Chapter 7
House looked in the direction of the crying in shock. Cameron didn't have a child. That much he knew. Or at least he thought. When Cameron came back out no more than two minutes with a screaming infant he thought that maybe he could have been wrong. He didn't understand why she wouldn't tell him that she had a child. He dry swallowed a vicodin partly because his leg was still bothering him from walking up her stairs and partly because he was angry at her for keeping such a big secret from him and him not being able to figure it out until now. If he hadn't been holding onto his cane so tightly, she could have knocked him over with a feather. Watching her try to soothe the screaming baby, he finally decided to say something. "I'm sorry. When did you have a baby, because that one doesn't look like she could be bigger than five months and in the last year you've worked for me I don't remember you being pregnant once." he said loudly over the crying.
Cameron shot him a look. "She's my niece." she said over the crying.
"Oh so you're just babysitting?" he asked.
"No she's mine now." Cameron said.
House watched a sad look wash over her face. "And how does that work?"
Cameron sighed and bounced Madelyn carefully trying to make her crying softer. Miraculously it worked, she was still crying but not nearly as loud. She took a deep breath and prepared to tell House everything. "My sister died two days ago. Rachel's husband was an abusive jerk who signed his parental rights away before Rachel even gave birth. Rachel went to Alan, that's the lawyer you met, and had all the paperwork filled out so that if anything happened to her I would get the child."
House watched her talk sadly and saw a single tear run down her face. His thumb itched to wipe it away but listened to his brain telling him not to touch her. "What about your parents?"
Cameron shook her head ferociously. "Not an option." Cameron looked at the clock and suddenly realized why Madelyn was still crying. It was past time for her bottle. She knew there was no way she could make the bottle while holding her so she walked into the kitchen where Madelyn carrier seat was and tried to place her in the seat. Madelyn protested and clung onto Cameron. Cameron looked at House and sighed. "I'm sorry, I hate to ask this, mainly because I can tell you aren't really a baby person, but can you hold her for a few seconds?"
"Why?" House asked not hiding the apprehension in his voice.
Cameron sighed. "I have to make her a bottle. I would have already had it done but I was fighting with the florist who's doing the floral arrangements for the funeral. I can't do it and hold her at the same time and she won't let me put her down."
"Um..."
"It'll only be a second, I promise."
House relented looking at the baby who looked so much like Cameron it was crazy. "Ok, but if she spits up on me, I'm going to hit you with my cane."
She smiled for the first time all day and handed the baby to House. He bypassed any awkward holding arrangements and simply just held her. He looked down at her and smiled as she almost instantly stopped screaming. "Death threat noted." he heard Cameron say and he grunted in acknowledgment. He was mesmerized by the tiny person in his arms. "Why does she look like you?" he asked suddenly, his brain finally catching up with his eyes as he noticed the baby did in fact look like a carbon copy of Allison Cameron.
Cameron laughed slightly. "Me and Rachel were twins. She looks like Rachel. Therefore, she looks like me."
House nodded. "Good reason. So you said you were fighting with the florist? Why?" he said trying to make small talk.
"Oh um... I specifically said that I wanted no lilies in any of the arrangements because my sister is... was... allergic to them. He said something along the lines of why does it matter now she's not going to be sneezing anytime soon."
"He said that to you." House asked surprise leaking from his voice.
"I don't know why you sound so surprised. It's something you would say."
"Not to you." House said softly unsure if she had even heard him. "So... um... when's the funeral?"
Cameron dropped the bottle of formula on the floor. Leaning down to get it she missed the apologetic look House shot her. "Oh... it's um... tomorrow afternoon."
House watched her clean up the mess from the bottle she dropped and begin making a new one. "I'm sorry about your sister. Was she sick or something?"
Cameron
shook her head and House could hear her breath hitch. "No.. She
wasn't
sick or..." she said trying desperately not to cry and trying
even harder than that to not turn around. "You know what, I
don't
want to talk about this anymore. Why are you really here?" she
asked wiping tears away from her eyes still refusing to turn around
and look at him.
House shifted the baby in his arms. "Vogler's
gone."
Cameron turned around the bottle instantly forgotten. "What happened?"
"After you left Vogler decided that it wasn't enough. He tried to get rid of me. Then when it didn't work, he went after Wilson. Cuddy just finally had enough. She decided that a hundred million dollars wasn't worth it anymore."
Cameron took a deep breath. "And Chase? I know that you wanted to fire him." She had heard that tid-bit from Foreman, or atleast her answering machine had.
"Chase is safe... for now." House said bitterly.
"What do you mean for now?"
"He's doing my clinic hours for the next week, plus his own, plus Foreman's." he said smirking happily.
"House." Cameron said shaking her head "You shouldn't..."
"Don't feel sorry for him." House interrupted, "He knew what he was doing. He should have kept his mouth shut. I don't care how worried he was about me firing him he should have kept his mouth shut. Going to Vogler was out of line."
Cameron sighed as House's voice became more spiteful. "And you just came here to tell me that Vogler left?"
"I couldn't fire Chase. He and Vogler made sure of it. I never wanted to fire you..."
"I know I..." she interrupted only to have him interrupt her.
"No, you don't. I never even entertained the idea of firing you" he said angrily before starting again, "I want you to come back." he said a hint of pleading in his voice.
Cameron dropped her head down towards the ground. "I can't." she said softly.
House took a step towards her and watched her take a step back away from him.
"Yes. You can. You can come back. I'm prepared to offer you more money, if that's what you want."
Cameron shook her head morosely "I already accepted a position with..."
"Yule at Jefferson. I know. Unaccept it."
"I can't
just unaccept it and how do you know where I accepted a
position?"
"Yes you can. And I know where you were
going, because I gave you a glowing recommendation. Come on
Cameron…Yule
is boring. Come back to Princeton-Plainsboro."
"I already told him I'd start in two weeks." Cameron told him sadly.
"Plenty of time to unaccept his fellowship... come on mine's better," he said, whining like a petulant child.
"House I can't." she said through gritted teeth.
"You won't." House said just as forcefully.
"I have to think of Madelyn now."
"Who?" House asked confused.
"Madelyn. The four-month old that's sleeping peacefully in your arms despite the fact that she hasn't had the bottle she woke up for and the fact that you don't like babies." she snipped.
House looked down at the sleeping child he had forgotten he was holding. How he had managed to forget he was holding her he didn't know, but he had. He had also failed to notice that her bottle had been ready since he had told her Vogler was gone. Obviously he was off his gamenow that she was gone. He held her out to Cameron. "Take her." before he started to walk back out of the kitchen.
"Don't be angry with me here. I didn't want to leave. I had to leave. I didn't have a choice!" she snapped.
"You did!" House screamed. Madelyn started fussing when House handed her off to Cameron but she started all out screaming when House opened his mouth.
Hearing the infant scream House looked at Cameron somewhat apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'm just going to leave."
"Bye." Cameron said trying to calm Madelyn down trying to rack her brain with how House had managed to quiet her down and trying not to watch him leave.
House stopped with his hand on the door. "I have to start interviewing people on Monday. Please don't make me." he said before walking out the apartment.
