Chapter 23
House, Cameron, Foreman, and Chase arrived at the hospital around 2:00 that afternoon. They found George's room filled with Seattle Grace's finest doctors. Chase's stomach stung only a little when he saw that Izzie was sitting next to her best friend, holding his hand tight. Meredith was on the other side of the bed with her head down.
"How is he?" Foreman asked to no one in particular.
"No one knows for sure yet," Cristina answered readily—to House instead of Foreman. "He's still unconscious." Burke glanced down at her with a smile, his hand on her waist. In any situation, Cristina was still going to be success-seeking Cristina.
Karev eyed them curiously, wondering why the New Jersey doctors would care enough to show up. Cameron noticed the look. With exasperation, she said, "We just wanted to check in. He's a very nice man."
They all murmured in agreement. The doctors turned as they heard the door swish open. Dr. Marty Hamilton swooped into the room with a kind smile and a warm, friendly tie that matched his very expensive designer suit. He was a famous and respected doctor that did not usually take lowly interns in as patients, but Preston Burke knew that he worked in this hospital and contacted him asking him to do this as a personal favor. Hamilton and Burke had attended med school together. Although they did not get along very well, Hamilton knew Burke's importance in the medical community.
Foreman's face brightened when he saw his old mentor. His hero-worship for the man had somewhat tarnished after his behavior with their patient in New Jersey two years ago, but he was still a dear friend. They hugged, as once again House rolled his eyes. He already had to put up with the arrogance and whininess of Burke and McDreamy; he did not need Hamilton to further sour the pot. "How've you been, Marty? House nearly sneered. "Still paralyzing patients because it's easier than actually finding the problem?"
Cameron held her breath. She had a hunch that George would need their help, and she did not want to get thrown out of the hospital before they even saw the medical chart.
Marty Hamilton sighed deeply as he stuck out his hand to greet the other doctor. "Always a pleasure to see you again, Greg," he replied with a hint of tired sarcasm. House looked down at his hand as if he had no idea why Hamilton would put his hand out in front of him.
Izzie was sick of the banal conversation occupying the room. She got up and faced Dr. Hamilton. The young woman towered over him by several inches. "What do you know?" she asked.
House guffawed. "You're asking Marty what he knows?" he asked. "He won't give you a very long or detailed answer."
Izzie flipped around to look at House. "Sir, with all due respect, I need to hear this. George needs me to hear this."
House was impressed, but refused to show it. "Discuss all you want, but don't start respecting me." He shuddered. "Not even these three," he added, referring to his underlings, "dare to do that."
Izzie and Hamilton shook off his last comments. Addressing the room, he announced, "We're not sure what happened yet. We need to do more tests."
…………………………
The Jersey doctors left the hospital about an hour later and headed back to the hotel for another workshop. Afterwards, there was a dinner in the hall for all of the doctors at the conference.
It was late when they dispersed. Foreman and Chase stayed back in the bar, but House and Cameron decided to go to their rooms. He chuckled when he realized that he hadn't walked a girl to her door since he was in high school. Cameron shot him a look. "Are you okay?"
"I think whatever George had is catching," he replied, trying to avoid the real reason. "I assume the next symptom is becoming a punching bag for all my peers and follow cute girls around like a puppy."
Cameron's lashes brushed her cheeks as her eyes swept down while she laughed softly. He stopped breathing every time she did it. "I'm pretty sure he was already like that before this happened to him," she answered with a smile.
To her surprise, he smiled back. His bright blue eyes sparkled warm. "I think you may be right."
Cameron stopped walking so suddenly that House did not notice it at first. When he turned his head back down to her, he saw that she was no longer beside him. He limped back to her. Scanning her face, then the rest of her, he asked, "Is this your way of saying you have tired of strolling with me? Go ahead, leave me." House puckered his lip and saddened those expressive eyes. "Just remember I'm fragile."
She put her hands on her hips and tilted her jaw defiantly. "No, this is my way of saying that I'm tired of waiting for you to kiss me."
His eyes stared at her blankly for several moments, never blinking. House wanted to see what she was willing to do, just like she was wanting to know the same of him. "You're it," he said simply.
Her face clouded with confusion. "What?"
He rolled his head in feigned frustration. "You're it. I was going to kiss you, but the kid stopped that—not me. So now it's your turn. I'm tagging you in."
Cameron's face looked pained. She hated sports metaphors and now was not the time for one. "You want me to kiss you?"
His breath caught in his chest from fear and hope. "That's what the man with the cane said," he replied glibly.
Nerves spun out of control as she asked, "Are you sure?"
House knew the question was deeper than it seemed. Once they're first kiss was over, they would not be able to get it back. But it also meant that their sexually repressed, depressing, tension-filled relationship at work would never be the same. They could not act like nothing happened once something actually did. He squinted at her, "Are you?"
"I've been sure for a while," Cameron responded. Brown strands of hair clung to her neck as beads of nervous sweat dampened her neck.
He squeezed his cane tighter. The air popped between them. Both of them could almost feel the other next to their skin, loving, caressing. "Then you're it," he repeated.
That was enough of an answer for her. It had been two long years and she could barely contain herself any longer. It felt as if her soul was trying to bust from her body and set her free. Cameron was determined to give him a kiss he would not forget, a kiss that made every other woman he kissed, especially Stacy, pale in comparison.
Glancing down the quiet hall, she saw that they were alone. There was only one other time she had been this brave and it took drugs to do it. She was scared as hell, but Cameron took both her hands and pushed hard on House's shoulders, shoving him to the wall, causing him to drop his cane. His eyes went large as he looked down at her, stunned yet excited. She pinned him there with her hands. Rising up on her tiptoes to reach him, she hovered over his mouth. Her green eyes seductively danced as she glanced up at him with a grin. The delicious pain swirling through his body made House wonder if he had just found heaven or the torture of hell. When she saw that he could take no more, she punished him a little more. Cameron dropped her hands down the front of his shirt so that the palms of her hands rubbed his chest. He sucked in a deep breath, his eyes squeezing shut tightly. She dropped light kisses on his neck and cheek, inhaling his spicily warm scent.
Cameron then did something that almost made his knees buckle from surprise and sexiness. She quickly, lightly licked the tip of his lips as her hands came back up to rub his neck and sift through the sides of his soft hair. He started to wonder if she was waiting for him to beg. House had not actually touched her himself yet, so he put his hands low on her waist, lightly applying pressure. They both took it as subtle pleading, so she finally pressed her soft lips to his. She massaged his lips with hers and they both quickly lost control of the situation. He pulled her closer to him, her middle pressing against his.
When they heard a gaggle of doctors approaching them, engrossed in their own conversation, House and Cameron sprung apart, but still stayed close. Once the doctors passed, Cameron picked up his cane and handed it to him. "Thank you," he panted, out of breath.
Her eyes challenged his as she put her hands back on her hips. "You're it," she declared with anticipation. "No tag-backs." House had never seen this side of Cameron often and he wondered if he had brought it out in her after the past two years or if it had always been stewing inside her. She tilted her head to one side as she said, "If you want to kiss me again, you're just going to have to do something about it."
She turned and headed for her room, leaving House to figure out what he was going to do.
TBC
