Chapter Three

"What?" He looked up, hoping against hope that she hadn't found what he thought she had. Guess the fates were conspiring…

"This isn't… yours, is it?" She barely held back a smirk, figuring that the indignity of it all would be enough. I wonder who could possibly hate him enough to leave a kitten in his office? Chase? Maybe…

What he meant to say:

"You idiot! This is supposed to be a sterile environment! Get that fur-ball out of my office before I decapitate it!"

What he actually said:

"Well… not really… I mean, you don't… No! Stop looking at me like that! Dr, do you really think that's mine?"

The futility of the obvious lie was exposed as Psycho jumped out of Cameron's arms and onto his shoulder, twining about his body, purring.

"Yeah. I can really tell you've never seen it before in your life," she stated blandly. "You might want to at least think of a plausible excuse for having it in your office."

He glared at her. For once, the infamous Gregory House was rendered speechless. This rare silence was emphasized by the arrival of Dr. Wilson.

"Hey, Greg! How's it… Oh my God. What have you done?" What the f… He wasn't supposed to bring it here! This is a sterile environment! Greg, what were you thinking? You can't bring freaking pets into a hospital!

"But of course, Dr. Wilson! I just couldn't bear to be parted from my dear kitty for another second!" House rolled his eyes. "You idiot, do you think this fur-ball is actually mine?"

Cameron laughed aloud. Seeing the murder written all over his face, she quickly stifled her laughter. "Well, tell him," she grinned, "Tell him all about the cat… how it couldn't possibly be yours, considering that there's no cat hair on your clothes."

Is she really outdoing me at sarcasm?

"Oh, wait! That's right, there is cat hair on your clothes!" She smirked at him, and he glared right back. Wilson just looked incredulously from one to the other.

"Am I… missing something, here?"

House snapped out of it first, picking up the kitten and holding it still. "No! Just help me figure out how to get this thing out of here!" Cameron grinned at him.

"I've got an idea." She held open his bag, putting Psycho into it with the remainder of his lunch. "Now, just take it out to your car, and no one will ever know the difference."

Nodding, Wilson zipped up the bag. "Get going, before Cutty shows up!"

House gave Cameron a look as he left the office, before turning away, walking briskly towards the parking lot.

Did he just look… grateful? Nah, that's just definitely not his style. Funny, though…

Wilson picked up the yo-yo off of the ground, putting it back into the top left drawer. "Put all the weird little toys in here," he told her. "The books go back on the shelf, in alphabetical order, and the paperwork… just stack that on the desk. He can sort it out later."

She smiled, picking up a game-boy. "I had no idea he had so many." Wilson laughed at her expression.

"He's like that, Dr. Cameron. Things like this – they just help him think. He's got to be one of the hospital's most brilliant minds, but –"

"If you tried to force him to be like all the others he'd suffocate," she finished. "I know. He's definitely not the average doctor, and Cutty knows that. That's probably why she gives him so much leeway."

Wilson smiled wistfully. He knew that that was only part of the reason, but it was House's decision to tell her, not his.

"You know, talking about others behind their back is always a sign of a small mind," Cutty intoned from the door. "Wow. He didn't bring it, did he?" She looked questioningly at Wilson. "He knows better than that!"

Wilson sighed. "Yes. Apparently he had no idea it was in his bag when he left. Of course, it did trash his office, as you can see, so karma was at work."

She laughed. "Well, he's probably pretty upset right now, but that's no excuse to skip clinic. When he comes back, tell him to get down to the walk-in, pronto."

Cameron nodded. "Will do, Dr. Cutty."