Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or read these stories. If Chapter 20 didn't make sense, it was because I posted the wrong chapter for this story. It has been fixed if you did not see it. Anyway, reading and reviewing has been greatly appreciated.
Chapter 21
Burke was standing by the window, looking down at the Sunday morning street from Cristina's hotel room. His deep, chocolate brown eyes scanned the cars as they passed. He wondered if they were going to church or home or just away. Burke also wondered if Cristina wanted to go away as well. She had been so good to him these past six months during his therapy, but he was no longer the man she had paused for so long ago. He was not the Preston Burke that had inspired her to steal his favorite scrub cap and keep it in her locker to remind her what a great surgeon was. He wanted so many things. The surgeon wanted Cristina to love him. He wanted to be Chief. He wanted to be the man he had been before he got shot.
He glanced over at Cristina. Burke had never loved another woman as much as he loved her. She was an abrasive bulldog with walls around her as high as Sing Sing, but Cristina Yang was his abrasive bulldog and he refused to even think about being with someone else. The biggest disappointment of his life had been when she had lost their baby. But it was after this tragedy, it was after he held her for dear life to mourn, that Cristina had finally took the step towards commitment.
But now he had the fear that she would want to escape from that commitment. His thoughts oddly drifted to Greg House. The diagnostician had been shot about the same time as Burke. He had been a jerk before and nothing seemed to change much after the shooting. Except instead of losing a woman, he seemed to be gaining one. Allison Cameron deserved anyone other than Dr. House. The match made no sense to him.
Cristina woke with a feeling that eyes were staring at her. She sat up when she saw that those eyes belonged to Burke. The young surgeon did not wrap the sheet around her naked body. Neither still had ever said "I love you" to the other aloud, but she felt no need to shield her frame from him. Smiling, her voice was silky and deep when she asked, "Why don't you come over here and stare at me like that?"
Burke scoffed. He did not notice that he was rubbing his surgical hand that he was afraid would never be the same. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Me," he replied with tears in his eyes. "I'm wrong."
Her face was pained as her bottom lip dropped. "No, nothing's wrong with you," she reassured him. Frustration built up in her chest. "You got shot, dammit, but you're Preston Burke, the Burke I love."
The statement had shocked both of them. In two long strides, he was holding her against him. "I love you, too, Cristina," he declared just before he kissed her thoroughly.
Her dark eyes pleaded with his. "Don't ever doubt that again," she warned.
His smile was uncontrollable. As he guided her back down to the pillow, he whispered, "Marry me."
……
Wilson and Addison were sitting in a greasy spoon diner eating breakfast. They had shopped the day before, ate every meal out, and went to a late movie. Both knew they were avoiding the hotel, specifically the hotel room. They had stayed up all night in Wilson's Friday, but the more time they spent together, the more intimacy was becoming an issue.
Neither was ready for it. Both had just found their long-lost best friend and they didn't want to lose that closeness yet. Wilson and Addison desired each other, but they had also missed their friendship, so they were creating any excuse to stay away from the room.
"How's Seattle?" Wilson asked genuinely. He figured he already knew the answer.
Addison took a sip of her orange juice. "It's rainy." She looked over at Wilson who was not satisfied with the response. Tipping her head to the side, she let out a sigh. "I went to get my husband, and I had already lost him. I've been promoted, but I don't belong out here. The East Coast is my home, Jimmy." Her eyes looked desperate, making Wilson's heart ache.
Wilson wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Then come home, Ad," he practically begged.
"To what?" she asked. Addison felt as if there was nothing left to take from her.
"To me." When he saw the doubt in her eyes from the suddenness, he added with his hands up to stay her, "Just as friends for now. Then we'll see how it goes."
Her red hair swished over her shoulders as she put her head down. "Okay," she sighed, relief spilling from her body.
Wilson could tell she was exhausted. Now that their relationship was established as platonic, he felt sure enough to say, "Let's go back to the hotel. We both could use some sleep."
They took a taxi back and headed for his hotel room. Finding it empty, they laid down together on the bed. Addison cupped her head in the crook of his shoulder. "So what's House going to think?" she asked on a yawn.
"He's going to be afraid that I have a new best friend, but he's always liked you," he said, uncontrollably shutting his eyes.
She giggled comfortably. "He's always hit on me."
Wilson shrugged. "With House, there isn't a difference."
…
House left his hotel room to go find Cameron. He was hoping that he could talk her out of this whole pool thing. The rage he experienced last night swelled again as he saw Cameron walk out of Alex's room.
She blatted right into him. "House, you're up early," she said, out of breath.
House twirled his cane. Jerking his head towards Alex's door, he asked, "Could you please explain that before I break anymore doors?"
Cameron smiled at his jealousy. "I needed a place to sleep," she answered. "I threatened bodily harm if Karev pulled anything."
House nodded. "Good, that guy would be a lot easier to put up with if he was a tad physically damaged." Tingling sparks spun through his body at her laughter. "How's breakfast sound?"
……
Around noon, doctors began piling into the pool room. Cameron and House had decided after breakfast to meet at 12:00 because Cameron refused to be deterred. The young doctor knew that if she could put him in the right situation at the right time, he might just snap in the right direction.
Cameron walked into the pool room carrying a bag. Glancing at the others around her, she saw Meredith and Cristina ping-ponging a conversation in the hot tub that was attached to the pool. "Derrick just went off last night," Meredith related. "I won't deal with that anymore."
Cristina was barely paying attention. "Your problems are so lame compared to mine," she said dryly as she watched Meredith's skeptical face. "Burke proposed."
Meredith's jaw dropped. "You always win when we play this game."
Cameron walked farther towards the dressing rooms, spotting Chase and Izzie playing in the deep end. Chase is always in the deep end, she joked to herself. Her face dragged in pity when she saw Foreman was brooding in a patio chair by himself. Detouring, she went up to him. "Chase got the girl," she said, not so reassuringly. "That must sting."
Foreman's eyes drifted over to Izzie and Chase. He shrugged. "They fit better anyway."
Cameron rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Foreman. You're sitting here like they just killed your puppy."
A smile flitted over his lips. "It's called being broody and mysterious," he informed her. "All I have to do is just sit here and stew. It drives a woman crazy to know why." Foreman waved her away, adding, "And if you'd get out of here, a woman would come by."
Cameron laughed at his thoroughly prepared plan and left him with his theory. George bounded up to her before she got much farther. "Hey," he beamed, "we're going to play a giant game of water volleyball. Are you in?"
She tried to let him down as easily as possible. Allison Cameron wasn't as dense as Meredith Grey. It was apparent that George liked her. "I'm sorry, George. I'm actually trying to find House."
His face dropped slightly before he said, "I saw him go into the sauna." George rubbed the back of his head.
"Are you all right?" Cameron asked.
George nodded with a smile. "Yeah," he said, "I guess it's this weather. I need rain to feel completely healthy."
She chuckled softly and then finally made it into the dressing room. She changed and headed for House. Cameron squared her shoulders before turning the door handle and entering the sauna. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and dimmed the lights low. House was sitting inside the steam room alone, having scared away the other doctors. She noticed that his dark blue trunks came down low enough to hide his scar. Cameron focused on trying not to stare at his strong bare chest. She had seen him once before like this after he had showered during his acid trip, but anger had prevented her thoughts from turning to lust. Now, nothing stopped her. Droplets of moisture alreadry clung to his messy, soft hair. A towel was wrapped around his neck, and Cameron wished that it were her arms wrapped around him instead.
Soft, sexy music spilled from the speakers. House jaw dropped in awe as he watched her walk towards him. She wore a pale brown bikini that offset the shades of blonde and red in her hair and the deep green of her eyes. He instinctively knew her waist dipped in just perfectly for his hands to hold her. Cameron's legs looked long, slender, smooth. She could hear his breath hollow, thrilling at his reaction.
Steam swirled around them as she reached for his hand and urged him to stand up. "Dance with me," she said quietly. He gulped, but consented as their bodies swayed to the sounds of Edwin McCain. He barely moved as she put her arm on his shoulder, moving her hips in seductive circles. He finally put his hands around her waist, confirming his earlier theory. They moved closer, barely breathing as heat and music encased them in their own quiet world.
They both listened to the lyrics, realizing they were perfect for the moment:
And I'll be your cryin' shoulder,
And I'll be a love suicide.
And I'll be better when I'm older,
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.
Cameron looked up into his frightened face, hers being expectant and nervous. Her breath was warm on his neck as she asked, "So what are you going to do?"
The past few days clicked for House. He now knew that she had told him she wouldn't "jump" him in the hallway because she was waiting for him to finally make a move. The two dates he had taken her on were steps in the right direction, but Cameron wanted him to take the initiative. House surmised that he owed her that after these past two years.
Sucking in a sharp breath, his thumbs brushed her naked waist, causing her eyes to close automatically on a quick sigh. He ducked his head, his lips hovering a breath above hers. Cameron's tummy ached for him to kiss her, to take her. When House heard her whimper, he knew it was now or never. He licked his lips, his body tickling with anticipation and nerves.
His mouth was just about to sweep over hers when screams from the pool tore them away from this lovely alternate universe they had created.
House and Cameron rushed out to see George O'Malley lying unconscious on the tiled floor next to the pool.
TBC
