"Can I tell you a secret?"
Allison Cameron sighed as she unlocked the car for the older man to safely get inside. He was drunk, again. This was the third time in two weeks she had been called out as his own personal taxi service. She knew that she owed him for having her back at the hospital when her co-workers were against her suggestions. She had ended up to be the one who was right all along, not that the others wanted to admit that. He sat in the passenger seat and threw his cane onto the back seats of the vehicle. He had to admit, his leg wasn't hurting much tonight. Although maybe that had something to do with the number of whiskeys and beers he had consumed at the bar that evening.
He clicked his seatbelt into place and turned to look at his colleague. She was concentrating on the road ahead of them, giving him time to study her features. She looked tired - the small bags under her eyes proved that. He actually felt bad for calling her out at 2am. The team had just completed another long gruelling medical mystery and they were meant to be having a few days off to recuperate and prepare themselves for the next case and here he was calling his best worker out in the middle of the night because he'd drunk too much to drive home. She should be fast asleep in bed.
He leaned slightly towards her before saying, "Can I tell you a secret?"
Cameron sighed once more before giving a quick glance in his direction. Her nose wrinkled at the stench of alcohol on his breath. How on earth could that man drink as much as he did and have no hangover in the mornings. She didn't want to know exactly how much he had tonight. All she wanted to do was get him back to his apartment and get herself back into bed. She noted the fact that he was leaned slightly towards her.
"What House?"
She brought the car to a stop outside his apartment building before climbing out of the car. She handed her boss his cane he had thrown into the back seats and locked the car. She linked her arm with his; guiding him to the main entrance. Each step he took was unsteady. As she held the main door open for him, he turned around and said,
"I don't know what I'd do without you. You're the best one on the team."
It felt like her feet had been cemented to the floor. Had he really just said that? She was never really sure how he felt about her being on the team; knowing she had just been chosen to show diversity. He had never shown any signs of appreciating her work, or even her presence in the office. Her opinions and suggestions were usually the ones thrown out the window first, and she was rarely given freedom to test her own theories out. She had never really thought she was suited for the team. She had managed to form friendships and forge a bond with her other two co-workers, yet not the boss. She was glad to call Foreman and Chase her friends, even Wilson! Yet it had never crossed her mind that she had formed that sort of bond with her boss.
She stumbled up the last of the steps, with House trailing behind her. She held her hand out, waiting for his door key to be handed to her. He managed to fish his keys out of his jacket pocket, handing them to her with a smile.
"But ssh, don't tell the other others, they'll get jealous."
He took the keys out of the now open door, and shut it, leaving her starstruck on the landing.
Two days later, she skipped into work. As much as she appreciated the days off, it felt good to be back in the office with a routine and some structure to her days. She took the pile of paperwork sitting on the table and sat down combing through the letters for any important documents House might be trying to hide in the huge pile. She chuckled to herself as she came across his utility bills hidden in between paperwork and overtime sheets.
"Cameron, you're needed in the clinic."
She sighed and looked up at her boss. He was due in the clinic half an hour ago and with Cuddy out of town for a couple of days, it was obvious he would send the team in his place whenever he could. She set the pile of letters back down onto the table and made sure his hidden bills were sat proudly on the top.
"Ooh, bad luck Cameron!"
"Shows that we're the favourites,"
Foreman and Chase smiled at each other and gave out a small laugh. They were only teasing her. House didn't care about any of them enough to have favourites. Cameron smiled too, but for the opposite reason. He did have a favourite, and it was her. She had never felt more proud of herself.