Chapter 9

Cameron came into work the next morning looking confident and sure of herself. She entered the conference room to find that nobody was there. She looked over to House's office. He wasn't in yet.

While waiting for the others, she made the coffee and sorted House's mail. On his desk, she placed an envelope with his name on it on top of the pile of mail that were important.

She headed back to the conference room to find Chase and Foreman putting on their lab coats. She cleared her throat to let them know that she was there.

They turned around to Cameron standing there. They said their "Good mornings" then went to back to what they were doing. Foreman noticed that Cameron look like she had something on her mind.

"Is something wrong, Cameron?" Foreman asked. Chase turned around to look at Cameron more carefully.

"Um…I thought that you guy should be the first to know that…um…remember that discussion we had yesterday?"

Chase thought for a while before realizing what she meant. "Yeah, what about it? Are you going through with it?"

Cameron nodded her head. Foreman and Chase looked shocked. "You're going through with abortion?"

"What? No! I'm going through with the pregnancy."

Chase and Foreman looked relieved when she said that.

"Well, you have to tell House now. Keeping the baby means that it's going to start to show. Better tell him now, we'll be there for you if you need us," Foreman said. Cameron looked uncomfortable.

"See…that's the other thing I want to tell you guys." She paused, not knowing how to put it. "I…I'm quitting."

For the second time in less than five minutes, Foreman and Chase looked shocked. "You're quitting? Why?" Chase asked.

"If I want to keep the baby, I have to quit. House said he doesn't want commitment so I'm relieving him of that duty. If he doesn't know about the pregnancy, he wouldn't have to worry about committing to the baby."

"Cameron, don't you think it's wrong to keep a secret this big from House? After all, he is--?" Foreman was saying before he was interrupted.

"Keep what secret from me?" They didn't noticed that House had entered the conference room. He didn't hear what was said before that but when he entered the room, he heard something about a secret. He turned towards Cameron. "What secret?" he asked again.

"Nothing," all the doctors replied. They looked at each other guiltily.

"Right," House said skeptically.

When House entered his office, Cameron pressed her finger to her mouth, signaling that they should keep quiet about the pregnancy.

Foreman sat down, reaching for the newspaper while Chase was at the sink pouring himself a cup of coffee. Cameron was almost out of the door, heading for the clinic when House stuck his head in the conference and firmly said, "Cameron, I need to speak with you."

She entered his office, leaving Foreman and Chase with puzzled looks on their faces. When she sat down, House held up the letter with his name on it. He was holding her resignation letter.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "What does it look like to you?" she asked.

"It looks like your resignation letter. Pray tell, why are you resigning?"

"Let me ask you a question. Do you want to commit?"

"Commit to what?" he asked angrily. He saw where this conversation was going and he didn't like it.

"Just commitment in general. Are you willing to commit to something?"

"No," he said quite forcibly.

"Well, I am. Since you are not, I'm quitting."

He scoffed. "That's a stupid excuse. Why don't you just say that seeing me everyday breaks your heart so the only thing that you can do is to quit? At least, I would believe that."

"That's not the reason why I'm quitting."

"Then what is?" he interrupted her crossly.

"Personal reasons."

"Which are?"

"Personal. That's my resignation letter. I'm giving you two weeks notice then I'm gone. You won't have to worry about me ever again." She stood up and walked out of his office.

House stared after her until she was out of sight. He reached down, pulled open the third drawer on the left, and pulled out a bottle of vodka. After taking a long drink from it, he set the bottle on the desk. He reached over and turned on his stereos. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. What have I done?

The next two weeks went by rather slowly for House and Cameron. They both were dreading the day that would be Cameron's last. They didn't have a patient so most of their time was free. House spent that time either in office or with Wilson, while Cameron spent her time in the lab, the clinic, or in the bathroom.

Cameron's morning sickness hadn't gone unnoticed by the hospital staff. They knew about House and Cameron spending one night together. There is nothing that the nurses don't know. They know who's in or out of the closet, who's sleeping with who, and who's doing what. They knew that House was the father and that he didn't want anything to do with either Cameron or the baby. They also knew to keep their mouth shut. So the only person in the hospital that didn't know was the father himself.

Cameron's last day was depressing. Everybody came to say goodbye to her. Wilson had said his goodbye early because he had to go to a conference in California. Foreman and Chase kept giving her hugs to comfort her. They knew that she didn't want to leave but she had no choice.

It was the end of the day and Cameron was saying her goodbyes to the last of the doctors and nurses. She didn't see House all day but she wasn't surprised. He had been avoiding her since the day she gave him her resignation.

She went into her office and started to pack her things. She didn't start packing until yesterday. She wanted to get the task over with, once and for all. She was packing her medical books in boxes when House came in.

She looked up at him and for the first in weeks, she saw his face. His eyes were sunken with a giant bag under each eye. His stubble was much more pronounced and his face looked thinner as if he didn't eat for several days. His irises, however, were still as blue as ever. He stood in her office, not saying anything. He just stood there looking at her then at the boxes.

When Cameron found her voice she asked, "What are you doing here, House? Aren't you usually home by now?"

He didn't say anything. He just stood there, his intense gaze heating the room. She sighed and continued packing. After a few minutes House broke the silence.

"Why are you leaving?"

She turned back towards him. "I already told you. I'm leaving for personal reasons."

"That are?"

"Personal."

He scoffed. "Just come right out and say it Cameron! Just say that you still love me and it hurts you to see the way I look at Stacey. Just say it."

"That is not the reason why I'm leaving."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not." She looked at him with such intensity that House knew that she was telling the truth.

"If that's not the reason, then what is?" House wasn't going to let her go without a reason. He had spent many nights pondering the very question. He had even stop eating for a couple days. He wanted to know and today was the last chance for him to find out.

"Are you willing to commit?"

"Didn't we already go over this once before? What does my commitment has anything to do with your leaving?"

"It has plenty to do with it. Now, answer the question. Are you willing to commit?"

He stared at her. His leg was starting to cramp but he wasn't going to let her know that. He didn't want to seem weak in front of her. With clenched teeth he said, "No, I'm not willing. Is this what it's all about? You're quitting because I don't want to commit?"

Cameron thought he clenched his teeth because he was frustrated, when in fact it was because of the pain. The pain from his leg, the pain from her leaving.

She didn't say anything. She just simply continued packing her books and certificates into the boxes. When she didn't answer, House just turned around and headed for the door. But before he left, he spoke with his back to her.

"Have a nice life, Dr. Cameron." It was spoken with hostility and bitterness. He didn't wait for Cameron to respond before leaving the office.

She stood there speechless. She may have seem indifferent on the outside, but on the inside she was cracking. Or rather, her heart was. Leaving House was not an easy decision for her. She wanted her child to have a chance it deserves.

She continued packing as tears silently streamed down her face. She bit her lips to keep from crying out. Her shoulders shook from her silent sobs. When she opened one of her desk drawers, intent on cleaning it out, she lost control.

She sat down on her chair and put her head on her arms. After her weeping had somewhat subsided, she looked back at the desk drawer. On top of her piles of notes was a picture of her and House.

The picture showed House with his arms wrapped around her slender waist. She had a smile plastered in her face and even House had the faintest hint of a smirk playing on his lips. They looked happy, peaceful.

Wilson had took it when he was testing out Foreman's new camera. Wilson teased House that he should wrap his arms around Cameron and pose for a picture. Surprising everyone, House did just that. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. Wilson quickly took the picture, not wanting to miss the opportunity. When Foreman developed the picture, he gave Cameron and House a copy.

Cameron looked down at the picture. It reminded her of the times that they had spent together, both at work and out of work. She threw it in the wastebasket by her desk and continued packing her things. After a moment, she stopped packing and looked down at the picture in the trashcan.

Somewhat hesitantly, she picked it up and placed it in one of her boxes, the one that held her most prized possessions. She finished packing and with one last look at her office, she left closing the door behind her.

House was sitting in his office, his chair turned to the window. Looking out of his office, one could see the parking garage. He sat there, looking at a figure walking towards the garage. It had long brown hair and was carrying boxes to their car. He watched her as she turned around, looking at PPTH on last time.

Even though he was several floors up and was certain she couldn't see him, he thought she was looking straight at him. She was far away but he could still make out faint streams of tears running down her face. He watched her mouthed "Goodbye" before turning around and headed once more for her car.

Once she was out of his sight, he quietly whispered, "Goodbye, Allison."

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's Note: Should I continue or should I leave it as it is? If you want me to continue, I already have an alternate ending in mind. Review to let me know.