Disclaimer: Still don't own House... (bursts into tears)

Rating: M

Pairings: House/Cameron

Spoilers: Umm not sure but I'll say Seasons 1 and 2 just to be sure.

Summary: Putting the handset back into its cradle, then slipping down to the ground, Cameron wept bitterly. It was all so sudden.

Addiction: Chapter Two

Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel impatiently, Dr Allison Cameron searched for a car park at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. After a few minutes she spotted one between a black Mercedes and a silver BMW. Pulling her car into the space and shutting of the ignition, she tried not to be nervous about the day ahead of her. Since the events from the night before, she didn't know what her boss' mood would be like today. House wasn't one to talk about his feelings, so that was the last thing she expected him to do. No, what she was worried about was whether or not he would use this as an opportunity to publicly humiliate her or ignore her coldly the whole day. What she had been pondering all last night though, was what had caused him to act that way all because of one dance between her and Chase? Cameron liked to think he was jealous in some way, but that would prove her to be just as naive as House often accused her of being. She knew she should probably just attribute it all to excess alcohol, although he hadn't really seemed that drunken to her at all. Sighing, she decided to just go with the flow as best she could, even though that wasn't her usual approach to life, and get this day over with.

Ten minutes later, she strolled into the conference room, dumped her bag and jacket on her desk and went over to the coffee machine to start brewing it. As she waited for it to make the coffee, Chase and Foreman walked in, announcing that they had a new case. They ended up starting the differential without House since he decided to turn up an hour and a half late.

"What's all this? My little kiddiewinkles think they're all grown up and can handle a case all by themselves?" he said in a mock baby voice, by way of greeting.

He settled down and soon they had a long list of possible diseases, which he then began narrowing down by sending the ducklings off to perform various tests. House had sent Cameron off to do a lumbar puncture, a more time consuming test than the ones Mutt and Jeff had to do. He had been avoiding her all morning, not looking at her all through the differential. Well, he had started avoiding her gaze after making the mistake of looking at her too closely while she suggested a possible disease. Just looking at her would make him think of how ravishing she had looked in that dress and how insanely soft her lips felt on his. There was no doubt about it: she was definitely addictive. She should come with a warning. And now that he was officially addicted- yes, he could admit it to himself- he had to begin detoxification procedures.

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The day had passed rather uneventfully for Cameron, for which she was eternally grateful. Apart from ignoring her completely, House hadn't done or said anything particularly nasty to her at all. Now she could head home and look forward to going out for drinks with a few friends, a treat she didn't regularly indulge in, due to her demanding career. Going out with her close friends Jenna, Samantha and Lilley was always enjoyable and a welcomed break from her hectic life. When she reached her front door, she opened her purse to grab her keys, and upon finding the correct one, she opened her front door and entered her apartment. She had accidentally trodden on her mail in the doorway on her way in and stooped to pick up the several letters. Flicking through them as she walked further down her hall and turned into her kitchen, she conceded that they were all either bills, or useless to her, so she tossed the lot on her kitchen counter. Looking over at her answering machine, she noticed that she had two new messages. She pushed a large round button and the voice of Samantha filled the room.

"Hey Ally, just calling to make sure we're still on for tonight. Jen and Lil are going in Jen's car, so I'll come pick you up around 7, okay? See you then."

Smiling, Cameron walked over to her fridge to decide what to eat for dinner that night as the second message began to play.

"Allison, this is really important. You need to call me as soon as you get this. I don't want to have to tell over the phone but I have no choice. Please call back soon," begged her younger brother in a desperate and slightly strained voice.

Cameron paused upon hearing the message, and put the fish she had been planning to fry on a plate. Wondering what had got her brother so upset, she went back over to her phone, dialled his number hurriedly and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Chris, it's Ally. What's going on?" she asked.

"Ally, Mom's... I don't know how to say this... Mom passed away this morning. The doctor said it was a massive stroke or something," Chris replied, shakily.

Cameron felt her heart constrict, tears welling in her eyes. This couldn't be happening. She had only just spoken to her mother a week ago and now she was gone. Pressing the cold handset back to her ear, she swallowed and said, "Chris, I'm gonna come up as soon as I can, okay? I'll ask for time off tomorrow and I'll be there tomorrow night."

"Ally I'm sorry I had to tell you over the phone, but there wasn't any other way."

"It's alright, Chris," she said, "I have to go now. Oh, wait can you pick me up tomorrow? I'll call you with flight details."

"Of course. You can stay with Rachael and I. Bye Allision," said Chris.

"See you tomorrow," she said, pressing a button to end the conversation. Putting the handset back into its cradle, then slipping down to the ground, Cameron wept bitterly for the loss of her mother. It was all so sudden. She was close to her mother, and they often chatted over the phone about how each one's lives were going. As her mother had lived in Indiana, Cameron only really saw her once a year for Christmas when the she and her siblings would return home to visit her. Cameron hadn't heard from her father since she was sixteen and he had left her mother. She wondered if anyone had told him: probably not. When she had cried until she was positive she didn't have any tears left. She stood up at glanced at the mahogany clock on her wall. Six-thirty. Sam would arrive soon to pick her up and she still hadn't showered or eaten. She didn't feel like going out but knew that she would do better in the company of her friends than alone at home. She showered and dressed in a pair of jeans, a cherry red top, and an optional jean-jacket in case it got cold. Deciding to leave her hair out, she fluffed it a bit and looked at herself in the mirror. Boy, she needed to be extra meticulous with her make-up tonight- she looked like hell. When she was done, she went back out to the kitchen and put the nearly forgotten salmon back into the fridge as she wasn't feeling very hungry. With five minutes to spare, she sat on the couch with her laptop and started searching the Internet for airline tickets to from New Jersey to Indiana. Hearing her doorbell ring, she flagged a possible flight and shut her laptop, walking over to open her door.

"Hey Ally! You ready to go?" said Sam animatedly.

Forcing a smile onto her face, she nodded, shutting and locking her door behind her. By the time, she met up with her other two friends at their usual bar, and they began catching up on old times, she was sure that getting out of the house was a good way to distract herself from the bomb her brother had dropped on her only half an hour before.

To Be Continued...

Authors Note: In the next chapter House finds out about Cameron's problem. Dun dun duhhhhhhh... Please review, I need to know how I'm going and what you think of the plot so far. :)