Shortly after Cameron found herself in House's office lying on her back on the couch, one arm across her eyes, the other on her stomach. She was trying to decide if she should stay there or go home when House's voice broke through her thoughts.
"What the hell are you doing? Do you expect me to believe you've perfected a way to do your work so you don't exactly have to be present...or even awake?"
She removed her arm and squinted at the bright light. "I am resting for a moment. I have a headache and am nauseous."
He leaned over so his head was blocking the overhead light. "Nauseous or vomiting?"
She grimaced. "Both."
"I knew it. I knew that bastard Brandon would cause problems. I should have killed him when I had the chance."
She laughed softly. "You never had the chance, House."
"Well, I should have made the chance, damnit." He walked over to sit in his chair. "You're useless to me here. Why don't you go home."
She replaced her arm and told him, "Bring in the charts and just write what I say. There's some on my desk."
"You mean get charts to write in them?"
"Well, yeah."
"Hm. That sounds an awful lot like work."
She snorted. "Amazingly enough it is work. Your work. Tell me who you have."
"Traci Santucci."
"She's the one with the abnormal bruising. When she first presented to the hospital we ran a CBC- standard check for anemia..."
It was the earliest Cameron had ever left the hospital. Her headache had subsided some by four and House finally managed to shove her out of the doors.
When she made it home she shed herself of her work clothes and curled up in bed on her side, asleep in minutes. She had just started dreaming of bringing the baby home when a loud noise startled her awake. She sat up quickly in bed before she heard the noise again- the doorbell and then persistent knocking. Looking at the clock she could see it was nearing six o-clock and the two hour nap had done wonders for her head.
Grabbing a comfortable shirt and some lounge pants she made her way to her door, rubbing her eyes as she did so. Cameron had her hand on the doorknob when she thought to look through the peephole to catch sight of her visitor. She immediately jerked back as if shocked and moved quickly away from the door. How had Brandon discovered where she lived?
By the time she had went back into her room, shut and locked her door, and found her cell phone she had begun to cry. It wasn't until House answered that she realized who she had dialed.
"House, can you come over?" she asked, trying not to sniff.
"No," he said, bluntly. "I can tell you're crying and I'm not putting up with it tonight."
She jumped as she heard the doorbell again. "Please."
"No! Was that the bell?"
"TV," she answered quickly. "See you tomorrow then." Cameron hung up before he could respond. She wasn't so scared she would beg and since he was being surly she didn't want to deal with him anyway.
Resolved that she was stronger than she was most certainly acting she went into the bathroom to wash her face and then marched determinedly to the door. She opened it a crack with the chain lock still attached and glared at the handsome man on the other side. "What do you want, Brandon? Your persistency is annoying my neighbors."
Brandon brought a hand into view holding a beautiful bouquet of various flowers. "These are for you."
"Then lay them in the hall and I'll get them after you leave."
He sighed. "Allison, I understand--"
"Oh, I seriously doubt that, Brandon."
"Let me inside, please. I just want to talk."
She scowled at him, seeing someone walking up the hallway and realizing how this might look. "We tried talking. Months ago. I've found I don't want to listen to what you have to say."
"Allie, please."
"Allison?"
Cameron looked at the man who had just walked up in relief. "James!" She closed the door to unchain the lock to admit her ally. "Dr. Ashcroft was just leaving."
Dr Ashcroft handed her the flowers but proceeded to follow Wilson in. "Dr. Wilson, I'm surprised to find you visiting."
Wilson raised an eyebrow at the younger man as he tried to figure out what he had stumbled into. Cameron looked pale, furious, and had been crying. Ashcroft looked contrite to her but protective and territorial over something that wasn't his. "Allison and I have been friends for a long time. I was coming by to see how she was feeling. But I don't quite understand your connection to her."
Ashcroft flashed her a smile. "Oh, didn't she tell you? Allie and I were quite the couple until the infamous Dr. House wooed her from me."
Wilson frowned slightly. It didn't quite explain House's hostility towards him. Unless... "If you are trying to 'woo' her back I think it's a little too late. I would suggest you leave before House finds out."
Ashcroft frowned back. "I wasn't over here wooing. While Allie was with me I did some things I'm not proud of. We will be working together and I wanted to make my apologies."
Cameron moved from her position by the door. "Apology noted. You can leave now."
Wilson's phone rang as Ashcroft's gaze went to where Cameron's hand was pressing near her belly button. "Do you know what you're having?" he asked, curiously.
"No," she lied, wanting him to know as less as possible.
"Can I see the nursery?"
"Why?"
"Allison, I thought the baby could have been mine. Sometimes that's hard to let go."
She looked at him sharply. "You better let go. Because if something happens to our baby you will be the first one House comes after."
"Cameron," Wilson called her to his side. "May as well let him see the nursery."
"But--" she protested.
"House is coming." He said it so soft it was barely a whisper. But she heard it.
Cameron sighed but looked towards Ashcroft. "Come on, Brandon." She led him down the short hallway and opened the door on the left.
The room was painted a muted light mint green while the trim was a lighter lavender. A dropped down border had been placed with the top of the border level with the top of the door and window frames. The crib House had bought her was in place angled in one corner, a rocking chair was in another.
Brandon looked around in awe. "Not a lot of things here."
Regardless, Cameron was proud of the room so far. "There are some pieces I haven't decided on yet. There's still plenty of time," she told him.
"I like the border. Baby Looney Tunes. Starting them off young."
She shifted her bare feet in the soft carpeting. "Greg picked it out. He said almost the same thing."
Brandon smiled at her. "We aren't so different after all, Dr. House and myself."
"You are nothing alike," Cameron snapped at him. "House would never force himself on anyone."
"Allie," he said, taking a step towards her, "I said I was sorry."
"Sorry?" she repeated, almost shrilly. "Sorry is what you say when you miss someone's birthday or when you hear somebody is ill. 'I'm sorry' does not cut it when you have raped somebody."
He looked surprised at her outburst. "But you would have given it to me anyway," he rationalized.
She clinched her hands at her side. "That presumption gave you no right to take what wasn't given to you."
His gaze looked around the room. "But look at what you were given in return. A baby you already love and cherish."
It was her teeth that were clinched this time. "This baby is not yours. How many times do you have to be told that?"
Brandon gave her a smile as he took a step closer to her. "Well, see, Allie, it's kinda hard to keep track since I keep hearing different things."
Cameron glared up at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of backing from him. "There was a possibility it was yours. I panicked and told you before I was certain," she lied, silently thanking House for the lessons.
"Then you were told to say I wasn't the father," he said, nearly bitterly.
"Then I found out you couldn't be," Cameron corrected. "By a matter of weeks. By then you had already given your rights away if you were the father by telling me to have an abortion so I didn't feel a pressing urge to set the record straight."
He studied her for a moment. "What would you have done if the baby had been mine, Allison?"
She jutted her chin in stubbornness. "I would have survived," she told him.
"Yes, you would have," he softly agreed. Changing thoughts he said to her, "I'm surprised an old-fashioned girl like you isn't living with your lover."
"That is none of your business." She frowned at him. "How did you find out where I lived?"
He gave her a grin. "That is my little secret."
Her frown deepened but she dropped the subject. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of chasing him for the answer and she could no longer ignore the cold pit in her stomach. "You've had plenty of time in the nursery. I'm ignoring my guest." She walked purposefully into the hallway, shaking the hand he had placed in her wrist in efforts to delay her.
She found House poised on the couch armrest looking relaxed and confident while Wilson stood close to the front door looking mildly apprehensive. House stood when she entered the room, curiously not even looking at the man walking behind her. "Allison, how are you feeling? You were pretty sick this afternoon."
She went straight to him. "Better," she said as her chin was tilted gently by his hand. The kiss that he gave her was sweet, quick, and just for show she knew but that didn't stop her from enjoying it.
"Mm," he said when he broke the kiss. "I've glad." He gave her a smile that didn't reach the penetrating stare of his blue eyes. "You ok?" he asked softly.
She nodded before wrapping her arms around him to give him a hug for being there.
"Dr. Ashcroft," he greeted the other man.
"Dr. House. If you'll excuse me I will be on my way now."
House released Cameron while Wilson stood where he was blocking the front door. "No," House told him. "I think it best if you stayed. I'd like to talk to you." He looked down at the pale, pregnant doctor. "Cam, maybe a bath would help you feel better."
She was thrown by his comment. "A bath?"
He nodded and gently pushed her towards the hall. "Just not too hot. We don't want to cook little House."
She glared at him. "I'm not stupid," she snapped at him before disappearing.
House waited until he heard water running before returning to his perch. "Dr. Ashcroft, this isn't going to be a short discussion. You might want to sit down." The younger man just looked at him. "Sit!" he barked and finally Ashcroft chose the edge of the recliner to follow House's order. Wilson retrieved a bar stool and brought it over to sit near House.
"What are you doing here, Ashcroft?" Wilson asked, conversationally.
"It's like I told you. Allison and I broke up on bad terms so I came here to smooth things out since we'd be working together."
House rolled his eyes. "Ok, Ashcroft, we are all highly intelligent doctors here so can the bullshit. It didn't work at the hospital so you knew it wasn't going to work here. You came here for something else."
Ashcroft frowned. "I wanted her alone away from your influence."
House rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling for a short moment. Finally he looked back at Ashcroft. "I've decided that you have a death wish because you won't heed my warnings. So threats won't work on you. What will?"
Ashcroft looked outraged. "I won't be bribed."
House rolled his eyes again and looked at Wilson. "I was being generous with the intelligent bit, Jimmy."
"I just want to spend some time with Allie without harassment," Brandon told them.
House bounced his cane several times. "Here's the deal, Romeo. I don't trust you, Wilson doesn't trust you, and you scare the crap out of Cameron so no go on the alone time. IF Cam decides she will talk to you it will be with others present. We both get what we want."
When Ashcroft appeared indecisive Wilson spoke up. "The most important thing to remember is that Allison makes her own decisions and she chose to move here to be with her friends."
"I won't hesitate to bury you if something happens to her or the baby," House told him matter-of-factly. "And all of her friends feel exactly the same. But don't mistake this for a threat."
Ashcroft frowned. "Fine. We'll try it your way, Dr. House. I've been having to fight you one way or another since I've met Allie. Whatever she decides I'll go with."
House smiled as he stood. "Welcome to adulthood, Ashcroft."
When Cameron finally made her more-relaxed way back into the living room she found Wilson and House watching TV. "Pizza!" she exclaimed as she saw the steaming food between them.
House uncharacteristically was kind enough to hand her the slice he had just picked up. Wilson gave him a strange look so he shrugged. "Self preservation. Never get between a pregnant woman and her food."
Once she had swallowed her large bite and sat down, Cameron turned her head towards House. "Where did you stuff Brandon's remains?"
"In Wilson's car," he quipped. "We were going to take the body to work tomorrow for the darling students to dissect."
"House is just happy he's finally found a way for the students to work at his advantage," Wilson told her.
Cameron nodded. "Just be sure you forge a consent form in case of an investigation," she offered.
House gave her his best innocent look. "You mean to say someone won't believe ME?" He batted his eyes for effect.
She rolled hers. "You better hope he's revivable with that act."
Wilson spoke up to fill her in. "We stuck a sort of deal with Ashcroft."
"Which was?"
Wilson shifted uncomfortable so the mastermind took over. "We told the fine doctor that to keep peace he could only talk to you in public situations."
Cameron snorted. "Do you think that will work?"
"Absolutely not," House said cheerfully. "Which means you have to make a decision."
"This aught to be good," Wilson mumbled.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Jimmy. No one can understand what you're saying."
"It's probably for the best," Cameron inputted. "What decision?"
"Am I staying here or are you moving to my place?"
She gaped at him. "Moving?"
"Temporarily!" he hastily added. "Until Ashcrap moves on."
She sighed. "Here, I guess. He'll probably still be here when the baby gets here and the nursery is more convenient."
"Ok," was all the older doctor said.