Over her years in medicine, Cameron had found that the lab was one of the best places to think. Although she loved the general insanity that every case came with she was always happy to come and run tests through, undisturbed by everyone. Well nearly everyone.

Every time she heard the sound of his cane tapping across the polished floor her stomach tensed up and her shoulders froze. He was either going to berate her, tease her or question her; the outcome of which would never be good.

"I don't know whether to be impressed or annoyed…" Cameron couldn't get a read on his voice and decided to take the neutral route

"I don't know what you are talking about" He moved closer to her, so close in fact that she swore she could feel his breath on her cheek. He knew exactly how to intimidate her, by manipulating her feelings for him- coming so close but staying so far away at the same time.

"Bypassing my authorisation on that new paper you wrote, getting your old supervisor to do so could be seen as mistrust of your current boss"

"I did what I had to do to get it published…giving it to you was a mistake, so I started afresh. It wasn't a case study, it was to do with my speciality, and therefore it won't put the Diagnostics department in a bad light."

He was amazed at the flatness of her voice. Usually when he had her in a corner (figuratively or literally) she couldn't hide the little 'tells' that made him fortunes in poker games. Hers were simple, a rabbit caught in headlights look, a darting glance to the door and a retreat to the lab or some other private hideaway. Today was different- something had changed since she had been away, and it irritated him that he couldn't put his finger on it. Her poker face was nearly as good as his, unwavering and unnerving, but the thing with poker faces is that they nearly always have a crack. He just needed to find the crack and he could split it wide open.

"Okay. Just checking. Carry on." He looked her over once more and turned to leave

"I wonder if Foreman appreciates the fact that I got published in a more well known journal than him, its funny isn't it how things turn out? Never the way you expect. One person's action can change everything. It's a make or break situation isn't it House" Her voice was softer now, but unlike anything he had heard before- it was danger disguised in that soft exterior that everyone saw. The smile on her face wasn't the usual Cameron brand of 'smiles can save the world' instead it was darker, more knowing and world wise than he would have ever pictured. House had a niggling thought in the back of his head that maybe he had misjudged Allison Cameron after all.

The puzzle was far from solved.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

House was brooding over a Rueben looking more despondent than usual, as Wilson walked into the cafeteria. Walking over to his friend he considered his general demeanour and surmised that it had more to do with Cameron coming back than with the patient.

"So, wanna share?" House looked up surprised at Wilsons interruption and narrowed his eyes. Wilson recognised this as a danger sign but refused to back off. "Its just that your exuding toxic levels of irritation with the world, and as you can see no one wants to be near the crazy man with a cane"

This itself was true House noted with amusement. There was a noticeable lack of lunchers at the table around him; in fact it looked like a party at the other end of the room.

"Yeah, all they need is a few balloons and a keg of beer then they would be sorted…" Looking up to see the complete confusion on Wilson's face cheered him up somewhat- sometimes it seemed like Wilson could read his thoughts and he was just glad this wasn't completely true.

"Never mind, I don't want to know what goes on inside your head…" Wilson mock shuddered drawing yet another glare from his friend.

It was House that next broke the long silence; however Wilson noted something in his voice which he hadn't heard for a while- confusion.

"Everybody lies, but usually only one lie or one secret at a time… When someone is hiding something, you can tell from the start, and it's only a matter of time before you find out what it is. The thing is, once you uncover the lie that person is exposed completely- sometimes the lie or secret is just scar tissue, built up when they suffer a cut to themselves in order to protect what is left of them. They cover up when they have been broken and get that scar tissue in place so the world can see it and forget. I know you have. Every divorce leaves you with that scar tissue, and every marriage removes it when you no longer feel the need to protect yourself. This is a general rule, only once every so often a person is so broken that they never get rid of that scar tissue, and it's not enough to protect them forever, so the scar tissue gets scar tissue et cetera, et cetera"

He broke for thought, and Wilson didn't interrupt knowing well that his friend was trying to talk out his train of thought in order to understand something.

"The strange thing is, there comes a point when all the secrets and all the lies can no longer be contained in the scar tissue, and you become numb to nearly everything as it implodes……" He looked up at Wilson as if looking for help

"I assume that this isn't just about you?" His downcast eyes gave him the clue that he needed, and so he continued

"Maybe you finally found someone more broken than you."