Chapter 7

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. Cameron could barely look House in the eye, but House didn't try to corner her. She had to spend the entire night in the same room as him. He could talk to her then.

They mingled with other doctors, House barely civil to them, but Cameron was there to smooth things over.

Everyone who wanted to talk to House ended up talking to her before he did something homicidal. He was still his snarky self, but everyone knew that it was just the way that he was and not many were offended. And Cameron was always nearby.

She would interrupt politely and smoothly enter herself into the conversation. Everyone was soon charmed by the young, pretty immunologist who worked for the world renowned Dr. House.

They finally got back to the hotel at 11:30. All of the head doctors were pleased that they were mixing so well and rescheduled the earliest presentation for 10:30.


Cameron walked out of the bathroom in her pajamas and shot House a weird look when she saw he was sitting on her bed.

Foreman and Chase had said their goodnights earlier, and House and Cameron were ready to crash. They had agreed just to have breakfast in their kitchenette and walk down to the first conference. Lunch would depend on how the rest of the day shaped up.

"House, we're not sleeping together, and that's my bed you're sitting on."

"I'm hurt Cam. I thought you loved me."

He smiled slightly to show that he was teasing and she sat down next to him, flopping her body back onto the bed in exhaustion.

"Can we talk tomorrow House? Or whatever you think that we should be doing that caused you to sit on my bed and watch me after a ridiculously long, exhausting day?"

He watched the clock hands change in a comfortable silence and then poked her. Her eyes were closed, breathing evening out. She didn't move and he shook her shoulder until she groaned and her eyes fluttered.

"Okay. It's tomorrow now. Talk to me."

"That's not what I meant. I meant when the sun was up, the birds chirping, ya'know all that happy stuff that you always say I love." She opened an eye, squinting at the light.

"I can fall asleep with all the lights on while you talk to me and harass me, I'm that good and that tired. Let me sleep."

"Why should I do that?" House watched Allison crawl away from him and over to the head of the bed. She slid under all of the covers, shivering slightly.

"You know, it's October. It's okay to wear actual clothes to bed, instead of that tiny, tiny shirt and those really small shorts."

Adam had always forced her to wear clothes that he picked out when he was in town. Usually it consisted of nothing or really baggy clothes to hide bruises from family and friends. Since then, wearing what she wore to bed was an act of rebellion. No matter how cold she was, she was never able to break herself of the habit.

"These are actual clothes. I only get cold when I'm really tired or when I just wake up. And you're not wearing that many clothes either."

It was true, House was only wearing boxers. He hadn't put a shirt on and if Cameron wasn't so tired she would admire his chest and he would make some snarky comment. She would blush and denied looking at him, and he would tease her. Eventually one of them would give in (probably Cameron) and go to bed.

Her eyes were drooping again and she was humming.

"What the heck are you humming?"

Drowsily she began to sing, her voice sweet and beautiful. House smiled at her voice. Richard had been right when he had said that she could sing, even if she denied it.

"Show me the way to go home,
I'm tired and I want to go to bed.
I had a couple of drinks about an hour ago,
And they went right to my head."

She smiled and House shook his head and laughed at her antics.

"How tired are you Cam?"

"Seeing my family takes a lot out of me." Cameron was always truthful when she was tired. She forgot that she didn't like to talk about things and made drowsy confessions.

"Are you going to make me talk about my feelings because I kissed you?"

House figured if she was answering about family truthfully he could get a few more answers out of her.

She didn't answer him, and House pulled the blankets away from her body. The cold air hit her skin and she yelped and shook, but answered.

"Will you avoid me and be a smartass about feelings?"

"Probably." House was watching her and she pulled the blankets over her body uncomfortable with his gaze and still cold.

"Then right now let's leave it at you kissed me. It's too early, or too late depending on how you see it to talk right now."

"What about what happened at Carmichael's when you were a kid?"

"My dad was a bastard, as was the wife. They yelled at us and made us cry. It wasn't particularly traumatic, but it always gets to me." Cameron tilted her head toward House.

"Can I go to sleep now?"

She yawned and House felt himself yawn too. He was already in his pajamas and had brushed his teeth and gone through his nightly ritual. His cane was on the other side of his bed, and House was pretty sure that he would get some sleep.

"Only because I'm tired too."

"Goodnight House. We can talk about the kiss tomorrow if you want to, but we're not talking about Carmichael's anymore."

That was what House wanted to talk about. Allison wasn't the type of person someone would yell at until they cried. He knew that she was telling the truth though.

There was no reason to lie about something like that. He knew that he wouldn't get any more information from her, unless he bugged her tomorrow night or asked her siblings.

Allison rolled over under the blanket, curling herself up as small as possible. She looked like a child and House couldn't help it, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She smiled at him and he brushed his lips once more, gently over hers and stood up. He walked over to his bed and turned off the lights. House fell asleep with a smile on his face.


Gwen yelling at her, telling her how she should appreciate them, and then leaving the table, Finna wrappd up in her arms. Ellie running away with some excuse to get away from it all. And Allison sitting at the table who barely cared enough about her to glance her way, but was still furious.

"What do you have to say for yourself Allison?" She burst into tears

Time Break

Adam had taken her out to dinner there, 'because he wanted to spend time with his favorite niece.'

She knew what that was code for and remembered being forced back to his apartment after dinner at Carmichael's. She had cried, and he had yelled at her, which had caused her to cry more.

"No, please don't hurt me, I'll stop. Please A-" The moment Allison's cry's began House was awake, off of his bed and over to her. She wasn't yelling, her pleas were more of a whisper, but they were filled with heartbreak.

"Cameron, wake up." There was no response and she continued to thrash and beg Adam to stop.

"Allison." There was still no response.

"Wake up." This time he began to shake her shoulder and pulled on the blanket that she was wrapped in. Immediately her eyes shot open.

"House?" Her body was shaking and when she finally focused on House he saw that she was crying.

"You had a nightmare." Cameron sat up and brought her legs to her chest before she nodded.

"Figures." Her voice was rough and she cleared her throat quietly.

"You figured?"

"Yeah. I used to get them all the time. I just didn't think that it would be so soon."

House sat on the bed and forced her to scoot over until they were sitting next to each other on Allison's bed.

"So… are we just going to sit here in silence or do I get to be regaled with stories of your nightmare?"

"Go to bed" was her instant reply.

"You said we could talk later in the day. It's three in the morning, that's later."

"Suns not up, and I said no about Carmichael's." House settled into the bed.

"It will help get rid of your nightmare. Talk."

Cameron knew from his tone of voice that she wouldn't get back to sleep until he learned the truth. She went with the simpler story, the one without Adam and his games.

"Ellie was 16, I was 13. We were at my dad's for the weekend and Gwen dragged us to a bunch of art shows. It was ridiculously hot and neither of us wanted to be there. At the second one, we got ahead of them because we weren't looking at the art. We were just walking and talking, being goofs. Well, my dad caught up to the two of us."

Cameron paused, her memory of the past making her sigh and wish that House could have just left it alone.

"He grabbed the two of us and started yelling at us. We were spoiled brats, he never asked us for anything, Gwen planned this for us, and we should appreciate it, the usual kind of stuff. Umm… he was really mad, and he freaked us out, said we better start appreciating what they did for us, told us we were useless and then went back to Finna and Gwen like nothing happened. Well, there was no way that we were going back by them, so we went to the front of the art show and sat by a little sushi restaurant until they were done."

She stopped and took a deep breath.

"My dad came over and saw us sitting on the curb. Ellie had been crying, she was always the more emotional one when we were kids, but both of us were calmer. Anyway, he didn't apologize, just told us we could still salvage the evening by going to dinner. We didn't really have any choice but to agree. So, we ended up in Carmichael's."

House realized how tiny and vulnerable she looked laying next to him and put his hand over hers. She stiffened for a minute, and House was afraid that he had done the wrong thing, but then she relaxed and scooted her body a little closer to his, so her head was on his shoulder.

"Gwen laid into us as soon as we sat down. We were ungrateful little brats who she had tried to put a nice weekend together for and that of we lived with her instead of our mom things would be a lot different. Then she started in on our mom, the way she raised us, and pretty much reduced us both to tears."

Cameron's eyes had gone distant. "She grabbed Finna and left the two of us at the table with our dad. Ellie made up some excuse and dashed out of there so I was the only one sitting there with my dad in tears. He just looked at me and asked me what my problem was, she was right and we needed our asses straightened out. The rest of dinner was silent." House could feel his anger growing for one Thomas Cameron.

"As soon as we were being driven home he apologized for not defending us. Ellie asked why he didn't. He said that it would look bad if he defended us to her in front of us. And that was the end of that."

"You were 13?"

"Yeah." He was surprised that she hadn't started crying, but her voice when she spoke had been so matter of fact, so calm, monotone even.

House could imagine a young Allison sitting there with her sister in tears while her father watched without a care.

"What about Adam?" The moment his name rolled off of House's tongue, she froze and shook her head.

"Nothing happened House."

"Yes, something did."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"I'm going to bed House."

"Not until we talk."

"What is there to talk about?"

"A lot actually. You lied. You told me – you told me that you weren't damaged. That you had never-" House was unable to complete the thought.

"Everybody lies."

"Not you." Not the Cameron he had known before this trip anyway. "Not Little Miss Sunshine."

"You just disproved your own theory."

"Answer the question Cameron."

"No."

"What happened with Adam?"

"You already know." Cameron slid off the bed and was standing now. House followed suit, his height making her look small and vulnerable.

"Tell me."

She spun on him, her hands, her entire body clenched. "He raped me House. Is that what you wanted to hear, huh? He raped me from the time I was fifteen 'til I was eighteen and out of that God forsaken house. And right now he's doing the same thing to Siobhan. That's how she broke her leg. Because he beats the shit out of you if things don't go his way."

His body felt chilled. It was one thing to think it, but another thing entirely to hear her say it. If he saw that man again, it would not end very well for Adam. It wouldn't end very well for Thomas Cameron either. What kind of man treated his daughter like that?

House took a step forward, but Cameron took one away from him. "Stop it House, you got your answers as to why I'm damaged leave me the hell alone."

Her eyes were filled now with unshed tears and House took another step forward. He was faster then her this time and caught her in his arms.

She struggled for a minute and then let herself go and began to cry. House didn't say anything. There was really nothing to be said. No words of comfort and 'it will be okays' escaped his lips. He was her rock and at the moment that was all she needed.