Chapter 18

After the roller coaster ride, House avoided Cameron's eyes. They ate lunch in silence, except for the idle chit chat Alex and George shared about Seattle Grace.

"So I heard you gave Bambi syphilis," House said.

George coughed on a fry as Alex's chin stuck out in defiance. "There was a nurse involved," he replied in his lowest rumbly voice. Alex had put up with the worst of the worse growing up with his father. Greg House was a furry bunny compared to that man.

House threw away his trash and stood in front of Cameron. "Ready?" he asked her, his voice void of warmth or politeness.

Her jaw clamped, she muttered, "Sure." She smiled down at George and Alex after she got up from the table. "I'm glad you got to spend the day with us," she said kindly. "See you later?"

"Yeah," George said animatedly. "I think we're all planning to meet at the hotel bar around six."

Cameron nodded and turned to leave with House. As they walked towards the motorcycle, Cameron took a deep breath before saying, "What happened to you today?"

House blinked as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "Nothing. We had fun, right?"

Her eyes trained on his as her jaw set even harder. "Is this about Alex?"

House winced. "No, it's about you."

Cameron gasped. She didn't know what had changed his opinion of her in such a short amount of time, but it felt like her chest was caving in. Cameron couldn't bear hearing anymore right now. She jumped on the bike behind House and they sped towards the hotel. Once they entered the lobby, Cameron stormed towards the elevator. "I'm going to go take a shower," she grumbled.

House stopped at the front desk and shouted, "Don't you want the painting?"

She spun on her heels, her hair whipping around her face. "Keep it. No one will notice me in it anyway, remember?" she spat and then turned back around.

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Cameron slipped on a simple black dress as she cursed herself for being so stupid. Nothing but pain and embarrassment had come from her feelings for House and she would be damned before she would allow him to control anything more than her professional life.

"It was that bad?" Izzie asked as she smoothed lipstick over her lips.

As she put on her high heel, Cameron glanced up. "It was as if he's got a split personality," she explained. "I was with Cary Grant all morning. Then after lunch, Greg House popped back up."

Izzie laughed. "If it's meant to be, Cary Grant will come back," she reassured her.

They went downstairs to the bar and met the rest of the group. House sat by himself at the end of the bar, nursing a Scotch. Cameron sat down next to Izzie, Alex, and Chase.

Meredith walked through the door, scoping out the seating arrangements. Not ready to chirp along with her friends, she sat down next to House.

"Where's your sidekick?" she asked, referring to Wilson.

House swallowed the liquor swishing in his mouth. "Probably having sex with the other woman," he said cruelly. "Oh, wait. You're the other woman."

Meredith glared at him, then ordered a glass of Tequila. "Where's your girl Friday?" House asked her.

"Probably having sex with her broken boyfriend," she replied drolly.

"Ah, there's never a short supply of broken boyfriends," House quipped, hating himself for falling into that quota.

"Speaking of," Meredith said, "You might not want to sit too close to me. I've been told that I have a tendency to sleep with inappropriate men when I'm depressed."

"You're the one that sat down next to me," House countered. "Are you implying that I'm the inappropriate man of choice?"

"How charming," Meredith said sarcastically. "No wonder Cameron likes you."

House shot a look towards Cameron. A thread of envy wound around his gut as he watched her joke with Alex. He had no idea that Cameron's smile was false. She had the animalistic impulse to throw her drink in House's face and rip Meredith off the bar stool by her hair. The emotion even surprised Cameron. She was not used to feeling that amount of jealousy or anger.

House tired of patronizing Meredith. As they both observed Cameron, he asked quietly, "You know why she's a real woman?"

"Because she can put up with you?" Meredith shot back.

"No," House snapped. "Because she doesn't have to put up with me. Unlike you, she doesn't judge her entire happiness on one person. She's strong as hell." He took a breath and then added, "Did you know that she married and became a widow before she even graduated? She was barely old enough to order a beer to cry into. And you're unhappy because a man screwed up." His eyes focused on Meredith, who was staring at him with a pale face. "Grow a pair and grow up."

Derrick entered the bar to apologize to Meredith. He saw that she and House were sitting closely together, not realizing that he was berating her. Derrick marched up to her, glowering over them. "You never wait very long do you?" he said snidely. "One man pisses you off and you just jump the next one."

Meredith's eyes flashed angrily, but House spoke before she had a chance. "Well, you know what they say about guys with big canes, McDreamy," House joked, raising his eyebrows.

Everyone in the room turned to see what was going on. "Shut the hell up, House," Derrick barked. "No one cares about you or your defect leg."

Meredith's jaw dropped. "That's enough!" she shouted. "I've seen you go low before, but you are the biggest spoiled brat I've ever seen. House was right. I'm stupid if I let you be the determining factor of my happiness."

She tossed down money for her drink and stormed off. House paid for his as well and headed for his hotel room. Derrick fell into a chair and ordered a glass of Vodka. Unable to mind her own business, Cameron stoop up and went over to Derrick.

Sitting down, she said, "So they call you McDreamy?" Cameron's eyes glanced him over, adding, "I can't imagine why. Guys like you tend to give me nightmares."

Derrick put his hand through his thick hair. "Do you need to be here?"

"Do you need to be a jerk?" she asked, disgusted.

"I thought that's what you liked," he retorted. "You're sleeping with House, aren't you?"

"You need to get something straight—for your sake and everyone that has to put up with you," she said like an angry mother. "House is rude, but he's a good man that tries to do the right thing. You're a charming man that does the wrong thing in order to get what you want. There's a difference."

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House felt lousy. Although he tried to deny it, he wanted to apologize to Cameron. He needed to apologize to Cameron. She did not know why he had been a jerk to her today at the Pier and he knew that he had hurt her. Popping two Vicodin into his mouth, House grabbed his shoes and the painting from earlier that day.

He walked over to Cameron's hotel room. The memory of Cameron in her sexy black dress was driving him crazy. She had called him handsome, once, during their first date, and he wondered now if she would still think of him that way after everything he had put her through. House knocked on the door, but no one answered. Putting his ear close to the door, he heard cries of ecstasy that made his body ache all over. Alex, he thought enviously. Angry heat rushed through his veins as he uncontrollably busted the door open. "Get away from her, damn it!" he screamed as he stood in the doorway.

TBC