House finally found himself, after a few minutes of fleeing the ten year old Housette, on the fourth floor of the building in a hallway he'd never seen before. He flopped into a chair, breathing hard, and gave the wall a baleful look.
Of course it was right then that Cameron turned up.
House hissed to himself.
"Thank God I found you!" she gasped, attempting to squeeze onto his chair next to him until he pushed her off with his cane. She settled for sitting on the ground, one arm looped around his leg. He surreptitiously tried to pry her off by using his cane as a lever, but she clung on with the absent-minded resolution of a limpet.
"What's the matter with you?" he demanded irritably. She peered up at him with tear-filled eyes that seemed larger than her face all of a sudden.
"I couldn't find you! I thought you were dead!"
House stared at her. She sniffed.
"How – the hell – did you get 'House is dead' from 'House isn't in my line of sight'?"
She sniffed again, and abruptly burst into tears, her wailing echoing up and down the corridor. House flinched and swore under his breath. Cameron clung to his leg, steadily soaking the fabric a darker colour with tears.
"I'm miserable and alone! I slept with Chase by accident but I still love you and you don't love me back! My husband died and so'd my baby! I've had a tragic past! My gerbil died this morning!"
House pried Cameron off with some difficulty, before lurching off down the corridor. But desperation lent Cameron swiftness and she caught up with him, pushing him bodily to the wall of the corridor and clinging onto him.
"And nobody loves me," she sniveled.
"Plenty of people love you," House said cautiously. His cane arm was trapped at his side and she had quite a lot of strength for someone so – so short and skinny and girly - the wiry, desperate strength he expected from Cuddy. Though Cuddy would never do this.
He hoped so, anyway.
"Lots of people. Like Chase," he continued, attempting a consoling, wheedling tone that would get her the hell off him for a minute so he could make his escape.
"Do you love me?" she demanded, fists tightening around his shoulders. His head continued to pound, and he swayed on his feet. He very seriously considered saying 'yes', if only to get her the hell away from him. But then she'd kiss him or something, and he'd be disturbed for weeks. Honestly. If only young, attractive women had stalked him this desperately when he'd been twenty six rather than forty six.
"No."
"Denial is the first sign of acceptance!" Cameron cried delightedly, before capering off down the hall. House sagged to the floor and put his head in his hands.
This was turning out to be a long day.