Emily left at exactly nine on Friday morning. House sat in his chair, his back to the door and his I-pod turned up. He pretended that he couldn't hear the gentle rapping on the glass, followed by Cuddy's sharp words, suggesting that House be left alone. The guilt did somersaults in his chest, taunting him for his insecurities. Cameron peeked at him every few minutes just to make sure his was all right. His way of dealing with his sister worried her, but she knew better than to confront him about it. He didn't leave his office all day, mostly to avoid bumping into Wilson or Cuddy. Their problems were just that; theirs. He really did not want to entertain ideas of Wilson and Cuddy. Together. It was fairly disgusting.

House was just zipping up his bag, getting ready to head home for the weekend, when someone tapped him gently on the shoulder. He turned, half-expecting to see Cameron. He was, unfortunately, surprised to find an exhausted Cuddy smiling weakly up at him.

"Oh, Cuddy," he said hesitantly. What did she want? If she was going to ask him for clinic duty that weekend, he'd pretend he'd suddenly gone deaf and hobble out of there as quick as he could. But of all the things he was expecting her to say, one of them was not

"I don't know what to do."

Her features had crumbled, giving way to a quivering lip and the tears brimming her eyes. She looked away from House, unsure of how to proceed. House, though, was much more uncomfortable. He had a feeling where this conversation was headed.

"…What?" So, he'd play it dumb, even though he was pretty sure she wouldn't buy it.

"Oh, come off it!" She said loudly. "I know Wilson went crying to you right away." She reached up to wipe away at the tears. "He…I really thought he'd be…different." House couldn't help but chuckle lightly, which was clearly not the appropriate response.

"Cuddy, you know Wilson. Apparently a lot better than we all thought." He stopped to return the vicious glare she was shooting him. "So you should know that he'll just need…time. But you won't get anywhere unless you talk about it."

"I'm an idiot, aren't I?" she asked softly,

"Sure. It took sleeping with Wilson to make you aware?" His words hung awkwardly between them. He wasn't quite sure why; how else was Wilson going to get her pregnant? But actually phrasing it into words made it that much more permanent. Cuddy turned from him, but didn't leave.

"He's said I should keep it," she said through her tears. She took a shaky breath before continuing. "But he's not sure he wants to be with me." She waited a moment for her words to sink in before she went back through the doors. House had fully understood what she had meant, and only had room in his head for one word.

'Asshole.'

House flipped open his cell phone, scowling when he saw the screen. It was the twelfth time that night Wilson had tried to call him, but since he heard what Cuddy had to say, he wasn't sure he could talk to Wilson without screaming obscenities. Cameron had decided to stay at her apartment for the weekend to clean. Of course, that wasn't the real reason, but she wasn't about to tell House that she thought he needed a weekend to himself to deal with Emily's leaving.

House returned into reality at the sound of the answering machine beep. Had the phone been ringing? He listened to the familiar sound of his stepfather's voice recording.

"Hi Greg. It's Mike. Um…I just thought you'd like to know that Emily got home safe. Your mom and I will keep an eye on her, just to make sure she stays that way…She talked about you, Greg." He stopped to let out a shaky breath. "She's grateful, you know. I'm sure she didn't seem so, but she was glad to see you…Thank you…. for reminding her. I think it was time. Your mom…she says hello. I'll…I'll let you know how Emily is doing…Bye Greg"

The messages Mike left were not unfamiliar. Ever since House had left for school, Mike had called once a month, just to let him know that Emily was OK. They had never actually talked; Mike would just leave the messages. This was good, because House wasn't interested listening to Mike remind him that his mother would like to hear from him every now and then.

House stretched his legs out, wishing he could sleep. But he knew the dull throbbing in his right thigh would keep him awake even with vicodin. He flipped through channels on the TV, settling with a late night show. He wished Cameron had been there to talk him into renting a corny movie, staying up late, and just talking and laughing. He was glad that she seemed to be insane. He liked having someone to be with again. He'd always assured himself that he was fine alone, but the truth was that it had made him empty. And Cameron was so full of love; they would fit together perfectly.

House started at the sound of a light knock on his front door. He smiled, knowing who was on the other side. Sure enough, when he swung the door open, there was Cameron, bundled up in her winter gear.

"Sorry," she said, shivering. "I know I said I wasn't going to come over but…" she smiled and shrugged. "I was lonely."

"It's fine," House replied. He stepped aside to let her in. "Would you like something to eat? I'm sure there's still plenty of lasagna left in the fridge."

"No, I'm fine." She'd moved to the couch, watching the television with faked interest. House went back to his chair, swallowing two vicodin on his way. "I…uh…got a call from Cuddy." House shook his head. He didn't doubt what about. "She told me what Wilson said." Her face took on something he was pretty sure was disgust. "I didn't know Wilson was capable…I mean. I thought he'd be more gallant in a situation like this."

"Strangely enough, so did I." House wrapped his fingers around the handle of his cane. "As much as I'm sure everyone will be expecting me to side with Wilson-"

"Are you?" Cameron broke in. House glared at her.

"I hadn't finished. I'm not siding with Wilson. He's handling this whole thing like a teenager."

"Poor Cuddy." House looked at her, and realized that he agreed. Poor Cuddy. She hadn't asked for this. She'd probably thought that Wilson cared about her. Stupid Wilson.

Cameron yawned and stretched herself out on the couch. It only took a few minutes for her eyes close. House waited until the end of his show before moving over to her, rubbing his hand gently across her back.

"Cameron," he said softly. "Come on, let's go to bed." She blinked up at him, pressing her palms to her eyes.

"Do you think Wilson know how bad he's hurt her?" she said groggily. House thought for a moment while she stood up and padded down to his bedroom. He still hadn't thought of an answer when he crawled under the covers next to her.

"I think he does," he said slowly. "I think he knows that's he's made a mess of things. He just doesn't know what to do about it."

The week leading up to the hospital's benefit was incredibly stressful for House. He had finally decided to help out with his team's patient, though he could hardly think when Cameron stared at him like that. She had casually asked him if they were going to go to the benefittogether or separately. He hadn't thought about it, but decided that they'd better show up separately to avoid any awkward questions.

Saturday morning had brought a startling message from Mike. It had been loud and frantic, and definitely carried its point across. Apparently, when Mike had gone to her house to check on her, Emily was missing. Her car was still in the garage, so that ruled out the possibility of grocery shopping. House was terrified, but he tried his best to hide it when he saw Cameron walk into the room at the benefit. She was wearing a burgundy dress that came down to her knees. It was simple, but she looked like a goddess to House. They stayed away from each other for the first few minutes until they couldn't stand it anymore. Cameron walked up to the table where House was sitting and nursing a glass of scotch.

"Dr. House," she breathed, taking a seat across from him,

"Dr. Cameron."

"Did you see Cuddy?" she asked, dropping her voice to a whisper. House looked past her shoulder to the bar, where Cuddy was on what appeared to be not her first beer of the night.

"Someone should warn her that alcohol isn't good for the baby," he said sharply, taking a sip from his drink.

"House, she's…"Cameron's voice disintegrated into nothing as her eyes widened. Her gaze was locked on a couple that had just walked through the doors. House took another swig of the scotch before he turned in his seat to follow her gaze. There was Wilson, a big goofy smile on his face. And on his arm was a familiar young woman with crystal blue eyes.