Mrs. Farber looked up, frowning slightly. She was on a particularly tricky section of the baby sweater she was making, and the soft sounds of Brahms’s Lullaby had caught her ear as she unraveled her yarn and cursed softly in German. Cocking an ear, she listened again, and the distinct but faint sound of a violin drifted through the room, sweet and soft.

She looked over at the crib, and just at that moment, Lily gave a little snuffle, kicking a bit in her slumber. Marlena smiled and set the knitting aside. She rose and came over to the crib, peeking in at the baby and giving a sigh. “Do you hear it too, mein liebling? Ze violine?” she whispered.

The baby said nothing, and Marlena leaned on the rail a moment longer, smiling. Then she straightened up and rubbed her hands a moment, fighting the ache in them that winter always brought. Her thoughts turned to Hawaii.

House still hadn’t told Cuddy.

Marlena sighed to herself, and glanced out the windows of the nursery, through the lovely green sheers dotted with little bunnies, to the snow, still covering the back yard. It was melting now, but there was still enough on the ground to insure it was winter. They hadn’t had a storm to match the one right before Lily’s birth, but enough snow had come down to keep the temperatures low.

Hawaii sounded wonderful.

The rumble of the motorcycle echoed, breaking into her thoughts, and Marlena moved to the window, looking out. The Repsol was moving up the drive, and she gritted her teeth looking at it. Greg was always taking risks, but this one annoyed her particularly, and she turned away to calm herself before blowing a kiss to Lily and heading for the elevator.

As she stepped out, House came in, looking especially gleeful. “We need to start packing. And by that I mean you need to start packing, because our flight leaves in about four hours.”

Marlena looked over the top of her glasses at him. “Vot about Lisa? I’m not pecking von single diaper until I hear from her.”

House scowled. “Oh ye of little faith! She’s good with it. Raring to go, in fact.”

This was by far one of the biggest lies he’d ever attempted yet, and Marlena was amused at the way he twitched as he said it. She crossed her arms. “Oh really.”

“Okay, she may not be completely sold, but she’s willing to go, and you can’t deny that a change of scenery would be beneficial for her. All of us, in fact.” House mumbled, rubbing his hands a bit. “Is the Imp up yet?”

“No.”

“Good, I’ll go wake her.” House decided, lurching for the elevator. Marlena protested, but he was quick, pushing the button before she could work up a righteous growl.  She watched the car ascend, sighed, and made her way to the kitchen to whip up a To Do list.

House stepped out and turned to the nursery door, carefully opening it and peering in. The room was warm, cozy, with only the thin winter light coming through the green sheers. House lumbered over to the crib and peered down at the little sleeper in her flannel romper. He stared at her for a long moment, his gaze both sharp and soft; noting her breathing, her posture, her peacefulness.

“Hey Beelzababy. Time to get up.”

Gently he leaned over the lowered railing and scooped her up; Lily whimpered a little, eyes opening slowly as he brought her up to his chest, and she blinked in her slow fashion, small bow mouth opening in a yawn. House brought her closer, until his nose nearly touched her tiny button one. “You . . . stink.”

Lily didn’t take this personally; she worked her mouth a bit and continued to stare back. Her feet kicked, and House sighed.

He carted her over to the changing table, setting her gently on the pad there, and unzipping the romper. “So, interested in a trip to Hawaii? I know you can’t exactly swim, or surf or do much of anything except be an overdressed doorstop, but I have an ulterior motive, and you’re right in the center of it, Imp. All I ask is that you try not to be too much of a pain in the ass on the flights. Think you can keep the screaming and the pudding production to a minimum?”

Lily kicked again once the old diaper was off, and House wiped her down expertly before slipping the clean one under her petite bottom. He taped it on and paused for a moment, Lily’s small foot in one hand. Furtively, House bent down and kissed the sole, grinning as Lily excitedly pushed her toes against his lips. He repeated the gesture on the other tiny foot, then hurriedly got her legs back into the romper as the door to the nursery opened behind him.

“Give her to me.” Cuddy ordered, her tone firm. House picked up the baby and gave a dramatic sigh.

“Damn! If I’d only waited a few minutes longer I could have gotten you to unwrap the Special Surprise Package.”

“There’s nothing special, or surprising about it,” Cuddy replied absently, her expression shifting to pure indulgence as she took Lily into her arms. “Hi Honeybunny. Dad being a big old flatulent butthead?” she cooed.

House stiffened. “I’m not flatulent—that’s all her, the princess of Tooterville.”

“Yes, well you’re still a big old butthead, aren’t you?” came the cooing tone. Cuddy looked up from Lily and added, “For the record, I’m dead against this trip, Greg.”

“But you’re going to go anyway,” he predicted confidently, his gaze still on Lily. Cuddy’s mouth pursed, and she reluctantly nodded.

“Since I’ve been coerced into it, yes. Wilson said he’d take the dog while we’re gone, and Marlena’s already got the packing almost done . . . you know it’s not going to be easy, don’t you? You thought that trip to Singapore was a pain in the ass—“ Cuddy pointed out. House smirked, and leaned closer.

“Not as far; no idiots suffering from the bends this time. Not saying it’s going to be a piece of cake, but we’ll make it in good time.  You are packing a bikini, right?”

Cuddy rolled her eyes. “Yeah right. Like I’m going to parade my Post-Lily body out there among the supermodels. No way.”

House said nothing, but a flicker passed over his expression; a hint of frustrated patience that she missed, since her attention was focused on the child in her arms. He pulled back and moved around Cuddy, giving a noisy sigh. “We could always go to the nude beach instead.”

He managed a hasty retreat as Cuddy growled at him.


Two day later, House settled into the first class seat and closed his eyes. Cuddy was trying to read a paperback, and Marlena had Lily on her shoulder, cooing to the baby, who was fascinated by the hum of the plane. They’d been airborne for almost an hour, destined to reach Honolulu within two more.

So far, the trip had gone smoothly, with only the usual delays through security, and the Imp was a natural traveler, House noted. She’d done her part to keep the fussing to a minimum, crying only on take off, and even then, only for a short while. Of course with two grown women at her beck and call she was already pretty pampered, he acknowledged. House was good with it, particularly for the messier and noisier times.

But he did have one gripe about life, post-baby. A minor one in the scheme of things; something almost every other new father went through, post-partum. He’d known it would happen, but the reality of it was still hard to take, even through all the jokes and clichés and observations.

It was . . . annoying. He hadn’t realized how acclimated he’d gotten to it, how his body had adjusted to the sweet abundance and regularity of carnality with Cuddy. The combination of hormones and endorphins had helped with the pain of his leg, and the sheer intimacy of time with her let him relax to a greater degree than he had done in years.

House found himself aware of the shift of her focus; the loss of that was understandable in light of a relatively helpless newborn, nevertheless, losing Cuddy’s time and attention hurt more than he wanted to admit. He’d counted the weeks patiently, pressing his suit through over the top comments and leers, but when Cuddy didn’t respond as expected, he grew worried. Normally she was quick to shoot him down with an eye roll or exasperated huff; he anticipated those.

Instead she would give him a rueful smile and say something about Marlena or Lily needing her. House had watched her walk away from him more than once, feeling confused and frustrated—where was the banter? The cutting remarks? The evil promises?

He had gotten his answer a few days later, spying on her from the hallway to their bedroom. His She-Beast stood before the mirror on the back of the bathroom door, sucking in her stomach, running her hands along her hips and thighs. House had wanted to burst in on her vanity and ogle her properly, but before he could do it, Cuddy had raised her face, and the look in her eyes: misery, depression, even a little fear—had stopped him.

House knew—had always known that Cuddy was vain, but this . . . this was something deeper. Empathy resonated in him, and absently he rubbed his right thigh, suddenly uncomfortable.

More than vanity, yeah. A matter of accepting permanent alteration to one’s self. Her breasts were larger, her hips more flared, her ass definitely bigger. For almost any other mother, it would be minor.

For Cuddy, the woman forever fighting to stay lean and trim, it was . . . devastating.

Unacceptable.

Ugly.

House had moved away from the door, aware of the situation in all its ridiculous yet understandable dimensions now, and the first hints of a plan began to formulate in his mind. The arrival of Hinoshu’s flowers had furthered the scheme along. Hawaii was the destination, but the goal was much bigger than that, and House hoped the trip would provide the right sort of isolation for what he had in mind.


The Hibiscus Inn Resort was . . . small. It sat just north of Makapuu Beach, a gingerbread mansion of a hotel, slightly lost among the backdrop of towering coconut trees and green lawns. As the driver unloaded the suitcases from the shuttle van, both Cuddy and Marlena oohed and ahhed, showing Lily all the wonders around her. House gave the resort a quick glance, noting with grudging appreciation the discreet ramp alongside the front steps.

Travel was hard enough on his thigh; he’d learned to appreciate easy access over the years. Quietly popping a Vicodin, he looked out across the curved driveway towards the gentle slope beyond the highway, where the beach stretched out towards the blue water. It was a gorgeous view, and he smiled a little, glad to be breathing in warm air. Goodbye New Jersey . . . at least for two weeks, he thought, and turned back to look at Cuddy.

She had her sunglasses parked on the top of her head, and was smiling herself, looking in the direction he’d been studying. Cuddy breathed in a deep sigh, and when she met his gaze, she nodded. “It’s good.”

“Let’s check the rooms before we give it our blessing,” he replied, moving to the ramp.

The clerk behind the counter in the main lobby was a large chubby-cheeked man with eyes like shiny dark apple seeds, and curly shoulder-length hair. He smiled at them and his grin deepened on seeing Lily. “Oh cute, da bebe,” came his deep rumble.

“Thank you,” Cuddy smiled proudly.

He looked at all of them for a moment, then introduced himself, tapping a thick forefinger to his broad chest. “Jaspah Kealoha, runnin’ heah tings. You be?”

House stared at him. “House, kahuna doc, braddah. Sukebeh too, but you figgur it soon sho. This wakine with the sweet okole is mines one, and dah tutu too.”

Jasper’s grin widened with each syllable out of House’s sardonic mouth, and by the time he’d finished, the clerk was laughing, big booming chuckles rolling out of him. Lily looked slightly alarmed by this new sound.

“What the hell did you just say?” Cuddy whispered out of the side of her mouth to him. House smirked, but the man behind the counter spoke up, his grin wide.

“Damn, for a haole you’ve got da pidgin down, Doc! Okay, you four fine guests are in da Plumeria Bungalow, Numbah t’ree,” he handed over two old-fashioned brass keys, each on a keychain with a plastic plumeria blossom on it. House took them and handed one to Marlena, who tucked hers away. Jasper had already signaled to a slim young man to fetch the suitcases, and came around the counter to lead them to their rooms. He moved gracefully for such a large man, taking them down the ramp again, and off to the left of the main house, towards a bungalow just on the edge of the jungle. Cuddy followed him, Lily in her arms as Marlena carried the baby tote on one arm.

House dropped back to walk with her, trying to keep his voice low as he spoke. “Better than Jersey?”

“Jah,” Marlena agreed with a small smile. “Oont varm!”

They reached the bungalow, which also had a low ramp, and stepped onto the porch, which Jasper called the lanai. He ushered them into the living room, pointing out the amenities of big screen TV, fireplace, wet bar and out in the back, a hot tub. “Laundry go inna morning; set dah kine basket out on dah lanai and it be back by afta’noon. You need cah?”

“We’re renting one tomorrow,” Cuddy told him, wandering into the living room and smiling. “Thank you so much, Jasper, it’s beautiful.”

“Hibiscus Inn is sure ‘nuff primo,” the man agreed proudly. With the tiniest of touches to Lily’s sock-covered foot, he nodded to them all and made his way out, leaving them standing in the spacious living room.

Marlena took charge. “Vell. I sink it’s napsytime for everybody.”

“Napsytime?” House snapped. He might have gotten into a glaring contest with Marlena, but Cuddy handed him Lily, which was an unfair distraction. He took her as Cuddy moved to set up the portable crib.

Marlena began moving suitcases into bedrooms.

“Naptime for you while I feed the baby,” came the soft comment. “It won’t kill you to put your feet up for a while.”

House looked down at his daughter, who was wriggling now, clearly hungry and ready to do something about it. Carefully he pinned her against his shoulder and began to move to the sofa. At some point Lily’s face brushed the side of his head, and he felt the excited suction of her tiny lips against his ear.

It tickled.

“Ahhg!” House muttered, amused and slightly embarrassed at the same time. He shifted ever so gently to dislodge her, glaring into her expectant face. “Puke in Dad’s ear, Imp, and you’re sharkbait.”

Cuddy was looking at them though, grinning. “She kissed you?”

“She sucked my earlobe. She’s not supposed to do that with her father—that’s just wrong on so many levels,” he complained, wiping the side of his face dramatically as Cuddy took Lily.

“Yes, well considering who she gets half her genetics from,” came the absent reply. “Go lie down, Greg—“

He rose, reluctantly, and looked down as Cuddy settled Lily into the crook of her arm, already pulling up her tee shirt and unfastening the nursing bra, the actions automatic and gracefully efficient all at the same time. Lilly fussed a bit, but latched on quickly, settling into deep bliss as she nursed.

House looked at them for a while, and finally Cuddy lifted her gaze from the baby to him. “You’ve seen this all before,” she mumbled, slightly pink.

He cocked his head. “I know,” House replied gently. “But it’s a great rerun.”