Me and Emily Chapter Five
Title: Me and Emily
Author: nomoretearsAS
Rating: K+/PG
Summary: When House discovers that Chase has a kid, he decides to find out more about both of them. House/Chase friendship.
Disclaimer: I don't own House, Chase, or any characters that you recognize.
Chapter: 5/?
"Where is her mother?" House asked. This was the question he was the most curious about. Did he share custody? Did he have Emily when he moved here or did he have her after he moved? The time line would suggest that Emily was born prior to the move to America, but he wasn’t completely certain.
"I’m not sure. I would assume that she’s still in Australia somewhere." Chase knew he was being vague, but this was difficult for him. He had put that whole situation out of his mind, well, as much as he could.
"Why didn’t you tell me that you had a kid?" House finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Chase took a breath and thought about it for a minute. He had often wondered the same thing. He loved and cared about Emily. She was his light, his world.
"I wanted you to take me seriously and I thought that if you knew I had a kid, more specifically, an infant, you wouldn’t believe that I wanted the job...or that I would commit to it. Emily was only a few months old at the time you hired me." He finally said. House nodded, accepting that answer. It was true, House wouldn’t have taken him seriously if he had known that.
"So, why don’t you keep in touch with Emily’s mom? What was her name?" House asked him.
"Her name is Lauren. I don’t keep in touch because she proved to me that she couldn’t be a mother - couldn’t be trusted around Emily. I didn’t...I wanted Emily safe." Chase confided, looking the other way. "She didn’t want a baby, I knew that. The pregnancy was an accident, but she and I both agreed that she wouldn’t abort it. I promised her that I’d care for the baby, no matter what."
"How long were you together before she got pregnant?" House continued pressing. Until Chase clammed up or said to stop, he was going to get as much information as he could.
"Twelve years ago. I met her the year after my mother died." Chase said, his voice getting softer with every answer. He drew a deep breath and looked up at House. "Please, don’t tell anyone else about this. It’s my business, no one else’s." House nodded. He had known Chase long enough to know that this was his way of saying that this conversation was over. He still had more questions, but they would have to wait.
"I’ll see you tomorrow at the hospital." House said, getting up from the couch.
"No, I won’t be in until Monday." Today was Thursday and he had the weekends off. House nodded. Chase let him out and locked the door behind him. He checked on Emily and saw that she was sound asleep. He smiled at the little girl.
He got himself a glass of water and headed to bed. Images and memories were flooding through his mind. Things he had tried to forget were bombarding him. He lay down in his bed and finally let the memories take him over. He knew it was no use to try and fight it. He was going to remember Lauren whether he wanted to or not...
1996
It had been exactly one year since his mother had died. His father was long gone, with a new wife and new kids. He had asked Robert to come live with him when his mother passed, but he refused. He hated his father, blamed him for his mother’s death, although he blamed himself more. He had gone down to a local pub just to be alone. Even if he wanted to have a drink, he was too young. But tonight he just wanted to be alone with his memories of his mother. And a pub seemed the best place to honor her, he thought mirthlessly.
He was sitting in a booth, sipping on a coke, when he saw her. She was sitting at the bar, drinking a beer and laughing with her friends. She was beautiful, in fact she almost glowed. Because his mother was so sick he really hadn’t spent a lot looking at girls. And now he was in seminary school, so he really shouldn’t be looking. But he couldn’t help himself, she was amazing.
He signaled his waitress over. "I know that I’m not old enough to buy myself a drink, but could I buy one for that girl?" he asked, gesturing to her. The waitress smiled at him.
"Sure." she said. She knew who he was, son of the famous doctor who had left his family. She also knew who his mother was, she had been a regular here before she died. He paid for a beer and the waitress handed the girl a new bottle. Robert couldn’t hear what was being said, but saw the waitress point at him and her smile widened. It took his breath away.
She got off her bar stool and headed over to his booth. He felt his pulse quicken and it was suddenly really hot in here. She flashed him a smile. "Thanks for the drink." He swallowed, his mouth suddenly very dry.
"You’re welcome." He tried to smile back at her, but he was so nervous it came out as more of a grimace. She laughed softly, it wasn’t a mean laugh.
"Can I sit?" she asked, gesturing to the booth and he nodded. "I’m Lauren."
"Robert." She looked at him closer.
"Are you even old enough to be drinking?" she asked.
"No, but I asked if I could buy you a drink." he said and she laughed again. The sound warmed his heart.
"How old are you?"
"I’m 16." Robert told her. She grinned.
"I’m 18." Robert and Lauren continued to talk for another two hours. Lauren drank a lot more in that time, in some ways she reminded him of his mother. But she was beautiful and vibrant and funny and for some reason, she seemed to really like him.
When the bartender called last call, she got one more drink, even though Robert suggested that maybe she stop. She seemed okay when she was sitting, but when they got up to leave, it was painfully obvious that she was really trashed. Robert’s instincts and years of training kicked in. He moved to her side and placed his arm around her waist. He helped her walk out of the bar. He asked her where she lived and she said that couldn’t remember.
Robert leaned her against the building and dug in her purse for some identification. He found it and got her address. It wasn’t far from where they were, so Robert helped her home. He found her keys and let them into the apartment.
He found her bedroom and all but dragged her in there. She was pretty much blacked out at this point. He laid her on her bed, removed her shoes and covered her up. He went into the kitchen and located a large bowl and took a bottle of water out of her fridge.
Then he went into the bathroom and found a washcloth, which he wet down, and some aspirin. He brought all the items back into the bedroom. Lauren was exactly how he had left her. He placed the bowl next to her and put the water and the aspirin on the bedside table. He smoothed her hair back and put the washcloth on her forehead.
He watched her for a moment and then found a pad of paper and a pen. He wrote her a short note. He wasn’t sure that she would even remember him the next morning, but it was worth a shot. He told her that if she wanted to see him again, he’d be at the same pub, same time, next week. He glanced at her again and let himself out.
He walked back to the seminary and before heading to his room, went to the chapel. He got down on his knees and prayed that Lauren would be okay, that his mother was doing well in heaven, and that his faith would never waiver. Then he headed back to his room and fell into a deep sleep.
All week he thought about Lauren. He hoped that she had recovered from her night of heavy drinking. All week he thought about was going back to that pub and seeing her again. He prayed for her all week. And on Friday, he headed back to the pub and sat in the same booth he was in last week.
He hadn’t been there for more than ten minutes when he saw he walk in, looking around. He played it cool, sitting there sipping on his coke. She spotted him and walked over to him. "Well, if it isn’t my knight in shining armor." she said, sitting down at his booth. He grinned at her.
"So you DO remember me?" he teased and she grinned back at him.
"Absolutely. I think I overdid it a little last week, I promise, you won’t have to carry me home this week." They both shared a laugh and really began talking. He told her that she was in seminary school, she told him that she was taking a year off.
"If you’re only sixteen, how can you be done with high school?" she asked him. "Did you drop out?" He blushed.
"Actually, I graduated last year. My mother was...ill... and I wanted to be done as soon as possible so I could spend time with her." She gave him a sympathetic look.
"You said ‘she was ill’. Is she better now?" She asked. He bent his head.
"No, she passed away, right after I graduated. Then I decided to join seminary school. My father wanted me to go to university, pre-med. He’s a doctor, you see." Robert didn’t see her eyes light up slightly at that.
"A doctor, really?" she asked. "And he couldn’t save your mom?"
"He left us. Old news, though. He’s off being rich and famous and I’m trying very hard to find God in this crazy world."
Robert and Lauren talked until the bar closed. Then Robert walked her home, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, and headed back to the seminary. They were going to meet again tomorrow night. He couldn’t wait.
Present
Chase woke with a start. He sighed deeply, Lauren, he had tried so hard to put her out of his mind. In some ways, he had to thank her for a lot...he’d never have Emily if it weren’t for her. But he wondered what his life would have been like if he had never met her. He sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.
He threw the covers back and headed into Emily’s room. He stared at his little girl, sound asleep in her bed. Then, slowly, he walked over to her, pulled back the blankets, and picked her up. He carried her into his own bedroom and placed her on the bed. She opened a bleary eye to look at him. "Daddy?" she asked.
"Shh, sweetie, go back to sleep. Daddy just needs some cuddles." He told her, climbing back into his bed next to her. He pulled her small body close and she snuggled right into him. Whenever she got scared, she’d climb in his bed saying she needed cuddles. Whenever he had a bad night, he’d get her and tell her that he needed cuddles. He buried his face in her soft, sweet smelling hair, and fell back to sleep, holding her tight, promising into the night that he’d never let anything bad happen to her.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter Full Chapter List