"ALLISON!" She called from the door step
"Hey mum, what's new these days?"
"Well by what I heard from Susan, who heard it from Benny at the gas station, who heard it from Betty, you've got a new boyfriend!" she hugged her daughter tightly, "And you must be Greg House, so nice to finally place a face to the name"
House extended his hand, "Nice to meet you too Mrs. Cameron"
"Oh hush! Call me Harriet" She ignored his hand pulling him into a hug, House flinched from the added pressure on his leg, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry about that; sometimes I do the stupidest things"
"It's alright, seriously" House smiled through his pain
"Well alright then, dinner's about ready to be served" House waited until she turned to dry swallow two pills, "You should really take them with water" she called from the door
House looked at Cameron, "She knows and sees everything" Cameron smiled following her mum
Once inside Cameron directed House to the guest room, "I hope it's comfortable enough, I'll just grab you some towels" Cameron left to grab the towels giving him plenty of time to unpack.
"Here" Cameron laid some towels on the tall boy next to the door, "Mum said dinners ready"
"Coming" House pulled himself off the bed with his cane for support, following Cameron into the dining room he stopped dead, it was filled with smiling, friendly looking faces, "Ah, Cameron?"
"Oh sorry, everyone this is my boss Greg House; House this is my family" Everyone said hello in one way or another before room was made so Cameron and House were sitting next to each other
"So you're a doctor?" an elderly gentleman asked
"Uh…yes, world renowned actually" House replied taking bits and pieces from the plates being passed around
"Care to share with us her new boyfriend?" the same elderly gentleman continued
"Actually there is no boyfriend from what I know; I accidentally gave people the wrong impression. I was defending your daughter" House put a fork of peas in his mouth, "Wow, these are good"
"Thank you, grown from the patch of green right outside" Harriet smiled, "Don't mind him though, he's just a nosey old man" she elbowed the gentleman in question
"Sorry, can't help it; the name's John, I'm her father" he produced a hand from across the table, in which House shook.
"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce well enough!" Cameron exclaimed, from mum going right, you have dad, Uncle Jim, Aunt Helen, Roger, Matthew, Uncle Harold, Uncle Richard, Aunt Margaret, grandma and grandpa, Louis and Stacey"
"I thought you said you were an only child" House whispered
"They're all cousins, our family has been in these parts for generations" Cameron replied
"Oh" House sighed, "That would make sense"
"And you said you're good at puzzles!" Cameron laughed, stopping when she noticed everyone looking at them, "Sorry"
"Oh no dear, don't stop because of us, it's nice to hear you laugh" Harriet smiled
A shuffling from the front door drew House's attention, "Sorry I'm late!" a female voice came from no where, "Hey all" a striking woman stood before them, it had obviously started raining because she was drenched
"Jules not in the house, Melanie you should know better!" Harriet scolded two young girls
"But Auntie!" they cried in unison
"No buts, jackets and boots at the door!"
"Sorry Aunt" the woman kissed her cheek, Allison!" the woman rounded on Cameron, "I didn't think that boss of yours would let you come! Maybe his not such a down right bastard then?" House looked pointedly at Cameron, "Oh sorry, I'm Caroline and these two tuckers are Melanie and Julia"
"Greg House, the down right bastard" House smirked as her face went white, before laughing, "Actually it's pretty accurate"
The three women were settled around the table before something resembling dinner began again, "So Greg, can you work around the yard?" Uncle Harold asked
"Not really, but I can try" House replied, the men's jaws dropped
"Never met a man who couldn't work a farm" Harold continued
"Ever met a man with an infarction?" House asked casually, Cameron drew in a breath
"Nope, can't say that I have"
"It's a nasty operation where they go in and remove the dead tissue, in short, if it's in the thigh renders the person a cripple" House explained quickly, "That's why I use a cane"
Uncle Harold's face dropped, "I'm sorry son, I didn't realize, I mean I noticed the cane but I didn't assume it to be too serious"
"It's ok, I'm used to the cane now, gets me out of clinic sometimes" He grinned at Cameron who let go of the breath she'd taken
"So made you decide to come with Ally here?" Matthew asked
"Can't remember exactly…that's right, I was given time off so I figured instead of sit home, I'd come and get to know one of my ducklings families" he explained, Cameron stared at him, "What?"
"Nothing" She replied going back to her meal
"Do you have dusks?" Julia asked quickly
Cameron watched, expecting a biting remark form him about her mispronunciation of the word, but none came. "Well, I don't have dusks, but I do have a really cool rat called Steve McQueen"
The little girl's eye's bulged, "You have a pet rat!"
"Yep, got him a little cage too!" The adults sat back and watched as this complete stranger held a completely useless conversation with the 3 year old.
"Could I see him? Pretty please?"
"Well that would be a tad difficult, his at my friend Wilson's house while I'm away" House watched the little girl's face droop, "How about this, if you really, really good while I'm here, I'll send you pictures. Then if I hear you're still being really good, next time I come I'll bring him with me, do we have a deal?" House stretched his hand to the little girl who shook it vigorously
"Deal"
MDMDMDMD
After dinner had finished and the dishes washed, House was called into the study with the men, "So Greg, you're Allison's boss?" Harold asked
"Yep"
"Do you think its right to take trips with your employees?"
"I'm not sure, if you're implying that I'm out to use and abuse your niece then I would seriously reconsider that train of thought, but if you think I'm here to actually get to know her; then I guess you're right" House replied sitting down, stretching out his leg he dry swallowed only one vicoden.
"You need to take those?" John asked
"For the pain yes"
"So can you tell us honestly, does my daughter have any man in her life?"
"Why is everyone so curious about Cameron?" House asked ignoring the question
"It's just that she was this town's golden child, she wanted to get out of here and she did. She met Brian within her first month at college, he came back every holiday, and every time she came back he was with her. They became known as the town's golden couple, then he died" John sighed, "No father wants to see his daughter grow old without love, without marriage, without hope; do you understand?"
House thought about it, she had been married, but that ended abruptly; she had had love, which ended abruptly but no hope? "I'm sorry but you've lost me, I understand she was married and he died of cancer, but no hope? Cameron is one of the most caring and concerned doctor I have on staff, I just assume she has the hope needed to keep going"
"My granddaughter has the ability to hide behind a mask of serene confidence, she has been dead inside since he died, which is why were asking; she was laughing tonight, she hasn't laughed in years" 'She laughs all the time at work'
"Are you sure we're talking about the same Cameron here? Tall, brunette; eyes that you can drown in?" He regretted the last statement, but then again he didn't
John looked at House, he saw the confusion knitting his brow, "It's you"
"What's me?"
"You're the reason she's laughing again"
"Wrong man, I usually make people cry; actually I go out of my way to make the nurses cry"
"That wont matter to her, she only loves people for who they really are, she's never once in her life tried to change someone into something else" House was struck dead, their date, he'd told her she was trying to fix him, crap!
MDMDMDMD
House got outside as soon as he could, the conversation he was having with her male relatives was driving him insane, "Damn I can't get a breath" he tried slowing his breathing down
"What are you doing out here?" Caroline asked scaring House
"Oh nothing, breathing in some non-toxic air I suppose" House hid his fright, sitting on the bench outside
Caroline sat next to him, "Look there's the northern star" she pointed
"Ah so it is" 'why is she here?'
"We haven't had any new people in town for years" Caroline sighed slumping back against the bench
"I'm only here because of Cameron"
"Why do you call her Cameron?"
"I call all my colleagues by their last name, even my best friend" House stated proudly, "It saves the connection with called someone their first name"
"But you'll have to call me Caroline; I mean it would weird you calling us all Cameron!" She laughed gently hitting him
"Sure, Caroline, but I'm still House" he grumbled, he didn't like this attention, it didn't feel…right
Her hand stayed on his arm, "Wow, you've got some nice muscles" she gushed
House went to shake her off when Cameron walked out, "Carol…House?" he could see the pain in her features before the steeled up, "You're needed inside Caroline, Julia won't go to sleep"
"Oh, see you round" She winked at House before leaving them alone
"Cameron"
"Don't"
"How do you know I was going to do something?"
"Just please, be the gruff sarcastic jerk right now"
"No" his reply was simple
"I don't want to know what was…"
"Nothing was happening"
"Please House, she's drop dead gorgeous!" Cameron stated, voice rising but still calm
Their raised voices had brought faces to the windows, hidden behind the curtains, John was getting angrier by the minute, "Don't House me Cameron!"
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Be angry! Be pissed off, don't stand there and be all 'I don't want to know'!"
"I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!"
"I WANT YOU TOO!"
John was being held back by Harriet, "You shush and stay put, they need this" she whispered angrily
"Why? Why do I need to know House?" she sighed in defeat
"Because you've got it all wrong"
"No I haven't, she's way more tempting than I am!"
"NO ONE'S MORE TEMPTING THAN YOU, DON'T YOU GET THAT! Damn it Allison" he exploded
Cameron stood dumbstruck, "You were with her though"
"I didn't want to be" House limped to her, taking her shaking form in his arms, "God Cameron, you're freezing" House took of his jacket and wrapped it around her, "Come on we've got to talk"
Cameron snorted, "You talking? Yea right"
"I'm serious" House concluded sitting them on the bench; "The male side of your family is very protective aren't they?" Cameron nodded, "Why would you give them the impression that you were always sad? Don't you like it at Princeton?"
"I do, I'm just…it's empty" Cameron admitted, "I have Foreman and Chase who are my second family, but then there is the fighting with you, you still after Stacey and I feel empty"
"I don't want Stacey back Cameron"
"And we're back to Cameron"
"Old habits die hard! You're still calling me House!" he pointed out
"Ok, no ore House unless we're fighting"
"Deal"
"Greg?" House looked at her, "Why did you come with me?"
"Well…now lets see…" House was cut off by a cry inside
"I WANT UNCLE GREG TO TUCK ME IN!"
"That sounds awfully a lot like Julia" House sighed, "I'm being paged, it's worse than the hospital!"
Cameron laughed following him inside, automatically the entire house went back to it normal ways, "I saw you all" Cameron called from the corridor
She watched House enter the room, so she decided to have a shower, getting out and changed into her pjs she noticed House hadn't left the room; creeping to the door, she noticed it still open. There he was laying on the bed with Julia curled up next to him a book laid open on his chest. Stifling a giggle Cameron entered the room quietly, taking the blanket from the end of the bed and began to rest it over House, "I'm awake you know"
"Oh, sorry you just looked asleep" Cameron blushed
"It was peaceful" he opened an eye and grinned at her, "No telling"
He couldn't help but laugh when she crossed her heart, "Aunt Allison?" a groggy Julia called
"Yea it's me, now shush and go back to sleep" she whispered tucking some of the girls hair behind her ear
"Are you going to marry Uncle Greg? He has a rat!" she whispered
"I'm not sure honey, have you asked Uncle Greg?"
"He said yes" House went red, "He said you were beautiful, more beautiful than mummy and a lady called Angelina!" she once again yawned
"Well then, I guess I will marry him then wont I? Especially if he said so" She smiled at the tired girl, "Now you go to sleep ok?"
"Ok" she yawned closing her eyes and drifting off
House motioned for her to leave the room, "Sorry about that"
"Don't mention it" House grinned at the sleeping girl, "She's so…"
"Yea she is"
"Did you and Brian ever talk about children?"
Cameron looked at House like he'd just grown three heads, "No, we knew it was an impossible, what with the cancer and all" Cameron smiled sadly, "You?"
House looked at her, "I want them, not so sure about getting them though" House watched as Julia's chest rose and fell with each breath
Cameron watched him out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the pain clearly evident, and silently she took his hand. She felt his close around hers and tighten; she knew he would be facing some hard demons these next two weeks.
A/N: I had this whole argument between Cameron and Caroline about House, but decided this was a better ending; mainly because it's taking bigger steps without actually saying anything, and the other side was way too fast.
I hope you enjoy this chapter…
Fyre-Anjel