House sat on the rooftop of the hospital, twirling his cane through his fingertips. His thoughts were full of the day's events, and Wilson's words to him in the clinic that morning. He knew he had been far too harsh with Cameron; his words were not intended to hurt her or destroy her as Wilson had put it. Damn. Wilson as ever was right and had succeeded in making House feel as low as was possible. He laughed grimly to himself at this thought- many would agree that Houses usual mood was pretty damn low, and those same people would not have liked to see him now.
He was torn from his thoughts by the sound of the door leading to the roof scraping open on the rough surface of the ground. House didn't realise many people came up here anymore; the idiot orderlies had been disciplined by Cuddy after the team found a hallucinating patient about too walk off the edge. Apart from Stacy and Wilson nobody knew he came up here, and he knew that both were otherwise engaged- Stacy piled under a stack of paperwork and last time he had seen Wilson he had been up to his green-tied neck in patients. Apparently cancer didn't take holidays and the strain was starting to show on his friend.
He was surprised then to find none other than Allison Cameron walking towards the raised wall on one side of the roof. House knew that this was the best place to get a view of New Jersey, and also to spy on people around the hospital. There was something about being king of the castle that appealed to his inner dictator. Seeing people scurrying around the hospital grounds like ants was surprisingly compelling viewing. Thanks to his hiding spot concealed by various objects he was not seen, although Cameron seemed to think that she was the only one around. Placing her hands on the wall she took a deep breath, and exhaled. It seemed as if she was getting rid of the whole day in one drawn out exhalation. When she inhaled once again she threw her head back and looked up at the stars, closing her eyes she returned her breathing to normal and brought her head down. This little ritual helped clear her head, and was definitely needed after the day she had had. She would never admit it to anyone but House had really hurt her today- his words had not been tinged with the usual amount of sarcasm that he reserved for her, he seemed deadly serious. The grim laugh which came from her mouth at that moment was a match for House's. Nothing could ever be easy for her could it; all she wanted was to feel needed, to feel safe. Contrary to belief she didn't want to fix everything that was broken, she just wanted someone who was as broken as her to show her how it could be alright - she wouldn't cry about work, and she certainly wouldn't ever tell her colleagues how she was feeling. Well maybe there were some exceptions…….
Right on the cue from her subconscious the door opened once again. House found himself drawing back further into the shadows so to avoid detection by the second intruder of the night. To his surprise it was Wilson who emerged through the door, having made numerous excuses to House as to why he couldn't spare five minutes for him.
Wilson made his way over to Cameron, and rested his hand softly on her back so he did not shock her. It surprised House how close he had come to her and Cameron's next movement- leaning into him was even more of a surprise, and not the pleasant kind which made you all warm and fuzzy inside. This was more the kind that left a bitter taste in your mouth, and made your stomach knot up as if it had been kicked.
"James…. I don't know what to do…. I can't go back in there; I can't focus on anything right now"
"Allison, listen, that wasn't him today; I can't explain it to you but you have to trust me on this."
Wilson took Cameron by the shoulders and turned her to face him. House noticed the progress of the single tear that was finding its way down her pale face. This in itself surprised him- in a twisted way he had been hoping for the melodramatic wailings of the spurned lover rather than this modest display of self control. Wilson brought here towards his body and held her, comforted her as House knew he could not. He became jealous of Wilson's fingers as they brushed through her hair, coming to rest on her cheek, wiping away the path that the tear had left, and with one last look up at Wilson's calm face she turned away with a comforted look on her face.
Wilson's eyes followed Cameron's retreating form through the door and then turned back to look over New Jersey in its night time glory. A cough startled him and as he turned he caught sight of the steely blue eyes of House bearing into him.