Disclaimer: I don't own House.
Rating: T – really just for the booze... don't want any underage kiddiewinks going off and drinking up a storm.
Pairings: House/Cameron
Spoilers: None.
Summary: She was utterly gorgeous to say the very least, but it wasn't as though he hadn't ever seen a beautiful woman before. Or maybe he really hadn't until now.
Smile
A smile that lit up the bar. He watched as she sipped her drink, listening intently to the story that one of her companions was telling the group animatedly. She laughed along with the others as the story concluded, her light laugh could be heard mingled with the others' from where he sat. What it was that made her so different from any other woman, he didn't exactly know. She was utterly gorgeous to say the very least, but it wasn't as though he hadn't ever seen a beautiful woman before. Or maybe he really hadn't until now.
Shaken from his thoughts by a nudge against his left arm, he tore his gaze from her and looked to his left.
"D'you wanna 'nother one?" asked Wilson, his words slurring.
When he nodded, Wilson raised his hand to signal the bartender. A few minutes later, a freshly topped up whiskey sat in front of him once again. Wilson had already taken a fairly large gulp of his, and was now wincing as the fiery liquid burned his throat. Marital problems did that to a man. Especially the third time around. After taking a gulp of his own, he allowed his gaze to travel back to her. She and her friends were getting ready to leave. She would be gone soon. He would never see her again. Then she started to walk towards the bar. Looking away quickly, he took another mouthful of his whiskey. He looked up. She was next to him. Paying the tab, like the nice person she seemed to be. While she waited, she glanced beside her and caught his gaze.
"Come here often?" she asked him curiously, before indicating Wilson, who was now slumped over the counter.
He shook his head. "You?"
"No, but I'm considering it. This place is fairly okay."
"I don't generally give a crap about the aesthetics as long as the booze is tolerable," he said, for once actually regretting speaking so gruffly.
He was taken aback, when instead of backing away, she said coolly, "You assumed I was talking about the venue. In actual fact, I was referring to their excellent Sea Breezes."
He held her gaze for a few seconds (though it felt like an eternity), before she paid the bartender. With a last smile at him, she turned and walked out of the smoky, crowded bar. He finished off his whiskey in one swallow.
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Walking into his office, he moved straight to his leather chair. Picking up his red and grey ball, he tossed it up into the air and caught it. While doing this several more times, he thought about the mind-numbingly monotonous interviews he would have to plough through today. Luckily for him, Cuddy had asked (more like begged) Wilson to help him with the interviews, most likely to stop him from saying anything to cutting to his applicants. Like that had worked. He grinned inwardly as he remembered six of his applicants leaving after threatening lawsuits, four leaving in tears, and three who had attempted to involve him in a physical fight. Now Wilson mostly asked all the questions, while he just sat there and listened. At the end, Wilson would ask him if he had anything to add, and this was his favourite moment to throw in a generally insulting and sometimes downright mean, comment. They had (somehow) already managed to hire an intensivist and a neurologist, both of whom he was fairly happy about. Wilson stepped into his office at that moment, bearing several files, which he proceeded to dump on his desk.
"First applicant is due in about ten minutes," Wilson said glancing at his watch.
He nodded, continuing to toss his over-sized tennis ball up and down.
Half an hour later, he was able add another tally to the 'left in tears' list, as their first applicant responded particularly badly to his cutting remark about her lisp.
"House, that was downright unnecessary. Did you really need to bring that up?" said an exasperated Wilson.
"Hey, I just calls 'em like I sees 'em," he replied, smirking slightly.
Sighing Wilson said, "Do you want to look at the next candidate's file? It's actually pretty impressive."
"Fine," he grunted, snatching it from Wilson.
Scanning it, he had to admit, she seemed like a good choice.
There was a knock on the glass door, and Wilson called, "Come in."
It was her.
She walked up to them and took a seat in front of them. At first she didn't say anything but a second later her eyes widened with recognition.
As a very business-like Wilson asked her questions, House could see that she could barely keep a straight face, obviously remembering him drunkenly sprawled over the bar.
Smirking, he said to Wilson, "Maybe it would be better if I did the questions."
Wilson shot him a confused look before handing her file over to him.
At the end of the interview he said, "You're hired."
Wilson gave him an alarmed looked at this, which he ignored.
"Thank you," she stood and shook Wilson's hand, then turned to House.
Standing, he shook her hand and she smiled at him before leaving the office.
That smile.