House had been sitting at his desk, backpack on the floor, waiting for Cameron for over half an hour. It was now nearly six o'clock, much later than they ever left on one of his physio days. His leg was throbbing. He hadn't seen Cameron since Wilson had let it slip about the baby. House had considered going to look for her, but decided if she wanted to be alone, he could respect that for once.
"What are you still doing here?" Wilson asked, sticking his head in the office door.
"Waiting for Cameron," House replied.
"Cameron left almost an hour ago," Wilson said, confused. "She didn't tell you?"
"No," House said. "Are you sure?"
"I saw her get in her car and drive off," Wilson told him. House looked annoyed, and then concerned. It was very unlike Cameron to leave without checking in with him, even before they'd starting seeing each other.
"Well, looks like I need a ride," House said, standing up and shouldering his bag and grabbing his cane from the edge of the desk.
"You didn't bring your bike?" Wilson asked.
"It's Thursday," House said. "Physio today." Wilson nodded. House usually went to Cameron's place on his physio days to use her Jacuzzi tub. Wilson frowned at House. Why would Cameron leave him here?
"Am I taking you home?" Wilson asked. House paused on his way out the door. Should he leave Cameron be and just go home? Or should he have Wilson drop him off at her place?
"No," House replied, and Wilson nodded, following him to the elevators.
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Cameron heard the knock at her door, but was too tired to answer it. She knew who it was. She wasn't sure she really wanted to talk to him about this yet, but she also knew he wouldn't just go away. She debated for a few minutes, during which time the knocking became increasingly loud and frequent. Cameron sighed, and then stood up to answer the door.
She opened the door for him and turned away, sitting back down on the couch without offering so much as a hello. House raised an eyebrow in surprise, but came in and dropped his bag near the door. He stood quietly for a minute, and then sat beside Cameron on the couch. Neither looked at the other. House was waiting for her to say something, anything. He expected at any moment that she would start pouring her heart out to him. But she just sat quietly. Unnerved, House decided to break the tension.
"When I was twelve, my father was on leave for Halloween. My mom decided it would be nice to throw a Halloween party. So, after all the kids were done trick-or-treating, a large group of Marines and their wives showed up at my house to party. One of my dad's buddies decided it would be really funny to spike the punch. My mom, knowing that you don't just serve regular punch to Marines, had already spiked it. Nobody told me. I had three glasses before anybody realized. Of course, they only realized when I fell face first down the basement stairs. I broke a tooth, and my nose," House said. He pointed to a small scar on the right side of his nose. "I tell people I got this in college during a particularly bloody lacrosse game, but actually, it was from getting tanked at my mom's Halloween party and taking a header down a flight of stairs."
"Thank you," Cameron smiled at House weakly. House nodded. He understood. She didn't want to talk about it, and she appreciated that he wasn't pushing her. "Did you come all the way over here to tell me that story?"
"It's Thursday," House said. Cameron's eyes widened.
"I completely forgot. I'll go fill up the tub right now," Cameron jumped up from the couch, but before she could get more than a step away, a hand encircled her wrist. She looked back at House.
"Why don't you join me?" House asked. Cameron was about to refuse, but she searched his face and saw no hint of suggestion. She was surprised; it wasn't very like House to be so considerate of someone else's feelings. She nodded and they went to the bathroom.
As they settled into the Jacuzzi together, Cameron seated between House's legs, her head resting on his chest and his lips on the top of her head, Cameron closed her eyes and sighed. She'd been dreading this moment for weeks. They'd very carefully avoided any discussions about their feelings. She knew he hated talking about that stuff, and she wasn't about to push him. That had blown up in her face the last time. She was happy, for the time being, to just let things go along as they were. But tonight, that didn't matter. Because even though neither of them had said a word, he made it better.
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Early the next morning, House stood in the doorway to Cameron's kitchen, watching her get ready for work.
"Cookies?" House asked, as Cameron slapped his hand away from the plate she was wrapping in plastic wrap.
"It's Chase's last day," Cameron said.
"And you baked him cookies?" House asked slowly. Cameron turned away from the counter and looked at him, taking in the sarcastic look she knew so well.
"You think this is stupid," Cameron said.
"Yeah," House said, amazed that she had to ask.
"Why?"
"He took advantage of you while you were high on meth and you baked him cookies. Foreman tried to kill you and you saved his life. Is there a hand book for this stuff?" House asked.
"Well, you treated me like crap for three years and I'm sleeping with you," Cameron retorted. "I'll have to add that to my list."
"Where's the card?" House asked.
"What?" Cameron asked back, as though she wasn't sure what he meant.
"The card. You know, the sweet and sincere Hallmark greeting wishing Chase the best of luck in his new endeavor and telling him how much you'll miss working with him, the one with the flowers or the puppies. Where is it?" House was now searching Cameron's coat pockets as she put her laptop in her bag.
"Why, do you want to sign it?" Cameron teased.
"Will there be room under all the X's and O's I'm sure you put under your name?" House snarked.
"It's in my purse, now can we go?" Cameron asked. "We're going to be late."
"It's not even 9," House whined.
"We're supposed to be there at 9," Cameron replied.
House grumbled, but put on his jacket and picked up his backpack. He knew it drove Cameron crazy to be late for work, and even though he hated coming in on time, it was nice to have the extra time to screw with Wilson's head.
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The day passed uneventfully for House and his ducklings, as was-too-appendicitis guy, as House called him, was recovering nicely from surgery. At about 3pm, Chase, Foreman, Cameron and Jasper were sitting in the conference room together, doing nothing. Cameron was feeling a little sad, as she realized she would no longer have Chase to tease. They hadn't had an easy relationship over the past year, but she would still count him among her friends.
Foreman and Jasper had once again been discussing some old cases, but the conversation was lagging a bit. It was Friday afternoon, House was at his therapy session with Quig, their patient was recovering and they didn't feel like working.
"So, Jasper, you said yesterday that your father is an insurance agent, and your brother is a cop?" Cameron asked.
"One of my brothers, yes," Jasper replied.
"One?" Foreman asked. They had nothing to do, and it would be good to get to know their new team member better. Especially since Chase was so obviously taken with her. It would be great leverage to mess with his head.
"I have five older brothers," Jasper told them.
"Wow, that's quite a family," Cameron said. She was a little jealous; she would have dearly loved to have siblings she could remember.
"Well, my parents both came from really big families, so they both wanted lots of kids," Jasper said. "And I like being the baby. By the time I got to be a teenager, my brothers had already done everything. Nothing left to shock Mom and Dad with. It sure made high school a lot easier."
Cameron and Chase both smiled a little sadly, remembering their own high school days. Cameron's a haze of drugs and work and Chase's a lifetime of caring for his own mother and then watching her die.
"How about you all?" Jasper asked.
"I have an older brother, Marcus. We didn't talk for a long time, but he was our patient a while ago, and now things are getting better between us. In fact, I'm going to visit him and his family for Thanksgiving this year," Foreman said.
"That's nice, I'm glad you guys are doing so well," Cameron said to him. She realized how little time she spent talking to Chase and Foreman about themselves. She should work on changing that. "His wife was so nice."
"Yeah, she is," Foreman agreed.
"Cameron, Chase?" Jasper asked.
"I'm an only child," Chase answered.
"I had a sister, but she died when I was a toddler," Cameron said. It was the first time she'd told someone that, besides House. Chase and Foreman exchanged looks, they didn't know Cameron had lost a sister.
"I'm sorry," Jasper said. "How about now? Any of you married, dating somebody?"
"Never been married. Not dating anyone," Chase offered quickly. Jasper smiled at him and he blushed in return.
"Me either," Foreman chimed in. "Cameron's seeing someone, aren't you Cameron?" he teased.
"Oh, who? Is it that oncologist, what's his name, Wilson? He's really cute," Jasper asked. Chase and Foreman both burst out laughing at the idea of Cameron and Wilson together.
"No, actually Dr. Wilson is seeing Dr. Cuddy," Cameron told Jasper, who nodded.
"She's sleeping with me," House said, limping into the conference room and seating himself beside Jasper. "Try not to be jealous. Speaking of which, Cameron can I see you in my office?" Cameron stood and went to his office, House following closely behind her. "Afternoon delight," he said over his shoulder to the three remaining behind.