Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! Hopefully this chapter will help make up for it. More is coming. Thank you so much for the feedback. Please review- it really makes my day! Hope you like it.
By the time Cameron had finally made it to the top of the stairs, House was casually waiting for her. His back was pressed flat against the wall beside her door and his long legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankles. His cane twirled effortlessly over his long fingers. He smiled softly at her as he reached out his hand to pass her the keys.
For a moment, their eyes fixed on one another's before she slowly lowered her gaze and turned to unlock the deadbolt. She reached inside to the light switch on the wall by the door and flicked it on. In the bright light, House surveyed the room quickly. He'd only seen a glimpse of it the two times he'd come to ask her back to work during Vogler's reign of terror.
The room was bright from the buttery yellow color on the walls and very neat. He was surprised to see how sparse her furnishings were. A sofa, chair, coffee table and armoire took up most of the small living area. Impressive built-in bookcases held what appeared to contain a respectable collection of books. And tucked away in the corner by the only window in the room was her treadmill. There was absolutely no clutter to speak of. No knick knacks, no pictures of friends or family and no television that he could see.
Cameron switched on a table lamp and set her keys down in a dish on the coffee table. She watched him briefly as he took account of her personal possessions.
"You can set my bag down over there if you don't mind" she said, pointing to yet another bare spot by the door. "Thanks for carrying that" she said as she began to struggle in an effort to remove her jacket without causing herself too much discomfort.
"Wait, let me help you" he said as he stepped behind her, gently trying to remove the coat from her arms and shoulders. Cameron winced slightly as her right arm was finally freed from the sleeve of the jacket.
"You should probably take a couple of Motrin now. You're not going to feel any less pain in a few hours. Do you have much pain?"
"Just a bad headache" she said flatly "And a little discomfort. I'll go get some Motrin- make yourself comfortable. There are drinks in the fridge. I think there might be some beer in there, too".
"Whoa-whoa, whoa. Sit." he commanded with his eyes as well as his hands as he gently guided her to the sofa. "Where do you keep it- the Motrin?"
"Bathroom cabinet. Second door down the hall on the right" she said, grateful for the help. As the pounding in her head washed over her, she leaned her head back against the large cushion on the sofa. She hadn't eaten in hours even though she wasn't sure if she could. She knew half of the reason her head throbbed as badly as it did was due to an empty stomach. The other reason, as she looked down at her right breast, she hoped the Motrin would take care of quickly.
She could see the small white bottle in House's hand as he walked from the hall towards the kitchen. Obviously, he'd found it with no problems. Suddenly, she wondered just what embarrassingly personal things she had in her cabinet for him to see. Her mind ticked off the items from memory; tampons, Crest White Strips, a bottle of fake tan and her old diaphragm container. Nothing she couldn't live with, she thought and she closed her eyes tighter.
Cameron wasn't sure how long he'd been standing in front of her. "You're not already sleeping are you?" three tiny tablets rested in his outstretched hand. She smiled awkwardly before reaching to take the pills and pop them into her mouth.
He handed her the glass of water, waiting for her to take her fill before taking the glass back and setting it on the coffee table. "Those should help your headache soon. You need to eat though. Tell me what you have and then I'll tell you what I can't cook" he said lightly.
Cameron looked at him skeptically. The thought of him there in her apartment let alone cooking something in her kitchen was too much. "Well, there's some leftover tuna casserole and tossed salad in the refrigerator" she said as she looked up at House who was screwing up his face with disgust. "Ok, or there's a frozen pizza in the freezer, soup in the pantry and I think I should have enough cheese to make grilled cheese sandwiches".
"Soup it is!" he said definitively as he made his way back to the kitchen. "Got any peanut butter?"
"Ah, I think so. Pantry- second shelf".
"I do amazing things with peanut butter" he called back lightly.
Cameron shook her head as she tried to think what amazing things one could do with peanut butter besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches- then quickly deciding she'd rather not know.
House worked quickly except for calling out every few minutes to ask Cameron where something was. About ten minutes later he made his way towards the living room with two steaming bowls of chicken vegetable soup.
"What no peanut butter? You didn't want a sandwich too?" she asked as he handed her the bowl with a spoon and napkin.
"That would involve multiple steps and I'm all about simplicity" he said sarcastically, lowering himself onto the cushion next to Cameron on the sofa.
"Slapping peanut butter and jelly between two slices of bread does not constitute multi-tasking" she said sarcastically back.
Not looking up from his soup, he said "Eh, tomato tomahto".
They ate silently until their bowls were empty. Surprisingly, Cameron ate more than she thought herself capable of doing. She could slowly feel relief from the vice- grip like pressure around her head.
"Come on, you should rest. It's after ten" House said as he took the empty bowl from her lap and helped her stand.
"Let me just get the dishes" she started.
House face made an annoyed expression at her comment and he rolled his eyes mockingly. "I'll get them in a minute, relax".
As they made their way down the hall, Cameron thought about the last time she walked there earlier that morning. The last thing she would ever have imagined would have been leading House to her bedroom only twelve hours or so later. She walked confidently through the dark bedroom to switch on a lamp that sat on top of a tall dresser. She stopped awkwardly before sitting down on the bed.
"This is weird, don't you think?" she said nervously.
"Weird or just unfamiliar?" he replied as he sat down on the bed beside her.
Cameron laughed softly. "Unfamiliar. Much better choice of words". She thought for a moment about what it was they were doing. "You know, you really don't have to stay. I'm feeling much better and I meant what I said about taking my car. You're welcome to…" she tried to get out before he cut her off abruptly.
"Why Dr. Cameron" he said, eyeing her intently. "All that time lusting after me and now you're kicking me out?"
Her eyes grew wide with embarrassment at the bluntness of his words. "No, no- you're welcome to stay- and it wasn't lusting" she said defensively at the end, "It was more like mildly pining".
"Is there a difference?" he said as he gently brushed a stray strand of hair away from her eyes.
"No, I guess not" she said softly, as she looked at her hair between his fingertips. "So you lied to me, huh?
"Lied? I never lie", he lied.
"When you said you didn't like me"
"Nope. I didn't like you", he lied again.
"But you do now?" she pressed.
"You're right. This is weird" he said as his gaze shifted from her to random objects around the room.
"I've never had anyone stand up for my honor before" she giggled softly as a smile covered her face.
House rolled and then closed his eyes in embarrassment. And then, more seriously as her eyes locked onto his she said, "I think that was the most romantic thing that's ever happened to me".
His breath caught in his throat. His blue eyes bore deeply into her gaze.
"So, a man proposing to you on his death bed isn't romantic? Wow, you're hard to please" he said jokingly, trying to lighten the moment.
Cameron frowned at yet another reference to her dead husband.
"Sorry. What I meant to say is if that's the case, you need to get out more" he said somewhat apologetically.
"Yeah, that's exactly what you meant" she laughed. "So, got any ideas in mind?" she said impishly.
"Not tonight. Tonight, you sleep" he said patting the bed. "I'll let you get changed".
House levered himself from the bed and began to walk towards the bedroom door. "Hey" she called after him. "I think Foreman left a pair of sweatpants here. Look on the dryer just off the kitchen".
"What? Foreman, too?" he said incredulously.
Cameron rolled her eyes at him dramatically. "My apartment is the closest of all of ours to the hospital. Sometimes he takes a shower here or comes over to grab a quick nap on the couch when you make him pull a double at the last minute. You knew that. And, just so we're clear, we've never both been here at the same time".
"Well, that's a relief!" he said mockingly. "I was beginning to doubt the whole innocent widow thing".
Cameron smiled and rose from the bed to make her way to her dresser, pulling out a sleeveless lavender cotton nightgown. "My virtue remains intact, thanks to you" she smiled mischievously as she passed by him on her way to change in the bathroom.
Now alone in the room, House began to look around the bedroom with interest. It seemed much larger than the living room and he noticed there was enough room for two large dressers and a very comfortable looking reading chair and floor lamp. A huge four sectioned window with stained glass transoms took up most of one wall. In comparison, the bed seemed small in the room, but its delicate flowered iron turned head and footboard looked warm and very much like Cameron.
"No pictures" he thought aloud as he turned for the living room to collect the empty soup bowls.
Keeping loyal to his boasting rights that he had never loaded a dishwasher voluntarily in his adult life, House stacked the dirty bowls and glasses neatly in the sink. After opening a couple of wrong doors, he finally finds the washer and dryer and the blue sweatpants Foreman had left behind.
He slipped off his shoes and then pulled his button down shirt over his head before slipping off his jeans and putting on the sweats. He threw all his clothes in a small heap on top of the dryer and shut the door.
Cameron was halfway to the bedroom when he turned down the hallway. Her hair was loose and fell softly over her shoulders. With the light of the bedroom shining softly behind her, the thin material of her sleeveless nightgown became almost transparent. For the first time since leaving the hospital earlier that evening, House was rendered completely speechless.