I know, I know, it took way too long, but here is the next chapter of Eternal Flame. A little short, but oh well, sometimes that happens.

Please, please give me your thoughts!

"So, what was that all about?" House asked, making his way over to the conference table, casually leaning against it, and looking at Cameron, as if he expected to be thoroughly entertained by her answer to his question.

"I…have to go," Cameron said, not making eye contact with him.

"Uh, no you don't," House said.

She turned around to look at him. "What do you want from me House?" she asked in an irritated tone.

House was taken aback by her sharp response. "Geez, relax. The way your acting is like this guy's got some serious dirt on you that you don't want getting out."

She was quiet for a moment. No one in the room moved. Then House spoke again. "But I don't buy that. You're too much of a goody-two-shoes for him to have anything good on you. So, what's the real reason you don't want this guy around?"

"I didn't say I didn't want him around."

"Oh yeah, that was so obvious, seeing as how you just jumped into his arms with joy the minute he walked through the door."

Cameron sighed. How to get out of this, how to get out of this…

Finally she decided she couldn't make an easy exit, and just had to make a run for it.

"Just leave me alone House," she said, fury in her voice, and she stormed out of the diagnostics office.

House moved to follow her but the sound of Foreman's voice stopped him. "House, just let her go."

House looked at him bewildered. How could he not want an explanation for what had just happened?

"This has been enough drama for her for one day," Foreman explained, as if he had heard House's thoughts. "Just leave her alone for a while and approach the subject again once she's calmed down."

He had to admit, the man spoke sense. He didn't like it, but he decided to take Foreman's advice and give Cameron some space. He'd spend the rest of the day losing himself in a mind-boggling case.

Cameron ran from the building and into the spacious parking lot. She closed her eyes and let the cool air hit her face. Normally, Cameron wouldn't have lost it and run out of the room like that. It simply wasn't professional. Cameron always did the proper thing. She never did anything crazy, unless she didn't know how to handle something, and then all her logic went out the window. But this wasn't a normal situation. Joe was back. Back in her life after nine years without a word. Why? Why was he doing this to her? It's not that she didn't want to see him, deep down, she did, it's just that every time she looked at him she was transported back to the time when Jack had been sick. The endless months of sitting by his hospital bed, watching him gradually die. She couldn't go through that again. It had been hard enough the first time.

She opened her eyes and started walking towards her car. She just needed to go home and take a nice, long bubble bath to sort out her feelings. Actually, the bubble bath didn't necessarily matter, as long as she was away from House. He had been so cruel. Prying into her life like that. And in front of her co-workers too. Did he have no shame? Oh well, it didn't matter, as long as she stayed away from him. If she didn't, there was no telling what she would do. Attacking her boss was probably not a smart move.

She got in her car and drove home, fighting back tears. Okay, she just needed to think. In a few hours, she'd have a plan together, just like she always did, because Allison Cameron always knew what to do.