Note: I was working on another fic when I got this idea and I wanted to get it out before the next episode.
Spoilers: Set post-Brave Heart but mostly just spoilers for The Tyrant
House had been hiding from Cuddy in Coma Guy's room for most of the day. When he got back to his office at the end of the day, he saw Cameron sitting at his desk. This was strange because Cameron was still running the ER and she only came to his office when they had a case and the last case they had was the cop with the genetic problem, which was three days ago. He decided to go in and see what she wanted. When he walked in, Cameron immediately stood up.
"We need to talk," she said seriously.
"Isn't that something you say to someone you are dating?"
"You have been spending a lot of time with Chase when you normally try and avoid him."
"Is that why we need to talk? You think we are cheating on you?"
Cameron ignored him and continued, "During our last case, you asked him to walk with you to the patient's room when you gave him the fake diagnosis and fake pills."
"I needed someone else to back up my story."
"Except Chase was complaining that you never told him what you were going to do and he had to play along without any knowledge of the situation. Clearly you didn't talk about the strategy so what did you talk about?"
"Oh the usual- hair products, TV shows, women, who the prettiest Dr. Chase is." House said, trying to make her angry to get off the topic.
Cameron just ignored him so House tried a different approach.
"I don't see what you are trying to figure out here."
"Chase is hiding something from me. He has been acting weird for a few weeks now. The other night I was just about to report him missing to the police when he walked in, drunk. I have woken up to an empty bed numerous times."
"I still don't see how this has anything to do with me."
"Foreman knows what is wrong. I asked him about it and he just told me to talk to Chase."
"And because Foreman knows, you think I know? Why would they come to me if they were hiding something?" House asked, still trying to get out of the conversation.
"Foreman and Chase aren't smart enough to hide something from you. You also know what is going on and I want to know what it is."
"Hypothetically speaking, say I do know what is going on. Why would I get in the middle of this? Why shouldn't I take Foreman's path and tell you to talk to Chase?"
"Because you don't care about me or Chase. You don't care if this secret separates us."
"Words can hurt, you know. I have changed since Mayfield. I care about sunshines, puppies, and rainbows now." House said, trying to cover up the slight bit of hurt from Cameron's words about not caring for her with sarcasm.
"What is going on?" Cameron asked frustrated, really looking into House's eyes for the first time since she got married.
House didn't answer but stared back at her. They stood like that for what could have been five seconds or five minutes. They were interrupted when Wilson walked into House's office and both looked away.
He looked confused at both of them for a few seconds before asking, "Am I interrupting something?"
House quickly answered, "No, Cameron was just leaving."
Cameron had her hand on the door when she turned back.
"House, please think about it and tell me," she pleaded, her desperation showing.
House and Wilson watched her walk away. When she was out of sight, Wilson turned to House.
"She is married!" he exclaimed. "What is going on between you two?"
"Nothing!" House said, defensively. "Besides, that's like the pot calling the kettle black. Being married never stopped you before."
"This is different. She didn't cheat on her husband, despite falling in love with his best friend. I don't want you screwing with her emotions or her morals!"
"There is nothing going on between us. She was just asking if I could talk to Cuddy about getting a replacement for her in the ER so she doesn't have to run the ER and work for me as well."
"Right, because you clearly would be the best person to talk to Cuddy about that," Wilson said sarcastically, not believing House but allowing the subject to be dropped.
House spent that night debating whether to tell Cameron the truth. She was right about him not caring about Chase. Sure he was a good doctor but House didn't respect him as a person. Cameron was a different story. She wasn't correct when she said he didn't care about her. He did care about her. He just wasn't sure what he would consider her. A friend? He had never had a female friend. Stacy was his girlfriend. Cuddy was somewhat a friend but not really. If he stopped working at the hospital, he doubted if he would see Cuddy anymore, unlike Wilson who he would still see. Would Cameron visit him? True, she hadn't visited after he got out of Mayfield but House had a feeling Chase had something to do with that. The more House thought about it, the more he considered Cameron to be a friend. However, do friends have sexual thoughts about each other? House wasn't sure as this was new territory for him. Also, do friends risk breaking up a marriage by telling the truth or do they lie or say nothing and risk breaking up the friendship? The more House thought about it, the less sure he was of what to do.
House spent the next day in the clinic as Cuddy found his hiding spot. This allowed him to do more thinking and he still didn't know what to do. He didn't see Cameron all day so luckily he still had some more time to think. On his way home, he decided to talk to Nolan about his situation next time he saw him and see what he said.
House was in Amber's bed when he heard a knock on the door. He glanced at the clock and saw it was three in the morning. He waited to see if Wilson would answer the door. When the knock sounded again and there was no noise out of Wilson's room, House decided to go answer the door. He opened the door and was ready to yell at whoever was there but stopped when he saw it was Cameron. He just stood there in shock and Cameron took the opportunity to push the door open completely and come in. It was then that House was able to get a good look at her and saw that her eyes were red and puffy. Cameron went over and sat on the couch and House closed the door. House limped into the kitchen and came back with two beers. He handed one to Cameron and sat down on the other end of the couch. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Cameron spoke.
"Chase told me. I can't believe he did that."
House was surprised that Chase had told her. It seemed to him that Chase was going to try and keep the secret from Cameron, no matter the cost. He reacted without thinking.
"Chase told you he killed Dibala?"
As soon as House said that, Cameron's jaw dropped.
"He did what?!?"
House realized at that point he had been played. Chase hadn't told Cameron and she had manipulated him into telling her. At that point, Cameron had gotten up from the couch and was pacing.
"Of course. He has been acting weird ever since the case. We haven't even had sex since then…"
House realized Cameron had forgotten he was even there, otherwise she would never had said that. As she continued to talk to herself, House debated on what he could do to calm her down. Cameron was still talking to herself and pacing back and forth when House snapped out of his musings. He stood up and grabbed her arms to stop her. Cameron looked at him in surprise before trying to get out of his grasp. House wouldn't let go and led her back to the couch. It was at that point the reality of the situation grasped Cameron and she broke down. House watched uneasily as Cameron started sobbing. He awkwardly pulled her into an embrace, allowing her to cry into his chest. They stayed like that for a good ten minutes before Cameron finally managed to calm down. She pulled back from House and gave him a small smile.
"Sorry."
"You don't have any need to apologize."
"Dibala didn't have scleroderma, did he?"
House just shook his head.
"He manipulated me. I said I was going to get some blood to test it. He made sure he was the one who got it. He then let me talk Foreman into treating for it. Not only am I married to a murderer, I'm partially responsible as well!" Cameron stated and broke down again.
House allowed her to cry for a few minutes but finally decided she had cried enough.
"Hey, look at me." House waited until Cameron was looking at him before continuing, "This isn't your fault. You had no idea Chase had switched the blood. You stuck up for what you thought was the right diagnosis."
Cameron calmed down and they sat in silence for a few minutes. Cameron yawned and stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"I kept you up long enough. I'm leaving."
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know. I guess I'll stay at a hotel."
"Nonsense. You can stay here. I wouldn't want my lobby art to get ruined in an accident."
Cameron gave a small smile before asking, "Where would I sleep?"
"I'll sleep on the couch. You can take Amber's room."
"I couldn't do that. Your leg. I'll take the couch. By the way, do you have anything I could sleep in?"
House got up and grabbed a blanket and pillow from the closet and a shirt and boxers from Amber's room. He handed the pile to Cameron and she went into the bathroom to get changed. When she came back out, House was sitting on the couch.
"So now that you are calmed down, I have to know. If Chase didn't tell you about Dibala, why were you so upset when you got here? Was it all an act? If so, you should move to LA and go into acting."
"No, it wasn't an act. Chase came home drunk again. He was horny and wanted to have sex. He started kissing me and I couldn't take it any more. I shoved him away and ran out the door. I figured I was upset and could use it to my advantage."
House tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach of Chase kissing and touching Cameron. He just nodded and went to bed.
Wilson woke up the next day to a smell coming from the kitchen. He thought House was on another cooking frenzy and walked into the kitchen. His jaw dropped when he saw Cameron at the stove, in House's shirt and boxers. He quietly left the kitchen and burst into Amber's room. He tapped House on the shoulder but it didn't wake him. He grabbed all the sheets and ripped them off the bed. That quickly woke House up.
"What the hell? Wilson?!? What are you doing?"
"Cameron is in my kitchen, wearing your shirt and boxers!" Wilson hissed.
"Ok? Is there a law against that?"
"I told you not to mess around with her so you go and sleep with her?"
"Woh. Stop right there and take a timeout. Who said anything about sleeping with her?"
"She is wearing your shirt and boxers!"
"Seems like you are always jumping to conclusions these days without hearing my side of the story, even after Mayfield. First you thought I was back on Vicodin and now you think I slept with Cameron. Nolan trusts me, why don't you?"
"Because I know you. You are the one that said no one changes."
"I didn't sleep with her. She came here last night upset with Chase and I let her stay the night," House said angrily and limped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Breakfast was an awkward affair. House spent the time between glancing at Cameron and glaring at Wilson. Wilson spent it sneaking peaks of House looking at Cameron. Cameron spent the whole time with her head bent down, ignoring both of them. As soon as she was done eating, she excused herself, changed into her clothes from the previous day, and left to go to work. House followed her lead and left shortly after her. Wilson was left alone at the table and he was left to reflect on what might have happened.
Cameron started her day working in the ER. She was behind in her paperwork since she was working for House as well as trying to run the ER so she spent her time working on that until she got a page from House around lunchtime. She thought they might have a patient so she quickly put away her paperwork and hurried up to his office. When she got to his office, Foreman and Chase were no where in sight and House was playing his gameboy.
"Do we have a patient?" she asked as she walked in.
"No."
"Then why did you page me?"
"I was hungry."
"Where's Wilson?"
"I'm mad at him."
"Fine, I'll give you $10," Cameron said, reaching into her pockets.
"Do you eat?"
"Are you asking me to eat with you?"
"Sure, sounds good."
Cameron agreed and they headed to the cafeteria. They grabbed their meals and went to the checkout counter. Cameron reached into her pocket again to pay and was surprised when House pulled out his wallet and paid for both of their meals. They headed to their seats and sat down. They had been eating for a few minutes when Cameron saw Chase enter the cafeteria. She tried to slink down in her seat but Chase had already seen her and hurried over.
"Where did you go last night?"
"I needed some time to myself."
"So you want to Wilson's to see House?"
Cameron's jaw dropped in surprise before she could help it. She tried to compose herself before replying.
"It's none of your business."
"It is my business if my wife stays the night with a man she has a crush on and is wearing the same clothes the next day!"
"Chase, now is not the time for this," Cameron hissed, not wanting to get in a fight with Chase in front of everyone. So far no one was looking their way but if this continued, everyone would start looking.
"I think now is a great time. I can confront both of you at the same time."
House had spent the entire conversation up to this point in silence. However as he looked at Cameron, he saw she was getting more upset and strangely he wanted to protect her.
"Chase, how can you not trust Cameron? She is the epitome of niceness and trustworthiness."
"So says the guy she slept with!"
"You really want to get into this, Chase?" interrupted Cameron.
"I already told you that I did!"
"Alright, speaking of trust, what about Dibala?"
Chase paled when she said that. He looked over at House, wondering if he had told Cameron the truth. House didn't give any reaction so he turned back to Cameron.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
Cameron stood up angrily.
"Unbelievable! You are going to continue to stand there lying to me! I know what you did. You should be happy I don't turn you in!"
"I did the right thing!"
"Well next time you want to off someone, don't have someone else do your dirty work!" Cameron hissed, trying to keep her voice down because despite her being angry with Chase, she didn't want him to get caught.
"Do my dirty work? What are you talking about?"
"Next time have someone else manipulate your boss to treat the wrong disease!" Cameron yelled. By this time, everyone in the cafeteria was looking their way. Cameron noticed this and tried to walk away but Chase grabbed her arm.
"Let go, you are hurting me!" Cameron said.
"You can't just walk away from me!"
House stood up at that point and grabbed Chase's other arm.
"Let go of her!"
"Oh, House coming to your rescue," Chase said, looking at Cameron. "Can't fight your own battles?"
"I can fight my own battles," Cameron pronounced, ripping her arm out of Chase's grasp and slapping him. "You'll be hearing from a lawyer soon," she said before stalking out of the cafeteria.
"You touch her again, I'll shove my cane so far up your ass, I'll be able to pull it out through your nose," House said, hitting Chase in the shins with his cane as he limped out of the cafeteria, glaring at anyone who looked at him as he went by.
House went to his office, hoping to find Cameron there. However, she wasn't there and he headed down to the ER to see if she was there. She wasn't there either. House spent the next 30 minutes trying to find her before giving up and deciding to head to coma guy's room to hide from Cuddy. He looked through the glass wall and saw Cameron sitting in the chair beside the bed. He looked around the hallway and when no one was looking, he quickly entered the room, locked the door, and closed the blinds. Cameron looked up in surprise when House entered the room but looked back down when she saw who it was. House sat in the other chair in the room. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"I guess I was never meant for this."
House looked at her in confusion before replying, "What are you talking about?"
"Marriage. My first one lasts six months and this one is even shorter. What am I supposed to do?"
"Try again," House said, limping over to her and leaning down to give her a kiss.