A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys make my day! I decided it was time for some angst. So, here we go...

Chapter Ten: Strained Tempers

House muttered a curse under his breath as he hit the floor for the fifth time that day. The physical therapist had stopped speaking to him half an hour ago and had given up trying to instruct him long before that. She was now sitting at her desk at the other end of the room catching up on paperwork and pointedly ignoring him, her lips pursed tightly in disapproval. No one could possibly say that she hadn't done her best, she privately asserted. He had never wanted her help to begin with and now that he was getting better at walking away from her, he had begun refusing it completely. He was stressing the leg far too much in his hurry to get back to the cane and it was only going to end him up the worse for it. She had said as much, five times in fact, and had gotten nothing but grief for her trouble. Let him dig his own grave, she had finally decided.

------

Cameron walked through the door into the physical therapy office just in time to see House picking himself up off the floor.

"Looks promising," she said with a smirk, having learned by now that sympathy would get her nowhere.

"I could just as easily be learning to fly, for Christ's sake," he muttered bitterly but flashed her a tight smile just the same which she took to mean that he was actually okay.

She walked over to the physical therapist, whose name was Susan, unaware of the woman's most recent thoughts as well as the fact that, by inviting conversation, she was opening Pandora's Box.

"How's he doing?" she asked lightly. The woman's answering fury broke over her like a wave and her eyes grew wide with shock for a moment before settling wearily on House.

"How's he doing? How's he doing?! How the hell should I know? I'm not allowed to have anything to do with it! He's the damn doctor! Ask him how he's doing," Susan shrieked, on the edge of hysterics. After her initial outburst subsided, she continued muttering spitefully for quite some time. "Cane on the wrong leg…too soon to be using the damn thing anyway…Tried to tell him…Won't listen to reason…Stubborn ass."

Through all of this, Cameron just stared placidly at House with slightly raised eyebrows. She had long ago become accustomed to his…effect on people and nothing really surprised her anymore.

-----

Five minutes later, they were out in the hall, having been dismissed by the physical therapist with several papers on therapeutic exercises and a disgruntled sigh of, "Don't know why I bother."

House was ambling along beside her with a therapeutic quad cane grasped defiantly in his right hand and leaning close to her on his left side in case he got off balance, though he was doing an admirable job of making it seem like her idea. When they were about half way down the hall, Cameron stopped and turned to look at him with an impish smirk. She started chuckling and shook her head.

"Do you have to alienate everyone you meet?"

"What I live for. Besides, stop and think about what she was trying to do. That was one relationship that was doomed for failure. She's too tightly wound anyway."

"Oh yeah, that's what went wrong." Cameron rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, people like her make me itch."

"Meanwhile, everyone else is allergic to you."

"Except for you."

Cameron sighed. "Except for me."

They walked along a few paces more before House turned to her with a questioning expression on his face.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"Wilson got hung up with a patient and asked if I would take you home."

"Sheesh, who needs enemies, huh?"

"You have plenty of enemies and Wilson isn't one of them. He really did have a patient."

"Yeah, I figured."

"So, how long until you're back limp-sprinting down the halls here anyway?"

"Well, I say a few more weeks. Little Susie seems to think I'm an idiot."

"Maybe you should listen to 'Little Susie' for once."

"Oh, Ye of Little Faith."

"Yeah, I just don't want to hear you bitching when you find out you've stressed yourself into another month's physio," she said dismissively, though a frown turned down the corners of her mouth.

House looked hard at her. "You're doing it again. You're worrying about me, aren't you? Cameron, we've had this discussion before. You know I hate it when you do this."

"I can't help it!"

"I'm fine."

"You're not! Not yet. You will be…but right now you're not so don't bullshit me House."

A long pause extended between them. Cold and uncomfortable.

"I know you're still in pain," she said quietly.

"I'm always in pain!" House reminded her incredulously. "I have been for seven years. I will be for the rest of my life," he concluded bitterly.

"Not like this."

"How would you know?" he spat hatefully at her.

"Because I can see it. I can feel it and it's making me miserable."

House's whole body froze and tensed and his blue eyes turned to cold steel. "You know," he said numbly, "I think I've had this conversation before. And I still remember how it ends."

It took Cameron a moment to understand why House had reacted the way he had and to realize that he must be talking about Stacy. When she did, she froze too but for a different reason. She tried to explain; to reassure him. But he was beyond hearing.

"House, I didn't mean that. How could you think…I would never," she stammered but he didn't even look at her.

"Just go home. I think I'll wait for Wilson."

Cameron was caught between feeling terrible for him since it was obvious that he thought she would abandon him, and being furious with him for the same reason. In the end, she decided it was better to let Wilson tell him he was being stupid than risk ending up in a shouting match with him outside Cuddy's office. She brushed away an angry tear and whispered, "Fine," before walking sharply past him on her way out of the hospital.

A/N: Bit of hard earned drama in this chapter. You'll just have to read Chapter 11 to see how it turns out. I'm evil that way. Mwahahahahaa…