Globes and Maps:
Part Four
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A/N: Sorry, guys, I made you wait a little longer than I intended! We're at the end of semester and things are getting busy. I hope the chapter is good enough to make you forgive me! ;)
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Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.
Abstract: Post Ep. 608, Teamwork. Five years after leaving PPTH, Cameron is roaming an antique store when she comes across the last person she expected (or wanted) to see. HC.
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House and Cuddy didn't know how to react to each other at work and chose to try to ignore each other instead. Rumors whirled about what had happened to the pair, but the truth was revealed to no one.
Their home lives were uncomfortable at best. Cuddy struggled. How do you explain this kind of thing to a child?
House normally enjoyed his solitude, but this week would have rather had some distraction. His thoughts were confusing. Of course he didn't have feelings for Cameron. He couldn't. It was Cameron. Obviously he was just missing his freedom.
But if that was the case, why wasn't he happy to be home alone?
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Wilson barged in to House's office. "House, what the hell is going on?"
"I'm working," House said. Wilson's eyes flicked to the TV. General Hospital was on.
Wilson sat across the desk from House. "What's going on with you and Cuddy?"
"Nothing," House said facetiously, his eyes on the TV. "Can't this wait for commercial?"
"No, it can't," Wilson said, exasperatedly. "She's upset."
"Then go console her, Casanova," House snarled.
"That's not my place, House," Wilson said in a warning tone.
"It isn't mine either. She kicked me out."
"And you obviously did something to cause it," Wilson pressed.
House sighed, conceding. "Keep in mind I'm only talking so you'll go away sooner," he said, annoyed. "Apparently I'm not committed enough. She got pissed 'cause I showed up late and haven't sold the condo yet. It's not a big deal. She's delusional," House said, eyes trained on the television.
"Obviously it is a big deal," Wilson argued. "It doesn't matter whether you think she's delusional or not. What matters is whether you're willing to do the things you need to do to stay with her. Is this worth losing her over?"
House didn't answer. He stared at the TV, but his thoughts were now elsewhere.
"Is this about Cameron?" Wilson said suddenly.
"No!" House exploded. "This is not about Cameron. That's a completely separate issue!" House said, perhaps a bit unconvincingly.
Wilson sighed. This was getting him nowhere. "Look," he said tiredly. "If you can't commit and give her what she wants, its better not to string her along like you're doing. If you can't do this, you need to let her go."
"I'm sure you'd love that," House said under his breath.
"What?" Wilson asked, not quite hearing.
House shook his head. "Nothing."
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Cameron's week was business as usual. Work consumed nearly her every thought. She worked Saturday morning, but she spent the afternoon at home in the library. She wondered if the doorbell might ring. It never did.
The weekend came and went with no sign of House. Though she hated herself for it, she felt a hint of disappointment.
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House didn't know if he wanted to visit Cameron again. It didn't seem like a good idea. He was confused.
He had feelings for her once.
But a man couldn't be a man if he felt nothing when he looked at her! She was every man's dream.
For him she was more. She was the one who got away. A pure, untouched ideal.
But sometimes the story isn't that simple. She didn't just get away. He pushed her. A hundred times she handed him her heart and waited for a response he couldn't give.
Was he still so cold?
He wasn't sure the answer mattered to him. But he knew it would matter to Cameron.
He already knew the answer. He had been that cold to Lisa.
He had to end this.
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House leaned on a doorbell.
The door whipped open to reveal Lisa Cuddy's face. "What do you want?" she asked, her defenses up.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry," House said, looking at the ground. "I've been a jerk."
"Yeah," Cuddy affirmed, giving him a challenging look. "You have."
"I know." He paused. "I never meant to hurt you."
"I know," she said, her arms folded across her chest.
"I've been fighting and running for a long time," House reflected. "But I know where I belong."
Cuddy's eyebrows rose slightly, a trace of hope in her eyes. House stepped close to her. "Goodbye, Lisa," he said softly. Cuddy's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be what you needed. I could have tried harder," House said, looking at his feet.
She shook her head. "You can't change who you are, Greg." Her voice was resigned.
House turned slowly and headed to the door. He stopped suddenly when he reached the doorframe.
" Wilson has feelings for you," he blurted out. "He tried to hide them from me, but…" He shrugged. "I just thought you should know."
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House felt remorse, but perhaps not as much as he should have. A different person would have guilted himself, berated himself endlessly until he felt that his pain was sufficient. House didn't. It just wasn't him.
He sped towards Cameron's house on his motorcycle until he felt a vibration at his hip and a loud ring. The hospital was calling. Cameron would have to wait.
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When House finally had the time to visit her, he didn't. Instead he berated himself for heading over there without a plan. So he stayed home and thought.
Cameron, with weeks of loneliness behind her, assumed she wouldn't see him again.
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Finally, after weeks of planning, House rang the bell at Cameron's. He fingered an envelope nervously. This was madness, and yet, he had to do it.
It was too late to back out now.
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Cameron lifted herself off the sofa with a sigh, setting down her glasses next to her laptop. She didn't usually have visitors this late. Who was she kidding; she didn't usually have visitors at all.
She wondered if it might be House. She opened the door… It was.
"House," she said in surprise, unable to hide a bit of happiness in her voice.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Of course. Want anything to drink?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I just came in to give you this." He handed her the slim envelope he had been holding.
She looked at him in confusion but took the envelope. "What is it?" she asked.
"Open it," he urged.
Cameron carefully opened it to find a couple slips of paper. She examined the first one. "A… ticket to London?" she asked in disbelief, looking up at House with uncertainty.
He nodded. "Your ship leaves from Southampton, but I thought you might like to see the big city first."
Cameron still stared at him in bewilderment, not understanding. He motioned for her to look at the second page. It was a cruise itinerary.
"You didn't say where you wanted to go, so I thought a cruise was best. You hit more places that way." He paused. "You have your passport, right?"
Cameron stared in shock. When she spoke, her voice was far too calm. "I'll reimburse you for the tickets. How much were they?" She quickly walked towards the hall table to dig in her purse for her checkbook.
House stopped her with a hand on her arm. "They're a gift."
She shook her head. "I can't accept them."
House pulled her around to fully face him, his hand rough on her arm. "You don't have a choice," he said in a low voice, their faces inches apart. Cameron's heart raced.
"But…" she began. God, it was so hard to think this close to him! "What about work?" she managed to ask. She silently berated herself. She was far too old to be affected by him like a teenager.
"It's been taken care of," he said. He stared at her probingly.
Cameron finally relented and nodded. House let go of her arm and she took a step back. The spell was broken.
Cameron stared at the plane ticket and cruise itinerary in her hands. "Am I going alone?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't know if—"
House cut her off. "You run an entire hospital every day! You aren't telling me that you can't handle going on a measly little vacation alone, are you?"
She shook her head slightly.
"Good," House said with a slight smile.
"And don't think about skipping out," he added. "I'll be making sure you get on that plane myself."
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A/N: Okay… am I forgiven? :D