A/N: So this one's a little short, but I wanted to keep certain things together in one chapter. I think the next chapter might be the last one, but I'm not sure. And I had an idea rolling around for a third story continuing this the other day, but now I've forgotten it. We'll see what happens. Also, to Enjoy for now!
Disclaimer: Um, oh yeah, that's right, I don't own House.
GHMDGHMDGHMD
"I came here a lot as a kid. When we were a family." Her words echoed the dreams he'd had after he'd woken up in the ICU two months ago. She ambled down the boat ramp to the edge of the small, square dock attached to it and sat down. "After my mom left, we didn't come up here anymore, so I came by myself. It's a great place to think, so quiet and full of memories. That was the beginning." She looked up at him and thought she saw a hint of fear in his eyes. "She lied, House. Sickness or not," she looked back out across the lake, dark even in summer, "she lied to me."
"Everybody lies," he said simply and quietly as he sat down next to her. "Cameron, I…"
She cut him off, "House, why? Why does everybody lie?" She searched his face for hope. "Mothers…lie to their children. People lie to their best friends." She sighed, a hitch in her breath. "And I lied to Joe. I lied to myself."
This wasn't the time, he knew. Not the time to tell her the way he thought he was starting to feel. "Your mother loved you." He said. "Maybe she was sick, maybe she wasn't. But she loved you."
She sat for a moment, dipping her fingertips into the cool water, making ripples. "I used to paint my nails blue," she said. "It's my favorite color."
"Yeah, I think you told me that once." He smiled.
They sat in silence for a while. House had never found silences comfortable until recently, and even then, the only ones he could tolerate were with her. His dreams had started to blur into reality, and he couldn't remember anymore what they'd said to each other in reality or in dreams. He was fairly certain that it didn't matter.
The sun had always seemed to set early in the mountains to Cameron, and that day was no exception. As the sky turned from a light, breezy blue to golden and pink, she suddenly pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one. "I used to smoke, in college," she said. "Pretty stupid for a med student, right?"
House glanced at her. "Gimmie," he said, and pulled another out of the pack, lighting it. "I used to smoke, too."
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Soon after the sun had dipped below the mountain peaks, they walked back to the cabin to use the bathroom before heading out. "Want me to drive?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Not this old bucket," She said. "Besides, I may be a grown woman, but my dad will still have a cow. Let's get going."
They drove mostly in silence again, Cameron occasionally humming or singing to the radio and House staring out the window, lost in thought. At some point he dozed off, leaving Cameron to snicker at his light snore.
'So,' Wilson said, clapping him on the back. 'Now do you see what I've been trying to tell you all along? What you've been trying to tell yourself, really, because I'm not really here.' And then he was gone. House was alone, on the water, in the dark. He didn't see any lights, but he thought he knew where to find one now.
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Cameron slowed as she finally neared the hotel. She looked over at House, who was still sleeping. She had never really known anyone who had been so selfless for her, she realized. Her Dad and brother, sure, but that was a no-brainer. And Joe…he was dying, she hadn't expected anything from him. The more she thought about it, the more she accepted that it had been years ago, and it was time to move on. But House? She had been down this road before, and crashed.
She sighed, reaching over to wake him up. "House," she whispered. "We're back."
He looked up at her with those crystal blue eyes and smiled. "Okay."
After they had gotten back to their hotel rooms and settled for the night, Cameron stood in House's doorway in flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. "Well, we have one more whole day before we have to fly back." She looked at him with hopeful eyes. "Why don't we drive out to the beach? It's about four hours from here, so if we leave early we can make it a day. What do you think?"
"Sure," he nodded. "Cameron?" She half-turned to look at him and he wasn't completely sure whether he was dreaming or not. "The promotion was my idea." Her eyes widened a little. "I told you, you're a damned good doctor. Wouldn't want to waste your whole career working for me, right?"
"I like working for you," she said plainly. "But thank you…for believing in me. I appreciate it."
"Yeah, yeah. Now get to bed. I assume you'll want to wake me up at the crack of dawn. I need my beauty sleep." He rolled over and shut the light off.
Cameron padded back to her room and went to bed. She slept restlessly, until sometime in the night she woke up…and thought she saw House, standing near the doorway. I must be dreaming, she thought, and then she smiled and went back to sleep.
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After Cameron had left his room, House rolled over again onto his back and lay there, unable to sleep, for the better part of an hour. Finally, he got out of bed to pace for a while. When his leg began to ache, he sat down at the little table, pulled some blank sheet music and a pencil out of his bag, and began to write. He always carried these things with him when he went on long trips; he never knew when inspiration would strike. He stared out the window at the moonlight reflecting off the bay, soft waves lapping the rocky shore. When he had filled an entire page of notes, he got up and slowly made his way through the door connecting their rooms. He hadn't thought she could look any more beautiful, but when she was sleeping…her fear was gone from her face, she was just herself. He sighed and wondered how he'd gotten himself so wrapped up in her. Suddenly she stirred. House waited until she was still again and went back to his room and slept.
They sat in his apartment, his comfort zone; House at the piano nursing a drink and Wilson relaxed on the sofa. 'Wilson, I'm in love with her,' he sighed and shook his head. 'She's my employee. She's my…friend. And now I'm in love with her. What do I do?' Wilson stood up and paced for a moment, finally resting his arm on the mantle. 'Just…let go,' he said simply.