ok. first, i would like to apologize in the delay of getting this up. ok, it was only three days but it felt like a month to me.i was suffering sever writer's block. quite terrible. i'd also like to say sorry if this chapter is a little slow...it WILL pick up (i hope). as always, thanks for the reviews...you guys make my day. enjoy!
Cameron shut the bathroom door quietly behind her, wiping at her eyes. House did not need to see her like this. Mostly becausehe would want to know why she had been crying. He did not need to know; that was one thing she had already decided for sure. He was leaning back on the couch, carelessly flipping through the channels. That he could be just sitting there while Cameron's whole life got dismantled was enough to make her want to puke. But Cameron was not going to give him reason to worry. Never mind how scared she was that he would leave her if he found out. No, she would hide it until she figured a way out. Until then, she would just have to pretend. She could do that.
"I'm thinking we order a pizza tonight," House said as she sat gingerly beside him.
"Pineapple and green peppers?"
"Can't eat it any other way." His arm slunk around her bare shoulders and pulled her tighter against him.
"Have you talked to Cuddy?" Cameron asked. She hadn't seen Cuddy since that morning and did not know if a decision had been made. House shifted, propping his leg up on the coffee table.
"She's going into surgery tomorrow morning at eight thirty. It was the earliest we could get her in." He sounded apologetic, as if Cameron would blame him for the delay in the birth of Cuddy's baby. "The good news is that with Cuddy being bedridden, she can't hunt me down demanding clinic hours." Cameron caught the grin out of the corner of her eye, but didn't turn her head. House was still uncomfortable about sharing his feelings with her, but they were making progress. She just didn't like to push him.
"Are you ordering pizza or what?" Cameron said a few minutes later. House groaned and pushed himself to his feet.
"Don't be bossy," he grumbled. "That's my job." He hobbled into the kitchen, and Cameron listened as he barked at some poor teenager on the other end not to screw up their order again. He could be so aggressive, but sometimes it was what she liked best about him. It definitely made up for her lack of aggressiveness. "Something to drink?" he called, leaning against the doorway.
"Just some of that ice tea you made," she replied softly. House limped heavily to the fridge and pulled out the large glass pitcher of tea. He poured one glass, thought a moment, and grabbed another glass from the dishwasher and filled it too. Cameron had influenced him in more ways than she knew. Scotch no longer appealed to him as much, neither did his cigars. He had mostly held off at first to avoid the disapproving frowns she'd shoot him when he reached for the scotch bottle or a cigar.
"How's Wilson?" Cameron asked as he handed her a glass.
"He's…" How was Wilson? He had not seen him since their rendezvous in Cuddy's room. House didn't know how he was handling everything. "Actually…I'm not really sure." He sighed at the way Cameron was nervously chewing on her lip, and added, "Let's call him. You know, to make sure he hasn't done anything stupid." Yeah. Because we wouldn't want anyone to think you cared, his brain added snidely. Cameron nodded slightly, which was enough of a cue for House to dig his cell phone out of his jeans pocket. Instinctively, he hit the speed dial for Wilson's number, and listened to the hum on the other end.
"Hello?" Wilson answered. His voice was groggy, and House imagined him in an uncomfortable chair next to Cuddy's bed, trying to get in a nap.
"Wilson," House said gruffly.
"Greg." Wilson sounded relieved, which surprised House. It also blew all of the need he had to seem uncaring right out of him.
"How are you, James?" Wilson's eyes filled with tears, and he was suddenly very thankful that House could not see him.
"I'm scared, Greg," he whispered. He glanced at Cuddy, who was snoring softly. "I've never been so scared in my life." House's throat closed up, and it took him several seconds to regain his voice.
"She's going to be fine," House assured him. "Kellin is the best doctor in the state. I promise you that she will be alright." His eyes flicked up to Cameron, her face already taken over by worry.
"I want you here. Before she goes in."
Silence.
"Wilson, I…"
"Please Greg." He sounded not unlike Cuddy in his begging. "Please be here. She'll want your support."
"Since when do you have to use someone else as an excuse for support?" House questioned. He could hear Wilson shifting on the other end.
"Please."
"I'll be there."
Pizza arrived shortly after House flipped the phone shut, and was devoured in what must have been a record. Cameron had been relieved to know that at least Wilson was still with Cuddy. And House had assured her that it was unlikely for him to be going anywhere any time soon. She found it romantic how protective Wilson was of Cuddy, especially considering their rough start. At the same time, she was happy that House was not the same way. She liked the way they operated as one, and was not expecting any changes.
The next morning, House had propped a small note against the lamp on the bedside table. Cameron squinted at it, trying to make out his scrawling handwriting with her unadjusted eyes.
I've just gone in to be with Wilson and Cuddy before the surgery.
I won't fire you if you're late, just so long as you get some food in you! See you at work,
House
Her eyes just flicked over the last of his words as the brutal waves of nausea flooded over her. She raced into the bathroom, just barely making it in time. Hurling into a toilet would never be something she considered enjoyable, but she admitted that it was much better with House sitting on the edge of the tub behind her, rubbing her back. Her whole body shuddered as she thought about how much more of this she would have to endure. The thought of Cuddy, in the very same position months before, flashed through her mind. Cuddy had been an hour late to work those first few months, but she still had the strong appearance of the Dean of Medicine. At the moment, Cameron felt anything but strong. The soft bath mat beneath her knees seemed awfully inviting, and all she wanted was to curl up and fall into a false sleep. Cameron smiled, telling herself how ridiculous this was. She reached up and flushed the toilet. She stretched upward to get a glimpse of the clock that House kept on the vanity. 8:03. House would be with Cuddy, helping (or at least watching) her get prepped for surgery. In her mind, she could see Wilson clinging to her hand, House hovering nervously by the door. Situations like that were always awkward for him, but she felt a subdued sense of pride knowing he was willingly in that room.
Cameron struggled to her feet, not letting her gaze get anywhere near the mirror. She looked like death. She felt like death. She did not need confirmation. Instead, she shuffled out to the kitchen, popping a few slices of bread into the toaster. Her skin tingled in the warmth of the sun shining through the window. The shirt she wore, the only thing she wore, was one of House's favorites. So of course, she always opted for it when he gave her a choice of pajamas. She jumped slightly as the toast shot out of the toaster. She loved toast. There was something about the crunchy, buttery outside and the soft, warm inside that just made her happy. She smiled in spite of herself as she thought about all the reasons to love toast, which somehow slipped right into all the reasons to love House. She did not know how she got from contemplating crunchy bread to the man she was in love with, and she was sure it had some sort of deep psychological meaning.
She showered and dressed quickly after that, suddenly in a rush to see House. She'd become so at home in his apartment, that she was able to breeze in and out of the rooms with ease, always finding exactly what she needed. House hadn't minded that she'd moved most of her clothes into his closet, along with other necessities. At first, he had pretended to be hugely annoyed to find her bras hanging on the bathroom door, but they both knew he was glad to have her. They had occasionally mentioned selling Cameron's place, House's way of unofficially asking her to move in with him.
Cameron was lucky she made it to the hospital alive. House had left her the bike to take to work, which was a rarity in itself. He had never let her drive it on her own before, much like an overprotective parent and a teenager with a new license. The excitement had gone to her head, and she drove a little more carelessly than usual. She earned herself a few suspicious glances from a few loitering doctors as she rode into the parking lot and parked in the handicap spot where House usually parked. Rumors had gone around the hospital already that something was going on between House and his immunologist, but it didn't bother Cameron that she was only adding gas to their fire.
"Are you sure about this?" She could hear the concern in House's voice before she had even seen his face. She stood outside the door, giving the group a few more seconds of privacy. "She wants to see you, too, Dr. Cameron," House called. Blushing, Cameron stepped into the room, attempting to smile. The sight of Cuddy completely killed the leftover thrill of riding the bike, and left a horrible weight in her stomach.
"I'm sure, Greg," she rasped in reply. Wilson was seated just where Cameron had earlier imagined him; perched on a stiff leather chair beside the bed, clutching her hand for dear life.
"House!" Wilson snapped, momentarily moving his eyes from Cuddy. "That is the seventeenth time you've asked that! Make yourself useful and go find Kellin." Cameron was taken aback by the force behind Wilson's voice, but House just rolled his eyes at her with a tiny smirk, and she relaxed. He moved past her, lightly brushing her as passed. He stopped at the door, and turned to face Cuddy again, his brows pushed tightly together.
"You're quite sure?"
"House!" both Cuddy and Wilson warned.
"Right. Just checking." Winking so that only Cameron could see, he hobbled down the hall in completely the wrong direction.
