Title: Succumb (5?)
Author: Teenwitch
Summary: We have to succumb to the feelings we can never face.
It was difficult to readjust to the habit of socialising with her co-workers. For the past three years, at The New England Medical Centre, she maintained her persona as the quiet, polite, driven single mother. That label alone made people nervous of her. Very few doctors juggled parenthood alone. It set her apart from them, and that was fine with her. She didn't need to build roots or lasting friendships. It certainly hadn't worked the first time around. Her sole responsibility, as far as she was concerned, was her daughter. Everything else was secondary.
So, although she was hesitant about it, Foreman had asked her to meet him for lunch and there was nothing she could do but agree. He was running late, and she knew the Diagnostic Department was working on a case, so she slipped into the briefing room to wait for him to finish whatever it was he was up to.
It was empty. She allowed herself a brief sigh of relief.
She slowly paced the length of the room, pausing in front of the whiteboard and scanning their progress. She had become so accustomed to conducting their work through House's unconventional methods. Being such a small team had only added to their efficiency. House's familiar jagged scrawl was unmistakable. Symptoms were written and then crossed over. They appeared to have settled on Meningitis. For now, anyway.
"Can I help you?"
The voice startled her, and she glanced around, coming face to face with an unfamiliar man. He looked about Foreman's age, with neat black hair and piercing brown eyes. He was handsome, in a vague sort of way, and he was clad in a distinctive white lab coat. Even if she hadn't spotted his ID, she would have realised who he was.
"You're Dr. Hudson, right?"
He blinked, swiftly turning on a charming smile. She smiled back uneasily. She was familiar with the type, and disliked him on sight. As a general rule House refused to like anybody, but he had a particular aversion towards certain people. He was unremittingly perceptive, so she usually trusted his judgment. She could see that he had been right yet again.
"That's right. And you are?"
"Dr. Cameron," House's familiar voice interrupted, in a low, rumbling drawl that caused sudden Goosebumps to rise down her spine. He limped into the room, shooting Hudson an irritable look. "To what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?"
She knew she had been tempting fate by waiting for Foreman in the office. Perhaps that was why she had done it.
"I was waiting for Dr. Foreman," she answered carefully, clearing her throat. She wondered if he had noticed that she couldn't meet his eyes. "Do you know where he is?"
"With the patient, I think," Hudson spoke up, eyeing her curiously. "They had to transfer him to the clean room. He might be a while."
"Oh."
House lifted an eyebrow, breezing past her towards the coffee machine. He paused in front of it, slowly pursuing his lips. "Say, Cameron… for old time's sake…"
Somehow, it didn't surprise her than he had decided to pretend their meeting the day before hadn't happened. For a moment, it felt as if they had travelled back several years, falling into their old, familiar routine. A routine in which he had control.
She stared at him for a moment, and he met her gaze, almost daring her to get angry. He didn't deal with his emotions. As someone of the opposite nature, it had once been a source of great frustration for her. When he came across a situation that made him uncomfortable, he either mocked the party involved or ignored it completely. Clearly, he had decided to settle on the latter option where she was concerned.
She deliberately rolled her eyes, moving slowly past him to prepare a new batch. She needed to give her hands something to do, and his stare was mildly off-putting. It was so much easier to give in.
House took a seat at the briefing table, smirking in satisfaction, as if he had won some recurring battle. She supposed he had. Even after three years, he managed to have the upper hand. He lowered his head, flipping idly through what she assumed was the patient's file.
Hudson also took a seat, taking in their unmistakable familiarity; the underlying tension in their actions. "Ah, so-- I'm guessing you used to work here?"
House sighed, stretching the muscles in his neck and shoulders. "Way to state the obvious, Padre. Meet your predecessor. Our standards must be declining. She's so much more attractive than you are."
Cameron leant against the counter, wringing her hands distractedly in front of her as she waited for the coffee to brew. The hospital had a crèche for employee children on the sixth floor that she hadn't known about until just yesterday. Without Brooklyn, she felt strangely exposed in her old workplace, like her former, naive self. It was not a feeling she enjoyed, and she decided that if Foreman took more than five minutes she was heading down to lunch alone.
Hudson looked unbothered by House's snark. Either he had gained an immunity to it like the rest of them had eventually developed, or he felt he had something over House that gave him additional comfort. Cameron strongly suspected it was the latter.
"What are you doing back at the hospital?"
She inwardly frowned, mildly annoyed by his casual nosiness. "I'm, ah, working in the Immunology department," she said, hoping she sounded polite but decidedly uninterested. She recognised the way his eyes scanned her, and had a sinking feeling he had decided she was available. It was treatment she had grown accustomed to in such a male dominated workplace.
Hudson either missed her efforts to dissuade him, or decided to ignore them. "Really? I heard they were short-staffed. Are you thinking of staying?"
House's head snapped up slightly, and there was no way Cameron could pretend to have missed it. She hesitated, shifting nervously from foot to foot. "Uh, I don't know. I haven't really heard anything about it."
It was a blatant lie, and House was the master at detecting a good lie. He continued to flip through the patient file, keeping his eyes fixed downward. "Don't feign modesty now, Dr. Cameron. Cuddy's probably salivating to have you back at the hospital."
Cameron thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. She always got the impression that Cuddy liked her because she was good for House, not for her skills as a doctor. "I don't know. I think it's still too soon to be considering a move."
Thankfully, the coffee finished brewing, and she snatched House's favourite red mug from the side of the sink, quickly filling it. Despite the fact that many of the tasks she had once done for him might have classified her as a glorified secretary, she knew House didn't think of her that way. He made derisive, often sexist remarks, but she had always been assured he valued her contribution as a doctor. It was one thing she had never doubted.
She extended the mug towards him, and he glanced up at her, slowing taking it from her hand. Their fingertips grazed for a mere second, but a flash of electricity sparked between them, and Cameron snatched her hand back just as quickly.
House returned his attention to the file, like he hadn't felt it at all. She wondered if her presence even affected him like his always seemed to affect her. Even after three years apart.
"Well, I think I'm going to head down to the cafeteria", she said quickly, thankful her voice sounded firm and not shaky. "Can you please tell Foreman where I am if he gets back?"
Her eagerness to escape could not have been any more obvious. House lifted his eyes to hers, sipping his coffee slowly, before glancing across at Hudson who didn't appear to be leaving any time soon. "I think I'll come with," he announced, placing the mug carelessly on the table.
Cameron blinked, taken aback by his sudden announcement as he rose to his feet beside her. He shrugged at her look, shooting a pointed glance at Hudson. "I need to find Wilson so I can spring for some lunch money," he explained. "Hudson, you play messenger."
Hudson glanced between them, looking slightly disgruntled. Cameron could see House took a twisted sort of pleasure in it. "Sure."
She followed House through the glass door, silent as they made their way towards the elevator bank. He didn't look any more pleased to be alone with her than he had been with Hudson. The elevator doors drew closed, shutting out all other noise and suspending them in a strange, electric silence.
She was surprised when he decided to break it.
"How did it go? With Foreman and Chase last night?"
She spared a brief glance at him, uncertain if it was the question or the complete lack of sarcasm that set her off balance. "Uh, it went okay. It was… nice to see them again."
He nodded, staring straight ahead. "They tell you about Hudson?"
She smiled dimly. "They said he was a jerk."
House looked faintly amused by his employees' opinion. "Among other things," he agreed monotonously.
"They said you're not allowed to fire him," she added boldly. It gave her a brief thrill; knowing she was no longer one of House's employees. She could speak to him honestly, without worrying about the consequences. Mostly.
House looked down at her, swinging his cane idly by his side. Her need for defiance seemed to amuse him, and he smirked slightly. "What makes them so sure I'm not making him suffer first?"
The elevator doors slid open before she could voice a reply, and they headed towards the outside cafeteria. Wilson was reading a paper at an empty table, and House lifted an eyebrow at her. She nodded guardedly, accepting his silent invitation.
The fact that he was making an effort to restore some form of rapport between them surprised her immensely. They had, in their own unique, bitterly twisted way, been friends once. There was no way she could refuse him.
Wilson glanced up at their approach, and a welcoming smile lit his face. She smiled back. Being accepted by Wilson was like a silent permit into their secret club. "Hey, Cameron."
"Hey."
"Foreman stood her up," House offered, taking one of the opposite seats. "And she was excellent cover to escape from Hudson."
Wilson looked amused, folding the paper on the table in front of him. "You want money, don't you?"
"You make more than I do, don't be greedy. I can't ask Cameron to pay. That would just be rude."
Wilson rolled his eyes, extracting a twenty from his wallet. "You're like a child, you know that?"
"I hear that all the time." He glanced at Cameron, who had sat down beside him. "Want anything? Wilson's buying."
She wondered if this was his way of making up for their meeting yesterday. Wilson looked taken aback by his kindness, so it wasn't just her. It was a rare show of amiability from him nonetheless, and she decided to accept it. "A salad?"
He rolled his eyes. "Women don't know how to eat."
He strode off, money in hand, and she wondered if he was going to bring back something completely unappetising instead.
"Things look like they're better between you two."
Her eyes darted over Wilson, who was eyeing her perceptively. She knew he had encouraged a relationship between her and House, but she had no doubt his intentions were entirely honourable. Nevertheless, she felt slightly nervous discussing House with him. She knew anything she said might get back to him, voluntarily or not.
"Sure. I guess."
He smiled faintly. "Trust me, they are. I haven't seen him this interested in anything for months. It's hard to get him further than his office much these days."
She frowned, askance. "Why?"
Wilson shrugged reluctantly. "He's… tired. Wouldn't you be?"
She looked down at the table instead of answering. Wilson sensed her discomfort and easily changed the subject. "How are you taking the transition?"
She glanced up again, leaning back in her chair a little. The stiffness in her shoulders relaxed slightly. Good. A question she could answer. "Fine. Dr. Kendall is nice."
"I forgot, you've never met. She's quite good, don't you think? Cuddy hired her about two years ago now, after McPherson retired."
They fell into familiar banter about their collective cases, and she just had finished explaining her current case when House returned.
"I don't know what this is, but it looks much better than a salad," he declared, dropping a sandwich wrap in front of her.
She gave him a small smile, amused and oddly touched that he had chosen something that was basically the same thing she had ordered. "Thanks."
"Yeah, well, the lunch staff haven't gotten much better since you left, so don't be surprised if a severed finger turns up in there."
Wilson rolled his eyes, sipping the latte at his elbow. "Nice, House. I'd really want to eat that now."
"You're drinking a ladies' drink, Jimmy. You get to voice no opinion."
House displayed a rare, unguarded openness when he was around Wilson and she thought it was an interesting thing to witness.
"So, any interesting gossip while I've been gone?"
Wilson leant back in his chair, exchanging a brief glance with her. There was something in his earnest gaze that promised secrecy, and she felt assured that he wouldn't mention her concern over House. "Not unless you want to discuss work."
"Work. Work is boring."
"It is when it's not one of your cases, apparently. This self-absorption of yours is vaguely worrying."
House took a big bite of out his sandwich. "Well, we all know the world revolves around me after all."
Cameron chewed a piece of lettuce, leaning back in her chair and crossing one leg over the other. The sun beat down on her face, and she let their conversation wash over her, content to play spectator to their odd, achingly familiar repartee. She had missed rare moments like this. For a moment, she forgot the reasons that had caused her to leave, and decided to just revel in the moment.
It was almost enough to make her wonder what life could have been.
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