Disclaimer: I want them SO BAD! But I just can't get my hands on them. :-(
Chapter Twenty Two
By February, they'd chosen where the wedding would be held and had started talking about the invitations. So far, they'd been very good about keeping the wedding talk at home. However, as they got another tough case, they'd decided to bring a few things to work with them to look at during downtime. Cuddy hadn't been pleased with the idea, but she wasn't going to bother to tell them not to do it. Everyone at the hospital knew about the wedding by now, anyway. It was pointless to try and cover it up.
Cameron still hadn't found the right dress, and House could tell that she was starting to get edgy about it. She was eating potato chips like they might disappear if she didn'tdevour themquickly enough, and she was ordering fries with lunch every day. He wasn't too worried about her health, because she had settled back into jogging every morning. He would occasionally take them away from her, though. It worried him that she could eat three family sized bags of potato chips in one day.
Wilson and Cuddy had kept their baby hush-hush. House and Cameron knew, Foreman and Chase had suspicions, and Wilson and Cuddy continued to let them guess. The two of them had decided not to move in together, not to marry, but that they should have an equal part in the child's life. This upset Cameron, but House pointed out that if Wilson married Cuddy, the relationship would probably end in divorce anyway. Cameron frowned, but accepted the truth. Wilson did have a roaming eye.
Chase had finally gotten the guts to ask Cameron and House if they'd be having kids. House reminded Chase that it really wasn't any of his business. Cameron informed Chase later that they weren't actively trying to get pregnant, but were letting it happen if it was going to.
Foreman informed House that Cameron had told, and all hell broke loose.
"Why'd you tell him?" House asked with a frown. "It really isn't any of his business."
Sitting in the chair in front of his desk, Cameron rolled her eyes and crossed her legs. "Because he's my friend," she replied. "And he was asking, just like any friend would."
"He was being nosy."
"You think everyone's being nosy, House." She always called him 'House' when she was irritated. "I don't see why it's such a big deal that I told him, anyway. You told Wilson."
"Wilson is a- Oh, you," he said snidely. "Trying to trick me. It's different with Wilson."
"How is it any different?"
"Because Wilson is your friend, too. See? It's mutual friendship."
She sighed irritably and her foot twitched, which showed House how aggravated she was getting with him. "Well, then. I'll be sure not to tell any of my friends that aren't also your friends about anything that has to do with our relationship. Sound fair?"
"Now you're just getting bitchy," he said calmly. "I don't like Chase."
"I know you don't. But he's my friend and colleague and I don't mind him knowing whether or not I'm going to have your baby."
"Let me rephrase," House said slowly, taking his cane and pacing behind his desk. "I don't like Chase knowing anything about our relationship."
"Why?" Cameron asked, exasperated. "You can hate Chase knowing all you want, but until you give me a valid reason for not talking to him, I'm going to continue to report to him just like I would to any of my other friends."
"It's Chase. Do I need another reason?"
"Yeah," she deadpanned, standing and heading for the door. "You do." She paused before opening the door. "I don't mind not telling him," she said honestly, her voice soft. "But you need to give me a damned good reason to keep something from a friend." She left on that comment, and House glared at the door.
Why didn't he want Chase knowing? Chase had put his paws all over Cameron at one point, and House was positive that the Aussie still had a thing for his fiancé. And he definitely wasn't happy with Cameron sharing their personal information with someone who was still trying to get into her pants.
Cameron did a wonderful job of ignoring House for the rest of the day. Foreman noticed, and stayed out of it. Chase didn't seem to notice at all. And House noticed. Oh, but he noticed. He wasn't going to tell her why he didn't want her talking to Chase about their relationship. He refused. She ought to know without him having to tell her. Honestly.
The ride home was quiet, too. Was she still trying to ignore him? Even in the car? That was ridiculous. "Allison."
"Greg."
He frowned. "What are you so pissed about?"
"You know what I'm upset about," she replied calmly. "You still haven't given me a valid reason not to discuss our relationship with Chase. It's not like I tell him your dick size, so I don't know why you're getting so riled about the whole thing."
"It's feeling a little icy in this car." He reached to turn the heat up, but Cameron smacked his hand away.
"Stop being an ass about this and tell me why you don't want me talking to Chase."
"You know why," House responded, annoyed.
"No, I don't!" Cameron exclaimed, tearing her eyes off of the road long enough to glare at him. "If I knew the answer, I wouldn't continue to ask the question!"
"He still wants you!" House finally exclaimed, glaring right back. "He still wants you and you don't see it. That infuriates me."
"He does not."
"You see? I'm right. You don't see it."
"House, you're making a big deal out of nothing. Even if he does still want me, it shouldn't matter."
"Why shouldn't it? You're giving the gory details of our sex life to him and he probably thinks you're flirting."
"I'm not giving him any details!" she yelled, pulling into an empty parking lot so that they could argue without getting into a car accident. "He asked if we were having kids, and I answered. I didn't tell him that you like it when I tie your hands down or that I like the stubble on your chin because it feels really good against the insides of my thighs. I told him that we weren't actively trying to get pregnant, but had nixed the condoms to let it happen if it's going to. So stop being a jealous asshole."
"Is that why you always moan when I'm down there? I thought it had something to do with my tongue, but-"
"House," she snapped with a frown.
"What are you going to call me once you have my last name?" he asked curiously. "House One?"
"Who said I was taking your last name?"
The car went eerily silent as House gave her an unreadable look. "That was a joke," he said strongly. "That had better be a joke."
Cameron was silent, frowning out the window.
"Allison."
"It wasn't a joke," she murmured. "I wanted to upset you, so I said it." She paused, looking at the steering wheel and tapping it with her thumbs. "You're so … possessive. Chase isn't a threat to you."
"I don't consider him one," House snapped angrily.
"Yes, you do," Cameron snapped back. "You spend hours doing whatever you can to make him feel like dirt and it's because you want him to think that he's not a threat to you. But you only make it more obvious. Why can't you be comfortable with the fact that I'm not going to make the mistake of sleeping with him again?"
"The marriages I've seen have been my parents' and Wilson's. My parents are obviously far from happy and ... well ... James Wilson." He paused and frowned at her. "So you tell me whether or not I'm supposed to be comfortable."
"You are," she said coldly. "Because I'm not Wilson. Are you forgetting that I refused to cheat on my husband, even as he was dying? When I fall in love with someone, I devote myself to them. Don't ever insinuate that I could cheat on you."
"I wasn't trying to-"
"Yes, you were." She took the keys out of the car and handed them to House. "I'll see you at home," she said, opening the door to get out.
"What are you doing?" he asked, getting out with her.
"I'm walking," she replied softly. "I need to cool off. I'll see you at home."
"You're not walking home in this weather," he bit out. "Get back in the car, Allison."
"I need to walk," she told him, placing her hand to his chest to keep him away from her. "It's not that bad out here. I'll see you when I get home." And she walked away, flipping her scarf over her neck before placing her hands in her coat pocket.
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House's original plan had been to follow Cameron. But he knew that it was way too obvious to follow her in a Jetta. Not only that, it would only piss her off even more. She had her cell phone on her and she was a big girl who knew her way home.
So why was he pacing in the living room, worrying about her not even five minutes after getting home?
She shouldn't be out walking at this time of night, first of all. A gorgeous woman walking near a college campus later than nine at night? Bad idea. He continued to pace, moving from the living room to the kitchen.
He wasn't jealous. She had no right calling him jealous. There was nothing wrong with him hating Chase's guts for taking advantage of Cameron. If she'd called House to come over instead of Chase, she would have found herself alone in her apartment. House was allowed to want Chase to keep away from Cameron. He was allowed, damn it.
Another five minutes passed, and House pulled out his cell phone and dialed Cameron's number. "Where are you?" he demanded when Cameron answered.
"About five blocks away," she answered, and then hung up.
He paced some more. She hung up on him! She couldn't possibly still be upset that he was upset that Chase was stupid enough to not respect her. He couldn't help the fact that he despised men who took advantage of women, could he? Another five minutes passed and he took his phone out again, dialing Cameron's number once more.
"I thought you said you were five blocks away," he grumbled when Cameron answered.
"I said about," she replied. "I was farther away than I thought."
"Well where are you now?"
"Worried?"
"Maybe."
"I'll be home soon."
He could hear the smile in her voice before she hung up the phone. He shut his own and then threw it across the room. It was ridiculous how Cameron got to him. Absolutely ridiculous. He loved it.
After another five minutes, his phone rang. He was able to locate it (teetering on the edge of the kitchen sink) and heard Cameron's voice when he opened it.
"It's really cold out here."
"You're the one who wanted to walk."
"You pissed me off."
"I know."
"You're not going to apologize, are you?"
"Do I ever?" He heard her sigh.
"I'm still upset with you."
"I still don't see why."
"You know what? It's not so bad out here anymore. I might call Wilson. See if he wants to go for a walk."
"Okay, you can't try to make me jealous just to prove a point. That's juvenile."
"Hold on a minute." There was a pause and then she was back. "Chase is on the other line. I'll call you back." And she hung up.
House stared at his phone, eyes narrowed. She was proving her point. That sneaky little… He grabbed his jacket and the keys to his bike. There was no way in hell he was going to sit around here and wait for her. He was going out to get her.
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After hanging up with House, Cameron stood in front of a small diner, leaning against a light pole. Yes, she'd used a phone call from Chase as an excuse to hang up on House. But it was proving her point; he was jealous, and he was being an ass about it. She could stay out here all night, even if it was just to prove a point. He'd called her passive-aggressive once, and she could definitely be that way.
As she stood there with her arms crossed, a man pulled up in a small, sporty car and rolled the window down. "Need a ride?" he asked.
Cameron rolled her eyes. "I'm waiting for someone."
"I pay well."
"I'm not a whore," she snapped. "I'm waiting for my fiancé."
"I'm into role-play, too," the man leered.
"Well as long as you're into role-play…" She walked toward the car and stood out of the man's arm's reach. "I'm a doctor. I'm very good at what I do. In fact, I have a syringe in my pocket that's filled with Viagra."
"That's what I like…"
Cameron reached into her pocket and pulled out her hand-held mace. "Should I use it, or are you going to leave me alone?"
"Bitch," the man growled, pulling away.
"My fiancé likes it!" she yelled after the idiot. "Moron…" She turned and saw none other than the aforementioned fiancé. "Hey."
"That was a cute stunt you pulled," House murmured, taking Cameron's hand. "Where'd you learn to be such a cold bitch?"
"I went to the Greg House School of Sarcasm and Anger. Heard of it?"
He led them to his bike, tossing her the helmet. "I hear they've added jealousy to the title," he answered, waiting for her to get on behind him.
She did so, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "Have they, now?"
"Yeah." He revved the engine. "But they've added pride, too," he informed her before taking off.
Once they were home, he went to the bathroom and started a warm bath for Cameron, checking the temperature before going back into the living room. When he got there, she was already stripping out of her coat, gloves, and scarf and was working on getting her shoes off.
"I started you a bath," he told her, nodding toward the bathroom.
"Thanks." She took her clip out of her hair and shook her head to let it fall down her back. "We still need to discuss this."
"No, we really don't," he said simply, sitting on the couch and putting his leg up. "I don't want you disclosing anything about us to Chase. You don't mind disclosing information to Chase. There isn't going to be a common ground here."
She felt defeated. "Greg, we can find a common ground here. All I want you to do is admit that you do feel threatened by Chase."
"And since I don't feel threatened by him, that would be a lie. Aren't relationships supposed to be honest or something like that?" He studied the flustered, angry woman standing before him with her hands on her hips. "Why to you continue to attempt to analyze me?"
"Maybe it's because I want to understand you!" she exclaimed, tossing her arms in the air. "Have you forgotten that we're getting married in, oh, four months? It'd be great if I could understand the man that I'm planning on spending the rest of my life with."
"You've got the rest of your life to figure me out," he pointed out. "That's got to be a plus."
She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her agitation was starting to show and she was trying, really trying, to keep it under control. As she opened her mouth to speak again, House cut her off.
"I don't want you speaking with Chase because I don't like Chase," he said slowly. "He's a spoiled, narcissistic brat who thinks that it's okay to sleep with a woman under a lot of stress who's just taken drugs. You don't think he felt any remorse over that, do you?"
"I…"
"He took advantage of you, Allison. That's why I don't like him. If he wanted a wild woman, he could have called an escort service. He should have turned around and walked right the hell back out your door, but he didn't. He stayed there and he slept with you. And he had no right to do it." He tapped his fingers on the back of the couch and waited for his comments to sink in before continuing. "He doesn't respect you."
"He… That isn't true." She thought about House's remarks and frowned. "That's not true."
"Oh, he respects your mind," House said with a nod. "Everyone at Princeton-Plainsborough respects your mind. But he doesn't respect your body or you as a person. My wanting you to keep our relationship mum around him is perfectly justified."
Cameron stood there silently, turning over the statements in her head. What House had said was true, she knew. And it hurt her to know that. She shook her head and looked at him with crushed eyes. "Why couldn't you have said that before?" she asked softly. "Why wait until I explode?"
"Allison, you know it isn't easy to get me to admit to anything," he said with a roll of his eyes. "I just don't want you pissed at me. It makes for awkward living and you'd make me sleep on the couch."
"I would not," she scoffed, going toward the bathroom. "I just wouldn't let you touch me."
House cringed when he heard the bathroom door slam. Cameron was very, very pissed at him over nothing. Well … he felt it was over nothing. He didn't tell her never to speak to Chase again, so what was her problem? Their relationship was just that: theirs. If he didn't want her talking to Chase about it, that should be respected. What was the big deal?
He turned on the television and waited for Cameron to get out of the bath. A part of him realized that he could possibly be overreacting. But the part of him that was always right reminded the other part that … well … he was always right. He wasn't overreacting; she was.
When Cameron was done with her bath, she threw on one of House's shirts and a pair of her own pajama pants and went into the living room to sit for a while. She'd done some analyzing of her own and had come to one conclusion: House was overreacting. So she sat down next to him and watched whatever program he had on.
"Nice bath?" he asked.
"It was warm," she responded, keeping her eyes on the screen. "You could've been in there with me."
He stared at her in astonishment. "You're still pissed?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes."
"Well how long are you planning on being that way?"
She glared at him. "Until it blows over. You see, if we just drop it, it'll blow over, and I'll stop being angry."
"You'll dwell on it," he accused.
"Am I dry-heaving?" she snapped.
He blinked. "No…"
"Then I'm obviously not dwelling on it. Just let it drop, okay?" She snatched the remote from his hand and flipped through the channels for something better to watch than a movie where everything exploded.
"Subject dropped," he muttered, resting his head on his fist. This was going to be a long night.