After much protesting from House, Nicky eventually went to work, still aglow from her night with him, promising him that he could spend the night at her place, but only if he let her go to work first.
She finished up satisfied that she'd caught up and headed straight for the park, the team were already there, spread out throwing the Frisbee to each other. She noticed how well they got on and smiled inwardly to herself. She hurried towards them, then saw House, sitting on the bench, twirling his stick. He'd already seen her and was grinning like a school kid. Before she could get to him, however, Chase threw the Frisbee straight at her, she caught it easily and flipped it towards Cameron, who dropped it and muttered under her breath that she wasn't ready.
Cameron had had enough anyway, she wandered over to House and sat down heavily. "I've never been any good at this sort of thing," she mumbled.
"Then why bother coming?" House asked, irritated.
"Why did you?" she countered.
"Because Nicky asked me and I thought it would be fun," House replied.
He got out his digital camera and took pictures of Nicky laughing and enjoying herself.
"Why are you taking pictures?" Cameron asked innocently.
House sighed and explained, "Because when she's feeling like she's in hell on earth, I'll be able to show her some good times, memories, you know? Trust me, it'll help her get through it."
"You seem very sure," Cameron said, "You've changed towards her since she found out about the cancer. Are you feeling guilty about the way you treated her in the past Dr House?"
Why did Cameron irritate her so much?
"I was, at first," House said, "but we've gotten to know each other better now and we've reached an understanding." He smiled to himself and Cameron had no idea why.
He was startled when he realised that the Frisbee was heading straight towards him, he grabbed it and saw Nicky grinning wickedly. Obviously it was her that threw it. He tried to give her a withering look but it turned into a grin as he flung it back at her. It went wide and she chased after it, lagging behind the rest of the team as they wandered over to the bench.
"We're going for something to eat, wanna come?" Foreman asked House.
"Sure," he replied, getting up stiffly.
They started walking down the pathway just as Nicky caught up and handed the Frisbee to Chase. She fell into step in front of House and he poked her in the back with his stick.
"Hey," she chided him, her eyes full of laughter.
"Don't I even get a hello?" House grinned, "I've been sat there for ages." He glanced back over to the bench.
She stopped for him to catch up with her and said hello shyly. He entwined his hand in hers and they carried on walking down the path towards the bar.
"Let's announce ourselves this way," House whispered in her ear. "Let them work it out for themselves."
Nicky smiled and nodded shyly.
They both grinned at the glances they got, the shock on his team's face when they worked it out very quickly that House and Nicky were now an item.
They ordered a large jug of beer and Chase played mother and poured.
"Nicky, don't drink too much," House murmured in her ear. His arm was casually slung around the back of her.
"Shouldn't I be saying that to you, Dr House?" Nicky grinned wickedly. She saw he wasn't reacting the way he should have been and stared into his eyes, she was confused. "Why? What's the matter?"
She became aware that it wasn't just him that was listening to her.
"You'll be starting your treatment soon," House muttered.
She stared at him, her eyes hard. "How do you know that? I don't even know when it's going to start yet."
He looked around at his team hanging on to his every word, "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this right now," he said quietly.
"On the contrary, I think we should," Nicky said, her eyes flashing. "After all, it's obvious that none of us know as much as you when it comes to my cancer."
You could have heard a pin drop right then. Nicky broke the trance as she grabbed her coat and pushed her way awkwardly past Chase. She marched through the door, tears starting to blind her and hurried across the car park to her car. She clumsily dropped the keys, she was shaking all over and couldn't control her movements.
She heard House calling out to her and swung around to look at him.
"Just leave me alone, House," she yelled.
