CHAPTER 28

"Wilson and Carrie are coming in for the wake tomorrow. Cuddy can't get away right now, but she'll be here for the funeral on Saturday."

"They don't have to come."

"They know that, they just want to come. That one's nice." House stepped out of a department store dressing room wearing a black suit. "Yeah, I like that one a lot," Cameron said, staring him up and down thoroughly.

House thought he detected a strange look in her eye. "What? What is it?"

"No, nothing. I like that one." Cameron squirmed ever-so-slightly.

House's expression remained somber, but his eyes glittered. "Are you getting turned on?"

"House, no, God!" Cameron's cheeks burned red.

"You are," House said with a smirk creeping excruciatingly slowly across his face that did nothing to help Cameron in her current state.

"No, that's horrible! Stop it!"

"Allison Cameron…"

"House, stop it!"

"…you little nympho!"

"Cut it out!"

House was endlessly amused at this situation and found her humiliation utterly endearing. She buried her head against the wall out of shame and embarrassment, but she could feel his eyes on the back of her head. "It's not funny," she said into the wall.

"Actually it's very funny."

"It's terrible, we're looking for clothes for your mother's funeral and I…"

"Well, who can blame you really? I am deadly in a suit. Frankly, I'm offended you're still conscious—women are supposed to swoon at my feet."

"House, you're looking for excuses to ignore your situation."

"Well, what the hell is wrong with that?" he snapped. "Because my mother died, I can't have one moment of enjoyment?"

"No, it's not that, I just don't want you to lose perspective."

"Why, what does it matter if I lose perspective? Do you think my mom cares that for 2 seconds her death wasn't right in the front of my mind?"

"I'm not thinking of your mother, I'm thinking of you. I know how you work. You look for distractions to take your mind off of issues that you don't want to face, and then you ignore the problem and never face your feelings."

"Again, so what? Maybe that's how I deal with things, what does it matter?"

"It matters because I don't want to help you hide from the world."

"What do you care?"

"I care because I care about you. And I like to think that you care too. Because when you shove those feelings down without facing them, they come out as weapons attacking the people close to you."

"Yeah, well, that's why I make sure there are no people close to me."

Cameron stroked his hand. "There are now."

House nodded. "I don't want to hurt you." Cameron smiled slightly and started to turn away. "But I'm going to." She turned back to him, concerned. He shook his head. "You know I am."

"That may be true, but I'm gonna do my best to keep that from happening, and I hope you will too."

"I will. But you know as well as I do that my best has never been good enough."

She replied by giving him a small smile and a look of quiet understanding, before she snapped her attention back to the matter at hand, gave his suit a final once-over, and said, "Well, I think that's the one. Let's get going."