Once Wilson had left his office House got up to walk his leg. Now that he didn't need to worry about his mother and the injection had ceased to have an effect, he could feel the pain again and he could feel how his leg started cramping again. He needed to walk to keep the muscle – what was left of it – limber. He did consider calling Ingrid, but decided against it. He didn't want to admit yet that he might not be able to manage with just walking and Vicodin.

---------

Foreman had been checking on his patients, especially Blythe House and was now on his way to the cafeteria. Cameron was with him as was John House, who were both heading in the same direction. Blythe had expressed a desire to have a nap and had told John to vamoose. Foreman was the first one to round the corner to the corridor he usually used as a short cut to the cafeteria. He stopped short before the others could follow him and backed up. He had seen House doubled over, clutching his leg and he didn't think it was going to be healthy for him to go there, and especially not to let John go there. So he turned quickly to his companions and said.

"We have to take the other route, there is a situation in there. Some privacy is required."

"Come on," John said, "we are nearly there! Surely it cannot be that bad. It's not like we are going to stop and stare."

"I would not want to be the one to decide that, but if you don't want to go back, we can wait a little while here. I'm sure the situation can be resolved fairly quickly," Foreman stalled. However he was not quick enough to stop Cameron from peeking round the corner, and she was gone before he could say more than: "No, Cameron, I don't..." the rest of his sentence he had to swallow. He turned to John and said: "Let us just wait a moment and see if Cameron can help clear the way a little faster."

Cameron run to House and took his arm, he tried to shoo her off, but she told him: "Your father is coming this way, he is just round the corner." She looked around and saw a broom closet just a couple of feet away. He dragged now somewhat co-operative House in there and closed the door.

Foreman had glanced into the corridor long enough to see Cameron succeed in removing House from the scene. He then led John quickly towards the cafeteria drumming his knuckles briefly on the closet door to indicate that they were past it.

Once Cameron had got House into the closet – which fortunately was spacious – she tried to hear Foreman and John House go past. She was leaning against House, trying to dodge his cane and support him against the wall at the same time. When House let a little moan escape him, Cameron grew frantic. What was she going to do? She didn't have a hand to spare to try and muffle the sound, and there was no way she was letting John hear moaning from the broom closet. It was possible that Foreman could make him just walk by, but there was a possibility that he might insist on investigating what was going on. And she could not think of an acceptable explanation for this situation. Even the truth would not work; in fact the truth was probably the last thing that would work, since House would hate his father finding him in pain and the father would hate knowing that his son would rather do anything than let his father know something this important about him.

In desperation Cameron did the only thing she could think of – and if she was honest with herself she knew that the reason she did think of it, was because she had wanted to do it for a long time. She kissed House. She kissed him like his life depended on it. And after an initial shock House kissed her back, and it was more than she had ever even dared to dream of.

----------

Some fifteen minutes later Foreman saw House storm into his office and close the blinds. There were some sounds of things being thrown at which point Foreman told Chase that they better run for it.

"Oh come on, Foreman," Chase complained. "You just came back with our lunch! Can't we just eat it and then leave. House has obviously closeted himself into his office for now. He is not coming out any time soon."

"The last I saw House he was with Cameron. I don't know what happened, but I want to find her and make sure she is in one piece," Foreman explained. "Come on, we can eat in the lab. That's probably where Cameron is anyway."

Chase agreed with a martyred sigh and collected his lunch. They made their way to the lab, where they indeed found Cameron. They had expected her to be doing some busy work, recalibrating things, cleaning, arranging equipment; whatever she could think of. But she was just standing there, staring at the shelves like she couldn't think of anything to do. She seemed dazed, and unaware of her surroundings, like she had ended up here only on autopilot. She seemed to be unaware of the tears running down her cheeks, as well.

"Oh, Cameron!" Foreman sighed and folded her in his arms. "What did he do to you?"

"You'll be happy to know you won't need to search his rooms," Cameron said once she had realized her colleagues were with her. "He is back to normal."

"That was not what I asked," Foreman told her.

"Yeah, if he is back to normal, he could have done anything," Chase agreed.

"No, this I did to myself," Cameron sniffed. "You did try to stop me from going to him, Eric."

"I didn't think it was a good idea, but you were too fast," Foreman nodded.

"Running to my ruin," Cameron smiled ruefully. "House always said that I care too much."

"Ok, enough with the cryptic remarks!" Chase had found some tissues and brought them over. Foreman let Cameron out of his embrace, but kept his hand on her shoulder for support.

"Did Eric tell you that we saw House doubled over with pain in the corridor?"

"Yeah. He filled me in on the way here, because I couldn't see why finding you was so important all of a sudden," Chase explained. "I must say your actions did sound foolish in the extreme. You need to be a fool or extremely brave to shut yourself in a small closet with House in pain."

"Hindsight is always twenty-twenty," Cameron snapped mildly. "Anyway, I dragged him into the closet out of sight, but he was moaning in pain, so I was afraid his father might hear it and want to investigate. So I kissed him."

"You kissed House!" both Foreman and Chase looked at her appalled.

"And it's so obvious neither of you are gay! or women," Cameron huffed. "Yes, I kissed him and he kissed me back." This time neither of her fellow ducklings said anything, they just stared. "I know he did it because I surprised him and because he needed distraction from his pain, but he did kiss me."

"He must have sucked big time," Chase finally said.

"Or else why are you here crying your eyes out," Foreman concurred.

"It's not the kiss; the kiss was ... Never mind. It's what happened after." Cameron explained.

"What did he do?" Foreman didn't dare voice the first question that had come to his mind: did they do it in the closet and was that where House sucked enough to make Cameron cry.

"He asked me if I was free tonight," Cameron revealed.

"Enough!" Chase demanded: "I already told you to stop with the cryptic sentences. Just tell us."

"Fine," Cameron closed her eyes and went on with the story. "He asked me if I was free and if I would come to his home this evening. Then he asked me if I accepted credit cards as from the free sample he had got I was obviously a top professional and he probably didn't have enough cash on him to meet my price."

"I'm going to kill him!" Foreman exclaimed.

"He called you a ...," Chase didn't even want to say it out loud, though House sure used the word often enough. But this was Cameron. "That is low even for him."

"I brought it on myself," Cameron tried to calm her friends.

"You were just trying to help him," Chase insisted. "He had no right to turn on you like that."

"He didn't ask to be kissed!" Cameron pointed out. "If he had forced a kiss on me, you two would be equally eager to beat him up as you are now. And had I called him every name under the sun for that, you would have thought he merited every one of them."

"But this is different," Foreman tried to explain.

"Because I'm a girl?" Cameron asked, still sniffing a little and wiping her eyes.

"Because you are you," Chase said. "You only tried to help."

"So if my motives are pure, I'm not accountable for the results even if I do something wrong?" Cameron asked them. "The problem with that is that my motives weren't that pure. So please guys, don't blame this on him. I brought this on myself and I'm crying more over my own stupidity than for his actions. He was in pain and we know he gets savage then."

"If you are sure," Foreman agreed hesitantly. "I still think he was out of line, but since you were the one there, I guess I have to let you decide what was what."

"Thank you. And Chase?" Cameron wanted agreement from the Aussie as well.

"Fine. I'm too much of a coward to go after him alone anyway," Chase smiled ruefully.

"Thank you," Cameron hugged them both.

Just then Cuddy walked into the lab.

"Oh!" she exclaimed startled. "If you are busy I can come back later."

Foreman let go of Cameron and Chase backed up a bit too. "No, it's ok," Foreman smile, "It was just a group hug to gather strength because House is being House again."

"I see," Cuddy nodded. "The injection has worn off then."

"Injection?" Cameron asked.

"Oh, shoot!" Cuddy bit her lip. "I wasn't going to say that. But since I did... I gave him a spinal injection of morphine a couple of days back."

"So that is the explanation!" Chase realized.

"Good to know," Foreman agreed. "But you didn't come looking for us to tell us that, so what is it?"

"I was actually looking for Dr. Cameron, but I don't mind you two being present as well," Cuddy explained. "It's just that Dr. Wilson told me that Andie's cancer is advancing and he thinks he needs to put her in coma in three days, possibly two. It just occurred to me that she might want to have one last Christmas party."

"And you want my help with it?" Cameron asked.

"Yes," Cuddy said. "Both with the party and with approaching Andie and her mother with the idea. We need to be sure they both want it and are up to it, before we do anything."

"Her room is not big enough for a party, though," Cameron mused.

"I was hoping to draft the diagnostics department for the party. After all, Andie's balcony is there already," Cuddy pointed out.

"That might not be a good idea right now," Chase was hesitant.

"I agree," Foreman said. "House is back to being House and it seems he is back with vengeance."

"He would not be mean to Andie!" Cameron defended him.

"Why not," Chase asked. "He was mean to you and it's almost the same thing."

"No it is not!" Cameron stated glaring at Chase.

"House is a jerk, but I have never seen him be intentionally mean to children," Cuddy mused. "However, if Andie wants the party, I think I can bribe House into giving in. One party, one injection."

"That would probably do it," Foreman agreed. "I would agree to even harder things to avoid constant pain." He gave a small shudder remembering his own experience with pain.

"I don't like doing it, though," Cuddy said. "He needs to find some other way of handling the pain than medication. Morphine is even more addictive than Vicodin and he is taking too many pills already."

"Why is everyone trying to tell him how to handle his pain?" Foreman asked puzzled. "Don't get me wrong, I think the man is an utter bastard, but he functions. He does his work. He handles his pain. Why do people have to try and interfere with that?"

"Because he is an addict!" Cuddy exclaimed. "Doesn't that concern you? He takes those pills to get high, not just to manage his pain."

"I don't know the amount of pain he has, nor how much medication he needs," Foreman shrugged his shoulders. "But if he is an addict and if he is using the drug to get high then let him. When he is high he is the best damn doctor I have ever seen or even heard of. When he doesn't get his pills, he is just like any one of us, and he makes mistakes."

"I happen to remember what kind of doctor he was before his addiction, and I was his doctor at the time of the operation, so I think I know enough of his medical condition and his abilities to judge what – medically speaking – is better for him," Cuddy stated a little coldly. She didn't like hearing Foreman's differing opinion; she had enough doubts about everything concerning House already. She wasn't even sure she wasn't letting Wilson influence her judgement too much. "But enough of House, we were supposed to plan a party."

"I'm certainly happy to help," Cameron said.

"Good, let's go and see if Andie is up to it." Cuddy sighed in relief. She wanted to get away from Foreman and his opinions.