Someone Else's Mess

A/N: Woot, finally a House WiP! This is based VERY loosely on the happenings of episode 2.07 (aka. the episode of doom). It explains itself though. I don't really know what exactly does happen/did happen in that episode though because I haven't seen it yet and probably won't get to for a while, hence it being 'very loosely' based on it.

I just want to confirm that I don't actually hate Chase. Hate is such a strong word. Sure, he's my least fave duckling, and comes in a close second for least fave character all together, but he's not hated. It may sound like I hate him in this fic, but I don't. And this will be shown nearer to the end of the fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of them; they all belong to David Shore (lucky poo).

-

He knew something was wrong even before opening the door; nobody ever visited, least of all in the middle of the night. When he looked through the spy hole, he was sure. Cameron was stood on the other side, only she really didn't look like Cameron. Her make-up was smeared, her eyes red, tears still streaming down her face. It was only after he let her in that he realized her shirt was ripped too.

"I'm sorry, I had nowhere to go… it's really late… sorry for waking you,"

Foreman tried to wipe the 'i-need-sleep-get-the-hell-outta-my-apartment' expression off his face, but soon gave up, "It's cool… are you okay?"

It was obvious from her appearance that Cameron was not okay, but he wasn't sure what else he could say. If she wanted him to know what was wrong, she'd tell him. She must have come to him for a reason. He couldn't help staring at her though, even in her current state there was no doubt she was one of the most beautiful people he'd ever seen. Long blonde-brown hair framed a child-like face, and she somehow looked so innocent yet so knowing. He couldn't explain it.

"I… I'm not okay… I've done something really awful and I don't know what to do!"

Confused, Foreman raised two gentle eyes to hers, "Alright, what did you do?"

"I… I slept with Chase,"

The tears came faster, streaming down her face like an unstoppable river of pain and regret. She couldn't fight it, she couldn't stop it. Even his arms coming round her, less like a brother to his little sister and for the first time more like a lover protecting his partner, they couldn't stop it. There was no time for any explanations, no need for detail. They just stood there, in the middle of his apartment, holding each other.

Cameron had to stop to wonder why Foreman wasn't acting at all surprised or disgusted. She was disgusted with herself, why wasn't he bothered? Chase was her best friend, his too, but he hadn't asked for an explanation or anything; he'd been willing to just hold her, for however long it took.

-

Morning came like a fire blazing on top of a hill – a fierce reminder of all things unwelcome. Chase had not been the only one she slept with that night, but Foreman was different. He'd leant her one of his t-shirts to throw over her pants and slept on top of the covers, her underneath them. It was uncomfortable at first, mostly because they had rarely even been to each other's apartments, let alone shared a bed before, but soon it felt natural. Allison had woken early to find herself holding on desperately to Eric. It wasn't something she did; she was stronger than that; she didn't let things get to her.

The morning brought all her fears to light. She knew she had to face him, but she didn't know how he was going to act. When she'd left him the night before, he had been asleep on her bed and hadn't woken even as she quickly dressed and let herself out. At least she had left the door unlocked so he could leave, but nevertheless he would be angry. She wondered just how long he'd wanted to go into her pants. If he was anything like House, it had been since they met. No, Chase wasn't House. Even if he never showed it on the outside, House cared about people, even if she wasn't one of those people. Chase didn't seem to care for anyone, not even his own father.

Once again, Cameron was ashamed of herself. Who was she to judge the relationship Chase had with his father, after all she'd only seen them together once or twice.

Slowly she sat up, hoping not to disturb Foreman which was practically impossible since his arm was across her chest. As she struggled to slide out of bed, he woke, sitting up straight and for a moment she was sure he'd forgotten she was there.

"Did you sleep okay?"

Cameron nodded, "Yes thank you. I'm really sorry for coming over last night; I know I should have… I don't know…"

"It's alright," He rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Where did you leave Chase?"

Blushing, she perched herself on the end of the bed again, "At my apartment. I don't think he'll be too happy to wake up alone,"

There was a long silence. All they'd ever found to talk about had been work… that and Foreman's lady friends, but she didn't think that was at all appropriate given the circumstances. Anyway, small talk wasn't exactly what they needed. She knew he was going to ask her sooner or later, it was just a matter of time. Instead of using that time to chatter about nothing, she decided to use it to think over exactly what had happened the day before.

"Are you ready to talk about it? I mean, you don't have to, if you feel more comfortable just… you know… keeping it to yourself," Foreman attempted a smile.

"I need to talk about it," Sighing, Cameron traced the pattern on the bed sheets absent mindedly, "I need to get it out of my mind. I don't even know why it happened, I'm not sure I want to. It was just one of those moments of madness and before I knew it we were kissing. He was undoing my shirt and I wasn't stopping him,"

She paused for a moment; gathering thoughts, Foreman guessed. There was nothing he could say, he just wished he didn't feel so uncomfortable talking about it. If he just gave her space, she'd continue in her own time, he knew not to push her.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. I don't love him; I don't even care for him. No, I don't mean that. He's a friend, and that's all. But… what am I supposed to do?"

Foreman shyly put an arm around her, "It'll be okay, we'll sort it out,"

TBC…