Re-load of chapter 2... how exciting! Party-throwing worthy! Read on and liberate!


CHAPTER TWO – BREAKFAST WITH WOMANLY ITEMS

"James? James, c'mon, you should get up…" She shook him lightly and he groaned and opened his eyes, blinking.

"Hey," he said sleepily. Was it the next morning already?

She smiled widely. "Hey, sleepy-head. It's time to wake up, or we'll be late." She stood and went into the kitchen. "Breakfast?"

"Um…" Wilson rubbed his eyes vigorously and sat up, stretching his legs out. "Would you mind if I had a shower first? I promise I'll be a lot more communicable."

"Sure. I got you out some towels, they're just on the sink. I'll have coffee ready when you get out."

Hauling himself up, he groaned again. There was a crick in his neck, where he had slept with his head on a ridiculous angle.

"How did you sleep?" Cameron asked him, returning to the lounge and chewing on a piece of toast. "Sorry if the couch isn't long enough."

Wilson warded off her concerns. "No, no, I'm very grateful. Beats my office any day."

She looked relieved. "Good. Great. Do you have a change of clothes?"

He looked down and saw that he had slept in his shirt and pants. "No," he admitted, yawning.

"No problem. We'll stop by your house on the way to work."

"We?"

"Yeah. Well, as long as you're staying here, there's really no point in taking both cars, is there? I mean, we pretty much have the same hours lately, so…"

"Yeah… okay, that sounds alright."

"Good," she said, pleased. "Now, you go and have your shower. My bathrobe used to be… well, it was Ben's. So it should fit you okay."

Unexpectedly, he approached her and put his arms around her, hugging her tight.

"Thanks," he whispered, before pulling away and going into the bathroom.

"You're welcome…" she responded to the empty room.


James shut the bathroom door and rested against it, closing his eyes. That had been weird. He hadn't hugged another person, actually done something physical with another person, in a long time. He had forgotten how good it felt to have tangible contact with another human being. The fact that it was Cameron, someone he had always found pleasurable (to talk to and to look at), only made it better.

He didn't know what had compelled him to do it – perhaps it had been her niceness, her eagerness to help and look after him. No-one had tried to help him as much as she was. It was comforting, and flattering. It made him feel as if he was worth something… But those were thoughts for another time.

Opening his eyes, he surveyed her bathroom. It was exactly as he had expected: neat, tidy and girly. Perfume, creams and other womanly items lined the back of the sink, each one perfectly aligned with the wall. Knowing he probably shouldn't, he picked up the bottle of perfume and sniffed it. Yep, there it was… Cameron's distinctive smell; flowery, sweet and indescribably female. The towels she had promised him were sitting faithfully next to the sink.

Her shower was large and had a plastic holder for her body wash, shampoo and conditioner. He turned on the water and tested the pressure: it felt good. Strong and cleansing. A bit like Cameron herself.

Peeling his clothes off, he stepped in and sighed in relief, letting the water pound down on his sore neck and shoulders. As if by magic, he immediately felt some tension released, and he rolled his head from side to side, letting the water splash over his face.

He had no choice but to use her shower products and he grimaced slightly as he imagined what House's reaction would be like. He would definitely notice that Wilson smelt of her products: he was too observant not to. Then he would assume, if he hadn't already, that he and Cameron had had sex. Just like everyone else was bound to think.

He groaned and shook his head. That was too bad. What was done was done. He would just explain that he and Allison had done no such thing, and were not planning to do so in the near future, either. And then House wouldn't leave him alone for weeks.

He got out and dried himself before unhooking the bathrobe from the back of the door. It fit, a little bit snugly around his chest, but it covered everything imperative.

He turned on the fan to suck up some of the steam and mopped up any water he had spilt with one of his towels before hanging it to dry where the robe had been. Emerging from the bathroom drying his hair, he smelt the magnificent scent of real coffee being brewed.

"God, that smells good."

She was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter and reading a book. She looked up at him. "Hey. How was your shower?" She put her book aside and got out a cup for him, filling it with the brown liquid and handing it to him.

"Fantastic. Your water pressure is amazing."

Suddenly, she laughed, and he took a sip of the coffee, frowning.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. It's just so weird to have you in my house talking about the water pressure of my shower. I mean, we've talked at the hospital, and helped each other, but we've never really… bonded, I guess, until now."

"Yeah. It's good," he ventured, hoping she didn't think he was attempting to cross a line.

"It is good." She smiled at him again and passed him a plate with a croissant on it. "Here. Thought you might be hungry."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."