Four Divorces And A Funeral - epilogue
Oct. 31st, 2011 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damigellaDrabble Prologue
Chapter 1, warnings, and stuff.
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue
"I must be growing old, because I can't even recognize everybody at the central table. Who's that near your aunt Myriam?"
"That would be James' fiancé. You're right, it's weird to see a new face among the closest family members at a fiftieth wedding anniversary."
"I didn't mean the cute blonde near uncle Jonathan. I meant the old guy with the scruff."
"Me too. The girl near Jonathan is Crystal, Jonathan junior's daughter. You probably don't recognize her because she grew four inches and three cup sizes since you last saw her, and she was also a brunette then. And the man near Myriam is Greg, James' fiancé."
"Oh. Fiancé with six letters, not seven. So Mr. 'Three divorces and a funeral' decided to try a different strategy this time?"
"Apparently, but he hasn't lost the marriage proclivity. Uncle Jonathan was very upset at first, but once he noticed how obviously happy James is when they are together he got somewhat reconciled with the whole idea. Or so Myriam told me."
"Well, if that's working so well it could explain the three divorces. And James could upgrade to 'Four divorces and a funeral' in the near future."
Mary frowned, she obviously found the joke unpleasant.
"That would sound more like the movie title, but I don't think it's going to happen: I've seen how they look at each other. I expect there will be rather another funeral than another divorce in James' love life. Hopefully not too soon: Greg is ten years older than James and not in perfect health."
The answer was in conciliatory tones.
"Well, he isn't too old. Let's hope they can have a lot of time together still."
"Indeed, James has been unlucky enough. He had made such a nice career for himself in Princeton and now he had to go and start all over again in Southern California. He has taken a big pay cut. They've moved in together so they'll save money, but still."
"Why did he do it?"
"You know, I'm not sure. He's always been my favorite cousin since I was his babysitter, but he's been really mysterious about this whole story - I didn't hear from him in almost a year, so I had to extract the information I have from his mother. Apparently he got quite sick and decided he needed a less stressful job."
"Good that he has a doctor at home to take care of him."
"And such a good-looking man, too. Almost handsome enough for James, don't you think?"
"Not my cup of tea, but if you say so."
Sue winked, and Mary winked back, squeezing her hand under the table. She hadn't been interested in a man since she left her husband for Sue thirty years ago, and her 'friend' knew it as much as the rest of the family.
______
House watched Wilson stretch out in the hotel bed and yawn. He had mentioned being very tired because of catching the red-eye the night before. The mattress moved when House sat down, and Wilson turned towards him and smiled.
"Should I get you a t-shirt 'I survived my official introduction to the extended Wilson family' or would you prefer one celebrating your language restraint while sitting near my mother?"
"Had you introduced me to cousin Hank before I accepted to marry you I might have given a different answer. He looked at me like he wanted to kill me."
Wilson laughed. "He looked at you from more than a foot down. You can't feel threatened by a fourteen year old."
"He's the only one who was less than friendly. I'm impressed by your family, really."
House lay down under the comforter and slid his left arm under Wilson's neck: a head nestled on his shoulder, followed immediately by a warm body wrapping around his. The whispered "Goodnight" was so close to his collarbone that he could feel the breath on his skin.
He could have picked up something to read or his iPod from the bedside table, but he didn't. He switched off the light instead, and kept his eyes open in the dark, reviewing their plans for the next days on the East Coast: a visit to his mother, lunch with Wilson's old oncology group, dinner with his ex-team members including Foreman, final paperwork on the sale of their old apartments. He would also have to make sure that his instruments, particularly the piano and the organ, were packed correctly for their trip to San Diego.
This was also their last trip East before the marriage, and there were a few signatures to take care of. He had agreed easily to their lawyer's suggestion to tie the knot, since his real commitment had been declared weeks earlier, with the words "By the way, I mailed the resignation letter." The following night had been the first in which they shared a bed and not just a bedroom, Wilson trembling all over as he first tried what was now their standard sleeping arrangement.
His last doubts had been appeased when each of their therapists had agreed that the simple ceremony they'd planned near New York, just the two of them and the clerks, would be no stressor and in particular pose no risk to Wilson's still fragile balance. He fell asleep thinking about how much he liked the idea of Wilson wearing a ring with his name: it had taken one full session for him to admit this, and he hadn't told Wilson yet.
He woke up briefly around two, when Wilson started jerking and whining in his sleep; circling his fingers on the other's temples, he managed to calm him down without waking him up. Hopefully by next Halloween he would be healthy enough to open their door to the trick-or-treaters and distribute candy, House thought before falling asleep again.
Chapter 1, warnings, and stuff.
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Epilogue
"I must be growing old, because I can't even recognize everybody at the central table. Who's that near your aunt Myriam?"
"That would be James' fiancé. You're right, it's weird to see a new face among the closest family members at a fiftieth wedding anniversary."
"I didn't mean the cute blonde near uncle Jonathan. I meant the old guy with the scruff."
"Me too. The girl near Jonathan is Crystal, Jonathan junior's daughter. You probably don't recognize her because she grew four inches and three cup sizes since you last saw her, and she was also a brunette then. And the man near Myriam is Greg, James' fiancé."
"Oh. Fiancé with six letters, not seven. So Mr. 'Three divorces and a funeral' decided to try a different strategy this time?"
"Apparently, but he hasn't lost the marriage proclivity. Uncle Jonathan was very upset at first, but once he noticed how obviously happy James is when they are together he got somewhat reconciled with the whole idea. Or so Myriam told me."
"Well, if that's working so well it could explain the three divorces. And James could upgrade to 'Four divorces and a funeral' in the near future."
Mary frowned, she obviously found the joke unpleasant.
"That would sound more like the movie title, but I don't think it's going to happen: I've seen how they look at each other. I expect there will be rather another funeral than another divorce in James' love life. Hopefully not too soon: Greg is ten years older than James and not in perfect health."
The answer was in conciliatory tones.
"Well, he isn't too old. Let's hope they can have a lot of time together still."
"Indeed, James has been unlucky enough. He had made such a nice career for himself in Princeton and now he had to go and start all over again in Southern California. He has taken a big pay cut. They've moved in together so they'll save money, but still."
"Why did he do it?"
"You know, I'm not sure. He's always been my favorite cousin since I was his babysitter, but he's been really mysterious about this whole story - I didn't hear from him in almost a year, so I had to extract the information I have from his mother. Apparently he got quite sick and decided he needed a less stressful job."
"Good that he has a doctor at home to take care of him."
"And such a good-looking man, too. Almost handsome enough for James, don't you think?"
"Not my cup of tea, but if you say so."
Sue winked, and Mary winked back, squeezing her hand under the table. She hadn't been interested in a man since she left her husband for Sue thirty years ago, and her 'friend' knew it as much as the rest of the family.
______
House watched Wilson stretch out in the hotel bed and yawn. He had mentioned being very tired because of catching the red-eye the night before. The mattress moved when House sat down, and Wilson turned towards him and smiled.
"Should I get you a t-shirt 'I survived my official introduction to the extended Wilson family' or would you prefer one celebrating your language restraint while sitting near my mother?"
"Had you introduced me to cousin Hank before I accepted to marry you I might have given a different answer. He looked at me like he wanted to kill me."
Wilson laughed. "He looked at you from more than a foot down. You can't feel threatened by a fourteen year old."
"He's the only one who was less than friendly. I'm impressed by your family, really."
House lay down under the comforter and slid his left arm under Wilson's neck: a head nestled on his shoulder, followed immediately by a warm body wrapping around his. The whispered "Goodnight" was so close to his collarbone that he could feel the breath on his skin.
He could have picked up something to read or his iPod from the bedside table, but he didn't. He switched off the light instead, and kept his eyes open in the dark, reviewing their plans for the next days on the East Coast: a visit to his mother, lunch with Wilson's old oncology group, dinner with his ex-team members including Foreman, final paperwork on the sale of their old apartments. He would also have to make sure that his instruments, particularly the piano and the organ, were packed correctly for their trip to San Diego.
This was also their last trip East before the marriage, and there were a few signatures to take care of. He had agreed easily to their lawyer's suggestion to tie the knot, since his real commitment had been declared weeks earlier, with the words "By the way, I mailed the resignation letter." The following night had been the first in which they shared a bed and not just a bedroom, Wilson trembling all over as he first tried what was now their standard sleeping arrangement.
His last doubts had been appeased when each of their therapists had agreed that the simple ceremony they'd planned near New York, just the two of them and the clerks, would be no stressor and in particular pose no risk to Wilson's still fragile balance. He fell asleep thinking about how much he liked the idea of Wilson wearing a ring with his name: it had taken one full session for him to admit this, and he hadn't told Wilson yet.
He woke up briefly around two, when Wilson started jerking and whining in his sleep; circling his fingers on the other's temples, he managed to calm him down without waking him up. Hopefully by next Halloween he would be healthy enough to open their door to the trick-or-treaters and distribute candy, House thought before falling asleep again.
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no subject
Date: 2011-10-31 11:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 11:25 am (UTC)Thank you for reading it all!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 11:30 am (UTC)I am happy you liked it, and looking forward to the rest of your cup of terror :).
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 11:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 07:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 01:44 pm (UTC)Once House said yes, I think he'd do what it takes, distasteful as it may be to him.
It is my personal opinion that they both need a good therapist even in canon :).
I think House never really had a chance to say no: Wilson needed him and he had certainly ample reason to feel, if not guilty, at least responsible. I spared you all Wilson's declarations on the witness stand, but House sat through all of them.
Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 01:13 pm (UTC)I loved having the Epilogue start with gossip between two nosy guests at a Wilson family event. There's always something very fascinating in seeing outsiders' reactions to the H/W combo.
It's good to see an ending that's as happy as it can be, given the damage Wilson has endured. You know things won't be easy, but the two of them will make it work somehow.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 06:20 pm (UTC)The fic really started from that part of the epilogue.
And yes, I think together they can rule the world - and overcome any problem. With time, and together.
Thank you so much for staying with me all the way, and for the encouraging comments.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 04:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 06:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 07:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-01 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-02 10:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-02 03:19 pm (UTC)