Chapter 11

Cameron sat quietly next to her brother has he finished his dinner. She was nervous about his surgery in the morning, but he was taking everything quite well—as he always did. Sometimes, his ability to stay calm at all times bugged Cameron, but if he were panicking, she knew her own response would only make the situation worse.

Jack put the last of his food aside and lay back on his pillow. He turned his face to Cameron as he asked, "So Allison, what's so bad about this House guy? He seemed alright to me when we chatted earlier."

Allison rolled her eyes but chuckled to herself. "He has an uncanny ability to act the part of the good guy when he wants to. But since he usually doesn't care what people think about him, his true nature usually shines through… 'glares' is more like it, actually."

"So why was he different with me? Trying to impress me or something?"

Cameron laughed. "I doubt it. He probably just wants information, and he knows better than to cause trouble. Just don't gossip about me too much, ok?"

Jack smiled, "I promise I won't. But if he starts telling me all about how he thinks you're totally gorgeous and the most intelligent woman he has ever met and so forth, I'm not sure I'll be able to stop him."

Cameron looked away and nearly blushed. When she returned her gaze to her brother, she noticed tears welling in his eyes.

"Jack, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just glad you're here to help me out. I'm happy to see that you're around people who care about you." Jack began truly crying as he said these words.

If these words had come from someone else, Cameron would have been touched. But from Jack, who was never sentimental and who Cameron had seen cry only twice—at their parents' funerals—this behavior confused and worried her.

"Jack… I appreciate what you're saying, but this isn't like you. Are you feeling different?"

Jack responded only by crying more.

"Are you in pain?"

Jack shook his head but looked at her with an expression that revealed that he was just as startled by his sudden sentimental behavior.

"I'm going to call Dr. Wilson."

"Ok."

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Cameron swore as she shoved her cell phone into her purse while trying to make a left hand turn onto a dark street with one hand on the wheel. She had tried calling Wilson's cell phone but received no answer. She had called House's cell phone and home phone but received no answer from either, although this was hardly surprising. She really wanted to avoid bothering House. She did not want his opinion on her brother's case because once she let him get involved, she knew he'd get too involved. She didn't want him tearing through hers and her brother's past to get information that might or might not be relevant. But she was not going to let the surgery happen before she explained this new development to Wilson; if she was right, this was a new symptom.

She had only driven to House's place once before and she was having trouble remembering where it was. She circled the block she was on, thinking that it looked familiar. After driving by apartment 221B once, it caught her eye the second time. She parked her car on the street behind his bike and approached the door. She knocked loudly and hoped that he wouldn't ignore her.

She sighed with relief when she heard him shuffling toward the door. Her heart banged loudly in her ears during a long pause where he was clearly deciding whether to welcome the girl he had just seen through the peephole. Finally, he opened the door and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"You're not the hooker. Unless they mixed up my order. I didn't realize you were 'on call' tonight."

"Shut up. I'm actually not here for you. I'm here for Wilson. I mean I'm looking for him. Is he here?"

House's playful demeanor turned snarky. "Nope. His wife called. He went home. Hasn't been back since. I'm assuming they're finalizing the divorce, if you know what I mean." House punctuated the last sentence with a very obvious wink.

"That's great," Cameron dismissed this information. She was surprised by how little she actually cared about what Wilson was doing with his wife.

"Something wrong with Jake?" House stepped aside to let her in, clearly hoping she'd fill him in on her brother's condition.

"Jack," she responded, reluctantly stepping inside.

"Whatever," House closed the door and dropped onto the couch. "I'm guessing you're not just here on a social visit."

Cameron really didn't want to get House involved, but she could either wait until she heard back from Wilson, which might not be until the morning, or she could ask House for his medical advice. She opted for the second, hoping that she wouldn't regret it later.

House noticed that Cameron was making some internal decision as she paced across his living room.

"You're clenching. Do you mind? Just sit down."

Cameron obeyed, sitting in an easy chair across from the couch. She stalled the inevitable as she remembered their meeting earlier that day. "You called me Allison today."

Now it was House's turn to clench. "There were two Camerons in the room. I didn't want your brother to think I was trying to kick him out of the room."

Cameron paused as she considered this. "How do you know we're both Camerons? I could have kept my husband's name when I married."

"Not likely. You would have naturally published articles before your marriage with your maiden name. And anyone who has had anything published, especially if he or she plans to publish more, prefers to keep the same name. So I assumed that you either kept your maiden name or reclaimed it when your husband died."

Cameron nodded. "I kept it." She wasn't about to admit that she liked hearing him call her by her first name. Wilson did it from time to time, but it didn't sound nearly as intimate as when House said it.

"So… did you just come to hang out or is there something going on?"

"There's something going on." Cameron leaned back in her chair, unsure of how much to tell House and where to begin.

"Ok. I'm gonna get a beer. Want one?"

Cameron looked up at House, who had risen to go to the kitchen. The expression in his eyes that Cameron had first identified as sympathy had returned. She realized how much more it meant when she saw it in House than when she saw it repeatedly in Wilson. She responded, "Yes, please."