TITLE: Revenge
Rated: PG-13
Author: Megan Faye Lierman
Notes: Just a short and Sweet little thing. And please note that if you are allergic to Codine, severely allergic, you WILL be sick from poppy seeds. I know- I am, and had REALLY nastey reactions.
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She would offer him support.
Allison Cameron decided that her purpose was best served offering a shoulder to cry on, a friendly ear to scream into, and House would probably only do the latter of the two. He would yell, berate her, throw her out, and later, her life would regain normality as her boss calmed. The other 'ducklings' would thank her silently. She took a deep breath snd opened the door.
"Get out," was the immediate response. Not all unexpected. "Not now, Cameron. Go back to the pond with my other little ducklings. Tell them you did your job to perk up the boss," he said looking at his lap.
"Nice."
"Why do you do this? You know that you come in here, I yell, you cry, and then-"
"You act human to the rest of the world."
"Masocist."
"Sadist." House smirked. He'd finally elicited a true Smart-ass response from the 'Innocent and all kind Dr. Allison.
"Well, you know me, good doctor likes to give pain. Should have been a dentist."
"Novicane Mutiny?"
"I'm 0 for 2."
"Just vent, tell me where Chase screwed up, Foremen was lazy, and where I was too nice, get it over with and enjoy your duckling soup." Greg House, for the first time in his life, was at a loss for words.
"We didn't screw up. Some patients will die. We can't change that. We can try to change when and how, but we are not perfect. You know that from." He snapped his mouth shut. As much as he liked seeing her cry, he wanted to see it from frustration, not grief.
"From watching my husband die," she finished, keeping her cheeks dry. She glared at him. "Say it."
"From watching your husband die," he said. The words tasted bitter in his mouth. He looked at her for a long time. House didn't stare, he just looked on. Thoughts flooded into his head of her on her wedding day, so happy, and flash forward 6 months, at his funeral. "All we can do it give them time. Some with quantity, some with quality. You seem to balance giving both well this week."
"Not well enough."
"You spoke to that man before he died, and sang to him as he died. Why?"
"I looked like his daughter, who was killed 20 years ago. I offered him a few minutes of peace so he would not suffer to the bitter end of a lonely life." Her words stung him just as his had stung her. House took her hand and ushered her into a seat.
"Cameron," he said softly. She was the only one who had ever received a soft tone, and only once before, when he had thanked her for giving him Ketamine several months before. "Why, Allison?" he wasn't asking about the old man anymore.
"You asked me to stay with you."
"The difference is, they brought me back." She nodded. "Take a few hours. Collect yourself, and stitch the wounds again."
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"Chase?" Foremen asked as the yound Austrailian stared into space.
"What?"
"You okay, man? You look a little pale." The blond man yawned
"Just tired," he said. As he stood to leave, he noticed how strange the floor looked as it flew towards him.
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The young man lingered in limbo between life and death with a long tube forcing air into his lungs. House had said something under his breath as he was rolled in, hell had frozen over as he was being nice, cause Chase to fall sick from the sudden chill. His audience didn't seem at all amused.
"Differencial diagnosis?"
"What are the symptoms?" Cameron started with. "Fever, body rash, hemeroids, and coma."
"Vomitting?"
"Not that we know of, but he was pretty green this morning." House wrote puking with several question marks.
"One of these things is not like the other, and one of these things just doesn't belong," House sang.
"Hemeroids," Cameron suggested. "Its got nothing to do with anything but his bad bicycle seat."
"Or a hung boyfriend." The two sitting in front of House chose to ignore the last comment
"Viral infection?"
"Ruled out."
"Allergic reaction?"
"Could be," Foremen said. "He's got a nasty codine allergy. Chase had some recent dental work, they may have screwed up the meds again."
"He would know not to take a codine relative with an allergy," Cameron said, rolling her eyes. House wasn't convinced. He looked at his underlings with a wicked grin. "We're breaking in, aren't we," she said as more of a statement than a question. "Wonderful."
"Lead the way, girlfriend," House said, oozing with sarcasm.
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"Its spotless," Cameron noticed as she and Greg House wandered through the apartment. "Smells like bleach."
"Its hot in here. Look for mold. Check every window, corner and drawer in the bedroom. I'll search the bathroom." The two headed off in oppisite directions. She looked in the closet, drawers, and then proceded to the kitchen.
"House, everything smells like some form of bleach."
"Found it," he said, holding out a roll of toilet paper. "He stored it under the sink, and it has mold on it. Add that with hemeriods and a nasty mold allergy."
"I'll call Foremen."
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Cameron was staring into the room. Chase wasn't impoving at all. It couldn't be a mold allergy. Okay, slight improvement as the rash eased, his lungs were still not supporting life, and he was still running a fever. She knew that they'd covered one problem, and not the other. And now his heart was weak. She turned to walk away.
"How's he doing?" came a muffle voice. House was standing there, munching a half-cooked Hot Pocket, dripping a string of cheese into his hand. "Ohm, hot."
"Not good."
"Stable?"
"For now."
"You've been here for 3 days. Times like this, I thank Cuddy for the staff showers. Go home."
"Can't."
"Sure you can, have you tried?"
"I don't want Chase to be alone," she said softly. House studied her blue eyes as they went cold. "I went home the day my husband died. He was stable, and I went home for a shower and clean clothes. When I got back an hour later, I was a widow." Her tone was matter-of-fact. House knew that Cameron was building walls up again. While they were easy enough for House to break down, every time he had to, he felt that it tore away a piece of her. "I don't want hime to be alone. I can't...I can't be alone."
"Then don't go home. You can come with me. We can toss those into the wash, you can shower, I'll make a late dinner, or," he said, looking at his watch, "An early breakfast. Cameron," he said. "He's not your husband. Foremen is here with him, and he will not die if you stop and breath. Lo and Behold, you aren't God."
"Fine," she finaly agreed. As they walked to her car, she finally took notice that he carried her duffle.
"I figured we could wash the spares from your locker, too. I have a feeling you'll be enjoying the couch in your office for the next few nights." She silently thanked him.
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As Cameron stepped out of the shower, clean, and fed (Fast Food on the way to House's condo), she noticed her lack of clothes. He must have taken them for washing. Great. She found a (hopefully) fresh towel and wrapped up in it comfortably. With a quick rub-down of her hair, she pulled it back into a braid in a practiced movement.
"Cameron?"
"I'm not dressed," she warned.
He entered anyway, handing her a t-shirt and flannel pants. After a few yells of protest from his naked underling, he was gone again. He'd muttered something about how her hair looked better down as he left the room.
"Greg House-"
"Relax, You had a towel on."
"That wasn't funny." Her hair was loose around her shoulders, leaving patches of water pooling down the front.
"I think it was. And I was right, you do look better with your hair down." She shot him the finger as she looked for her clothes. "You won't find them. I figured if I got you into pajamas, cleaned, fed, and stole your clothes, you'd be forced into sleep." She was infuriated with him, and he knew that his days were now numbered. "Allison," he said, and suddenly, he was back on her good side. "Please don't make me watch two people I care about suffer," was his final whisper before she collapsed, defeated, onto his couch. After a moment, his words sank into her. He cared about his little worker bees after all.
"Sit with me?" He didn't need to be asked more than once and sat down slowly, and very stiffly, next to her. "Relax. I need a friend tonight. You won't break if you offer up a shoulder, House." House nodded. Cameron took notice that the last few months had taken many of the worry-wrinkles out of his forhead. He was relaxing, and exsisting as a whole person.
"Cameron," he said, once she had comfortably rested her aching head on the chest of a man who rarely said anything that wasn't sarcastic. "Chase is a strong little wombat. He will come through this and we're going to be bashing the little Aussie's theories again soon. For now, relax. Sleep," he ordered, running a lock of wet hair from her face. She leaned onto his shoulder and closed her eyes for the first time in too long.
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When Allison Cameron opened her eyes, the sun was up, and she smelled eggs frying, bacon sizzling, and fresh coffee. As she wandered into the bathroom, she stretched, almost forgetting why she slept at House's place. She ran a comb through her hair, and rinsed with mouthwash.
"Allison," called House from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready." She smiled, hearing her first name from his lips for the first time. She wandered back through the condo. Sure enough, there was a pile of eggs, bacon, fresh biscuts, and half a grape fruit next to a cup of coffee.
She dropped into a chair and took a timid sip at the coffee. Still silent to the man who offered a glass of juice, she nodded, and gulped the coffee down. She seached for the pot.
"Cameron?"
"No talking. Not until second cup." She poured the black liquid, downed it in two gulps, closed her eyes for a moment to savor her addiction before resting her eyes on the man. "Yes?"
"Two cups before talking?"
"Three before teasing, driving, sex, or a shower."
"I'll have to remember that if we ever have sex." House dug through his cupboards for a moment. "Aha!" he pulled out a poppy seed muffin. "I bought these a day ago, and now that I know they are there, I can't resist."
"I hate poppy seeds. Chase-" She thought for a moment. "Call Foremen."
"I already did this morning. No change." Cameron glared at him.
"He had a poppy seed muffin for breakfast the day he collapsed. I watched him eat the damn thing!"
"Codine."
"There's enough in them, if he's allergic enough, to get this kind of reaction." House nodded, picked up his phone and dialed the hospital. House told Foremen what they decided was wrong, and what to do about it. Cameron grabbed her clothes from the dryer and dashed into the bathroom. House stared blankly at the the untouched eggs. He decided to shovel a few bites down.
"Cameron," he called, mouth full. "I'm eating your eggs." She came out, dressed, hair pulled back, and she was smiling. "Ready?" Allison leaned over him as he was still sitting at her spot at the table. She kissed him. She pushed her toungue deep into his mouth, eliciting a groan of surprise from the man who offered no protest.
"That's revenge for walking in on me last night." Cameron picked up her lab coat and headed towards the door.
"I'll be there in a minute," he said, voice rough.
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Chase was sitting up in bed. While he was still ghostly white, he was smiling and eating the hospital food offered to him. Foremen joked about giving him another poppy seed muffin if he pisses House off.
"Chase," Cameron said, bringing in a small gift. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah. What's this?"
"To keep you occupied until you go home tomorrow." Chase unwrapped the gift. It was a new Gameboy. "House's idea," she said. "There are a few games there, too."
"Don't blame me," House said. "I just said you'll be bored. Now, what kind of moron eats poppy seeds when they are allergic to Codine?" Chase rolled his eyes. "How about you don't do it again. I'd hate to have to hire another bee for my little hive here."
"That would make you a Queen bee, eh?" Chase joked.
"When did my crew go sarcastic?"
"We spend Way too much time together." Cameron turned to leave, but House took her hand.
"Dr. Cameron," he said. She turned as he pulled her into a kiss as passionate as the one at the breakfast table the day before. It was her turn to gasp in surprise. He started to pull away, but her sweet lips nibbled down on his toungue as he kissed her. He felt himself shaking lightly as she pulled away.
"Revenge for yesterday?" she asked.
"No..."
"Good, because you suck at it." Cameron turned and left the hospital room to continue her work.
"How long was I out again?" Chase asked.