A/N: An 'M' rated version of this story exists if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Kisses, Needles and Cameron's Good China

By CausticChick, from the episode Half Wit

Chapter 21

She opened the fridge, not really sure what she wanted from inside. She wasn't really hungry, or thirsty for that matter, but she needed something to distract herself. To take her mind off the impossible decision that lay before her. Her eyes fell on the bottle of chardonnay she kept in the back of the fridge, just in case somebody dropped in unexpectedly. It had been there for months because she was never at home. She was always at the hospital. She had no time for visitors, especially those of the unexpected variety. She shrugged and reached for the glass bottle, the condensation on the smooth surface making it slick beneath her nimble fingers.

She uncorked the bottle, then opened the cupboard beside the fridge and pulled down one of the wine glasses her mother had given her when she had graduated from college. She smiled at the memory. Her mom had made her pick out her china and crystal patterns before she was even eighteen, and had given her place settings for every birthday, Christmas, and special milestone until she owned a completed set. "Every young woman should start collecting their china early, so that she is prepared when she sets up house," she had said. Cameron had scoffed at her mother's mid-western, family-and home-centered mentality at the time, but still found herself tearing up every time she pulled her good dishes out.

Pouring herself a generous portion from the chilled bottle, Cameron made her way into the living room and sank into the plush goose-down cushions of her sofa. She raised the glass to her lips and took a cool sip, the tartness of the wine dancing across her palette as she swallowed it down. She closed her eyes, letting the stresses of the day melt away through her fingers and toes.

The gruff face of Gregory House appeared in her mind's eye, although not unexpectedly. She often thought of her boss when she was alone. To tell the truth, she had been thinking about him all day as she made her rounds at the hospital, his seemingly indifferent reaction to the news that she may be leaving nagging at her. How could he work with her for three plus years and not care when she threatened to leave? Especially after all they had been through. It made her immensely sad to think of all the moments that could have turned into something more.

The night of the kiss flashed through her like lightening, probably the most significant moment in their complex relationship. The closest they'd come to taking that next step. After years of endless flirtations and teasing she had used her hold on him to gain information, and a blood sample. She raised her hands to her swollen lips as if she could still feel House's lips against hers, and even months later she swore she could feel his soft breath on her flushed skin.

He stood from his chair and rounded his desk, ever inch of his 6'2'' frame forcing her to look up into his bottomless blue eyes. The needle in the pocket of her lab coat was an ominous lead weight, a constant reminder of the daunting task ahead. She knew the plan would never work, a horrible long shot, but she desperately hoped that she could pull it off. It was their only chance of finding out more about House's condition. His life may depend on it.

"You really want to leave?" he asked.

Her nerves and his closer proximity made her breathing shallow. "If you're not here there's not much point in staying," she managed, unable to keep her emotions out of her voice.

"I'm not dead yet," he rumbled as he gazed at her through clouded eyes.

This was it. She was going to do it, now or never. She couldn't stop the excitement at the prospect of kissing House from bubbling inside her as she took a tentative step forward.

House was immediately wary. "What are you doing?"

She never faltered as she stepped even closer, almost impossibly so, closer then she had ever been to the man that she loved. She was dizzy, getting high off the scent of him. He smelled of musk and soap and man. She felt the heat begin to pool low in her belly.

House rolled his eyes at her advance. "I know this must be a turn on for you," he started sarcastically, but when he looked back into her eyes he was silenced by the desire, the fire he found there. She wanted to show him everything he had been missing, everything that had been building within her since her first day as his fellow. He saw it all there in her eyes, and he was dumbstruck.

She brought her delicate hands to his face and laid them on his rough skin, caressing as though she were a blind woman trying to learn his features. His beard scratched her palms as she moved her mouth closer to his, their warm breaths mingling in the inch of space between them. Her thumb brushed across his slightly parted lips as she raised herself up on her toes, bringing her closer to her target. Her eyes fluttered closed.

He didn't resist when she pressed her eager lips to his, testing, inviting him in, and she felt the exact moment when his mind let go. He kissed back with fervor equal to hers, and she took all he would give. Her stomach clenched in pleasure and she felt herself growing wet in anticipation of more. She was finally kissing House. Her plump lips were moving across his, her slick tongue was sliding with his, her thumb was resting at the corner of his mouth as her palm cupped his cheek. Seconds seemed like hours as she pulled him closer and deeper, never wanting the feeling to stop. The feeling of finally coming home.

In reality, this would be the part where she ruined everything. Her goal in all this was to get the blood sample and leave, not to get carried away by a wave of sheer ecstasy. But as she sat on her living room couch with her glass of wine and reminisced, as she had done many times before, she found herself wondering what would have happened if House hadn't had cancer, if she hadn't reached for the needle stowed safely away in her pocket. As if they had kissed each other for no reason other than wanting to be with each other completely.

She kept her eyes shut tight as she trailed her hand slowly down her body, thinking of all the things that could have happened. Imagining that it was House's hand on her instead of her own.

House drew her further into his embrace and Cameron reciprocated, snaking her arms around his waist and letting her roving hands explore his back. Her body screamed for air but she didn't dare break the kiss, not wanting to break the spell he was casting on her. Cameron smiled against him as he gripped her hips in his hands and pulled her against him so she could feel just how much he wanted her. She ground her hips slightly to tease him, and she swallowed the growl that rose dangerously from his throat.

She didn't notice that he was backing her up until her back met the wall, and he pinned her, holding her fast with his hands on her hips. She let her arms hang loosely at her sides as he brought a hand up to brush her right breast through her layers of clothing. He continued up and pushed her lab coat off her shoulders and down her arms, letting it drop to the floor in a pool of durable white cotton. His fingers made quick work of the buttons of her navy blue waistcoat and it soon followed her lab coat to the floor. She decided to forgo the buttons of his shirt altogether and swiftly lifted it over his head. The muscles in his arms jumped under her touch. He reached for the button at the waistband of her slacks, and Cameron yanked her lips away, sucking in a deep steadying breath.

"House, we can't," she whispered. "Not here."

House rested his forehead against hers and pressed his eyes shut. "I can't stop now. I need you."

Cameron smiled. "I need you too, but we're in your office, and your office has glass walls."

"I'll be quick," he replied, continuing his assault on her slacks. He managed to undo the button and slide down the zipper, revealing a pair of silky white panties, and before she could resist he had slipped his hand inside. He parted her glistening folds and pressed a thumb firmly on her sensitive nub, leaving Cameron grasping his biceps to steady her quivering body. His lips found hers again as he slipped a finger inside her wetness. Cameron ground herself against his palm in response.

He continued to circle and flick and delve, and she whimpered into his mouth as he brought her closer and closer to orgasm. She felt his fingers moving inside her and imagined that they were replaced by the real thing. Her climax rushed down on her like a runaway train, and she leaned forward and buried her face in his tee-shirt as the heat in her belly exploded throughout her body. Every muscle in her body contracted at once, fluttering around him as he supported her against the wall. And with one last stroke of his thumb she cried out his name, the word falling dead in the room.

Cameron lay back against the cushions of the couch, breathing deeply in the aftermath of her very real orgasm. Her almost full glass of wine sat forgotten on the coffee table as she pulled the soft quilt from the back of the sofa and draped it over her sated body. As she drifted off into a satisfied slumber, she imagined House lying behind her with his arms around her waist and his pulse beating against her back.

The kiss had been a missed opportunity, one that could only ever be made right in her wildest fantasies.

A/N: Thanks for reading, everybody! Check out my other stories here. Just

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CeeCee