THIS IS SOMETHING I COULDN'T GET OUT OF MY HEAD. HOPE YOU LIKE!
DON'T OWN HOUSE OR OUAT.
He's finally found her. It's taken him 2 years, every day growing more painful than the next, but House has finally found the love of his life. He watches her from outside a little restaurant, called Granny's Diner, simply unable to avert his gaze. Finally, she pays her tab and grabs her red jacket, and walks out into the brisk Maine air.
"Cameron!" He calls. The blonde freezes, eyes shooting daggers at him. She walks over to him, and he immediately senses the difference. She is no longer his Cameron. She seems to be someone else entirely.
"How did you find me?" She snaps, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Remember Lucas?" House asks, knowing the answer. "He owed me a favor. I cashed in."
"I have a different life now, House. I have no interest in coming back to the team." She says.
"You wouldn't want to. Cuddy's gone." He starts, but is cut off.
"What!" She gasps.
"Chase just recently got stabbed, and can not-so-barely walk." This time, he pauses, waiting for the inevitable water works over her ex-husband. She surprises him by simply staring at him in shock.
"What happened?" She asks after a moment.
"A patient stabbed him with a scalpel. He probably wouldn't have been if my idiot employee didn't stand there like an idiot." House elaborates.
"Thirteen?" She figures.
"No. Adams. Thirteen left, so I have Chase, Taub, Adams, and Park. Foreman's the new Dean."
"Wow." She breathes.
"You changed your name." He comments.
"You like?" She smiles.
"Emma Swan. It has a nice ring to it." House shrugs.
"I was hoping you wouldn't come looking. I guess I was wrong." She shifts her jacket, and the Sheriff's badge slides into view.
"You're the Sheriff of Storybrooke?" House almost laughs at how absurd it sounds.
"Uh, yeah." She replies. "I was Deputy, but my boss died." The two look toward the sound of clicking heels. "Perfect timing." She remarks sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"Ms. Swan." The mayor says.
"No, I haven't seen Henry." She snaps, eager to get the brunette away.
"I know that's usually my first question, but I was wondering who he is." Regina nods her head toward House.
"No one you need to know about. I've got it all under control." The blonde replies smoothly.
"I'm the mayor-" Regina gets cut off.
"And I'm the Sheriff. I'll alert you if there's a problem. Don't you have some paperwork that needs signing or something?" Regina opens her mouth to protest, but closes it. She was too baffled by the fact that someone new entered the town. So, she resorts to making a dramatic flip of her hair as she stomps down the street to find her next victim to interrogate.
"You're so different, Cameron." He pauses, then cocks his head. "What do I call you?"
"Emma." She says firmly, though with House around, the name sounds foreign on her tongue. House senses it, too.
"Why'd you leave?"
"What's with the 20 questions?" She retorts. His mouth almost falls open.
"What happened to you?"
"That's another question." Emma counters.
"I have to say, the mayor is worse than Cuddy." He says. "But seriously, you're starting to sound like me."
"We've all missed your optimism and ethical speeches." House said, but they both know he means to say I've missed you.
"So you drove all the way up here to listen to me talk to you about morals, even though we know that you're going to ignore it?"
"Emma!" Henry beams, and comes barreling towards them. House cringes.
"You're mom's not actually looking for you." Emma smiles, and it takes everything House has not to explode from curiosity. Henry stares up at House.
"As soon as she sees me with you, she will be. Who's he?"
"I'm her old boss." House answers before his former employee can, throwing her a smirk.
"Are you a cop?" Henry asks.
"Do I look like a cop, Kid?" House retorts.
"He's a lot like you." Henry turns to Emma.
"Are you kidding?" House almost laughs at the kid's stupidity. "She's the most opposite person I've ever met."
"House, shut up." She throws him a pointed look, one that Henry doesn't miss.
"Do you think now would be a good time to tell me more about you?" Henry questions. House immediately perks up.
"Maybe later, Kid." Emma says, desperately hoping that House doesn't figure out that Henry's her son.
"Uh oh, you're calling- " Henry gets cut off when Emma places her hand over his mouth.
"You're mom's coming." For once, Emma's relieved to see Regina. At least House won't figure it out. The boy follows Emma's gaze.
"Henry, let's go." Regina says curtly.
"Fine." Henry rolls his eyes. "By, Emma."
"Mary Margaret wants to see you tonight." Emma says, her gaze locking with his. Henry knows what she's trying to say.
"What was that about?" House asks after the two are out of earshot.
"Let's go back to my office." Emma says, not wanting to draw attention to the two.
"Why the secrecy?" Still, House complies, climbing into the passenger seat of the yellow beetle. The drive is short, and House is surprisingly silent the whole way. No one questions them as they walk into the station. Emma closes the door and locks it for good measure, making sure Mr. Gold can't get in.
"So, what else has changed since I left?" She casually leans on the desk.
"You." House says, having a physical need to get information out of her. He longs for the Cameron that left him behind.
"I thought we were off of me?" She moans.
"Have you forgotten how I work?" He questions in mock disbelief.
"House, no one knows how you work." A smile tugs at her lips. He can't help but mirror her actions.
"In all seriousness, though." He says. "What happened to you?"
"Nothing." She says as nonchalantly as possible.
"That nothing means something. You're different."
"As you said." Emma cuts in. House ignores her and continues.
"You've grown up, Cameron. You're not naïve anymore. You're stronger." He takes a step closer, closing the distance between them. She glances down at his lips, then back up to his eyes, and almost shudders at the close proximity. "I like it." He finally rasps. Emma gives in, and pushes him against the desk, lips crashing against his. House doesn't miss a beat, passionately kissing her back. After a few, intense moments, the need for oxygen becomes a necessity, and Emma pulls back. "Some things never change." House smiles, and Emma can't help but feel intoxicated.
"I came here to start a new life." She says. House waits, knowing she'll continue. "If I tell you everything, will you leave me alone?"
"Do you want me to?" He questions.
"Yes." They both know it's a lie.
"I need to know." He says softly.
"Where do you want me to start?" She takes a seat, motioning for him to do the same. He rolls one of the rolling chairs in front of her and sits.
"From the beginning." House says. Emma takes a deep breath, and fixes her gaze on a very interesting spot on the wall.
"I was in the foster system." She says. "I was bounced around a lot. There was this one family that was really nice, but couldn't keep me. That's why I was so optimistic when I was on the team. I thought that even though all the others were horrible, there are decent people in the world." She waits for him to comment.
"I didn't know." Is all he can say. He genuinely is surprised.
"Then I met my husband. When he got his diagnosis, he went kind of crazy. He was always drunk. Before he got really sick, he wasn't the nicest guy."
"I already knew that."
"Fine. Remember when I said I went to jail?" House nods. "That was for breaking and entering. It was right after he died." She takes another breath, and sighs. She might as well tell him. "It's also where I had my son." At this admission, House's jaw drops.
"That kid out there, he's your son?" It's more of a statement than a question.
"Yes." She nods.
"Wow." He honestly doesn't know what to say.
"What?" She smirks, taking some pride in still having the ability to surprise him. "No sarcastic comment?"
"Did he..?" House doesn't have to finish the question to get his point across. Emma nods in affirmative, making House the only other living person who knew about it. He senses her uncomfort of the subject, so he changes it. "You're still blonde."
"It's my natural color." Emma relaxes.
"What else don't I know? Why such a small town? Henry's adoption was closed, so you shouldn't even be here."
"He found me. I used to live in Boston. Technically I still do. He dragged me here because he thinks everyone's a fairytale character who doesn't remember who they are."
"Who does he think you are?" House asks.
"Does it matter?" She really doesn't feel like explaining it again.
"Yes." He simply responds.
"Fine." She sighs. "The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming."
"Why do you know who you are?" He jokes.
"I don't believe him."
"Oh, I know that. I'm just curious, if it was true, how you would know about it."
"According to him, they sent me through a magical tree minutes after I was born. Apparently I'm the key to breaking the curse the Evil Queen, aka Regina Mills, cast upon the characters." Emma explains.
"You're kid's insane." House says.
"Hey!" She glares at him. "Don't insult him."
"At least my sarcasm and bluntness is comforting." He offers her a small smile.
"Not really." Emma mirrors him despite herself. "What are you really doing here, House?"
"I missed you, Cam." He says, his eyes only holding honesty. Her head snaps up at him, a clear struggle between the two contrasting personalities playing across her face. The people at PPTH were the closest thing she'd ever truly had to a family.
"Why the nickname?" She prays he doesn't hear the quiver in her voice. House only shrugs his response. "Come on, House!" She yells, trying to provoke him. She welcomes the anger that suddenly surges through her; it's easier to deal with than the pain.
"Come back." It isn't just a question, but a plea.
"You don't think I've thought about going back every day since I left!" The sudden outburst startles House. He always considered her to be a passive-aggressive person, but apparently he was wrong.
"It's simple, you've done it before. Just drop everything and come back." This isn't how it's supposed to go. He only came to see what she'd been up to. He never thought of asking her to return.
"Nothing's that simple, House." She snaps, too tired to fight, the anger ebbing away. "I can't just leave Henry, he needs me. I'm also not done with Regina."
"You left us." House comments.
"I had just gotten a divorce." She says, but it sounds lame even to her own ears.
"You had the team. You had me." Now Emma can see the pain in his yes, and realizes that she caused it.
"I'm sorry." She says, looking down at her hands. She honestly doesn't know what else to say.
"I'm in the forgiving mood." House can't let things get too mushy. Emma looks up.
"I guess you want me to go back with you."
"If the kid means that much to you, you can bring him, too." He says.
"I can't, House. Maybe in 8 years or so, when Henry turns 18." Emma glances out the window.
"I love you, Cameron." This is his last resort. He's desperate, but he'll never beg.
"Don't." She warns, catching her bottom lip with her teeth. She can't deal with this right now, probably not ever.
"This is what you wanted to hear 5 years ago." He says.
"Things have changed." She argues, longing for the anger to come back.
"Please." Another thing he said he wouldn't do.
"I can't!" She half yells, half sobs. God, she wishes she could go back. House hates himself for putting her in this position.
"Maybe I'll just stay here." He says.
"Then Wilson will file a missing persons report. Eventually, the whole hospital will know where I am and what happened. I left to start a new life, House. This is my life now." Her voice is low, soft. She's regained her composure, realizing she'll get nowhere with House if she's hysterical.
"I can pay him off." House offers. They sit in silence for a few minutes before Emma gets up.
"You need to leave." She says, unlocking the door and opening it. She gestures for him to go through. He walks over, and stands on the threshold. Emma looks up at him, green eyes meeting blue.
"I love you." He says, and limps out to his car. Emma closes the door, and rests her head against the cool wood. In contrast, hot tears fall down her face. As House drives away, he looks in his rearview mirror. In it, he sees Emma Swan, not Allison Cameron. He realizes the love of his life is gone forever.
I KNOW, NOT A HAPPY ENDING. SORRY ABOUT THAT. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!