With a groan, she turned on to her side wishing she could bury her head beneath the pillows and not come out again. Still, it didn't seem to register in her mind that there was a bed beneath her, the soft mattress shielding her from the pain of discomfort.
Just as the haziness had started to fade and sweet sleep was about to claim her again, muffled voices from somewhere outside roused her rudely from it.
She could tell by the lower than average frequency of the voices that they weren't particularly near to her, yet they were still close enough to stop her from sleeping and maybe even banish the harsh throb that had invaded the space directly between her ears.
Suddenly the lights got brighter, the voices were raised, and the throb swiftly turned into a screaming inside her head. The suddenly it hit her straight between the eyes - everything that had happened┘.Sarah, the warehouse, the rope!
Oh god no!
The images kept coming back to her no matter how hard she tried to stop them. She could feel the tears burning her eyes and blinked desperately trying to prevent the tears from falling. Lifting her too heavy arm, she covered her face with her hand, trying to shield herself from the light as well as the tears.
Digging her fingers deeper into the blanket that was carelessly thrown on top of her, Cameron raised it up and drew it over her head wishing that the slightly worn comforter would just swallow her whole and never spit her back out again.
Yet still the voices raised, still they got loader and more frequent.
Suddenly the voices stopped and the sound of a door being pulled open filled the otherwise quiet room. The image of Sarah once again filled her mind. She couldn't even remember what happened to her after her vision blurred and eventually spurned her into darkness. What if that's her? What if she's come to finish off what she started?
The light still forced it's way through the small holes in the thin sheet covering her body. Glancing briefly upward Cameron could see the faint shadow of a person. There was no noise besides her ragged breathing as her chest became tight and constricted and her temperature shot up as her blood to pound throughout her entire body. The burst of fear inside her was overwhelming to the point of feeling like she was going to choke on her own breaths. Their steps weren't heard, but Cameron had a feeling that that was the whole point, to try to enter the room without her knowledge.
Somehow she knew what they were going to do before they even started to reach for her, the long fingers stretching out toward her, distorting their own image as the light pushed and pulled their appearance to make them nothing more but the memories of childhood nightmares of the monsters under the bed.
She opened her mouth to scream as the long fingers inched closer to the blanket covering her, but was stopped short as her breath caught in her throat and the tears began to fall freely. The harsh lights in the room quickly washed over here as the thin blanket was hauled away from her body in one swift movement.
"What the hell are you doing just curled up under the covers like that? What are you four?"
Unsqueezing her eyes and blinking against the light, Cameron was greeted with the sight of House looking down at her with an unreadable expression on his face, although she was sure she could detect a hint of amusement in there somewhere.
"Well it's nice to know that you still take pleasure from my pain!" She exclaimed between sobs.
House's expression softened as he saw her bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks. Releasing a long breath, he reached forward and wiped away a tear mid-fall with the pad of his thumb, but still her tears came faster and harder than before. Rolling his eyes, House came and sat down on the bed next to her carefully and reaching out a suddenly awkward hand, he patted her should in a way that Cameron could only hope was supposed to be comforting. Either that or he was trying to beat her to death. Her tears were starting to dry out and she looked up at House with huge bloodshot eyes, she couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through her body when House's thumb grazed against the skin at the side of her neck. Both of House's thumbs moved round to the front of her throat as if with a life of their own. The breath caught in Cameron's throat when House tightened his grip on her and pressed his thumbs into her windpipe, he didn't even seem to register Cameron's fingernails digging into his hands, scraping across them. The sheer look in his eyes was enough to turn the room cold, there didn't even seem to be anything there. She begged with his eyes for him to stop but nothing registered. Eventually her breathing slowed and she leant back on the bed, House leaning over her, putting even more force into his ministrations. There was a smirk on his face as he watched her eyes roll back in her head.
"You had to ruin everything didn't you?" His gruff mocking voice reached her through the void "I'm just finishing off what that rookie couldn't. I should have just done it myself."
With these words his hands gave one last long squeeze, strong enough to belie his title as 'cripple', and kept on going until he could no longer feel the beat of her heart under his fingertips.
Letting out a small squeal, Cameron shot up in bed, kicking at the covers that had her feet captured. She could feel the cold trickle of sweat make its way down the line of her spine. Somewhere in the distance, she could hear a faint beeping and zapping sound. As her harsh breathing subsided, Cameron realised that the beeping sounds were closer than she'd thought. Looking over at the chair at the side of her bed, she saw a sight that made her smile even in that situation. House was sitting in the chair, his feet propped up on the very end of her bed with his head hanging off the back and his mouth open. She never could believe that he slept like a baby. A baby who snores anyway.
Running her still shaking fingers through her slightly sodden hair, Cameron brushed the stray strands away from her already flushed face. Reaching out her hand, Cameron attempted to remove the Game Boy from House's fingers, only to let out a small squeak of surprise when House's fingers wrapped lightly around her wrist. Flashes of her previous dream came flooding back to her and she tried to snatched her hand back out of his grip, but he held on tight.
House awoke with a start not fully remembering where he was but had the overwhelming need to protect his Game Boy. The first thing he was aware of was the feel of small delicate fingers working at his hands. He kept his eyes closed for a second longer, just to prolong the contact slightly. Unable to resist, House reached out and grabbed the wrist in question, wanting to give her a little start. Looking up into her terrified face, he regretted it immediately. He could feel her arm pulling away to retreat and he knew he should let her go but he just tightened his grip. Cameron's wide brown eyes met his and suddenly there were no words. There were no sarcastic comments, no barbs, there was no overwhelming need to hurt her and see it reflected in those golden eyes. His fingers seemed to take on a life of their own and began stroking the soft skin on the inside of her wrist, tracing the slight veins visible underneath the skin. The look in her eyes calmed slightly by this small act and he wanted to make her forget everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. He wanted to be able to crawl into bed with her and comfort her for once, to take away her pain instead of causing it.
She looked down at the hand that had hers captured, causing her loose mane of hair to fall forward and her neck to become exposed, House couldn't help but notice the red, angry marks that bombarded her neck and throat. Keeping one hand busy with her wrist so as not to let her escape, House reached out with the other and ran the tip of one finger ever so lightly over one of the harsh marks. The euphoria he felt at the feel of her skin again was dampened as he noticed her obvious flinch when he touched her. She wouldn't even meet his eyes anymore, and he felt a piece of himself die when she pulled herself out of his grasp. Out of his touch, and buried herself further under her blankets, turning on her side so she was faced with her back to him.
There was a strange feeling in his chest at that moment, like something was tightening and he couldn't stop it. He felt helpless to do anything to help her, to find anything to say to her. He just stood slowly, staring at her back, trying to get used to the feelings that her rejection left in his heart. He knew that there was nothing more that he could say to her, she was never going to let him comfort her, and just when he wanted to most. He just wanted to lie down with her and tell her that it was all going to be OK, to be the one who wiped away from her tears. But instead he turned and walked silently out of her room, turning all of the lights out as he went and secretly wishing her goodnight.