Disclaimer: See the first chapter

A/N: I'm still working on the fourth chapter. If you're lucky and I have an easy day at work then you'll see it by tomorrow. If not… next week sometime, perhaps… Remember to let me know what you think of this.

Broken

Chapter 3

Cameron was woken a little later by House. The police had arrived and wanted to photograph her and take a statement. House wasn't sure himself that he wanted to be there to hear what had happened to her. She hadn't asked him to be her knight in shining armour and he wasn't sure that he could handle that role.

She was well composed while the younger of the two detectives photographed the bruises on her face and her split lip, though when it came to giving her statement she seemed to curl in on herself again. The police officer had wanted to do this in the station but House could see that he'd been right to insist that they come to her. She needed familiar surroundings right now.

He sat beside her on the couch as she prepared to give her statement. There was a full cushion width between them. House wasn't the sort of person who could be compassionate and caring, but he could keep his tongue relatively still and offer a shoulder to cry on – should she need one.

"So, Allison, it was your boyfriend who attacked you?" Detective Wallace, the older detective, asked in his false friendly tone.

"Ex-boyfriend. I was breaking up with him."

"Did he attack you before or after you told him you were breaking up?"

Cameron thought hard for a moment. The events of that night seemed so cloudy. She remembered him trying to get her into the car, her planning to call a cab in the club, him knocking her down – she looked at her grazed palms, then the punches and the fear, and running, running even though her body ached and all her muscles were screaming in agony. She couldn't remember words though.

At last she spoke. "I… I don't know… I don't remember." The detective nodded and made an encouraging noise. "He was stoned, he'd taken something. I think I told him I was getting a cab." She felt tears of frustration prickling her eyes. Why couldn't she remember?

"Okay." Wallace said somewhat soothingly. "And what's the name of your boyfriend?"

Cameron almost corrected him with 'EX-boyfriend' but instead she just said, "Mike Kerr."

Another nod. "So let's go back to the beginning."

Cameron told him about how Mike had arrived and she'd wanted to go to the café but he'd wanted to go to the club. She told him about how he'd abandoned her to dance with a young woman who was all over him. Then how he disappeared and she decided to call a cab and leave since he was obviously occupied.

She brushed over trying to call a cab and moved on to Mike leaving the alleyway beside the club, throwing in the detail about his fly being undone. She remembered so little that she had to give them any information she could.

House tensed beside her as she described being forcibly taken to the car, twisting away and heading back towards the club. Cameron felt her heart racing as she described Mike pushing her down and then him punching her as she tried to get away. She concluded with her taxi ride home and then exhaled a deep rattling sigh.

In the corner Detective Wallace's partner spoke up at last. Other than saying "Hi" when introduced as Detective Greene and asking Cameron to turn her head one way or the other for the photographs she'd not said a word.

"What was the name of the club you went to?"

"Mind… umm… Mindstorm… I think… Club Mindstorm…" Cameron replied. "It's on the other side of town."

Detective Greene beckoned for Detective Wallace to speak in the kitchen. So House edged a little closer to Cameron and put a hand on her back. It was intended as a reassuring gesture, but it made Cameron – who was staring at the wall – jump and jerk herself away from House.

"You're doing great." He told her gruffly.

Cameron stared at him for almost a full minute before replying. "Who are you and what've you done with my boss?"

He was about to give her some sort of sarcastic remark back but he was cut off before he could begin by Detective Wallace returning. Rather than sitting in the armchair again he remained standing.

"Last night at the club you went to, Mindstorms, there was a young woman murdered." House saw Cameron's eyes widen. "My partner has a photograph which we'd like you to look at. See if you recognise her." Detective Greene moved forward and placed a photograph face down on the coffee table before Cameron. "This is a picture of the dead woman. Take you time and tell me if you saw her last night."

With a slightly shaky hand Cameron reached out and turned over the photo. Taking a deep breath she studied it, the way she might study and X-ray or scan of a patient.

The woman was blonde and tanned; she'd had her hair tied up but now it was tousled and messy; her make up was smeared; there were marks on her neck and the top she was wearing (although Cameron couldn't see all of it) was torn.

Cameron stared at the dead girl's face, she'd tried not to look at her as she was grinding with Mike on the dance floor. Then they'd disappeared together. Was that what he'd been doing?

She pushed the photo back towards Detective Wallace and nodded. Her mouth was too dry to talk.

Wallace started to ask another question but Cameron jumped up and rushed to the bathroom. The two detectives shared an uncomfortable look before Greene looked at House. He didn't want to have to be the one to go and see her like this, he highly doubted that she wanted to be seen like this either.

House wasn't one to be cowed by pressure, he'd proved that to Cuddy countless times, but now he couldn't just sit there knowing that Cameron was in the next room throwing up.

Using his cane he pulled himself to his feet, reaching into his pocket he pulled out the bottle of Vicodin and popped a couple of pills as he made his way down the hall way.

She heard him coming up the hallway towards the bathroom. Rattle, thump, step, rattle, rattle. Thump. She'd not closed the door and now he was standing in the doorway thumping his cane to get her attention. She didn't want to look at him, didn't want him to look at her.

Ignoring him didn't seem to be working, he was leaning against the doorframe. Carefully Cameron turned around on the cold floor. "I'm fine." She told him. She wasn't. She was shaking. She had nothing left to throw up and now House was there watching her.

"You're not." He took a step forward.

"I'm fine." She repeated.

"This is going to get very old very quickly." He held out a hand to help her up.

She took it.

…

Cameron sent House back to the sitting room and gave herself a moment to compose herself.

"So this guy who attacked Cameron, you think he killed this woman?" She could hear House saying.

"Sorry sir, we can't say for certain right now."

"Well is Cameron in danger? Finding competent doctors is hard enough without having someone trying to bump one of them off."

Cameron felt herself shudder, then she was being watched.

"I'm fine." She told the assembled group. House continued to frown at her but the pair of detectives seemed happy with this.

"We'll leave you here to rest now Doctor Cameron. Here's my card. If you need anything just call. We'll be in touch."

And like that they were gone.

House thumped off to the kitchen and came back with a plate of sandwiches.

"I'm not hungry."

"See, I don't believe that. You've spent half the time I've been here throwing up and I bet you've not eaten since yesterday. There's barely anything to you. I'm not going to let you starve yourself to death."

Cameron took a seat on the couch and stared at the plate on the table before her. House sat down in the armchair and watched Cameron.

Finally, after about five minutes of watching her closely observing the sandwiches he spoke up. "You know it's not really that difficult. You'll pick it up quite easily. Pick up a sandwich, open your mouth, chew, then swallow it. Not difficult at all."

"House! Just shut up already. Go! I didn't ask you to come here. Leave!"

"No!" He yelled back. "You didn't ask me to come here. Just like you didn't go to hospital to get checked out. You didn't call the police to report that the psycho you were seeing tried to kill you! Just like you didn't eat, or drink, or sleep!"

"Please. Leave." She was begging him now. The tears that had formed earlier were threatening to fall. "Please." Her voice was filled with desperation. She didn't want him to be there to see this.

At last she couldn't hold it back any longer. She put her head in her hands and curled forwards. Sobs that were loud and full of pain filled the apartment and all at once House was beside her with that comforting hand making smooth circles on her sweater. And she didn't stop him, she couldn't have, even if she did have the energy.