look at him. if in the pilot dean had straight up chloroformed, abducted, and chained him to the passenger seat of the impala, I would've defended him. it would've been the most logical reaction
omg absolutely. I still don’t know how House ended up with baby/toddler Thirteen, or how she got the nickname Thirteen in this au (I’ll figure that out later, lol) but here are some other hcs I’ve been thinking about:
I’m kind of imagining House with his adopted toddler daughter on his hip when he bails Wilson out of jail in New Orleans in 1991 and it’s making me laugh way too much
Wilson thinks Thirteen’s legal, actual name on her birth certificate is “Thirteen” for MONTHS after he meets her. House lets him believe it because he thinks it’s funny.
Thirteen solely calls Wilson “Wilson” because of House, and is shocked and betrayed when she finds out his “real name” is James/Jimmy. She is angry at Wilson for several days after this discovery.
Wilson thinks she’s cute (and thinks it’s hot that House is a single dad), but is super awkward around her at first. House loves seeing him flounder and so he eggs Thirteen on to “ask Wilson to play”, etc.
House brings baby/toddler Thirteen to work all the time. He says it’s because he doesn’t want to pay for outside childcare but Cuddy knows it’s because he’s attached to the kid and loves her a lot. She hangs out with him in his office, with Cuddy (“Miss Lisa” or “Aunt Lisa” maybe? Although no one knows how she started calling Cuddy that, because House only ever calls her Cuddy), with the nurses on their breaks (they adore her), or with the other kids her age in the daycare the hospital has for their employees.
Cuddy insists on calling her “Remy” so that Thirteen knows her “real name”, but no matter how much Cuddy tries, she still only responds to Thirteen
House bouncing diagnosis ideas off of bby/toddler Thirteen and eventually landing on the right one via an epiphany he had because of her.
It's ok if your story is predictable. Not every work of fiction needs to reinvent the wheel.
There's a reason that tropes exist, and it's because readers enjoy them and they make compelling stories. As long as the journey is fun, readers will come along for the ride.