Authors Notes:

I just wanted to thank everyone for the encouraging reviews. As the story starts to flow I hope to have more little scenes between House and Cameron. It took me a bit to get comfortable with the uniquely House style, but I think it's getting easier now.

For Kate: my webmistress who is anxiously waiting for me to finish this so she can add a House page to my website----- I'm typing as fast as I can!

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Allison was relieved to find House alone in his office. Without saying a word she smoothed out the piece of paper with the results on it and put it on his desk. Then just as silently she left. Avoiding him for the rest of the day was easy, she just stayed in the clinic. Buried in the routine if runny noses, sprains and general hypochondria she was able to push her problems to the back of her mind for the remainder of the day. Soon enough however it was time to go find her ride home.

She gathered her things and once again headed to House's office. She paused in the doorway to study him for a moment as he sat quietly staring out the window. She couldn't help but wonder if he had moved at all in the fours hours since she had left him there.

Without looking at her he suddenly reached for his cane and inquired, "Ready to go home?"

Her heart lightened a bit at the word 'home', but her only response was a node and a quiet "Yes."

The drive was silent as was much of the evening. They worked side-by-side effortlessly to make dinner, and then afterward settled in front of the television. Allison dozed off within minutes, finally succumbing to exhaustion. House used the opportunity to study her closely. Even in sleep she looked tired and unhappy. In all the confusion of his own thoughts he had neglected to even wonder how she felt about this. After all, no matter how hands-on a dad he turned out to be, the main burden of child rearing was bound to fall on her. He hadn't once considered that she might not want a baby at all. He'd been too wrapped up in his own little panic party.

He really was a selfish bastard he decided. After all he'd once suspected that she'd lost a baby. If that was the case she was probably scared to death at the thought of carrying another, even if it was something she wanted. And if it wasn't something she wanted… suddenly his thoughts were once again in overdrive. What if she wanted to terminate the pregnancy? Was that what he wanted? Yesterday if asked hypothetically he probably would have glibly stated yes. But now that the reality was staring him in the face he found the idea was appalling.

Eventually he realized that none of these concerns was going to get resolved that night, and after swearing softly he woke Allison up and sent her to bed to get some proper sleep.

Tomorrow, much as he hated the idea, they would have to talk.

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The next morning House was surprised to find Allison up, showered and the coffee started when he got up. After a shower to try to shake away the cobwebs left by a less than sound night's sleep, and getting dressed he went to pour himself a cup of coffee and found the pot full. Allison was sipping a cup of tea, and nibbling on toast as she read the paper. Seeing him raise an eyebrow at the choice of beverage she put aside the newspaper and sighed.

"I had the coffee almost made when I realized I had better cut down," she admitted.

"Ah," he acknowledged awkwardly, then realized it was a good sign. "I guess that answers one of my questions," he added.

"Which question is that?" she inquired with a small frown.

"Whether you wanted to keep the baby or not," he told her.

"Oh!" she replied, her eyes widening in surprise. "It was never even a question in my mind," she confessed. Then she stared at him as if trying to choose her next words carefully.

He saved her from having to ask. "Good."

Now Allison's eyes really opened wide. Had he actually been worried about that? Should she take that as a hopeful sign?

Before she could think too much about it, Greg finished his breakfast and announced he was heading into work. Normally Allison would be going in too as the one of the concessions they had made at work to being a couple was to coordinate their Saturday shifts. However Allison had traded this month with Foreman so he could go to a wedding with his new girlfriend, and so she was looking forward to a day to herself.

"You need to drop me by the repair shop to pick up my car," she reminded him.

"Well let's move it. You know how Cuddy gets when I'm late," he sighed. "I can already see her gleefully waiting at the door just trying to decide how many hours of clinic duty she will give me for each minute I'm tardy."

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Allison spent most of the morning at the salon, getting her hair trimmed and a manicure and pedicure. She was feeling a lot more human afterwards and decided to treat herself to lunch at a favorite restaurant. She was enjoying a wonderfully sinful burger and extra thick chocolate shake when two woman sat down across from her with a small baby totally disturbing her peaceful lunch. The child wasn't fussing, far from it. The little angel was fast asleep in his carrier, one small fist up against his cheek and his perfect little pink lips sucking even in sleep.

A part of Allison found the sight beautiful and her heart swelled with longing. One hand drifted to caress the child she now carried. But a large part of her heart was remembering another baby dressed in a blue cap and mittens to try to keep his body temperature up. That baby's lips had never been pink, always tending to have a bluish tint to them. And he had been so incredibly small and fragile.

Quickly she paid the bill and left. At first when she got in her car she had no idea where she was headed, but when she found herself in front of her old apartment she wasn't surprised. She only had another month on the lease and then she would need to be out. Most everything had been cleaned out, but she knew there was one particular box in her bedroom closet that she had been procrastinating moving. Now was definitely the time. Her only dilemma was whether to open the box here where she could grieve in private or to take it back to the townhouse where she would have a shoulder to cry on.

Eventually it was the quiet of the apartment that drove her to leave. She wanted to do this in the comfort of her own home, and she could no longer think of this empty place as home. Whether she liked it or not, home was where House was. She let out a soft chuckle at the corny thought.

'I really should embroider that on a pillow,' she mused as she put the box in her car.

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Meanwhile, a few miles away, House had spent his free time (when he was hiding out instead of actually treating anybody) slowly coming to the realization that sometime in the last twenty-four hours he had started to have very strong protective feelings towards his unborn child. It was very unlike him, and he tried to deny it for most of the day. However he eventually had to accept the fact that that the thought that Allison might want to abort the baby had kick-started his paternal feelings.

He was still totally freaked out by the thought of being responsible for raising a child, but a quick trip up to maternity during his afternoon 'break' convinced him that he could handle it. He chuckled at the memory. He wasn't sure who had been more surprised when he was caught staring through the window at the lineup of new life displayed there. He'd been startled at being caught, but it was nothing compared to the look of shock on the face of the nurse who had discovered him staring at the babies with a goofy grin on his face.

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On his way to his car in the lot that evening House decided to call Allison to see if she wanted to go out to eat. Depending on where she was maybe they could meet up. When she wasn't at home he tried her cell and was surprised to hear an older woman's voice on the other end.

"Dr. Cameron's phone," she politely answered.

"And just who the heck is this, because you certainly aren't Allison," House questioned in clipped tones.

"No, this is her neighbor, Mrs. Paulson," she replied. "Is this Allison's Doctor friend?"

"Yes it is. Just where is Allison?" House asked barely keeping himself from shouting at the old broad.

"I would imagine she'd still at the hospital. The accident only happened half an hour ago. Such a terrible thing," the woman began to babble.

"What hospital?" House demanded.

"Princeton-Plainsboro. She insisted," Mrs. Paulson informed him.

But House had already hung up. He was on his way back into the building he'd left only moments before, heart pounding. It took him ten minutes to get to the ER. Ten of the longest minutes of his life as possible scenarios ran through his mind, each more terrible than the last. Finally spotting a nurse he recognized he taped his cane loudly to get her attention and demanded, "Dr. Cameron?"

"Exam two, Doctor," April Lange responded efficiently, and House pivoted and was off once again.

The sight that met his eyes when he entered the exam room was momentarily confusing. His eyes went immediately to the table where a young boy lay. Then they flew up to find Allison standing next to the table, her clothes full of blood and one hand holding onto the young patient's.

Understanding came in a rush. With the realization that she wasn't the one hurt came a wave of dizzy relief. He quickly left the room, found a chair and swiftly sat down before his legs could give out on him. He had calmed down a bit by the time Allison exited the exam room. Still, on seeing the amount of blood on her shirt he felt a tremor of fear run through him.

"What happened?" he asked pulling her down onto a chair next to him and wrapping an arm around her to pull her in close.

"I was putting something in my car when out of nowhere this SUV came whipping around the corner. Three of the neighbor boys were out on their bikes and this guy sent all three of them flying, then just drove off. Two were only bruised up thanks to their bike helmets, but little Michael in there took the brunt of the impact. He broke an arm, a leg and two ribs, along with his nose. That's where all of the blood came from. I had the devil of a time keeping his airway clear until the ambulance arrived.

"Prognosis?" House asked slipping into doctor mode.

"Pretty good considering. But I shudder to think what could have happened if he and the other boys hadn't been wearing those helmets," she sighed. "I need to go talk to Michael's mom."

House put an arm up to stop her as she rose from the chair. "Hang on. You are going to totally freak her out looking like that," he warned.

Allison looked down with a grimace. "I don't have a spare here at the moment," she lamented.

House looked around until he saw a supply closet then he got up and led her over to it. He opened the door and pulled her inside. Once there he started to unbutton her blouse.

"Greg, what are you doing," she asked in confusion.

"Take that off, you can have mine," he told her then paused. "What did you think I was doing?"

"Nothing," she lied, blushing.

"Why Dr. Cameron. I'm shocked," he teased as he handed her his shirt. "I'll go get my spare shirt and meet you back here."

"Right here?" she quipped, smiling in amusement.

Greg was relieved to see the smile and couldn't help returning it. "Right here would be great, but I think out in the hallway would be more practical. However as long as we are here now," he suggested as he pulled her in close.

The kiss was slightly frantic on his part, fueled by the fear of losing her that hadn't quite evaporated.

Finally Allison pulled back with a sigh. "I'm fine," she assured him.

Involuntarily his eyes lowered to her abdomen, and she realized he had been afraid for more than just her safety. Quietly she raised his chin up with one had so she could look into his eyes.

The love she saw there caused her to give him one of her full-blown smiles.

"We are all fine," she insisted.

And for the first time in days she knew it was true.

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TBC