A/N: Oh House, have faith (and turn it around!) Hope you enjoy as this sloooowly gets towards the next plot point! Thanks for reading as always :) Sorry this has been a bit slow in coming, been having a bit of a shit couple of weeks and writing has been at a minimum. More to come soon, though, and it would make my day if you leave a review :)
"Hey."
Cameron greets a little uncomfortably as she slips into the lab where most of Foreman's team are working behind various pieces of equipment.
"Hi."
Kutner nods politely, before turning back to Taub who stands beside him with his eye pressed to the lens of a microscope, showing no intent of looking up or acknowledging the blonde.
"Cam."
Foreman heralds from the corner, beckoning her over as he frowns down at a fresh print of test results. His expression is bleak, but when he looks up at Cameron he allows a small smile. He wears glasses which sit low on his nose, and she tries to think if she's ever seen him wear them before, but is uncertain. She'd guess they must have been recently prescribed, and probably only for reading, which would explain why they seem new to her. The dull wave of depression this realisation hits her with comes as a surprise, and she is brought back to the question she and House have each asked of the other, yet have refused to provide a straight answer to.
Do you miss me?
She had told him that she missed working for him- avoiding the underlying question- but seeing Foreman staring at her over the rim of a pair of glasses she'd not realised he owns solidifies this curious grief for her and makes it a reality. She misses the others. Her team. She misses the way things used to be.
"You're wearing glassses."
She states, offering Foreman a thin-lipped smile in return, and he raises a brow and nods
"So are you."
"I always have."
"Not always. You go without."
"Yeah, but then I wear contacts. You never used to wear either."
"I'm sorry... Next time a factor of my health changes, I'll be sure to inform you."
"I just meant... I just didn't know you wore them is all."
She sighs, and Foreman studies the blonde curiously as she draws further into herself.
"...I got them about four months ago; mostly just for reading."
He elaborates finally, answering her query and negating to mention the fact that her eyes are slightly pink and he can tell she's been crying. In all honesty, he's not surprised; he'd been thrown by the way House had gone for her earlier, despite having believed there was little their old mentor could do that would catch him off guard.
"Oh."
She replies in a small voice, and Foreman sighs as he looks around at the others bent over their work and back up at the blonde. He needs her to get her head in the game and pitch him something new. Anything. Anything that will help them solve their current case. The others have gotten stuck in their way of thinking and obsessing about previous theories, and he knows that- in spite of having told her otherwise several times in the past- Cameron can be a huge asset when digging for ideas. She's done her homework and then some, and, thanks to House's unique style of torturing them over the years- has read an obscene about of obscure medical literature from cover to cover.
She'd left because of House. Not because diagnostics wasn't her strong suit.
Still, he feels uncomfortable ignoring the fact that she is visibly upset. They've had their differences, and he knows that she's always been closer to Chase than himself since way before the other two experimented with their brief romantic tryst. A part of him suspects that this has a lot to do with the fact that both he and the blonde are stubbornly headstrong, and had both known they were better at their jobs- although Cameron, at least, had never said so out loud- than Chase was ever going to be. They have been rivals as much as colleagues at times, and there are certain aspects of her character that just drive him nuts. Regardless, he respects her, and now that they aren't working in perpetual close quarters with one another, he finds it a lot easier to like her. They've been on good terms since going their separate ways, and she is now one of the few people he would consider a genuine friend.
"Hey, look, we need to make some headway here, Allie, or we're going to be in over our heads. If we lose this one... That will be number one for you, but number three for us, and I'm not sure I can handle that. "
"It's always hard-"
"-The loss? Yes, it is. But, in all honesty, I was speaking selfishly. If I'm going to be leading this team, I can't lose another patient. They're already sceptical."
He shakes his head with a furrowed brow, and Cameron glances at the others with mild surprise before pulling a face as she understands.
"House is going to give you a hard time either way."
"I'm not talking about House, I expect it from him... But, look, I'm the one that returned, okay? I'm one of House's old students that's come back and stirred things up, and now I get given the coveted position of overseeing this shit-storm? Add your guest appearance into the mix, and it's a regular alums club... We have more experience, so we have more to prove."
"...You know, you never were great at motivational speaking."
Cameron grumbles, and this earns her a grin. Handing over a couple of sheets clipped to the back of his chart, Foreman ticks off a couple of tests and gestures towards the door.
"Go take a look at the patient. I know you've been trying to avoid it, but this is no longer me coming to you for a little outside help. This is your case too, now, and you were always good at picking up on things face to face with the problem... She's in rough shape though, Allie."
"I've seen my fair share of that, thanks."
The blonde replies stonily as she has never appreciated the others' implication that she might suddenly crack when faced with the ugly underbelly of the world.
"I know... But you bleed for people."
"Not really into that... Who have you been talking to?"
"Couple of the reception girls; they tell me everything-" Forman smirks, before continuing seriously "-What I mean is, I see the way these girls look when they come in, and it bothers me. I'm disgusted that someone would do that to a person... But the part I'm losing sleep over is how to solve what's destroying them from the inside so that I don't add to my death-count. That's what's keeping me up at night... You don't work like that. You never have."
"Well, I mean, as much street cred as having an impressive death-count is sure to give me, I'd say it's something I too try to avoid... Such a square."
"That's you all over... What I meant is that you stay awake because of what's happened to people, not because you can't figure out how to fix them. You feel for them, which is only natural, but the amount you sometimes allow yourself to feel is unhealthy... And, yes, I know you're a doctor, and I know you've been doing this for a long time. I'm not questioning your ability or your personality or anything like that, I'm just warning you that this girl will be one of the worst you've dealt with... I'm warning you as much because you're dealing with this under House as I am because I'm worried... Well, about you."
"You don't need to worry about me."
Carmeon growls, and Foreman raises his palms in surrender, before pointing out silkily
"I don't know, I didn't think a reliable old square would go and slice themselves up in the tub, but I was wrong about that, so-"
"-I wish you would all stop making it sound like I was crazy! I was trying to deal with a problem. We do it every day!... If Chase hadn't knocked so loud, it would have been fine."
"Uhuh..."
"I had it under control."
"Sure you did."
"I... Look. I can take care of myself, okay? I'm not as weak as you think."
"... I never said that you were weak. I've not thought it for quite some time, either."
Forman raises a brow at her bristling defence, and the blonde sighs as she runs a hand through her hair, before making a move towards the door.
"I'll go get scrubbed up and take these samples... If you think I can manage it, that is?"
"I hold out hope- its faint, but it's there."
Forman teases, chuckling at the icy look she throws over at him. Turning back to the vials he preps for testing, he follows up his mocking amiably
"With these cases the way that they are, we've been working shifts. Taub, Kutner and Hadley got pulled for this evening, which means you get off at seven. That's non-negotiable, as you're on from seven 'til seven tomorrow. Come get dinner with Chase and I... That's also non-negotiable; you look like crap."
"Are you even watching?"
Wilson frowns, as the blue team pitches the ball over the net, sending two of the green team sprawling in the sand. He has no idea what the letters in the corner of the screen stand for, and so resolves to call the women battling their way through a heated game of beach volleyball the green and the blue team. It doesn't really matter anyway; he has no interest in who wins. It's the playing of the game that counts...
Or something like that.
"Yes, I'm watching. She cheated."
House mutters through a mouthful of Pad Thai.
"How can you tell, you were looking out the window?"
"I saw."
He insists, taking a sip of his beer before delving deeper into his noodles. The takeout place has sent them an extra order by mistake, and he and Wilson have split the fat helping of dumplings between them.
"What's with you today?"
Wilson asks for what feels like the fifth time, and he receives the standard response of a sigh and utter dismissal of his question. Accepting defeat, he pokes at one of the dumplings on his plate experimentally, before confiding
"I did tell Eleanor I would do that thirty-day healthy eating plan with her."
"Eleanor's the busty mortician?"
"... Close. She's my ex-wife's niece."
"So, just don't tell her."
"I won't, but as they say, the scales don't lie."
Wilson sighs and House glances over while shoving a dumpling- whole- in his mouth and sermonising moodily
"And here I thought I'd stopped sneaking you shots of Oestrogen."
"I'm just being supportive."
"Yeah... I'll bet that's your only incentive."
"She's seventeen!"
"Well, give it a year and she'll be both legal and slimmer."
"That's dark."
Wilson hisses with a disgusted pull to his mouth. House nods in agreement as he struggles to swallow his overzealous mouthful, before studying the remaining dumplings thoughtfully.
"I think those always bothered her the most."
"Who?"
"Cameron."
"... Dumplings?"
"No. Comments about her weight. I used to make them all the time when she worked for me, even though I knew they bothered her."
"Yes, well, there is nothing more amusing then harassing your staff..."
"True... I tend to spring for new material, though. Make sure all bases are covered."
"Yes, we were all really disappointed in the monotony of your work... Perhaps you just felt like you'd struck gold?"
"...I think I just thought if I bullied her about it enough, she might slip up."
"How?"
"Explain why she was that way; why she was so prickly about the subject. She says it was simply annoyance, but I never really knew for sure. At times, I refuse to believe that's all there was to it; she used to be so skinny... It made it almost too easy to keep digging at her."
"So... It was her fault that you picked on her?"
"I kept on at her because I wanted to know what was wrong... I wanted to know how bad it was... and of course it was her fault!"
House finishes off waspishly, and Wilson raises a brow as he looks from the TV to his old friend.
"...What?!"
House demands as he catches dark eyes boring into him.
"Nothing... I'm just trying to figure out what part of volleyball, beer and Asian fusion has led to us discussing Cameron..."
"...She'd look good in one of those little outfits... So would Thirteen."
House scoffs idly, tagging on this last bit as he catches the oncologist's brow raise ever higher.
"I doubt either of them would be willing to indulge you in that particular fantasy... That explanation also does little to explain your mood."
"What mood is that?"
"Do I really have to dignify that with an answer?... I told you getting involved with Allison was a bad idea."
"It's not my choice. The She-Devil put her on my case."
"Not what I meant... And I'm sure you're making her life just delightful to show how grateful you are for her assistance."
Wilson rolls his eyes, and House huffs as he sips at his beer, before musing glumly
"I never got my answer, you know. I never did figure Cameron out."
"Well... There's still time. You can irritate her into confession, I'm sure. I have total faith in you."
"No... She wants me to leave her alone."
"I'm sure she's told you that countless times."
"She means it this time."
House frowns, and Wilson scratches his head as he regards his friend curiously; mystified by the morose expression clouding House's brow.
"So?... It's not like you to actually listen."
"This time I will."
"Why? What's changed?"
"Nothing. Everything... You were wrong, Boy Wonder."
"Wrong? About what?"
"About there still being time."
"How?"
"It's too late."
