A/N: Sorry it took me once more so long to update. Hope you like the result.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything here... Too bad.

Snow On A December Morning

It was a cold December morning when he opened his eyes to find himself lying next to her for the first time. Her body was wrapped into a couple of blankets, very close to his, her left arm resting on his chest. She looked truly beautiful when she was sleeping peacefully.

Their second date had been a complete success. He had taken her to the movies and afterwards to a nice little café. They had talked everything over and decided to take it very slow.

He had kissed her on the third date. After a few moments of silence while standing in front of her apartment door, he had lent forward to her, using his free hand to cup the back of her head and closed his eyes when their lips had made contact. It had been a very soft kiss at first, then it had turned into a passionate and fiery kiss, and although both of them had longed for one another so badly, he had gently pulled away and said goodnight with a broad smile on his face.

After the fourth date, he had asked her to stay over night. He had invited her for a cup of coffee at his place after dinner. Although she had known how this would end up, she had said 'yes'.

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While House was preparing the coffee in the kitchen, Cameron waited for him in the living room.

He must have known I'm saying 'yes'. He's cleaned up the mess. Looks really comfortable. I feel comfortable.

Her look wandered from his piano to half a dozen of pictures of him and his family. A couple of months ago she never would have imagined to get an insight of his personal space. He barely allowed anyone to be so close to him.

Right in that moment, House returned with two cups of coffee and placed them carefully on the table before he sat down next to her. They exchanged some glances before she motioned for the cup and took a sip from it.

"It has been a very nice evening." He finally muttered. Cameron replaced the cup on to the table and nodded.

"It has. Although I believe that it's been a little cold for a ride on your motorcycle by now." She smiled.

"Hah. You liked it. I know you did. Because you like to wrap your arms around me and cuddle with me while riding my extremely hot bike." He put on a serious face expression before they both started to laugh out loudly.

"I definitely did like that part. But I'd really love to hook up with you on this sofa." She said grinning.

"You should be careful about your wishes… they might come true." He replied while leaning over to her. She felt a cold rush running down her spine when his lips touched hers.

"You don't have to go. You… could stay."He suggested with a soft voice as the kiss ended.

And she agreed by taking his hand and following him into his bedroom

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He removed her arm from his chest carefully in order not to wake her up. As he looked outside the window, he noticed that it was snowing and it somehow made him smile. He did not know why, but on that morning, everything seemed to be as clear as the snow that was covering the streets. It was a kind of perfection that had not seen or felt in years. Once again, he felt a strange ache in his stomach but this time, he did not try to anaesthesize it with vicodin. He just let it pass by. And he enjoyed it.

Cameron slowly opened her eyes to see House staring out of the window. He seemed to be lost in thoughts and she could not say if those were good or bad thoughts. Millions of things were running through her mind when she saw him standing there like this. Her feelings started to mix up, she felt regrets, happiness and confusion at the same time.

Was this a mistake ? Have I done something wrong ? Is everything still OK ?

"Greg ?" he heard her say his first name. He loved it when she said his name. It sounded like a beautiful song in his ears. She got up, covering her body with the blanket, and paced over to him.

"You OK ?" she asked carefully. But when he looked down at her smiling, she knew right away that nothing was wrong and it was all good.

"Never been better." He murmured and leaned down to kiss her gently on her forehead.

"It's snowing." She remarked whispering.

"For the first time this year." He added.

"Does that mean anything ?" she was wondering. House gave her a loving smile and wrapped his free arm around her small figure.

"I think it means that it's snowing… And that we'll be late today." he grinned while leaning foward to kiss her passionately.

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When they arrived at work, they exchanged one more kiss before they entered the hospital. They did not want everybody to talk about their relationship, therefore, they tried to be professional at work. It were only little gestures and moments between them, that let everyone know what was really going on.

As they were walking next to each other, House suddenly stopped.

"You OK ? Are you coming ?" Cameron asked him with a concerned look.

"Don't worry. Just go, I'll be right there." He returned and as the glass door closed behind Cameron, he could see her reflection in it.

She looked very sick, her skin colourless, almost as white as the snow, bloodless lips and tired eyes that were looking straight at him. Her hair was much shorter than before, but still from the deepest black, with snowflakes in it. She put on a slight smile, which he returned immediately.

"You're late today." Her familiar voice echoed in his mind over and over again. He had not seen her for a couple of months. And now, although her disease had marked her, it was refreshing to see her youthful face and at the same time, it was a relief to see that she was still alive. Even though she had written him a couple of postcards, he was well aware of the fact that in her current condition and especially without medication, every day could be her last.

"Like your hair." He mentioned while turning around slowly.

"And I like your girlfriend… You're happy." she replied vaguely smiling.

"How do you know I'm happy ? Do I look happy ?" he asked, putting on a stone cold face expression.

"You try to avoid smiling so badly. Your face muscles move very dimly to form pieces of a smile. And your eyes – they don't lie. The emptiness and the sadness are gone… And besides… I have noticed the way you look at her. So who are you trying to fool here, Doc ?" She told him. House paced over to her and gave her a warm hug. Although he usually was not good at warm welcomes, in that moment, it was the most normal thing to him.

"How are you, Kid ?" he asked after he had let go of her again.

"Ahm… Europe was great. It was very… European." She answered, avoiding his look.

"That's good, but it was not the question." He said, making her meet his eyes.

"Ahm… hmmm… I'm good."

"You look like crap." He stated. Grace knew that she could not hide her pain any longer. The cancer had taken away her strength and one could see it clearly now. Only the sparkle in her eyes told him, that there was something of Grace left somewhere deep within her.

"Ah… well… the headache's getting worse… and the blackouts… I'm having them almost everyday now. There are even whole days that I can't remember. You know, I pretend to know that they were bad days and that it's good I forgot about them… You know I'm pretty good at fooling myself… My… my right eye… it sometimes goes blind for a while… I… I don't know if I'll be here for Christmas, to be honest with you…" Grace took a deep breath. "I think I'm open to painkillers now." She finally admitted. House nodded.

"Come. I'll see what I can do." He said while wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Together, they entered the hospital.

"So… I got your postcards. Seems you had a lot of fun in Europe…" he changed the subject.

"I was told that I'd been on top of the Eiffel tower. Me, I can't remember, but Colin showed me pictures of myself being unconscious in that spinning restaurant."

They both started to laugh as they were walking over to Cameron, who was waiting further down the hallway.