Author's Note: And now the chapter you've all been waiting for: the session between House and Cameron! This chapter ended up being a LOT longer than I was expecting it to be. I really hope you all enjoy it. Let me know what you think! - Liz

Chapter 9

Ruby led House and Cameron down a long, plain hallway toward her office. All the while, Cameron examined her surroundings. The walls were so bare and white and lifeless. Patients were, for the most part, alone in their rooms. She couldn't imagine having to stay in such a place for as long as House was sure to be here. She truly pitied him (even though he would surly detest her pity), and she was determined to do anything that she could to accelerate this process. She would do anything just to make him better.

"That's why you're here, isn't it?" asked House as if he could read her mind. They hadn't yet reached Ruby's office, and yet the psychoanalysis had already begun.

"I think that explanation requires some sort of previous position," remarked Cameron, "like—I don't know—your reasoning for me being here?"

"You've come to fix me."

Cameron quickly turned and glared at him. She shouldn't have been surprised that she was in his mind. After all, he had been in hers ever since the end of her fellowship, or maybe even prior to that occasion.

Cameron appeared offended, but House could see the surprise in her eyes. That could only mean one thing: he was right. He heaved a dramatic sigh. "Oh god, you're not going to start this up again, are you?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked bitterly. Suddenly, she was beginning to regret her decision to come to this session.

"Don't play dumb with me," he replied. "That little crush of yours…. That need to fix me, to make me happy…. "

Cameron chuckled sardonically. "You don't want to be happy?"

"I don't want you to try and make me happy," he declared. "Besides, you should know by now that cute stuff doesn't work on me."

They had finally reached the door of Ruby's office, and all three stopped suddenly.

Cameron turned to House with seduction in her eyes. "Trust me," she said. "I'm not being cute."

"Oh, that's hot," asserted Amber, but House tried his best to ignore her.

House met Cameron's eyes with a daring stare of his own as if they were challenging one another to a fight. "That's like Chase saying he's not British."

"Chase isn't British," shot Cameron, convinced that she had won the battle.

"There are lies we tell ourselves," started House, and he could see the red rising in her cheeks. He knew he was about to win the war. "Lies that we use to avoid reality because we know the truth is just too much to bare."

"Everybody lies," agreed Amber. She seemed just as intent as House on studying Cameron's reactions.

Cameron felt the hotness in her cheeks. It seemed like he was going to be the one to bring up her old crush. She felt that the best and only way to change the subject would be with a joke. "Why would Chase want to avoid being British?"

"Why wouldn't he?" House met her joke with one of his own.

Their exchange was interrupted, though, by Ruby awkwardly clearing her throat. "We're here." She ushered them into the room where they all took a seat. Their session hadn't even begun, and yet she knew that this was going to be one of her more interesting meetings. Honestly, there was already mention of an old crush and cuteness and lies. This was going to be better than her daytime soap. "Where should we begin?" It was an open invitation for the both of them to discuss anything and everything that came to mind.

Annoyed that there was only one couch and no other sort of chair in the room to sit on, Cameron slid over to one side as far as she could go (House mockingly did the same). She suddenly had the feeling that she was at couple's therapy. She just never expected she would get that feeling with House. She didn't have any response to Ruby's question. She was here to help House, and she was willing to go wherever he wished to take them.

"I've got a question," announced House.

Ruby was slightly surprised that he was the first to talk. She had had problems just getting him to say anything serious in any of their previous meetings. "Good. Go ahead."

House smiled, pretending to be helpful. "Why didn't your dad walk you down the aisle?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. Okay, she was willing to go wherever House wished to take them except there. "You're still obsessing over that?"

"She doesn't want to answer," observed Amber who had positioned herself in-between House and Cameron on the couch. "This has to be good."

House jumped slightly at Amber's reappearance, but no one noticed. The other two women in the room simply thought that he was staring at Cameron. "Does that really surprise you?" He paused for a moment, obviously preparing an argument. "Your sister was your maid of honor, and your sister-in-law was another bridesmaid. You must be on good terms with both of your siblings."

"What's your point?" asked Cameron.

He needed more information. "Was your mother at the wedding?"

Cameron wasn't sure if she should jokingly respond to all of his questions to protect herself or if she should just come out with the truth and maybe help him. "This has nothing to do with you or why you're here."

House shook his head. "That's a no."

Cameron rolled her eyes. This was going nowhere. "Yes."

"Yes, she was there, or yes, it's a no?"

"Yes, she was there," sighed Cameron. "You satisfied? Now can we get back to the reason why we're here?"

"That's a good idea," agreed Ruby.

"Interesting," noted Amber. "Her mother and siblings all attended the wedding, but not her father? What could he have done that Cameron wouldn't want him to walk her down the aisle?"

Thankfully for House, Ruby saw this as a good opportunity to talk about Cameron as well.

"So," she started casually. "You have a brother and a sister?"

Cameron nodded, hoping all the while that they would soon stop talking about her. "Yeah, Jenny and Sam."

House was about to ask her more about her family, but there was an electric beeping noise coming from Cameron's purse.

"Oh sorry," she apologized to Ruby. "That must be my husband." Cameron retrieved her cell phone from her purse and looked at the screen:

How's the session going? Tell House that the tests were negative. It wasn't a clot. His hair is falling out. We're testing for lupus and Guillan-Barré. ANA and LP should be back soon. Love you.

Cameron smiled at his final comment. Maybe he'd already forgiven her for returning to see House.

"What did Chase want?"

Ruby made a note of the name of Cameron's husband. She'd heard it mentioned before when House and Cameron were quarrelling.

"He told me to tell you that the tests came back negative, it wasn't a clot, his hair is falling out, and—"

"Chase's hair is falling out?" House shrugged mockingly. "I suppose it can't stay floppy forever."

"The patient's hair," corrected Cameron, ignoring House rudeness. "They're running an ANA and an LP to test for lupus and Guillan-Barré."

House nodded. "No comments about how mad he was that you're here?"

"Why would you assume that he didn't want me to come?"

"It was him I was on the phone with when you so rudely interrupted," supplied House. "He seemed surprised, and—dare I say?—angry."

Cameron remained silent.

"So," he continued. "I can only assume that he didn't want you here, and yet you came anyway. Why?"

"I just came to help," she insisted.

"Okay," said House, "but that doesn't explain why he didn't want you to come here."

Again, Cameron was silent.

"This is much more fun than usual," giggled Amber. "She should come back for all of these sessions."

"I have an idea," suggested Ruby in an attempt to end the bickering and actually talk about something productive. "Why don't you two tell me about how you met?"

"She used to work for me," answered House simply.

Cameron snorted. "Only because you thought I was hot. You didn't even care about my medical credentials."

"Oh my god," whined Amber. "Is she still upset about that? Somebody needs to learn to forgive and forget."

"Used to work for him?" asked Ruby. "You're still friends?"

"We're not friends," replied House and Cameron in unison. This caused them to quickly exchange a glare before returning their attention to Ruby.

Ruby was confused. They weren't friends. They didn't work together. "Then, would you mind me asking why you're here?"

Cameron thought about it. "We're colleagues. I just wanted to help him."

Ruby almost laughed. "That's funny. You've been House's only visitor since admittance here. I would have figured he had more than one colleague."

Cameron was surprised and slightly confused. "Wilson hasn't visited you? Cuddy?"

"She's right," noted Amber. "We haven't seen Wilson since he dropped us off. It's been over two weeks, and he hasn't even visited us."

"He hasn't even mentioned anyone," Ruby told Cameron. "Who are Wilson and Cuddy?"

"Wilson's his best friend," replied Cameron, still puzzled. "Cuddy's his… boss. Well, they're friends, too, but—"

"I am in the room, you know," interjected House.

Cameron apologized. "Sorry, I just thought—"

"Can we talk about something else?" asked House. He wasn't sure how this session was supposed to be helping his mental health. If anything, it was making it worse.

Ruby was satisfied to at least have the names of two other people she could contact. Now if only she could get House to open up about something—anything—that might give her a clue as to what was wrong with him. She needed to understand him, but he was resisting so relentlessly. Then it occurred to her that the only times House would talk about himself or his past was when he was talking about another person. Maybe if she could get Cameron to open up, she could indulge House's curiosity and trick him into opening up as well. "You know, Cameron, I never caught your first name."

"Allison," Cameron informed the psychiatrist. She could sense some sort of psychological ploy about to occur.

"What's going on?" asked Amber. She noticed a subtle smirk spread across Ruby's face. "She's up to something."

"Allison," repeated Ruby with a smile. "Allison—do you mind if I call you that?—how would you describe your relationship with Dr. House?"

Cameron was confused once more. "What do you mean?"

Ruby shrugged. "I mean, what's your relationship like?"

Cameron had never really thought about it before, but after much contemplation, she summed up her entire relationship with House in one word. "Awkward."

That wasn't exactly the type of response that Ruby had expected, but at least it was something. "Awkward how?"

"I don't know," she began. "He hired me based on some sexual attraction, and then—"

"I thought you were over that by now," interrupted House. "We talked about this."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "And I am over it, but that doesn't stop our interactions from being just plain awkward. Come on, House. I had just started working for you, and you told me that you thought I was hot—"

"I don't think that was the word I used."

"Whatever! Just let me finish," she huffed in frustration. "And then you spend the next five years insisting that you don't like me whatsoever. It doesn't even make sense."

"You're basing our entire relationship on that one comment? I called you hot, so you thought I wanted to marry you?"

"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it." Cameron felt a sense of regret once more, but at least she was finally getting House to talk about their history. Maybe it would resolve some conflict between them. Maybe it would even help him.

"Then what are you basing it on?"

"What am I basing it on?" she repeated his wording. "Everything! I mean, the monster trucks, the date, the kiss, the—"

"That's hardly fair," interrupted House once more. "You kissed me, and you were only doing it to get a blood sample."

"You kissed back." She repeated the words that she had spoken to him on that very occasion.

Ruby smiled as she watched her plan unfold perfectly. By asking Cameron one simple question, she'd discovered that the two had shared both a date and a kiss, and… what was that other thing? Monster trucks? What was that all about? "I'm sorry," Ruby chimed in. "Monster trucks?"

"House asked me out on this date to see—"

"It wasn't a date."

"Yes, it was. He took me to see monster trucks."

"I told you it wasn't a date," he repeated himself. "I just took you because Wilson couldn't go."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "You could have asked anyone. You could have taken Foreman or Chase or even Cuddy, but you chose me, the girl who had no idea if she even liked them. Why?"

"You were the first person I came across after talking to Wilson," he lied.

"Right." Cameron glared at him angrily and in disbelief.

"Jesus," sighed Amber in frustration. "She was right. This is awkward."

Thankfully, though, another beeping from Cameron's phone broke the awkward tension between the two. Cameron pulled her phone out of her purse once more and read Chase's text message:

ANA was negative and LP was normal. Ideas?

Cameron sighed and tossed the phone to House from her side of the couch. "I think it's for you."

"Dr. Cameron?" asked Ruby. "Do you think you could turn off your phone?"

"It's an emergency," House lied.

"No it's not," said Cameron. She grabbed the phone from House and turned it off. He'd already read the message though.

Ruby thanked her. She wasn't sure what else to ask Cameron, though, so she shifted her attention to House. She wanted as much information as he was willing to reveal (which she was almost certain wouldn't be much). She was still curious about House's reasons for hiring Cameron in the first place, so she started there. "Did you really hire Dr. Cameron because you thought she was hot?"

"Thought she was hot?" asked Amber. "She is hot." Amber turned to House with a suggestive smile on her face. She was trying to tell him something, and House had a feeling that it had nothing to do with Cameron.

"Hot." House repeated Amber's word. He seemed deep in thought as if he were trying to solve a puzzle. What was she talking about? Was she referring to the patient?

"I'm sorry?" asked Ruby.

House spun to face Cameron. "The patient, was he hot?"

"I've never even seen him," replied Cameron, not sure how that was relevant.

"That's not what I mean. Was he hot?"

Cameron didn't know. After all, it wasn't her patient. "I don't know. Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Chase said the LP was normal."

"Okay…?"

"It shouldn't be."

"Yes it should. That's the definition of normal."

"No, I mean, he should have elevated lactate."

"Elevated lactate would suggest trauma," said Cameron.

"Exactly," continued House. "The brain damage in Charcot-Wilbrand has to be caused by a stroke or some other sort of trauma."

"They ruled out clots," said Cameron, and she suddenly understood. "So he must have had brain trauma and elevated lactate. He doesn't have elevated lactate, so it must not have been trauma." She paused. "Wait, I don't think that makes sense."

"It was caused by a clot," decided House. "The symptom that brought him to Diagnostics was tachycardia, which suggests that he has an irregular heartbeat."

"EKG was normal."

"It was an intermittent arrhythmia," said House. "His heart's been beating irregularly. It sent a clot to his brain that caused the Charcot-Wilbrand. The clot resolved on its own, though, and caused no other evident symptoms."

"Okay," Cameron followed him. "Then the question is what caused the arrhythmia."

House thought for a moment, trying to remember what the patient's other symptoms were. Where was his imaginary whiteboard when he needed it? House closed his eyes and tried to focus on the whiteboard that Amber had helped him create in the hopes that it would bring back his memory.

It worked. When House opened his eyes, Amber was standing behind Ruby's desk. The patient's symptoms were written in red lipstick on the wall behind her with the added symptom of hair loss:

Hand Tremors

Muscle Weakness

Shortness of Breath

Double Vision

Tachycardia

Hypoglycemia

Loss of Dreams – Charcot-Wilbrand Syndrome

Hair Loss

"Hot," repeated House. "It has something to do with heat."

"If the patient had a fever, I'm sure they would have noticed," said Cameron.

"Maybe he doesn't have a fever; maybe he's just a little hot."

"What makes you think he's hot?"

House didn't want to admit that Amber had given him the idea. He knew that Cameron wouldn't encourage him any further if he did. "Hair loss and hypoglycemia… it could be hormonal."

"Okay... So what hormonal disorder can cause all of the other symptoms?"

Heat. That was the clue. "Hyperpituitarism."

"That doesn't—"

"It's really rare," House admitted, "but sometimes overproduction of TSH in the pituitary can lead to hyperthyroidism. It would explain all of his symptoms including overheating."

"He has a pituitary gland tumor," Cameron revealed. "I'll tell Chase to get an MRI." She was about to get up to leave but suddenly remembered that she had come here to help House, and instead they had wound up discussing a patient. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "Were we done here?"

Ruby sighed. So much time had been wasted during their session, and yet she couldn't be completely disappointed. After all, she had learned a lot more about House's personal relationship with the woman. She got up and signaled for an escort to return House to his room. Once he had left, Ruby stopped Cameron from departing. "Could I ask you for a favor?"

What more could she want? "What do you need?"

"Could you possibly get me the numbers of House's friends?" She tried to remember their names. "Wilson and Cuddy right?"

Cameron nodded and pulled out her cell phone to give Ruby the phone numbers.

"You said Wilson was his best friend?"

Cameron nodded once more. "Why?"

"I'm just surprised he never mentioned him. That's all."

"House's biggest problem has always been that he doesn't realize how many people care about him." She frowned and appeared deeply upset. "Would you excuse me?" Cameron tried to conceal her disappointment, but Ruby was already aware of it.

"Of course."

And with that, Cameron fled Mayfield to calm herself and to supply Chase with a diagnosis.