They had fallen asleep between kisses, tangled innocently in each other's arms. Cameron woke first and was torn between finding a way to get even closer to him and in getting up to explore the last port of call before they flew home.
Cameron ordered breakfast quietly and returned to the bed to watch him. He slept like a small child, nearly comatose in his complete repose. She picked up his arm and watched as it leadenly fell back upon the duvet.
One eye opened and regarded her. It closed again and then reopened. "Barcelona?" He asked.
She walked over to the window and looked out. "Yes. Come have some breakfast." She had poured the coffee for them.
"Sentences." He said sipping.
"In the morning I've been known to speak in full sentences." She explained. "Let's see what surprise they have for me this morning." She lifted the cover and found a bowl of fresh fruit and a blintz. "Okay, that's just weird. The fruit, that makes sense, but the blintz," she shook her head, "that's just out of left field."
His head swiveled at the mention of the blintz, "cheese?"
She poked it, "with blueberry sauce."
He held out his hand. She passed the plate to him. He passed an egg to her. "It was supposed to be pancakes."
She spread honey on her toast and bit into it, the realization dawning on her, "You were the one who got them to add stuff to my tray?"
He continued chewing so he didn't have to answer.
"I was right. The tray was prepared with love." She smiled and allowed herself a small squee.
He groaned.
Rather than have tenders take them to the shore, the ship had berthed dockside. All anyone had to do to get ashore was walk down the gangway, through a building and over to the tour busses. Cameron sighed, "More busses. More time with these…people."
"Not necessarily." He stepped over to the other side of the street and hailed a taxi. "Do you speak English?" He asked the driver.
"I thought you spoke Spanish." She said.
"Didn't you read your tour materials? They don't speak Spanish here, they speak Catalan." He turned his attention to the taxi driver who answered affirmatively. "Great, here's a hundred euros. We'd like to see all the things worth seeing and we'd like you to take us to lunch where you like to eat."
The driver smiled, turned off the meter and headed onto the crowded streets. "Sacred Family?" He asked.
"Perfect." House sat back in the seat and enjoyed the journey. The buildings were typical of a metropolitan, European city. Shoppers walked up and down the wide boulevard, past a store called El Corte Ingles, The English House, carrying bags. Periodically McDonalds or Dunkin' Donuts would mar the landscape.
"Oh, it's beautiful." Cameron looked out the window at a gorgeous old building that currently housed a bank.
They came upon the church, which had been under construction since the 19th century. The taxi slowly drove around the structure, which was typically, scaffold. He then let them out, parking across the street with the other cabs. He bought an ice cream and leaned against his car while House and Cameron took a closer look.
House squinted up into the sunshine at the gothic part of the structure. This was the Façade of the Nativity. He was caught up in the detail of the spires and the statuary. "Gaudi started this in the late 1880s and he was able to see the completion of this portion of it. It must have been rewarding for him." He contemplated the building. "All funded by the church as an example to the wicked, wicked city. It's survived war, internal strife and indifference."
"Surely not indifference?" Cameron was amazed by the beauty of it. "It's unique. I've never seen anything like it."
"All to glorify God. What do you make of that? As an atheist, I mean." They walked around to the Façade of the Passion.
Cameron was silent. "Certainly, the Church would want its buildings to be impressive."
"But this isn't just impressive, it's awe-inspiring. Look at how different this modernista side is. But still, just as beautiful. The craftsmen on this project have committed their lifetimes to it, and never got the satisfaction of seeing the whole thing done. Gaudi was perfectly content knowing that he had satisfied his customer, God." House gazed upon the Blessed Virgin. "Just beautiful."
Cameron peered up into Her face, "The Mother of God, what must that have been like? To be young, a virgin, about to be married, to have your life all planned out. One night an angel comes to you and tells you that you have been selected by God to lead a difficult life. The hell with your plans, your hopes, your dreams. And the bonus is that after all of that you get to watch as your Son, your precious boy, dies." She paused, overcome with emotions that had nothing to do with the building. "Some gift."
House took her hand and said nothing. They walked back to the taxi. He hugged her and gave her a kiss on the top of the head.
They drove into the hills towards the park. The driver pointed to the six and seven story apartment buildings. "Cheap. No lifts." He said.
"They're all walk ups?" Cameron said, shocked. "Imagine coming off a long day at work and having to climb up six flights. I guess you do what you have to do."
The driver took them to Park Guëll, also designed by Gaudi. They sat on a bench that curved around an observation area. They looked out over the city and onto the ocean. The park itself was full of trees and picnic areas. They walked down a path to a house. It was covered in giant ant sculptures. Cameron laughed, "That's surreal."
"Exactly. Have you ever seen Un Chien Andolou?" House asked.
"No. Is it some kind of foreign film?"
"Foreign, alien, acid induced. Something. Buñell and Dali got together after a five-day drunk and came up with all of these weird images and put them on film. This one evokes ants coming out of a stigmata type wound in the hand." He watched her as she shuddered. "I won't tell you about the eyeball. All you need to know is that my mother wouldn't let me watch it when I was a kid. I had to take a film history class in order to understand why."
"Okay. I'll take your word for it. You do remember that I got through Gross Anatomy." She took his arm and they sat on a bench for a minute. "So what's with this house out here?"
"Ah, according to the guide book Gaudi tried to design this as a housing development. But, at the time, this was a bit out of the way, and the design was considered, outré. For want of a better word."
"Bizarre?" She offered.
"That would work." He conceded. "Bizarre. So he lived in this one and commuted to the church we just came from."
They walked back towards the main part of the park. "It's really fun. I love the colors and the shapes and textures. And the lizard. I love the lizard."
"You love a lot of strange things." House watched as she took a picture of the lizard, "Give me that, I'll take one of you with him."
He snapped and then someone offered to take one of them together. He hugged Cameron and grinned as she smiled, "There's no going back from here House. It's photographic proof."
He took the camera from the helpful fellow tourist. "You plan on using this as a screensaver?" He held it aloft as she tried to grab for it.
"Yes! And I'm going to Photoshop hearts around it." She threatened.
"You wouldn't dare!" They laughed and giggled back to the taxi.
It was early afternoon by the time they got back to the ship. They had finished their education hours and the evening was theirs. They watched local television and tried to guess what it was all about. "Let's have a cocktail and watch the sunset and then we can have dinner in the room. Something simple, like a hamburger or a steak. I'm getting tired of all this rich food." House complained.
They sat in the lounge and quietly nursed their drinks, occasionally brushing their fingers together. Angie Weston saw them and sat at their table. "Hi! I'm waiting for Charles. He went with some of the other doctors to play golf. I went shopping."
"Really?" Cameron feigned shock. "What were you shopping for?"
House smiled his amusement as the blond rattled on, "Well, I thought it might be nice for me to get saints medals for his kids."
"He's Catholic?" Cameron asked.
"No. But I thought they'd be neat gifts."
House screwed up his face in thought, "Saint Courtney and Saint Jared?"
Angie laughed, "Brittany and Amber." She said.
"Okay." He decided to go with it rather than try to understand it.
"So Kelly and I walked all over looking. We found sweaters and beaded purses and art and all kinds of things, but no saints medals. Not even in the church. There was a nice shop that sold statues, but that wasn't really what we had in mind. So, I didn't get them."
"That's a shame." Cameron lied.
"Oh, there he is. Are you going to the pirate party on shore tonight?" She asked.
"Avast, no." House said.
"Oh. Well, have a good time! It was really nice seeing you Allison." She kissed her on the cheek.
"It was nice seeing you too. If we don't see you at the airport tomorrow, have a nice trip back." Cameron said, standing to give her an air kiss and shoulder squeeze. "God, I hope that's the last I see of them." She said as Angie waved from the door.
House threw a peanut in the air and tried to catch it. It rolled under the table next to theirs. "You don't want to do this every year? Go around in a pack with people who are just like you? Go to exotic places and try to do exactly what you would do if you were out on a Saturday in King of Prussia?" He named a toney Philadelphia suburb.
"Yes. That was always my dream. I went to medical school to kill time until I could nab a doctor, preferably one who did dermatology or plastic surgery, you know, better hours. I wanted to be the second or the third wife, that way he'd be established. I'd do the pool boy on Thursdays and I'd play tennis twice a week at the country club." She popped the cherry in her mouth and chewed.
"That was a little too well thought out." House said. He watched as she pulled the stem out, knotted. "Oh. Parlor games."
"I've seen that scenario played out my whole life. My best friend growing up had three different step-mothers. That whole life is so empty. I want more." She tipped her glass and drank the last few drops.
House indicated to the bartender that they wanted another round. "So what's different about your life?"
"You're kidding right?" For just a moment she had a horrible feeling that House only liked her because she was arm-candy.
"Yes! If you ever come to me babbling about some idiotic shopping shit like that. Well, let's just say that if things progress, it will be in the pre-nup." Realizing that he had said too much, he stood, taking his drink with him. "We have to be packed with our luggage in the hall by eleven."
Cameron sat on the bed in her night clothes. The window was open and the sound of waves lapping at the hull of the ship was soothing. A cool, salty breeze refreshed the air. "I'm going to miss this room."
"I can't wait to get home. Sleep in my own bed. Have a reuben sandwich. Have more than three options on the television." He flipped through the channels again, resting on a movie.
"I'll miss evenings like this. It's nice being relaxed, seeing new things and then just being quiet with you." Cameron looked through the drawers to be sure that she wasn't leaving anything behind.
"Who says that we have to stop doing this?" House said reasonably.
"I guess we could. Maybe on the weekends." She put everything she'd need for the next morning in one small bag and she double checked that she hadn't omitted anything important. She went back into the hall and saw the bags. "That's weird, a bunch of people haven't put their luggage out yet." She came back to the room. "So what exactly are you suggesting?"
"You could sub-let your apartment and move in with me."
Cameron stopped her obsessive checking and sat down next to him. "I don't know that I'm ready to do that. Stacy told me that you were living with her after knowing her for only a week."
He heaved a sigh, "Yes and even now I don't regret that. I know when it's right."
"You know that I'm crazy about you. I've liked you right from the beginning, but I'm independent. We have the rest of our lives, what's the hurry?" She rubbed his back.
"Is it that you're unsure?" He asked quietly.
"No. I'm sure. I'd just like a time when I can be with you and still be on my own. I think that a transitional period is good. Do you understand?"
"Like being engaged to be engaged? Do you want a promise ring?"
"That's really corny." She laughed, "Do people honestly do that?"
"I do." He reached into his pocket and produced a box.
"I thought we agreed that you weren't going to buy me anything." She took the small velvet box from him and looked at it.
"I never agreed. Aren't you going to open it?"
"Oh." She hugged him tight. Then she carefully lifted the lid. The satin lining the box was embossed with 'bvlgari'. "You bought this here?"
"I told you I was having a generous impulse. Thank God for your naps."
She lifted the ring out of its slot. "House….Greg, it's beautiful." It was white gold with a gentle curve. A small brilliant cut diamond nestled in the peak.
"Do you want to wear it?" His face reflected hope, love and terror.
"Yes. Very much. Not just because it's beautiful." She kissed him. "A promise ring? Actually, that's perfect." She slipped it onto her slender finger and admired it.
House smiled. "A transition period?"
"I'll let you know when I'm ready." She rubbed the part of the ring near her palm.
"When's your lease up?" He asked.