Chapter 11

House reached into his coat pocket and withdrew his cell phone. Flipping it open, he dialed Cameron's number. It rang only twice before she answered.

"Dr. Allison Cameron-House speaking," she chirped.

"None of that hyphenation crap. You're mine and everyone is going to know it," House growled, feeling happier than he could remember feeling in years. He barely even noticed the throbbing in his leg as he grabbed his cane and began limping to the elevator.

"Uh-huh," Cameron replied. "How's your patient?"

"Alive," House answered shortly, now stabbing at the elevator buttons impatiently with the tip of his cane. "Where are you?"

"The Thai place you like, waiting for you to call," Cameron replied.

"Skip the food. How fast can you be at my apartment?" House asked, stepping inside the elevator that had finally arrived and jabbing the button for the lobby. "I'll be home in ten minutes."

"We have to eat," Cameron replied sensibly. "Besides, I've been standing here nearly two hours. If I don't order something they'll probably have me arrested for loitering."

"Fine, food then my place," House ordered, stepping into the lobby before the elevator doors had even finished opening.

"Anxious are you? We have the rest of our lives you know. Besides, I rented a movie for us," Cameron replied.

"We won't be watching it," House promised, his voice pitched low. He shivered as he stepped outside, not having bothered to button his coat before leaving the building. He reached his car and paused, hooking his cane in the crook of his elbow while he fished for his keys.

"Really? And I thought Naughty Nurses was your favorite," Cameron teased, wishing she could see the expression on House's face.

"You rented Naughty Nurses?" House asked, incredulous. He thought she must be joking; judging from the way she blushed at his endless stream of sexual innuendo he'd assumed her to be uncomfortable about sex outside the bedroom.

"I thought maybe we'd be inspired," Cameron purred.

"You win, food and a movie," House said, grinning at the throaty chuckle this elicited on the other end of the phone.

House took longer than expected in getting home, due to a traffic accident a mile from his apartment. Nearly dancing with anticipation, he limped as quickly as possible to his front door and threw it open. Cameron was waiting for him, wearing her 'Property of Gregory House, M.D.' t-shirt and a pair of his boxer shorts. He had never seen anything quite so beautiful in his entire life.

He limped to her slowly, and took her left hand in his right. Lifting her hand to his lips, he lightly kissed the ring she now wore, and she smiled. House turned Cameron's hand over and kissed her palm. Continuing up her arm, he dropped light kisses on her skin until he reached her shoulder. Then lifting his head slightly, he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Cameron blushed, as she always did when he spoke to her in that growling sort of whisper. He'd assumed, incorrectly, that she blushed with embarrassment. She blushed with heat and desire. She wasn't sure he had any idea that equal to how much she loved him was how much she wanted him. Tonight, she intended to be certain he got the message. Turning her head to the left, she caught his earlobe between her teeth and bit down lightly, an action she knew he loved. Having gained his full attention, she whispered back to him in words that caused a blush to rise on House's cheeks, as well as causing a rise in other areas.

Forgetting the food and the movie, House dropped his cane on the floor and gripped Cameron's slender hips. Making his way slowly, partly to avoid hurting his leg but mostly to draw out the building heat between them, he walked toward his bedroom. They continued kissing and whispering to each other down the hall, until they reached the bed. As the back of Cameron's legs hit the side of the mattress, the phone began to ring.

"Ignore it," House said and for once Cameron was willing. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, not for the first time annoyed at his insistence in layering his clothing. Impatient now, she pulled his t-shirt off over his head and reached around to trail her nails lightly over his back. Groaning, House barely noticed as the answering machine in the living room picked up.

'If I wanted to talk to you I would have answered the damn phone.' Beep.

"Greg dear, it's your mother," her voice wafted into the bedroom.

House groaned, in frustration rather than passion and rested his forehead on Cameron's shoulder. Nothing put a damper on an amorous mood quite like your mother's voice, regardless of how old you were.

"I haven't heard from you dear and I'm beginning to worry. I'm sure you wouldn't have actually gotten married today without telling me, so I do hope this doesn't mean that she said no. Please call me and put an old woman's mind at ease, won't you? Goodbye dear."

House heaved out a sigh. He should have remembered the date and called his mother. He waited for Cameron to scold him. He didn't wait long.

"Greg, why would your mother think you were getting married today?" Cameron asked.

"She's a hopeless romantic?" he offered.

"Somebody is," Cameron muttered, amused. "How long were planning to ask me?"

"Few weeks," House replied, once more kissing her neck. He'd really rather have this conversation in the morning, or never.

"What took you so long?" Cameron asked, trying her best not to melt.

House shrugged and kissed his way up the side of her neck to her ear. He kissed her softly, letting his warm breath raise the hairs on her neck. Entwining his long fingers in her hair, he angled her face to his and kissed her deeply. She responded immediately, and when House heard that small hum in the back of her throat he knew there would be no further conversation.

Moments later the phone rang a second time. Neither House nor Cameron bothered to acknowledge it until the voice on the answering machine reached their ears.

"Gregory, this is your father."

Cameron tensed, and flopped back against the pillows. In utter frustration, House paused in his current task and let his head rest against Cameron's now bare stomach. If his mother had momentarily ruined the mood, his father was now almost certainly killing it.

"I just heard your mother leave what I'm sure is her fifth message on your answering machine. I don't what you're doing that's so important you can't pick up the phone and tell your mother when you're getting married, but I expect she'll be hearing from you soon."

Before his father could get any further along, House reached across Cameron and picked up the phone by the bed.

"Dad, I just walked in the door," he lied, and Cameron frowned at him. He sat up slowly, his neck and back tensing more with each word from the other end of the phone. Cameron, unable to hear the other part of the conversation, wondered what his father could be saying that made House look so tense and unhappy in the space of a minute.

"No Dad, I didn't forget. I just wasn't ready to talk about it until …" House hung his head resolutely. Cameron frowned again. This was not the House she knew. He looked like a little boy being scolded.

"She only said yes a few hours ago and I …" House now lifted his head to look at the ceiling, face contorted into a combination pout and scowl. "Yes, I'll talk to Mom."

Cameron scooted across the bed to kneel behind him and began to massage his now incredibly tense shoulders.

"Hi Mom. I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner, we had a little delay in the proceedings here," House said, slowly relaxing now that his father's influence had been removed. He noticed Cameron's hands on his shoulders and relaxed further as she tried to work out the tension.

"Yes, she said yes," House said, rolling his neck from left to right and enjoying Cameron's hands on him. "No we haven't made any plans yet," House continued, as Cameron began kissing his neck and shoulders. "I'll call you as soon as we have something definite … I love you too." House hung up the phone.

"Everything okay?" Cameron asked him quietly.

"Fine," House lied. Cameron nodded, accepting his answer for the time being. She had the rest of her life to hear about his father, and she wasn't about to let him ruin their night together.

"Well, lets see if I can make it better than fine," Cameron whispered in his ear. More than happy to forget all about his parents, House turned and took her in his arms. Not once, but several times that night did Cameron make things better than fine.