Author's Note: Ok, here we go. If you like Cameron, I appreciate you sticking with the story because she's definitely going to be taking center stage. Please send me a review if you can- every single one makes my day. Hope you like where this is going.
House eyed his two colleagues standing together at the main desk in the hospital lobby with curiosity as he walked into PPTH. They were not standing side by side as one might expect to see, but rather closely facing one another. James Wilson was casually leaning against the massive reception desk resting his weight upon his left elbow, his right leg slightly extended past his satchel that sat on the floor by her feet. The object of his gaze, Lisa Cuddy was also looking at him with what appeared to be great interest.
Cuddy had on a navy blue lightweight trench coat, which meant that like Wilson, she had just arrived also. House watched as she shook her head slowly and laughed at something Wilson had just said.
"Hey kids. Waiting for the school bell to ring? Gosh, I hope we don't have a pop quiz in Biology today, they're just brutal," House said, sarcastically.
Wilson frowned slightly at his emotionally underdeveloped friend while Cuddy absentmindedly shuffled mail that she had just picked up from the receptionist in her hands.
"Well, you boys have a nice day. Try not to kill anyone," she said, as she shot House a stern look. "Dr. Wilson," she said, sweetly as she gave him a nod of dismissal. "House" she said, flatly while turning on her high heels towards her office.
House straightened the strap on his backpack while looking at his friend who had just picked up his satchel from the floor. "Brrr, icy" House said, as Wilson began to walk off without him. "Guess they have that rule about not dating people you work with for a reason" he said, still being ignored by his friend.
James Wilson pressed the up arrow to the elevator. "Yes, well some adults do manage to pull it off better than others," he said, flippantly.
"Oh, you kids and your lingo," House said, as the elevator doors opened. "So, what gives? You don't think that you both coming in at the same time and late I might add, isn't interesting?"
"Well, it might be if we were actually late," Wilson said, looking very annoyed. We were at the Rubling seminar across the campus. Ring any bells? I believe you were supposed to be there as well. And don't say that Cameron didn't tell you because I know she did. In fact she probably all but stitched it into your undershorts," his voice was irritated as he jabbed the '4' button on the inside elevator panel.
"Whoa-- whoa, whoa. Ease up there, big fella. Jeez, this guy wasn't a motivational speaker was he, because I'd seriously consider getting my money back," House said, sarcastically.
"So where were you?" Wilson pressed.
"Ahh…I had a thing. Too late to get out of--you know how that goes," House lobbed back.
Wilson shook his head as if highly annoyed. "You know, breaking up with her had to be hard enough, but do you have to disregard her authority at work?"
"Oh…Kay, so we're not talking about Rubick anymore?" House said, as the elevator doors quietly thumped open. "Rubling" Wilson corrected as House continued his rant. "Come on. You can't possibly tell me she's still upset over me breaking it off. That was months ago!"
"It was last week!" Wilson said, incredulously, as he unlocked his office door.
"Look, we talked. She said she was ok. She said she wasn't going to blur the line between personal issues and work. I thought she meant it. I didn't think she'd still be upset".
Wilson threw his bag down on his desk and began to rub imaginary knots out of his neck. "Just because she's got to be tough at work doesn't mean she's not still vulnerable" he said, slowly lightening his tone. "All I'm saying is go easy on her and don't dismiss her position at work. She is still you're boss".
Looking as close to apologetic as he ever gets, House nodded agreeably and pushed his way out of the balcony door and over the brick divider separating his office from Wilson's.
Wilson sat down in his chair and slowly smiled. He reached for the phone and hit the speed dial. "Got him" he said, to the voice on the other line. "I don't think we'll have to worry about him stepping on your toes- for a little while, anyway" and with that, Wilson hung up. On the other end of the line, Lisa Cuddy smiled mischievously as she disconnected the line and rang yet another new secretary.
"Megan, I need you to look up a number for me" she said, as a satisfied smile made its way across her face.
It had been a long day for Allison Cameron. She quickly glanced over to the clock on her car stereo to double check the time. 7:45 pm. Not a horribly unreasonable hour for a doctor, but considering the hospital had paged her when one of their patients coded, she'd been on duty since 4:30am. She laid her head against the headrest for a second or two before turning the motor over and putting the car in gear.
She needed to go to the store. If memory served her correctly, the only thing palatable left in her kitchen was some cheese, cereal and one questionable egg. For a second, she thought about stopping for fast food, but that wouldn't solve the problem for breakfast or the rest of the week.
She pulled her car into the parking lot of the market closest to her apartment. It was small and horribly overpriced having catered to and taken advantage of college students for years. But, she could get in and out quickly and the thought of driving to the other market several miles further away just didn't appeal to her as tired as she was.
She grabbed a cart and breezed up and down the aisles as if on a mission, slowing only to glance over an impressive selection of chilled wines in the refrigerator case several units over from where she picked up the milk. "Ah, why not?" she thought to herself as she pulled a couple bottles of white wine from the case. She hadn't drank since the night she had the schnapps and while she had no plans to repeat getting drunk as she did then, the thought of a nice glass of wine and a hot bath before bed was very appealing.
She might as well enjoy herself while she could, she thought. With still no solid interview lined up from her latest job contacts, she might actually be unemployed in a few weeks- something she did not relish experiencing again. Her stomach began to ache as she thought about the interviews House would be starting this week for her position. Shaking her head softly, she backed the cart up a few feet and pulled one more bottle of wine from the refrigerated case before guiding her cart towards the front of the store.
Thankfully, the line for the lone checkout was short and there was only one couple in front of her. Gauging by the fact that they were joined as one person, she deduced that they definitely were college students, probably not much older than 19 or 20. Cameron sighed aloud softly as she watched him pull back his girlfriend's long blonde hair, kissing the nape of her neck and shoulders; her right hand twisted behind her, firmly entrenched in his front jean pocket.
They laughed lightly as the cashier told them the total of their purchases and pulled an odd assortment of bills- mostly ones and quarters from half a dozen different pockets between them.
As he lifted one of his parcels over the conveyer belt, he accidentally knocked one of Cameron's frozen Lean Cuisine's off the moving belt. He quickly mumbled an apology as he surveyed the rest of the items she'd taken out of her cart. Cameron caught his gaze and looked over her selections as well; wine, frozen dinners, not too many bananas, half a dozen eggs, and a TV guide. She closed her eyes to keep from rolling them. She was the stereotypical single woman, she thought. When the hell did that happen?
The cashier quickly began scanning Cameron's items as the couple walked away. She could hear them laugh and didn't doubt at all that she was the object of their levity. "Plastic ok, ma'am?" the pimply-faced bagboy asked. "Oh, God" she cringed. "This day just can't get any worse".
As she drove home, she thought about her husband for the first time in a long time. While they were never quite as carefree as the couple in the market, they had been young and in love. And there's definitely something magical about a time when you have youth, beauty and love all in your pocket.
If she had it to do over again, she thought, she probably wouldn't have married him. She loved him, for sure, but the commitment to Steve's memory, his family –even her family, had put a strain on her that had taken years to ease away. Fresh tears began to well in her eyes as she sat waiting for the traffic light two blocks from her house to turn green. Oddly, they weren't for Steve as they usually were. But rather for herself and someone she knew could never love her back.