"Just... just say goodbye, Greg."
Her words echoed in his head as he sat in the sand by the opening of their hut. Cuddy had exited only a moment before, giving him those painful words as she made no effort to hide the sheer heartache they both felt. He had told her to wash off; not wanting to see Cameron's blood all over her as well. Of course, being the hypocrite he always was, he hadn't made any effort to remove the woman's blood from his own body.
"...say goodbye..."
He wiped as much blood from his face and hands as he could and turned on his good side so he could crawl into their makeshift home. Here he was, the man who never admitted defeat in the face of the impossible, about to say goodbye to the only patient he'd ever cared about. "Cameron..." He whispered over the knot in his throat as he approached the back of the room where the girl had been placed atop the bedding of leaves.
Her lack of movement shook him and he was by her side in another instant, running a hand down her cheek. "Allison, please..." His voice was now barely audible; the tears streaking down his face a sudden precursor to the first sob he'd ever let go in front of a woman. "I'm so..." He stopped as another pitiful sound escaped his throat. "God woman! You didn't have to die to make me admit to loving you."
Cameron blinked her functional eye open and took in a ragged, deep breath, which was accompanied by a long, low groan. Her next breath was just as forced. "Greg..." She barely got the words across her lips but he had already begun assessing the wounds on her chest, stomach and neck. With their limited supply of linen, they'd had to make do with sea sponges. The wound on her gut kept his eyes constantly traveling over to it. He'd given up on keeping pressure on the bleeds; there was no OR to wheel her to and he couldn't keep her from bleeding out like this forever.
The wound on her neck was equally as lethal, but her hair had matted itself into it, temporarily slowing the oozing of blood. He didn't want to look at the wound on her chest, knowing he could never assess the damage it was causing inside her ribcage. "Allison." He wiped the tears from his eyes and looked back towards her face. She wasn't trying to find him; unable to move her neck very far without searing pain.
"... just say goodbye..."
"Greg." She coughed, a small trickle of blood pooling down the corner of her mouth. She hadn't the energy to wipe it away and merely let it drip in slow rivulets down her cheek. "Please." At her words he sat back and ran a blood crusted hand through his unruly hair.
"I- I can't. I'm so sorry, Allison. I just can't." He was choked up again and soon his tears were strong enough to rival the ones dripping down Cameron's cheeks and ears. "You're just such an idiot... If you weren't dying I'd strangle you myself." His comment got the woman to laugh, which resulted in more blood spilling over her lips. "I'm sorry."
Cameron took in a few slow, wheezy breaths before trying to respond. Her body was starting to grow numb from the blood loss and shock. She'd seen this a hundred times over during her career but never thought this was the way she would end up going. Bleeding to death on a deserted island had been at the very bottom of her list of potential death sentences. Of course it did beat bleeding to death on a deserted island alone. She closed her good eye, unable to remember what she was going to try to say.
House ran his hand over her cheek again, spilling his fingers down her jaw and to the pulse point on her neck. It was still there, though very weak and thready.
"... say goodbye..."
"Allison." He soothed, running his fingers now past the dangerous gash on her neck in order to play gently on her untouched shoulder. "I'm sorry I hurt you." The words suddenly came spilling out of his mouth. "I never truly understood how that heart of yours worked; how you could love someone who was adamant on never loving you back." He paused to wipe his cheeks, then returned his hand to her shoulder and upper arm, rubbing gently.
"I'm sorry I never gave you the chance to try and change me..." He paused again as the girls eye fluttered open and searched for him once more. Leaning down into her field of vision he gave her the most genuine smile he ever produced in front of her. "You know you're dying..." He trailed off once more.
Cameron knew she had only a matter of minutes before her world would go black forever. She'd never believed in heaven until now; she hoped Trevor would be waiting for her by the 'Pearly Gates'. She was pulled from the thought by the hand rubbing up her arm tenderly. "Greg-" It was barely a whisper, but he'd been staring at her so intently he would have heard her even if she'd only mouthed the words. If this was it, she needed to know. "Make love to me."
House couldn't control the painful sob that escaped his throat at the girls requested proverbial 'last meal'. He nodded and wrapped his arms underneath her shoulders and torso, pulling her up into his strong arms. Either she had run out of energy to cry out or the shock had taken the pain of her brutal wounds away. "I've got you." He whispered as he held her close, resting her cheek on his shoulder as he positioned her in his lap. "Just give an old man a minute."
In 99.9 percent of similar circumstances he would never have imagined himself to react this way, but he had denied her for so long; hurt her for so long. He closed his eyes and willed himself to forget about the blood oozing out of her chest and stomach onto his, and to think back to the first time he had ever spent time with her outside of work. "I'm sorry I stole your cotton candy." He whispered as he brought himself to hardness. It was the first time he'd ever been glad for a morally inappropriate erection. Then again, who was he to judge morals?
Cameron used all her strength to keep her head on his neck so she could take in the scent of his skin against hers. She had waited for this moment for more than five years; if she was going to die, in his arms was now number one on her list. She must have blanked out for a moment because he was now inside of her, filling her up the way he always did in her dreams. "Greg..." She puffed against his neck.
"Shhhh. Let me take care of you for once." With those words she gave him all her energy, focusing her slowly fading mind on the sensations of being in his arms. Their position was awkward but he was determined to make it work; he wanted her to experience his love, knowing it was the last thing she'd ever feel.
There were no more words between them; everything they felt towards each other being expressed in the slow movement of his body inside hers. He kept his hold around her rock solid, finding the strength inside him to keep them moving despite the pain and the shock and the sheer heartache he hoped she knew he felt.
The woman realized she'd blacked out again, for the next moment she felt herself automatically clenching inside as her orgasm flooded her body with pleasure. She gasped out loud and from somewhere found the energy to circle her arms around his chest. The final moment was around the corner, and as she allowed it to embrace her, the last thing she felt as she let go was him climaxing inside of her. Then there was no more time for thought; the end was here and she let it take her away.
House knew instantly that she was gone; her arms fell lose against their sides and the air he'd felt against his neck had vanished. "Oh god..." There was nothing in the world that could have kept him holding back his verbal anguish as he very slowly leant forward and placed the woman's motionless body gently back on the ground.
Cameron was gone... She had died in his arms. The only rational thought he could hold onto was that he hoped her orgasm had given her pleasure, and that she would take that with her wherever her afterlife was. "Goodbye Cameron." He whispered through his body shaking sobs. He wiped the blood drenched hair from her face and positioned it for the final time behind her ears. Pulling himself away from her still body, he looked at her face one last time and smiled. "You're in God's arms now."