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“It’s going to be fine.”
“Is it?”
“It was your idea.”
“You know I have terrible ideas!”
“House.” Wilson moved one hand from the steering wheel and placed it lovingly on House’s knee. “It’s going to be okay. I’ll be with you.”
Greg nodded but didn’t stop tapping his fingers against his prosthetic. “Okay.”
*******
Blythe stared anxiously out the window. Everything was perfect. The table was set. The fire was lit. And her son was finally coming to visit.
Hey Mom, it’s Greg. I know this is out of character… but James and I are driving through town after seeing his family for the holidays. I was hoping that we could stop by for a few hours tomorrow. I would like to share something with you.
Thanks.
When Blythe heard the voicemail she dialed the number back so fast she worried she called the wrong number.
“Come over for dinner. I’ll put something together. And you said James will be with you as well?”
“We should be getting there around five. See you then.”
Why would Greg be visiting James’ family for the holidays? The thought left her head as soon as it entered. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was going to see her son, who is coming on his own free will.
Blythe liked James too, she was a good friend for Greg. She worried that her son was lonely, especially after Stacy left. From what little she had heard, (and when James invited them to town two years prior) James provided a source of comfort for her son.
John was in the living room, diligently watching the fire. “Why don’t you go ahead and get the drinks,” she suggested, her voice small in their quiet house. “They’ll be here soon.”
Her husband grunted in response. Blythe suppressed a sigh and turned her gaze back to the window. A car was pulling into the driveway. She tried to calm her nerves as she opened the front door for them. John finally got up, shuffling his feet to find his place in the dining room.
“John. If you’re going to get up, why don’t you come greet Greg at the door?”
“He’s the one who never visits, why should I accommodate?”
Blythe sighed, but smiled when she saw her son get out of the passenger's seat. James got out the front. She tilted her head, noticing her son’s lack of cane and the beanie on his head. James shoved his hands in his pockets and Greg opened the backseat and pulled out a carrier. Her pulse quickened, but she didn’t say anything as she opened the door.
“Greg! James, hello!”
James greeted her first, giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Greg was not far behind, walking slow with his distinct limp, but it was no longer as prominent. Something born of habit and not necessity.
“How are you Mrs. House?” James asked. Greg shuffled in the doorway, cursing under his breath as the carrier bumped against the wall. James turned to her son. “Do you need help?”
“Nah, just stiff.”
“Want me to grab your crutches?
“No- did you grab the wine?”
James gasped and hurried back to the car. Blythe turned her attention to Greg, whose nose was red from the cold. “Mom.”
“Greg.” She reached out, slowly at first. Greg leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so happy you’re here!” She whispered.
When they broke apart, he was smiling. “Yeah, well, it was on the way.” He turned to the carrier and slowly lowered himself to the ground. “Are you ready to get out of your seat?” She heard him mumble as he fiddled with something out of sight.
A baby appeared. Blythe was too stunned to speak. House stood back up, huffing out a breath as he did so. The infant was balanced in his arms, with dark hair that was beginning to curl and eyes that matched her son’s. “This right here is the real reason we stopped by. Mom, this is Emiliana House. My kid.”
Blythe nearly burst into tears. “Oh my- how? When? Can I hold her?”
The last question gave Greg pause. The door opened again and James returned with the wine. He looked from Greg to Blythe and smiled. “Surprise!”
Greg looked around his mother. “Where’s the old man? Didn’t want to say hi?”
“I shouldn’t have to treat my ungrateful son’s homecoming as an event,” John grumbled from the dining room.
Blythe shook her head and motioned for the two to follow. “Dinner’s all ready for you both to sit down.”
She practically ran to the dining room and began to fill the drinks. She didn’t want to waste a single moment. Emiliana House. She was a grandmother! James and Greg settled next to each other, Emiliana in Greg’s lap. John, she noticed, didn’t say a word. His eyes darted from the two men to the baby and back again.
“What’s this about?”
Blythe carried in the plates from the kitchen, two at a time. At present, she couldn’t care less for plating or decoration.
“Dad, this is Emiliana. She’s my daughter.”
“Since when do you have a wife?”
Blythe sat down next to her husband. The table had five seats- two on each side and the head. John, of course, had to always sit at the head of the table. “John, Greg was about to explain everything to me. Let him talk, will you?”
John huffed, but didn’t say anything. He started picking at his food. Emiliana looked up at Greg and babbled. From his coat pocket, James pulled out a binkie. He handed it over to Emiliana, who took it eagerly.
Greg looked to Blythe for permission to speak. She nodded eagerly.
“Well, Dad…Emiliana is my kid, biologically speaking.” Greg swallowed and Blythe saw his hand tremble above the table, inching its way towards James. “She was left at my door by a fling-”
“Bastard,” John grunted, not looking up from his plate.
Greg closed his eyes for a moment and he tapped a finger against the table top. James glanced toward John and pulled Greg’s hand under the table.
“John,” Blythe chided lightly, trying to encourage her son to keep talking. He barely spoke to them as it was.
“That was seven months ago. I’ve taken a sabbatical from work.”
That earned a laugh from John, which Greg chose to ignore.
“My leg is gone. I don’t know if you can tell, but I have a prosthetic. And…” Greg looked at James and pursed his lips. Two intertwined hands were raised and placed on the table. “James and I are together.”
*****
House’s hold on Emi tightened when his father’s fork clanked against the plate. John House looked up and met his eyes for the first time that night.
“I thought you’d moved on from this.”
John narrowed his eyes and pushed his seat back, still not standing. “The first time you come over in years is to tell me that you have a bastard mixed-with-God-knows-what child and you’re still a faggot, even after all this time.”
“John!”
James gripped his hand so tight House feared he’d break it.
Greg took a deep breath in to steady himself. His throat was tight. “Yes, Dad. Emi is mixed and I still like men.”
“Cutting your leg off. You’re a fucking cripple now.”
“I was a cripple before.” His throat felt dry. His pulse was jumping. Breathe breathe breathe.
“Did you not think of how it would reflect on us? To have you as a son-”
“He had cancer.” It was the first time Wilson had spoken since they’d arrived aside from pleasant greetings. The tone of his voice scared House. It was rigid, unlike any tone he’d ever used with Greg. “Removing the leg was the best option.”
John leaned back. His strong jaw was squared and his eye twitched. “I should’ve known you were a fucking queer. You’ve got faggot written all over you, just like my worthless son.”
“John!”
Wilson stood up so fast his chair fell over. “Do you have any idea how fucking hard it was for him to come see you!? Fuck you, he wanted to see Blythe! Why do you think he waited seven months to tell you he has a daughter?!”
“He’s a pussy.” John shrugged and picked at his fingers. “Greg has always been a little pansy. Always crying when I left him outside. Never took a beating properly. I see all my hard work has gone to waste.”
Greg wanted to fight back. To scream, to cry, to defend Wilson, to flip the goddamn table over- but he couldn’t. He was frozen to his seat, arm wrapped protectively around Emi. Memories attacked him from all sides.
His father found him with his first boyfriend.
You’re gonna get fucked so hard you’ll regret being a faggot!
The first time he was left outside.
Let me in! I’ll be good, I swear!
The first time he was whipped.
You don’t deserve a goddamn thing I give you!
“Enough.” The word escaped his lips in a whisper, but it got attention regardless. House blinked several times and looked to Wilson to help him stand. He leaned against James for support as he righted himself, still holding on to Emi. “That’s enough. I brought Emi here so you’d at least know you have a granddaughter. And I thought you’d like to know that your son is happy. But I guess that’s not what you want to hear.” Greg nodded to Wilson. “We’re leaving. Thank you for dinner.”
House had finished fixing Emi into her carseat when Blythe ran out the door.
“Greg! Greg, please don’t go! He’s sorry, he just-”
“Would he say that?” House towered over his mother. It hurt his heart to know how trapped she was with that man. “Would he apologize to me and James?”
She looked down and that’s all House needed to know. “I’m sorry honey. Can I…Can I say goodbye to Emiliana?”
Greg took a few steps back to allow his mother room. Wilson waited by the passenger door and House fell into his arms.
******
Her granddaughter had her son’s beautiful eyes. Blythe leaned in and took the infant’s hands. “You’re so gorgeous,” she sniffed.
Emiliana simply stared at her with no recognition. Blythe tightened her fingers lightly around the baby’s hands. “I was not a good mother. I couldn’t protect him. I was afraid.” She blinked back tears. “But your father is not afraid. He will keep you safe and love and cherish you forever.”
Blythe leaned forward and kissed Emiliana’s forehead. “Take care, sweetheart.”
*****
“You’ll let me know…her birthdays and-”
“Yeah Mom. I will. He’s not allowed to do anything-”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
The hotel room was as quiet as the car ride. Emi was fast asleep. James laid her gently in the middle of the king bed. He got her changed into a new diaper and onesie without waking her up- his secret super power.
House removed his pants and sat next to her. He could practically feel the phantom pains before they began. Wilson knelt in front of him and helped him remove the leg. House watched him with his piercing blue eyes, catching every movement. Wilson could see the clench of Greg’s jaw and the focus of his eyes. The leg came off and the diagnostician sighed through his nose. Wilson placed his hand gently on the leg stump and rubbed it lightly.
“Disability doesn’t make you less of a human being,” James said, working out the build up of scar tissue. “Please don’t listen to him.”
He could see the gears turning in his partner's eyes. Wilson undressed himself and then helped House get his shirt off. James found his pajama pants in his bag. He threw them on and set up a section of the large bed for Emi. They hadn’t prepared to be in a hotel, but a sectioned off area where she wouldn’t roll over or be smushed would work.
Wilson finished getting ready, even bringing House’s toothbrush to him. Once the lights were off, James pulled Greg against him in bed. James spooned Greg as the other watched Emi through the darkness.
“Wanna tell me what you’re thinking?” James whispered, reaching down to massage the scar tissue below his hip bone. House sighed in relief, which encouraged Wilson to continue his administration.
“How could anyone hate her,” he heard Greg whisper. His partner’s voice was quiet and strained. “How could he not think she’s the best person in the entire world?
James didn’t say anything, letting the words tumble out of Greg freely.
“I mean, your parents loved her! Happy Hanukkah, you have a grandchild! It’s the first time I show up for Christmas in years with their first and only granddaughter and he calls her-” House stuttered and Wilson pulled him in tighter (ignoring the implication that Emi was “his” as well as House’s) and kissed his neck. House’s hair was starting to grow back, but not enough to get rid of the beanie just yet. “He called her a bastard. He doesn’t see her as family. He doesn’t see me as family.”
House rolled over carefully, wincing as he turned on his leg stump. “I’m sorry for what he said. I didn’t…I didn’t think-”
“It’s okay. What he said doesn’t matter. We’re together, that’s what counts.” James found Greg’s hand and intertwined their fingers, like they were at dinner. “It didn’t bother me when he called me a…the slur. I was more concerned with how he was treating you.”
In the darkness, James could see the twitch of House’s lips. “My knight in shining armor.”
“I have to protect my king and princess.”
“You’re such a dork, you know that?”
“You’ve told me many times.” Greg’s smile faded and he pushed James back to lay his head on his chest. “Was I stupid for thinking they would have changed?”
“You’re not stupid. You were hopeful.”
“Hope is a new development and I hate it.”
“I know you do.”
*****
On Emi’s first Christmas, House got up early to make breakfast for Wilson. Thirty minutes later a sleepy Wilson holding an equally sleepy Emi emerged from the bedroom. James wasn’t wearing a shirt and House allowed himself an ogle before putting the plates out.
Emi didn’t quite understand how Christmas worked. She had a few presents, one from House and Wilson, one from Cuddy, and one from Cameron. Wrapping paper was deeply troubling and made no sense. But the toys inside were exciting, especially a ring of keys that immediately went into her mouth. She giggled and clapped her hands, grinning with her blue eyes at her father.
Greg brushed back her unruly hair, which was starting to curl. “Someone needs a haircut,” he joked, tying it back while she was occupied.
James held out a present, which Greg took with rolled eyes. “I told you I didn’t want anything.”
“I know. Open it anyway.”
House smirked and opened it, pulling out flame stickers that matched his old cane. He furrowed his brow. “What are these for?”
Wilson grinned wickedly and grabbed House’s prosthetic from where it sat against the couch. “I thought you’d want to spice up your leg a little more.”
Greg’s jaw dropped as he looked between the stickers and the leg. “This is why I love you. You get me.”
James hummed and leaned in to give House a quick peck on the lips. “I’ll help you put them on later.”
“Good, cause I want them on before I head back to work next year. Cuddy will blow a blood vessel.” House climbed down from the couch and slid himself to the tree. It wasn’t the best tree in the world and it was barely decorated, but it was theirs. He held up what appeared to be a wrapped envelope and threw it to James. “Since you decided to be a jerk, I got you a gift as well.” He pushed himself back to the couch and pulled himself back up, setting Emi in his lap.
James raised an eyebrow. “Why’s Emi a witness?”
“I need someone to defend me in trial, now open it up!” House’s real leg was bouncing up and down.
Wilson closed his eyes and scrunched his nose. “No wait, let me guess. It’s…a prescription for viagra.”
“Right, because you, the one who didn’t have prostate cancer, is the one of us that has ED.”
“Is it one of those coupon books?”
“Just open the damn thing!” Greg huffed, no real anger to his words.
Wilson snickered and carefully pulled the wrapping paper off. It indeed was a regular envelope. He glanced at House before opening it. His partner’s teasing face had disappeared and was replaced with something akin to anxiety. Wilson opened the envelope and removed the paper inside.
He read it. And then he read it again. And again.
When he looked up at House, there were tears in his eyes. Greg’s eyes were red as well.
“You want me to be her dad?”
House simply nodded, swallowing audibly. “I mean, you’re basically her dad, I just thought we could make it-”
James didn’t let House finish, diving across the couch to kiss his partner. When they broke apart, Greg was crying. “Official. You didn’t let me finish.”
Wilson laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. “I’d love to be her dad, Greg.”
House sniffed and looked down at Emi, who was unaware of what was happening. “Emi and I have been discussing this while you were at work. When she sees the photo of you by the piano she gets excited. And I just started thinking that she needs her “Abba” as well.”
An ugly sob tore itself from James’ throat. “You want her to call me "Abba"? That’s what I called my dad!” He leaned over and pulled both Greg and Emi into his arms. “Oh my god, I love you two so much.”
House wiped a tear from Wilson’s cheek. “We love you too, you goof. Merry Christmas James.”
“Merry Christmas Greg.”
“Just so we’re clear, she’s not going to have a bat mitzvah.”
“You think I’m religious enough to warrant that?”
“Just checking.”
*****
Emi’s hands next to his at the piano made him want to bawl like a baby. She followed his hands, plunking a key or two as he went along.
“Greg?”
He stopped and turned. “Yeah?”
Wilson held the home phone in his hands. “You have a call.”
House got up and slowly walked toward his partner, passing Emi and taking the phone. “Hello?”
“Gregory.”
House took a steadying breath and ducked into the bathroom. “Hey Dad.”
“Your mother wanted me to call you.”
“Really? I wonder why.”
“She wanted me to wish you a Merry Christmas.”
House pinched the bridge of his nose. “And you have nothing to say?”
“No.”
Greg wanted to scream. A list of replies sat on the tip of his tongue. James and I had gay sex last night! He’s adopting Emi! I hate you for everything you did to me! I’m never letting you near Emiliana ever again!
But instead, he took a deep breath and said, “please never call me again.” He hung up and leaned against the wall, bracing himself. He felt dizzy. When the world righted itself, he looked down at the phone and sighed. “Merry Christmas Dad.”
Back in the living room, James and Emi were watching a Charlie Brown special. James was weaving little braids in his daughter’s hair. Looking at the two of them, Greg knew he’d never have to worry. James loved her like his own. And if something were to ever happen to House, Wilson would be there for her. The thought was comforting and so loving that it almost made him sick.
He plopped on the couch next to Wilson. “Everything okay?” His partner asked, concern in his soft brown eyes.
House leaned over and kissed him deeply, breathing in the comforting scent of James as he did so.
“Yeah. I’m good. I just love you.”
Blush stained Wilson’s cheeks. “I love you too.”
House plucked Emi from James’ arms and planted several big kisses on her face. “And most of all, I love you!” He blew a raspberry on her belly and she laughed.
The sky grew dark quickly and a family of three sat in the glow of the tv and Christmas lights.