133A/N: I HAVE DELETED all 28 ORIGINAL chapters of this fanfic as I have decided to rewrite them all. That's why the published date was 2014 and my updates are all this year. I was 17 at the time that I first wrote this story, and I'm now 23. Everything you read from here on out is a reworking of my original story, which you may or may not have read before. I promise not to abandon this story like last time.
I am also on AO3 under the same handle! :) Enjoy x
...
Talia took a deep breath before knocking on the wooden door with one hand whilst fiddling with a piece of paper in her left. She waited a few moments, but there was seemingly no response and she was already getting agitated. So she lifted her knuckle to rap on the door once more, a little harsher this time. But much to her relief, the door cracked open, revealing a miserable looking Gregory House. He looked her up and down briefly. "I don't want any cookies," he muttered, about to close the door again.
"I'm...I'm not here for cookies," Talia rushed out, awkwardly shuffling from foot to foot. House raised a slightly amused brow.
"So...I don't need home and/or car insurance," he smiled falsely before shutting the door successfully. Talia sighed to herself and simply knocked it again - her mum had pre-warned her that her dad would be this way, and that she had to be patient. And by 'this way', she meant difficult and irritable.
House opened the door with a sigh.
"Oh, look at that - it's you again," he muttered sarcastically.
"Wait, don't close the door again! C-can I talk to you for a second? My name's Talia House," Talia began shakily, trying to keep herself together so that she didn't crumble under his stern gaze. House blinked at her a few times.
"Well. Thank you for the introduction, pleased to meet your acquaintance - bye now," he waved, ready to close the door on her again.
"I'm your daughter," Talia snapped before he could dare. House's face contorted into one of disgust, then disbelief and then neutral.
"Hmph. Come on in," he yawned, stepping to the side so that she could enter. Talia wasn't too sure if he was being serious at this point - he threw her off. "Or you could actually stay out there, makes no difference to me." Talia swallowed and entered the apartment, dragging her suitcase in behind her. House shut the door behind her and limped over to stand opposite where she stood, before rummaging in a drawer nearby. He took out a little plastic tube and unscrewed the cap. "Say 'ah'," he instructed.
"Wh-" House automatically stuck a swab in her mouth and popped it back into the tube before she could get the words out.
"DNA test. Nothing personal, just wanted to check that Miranda didn't just send you here to get back at me for…whatever I may or may not have done to her. She's bonkers," House murmured, placing the tube to the side. "I remember one time-"
"Wait, you honestly don't seem that bothered," Talia interrupted him quickly. "Your daughter who you've never met before just turned up on your doorstep and you're not...shocked?"
"Shocked? Well, I have to admit it is kinda out of the blue, but I'm clearly due for another med dose and the pain's coming back so, so the shock will hit me later," House waved her off.
"Right," Talia frowned, not completely believing him. House threw his head back as if the next few words were nothing more than a chore to him.
"Look. Miranda Delmario was a sneaky little b-"
"Yeah, we get it," Talia interrupted, raising her hand.
"-and I'm not surprised that she kept you as her little secret," House finished, hobbling away toward the kitchen and getting out another tube of pills. "We certainly slept together. It was around 23 or 24 years back…and how old are you, sorry?"
"25."
"There we go. Also possible. So ya, your existence is entirely plausible. I can't deny that - as much as I'd prefer to do so." Talia raised an eyebrow and gave a slow nod of understanding.
"I see. That's...uh..."
"So what happened?" House asked briskly, now interrupting her instead.
"What happened with what?" Talia frowned as she shuffled awkwardly from side to side, her legs beginning to ache a little.
"Sit down," House told her casually, chucking back a few pills and popping the cap back on. Talia gulped and settled herself down on the nearest sofa, pressing her knees together and tapping her legs awkwardly. "So, again I ask - what happened? Why are you here?"
"Oh. I had an argument with my mum...she called me a 'useless failed abortion' in the middle of an argument because she's a shallow bitch. It all happened because I told her that I didn't want to be a model like she was, and I wanted to be a doctor because I worked hard to get there. You know, one of the youngest to qualify in the UK and all that. She told me if I loved medicine so much I should go and find it…I soon found out that she meant you," Talia shrugged simply, staring into her dad's steely blue eyes. House nodded slowly, wincing a little.
"I'm sorry, I'm still stuck on 'useless failed abortion.' Talk about ouch. Let me guess, she was drunk?"
"She may or may not have been, I don't actually care. I've barely seen her sober. She's been like that for 25 years, mind," Talia grumbled. "And you were….where, sorry?"
"Unaware of your existence of course, where else?" House mocked with a roll his eyes as he hobbled toward the fridge. Talia raised an unamused eyebrow as House took out a bottle of water. "D'ya want one?"
"I-"
"Kitchen's that way," House nodded toward the fridge. Talia bit down on her jaw as hard as she could and forced a smile, whilst House studied her properly. She was pretty, very pretty. She had a delicate face with dark grey eyes that held strange blue specks in them, and her hair was down to her waist, dark blonde give or take a few highlights, and slightly curly. She was wearing a black top and skinny black jeans with a black jacket and thigh high boots. What really topped it off was the small Barbie suitcase beside her. Above all, she just looked fed up and exhausted.
"So you're here to…live with me?" House guessed.
"Yeah, if that's okay. Only until I-"
"Well it's not okay. In fact it's highly inconvenient in almost every way possible," House responded hotly.
"Thought as much," was Talia's bitter response.
"And until the DNA results come back proving who the hell you are I technically have no moral responsibility over you, so..." That's when House saw Talia's eyes slowly well up with tears and his hard-man act began to crack. Something about her face made him feel so irritatingly sorry for her that he had to do something. "Fine, gimme Miranda's number and we'll sort something out." Talia gasped and quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, dialling her mother's number within the space of a few seconds, putting it on speakerphone. They waited. The phone continued ringing. They carried on waiting. The phone carried on ringing - then it went to answer machine.
"Hang up," House instructed her.
"You're not gonna leave a message?" Talia frowned in confusion.
"No," House muttered. "Until she calls back...you might as well stay...I guess. But I've gotta go to work so-"
"Oh...can I come?" Talia suddenly popped up, suddenly standing up with an excited grin. House raised a sceptical eyebrow.
"Sure...just don't…touch anything," he said slowly. He blinked at her a few more times, still baffled by the genuine eagerness in her eyes. "You're weird, kid." Talia smirked and shrugged.
"Well thanks. Don't forget those swabs...Da-"
"NO," House interrupted her quickly. "Not Dad. House will do."
"Oh," Talia nodded briskly. "Of course."