Stolen Moments:
Comfort
Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.
Abstract: House and Cameron are currently living together, and one day House finds Cameron crying in their bedroom. Why?
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Gregory House came home from a long day at the hospital. He and his team had not discovered what was killing their patient, but the patient was at least stable and would hopefully keep for the night. House was exhausted and just wanted to crawl into bed beside his beautiful girlfriend and fall asleep.
When he entered the apartment, all the lights were on, but she wasn't in her usual place in the living room. It had become comforting to know he would open his front door to see her sitting on the couch with her laptop open and TV on.
However, he heard a sound from the bedroom, and headed in that direction. As he got closer, he started moving faster. The sound was crying.
He burst into the room, his eyes searching hers out to determine the cause. She was curled against the pillow with her wedding picture cradled to her chest.
"Oh, Allieā¦" he said, as he limped his way over to the bed. He awkwardly put a hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her. He really didn't know much about comforting women. Stacy had never wanted it. If she was upset she just wanted him to go away. That he was good at. This, on the other hand, was a whole new ball game. A game for which he didn't know the rules.
They stayed there in silence that was only broken by Cameron's occasional sobs. House felt unsure if he was doing the right thing, but Cameron hadn't pulled away from his hand, so that was something.
Eventually she spoke. "He died today," she said in a dangerously low voice.
"Of course," House thought. He had known it was this time of year, but he hadn't known the day.
"I still miss him," she said in a near whisper. "I'm sorry."
She rolled over to curl against his body, and he wrapped both arms around her this time.
"You don't have to apologize for missing him," he said. "Ever."
She only cried harder, and House wondered if he had done something wrong. However, his worries abated when the sobs tapered off and she spoke again.
"Thank you."
After another long silence she spoke. "The best thing to do is just to let me cry."
House moved to get up. "I'll be in the living room if you need me."
He was stopped by a thin hand pulling him back. He turned to look at her questioningly. She looked up at him with her beautiful blue-gray eyes, like the sea on a cloudy day.
"I need you," she said.
House spent the rest of the evening wrapped around her, soothing her tears away. He woke up the next morning to an empty apartment, but noticed the note when he rolled over to get out of bed.
It had only two sentences printed on it:
Thank you. I love you.
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