Well , this is my first attempt at a House Fanfiction. So, please be gentle. It is a House / Cameron story but it might take some time until that is obvious.
I would like to thank my betas Melissa, diagnosticmad aka Gina and ilovedanieljackson. They did a brilliant job. Their ideas have been very challenging and, I hope, they have improved my writing. Any further mistakes are mine and only mine. Although they all mentioned that I'm using the "wrong" spelling, I'm going to stick with the British English spelling. Soon, I will call London my home. Therefore, I think it's only fair and square if I write in British English.
Everything I know about the Big Brothers / Big Sisters programme I know from their very informative homepage. Nevertheless, I am bound to make mistakes. I do apologize in advance. Any help in that matter is appreciated.
Please read and review. I am always open for constructive criticism. But, please, no flames, as one can hardly learn from them.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own House, M.D. nor do I want to profit from this in any way.
Big Sister, Little Favour
Chapter 1
Why Allison Cameron turned up at the registration office or the Big Brothers / Big Sisters programme that cold winter day was a question even she couldn't answer. She already had a more than fulfilling job at hand. And yet, there was something missing. Her life hadn't treated her all too well. Yet, after her husband's death she still kept on living, wishing and dreaming that one day she would find security in a new relationship.
The new family she found at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital wasn't as promising as it seemed to be at the beginning. Having loved and hated House, turning into a drug-induced Chase seducing vamp and being overrun by the over-eagerness of Foreman, who wanted to make his own career without looking out for his peers, left her feeling lost and spent. All she wished for was a bit of warmth. Something that would show her she had a true family.
She had been surfing the internet one day when she came across an advertisement for the BBBS programme. She clicked on the link and was taken with the description of the programme. It confronted her with the uneasiness that had settled in her personal life recently. Maybe spending some of her time with a young friend would give her a feeling of belonging.
After a few days of contemplating this idea, she finally decided to give it a try. If it didn't work out... well, she already knew that feeling. It wouldn't be for the first time in her life that something didn't work out.
Allison pushed the door to the centre open and was grateful for the warm air that welcomed her as she escaped from the cold outside. She looked around and walked down the hall. On the walls there were pictures on display. Allison assumed that they portrayed many big and little brothers and sisters, who were smiling down on any potential volunteer walking down this hallway. The second door on the left was open. The room was fairly big and painted in a warm yellow colour. Allison spotted a desk where a man sat reading through a book. She made her way over to the desk.
"Hi," she said shyly but surely, a hint of a grin playing on her lips.
The man looked up at Allison. His face immediately lit up in a smile when he saw her. "Hi there!" He managed to choke out while standing up. "Can I help you?"
Allison quickly took in the appearance of this man. He was maybe in his early to mid thirties. His hair was an unruly mess of brown spikes. The hairdo looked a little bit like Harry Potter, all grown up. He was maybe half a head taller than her. His build was neither too muscular nor too slim. He was the average next-door-kinda guy with very friendly and warm brown eyes. As he smiled, Allison was able to make out some soft wrinkles along his eyes. It suited him, she decided.
"My name is Allison Cameron. I would like to get a little bit more information on your programme. I thought about joining it," she said quickly, nearly stumbling over her words.
Mr Messy Hair tried to flatten his unruly mess using both of his hands but once he skimmed over it, it immediately flopped back into place. "Hi Allison. I'm Mark Heath. Nice to meet you. We are always happy about new Bigs. I am already one, a Big that is. I help out at the front desk on the odd occasion. "
Allison could only raise an eyebrow at that. "Well, if you are interested you might as well learn the right lingo," Mark said, winking at her. "We usually call the big sisters and brothers Bigs for short while the kids who participate are just referred to as Littles."
Mark turned around and called out: "Mama Marge!"
He immediately turned back to Allison and smiled at her. She had to admit that he was a man with a very winning smile. "So…, Allison, what made you come here?" Mark tried to start up a conversation.
"I don't know exactly," Allison shrugged her shoulders. "I saw an ad on the internet and clicked on it. What I found was something that I liked. It just feels right."
While they talked, a door nearby opened and an over-weight woman whose skin was the colour of dark chocolate, came through it. Her eyes were shining with an unbelievable fire for life, a gentle smile was gracing her lips.
"Hello dear," she greeted Allison right from the moment she stepped through the door, "My name is Marge O'Mally. I head the office of the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme here in Princeton. What brings you here, love?"
"She wants to become a Big, Mama Marge," Mark piped up.
The smile on Marge's face grew even more. "That is lovely. And you already met another Big. Mark here. He even used to be a Little a long time ago. And now he can give his experience on to a new generation of Littles. I'm sure he will tell you as much as you want to know."
Mark nodded enthusiastically. "You only need to ask."
"Now," Mama Marge ushered Allison through into her office space, "Let's see what we can do about you."
Allison was thrilled by the welcoming manner of the people at the registration office. It was quite different to the manners she had become accustomed to at the hospital. House did have a sneaky way of working around good bedside manners.
She followed Mama Marge into her office and was – again – surprised by the warm surroundings that she found herself in. One wall in her office was painted a dark red colour while the others were painted the same yellow as the front room. A beautifully craved wooden desk was the centre piece of the room. Similar to House's desk it was overflowing with paperwork. Unlike House's office it still looked like somebody was working there and there seemed to be a method inside the chaos. There was a set of huge book shelves along the yellow walls while there were wonderful pictures on the red wall in terrific wooden frames. The pictures featured a variety of different landscapes, which surprised Allison a little bit as she suspected someone who is even called "Mama" in this mentoring programme would have lots of photos of her "children".
As if she suspected this, Mama Marge said to Allison while she was taking a long look at the photos: "I have them all in my heart. Much better than any photos would ever be."
Allison turned slightly red: "I'm sorry, Ms O'Mally, I didn't mean to snoop."
Mama Marge shrugged her shoulder and pointed to a sitting area with two armchairs and a sofa adorning the far wall from her desk. Mama Marge motioned for Allison to have a seat in one very cosy looking arm chair while she took a place in a similar arm chair across from Allison: "It's Mama Marge, dear. At least I know one thing about you, now. You're curious by nature. Not that this is something bad."
It was Allison's turn to shrug her shoulders. "It comes with the job," she said and sat down in the chair.
"Aaah, dear. That's what I want to know. What do you do? Where are you from? Why are you here? And most of all: Where do you go from here?"
The way Mama Marge asked these questions left no possibility for Allison but to answer her question. She felt accepted and respected by the woman. Somewhere in the middle of their conversation there was a quiet knock on the door and Mark came in bearing a tea pot and two cups along with some cookies. He smiled warmly at Allison and she responded likewise which only made Mark smile more widely.
Mama Marge, on the other hand, only watched this little exchange silently. Before she and Allison returned to their previous conversation, she said: "Mark is a good man. I have known him since he was six years old. You are a good woman. Don't make him fall for you. You are already taken."
Allison was surprised by this remark and she couldn't really figure out why this mysterious woman thought that she was in a relationship. How could she be taken then? And if she was honest with herself she appreciated the attention that she was receiving from Mark.
Allison didn't dwell on Mama Marge's remark any longer: "Eh... as I was saying… now I work at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in the diagnostics department for Dr. House..."
Mama Marge nodded along as Allison told her story. On the odd occasion she would chime up and ask questions on her own but mostly, Allison talked and talked and talked. And somehow she was feeling better and better as she talked about her life as it had been and as it was now and how she imagined it to go on. Mama Marge just listened. Allison wondered at some point during her tale if it was so wise to tell a complete stranger who was supposed to help her with this mentoring programme the story of her life but it felt somehow right. And somehow Allison knew that Mama Marge would not judge her and would not betray the confidence she put into her. She just knew.
After Allison had told her story, Mama Marge talked about her experience as a mentor. She told Allison short anecdotes and made her laugh. But she also talked about the kids who joined the programme with a difficult task or who had trouble staying in the programme.
In the end, Allison left the office with a form to fill out and the request to hand in two references that would vouch for her ability to mentor young kids. The papers weighed heavily in her hands. They were a kind of treasure that would help her to find a new focus in the chaos that was called her life.
"So, how did it go?" Mark welcomed her back into the front room and smiled at her.
Allison nodded enthusiastically. "I think it went well. Mama Marge gave me the forms to fill out and then I'm almost ready to get started."
Mark nodded his head, "Yes, we only need two references. You don't have to fill out the forms right now. You can bring them in when you hand in the references. It... would be nice if you could give me your phone number though. Just in case there are some questions." Mark added quickly, blushing badly.
Allison remembered the words that Mama Marge had told her: Don't make him fall for you. But it was very nice that a good-looking man actually paid her some kind of attention. Positive attention. House definitely paid her attention; however, it was more of a bad kind. House played the games he loved so with her. His attention was almost an obsession. All the more why Allison enjoyed the light flirting with Mark.
She was about to search for her business card when from the corner of her eye she saw Mama Marge standing in the door to her office shaking her head no with a very sad expression on her face.
"You know what, Mark, I will fill out the forms right now. It's no trouble. Can I take a seat over here?" She asked, motioning with her hand to a seating area in the far corner of the room. This was a compromise. Allison was able to let him know her number while on the other hand she didn't per se give it to him personally and, therefore, wasn't just inviting him to call her.
She sat down and began to fill out the forms.
Mark still made small talk with her. He asked primarily about her decision to join the programme because it was their common ground. He also told her about his time as a Little and now as a Big. Similar to Mama Marge, he shared a few amusing anecdotes but only anecdotes, nothing too in-depth. Mark seemed to smile even bigger when she was laughing and smiling and giggling about his stories.
When Allison Cameron left the registration office that day, she felt much lighter and much more in sync with herself. It definitely was a good decision to come here, she decided as she walked the streets of Princeton through the crisp autumn air.