Can I just say that all of my reviewers rock? I'm so glad that people enjoyed the last chapter... and the story in general. Here is the next bit. As always, constructive criticism is welcome and encouraged!

Chapter 16

Tapping, pattering, soothing, healing. The sound of the rain was what woke House the next morning. He didn't open his eyes at first, content to just lie peacefully, quietly in bed, with Cameron's warm body just a few inches away from his. He reflected that as romantic as the soaps made it seem, sleeping intertwined was actually not the most comfortable arrangement, especially for someone with a half-useless leg. The two of them had separated slightly, sometime during the night. Even in her sleep, Cameron must have instinctively avoided jarring his leg, and his hand had remained in contact with her body. The first thing he noticed, after the rain, was the fact that his fingers were delicately stroking the tender skin on the inside of her wrist.

So that was their first date and this was the morning after. His always-busy mind went back over everything, remembering little details, looks, touches, words. He could picture her quite clearly, standing on the porch looking like part-angel, part-siren, and then again, laughing in the second restaurant, entrancing even in that harsh, unflattering light. He remembered every word she'd spoken as she stood in her bedroom, fearful and anxious around a core of bravery. Literally baring herself to him, and then absolving him of his guilt with just a sentence and a look. Pulling feelings and responses from him that he'd thought long-dead.

When was the last time a woman had made him feel such things? He didn't want to think about Stacy, not now, lying next to Cameron, her pulse flowing beneath his fingers, but it was inevitable. There had been precious few women in his life, and she had been the last to matter. So different. Theirs had been a volatile relationship from the very beginning. It had been all burning looks and sarcastic banter that turned to sex in the car and the sofa and the bed, and then throwing things in boxes for a quick move. They had never been gentle. There had definitely been love, but it had felt nothing like this. They had been two people, together, but alone; filling the empty times but not the empty spaces within. It had felt so very right at the time. He hadn't thought to wonder if there was more. Now he knew.

Was this love? He couldn't tell and he wouldn't say. It was something though. Something new and precious that he wasn't about to give up any time soon. He remembered the knot of fears he'd felt over even the thought of beginning anything with Cameron. He had pushed them aside but they had remained alive. He could now pinpoint the exact moment they had been crushed to dust. It had been as he pressed his hand to her chest and remembered real fear. His petty apprehensions were nothing compared to that. Whatever happened between them, at least she was alive, and he would never stop being thankful for that. He inhaled deeply, breathing in the clean scent of damp springtime, and let his fingers come to a rest. Blood flowed smooth under his touch, as soothing as the sound of the rain.

It was still early, and he thought about letting himself drift back to sleep, but he wanted to see Cameron's face before he did. Already he had pictured what it would look like, cast in the blue-grey light of an overcast morning. He needed to know if thought matched reality. Opening his eyes, he turned towards her and was met by her unashamed gaze. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders and neck, a few strands drifting over her left eye. She didn't seem to notice them. Her dark blue eyes were fixed on him, not examining, or studying but just looking. Admiring.

He wondered how long she'd been watching him, but the question only floated in his mind for an instant before he slowly rolled to his side and leaned forward to press his lips against hers. Their mouths were both dry and slightly filmed with sleep, but they didn't mind. Being able to taste each other at their most basic and pure was just what they wanted.

House moved his hand to Cameron's waist and held it steady there, feeling her skin flush beneath his touch, and feeling his heart rate increase in response. He swept his tongue along her lips and then drew back, staring into her eyes, knowing that his own were just as heavy-lidded and needful. He didn't have to ask and she didn't have to answer.

His hand drifted to her stomach as she rolled onto her back, and he pushed her shirt up slightly, running his thumb along the bottom half of her scar. If she thought he was going to avoid it out of fear or disgust, she was wrong. He eased himself down the bed and placed a warm, beautiful kiss at the base of her breastbone, listening as Cameron released a small sob. He returned to her face, prepared, for once, to face any tears there and kiss them away, but there were none to be found. Instead she raised her hands to cup his strong jaw and urged him down for another soul-deep kiss.

"Beautiful," he whispered into her ear when he dragged his lips from hers.

Somewhere in that exchange, Cameron sat up long enough for House to remove her shirt, and his was quick to follow. Skin to skin, they rolled to the side, just holding tightly, gently, urgently, the feeling sending them both higher. Cameron was the first to move again, her long fingers tracing a line from House's right knee to his damaged thigh, hidden beneath his shorts. She had one finger under the edge when House clamped his hand down on her wrist.

"Don't."

She looked up, meeting his gaze unwaveringly. "What was it you said? You're more than a fucking scar."

He had no answer so he kissed her instead, gradually releasing her hand to continue its path along his leg. She was so careful and cautious, leaving feather-light touches over fragile tissue, and then pressing deeper against the remaining, overtaxed muscles, massaging away a dozen aches.

House's lips had moved to her jaw and then her neck, and soon his hands joined them, spreading over her, touching and memorizing, noticing every sound and movement that she made in response. Moments later, her hands were both kneading at his shoulders, and then down across his chest, feeling muscle and bone, as strong as she'd always imagined it. Her hands moved lower, pulling a moan from deep within his chest. That moan was followed by one of her own as House used his long fingers to touch places on her body that she had nearly forgotten about.

Mouths met again, and somehow more clothing was shed, more touches and kisses exchanged until he was above her and on her and in her all at once. Soft sighs, and beautiful groans and words, words of need and desire and comfort and reverence, all blended together to hang in the air, clear as raindrops, and falling over them just as gently.

Release, when it came, wasn't a violent or momentary explosion. It was fulfillment, rushing around them and lifting them ever higher. It was a storm, washing over them and leaving them lying naked in cool grass. It was joy, making them greater than they were before and staying with them as they lay together, flesh against flesh, breath against breath, hot, and achingly spent but blissfully content.

Minutes ticked by… maybe hours… as they lay together, drifting in the hazy world of half-sleep. Outside the window a breeze picked up, and it blew into the room, raising goose-bumps on Cameron's skin and rousing her back to wakefulness. A very slow smile spread across her face and she kept her eyes closed for another minute, enjoying the warmth of House's skin beneath her cheek, the dusting of hair on his chest tickling against her nose.

"I think I'd be up to doing that again." The sound of his voice rumbled in her ear.

"Right now?" she said coyly.

She was supposed to be upset or disappointed that he hadn't immediately declared his undying love for her, but she wasn't. Instead she drew in a long breath as a tiny shiver of happiness rushed through her body. She would probably never get more than five sentimental words at a time from him, but she didn't need them.

He released a throaty chuckle. "Give an old man a break. I'm a bit out of practice."

Again, what she was supposed to feel and what she actually felt, failed to match. Normally mention of his age made her feel like a child before him, but not this time.

"Well I think you just proved that it's just like riding a bike," she moved slightly to kiss his chest. "Not that more practice won't be fun."

Strong fingers traced along her back. "I appear to have released your coy vixen side. Or do you say that to all the boys?" The slight and instant tension beneath his hand told him that he'd just said exactly the wrong thing. He waited for her to sit up and stare at him with those beautiful eyes that could go from serene to sad in a heartbeat, and was surprised when she didn't move. Damn. "Cameron…"

"I'm out of practice too," she interrupted his apology. She knew he hadn't meant anything by his words. They were his shield and his sword and sometimes he just forgot that he wasn't always in a battle.

His hand resumed its gentle stroking. "Sorry. Just a little hard to believe you'd be holding out for someone like me to come along." A gentle press against her back as he held her tighter for a moment. "Saying I'm flattered sounds pretty damn stupid."

"As stupid as saying that it was worth the wait?"

Was that his lips against her hair? It was so brief she couldn't tell.

"Yes. Almost as stupid as that."

The rain slowed down, almost coming to a stop, fat droplets clinging to the gutters before falling to earth. Light began filtering tentatively through the clouds and a few birds called out a welcome from the tree outside the window. Cameron slid her hand up House's chest to lie beneath her cheek.

"We should probably think about getting up."

"Probably." He was surprisingly un-eager to rise and when Cameron rolled away and slipped from the bed, he was even less eager, her pale, naked body glowing in the light of a hidden sun.

She granted him a little smile before shrugging into her robe. Why on earth did she still feel self-conscious? Perhaps because now she didn't fear his gaze, she welcomed it.

"You don't have to cover up on my account," he said slyly as she moved around the bedroom picking up his discarded clothing.

"I know," she replied, her voice sounding both shy and pleased.

"Then why are you?" The tone was still teasing but his eyes held a real question.

Her mouth puckered into an expression of concentration as she tried to find the answer for herself as much as him. She kept her hands busy searching his pockets for the vicodin she knew had to be there. He had almost given up on her replying when she finally spoke, as her fingers curled around a familiar bottle.

"When you look at me that way… I think I must feel exactly the way you do when I smile at you." She shrugged slightly. "I'm not used to it."

She moved to his side and wordlessly held out his pills. His hand closed tightly over hers and then pulled her to sit on the bed, and she looked at him with surprise in her eyes.

"You'll get used to it," he said, as he leaned forward and kissed her.

The kiss only lasted a short time, and when they parted, Cameron was smiling. She raised one eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. "Then I guess you'll get used to this too."

She placed a kiss on his cheek and then rose from the bed and moved towards the door.

"Breakfast?"

House nodded, thumb flipping the cap off his pills. If Cameron noticed that he only took one, she didn't mention it. He watched her leave the room and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. Damn. It was going to be another beautiful day.


Cameron had coffee brewing, scrambled eggs on the stove and toast waiting in the toaster when House limped into the kitchen wearing his suit pants and t-shirt. She looked up at him and let herself really look at him in a way she usually didn't. He looked scruffy, with his hair mussed and another day's growth on his face, but his eyes were as blue as ever and she thought, just for a second, that he seemed to be standing taller.

House limped over to the coffee and pulled two mugs down from the cabinet. "You're cooking. I thought this kitchen was just for decoration."

She shot a sneer in his direction. "Keep it up, and no eggs for you."

He managed to hide his grin as he moved to the table with one mug and then carried the second to Cameron. "Cream, no sugar."

"And here I thought you didn't care!" she teased, light-heartedly, hardly believing that she felt so free to do so.

"Hey, it's my job to pick up on minute details… and you've had your coffee the same way for as long as you've been working for me." He quickly corrected himself. "Or should I say, as long as you worked for me."

Cameron took a small sip of coffee while she thought about House's words. She knew what he was getting at. He obviously still wanted her to go back to work at the hospital, and after their wonderful night and morning together, it should have been an easy decision, but it wasn't. In fact, it was harder. How could she work side-by-side with him now? What would the rest of the team say? Would they accuse her of getting preferential treatment? She knew that House wouldn't do that, and Foreman would probably be fine with the change in their relationship, but Chase was another story altogether.

On the other hand, she had only received one reply to the stack of letters she'd sent out, and her savings account wasn't going to be able to support her forever. She was officially cleared to work in another week, and she had hoped to have a position before that.

"You're thinking so hard I can smell the smoke. Or is that the eggs?"

Damn! She quickly moved the pan from the hot burner and looked back over her shoulder apologetically.

"They're fine… really!"

House just drank his coffee and looked at her with amusement.

"So. Thoughts? What were they?"

"What? Oh. Nothing."

She pulled grabbed two plates, wincing slightly as she pulled muscles that still hadn't healed and probably hadn't been helped by the morning's activities. A smug look flashed across her face. Spending the morning in House's arms had definitely been worth a little soreness. She tried to wipe the look from her face before walking to the table with the food, but she wasn't sure how successful she was.

Not successful at all, but House pretended not to notice. Cameron was looking pleased and satisfied and he was happy to be able to take credit. A month ago he'd only been able to take the blame for her sad eyes and dejected looks. He poked at his eggs, tried them, determined that they were not poisonous, and gave her a few minutes to relax and eat before going back to his earlier question. He wasn't easy to distract.

"Are you going to make me play twenty questions about why you almost burned breakfast?"

Looking up mid-bite, Cameron swallowed and then took a long sip of coffee.

"If I guessed that it was you having doubts about last night, would that get you to share what you were really thinking about?"

"I'm not having doubts!"

House smirked. "Yes, I guessed that by your cat-that-ate-the-canary grin earlier, but me suspecting you of having doubts should now lead you to tell me what you were actually thinking about, if for no other reason than to assure me that you weren't.

He was good. She had to give him credit. He could manipulate a conversation like no one else she knew.

"I was thinking about work," she admitted, shoving another forkful of eggs into her mouth.

"I already offered you your job back," House said casually, "so you shouldn't have to think long."

He felt a good deal less casual when he looked up and saw her conflicted expression.

"I know," she said slowly, "but I still don't know if that's a good idea."

"You said you didn't want to come back without knowing where things were going between us. I think you have a pretty good idea now, so problem solved."

"No, problem made bigger," she countered. "I don't know if working together would be a good idea."

"I boss you around, you keep me in line… what's the downside?"

She shrugged. This really wasn't a conversation she wanted to be having at the moment, and she just wanted to find a way to end it.

"I don't know. Maybe you're right," she hedged. "I just need to think about it."

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right."

His arrogant yet playful tone made her grin. No more serious thoughts before lunch. That was her new rule.

They finished eating in relative silence, and once finished, continued to stare at one another over the rims of their coffee mugs. Neither was in a hurry to finish, but eventually House drained his cup and set it down on the table as he leaned back.

"So," he started, face contorting into a number of awkward expressions while Cameron tried to decipher what was going on. "I guess I'd better head to my place."

She looked rather startled, as if the idea had never occurred to her. But of course he had to leave. They weren't going to sit in her kitchen for the rest of their lives! She put her cup on top of her plate and reached across to pick up House's as well.

"Right. Right," she said as she stood up.

"Yeah. Not really in the mood to wear these clothes all day long again."

"No. I'm surprised you survived one day," Cameron joked, although she was annoyed to discover that she didn't have the slightest idea what she was going to do with herself once he left.

"So," he said again. It's Saturday. No work for me. And of course, you're unemployed. You want to come over to my place?"

Stunned hardly covered it. Even after all they had shared, Cameron hadn't expected House to open his home to her. That condo was obviously his sanctuary. She was pretty sure that Wilson was the only visitor allowed, and he probably had to bring food in order to be granted permission to stay. Hell, she'd been there twice and had barely made it past the entry-way. Now he was actually inviting her there… not for any reason… just for the sake of being together.

"Your place?"

"That's what I said. If you're going to repeat everything, this could turn into a long conversation." House used his cane to lever himself out of his seat.

He was right, and she immediately pulled herself together. "I'd like that," she replied. "Do you want to wait for me to get ready?" she waved her hand at her currently be-robed self, "or should I meet you there in a little while?"

House step-thumped his way across the room until he was beside her. "You're not supposed to be driving." He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek that felt even stranger because of its relative normalcy. "Go get ready. I'll take care of this. I'm getting pretty good at it."

The dishes made a bit of a clatter as Cameron dropped them unceremoniously into the sink. "I won't take long," she promised, and then she left the kitchen, still feeling the scratch of his beard against her face.