Author's Note: Game on. Okay, in all my productivity this weekend (I cleaned out my death trap of a closet), I forgot to do a major Spanish project. I'm either going to stay home or go in late. It's not due until after lunch so I could pull it off. Unfortunately, there's a huge ass storm heading my way (Michigan Winters suck!) so I'm going to be a busy little bee. For those who are already buried in "Snow-mageddon" (gotta love El Presidente), I send hot chocolate and plenty of blankets.
Now, back to the action.
Disclaimer: "Honestly, it's not mine!"
"Did you see that?" Miranda asked with a gesture towards the ferocious eye fucking and retreat.
"Yeah. I think Allie girl's been holdin' out on us. Miri, you go after her. Lads, I think it's time that we have a little talk with Dr. House."
Scott "Scotty" Moore watched as Miranda followed their baby sister's beaten path and then moved his ice blue gaze back over the crowd. It was growing like a weed but nobody was fighting or wasted. It was just a nice, wholesome party for charity. Well, except for the crowd surfing Coroner …and the wet t-shirt contest with the nurses… and man, Allie's co-workers were awesome!
Focus, man. Go and interrogate the bastard that Allie's fallen for and then gawk at the hot nurse chick….Bunny? Brianna? Ah, Brenda! Brenda!
"How are we doin' this? Good Cop, Bad Cop, and the Psycho or are we winging it?" Alexander asked as they picked their way towards the man on the stool.
The guy had taken over the DJing and he had some awesome taste in music. He could realize why Allie had fallen for him. Allison was a music crack head and loved puzzles. The guy was MineSweeper wrapped in Tetris covered in a Rubik's Cube with a Pit of Despair for flavor.
"I wanna be the Psycho. I'm best at it!" Phillip interjected, grinning manically.
Every guy that Miri and Allie brought around was subjected to the Moore Man Gauntlet, as their mother called it. The original game was Good Cop, Bad Cop, the Puritanical Priest, and the Psycho but since their dad was across the Atlantic, they'd have to make due with 3 out of 4. Phillip enjoyed freaking the gentlemen out with (not so) fabricated stories of him biting the head off of a chicken and streaking at his high school graduation.
Besides, if they could get past them, then being with the girls would be a cinch.
"Simmer down, Phil. Let's get this guy's side of the story before breaking out the Gauntlet and yes, you can be the Psycho if it comes to that." Scotty chuckled.
"Huzzah!"
//////////////
House turned and saw Cameron's brothers standing behind him, not looking friendly but not looking hostile. He sighed and loaded up the last playlist, knowing that it would tide the revelers over until the Dragon Lady pulled the plug.
"Come on. We can talk in my friend's office." he simply said while grabbing his cane.
What had he been thinking? He had been actively fighting against his…feelings and now, he had set himself back tremendously. He had touched her. He knew what she felt like, what she smelled like and damn if he didn't like them both. Not to mention that voice. Where had she been hiding that voice?
If she hadn't bolted (which was a serious blow to the ego), then he would've definitely kissed her. Fuck kissing, he'd be drilling her into Wilson's couch right now. But, she ran. Why did she run? Didn't she want him anymore? Had he finally accomplished his goal of pushing her away?
The mere idea of her completely giving up on him made him feel like when he was detoxing: ill and miserable.
Oh shit! Godfuckingdamnit, I've gone and fallen in… in love with her. Ewww…
Hadn't he learned his lesson from Stacy? Women were nothing but trouble once the clothes were put back on. Serious relationships equaled pain, both emotionally and physically. But, as always, Cameron had gotten to him.
Going past his office, he tried in vain to get a look at her, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Moore men.
"We'll let you go after her soon, Doc. We just need to clear some stuff up. I'm Scotty, by the way."
"Greg House.", he absently replied as he picked the weak lock in seconds. "Come in. Sit anywhere you want."
The men filed in and sat on the floor, the desk, and the spinning chair, leaving him the couch. House plopped down and said, "The thing between me and your sister….well, it's complicated."
"Yeah, because of you!" the spinning guy snapped.
"Allie loves the shit out of ya and you're bein' a complete fucker about it!" floor man snarled.
"Alex and Phil, chill. Now." Scotty demanded in a deadly calm voice, one that House remembered hearing from Cameron.
That voice meant doom.
"No, they're right. I have been a dick. A cowardly, piece of shit dick. No wonder she ran away from me, tonight." House said softly, surprising himself.
What was with these Camerons or Moores or whatever the hell they called themselves provoking what little humanity he had left?
"She ran from ya tonight because you looked like you were going to devour her.", Alex snarked.
A half smile curved House's lips as he remembered the heat in her gaze and the spicy sweet scent that he was certain belonged to an area that had occupied his thoughts since she walked in for her interview…
"No, she liked that. She just doesn't want me to hurt her again. It's for her own good, you know? I'm a crippled, drug addicted bastard who's damned near twice her age. What can I give her?"
"At the risk of sounding like a Lifetime movie pussy, I'd say love." Phil replied while resuming his spinning.
Scotty threw an empty cup at his head, sending him to the floor and House and Alex into laughter.
Maybe it was time to take a leaf out of a Lifetime movie pussy's book. After all, they did get the girl in the end…
A knock at the door made them all look and see a Cameron clone peering in. The only differences were the pixie hair cut and the pajama pants had Marvel characters on them. She stuck her head in and greeted, "'Sup, fools. Look, I think we've been made. Some chick with boobs that rival Pamela Anderson's up here with a guy with an awful tie and they don't look too happy. Especially the dude. Probably because we topped his shindig."
Oh, yeah. The gala planning had been Wilson's responsibility.
Damn, no wonder it sucked! .Jimmy wouldn't know a good party if it flashed him and kicked him the nads!
"Where's Allie?" Scotty asked worriedly.
"She's about to face off with Pamela and the dude. It's going to be most epic! Grab her boyfriend and come on so we can watch!"
//////////////
"Would you like to explain what's going on here, Dr. Cameron?"
"Wilson's gala sucked like a Dyson so I brought my siblings, who are respected medical professionals at Princeton General, to provide an alternative so people wouldn't spike their champagne with cyanide."
Cuddy winced at the blunt review of Wilson's planning but couldn't help but agree. Not even her nephew's bris had been that dull. The caterer obviously learned his skills at the local high school and the bureaucrats made the air stale and this party seemed to be way more fun. There were even some big donors here that hadn't shown up to the gala. Mosh Pit for Charity was a huge success, not only for potential revenue but for hospital morale.
But, still…
"Cameron, you didn't have the authorization to do anything like this. Why shouldn't I fire you?"
"Because of this." she replied calmly.
Her knees nearly gave out as a top hat full of money was presented to her, including three 7000 dollar checks on top, tied with festive bows.
"Amazing what Root Beer Pong and takeout can accomplish, no? Am I fired?"
"N-no.", she stuttered, still holding the top hat like it was a valuable artifact. "Not fired at all. Hell, I just might give you a raise!"
Laughter surged through the crowd and Cameron flushed beet red, modestly looking down at her sneakers.
"Wilson, are you pissed at me?" she asked quietly, referencing the whole "my mosh pit kicks your gala's ass" situation.
"No, Cameron. I'm pissed at me. I should've asked you for help from the get go. But, the gala wasn't a complete failure." Wilson replied while taking Cuddy's hand.
Lisa blushed and squeezed his hand back and Cameron grinned at them as a chorus of "Ooohhh…" went through the crowd.
"I bet. Look, you guys go change and then you can join us…or go make out. Whatever floats your boat."
Feeling mischievous, Cuddy pressed a kiss to a very red and very pleased Wilson's cheek and led him towards the door, hat in hand.
"I like the way you think. Oh and Allison?"
"Hmm?"
"I think someone wants to talk to you." Lisa said while pointing behind her.
//////////////
Her heart beat faster than a jackrabbit's as she walked to House and she met his gaze.
The usual gleam of fierce intelligence and misery was there but it was tempered with something softer…shyness? It was Gregory House! What did he possibly have to be shy about?! And why were her brothers grinning like loons? They only did that when…
"Are you kidding me?! You idiots did Good Cop, Bad Cop, the Puritanical Priest and the Psycho to him, didn't you?! Didn't you?!" she roared at them, her brogue thick and crisp with trembling rage.
"Good Cop, Bad Cop, the Puritanical Priest, and the Psycho?" House questioned with a Spock brow.
Her face went from beetroot to milk and she looked down at her sneakers.
"It's a…stupid man thing that my brothers and my dad do to potential boyfriends and husbands. Not that you're either one. You don't even want me as an actual doctor much less a lover." she explained in her meek Duckling voice, regressing more by the second.
"Don't be so sure, Allie girl. The lads and I had a nice chat with the Doc here and judging from Miri's report…"
Allison blushed as she remembered the tearful, angry ranting confession of near obsessive desire and burning love for the man in front of her.
"…you need to do the same thing with him." Scotty finished gently.
She felt cornered. She felt like a mouse in the sights of a hungry cat and she didn't know what to do. Her brain was screaming for her to run, to avoid this conversation and the subsequent rejection. Her heart was whining for her to take a chance, to let it take control for just a little while. Sure, she may get hurt in the end but wouldn't it all be worth it?
"Fine.", she said sullenly before sticking her head into the crammed office.
"Fuck off….NOW." she snarled to the mass of shocked gawkers, causing a stampede out of the door.
Her siblings looked at her with bemusement and she said, "You guys fuck off, too. This is all your interfering faults anyway."
"Hey, you started it. C'mon boys, lets go eat. All this family drama has me famished. You two kids have fun and remember…" Miri reminded her.
"NO SEX WITHOUT SAFE SEX." they all chorused before running back into he Pit, laughing maniacally.
Allison whined and put her head in her hands, shaking with borderline hysterical laughter and barely suppressed sobs.
When she had resolved to open up and let the real her shine through, she hadn't counted on it all happening so quickly or so brazenly.
"Cameron…", House started.
"Don't! Just…fucking don't, House. I don't want to hear any sarcasm or assholery you've got to dish out. Just reject me yet again so I can get back to changing my life. My shrink has urged me to open up and let everyone see the real me and all I've done is fuck myself over…again."
"What makes you think I'm going to reject you?"
It felt like every barrier, every filter she put between her brain and heart dissolved into dust and every ounce 2 ½ year old vitriol and rage surged out of her, shocking both herself and everyone else.
"Because it's what we do! I try to show you a little decency, a little love and care and you slap me away with your words or hurtful actions! It's been like that since I took this goddamned job! It's a never-ending cycle of Cat and Mouse and I'm damned tired of it! Do you do this to every woman that ends up cursed to love you?! How about to your beloved Stacy?! You said you loved her and look what she fucking did to you! She's treated you like absolute shit, something I'd never do! And let me tell you something else, House, if you can still love that heartless cunt after everything she's done to you, including siccing the medical equivalent of a Bull Dog on your leg, then you are the most demented, masochistic, damaged son of a bitch I've ever met in my-"
His lips and tongue cut her off.
