Epilogue

House opened the door, "Hey Dude! What's up? You and Uncle Wilson have a good time at Sesame Place?"

"Daddy! They had Big Bird! And Elmo held me!" Percy's sandy brown bangs framed his big blue eyes. He waved a toy at his father and ran into the living room.

Wilson looked worn out, "He spent most of his time in the wading pool, thank God. It gave me a chance to sit down while he played in the wading pool and take a break. I took photos. I'll download them and give you a disk."

"I have so many disks of your Percy photos, I think you've captured just about every breath he's taken. Hell, you even have photos of him picking his nose." House moaned.

Wilson ignored him, "Did you find anything?"

Wilson walked in, put down the backpack with Percy's things and joined House in the livingroom. Percy ran to his father's chair and climbed into his lap. House pulled Percy over to his good leg, "No. I saw five houses. Nothing appealed to me. I may have to resort to using a realtor."

"I told you to hire one in the first place. But no...five months later, fifty house viewings and you're still in this one bedroom apartment with a three year old. Christ House, the kid needs some room. He's a handful."

"You're telling me? Just try being with him as much as I am." House said it to his son, giving him noogies on his head as he did.

Wilson threw up his hands frustrated, "I told you that I'd take him more often. He has a room at my house, he can stay there any time; but no, you insist on cooping him up in this place."

House was just as frustrated, "I send him over at least one night a week and you get him when I have a patient, you should be happy. Hell, divorced Dads don't even see their kids that often."

Wilson exhaled. He smiled at Percy sitting in his Dad's lap playing with his Elmo and Fire Engine combination. "All I know is that he's the richest kid in Princeton and he lives in a one bedroom apartment with his curmudgeon father."

"We're happy. Aren't we dude?" House crossed his eyes and gave Percy a goofy grin. Percy laughed.

"You two need to find you a woman."

House nodded towards Percy, "Thanks, but he still hasn't figured out how to get that condom on." House looked at Percy, "We're working on it, right dude? It's just a lot of rubber to cover that tiny pecker of yours, huh?"

Percy nodded in unison with his father. Wilson chuckled.

"I saw a house over by mine that just put a For Sale sign on it. It's less than a mile to the hospital, great schools and I took a peak, it has a nice, big back yard."

"Right and it probably comes with a dead body."

"It's a "For Sale by Owner." You ought to drive by and check it out. Just see if you might like it."

"Yeah, yeah. Hey did you feed the Percmeister?"" Percy looked up at his Dad and grinned at the name.

"Oh I crammed just about every item on the menu down that gullet. Your kid is a bottomless pit. Oh get this. We're sitting there eating and he walks over to this little girl and her parents and takes a french fry off of her plate." Wilson started laughing. "I had to apologize, but you have to laugh. This kid is so much like you it's scary."

House was laughing softly and shaking his head, "What can I say?"

Wilson stood up. "I have to admit the kid is a chick magnet. They see a child and no mother and ka-ching, you're the newest flavor of the month. Well, I'm beat. I'll see you on Monday. Make sure you take a drive by that house. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." House pushed Percy off so that he could get up. He walked Wilson to the door and saw him out. Once Wilson was gone, House sat down on the ground and let Percy climb back in his lap. Within a few minutes, Percy and House were both asleep, in a position familiar to both of them.

House woke up, scooped Percy up under his free arm and carried him into the bedroom. A cranky Percy looked up at his Dad, "Dude, do you need to pee?"

Percy nodded. House waved for him to go to the bathroom and Percy took off. House heard a little tinkling in the bowl and smiled. "Now brush your teeth." Percy climbed the step stool and did as his father told him.

He came out and House threw him his pajamas. "Get those on."

Percy put them on and then climbed in on his side of the bed. "Daddy, tell me the story of Princess Marie who saves the planet."

House smiled, "Ah, my favorite story. Well, you see, there was a beautiful blonde princess who decided that someone had to go back in time and fight the evil Retric..."

House told his son the story of Princess Marie while he looked up on the dresser at the framed photo of Marie and House on Valentine's Day. He smiled and crawled on top of the bed to continue the story.

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House put Percy in the back in his car seat and adjusted the strap. They were going grocery shopping, but first House wanted to run by the house that Wilson had seen for sale. He liked the idea of being close to the hospital and close to Wilson. Wilson had been a real pal, babysitting Percy whenever House had to work late. If House bought something in the neighborhood it would make it easier on both of them. House was a little shocked when Wilson had announced he was buying a house. But then, Wilson had been dating a mortgage broker and he got a great loan. It hadn't been a bad idea. The value of the house had shot up over the last two years and the extra room had given Percy a place to play when he came over.

House knew it was time to get out of the apartment, but old habits die hard. It had been easy to just go over and spend time at Wilson's when the two of them felt cramped. But he knew he couldn't spend the rest of his life in an apartment with his son sharing his bed. Wilson had been kind enough to keep Percy overnight whenever House had "company." But if House ever intended to have a relationship again, he needed a house.

House looked into the rear view mirror at Percy, "Okay, now look for a sign in the front yard..."

He knew that Percy had no clue what his father meant. But, in order to be helpful, Percy kept pointing at every house and yelling, "There Daddy! There."

House finally saw it. He stopped the car and looked. It was all on one floor except for a room over the three car garage. He got out, grabbed Percy out of the car seat and they went up to the windows to have a look. It was clear that no one was home. He could see a nice sized living room with plenty of room for a baby grand. He could also see a dining room. On the other side of the house the curtains were closed and he couldn't see inside.

"Let's look over the fence." He grabbed Percy's hand and walked over to the side. He looked over the fence and could see a nice, big back yard with trees. "I think we need to find out more about this one." He stopped at the mailbox which had 'Thomas' 1443 stenciled on the front. They went on their way, but House took note of the phone number.

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Cuddy was angry, "Would you tell your lawyer to get off his ass and release the gene sequence to the CDC! They're about ready to confiscate the patent in the name of national security. You better get on the ball.'

House frowned, "My lawyer claims it's the CDC, they haven't sent back a signed copy of the license. I'll call Maggie."

"You do that." She turned to leave, "How's Percy?"

"If I can just get him off the crack, he'll be fine."

"I haven't seen him around here in a few weeks." Cuddy picked up a fire engine that had migrated to the middle of House's office.

"Oh, we can cure that. I have to pick him up at 2:00 pm for his dental appointment. I could bring him by your office when we get back."

"Do that. I'd like to see him." she turned to leave, "And don't forget to call Maggie. I want those royalties for my budget. I'm sure you want Percy to start getting his royalty checks too."

Around 11:00 am House called Washington D.C. and was put through to Maggie. "Mags. It's Greg. What's up with the license? Cuddy is dying to make some money off of our deal and I just want phone sex."

She started laughing, "Greg...you crack me up. I have the signed license in my hot little hands. Now are you and your very rich son going to release the gene sequence once I send this to you?"

"The sequence license will be yours. It will be released upon receipt of the signed license." House smiled into the receiver.

She adopted a Marilyn Monroe voice, "Well, Dr. House, now that you'll be the guardian of a very rich little boy, maybe I'll have to come up to Princeton sometime and show you my virus profiles."

"I'm hot just thinking about it." He paused and turned serious, "Mags, why don't you come up?"

"Oh Greg, you know I would if I thought we could stay in a room one hour without fighting. But you know us. We may be in love, but we just can't tolerate being around each other. It's a shame, because you give the best orgasms on the planet."

House chuckled, "See, we can be around each other, as long as our mouths are engaged in other activities besides talking."

"You know I love you dearly, but we've tried each other on and it just didn't fit. But you should find someone. That little boy of yours is a doll. He deserves a mom."

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

"Well, I'll send this to your lawyer by Federal Express. You'll get it in the morning. Take care Greg."

"Ciao Maggie."

He hung up the phone. He realized he must be pretty lonely if he was trying to get Maggie to come up. She was right. He did have a passion for her, but within hours they always started fighting like cats and dogs.

House sat back and thought about his life over the last three years. It hadn't been what he had expected or easy. He had spent a long time trying to get his Vicodin use under control so that he could function and take care of Percy. He almost never drank, only when he was out at certain functions and even then, he had one or two. He also found that his personal life had tanked. He rarely got out and when he did, he frequently found himself checking up on his son. The only time he relaxed was when he knew that Wilson had Percy. Since Wilson was a doctor and loved Percy like a son, House knew he was safe.

But, House wasn't really complaining. There had been trade offs and even though he would have liked a little more freedom, his son made him laugh and made him feel; two things he had spent most of his life avoiding.

House took out the phone number and called about the house that was for sale.

"Hello?" A woman's voice answered.

"Hello, I'm Dr. House and I saw a sign up in the front yard that the house is up for sale. Is that your house?"

"Yes, I own it. Are you interested in buying a house or are you a realtor?"

He smiled to himself, she didn't trust realtors either, "I'm interested. Can you give me some information about it?"

"I bought it four years ago after my divorce. It's 3180 square feet, three bedrooms, two and a half baths, a family and living room, an enclosed conservatory on the back. A small sun room off the kitchen where I have an office. There's a full basement with a rec room and a laundry room. There's also a small one bedroom apartment over the garage that you could rent out or...whatever. I don't know if you looked, but the backyard is big, ideal for kids. Lots of grass and trees and a big patio for barbeques."

"How much?"

"$890,000, and I'm not coming down."

"You must have gotten a great divorce settlement." House quipped.

"I gave sixteen years of my life for that divorce settlement, I earned it. Especially when I found out that the last six of those years he spent giving our money away to his girlfriends." she sounded a little annoyed.

"Yeah, well, too much information."

"Here's the deal. I need to sell the house to pay for my last two years at Princeton. I'm getting my doctorate in Physics. But, I need a place to stay and finding decent housing for a student in Princeton is difficult. I was going to stay with my sister, but she and her husband were just transferred back to Philadelphia. The sale would be contingent on me being able to stay in the apartment rent free for two years. I would pay my utilities and I'd get one of the spaces in the garage plus the use of the washer and dryer, which I would leave for you. Talk it over with your wife, if she can live with that, then the house is $890,000, which is a good deal because it includes a price break for renting me the apartment."

House wasn't sure, "I don't have a wife, but I like my privacy."

"There's an outside entrance to the basement and the washer/dryer. You'd never see me. Believe me, I'm not that fond of the male sex right now. If I had it my way, you'd all be shipped off to an offshore island."

House chuckled, "You sound like a woman I used to know."

"She sounds brilliant. Well?"

House was quiet. He didn't like the idea of sharing the basement or garage, but then he thought it could be no worse than having neighbors in an apartment. "I'd like to see the place."

"The key is under the blue gnome in the back yard. The fence is unlocked. Take a look at it tomorrow and if you like it, those are my terms. The escrow can be as fast as you want, but no longer than 90 days. I need tuition for the winter semester."

"Okay, I'll drive by and see it tomorrow. Will you be home around noon?"

"No, I'm either in school or working, but go ahead and use the key to look around. You're a doctor at Memorial?"

"PPTH. Dr. Gregory House."

"If anything goes missing I know where to find you." She said it with laughter in her voice. "Let me give you my cell phone."

House got the details and then hung up. He wrote down, 776-3429, Thomas.

The next day House went over to the house and took forty-five minutes to walk around. He realized that she had probably been watching those home shows because she had taken down anything personal like photos, awards, certificates, etc. The house still had personality, but he didn't see any sign of her life or family.

Wilson was with him and he was opening cupboards and checking plumbing as they went through the house. "It's all on one level except for the basement. They even have a chute for clothes to go down. You'd just have to carry them up...or train Percy to carry them up for you."

"I plan on putting one of those radio collars on his neck. If he doesn't do what I say, zap, he gets an electrical charge. I've heard it's the easiest way to get obedience out of a three year old."

"Look at this bedroom, it's huge and it's not even the master-bedroom. It would be great for Percy. Let's go look at the apartment over the garage."

They climbed the stairs and opened the door with the same key. "I wonder if she'll want the locks changed?" House said out-loud.

"It's a small bedroom, but it would make a nice little rental. So she's willing to live up here for two years after having all that room?" Wilson asked more to himself than to House.

House tilted his head, "We all do what we have to do."

"House, this is a great place and that's a great price. You should jump on this before someone else gets it. Hell, if you don't buy it, I might. It's bigger than mine and after she's gone I could rent out the apartment and make some money."

House blew out a deep breath. "I'm going to call her." He took out the phone and dialed the cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Is this Ms. Thomas?"

"Who is this?" she asked.

"Dr. House, Dr. Gregory House. I'm at your house looking at it."

She recognized him, "Oh! Dr. House! How do you like it?"

"I want to buy it."

Wilson's eyes opened wide and he grinned at House.

She chuckled with delight, "Great. We should meet and talk about terms."

"I'm paying cash. My son and I are going to go in halves on it. We can close escrow in a week."

"Don't you want to have it inspected?" She asked.

"Look, I want the house. It doesn't matter what the inspector says. It's a fair price and if I have to do some work, I'll do it. Let's meet and talk about the escrow."

"I have a night class, but I have an hour between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Do you know the Frist Campus Center?"

"Yes."

"Meet me in front of it at 5:00 pm, okay?" she said.

"How will I know you?"

"I'm short and I always look tired. I'm wearing a t-shirt that has Shakespeare on it and says, "Prose before Hos."

House started laughing, "I like your sense of humor."

"Yeah, well most people don't. How will I recognize you?" she asked.

"I'll be wearing a three year old." He hung up.

Wilson gave him the thumbs up. "You're making a wise choice. This is a great house."

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House picked up Percy a little early and arrived at the Frisk Center around 4:50 pm. He took out a ball from the back of the SUV and they went up to the grassy area to play with it. He rolled it to Percy and Percy would squeal and run after it. This went on for quite awhile until around 5:05pm when he rolled the ball just a little too vigorously and Percy went running after it over a small ridge. House gave chase and as he came up over the rise, he saw a woman kneeling in front of Percy with the ball. He started forward and then stopped in his tracks when she looked up.

He was sure he was going to be ill. Shivers ran down his spine. She looked so much like Marie it was uncanny. There were differences, but she could have been her cousin if not her sister. When she smiled it reminded him of the smiles that Marie had given him. He had to sit down on the ground.

"Dr. House?" She asked.

It was only then that he realized she had a picture of Shakespeare on her chest. She had Percy in tow and sat down next to him.

"Your son is darling. He's going to love that house. It has a great back yard for kids. I always wanted a kid. My husband didn't." She looked at House and his face seemed to be drained. "Are you okay?"

His voice quivered, "You're Ms. Thomas?"

She smiled, there was something strange about him, "Thomas was my married name. I've gone back to my maiden name, Kathleen Callahan, Katie Callahan. Have we met before?"

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Dear Readers, This is the end of the story Breeder. Please leave a comment. I really hope you enjoyed this story. Gorblimey2