Title: No Explanations
Author: Angel Leviathan
Spoilers: No Reason.
Disclaimer: House, characters, concept, etc, aren't mine.
Notes: Tag to/ set after No Reason.
She sits by his bedside, blinking tiredly down at the book in her hands, reading the same line for what must be the fifth time that minute. Foreman's told her she's crazy. Chase has said she'll be lucky if he even acknowledges her when he wakes up. That, or his first words will be an insult to her. They keep coming back to check on her though, sometimes bringing coffee or something to distract her. Sometimes they sit with her for a few minutes. They say they're only keeping an eye on her, trying to persuade her to leave his side, but she knows they're there to check up on him too. They won't ever go so far as to admit it, for who would admit being even vaguely concerned for a boss who makes it his daily task to belittle them, but they curse him loudly and call him every name under the sun, perhaps, only perhaps, to see if he wakes up and engages in a battle of wits.
Cameron sighs and closes her book. She knows she's being stupid. She knows her sitting beside him, waiting for him to wake, is futile. She knows House won't give a damn that she's there. She fully expects for him to insult her as soon as he sets eyes on her. Perhaps in a slurred voice and with a second's delay, but something derogatory will leave his lips all the same. Whether he cares for her or not, she can't stop herself caring. The man might despise her and she would still be there. Maybe he does despise her. Cameron knows her faith in humanity is ridiculous. She would sit at the bedside of her worst enemy if they were in trouble. But House isn't her worst enemy. He might be a miserable, cynical, sarcastic git, and he might seem to get a kick out of upsetting her on any given day, but she doesn't hate him. Sometimes she thinks she does and sometimes she curses herself for ever giving a damn about him at all, but it doesn't mean she wishes him ill.
"Any change?" Lisa Cuddy stands at the door.
"No," she replies, "I would've thought he'd be awake by now."
"He's being stubborn. As usual. He'll come round at the moment he chooses and not a second before," Cuddy frowns, "How long have you been here?"
"…A few hours…"
"Foreman says you haven't slept."
Cameron tilts her head, "Have you?"
She look momentarily startled, "…Touché," she sighs and shakes her head, "Why the hell do any of us give a crap about him?" Cuddy narrows her eyes and stares across at the unconscious form of House.
"…Because we hope, somewhere in there, he gives a damn about us?"
"Not on your life," House murmurs. His gaze rests on Cameron, then flickers to Cuddy, "Which of you is going to get the invalid some water?"
The two women exchange a longsuffering glance.
And everything's right back to normal.
Fin