Author's Note: My apologies for the delay, everyone. I've had a loss in my family this past week . I hope to have another chapter soon.
Cameron stood motionless in House's office, completely thrown by his sudden shift in mood. Her head pounded, as the stress from constantly maintaining a facade that everything was alright, gripped tightly around her temples. She sighed, and slowly began to look around his office. How funny, she thought, that over the last two years, she'd come to memorize every book and odd personal knick knack.
She knew the way he liked things arranged on his desk and the peculiar places he hid his vicodin. She could tell how deeply in thought he was by subtle actions, like whether or not he closed his blinds and could usually predict his mood from the number of trips he made, or did not make throughout the day, to the coffeemaker. His office always smelled the same, a heady combination of his cologne, coffee and a vague hint of Scotch. It was masculine, arrogant and unequivocally, House.
She moved to stand behind his chair, running her hands over the smooth curves of its back before pushing it forward, tucking it under the lip of his desk. She self- consciously swept her fingers under the bottom lashes of each eye, wiping away any possible trace of moisture and smudged liner before walking out the door.
For the first time since House had been shot, Cameron felt completely lost. Without a case to work on, she was unable to retreat to her usual places of comfort. There were no tests to run in the lab, no patients to examine in the clinic and worst of all, no bidding of House's to occupy her time. She vacillated for a moment in front of the elevators, trying to decide whether to wait for the next car or take the stairs.
She closed her eyes and laughed softly under her breath when she realized it didn't really matter, since she had no place to go.
Nose deep in a patient's file, Wilson passed her on the way to his office. "Oh, Allison," he began, after seeing her slim form from the corner of his vision. "Dr. Charles is looking for you, something about going over to the Women's Clinic with him to check things out".
Without looking up at his face, she nodded her head and mumbled a quick, "thank you".
Wilson dropped the patient folder down to his side and gently reached out to touch her shoulder. "You okay?"
Cameron quickly looked up at his face before lowering her gaze once again to the lit elevator button. "I'm fine, thanks".
His eyes scanned over her puffy eyes and pink nose. "You've been crying. What happened?"
Instinctively, she moved her hands into her lab coat pockets. "No. It's nothing, really. It doesn't matter," she shrugged.
Wilson gently took hold of her arm, directing her away from the elevators to the doorway of his office. "If there is one thing I do get right about women, it's when they've been crying. I've made enough of them do it, I suppose. This wouldn't happen to be about House by any chance, would it?"
She smiled softly as she shook her head and lifted her face to his. "I don't know if I can explain it, exactly. It seems like ever since the shooting, I've felt as if everyday has been played at fast forward speed and I don't know how to stop it. It just hit me that in a little more than ten days, everything here will be in my past". The smile slowly left her face as she held his gaze, her eyes slightly red from trying to hold back her tears.
Wilson gently tapped the patient file against the side of his leg as he struggled for something appropriate to say. "I'm afraid I don't know how to make this right, Allison," his voice barely audible, even as close as they were to one another.
"Well, that makes two of us, anyway," she replied flatly, as she started to turn away.
"You may not think it, but this does tear him up. It's something he can't fix… can't remedy. You know that, don't you?"
Cameron turned slowly back to face Wilson. She ran a small, thin hand through her hair, pushing several loose strands around the back of her neck and over her shoulder.
She shook her head, softly. "You really think he wants to fix this, Dr. Wilson?"
"Yes, more than I think even he knows".
Cameron turned and walked to the stairwell entrance, pushing the door slightly open with her hip. "Then I guess that'll just have to be enough," she said, before she disappeared into the stairwell.
Sebastian excused himself from the conversation he was having with another Doctor in the lobby when he saw Cameron coming down the stairs.
"Dr. Cameron. I was just on my way up to find you. Are you busy? I was hoping you could walk over to the Women's Center with me. And, I need to ask you something…something that would involve getting dressed up" he said softly, as he brushed the side of his face up close to Cameron's ear.
Cameron managed a small smile as she studied his face. She wasn't sure why he had reappeared into her life at this particular time, but she decided it somehow had to be for a reason. She might not have control over having to leave House or the feelings she still had for him, but she could feel in control of where things went with Sebastian.
Sebastian's smile started to fade as he waited for her response. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd been crying. Did House say something?"
"No, nothing like that," she lied. "I guess I'm just a little emotional this week, that's all. And, I'm not busy," she said, abruptly changing the subject. "I'd be happy to go with you over to the Women's Center. As it turns out, I don't have a thing to do for the rest of the day. Ready?"
Sebastian debated with himself whether to press her any further, deciding it was probably best to change the subject, as she had just done. "Well, let's go then," he said, his hand lightly touching the small of her back as he led them towards the doors. Cameron looked back at him as they started down the sidewalk.
"So, now about getting all dressed up..." she smiled, as she tried to push her thoughts of House down deeper to the back of her mind.
From his balcony, James Wilson watched the couple as they made their way across the street towards the college campus. His gaze shifted to House's office, noting that he'd already shut his blinds. Not exactly a good sign, he thought to himself as he walked slowly back into his office. His body dropped heavily into the seat of his desk chair. For the first time, he began to regret trying to manipulate the paths of two people for whom he cared about very deeply.