(no subject)
I asked my flist for prompts -- pick a fic of mine and pick a timestamp, and I'll write it. mikki13 wanted to know what was going on ten years after Eradication.
TITLE: Eradication - Ten years later
AUTHOR: dragynflies
PAIRING: House/Cameron established relationship
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: “We did good with her, didn’t we?”
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Don’t sue.
NOTES: For Mikki13 who…astounds me on a daily basis. In a good way. Thanks for the beta, chica.
For reference, Blythe is 18, Nathan is 14, and Emma is ten.
Allison has been staring out the window for the past hour, and she’s starting to make you jumpy too.
“You’re not deaf,” you snipe at her from your spot on the couch with Nathan, playing video games, “You’ll hear the damn car when it pulls in.”
“I want to see,” she says simply, pushing the curtains aside again and peering out the window, looking down the road as far as she can see.
You think you’re hiding it just a little better than she is, but you’re just as jumpy. You know Nathan can tell, because he’s beaten you in every car race and you haven’t let him win once.
It’s finally December, and finally winter break, and your too-stubborn child is finally coming home for a visit.
You were unsurprised, even proud, when she decided to follow you and attend Johns Hopkins. What did surprise you was when she sat you and Allison down and explained that she wanted the first semester to get settled in, and that after you dropped her off, you wouldn’t be seeing her until Christmas. There would be phone calls, and she would let you know how she was doing, but she wanted to be on campus for the weekends and meet some new friends.
Allison hadn’t cracked until later, when the two of you were laying in bed. For some reason, she was sure that Blythe wouldn’t make it a semester without visiting home. You’d reminded her that as of this moment, your daughter had done everything she’d told you she was going to do, and that probably, this wasn’t going to be any different.
It hadn’t been.
“Dad, I beat you again,” Nathan says, exasperated, “You’re not even trying. Blythe will be home soon. She promised she’d be here before dinner, and it’s already four.”
Allison checks her watch and looks out the window, a grin lighting up her face, “She’s here!”
Emma comes tearing down the hall, her blonde hair in complete disarray and wearing a shirt that you swear is Nathan’s, “Blythe!” she screeches, then comes to a skidding halt in front of the door, “She’s not here yet.”
Allison laughs and walks to the door, kissing Emma’s unruly curls on her way out the door, “She does still have to get out of her car, sweetie.”
Nathan and Allison help Blythe with her bags, and you put in your requisite “are you moving back home?” joke and soon the five of you are settled around the table like three and a half months haven’t gone by without Blythe.
Emma wants to hear all about her science classes, especially chemistry. Emily had gotten her a little kit two years ago, and now it was all you heard about from your youngest. She is Blythe’s antithesis in every way except academically - Emma cares not at all about her hair, about her clothes, or about boys. Despite Blythe’s 4.0 semester, you can see she’s got new blonde highlights, jeans that probably cost more than your entire outfit, and - judging by the pretty necklace she’s showing off - a new boyfriend.
Nathan is your little vet in the making - which is almost like a doctor, and honestly, he can be whatever he wants and you’ll still be thrilled. His room looks like a zoo exploded - gerbils, hamsters, a hedgehog and a tank of fish, and he knows them all by name. He frowns when Blythe talks about her biology class, and the rats they dissected, but she explains how they were studying the rat’s body to learn how to help other animals, and he seems more accepting.
“My teachers know who you are,” Blythe complains at dinner, “Some of them weren’t even there when you were and that’s still the first question out of their mouth. ‘Blythe…House? What’s your father’s name?’”
“I was that good,” you tell her, “Just…try to be better, and they won’t have anything to compare to.”
She smirks, an exact mirror of you, “Won’t be a problem, Daddy.”
Allison rolls her eyes at the two of you; since your half-assed attempt at retirement, you’ve gotten a little competitive. You’ve also invaded her own department, and you think you scare her fellows a little bit. The interns won’t even look at you.
“I just don’t want to be defined by you,” she mumbles, “I don’t want to go into diagnostics.”
“And no one expects you to,” you tell her, a little surprised by how sullen she is, “Blythe, what’s the problem? You knew you were going to my alma mater.”
“I didn’t know that they were still going to be throwing your name around!” she says, “If I’m constantly being recognized as Greg House’s daughter, then no one’s ever going to see me.”
Allison winces; she understands. There’s a reason she kept her maiden name after the two of you were married, and this is it. Using House instead of Cameron would have left her second-guessing everything.
“So go by Cameron,” you offer, because you don’t know what else to say.
“Oh, and that’s so much better. Mom’s got just as many publications as you’ve got.”
“Then be yourself and stop trying to compare apples to oranges. You’re 18 years old. You have three and a half more years of college, Medical school, internships, residency and fellowships. You’ve got plenty of time to redefine who Dr. House is, Blythe. Stop thinking that who I am has any pull on who you’re going to be.”
Blythe looks a little shocked, but she swallows it well, “Okay,” she says softly.
“You’re amazing, Blythe. Stop acting like you’re not.”
She glances up at you, finally giving you a real smile, “Thanks, Dad.”
The lighthearted mood comes back as Allison brings out cake - cake that Blythe protests eating for a solid five minutes before diving into a huge piece. By the end of the night, you’re not sure how you’re going to survive her leaving again because you didn’t know how much you missed her.
Her room has been left for her, and she drags herself to bed at 11, leaving you and Allison alone in the living room, some silly comedy playing in the background.
Allison’s head is in your lap, and you’re playing with strands of her hair as she watches you with serious eyes.
“We did good with her, didn’t we?” she asks quietly, and sometimes she sounds so much like the woman you’d met 21 years ago.
“Yeah, I think we did,” you say simply, twisting strands of gray and brown hair around your finger, watching the colors blend. Age is something you don’t like to think about, because it feels like everything is creeping up on you so fast. It’s better to not think about it.
“She’s going to be fine,” Allison says, her voice still soft, “It doesn’t matter if she’s a House or not. She’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” you shrug, “It just…I feel like I should be able to give her a push up. The least of her worries her freshman year of college should be who her father is.”
Allison is quiet, taking your hand from her hair and twisting the gold wedding band around your finger. She does this when she’s thinking; you’re not sure what started it, “It doesn’t matter, anyway,” she says finally, “So she’ll have to work a little harder to prove that it’s not your name that gets her places. It’s not the first time someone’s had to work hard. You know as well as I do she’ll rise to the occasion.”
“I know she will. Doesn’t make me feel any…less responsible,” you say, the finality in your voice signaling the end of the conversation.
Allison nods, then stands up from the couch, bending over to place a gentle kiss on your lips, “C’mon, then. Bedtime for us old people.”
And as you follow your wife to bed, you can’t help but look forward to tomorrow, and everything that’s going to come along with it.
TITLE: Eradication - Ten years later
AUTHOR: dragynflies
PAIRING: House/Cameron established relationship
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: “We did good with her, didn’t we?”
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Don’t sue.
NOTES: For Mikki13 who…astounds me on a daily basis. In a good way. Thanks for the beta, chica.
For reference, Blythe is 18, Nathan is 14, and Emma is ten.
Allison has been staring out the window for the past hour, and she’s starting to make you jumpy too.
“You’re not deaf,” you snipe at her from your spot on the couch with Nathan, playing video games, “You’ll hear the damn car when it pulls in.”
“I want to see,” she says simply, pushing the curtains aside again and peering out the window, looking down the road as far as she can see.
You think you’re hiding it just a little better than she is, but you’re just as jumpy. You know Nathan can tell, because he’s beaten you in every car race and you haven’t let him win once.
It’s finally December, and finally winter break, and your too-stubborn child is finally coming home for a visit.
You were unsurprised, even proud, when she decided to follow you and attend Johns Hopkins. What did surprise you was when she sat you and Allison down and explained that she wanted the first semester to get settled in, and that after you dropped her off, you wouldn’t be seeing her until Christmas. There would be phone calls, and she would let you know how she was doing, but she wanted to be on campus for the weekends and meet some new friends.
Allison hadn’t cracked until later, when the two of you were laying in bed. For some reason, she was sure that Blythe wouldn’t make it a semester without visiting home. You’d reminded her that as of this moment, your daughter had done everything she’d told you she was going to do, and that probably, this wasn’t going to be any different.
It hadn’t been.
“Dad, I beat you again,” Nathan says, exasperated, “You’re not even trying. Blythe will be home soon. She promised she’d be here before dinner, and it’s already four.”
Allison checks her watch and looks out the window, a grin lighting up her face, “She’s here!”
Emma comes tearing down the hall, her blonde hair in complete disarray and wearing a shirt that you swear is Nathan’s, “Blythe!” she screeches, then comes to a skidding halt in front of the door, “She’s not here yet.”
Allison laughs and walks to the door, kissing Emma’s unruly curls on her way out the door, “She does still have to get out of her car, sweetie.”
Nathan and Allison help Blythe with her bags, and you put in your requisite “are you moving back home?” joke and soon the five of you are settled around the table like three and a half months haven’t gone by without Blythe.
Emma wants to hear all about her science classes, especially chemistry. Emily had gotten her a little kit two years ago, and now it was all you heard about from your youngest. She is Blythe’s antithesis in every way except academically - Emma cares not at all about her hair, about her clothes, or about boys. Despite Blythe’s 4.0 semester, you can see she’s got new blonde highlights, jeans that probably cost more than your entire outfit, and - judging by the pretty necklace she’s showing off - a new boyfriend.
Nathan is your little vet in the making - which is almost like a doctor, and honestly, he can be whatever he wants and you’ll still be thrilled. His room looks like a zoo exploded - gerbils, hamsters, a hedgehog and a tank of fish, and he knows them all by name. He frowns when Blythe talks about her biology class, and the rats they dissected, but she explains how they were studying the rat’s body to learn how to help other animals, and he seems more accepting.
“My teachers know who you are,” Blythe complains at dinner, “Some of them weren’t even there when you were and that’s still the first question out of their mouth. ‘Blythe…House? What’s your father’s name?’”
“I was that good,” you tell her, “Just…try to be better, and they won’t have anything to compare to.”
She smirks, an exact mirror of you, “Won’t be a problem, Daddy.”
Allison rolls her eyes at the two of you; since your half-assed attempt at retirement, you’ve gotten a little competitive. You’ve also invaded her own department, and you think you scare her fellows a little bit. The interns won’t even look at you.
“I just don’t want to be defined by you,” she mumbles, “I don’t want to go into diagnostics.”
“And no one expects you to,” you tell her, a little surprised by how sullen she is, “Blythe, what’s the problem? You knew you were going to my alma mater.”
“I didn’t know that they were still going to be throwing your name around!” she says, “If I’m constantly being recognized as Greg House’s daughter, then no one’s ever going to see me.”
Allison winces; she understands. There’s a reason she kept her maiden name after the two of you were married, and this is it. Using House instead of Cameron would have left her second-guessing everything.
“So go by Cameron,” you offer, because you don’t know what else to say.
“Oh, and that’s so much better. Mom’s got just as many publications as you’ve got.”
“Then be yourself and stop trying to compare apples to oranges. You’re 18 years old. You have three and a half more years of college, Medical school, internships, residency and fellowships. You’ve got plenty of time to redefine who Dr. House is, Blythe. Stop thinking that who I am has any pull on who you’re going to be.”
Blythe looks a little shocked, but she swallows it well, “Okay,” she says softly.
“You’re amazing, Blythe. Stop acting like you’re not.”
She glances up at you, finally giving you a real smile, “Thanks, Dad.”
The lighthearted mood comes back as Allison brings out cake - cake that Blythe protests eating for a solid five minutes before diving into a huge piece. By the end of the night, you’re not sure how you’re going to survive her leaving again because you didn’t know how much you missed her.
Her room has been left for her, and she drags herself to bed at 11, leaving you and Allison alone in the living room, some silly comedy playing in the background.
Allison’s head is in your lap, and you’re playing with strands of her hair as she watches you with serious eyes.
“We did good with her, didn’t we?” she asks quietly, and sometimes she sounds so much like the woman you’d met 21 years ago.
“Yeah, I think we did,” you say simply, twisting strands of gray and brown hair around your finger, watching the colors blend. Age is something you don’t like to think about, because it feels like everything is creeping up on you so fast. It’s better to not think about it.
“She’s going to be fine,” Allison says, her voice still soft, “It doesn’t matter if she’s a House or not. She’s going to be fine.”
“I know,” you shrug, “It just…I feel like I should be able to give her a push up. The least of her worries her freshman year of college should be who her father is.”
Allison is quiet, taking your hand from her hair and twisting the gold wedding band around your finger. She does this when she’s thinking; you’re not sure what started it, “It doesn’t matter, anyway,” she says finally, “So she’ll have to work a little harder to prove that it’s not your name that gets her places. It’s not the first time someone’s had to work hard. You know as well as I do she’ll rise to the occasion.”
“I know she will. Doesn’t make me feel any…less responsible,” you say, the finality in your voice signaling the end of the conversation.
Allison nods, then stands up from the couch, bending over to place a gentle kiss on your lips, “C’mon, then. Bedtime for us old people.”
And as you follow your wife to bed, you can’t help but look forward to tomorrow, and everything that’s going to come along with it.