Chapter twelve- Keeping.
At eleven thirteen on Saturday morning, Allison Cameron's eyes flickered open. The light in her surroundings felt like it burned her eyes, and her head was pounding. She really shouldn't mix her drinks. She really shouldn't drink at all.
She felt awful. Despite the thumping in her head and sore eyes her throat felt raw and dry, her muscles ached and she was extremely nauseous. Her diagnosis was severe hangover induced by a few drinks consumed by an idiotic lightweight.
She groaned, and then clamped her hand over her mouth when she remembered that she was at Houses. Sh1t! She thought frantically He will have heard that.
Sure enough, mere moments later, her eyes were jolted open again by the sound of porcelain hitting wood. Or a cup of coffee hitting the coffee table.
"Hey sleeping beauty." He said flinging himself to rest next to her feet. When she didn't answer, with the coverlet hiding half her face, he continued probing.
"Cameron"
"Mmph"
He tugged the coverlet down a little.
"Stop!" she laughed a little, before hissing at the painful thump her giggle sent through her skull.
"Well, you're a blast this morning."
She raised her eyebrows and smiled a little weakly as she slid into a sitting position with her back resting on the arm rest legs tucked up a little, and reaching out for her coffee. After a moment, she felt able to talk again.
"I guess I look like crap"
"Uh, Cameron, having someone like you wake up in my house, really I'm not going to judge minor things like the fact your hair is all mussed up."
She touched at her hair self consciously then, but she still smiled at how nice he was being to her. It was so unlike him. He added:
"It snowed" He nodded towards the window. When Cameron looked, sure enough there was a sheet of white on the branches of the trees she could see.
"It's warm in here." She trailed off. "I don't have to go just yet, right?"
"Sure." He was pretty surprised she had asked. Maybe it was because the weather was bad. Who was he kidding?
Twenty five minutes later and the two were sitting side by side on Houses sofa. They had just finished eating toast which Cameron had made. House had hovered around, with endless comments about not making herself at home. She wondered just why he was so worried about that.
"Cameron"
"Uh-huh"
"You know the Christmas party?"
"Yeah"
"Do you wanna-" He stopped, and looked at the floor, face screwed up the way it does when he's trying to say something he's uncomfortable about.
"Wanna?" She prompted, nudging his shoulder gently.
"Come with me." He looked in completely the opposite direction to Cameron then. It took what seemed like hours before she said:
"Like a date?"
"Exactly-" he was about to brush it off with a 'without the date part', but Wilson's last dime comment came into his mind. Instead of his usual end comment he just repeated himself:
"Exactly"
She smiled at him, and placed a small hand on his arm:
"I'd love to, House"
Their eyes met for a moment. He reached a hand up and brushed a stray bang out of Cameron's eyes. At this action, Cameron tilted her head slightly and began to lean in towards her boss. To his own astonishment, he leant in towards her, too. Just as their lips were millimetres apart, his home phone rang.
Cameron jolted back like she had been given an electric shock, and House threw his head back in exasperation, saying as he reached for the phone:
"Thought that only happened in the movies."
After his discussion with Wilson on the phone, Cameron had become embarrassed at the situation, and was quiet as he dropped her off to her car. As soon as she was gone he cursed under his breath. He should have just kissed the woman!
As she sat in her car, and turned her CD up to full volume, she cursed under her breath. What was she thinking? She should have just kissed him, not leaned in gently. He probably liked a more confident approach.
She reached 3600 Chestnut Avenue on time. She approached the neat house and knocked on the door. A moment later the door was answered by Cuddy. It seemed that the older woman was still stressed even at home. She gestured for Cameron to come in and she gingerly complied, sitting on the edge of the white sofa in the bright living room. It was definitely Cuddys' home, there were throw cushions on the sofas and large vases filled with lilies and roses with a coffee table in the centre of the room which held a lower self. Cameron noticed the shelf was full of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Vogue which seemed as though they had never been read. Strange, Cuddy always managed to look amazing despite the fact she had no time for magazines.
From what Cameron could gather of the conversation, Cuddy was giving her secretary instructions for the nurses over the phone. About five minutes later, Cuddy entered the room.
"Sorry about that. Could I get you a drink? I have tea, coffee, uh, water?"
"I'll have a cup of hot tea if you have it."
"Sure, make yourself at home" Cuddy seemed somewhat nervous.
"Don't worry, I'll come keep you company" Cameron smiled.
As they stood in the kitchen, Cameron noticed for the first time what her employer was wearing. A turtle neck black wool jumper, with pearls of course, and grey suit trousers. She really didn't ever stop, thought Cameron, who was wearing jeans from the previous night with a cute trendy jumper she loved and a tailored coat. The two of them made polite conversation for a while before Cameron piped up.
"You know House?"
"Too well"
Cameron went quiet for a little while.
"Do you think he likes me?"
"Yes"
"Yes?!" Cameron's eyes were wide and her tone was a mix of happiness and surprise. She somehow felt that her discussion with House this morning hadn't happened, and she needed reassurance. Cuddy was smiling at her so the young woman cleared her throat, swallowed and asked again, in a more subtle tone "Yes?"
"Since you first worked at the hospital" Cuddy was laughing at Cameron's expression. "He wasn't even going to hire a woman for a fellowship" At Cameron's shocked expression; Cuddy continued "I know, I know, not a misogynist. But he thought women were too much of a distraction. He pretended like he hired you because I told him he shouldn't use sex as a determining factor in the hiring process. I knew he was lying."
Cameron was silent, looking into her cup of hot tea.
"What should I do?"
"You still like him?"
Despite themselves the two women were becoming like confidants for the other. And both felt comfortable doing it.
"Yes" Cameron said it so quietly that Cuddy barely heard her.
"Then" Cuddy touched Cameron's arm "Do nothing."
"What?"
"Let him come to you."
"He… sort of did. But, now I don't know."
"Mixed signals?"
"Not exactly. But, he's so… delicate."
Cuddy was certainly not astounded at the immunologists' choice of words, she knew exactly what Cameron meant.
"So are you. You'll be ok. Just let him take his time."
"Ok".
The rest of the women's day was spent in the mall. Cuddy bought her dress, and the two behaved like old friends, laughing and gossiping. Cuddy and Cameron actually let go and were just themselves for a little while. Saying this was a relief would be an understatement. By the end of the day, both had discovered that the other would make a good friend, and both women felt as though they had been close to the other for longer than they could remember. They truly enjoyed themselves, and agreed to do the same again as soon as possible.
However, despite the most serious thing on Cameron's mind that day being what color clutch to buy, across town in his living room, House was deep in thought. He knew he wanted to be with Cameron, but the risks of a relationship with someone completely new were a concern to him. It had been so long since Stacey, and she had let him down so much, so hard, so fast. He couldn't bear it if that happened again. But Cameron was Cameron. Not Stacey. And she was delicate. She wore her heart on her sleeve. He was more likely to hurt her than the other way around. And that was worse. Far worse. But he was stronger than that. He could follow his heart. He would get her. And he would keep her. Even if it killed him.