A/N: I'm pleased to announce that this story has surpassed every other story I have written in reviews! To commemorate this historic event, I reward you with a new chapter.
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Cameron woke up at 5:30 to the sound of her alarm clock's generic buzzer. Sighing, she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, secretly delighted that today was the day she would finally be going back to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. She sang to herself as she shampooed her hair, looking forward to the day ahead of her. She hummed as she picked out her clothes, smiled all the way through her breakfast of cereal and fruit, and practically skipped out the door to her car.
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House was rudely awoken at the ungodly hour of 7:30, when he felt himself crash into something hard. Strange, he thought, his bed wasn't hard. Which meant he was on the floor. He groaned as he opened his eyes, and glared accusingly at his right leg. It didn't like the fact that he was on the floor any more than he did. He grabbed his cane from the spot of empty floor space he had tossed it on last night, and used it to knock his trusty Vicodin bottle off of the bedside table. Popping several pills, he grimaced and hauled himself to his feet.
He dug through the pile on the floor for several minutes and eventually found a shirt that smelled pretty clean. He pulled it over his head, not bothering to shower or shave. He ate four doughnuts out of the box on the counter as he watched his morning cartoons. Finally, he ran out of ways to procrastinate and grabbed the keys to his bike. Today was going to be either awful or great. He had a feeling it would be the former.
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Cameron entered the hospital at 7:30 on the nose, and walked purposefully towards Cuddy's office. After being welcomed back by her boss, she climbed the stairs to the Diagnostics Department. It looked the same as it had five years ago, with the exception of an extra desk in House's office. She assumed it was hers. She walked to the coffee maker and started a pot. Peeking in the cupboard, she was amused to see that House's favorite red mug was still around.
She sat herself down in House's office chair and logged on to his computer, another smile crossing her face as she realized that House hadn't changed his password while she had been gone. She figured his mail hadn't been read in a very long time, so she began the time-honored ritual of sorting it for him.
She hadn't been there long when she was interrupted by a very excited Wilson, who came bounding into the office after hearing from Cuddy that she was back. She was almost knocked over by his friendly hug, but grinned at him like a long-lost brother. It felt so good to be back. Wilson stayed for a while, and chatted with her about the goings-on at the hospital in recent years. He was forced to leave when his pager went off, but promised to return later in the day and fill her in on all the gossip.
It was only 8:30, and she figured House wouldn't be in until after 9, so she decided to do a few of his clinic hours for him, as a special treat. She grabbed his name badge and signed into the clinic.
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House pulled into the parking lot at PPTH at a quarter to ten. He knew Cuddy wouldn't care who was late for work today, with all the excitement about Cameron's return. Convenient for him, he decided. Maybe he could use that good mood of hers to get rid of a few clinic hours. He limped to the elevator and pressed the button for the floor of the Diagnostics Department. When he arrived, he went straight for his office, hoping to avoid Cameron for a little while at least. He wanted to see her first.
He was surprised to see that she had already been there, and had made coffee, and was happy to find that her coffee-making skills had not diminished during her absence. Sitting at his computer, he saw that she had already sorted his mail. Which was a good thing, he decided, because he hadn't done it in months.
He settled himself happily in his chair as he turned on his Game Boy and stuffed his iPod headphones into his ears. Maybe it would be a good day after all.
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At 3: 30, Cameron signed out of the clinic. She had worked straight through the day, not even stopping for lunch. She stopped in the cafeteria on her way back up to Diagnostics, and grabbed a sandwich. After a moment's hesitation, she bought a sandwich for House too. She hoped he still liked rubens. She took a deep breath as she stepped into the elevator. She was going to see him again, for the first time in five years.
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House's batteries ran out in the middle of the afternoon. He searched through his desk for a couple more double A's, but there were none to be found. Turning his attention to the computer, he was surprised to learn that it was already quarter to 4. He'd been up here all day. He hadn't even blackmailed Wilson into buying him lunch yet. He popped a few more Vicodin, and moved to stand up when someone came through his office door. A small, brunette someone in a labcoat. House looked up and was met with a very familiar pair of eyes. He was standing face to face with Allison Cameron for the first time in five years.
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A/N: Yes, I know, I'm a terrible person for using the all-too-popular plot device known as a cliffhanger. I promise the next update will be soon.