That was months ago. We agreed never to talk about it." House stated, breaking the silence and Wilson was going to reply when another knock sounded on the door. This time House went over to answer the door, annoyed with Cuddy constantly interrupting them even though this was only the second time and she was their boss after all.

"What?" He questioned harshly before his eyes softened when he saw the baby in her arms who was now alert and awake.

"I just got a call, I need to be down at a meeting with other Dean's for the preparations this weekend. It's last minute, but can you watch Rachel?" She asked.

"Me?" He pointed to himself with a laugh, Cuddy rolled her eyes and looked past him at Wilson who had risen from the bed, standing beside House now.

"No, Wilson." Cuddy rolled her eyes and House grumbled in reply, looking at Wilson who looked extremely uncomfortable to even be in the same presence as the baby. House blamed himself for having pressed into Wilson's behavior after Cuddy's comment and now Wilson was completely locked out. House, being the mediator that he was, did the wrong thing and opened his mouth to say something he shouldn't have said.

"Wilson can't watch Rachel because he still feels guilty about his ex-girlfriend smothering your child because she was crying too loudly."