Disclaimer: I do not own House M.D. or its characters.

Thanks for all the reviews to the last chapter. This story is now going to have four chapters, the next of which should be up in a few days.

Jenny.

Not So Easy.

Chapter 2.

Cameron kept her breaths steady as she ran. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

The numbers on the treadmill display kept rising and she kept running. It always helped her think. After all, she had done her best thinking while with House, and that had been just like running on a treadmill. She had been running to keep still, running towards an unknown goal, running for the sake of running.

It had been four days since that night at House's and the pull of the phone was almost irresistible. Her eyes fell on it as she kept running. She had lost count of how many times she had picked up the receiver only to replace it moments later. She couldn't call House. She couldn't call the hospital at all. Maybe Cuddy would be able to offer her another position in the hospital if she called her, but Cameron needed a clean break.

As she stared at it, the phone began to ring and she jumped in surprise. She was off the treadmill before she was aware of it and half way across the room before realising it was a ridiculous hope to think it would be House calling to ask her back. She reached the phone and felt a guilty disappointment when the caller ID told her it was her mother calling from Nebraska.

"Hi, Mom," she said into the mouthpiece once she had steadied her breath enough to be understood.

"Allison, honey," Susanne Cameron's tone was bright and Cameron felt her body relax at the familiar sound. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mom. What's going on?"

"Just wondering how you are, sweetheart. Does there have to be a reason for me to call my only daughter? You act as if you aren't pleased to hear from me. You know, it's been almost a month since we last spoke."

Only a mother has the power, thought Cameron, to make someone feel this guilty, this fast. She was suddenly remembering all the late nights her job had necessitated, all the missed family gatherings, the unreturned phone calls and the ones cut short by the demands of being employed by Gregory House.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm alright, really. How is everything back home?"

"Everything is wonderful, honey. Your father and I are both well. We booked a trip to Europe just the other day."

"That sounds great," Cameron smiled. Maybe nobody else had the power to feel guilty like her mother, but nobody could make her feel better, either. Just the sound of the older woman's voice cheered Cameron up.

"And your brother and Natalie are coming up to visit at the weekend. It's been so long since your brother came home. Not as long as it's been since you came home, of course, but still far too long. I don't blame him," Susanne rushed to add. "He's a very important businessman, after all, but it is great to have him come and see us. And Natalie, of course. You know she's very important to us."

At this, Cameron's smile spread into a wide grin. She knew full well what her parents' opinion of Natalie was when Christopher had introduced her to them. Natalie was as friendly as anything, but an unemployed music student eight years Christopher's junior wasn't exactly the type they had imagined for their son. Once it had become clear, however, that Christopher was crazy about Natalie and she wasn't going anywhere, Susanne and Mark had been forced to modify their position to stay on good terms with their son. It was a tentative arrangement.

"Of course," Cameron was unable to completely keep the laugh out of her voice, but her mother ignored it.

"He's been promoted, you know. Did he tell you?"

"No," Cameron was unsurprised at Christopher's not telling her. They had never been close siblings. "I'll call him later on to congratulate him."

"Thank you. I'm sure that will mean a lot." Cameron was sure it wouldn't. "How about you, honey? How's work?"

"Oh... er..." Caught out, Cameron stared at the phone table as if it had written upon it the answer she was supposed to give her mother. Susanne already worried too much without finding out her daughter was unemployed. The surface of the table remained stubbornly blank as always. Cameron cursed her upbringing and morals and sighed before telling her mother the truth. "Actually, Mom, I'm not working at the hospital anymore."

"What? I don't understand. When did this happen?"

"I quit on Friday. It was time, I think."

"But I thought you loved that job. Honey, are you sure you weren't fired?"

"No. I quit, Mom. It was just... there were some issues that couldn't be resolved. It was better for me to go."

Susanne sighed, exasperated. "So now you're unemployed. What happened?"

"I told you, there were complications and a number of factors that influenced my decision and after a lot of thought I decided it would be best to move on. It will be fine, Mom, I thought it through and this is the best thing for me, I really think it is," Cameron knew she was babbling and forced herself to stop. Telling someone that she had left her job made it more real, and she was beginning to panic at the thought of what she would do next.

"Oh, Allison," Susanne's voice had switched to pitying. "Who did you fall in love with?"

"I... what?" Cameron was taken aback. Apparently her mother knew her better than she had thought.

"I said-"

"I heard. Why would you come to that conclusion?"

"I know you, darling. So come on. Who? The Australian man you've mentioned?"

"Chase? No, I'm not in love with him." Too late, Cameron realised that this could be taken as admittance that there was someone.

"Foreman?"

"House." The one word fell easily out of Cameron's mouth but she could imagine how difficult its implications would be to absorb at the other end of the line.

One.

Two.

Three.

"Your boss! God, Allison, I thought you had more sense than that. A co-worker would be bad enough, but why would you allow yourself to become infatuated with someone who has so much control over your career? Do you know how unprofessional this makes you look?" Susanne exhaled loudly and Cameron could hear her taking deep, steadying breaths to calm herself.

"Allison, I know it's probably not what you want to hear, but you must know how much this could jeopardise your career."

"I know, Mom. I do know, I swear. But House is the only one who knows, and he wouldn't tell anyone else."

This wasn't strictly the truth but the only person Cameron could imagine House telling was Wilson, and then only if pushed for a reason why she had left and all his other excuses had fallen flat. Chase and Foreman would be deterred easily with a flippant remark, too scared to question House too much. House wouldn't be comfortable talking about feelings, his or anyone else's. "And I already have an interview lined up for twelve today. At Jefferson. My career isn't over."

"Oh. Well good luck, honey," Susanne still sounded concerned and Cameron spent the rest of the conversation trying to placate her mother so that when they hung up a few minutes later, Mrs Cameron sounded marginally more cheerful, even if not as happy as when she'd first rung.

Cameron didn't have time to think about it, though. She rushed for a shower and to get ready for her interview.

*

Cameron left the Jefferson hospital at quarter past one feeling hopeful. Doctor Yule had asked all the questions she had wished for and she felt satisfied with her answers. Mostly he had wanted to know about House and her experiences working for him. When he had asked why she had left Princeton-Plainsboro, she hadn't known quite how to respond. 'Insurmountable difficulties' had come out of her mouth. Yule, clearly familiar with House, had nodded his understanding and hadn't asked her to elaborate. His easy acceptance of her answer had brought about a weird sense of defensiveness for House's character but she squashed it. The truth was that House was difficult and there was no point trying to argue that he wasn't. She would lose that argument every time.

*

When she got back to her apartment, the light on her answering machine was flashing. She pressed the play button as she walked to hang up her jacket.

"Hey, Allison, it's Christopher. Listen, Mom called. She sounds worried. Er... call me back, okay? Talk to you soon."

Another beep and a different male voice started to speak.

"Cameron, it's Chase. I just wanted to know if you're okay. House isn't telling us what's going on and I was wondering if you were alright. Call me if you want to. I'd better go before House comes looking for me. We got a case and... sorry, just call me. Anytime you-"

Chase's message cut off abruptly and if she had to guess, Cameron would think that he had been interrupted by House and had hung up before his boss could ascertain who he was calling. Never mind that breaking off in the middle of a sentence and hanging up would be far more suspicious than casually finishing off the conversation, House's sharp instincts would be able to read the situation and know what was going on.

Cameron sighed and sat on the couch to pull off her uncomfortable 'interview shoes.' To be honest, when she had quit her job she hadn't considered Chase and Foreman all that much. She didn't know what she would say to them if she spoke to them again. What if she had read House wrong? What if he told them the truth? Maybe it was her own insecurities as the only female in a testosterone filled department, but it already seemed to her they looked at her differently than they looked at each other. She had fallen in love with House. She couldn't help it but that didn't change the fact that her professionalism could be called into serious question as a result of those feelings.

Rubbing the feeling back into her feet she reached for the phone and dialled her brother's number from memory, thinking she might as well return his call while she remembered.

The phone rang five times before it was picked up in New York.

"Hello?" It was Natalie. "Hello?" She added a second time before Cameron could answer.

"Hi, Nat, it's Allison."

"Oh, hi, how are you? What have you been doing? Oh, sorry, I just remembered Christopher told me about your job. Are you alright? Wait... Christopher, I'm talking to her... wait a minute," Natalie said all in one breath and Cameron smiled at the young woman's effervescence.

"I'm fine, Natalie. How is everything in New York?"

"We're both great, Allison. Thanks... Oh fine. Look, Allison, it was good to see you but your brother's really wants to speak to you. I'll speak to you soon, okay? Christopher wants you."

Cameron heard the sounds of a phone being passed over and Natalie muttering something about childishness before her brother's deep strong voice came down the line.

"Allison."

"Hi, Christopher. Mom told me you'd been promoted. Congratulations."

"Thanks. But that's not what I wanted to speak to you about. Mom called me-"

"Yes, you said so on your message. I expected she would."

"Right," Christopher sounded uncomfortable and Cameron took pity on him.

"I'm okay. Mom's overreacting. I've had an interview today, it went really well and I'm hopeful. I appreciate that you're all worried about me but there's not need. My career isn't over just because I left one job."

"That's great. But Mom's more concerned about you leaving your job without having another one lined up. What if you don't get this job? You need to pay your bills."

Cameron felt her optimism fade a little. Maybe she didn't do as well at that interview as she thought. She should have mentioned the steep learning curve of working for House. She should've talked more about her internship at the Mayo Clinic. She swallowed down her panic and forced herself to answer.

"Like I said, I'm confident. And I have savings. If it comes to it, I can pay my bills out of them for a couple of months."

"That's what I told Mom. I knew you'd have savings but she still worried. And you know what Mom's worry is like- it's infectious. Sorry to pass it on to you, but we are just concerned about you."

"I know. Thank you. I do appreciate it. And congratulations again about the promotion."

"Thanks. It's a great opportunity for me."

Cameron smiled but Christopher's words had worried her. What if she couldn't get another job? She'd have to move back home for a while and it would be embarrassing to admit to her family that she had failed in New Jersey.

The rest of the conversation passed without incident and she hung up and collapsed backwards on the couch and closed her eyes.

It would have been so much easier if she hadn't fallen in love with her boss. She could have stayed at Princeton-Plainsboro, fought for her position in the department and tried her hardest, and if he had chosen to fire her, she would have known that she had tried. But she had fallen for him. And in the end she hadn't been able to force him to make that choice. She had left to spare him the need to choose and to spare herself a heart even more broken than it was already. If she went back to the way things were, it might break her.

Cameron sat up suddenly and reached for the remote control for something to do. She turned on the television, then settled herself back against the cushions with her legs curled underneath her, flipping through the channels and turning her mind to less troubling thoughts.