"In an Instant"

Chapter Six

"Hi Cameron" House said as he inwardly tried to figure out why on earth he had come and, what had made him think it would be a good idea as Allison stood there in shock.

"You're silly," said a little blond girl who was standing next to a mini-Cameron, "that's not Cameron, that's Aunty Allie."

Seeing that Cameron was still just standing there House replied "Ah, so that is Aunty Allie is it? Well little Allie, can you wake Aunt Allie up? It looks like she has fallen asleep standing up… and you Blondie, what is your name?"

"I'm Jenny, that's Alyssa" as she was talking she glanced over at Alyssa who had just finished tugging on Cameron's hand as her father and Michael looked on in surprise.

Michael ever the practical joker winked at his father before he went to shake this mans hand. "Hi, I'm Michael, and you must be Allie's fiancée… Allison said he might be coming. But I thought she was just joking. I see you have meet Alyssa here; we are getting the paper work ready for yourself and Allie. You should be able to sign the adoption papers for the girls together while you are here. It is great to meet you. Do you know anyone else here?"

Cameron looked on in surprise "MICHAEL NO! and House, I thought you had work this weekend, what on earth are you dong here? Get lost?"

House laughed and replied, "Cameron, sweetie, was that a question or a request?" he laughed, "what, not happy to see your fiancée?"

Cameron looked on House as she thought 'I can not believe House and Michael! Well, actually I can, this would be something they would both do. But… NO! I will not be embarrassed, I will not yell, I am going to get even… I am going to make them squirm a little.'

House looked at Cameron, he was starting to get worried, she was quiet, too quiet, and normally she would have looked at him side ways at the least if not yelled at him by now. His earlier thoughts of what the hell he was doing here in Cameron's family home came over him again as he waited for Cameron to say something - anything. As a smirk came across Cameron's face House looked on in fear of what she was about to do.

"Michael, you are meant to let me introduce Greg to everyone before you do that you know" Cameron smiled as she lead them down the hall to the lounge, "Mom, Dad, everyone, this is Greg House," looking to House she continued "Greg, these are my parents Jonathan and Emily, you meet my brother Michael but this is his wife Megan and their youngest Arabella is in her lap. The 3 blond kids are also theirs; from oldest to youngest you have Jennifer, Charlotte and Jonathan. You have meet Alyssa right?" Cameron looked over at House as he nodded his head. "Oh, and my other 2 brothers Ben and Chris should be here in a few hours. They were catching a fight out of New York after classes... Any questions," Cameron asked before continuing not even waiting for a response, "Well, that is about everyone here, Sweet"

As she finished that little spiel she looked around the room thinking, 'wow, the look on their faces is priceless. So worth the slack I am going to get from everyone when they find out… Oh well, enjoy it while it lasts – it is not often I am able to pull on over Michael or Dad's eyes. And why is it that Michael can always get me to act like a kid.''MEMO TO SELF: find out later why the hell House is here.'

Cameron could see the smiles on both Megan and her Mother; she had been emailing them at least once a week during the time she had been at PPTH so they knew a little bit about House; Cameron and House; and what was going on in the hospital.

"So… Greg, how did you and Allie get together?" Megan asked with a smirk on her face.

"Well…" House started realizing that since he was here he should at least try and be honest with her. If things didn't work out, if it was already too late, nothing he could do or say would be able to change anything.

As Cameron could see that House was starting to get a little uncomfortable she went to jump in – not wanting the snide comments that normally come from his mouth in such times. "Wel…"

But to her surprise House continued to talk, "How it got started? Well, Not proud to say it but she had been chasing me since shortly after she started working for me, but I was not ready at the time. Later we went to the Monster Car rally and we had fun…"

"It was a date," Cameron jumped in smiling.

No, it wasn't. It was 2 people hanging out together."

"Okay you guys, help me out here… House, you paid for the tickets."

"Which I already had..."

"You picked me up…"

"You didn't know where it was…"

"You brought Candy floss…"

"Duh, it would have been rude to buy myself some and not you. Besides I didn't want to share."

"It was a date! And that didn't stop you stealing some of mine"

"Sorry man," Michael started, "But I have to agree with Allie on that one. It sounds like a date to me."

"It was not a date. Before I went I told her it was not a date as well… Well… how we got started… she was already for a relationship, but it took a while for me to be ready too..." House looked over to Cameron as he talked, "We had a ruff time for a while, it happened so slowly but she grew on me till one day she was not as work. It drove me crazy, I could smell the coffee she had made but she was missing from the office. I realized what I was missing out on; what I was trying to talk myself out of; and what I could loose if she decided to give up on me, I didn't want to take the chance that I would miss the opportunity to have her in my life. I missed having her around – hell, after she quit last year I didn't even last a week before I was knocking on her apartment door begging her to come back; and that was a year ago. Once I got up the courage to tell her I had to tell her straight away. I dropped everything and went to her… and here we are. That is how we got started.

As House spoke Cameron looked on, trying to keep the shock of what he was saying from her face – as to not give any hints to her family. She was warmed by what House was saying; hoping that what he had said was true, that they might actually have a chance beyond this practical joke. 'I really hope this does not come back to bite me in the butt,' she thought a she walked over to House trying to put a happy cheerful face on – without starting to laugh.

"And I am always happy to see you Greg, you know that," Cameron added, remembering one of House's questions as she leaned in giving him a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

While Cameron was nice and close to House she was able to whisper, "House, we need to talk. What are you doing here? I need to know"

As the shock of House in the house had started to wear off she started to realize they were still standing in the hall by the lounge. "What are we still doing standing here? Come on House, I will show you where you can put your things. We will be back later everyone."

Her father and Michael joined the rest of the family in the lounge as Cameron took House to the back of the house to the study – Cameron's room – as it was the only room on the ground floor with the seats in the lounge were only designed for two. They were both silent as they thought about the other. Cameron was both a nervous and excited about what this could mean. House on the other hand was mentally kicking himself for being so honest, fearing rejection and blaming Wilson for not stopping him from getting on that plane [not that he could as he still had not told him yet.] 'That reminds me, I should call him later' and trying to decide if he should be filling out those psyche forms yet; 'I must be crazy to have come here… She is going to yell at me… she is taking me away from her family so she can do so.'

On entering the room House was surprised to see Cameron's belongings in the room, but was glad that they had not gone up the stairs. As House looked around the room Cameron sat down on the couch.

"Well," Cameron started, "now I know why Lisa reassured me that you would be out of town tonight and therefore unable to go through my apartment. But honesty House, what is going on here? Why are you here? Please don't tell me you came all this way for a case or coffee."

"No Allison, I didn't come all this way for coffee or a case," pausing for a moment a smile suddenly appeared on his face, "although coffee does sound good. I have not had a decent cup since Monday morning… But Cameron, Allison, in all honesty I was going crazy in Princeton, I have not been able to stop thinking about you in days, weeks in fact. What I said in the lounge was true. Well, up to the dropping everything and seeing you bit of course… Or was it getting up the courage to ask you out part – I am not sure… All I know is that you left on Monday I have been thinking about you a lot more than normal. Not being able to concentrate on seizure boy because I was asking myself 'what you were doing', 'were you okay', or 'are you putting on a happy face and putting everyone else first again'. Allison, I meant what I said. I have come to realize how important you are to me. That Cameron, I don't want to let you go. Am I too late?"

Cameron was in shock. 'What on earth is going on with House, I think I would have been told if he had had a brain transplant… Is it too late? Is it too late? NO, I don't think so. Sure we have had a lot of negative history – the date from hell – but that has not changed the way I feel about him despite what I tell both myself and others. All that is different now is that he appears to feel the same way. It was not like House to put himself so far out there emotionally, this is a one time deal. If I say no I don't think he will ever open up to me again. Looking up she realized that she must have been standing there deep in thought for a while, seeing House standing there looking sad staring at his shoes made her heart go out to him. 'NO, is now not too late.'

With a small smile on her face she replied, "No House, it is not too late." House looked up in surprise at Allison, "not too late at all House..." she took a step forward and gave him a hug. "House, Greg… please tell me I am not dreaming. And are you sure about us, about this? You know that I now come with two newborns and a two year old right? They are not going to go away. Can you handle that? I don't want to find out in a few weeks, or even months that you can't handle the kids, the broken nights, or that you simply changed your mind about this."

"Cameron you sure took your time there," House joked looking a little bit happier, "you almost gave me a heart attack – but, Allison, yes I am sure about this, I have been thinking about it since I was shot. Although you had me a little worried there. You were quiet there for a while. I hope it was happy thoughts?" Seeing Cameron nod and smile he continued, "About the children. Sure, it will make things a little harder, and I will probably get more snippy at Chase" – a sudden thought came to House as he thought about work.

"Cameron, you have two newborns, what are your plans? Please don't tell me you are leaving, I don't want you to go, and no, it is not just because I would have to start interviewing again. I came all this way because I didn't want to loose you in my life – and at the moment that means in the department too."

"No, I don't plan on resigning although I will need a few weeks off. It maybe hard for a couple of months but I can handle it. Alyssa will go into hospital daycare, and I will bring the twins in with me in about a month. While I my not be able to work with the patients I can still participate in the differentials, lab work, research and who knows, if they are really good I might even have the time to write an article in a couple of months – that is if this idea is okay…"

"It is a deal as long as I get my coffee daily," House replied.

With this Cameron started laughing, "With you it always comes back to the coffee doesn't it… what on earth did you do before me Doctor House? Well, we can't have you without coffee now can we…" Cameron replied tongue in cheek.

Getting back to the matter at hand she continued, "Well, you have arrived when we already have a full house, there only 3 bedrooms in this house – with one set up as a nursery/childrens room. With the twins in the lounge, that left me here in the study – if I remember correctly though it is a futon bed. So you can choose – you can either join my brothers in the lounge – I think I saw an airbed somewhere – or you can join me in here in the study. I must for-warn you though, I might talk in my sleep."

"I can handle you talking in your sleep. Not to sure about the little talk your brothers will probably plan though."

"So, I guess this earns you are hoping to join me huh? She replied with a smile to House.

"Like no-duh. I have the chance to snuggle up to like a really hot chick, I would be a fool to pass that up. Who knows the next time that might happen."

"Well, if you are still here and play your cards right it might just happen tomorrow night. Ben, Chris and Michaels family all have to leave Sunday afternoon – we were able to get the will read on Sunday morning so they could be here for it."

"Yeah, I will be here tomorrow, what time is the funeral? Um, I have to be at work bright and early at 10 o'clock Monday. So I will get a flight out that morning."

"Okay, well the funeral is at 10am, thank you for coming House, for everything really. What were you planning on doing if I said no, or if you couldn't stay here? Oh, what do we tell my family? They all think we are engaged…"

"Yes, and why do they think that?" House answered with a smile on his face - you know, I have already learnt something new about you today. When you get that look on your face, you know the one, when you are planning something – it happened before you went along with Michael – you are scary."

"Yeah, sorry about that, my brothers would always tease me each time I came home from pre-med, asking if I would be bringing anyone home with me or if I would be alone. When I was 20 I was tired of it – I told him the next time I brought someone home with me to meet the family it would be because I was engaged. Actually, I had a lot of fun with my family when I was dating Nick – my late-husband. My family got a shock of their lives… they knew I was dating him, but he could not come home that weekend so his sister Lani came with me." Cameron smile grew bigger as she remembered what happened, "I introduced Lani as Nicole to the family… Michael still jokes about it as you can see."

"Doctor Cameron, my my my, you have some spunk girl, I knew there was a reason why I like you." House commented with a laugh. Realizing there was a lot more to Cameron than he had realized. "How about when we go back in to the lounge we simply tell them we are dating."

A little over 30 minutes after going into the study Cameron and House came back out to greet the family. Cameron came out feeling a little out of place, as her two worlds were in the same room once more. "Hey everyone."

"Hey Allie, did you get lost? We were about to send in a mini-rescue mission but we were a little scared of what they might find," Michael joked.

Megan who was sitting beside Michael on the couch pulled back a little and playfully hit him across the shoulder. "Mich, play nice with your sister or you won't be invited to the wedding."

"Yeah, about that wedding. Do you remember that time with Lani?" she smiled as they realized what she was talking about. Sorry guys, but I couldn't let Michael get away with teasing me about it once more. Think of it as payback for many, many years. But other than that it was pretty much true, we just started dating."

"What, so no wedding?" Michael asked.

House jumped in with an answer as he looked over to Cameron, "well, seeing as we only just started dating probably not for a little while. But for you Michael, when we do get engaged you will be the first to know."

"And here is me thinking that he would have at least mentioned it to me first…" Cameron joked.

A couple of hour, many stories, and a mug of coffee later House was surprised to see how fast time went. He was pleased to be able to meet the remaining two of Cameron's brothers as they had finally arrived form New York. After they had settled in the introductions started as the adults all sat around the dinner tale (the kids had had a picnic in the lounge earlier before going to bed). Cameron was shocked to see how polite House was being, he still had the same quick dry sense of humor that she loved, but he really seemed to want to know her family.

"So, Ben, Chris, Allison told me that you both went to NYU. What are you studying? House asked.

"Well, we are both in our 3rd years," Chris started, "I am taking Law,"

"And I am taking Architecture Ben Added. "Michael here studied business and accounting."

"So I see you finally got around to asking Allie out. Thank you Greg." Chris mentioned.

"Yeah, hopefully it means hearing about you each week when Allie e-mails us. It was kinda getting old." Ben added.

Looking over at Ben and Chris Michael had an idea… "Yeah you know what Allie and Greg told us when he arrived? They said they were engaged."

"No Michael… you said we must be engaged because he came here. We just didn't correct you. Just you letting you dig yourself a hole." Cameron jumped in.

Emily smiled, "So Greg, what bring you here if you only just started dating?"

Cameron knew Greg was about to say something bad by the smile that came across his face. House lifted up his coffee cup and said, "the coffee…. It sucks at the hospital without Cameron there to make it. After four days of Chase trying to kill me with his coffee I couldn't stand it any more. As Cameron was not able to be at the office I decided to come to her. No, but seriously, I missed her; I couldn't concentrate on my work. I told my boss that I would be out of town, picked up a few things and within 30 minutes I had left. Which reminds me…"

With that House pulled out his phone and called Cuddy... "Hey Cuds. I am here, my phone is on like you asked. Ta-ta."

Jonathon (Sr.) laughed. "That was your boss?"

"Yes, Lisa Cuddy," Cameron said, "she has been a great help. Actually she has been in my apartment since 6 with Foreman, Chase and Wilson unpacking the truck and setting up all the baby things."

House turned to Cameron and quietly said "You would let those guys in your apartment but you didn't want me there."

"You would have gone through everything House and you know it."

"Yeah, I guess you are right."

The night grew old. It was only 10pm, but after the early start and physical labor of the day everyone was ready to go to bed. As Emily, Jonathan, Megan and Michael went upstairs and the twins went to the lounge House and Cameron walked back to their pull out couch in the study.

A/N I do apologize for the lateness of this chapter (but it is long – does that make up for it?). Teaches me for being pleased with myself for getting the chapter out a few days earlier than I thought I would. I have been away helping an aunt move house ~ first time I have seen her in about 15 years. She has moved to be closer to my grandparents as she has cancer and a young family ~but this meant very little quiet time to write and no computer/internet for the past 4 days but I was able to finish this chapter and get ½ way through my Harry Potter one – not as much as I wanted but family comes first…

Let me know what you think... Sorry if you think House is a little out of character in this chapter. But if it helps both he and I agree.

The next chapter will be out by next week – I have to finish the Harry Potter one first

Thank you for reading. And expecially for reviewing

Maraming Salamat po! ~Astig