Disclaimer: Not mine, blah-de-blah. But I like to play with them. They're SO much better than Tonka trucks...

A/N: WARNING! This chapter has smut. It's not heavy smut, but it's smut. If that offends you ... don't read it, silly! This fic IS rated M for a reason.
Also! Thanks for all of the positive reviews. I really do appreciate them. You feed me, I feed you. ;) Enjoy!

Chapter Eight

Cameron felt considerably lighter since Foreman and Chase agreed to get drinks tomorrow night. It would get her out of her apartment and away from House for at least three hours, which was good. Because she didn't think she could be around him anymore without doing something decidedly destructive.

She stood at her stove, making dinner for the two of them and losing herself in her thoughts. House was in the living room, playing Resident Evil, much to her chagrin. He'd settled down in front of the television as soon as they'd gotten home, and had soon turned the game on without bothering to ask. She figured it was a way for him to think, much as cooking was a way for her to relax.

With a thoughtful frown, she spread some more marinade over her Portobello mushrooms as they cooked. Things with House just got stranger as the hours ticked by. He'd even had a real conversation with her on the way home. He never did that. What was scary was that he hadn't snarked at all during the conversation. Cameron was half-tempted to take his temperature to be absolutely sure he wasn't sick.

She flipped the mushrooms and cracked her neck. It was stiff again, so she reached back to rub it as she waited for the other side of the mushrooms to cook. Soon, she heard the distinctive sound of House making his way into the kitchen.

"That smells good," he commented, looking curiously at the food. "What are you making?"

"Portobello mushrooms with marinade and tomato topping. I'll put mozzarella on the top, too."

"Damn." He looked around the kitchen and leaned against one of the counters. "Where did you learn how to cook, anyway?"

"Here and there," she answered mysteriously. "All you need to know is that I'm supremely good at it." She finished mixing up her tomatoes and rosemary, then poured in a bit of olive oil and stirred it before holding it out to him. "Smell," she ordered.

He sniffed the mixture was surprised. "That smells good, too. You ought to market candles," he said snidely. He reached out to grab a piece of cheese, but was stopped when Cameron slapped his hand with the spatula.

"Don't touch," she chided. "Not until I've put it on the mushrooms. Then you can have the rest."

"You're worse than my mother," he muttered dejectedly, looking around the kitchen to see what other mischief he could cause to get a bit of the mozzarella. "Could you get me a glass of water?"

"You know where the glasses are and where the water is," she responded. She held her mixing bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, dishing out the tomato mixture onto the mushrooms. "You're not getting any of the mozzarella, House."

"That's so rude." He got his own glass of water and continued to watch Cameron cook. She was quick and efficient, and it was sort of calming to watch her. This was where Cameron belonged, it seemed. Not barefoot in the kitchen or anything. But domesticated. It suited her.

And that bothered House like nothing else. He shouldn't even be noticing that she looked good, let alone that she looked good domesticated. What the hell was wrong with him lately! First, he thinks about sex with Cameron. Then he dreams about it. Then he likes watching her cook? This was something he wouldn't be telling Wilson, if only because it would get him a good month of mocking.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and saw that Cameron had her back to the mozzarella. Quickly, he moved in and stole a piece. But Cameron caught him out of the corner of her eye and turned to confront him as he shoved the cheese into his mouth.

"I told you no," she said with a laugh.

"You've also told me that I'm worse than a child, so I guess that makes my actions completely understandable," he replied, chewing the mozzarella on the side of his mouth as he spoke. "But hey. It's good cheese." He tried to steal another piece, but Cameron grabbed a knife and held it to his stomach. "Ooh… That's dangerous. Kind of kinky, too."

"Get out of the kitchen," she ordered. "I'm almost done making dinner. All I have to do is put the cheese on top and let it melt."

House shrugged and grabbed a few pieces of the cheese, setting them on top of the mushrooms. "Look! I helped with dinner. And there's cheese left over." He took the slices and went back into the living room to eat them.

Cameron's eyes followed him and she had a soft smile on her face. He was … cute. She never thought she'd use "cute" and "House" in the same sentence, but it was true. And she scolded herself for thinking it; it didn't make things any easier for her. She was trying to get over House, for the love of God. He wasn't exactly helping!

With a sigh, she placed the now-ready mushrooms on a serving platter and took the platter to the table. "Dinner's ready, House," she called, looking into the living room and letting out a small squeal when she saw a zombie running at the screen.

House laughed and paused the game before going to the table. "You really hate that game, don't you?" he asked as he sat down and helped himself to one of the mushrooms.

"I hate zombies. I think they're disgusting." She stabbed a mushroom for herself and set it on her plate. "When I was an undergrad, I worked in a pathology lab. My job was to transport body parts from one lab to another. It didn't bother me too much until my older sister had me sit down and watch Night of the Living Dead. The day after watching the movie, it sort of freaked me out to go into the lab and get this leg that I had to take to a lab across town." She took a bite of her mushroom and laughed softly. "The leg wasn't secured and it kicked the back of my seat repeatedly. I was driving down the highway screaming my head off, thinking that there was a zombie in my back seat and it was trying to eat my face or something, even though there was no way that leg was going to do anything other than kick around."

House stared at Cameron for a moment before laughing loudly. Cameron flushed and poked at her food a bit, then ate it slowly while looking around the room. Why had she told him that story! He'd use it against her later. She just knew it. God, she was such a moron sometimes… She felt like she was eighteen again and on a very awkward date, which wasn't good at all.

"Cameron, you…" House laughed some more before finally settling down enough to be able to speak coherently. "I got this picture of you ten years younger, driving in some beat up car on the highway, screaming like a banshee and thrashing your head from side-to-side like a patient having a seizure," he managed to explain through his chuckles. "And there's your sister in the back seat, grabbing this leg and beating on the back of your seat with it on purpose."

"Shut up!" she yelled at him, throwing a bit of cheese in his general direction. But she soon began laughing as well, and sat back in her chair, hiding her face in her hands. "Okay, I guess it's pretty funny," she admitted with small giggles.

"Pretty funny? Cameron, I'm half tempted to get a prosthetic leg and set it on your coffee table while you sleep just to see your reaction when you wake up." He took a bite of his mushroom and was about to tease her some more when he noticed the taste. "Jesus, Cameron…"

"What?" she asked, her brow furrowing.

His eyes narrowed and he studied her. "Did Wilson teach you how to cook?"

"What? No!" she replied, indignant. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, this is very good food. Everything you've made has been exceptional. When Wilson was staying with me, all of his food was very good. Which makes me think that you learned from him, especially since you didn't tell me where you learned."

Cameron's eyes narrowed in challenge. "I'll have you know that Wilson didn't teach me how to cook, and you aren't manipulating me into telling you who did."

"Damn," he muttered, dropping his glare and taking a large bite of his dinner. The drama, it seemed, was over for now.

After dinner, Cameron played a video game while House sat at her laptop, scrolling through countless pages of medical information to find what could be taking hold of C-girl. The silence between them was companionable, which was surprising to both of them. But neither would dwell on it; Cameron was busy trying not to die in her game and House was too preoccupied with his research.

House tore his eyes away from the screen to rub them and set the computer on the coffee table. He would skip a shower tonight; he just wanted to change into his pajamas, do a bit more research, and then go to bed. Before going to the bedroom to change, he used the bathroom and closed the door when he was done. It was a habit he'd had since childhood to close the door if no one was in there. It kept the dog from drinking the toilet water, which was something House had been yelled at for multiple times. He kept the door shut to this day.

He went into Cameron's room and found his bag before taking his pants and shirt off and finding his pajama pants. A small smirk worked its way onto his face when he saw the door opening.

Cameron came into the room, took in the sight of a shirtless, pantsless House, and her jaw dropped. After a moment of shock, her hands flew to her face and she turned away from him. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "The bathroom door was shut. I thought you were in there, not in here!"

House gave a snort of laughter and pulled on his pajama pants. "You can turn around now. I'm decent," he teased. Of course, he hadn't put a shirt on… But she'd have to live with that, because there was no way in hell that he was sleeping in a shirt.

Cameron turned around slowly and faced him. "You don't have a shirt on," she groused.

"I'm not going to, either," he responded with a smug smile. "You're a big girl, Cameron. I'm sure you've seen men without their shirts on."

She glared at him and went to her dresser, pulling out her own pair of pajamas. "I've seen much better-looking men without their shirts on," she said simply. "I thought you might be uncomfortable with your shirt off around me. Lord knows you're-" Her words died in her throat when she turned around and was face-to-face with House.

Please, God, don't let me gulp, she thought desperately, her eyes meeting his. They reminded her of her favorite childhood villain: Captain Hook. Eyes as blue as forget-me-nots… Oh, God, Allison, don't even go there right now!

"Lord knows I'm what?" he asked her with a quirked eyebrow.

"You're…" Too close. "You're…" Very, very sexy. "You're…"

"You've got this stutter going on," he said, looking at her with mock concern. "Maybe we should call Foreman. See if there's neurological damage."

"There isn't," she said dumbly.

"Chase then. Could be a job for an intensivist to look at."

"I don't want you to call Chase."

"What do you want?"

"You," she blurted. "You. To move away. I want you to move away," she covered quickly.

"And if I move closer?" he asked softly, moving closer to her and keeping eye contact.

"I'll move back," she whispered, moving backwards and bumping right into the dresser.

"You're running out of room, Allison."

Oh, Lord… He'd used her first name. Coming off of his lips, it was like music. Anyone else and it would sound only normal, plain. He made it sound like a prayer. "I noticed." She wasn't only running out of room, she was running out of air. He was crowding her. And he smelled so good… And he made her lose any breath she may have had by standing so unbearably close to her.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked. He had her right where he wanted her. This was something he hadn't noticed that he'd like about Cameron… She wasn't easy to manipulate, and she wasn't easy to seduce. But once he'd managed it, it was a breeze. He wondered if she was really going to give in right now.

"I'm going to…" What was she going to do about it? She liked it right where she was, and there was no point in lying about it. Her eyes traveled down his body and she felt a tug in her stomach. She wanted this man; there was no denying that. There really never was.

Cameron took in a deep breath and bolstered her courage. It was now or never, and she'd be damned if she was letting this opportunity pass her up. She dropped her pajamas to the ground and wrapped a hand around the back of House's neck, pulling him down to her so that she could brush her lips softly over his. This wasn't meant to be the intense kiss that he'd shocked her with back at the office; this was meant to be the kind of kiss that he wouldn't forget or brush off as passion in the heat of the moment.

When he didn't pull away, she brushed her lips over his again, letting her fingers play oh-so-lightly with the hairs at the nape of his neck. And he still stared at her, his eyes darkening slightly. He didn't move. He wasn't doing anything. He was just standing there, trapping her with his look.

Hesitantly, she moved her hand from his hair and trailed it down his chest, finally dropping it to her side. "You need to move," she told him quietly, proud of herself for being able to keep her eyes on his and not dropping them to the floor.

"…Okay." And he moved so that his body was pressed against hers. He favored his left side and slid an arm around her waist to keep her close. "This is a very bad idea," he murmured, his mouth descending to hers to capture it in a slow, heated kiss, which he ended by nipping at her bottom lip. "You're my employee…"

"Yeah… That's a real downer," she muttered, wrapping her arms around him and dropping a series of kisses along his jaw. She liked that his stubble scratched at her skin; it was supremely masculine.

"You're half my age," he growled, his grip on her waist tightening as he lowered his mouth to hers for another kiss, this one more sensual, hotter, more seductive.

"I'm not," she replied, giving a soft gasp when he nipped at her neck. "You're … not even twenty years older than I am."

"That's partially reassuring." He let his hand skim underneath her shirt to feel the soft, smooth skin of her back, slowly moving it to grip her side and knead her hip. He wrapped his hand around her shirt and was about to pull it off of her when the phone rang.

Cameron's eyes shot open at the sound and she glanced at the door.

"Ignore it," House muttered through clenched teeth.

Cameron nibbled on her bottom lip, which made House moan quietly. He swooped in to kiss her hotly. "Ignore it," he repeated, dropping nips and kisses along her neck to dissuade her from answering the phone.

"I have to…"

"You don't have to…"

"It could be my mother, House."

"Then you'll be doing exactly what you told her you were doing the other night," he said with a smirk, which drew a small laugh from Cameron. The ringing stopped. "And when we're about to do the nasty, I'd prefer my first name."

Her eyes flew to his and she kissed his lips softly. "Greg." The phone started ringing again and she looked like she might cry from frustration. "I have to answer it," she said apologetically.

He sighed dramatically and moved, letting her through. She grabbed the cordless phone and came back into the bedroom while she spoke to whoever was on the other line. House sat on the edge of the bed and listened to her conversation. She must not have minded him hearing it if she'd brought it back into the bedroom, anyway.

"Friday's fine, Adam," she said, picking up the pajamas that she'd dropped to the floor and folding them again, placing them neatly on the edge of the bed. "Have Angie bring you over around seven. I'll order a pizza." She sat down next to House as she listened to her brother. "I am not watching you play Resident Evil, Adam. But I have a friend over who might want to watch. Maybe he'll even help you."

House smirked and assessed the situation. Cameron was on the phone with her brother. The phone was on her right ear, and her left side was close to him. He could have plenty of fun if he wanted to… And, oh, but he did. He leaned in and moved her hair away from her left shoulder, placing light kisses along her neck.

"No… Ah… Well, I can check…" Cameron moved her hand to push House away from her, but he caught it and nipped at her palm, and then her wrist, instead. "Yeah, I'm fine." She cleared her throat. "No, that's okay. I'll call you when I get home on Friday. Okay… All right. You, too, Adam. Bye."

She hung up the phone and tossed it on her bedside table before turning to straddle House, careful to keep her weight off of his bad leg as much as possible. "You're horrible," she scolded playfully, her hands diving into his hair once more as her lips met his in a burning battle for domination. She pulled away from him long enough to give him a small smile and push him down so that she could lean over him to kiss him.

His hands went to her hips, holding onto her as he changed the angle of the kiss. He should have done this months ago. If he had, he probably wouldn't make as many nurses cry… He let out a moan when Cameron repeated a move he'd used earlier and nipped sharply at his neck. Without a second thought, he gripped the bottom of her shirt and pulled on it to tell Cameron that he wanted it off. She sat up and held up her arms, and he pulled the shirt off and tossed it to the side.

"Thank you, God," he muttered when he saw her. Clad in a bra and dress pants, she was likely the sexiest thing he'd seen in a long time. She laughed and cradled his face in her hands, dropping teasing kisses on his lips and refusing to let him deepen them into a real kiss. "Tease," he growled.

"Yeah," she replied, not affected in the least by the name. She started to scoot lower on his body, her hands going to the waistband of his pajama pants when the phone rang again. "Goddammit!" she exclaimed, her head falling to rest on his stomach for a moment before she rolled off of him and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" she answered irritably.

House frowned and sat up on his arms, twisting his neck to see Cameron as she paced next to the bed. She looked funny walking around angrily in a bra and work pants, and he resisted the urge to laugh. He was about to say something about it when Cameron stopped dead in her tracks.

"Joe?"

Joe? Who the hell was Joe?

"No, I… Why are you calling me?"

She sounded panicked, and looked the same way. House frowned and sat up, watching her as she looked around the room frantically.

"I know what tomorrow is, I'm not a moron," she snapped, the hand that was holding the phone shaking horribly. "I don't want to. I have plans. I have someone over right now. I don't want to talk." Everything was said at rapid speed, and House's eyes narrowed as he watched Cameron's panic jump between anxiety and anger. "I didn't listen to the message, Joe. I didn't want to. I don't want to. I'm hanging up now." And she did. She stared at the phone before looking at House. "I'm sorry…"

"Ex-boyfriend ruin the mood?" he asked darkly.

"What? Ex… No. No, Hou- Greg. That was…" She sat on the side of the bed and set the phone down next to her. "When Dean was dying, his best friend was there with me the entire time. We almost… I couldn't. He was upset. Joe was, not Dean. I haven't heard from him in a long time," she finished softly.

"And, of course, you still have feelings for him," he said scathingly. It would figure. It would only figure that he'd be five minutes away from sex with Cameron and her old flame would call her and drum up old feelings, making her forget all about the old cripple in the room.

"Jumping to conclusions isn't going to get you anywhere," she retorted, moving to sit next to him. "I never had any feelings for him. It was like a weird case of Stockholm syndrome. If I had feelings for him, I wouldn't have wanted him off the damn phone."

Silence settled over them, thickening the air. Cameron looked at the ground and House looked at the door. They didn't say or do anything; they simply sat there. Until House opened his mouth.

"You almost cheated on your husband with his best friend," he said hesitantly, finally tearing his gaze away from the door and settling it on Cameron. "And now that he's called, you're remembering that."

Cameron was silent. House was right and he knew it; he didn't need her affirmation.

"You need to remember something else, Cameron," he told her softly, taking her chin in his hand and forcing her to look at him. "Your husband is gone. It isn't cheating anymore."

She took in a quick breath and her eyes filled with tears. "How did you know I was…?" She shook her head and looked away from him, wiping frantically at her eyes. "I'm sure this does a lot for that age difference," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

House let a little grin settle on his face. "Well, you know… I always thought sobbing twenty-year-olds were kind of hot. I even request them when I call an escort service."

Cameron laughed and pushed him casually. "You're such an ass."

"I get that a lot. Except from those escorts…" When Cameron laughed again, he decided that the crisis was abated. There was no way there would be any sex tonight, which he found himself depressed about. He wanted Cameron, plain and simple. But he wasn't stupid, and he knew that the mood was completely ruined. "You should get some sleep," he told her, reaching across her to grab up her pajamas and hand them to her.

She took the pajamas and gave him a grateful look. "I'm sorry about-"

"Don't be," he said quickly. "Go on." He nodded his head toward the bathroom.

"Would you…" Cameron bit her lip before finally asking. "Would you mind if I slept in here tonight?" When House gave her a smirk and opened his mouth to make what she was sure would be a sarcastic remark, she explained herself quickly. "The couch makes my back hurt and I'm not about to make you sleep on it with your leg. If it bothers you, I'll just stay out there anyway."

"Is your alarm going to wake me up at five AM?" he asked suspiciously. He really wouldn't let her stay in there if she planned on being up that damned early.

She thought for a long moment before answering. "No… But it will wake you up around a quarter after six."

"Fine," he sighed. "It doesn't bother me."

After she'd changed, she climbed into bed, lying on House's left side. They both fell asleep easily, finally at a point where they were comfortable in each other's presence. Halfway through the night, House rolled onto his left side and threw his arm around Cameron's hips. Neither of them woke up, but Cameron cuddled closer.