Story Title: Touch of Destiny
Chapter 14: Thinking Hurts Sometimes
Chapter summery: Cuddy gets a headache, Chase loses, and Cameron wins.
xXx
Disclaimer: Not mine, unless you don't recognize a character. Then it is mine, and you shouldn't take it.
AN: I hate writers block. Any ideas people want to throw at me are welcome. I may or may not use them, but they are welcome nonetheless. Oh, and I decided that if someone wants to flame me, do so. I need something to snark at. (this is my smirking face------ :-/ ) Although, the delay is also caused by me beta-ing my stuff myself. I don't want another horridly gramafied chapter, not that this sentence is helping much. I'd ask someone to be a beta, but I'm too irregular to how I do my chapters, so it really wouldn't work…yeah, I know. I'm stubborn and I have ADD. Oh, and if you check it, which I'm sure you can with the copy/paste feature, this is over 17 pages long. Does that help redeem me in making ya'll wait?
Also, I can use any ideas about the "romance" stuff. While I am a female, I am not too into the whole "lovey-dovey, dreamy-eyed, bunnies-are-fluffy" crap. Any ideas would be much appreciated, especially if those ideas were put into private message form. I save those in a little folder in my inbox of my email. Not that any of you cared to know about that…
Anywhoo, enjoy the next installment of the wondrous tale of House and Cameron's undying love. Wow, that was oober sappy…I'm off to watch a manly movie. Like James Bond…or 300…or Mission Impossible…or something.
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LittleDragonfly23: oh this is fun! I'm glad you like it!
Sweetgreuy: Isn't possessive House fun? Ahhh, it's great! I love the "not dull" moments.
CamFan4Ever: I'm glad you love it! School prevents from frequent updates…but I update when I can!
SilvaK: It is good to be back. I'm glad you liked the scene! I realized as I was finishing the chapter that I have drifted from the fact that the shooter has yet to be found…lol. Back on topic!
whoKMH: (huge grin) Ahhh, I love the sweet smell of satisfaction! I'm glad that that scene worked out. I wasn't really sure. It's perfect!
Obsessedwithstabler: I'm sorry! We are the queens of procrastination, along with my friend Joni….the two of us have a horrid habit of staying up until 4 working on papers…. Hehe! Yes, you go update!
Alexandretta: THE dinner is coming. Not sure exactly when….
House.Cam-xx: I know…I'm just that good. P I'm glad you're liking this!!
Fallenangelcries: Yay! Another fan! As usual, the updates come when they can. As for Chase…
xxBuffyfreakxx: I'm glad you liked the update! I'm having fun with this.
Tiflissa: Thanks dear! I feel honored to be on the list of "Greatest with this twist". (grin) Look, I updated!
Alexa Twitch: I personally like a more human House. You do see glimpses of it during the show, so I took those moments and ran. Not…literally ran…but….oh bother… Enjoy this chapter!
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Cuddy pressed her fingers against her temples, hoping to relieve her headache. Another call from the police department, Tritter to be specific, had not helped her day go any better. Something about Cameron, Chase, or Foreman coming and identifying the man who had shot her even though they were almost sure that it wasn't the man they caught, blah, blah, blah. She was sick of the bastard haunting her hospital with his ghost, even if he wasn't there in person.
She froze as the thought passed her mind. What if the shooter was in the hospital? That would explain why they couldn't find the shooter on the tape entering or leaving the building. A dark look unknowingly entered her eyes as she thought of one of her own staff committing such a horrific crime. But then again, why would a staff of the hospital shoot Cameron instead of House if they were indeed looking for House. Or did they truly mean to shoot Cameron and had only asked for House as a pretense?
Ugg. She thought, jamming her fists onto her temples to try and rid her head of the wave of pain that shot through. Too much thinking, too much speculation. But the pesky notion that the shooter was a worker for the hospital wouldn't leave her mind, however unlikely it may be. A knock at the glass brought her gaze to Wilson's concerned face. She gave him a half smile and he slowly opened the door.
"Lisa, everything okay?" Wilson's tone held only concern for the worn out Dean of Medicine.
She was about to tell him about her thoughts when an unwelcome thought flashed through her minds eye. What if it was Wilson? The idea in itself was ridiculous but she couldn't be too careful. If she remembered correctly, the only time any one had seen Wilson was when House was waiting outside the ER…after the shooting. She smiled at him, praying it was real enough to fool him, though she knew him better than that to think that a forced smile would fool him. He spent too much time with House to fall for that trick. "Everything is fine, James. What did you need?" Her eyes drifted to the stack of paper work and she reached for it as he answered.
He frowned slightly at the forced smile she had given him. "I just wanted to make sure you were actually getting enough sleep. I know how much this whole thing with Cameron getting shot is worrying you." He hesitated slightly before continuing. "You have any ideas yet on who the shooter is or could be?"
The only response he got was a grunt and a slight wince from the woman sitting in front of him and he frowned deeper, the gears turning in his head. "You won't answer me vocally, which means it's someone close to me. I know it's not House, because he was hiding in an exam room, and he'd never shoot Cameron anyway. It's obviously not Foreman or Chase because they were there. And it's definitely obvious that it's not Cameron." He paused, thinking before his eyes widened. "You…you can't think…?" He gaped at her openly, his hands gesturing helplessly, motioning between himself and her. "You can't possibly think I did it?"
Cuddy froze and swallowed, trying to come up with an answer. She lifted her eyes to meet his and hesitated. But before she could speak, Wilson cut her off with a diagonal slice of his hand, having his question answered with her look. "Forget it." He snapped bitterly. "I thought you knew me better than that." He slammed the door on his way out, causing Cuddy to wince again.
She sighed. He was picking up on House's abilities in reading and analyzing people more and more everyday. In her heart, she knew that Wilson couldn't and wouldn't have shot Cameron, but her head forced her to think otherwise. The hospital was her baby, and each and every employee was important to her. She was about to continue working on the paperwork when shouting voices boomed from the lobby. Her head shot up at the commotion outside her door and she watched the scene unfold before her eyes, her heart heavy at the anger she had caused in Wilson.
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House shoved the last file into his bag and zipped it shut. Grasping his cane tightly, he limped into the conference room and stared at Cameron who was lost in her own world. With a smirk, he used his cane to pull the ear bud of her iPod out of her ear. He met her glare with an innocent look and gave her a chin up. "C'mon. I'm leaving now. It's 6. I'm sure you have lots to do for our date tonight. If you hurry, I might just walk you to your car."
She pondered this thought and smiled. "I suppose I should take the time to look presentable." She tried to sound put-out but failed miserably.
House shook his head and tsked. "No, you look presentable now. I want you hot. Steamy, boiling, temperature of the sun hot. Hot with a capital…"
"Enough." She interrupted with a laugh, closing her laptop. "I was just getting ready to leave anyway."
He nodded and stared at the ground. He barely refrained from jumping when a soft hand touched his arm. They walked out of the department side by side, quiet, the only sounds heard were his cane thudding and her heals clicking.
The elevator opened and the pair stepped out, looking to all the world as if it were mere coincidence that they happened to be in the same elevator at the same time. All seemed right in the lobby, but there was a slight hint of tension that House picked up on immediately. Cameron soon caught on when Wilson nearly plowed her over.
"Watch where you're going, Dr. Cameron." Wilson snarled impatiently, his unnecessarily loud voice ricocheting off the walls of the lobby.
Cameron's eyes widened and she moved herself out of his way. "Sorry, Dr. Wilson." She eyed him, confused and concerned. She had seen him leave Cuddy's office as if a pack of wolves was on his tail. "Are you…?"
He whirled around and fixed a glare at her. "Do you think I'd shoot you?" He asked, still yelling.
She gaped at him, not realizing House had adopted the same expression, only his was tinted with anger at Cuddy. "She accused you of shooting me?" Cameron's tone was incredulous. "First of, he asked for House. Secondly, he didn't look a thing like you!"
"I know!" Wilson threw his hands up in the air and stalked off towards his office.
House didn't say anything through the whole exchange. He just glared at Cuddy's office door as if staring at it would cause the Wicked Witch of the Clinic inside to burn. He watched Wilson walk off and eyed Cameron from the corner of his eye. "Wilson?" He asked as a question to Cuddy's mental state of mind.
Cameron rolled her eyes. "Cuddy's taking this too far." She grumbled irritably. "Wilson didn't shoot me. The guy was fat. Wilson's not fat. Wilson's far from fat." The pair headed towards the sliding glass doors of the entrance, both eager to vacate the premises.
"House!" Cuddy appeared in the doorway and yelled at him as he was just about to escape from the hospital with Cameron from the wrath of Wilson. "My office, now!"
"Coming, mistress!" House yelled to her in return, greatly annoyed at having been deterred from leaving once again. He turned to the woman at his side and muttered sullenly. "She'd better not try and keep me later."
She just smiled knowingly. "I'll see you at 7:30."
He winked at Cameron and waltzed across the room to Cuddy's office, leaving behind a bemused Cameron who was trying to figure out if he really just winked at her or if she had only imagined it.
Once House was inside Cuddy's office, she softly closed the door behind him and moved around him towards her desk. Sitting down, she buried her face in her hands and groaned. "That whole scene was my fault."
"Ya think?" House rolled his eyes. "You all but accused him of trying to murder Cameron, who, by the way, told me that the guy who shot her was fat. No male employee here is fat, so you can rule that idea out." He was pissed that she would go so far as to accuse not only his best friend, but one of his only friends, of trying to shoot the young immunologist. My immunologist, his traitorous mind taunted. He mentally glared at the voices taunting him and focused instead on trying to melt Cuddy with his look of death.
"Look, I'm sorry." She tried to apologize, wincing inside at the death glare he was currently shooting her with. "I'm just trying to get the bastard who shot her in jail so he can't come and shoot you as well. It was logical to start in the hospital."
House just stared at her with icy cold blue eyes. "Time to move the search to outside the hospital, Detective. Try former patients of mine seeing as the bastard asked for me." He turned on his heal but before he left, he turned to face her again. "Page Twiddle-Dee and Twiddle-Dumb and tell them that one of them has to stay and watch the patient. I have a date tonight."
With that, he smirked and left with such a purposeful stride despite the limp that she couldn't help but admire his strength, no matter how much of it was an outward farce. As much of an asshole he was, he stood up for what he believed was right, no matter the consequence. She sighed and picked up the phone to page Foreman and Chase. As she hung up the phone, she fleeting wondered if House had given the three fellowship members the folders with their applications/resignation papers. Obviously not, she realized as she saw the pair she had paged exiting the elevator. He'd be pissy about what Cameron's says.
xXx
"Have fun tonight." Foreman had gloated about being able to go home. He had flung his bag over his shoulder and waved at the forlorn Dr. Chase who had been slouched in a chair at the diagnostics table.
"Go to hell." He had grumbled without malice, causing Foreman to laugh.
"Hey, I have to go ID someone." Foreman reminded him good naturedly. "Call me only if you need me or if she codes." And with that, Foreman was gone to enjoy his evening of solitude.
Chase was greatly annoyed at having drawn the short straw, so to speak, forcing him to remain at the hospital for the night. He did not want to be forced to baby sit a woman who didn't talk, didn't trust anyone, and who was currently in a state of severe paranoia and massive OCD. She could lash out at anyone at any time, but she could also be sweet and answer questions. She had reorganized everything within sight at least five times, as well as laid out all her pills in color order before putting them in order by size before she'd take them. He groaned as he wrote the newest symptom on the board. So far, they were looking at a long list of symptoms that didn't match to anything. At least she wasn't seizing. Yet…
Not five seconds after he wrote the most recent symptoms down his pager went off. Patient Seizing. "Ah, damn it." He muttered as he ran down the hall towards the patient's room. "I have the worst luck."
Bursting into the patient's room, he barked out orders. "10 milligrams of Ativan, stat!"
"I already gave her the Ativan!" The nurse currently holding the seizing patient snapped. "We nurses aren't complete idiots like House and all you other doctors might like to believe."
Chase nodded. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap. It's late and I'm tired." He watched as the patient calmed down and sighed. "Page me if anything medically relevant happens to her. I don't want to have to come down here for something trivial, like 'she sighed in her sleep, Dr. Chase. We just though you should know.'" He mocked in a high pitched voice before closing his eyes tiredly. "I'll be in the Diagnostics wing." With a sleep deprived glare at the nurses in the room, he slid the door open and exited, not bothering to close the sliding door behind him.
He trudged down the dark halls, his mind not on the patient, but on Allison Cameron. There was no way she could prefer House to himself. Chase thought of himself as young, cute, great in bed (or so in his opinion), and could provide her all she could ever want. House was…old, grumpy, and set in his ways. And with that leg, he probably wasn't that great in bed, not that Chase had any notion to ever find out personally. House would never be able to give Allison what she really needed: romance. The grumpy diagnostician was too bitter and depressed to truly romance her. A slight hint of a smile loosened his tight features. She'll come running back to him the moment House hurts her, he was certain of it. All he had to do was wait it out, he thought with a self-satisfied smirk. House would screw up, it was inevitable. Chase thanked God that he was a very patient man when it came to Allison Cameron.
xXx
House had not wanted Wilson to know about his date with Cameron, but as he stared at the row of ties in his closet, he wished that his friend was there to tell him what matched and what didn't. He groaned as he stared at the mirror.
"This is ridiculous." House muttered, throwing the ties down on the bed and flopping down on the edge, holding his head in his hands. Wilson's voice echoed through his head. I think she likes lame. "She likes lame." He repeated out loud in a muttered voice, staring at the floor between his legs.
He hated feeling so unsure. He liked feeling in control, strong, emotionless. He wasn't accustomed to having the conflict of emotions ricocheting inside his skull like a metal ball inside a pinball machine. He groaned inwardly. He really needed to find some better metaphors, especially to describe his feelings for the young Dr. Cameron. He glared at the ties in his hands and glanced at the phone.
Screw the ties. He did tell her to wear low rider jeans, even if it were only a joke. He was going casual, and for some reason, she seemed to prefer that on him anyway. He picked up the phone and dialed a somewhat familiar number. When the call went to her answering machine, he smirked as he heard her slightly sarcastic message.
"You've reached Doctor Allison Cameron. Since I didn't answer the phone, that means I'm not here. If you want to know why, listen to the beginning of my name again and listen this time. Leave a message please."
When he heard the beep, he spoke in a low voice. "It would appear that I'm rubbing off on you, Allison. I was serious when I said low-rider jeans were hot. Wear them. I'm still picking you up at 7:30." He hung up, the smirk still gracing his features.
He wasn't about to make the second date a repeat of the first one. He was going to try to duplicate the friendly atmosphere they had had at the monster truck rally, because while he was in total control at the forced date, she had somehow managed to force questions on him that he didn't want to answer. This time, he was going to be in total control of the whole thing. And if she somehow managed to weasel in an uncomfortable question, as terrifying as it sounded, he'd answer truthfully. Well, as truthfully as is possible for him. His mind drifted to the sealed envelope Cuddy had handed him for Cameron. He had a sinking suspicion as to what was inside but refused to dwell on 'might-be's', instead determining to deal with the three envelopes, and their recipients save for Allison, tomorrow and not a moment sooner.
xXx
Cameron had decided on the ride home that a shower was needed as soon as she got home. She was more than a little perturbed at Cuddy's jumping to conclusions about who had shot her. Hell, she was the one who was shot, and she was less worried about it than the Dean of Medicine. With a grumble, she locked her car and headed up to her apartment door. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside the apartment, closing and locking the door behind her. She completely bypassed the blinking answering machine and stripped off her outer layer of clothing, leaving herself clad only in her bra and panties. Turning the water on, she let it run as she examined herself in the mirror. Careful scrutiny of her face told her that she probably could use more sleep. Hell, she did need more sleep. The bags under her eyes could attest to that. With a pained sigh, she finished stripping and stepped into the shower.
The steaming water pounded on her tense muscles and she could feel herself relax under the steady stream of hot water. Not surprisingly, her thoughts turned back to House. Though, this time, her thoughts weren't happy ones. The whole scene with Wilson brought up feelings she hadn't recognized she had. She realized that what she was most worried about was the bastard coming back after he realized that first off, 'Dr. House' wasn't dead and secondly, he hadn't actually shot Dr. House in the first place. She didn't want a repeat of what had happened a year prior. She still shuddered every time the image of House's blood staining the floor passed in her minds eye or the sight of him during those three horrid days of not knowing if he was going to emerge out of his ketemine-induced coma.
Her phone ringing in the distance brought her mind from shooting to the present. With a groan, she shook her head and rinsed the soap out of her hair. She needed to stop thinking such morbid thoughts, especially right before a date with House. Rinsing the soap off her body, she turned off the water and wrapped her huge white towel around her body. A quick paw through her closet revealed next to nothing she actually wanted to wear for their date tonight. A fleeting thought flew through her mind. He did say that low-rider jeans were hot. Does that mean…? She walked out to the living room and pushed the message button.
The first message was her mother, begging her to call her. The next three were from Joe, claiming that he wanted to see her if she'd just give him her address. These she deleted with vigor, her mind plotting all sorts of evil things to do to him if he kept calling her incessantly like this. The last message was from House. She smiled as she listened to his message.
"It would appear that I'm rubbing off on you, Allison. I was serious when I said low-rider jeans were hot. Wear them. I'm still picking you up at 7:30."
She determined that he was truly being serious and she sighed in relief. At least I won't have to try and figure out what dress to wear. She moved back to her room and let the towel drop, wrapping her soft robe around herself instead. With her hair still dripping down her back, she pulled out her rarely worn low-rider jeans and a tight red spaghetti strap top and laid it out on the bed. Scrutinizing the outfit she had picked, she finally nodded in approval to herself and set off to the bathroom to dry her hair. House was going to fall over himself at the sight of her, she was determined.
xXx
At precisely 7:30, the sound of wood knocking on wood reverberated throughout her entire apartment and, she was sure, the rest of the building. With a slight grimace, she glanced in the mirror once more and rolled her eyes when he kept knocking. She unlocked the door and opened it to reveal the sexiest sight she had probably seen to date.
House stood before her in almost his normal attire. However, instead of his worn blue jeans he had, in its place, donned dark blue and well-kept denim. And in place of his too-small sports coat, he wore a red button up shirt that was open, revealing the solid black t-shirt beneath. The appraising look he gave her made her feel hot, beautiful, and desired all at the same time. "You look…nice." He managed awkwardly, wishing he could say what he was really thinking. More than nice, Allie. I'm fucking hard just looking at you!
Cameron felt her breath hitch in her throat at the sight of House. Somehow, she managed to find her words somewhere in the recesses of her brain. "Thank-you." God, he's so sexy. She couldn't believe that he was actually taking her out somewhere, though, knowing him, it was probably to Wendy's or better yet, a bar. She almost grinned at the last thought and instead grabbed her black leather jacket from the hook. "Let's go." Locking her door behind her, the pair made their way to House's bike.
"Where are we going?" Cameron ventured to ask as they approached the bike.
House shot her a look and smirked. "That, my dear, is a surprise."
10 minutes later, they were pulling up in front of Joe's Bar and Grill and Cameron swallowed her laughter as they walked up to the front door. She had so nailed that one. Much to her surprise, he held the door open for her and motioned for her to enter. With a hand on the small of her back, he leaned down to whisper into her ear. "This place has great food and an even better bar."
"Oh really?" She said slyly. "Then I suppose you'll be making use of the bar." At his sideways look, she grinned. "Just keep in mind that I want to make it home alive, and I can't drive your bike."
House just made a face at her and poked her in the side as he passed to claim a table. Sitting down, he peered up at her with an impish look. "I'd pull out your chair and all, but I don't want to appear like I'm trying to be nice and all."
Cameron just rolled her eyes and smirked. "I never asked you to." Sitting down, she made herself comfortable and threw out the last proverbial card. "Besides, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself. I don't actually need someone to hold open a door, pull out my chair, carry my oh-so-heavy bag…" She rolled her eyes again and opened the menu.
The last one was said with such a heavy load of sarcasm that House caught himself staring at her to make sure it was indeed his sweet immunologist he had taken out to dinner. He felt an unexpected feeling flood him. Was he actually…angry?
He watched her through slitted eyes suspiciously until she looked up at him again. When she caught his eyes with hers, she just winked conspiratorially and went back to her menu. He was even more agitated and he wasn't even sure why. He wasn't uncomfortable, he wasn't pissed, he was just…annoyed? That was it. Annoyed. Annoyed that she plain out told him that she didn't need him, though want him was another story…
"House."
A less-controlled man would have jumped out of his skin at Cameron calling his name, but luckily for him, he was a very composed man. "Cameron." He risked a look at her to find her looking smugly at him.
"I made you think about that, didn't I?" It was more of a statement than a question and House found that while he wanted to deny it, he didn't have the heart to contradict her, especially when she was right.
"Yup." He decided to stick with safe, one syllable answers.
"House." She leaned in and tapped his chin, bringing his eyes back to hers. "I don't mind it when men do that for me. I don't view it as being nice, I view it as that they think of me as something that is important enough to want to do that for me."
He broke the link by moving his gaze to somewhere over her shoulder. For a long 30 seconds, he just stared before moving his gaze back to her eyes. "You're worth it." He said firmly, leaning back in his chair once more, his eyes speaking more than he ever could.
She knew she shouldn't, but she let the warm feeling that started deep in her belly course through the rest of her body. With a repressed grin, she stared back at the menu. When the waiter returned, she shocked House by ordering a BBQ Burger, the messiest burger on the whole menu. He somehow managed to order his stake, medium rare, and handed the menus to the waiter without looking at him. His gaze was fixated on Cameron who was blissfully unaware of the turmoil she was causing inside him.
He waited until she took a drink of her water before telling her what was on his mind. "I think I like you."
Much to his disappointment, she didn't choke, spit out the drink, bulge her eyes out, or any of those wonderful reactions he was expecting. Instead, she swallowed, looked him right in the eye, and fixed a faux look of shock. "I think I like you too." She tapped a finger on her chin and pretended to look confused. "Now, what comes next…?"
House fixed that dilemma. With a slight bit of hesitation, he leaned over the table and kissed her firmly, sitting back down before she could react. He let the corners of his mouth tilt up in what was a smile for him. "Big revelation, wasn't it."
"Oh yeah, huge."
House frowned at the amount of sarcasm she used and she just smirked back.
The rest of the night progressed much the same. One of them making a statement, the other tossing out a ridiculously glib or sarcastic comment to avoid the horrifically serious stuff. Neither of them was quite ready for the "feelings" part of the relationship discussion that both knew had to happen eventually.
House tossed some bills on the table and stood. "Come, to the bar we go."
"Fine." Cameron stood. "But one drink only. I would like to work tomorrow."
They both sat down and House ordered two scotches. Cameron gave him 'the look' and took the scotch the bartender handed her. House downed his in three swallows and was about to order another one when he remember that he had to drive. With a grimace, he stood up. "I have to pee." She nodded and he walked off towards the bathroom.
Much to her distain, the moment House was gone, another man took his place. Cameron tried not to flinch as the stench of the alcohol on the man's breath wafted to her delicate nose.
"Hey, babe." He stared in a smooth yet drunken voice. "You are one hot chick who…"
"…who's not interested." She finished his sentence calmly, though her mind was screaming for Greg to get his ass back from the bathroom quickly. How long does it take a guy to take a piss? She took a sip of her scotch and ignored the drunken bastard beside her. She suddenly let out a shriek when she felt his hand grab her ass and she whirled around and decked him. "Don't you EVER touch me again!" The furious immunologist turned at the sound of a familiar chuckle.
"Well, I was going to break his skull with my cane, but I see you can take care of it yourself." He motioned to the drunken guy on the floor, now holding his face in his hands. "Hey, bastard." House leaned down to look the man in the face. "Keep your grimy paws of my girlfriend. I have a cane, and I know a great place to put it if I see you around any other female in this room." The man nodded furiously and backed away from House before standing and fleeing from the restaurant.
"Hey, thanks Dr. House." The barkeeper said gratefully. "I never thought I'd say this, but for once your sour attitude has just saved me from calling the cops on him. He hounds this place like a ghost to a haunted mansion."
House managed a grin at the barkeep and placed a hand on the small of Cameron's back. "Shall we make our escape and rendezvous at my place?" He whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver a bit, though not from the cold.
"An escape sounds wonderful, but I have to warn you, Dr. House. I don't put out before the third date." She whispered back, letting him gently push her out the door.
"We're in luck." He said conspiratorially, wagging his eyebrows seductively. "This is our third date."
"Nuh-uh." Cameron smiled as they approached House's bike. "The first trip to the monster trucks wasn't a date. You said so yourself. And that disaster we called a date doesn't count either. So this is only the second date."
House pulled a pout and Cameron laughed. "Sorry big guy." She kissed his cheek and pulled the helmet over her head.
"So much for 'everyone lies.'" House muttered, pulling his right leg over the bike and settling himself comfortable before allowing her to mount the bike. He revved the engine and took off, enjoying the feel of Cameron wrapped tightly around his torso.
xXx
Cameron walked into the diagnostics department expecting it to be void of life. She was looking forward to having an hour or so to herself to mull over the previous night with House. The night had ended pleasantly, with House kissing her as if he were never going to see her again, using it trying to get into her apartment. When she figured out what he was doing, she had pulled away and poked the center of his chest. "Don't even think it, buddy." She had growled playfully, smiling softly at the sexually frustrated look on his face. She had relented and let him in when he gave her the puppy look and kissed her gently. He had ended up spending the night, though she kept to her 'not putting out' ideas. She had woken him up when she left so he'd at least make it to work before noon.
Her hopes for solitude were dashed when even before she entered the door she was bombarded with questions from Wilson.
"Where did you two go last night? And why didn't either of you tell me you were going out?" Wilson had an almost animalistic look as he paced in the conference room, his hair unkempt, his tie hanging loose around his neck, and his dress shirt flapping about un-tucked from his pants. The whole ensemble was the exact same he had worn the day before, except when she had seen him last, he had at least looked more like himself instead of the raving lunatic she was currently viewing in shock.
"Wilson? Are you…?
"No! I'm not fine!"
"Then what's…"
"I was trying to find House all night! I locked myself out of my house again and I needed some place to stay. I called his cell, his home number; I even paged him for chrissake!" He threw his hands up as the volume level on his voice turned up.
"I'm sorry…?"
"He stayed with you, didn't he!" He yelled even louder.
"Well…"
"He did! And he didn't have the courtesy to tell me!" Wilson was still yelling.
"We don't have to answer to you, Wilson." She said calmly. This only seemed to infuriate him further.
"I sat outside his apartment door for an hour before coming back here to sleep in my office only to find that my office is locked and I left my key in my coat pocket which I had left at home. So I came over here because I know House never locks his office. For once he had, so I slept on the floor in here. Okay, I didn't sleep. I've been up for more than 48 hours and…"
"Wilson!" Cameron placed a hand on his arm, effectively cutting him off. "I am sorry, but I'm not the one you need to be yelling at." She moved over to the coffee machine and started a pot brewing, very aware of the holes he was trying to bore through her back.
"I can't believe that you're turning your back on a friend! I figured that you of all people would actually listen, unless you really do believe that I shot you, which in itself is impossible because I wasn't even around the Diagnostics wing, let alone the department!"
She was about to interrupt when Chase burst into the room. "Thank, GOD! Cameron, you're here. Look, I need…"
"Chase! Wilson!" She finally snapped, her head hurting from all the yelling. And it's not even 7:15 yet. "I came early to think, sort House's mail, and to work on charting. When 8:30 rolls around, then and ONLY then may you bother me." With a glare, she sat down at her desk and shoved her ear buds into her ears, effectively sending the message that she wasn't to be disturbed.
The two male doctors glared at her then each other before turning on their heals and leaving, Chase in the direction of the patient's room, Wilson in search of a room to sleep in.
Once the pair was gone, Cameron closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands. The world was ending, that must be what it was. That was the only explanation her tired mind could come up with for all the chaos that had just ensued at 7 in the freaking AM. Her head lifted at the sound of a loud knock on the glass. She smiled briefly at Foreman who just shook his head and entered the room.
"I could hear them the moment I got off the elevator." Foreman sighed. "You okay?"
"I'll be fine." She said firmly, motioning to the papers in front of her. "I'm just going to finish this before checking what Chase found out and running some more tests."
"I'm going to find Chase after I have some coffee. You did make it this morning, right?"
She nodded the affirmative and focused back on the charting. Once Foreman had his mug of coffee in hand, he nodded to Cameron and quickly vacated the premises, leaving his coworker in peace.
When she was sure that she was truly alone, she stood and moved in front of the whiteboard. Staring at the new symptoms Chase had written down, her mind started to work. That was how House found her when he came in an hour later, really early in his standards.
He frowned at the sight of his female subordinate studying the whiteboard as if it the answer would just jump out at her. Stealthily reaching out and grabbing her arm, he grinned inwardly when she shrieked and whirled around, her eyes flashing with anger. She visibly relaxed when she realized it was only House. "God, House. What are you trying to do, kill me?"
"No. I hate having to interview, and I like my immunologist the way she is: alive. I'm not into dating corpses." He made a face and moved to unlock his office door.
She laughed lightly and continued to study the board. "It's Huntington's disease." She murmured quietly, not thinking House could hear her.
"No it isn't!" House yelled from inside his office. "The symptoms don't match." He moved back into the main room, eager for some much needed coffee to start the day. "Trying to prove something, Dr. Cameron?" He teased.
"Maybe." Her voice remained low. "I'm going to talk to the patient. Page me if either Foreman or Chase finds anything new."
xXx
Chase watched as Cameron entered the patient's room with hungry eyes. He lusted after her much like the way a pregnant woman lusts after pickles on her ice cream. He winced inwardly. Bad metaphor. Maybe more like a vampire after blood. Another bad one. He gave up on trying to find a proper metaphor and instead focused on how she walked, how she looked, and how she smelled as she brushed passed him without so much as a 'good morning, Chase'. She read the patient's chart and frowned slightly to herself. "I'm going to the lab." He ventured out, hoping she'd acknowledge him, but she only nodded as he left.
Once Chase was gone, Cameron studied the sleeping woman and smiled slightly to herself. How could House miss this?
Just as she was leaving, the patient's monitors started beeping. Cameron reached out and pushed the "code button" and charged up the defibulators as the nurses streamed in. "100!" She called out. "Clear!" The patient jumped and the immunologist stared at the flat line on the screen. "150!." Pause. "Clear!" The patient jumped again and this time a steady beeping came from the monitor. Cameron took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. It was only 8:10. This was going to be a long day.
xXx
By that afternoon, the whole team was confused about what was wrong with the patient. Well, the boys were. Cameron was sure what the patient had and had finally stopped trying at the differentials because none of the boys believed her. Cameron found herself spending all her time between the conference room and the patient's room and the lab. At around 4:30, House paged them all back to the room.
For about 5 minutes, they all sat there watching House who was currently staring at the white board. Finally, Foreman couldn't take in any longer. "House, why the hell are we just sitting here?"
House turned and gave him an almost evil smile. "Because, my young padawan, you are here to learn a very important lesson." He ignored the eyerolling of the three ducklings and continued. "Start her on…haloperidol, paroxetine, and carbamazepine." He ordered, tapping his cane on the ground.
Foreman frowned deeply. "You want us to treat for…"
"…Huntington's Disease." House squinted one eye and nodded sharply. "I know. If we start now, she'll have maybe another four or five years left to live."
"We already…"
House interrupted Foreman with a wave of his hand. "We already foolishly ruled out Huntington's because of her age and the fact that the symptoms she came with didn't fit. The symptoms now fit. Everything now fits."
"You can't just say everything fits when it doesn't!" Foreman insisted ardently. "Huntington's disease doesn't explain the coma, the low blood pressure, the anemia, the low white blood count, or the fever, which is what she originally had when she came in. For all we know, we gave her the other symptoms. We can't just condemn her to a life of no hope without being sure!"
"No! It fits!" House insisted fervently. "Look." He turned back to the board and crossed out the original symptoms and circled the ones developed in the hospital, reading each one as he circled them. "Chorea, paranoia, clumsiness, loss of balance, speech impairment, unresponsive eye movement, aggression, sudden OCD, intellectual deterioration, and the seizures. They can all be explained by Huntington's Disease." He looked over all of them with a slightly hopeful face. He was greeted by three different faces. Chase looked confused, Foreman looked annoyed, and Cameron was smirking. His eyes narrowed when he caught Cameron's look. "What?"
"Oh nothing." She said innocently, though the mischievous look on her face gave her away. "I'll just save the 'I told you so' until the 'let's review the case' party later."
"Oh my god." Chase moaned pitifully, dropping his head into his hands before looking up briefly at the other three. "Cameron knew from the start."
House glowered at her for a moment. "Why didn't you tell any of us?"
She shrugged nonchalantly though her face gave away her slight annoyance. "I did. You all pushed it aside because she's too young and the symptoms didn't fit 'just right' in the beginning. I mentioned it this morning, even. But you just told me that I was wrong." She leaned against the book case and crossed her arms. "House, you've always told me that a good doctor sticks with the diagnosis until they know without a shadow of a doubt that it's wrong. So that's what I did."
"Excuse me, are we forgetting something?" Foreman very nearly shouted, startling Chase and Cameron and earning a slight raise of the eyebrow from House. When he had the attention of the other three he continued. "There are five other symptoms that unaccounted for."
Cameron smirked again. "She had a miscarriage shortly before being hospitalized."
Foreman looked confused. "She wouldn't talk…" Foreman was once again interrupted, this time by Cameron instead of House.
"If you had observed her for a moment instead of trying to get her to open up, you would've had noticed that she still has the baby fat around her face and on her belly." Cameron said smugly. "All the symptoms she came in with are explained by a recent miscarriage. When she lost her baby, it became a catalyst for the Huntington's disease, lying in the shadows waiting…"
"I do the metaphors." House finally snapped, cutting her off. He fixed an annoyed look on her face and scowled. "You don't have to rub it in." She seemed to shrink back a little, the smug look gone, but nodded at him briskly. He suddenly gave her a half smirk that spoke more of malice than friendliness. "And since when do you jump to diagnose on speculation? That's my job."
Cameron gave him the same smirk back. "Since when do you care?"
"Since when do you not?" He snapped with a glare and turned back to the board. "Chase, Foreman. Go start her on the meds. Cameron, go do my clinic hours for me."
"No." Came the soft answer.
Chase and Foreman halted halfway through the door. Did Cameron really just tell House no?
House must have had the same thought because he whirled around as best he could and fixed a cold stare on her. "I'm your boss."
"And they are your hours. I've done mine for the week and then some." She said firmly, staying steady under his untiring glare.
"Chase, Foreman, leave! And when you've done the tests, do my clinic hours!" He yelled at the pair who were very quick to comply, not wanting the wrath of their boss turned to them. House stalked towards her, his eyes never wavering from hers. "They're gone and you don't have to do my hours, happy?"
"Yes." She said simply, her arms still crossed across her chest.
"Allison, stop clenching." He came to a halt directly in front of her with only a couple of inches separating them. She obeyed, moving her hands to her hips in a non-confrontational way instead. He watched her for a bit more before relaxing and moving his free hand to her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her own hands moved to his chest and she looked up at him with a smile. He felt a smile forming in return and kissed her quickly to prevent himself from bursting into a huge grin. He felt her smile a bit broader as she kissed him back with just as much fervor. Neither of them heard the door to his office open nor did they see their boss halted at the entrance, watching them for a moment before turning and leaving just as quickly as she came in. House pulled away and smirked at her dazed expression. "Now will you do my hours?"
She smiled seductively and pulled his head down so she could whisper into his ear. "Nope." She smirked and spun around, leaving behind a slightly annoyed and extremely aroused House.
xXx
AN: So, I am loath to admit this, but I totally wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long. Oh well! Love you all! And I apologize ahead of time for the time span between this and the next chapter. I'm off of school, but I'm working this summer, so my writing will be sporadic. Thanks again to all the loyal readers!