This story is incredibly long, so I decided to combine a couple chapters at a time.
Chapter 10
House found Cameron in the lab. She was trying her best to keep busy; the clinic had been quiet, so she'd offered to review lab results for the clinic patients.
She could sense him the second he walked in the door. Crestfallen, she hung her head. This was exactly the scene she'd been trying to avoid. She could only hope that he'd try not to be a complete ass.
"Why did you go see Wilson before me?" House asked. It wasn't really how he'd intended to start, but somehow it was the first thing to come out of his mouth.
"Wilson's an oncologist. Who else would I go see?" Cameron replied. She looked into her microscope; she just wasn't able to face him yet.
"So, what are we dealing with?" House figured he'd better stick to the medicine. Lessen the chance of getting himself into trouble. And why did I say we, he wondered.
"I don't know what I'm dealing with yet. I found a lump, Wilson did a mammogram and he's scheduled me for a biopsy. It'll be a couple of days before I know anything." Cameron managed to get it all out without crying, but just barely.
House shuffled a little closer. She could feel him standing just behind her. As usual, she felt the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise. Even now, waiting to find out if she had breast cancer, he still had this effect on her.
"Malignant breast cancer in a woman your age is fairly rare." House said softly. He tried to sound reassuring.
"Uh-huh" Cameron said. She wasn't going to be able to hold back the tears much longer. Why didn't he just leave? He'd figured out his puzzle, he should be moving on to something else. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Chase and Foreman. I don't think I can stand the whole sympathy thing for the next few days."
"No need to tell them unless there's something to tell." House agreed. He stood, not quite sure what was keeping him there. He just couldn't seem to walk away. He realized she'd never answered his first question. "Why did you go see Wilson before me?"
"I just, I…" Cameron began to cry softly, she could no longer hold it in. "I didn't want to open myself up to that kind of pain again."
House dropped his gaze to the floor. He understood. He'd done nothing the last year except give her every reason to expect he'd be a complete jerk. He'd tried as hard as he could to push as far away as possible. Why should she give him the chance to hurt her again? He turned to leave, but he could hear she was still crying.
He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her beginning to sob. He turned her around in her chair, and pulled her into his chest. He placed his chin on the top of her head, and just let her cry. She cried for just a minute or two, and then pulled herself together. She took a deep breath and pulled away from him. She looked up at him, and gave a weak little smile.
House reached out his hand and wiped the tears from her cheek, then traced the outline of her jaw with his fingers. He cupped her face for a second, and then pulled his hand away very slowly. He turned and walked out of the room. He paused on the other side of the door to take two Vicodin, then made his way back to his office.
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Chapter 11
Early the next morning, House walked in the front door of the hospital. Cuddy walked by and stopped dead in her tracks.
"House, what are you doing here?" she asked, stunned.
"Um, I work here?" House snarked.
"I mean, what are you doing here now?" Cuddy replied. "Are you aware it's before 9am?"
"Really?" House said. He continued down the hall toward the elevators. "Wilson hasn't finished teaching me how to tell time yet."
"House, what's going on? You never come in early. You never come in on time." Cuddy remarked.
"I have something to do this morning," House replied, he took out his Vicodin bottle and shook out a pill, swallowed it and gave Cuddy an evil little grin.
"What could possibly be so important that you would be here before 9am?" Cuddy asked.
"Bubbles couldn't make it over to my place last night, but she promised to come by early this morning to make it up to me. Better not keep her waiting." House turned and got onto the elevator.
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House waited down the hall from Wilson's exam room. He didn't want to be seen. He'd been waiting longer than he expected, and was beginning to get annoyed, or nervous. He wasn't really sure which, but he didn't like it. He reached in his coat pocket and got himself an extra Vicodin.
"I'll have the test reviewed as quickly as possible, Allison. We should have the results early tomorrow." Wilson put his hand on Cameron's shoulder as he guided her out of the exam room. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Fine, just a little sore," she replied. "I've got to get down to House's office and start coffee and get through his mail. Thanks for getting me in so early, I just didn't want him around." Cameron smiled weakly at Wilson and walked off down the hall.
"So?" House asked from behind Wilson.
"Geez!" Wilson shouted. "I hate it when you do that. How can a guy with cane sneak up on people…" Wilson trailed off, realizing his mistake. "Damn, no cane. I guess I should get used to you sneaking up and scaring the crap out of me."
"You didn't answer the question." House said. He was a little wounded that Wilson had so easily forgotten he didn't need the cane.
"House, I just finished the biopsy. The sample hasn't even made it out of the room yet. And believe it or not, there is a procedure to this sort of thing. You know, science and all that stuff." Wilson started down the hall towards his office.
"Call me when you know something." House said, and started off towards the clinic.
"House, you know I can't do that. You'll have to wait for her to tell you." Wilson called after him.
