Well firstly there're few things you need to know:
1) English is not my native language so I'm sorry for all those mistakes, which I've made:)
2) This is my first fan fiction ever! So reviews and criticism are welcome:)
3) I want to express my gratitude to Whitequeen73 for being my Beta Reader! Thank you very much for your support and those nice comments which made me smile ( ok end of the game! Get your quill and parchment and write 100 times: A-l-l-i-s-o-n! Go! :D)
Cameron entered the conference room. It was 23.00 o'clock. She had finished her job two hours ago, but couldn't go home. She settled herself comfortably in the chair and sighed heavily. Then raised her hands and started rubbing her temples softly. She had a terrible headache, but that was not the main problem. She raised her eyes to the calendar, hanging on the wall opposite her...
She was right...
No matter, that she wanted to forget everything, she was right...
Each year passing by, she couldn't let her memories disappear.
7 years had passed away...
7 years full of never-ending pain and guilt...
Cameron felt tears slowly slipping through her cheeks. She grabbed a patient's file, which was considered as „boring" and tried to concentrate on it. Then she heard someone's steps in the corridor. She turned the page with the other hand trying to brush away her tears. House entered the room. He looked surprised, no matter, that light was turned on and he could easily see Cameron's figure through the glass. He stood in front of her and couldn't decide which one of his metaphors he should use in such situation.
"Ok. It's not because of our patient. It's not because you're mistaken time" House turned his head towards the clock, which hands were stopped on 23.10.
"I don't care about the reason why you are still here. But I need you tomorrow. So go home, Cameron"
She didn't react…
After almost 1 minute, she finally said "I have almost finished" and continued reading. House felt a curiosity growing inside him. He made a few steps and sat in front of his colleague. He didn't say any word, just followed her emotions. He was silent for some time; Cameron even forgot that he was still here. Than suddenly he stood up and hobbled to the board grabbing his black marker.
"It's time for a differential diagnosis! So what are his symptoms?"
"Excuse me?" Cameron looked surprised
"The symptoms!!" House yelled and the women in front of him flinched.
Cameron suddenly started looking at the patient's file trying to find missing information.
He grabbed the file from her hand and opened it in safe distance.
"So it's not only the symptoms you don't know, but even that our patient is "she""
His voice sounded like an echo in Cameron's head. She barely could separate the different words in the sentence. She leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of tears behind her eyelids. House loudly shut the patient's file and that sound disappeared in uncomfortable silence. Neither of them knew what to say. House threw the last look at Cameron's site and started limping to his office. He was already grabbing the door's handle, when suddenly 3 silent words (so silent that for a few seconds he imagined that they only sounded in his head) stopped him.
"Please don't leave" House slowly turned to face her.
Cameron looked pale and tired; her eyes were full of tears, which couldn't wash away her pain. Her shoulders were slightly shaking, despite that the temperature in the room was normal. House started to regret that he had stopped.
He was not that kind of human, who could feel sympathy or who could comfort others, holding their hand. He even couldn't say that he was sorry for something bad to happen.
He didn't know how to react to others pain; because he was full of his own pain and misery. Finally he raised his eyes to Cameron again. There was something unusual with her look. At first, when he had entered the room, Cameron was afraid of eye contact. Her look quickly slipped through different details and she couldn't concentrate it even on the patient's file. But now she was looking directly into his eyes. She definitely wanted something. And House should guess what it was. He tried to avoid this look, but understood that it was important to find out everything and nothing was easier than reading his younger colleague's emotions.
But not this time…
Everything was definitely different. He made a few steps towards Cameron. There was no point in questioning. He sat in his chair trying to find a comfortable position. Cameron was slightly smiling. That smile terrified House more than her tears which were frozen in her eyes. He straightened his leg feeling familiar pain and pushed his hand in his shirt's pocket, searching for his Vicodin.
" We've spent together only 8 months, but I feel like he exists somewhere near me everywhere I go day after day, every minute of those seven years" Cameron's voice was barely audible.
" I can't remember what I said when he was dying, but I can't forget even the slightest detail of our previous conversations. I remember that day, when I saw him for the first time…
Allison was sitting in front of the window in their anatomy lab. It was the first week of September. Someone had forgotten to close the blinds, so the sun was shining through arch-shaped windows straight into her face. She narrowed her eyes trying not to distract her attention from the atlas of anatomy. She moved her fingers slightly to the centre of the bone she was holding and smiled when understood that she was in the right position. She could easily feel the huge process between her fingers. Other students couldn't hold their attention for so long. They were talking about summer vacation and a party, which was supposed to be this Friday. They definitely were not in the mood for studying. Then suddenly the doors of the lab opened and everyone fell deep in their books. Allison raised her eyes and almost started laughing. It was not their professor, just another student. He passed almost half of the room and settled himself against Allison. No greeting, no questioning…
"He was sitting almost in the same position as you are now, except your leg" Cameron continued her story.
She was curious about the new guy in their group, but didn't betray herself. She focused again on her atlas. After a few minutes her thoughts sank in loud noise which was made by her colleague-students. But it wasn't the real reason why Allison read the same sentence again and again. That guy in front of her was acting so strange. He didn't even look at his atlas. He was holding bone samples and whispered the names of different structures so fast that she could barely separate them.
"OK it's time to put your samples into this box. The practice is over"the professor's loud voice woke drowsy and tired students.
In the group rippled a blissful murmur. All of them stood up and began packing their stuff. Except two students. Allison just wanted to finish her studies of the temporal bone. But the newcomer didn't react at all.
"For almost 10 minutes we were sitting in absolute silence" House didn't notice when Cameron stood up and now he heard her voice behind himself. She was standing so close, but at the same moment so far from him. House tried not to lose the point of the story.
"My thoughts were so shallow. I couldn't hold the attention even for 10 seconds after everybody had left the room."
Allison assumed that she had finished today's plan and began packing her notes. She tried acting as usual, but that day her every movement was different. Maybe because of thoughts, which followed just one after another?
"Hey. It's time to go" Just after she said this short sentence, Allison noticed how silent the auditorium was before.
"Then go!" the answer was short and particular.
Allison was shocked of his dissocial tone. She was already beginning opening her mouth to give him a setdown, but suddenly she heard her name.
"Allison, are you still here? Do you want some samples that you can bring home? Anatomy professor was in really good mood.
"Thank you very much I was already going" She turned around, threw the last look at the newcomer and started going towards the door.
"I want all bone samples that you have" Allison recognized the same hostile voice.
"OK Gerard, come with me"
Behind the door Allison finally let herself calm down. That guy totally distracted her. "Anyway.. Why should I care? If he wants to be alone than I'll leave him"
"But you didn't leave him? Did you?"- House stood up and made a few steps towards the window. He couldn't throw off the feeling that Cameron was noticing him. His instincts have failed him. She was looking through the only one window, which blinds weren't closed.
"Yes I did. But it didn't last very long" House sighed with relief. Cameron didn't notice the sarcasm, hidden behind that gasp.
Allison was standing in the middle of the canteen trying to choose between the automat and the long queue in front of "Day's meal" Just before she started going to the Automat Machine one of her colleague students grabbed a rim of Cameron's lab coat and pushed a cup of coffee into her free hand.
"Thanks" Cameron murmured sipping her coffee and at the same time wrinkling her nose, because there was too much sugar in it. They found a free table in the corner and sat in front of each other. Cameron put the cup on the table regretting she hadn't bought it herself.
"I hate this!" Sarah pulled a bunch of Microbiology summaries out of her bag and started repeating. Cameron still looked at the wall. After few minutes this detail attracted Sarah's attention.
"Hey!!" she waved her hand in front of Cameron's face.
"Don't you have anything to do? Or maybe you already know everything?"
"Oh my God the test!" Cameron almost spilled her coffee over the table.
"Forget that damn test! What happened?"
"Nothing.. Just that guy! He totally annoyed me!" Cameron felt the irritation growing inside her again.
"You should understand! Poor guy! He'll be dead soon anyway"