House exited the elevator and made his was purposefully to the office at the other end of the hall.
Rationally he knew what he was about to do was stupid but that didn't deter him. He did stupid things all the time and he needed to do something to alleviate the god forsaken voice drilling in the back of his head.
Cameron was right, he was hovering but it certainly wasn't by choice. He didn't feel concern for others. It was a deliberate safeguard he put up to avoid dealing with peoples emotions but despite his best efforts, despite actually doing work to take his mind off things, willingly opting for clinic duty, he still couldn't shake the image of Cameron's bruised wrist from his mind.
She'd stated rather emphatically not to go to Cuddy, which was another thing adding to his annoyance. For some reason he felt the need to honor that request. He was manipulative, he lied, he didn't honor other peoples wishes...
Reaching his destination he smiled slightly, despite his frustration.
She hadn't said anything about confronting Mason in person.
He rapped against the glass with his cane and unwilling to wait for a response barged in, kicking the door closed behind him.
'Doctor House.' Mason raised his eyes from the paper he was reading, clearly unimpressed with the intrusion. 'Can I help you?'
'You've got a problem with Doctor Cameron.' He deliberately changed his inflection, making sure it came out as a statement not a question and was surprised when the man opposite him didn't even flinch.
'I have no such thing. Doctor Cameron is a very competent doctor.'
'Really?' House bit back a surge of anger as the man seemed unperturbed by the accusation, 'Cause the bruises on her arm tell another story.'
That got his attention and House watched with intrigue as his face twitched slightly. 'Come on, I won't tell... What is it? The cute little ponytail thing she does with her hair, cause that really pisses me off too.'
Mason narrowed his eyes, practically growling out his next sentence. 'I don't know what you think is going on but I dare say it's none of your business.'
House cracked a smile, glancing down at his cane. He wasn't thrown off by the sudden coldness to his tone and least of all was he scared by it. 'Do yourself a favor... stay away from Doctor Cameron and keep out of my way while you're at it.'
'That wouldn't be a threat would it?' Amusement crept back into his words as he stood up, 'That's cute, coming from a cripple and all…'
'Touch her again…' House moved forward so they were standing face to face over the desk, '…and you'll find out exactly what this cripple can do.'
There was a moment of tense silence before House reached down, picking up a bright red stapler that was sitting obsessively straight between a hole punch and pair of scissors. 'Mind if I take this, mines gone missing somewhere.'
Mason was furious at the audacity of the man but refused to show it, instead keeping his voice at a low growl. 'Take it and get out.'
'Thanks Sparky.' House turned on his heal, swinging his newly acquired toy around his hand.
He would've liked to see the man break but it was enough that he got the message and opening the door, he made sure to deliberately wave the stapler, throwing the Doctor a smile before slamming it closed again
'House…'
He screwed his eyes shut as Wilson appeared beside him a second later and began hobbling away in an attempt to discourage any conversation. Unfortunately Wilson had the added advantage of two working legs and didn't take the hint.
'What the hell was that about?'
House shook the stapler at him trying to sound as annoyed as possible, 'Didn't your mother ever tell you eavesdropping is rude.'
'My mother told me a lot of things I didn't listen to…' Wilson eyed the red object in his hand suspiciously, 'Now are you going to tell me what's going on?'
They reached the elevator and House used his cane to press the button repeatedly, willing the damn thing to hurry up. 'Mines gone missing. What are doing down here anyway?'
'Following you.' He stated pointedly, 'Now don't change the subject.'
House rolled his eye's recognizing the dog with a bone pull to his friends voice. Running wasn't an option, knocking him out definitely up there… or he could just admit what was going on.
He considered the third option for a moment. It was far less physically strenuous and Cameron hadn't mentioned anything about not telling Wilson.
'House?'
The doctor tilted his head impatiently and House sighed as the elevator opened, 'Fine. But not here.'
The doors closed and the rest of the journey was made in silence. House because he just couldn't be bothered and Wilson because he was in a near state of shock. It usually took at least two days of goading to get something out of the man and as they reached his office, he was surprised when the first words were spoken before he'd even sat down.
'Mason's harassing Cameron.'
'Okay…' Wilson pulled his chair in clasping his hands together, 'What do you mean, in what way?'
House sat down letting his cane fall limply against the side of the desk, 'In that way that she has bruises along her arm.'
The head of oncology's eyebrows shot up in surprise, contemplating the suggestion. Though his friend had been known to stretch the truth on occasion he could see no real reason for him to lie, especially about such a serious allegation.
'Has she been to Cuddy?'
'No.' His voice was riddled with sarcasm as he shook his head, 'Thinks she can handle it all by herself. You know, with all those secret super powers of strength she's been hiding from us?'
A response hovered on Wilson's lips but he paused, squinting slightly at the man opposite him. There was something about the look on his face, something so painfully small he couldn't quite make it out but something large enough to irritate him because he knew it was there.
Something was going on, he'd been suspecting it for a few months now. House was ignoring phone calls on a weeknight, voluntarily working in the clinic, Cuddy had made mention of him actually apologizing to a patient...
Wilson had to fight to urge to slam his fist on the desk as all the pieces started to fit together; rumors about him skulking round the ER, going to see Mason, showing a small amount of concern for someone other than himself.
'You son of a bitch.' A smile broke out on his face as he finally twigged, 'You're sleeping with her.'
'Yes I'm sleeping with her.' The irony of the 'lie' wasn't lost on him as he waved his hand, 'Can we please get back to the point.'
'You are, aren't you?' Wilson wasn't put off for one moment by the attempt to throw him, 'You're sleeping with Cameron!'
'Could you please not announce it to the whole world, I'm sure China has no interest in who I'm sleeping with.' He growled the comment out, realizing there was no point denying it. Wilson was like a human lie detector when it came to these matters; and a good one at that.
'I don't believe…' He paused shaking his head, wondering how it was possible that he hadn't known. 'How long?'
'God knows, it's not like I keep a diary with the date circled in a little red love heart.' He ran a hand through his hair wishing he could wipe the smirk from his friends face, 'Now can we please…'
'Yeah, of course…sorry.' Wilson coughed rather awkwardly but despite everything couldn't resist the urge to find out more. 'Is it serious?'
'Well, it is just a bruise.' He tried deflecting from the loaded question by changing the subject, 'In most cases they do tend to fade.'
'I meant the relationship, is the relationship serious?'
House let out a long breath, reaching for his cane. He hadn't come here to be bombarded with questions about his personal life and the sudden urge to flee the situation was overwhelming. 'You know what, forget it.'
'Wait…I'm sor… House.'
Wilson sighed as the door slammed shut and he mentally berated himself for pushing so hard. Getting House to open up about something important was like sex on a first date; unpredictable with the potential to ruin a friendship.
Something important.
The words came back, lingering in his mind for a moment before it hit him.
It was serious.
Leaning back in his chair, his eyes widened as the shock settled in. In all the times, ways and places he'd never imagined… Well, that wasn't entirely true. He'd suspected a long time ago, when they were standing outside the elevator and he'd joked about putting the moves on Cameron.
It was only for a second but he'd caught the flash of emotion as it flittered across his friends face; the realization that he actually liked her.
Wilson shook his head, wondering what that like had now turned into …wondering about the young female doctor.
Did she know it was serious?
A/N: I'm having a little moral dilema with a line from this story! I can't work outif i made it up, or read it in someone elses work... I'm not going to say which one it is but if someone reads it and recognizes it from somewhere else, let me know and i'll change it :P
