A/N: Keep the awesome reviews coming! We love hearing from you. Sorry if I didn't get back to some of you. FF net has been acting up lately.

So keep those seatbelts buckled. We're not even close to being done yet :)

Chapter Ten

"Where are we going?" Cameron asked.

"We're going to turn this car in once we get to the hotel and rent another. Just in case," House said.

"Did you have some place you wanted to go?" Wilson asked, looking at her through the rear view mirror.

House waved his hand in an air of dismissal. "She's going to our hotel and we're getting a suite. She'll be staying with me."

"Oh, is that so?" she snapped.

House turned around and glared at her, making her shrink back in her seat. "Yes, that's so. You have goons looking to snap you up as soon as they get the chance. You're not to be out of my or Wilson's sight. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Now shut up back there and let me think."

"There's no need to be rude," she muttered under her breath.

"You forfeited politeness when you disappeared, left me a pathetic excuse for a note and emptied your bank account. When we get to the hotel you and I are going to have a serious talk."

"Why are you treating me like a child?"

"Because you're acting like one!" House snapped.

"House, come on," Wilson groaned as he pulled into the parking lot of their hotel. "Ease up."

They checked in and got two rooms, one of them a two bedroom suite for House and Cameron, and used fake names for the reservations.

"I'm starving," House grumbled as he dropped his stuff onto the bed. "It's too hot right now to be outside so let's just order room service. Sound good?"

"Fine," Cameron called from her room on the other side of the suite and then slammed the door shut so she could change, causing House to wince.

"I think she's mad," Wilson said as he came through the door from his room and opened their mini fridge.

"She'll just have to get over it...hey, get outta there. Get your own."

"My room doesn't have a bar."

"Too bad."

"What are we ordering?" Wilson asked.

"What do you mean we? I need to talk to Cameron. Alone. Which means you're on your own tonight. I'm sure there are plenty of of women down at the bar right now looking for a handsome Oncologist."

"I am married, House."

"Married, not buried. When was the last time you did the nasty with your wife?"

Wilson knew he had him there. "Good point. Okay, I'll go. You're going to fill me in though, right?"

"Yeah, tomorrow. Now away you go," House told him making shooing motions with his hands.

Once Wilson was gone, House ordered a large pizza split with toppings he and Cameron both liked, and then went to take a quick shower. The pizza arrived shortly after he was dressed and it came with beer.

"Pizza's here," he called out to her as he opened the box and took a slice for himself.

She came out of her bedroom and took a slice, and it looked like she was about to go back but House stopped her. "Hold it. Sit."

"I'm going back to bed. Is that okay with you, warden?"

"No. Sit."

She sighed and took a seat at the table.

"Beer?"

"Okay."

He took a beer out of the mini-fridge, cracked it open and slid it towards her. "Now would be a good time for that talk, don't you think?"

She sighed once more in defeat as she chewed. "What is there to talk about?"

"How about the fact that you felt you had to run away instead of talking to me about it first?"

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"Yeah I got that part. I am a grown man, however crippled, and I can take care of myself."

"I know but these guys...they're gorillas. They can do things and make it look like an accident and I'd never be able to live with myself. But I couldn't stand the thought of living with Joe as his personal slave whore either," she muttered.

"And so you shouldn't. But did it ever occur to you that I might've been working out a solution."

"I don't see any solution. There's no way to pay the debt off when they keep increasing the damn interest."

"You've been paying it for how long?" he asked as he took another slice of pizza from the box.

"At least five years."

"At what interest?"

"I don't even know anymore. At least ninety percent. It's worse than having a department store credit card, even more because if you don't pay it, you sleep with the fishes. And seriously, I considered that would still be better than sleeping with Joe Franklin or Steve himself. Those were two other options that were given."

"I'm working on something. How much do you think is left?"

She thought about it. "Well since you hired me, I've been saving my paychecks and giving most of it to them. I'm guessing there's at least seven hundred thousand left on the debt. That's after I had to sell my apartment, which only covered maybe a couple hundred grand, to which he increased the interest because I didn't have a job yet and was still in med school. He said I could marry Joe and Joe would pay it all off. He just wanted a trophy wife he could lock up in the tower. They don't believe women have any place in the medical field."

House scoffed at that and Cameron smiled. "My thoughts exactly. Even graduated near the top of my class."

"But not the top," he pointed out, then smirked when she frowned.

"I worked hard to get my medical degree."

House smirked again. "Yeah, and look where it got you."

She got up to leave but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back down onto her chair. "I'm not done with you yet. Listen, people choose the paths that grant them the greatest rewards for the least amount of effort. That's the law of nature, and you defied it. That's why I hired you. You could have married Joe, had your dead husband's debt cleared, could have been a model. You could have just shown up and people would have given you stuff. Lots of stuff, but you didn't, you worked your stunning little ass off."

"Am I supposed to be flattered?"

House tilted his head and looked at her approvingly. "Gorgeous women do not go to medical school," he told her. "Unless they're as damaged as they are beautiful. Were you abused by a family member?"

She looked shocked that he would even ask. "No."

"Sexually assaulted?"

"No."

"But you are damaged, aren't you?"

"You can be a real bastard, you know that?" Anger radiated off her.

"Yes. Now answer the question."

"No, I was not abused. When Ryan died I turned to Joe because he had been there to comfort me. He and Ryan were friends, after all. I didn't know about the debt until Joe told me that Steve was looking to collect. When they propositioned me, I ran and I ended up on the street until I got sick."

"Okay well let me ask you this. If you pay off the debt, do you believe they'll leave you alone?"

Cameron blinked. "You can't be serious."

"Well, we're kind of all out of options. They're businessmen and if they know they're going to get their money, they should leave you alone."

"Where are you going to come up with that kind of money, House?" she asked suspiciously.

"I'm working on it. And until I get it figured out, we're going to stay under the radar. I'm sure there are people all over Miami looking for you. Might not hurt to cut your hair."

She touched her long hair like she was protecting it. "How short?"

"Did you ever see Peter Pan?"

"Yeah," she said, warily.

"Remember Tinkerbell?"

"Oh hell no!"

"It's just hair, Cameron. It'll grow back. And I won't be the one cutting it."

"You won't?"

"No, there's a salon in the hotel. They can do it."

"Isn't there was another way…." she pleaded gripping her hair tightly.

"You've already dyed it darker. Cutting it off would make it harder for them to notice you. They're looking for a long haired blonde."

"I know but…"

House sighed. "Whatever. Do what you want. It's late and I'm going to bed."

"Just like that?"

"Well you're obviously not going to take my advice so there's not much more to say, and I'm tired. You must be tired, being on a bus for almost three days. So go sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

She was tired, so she nodded and headed to her room, leaving the door open that time.

Cameron tossed and turned all night. Finally at eight the next morning, she crawled out of bed, showered and got dressed. She moved quietly to the door leading to Wilson's room. He was more sympathetic than House. She tapped on the door and waited. A few moments later, Wilson opened the door and stepped back to allow her to enter. She told him what she wanted and he nodded. Together they made their way downstairs keeping an eye out for Joe's men.

I'm sure you all recognized House and Cameron's conversation about her being damaged. That was taken from the pilot episode, with a few things changed.