Author: Milady Dragon
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never have.
Author's note: Another chapter! Hope you like it…
Chapter Nineteen
"I'm sorry, Allison," Elena empathized.
Cameron didn't have anything to say. She sat, toying with her salad, letting the breeze ruffle her hair. Her fellow TP's were sharing the table with her on the patio, pretending to eat while they waited for John to get out of surgery. The shunt removal wouldn't take long, but it gave her time to think about what had happened.
She had the sinking feeling that her time at PPTH would be over soon.
And it made her angry.
Cameron had been afraid that being drawn back into her old life would be the end of this one, but she hadn't realized the real reason for her leaving. She'd thought it would be because someone would somehow find out, and she and the others would have to take John out of there precipitously, which would cast her own secret out into the open.
She'd had no inkling that it might be because of House himself.
How could she work with him any longer? She was a damned good doctor…and a damned good Tomorrow Person. Why couldn't he respect both? If only a little?
"He's just an asshole, Allie." Paul was trying to cheer her up, and was failing. He'd taken about two bites out of his burger, and didn't seem inclined to take any more. He stabbed a fry in her direction. "Ignore him, he's not worth it."
The problem was, to Cameron House was worth it. Yes, they didn't often see eye-to-eye, and Paul was right: he could be the biggest asshole on the planet…or on any planet she'd ever set foot on. She'd long ago realized that nothing would ever come of her feelings for him, and had learned to live with it. But it meant something for her to be there, to be working with House. And although she knew someday she'd be somewhere else, living her life away from this place, she'd believed that time would be a long way off.
She'd been so very wrong.
"It's okay," she tried to reassure her friends. "It's not important."
"Of course it is!" Elena insisted. "You have to work here, and if your boss can't respect you…" she faded out, unable to finish the sentence.
Cameron reached over and squeezed her hand. "I appreciate the support."
"What are friends for?" The British woman smiled, squeezing back.
"Hey, Cameron."
She looked up, recognizing the voice instantly. Chase stood there, hands in his pockets, smiling slightly. "Hi," she answered, finally realizing that eating wasn't going to work and laying down her fork accordingly. She introduced him to her friends.
"Look, I wanted to warn you that Foreman is talking all over the hospital about your friend," the Australian doctor said. "He's telling anyone who'll listen that House is botching the case, and that you won't do anything about it."
Cameron closed her eyes wearily. She should have known Foreman wouldn't have let it drop. He could be as stubborn as House himself. She glanced back at her fellow doctor. "Thanks, Chase. I appreciate the warning."
"No problem." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but closed his mouth.
Suddenly, Cameron felt a strange tugging at the back of her skull. It didn't hurt, but the sensation was so weird she automatically put a hand on the place. It was as if someone was sliding something from the base of her brain.
She looked at her fellow Tomorrow People. Paul was turning in his seat to look behind him, his own hand up and rubbing at his neck. Elena's eyes were wide with surprise as she touched the same place.
They'd all felt it.
"What the hell was that?" Paul demanded, confusion in his mental voice.
"Are you all okay?" Chase asked, curiosity making his accent more pronounced.
The reason for the sensation dawned on Cameron. "We just felt them remove John's shunt," she sent to her companions. "We're fine," she answered out loud. "Must have been some sort of bug or something."
Chase looked as if he didn't believe her, but he nodded. "Yeah, they're bad today. Hope none of you are allergic."
All three of them denied it. "Thanks again, Chase," Cameron repeated.
"Like I said, no problem." The Aussie turned to leave. "Just didn't want any of you blindsided."
"Thanks, mate," Paul added.
Chase merely nodded, then walked away…but not before Cameron saw something in his eyes that shook her.
She shivered, even though she didn't know why.
Then she dismissed the prodding of her instinct, in favor of Chase's news. "That's torn it," she said. "Foreman's not going to let this go, even though Cuddy's made it clear he should be staying away."
"I'm going back to the Lab," Elena replied, standing. "I'm going to contact the Trig and arrange John's transfer there."
"I'll go with you, Ellie," Paul volunteered. "It's time we got him the hell out of here."
Cameron agreed. "I'll go talk to John. They won't have put him under for the procedure, which is why we all felt it. We'll have to make it appear as if we moved him somewhere here on Earth though."
"All right." The three of them parted, the British Tomorrow People heading somewhere they could jaunt from in relative safety. Cameron went back into the building, toward the surgical unit.
As she got closer, her heart started thumping harder. She knew she would run into House, since he would be supervising the shunt removal. Cameron wasn't looking forward to meeting him at all, especially after what she'd said. She was actually feeling a little guilty about it. After all, it wasn't House's fault that he hadn't accepted a Tomorrow Persons' limitations; being a normal Sap, he was just stuck in the human mind-set. And, in Cameron's experience, that mind-set meant that her boss just wouldn't understand what it meant to be a Homo Superior. She, herself, had forgotten what that had meant, and was now making up for all the years of living a lie.
As she approached the surgical unit, Cameron saw that she was going to have one more problem to deal with.
Foreman was waiting for her.
This was so not fair.
He started toward her…and was cut off by Chase's sudden appearance.
The other doctor blocked Foreman's path, and Cameron heard him say, "Got something to show you." He then actually took Foreman by the arm, turned him in the opposite direction, and led him away.
Cameron was going to owe him big-time.
She only had to wait a few minutes before they brought John out. His eyes were open, and as he caught sight of her he smiled reassuringly.
House was nowhere to be seen.
All right, she admitted to herself that she was confused by his absence. Cameron had been certain that House would be in attendance on the procedure, so this just didn't make any sense. She joined the little entourage as they wheeled John toward the elevator, and up one floor to the private room that House had arranged for the elder Tomorrow Person.
Cameron stood aside as the orderly and nurse settled John into his new surroundings. They carefully hooked him up to all sorts of traction equipment, and his IV was replenished. It was wonderful not to see all the monitors around, not to hear their noise. It was downright quiet in the room, and it was a blessing.
Once they were alone, Cameron settled herself in the chair by the bed. John was looking at her appraisingly, as if trying to read her mind. She didn't doubt for a moment that he was trying to do just that.
His mental presence was stronger now. She wondered if the shunt had done something to muffle his powers. "Can you hear me?" she asked mentally, before she even knew what she was doing. The moment the words were out of mind, she berated herself for doing the one thing she's made the others promise not to do.
The smile that broke out on John's pale face was all the affirmation she needed. "I thought that was not allowed," he chided lightly.
Cameron answered him with a smile of her own. "I don't recommend you doing it yourself. We don't want you straining anything."
He simply grinned wider.
"Besides," she went on, "all three of us actually felt them taking the shunt out. It was… quite disturbing."
"Try experiencing it first-hand."
"No thank you!"
That earned her a chuckle.
"How are you feeling? Really?"
"Perhaps I should be asking you that question, Allison."
"I should've expected that, I suppose."
"Yes, you should have." He reached out and took her hand. "Just how hard is it going to be for you now?"
"I really don't know."
"You know you have a place to come to, if it comes down to that."
Cameron squeezed his hand thankfully. She didn't want to admit that it was on her mind, that she didn't think she could stay after her confrontation with House. He was notorious for making life hell for his underlings, and she didn't want to even consider how bad it would get from now on.
"I have something to tell you." She explained about Chase's warning. Honestly, she was glad to change the subject.
"And you think this Dr. Foreman could actually cause trouble?" he asked.
"If it gets to the right person, yes. The hospital board could decide to take action, if it comes down to it."
"And I take it Paul and Elena are preparing to have me moved from here?"
Cameron cracked a grin. "You'd be right. We just think it's time, now that the shunt is out, and you're progressing nicely."
"And, in your medical opinion, you feel this isn't going to endanger my recovery?"
She couldn't answer that question. She honestly didn't know. "Well, I don't think we'd be making the arrangements if you still had the shunt in. Any sort of movement could have caused it to shift, and that could've caused all sorts of complications."
"Why do I think that's a bit of an understatement?" he asked wryly.
"You'd be right."
"I assume you have some sort of plan to spirit me away?"
"Well, we know we'll have to make it look like we're transporting you normally. Once we get far enough away, then we can jaunt you to the Lab."
"And from there to the Trig."
"Exactly. Once you're there, then we can concentrate on the Sharrion situation. The sooner we get that sorted out, the better."
"Then you can go back to your normal life."
Cameron sighed. "Do you honestly think that's possible now?"
"I think you can do whatever you put your mind to."
"I appreciate your faith in me, but I'm not entirely sure it isn't misplaced."
"Allison," he replied seriously, "even though it's been years since we last were together, nothing I've seen lately has changed my opinion of your abilities. And that opinion has always been very high indeed."
She hoped John didn't notice her blushing under the praise.
"Listen to me." He tried to rise a little, but was unable to get the proper leverage. She leaned over and helped him. "Most Saps are violent, narrow-minded bigots who can't see around their own prejudices. But from what I've seen, your Dr. House is different. Yes, his reactions at first might seem to fall into the same category, but I believe that, once he thinks about what he's learned, he'll be back to treating you just as he always has done."
Cameron chuckled sardonically. "You mean, like a menial?"
John's eyes widened. "Certainly you don't mean that!"
"You don't know Dr. Gregory House!"
"And yet you work with him?" He was amazed.
"Of course I do! He's the best, and I want to learn from the best." She didn't add that her feelings toward him kept her there just as much as her respect for his abilities did.
"There are doctors and healers on the Trig you could easily apprentice yourself to."
"I know that."
"Then there's no reason for you to stay, is there?"
"You don't understand." Cameron got up, and began to pace. "While I know I could always go somewhere else, it's not the same. House doesn't just teach; he forces you to stretch yourself beyond what even you thought was possible. And it's never boring. I can't really see myself anywhere else." Even as she said it, Cameron knew it was the truth. She was meant to be here.
And she could see she'd just fallen into John's trap.
She wagged her finger at him. "You did that on purpose!"
The elder Tomorrow Person shrugged, one shouldered. "You had to work it out for yourself."
"You're such a smug bastard, aren't you?" She said it without a trace of malice.
"It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it."
Cameron hugged him gently. John had manipulated her into facing what she thought she'd kept hidden: her inability to decide what she wanted to do, now that she'd accepted her special powers once more. "Guess I'm not that good an actress then," she quipped, taking her seat once more.
"I seriously doubt someone who didn't know you would have realized what you were going through."
"And apparently I haven't changed at all."
"Yes, you have." John smiled slightly. "You've grown up."