Part 18
Noel made her way to the gardens, anger bubbling up inside her.
"Noel?" she heard. "Noel?!" A hand landed on her shoulder, turning her around.
"Daniel?" she asked.
"Hey. Are you alright?"
"I don't… no. No, I'm not."
"You wanna talk? We could go to the park."
"Yeah, sure."
Daniel led her to a park bench and she drew her knees up to her chest, leaning her chin on them. She pulled her Vicodin out of her pocket and swallowed two pills quickly.
"So… what's up?"
"Social Services called. They found a place for me to go."
"Your dad… he isn't letting you go is he?"
"He is. Is everyone just so happy to be rid of me? First you and now him."
"I didn't leave you! You left me!"
"Because you were cheating on me!"
"Damn it, if you would stop your 'I-know-everything' act and listened to me then maybe you'd find out what really happened! SHE pushed me into the dressing room. SHE jumped on me. That was when Ross walked in and started punching me."
"You didn't… you weren't… with her?"
"No. My God Noel-" he grabbed her hands. "I love you. I will always love you."
"You do? Really?"
"Really, really." He said, smiling.
Noel pulled his face closer to hers and kissed him ardently. When they finally broke apart, Noel stood and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the secret gardens.
"Where are we going?" She brought him into the maze and led him along. A few twists from the door, Daniel stopped her. "Where are we going?"
"I don't want to go home tonight, Daniel. I want to spend tonight here… with you." She looked up at him. Daniel put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
"Are you sure?" he asked. She took a deep breath and nodded.
"I'm sure."
House was on the couch when Noel came home the next morning.
"Where have you been?!" he asked angrily.
"I was out."
"Yeah I got that. Where?"
"I was with Daniel." She said. She saw his eyes flash. "Nothing happened!" she snapped, heading for the bathroom. And it was the truth. Nothing had happened between her and Daniel. Almost, but he said he didn't want to take advantage of her. She wasn't ready. So they had spent the night asleep in the gardens. House, on the other hand, had spent the night on the couch, nursing a bottle of scotch.
"We're going to meet this cousin today." He said. He saw her freeze temporarily before nodding and closing the bathroom door.
Noel came out of the shower a few minutes later, skin reddish from the scalding water she had used. She was dressed in a long sleeved, black button up over a green tank top that matched her knee length green skirt. She had her Gucci's on and her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail.
"We're taking the 'Vette right?"
"Yeah." He said, getting his keys.
Noel stared out the window, not wanting to look at House. She hated thinking about what this cousin would be like. Were they nice? Did they have a piano? Would they let her run off without telling them where she was going? Would they try to take her off Vicodin? Would they make her go to counseling?
House's head was just as filled with questions as hers. Would they let her stay up late? Would they let her cook? Did they have a piano? Would they treat her like a kid? Would they take her off Vicodin? Could they even understand how much pain she'll be in if they do?
They pulled up to the building. Neither one of them wanted to get out the car, but they knew they couldn't just sit there all day.
Noel caved first.
She opened the door and headed up to the building, House trailing behind her.
"Hello again Noel." Ms. Kelley's sickly sweet voice said as they walked into her office. She was seated across from a couple, which Noel assumed to be her cousins.
"Noel this is Hannah and Bob. Hannah was your mother's cousin."
"Oh Noel! I haven't seen you since you were just a little girl!" she said hugging her.
Noel didn't like the look of them. They looked too… perfect. Like a porcelain plate. Hannah was done up in a flowery sundress and Bob had a business suit on, making them look even more like a Stepford couple. Noel took the seat next to Bob and folded her hands in her lap and didn't look over at House when he took the seat next to her.
"Well, I'd like to start by saying thank you for taking care of Noel these past two weeks." Ms. Kelley said. "I'd also like to thank you Mr. and Mrs. Keen for taking time out of your busy schedule to come down here."
"It's no problem really. We would love to have Noel live with us." Hannah said.
"I assure you Mr. House; Noel will have the best education. She'll be attending Princeton Academy this fall." Bob continued.
"But I've already enrolled at Plainsboro High." Noel said.
"Yes well, we can have them transfer your records." Bob said. Noel could tell that she'd crossed him and she thought for a moment he would reach over and cuff the side of her head. He forced a smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "We only want the best."
Noel nervously smiled and gently shrugged him off.
"That's great." She said.
"And of course we'll enroll her in the best after school classes."
"I love Drama." She said. "And chorus. Actually I want to major in Performing Arts-"
"Oh Noel, that's won't set you up for a real career." Hannah said.
House watched this scene unfold and felt a twinge in his heart. Diana wouldn't have wanted her daughter's dreams to be crushed. And neither did he.
"Oh and what will? Modeling classes?" Noel said defensively.
"Silly." Hannah laughed. "You don't have the look for modeling!"
"I think we should get to those papers now." Ms. Kelley said quickly. She opened a folder and set the papers on the desk. Hannah and Bob promptly signed and moved the papers down so House could follow suit. House picked up the pen and tapped it on the desk a few times.
"Will you let her stay up late?" He asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Bob asked, obviously confused.
"Will you let her stay up late?"
"No. She'll be in bed by eight." Hannah said.
"Will you let her cook?"
"We have a cook."
"Do you have a piano?"
"No, loud music sets off my wife's migraines."
"Will you let her go out with her boyfriend?"
"She's far too young to be out with a boy unsupervised." Hannah said appalled.
"Will you take her off Vicodin?"
"She's on medication?" Bob asked.
"How old is she?" House asked.
"Um… 12?" He ventured.
"She's 15. Do you know anything about her? About how she needs to take her medicine with her in case the pain suddenly starts? About how she like to eat ice cream when she's upset? About how she needs to do the things she loves like sing and act and play the piano or she'll go crazy? Or are you just focusing on how a perfect little girl will make you look at the country club?"
"Of course not!" Bob said.
"You know nothing about my daughter. MY daughter. She's staying with me. End of meeting." He said.
Noel jumped up and followed him out, but turned at the door and stuck her tongue out at the shell shocked couple. She caught up with House and stepped in front of him.
"So I'm-"
"Yep."
"I'm not-"
"Nope."
"And they're not-"
"No already!" He said a Noel hugged him fiercely.
"I love you Daddy Dearest." She said.
"I love you too O Bothersome One." He said smiling. The first real, pure smile Noel had seen him give.
Allison came into the room the next day and saw Foreman and Chase sitting at the conference table. Foreman was deep in a medical journal and Chase was buried in a crossword. On the table in front of them sat a small box with a tag that read:
To: Allison Cameron
From: The Prat
She looked at the two guys.
"What's this?" she asked.
"I dunno. It was here this morning." Forman said. He and Chase shared a knowing glance and turned back to their distractions.
She picked up the little box and opened it. Inside, neat as you please, sat a ticket to…
"Disney World?" Allison asked coming into his office.
House looked up.
"Disney World? That's a romantic vacation?" she asked.
"Allison! I'm shocked. You can't really expect to have a romantic vacation with a CHILD along!" he said, feigning distaste.
"Child?"
"Hey!" Noel said coming into the room. "Here's your soda." she said, plopping a coke on his desk.
"Orange soda? How come I don't get orange soda?"
"Because you wanted the coke." She said. House pulled her into his lap and tickled her with one hand while attempting to steal the soda with the other. Allison was looking at them with shock.
"She's- And your not- But what about-"
"Babbling could be the sign of a number of diseases!" House said, giving up on getting the soda.
"Maybe we should run a tox screen." Noel said, still laughing.
"You're staying?" she asked.
"I'm not going anywhere for a long, long time." She replied smiling.
"Oh God." House groaned jokingly.
"So… Disney?"
"Disney." House and Noel said at the same time.
THE END