Dark past: chapter 2
Disclaimer; They are still not mine, although I do have some evil plans in the works to change that. Mwa ha ha.
Authors note: Thank-you to angry penguin, Val'istar En' Alu and Tracie for the reviews, I found them really encouraging. Sorry its taken me so long to update, sudden flood of assignments has been keeping me busy. Also sorry if this isn't much to do with the main plotline, have to have House and Cam in position first.
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Allison Cameron was fed up. They had been avoiding each other ever since "the date." It was getting ridiculous; she had even heard from the nurses that House had willingly done his clinic duty, just to perpetuate the avoidance. Although she doubted the truth of said rumours Allison still felt the familiar urge of wanting to express her feelings on the matter.
She chastised herself, reminding herself of the brilliant benefits reaped from the "I like you" conversation, and many others like it. House had chosen to push her away. Maybe it was time to let go. But… what about the monster trucks, that night was imprinted on her mind. It was what had her so convinced that House did actually have feelings for her. Cameron scoffed, if only her "college buddies" could see her acting like this little lost puppy. It would be worth exposure just to see the utter bewilderment on their faces. That thought awoke something in Allison and she decided it was time to shed the "innocent girl" niche she had so carefully constructed for herself. It was almost as bad as House hiding behind his snark. A wry smile graced her lips; maybe they really were just as damaged as each other.
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Chase sat doing a crossword puzzle, House didn't want to see Cameron and that meant they couldn't actually take on any cases. He knew "the date" had practically had a neon disaster sign in front of it. But even though it had been expected he was still glad to realise it had gone badly, maybe he still had a chance with Cameron. He glanced at her over the crossword puzzle he was no longer paying attention to and gave her one of his patented charming smiles, that disarmed most patients.
Alison felt Chase's eyes on her, she looked up and threw him a half-hearted smile. Chase casually moved into the chair next to her. "Hey, how about we get a drink later?" Chase asked simply. Cameron had of course seen that coming, and had briefly thought about shooting him down just like she had the first time. She settled on "maybe another time. I'm quite tired." She needed more time to think things through. Almost as though her thought had been heard and in a direct effort to refuse her time, the quick thump-step of House stormed the room. Alison unconsciously crossed her legs and rubbed her foot against the holster of her gun.
"Differential diagnosis, people." House demanded writing the last of the symptoms on the whiteboard. Foreman walked in saying a quick sorry for being late and sat down. They all made suggestions and House sent them off to run tests. Cameron lingered after Chase and Foreman had left. She was going to confront House, but her confidence seemed to be ebbing away. Maybe the only way to get through his idiotic levels of stubbornness and sarcasm was through an act of idiocy itself.
"So when's the next date going to be?" She asked playfully. The intense blue of his eyes pierced her.
"Didn't realise you were into the torture thing too, you should hook up with Chase." He said sarcastically.
Alison rolled her eyes but decided to continue with matching sarcasm. "Why are you avoiding me? You were doing so well at being a jackass."
"I didn't want a stuffed animal made by Grandma crying in my office; I would have to whack you to death with my cane and Cuddy would be really mad." He replied, not mentioning the hint of disappointment he had felt at the outcome of their date or how he actually enjoyed the feeling he got when one of his quips made her smile. And then the words just decided to pop out of his mouth.
"If we went on another date, you'd have to where spandex." Even though she was trying to be serious and he was just teasing her, for some reason that made her smile.
"I have a better idea, we go on another date and don't do any analysing of each other, that seems to be our downfall." Alison said seriously.
"But what would we talk about? We're much too good for small-talk like the mere mortals." He joked.
"Maybe there wont be much time for talk." She winked at him, they were both surprised at her composure. "Saturday night, pick me up at seven." She smiled and continued mimicking him; "don't be late."
"I wont" He mirrored, bemused. What had just happened, he thought of taking it back. House had to keep his heart protected, and hers, this would all end badly. But she was already out the door, he sighed.
Colour was rising in Alison's cheeks, she breathed deeply. It felt like she was feeling the whole rainbow of emotions from anger; at him for many reasons and herself for the whole date thing, to joy at the idea of the whole date thing.
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House's feelings were also plagued with annoying contradictions during the following week. They had a kind of awkward comfortableness around each other. In the way they allowed their fingers to brush as she handed him his coffee and in the lack of bitterness in House's snark towards her, just for starters. Excitement and anxiety. Hope and fear.
House was thinking actually thinking about how their second date would go when he heard someone call his name. He would have usually ignored whoever it was but the use of his first name surprised him, he turned around. And there she was, the woman he had loved, the woman who had betrayed him; Stacy.
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(AN: This scene is the same as what happened on the show.)
"What about drugs? His tox screen on admission showed a massive amount of chloral-hydrate." Chase suggested.
"Yeh, sorry, that was me, I had to dope him up to get him in here, guy doesn't think he is sick." House said.
"Who does?" Cameron asked.
"His wife." He replied.
"The woman you used to live with." Cameron stated.
"That's her Indian name, on her drivers' licence it's Stacy." Said House.
"I assume you have a point."
"You believe her over the patient himself. That's why we're taking this case."
"The truth, I hear voices, all the time, telling me to do stuff its crazy huh."
"What happened to everybody lies?
"I was lying."
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Cameron was livid. House had just cancelled their date, so much for progress. He had said he needed to stay and figure out what was wrong with their latest patient. The one who had nothing wrong with him. Cameron knew Stacy's return had caused all of his defensive barriers to come back up. At the moment she had no idea what she was going to do.
House stood twirling his cane. He was frustrated, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with Mark Warner. He had seriously screwed up his chances with Cameron and Stacy was back filling him with confusion. He honestly didn't know whether having to stay late had just been an excuse or not. Stacy being here, had made him realise he really couldn't start anything with Cameron.