Story Title: Touch of Destiny

General summery: How would House react if Cameron was shot?

Chapter One: Tragedy isn't just in Shakespeare

Chapter summery: Allison is late and finds herself in an uncomfortable situation. House reacts in his Housian way -- unpredictably.

xXx

Disclaimer: Not mine, unless you don't recognize a character. Then it is mine, and you shouldn't take it.

AN: I was trying to sleep, and instead came up with this for a plot line. Pretty lame, huh? Lol. Anywhoo, just review if you like the story. I like reviews, even if it is a one-shot. This was going to be a one-shot, but I changed my mind by the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Oh, and does anyone know what House's middle name is? Or can I take liberties and invent one?

xXx

The sky darkened as the clouds tumbled in.

Thunder rolled far in the distance.

Lightening flashed bright against the dark clouds.

There was a strange sort of peace in the fierceness of the storm. A lesser person would cower in fear from the ferocity and awesomeness of such a display of power, but not him.

Instead, he paced, listening to the symphony and watching the dancers of this dangerous spectacle as the lightening danced across the black sky and for a brief moment, the city surrounding his apartment building was lit up in a bright, white light where every shadow was gone and every detail was visible.

But only a brief moment passed before the world around him was brought back into utter darkness, with only the timpani of the sky remaining, a deep dark sounding timpani that rolled throughout the sky, emitting a sharp crescendo before slowly turning into decrescendo that echoed throughout the city.

The night was dark save for the infrequent flashes of lightening that laced through the dark grey clouds that now blended in with the moonless sky. The rain left rivulets of water streaming down the slightly dirty window that was faintly illuminated by a single light.

However dark the night was, the thoughts of the man inside the apartment where the dirty, rain-streamed window was a part of were even darker.

How could she leave me just like that?

The man was pacing the well-worn carpeted floor with only the light from the side table next to his couch barely illuminating his face which was currently marred by a hideous scowl.

We spend five wonderful months together and her thanks for me is to simply drop me like a used tea bag as soon as she's tired of me.

He paused to stare out the window as best as he could until the flash of lightening dragged him out of his daydream-type state of mind.

I thought she was over him. She told me she was. In fact, she insists that it's not about him; it's about how she doesn't want to 'settle' with me.

He punched his fist against his other hand and growled out loud, though his voice was drowned out by the long, loud roll of the thunder.

She'll know soon what I think about this betrayal.

He pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number, waiting until he heard a 'hello' from the other end.

"Is everything ready?"

The person on the other end answered affirmatively.

"Good. Do you remember who you need?"

Again, the person answered with the name the man in the apartment was looking for.

"Precisely. Don't mess this up."

His plan for revenge would begin in the morning.

xXx

Allison Cameron was frustrated.

Scratch that. She was royally pissed, almost to the point of being as anal as House without his Vicodin.

Her alarm clock hadn't gone off at the time it was supposed to, leaving her rushing around the room trying to get ready in a very short amount of time. Her shower was cold, and lacked any sort of pressure. The landlord would later tell her that the hot water pipe had burst the night before.

When she had gone to get dressed, she had discovered that the shirt she was going to wear that day ended up having a huge stain right down the middle of the front. After digging through her closet, she discovered that nothing else matching the skirt she was going to wear, leaving her to try and find another outfit to wear.

She didn't have time to eat breakfast, and to top it all off, her car wouldn't start. She called the cab service, who said that they would be there shortly. Twenty minutes later, the driver finally pulled up at her door. Traffic was bad, and the cabbie had no idea where the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital even was at first, which made her now a grand total of an hour late.

Finally at the hospital, she was now digging through her purse to find some cash while muttering words that would've made a sailor blush. She paid the cab driver and stormed into the hospital. If anyone had dared to make a comment, they would've told her that she appeared to be Dr. House in a woman's body.

She brushed right by the reception desk, responding with a 'oh bugger off' to the cheery 'good morning Dr. Cameron' from Brenda. The nurse had just stared at the retreating back and thinking that maybe it was time for Dr. Allison Cameron to switch to a different fellowship because Dr. House had had too much of an influence on her.

When she got to the diagnostics department, she discovered to her horror that Chase had used the coffee machine. She spat out what she had put in her mouth, dumped out the rest of the foul brew, and made another batch. The pinging of the coffee brewing calmed her down some and she sat down at House's computer to check his email.

A note was attached to the screen.

Doctor Cameron, you are LATE!

House had scrawled out on a yellow sticky note, the LATE heavily blackened and underlined multiple times. He had signed it…

G. House

…and to her surprise, had added a smiley face. She read the PS at the end.

It's about bloody time you're late.

She smiled for the first time all morning and proceeded to check his email. She wrote out all the messages she knew that he would have to reply to and was just about to get up from his chair when the phone rang. She frowned, pondering whether or not to answer it. She sighed, the nice side showing through, and answered it. "Diagnostics Department, Dr. Cameron speaking."

It turned out to be Cuddy, who wanted to speak with Cameron. "Hello, Allison. I wanted to know if everything was alright. I had a distraught nurse come to me and say that she was afraid that House had somehow been transformed into you. 'Next thing we'll hear,' she had said, 'is that House is in the clinic being nice to all the patients.'"

Cameron laughed. "I am truly sorry about that Lisa. It was Brenda, I believe. I'll go find her and apologize." She sighed heavily.

"Bad morning?" Cuddy surmised.

"Very bad." She agreed, sitting down in House's chair again.

"Tell me about it."

Allison proceeded to tell her boss all about her morning while moving to sorting House's mail. Halfway through the story, Chase and Foreman made their way back into the room.

"Yes!" Foreman pumped a fist into the air and poured a cup of coffee. "Cameron, you need to be here on time. Chase's coffee is terrible, to put it nicely."

"Hey!" Chase protested, flopping down in one of the chairs at the long table. "At least I made the coffee this morning! House never would've made it."

"No, Foreman, Chase's coffee is poison. Cameron, off the phone." House snarked as he walked into the room, ignoring Chase's comment completely. "No personal calls."

"Hold on, Lisa. House, I'm on the phone with our boss." She emphasized our and glared at House who held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Forgive me for interrupting, your royal niceness. We don't have a case, so whenever you decide to get off the phone, you can go do my clinic hours." He picked up something from off his desk and left the room.

"Sorry, Lisa." A pause then Cameron laughed. "He just left, so I can't tell him." She turned back to her conversation with Lisa while Foreman and Chase just pulled out crossword puzzles and began to work on them diligently.

A man poked his head into the room. "Excuse me, are one of you Dr. House." Cameron held up a hand as if to say 'hold on a minute' but before she or any of the other ducklings could say anything, he fired two shots.

The last thing Allison Cameron remembered was the frantic voice of Cuddy asking over the phone what the hell had happened and Foreman shouting for a gurney and for Chase to go find House.

The gunman disappeared down the hall as Foreman and Chase jumped up and dropped at Cameron's side. Foreman took up the phone and yelled at Cuddy to call for a gurney and to have it sent to the Diagnostic's Department. He hung up before she could reply, the last thing he could hear her say was to ask why. He knew she would send the gurney because he knew that she had heard the gun shots. He grabbed a bandana out of his back pocket and pressed it into the wound on Cameron's neck and bunched her lab coat where the side wound was.

"Chase!" He yelled when he noticed Chase just squatting there stunned, unmoving. "Go get House. Tell him Cameron's been shot. Don't mention that the shots were for him. Wouldn't want him to get all teary eyed." When Chase didn't move, he kicked at him. "Move, Chase! NOW!"

Chase shook himself and jumped up. "House, right. Don't tell him that she was shot because of him; just tell him she was shot. That makes sense. He's not going to eventually figure out that it wasn't meant for her." He shot sarcastically as he sprinted out of the office down the hall searching for House. He knew where to start. The clinic. And if House wasn't there, he'd search the whole damn hospital.

Foreman looked at the clock as Chase left. 9:40 am. "Damn it. It's too early for this to be happening." He looked down at Cameron. "Hold on, Cameron. The gurney is coming." Another glance at the clock told him that only a minute had passed. "Hurry up, Cuddy."

"Sorry." Cuddy had burst in just in time to hear Foreman's muttered comment. "We're here now." The two nurses came in with the gurney and lowered it so they could get Cameron onto it. "What happened?" She asked, her tone quickly becoming business-like.

Foreman sighed, shifting so the nurses could slide her onto the gurney. "Some guy came in asking if one of us were Dr. House." He shifted again so that they could put an IV in Cameron's arm. Cuddy took the bag and held it up.

Foreman continued his story. "She raised a hand to tell him to hold on a second when he shot at her twice." He stood up with the nurses, keeping the pressure on the wounds. "She collapsed; the guy ran off, I picked up the phone to tell you and ordered Chase to go find House." The four of them were now on their frantic way to the ER.

Cuddy just shook her head because she couldn't close her eyes. "Damn."

They had almost made it into the ER when a very distinguishable voice yelled out. "Wait! I need to see her. I need to see Cameron!"

xXx

Chase was now the one who was frustrated. House wasn't in any of his usual places. The nurses at the clinic had actually laughed when he asked if House was there. "Sure, laugh about it." He had muttered before running off. "Cameron could be dying and all you can do is laugh." Of course, he hadn't told them WHY he was looking for House, but still.

He checked Wilson's office, but the door was locked and the window's dark. After about 5 minutes of sprinting around the hospital, he finally called House's cell.

"Is someone dying? Because if not, you have just interrupted a very nice dream about me and Angelina Jolie, and I am going to have to find you and torment you in many horrid ways." House's annoyance about being woken up was obvious.

"Actually, someone is dying, House." Chase gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"What's wrong, Chasey? Ran a marathon? I told you that running can kill you British blokes." House snarked.

He rolled his eyes. "I've been trying to find you for five minutes."

"Whoo, five minutes." House mocked. "Well, tell Cuddy that Cameron's taking my clinic hours." He was greatly annoyed. "I'm going back to…"

"House, Cameron's been shot." Chase finally got out, sick of House's blatant disrespect for both Chase and Cameron.

The line went silent.

"House? House!" Chase heard the phone line die and knew that House had hung up. "Bastard."

"I know you are but what am I." A certain snarky tone sounded down the hall. Chase turned to see House came barreling out of a room a couple doors down from where the Australian was standing.

"Where is she?" He ordered his tone dropping to his serious voice, his stare unmoving and hard as he passed by the Australian.

"She's on the way to the ER." Chase found that despite his disability, House could really book it. Chase was almost running in order to keep up with House.

"The ER? Why there?" House turned his cold stare to Chase as they kept racing down the hall. "Why not the OR?" He tried to keep the panic out of his voice as he focused his attention to the obstacles in the hall. "Is it that bad?" He rounded a corner and barreled into a cart. "Damn it all!" He untangled himself, accepted Chase's hand and pulled himself up before continuing his hobble/run down the hall.

"OR's too crowded. They've scheduled too many surgeries for today as it is." Chase explained weakly, just as worried for Cameron as House was.

As they came in view of the ER, both House and Chase could see the small group just entering the double doors.

House couldn't keep the fear out of his voice. "Wait! I need to see her. I need to see Cameron!" He saw Cuddy turn around and stop the nurses. House came to a stop beside the gurney and frowned when he saw Cameron. "Cameron! Can you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered open and focused on House's face. "House? What are you…?"

His face instantly relaxed. "Shhh. Don't talk Cameron." He put a finger on her lips. "You are going to be okay."

She nodded and closed her eyes again. "It hurts, House." Her voice dropped off as she slipped back into the subconscious world.

He glared at the four with the gurney, any hint of a smile completely gone, and snatched the bag from Cuddy, trading his cane for it. "Bring it. Let's move it, people." He held onto the side of the gurney for support as they rushed to the OR of the emergency room.

"Hold on, Allison." He whispered, not seeing the sharp look Cuddy threw his way. "We'll take care of you."

xXx

He hadn't been allowed into the operating room. He had fought tooth and nail to be allowed in the room, but since Cuddy was there, he was finally forced to either back down and wait in the hall, or be suspended and not allowed in the hospital for three weeks.

With a heated glare at the room's occupants and a fleeting tender look at Cameron, he stormed out of the room. He was now pacing the hall as best he could, shaking his orange bottle of Vicodin as he thought.

What's wrong with you, Greg House?!

House was berating himself mentally as he paced the long, white hall.

It's just one of you're ducklings. It's Cameron. You don't like her, remember? She just wants to fix you; she's too caring and sweet.

He growled low in his throat and hit the wall with his cane in frustration.

Who am I kidding? Certainly not me. It may have worked yesterday, but not any more. It's amazing how one incident can alter how you feel about someone. Or at least how you will finally admit to how you feel about them.

While he was thinking and pacing, he didn't notice Wilson standing at the corner just watching him. After a bit, Wilson made his presence known. "House?"

Greg's head flew up and Wilson was shocked by the tormented look in his friend's eyes. "They wouldn't let me in." House said hoarsely, looking away as if to hide the pain he was feeling.

"I figured as much when I found you out here instead of hassling the doctors and nurses who are working on Cameron." Wilson noted calmly, hiding his confusion about how House was acting. Now was not the time to tease him about his apparent feelings for the young Dr. Cameron.

House sank into one of the chairs sitting outside the door and dropped his cane beside it, covering his face with his hands. The sound of scraping wood brought his gaze up to meet Wilson's, who was handing him his cane. He accepted it with a nod and propped his chin on his hands, staring at the wall in front of him. The two sat there in silence, one plotting, and the other tormented by his thoughts.

House was the first to break the silence. "Don't you have something better to do than sit here with me?"

"Cameron is my friend, too. I have just as much right as you do to sit here."

The diagnostician nodded before he sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. "How?"

"How, what?"

"How is it she, of all people, was shot?"

Wilson shrugged. It was just as much of a mystery to him as it was to House. "Maybe she had a bad day and she took it out on a patient in the clinic. Now he's getting back at her for her rude behavior."

House snorted. "That's as likely as me creating a tree. Or a rainbow with a pot of venomous snakes at the end instead of gold. Doesn't happen."

The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall and covered Wilson's slight laugh. House looked up, expecting to see Cuddy but instead saw Chase and Foreman. With a nasty look aimed at the pair, he returned to staring at the floor.

"How is she?" Chase asked. He was slightly offended when the only response he got from his boss was a grunt and a glare.

"How do you think she is, you moron." Foreman hissed. "She was shot!"

"Twice, in fact." House said monotonously. "Same as I was, and in pretty much the same place. Did you guys get a good look at the bastard?"

Foreman shook his head. "He wasn't the same guy."

House nodded and focused on the lines on the wall in front of him, effectively ignoring the three around him.

Chase and Foreman endured the painful silence for about three minutes before Chase cleared his throat and made an offhand remark about paging him when Cameron got out of surgery and headed down towards the clinic. Foreman just nodded to Wilson and House, who didn't acknowledge him in the slightest, and followed Chase.

Two hours had passed since she disappeared into the ER and there was still no sign of a doctor or Cameron. House had taken four Vicodin since he had taken residence in the hall and was feeling more and more agitated.

"Where are they? Why hasn't anyone come out here yet?" House stood up and began to pace again. The bang of the doors caused him to whirl around, almost falling. He looked up to see the weary, but relieved face of Lisa Cuddy. House didn't say anything. He just fixed his boss with his stare as if to ask if Cameron was okay.

Luckily, Cuddy had known House long enough to read his look. "She's fine. Or at least, she will be. She's being moved to room 212. You can go over there in about five minutes."

She collapsed in the chair House had previously occupied and sighed, contemplating whether or not to tell House why she had been shot. "House!" She called when she realized that both he and Wilson were heading down the hall. "Wait for me."

"Catch up. You aren't the cripple here." House snarked over his shoulder without missing a step. He stopped at the elevator and stabbed at the button rapidly. "C'mon, hurry up damn it."

Cuddy stopped beside him and put a hand on his arm. "House, she's alright. She is going to live."

He turned his glare to her. "I realize that, Dr. Cuddy. Are you sure that your brains aren't all in your breasts?" He snapped before stepping into the elevator with her and Wilson right behind.

The ride to second floor was short, but quiet, with only the clicks of the elevator keeping them company. The moment the doors opened again, House was moving as fast as he could down to room 212. The nurse was leaving as he arrived.

"Dr. House. You can go in, but she's still unconscious from the surgery. She'll be awake in about an hour, maybe two." She said gently before nodding her greetings to Dr. Cuddy and Dr. Wilson and heading to another patient's room.

House walked into the room almost reverently, pausing at the side of Cameron's bed. His heart twisted at the pitiful sight she made. Her face was pale and a bandage covered her right shoulder.

He hesitantly reached out and gently stroked her hair. "Cameron." He whispered gruffly, pulling up a chair and sitting down. He hesitantly reached out and took her cold hand in his. The steady beeps alerted him to her steady heart rate and it comforted him somehow.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but Wilson and Cuddy finally entered the room and Wilson put a hand on House's shoulder. "She's fine, House."

"I know." He murmured, his eyes never leaving her face.

"House, I got a page a minute ago." Cuddy finally spoke. "You have a case."

He looked up at Cuddy and nodded. "Wonderful." He said briskly. He winced as he stood up and popped a Vicodin before reaching out and tenderly brushing Cameron's forehead with his fingers. He ignored the curious looks of the other two doctors and stepped out of the room.

Wilson and Cuddy followed slowly, a similar thought on both minds. Should I tell him?

House started off down the hall when he paused, his eyes narrowing. Spinning around, he stalked back to where Cuddy was closing the door. "It was for me, wasn't it?"

"What?" Cuddy was startled. Did he read her thoughts?

"Those. Shots. Were. For. Me." He said slowly, closing his eyes. "Damn it."

"What makes you say that, House?" Wilson asked cautiously, sharing a look with Cuddy.

He gave a twisted smirk. "She's too sweet and nice for someone to want to kill her. Me on the other hand…" He trailed off as he came to a horrified realization. "I might as well have shot her myself."

He felt sick to his stomach as he turned and raced down the hall to the elevator, leaving two shell shocked doctors behind, both who were wondering what they were going to do to fix this situation and how they were going to convince the moody Dr. House that the shooting wasn't his fault.

House needed to get away and think.

Alone.

xXx

AN: So there's the first part of the story. Any good? Comments are welcome. Complements and constructive criticism will be taken like House takes Vicodin. I will first mock any flames before treating them with scorn and snark. And believe me, I have plenty of snark to go around. When I'm in a bad mood, I'm the female version of House.

However, positive and productive reviews make me happy. And a happy Psycho Strider is much like Allison Cameron, though without the bunnies, rainbows, and butterflies, because I'm not a girly girl and I hate above said girly things. Let's just say that I'm nice when I'm happy.

Get the picture?

Anywhoo, I love you all bunches and bunches and I am greatly appreciative of any complements or CONTSTRUCTIVE criticism. And just an FYI: badmouthing is not constructive, it is a FLAME. Therefore, it will have done to it as I have said I will do to it. I like ideas, and corrections if I have made a drastic mistake. And that includes grammar, spelling, and plot. I'm terrible at both spelling and grammar. I am officially labeling this as OOC and AU, meaning I'm taking liberties with all three the seasons. And for anyone who's wondering…

OOC out of character

AU Alternate Universe

Yeah, that took me ages to figure out.

Toodles for now!

Psycho Strider