Disclaimer: I definitely do not own House M.D. or any of its characters, places, or other relative ideas. If I did, I would be the happiest person in the world.
A/N: Thanks so much for all the amazing reviews! Sorry to end that last chapter on a cruel cliffhanger, but then I'm usually one to include such cliffhangers in most of my stories. (= Now then, I think you guys have a new chapter to read! Hope you like it!
Chapter 9: The Answer
"House?" The terribly familiar voice came from close behind House and he frantically pulled away from Ali's grip. She was definitely stronger than she looked for she held on stubbornly for another minute or so. Cameron stood watching the scene with a stunned expression on her face. Not even two minutes ago, House had been about to kiss her and now Ali had burned every chance he had.
"This isn't what it looks like," House argued, blocking Ali from Cameron's view. Even so, she had already seen enough. Without another word, she picked up her bag from the couch and started towards the door, ready to push past House if she had to. He moved to prevent her from passing and he noticed that her eyes were wet, though she was trying desperately to hide it.
"Stop," he said to her, holding her down by the shoulders. She squirmed out of his grip, refusing to meet his eyes. Her lip trembled as she opened her mouth to say something.
"I asked you not to use that information against me. You did anyway," she said, taking House by surprise. He stared down at her intensely, not wanting to let her go. She moved past him and gave Ali a long, empty look. Then, like a brief touch of wind, she was gone. Ali smiled at House, but he ignored her.
"Get out," he demanded of her before shutting the door in her face. He waited with his back pressed against the door until he heard the distinct sound of clicking heels walking away. He tried not to feel anything as the scene replayed in his head. He slowly went to the fridge and took out three bottles of beer that he had stowed in there. He downed every one of them before a half hour passed.
….
Cameron unlocked the door to her apartment and flung her bag carelessly on a nearby table. The first thing she did after that was pour herself a glass of wine and she sipped it while a few tears rolled down her face. The whole night was a mistake.
Her heart ached for House, but he was the last person she wanted to talk to. All he wanted was to know why she returned, right? He had gotten his wish and that was that. She wasn't sure if she'd show up at the hospital the next day. All she wanted to do was erase the memory of that night. She drank three glasses of wine and then collapsed on her bed, still dressed in her black dress. The minute her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
…..
The next morning, House arrived in his office almost two hours late. He had had quite too much to drink after Cameron left and his head spun wildly. His team was standing impatiently next to the whiteboard, each with a cup of Foreman's coffee. They had better left him some, otherwise he would never stay focused. At this rate, he might even fire someone if there wasn't any of Foreman's coffee left.
"Morning," Thirteen greeted him. "How was your date with Cameron?" The rest of the team members, especially Chase, swiveled around to glance at him. House shot Thirteen a deathly glare that easily said he didn't want to talk about it. He grabbed a cup of coffee and motioned to the tox screen results that were clenched in Chase's hands.
"What do the results tell you?" He figured he was right—hoped he was right. Ali had called him at least five times that morning and now he wanted to be rid of her. It had been fun at first, but now she was overbearing. Chase dropped his eyes and held the results toward House.
"Both times there was a strange marking on the results," Thirteen told him, pointing to the spot. House looked at her as if she were mentally ill.
"Why didn't you tell me when you first saw it?" The team exchanged looks and Foreman cleared his throat, bringing attention to himself.
"At first, we thought it was the equipment that caused the marking," he explained, choosing his words carefully. House gazed at his team members in sheer disbelief. All this time that they had been guessing and the answer had been right in front of them.
"You guys are idiots," he exclaimed loudly. Even his own voice went through his head and caused his headache to increase. "I gave you one job in the beginning: to do a tox screen. And you weren't even looking hard enough," he scolded them.
"What does the marking mean?" Chase spoke up from where he was standing, his arms crossed and his eyes on the results in House's fist. Thirteen bit down on her lip, clearly expecting additional scolding for that question.
"It's arsenic. Usually you can't find it unless you're looking for it. Apparently, the fiance is being treated with an especially large dose," House explained in a strained voice. Thirteen glanced up in surprise as House pulled out a small bottle of white powder from his desk.
"You mean Ali…is poisoning her fiance? Why?" Thirteen couldn't stop the question from bursting out of her mouth. House shook the powder around inside the bottle.
"As I said before, she's having an affair. She had an argument with her fiance last night and showed up at my place," he replied, looking down at the small bottle. "It's perfect. It explains everything. I think it's time to confront her, don't you?" House tossed the bottle to Thirteen and then left his office, his head absolutely pounding.
….
Ali was sitting beside her sleeping fiance's bedside when House walked in. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed him there. A smile grew on her face while she swished around a bottle of water in her hands.
"I know you're poisoning your fiance. I want to know why," House demanded, not willing to mince words with her anymore. Her smile quickly melted away into a deep frown and the swishing stopped.
"How do you know…" Her voice trailed off and he wondered if she was picturing the bottle of arsenic beneath the floor boards of her bedroom. He realized that Ali had kept up a prefect mask until now. That mask of hers was slowly cracking and breaking away.
"I found the arsenic. You put it into his food each morning and it would have been impossible to notice when sprinkled into a cup of yogurt. It's also mixed in with that water that you're holding, which is why you're not drinking it," House speculated, watching her expression carefully. Her eyes became blank as he went on, as if she were imagining a different time.
"It was a mistake. I was caught up in an affair with his best friend and we wanted to be together. But we also needed money. James's comes from a wealthy family and—'
"And you were going to wait until you were married to finish poisoning him. By then, the poison would have caused too much damage and he would have died, leaving you with everything he had," House stated as the pieces clicked together. Water filled Ali's eyes and he knew he was right.
"Yes, but then I found Daniel with someone else and we ended our relationship. I told James about it and even said it was over, but we still had a huge fight…" Her voice faded once more. House knew that was the night she showed up at his front door, the night that everything went wrong with Cameron. "I decided to stop doing it. I didn't think it would be too late," she argued, hopelessly defending herself.
"It's not too late. Without any more arsenic, he'll slowly recover. I'm afraid you won't be around to see that," he told her, hinting the fact that she would probably end up in jail for attempted murder. She seemed to shrink in her chair and her eyes wandered to her ill fiance.
"Does he have to know?" The question came out in a soft whisper, almost so soft that House strained his ears to hear her. A little pity washed over him, but only a little. Then it was gone as he pictured Cameron and her saddened face.
"Not unless you tell him. He'll most likely find out sometime, though, now that his fiancée will have gone missing," House pointed out. Ali grasped one of her fiance's hands and a tear fell down her face.
"I never wanted this. Not like this," she whispered, her eyes glued on James's face. House sighed and headed for the hospital room door.
"You can't always get what you want," he said before leaving Ali alone with her thoughts. Only House could know how true that statement really was.
…
The office was dim with only one light glowing from his desk. House stood at the window, watching as two policemen brought Ali out of the hospital towards a police car, her arms restrained with handcuffs. He wondered if she ever told her fiance the truth and figured she probably didn't. Everybody lies, he thought bitterly as he had many times before.
The office door creaked open and soft footsteps approached him, but he didn't turn to see who it was. He truly did not feel like talking to anyone, even if it was Wilson. The person came into view, leaning close beside him.
"House," Cameron's voice called to him. She was there, her eyes looking overly tired and her hair limp as it framed her face. Confusion swept over him as she smiled at him. If anything, she should still be angry with him.
"Why are you here?" The question came out harsher than he had meant it and Cameron flinched just a bit. She shrugged and stared out the window, catching sight of the commotion below.
"I wanted to apologize," she admitted in that calm, sweet voice of hers. He hated it when she became so…emotional. "What happened the other night wasn't your fault. I guess I expected something to go wrong, just like it has since I left," she explained. Her eyes bored into his and he found it hard to look away from her.
"Your point?" He refused to let her in too much, to let her see that there could be some type of emotion other than bitterness.
"My point…is that I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Ali spoke to me before she was escorted out of the hospital and she explained the situation," Cameron said. House imagined Ali admitting that she was in fact ill in some way and he couldn't quite see it. I was right…again, he thought with satisfaction. "Anyway, I was hoping we could try again. Maybe we could make it work," she said with hope. House gazed down at Ali in the police car and frowned.
"I can't just make it work, Cameron. Eventually, I'm going to hurt you…again," he argued. He felt her come closer and move her hand across his face. He turned back to her and saw that there was a bright glow in her eyes.
"I refuse to believe that, House," she stated. "All I want is to try. And if that's all that you can give, then fine," she said, her eyes roaming over his face. He stared at her and then in one quick motion pulled her to him. Their lips met and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
In that one gesture, he gave her what he couldn't give her the night before. The two of them stayed behind in the office until late in the night, gazing out the window at the sky above while the rest of the world was peacefully sleeping. It might be true that you couldn't get what you want, but House found that if you try, you get what you need.
….
The End! So, did you guys enjoy it? I know it was short, but I never wanted it to be entirely long, either. Don't worry, though: I may have more House ideas for the future (though maybe not the near future…). By the way, if any of you are interested, I am writing my first Silent Hill fanfic that is based around Silent Hill 2 in James's point of view (in case any of you want to check it out). Other than that, I hope you all enjoyed this story and perhaps I'll see you next time, readers! (=
