Disclaimer- Santa, I've been a very good girl, please send 'em down my chimney I'll take good care of him. I mean a House is for life, not just for Christmas right?

A/N- To all of you that have read, reviewed and stuck with me, I thank you from the bottom of my fluffy pink comforter. I hope I am keeping the team in character as much as possible, not being overly sentimental and bringing the odd smirk to peoples faces every now and then. Chapter 24 is not how I wanted it to turn out, but sometimes a filler chapter is necessary and it definitely isn't one of my strongest. Apologies. As my teachers used to put on my school reports (many, many years ago, when people still wrote with quills and ink) must try harder next time. Tina 

Chapter 24

Harry's Bar 8.32pm

Determined that tonight was one night she was not going to screw up by getting loaded, Cameron slowly sipped her Coke. House and Wilson had been playing pool for the last fifteen minutes, leaving her alone with Sarah. A really nice woman, Cameron thought, as she awaited her new found gal-pal's return from the bathroom. Cameron hadn't found out much about her other than she was 28, working in medical research for a prestigious lab in Kansas and was in the process of divorcing her husband of two years. Cameron being Cameron, she had also managed to wean out of her that she had just found out she was pregnant, a fact which made Cameron warm to her even more.

Casting her mind back to the scene she had played out an hour before in the back of Wilson's car, she felt her stomach do a little somersault. Had she gone too far? Had she blown any chance, however slight, of her making any in-roads with House? No, surely not. She had only whispered in his ear and touched his chest. That very thought alone made her squirm slightly in her seat. Allison, what were you thinking you donut! The whole fiasco of her stumbling into the car, elbowing House in his whatnots and her ending up both on his lap and the floor, had clearly made her act a little out of character. Partly through embarrassment and partly because she figured she had nothing left to lose in the making a complete arse of herself stakes. Besides, he could have ignored her request to join her and Sarah for a few drinks, could have laughed out loud or made a glib remark. But he hadn't. Instead, he'd simply instructed Wilson of a change of plan, and they'd wound up here, where he was now looking the most relaxed she'd seen him in ages, possibly since the night of the monster trucks rally, and she was feeling slightly relieved but hopelessly nervous, unsure of which card to play next. As she considered the options open to her, Sarah arrived back with a tray holding a further two Cokes for her and Cameron, and two bottles of Bud Light for the boys.

'I just spoke to the guys on the way back, they're going to finish this game and then rejoin us,' she said matter of factly as she squeezed past Cameron and back into her chair. 'They look like they're having fun, although Greg doesn't appear to be taking his imminent defeat particularly well.'

Cameron turned her head slightly, just in time to see House thump his cue down on the table, growl at a passing waitress and prod Wilson with his cane.

'He's not a good loser, that much is true,' Cameron replied, laughing at the squabbling she could hear behind her, as House disputed Wilson's last shot. 'If Wilson had any sense he'd throw the game and let House win, it would make for a quieter life.' As she sipped her fresh Coke, this one containing a pink sparkly parasol, courtesy of House's intervention as Sarah had stood at the bar ordering, she turned back to face her new friend. 'So, you've come all this way to tell Julie about the baby, huh? Long-distance didn't seem easier?'

Sarah smiled. 'Well, I had planned on taking a trip out this way a little while back, but what with all the divorce business, I couldn't get away sooner. It's been about a year since I last saw Julie, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity, what with my news and all, to come visit.'

'So she has no idea?'

'Nope, and she loves surprises, so I can't wait to tell her. It won't be until tomorrow though. After the long day she's having today, I'd rather save it until the morning. She's going to be so shocked.'

'Let it go, the better man won,' Wilson said to House, as the two of them returned to the table. 'You can't win at everything. As an only child you may have been used to getting your own way, but it doesn't work with me.'

House scowled angrily at him. 'I get my own way because I'm right. Always. And you moved the cue ball whilst I wasn't looking.'

'I did not.'

'You did!'

'Not.'

'Did too!'

Realising they were providing an unintentionally amusing sideshow for the ladies, Wilson and House both grinned at each other. Before House quickly reverted to scowling. 'You won't win the next one.'

'How much you wanna lay on it?' Wilson asked.

'Fifty.'

'Like taking candy from a baby. But don't come crying when I show you up in front of everybody. Just because you've watched The Hustler a few times, it isn't a given you'll become the next Fast Eddie.'

'Ha!' House swigged a large mouthful of beer and rested his cane against the table.

'Really! Why don't you just revert to type and try and outstare the beer-mat.'

Cameron and Sarah sat watching the amusing exchange, both with a wry smile on their faces.

'James said you like to play the piano,' Sarah said, thinking that a diversion from the sore subject of pool-shooting superiority wouldn't go amiss.

House, unaccustomed to being the subject of such direct scrutiny, began picking at the label on his half-empty bottle. 'A little, every now and then. Helps pass the time.'

'I wouldn't have thought you had a lot of time on your hands, doctors like you and James must have a huge caseload. Julie says James is always getting caught working late at the hospital.'

Wilson averted his gaze, suddenly feeling the urge to mirror House's label peeling antics. Knowing that House was fully aware75 per cent of his urgent phone calls home to tell Julie not to wait up due to a pressing medical emergency were in fact a result of him having struck gold in his pursuit of all things of the female persuasion. House swiftly replied, 'Oh you know, Jimmy is a busy boy. His bedside manner is in much greater demand than mine.'

Wilson relieved, but not completely home and dry just yet, shifted uncomfortably and began taking larger gulps of beer. Grateful that his mobile went off at the most opportune moment possible. On finishing the brief call, he looked at House. 'Julie. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a rain check on collecting my fifty. Her car's broken down on Calhoun Street, I'm going to have to go pick her up.'

'No problem. I can get a cab.' Wilson looked apologetically at him, knowing that to drop House and Cameron home would add an extra forty minutes on to his journey time, and keeping Julie waiting, especially as her time with her sister was limited already, was probably not a good move. And besides, he had spent enough nights on the couch to keep him going for some time.

'Seriously, it's not a problem. Go.' House was mindful of the fact Sarah was present, therefore preventing him telling what he really thought of Julie. That she had probably deliberately let the gas run low so that she could snap her bony little fingers and get her lapdog come running. 'Cameron can pay, might even get a discount on the fare if she repeats her earlier performance. Driver will think she's a whack job on the run from the local institution.'

Wilson reluctantly zipped his jacket and moved Sarah's chair out of the way so she could get her purse from off the floor. 'I'll see you Monday. We'll let the prize money ride until next weekend. I can wait till then to collect my winnings, with interest on top.'

'Huh. You think?' House tipped his almost empty bottle in a salutary fashion at him, and again at Sarah, who had just finished hugging Cameron goodbye.

Watching them leave the bar, House turned his brilliant gaze on the slightly subdued Cameron. 'What you wishing her luck for? Think she'll need it to get through 48 hours with Homer and Marge? Or is it because you've warned her that your crocheting technique is a little rusty?'

'How did you….? No. I mean…'

'It may have escaped your attention but it has been rumoured that I am indeed a fully paid up member of the medical profession. She's drinking soft drinks, holding her stomach, changing the subject every time Wilson went within 30 yards of her and you've been grinning dumbly for the last hour. I hardly think her humour was what had you flashing your incisors.'

'She's nice. Sweet.'

'And is also genetically linked to Morticia Wilson. Not good. Scary in fact.'

Cameron looked directly into his eyes. 'What exactly do you have against Julie?'

'Nothing that a harpoon wouldn't take care of. She's manipulative, demanding and has a third nipple.'

Cameron's jaw dropped.

'Ok, I made the last one up. But I wouldn't rule the idea out altogether.'

'Unbelievable. Do you have anything nice to say about anybody?'

'I like me. Ditto Cameron Diaz. I personally think there's a lot to be said for Julia Roberts, apart from that time she decided to strike a blow for feminists everywhere and cultivate pit hair.' House looked at her questioningly. 'So… you wanna split the cab fare with me?'

'Now?'

'Well, it's not a school night, I guess we could stay up a little later if you've finished your homework. I was just eager to see what comedy routine you had lined up for the journey home.'

Cameron blushed. 'It wasn't my fault. The shoes are new, I'm not used to slingbacks.'

'Yeah, I have the same problem whenever I wear them.'

She smiled. 'Now that I'd love to see. How many pairs do you own?'

House grinned. 'Peep toed or fully enclosed? Low-heeled or stiletto? I'll have to check and get back to you on it. But it's a little more than five and a slightly less than Imelda Marcos's collection.'

'Ha!' Cameron paused. 'You know, I am grateful you changed your plans and came here tonight. It's been fun.'

'I'm a real fun guy, and by that I don't mean I'm a mushroom. Besides, I didn't have much choice. Given you'd almost castrated me thirty seconds before, I didn't like to refuse. You might have karate-chopped me in the solar plexus if I'd said no.'

'Wise move. We should do it more often.'

House grimaced. 'What, elbowing me in my testicles is something you derive pleasure from? Sick. You've been hanging around that pervy pain-lover Chase too long.'

Cameron rolled her eyes. 'You know what I meant. I'm going to the bathroom, you can call the cab. I promise I won't inflict any more pain and suffering on you tonight.'

As she walked off, House reflected on her closing statement. He wasn't too sure that she was right. She'd been the cause of much of his pain and suffering for the last eighteen months. And he was certain that it wasn't about to abate any time soon.