FIC: Untitled Series, parts 9-11 & Epilogue (House/Cuddy, House/Cuddy/Wilson-ish)
TITLE: Untitled Series
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
PAIRING: House/Cuddy, House/Wilson/Cuddy
RATING: pea.gee
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone, except for my twins --- Leah and Seth.
NOTES: 1. rainblows and I were talking... and this idea kind of lodged itself into my head. If anyone has an idea for a title, I'd really appreciate it. 2. I'm not sure if I'm pleased with the way this turned out. Anyway, it's finished.
parts 1-3
parts 4 & 5
parts 6-8
Part Nine - Leah, aged 21
Leah sighed and tried to tune out the sound of her phone ringing. Studying for the medical school was stressing her out, and she didn't want to spend five minutes telling whatever peon was on the other end that she did not need to change her long distance plan.
When the machine clicked on, she turned the volume down and returned to the anatomy book that Jimmy bought her a couple of weeks ago.
The machine stopped recording after a few minutes.
Leah relaxed and resumed studying.
When the phone rang again, she growled under her breath and made herself focus on her work.
The machine took the call again.
This pattern continued---rising Leah's level of annoyance---seven times.
And then, there was silence.
Leah felt her curious nature get the better of her over the following ten minutes. Her blue eyes kept darting towards the nine flashing on the small display on the answering machine.
She gave up. She realised she wasn't going to be able to answer another question on the test she was preparing until she checked the messages. Whoever was trying to get a hold of her was very determined.
After turning the volume back up on the answering machine, she pushed the play button, and her father's voice filtered through the dorm room.
"Oh, favourite daughter... I hope you're either out celebrating the big two-one, or sleeping last night's midnight binge off."
Leah sighed. She hadn't made plans to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. She wanted to do well on her test---not end up passed out in bed with nothing but an empty wallet to show for it.
"Happy Birthday, honey," her father said, before hanging up.
The next message was also from him. "Sorry about this---well, actually, I'm not, but I know you'd want me to say something like that. Your mother would like to know if the package we sent arrived today. Send her an e-mail would you? Let her know, so she'll stop driving me nuts?"
The next voice she heard was her brother's voice. "Hey, Lee. Just wanted to call you and wish you a happy birthday. I got your gift. The cds are great. I hope you're out partying... you better be. It's your twenty-first birthday and you need to have some fun! Anyway, happy birthday again, and I'll talk to you later."
Seth was followed by her father. "The line was busy," he said, in his 'trying to solve a puzzle' voice. "I just called, and the line was busy. So, I'm calling now, expecting you to answer... or, expecting your invisible roommate to answer. And there's no answer. You're ignoring me. You could lose the title of favourite daughter for that, you know."
The next few messages were like that---her father, trying to piece together the mystery.
By the last message, he had put it together. "You're studying for your anatomy midterm, aren't you?" he asked into the machine. "Ah. Gotcha. I have a tip. Just remember, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone and the---"
There was some scuffling on the speaker, and then Leah heard her father yelp and her mother scold him. "Honey, you ignore your father... just study until you feel prepared. You're going to do great. We're proud of you---even your father is. No matter what he ever said into this machine, remember that. And happy birthday. Love you, Leah."
Leah smiled and shook her head. Her family was insane.
&&&&
Part Ten - Seth, aged 27
Seth's success wasn't like his parents' success; it wasn't like his sister's either. It was derived from it, though. His medical-mystery novel---the first of many, according to his editor---was an instant success. Two months later, it was still a success, and a few people from the publishing company took him out for drinks to celebrate.
He didn't celebrate---he never did. He intoxicated himself, he numbed his emotions, he created hallucinations, he had mind-altering conversations that would ultimately lead to an idea for the twist in the plot.
His mother and sister always worried about him. His father told him that was how he got his best ideas. Jimmy told him he was almost exactly like his father.
Instead of keeping people out of emotional reach, like Seth suspected his father did, he liked to pull people in close. He liked to illicit positive emotional reactions from them, so he could examine them. He used those experiments to better his writing, to develop his characters.
His baby blues got him access to almost anything he wanted: girls, guys, drugs, backstage passes, deadline extensions...
After going out with the publishing house staff, he decided to stay out and find some people with which he could experiment. He was toying with an idea for his next novel, and he wanted to find two people to test it with.
He always believed in a hands on approach, to understand the things he never encountered.
That was how he ended up in the hospital with his father for two days, following him and making notes. He spent the bulk of the time with his mother, because he was convinced his father was a lunatic who lied about working in the hospital. Seth's father spent most of the day hiding from his mother and playing video games---until his mother forced a case down his throat, and then the two days became interesting.
That was also how he ended up tangled in bed between a beautiful brunette named Allison, and her lanky boyfriend, whose name he didn't care to remember.
When he woke up, the idea he had been toying with the night before had festered into a major plot point. He stood at his huge windows, dry-erase marker in his hand, and stared out at the sunrise until the plot notes hit him.
And then, he wrote. He wrote point by point what he wanted to have happen in the story---using careful code so his bedroom guests would not guess that he was writing about them. He wasn't writing about them. He wanted to apply his experience to the characters in his fictional world.
When he was finished, he lit a cigarette and wandered into the kitchen to find a beer from the fridge. That ale washed down a few painkillers he had left. He smiled to himself and started cooking breakfast.
"Hey," Allison said from the doorway after he was scrambling eggs. "Smells good."
Seth smiled back at her. "Want to start some coffee?"
"I can handle that," she replied, nodding before she moved into the cooking area and started to help him.
Her boyfriend came in and made toast, and they were all sitting together and trying not to make the situation anymore awkward than it was when the phone rang.
"I better get that," Seth said, pushing himself up from the table. Once he picked the phone up, he said, "Hello?"
"My favourite son."
"Hi, favourite father."
Seth's father chuckled. "I read another review for your book this morning."
"Good or bad?"
"Good. Suppose I should go out and buy the book, now?"
"You'd probably find it mediocre."
His father replied: "I doubt that. There's nothing in our genepool that's mediocre."
"True," Seth agreed, smiling.
"What are you doing today?" he asked. "Any chance you'd feel like joining your mother and I for a late lunch?"
"Am I paying for this late lunch?"
HIs father answered: "A successful novelist should have no problem buying his own coffee and bagel."
"Where am I meeting you, Dad?" Seth asked, trying to sound exasperated but falling short.
Allison came up and touched Seth's shoulder. "We're going to head out," she said. "It sounds like you have plans."
Seth turned and covered the mouthpiece of the phone---but he didn't do it in time, because he heard his father laughing softly. He smiled at the woman. "You sure?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Dylan has to work this afternoon, and we don't want to keep you."
"Last night was great," Seth said, looking at both of them.
Dylan, the formerly unnamed boyfriend, smiled and nodded. "Definitely was."
"I won't be able to walk properly for a few days," Allison admitted with a smirk.
Both of his guests kissed his cheek, and then they left. Seth turned his attention back to his father, who was just finishing a round of chuckles.
"You were very busy last night," he said. Seth shifted uncomfortably---he did not discuss his sex life with his father. "The two girls kind of busy?"
"No," Seth grunted.
"Ah... the guy aaaaand girl kind of busy," Greg's father replied. "Nice choice."
"It's research."
"I'm sure it was," he said agreeably. "It was still fun, though."
"I didn't say---"
"Oh, we've all been there."
Seth's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Who hasn't tried a threesome?" he continued. "Honestly, Seth. Your mother and I were young once."
Seth groaned. He knew his parents didn't get together until later in their careers---they hadn't been that young. They had established careers, they were well-respected in the community, university, and medical profession. They wouldn't have picked a guy (or girl) up in a bar.
It would have had to be someone they trusted.
The full story, without any more words from his father, hit his brain like a freight train would hit a brick wall.
"You... uh... this conversation really needs to stop," Seth managed to say as he put the pieces of his brain back together.
"Oversharing, I realise," his father said. "Anyway, congratulations."
"There's enough parking in my building for your bike, but Mom's car won't fit. I didn't buy a space---"
"Excellent," he replied, cutting his son off. "Oh, she's going to love this."
Seth chuckled. "See you in a couple hours?"
"Yep. Sounds good to me."
Three hours later, they showed up. Apparently, his father needed an extra hour to cajole his wife only his motorbike. She hated that 'infernal contraption,' as she oh-so-affectionately named it.
Seth kept his thoughts well-compartmentalised until they were seated around the table of a quaint restaurant, sipping wine and talking about the hospital, Leah, and other things.
He looked at his parents and wondered how much else he didn't know.
&&&&
Part Eleven - Leah, aged 30
Her mother had retired, but her touches remained in the office and throughout the faculty. Leah sat in the office of the Dean and tried not to fidget as the man spoke of her family's legacy and Princeton's prestige.
"It would be a match made in heaven. We were glad that you applied for the opening."
Her eyes widened. "I... um... Why would you say that?"
"You've been doing great work in clinics and in journals," Dr. Gilmore said. "Your father won't be working here much longer. Since your mother retired, I assume he'll be following her lead. You would be a prime candidate to take over, and perhaps take on a small role in the lecture hall."
"I... wait, on my father's diagnostic team?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too stupid. The truth was that she had no earthly idea what was going on.
"Well, yes, of course." He smiled. "In fact, Dr. Wilson already approached me to make sure I---"
"This is really great," Leah said, lying as she silently put the pieces together. She was going to bring a world of pain down upon her father, she decided. And Jimmy, too, if she discovered he was a willing accomplice. "I'm thrilled. Is there a reason my father's not telling me---"
Dr. Gilmore nodded. "He hoped if the news came from me, you'd realise that you earned the position. He didn't want you to think he was accepting you because of familial obligation."
"I'll bet."
"Dr. House, has another offer---"
"Oh, no," she interupted quickly. "It's certainly a lot to think about, though. I thought he wouldn't accept my application," she lied, while fantasizing about the destruction she was going to bring down upon her family. "I haven't even begun to think about moving back here, or... wow. There's a lot to do."
"Would you like to take a couple of days to think about it?"
Softie. Suppressing a snort, she pouted a bit and nodded. "Would you mind?"
"Of course not," he said as they rose to their feet. "Call my office when you've made a decision."
"Thank you very much for telling me," she said, smiling almost too sweetly.
They shook hands, and then she marched out of the dean's office and straight to her father's office.
Leah's father, Jimmy, and two doctors were sitting around a table, talking and brainstorming. She stepped into the room and put her hands on her hips.
"You sneaky, sociopathic, meddling, backstabbing---"
Her father nudged Jimmy. "I think she's talking to you."
"Oh no," she said firmly, a growl seeping into her voice. "I'm talking to both of you."
The younger doctors, who didn't know who she was but knew she meant business, looked at Leah's father. "We're going to excuse ourselves," the female said, before they hurried past her.
"Quick," Jimmy said. "Balcony."
As Leah moved to the table, her father and uncle bolted. Her father was a little slow, but her uncle helped when he could. Leah stalked them to the balcony, and as her father was lifting his leg over the wall, she said, "Stay right where you are."
"Besides, we're old," Jimmy pointed out. "Could break something."
"Good point," Leah agreed. She turned to her father and said, "You set this up, didn't you? You asked me how busy my week was a few days ago. You wrote my C.V. up, you listed references, you applied me for the job on your staff!"
"Wow," Jimmy said. "She's good."
"And you helped," Leah said whirling to face him.
He cringed. "He made me do it."
"You two are like fraternity brothers!"
Her father's eyebrows jumped up. "All of our dubious scheming aside... are you going to accept?"
"What? A job where you can torture me every day of the rest of my life?" She asked. "Why should I do that?"
"Because it's the best job you'll ever have," he replied. "Except for the job you'll be offered after I retire."
"You're grooming me."
He nodded.
Leah narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Because, I made a bet with Von Lieberman," he told her in his dry, story-telling voice. "And I told him long after he retired to a life of eating strained carrots, Dr. House would still be Princeton's best diagnostician on the pay roll."
"Nice try."
Jimmy coughed and then said, "No, really, he did."
Leah's eyes shot to her father's; blue met blue in a battle of wills and so many other things. "How long ago did you make this bet?"
"Fifteen... no... twenty years ago. Wow. It's been that long."
Leah felt her balance waver. Jimmy caught her before she fell, luckily. He helped her by propping her against the wall of the balcony. "I can't believe it," she mumbled. "Has my entire career been a manipulation? Have you been grooming me since Mom was pregnant?!"
Something changed on her father's face. It became softer. She had only seen that expression once---when she thought her mother was really going to leave him for something he did intentionally. This was him, Greg House, without the mask and without the sharp, bracing bite.
"No," he said quietly. "You went into medicine because you were interested in it. I didn't... I wouldn't have done that."
"The bet..."
"I would have figured out a way to stay on the payroll," he said, shrugging and shaking his head.
Leah bit her lip. "So... so this is... for real."
"If I suggested it, you wouldn't have agreed to it."
"True."
"But, you're good at what you do. And... I want you here."
She nodded. "Is this some reaction to Seth's overdose?" she asked quietly. "Some need to keep your brood close to home?"
"No. I just want to work with you."
"Really?"
He smiled, and she saw the mask sliding into place again. "Yeah, plus, I want to torture you mercilessly. Payback, or something."
Leah smiled. "Okay."
Jimmy exhaled a long, slow breath. "You can't chase old men, Lee. Gives us cardiac---"
"I'm not through with you."
"Oh."
Leah smiled and then laughed when she saw the look on Jimmy's face. "Next time my father tries to manipulate me, I expect you to give me a heads up."
"Hmmm. Yeah, but what about the times when he manipulates me to manipulate you?"
"Those, I'll let slide."
Jimmy nodded. "Okay. Sounds fair."
Leah accepted the job an hour later. She called her mother, and she met them at the hospital; they ate lunch in the cafeteria, talked about where Leah should look for a house, and caught up. It felt like a celebration of sorts.
Years later, she would look back on her father's actions and know he did the right thing---even if it was incredibly underhanded. And she would know that Dr. Gilmore regretted the day he ever met either Dr. House.
She may not have been the same miserable sociopath---she knew what other doctors said behind her back---but she was still her father's daughter.
&&&&
Part Twelve - Epilogue
'Dad, you told Seth you'd pay for his therapy. I assume, since you enjoy tormenting your children equally, that you'd also pay for mine. Love always, Your Favourite Daughter.'
Greg smiled and headed down the hall to the master bedroom, cane in one hand, Leah's letter in the other.
"Whatcha got?" Lisa asked quietly, as she snuggled up to Jimmy in their bed.
"Did you find my mug?" the former oncologist asked.
"Your McGill mug is in the sink," he said, shuffling towards the bed. He sat down with a pained groan and then added, "I used it last night and forgot to clean it." When he saw his friend's face tighten, he said, "Oh, relax. Your precious mug is safe."
Lisa reached out and nudged her husband with her foot. "Whatcha got?"
"Well, Partypants, it's a letter from Leah," he said, passing it towards her.
As she read it, he eased back against his pillows on her other side. He sighed and pulled his bad leg onto the mattress. Lisa laughed and passed the letter onto her other bedmate. He laughed, too.
Greg smiled at them both.
"Good girl," Jimmy commented. "Smart girl." He looked at Greg. "You must be proud."
Greg chose not to reply. Instead, he smiled and waggled his eyebrows. Lisa chuckled under her breath.
"Very proud," she answered for him. She reached out and rubbed his stomach. "They turned out okay, didn't they?"
He nodded and kissed her cheek. "Yeah," he murmured in his rough, content voice.
THE END
ETA: sorry. i didn't proof my lj-cuts. sorry sorry sorry.
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
PAIRING: House/Cuddy, House/Wilson/Cuddy
RATING: pea.gee
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone, except for my twins --- Leah and Seth.
NOTES: 1. rainblows and I were talking... and this idea kind of lodged itself into my head. If anyone has an idea for a title, I'd really appreciate it. 2. I'm not sure if I'm pleased with the way this turned out. Anyway, it's finished.
parts 1-3
parts 4 & 5
parts 6-8
Part Nine - Leah, aged 21
Leah sighed and tried to tune out the sound of her phone ringing. Studying for the medical school was stressing her out, and she didn't want to spend five minutes telling whatever peon was on the other end that she did not need to change her long distance plan.
When the machine clicked on, she turned the volume down and returned to the anatomy book that Jimmy bought her a couple of weeks ago.
The machine stopped recording after a few minutes.
Leah relaxed and resumed studying.
When the phone rang again, she growled under her breath and made herself focus on her work.
The machine took the call again.
This pattern continued---rising Leah's level of annoyance---seven times.
And then, there was silence.
Leah felt her curious nature get the better of her over the following ten minutes. Her blue eyes kept darting towards the nine flashing on the small display on the answering machine.
She gave up. She realised she wasn't going to be able to answer another question on the test she was preparing until she checked the messages. Whoever was trying to get a hold of her was very determined.
After turning the volume back up on the answering machine, she pushed the play button, and her father's voice filtered through the dorm room.
"Oh, favourite daughter... I hope you're either out celebrating the big two-one, or sleeping last night's midnight binge off."
Leah sighed. She hadn't made plans to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. She wanted to do well on her test---not end up passed out in bed with nothing but an empty wallet to show for it.
"Happy Birthday, honey," her father said, before hanging up.
The next message was also from him. "Sorry about this---well, actually, I'm not, but I know you'd want me to say something like that. Your mother would like to know if the package we sent arrived today. Send her an e-mail would you? Let her know, so she'll stop driving me nuts?"
The next voice she heard was her brother's voice. "Hey, Lee. Just wanted to call you and wish you a happy birthday. I got your gift. The cds are great. I hope you're out partying... you better be. It's your twenty-first birthday and you need to have some fun! Anyway, happy birthday again, and I'll talk to you later."
Seth was followed by her father. "The line was busy," he said, in his 'trying to solve a puzzle' voice. "I just called, and the line was busy. So, I'm calling now, expecting you to answer... or, expecting your invisible roommate to answer. And there's no answer. You're ignoring me. You could lose the title of favourite daughter for that, you know."
The next few messages were like that---her father, trying to piece together the mystery.
By the last message, he had put it together. "You're studying for your anatomy midterm, aren't you?" he asked into the machine. "Ah. Gotcha. I have a tip. Just remember, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone and the---"
There was some scuffling on the speaker, and then Leah heard her father yelp and her mother scold him. "Honey, you ignore your father... just study until you feel prepared. You're going to do great. We're proud of you---even your father is. No matter what he ever said into this machine, remember that. And happy birthday. Love you, Leah."
Leah smiled and shook her head. Her family was insane.
&&&&
Part Ten - Seth, aged 27
Seth's success wasn't like his parents' success; it wasn't like his sister's either. It was derived from it, though. His medical-mystery novel---the first of many, according to his editor---was an instant success. Two months later, it was still a success, and a few people from the publishing company took him out for drinks to celebrate.
He didn't celebrate---he never did. He intoxicated himself, he numbed his emotions, he created hallucinations, he had mind-altering conversations that would ultimately lead to an idea for the twist in the plot.
His mother and sister always worried about him. His father told him that was how he got his best ideas. Jimmy told him he was almost exactly like his father.
Instead of keeping people out of emotional reach, like Seth suspected his father did, he liked to pull people in close. He liked to illicit positive emotional reactions from them, so he could examine them. He used those experiments to better his writing, to develop his characters.
His baby blues got him access to almost anything he wanted: girls, guys, drugs, backstage passes, deadline extensions...
After going out with the publishing house staff, he decided to stay out and find some people with which he could experiment. He was toying with an idea for his next novel, and he wanted to find two people to test it with.
He always believed in a hands on approach, to understand the things he never encountered.
That was how he ended up in the hospital with his father for two days, following him and making notes. He spent the bulk of the time with his mother, because he was convinced his father was a lunatic who lied about working in the hospital. Seth's father spent most of the day hiding from his mother and playing video games---until his mother forced a case down his throat, and then the two days became interesting.
That was also how he ended up tangled in bed between a beautiful brunette named Allison, and her lanky boyfriend, whose name he didn't care to remember.
When he woke up, the idea he had been toying with the night before had festered into a major plot point. He stood at his huge windows, dry-erase marker in his hand, and stared out at the sunrise until the plot notes hit him.
And then, he wrote. He wrote point by point what he wanted to have happen in the story---using careful code so his bedroom guests would not guess that he was writing about them. He wasn't writing about them. He wanted to apply his experience to the characters in his fictional world.
When he was finished, he lit a cigarette and wandered into the kitchen to find a beer from the fridge. That ale washed down a few painkillers he had left. He smiled to himself and started cooking breakfast.
"Hey," Allison said from the doorway after he was scrambling eggs. "Smells good."
Seth smiled back at her. "Want to start some coffee?"
"I can handle that," she replied, nodding before she moved into the cooking area and started to help him.
Her boyfriend came in and made toast, and they were all sitting together and trying not to make the situation anymore awkward than it was when the phone rang.
"I better get that," Seth said, pushing himself up from the table. Once he picked the phone up, he said, "Hello?"
"My favourite son."
"Hi, favourite father."
Seth's father chuckled. "I read another review for your book this morning."
"Good or bad?"
"Good. Suppose I should go out and buy the book, now?"
"You'd probably find it mediocre."
His father replied: "I doubt that. There's nothing in our genepool that's mediocre."
"True," Seth agreed, smiling.
"What are you doing today?" he asked. "Any chance you'd feel like joining your mother and I for a late lunch?"
"Am I paying for this late lunch?"
HIs father answered: "A successful novelist should have no problem buying his own coffee and bagel."
"Where am I meeting you, Dad?" Seth asked, trying to sound exasperated but falling short.
Allison came up and touched Seth's shoulder. "We're going to head out," she said. "It sounds like you have plans."
Seth turned and covered the mouthpiece of the phone---but he didn't do it in time, because he heard his father laughing softly. He smiled at the woman. "You sure?"
"Yeah," she replied. "Dylan has to work this afternoon, and we don't want to keep you."
"Last night was great," Seth said, looking at both of them.
Dylan, the formerly unnamed boyfriend, smiled and nodded. "Definitely was."
"I won't be able to walk properly for a few days," Allison admitted with a smirk.
Both of his guests kissed his cheek, and then they left. Seth turned his attention back to his father, who was just finishing a round of chuckles.
"You were very busy last night," he said. Seth shifted uncomfortably---he did not discuss his sex life with his father. "The two girls kind of busy?"
"No," Seth grunted.
"Ah... the guy aaaaand girl kind of busy," Greg's father replied. "Nice choice."
"It's research."
"I'm sure it was," he said agreeably. "It was still fun, though."
"I didn't say---"
"Oh, we've all been there."
Seth's jaw dropped. "What?"
"Who hasn't tried a threesome?" he continued. "Honestly, Seth. Your mother and I were young once."
Seth groaned. He knew his parents didn't get together until later in their careers---they hadn't been that young. They had established careers, they were well-respected in the community, university, and medical profession. They wouldn't have picked a guy (or girl) up in a bar.
It would have had to be someone they trusted.
The full story, without any more words from his father, hit his brain like a freight train would hit a brick wall.
"You... uh... this conversation really needs to stop," Seth managed to say as he put the pieces of his brain back together.
"Oversharing, I realise," his father said. "Anyway, congratulations."
"There's enough parking in my building for your bike, but Mom's car won't fit. I didn't buy a space---"
"Excellent," he replied, cutting his son off. "Oh, she's going to love this."
Seth chuckled. "See you in a couple hours?"
"Yep. Sounds good to me."
Three hours later, they showed up. Apparently, his father needed an extra hour to cajole his wife only his motorbike. She hated that 'infernal contraption,' as she oh-so-affectionately named it.
Seth kept his thoughts well-compartmentalised until they were seated around the table of a quaint restaurant, sipping wine and talking about the hospital, Leah, and other things.
He looked at his parents and wondered how much else he didn't know.
&&&&
Part Eleven - Leah, aged 30
Her mother had retired, but her touches remained in the office and throughout the faculty. Leah sat in the office of the Dean and tried not to fidget as the man spoke of her family's legacy and Princeton's prestige.
"It would be a match made in heaven. We were glad that you applied for the opening."
Her eyes widened. "I... um... Why would you say that?"
"You've been doing great work in clinics and in journals," Dr. Gilmore said. "Your father won't be working here much longer. Since your mother retired, I assume he'll be following her lead. You would be a prime candidate to take over, and perhaps take on a small role in the lecture hall."
"I... wait, on my father's diagnostic team?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too stupid. The truth was that she had no earthly idea what was going on.
"Well, yes, of course." He smiled. "In fact, Dr. Wilson already approached me to make sure I---"
"This is really great," Leah said, lying as she silently put the pieces together. She was going to bring a world of pain down upon her father, she decided. And Jimmy, too, if she discovered he was a willing accomplice. "I'm thrilled. Is there a reason my father's not telling me---"
Dr. Gilmore nodded. "He hoped if the news came from me, you'd realise that you earned the position. He didn't want you to think he was accepting you because of familial obligation."
"I'll bet."
"Dr. House, has another offer---"
"Oh, no," she interupted quickly. "It's certainly a lot to think about, though. I thought he wouldn't accept my application," she lied, while fantasizing about the destruction she was going to bring down upon her family. "I haven't even begun to think about moving back here, or... wow. There's a lot to do."
"Would you like to take a couple of days to think about it?"
Softie. Suppressing a snort, she pouted a bit and nodded. "Would you mind?"
"Of course not," he said as they rose to their feet. "Call my office when you've made a decision."
"Thank you very much for telling me," she said, smiling almost too sweetly.
They shook hands, and then she marched out of the dean's office and straight to her father's office.
Leah's father, Jimmy, and two doctors were sitting around a table, talking and brainstorming. She stepped into the room and put her hands on her hips.
"You sneaky, sociopathic, meddling, backstabbing---"
Her father nudged Jimmy. "I think she's talking to you."
"Oh no," she said firmly, a growl seeping into her voice. "I'm talking to both of you."
The younger doctors, who didn't know who she was but knew she meant business, looked at Leah's father. "We're going to excuse ourselves," the female said, before they hurried past her.
"Quick," Jimmy said. "Balcony."
As Leah moved to the table, her father and uncle bolted. Her father was a little slow, but her uncle helped when he could. Leah stalked them to the balcony, and as her father was lifting his leg over the wall, she said, "Stay right where you are."
"Besides, we're old," Jimmy pointed out. "Could break something."
"Good point," Leah agreed. She turned to her father and said, "You set this up, didn't you? You asked me how busy my week was a few days ago. You wrote my C.V. up, you listed references, you applied me for the job on your staff!"
"Wow," Jimmy said. "She's good."
"And you helped," Leah said whirling to face him.
He cringed. "He made me do it."
"You two are like fraternity brothers!"
Her father's eyebrows jumped up. "All of our dubious scheming aside... are you going to accept?"
"What? A job where you can torture me every day of the rest of my life?" She asked. "Why should I do that?"
"Because it's the best job you'll ever have," he replied. "Except for the job you'll be offered after I retire."
"You're grooming me."
He nodded.
Leah narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Because, I made a bet with Von Lieberman," he told her in his dry, story-telling voice. "And I told him long after he retired to a life of eating strained carrots, Dr. House would still be Princeton's best diagnostician on the pay roll."
"Nice try."
Jimmy coughed and then said, "No, really, he did."
Leah's eyes shot to her father's; blue met blue in a battle of wills and so many other things. "How long ago did you make this bet?"
"Fifteen... no... twenty years ago. Wow. It's been that long."
Leah felt her balance waver. Jimmy caught her before she fell, luckily. He helped her by propping her against the wall of the balcony. "I can't believe it," she mumbled. "Has my entire career been a manipulation? Have you been grooming me since Mom was pregnant?!"
Something changed on her father's face. It became softer. She had only seen that expression once---when she thought her mother was really going to leave him for something he did intentionally. This was him, Greg House, without the mask and without the sharp, bracing bite.
"No," he said quietly. "You went into medicine because you were interested in it. I didn't... I wouldn't have done that."
"The bet..."
"I would have figured out a way to stay on the payroll," he said, shrugging and shaking his head.
Leah bit her lip. "So... so this is... for real."
"If I suggested it, you wouldn't have agreed to it."
"True."
"But, you're good at what you do. And... I want you here."
She nodded. "Is this some reaction to Seth's overdose?" she asked quietly. "Some need to keep your brood close to home?"
"No. I just want to work with you."
"Really?"
He smiled, and she saw the mask sliding into place again. "Yeah, plus, I want to torture you mercilessly. Payback, or something."
Leah smiled. "Okay."
Jimmy exhaled a long, slow breath. "You can't chase old men, Lee. Gives us cardiac---"
"I'm not through with you."
"Oh."
Leah smiled and then laughed when she saw the look on Jimmy's face. "Next time my father tries to manipulate me, I expect you to give me a heads up."
"Hmmm. Yeah, but what about the times when he manipulates me to manipulate you?"
"Those, I'll let slide."
Jimmy nodded. "Okay. Sounds fair."
Leah accepted the job an hour later. She called her mother, and she met them at the hospital; they ate lunch in the cafeteria, talked about where Leah should look for a house, and caught up. It felt like a celebration of sorts.
Years later, she would look back on her father's actions and know he did the right thing---even if it was incredibly underhanded. And she would know that Dr. Gilmore regretted the day he ever met either Dr. House.
She may not have been the same miserable sociopath---she knew what other doctors said behind her back---but she was still her father's daughter.
&&&&
Part Twelve - Epilogue
'Dad, you told Seth you'd pay for his therapy. I assume, since you enjoy tormenting your children equally, that you'd also pay for mine. Love always, Your Favourite Daughter.'
Greg smiled and headed down the hall to the master bedroom, cane in one hand, Leah's letter in the other.
"Whatcha got?" Lisa asked quietly, as she snuggled up to Jimmy in their bed.
"Did you find my mug?" the former oncologist asked.
"Your McGill mug is in the sink," he said, shuffling towards the bed. He sat down with a pained groan and then added, "I used it last night and forgot to clean it." When he saw his friend's face tighten, he said, "Oh, relax. Your precious mug is safe."
Lisa reached out and nudged her husband with her foot. "Whatcha got?"
"Well, Partypants, it's a letter from Leah," he said, passing it towards her.
As she read it, he eased back against his pillows on her other side. He sighed and pulled his bad leg onto the mattress. Lisa laughed and passed the letter onto her other bedmate. He laughed, too.
Greg smiled at them both.
"Good girl," Jimmy commented. "Smart girl." He looked at Greg. "You must be proud."
Greg chose not to reply. Instead, he smiled and waggled his eyebrows. Lisa chuckled under her breath.
"Very proud," she answered for him. She reached out and rubbed his stomach. "They turned out okay, didn't they?"
He nodded and kissed her cheek. "Yeah," he murmured in his rough, content voice.
THE END
ETA: sorry. i didn't proof my lj-cuts. sorry sorry sorry.