House had spent almost an hour beneath the hot spray of the shower.
It did wonders for his aching tired limbs but very little for his troubled mind.
House couldn't believe he'd spent the night nestled against Cameron's warm body. Let alone sobbing, albeit silently, against her stomach while her soft hand moved soothingly through his hair.
Gregory House didn't cry. Gregory House didn't need soothing.
And yet after the strain of the past week that was exactly what he needed: soothing.
He could think of nothing more soothing that curling against her body once more.
A thought that only served to trouble him further.
And so, with warm and almost limber limbs he stepped from beneath the hot spray, his head hanging slightly from the weight of his thoughts.
After his shower House retired to the sanctuary of his office once more, his thoughts rampaging and relentless in his mind.
Around ten, he'd had enough of thinking and the cramp in his leg built to a nagging ache despite the fact he'd taken two Vicodin not half an hour previous. He paced the corridor outside his office for at least 20 minutes, all the while felling somewhat bereft with out his gaggle of underlings flocking behind him.
His thoughts still persisted.
With a resounding sigh he moved to the elevator and rode it to Cameron's floor.
Rounding the corner he saw a swarm of bodies in the room that was to be his intended destination.
Far too many people, far too many questions.
He backtracked somewhat so that he leant heavily against the pillar at the corner of the nurses station, almost entirely concealed by it, but his head peered around the edge as he continued to observe the room and the many people in it.
Mr and Mrs Cameron sat vigilant at Cameron's bedside while Foreman and Chase stood at the foot of her bed, they were all smiling despite the fact that he could tell that they were discussing the serious topic of her recovery.
Cameron looked tired, her blinking was slow and her smile almost wistful.
He wondered for the first time exactly how much sleep she'd gotten last night; she was awake when he fell asleep and awake when he woke. How long had she sat there just soothing him, running those gentle hands of hers through his hair.
The door of the room opened, Foreman and Chase nodding to Cameron's parents before smiling at her with promises of visiting later.
House glanced at those left in the room as Foreman slid the door closed behind him. William looked distinctly irritated and almost protective as he watched the doctors exit the room.
As his two healthy underlings approached he noticed that Chase looked quietly uncomfortable and Foreman a little smug; it seemed William Cameron had taken somewhat of a dislike to the wombat.
House smiled, before resuming his normal frown as they drew closer.
"Hey." Foreman greeted in a professional tone as he and Chase came to a stop before him.
Chase remained stubbornly silent. The fury he had displayed towards House just a few short days ago bubbled quietly beneath the surface, though with nothing but a glance House could tell that both Cameron and Foreman had tried to talk some sense into him to some degree of success.
"Hey." House replied, completely ignoring the dark look the Chase fixed on him.
"Thank you for the page, by the way." Foreman said with a roll of his eyes.
"Nothing like a healthy jog in the morning," he replied in an overly cheery tone, "I would have joined you but you know the whole pain and cane thing I've got going on doesn't mix well with jogging. Plus if I don't keep up this cripple charade I won't get any more of Cuddy's sweet guilty ass." He glanced around as if to make sure Cuddy wasn't about to walk in on their conversation, "It's like make up sex on demand." he stage whispered.
Despite Chase's anger he looked equally disgusted and disgruntled as Foreman, their faces contorted unpleasantly as they tried to remove unwanted thoughts.
"So, how did the tests go?" House asked in a serious tone as soon as the evil glint returned to Chase's eyes.
"Everything seems normal. Her short-term and long term memory is fine. She's a little unsteady on her feet but I think that's more to do with lying in bed nearly 24 hours a day for the last four days than anything neurological."
House grunted slightly in a non-committal manor.
"She's on a pretty low dose of morphine right now, we think she'd do best switching to regular pain killers tomorrow morning. She seemed to agree, there's little pain from her actual wound only really from her shoulder, which seems to be healing well now that we've got it in a sling."
"Fine." he mumbled agreeing with the younger doctor, "That all?"
"Well, yeah." Foreman answered slightly confused. What else did he expect? he thought.
"Richards is off the case," House announced, "You two will be her attending as long as Cuddy gives the okay."
At this both of them frowned slightly.
"But..." Chase started, speaking for the first time during the entire exchange looking completely confused.
House stared darkly.
"Go forth. Do clinic, nurses you've been chasing for weeks or paperwork; just something. Cuddy's being lenient at the moment so you might want to milk it for all it's worth."
They nodded, curiosity still brimming in their eyes as they turned from him.
Cameron's parents left soon after with Cameron calling from her bed as they reached the door, "Bring me back something edible."
House was careful to keep out of sight as the Cameron's made their way past him to the elevator, in their hands he could see a list and a key, no doubt instructions on what home comforts she required. He watched them smile and talk as they waited for it to arrive, spirits high with the uplifting sound of their daughter's voice still ringing in their ears.
Despite this, he saw something guarded in their eyes.
They knew.
They knew that the emotional effects of what happened where yet to come. And in someone that normally felt so deeply it was a fearsome thing to look forward to.
The elevator arrived; he watched them become lost in a sea of bodies before the metal doors hid them from sight.
"House." a voice called from behind him. He turned silently, glancing from his hiding place to see Cameron standing into doorway of her room her gaze focused on him, "House, I know you there."
"Damn, stupid cane won't stay behind the pillar where it's supposed to." he said to himself, though loud enough for Cameron to hear as he moved from his hiding place toward a smug looking Doctor.
"Hello." she said with a soft warm smile.
"Don't 'hello' me, what are you doing out of bed?!" he admonished.
As she stood there, half in the room, half in the hallway, her knuckles turning white around the thin IV stand looking far more exhausted than she did moments before.
Then again she had been lying in bed at the time.
"Getting you to talk to me," she said as if it where the most obvious thing in the world.
"Wish granted, now back in bed." he said in a mock angry tone pointing at the empty gurney, the glimmer of mirth and the flash of worry in his eyes showing his actual emotions.
"Fine," she grumbled a slight smirk around her mouth as she turned from him and wheeled her IV stand back into the room.
House followed her into the room and pulled the door closed behind him.
At which point he noticed something for the first time.
"Now, why aren't you in a regular gown." he asked, a smile evident in his voice, as she reached the side of the bed.
"Not a chance in hell I'm flashing my ass to the people I have to work with, let alone you." she said sitting on the edge, struggling to swing her legs up and under the sheets and get comfortable.
All he wanted to do was move closer to her and help her, but he knew both his and her pride would be worse for it.
"I'm truly hurt!" he said bringing his bandaged empty hand to his heart, before smirking wildly, the look of innocence dissolved in milliseconds "Anyway, why would you want to hide it, it's one of your best features."
"You've never seen 'it'." she said dismissively, though she was unable to conceal the blush that spread across her cheeks.
"As far as you're aware." he murmured his back to her as he picked up her chart.
"House!" she shouted indignantly, her eyes wide and disbelieving.
"Cameron!" he replied in a mocking squeal, making his unsteady way towards her. He chart tucked under his right arm.
Cameron bit her lip to contain her laughter, but even from the other side of the room House could see her shaking slightly, no doubt the cause of some pain, but even so, she looked happy.
"One of my best features?" she said once her shaking had subsided, a knowing smile on her face.
"Don't push it." he said slumping into the chair he'd spent the night in, stretching back and propping his crossed ankles on the edge of her bed.
Silence spun between them, broken only by the soft mutterings of House as he looked over various drugs and dosages.
"Interesting reading?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.
"Hmm." House answered distractedly, his eyes scanning the pages of her file, his left hand flicking the thin pages back and forth.
"House." she said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"What?"
"That's my chart."
"I know."
"House." she said, her voice low and warning.
"I want to check that Foreman wasn't lying to me."
"Why would he do that?"
"To protect me, to protect you, so he feels important. I don't know." He answered without thinking, going over her neurological tests once more.
He told himself that he was just being thorough.
"To protect you?" she asked her tone confused and inquisitive.
Shit, House thought.
"Yes, you." he replied his tone still distant, but even he could pick up the desperate undercurrent in his voice.
"No, you."
"Yes, you."
"No, you said 'to protect me'." she replied getting slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, to protect you." his voice shaking slightly from the desperate attempt to keep his tone even and distant.
"House!" she growled.
"You know I'm starting to think that Foreman might be wrong about the all clear." he said looking up from his reading, his eyes narrowed and a knowing smile across his lips.
She ducked her head and sighed gently, nestling further into the soft embrace of the pillows stacked behind her.
Her eyes connected with his for the slightest moment.
She smiled softly.
Instantly he could tell that she wasn't about to forget his slip.
To protect me.
As if Foreman would ever be that observant or caring to lie to him in kindness.
When his thoughts refocused on the room he noticed Cameron's eyes were closed and her breathing slow.
He began to uncross his ankles.
"Stay." She mumbled sleepily.
House froze.
He was completely torn, half of him wanting to hobble away as fast as possible. But the other half, it wanted to protect, to soothe and to repay for previous night, no doubt one of the reasons for her tiredness.
He crossed his ankles once more and settled further into the chair, she smiled softly and fell asleep moments later.
He watched her sleep for the longest time.
Watched as the cares and agonies of the world slipped away as she disappeared into a land hopefully free of nightmares.
This was the last day she would sleep with the aid of morphine, tomorrow night she'd be on her own.
He planned to change that.
A/N: Sorry for the wait once more. The next chapter should be up sooner though. Thanks, M x