Sitting in my office the next day, I sat up suddenly from staring at the ceiling and looked at Cameron and Foreman on the other side of the room. "Tell me something, minions," - they hate it when you call them that, "where's the other one?"
They glanced at each other for a moment. "The other what?" Cameron eventually asked.
"You know, there's the bleeding heart, and the know-it-all, and the British wit guy. Where's that one? I haven't seen him around for a while, which is odd, since he's supposed to work for me." I raised my cane and pointed it at Foreman, ordering, "Go forth and find him, Blackiboo."
He rolled his eyes and pulled open the door. "Don't forget, you're meeting Wilson for lunch, aren't you?"
I made a face at him and mimicked his words in the form of 'blah's. That's always a favorite; you've got to love to classics. Once he was out of sight of the glass walls, though, I turned to Cameron and said, "Tell me what to say to him."
She dropped her face into her palm, almost as though she had expected this. "You went on a date with me, before. Don't tell me you can't tie your own tie."
"Um, first of all, of course I can tie a tie. I just prefer it to be done by someone that actually has practice not choking themselves to death. Second of all, when I went on a date with you, I asked our Casanova himself for tips."
She laughed, shaking her head. "We all remember how well that turned out."
I closed my eyes in fake remembrance. "That was some fun sex though. We should try it again sometime."
"If you keep talking like that, Wilson'll kill me and I'll still get fired for an affair."
"You're right. That's a problem. Why get fired for something you never did?" I lifted my eyebrows suggestively, utterly joking. There was no one for me but my Wilson, don't get confused!
She sighed. "You've had conversations for the last ten years, and then, the instant you love him and think that he might feel the same, you utn into a girl?"
"Pathetic, we've been over this." I grew queasy as a thought struck. "If we're not friends anymore, are we still having lunch?"
"You are," Foreman said as he walked back in the door. "I found Chase. He was talking to Wilson, of all things. He knows, by the way," he added, giving all present a smug little smirk.
"It would be hard not to, the way you go around mouthing off," I grumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose. Damn, now I would actually have to have a conversation with Jimmy. About what, I wonder? "It's worse because it doesn't even count as a date. It's just lunch, so I have to act as though it really is just lunch to me."
Both of them ignored me. Cameron said, "Wait, Chase is talking to Wilson? Why?"
Foreman leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Well, House has got the both of us, right? Wilson just lost his best friend, I guess. Sometimes you just need someone to talk at."
"I didn't know Chase had it in him," she murmured softly.
"Ew, don't start with that kind of talk," I scolded immediately. "He probably has horrible teeth, you know how the English are. Bad kisser, I'd lay money on it."
"You're just jealous that Chase is the one talking to Wilson right now," Foreman teased. "After all, who knows where a thing like that might lead."
Cameron, hand over her mouth, turned away to stifle a sudden case of the giggles.
"Shut up, both of you. I still don't know what to say."
"Talk about…some random patient. Make one up, if you have to. Make it funny." Foreman was looking out the window, apparently disinterested.
Cameron nodded quickly, "You know how seeing him smile always cheers you up."
I looked between them, shocked. "How long has this little love affair rumor been running, anyway?"
"It's obviously not just a rumor, and it's obviously been building for years."
I fell to thinking, dangerous though it has been proven to be. If everyone knew I loved Wilson before I did, had the boy wonder himself figured it out a long time ago? Would it have been better to just not say anything at all?
Cameron eventually said, "Wait, Wilson was helping you on that date we went on? As in, he was encouraging you to go?"
I looked up, not understanding. "Were you too busy thinking about Chase to notice when I said that before?"
"No, I'm just asking, because he talked to me about it on the exact same day."
Foreman turned his head to actually look at her now, and I twirled my cane in my hand. "I guess this is the part where I ask what he said?"
"He told me to be careful not to break your heart," she laughed, looking all caring. "He was worried that it would be the last time you tried to love someone."
"As if I could really be that fragile," I scoffed. He had been out fighting battles for me?
Was that the action of a concerned friend, or…?
"House, are you sure that you're honestly in love with him?" Foreman asked unexpectedly. "This could be bad if you're only getting fondness mixed up with rest-of-your-life stuff."
Wilson complaining about buying me lunch, but doing it anyway. Wilson joking with me, steadily growing more sarcastic the longer he talks with me. Wilson leaving a message on his machine specifically for me…because I'm the only friend that calls him at home.
"I'm sure," I answered, dead serious, for the first time in recorded history.
"Good," Cameron smiled. "God knows, you two idiots deserve each other."