Chapter 2-Wilson

"Are you feeling better?" Wilson glanced covertly at the blonde sitting across the table from him. Now that he was looking for it, he could see she had lost weight she didn't have to lose. Her cheeks were a little gaunter, the trim green blouse and black slacks she'd worn to work that day hanging on her thin frame where curves used to be

. She was still pale, but the faint shade of green she'd been wearing that morning was gone and she was looking at the menu with enthusiasm.

Pregnancy. Oy.

"I'm fine," she said absently, glancing over the menu and giving him a quick smile. "It usually passes by lunch. How have you been?"

Wilson raised his eyebrows, acknowledging the change in subject. "I'm fine. Busy-the outpatient clinic is closed temporarily for some plumbing issues, so right now they're funneling all their patients to us. We have some of their doctors on to help us out, but…"

"But that still leaves you with your hands full," Cameron said sympathetically. She knew. Of course she knew.

"Well. Hopefully not for too much longer." The waitress came and took their order, and Wilson bit the inside of his cheek to hold back a smile when Cameron ordered enough to feed an army. Either she hadn't eaten all day, or she was going to have enough leftovers to tide her over for the next week. He didn't mind either way. "How are you liking it here?" he asked when the server had left.

"It's okay." Cameron shrugged, then smiled. "Everyone's really nice, and I really like working with the residents. It's nice to be the teacher for once. But the cases aren't as serious as they are at Princeton Plainsboro-we ship out a lot more. So…" She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders again sheepishly. "I sound ungrateful. It really is a very nice place to work."

"But it doesn't challenge you," finished Wilson. "Understandable. You worked on one of the most acute care units in the country when you worked under House. Even in the ER, some of the trauma was pretty intense."

"Exactly." Cameron grinned at him. "I feel like sometimes my brain is getting soft. But that's enough whining from me. What have you been doing?" She paused, then asked, more softly, "How's House?"

He'd been wondering when she'd ask. If he'd seen her yesterday, he would have launched a full scale campaign to get her to come back. But now, knowing that House had recommended her for the job, understanding that she was here because his friend had actually taken the time to do something genuinely kind for another human being, it didn't feel appropriate.

"House is House. He misses you, although he wouldn't admit it if you plucked out his toenails." They both laughed, and if hers was just a little bit wistful, he pretended he didn't notice. "He's got another group of fellows he's terrorizing. How about you? How has the pregnancy been going, aside from the morning sickness?"

"It's fine." Her face softened then, and Wilson could see for the first time that pregnancy glow so many women had. "My OB says everything looks fantastic. I go in for another ultrasound in a month or so."

"That's fantastic. I'm happy for you," he told her truthfully. He'd always known she'd be a wonderful mother. She was a born nurturer, something not even House had managed to beat out of her. This child was going to be very, very lucky. But… "Not to pry, but what about the father? Is he…involved?"

It was none of his business. He knew it was none of his business. But she was his friend, and the fact that she hadn't mentioned a significant other when he'd asked her to dinner made him think that maybe she didn't have one. Which meant the father might not be in the picture. And the idea of someone walking away from Cameron, sweet, innocent, giving, caring Cameron, while she was carrying his baby was…unacceptable.

Her face immediately closed up, the cautious sparkle in her eye fading, but she didn't look angry. She'd known he was going to ask. She looked…resigned. Like a woman that knew the answer to that question wasn't going to be the one he wanted to hear. "No," she murmured softly. "No, he didn't want kids. Or me, when you get right down to it. It's better this way," she told him firmly. "Better to be a single mom than trying to raise a child with someone who wants nothing to do with any of it."

He wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself. But she was right. As a man, he felt like he owed a certain amount of loyalty to his gender, like he should be insisting that the baby had a right to know who its father was. But he'd seen too many deadbeat dads leave too much destruction in their wake. She was absolutely right. If this guy didn't want to stick around and own up to his responsibilities, she was better off without him. Reaching across the table, he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.

"It's an amazing thing you're doing, and you're going to be a wonderful mom. If there's anything you need, or anything I can do to help, don't be afraid to let me know, okay?" He gave her hand another squeeze before letting go and turning his attention to the waiter standing there holding their plates. "Oh, that looks amazing. You know you're going to have to share some of that, right?"

Cameron beamed at him, obligingly shoveling a spoonful of her pasta over onto his plate before tucking in herself. For the rest of the evening the two of them chatted about little nothings, and when they parted ways he left her with a smile and a quick peck on the cheek. She hadn't asked him not to tell House about the pregnancy, or at least the fact that the father had checked out of the picture.

He knew it was implied, however. The last thing she needed right now was his friend's snide attitude and constant need to degrade the people around him making things harder on her than they already were.

No, he wouldn't tell House. He'd undoubtedly find out sooner or later anyway. May as well let that happen in its own sweet time. But now that he knew what she was going through, knowing that she was hundreds of miles away with no support system… Well. Sometimes Wilson hated his overdeveloped sense of responsibility. But he knew he wasn't going to be able to just walk away from her. Whatever else they'd been, he'd like to think at one point they had been friends. Or at least, something resembling it. And you didn't leave your friends to go through this kind of thing alone.

There were things he could do for her. His Visa could certainly handle the travel miles. Andrew and Polly were right there. He knew Cameron would be mortified he'd interfered, just like he knew he was going to sit down with Andrew tomorrow and have a chat about keeping an eye on her anyway. And once Polly knew she was pregnant and alone in a strange place, she would undoubtedly show up on her doorstep with chocolate and tea and advice and whatever else it was women did when one of them was having a baby.

He'd also quietly check into her doctor before he left, make sure she had someone capable taking care of her-and if she didn't, he'd pull the strings into place. It was no less than House would do if he was there, and Wilson knew when House found out he'd have Wilson's head on a platter if he thought the situation hadn't been managed appropriately.

That, he realized ruefully, was why he was taking Cameron's situation so personally. Yes, she was a friend, and a good person in a shitty situation. More importantly, she was someone his best friend cared about. He owed it to House to make sure she was well taken care of.

Three Months Later

"Jeez Wilson, you running away to see your girlfriend again?" House grinned up at him from where he was slumped over on Wilson's couch, cheerfully bouncing his oversized tennis ball on the end of his cane. "What is this, the third time in the past six weeks? Careful, or she's going to start expecting you to put a ring on it."

Wilson looked up ruefully from the paperwork he was trying to get in order before his flight out that night. He was exhausted. The department was still booming, House had been particularly trying this week, and he was worried about Cameron. Polly had called him earlier that day, concerned that she wasn't doing well. The pregnancy was taking a harsh toll on her-she'd passed out at work the night before, not something you necessarily expected to see in the second trimester. Polly said she was looking thin and haggard, even with the medication the doctors had her on her blood pressure was all over the place, and she was still getting sick far too often.

It jived with what Wilson had seen the last few times he'd been out to see her. She needed help. She probably needed to be on bedrest, or at least drop down to working part time, but she'd been firm about it when he'd brought it up last time. She was going to be a single mother, she needed the paycheck. She couldn't afford to cut down her hours, because she needed her benefits and she was saving what little vacation time she had for her maternity leave.

He didn't know what to do about it, but he knew he had to do something. She was off for the next four days. He intended to fly out, pamper her a little bit, and sit down and discuss exactly what he could do to make this easier on her. He'd already looked into hiring her a housekeeper. It wasn't much, but it was something. He didn't know what else he could do, but…there had to be something.

He'd talked to Cuddy about it that morning. She'd caught him down in the cafeteria and pulled him into her office, demanding to know why he looked like hell. He'd caved, worry for Cameron and the desire to have someone else on his side pushing him into telling her everything. Cuddy had immediately suggested bringing her back here-the hospital could consider the cost of her prenatal care part of her sign on bonus if she'd come on as a consultant up in immunology. They had a position open anyway, it wouldn't take much to tweak it a little bit. She could work fewer hours, spend less time on her feet. She could decide after the birth whether she wanted to stay on or go back.

He'd already pitched the idea to Andrew, who had assured him that he could let Cameron know the hospital would consider it an extended leave of absence. They could hire a locum and hold her job for her until after the baby was born, when she could decide if and when she wanted to come back. He knew that Andrew had been as worried about her as Wilson was, and he sounded relieved to have a solution on the table. In the meantime, Wilson was hoping he could sell her on the idea of settling into his guest room, where he could keep an eye on her and help her out if she needed it.

All the pieces were in place. Now he just had to get the stubborn woman to say yes.

He must have said the last part out loud, because the next thing he knew House's ball came winging across his desk, sending his paperwork flying.

"I was kidding. You can't seriously be planning to put a ring on this chic. You barely know her," House protested, looking at him in disbelief. Crap. Wilson scrambled for some way to save this that would get House off his back without spilling the beans. He didn't get a chance to, however. At that precise moment Cuddy came bursting into his office, heels clicking, a sheaf of paperwork in her hand.

"Oh good, you haven't left yet. Give this to Cameron," she said, holding the papers out to him. "It's a preliminary contract I had HR put together. It has everything, including an agreement to cover the cost of her prenatal care and first six weeks postpartum, as well as baby's first six weeks with all the appropriate immunizations. What?" she asked, finally connecting Wilson's frantic hand signals with the conversation she was having. Following his pointed look, she turned around and met House's eyes. "Oh shit."

House's gaze bounced back and forth between the two of them, eyes big, skin gone pale. "Cameron? All this time you've been sneaking around with Cameron? And now you got her knocked up," he said snidely. It was a typical house remark, but it was impossible for Wilson to miss the angry, wounded look in his eyes.

The easy thing to do would have been to lie and tell House that yes, the baby was his. But those kind of lies had a tendency to bite you in the ass. Especially when House wanted to know what he was doing here when Cameron was having his baby all the way over there. And besides, the truth would come out pretty quickly if he was able to talk her into coming back with him. It was a miracle House hadn't figured it out before now.

"I didn't knock her up," Wilson said wearily, taking the paperwork from a now silent Cuddy. "The dad checked out of the picture, so Andrew and I have been trying to help her. She's not doing well, and there's some concern she might lose the pregnancy," he continued, watching his friend's eyes widen. "I'm trying to convince her to come back here so we can help her out until the baby comes."

"I see." House was silent for a second, and Wilson braced himself for the inevitable barrage of questions about her medical condition. He was surprised when the next question out of House's mouth was a soft, "How far along is she?"

"About 24 weeks," Wilson told him resignedly. House looked at him and nodded, resting his chin on the top of his cane. Wilson could see the wheels in his head turning. Looking troubled, House tapped the end of his cane on the floor for a long minute, then stood up and hobbled silently out of the office, leaving Wilson and Cuddy staring after him in disbelief.

"Well. That was weird."

Thanks for reading guys And a huge thank you to innerurge1 for taking the time to post the first review! I'm shooting to have the next chapter up by tomorrow night, so stay tuned!