Chapter 2
House watched Cameron storm down the hall and then limped over to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.
Ever since Cameron kissed me, things have gone from bad to worse …
The "bad" started last fall when Tritter came into his life. Each event, the investigation, the forged prescriptions, his detox, the trial and rehab slowly took its toll on House's relationship with his ducklings. He could see the disappointment in their faces and hear the contempt in their voices. They were always challenging him, but not in a good way; their confidence in House was shaken. They no longer trusted in him or his judgment.
The deterioration to "worse" happened two weeks ago. After desperately, and successfully, trying to disprove House's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer, his team discovered that House had been faking the illness in order to take part in a drug trial at Massachusetts General. The study was designed to treat brain cancer patients for depression and involved the implantation of drug-releasing microchips into the pleasure centres of the brain. The emotional rollercoaster ride that House sent them on, all for the sake of a fix was the last straw as far as the ducklings were concerned.
Since then, House and his team rarely talked about anything other than work. Foreman and Chase had made no attempt to hide their anger at him, and Cameron … well, she said very little, but her silence spoke volumes to House.
House didn't care that much about Foreman and Chase's opinions of him. They thought of him as a desperate drug addict and House did nothing to correct the assumption; it was none of their business as far as he was concerned.
But Cameron's opinion did matter to him.
He didn't know what was going on with Cameron; sometimes she was sweet and sensitive like this morning, but lately she had become bold and flirtatious and unfortunately he was not the recipient of her ardour.
Chase was, or so he thought.
His suspicions were confirmed the other day when he caught the two of them going at it hot and heavy in the supply room. At first it amused House, but the more he thought about it the sadder he became; he'd never had the guts to tell Cameron how much he wanted her and now it was probably too late.
But her kiss … it was the one thing that gave him hope.
Sure she was just using it as a ruse to collect some of his blood, but when they kissed, something happened.
House couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew Cameron felt it too …
o0o0o
Why do I let him get to me … I should have known that he'd make some dumb remark about my Easter decorations …I don't need House, I have a great relationship with Chase … all the sex I want with no strings attached … what could be better than that?
A lot … Cameron thought as she splashed cold water on her face to hold back the tears she didn't want to fall.
Every since I kissed House, things have gone from bad to worse.
Cameron sensed that Chase was becoming disenchanted with their arrangement and truthfully, so was she.
In the beginning they were circumspect, meeting three or four nights a week at her apartment, but lately things had begun to spin out of control. Cameron had lost all interest in sleepovers with Chase; they bored her to tears.
But sex at work … that was a different story.
Chase was becoming increasingly suspicious of Cameron's motives for their escapades at work; he accused her of using him to make House jealous and deep down she knew he was right. She had never gotten over House and the kiss only re-ignited feelings she thought were long gone.
Sex with Chase was adequate, if uninspiring.
Like many men, Chase was quick to "spring" into action. He had little interest in foreplay and didn't even seem to notice or care whether she was satisfied by their lovemaking. Once he was done, things were over and he frequently fell asleep immediately after his climax, leaving Cameron staring at the ceiling, having to take matters into her own hands. More and more she found herself fantasizing about House as they made love, imagining how his strong hands would feel caressing her body in all the right places.
Even the kisses Chase gave paled in comparison to her kiss with House. She longed to feel his lips again; the way they brushed softly over hers, the feel of his scruff on her skin and the taste of his tongue, dancing with hers, for that brief magical moment.
Nothing would ever be the same again. The handwriting was on the wall for her and Chase; it would soon be over. But did she still have a chance with House?
Her plan to make him jealous, albeit a subconscious plan, didn't work.
House had walked in on her and Chase as they kissed and undressed each other in the supply room and he didn't say a word.
There was no mocking, no anger and no jealousy.
It was the worst possibly reaction. Nothing.
Cameron looked in the mirror, as she freshened up her make-up. I can't make things better between us if I hide in here all day … she thought, he's never going to come to dinner if he thinks I'm mad at him … I'm an idiot … Cameron smiled when she caught herself using one of House's favourite expressions.
As she walked back to the diagnostics office, Cameron remembered their kiss.
It was the one thing that gave her hope.
It was magic … and she knew House felt it too.
tbc ...