CHAPTER 36

The room was as dark as it could get without being dark, and when House entered, the first thing that caught his eye was Cameron's packed suitcase. His eyes followed an imaginary path that led them to the sight of a figure, bathed in shadow, looking up at him from the bed. She was still here.

Although she couldn't see his face, as he was backlit from the hall light, she could see in his stance that he hadn't been prepared to find her there. The door swung closed behind him, and once Cameron's eyes readjusted to the dim light, she saw that his face looked wizened and pale. His eyes were red and his arms hung limp at his sides, as though they weighed 1000 pounds. He stood motionless.

"You're here," he said flatly.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I couldn't leave." She bolted into his arms and cried, "I couldn't leave!"

House uttered a sound somewhere between a grunt and an "Oh," and he took in a deep breath and wrapped his arms completely around her. His eyes closed and he kissed her hair, thanking whoever that he had her in his arms. With every exhalation, he made a noise, as if all the emotions inside of him overflowed, and spilled out of his mouth as sound. She felt the vibrations of the noises rumbling in his chest as she trembled against him. She took his face in her hands and pulled his mouth to hers in a deep, urgent, and desperate kiss, impassioned by the newfound awareness that any kiss might be the last.

"I want you, I want you so bad," he said in a soft, gravelly voice.

"You have me," she assured him.

"No, I want you more! I want all of you!"

"Greg, you have all of me!"

"No, I want more! Come closer to me!"

"I can't get any closer."

"I don't care, come closer!!! I need you!" He couldn't get enough of her. He squeezed her to him as tightly as he could, as if he was preparing for someone to grab her away from him at any moment. Her face and arms were buried in his chest, so that every breath she took was filtered by his scent. "I need you, I need you," he kept muttering. "I need you," he said into her hair. "I need you," he whispered into the sky.

"I'm here, I'm here. Greg, I'm here."

Their muscles were sore from holding one another so tightly for so long, and out of necessity, their embrace slackened, but they still leaned against one another.

Their fit of passion finally ebbed enough that they became embarrassed of how they had just acted, of how exposed they had been and how carnal their need for one another was.

"Wow," said Cameron softly. "I feel like we have no secrets from each other now." She smiled. "I never thought you had it in you," she teased.

"I didn't. What the hell did you do to me?"