Disclaimer: They still aren't mine, since I can't buy them or anything. Now, I MAY have kidnapped them at one point in time, but no one can prove it!

Chapter Six

"Dr. Cameron!" Cuddy called out, chasing after the younger doctor as she made her way to the cafeteria.

Cameron stopped and waited for Cuddy to catch up to her, a small nervous feeling settling into her stomach. She hadn't done anything … had she? No, she hadn't. Oh, God, was Cuddy going to yell at her for letting House stay? "Yes, Dr. Cuddy?"

Once she caught up, Cuddy gave Cameron a smile. "Heading to lunch?" When Cameron nodded in affirmation, Cuddy walked alongside her. "Mind if I join you?"

"Uh… No, I don't mind." Weird, Cameron thought. Does Cuddy ever eat lunch with any of her employees?

They walked in what was a surprisingly companionable silence almost all the way to the cafeteria, where they saw Wilson standing in line. He waved to the two of them and they joined him. "Cuddy," he acknowledged with a nod. "Cameron," he said with a smile. "How are your mornings so far?"

"I got to talk to House this morning," Cuddy replied with a roll of her eyes. "How do you think my morning went?"

Wilson laughed as he placed a salad on his plate. "You think you've got it bad? Cameron's letting him stay with her. She had to deal with him all last night and this morning."

Cuddy looked at Cameron in surprise. "You didn't make him sleep on a couch here?"

"No… It didn't seem fair," she muttered, grabbing up her own salad. For some reason, she always felt like a child around Cuddy. Probably because Cuddy was the epitome of the powerful business woman; she was intimidating, to be sure. But Cameron cleared her throat and stood her ground. "Besides, it wasn't that horrible. He stayed out of my way. And I got him to swear not to mock me."

Wilson gave Cameron a look of surprise; Cuddy gave one of admiration. "How the hell did you manage that?" Cuddy asked.

Cameron laughed. "I told him that if he mocked me, he had to take two weeks of my clinic duty. He either took the deal or slept on a couch here at the hospital."

"That's crueler than making him stay here," Wilson said approvingly. "I like it."

"You like it?" Cuddy asked, smirking. "I love it. It's almost like seeing him put in his place. Except better."

"How is it better?" Cameron frowned as she decided between chicken and roast beef. "I mean … I can understand wanting to see him put in his place." She scoffed. "Believe me. But I hardly see how it's better than that."

"It's because it's you," Wilson replied with a shrug. "He does nothing but complain about how you're too nice. You're too motherly. You're always too something that no one else complains about. I swear … he comes up with new things to complain about every day."

Cameron flushed and prodded her food. "Didn't realize I bothered him that much," she muttered.

"I don't think you actually do," Cuddy piped up, paying for her lunch. "This is what House does. He did it with Stacy before they got together. Everything was wrong with her."

"Until he slept with her," Wilson added with a small snort, paying for his lunch and throwing in enough to pay for Cameron's, as well. "Then there were only a few things wrong with her."

"What happened with them, anyway?" Cameron asked hesitantly, thanking Wilson for paying for her lunch. She didn't want to prod too much, knowing that Wilson was House's best friend, and getting him to talk about House's past was like getting rid of the smell of cat pee; it wasn't going to happen.

"I'm not even completely sure," he answered honestly, leading the way to an empty table for the three of them to sit at. "All I know is that they had a falling out. It's stressful being with someone who's trying to heal," he said gently. "You know that."

"Yeah…" Cameron answered. "But I stayed by his side." She sat down across from Wilson and Cuddy sat next to her.

"That's how you're different from Stacy," Cuddy offered. "You stayed by your husband's side through thick and thin. Stacy didn't." She mixed her salad with some dressing and took a small bite.

"You have to give her some credit, though," Wilson defended. "She tried to stick by him. House is stubborn and prideful; he didn't want anyone around to see him that weak."

"So she just gave up?" Cameron asked hotly. She couldn't help it! Dean was always telling her to leave. Not just leave him alone, but leave the marriage altogether. He didn't want her to see him at his worst. But she refused to go. She stayed there and watched him die, whether he wanted her to or not. Maybe it was because she knew he needed her… Something he finally admitted a week or so before he died.

"I wouldn't call it giving up…" Wilson started.

"I would," Cuddy interrupted. "It's what she did. She gave up. If she would have pushed a little harder or gone one step further, House would have caved eventually."

"I can't imagine House caving for anyone, honestly." Cameron cut up her chicken and took a bite. "Besides, she came back and then left him again, didn't she? It wasn't a one-time thing."

"She's married!" Wilson exclaimed with a small, disbelieving match. "Did everyone expect her to leave her husband?"

"Well she'd left an injured and misdiagnosed man before," Cuddy snapped. "Why would we think that she wouldn't do it again? Plus, we all know that she slept with House while she was here. She did the same thing she'd done before. It was a beautiful repeat performance."

Cameron stared at Cuddy in shock. She'd never heard the Dean of Medicine speak this way about anyone. Well … except for when she was thoroughly upset with House. But that was different; especially since she usually got over it within a day. Slowly, Cameron came to an important realization. Cuddy cared about House. Not just House as a doctor and employee, but as a person; a friend. Why hadn't she noticed it before?

"You in there, Cameron?" Wilson asked, concerned.

"Yeah. Sorry." Cameron shook herself out of her thoughts and gave the two of them a small smile. "I got lost for a minute there."

Cuddy grinned and picked at her salad. "Thinking about House?"

"No!" Cameron exclaimed defensively. Wilson laughed, and she sighed. "A little," she mumbled. "I can't help but think that someone really could…" She flushed and shook her head. "Never mind."

"Oh, come on," Cuddy prodded. "You're sitting with the cool kids at lunch. You can tell us."

Cameron laughed and pushed her food around on her plate before finally taking a healthy bite. "He hit the nail on the head when he claimed that I think I can fix him," she admitted with a shrug. "I guess I really do."

Wilson smiled at Cuddy. This was it. Cuddy took up the bait.

"You know, Dr. Cameron, I think you could, too," Cuddy said quietly, her tone rather conspiratorial. "You're the only woman he knows that's stubborn enough to stick with him."

Wilson chewed thoughtfully before pointing his fork at Cameron. "You know, Cuddy has a point. If you can manage to thicken your skin a bit, I think you could take him. No offense or anything," he added quickly. "But you are sort of the epitome of niceness."

"I think that's what House needs," Cuddy argued rationally. "He's Mr. Ass, she's Miss Nice. Opposites attract."

"You two are forgetting one very important fact: House can't stand me," Cameron stated simply. "He thinks I'm too young, too inexperienced, too naïve, and finds me annoying."

"He thinks you're too nice, too," Wilson offered.

"And he doesn't like that you don't always stick to your guns when it comes to diagnosing patients," Cuddy added helpfully.

Cameron frowned. "How do you two know all of this? I mean, I know Wilson's his friend, but you, Cuddy…"

Cuddy smiled mysteriously. "I know all."

The younger doctor laughed and polished off her lunch. "Well, I need to get back to work. Thanks for an interesting lunch, to say the least."

Wilson and Cuddy waved goodbye to Cameron and waited until she was out of earshot to continue their conversation.

"Think she took the bait?" Wilson asked with a smile.

"Definitely. I'm glad we made this bet, James. I think I'm going to win."

"Looks like I better start saving for an expensive dinner, then." He finished off his own lunch and winked at Cuddy. "Though seeing House happy again would be worth it. Well … as happy as House is able to be."

MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD

At promptly six that evening, Cameron stopped in House's office. "Caitlin's holding up. She's complaining of abdominal pain, but that's a side effect of the meds we put her on. Chase is staying overnight to keep observation. If you're ready to go, we can. If not, Wilson said he'll give you a ride to my place."

House nodded. His eyes were riveted on his computer screen, and he hadn't paid much attention to the news that Cameron had just reported. "Make sure someone stays to keep observation," he muttered, scrolling down on a webpage.

"I just said…" She frowned and stood behind him, looking at the page he had up on his screen. "Subacute Brucellosis?" she asked. "Caitlin doesn't fit these symptoms."

"Yet," he replied immediately. "She doesn't fit these symptoms yet."

"House, she isn't showing any-"

"She didn't have any seizures before being admitted, either." He spun his chair away from his computer to face Cameron. "By tomorrow afternoon, she'll be sweating profusely and complaining that she's cold. She'll have a fever over 102. And she'll tell us that she had some beef dish cooked rare that she-"

"She doesn't eat beef," Cameron interjected, crossing her arms over her chest. "Caitlin and her husband are both vegetarians."

"So she cheated."

"Vegetarians don't cheat!" Cameron exclaimed with a small, disbelieving laugh. "If you go so long without eating beef, then the next time you ingest it, you'll-."

"Get very, very ill. Yeah. I know. I'm a doctor, too. I even got a cool lab coat! I don't use it, though… It intimidates the patients."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "You never even see the patients to intimidate them."

"That isn't the point. The point here is that this girl has Subacute Brucellosis."

"She can't have that, House!"

"How many times am I ever wrong when it comes to diagnosing a patient?"

"Do you want an exact number or a ballpark measure?" she shot back angrily. "Every time we get a patient, you treat them for something you think that they might have. Every time you do that, you come so close to killing them that it's scary."

"And yet, you and the other two ducklings still run to do my bidding!" House exclaimed, picking up his cane and standing. He hovered over Cameron and stared down at her intensely. "So if you have a problem with how I treat my patients, I suggest you start acting like a doctor and stopping me from screwing up. Assuming that I screw up. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like an overly-arrogant man trying to act like it's okay to have the absolute trust of his employees and then abuse that trust."

"You mean, it isn't! Damn … I knew I missed a memo somewhere…"

"Don't you care that you might be killing them? You almost died due to an incorrect diagnosis. Why aren't you concerned that you might be misdiagnosing a patient and condemning them to the same fate that you had?"

The room went silent as House and Cameron stared each other down. Cameron's breathing was quick due to anger and, now, fear. Dear God, she'd just brought up something no one had the right to bring up. How would she feel if someone waved Dean's death in her face like she'd just waved House's handicap in his? She'd hate them for it. But she refused to step down from this… After all, Wilson told her to thicken her skin a bit.

House, on the other hand, was calm. Too calm. He stared down at Cameron with one thought running through his mind: he either wanted to kill this girl or kiss her. No one brought up his leg. Hell, Wilson never even brought up his leg. So Cameron was either very brave or extremely stupid for bringing it up. He just had to decide which before he lost his temper and yelled, really yelled, for her to get the hell out of his office. But right now, he'd stare her down. Glare at her. Wait for her to apologize, just like he knew she ultimately would. It was Cameron… She always said she was sorry, even if she had nothing to be sorry for.

But that expected apology never came. Cameron stood her ground, hands balled into nervous fists at her side. House tipped his cane upside down and hooked it around her ankle, causing her to stumble right into him. She gasped and grabbed hold of his shirt, which made him wrap an arm around her waist to keep himself steady.

Without hesitation, he brought his lips down to hers. Both of their eyes were open, hers wide and his narrowed. They never really stood on even ground, did they?

House tightened his grip on Cameron's waist and pulled her against him, careful to keep his bad leg back. He ran his tongue along her lips, waiting for her to open to him. He wouldn't force his way in; he didn't believe he'd have to.

Ever so hesitantly, Cameron opened her mouth to him and her eyes slid closed. Her grip on his shirt tightened and she let herself fall into the kiss. She couldn't fight this. There were no questions in her mind … she couldn't remember what she'd said. This was House… House was kissing her. And damn, but House was a good kisser.

He pulled his face away from hers and stared down at her once more. She looked dazed. Good. "I want an apology."

She blinked, confused, before focusing on what had happened before he'd kissed her. "No," she replied softly.

"I'm not kidding."

"I'm not sorry."

"Maybe not…" he muttered, searching her face. "But you're nervous. You aren't sorry that you thought it, but you're sorry that you said it." He was right. He knew he was right. He was always right.

"I'm not apologizing."

"But you are sorry."

She backed away from him and frowned. "I'm not deigning to answer that," she replied with a shake of her head. "I'm going home. Are you coming?"

"You're still letting me stay even though you're pissed off at me right now?" he asked, laughing incredulously. "You are damaged, Cameron. Maybe as damaged as I am."

"I'm not," she protested heatedly. "Just because I can put aside a nasty argument doesn't mean that I'm damaged. It just means that I can forgive."

"And forget, too? Saint Allison Cameron!"

"I never said…" She sighed and ran her hands over her face. "Just… I don't want to do this, House. I don't want to argue with you right now!"

"Well too damn bad!" he exclaimed. "You started it. Now finish it!"

"Fine!" Cameron finally exploded. "I'm not apologizing for finally telling you the truth! You are too arrogant for your own good and it's going to cause patients to die. Not the normal deaths that doctors deal with, but deaths that are avoidable. And, sure! I'm damaged. Does that make you happy, House? I'm just as damaged as you are. The only difference between us is that I can deal with it and you can't. Now, I'm going home!"

House stood, stunned. "You just told me off." He paused, looked around his office, and then grabbed up his bag. "I need a ride, too, you know."

Cameron's stormy demeanor stopped and she stared blankly at House. Was he ever predictable? "Maybe I don't want you staying with me anymore."

"Maybe… Is that the case?"

She sighed and her shoulders slumped slightly. "Let me get my bag," she muttered. "We'll stop somewhere on the way back and get dinner."

MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD – MD + MD

Once they'd returned to Cameron's apartment, the air between them was tense, to say the least. Cameron was trying not to dwell on the kiss, and House was trying not to dwell on doing it again.

This was the problem with being in a close proximity to Allison Cameron. She annoyed the ever-loving hell out of him most of the time. She was naïve, young, too hopeful for her own good… She thought she could save the world. More importantly, she thought that she could save HIM, and he knew that was never going to happen. If anything, she only caused more complications for him. Asking to stay with her had been a mistake.

Cameron set down the takeout that they'd picked up on the kitchen counter and got out two plates, dishing the food out and setting it on the dining table before going over to her answering machine to check her messages. Anything to keep her occupied and away from House.

There were four messages, and Cameron hit play.

"Hey, Ally, this is Jackie. Um… I know you're busy, sweetie, so I promise the message won't be long. I just wanted to know if you're planning on coming by the cemetery on Thursday. Call me back, Ally. We'll go together and get some dinner."

Beep.

"Ally! It's Adam! Mom says I can come over and play games with you!" In the background a woman yelled that there was to be no Resident Evil. "But Mom says that I can't play Resident Evil because it makes you jump. She's always like that. But can I? Friday night? Please? Oh! I gotta go! Angie's here to take me to get school clothes!"

Cameron laughed. Beep.

"Allison… It's Joe. I … was hoping you-"

Cameron hit the delete button without hearing the rest of the message. She didn't want to hear from Joe. Ever again. Beep.

"Hello, Allison, this is Dr. Kelleher's office calling to confirm your dental cleaning, scheduled for Monday, the thirteenth. Please call to confirm. Thank you."

Beep. With a small sigh, Cameron went to the table and started to eat her dinner, making a mental note to call the dentist's office tomorrow morning from work. She avoided House's gaze like the plague. If he had a question, he could ask, damn it. It didn't mean she'd answer… But he could ask all the same.

Finally, House's curiosity could wait no longer. "How old is your brother?"

"Almost seventeen. I'm the oldest," she explained before he could ask.

"Are you going to let him over?"

"I was planning on it," she answered, casting him a sideways glance. "Unless you have a problem with that… I am letting you stay here, after all. You should have a say."

"You never cease to amaze me. If any of your niceness rubs off on me by the end of my stay here, I'm suing." He paused and ate a bit of dinner. "I don't care. I can work if you'll let me use your laptop."

Cameron nodded in agreement, letting his comment about her niceness slide. She didn't want to get into another argument with him, especially if it meant that there would be another kiss like the one back in the office. Why had he kissed her? It didn't make sense!

"House…"

"Present."

She sighed and twirled her spaghetti noodle around her fork, focusing intently on it so as to avoid his eyes. Those amazing blue eyes that drew her in every time she looked into them. "At the office… Why did you kiss me?" she asked softly.

"If I answer that, it's not going to be what you would consider a satisfactory answer," he replied harshly. "So I'm not going to answer it. Instead, I'm going to finish my dinner, then go into the living room and watch TV. Then, after I'm tired of that, I'll shower and go to bed."

"I don't want your schedule for the night," she replied, exasperated. "I want to know what possessed you to kiss me!"

He waited until she looked at him to catch her eyes as he answered. "I told you that things would be much less awkward if we'd just made out."

She glared at him. "You are the most arrogant-."

"We already had that argument. If you're going to argue with me, make it a nice, new, improved one. Ooh! Try arguing about patients again. I like that."

"You're worse than a child," she snapped distastefully, storming into the kitchen and getting herself a glass of soy milk. "Do you want anything?" she yelled from her current spot, even though it wasn't far enough from the table to warrant yelling.

House smirked. He was pissing her off. Good. He liked her better when she was being a bitch. "I could use a glass of water," he replied, setting his fork down and leaning back in his chair. This was just too much fun. If he had known that kissing Cameron would cause her to get pissed off, he would have done it sooner. For some odd reason, he thoroughly enjoyed pissing her off. It… He frowned thoughtfully and glared at his food.

It made him want to be around her, knowing that he could upset her. If he could make her that passionate about something dull, what could he do with her in bed?

Stop. That was not the place his thoughts needed to go. It was absurd to even consider sleeping with her. She was too young, too nice, too … everything. She was too good for him, he admitted to himself angrily. Allison Cameron was too good for him. If Wilson didn't cheat on every woman he ever dated, he'd send Cameron to the oncologist for a date.

All too soon, a glass of water was slammed down in front of him, landing a droplet or two on his arm. Quickly, he reached out and grabbed Cameron's wrist before she could escape. He pulled her close again, but was not intending to kiss her this time. "I kissed you because I wanted to," he told her, his voice laced with quiet intensity. "I do what I want to do when I want to do it."

"And what if I did that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"If you did that…" His eyes dropped to where he held her wrist, and his thumb gently caressed the inside of her wrist. "… we'd be in a lot of trouble."