Picture Puzzles Part 21

[whiteraven1606]

Title: Picture Puzzles Part 21/26 
Rating: NC-17
Grouping: House/Wilson/Chase
Disclaimer: Don't own them, as we all know.
Summary: House worried can be both good and bad. In this part Wilson finds out House *can* play nice with others.
Warnings: Mention of abuse in the past to more than one character (as if you hadn't already figured that out). Oh, and uh, I sorta just threw this up without begging anyone to beta. Just so you aren't suprised when you hit scrambled words. As always feel free to tell me where I screwed up. Also, sorry no smut in this part.

(Part 20)

****

Wilson pressed the button on his remote to unlock the car doors. "Hmm. House?"

House gripped the back passenger door as Emma clambered into the car. "What?"

Wilson made a vague motion towards Emma. "Why is she riding with us?"

Emma stood on the backseat and popped her head back out the door. "Mom said I had to make sure Master Gregory doesn’t chicken out."

"She knows which Chinese place we’re going to." House gently pushed on Emma’s head to get her back into the car.

"Oh." Wilson nodded and got into the car. As he adjusted his rearview mirror he caught Emma staring at him. "What’s wrong?"

Emma flapped the end of her seatbelt. "I can’t tighten it enough."

Chase tugged to test it. "Seems tight enough."

Emma shook her head, curls bouncing. "It’s gotta be tight enough I won’t fall out if we crash and roll."

"We won’t crash with Wilson driving. He drives like your Grandmother." House rolled his eyes before he turned and checked Emma’s belt. "You’re going to cut off circulation to your legs."

Emma wiggled her toes in her sandals. "My toes are pink, I’m fine. Grandma drives like a bat outta hell."

"Seriously?"

"No. That’s just what Dad says to make Mom roll her eyes."

House cocked his head. "Emma, were you told to hold us up?"

Emma beamed. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

House sighed. "Golden Dragon or Jade Garden?"

"Golden Dragon." Emma waited until they were pulling out of the parking lot to ask, "Aren’t you going to ask why I was supposed to make us last to get there?"

House shook his head. "I already know why."

Wilson suppressed a smile as he watched in the rearview mirror as Chase rolled his eyes.

"Why, House?" asked Chase.

"Morgan has better control over seating if we don’t all arrive at once."

Emma snorted. "That’s not why."

House’s eyebrows rose. "Then why?"

"Mom said she needed to talk to Dad before you got there and started trading fish stories."

Wilson wrinkled his brows. "Fish?"

House shook his head and pointed at an empty space to park in. "She means exaggerating true stories."

"Oh." Wilson shut off the car. "How exaggerated are we talking?"

Emma looked up from undoing her belt. "Bellydacing in kilts. Soooo. Not much exag-g…Not far from the truth."

Wilson turned in his seat to stare at Emma. "Kilts?"

Emma smiled as she held her arms out towards Chase to get him to help her out of the car. "Mom’s got pictures."

Wilson waited until they all met at the front of the car. "Pictures?"

Emma smiled. "She’s even got one that I can’t see till I’m grown up."

House clamped his left hand over Emma’s mouth. "Children should be quiet."

Emma licked the palm of his hand causing him to pull sharply away. She ducked around Chase so he was between her and House. "I’m not children. You have to have more than one for it to be children."

Wilson leaned towards House. "How drunk were you?"

House sighed. "Not drunk enough." He started for the restaurant.

Chase startled as Emma grabbed his hand. He stayed at her pace as Wilson stayed closer to House.

"Emma, who’s the boss?"

Emma looked up at Chase. "I promised not to say. I’m just supposed to sit with you and crawl under the table and tie the frowny lady’s shoelaces together."

"House then?"

"Not saying."

Chase nodded. "House." Chase held the door for the little girl. "What else are you supposed to do?"

"Mom said be your SCA to English translator."

Wilson looked over his shoulder at them. "We’re going to need that?"

Emma nodded. "Oh, yeah."

*****

House cringed when Emma insisted they sit on the end with her father. It put Wilson against the wall and faced Chase towards people. House leaned his cane against the wall. Although sitting across from Wilson could be fun, too.

Morgan waved at them from the middle of the table with Cameron next to her and pointed at Foreman further down towards the other end. House smiled and nodded at Richard as he approached.

"Morgan says you’ve rejoined us, Master Gregory."

House stood and gripped forearms with Richard. "It’s still up in the air, Count."

"It’s Duke, now." Richard pulled an empty chair from the table behind House and squeezed in beside House. "Being good, princess?"

Emma waved a chopstick at Richard. "Yes, Dad. Can we have two rubberbands?"

Richard dug into his pocket. "Why two?"

Emma motioned at Chase, nearly poking him in the face with her other chopstick. "Robert doesn’t know how to hold them."

"Ah. Here." Richard took the chopsticks from his daughter before she could cause bodily harm and deftly wrapped the chopsticks in the rubberband. "Give me the other set."

Chase handed them over as Emma tested hers.

"Dad are you going to tell the half gallon story?"

Richard glanced up from wrapping Chase’s chopsticks. "The rain story, or the whiskey story?"

"Rain. And about the lighting bolt hitting Mom’s car."

Wilson leaned forward to see Emma past Chase. "Lighting? Why is it I keep hearing about lighting strikes?"

Richard smiled and handed Chase his chopsticks. "It’s memorable. So are the rain stories."

Emma bounced in her chair. "Yeah, like the VW that was lost at Pennsic number four."

House sighed. "I liked that car."

"It’s still there. We could probably dig it out."

House snorted. "Yeah, with dynamite, maybe."

Chase and Wilson blinked and glanced at each other.

Morgan came up to stand at Richard’s back. "We’re getting shusi if any of you would like some." Morgan motioned at Emma. "Come on and we’ll get you a plate."

Emma leaned against Chase’s side, causing him to freeze and stare down at her. "I want Robert to help me."

Morgan and Richard exchanged looks. "Emma, getting a plate for you is like following a hummingbird. I don’t think we should subject your new friend to that."

"I won’t make a catapult with spoons and sugar cubes if Robert helps me." Emma smiled prettily.

Morgan scrunched up her nose, her scars creasing her face at odd angles. "Oh, um. Dr. Chase…"

Chase glanced at House, who was silently laughing, as he tried to scoot out from under Emma. "I’d be glad to help."

"Yeah!" Emma scrambled down and darted under the table to come out on Morgan’s side. She hugged her mother. "Thanks, mom!" Then she disappeared under the table again.

Morgan smiled apologetically at Chase. "I’m sorry, but she’s so good with a spoon catapult that bets have been made."

Richard patted his wife’s arm. "She made a killing."

Morgan huffed. "She landed a sugar cube in Her Ladyship Winifred’s blouse."

Emma reappeared and tugged on Chase’s sleeve. "Come on, I want to get crab rangoon before the fighters get them first."

Once Chase was gone House turned to Richard and Morgan. "Square in the middle of the shelf?"

"Oh, yeah." Morgan nodded. "Won her fifty dollars, too."

Wilson glanced back and forth between the three. "Can someone translate for me? Shelf?"

Richard grinned. "Emma’s sugar cube hit right in the middle of Her Ladyship’s cleavage."

****

Oh, *shelf.* Wilson blinked. "Oh. That’d be… memorable."

House heaved himself upright. Richard stood to move out of House’s way and Wilson got his first real idea of just how big Richard was in comparison to House. He knew House wasn’t all that broad, but generally he thought of House as being very tall. Richard dwarfed House in both height and shoulder width.

Wilson stayed back as the group more or less mobbed the buffet. He watched as Emma pulled Chase past him. Chase smiling at something the young girl was saying. Wilson turned his attention back to House and nearly winced when one of the nameless SCA people plopped food on House’s plate. Then he blinked. House didn’t say anything he just moved on the down the line, moving his plate away or towards spoonfuls of offered food, using his cane to smack people in the shins to clear the way as they went.

Maybe he’s sick. He’s not throwing a fit at them helping. Wilson cocked his head. Not thanking them, of course, but not screaming either. What’s gotten into him? Wilson headed back to the table and tried not to snigger at the sight of Cameron half on and half off her chair trying to untie the knot holding her shoes together with the chair leg in between.

"You okay?"

Her head snapped up and she huffed before saying, "Fine. Just trying to undo this."

Emma popped up from under the table with a fried wanton in her hand. "Here. They’ll be all gone by the time you get your food." She dropped the wanton onto the table in front of Cameron and disappeared back under the table.

Wilson watched out of the corner of his eye as she reappeared next to Chase who was sitting their plates on the table. "Want help?"

"Uh, no." Cameron poked the wanton with a finger. "Think she poisoned it?"

"No. Not enough time."

Cameron snorted. "True." She turned her head and stared at him. "Why did Foreman and I get dragged along on this little adventure?"

Wilson shrugged. "Not a clue. Good luck with the laces." Wilson sat down in his own chair tucking himself against the wall tightly so Chase wouldn’t feel even more crowded.

Emma leaned forward. "Have you ever had kachi mandu?" She pointed at the pile of food on her plate.

Wilson’s eyebrows drew together as he tried to figure out what on her plate she was pointing at.

Chase leaned towards him and muttered, "Potstickers."

Oh! Wilson smiled and nodded. "I like them."

Emma smiled. "Here." She held out a dumpling with her chopsticks as it wavered in the air.

Wilson quickly moved his plate under the food before Emma could lose control and drop it. "Hmm. Thank you."

"Emma, what did we tell you about taking all the mandu?" asked Richard as he sat down his food and unceremoniously shoved everyone’s seats and plates down the table.

Emma froze for a moment before plastering on her most innocent smile. "Don’t take all of it. That I have to share."

Richard sat down and again Wilson was hit with just how big the man really was. Wilson watched, not really listening, as Emma insisted that she had shared with Chase and with him. His eyes wandered over Chase’s head to watch all these different people that House put up with. He likes them. It’s nuts. Totally crazy. He’d throw a girly hissy fit if I tried to spoon food onto his plate in a buffet line, but these people do it and he doesn’t say a word.

Wilson automatically defended his food as House tried to steal Emma’s gift even as he was sitting down.

"You okay?"

Wilson focused on House. "No."

House smirked. "Overwhelmed by them?"

Wilson shook his head. "They’re fine. You’re freaking me out."

House blinked. "Okay, good to know." House turned to Richard and started asking him about armor and padding and all sorts of things Wilson wasn’t up to following at the moment.

Wilson ate his food and just watched. He watched Emma explain the soup bowl shot as her father and House argued its merit as a beginner move for fighters. He watched as Foreman tried to gracefully back out of a doomed conversation with someone that Wilson wasn’t even sure of the person's gender. Oh, no, wait; turn a little this way so I can see your throat. Ah. Guy, definitely a guy. Wow. He watched Morgan argue with woman right across Cameron about fabric and rattan. And Chase was eating between discussing variations of chess with Emma since her father and House had devolved into bickering.

Chess that’s played in a circle, what? When did my life become this…this odd? Well, okay, not odd. Weird? No, that’s not right either. I can’t even come up with a word. Maybe it’s a dream. Except I can’t dream non-erotic things anymore.
Wilson just nodded as the waitress asked if he wanted more to drink. Then it hit him. Acceptance. They’ve made us part of their group.
****

House was worried about Wilson being quiet, but he just kept an eye on him during the meal. He watched as Emma distracted Chase with the history of chess. Then Wilson’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. House prodded him with his left foot.

Wilson jumped at the contact. "What?"

House cocked his head. "Fever, nausea, rash maybe?"

Wilson frowned. "No. What’s rattan used for exactly?"

House leaned back and let Richard regale Wilson with weapon making and how rattan wrapped in ducktape worked as weapons. Maybe I can corner him in his office later and figure out what’s bugging him. I’ve never seen him not charm and chatter when presented with the opportunity.

****

Cuddy was walking towards her office when the noise hit. She turned and watched as a mass of laughing, joking, happy people flowed through the lobby towards the elevators. Wilson detached himself from the press of people and headed her way.

Oh, no. Wonder what happened. Hope they didn’t eat Cameron alive or something. Cuddy turned and fell into step with Wilson as he walked by her. He seemed dazed almost. Cuddy laid a hand on the arm of his coat. "Wilson?"

Wilson shook his head and held the door of her office for her. She tried to get a better look at his face as she preceded him into the office, but he avoided her efforts. She settled into one of the overstuffed chairs in front of her desk. She didn’t think this was a moment to be his boss.

"They’re nuts."

Cuddy leaned back. "Okay."

Wilson shot to his feet and started pacing. "No, no, not okay. Nuts, I’m telling you. House just let them help him. And they argue at the top of their lungs. Chase didn’t even blink when that little girl Emma pulled him along to get her another plate of food. They tell these jokes. You wouldn’t believe the jokes. And the touching. They hug and pat people’s backs, and it’s…it’s…"

"Overwhelming?"

Wilson whirled on her. "No! It’s wonderful and awful. And they just accepted us as us. No qualms. No questions about anything other than if we’ll come to the next event. They’re crazy."

Cuddy tugged on Wilson’s arm on the next pass. "Sit down."

Wilson dropped into the other chair with a sigh.

"Okay, start from the beginning. House let them help with what exactly?"

Cuddy watched Wilson’s body language as much as she listened to him describe the buffet and House’s plate of food. When he’d wound down a little Cuddy gently broke in. "Wilson, did it occur to you that House might be comfortable with these people?"

Wilson gave a short bitter laugh. "Yeah, it did. And it’s nuts."

Cuddy mentally rolled her eyes. "Would you like some coffee?"

Wilson lolled his head against the chair back. "Sure."

Cuddy punched buttons on her cell sending a silent page as she made them coffee being careful of which cup was which.

****

House watched Chase trying to discuss the medical problem of Edward who’d asked Chase to call him by his SCA name of Juliana.

"Juli, did you take up bellydancing?"

"Yeah…Hey, I started that like a week before my leg started hurting so bad."

House watched Chase try to melt into the wall from the corner of his eye as Juliana slid down from the exam table.

"See. Here, I’m not too good yet." Juliana bent his knees slightly to drop into the bellydancer’s starting position.

House thumped the man’s left leg with his cane. "Turn out. Your foot’s wrong."

Doing as instructed he resettled and suddenly grinned. "Hey, that’s lots better."

House reached for his buzzing pager as he waved at Juliana. "Try to stretch more before and after dancing too."

Leaving Chase to shoo the man out, House checked his page. "Huh."

Chase straightened up from leaning against the now closed door.

"Cuddy sent me a Wilson-is-having-a-breakdown page."

Chase’s eyebrows went up. "Is he?"

House shrugged. "He was weird at lunch."

Chase held the door and then followed House into the hallway. "Edward…Um, Juliana was the last for today. Want me to go with you?"

House stopped suddenly enough that Chase had to skid to the side to avoid him. Turning on his cane and right leg House stared at Chase. "How did you like lunch?"

Chase blinked a couple of times. "Umm. The food was okay?"

House rolled his eyes. "Not the food. The people."

"Oh." Chase plunged his hands into his labcoat. "Are they always like that, House?"

"Like what exactly?"

Chase shrugged and started down the hall again. "Like…like the new person is welcome. Like a…a…"

"Family?"

Chase frowned.

"Well, not your family, obviously, but like you’d wished your family was."

Chase’s expression cleared. "I think so, sort of."

House grinned at him as the elevator doors started to close. "Could do without Juliana?"

Chase’s nose wrinkled. "Juliana is…okay."

House snorted. "Edward loves flipping between his personality and the persona of Juliana. It’s easier in small doses."

****

House paused in his hallway from having finally settled Wilson. Whatever Cuddy dosed him with I definitely don’t want to give him again. Dead weight even when he was trying to walk. House settled onto his end of the couch with a sigh. He watched Chase glance at him before going back to flipping channels.

"He going to be okay?"

House shrugged. "Probably. I think he got overwhelmed by the way the acceptance of a group felt to him." House turned more towards Chase. "I wouldn’t have been surprised if you had issues with the way the group just accepts some people, but you don’t seem phased at all."

Chase smiled. "They were fun. I liked watching you be happy."

House’s eyebrows climbed. "You’re saying I was happy? I figured you and Wilson made a pact to never talk about my feelings."

"Not exactly." Chase set the remote on the coffee table and turned towards House, tucking one leg under the other. "You and I both know you were happy today. That being around those people makes you happy."

"Cutting the bullshit, aren’t you?"

Chase cocked his head. "Sure, why not? I love you and one day I want to be able to see you comfortable enough with us," Chase waved a hand over the back of the couch towards the bedroom, "to let us hold you while you cry. I want to touch you freely without it bothering you. I want a lot of things, some of which I’ll never get." Chase leaned towards the back of the couch propping his head on his hand. "Your turn."

House stared at Chase for several moments. "I feel comfortable, as you put it, with you and James as much as I do with the SCA group." House puffed his cheeks out before blowing out a breath. "You know as well as I do that I hate talking. I try to tell you with what I do that you are important."

Chase reached out with his free hand and slipped his hand under House’s hand. "You’re much better at that then talking."

House snorted. "Cheeky bastard."

Chase grinned. "Not me."

House gripped Chase’s hand. "What’s it going to take to get you to sleep better?"

Chase went still. "I sleep fine."

House nodded. "Uh huh. Right. Should you and Wilson switch? Put me in the middle? Give you some of the sleeping pills Wilson wants me to use? What sounds appealing?"

Chase rolled his eyes. "None of the above. Okay, so I don’t sleep straight through the night, but I never have, it’s not something new." Chase turned his head so he could cover his eyes with his hand. "I’ve tired not to sleep as long as I can remember."

House narrowed his eyes as he waited for Chase to say more. As the silence stretched House started trying to figure out what to say when Chase finally started talking again.

"It’s… shameful to admit I was…hurt, no… beaten by my mum, who’d then turn right around and smother me in love because she felt guilty. Shameful to say that I’d wake up to cower in my bed listening to my parents fight, breaking things as they did so, and then listening to them make up. I’d dream about running away, about killing them, all sorts of hateful things." Chase shook his head slightly without uncovering his eyes. "I developed a habit of waking up when I started to dream. It helped. Made me numb. Made things easier. Made waking to a fist driven into my gut not really matter."

House cringed inwardly as he listened to Chase talk. He pushed Chase backward to lay lengthwise on the couch and settled himself on top. He watched as Chase scrunched his eyes tightly closed even as he relaxed into the couch’s embrace as House’s weight pushed him down. No wonder his likes being pinned like this. It’s a safe way to feel something. Person on top can’t hit him hard and they block most everything from being hit by someone else. "What did they do to make up?"

Chase’s eyes snapped open for a bare moment before he closed them and turned his head towards the back of the couch. "They fucked."

House blinked. Not made love, or even had sex. Hmm. "They ever know you could hear them?"

"Had to know I could hear. He’d make her scream."

House watched a tear escape and slid down to drip off Chase’s nose. "Have either James or I made you feel shameful about eating or having been abused?"

Chase sniffed and shook his head a tiny bit. "No. I just hate…" Chase stopped speaking and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Hate being vulnerable. If you’re prefect then you can’t be hurt ever again."

Chase blinked a couple of times before looking up at House out of the corner of his eye. "Doesn’t work very well."

House brought a hand up to Chase’s face and thumbed away the wetness on his cheeks. "You’re still here trying. How about we go sleep with Wilson? We’ll roll Wilson half on top of you and see if that’ll help you sleep." House pushed himself up and off Chase.

Chase let House pull him up from the couch. "I’d like that."

House followed Chase towards the bedroom. If that doesn’t work, we’ll try something else. Whatever happens I’ll make sure we don’t make you feel like we’re something shameful. And we’ll work on you until you’re convinced that the only shame you should have is for having such awful parents.

****
(Part 22)

A/N: I tried to find the proper spelling for potstickers and I think I found the correct South Korean spelling. Also, circle chess really does exist. A soup bowl shot is a type of attack done with a weapon (normally a sword) where the hand appears to be serving a bowl of soup as the shot is made. It is really hard to explain (and even harder for a female fighter to actually do). It is a common first shot to be taught to a new SCA fighter.