Thanks for the reviews-and to Mollusk, I didn't really mean House was 'cheering' per se. However, he was excited. I mean, who wouldn't be? And, has anybody besides me actually seen the movie AIRPLANE? Just wondering…

Anyways…

Vacation

Chapter 2

House checked his watch, and then checked it again. It was already 7:20, and not a familiar soul he had seen in the terminal. Thousands of people had passed him; four blonde women named Beth, two screaming kids, and at least a thousand sixteen year olds, all in the same blue shirts, yakking on cell phones. It was going to be a loooooooooong day.

Finally, at 7:25, he saw Wilson bustle through the gates.

House leaned forward in the chair he was sitting in and closed the magazine he was reading. "Where have you been?"

Wilson looked disgruntled. "I woke up late. Damn alarm clock went off for ten minutes before I woke up."

"Do you live in a dorm?"

"No."

"Then you're okay. And quit complaining- I had quite a mishap myself with the cane here. It took me ten minutes to make the security guard that I cannot, in fact, walk without my came. Stupid, stupid people."

House leaned back and began reading his magazine again, leaving Wilson to contemplate his last comment.

The rest came in one by one…Foreman was next, closely followed by Cameron, and then Chase, who had been at the wrong gate for forty-five minutes, and finally Cuddy, who showed up at 7:50.

"Where the hell have you been?" Foreman asked.

"Packing."

"You packed this morning?"

"Shut up. I would have been here sooner, too, but I had a broach on and the stupid metal detector went off. They confiscated the damn thing, anyways." Cuddy sat down in the empty seat next to Chase and muttered, "only takes thirty freaking minutes to go through security." She leaned forward so that she could see all of her colleague's faces. "Did anyone bring a syringe? Would a detector go off on a syringe?"

At that very moment (to everyone's huge relief) a loud voice came out of a speaker to their left. "Princeton, New Jersey to San Diego, California, now boarding at Gate B-19. Have your boarding pass and ID ready. Thank you."

(The attendant that was checking the ID's and boarding passes reminded Wilson of Malibu Barbie to a great extent.)

As they entered the plane, a different attendant was handing out Winter-Fresh, so that their ears didn't pop like crazy as they left the atmosphere. They found their seats: Wilson, House and Cuddy in row 5, and the ducklings in row 6.

Cuddy motioned to the row of comfy-looking chairs. "Anyone want the window seat?"

Wilson put his hands up in the air, palms up. "No! Like I want to see the ground closing in on us as we crash!" Cuddy rolled her eyes and made a silent memo to herself to put arsenic in his drink next opportunity she could, but House didn't wait around- he took the seat.

After a long lecture about all of the safety hazards and precautions, yadayadayada, oxygen masks, parachutes and big yellow slides, the plane took off. Cameron chewed her gum vigorously and took cleansing breaths.

Wilson nudged House as he peered through the two seats to look at Allison. "What's she so worked up about?"

House looked through the two seats, too, and saw Cameron whispering to herself: "Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale."

"She watches LOST," was House's simple answer. Wilson nodded his head to signify he understood.

The next few hours, things were pretty low-key, with the exception of Cameron's mini-breakdown, which wasn't really a break down after all…she had just never been on a plane before.

At 9:08, House took out a camera and began to take pictures of random things; The bald guy who sat in the aisle parallel to them, his shoes, the flight attendant with the honey-glazed cashew cart, and when Cuddy fell asleep and her head fell onto Wilson's shoulder, House was there, snapping pictures madly, that he would use later for blackmail, or something to that effect.

Another hour passed…

Cuddy drooled a bit in her sleep…

Chase muttered off and said, "Stop, who goes there?" In his sleep…

House continued his photography binge…

A little turbulence as they flew over Missouri and into Nebraska.

The Lion King II played as the in-flight movie (Cameron and Foreman watched Bruce Almighty on Foreman's DVD player, instead.)

And then…

Cameron looked out her window and exclaimed, "Look! There it is!" And indeed, there it was: California in all its glory. As you looked down, you could see suburbs; houses with pools in every back yard. Palm trees lining every street and…the Pacific. The waves crashed aginst the coast, glistening as sea gulls skimmed it's surface, it's colors changing and clashing, churning. It was a sight indeed. Finally, at 9 O'clock (California time) the captain's voice crackled over the loud speaker, "I'd like to welcome everyone to San Diego, California."

My props to people who read this that actually live anywhere near San Diego; I've been there about three times, but I have pretty vivid memories of it, if that's any conciliation. I don't think it's that good, but whatever, if ya'll like it, I'll keep writing. It'll get better, I PROMISE! Thanks so much,

Sizz