Note: This is my first fic ever. I originally posted it on LJ and got some positive reviews (although they might have just been pity) so I decided to share it here. Some of the conversation is taken directly from Ugly.
"Cameron was smart."
"You know, I'm beginning to doubt that." Wilson said as he left.
Speaking of which, House remembered seeing Cameron being interviewed while he was looking for clips of Terzi to show Wilson. He wondered why they would interview her and what she might have said. He hadn't had much interaction with her since her move to the ER and was curious as to what her thoughts were about her time on the team. He quickly forwarded through other clips before he got to hers.
Darnell (Interviewer): "So, before you worked here in the ER, you worked for House, right?"
Cameron: "Three and a half years"
Darnell: "Why did you leave?"
'Now this could get interesting,' thought House as he settled into his chair.
ER Patient: "Hey, I don't want to be on TV. I'm not signing a release."
Darnell: "We'll blur you out."
Cameron: "Take off your pants."
ER Patient: "Will you be able to use any of this if I start swearing?"
Darnell: "Did House treat you as badly as he treats his current fellows?"
Cameron: "Loaded question."
ER Patient: "Fuuork. That's not even a word. Fork!"
Darnell: "Very clever."
Cameron: "I learned how to be a doctor from House, or at least a doctor to learn how to be a doctor from House, if that makes any sense."
Darnell: "And you left his team because you couldn't stand him anymore?"
Cameron: "No, no, I… I love Dr. House."
Darnell: "Now that's something we haven't heard."
Cameron: "I mean… What did you ask me again?"
Darnell: "Why you left."
Cameron: "I…I loved being around him, professionally you know. It was always stimulating, not in an erotic sense of the word."
ER Patient: "Fork. They forked and then they spooned."
House was so stunned after Cameron said love that the clip had moved on to something else before he even realized it. He quickly rewound back to the beginning and listened to it again. He was stunned again after the stimulating comment and quickly played the clip again. After playing it for the fifth time in a row, House finally turned the television off and slumped back in his chair. He had thought Cameron was over him. She had moved on professionally in the ER and personally with Chase. And love? He had always thought Cameron had some sort of misguided hero crush on him, but maybe he was mistaken. This new revelation was extremely interesting. He quickly made a copy of the clip before exiting to return the keys to Blue or Lou or whatever Wilson said his name was.
House didn't get much of an opportunity over the next few days to think about what to do with his new found information. He had to try figure out what was wrong with his patient and also what to do about Terzi. After the patient was diagnosed with Lyme disease and he fired Terzi and she declined his invitation for dinner, he finally got an opportunity to think about the Cameron situation. He spent an hour thinking about what to do before deciding to confront her and just wing it from there. He then hacked into Cuddy's account and found out Cameron worked until 10 tonight. He glanced at the clock, 9:00. Good, just enough time to put his plan into action.
Cameron was pissed. First, she had gotten puked on three times during her shift. Then just as she was about to leave, a bus accident had been brought in and she only got out at midnight. Last, she had run into Chase on her way to the locker room to change. Apparently he was still angry about her comment to the television crew. No matter how much she argued that it just slipped out and she didn't mean it, he didn't believer her. He had told her to get her things out of his apartment by the end of the week. As she walked up to her door, she was thinking about taking a long bath and getting some much needed sleep before her shift tomorrow. That all changed when the doorknob opened without using her keys. Cameron was pretty sure she hadn't left the door unlocked this morning. However, maybe Chase had grabbed his stuff. She crept into her apartment, leaving the door open in case a burglar was in her apartment and she had to dart out quickly. She looked around and saw someone sitting on her couch. As she crept closer, the face turned towards her.
"Finally. I was beginning to get bored," House said.
"House?!? You scared the crap out of me! How did you get in?"
"Foreman isn't the only one with skills."
"What are you doing here?"
"Shhh. This is my favorite part."
Only at that point did Cameron realize that House was watching something on TV. Worried that House was watching porn on her television, Cameron looked over at the television with one eye closed. Both of her eyes opened in surprise when she realized that she was on the TV and speaking!
"No, no, I… I love Dr. House."
Cameron slumped unto her couch beside House before asking, "How did you get this? I asked them to delete it."
"I know a guy who knows a guy."
Cameron grabbed the remote out of House's hand. He started to protest but Cameron silenced him.
"I'm sure you have already watched this clip a bunch of times so if I am going to defend myself, I need to know what kind of ammo you have," Cameron said as she rewound the clip to the beginning.
Cameron slumped even farther into the couch when she got to the stimulating comment and covered her face with her hands. When she finally looked over at House, he was smirking back at her.
"I always knew I was stimulating. Now the whole world will find out when I put this online," House said.
Cameron looked at House in horror before replying, "You can't do that! I was distracted by the patient. I had no idea what I was saying. None of it was true. If you put this online, it will be seen by any future employers I might have."
"The fact that you were distracted by the patient means you didn't have an opportunity to censor your words. You still have the hots for me," House stated, his smirk growing larger.
Cameron opened her mouth to respond before closing it. She shook her head before standing and asking, "You want anything to drink?"
"You can't just change the subject like that."
"I learned from the best. Now, do you want coffee or something else to drink?"
"It is 12:45 in the morning and you are offering to make coffee? Isn't there something called sleep that normally happens around this time?"
"I know you aren't going to leave until you get an answer so I figured I need to be awake to give you a satisfactory answer," Cameron replied.
"Fine, I'll have some coffee."
Ten minutes later Cameron came back into the room with two cups of coffee in her hand. House grabbed one of the cups out of her hand and took a quick sip.
"Ah, I have missed this. You run off to the ER and all of a sudden I can't get a good pot of coffee."
Cameron blushed at his compliment, unsure how to respond.
"Of course the fact that you spend all your time stitching up idiots who can't tell their head from their foot means you have plenty of time to practice," House said, hoping this covered his rare compliment.
"Right, because the ER is such a cakewalk," Cameron responded dryly.
"By the way, do we have to worry about the wombat coming in and getting the wrong idea?" House asked.
"I wish," Cameron muttered.
House looked at her confused, "You wish he would come in and get the wrong idea?"
"No, I wish he would be coming in."
"Ah, trouble in paradise?" House asked with a smirk. "Have anything to do with this clip?"
"Shut-up," Cameron said, returning the smirk.
"Now, about those feelings for me."
Cameron's smirk disappeared. She sat in silence for a minute before finally deciding to tell the truth.
"You caught me. I thought by getting together with Chase I might be able to forget about you and move on. Obviously that wasn't the case. I understand you don't feel the same way. I'll just go back to being single and trying to find someone who might eventually be able to measure up to you."
House sat back in shock. Sure he had been pretty certain he was correct about Cameron still having feelings but to hear it spelled out right in front of him was something else. He put his coffee mug on the table and stood up to leave. His hand was on the doorknob when Cameron's voice stopped him.
"House. I'm sorry for leaving the team. I just needed to get away and see if I could move on."
House was sure he had turned around to make some smart comment but the words died in his throat when he saw how close Cameron was to him.
"Just remember, I'm always here for you," Cameron said, as she leaned in to kiss House on the check.
House turned his head just as she was doing this and her lips landed on his own. Her lips ghosted across his own and House flashed back to their other kiss. Suddenly, all of the reasons for turning down Cameron just seemed like excuses. As Cameron was pulling away, House grabbed her by the waist, shoved her against the wall, and tried to shove his tongue down her throat. Cameron quickly responded. House wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted but his leg gave a twinge and he pulled back and popped some Vicodin.
"Much better when you don't think I'm dying?" House asked with a smirk.
"Much," Cameron replied as she leaned in for another kiss.