Wilson found House exiting Quig's office. House almost turned and walked in the opposite direction, but decided against it. Sometimes his instincts were wrong when it came to this whole relationship stuff, and he decided to push himself a little.
"What happened?" Wilson asked him. "Lisa's freaking out, something must be wrong with Allison. What did you do now?"
"Does Cuddy like chocolate better, or flowers?" House asked.
"What?"
"Chocolate or flowers?" House repeated, more slowly.
"What does that have to do with Allison?" Wilson asked, confused. House gestured impatiently and Wilson huffed. "She's pregnant, of course chocolate."
"What about jewelry, does she like jewelry?" House continued in his questioning, now limping toward the elevators.
"I suppose," Wilson said, hurrying to catch up. "Where are we going?"
"Office," House answered, stepping into the elevator and jabbing the button with the tip of his cane. Wilson slipped between the closing doors just in time.
"House, what's going on? No diversions this time."
House rolled his eyes, but related the story to Wilson, all the while carefully watching the floor numbers light up on the elevator display. When the doors opened on their floor, House stepped out and limped quickly toward his office, once again forcing Wilson to jump through the closing elevator doors and rush to catch up.
"So, what are we doing?" Wilson asked again.
"We," House said, "aren't doing anything. I am going out." House grabbed his jacket and limped toward the door.
"House," Wilson called. House paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Pearls." House frowned. "Her birthstone, pearls." House nodded and Wilson watched him limp away, hoping he knew what he was doing.
xxxxxxx
House didn't return to the hospital. Once the twin's surgery was completed, Cuddy and Cameron were once again busy with the team of surgeons and organizing the extra nursing care they would need during their recovery.
Wilson stood back and watched as Cuddy and Cameron spent a few quiet moments with the twins and their parents. The wonder of watching Mr. and Mrs. Ramos standing between two cribs was enough to make even Wilson's eyes a little misty. As Cuddy and Cameron walked toward the NICU doors, Wilson blinked rapidly a few times.
"Hey," Cuddy said softly to him. She was absolutely exhausted, and Wilson wanted to get her home into a warm bath. Cuddy took Wilson by the elbow and turned him away from Cameron, who was saying her goodbyes to the Ramos family. "Where is he?"
"I don't know," Wilson said quietly. "He left this morning to buy her a gift but he never came back."
"What happened? I didn't want to pry, but she looked like she couldn't decide if she should cry, scream or laugh. Is everything okay?"
"I'll tell you later. He might just work it out," Wilson said hopefully. Cuddy looked surprised. She hoped Wilson was right.
"Allison, you look beat," Cuddy said as Cameron approached.
"Me? What about you?" Cameron replied. "James, get her home to bed and a huge ice cream sundae," Cameron ordered, smiling slightly.
"Ooh, with lots of hot fudge," Cuddy smiled.
"I know, I know, it's all about the chocolate. Go ahead, I'll catch up," Wilson said to Cuddy, and she nodded. As Cuddy walked down the hall, Wilson turned to Cameron. "Allison, I want you to promise me something." Cameron looked at him, dubious. She knew this had something to do with House, but she wasn't committing to anything. "If he should stop by to see you tonight, and I really think he might, just promise me you'll give him a chance."
Cameron sighed. "How many chances am I supposed to give him, Jimmy?" she asked tiredly.
"As many as it takes," Wilson said, dropping a friendly kiss on her cheek and walking off to take care of his own woman.
Cameron sighed again, too tired to think about the whole mess anymore. She went to the diagnostic office and gathered up her things. House's office was dark, he'd never come back to the OR after their little encounter, and Cameron knew he would have gone home long ago. As she drove home, she turned her radio to one of House's favorite stations and blasted the volume, just as he would have done. It was silly, and she knew it, but it made her feel better all the same.
She unlocked her apartment door and entered, dropping her keys and bag on the hall table. Shrugging out of her jacket she noticed a light on in her bathroom. It was odd, she was sure she'd turned all the lights off this morning. Walking down the hall, she noticed a light in her bedroom as well. She began to be afraid, for she was absolutely certain that light hadn't been on when she left. As she walked closer, she caught a hint of a fragrance and recognized the apple scented candle she kept in her room. Another few steps and she could hear piano music playing softly. Reaching the bedroom door, she tented her fingers and pushed it open slowly.
"Hi," he said.
"House," Cameron said, forcing her voice to sound annoyed, "what are you doing?"
"Waiting for you, I would have thought that was obvious," he replied, with just a trace of sarcasm.
Cameron sighed. "I mean, what are you doing here, in my bedroom, when I'm not home?"
"I wanted to talk to you. This is where you live, it seemed like the simplest solution," House said, again carefully masking the sarcasm.
"House," Cameron said, no longer forcing her voice to sound annoyed, as she was truly irritated.
"I need you to know I'm sorry," House said.
"And you thought the best way to apologize would be to break into my apartment?" Cameron asked.
"I figured it was my best shot of getting in the door," House replied honestly. Cameron softened. Maybe she wasn't the only one who was afraid. "I brought you some presents."
"That's not going to solve anything," Cameron said.
"No, but if you have gifts to open, you won't be looking at me while I talk," House said. "It's all about being practical."
Cameron raised an eyebrow. He wanted to talk? Will wonders never cease, she thought, but walked over slowly and sat beside him on the bed. He moved over, not to get away but to make room for her to open the gifts he now lifted from the floor and placed between them. He nodded for her to start and she looked at him questioningly.
"Start with the big one," House instructed, and Cameron did. As she unwrapped the box House indicated, he spoke. "I told you before that I wasn't that easy to get rid of. I meant it. I didn't wait almost three years to let you in just to shove you out again after a few months." He spoke to the floor, never looking at Cameron, all the while tapping his cane between his feet.
Cameron, sensing how hard this was for him, kept her attention firmly focused on the gift before her. Finished with the paper, she opened the box and removed a large, dark gray men's t-shirt. Confused, she unfolded it and laughed out loud. Screen printed on the front were the words 'Property of Allison Cameron, M.D.'. House smiled at her laugh, he had hoped the t-shirt would get that reaction. He nodded to the box again, still carefully avoiding making eye contact. Cameron looked and saw another t-shirt. She lifted the second shirt, a much smaller and lighter gray ladies' shirt and unfolded that as well. Smiling, she read 'Property of Gregory House, M.D.' on the front.
"Matching t-shirts?" Cameron asked softly.
"For the hospital Christmas party," House joked. "The nurses will have a field day. My little gift to the rumor mill."
"Which one next?" Cameron asked, studying the two remaining presents. One was a large manila envelope, and the second was a smaller box.
"The little one is last," House said, and Cameron tingled a bit. It looked about the size of a jeweler's box, but she was absolutely certain it did not contain an engagement ring. "It's not what you think," House said, confirming Cameron's thoughts.
She reached for the envelope and opened it, only to have two more envelopes slide out. She opened the first and unfolded the pages inside. She recognized the forms immediately and gasped. He had changed his medical proxy forms to show her instead of Wilson. Tears threatened, but she managed to hold them back. She opened the second envelope and found a key. She looked up, waiting for an explanation.
"I trust you," he said. Cameron turned the key over in her hands and noticed it was engraved. House's House, it read.
Cameron took a deep breath as she reached for the last box. She was already near tears when she opened what was, in fact, a jeweler's box to find a stunning pair of black pearl earrings.
"Black pearls?"
"Wilson said they're your birthstone," House replied, uncertainly.
"They are," Cameron answered reassuringly. "Black just isn't the traditional."
"I'm not really a traditional kind of guy."
"They're beautiful," Cameron said slowly.
"But?"
"Pearls are for tears," Cameron said quietly. It was probably silly, but she'd always hated her birthstone for that reason. She'd felt for a long time that the universe was cursing her to a life of sorrow. House stopped tapping his cane, but continued to stare at the floor. He was slow in answering, but finally spoke.
"I can't promise you a life without tears. In fact, I can tell you now I'll probably be the cause of a lot of them," House spoke quietly, and Cameron held her breath in order not to miss any nuance of his speech. "The only thing I can promise you is that if you want me, I'll be there to wipe them away."
The tears that had threatened now began to fall. House lifted his head from the floor and faced Cameron, watching the tears roll down her cheeks but still avoiding eye contact. He gently cupped her face with one hand and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
"There's one more thing," House said, finally meeting her eyes with his own. Cameron held her breath again, lost in the blue. "I love you."