It was a few weeks later that House was taking a file to Cameron's office. The door was closed and he knocked before peeking his head inside. As he did so, he saw Cameron pick up her phone and wave him inside. Apparently, she'd been on speakerphone. And she was having a conversation that she didn't want House to hear.
It had to be the ex.
He took a seat and watched her. Her brow was furrowed as she listened to whatever was being said on the other line. She looked to House, rolled her eyes heavenward, and held her hand out for the file that he was carrying. He handed it over and she slammed it down onto her desk.
"Because I said so and I don't want them involved!" she said through gritted teeth.
House quirked an eyebrow and listened. Cameron was so pissed off that he was pretty sure she wouldn't even notice him there as she slammed things around on her desk.
"Because they don't need to be involved," she continued, pulling out a pen and signing off on some billing statements. "This isn't their divorce; it's our divorce." A pause as she stacked the statements neatly to the side of her desk. "Yes, I realize that they want to be a means of support for you through this horribly rough time," she drawled snidely. "However, they don't need to know the concrete statements of the settlement. And if you continue to hand over the information, you'll be hearing from my lawyer for confidentiality infringement."
House smirked and sat back in his chair. Oh, but he was going to enjoy this show; probably far more than he actually should.
"No, for your information. I've kept the details of our split to the bare minimum. The only thing that my colleagues know is that I'm in the middle of a divorce settlement. And by the way, your continuous calls count as harassment."
He cringed when she tightened her little hand into a fist and started shaking. What the hell was this guy saying to her?
"I was never such a cold woman, you bastard. Never. I was there for you the entire time you had…"
House was stunned when he saw her eyes fill with tears.
"I'm not having this conversation now. Goodbye, Richard." She slammed down the phone and wiped at her eyes, embarrassed when she noticed that House was still in her office. "Why are you still here? You should be back to work. What does this hospital pay you to do?"
"I'm entitled to a break every hour," he responded, watching her. "What did he want this time?"
"None of your business, Dr. House."
"I've noticed… You get pissed off at me and I'm Dr. House again. You're okay with me and I'm just House. Why is that?"
Her voice shook when she spoke again. "Please remove yourself from my office."
"My god, the ice woman cries." He stood his ground and watched as a tear trickled down her cheek.
"Leave me be," she whispered quietly. "I don't want you here right now." Another tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away angrily. "Get out, House!"
"No." He stood and moved so that he sat on the corner of her desk. "This is the first time I've seen you cry in about a decade; I can't miss this opportunity."
The tears finally came out in succession, and she grabbed a tissue to hide her face from him. She didn't speak any more; didn't try to make him leave or order him away from her. She just sat there and cried silently.
House frowned. "What did he say to you?" he asked curiously, a bit of concern showing through in his voice. "I mean, to make you get all teary when you were a pillar of strength not fifteen minutes ago?"
She wiped her eyes and nose, tossing the tissue in the trash and grabbing a new one to blow her nose delicately, which made House smirk. Who the hell blew their nose in a delicate manner? "He just knows what to say to upset me, that's all," she said softly. "It isn't really a problem; nothing to concern yourself with."
"I'm not concerning myself with it," he commented. "I'm just dying to know."
"I'm not telling you," she whispered, reaching into her desk for hand sanitizer and squirting some into her palm, rubbing it in until it dried. "I don't think it's going to affect our working relationship as to whether or not you know, which means you don't need to know."
"But I want to."
"I'm not giving you what you want, so you're going to have to deal with that." She placed the sanitizer back in her desk and stood, collecting her billing statements. "We're through here." She headed for her door with the intent to leave, thwarted by his next statement.
"He called you cold, didn't he?" House asked, eyes piercing Cameron with their intensity. When she stopped dead in her tracks, he knew he was on to something. "Did he tell you that you were uncaring? Unable to have any compassion?" He paused, studying her rigid form. "Did he say you didn't care about him?"
He heard a strangled sob and a hesitantly whispered, "Yes."
"And you believed him."
"No."
"Then why are you so upset by it?"
"It hurts," she whispered, leaning a hand against the door and hanging her head as she sobbed openly. "It hurts to know that he never loved me."
"Never?"
"I was his trophy," she cried, dropping her billings and leaning against the door, sliding down to the floor. "He wanted a beautiful woman to hang on his arm and I fell for all of it. The fake charm, the flowers, the gorgeous engagement ring." She buried her face in her hands and her hair fell over like a curtain, blocking her from House's intense gaze. "He made me feel like a princess… For our wedding, he bought me a three thousand dollar dress because it was made exactly the way I'd always dreamed it would be."
House frowned as he listened to Cameron's broken ramblings. What had this guy done to make her think she was nothing more than a trophy…?
"He took me on a month-long honeymoon," she continued, not bothering to wipe her tears anymore. It almost felt good to cry openly again. "We went all over the world; anywhere I wanted to go, he would take me. I saw Japan and Egypt and South Africa. He took me to Paris and all on his private jet." She swallowed, trying to stop the sobbing; but now that it had started, it refused. "Everything was fine for the first few years. He was perfect; we were so perfect. And then things just fell apart. He said that I didn't care about him or his life, that I was this horrible, selfish person."
She raised her eyes to House's, and he was struck by the absolute sadness there. She looked alone, desperate, and truly heartbroken.
"I'm not selfish," she whispered brokenly. "I'm not selfish."
Still stunned, he walked over to her and slowly made his way down the wall to sit next to her. "You're not selfish," he affirmed softly.
"I'm not selfish…" she repeated, shaking her head and wiping at her tears.
He could barely believe what he was seeing. Cameron wasn't selfish; not in the least. But she was, quite obviously, way more damaged than he'd originally thought.
It was two days later that the shit hit the fan. Cameron was in House's office, berating him for his treatment of a patient. He was very busy ignoring her when he saw a man looking around as though he were lost.
The man was tall and lean and wearing a very expensive-looking black suit. He had black hair and wore silver, wire-frame glasses. Very sleek. Very rich. House smirked. "Looks like someone's here to see you," he said, cutting off Cameron's latest rant.
She rolled her eyes. "And who would that be?" she asked, exasperated with House's behavior as of late.
"Judging by the very expensive clothing, I'm guess it's your oh-so-wonderful ex-hubby." He nodded to the window and Cameron looked, letting out an angry sigh after doing so. "You don't seem happy."
She rolled her eyes once more. "Imagine me not being happy to see Richard here." She bit her bottom lip, a move that House hadn't seen her do for … well … years. "I … might need to ask you a favor," she said quietly.
Well, this would be good. "And what might that be?"
"I want Richard to think I've moved on," she said hesitantly. "Could you … maybe … just … act the part? I mean, until he leaves."
House quirked an eyebrow and smirked. "You want me to play the part of your new lover?" he asked.
"Well … yes. Just until he leaves, of course. I'll give you time off clinic," she persuaded.
"Well in that case…" He looked at Richard, who was still staring blankly around, and nodded. "You've got a deal. I'll be your lover," he said mischievously.
She wasn't very fond of his tone of voice and suspected that he might be up to something, but she took a breath to calm herself and walked confidently to the door, opening it and putting a hand on her hip. "Lost?" she asked sweetly.
Richard turned and gave her a polite smile. "I was told you'd be in Diagnostics. Of course, no one told me where that was…" He walked into the office without being invited and his eyes rested condescendingly on House. "I take it you're one of Allison's workers?"
House smirked. Oh, but this would be fun. "They pay me in food and board and everything. When I'm bad, they even whip me and make me tell them that I'll be a good nigg-"
"Richard, this is Dr. House," Cameron cut in. "He's the head of Diagnostics here at Princeton-Plainsboro." She gave House a look that practically begged him to stay in line. "Dr. House, this is Richard Markham."
"The ex," House commented, studying the man with a keen eye.
"Allison's spoken of me, then?"
"All the time," House drawled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I hear you're rotten in the sa-."
"Richard," Cameron cut in again. "Might I inquire as to why you're visiting me at work?"
"I've been trying to reach you by phone," Richard drawled boredly. "But you weren't answering. I figured this was the best place to find you, seeing as how you work all of the time." He made a face that showed that he clearly turned his nose up to such things.
"That would be my fault," House said with a small smile. He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone, which was identical to Cameron's. "She left it at my place last night." He tossed the phone to her. "Couldn't answer it if she couldn't hear it ringing."
Richard quirked an eyebrow and turned to Cameron. "Having an affair with your underling?"
"Dr. House isn't my underling," she commented, flipping open the phone and pretending to check missed calls. "He's my colleague. And it ceased to be an affair when I filed for divorce," she commented with a smile. "So sorry I missed your calls… Must be something important for you to come all the way to the hospital."
Richard frowned. "I would prefer to discuss this without your current lover in the room."
"Too bad," House commented, standing and crossing to Cameron, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her in close to him. "Anything you have to say to Allison, you have to say to me. It's really that simple, Dick."
"I prefer Richard."
"I'm sure."
"Gentlemen." Cameron leaned into House, hand resting on his chest and head resting near his shoulder. "What was it you needed to speak to me about, Richard?"
"Mother doesn't want Lydia," he drawled, sounding rich, snotty, and bored out of his mind. "She suggest that you take Lydia, as you picked her out."
Cameron frowned. "You came to my work to bother me about the dog?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"That's only a portion of it. My lawyer has suggested a mediation session so as to keep this nice and quiet. Wouldn't want the family in an uproarish scandal, you know."
"Richard, a divorce is hardly a scandal," Cameron commented. "We don't need a mediation session; you just need to listen to what I want."
"Yes, always what you want, isn't it?" Richard asked airily.
House frowned and tightened his hold on Cameron. "Funny…" he said, eyes glaring daggers at Cameron's ex-husband. "Allison doesn't strike me as a very selfish person. Matter of fact, she gives a lot. She gives her time, she gives her money, she gives great hea-."
"Greg," Cameron snapped.
House smirked and leaned down, placing a kiss on Cameron's exposed neck. "You know I'm only joking," he murmured into her ear.
A shiver ran down her spine and she felt his lips play lightly at her earlobe before retracting. She swallowed and cleared her throat, giving Richard the same polite smile he'd given her earlier. "No mediation sessions, Richard. I want at least one quarter of the money; I've earned it spending six years with you when I could have had someone like Greg."
"How low," Richard sneered. "I'd thought that you loved me."
"I'd thought that, too," Cameron commented softly. "But you weren't who I'd made you out to be, Richard. I deserve compensation for the years of emotional brutality I spent with you."
"Emotional brutality!" Richard exclaimed. "I bought you anything you wanted! I gave you emeralds for your birthday!"
"All the riches in the world can't buy a woman," House jumped in, the hand around Cameron's waist going down to rest on her hip and play there, twisting her shirt so that he could feel the skin beneath it. "If you don't treat her right, she's not going to stay with you."
"Yes, you look like quite the debonair man with that cane," Richard spat.
House held up his cane. "Oh, this?" He caught Cameron's eye and winked. "It's a lot handier than you give it credit for."
Cameron blushed and grinned, and Richard stormed toward the door. "You'll be hearing from my lawyer, Allison!"
"I expect as much," she replied in a mutter, not quite sure that he'd heard her.
When he was gone, House went back to his desk and sat there as if nothing had happened. Cameron watched him with wide eyes. Her skin still tingled where he'd had his hand… Her face was still flushed from his innuendo about the cane… Oh, God.
She was falling for Greg House all over again.