Differential Diagnosis People: A Voice In Ramah
We're about halfway through the list of nominated fics in this particular grouping, and I'd like to thank everyone for participating -- both the folks who nominated fics, and authors willing to go along with the process. It's always nice to have something to fill the summer months, and I hope you've been enjoying it. For the schedule of upcoming fics, check here.
Title and link: A Voice in Ramah (Welcome to Holland)
Author: ignazwisdom
Nominated by: perspi
Summary:A voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more. (Matthew 2:18)
Why does this fic belong in the Library? This is perhaps the best Cuddy-has-a-baby fic I've ever seen: Ignaz takes us on a heartwrenching ride with Cuddy as she has to make one of the most difficult decisions a woman can make. Not only does Ignaz balance the medical details with a deft hand, she keeps the characters note-perfect--even using background OCs, like Cuddy's mom, to wonderfully illustrate part of what's made Cuddy the woman she is as well as why she makes the decision she does. The story itself is unflinching, and the end is hopeful but also bittersweet. This beautiful story absolutely belongs in the Library.
Excerpt:
"Twenty-four weeks," House says, and of course, of course he was tracking her pregnancy. "Time's up."
"Do you know what the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome is?" she asks him, fighting the panic that threatens to take over her voice. "It's fifty-five years. And rising. Adults with Down syndrome need supervision and care all their lives. I'm already forty-one. What happens when I die? What happens when I'm not able to take care of her anymore? Does she go into a home? Some sort of nursing home? Or what if something happens to me before then? My mother couldn't take her, my sisters all have kids of their own--anything could happen. I could die in five years."
"Right," House says. "In fact, you could get hit by a bus and die next week. Probably better to just quit everything now, so nobody's left in the lurch. I'll help you with your resignation letter. And I'm totally down with desperate near-death sex, by the way."
She frowns. "Are you … encouraging me to keep it?"
"I'm mocking the gaping holes in what passes for logic in your world. Don't make it out to be anything else."
"There are so many reasons not to have this baby," she says, looking away from him. "I'll spend the rest of my life worrying--how she'll do in school, whether people will make fun of her for being different, whether she can get a job and some sort of independence …" She stops herself before she can say the rest of what she's been thinking. As fewer children are born with Down syndrome each and every year, how will this baby make friends? How will she find people who look like her and who act like her and who understand her? How will she fall in love? How will she not be crippled by loneliness?
"How many reasons are there to have it?" House asks.
"Just one." She looks up at him. "I've never wanted anything as much as I want this."
He gazes at her, perfectly inscrutable, for a long moment. "Congratulations."
In spite of herself, she feels a smile on her face. "Thank you."
He leaves without a goodbye, as is his usual. After locking the door behind him, she lies down on the living room sofa and sleeps for six hours.
Title and link: A Voice in Ramah (Welcome to Holland)
Author: ignazwisdom
Nominated by: perspi
Summary:A voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because they are no more. (Matthew 2:18)
Why does this fic belong in the Library? This is perhaps the best Cuddy-has-a-baby fic I've ever seen: Ignaz takes us on a heartwrenching ride with Cuddy as she has to make one of the most difficult decisions a woman can make. Not only does Ignaz balance the medical details with a deft hand, she keeps the characters note-perfect--even using background OCs, like Cuddy's mom, to wonderfully illustrate part of what's made Cuddy the woman she is as well as why she makes the decision she does. The story itself is unflinching, and the end is hopeful but also bittersweet. This beautiful story absolutely belongs in the Library.
Excerpt:
"Twenty-four weeks," House says, and of course, of course he was tracking her pregnancy. "Time's up."
"Do you know what the average lifespan of a person with Down syndrome is?" she asks him, fighting the panic that threatens to take over her voice. "It's fifty-five years. And rising. Adults with Down syndrome need supervision and care all their lives. I'm already forty-one. What happens when I die? What happens when I'm not able to take care of her anymore? Does she go into a home? Some sort of nursing home? Or what if something happens to me before then? My mother couldn't take her, my sisters all have kids of their own--anything could happen. I could die in five years."
"Right," House says. "In fact, you could get hit by a bus and die next week. Probably better to just quit everything now, so nobody's left in the lurch. I'll help you with your resignation letter. And I'm totally down with desperate near-death sex, by the way."
She frowns. "Are you … encouraging me to keep it?"
"I'm mocking the gaping holes in what passes for logic in your world. Don't make it out to be anything else."
"There are so many reasons not to have this baby," she says, looking away from him. "I'll spend the rest of my life worrying--how she'll do in school, whether people will make fun of her for being different, whether she can get a job and some sort of independence …" She stops herself before she can say the rest of what she's been thinking. As fewer children are born with Down syndrome each and every year, how will this baby make friends? How will she find people who look like her and who act like her and who understand her? How will she fall in love? How will she not be crippled by loneliness?
"How many reasons are there to have it?" House asks.
"Just one." She looks up at him. "I've never wanted anything as much as I want this."
He gazes at her, perfectly inscrutable, for a long moment. "Congratulations."
In spite of herself, she feels a smile on her face. "Thank you."
He leaves without a goodbye, as is his usual. After locking the door behind him, she lies down on the living room sofa and sleeps for six hours.