A/N: You can all thank the incredibly unpredictable weather of Michigan for this chapter. My soccer game was cancelled, giving me the time to write this much earlier than I thought I would be able to. Enjoy!

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Cameron walked into House's office with the sandwiches, to find him sitting at his desk. When his eyes met hers, she felt like she was drowning. The piercing blue was just as sharp as she remembered, but there was more pain behind them. It was all she could do to keep from dropping the sandwiches and wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey." She said in a near whisper, holding out the bag with his sandwich. He looked inside.

"Pickles?" He asked, by way of greeting. She smiled.

"Nope. Some things about you stick." House gestured towards a chair as he bit into his sandwich, the closest thing to an invitation she would ever have expected. She took a seat. They ate in silence, but surprisingly, it wasn't awkward. House finished first, and gave her the once-over with his piercing blue eyes. Finally, he spoke.

"So, in the past five years, you left with Chase, got a job halfway across the country, published several articles, left said job, left Chase, and ended up back here."

"That sounds about right." Cameron said, a little surprised by his bluntness. Even he wasn't usually like this.

"Why?"

"I just needed to...figure some things out." She replied, looking at her hands. She had hoped they would be able to avoid this conversation for a little while. "Look, House." She began, "I don't really want to talk about it right now." His gaze pierced her once again, and she could see in his eyes that he understood. She was more damaged than ever, but so was he.

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"Have you seen House?" Wilson asked, walking the office of Lisa Cuddy. She looked up from her paperwork.

"Not in the past few hours. He came in and went straight up to his office."

"I talked to Cameron a little while ago, and she hadn't seen him yet. You don't think he's avoiding her, do you?" Cuddy smiled a little at his question.

"No, I don't think so. He's a bastard, but I think he really missed her. He wants to see her. he just doesn't want us to know that."

"Okay. Just as long as they don't kill each other before the end of the day."

"Well, that would save the hospital a lot of legal fees."

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Back in the diagnostics room, Cameron and House had moved on to setting up Cameron's desk. Or rather, Cameron was setting up her desk and House was just watching, more than a little amused.

"Throw me some sticky notes, would you?" She asked him. He rummaged through her desk until he found a few. They were bright purple, and had probably been left there by her before she had moved away. House had no use for purple sticky notes.

"I need a stapler." She remarked, and began to move towards the door.

"Make Wilson get one." House replied, and lazily reached for the phone. Wilson, who had been standing by the office trying to figure out what was going on, jumped about two feet in the air when his cell phone rang.

"Dr. Wilson." He answered it, still breathing hard.

"Cameron needs a stapler." House's voice informed him.

"Cameron. Stapler. Got it."

"Oh, and by the way. I see you standing outside my office. You're about as subtle as Cuddy's funbags on low-cut Friday." The line went dead, and Wilson could see House and Cameron laughing through the glass. House winked at him and waved, and he left in search of a stapler.

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Wilson returned to House and Cameron's office about twenty minutes later, carrying only a stapler, but an electric pencil sharpener, a stack of file folders, and 6 months worth of House's charting as well. He pushed open the heavy door with difficulty, and dumped his load on House's already-cluttered desk.

"Cuddy says you need to get caught up on the charting since you can no longer use the excuse that the department depends on you being available."

"Dr. Cameron will get right on that."

"After Dr. Cameron sets up her stuff, that is." Cameron appeared from under her desk, where she had been hunting for an electrical outlet. Wilson handed her the various office supplies he had collected, and she thanked him.

"Hey, Dr. Cameron, why don't we go out to dinner tonight, since it's your first night back. You must be tired from moving. My treat." Cameron looked up from the mess that was her desk and smiled at the gesture.

"Thanks. I think I'll take you up on that, Wilson." Wilson cast an amused eye on House, who was glaring at him.

"What, do you want to come too?" He teased.

"Aww, Jimmy, a threesome's only fun if there's two girls!" House snarked back. Which meant he was coming.

"I'll meet you at O'Reilley's at eight." Wilson told the two of them, and left the office.

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The quiet returned after Wilson's departure, and Cameron finished setting up her desk. House had returned to his iPod, and was basically ignoring her. She stretched the muscles in her back and stood, gathering her stuff and preparing to go to the restaurant. She was walking out the door when House spoke.

"You're making the coffee tomorrow."

"I figured."

"And sorting my mail."

"If I didn't, it wouldn't get done." She knew he was trying to say something, but couldn't find the words. She sighed and said them for him. "It's good to be back." He pulled the iPod earbuds out of his ears and stood, walking over towards her.

"Come on." He implored her, "I'll drive you."