Chapter 11

The weekend dragged until it was finally Monday. House was ready. When he had tried to steal a woman before, he hadn't cared about the other man. Mark meant nothing to him. He had just been a stumbling block in his path. But this time was different. Despite appearances, he respected Chase. The younger man wasn't a great doctor yet, but he had the potential, and House knew it. He was a good kid, just lost most of the time.

House was standing by the whiteboard early that morning, waiting for everyone to come to work. He tapped his cane on the floor repeatedly, his eyes trained at the office door. Cameron was there first. That's a good sign, he thought. Means he doesn't sleep over every night. She gave him a half-smile as she went into the room but avoided much eye contact. Cameron was determined to free herself from the fog her head always entered when House was in the same room.

It didn't seem to be working, however. Without even thinking, she went to the coffee pot, which House had already started, and poured two cups of coffee. She walked towards House and gave him his red cup. His hand touched hers as he took the cup. As their eyes flew to meet each other, she realized she had made a dire mistake. House, on the other hand, was beginning to believe his mission was going to be easier than he thought. His eyes looked like warm, blue flames as he gave her an equally warm smile. His lips had curled into an honest, unaffected grin. Cameron couldn't pull her own eyes away from his face. The serenity it projected reminded her of his peaceful sleeping when he had been in the hospital. She had never thought he could look that happy. Besides happiness, she also noticed an unmistakable yearning. Cameron had never seen anything look as beautiful or handsome as his face at that moment.

"Thank you," he almost whispered. His voice was raspy and calm.

The air felt thick to Cameron. She could barely breathe. Cameron had meant to tell him he was welcome, but instead she leaned closer to him and began to say, "House, I nee—"

"Do we have a sick patient in need of help today?" Chase interrupted. Cameron noticed he was scowling, but she wasn't sure why. She didn't know that Chase had only been a few minutes behind her. A nurse had stopped him just outside the office to ask him a question. He had witnessed the entire scene. An office isn't that private when made from glass walls.

Cameron spun from House, took her coffee and sat down on the opposite side of Chase. House hadn't even flinched. He took a sip of coffee. "You mean we actually get patients that need our help, too? That's good news. It's always more fun when they're sick," he mocked.

Chase didn't find it funny. He tended to glare at House for the rest of the day. Later that day, House had sent Foreman and Chase to do an MRI on their patient. He had given Cameron a job in the lab. About five minutes after she entered to do the test, House followed her into the room. Showtime, he thought, taking a deep breath.

Cameron had decided to fight tough the rest of the day with him. Without looking up from the microscope, she nearly quaked as she asked, "What do you want, House?"

"You."

It was so simple, quiet, direct that she almost dropped the slide. She had waited roughly two years for this man, and for the first time, he was telling her how he felt. Cameron didn't know what to say, so House continued. "I'm sorry that I let you go that day at the hospital. I thought you were better off without me, but it was unfair of me to choose for you. And I know it's cruel to bring it up now that you're with Chase, but you should know."

Cameron could feel her heart thumping with joy because of the proclamation, but her blood was also racing with anger. Her jaw started to stiffen and House knew he was in trouble. She said, "I've asked you for the past year and a half how you feel and you refuse to tell me until someone was actually man enough to tell me? Why now, House?"

"I had a dream about you."

Again, it was so out of context that she didn't know what to say. House stepped closer to her, saying, "When I was out last week. I had a dream about touching you, but I couldn't even do that in my dream." He sighed remorsefully, slightly embarrassed to reveal so much. "I wanted to. I wanted to kiss you. To make you sigh."

She started to say something but he stopped her when he put his hand on her shoulder. "Even after that dream, I still let you go. But then I realized that I didn't want to live the rest of my life with that dream only. I had thought you should be with someone better than me. I know I'm not good enough to be with you," he said looking straight at her with pleading eyes, "but I want to try to be even better than good enough. It's what you deserve. Chase can give you that easy, but I want to try."

Her jaw relaxed. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't want to hurt him," she murmured.

House took in a deep breath and looked away. "You'll hurt him more if you keep lying to him."

Cameron's eyes flashed anger. House quickly realized that, in this instance, green didn't mean go. "I have his best interests at heart. Don't try to manipulate me like you did Stacy—like you do your patients. You can't con yourself into my heart, House."

She stomped towards the door. As she swung it open, she heard him say, "That's because I'm already there."

She gritted her teeth and slammed the door shut as she raced into the corridor. Still upset, she ran right into Chase. Cameron gasped as her body hit his. "Allison, are you all right?" he asked. He could see her face was flushed and she was almost quivering with anger. "What happened?"

Cameron shook her head to calm down. Clearing her throat, she tried to smile when she looked up at him. "I'm fine," she lied. "I just got some disappointing news from the lab."

Chase took her word for it. Smiling sweetly, he bent his head down to peck her on the lips. As he picked his head back up, he watched House limp away from the lab.

……………………

Cameron chided herself for lying to Chase. She was also irritated that House had predicted she would. She needed time away from both of them, time to think. She loved House, but what if she was another puzzle to him? What would happen if he figured her out? Cameron knew he liked her now, but she could have a future with Chase.

As she pulled out her keys to get into her car, her lungs pushed out a gush of wind. "Damn."

……………………………

House needed some liquor. He wasn't sure what Cameron's next move would be. As he moved into the kitchen of his apartment, he lamented on Wilson's disappearance. When he was married, House saw him all the time. Now that he had been with Cuddy for the last three days, Wilson only checked in with him. The frequent dinners they shared were going to dwindle now that Cuddy was boss of more than the hospital.

He popped some Vicodin in his mouth, grabbed a glass of whiskey, and headed for his bedroom. House wanted to forget he was alone. Again.

Stretched out on his bed, he sipped the drink. As he drifted to sleep, his last thoughts were of what it would be like if Cameron had been laying next to him.

……………………

House was yanked from the blackness of sleep by a continual knocking on his door. Hauling himself up from his bed, he hobbled into the living room.

The knocking continued. Still trying to clear his head, he hollered, annoyed, "I'm coming. Try not to splinter your hand."

As he put his hand on the knob, House realized Cameron might be on the other side. His chest ached at the thought as his heart banged excitedly inside him. The doctor smoothed his hair with his hand and then grabbed the doorknob again. Pulling the door open, the sight on the other side of it caused his heart to thump even harder.

TBC