Just a little House/Cameron thing... had it written for ages, finally got around to putting it up! Yay! Let me know what you reckon.
DISCLAIMER- Depressed it's not mine… what will I boast about? Sigh.
(Thanks to vanillafluffy for the heads up on my misuse of the word 'gratuitous'. I'm very grateful.)
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Reassurance
"Why does everything always have to be about sex?" Cameron positioned herself in the seat in front of House's desk and stared at him intently.
He raised his eyebrows. "That indicates that there's something else everything could be about."
She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "You know what I mean. I can't seem to say anything without someone giving it sexual connotations!"
House put down in his pen and leant back in his chair. "I assume that by someone, you're referring to Chase. What'd he do?"
"He… asked me on another date."
He stiffened slightly, eyeing her seriously. "And?"
"And… in the beginning, I didn't realise he wanted a date. I thought he was just talking about a friendly—"
"Ha! Seriously, Cameron, your naiveté still manages to amaze me… although, that in itself is naïve on my part…"
"Are you saying I'm not capable of having a platonic dinner with someone?" she asked, growing angry.
"No, I'm saying Chase isn't capable of having a platonic dinner with you."
"Oh… But… why? It was only one time, andI was high! I don't understand—"
"You really think he believes you only nailed him cause you were high? He thinks way too much of himself for that."
"It's just… it's weird working with him when he keeps looking at me like… like…"
"He wants to nail you again?"
She looked uncomfortable. "Yeah."
He thought for a few moments, then leaned forward and picked up his tennis ball. "Why are you telling me this? Trying to make me jealous? Because you know picturing Chase naked can really do things to me."
"No, I'm just… you're our boss. If there's something going on, something that makes me uncomfortable, I thought I should talk to you about it."
Narrowing his eyes, he began transferring the ball from hand to hand. "And… and you thought that if you told me, there was a chance that I would talk to him about it, and you wouldn't have to say anything to him."
Relief flooded her eyes. "Would you?"
"Not a chance."
"What? But you just said—"
"I noted that you wanted me to talk to him. I never once said I would." He put the ball back down and turned to his computer screen. "C'mon, Cameron, stop being such a wuss. You have to stand up for yourself. You usually have no problem telling me when I've crossed the line. Why hesitate with Chase?"
"Because I feel very uncomfortable—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you feel ashamed, upset, embarrassed, fill in your negative adjective here. Get over it. Talk to him yourself. I'm not here to do your dirty work."
"Well, gee, thanks for the help. No really, I'm so grateful, I don't know how I'll make it up to you." She glared at him and stood up.
"Oh, c'mon! You wanted this reaction, that's why you came to me! Why not go to Foreman, I'm sure he wouldn't have minded doing the big brother routine!" He stood up and moved over to her. "But you came to me, because you want me to validate your anger. You want me to say that what you're going to do is okay, that you can tell him to back off."
"Yeah, I confided in you because I wanted you to stomp all over my feelings and make me feel like dirt."
"Yeah, you did. Admit it; you like it when I make you feel like dirt. Because then you're nice to me when I don't deserve it, and you can feel like you've done your good deed for the day, and go home a happy little Cameron."
"Did it ever occur to you that I try to give you a chance because I know you're not always harsh and insensitive? Because I've seen you when you'renice and I like it?" She stepped closer, backing him into his desk. "Did it ever occur to you that I just need some reassurance every now and then? Reassurance that I haven't imagined those vulnerable moments you rarely have, reassurance that it's still worth my while to work with you?" She crossed her arms and latched onto his eyes with her own, her gaze unflinching. "I don't always need to feel nice. I don't. I do, however, need to feel like I'm working for someone who is still human, who still has a conscience, someone who cares about some things in life. And not just monster trucks and daytime TV. Important things. I thought that maybe you might… you might care.About me." She pursed her lips. "But, obviously, I was wrong." Turning away, she slowly made her way to the door.
House didn't look at her, didn't even move except to say, "Cameron."
She span back around and looked at him expectantly.
"Tell Chase I want to see him before he goes home."
She smiled softly and nodded. "Thank you."
She left and he scratched his back with his cane handle. "Yeah…"