Photograph
Hi everyone,
This story was originally written in Portuguese back in September 2017, nearly seven years ago. Recently, I was inspired to rewrite it in English! It's amusing how life surprises us—there's actually a fanvideo on YouTube set to this song that jogged my memory about this fanfiction! If you're interested, you can also find the original Portuguese version of this fanfiction here and please, go see the the fanvideo, it's amazing!
Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes
But it's the only thing that I know
When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes
It is the only thing that makes us feel alive
"Cuddy," he said with a smile when she answered the phone. "It's House. Are you free tonight? The endocrinology test is over, and I thought we could take a stroll around campus." His smile widened as he heard her response. "Hmm, okay, then at seven, I'll pick you up, alright?" He waited for her reply and smiled, murmuring a simple "see you soon."
That day would be unforgettable. His application had been accepted, sparing him from repeating the last year, and the girl from the night before, Lisa Cuddy, had agreed to go out with him. This year would be memorable, he was sure of it.
The evening went wonderfully well. She was intriguing, and he found himself smiling at her every time she laughed at something he said. She wasn't like the other girls he had known; she was absolutely intoxicating with her beauty, sharp wit, and those blue eyes that left him intrigued, almost, he would dare to say, mad. She was a blend of beauty and intelligence that had always driven him wild.
The previous night had been, in his opinion, too fast. Her body. Her kiss. Their movements. Their bodies intertwined in a mix of sensations. They had fucked, that was the right word, pure and simple sex. But that night, he had loved her; his touches were softer, more careful. He kissed every inch of exposed skin, his hands trying to memorize her curves, and he had never heard his name sound so good, when she came, underneath him, yelling is name like a soft prayer. Yes, his name on her lips was the most heavenly sound he had ever heard, he was sure of that."
We keep this love in a photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts are never broken
And time's forever frozen still
They had been the most wonderful six months of her life, she was sure of it. At the peak of her 19 years, Lisa Cuddy had everything she had ever imagined: Medicine, Michigan, and House! She couldn't believe her luck. He made her feel everything so intensely, so uniquely, so perfectly! And now it could all end... How had she let herself make such a stupid mistake? Just one missed pill and she was pregnant! She didn't know what to do anymore, couldn't keep making excuses to avoid him. Eventually, he would have to know.
And Gregory House, he could be prepared for anything but this news. His girlfriend was pregnant, she was pregnant, but what squeezed his heart in a way he didn't understand were her tears and the constant apologies. He held her tightly in his arms. 'Whatever you decide, whatever it is, I'll be by your side.'
'We can't have this baby,' she said through tears. 'I'm only 19.'
'Tomorrow we'll go to the clinic,' he embraced her, and she continued to cry. 'We're in this together.'
The clinic had cold, white walls. It was impersonal and distant. They waited nearly an hour for their turn, and as they entered the consultation room, she felt a shiver run down her spine—a sensation that made her want to give up. For the first time, she thought of the embryo inside her as their baby. 'Let's leave, please.' They didn't wait for the doctor to arrive and left as quickly as they could. 'I can't terminate our baby,' she said quietly. 'I can't do it, House. What are we going to do?'
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home
Loving can heal, loving can mend your soul
And it's the only thing that I know, know
I swear it will get easier,
Remember that with every piece of you
Hm, and it's the only thing we take with us when we die
They had decided that once the baby was born, they would give her up for adoption to responsible parents who could give the child the life neither of them could provide at that moment. Her parents had thrown her out of the house—an outrage that their daughter had become pregnant at 19 by a boyfriend they didn't even know existed. His parents had simply told him to face the consequences of his actions alone. He was starting his internship in September, and she was due to deliver at the end of October. She planned to continue studying, as classes wouldn't start until late October, and she could afford to miss the first week to recover from childbirth. Her excellent grades had secured her a scholarship high enough to live comfortably, and with him working, they were able to rent a small apartment off-campus.
There were exactly two months left until the delivery, and they had just attended their final ultrasound. Neither of them had asked to know the baby's sex, but the doctor had shared the information anyway, and neither of them had commented on it. It was a girl. Perhaps it was best to inform the social worker so that the adopting couple could be informed. Their baby was a girl.
Hm, we keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts were never broken
And time's forever frozen still
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone
It was October 8th when she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. At 36 weeks, she went into labor. For 48 hours, she endured the worst pains of her life. Even with the epidural, the pain was excruciating, perhaps because she was petite and still so young. The pains continued to intensify, and he stayed by her side, holding her hand, whispering words of encouragement and love. And so, at three hours and fifty minutes on October 10th, 1993, their daughter's cry filled the delivery room. The nurse took the baby, mentioning she was small but perfectly healthy, and asked if Cuddy wanted to hold her. She hesitated, but it was House who spoke up. He reached out and took their daughter in his arms, close to his chest. He didn't say a word; his eyes tried to memorize every feature of their daughter... Daughter... He had never used those words before; that little being was their daughter. Their daughter. He passed her into Cuddy's arms. And Cuddy cried; this baby was their daughter, and when the social worker arrived to take the girl, they both said at the same time,
'She's not going anywhere. We've decided against adoption.'
Cuddy cradled her daughter in her arms, close to her chest. And the baby opened her eyes. Blue, the color of the sky on a stormy day. Their daughter had her eyes, and he swore he had never seen anything so beautiful.
Hm, we keep this love in this photograph
We made these memories for ourselves
Where our eyes are never closing
Hearts were never broken
And time's forever frozen still
So you can keep me
Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans
Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone
Hope Lisa House, that's what they named her, their hope. A year had passed, and the baby with golden hair and blue eyes was what one might call an extremely happy baby. She was easy-going, didn't cause many sleepless nights, and was not hard to please. They could be sure that she had been, and would continue to be, the best thing in their lives. And Cuddy could say it had been difficult. It still was difficult, balancing being a mother and studying, but she couldn't have anyone better than him by her side, and she couldn't be happier than she was. The two of them concluded that even alone in their twenties, raising a daughter with not much to their name, happiness had finally arrived.