Something That We Do, 1/4

[stenveny]

Title:  Something That We Do, 1/4
Pairing:  House/Cuddy
Warnings:  possible spoilers for 8.14 “Love is Blind”; angst; references to/implications of gun violence, child abuse, adultery, substance abuse; dysfunctional family dynamics.
Summary:  Other than the above, it’s actually kind of fluffy.  ;)  This is a sharkverse story that introduces House to

Comments

[menolly_au]

Oh I'm glad someone is writing young House, Thomas, John, Blythe etc given the new information. I love your picture of young Greg here (and I admire Blythe's calmness in dealing with snake/frog and Greg, I'd be running so fast in the other direction it wouldn't be funny)

I haven't read any Sharkverse yet though I've been meaning to, I'll jump in here but if I back read where should I start?

[stenveny]

Thanks for commenting. Moms of boys (especially boys like Greg) tend to develop good reflexes and high gag thresholds. One difference between a girl and a boy is, no girl has ever put an entire toad in her mouth and then opened her mouth in order to freak out her mother. (I'm a biology teacher so I have a very high tolerance for gross, but, y'all. That just about did me in). Another difference is that girls don't drive nails into cans of silicone spray "because."

I probably need to sticky this somewhere, but the sharkverse consists of, in order:

Coming to Terms,
Fault Lines,
Shark Week (from whence the name came),
Onward,
In the Rough,
Curses (oneshot),
Considerations,
Unintended Consequences (a long oneshot)
The Mouths of Babes,
Faint of Heart,
Blessings,
then Uncommon (oneshot)
Unexpected (oneshot)
and now this one, Something That We Do. Only four parts is practically a drabble, for me.

[menolly_au]

Wow, I didn't realise there was that much of it! That will keep me busy for a while :) Thanks for the list :)

A toad in the mouth would freak me right out, but I am absolutely terrfied of snakes (despite never having come across one in the wild) Maybe it's a good thing I don't have kids :)

[cuddyclothes]

One difference between a girl and a boy is, no girl has ever put an entire toad in her mouth and then opened her mouth in order to freak out her mother.

good thing you never met me as a kid.

[waylandsmithy]

"Sigh" Absolutely lovely! Small Greg, completely absorbed in his quest for understanding, the unshockable Blythe and best of all perhaps, a fully rounded Thomas in just a few sentences.
A great start for me to a day I know is going to be less than wonderful, although we do get a new 'House' tonight.
Many thanks. Keep up the good work :)

[stenveny]

I hope your day goes better than expected.

Thanks for commenting.

[waylandsmithy]

Thank you for that! I'm not sure whether "Everybody lies" (G.House) or "Hell is other people" (J-P Sartre) was more appropriate.

[damigella_314]

I am fascinated by the idea of actually seeing a serpent swallow a frog. I find serpents beautiful.
What a wonderful image of young Greg's life; was it inspired by the amazing final quotation?

Looking forwar to the rest of this fic (and yes, I couldn't believe *you* were writing something in four parts only!)

[stenveny]

It's really a fascinating process. They also eat rabbits, and birds, which is harder to watch for me (I think because birds and rabbits are cute; frogs, not so much.)

The final quotation was more or less inspired by the first scene and not the reverse, but I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading.

[janeqdoe]

Always thrilled to see another addition to the Sharkverse! And so much to chew on (am trying hard not to think about snake+frog) already. Shaeffer's shooting? House's real dad? Tasty tidbits to come, I can tell. I stopped watching the show, so I don't know what was revealed and what you're filling in, but I've long preferred this version over what's on screen, so no matter.

Just 1 question - how old is Rachel now? I wasn't sure when kids started fencing LOL. I would've loved that as a kid. And I loved her line: “Things have not been very good around here. And you’re just sitting there kissing.” As well as House's insistence (very fatherly) that she still 'get books' no matter what.
Can't wait to see what happens next!!

[stenveny]

First grade, is when the coaches begin to take fencing students. ( And karate students.) With her December birthday, Rachel would be almost 7 when she started first grade -- but I'm betting that Cuddy would try to get her admitted early, so she's only 6. House would have few dealbreakers in the parenting department, and he's mostly happy to leave the work to Cuddy, but I think books and stories would be one of the things he'd insist on. At least they finally started working out policies.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

[stenveny]

They may be very long chapters, but I have 4 chapter titles, so I'm committed. According to s8 canon as established in "Love is Blind", Thomas Bell was at one time a Navy Chaplain. The conflux of career and faith is hard enough under any circumstances, and in a time of war (or in the aftermath of a bitterly controversial one) I would expect there to be a great deal of doubt and cynicism involved for any thinking person.

House the "atheist" (I put this in quotations because he does have a religion in the sense that he follows a strict moral code, it's just that the religion is science and rationality, not a deity based-one) is a very good vehicle for exploring issues of religion and faith I think. Instead of the Mark quotation, Thomas should really have considered the story of Daniel, instead, at this point in the story, because it's relevant, whether he realizes it or not. Tired Cuddy, post-crisis House, cranky Rachel, and all of them needing to reconnect and regroup as a family. They really, really should have called

[damigella_314]

I put this in quotations because he does have a religion in the sense that he follows a strict moral code.

I didn't know that religion and following a strict moral code had anything to do with each other ;)./snarky atheist mode