Chapter 24

"It doesn't feel right to leave them at the hospital," Cameron pointed out as House worked on unlocking his front door. It still felt unreal to be somewhere other than the hospital; she'd never enjoyed a car ride as much as she had on the way to House's apartment.

"Yeah, I didn't get your hesitation the first eight times you've mentioned it over the past forty-five minutes," House reminded her as he opened the door, and let her in.

Cameron was about to chide him for being an inconsiderate bastard when she noticed his living room was no longer a living room; piano, couch and armchairs were all pushed against the corner, and there was an oversized crib next to the fireplace. As he opened the coat closet, she saw his guitar equipment inside.

"Wilson took care of everything," House explained. "Considering the lack of space, he picked out this twin crib rather than two individual cribs. Should be able to hold them until we find a new place with extra bedrooms."

Just when she thought her life couldn't get any weirder, it did. "A new place?" she asked carefully.

House nodded as he limped to the kitchen, helping himself to a beer and throwing her a water bottle. "Yeah, kids gotta have their own bedroom—preferably bedrooms," he pointed out. "I called Wilson's ex-wife – there are many, but I meant the one who's in real estate - and she's keeping an eye out for any places."

"House," Cameron said softly as she played with her water bottle cap, before setting the bottle down on the counter. "Don't you think we're moving a little too fast? I mean, I don't want to make the same mistakes we did before."

House leaned against the kitchen counter as he seemed to consider her words. "We're bringing our son home tomorrow; he's thirteen-days-old and some days I still have problems coming to terms with all of this. But I was serious when I said I wanted to be a father to both of them, Cameron, whether you're part of the package or not… though obviously I have a preference," he added, eyes looking completely bare to her as he admitted he wanted to be with her.

Cameron's steps toward him were slow and unsure, but as soon as the skin of her arm connected with his, her reluctance was gone. House pulled her against him, and she buried her face against his neck, wondering how she'd gone months without this kind of intimate contact with him.

"You asked me before to admit I wanted you, and I still do," he confessed in words. "I want this, and I want us. I know I'm not exactly father material, and I can't blame you for trying to leave when you found out—I would've wanted to be as far away from me."

"House," she began to say, because there were a lot of things she hadn't been aware of when she'd tried to run, but she'd known she was being a coward for letting her fears take over rather than give him options. "I was afraid," she admitted. "I was afraid that you would push me away if you knew, so I just decided to run."

"I don't know how I would've reacted if you'd told me then," he added honestly. "When I found out, I was afraid I would be indifferent to them, or that I would resent them in anyway because they almost took you away from me-- but I love them, Cameron. I'm willing to try here."

Tears threatened to spill, and Cameron cursed her still unbalanced hormones. Her arms wrapped around House's torso in reply, and she let her lips graze the skin of his collarbone. She felt him kiss the top of her head, and she understood what this moment meant—all the words unsaid didn't matter, because they knew. They'd known for a long time.

The moment stretched for what felt like hours, her body pressed against his in the kitchen as they stood in silence. House was the first one to pull back, and she tried to keep from looking too disappointed.

"Come on, I remember you saying something about a shower and a nap; tomorrow you'll be yelling at yourself for missing the opportunity to sleep when the baby cries for six straight hours," he pointed out.

Cameron nodded as she followed him to the bedroom, relieved to find some of her old clothes haphazardly covering his bed; she'd already lost some of the pregnancy weight from worrying about the twins, and she hoped at least a few of her outfits would fit her, because she had no energy to go shopping.

As she entered the bathroom, she noticed a plastic baby tub sitting in the corner, and she made a mental note to thank Wilson whenever she saw him again. She showered, unassisted for the first time in months, wondering just how long it would be before the scars in her abdomen and thigh would begin to fade; for the moment she was just glad the stitches had been removed.

When she returned to the bedroom, she found House already dozing off; there were no words to describe what it felt like to slip next to him and allow herself to relax for the first time in months.