Disclaimer: Nope.
A/N: Sorry, but you know what it's like sometimes. :\
Chapter 29 – The million dollar question
(The weekend of week 3)
Cameron ended the phone call and collapsed on the couch next to House with a distressed expression on her face, which inevitably piqued House's curiosity.
"Something the matter?" he inquired.
"My friends called. They want me to meet them in an hour," Cameron said with a sigh.
"I know how much you love to be around me but I think you'll survive on your own for a couple of hours," House quipped.
Cameron glared at him. "It's not that I don't want to go, but all of them work at the hospital and since I've been avoiding them for the last three weeks… well, I can expect a lot of questions," she explained.
House shrugged. "Tell them the truth then."
"Typical House," thought Cameron, "pretending there is no problem." If only it were that easy.
"I can't do that," she said, appalled that he would even suggest it.
She sighed again and leaned heavily against the backrest, trying to come up with a solution to her problem. Unsurprisingly, none came to her.
She looked back at House who clearly lost interest in the conversation as he was now flipping through the new medical journal. With another heavy sigh she got back on her feet, grabbed the necessities and walked out of the door.
###
As Cameron entered the bar, she was immediately greeted by her friends waving her over to their booth. If things could get any worse, it appeared to be cocktail hour and according to the sign, it will be cocktail hour the whole evening. An oxymoron if she ever saw one. But then, she was often told that she lost her sense of humour when in distress.
Accepting her fate, she waded through the masses and joined her friends with a fake smile.
"Well, look at you. You get married and you forget all about your dearest friends. Tut tut," reprimanded her Vanessa.
Vanessa was the youngest of them all and definitely the most outgoing, the two probably connected. As she currently worked in the lab, gathering experience to become a medical researcher, she often shared late night conversations with Cameron. Even though Vanessa was amused by how House treated his subordinates, she still offered Cameron to do the tests instead of her each and every time they ran into each other. Of course, Cameron refused, claiming that House would somehow know the difference. He probably would.
"I didn't forget about you guys, I was just so busy these past few weeks," Cameron quickly defended. Whichever way you looked at it, it was the truth.
"So busy you couldn't even return our calls? asked Barbara. Barbara was a doctor who worked in the Oncology department, which probably contributed to her being very down-to-earth. In turn, that helped her rebuke Wilson's advances. Apparently he was of the opinion that they could help each other go through their recent divorces. Barbara knew perfectly well what that was a code for.
Cameron murmured an apology.
"That's ok," said Lucy understandingly. Since she was a nurse in paediatrics she often subconsciously slipped into the role of a consoling parent. Lucy was the most like Cameron, except when it came to their tastes in men. She met House on several occasions and was less than impressed by his behaviour, which she made perfectly clear to Cameron.
"It's not ok," objected Vanessa, "but I'll forgive you if you tell us all the details and when I say all I mean all." She fixed her eyes straight on Cameron.
As soon as they entered the apartment, House whisked her to the bedroom, claiming that he deserved a reward for being a good boy. They tumbled on the bed, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. She hated to admit it, but she really missed this. The weight of his body pressing down on hers, the feel of his scruff against her soft skin, his tongue sliding against hers…
Cameron woke up from her reverie, hoping that none of her friends noticed her little excursion.
"Well, about 2 weeks ago, I got married to House…"
"We already know that," stated Barbara.
Lucy immediately came to her defence, "Let her finish." She turned towards Cameron, "Go on, Allison."
"That's about all there is to it." Cameron had no idea what else to say.
"You've got to be kidding me," Vanessa began her rant, "You don't just get married all of a sudden. I thought we were friends and you didn't even tell us that you two were dating."
"Vanessa is right, Allison," commented Lucy, "You always told us how things were between you and Doctor House. Why not now?"
Cameron sighed. "Everything happened so fast that I couldn't quite believe it and before I knew it, we were married." That wasn't mostly true.
She smiled apologetically at her friends. "I know I should have told you about it sooner but I was afraid that you'd think I'm crazy."
"Now why would we think that after you spent the last few months claiming that you're over him?" asked Vanessa with a faux confused expression.
Cameron smiled sheepishly. "It seems that wasn't entirely true."
"Do you love him?" inquired Barbara who had kept quiet the past few minutes, just taking everything in.
That question was bound to come and if she wasn't prepared to answer it affirmatively, she would probably wonder why the answer came so easy to her.
She never paid special attention to sex in previous relationships, but now that she was with House, she got the feeling that she was slowly beginning to crave it. It must have been lust. House was an attractive man after all and if it was only lust then it would die out eventually. Hopefully about the time when their marriage ends. Yet, as he quickly pulled the clothes off her and kissed the newly exposed skin, she found that a little hard to believe.
"Does he love you?" asked Lucy.
After she spent so much time mourning the fact that House doesn't return her feelings, it will probably be difficult to convince her friends otherwise now.
"He said he does." That was a flat out lie but there was no way around it.
Clearly, the spark of suspicion was ignited in her friends' faces. Luckily, Vanessa decided to stir the conversation into more fun waters.
She leaned across the table and whispered her question, "So, tell me, how is he in bed? You did sleep together, right?"
He didn't allow her control this time. She was completely naked while he only lost his T-shirt. His mouth and hands were all over her body, for the first time taking the time to thoroughly explore it and she loved the feeling. It was all about her this time and she felt that this was his way of saying sorry. Of course he would apologise to her with sex, she thought and then she didn't think anymore as his mouth travelled bellow her bellybutton, lower and lower still. Her hand was entangled in his hair and there was something utterly erotic, observing him between her parted thighs, his jeans still on.
She blushed and Vanessa smirked. "I'll take that as a yes, so tell us."
"Vanessa…" Lucy admonished her, although it was obvious that it was only a half-hearted attempt.
Feeling him inside her without a condom was an entirely different sensation. The absence of rubber didn't change all that much on the physical level, however the lack of that barrier made the whole act incredibly more intimate. She knew he was already close. No doubt because of the lack of contact during the week combined with the way she moaned and writhed when he tasted her. She knew that she was close as well, still feeling the daze of her previous orgasm. She was right. Another benefit of sex without a condom was that she really felt his release.
Cameron covered her face with her hands and mumbled, "He's good."
"Good as in you wouldn't mind doing it again or good as in he'd make a fine male prostitute?" Vanessa inquired.
Still hiding from the view of her friends, Allison answered after a short pause, "Probably closer to the latter."
It was funny that if someone asked her what she enjoyed the most about their latest sex session, she wouldn't answer House's sexual prowess in bed, although it was formidable, nor the benefits of discarding the condoms, although she did thoroughly enjoy them. Though, what she had in mind was closely connected to that. What she liked best was that he stayed at her side afterwards. Even though they didn't touch, just knowing that he was only a couple of inches away made her feel incredible. Besides, there was still enough time left to make him cuddle.
"What I really want to know," started Barbara, "is how you can stand to spend so much time around that jerk."
"True," Vanessa agreed, "He's hot but I'd never marry him."
That was the million dollar question. Between working together and living together, they were practically together 24/7, which would be enough to drive most people crazy. She has always been extremely patient but there was a thin line between being patient and being a glutton for punishment. Had she crossed it already or was there perhaps something more to it?
A/N: Some of you requested smut. This sort of, kind of, in a way counts as smut, doesn't it? *looks hopeful*
About Cameron's girlfriends… I really don't like how most people make them act as immature highschoolers in their fics but I'm afraid I'm guilty of the same sin this time and I hate myself for it. The problem is that Cameron does not have a canon friend. Some people make Cuddy fill that role but I simply cannot see that happen in any possible reality, even before they started openly disliking each other, in my fic or the show. And Wilson is primarily House's friend so I was forced to resort to this unfortunate situation.
Once again, sorry for the wait but desperate times call for desperate measures. Updates should be regular once again (2 per week), at least till the end of the month. The next one will therefore be up by the end of this week.
