The Past Days

This is the sequel/epilogue to my stories The Present Days and The Pregnant Days. It's 25 years later i.e. the year is 2033 (I know, that's 26 years from today, but The Pregnant days went a little into the future since Aiko was born in February 2007 and had her first birthday at the end of The Pregnant Days). I recommend reading the previous stories first (well, I would, right?) but of course, if you want you can read this alone as well. I'm not sure how that will work though, but be my quest :)

As before, I still don't own House or the characters from it, but I seem to have gathered some original playmates for them and those are mine!

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"We'll just stop here for a moment to say hi to my parents," he said to the girl with him. "Then we'll go on to the house to drop off our things, grab a bite and after that we go to the Uni to get my sister."

"That works fine for me," she smiled at him adoringly. "If you're sure we won't disturb your parents. I can wait to meet them if they are busy."

"They are never too busy for me, and I want the first meeting out of the way," he made a small face. "They can be a bit of an acquired taste, especially Dad."

The young couple walked in through the doors of Princeton-Plainsborough Teaching Hospital and right into a war zone. Fortunately there were only two participants in the war and most of the hospital was going on with business as usual. In fact, judging by the reactions of the personnel the war itself was business as usual.

"You will apologize!" An attractive woman in her sixties yelled at the tall man in his seventies standing before him.

"He's a moron!" the man responded. "I'm sorry, but he was born that way. Not my fault."

"He is not a moron," she insisted. "And even if he was you had no business insulting him. Why can't you learn to behave? You don't have to be obnoxious to every clinic patient you meet."

"I'm not, just to those who are morons," he shrugged.

"According to you everyone who comes into this clinic is a moron," she exclaimed.

"Does that include me, too?" the young man asked with a wide smile making the fighting duo stop and turn to look at him.

"Ben! You're home," Cuddy was delighted to see her son and readily turned to give him a big hug.

"Just in time, you can save me from your mother," House smiled. "She is trying to make me do clinic duty again."

"Sorry, Dad," Ben excused himself. "You know I never interfere with MamaLisa when it comes to her running her hospital. You're on your own with this one."

"Traitor," House accused him good-humouredly. "But I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You were always a mama's boy."

"Yep, through and through," Ben laughed letting go of his mother and hugging his father next.

"And this is the special someone you wanted us to meet?" Cuddy asked turning to the young lady Ben had with him.

"Yes, this is Melosa Perez," Ben introduced the pretty Latin woman with him.

"Welcome," Cuddy greeted her with a hug too.

"Thank you, I'm happy to meet you," Melosa said.

"Let's have a look at you," House insisted pulling Cuddy away.

"You will not hug her," Cuddy ordered.

"Why not?" House looked offended.

"The last time Ben brought a girl over, you grabbed her ass," Cuddy reminded him.

"That was over five years ago," House dismissed. "Besides, she was coming on to me."

"In your dreams," Cuddy huffed.

"No, MamaLisa, she really was," Ben defended his Dad ruefully. "I found out that the only reason she had dated me was to get to meet the famous Doctor House. I think she had some ideas about getting a fellowship or something out of the meeting. She was definitely flirting with Dad like her life depended on it."

"If that was the case, why was she so upset when House copped a feel?" Cuddy queried pointedly.

"Because she was a (a cough) teaser," House explained. "She figured I was too old and too polite to do anything - especially with you there. Her plan was to get me all worked up, get what she wanted from me and not deliver on the implied promises. I just made clear that that was not an option."

"I have to admit that for a medical student she wasn't very bright," Ben nodded. "But I would much rather not talk about her, especially with Melosa here, so could we...?"

"I'm sorry," Cuddy turned to Melosa. "I really didn't mean to bring up Ben's old girlfriends but his father can be rather impossible at times."

"Am not," House huffed. "You just take an exception to the damnest things! Anyway, Miss Perez, welcome to the insanity known as Ben's family." House hugged Melosa.

"Keep your hands to yourself," Cuddy reminded him.

"You can't hug someone if you keep your hands to yourself woman," House threw back at her but kept the hug short and decorous. "You look a little overwhelmed?" He said as he let Melosa go and looked at her – and indeed there was a somewhat dazed look on her face.

"I'm just... I was rather nervous about this meeting, and... " Melosa tried to shrug. "I'm..."

"Yeah," House smiled mischievously and Melosa was startled how exactly like his son he looked, except for the hair (or lack of it), the stubble and the eyes. "We can be a little overwhelming."

"Speak for your self House," Cuddy advised him. "Ben, Melosa, do you have time for a cup of coffee or something? My office will be available in a minute once your father has apologised to the patient waiting in there." Cuddy threw a significant glare at House who pretended not to get the point.

Just then a young doctor came into the clinic and seeing House she walked purposefully to him handing him a file: "Doctor House, the test results for our patient."

"Ok, what did you screw up this time Norbert?" House sighed with exaggerated patience earning a wounded look from his Fellow.

"I didn't screw up anything," Dr Norbert insisted indignantly.

"If you say so," House didn't sound very convinced. "Fine, get the rest of the team together and wait for me. I'll be there in five minutes." House dismissed her and then turned to Cuddy. "Sorry, Cuddy, I have a patient who is really sick, I have no time to apologize to morons for having told them the truth." With that he turned to go, but as he walked by Cuddy he landed his hand on her rear for a hearty feel making her yelp in surprise. "You owed me one," he just explained as he walked towards the lifts with a wicked grin on his face.

"Why do I put up with him?" Cuddy was shaking her head when she turned back to her son. "It seems that I have to placate the patient myself. And I can't even play the cripple card anymore. Sorry, but it seems it's I who has no time now. Aiko and Priya are at the house, are you going there next?"

"Yes, MamaLisa," Ben nodded. "Then we will go and get Greer from the Uni. When do you think you guys will be home?"

"I cannot say for sure when your father will be free, you know how he is when he has a patient," Cuddy shrugged. "But I'm coming home soon after five. And I'm afraid I have to warn you, we rather expect quite a few people will just happen to drop by this evening and the whole House-hold is coming over on Sunday."

"Everyone?" Ben wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

"Yes," Cuddy admitted. "Well, Perri is home anyway but the rest of them... Well, we had to tell Wilson that you're coming and why, and he told Cameron and... you get the picture."

"Yeah, I get the picture," Ben sighed. "Fine, we'll survive. Besides, Melosa will have till then to get used to Dad and if she can survive him, the rest of the House-hold will be easy."

"Surely your family cannot be that scary?" Melosa wondered having recovered a little from her meeting with Ben's father.

"I'm afraid that we can," Cuddy admitted ruefully. "But don't worry, Ben will protect you. Besides, Ben, your father vacated the flat for this weekend. We figured you might want to have a sanctuary ready for Melosa."

"He did?" Ben was surprised and grateful. "Then I'm sure we will do just fine. I must remember to thank him later."

"I hope he makes it home today," Cuddy sighed then she kissed her son on his cheek and patted Melosa reassuringly on her shoulder. "Now, run along and I'll see you later."

Ben and Melosa did as they were told and left the hospital; however, once they got back to their car Ben didn't start it right away. He knew that they had something to talk about first.

"Why didn't you tell me your father is The Doctor Gregory House?" Melosa asked a little accusingly. "Were you afraid I might make a play for him?"

"No, never," Ben stated firmly. "When we met, I was impressed how little impressed you were by the fact that I'm a famous pianist now, that for the last two years I've been the flavour of the day in music industry. You know that we were on our fifth date already before we started to talk about what we are and what we want and all that. Until then it had been music, and feelings and hopes and life philosophy and things like that. It wasn't till our fifth date that I found out that you are a doctor. That you are starting your internship soon and are looking for a place to do that. I admit that I freaked out a little; I was afraid that if I tell you who my parents are, you will stop seeing me and will just see the son of Gregory House and Lisa Cuddy. Then, when I got to know you better and knew this was something lasting, I didn't quite know how to bring it up. So I consciously made a choice that I was not going to tell you, that you would find out when you met them. Partly that was, because Dad is really difficult to explain to anyone who hasn't actually met him, and partly it was because I didn't want you to pass out due to anxiety before you met him. But mostly it really was that I didn't know how to tell you. But I promise you, none of it was because of Br... Bar... Brandy – I think her name was Brandy – but anyway that girl I brought home some five years ago and who was dating me just to meet my Dad."

"Well you were lucky that I didn't pass out when I realised who they were," Melosa muttered. "That would have made a real great first impression. And I cannot believe that I have been so stupid as not to realise it before now. You have shown me pictures of your family! You look just like your father, only you have your mother's eyes, more hair and you shave, but other than that, you are from the same mould. I can't believe I have been so blind!"

"Dad says that we see what we want to see," Ben explained. "Besides, Dad never smiles in his press photos. He looks grim and forbidding. And in all the family photos he is smiling and goofing around and being a Dad. Same with MamaLisa: the press and publicity photos have her being a thorough professional, dressed up to the nines and made up perfectly. In my photos she is wearing jeans and no make up and she is rumpled and soft and being a mother. Sometimes even I don't see how those photos could be of the same person."

"They must think I'm stupid," Melosa worried.

"No they don't," Ben was sure. "Dad probably guessed that I hadn't told you about them – he rather picks up on things like that – and MamaLisa will forgive you anything since I like you. She may give me an earful once she realises that I didn't warn you before hand, but she will not think any less of you."

"You're sure?" Melosa needed some reassurance still.

"Yes, I'm sure," Ben did his best to give the reassurance needed. "My family may be crazy and different and just plain weird, but it is also very accepting. Once you're in, you're in as you are."

"So what are your sisters like then," Melosa was feeling better, but she didn't want any more surprises like the previous one.

"Yeah, I probably need to tell you about them, too," Ben started cautiously. "Aiko and Priya are doctors and they have already managed to get noticed by the medical community. When they chose to become doctors, they worried about the expectations being Dad's daughters might create so, after consulting with Dad, they chose to change their names. Aiko goes by her Grandfather's name and Priya decided to take mother's name."

"So your sisters are who?" Melosa didn't want to do any guessing.

"Aiko Higa and Priya Cuddy," Ben said.

"Of course they are," Melosa nodded; her day was getting better and better. For two seconds she was seriously thinking of changing careers. She felt totally outranked by Ben's family. "And your third sister?"

"Oh, Greer is still House," Ben explained. "She had no reason to fear the expectations created by that name since she wanted to study literature. Same with me; once I decided to follow a career in music, it was up to me to create my own name. Greer is the Professor of Renaissance studies in Princeton though, and I believe she is the youngest person ever to hold that position. Her own speciality is Milton and we are going to pick her up today after today's lectures."

"Ok," Melosa didn't feel much better; it seemed that she was trying to get into a family of geniuses. Just great! Suddenly she remembered something. "What did your mother mean when she said that she cannot play the cripple card?"

"Dad used to be a cripple," Ben clarified. "He had an infarction in his thigh when he was in his late thirties or early forties, it resulted in muscle death and they had to remove a big chunk from his thigh. He suffered from chronic pain for years until about fifteen years ago they finally found a treatment that cured the pain. His right leg is still weaker than this left one and sometimes he still uses a cane, especially when it's cold or the weather is changing or some other reason makes the pain return temporarily. But even then, his leg is much better than it used to be."

"Oh, that's good," Melosa was glad that they had found a cure for the pain. Chronic pain was not something she would have wished on her worst enemy. "And the flat? What was that about?"

"Yeah, that is something else," Ben wasn't quite sure how he was going to explain his family to Melosa. "You see, my parents aren't married and officially they still live in separate addresses, though everybody knows that they really are together. The house we have has a separate flat attached to it and Dad lives in it. MamaLisa lives in the main house and occupies the master bedroom in there. The do spend most of the nights together in the flat or in the master bedroom, but they both claim that they need their own corners, as they say, to retire to when needed or else they will end up killing each other. And I'm not totally convinced that they don't actually mean it when they say it. Besides, Dad is not as much a people person as the rest of the family, so he really needs a place to retire to when he gets tired of all the people that tend to converge in the house."

"That sounds unusual," Melosa pondered.

"The whole House-hold is a little unusual, but we – me and my sisters – will try to give you a crash course on it today," Ben informed her. "Don't worry about it. You won't have to meet any of them unprepared."

"Even though I had to meet your parents just that way?" Melosa asked pointedly. "Why should I trust you now?"

"I'm sorry about my parents, I just didn't know how to explain them," Ben was remorseful. "But I don't want to put you into awkward situation with anyone. My parents were pretty safe since they love me and they will love anyone I love, but that's it. No more surprises. I promise."

"Ok, I suppose I can trust you," Melosa relented. "So take me to your sisters, then. I suppose after surviving my first meeting with your father I'm on a roll, so bring it on!"