Allison relaxed in the bathtub of the hotel room. She sat with her head back, thinking about the afternoon spent with James Wilson. She was surprised by how much she had enjoyed being with him, talking about things. They'd danced around a lot of what each had wanted to know, perhaps it had been for the best. She'd thought that maybe he was part of her past, but she had been really glad to see him. Memories of PPTH and the people she'd worked with and loved paraded through her mind as well. She wanted to ask if Chase was doing okay, but had hesitated. She really didn't want to know if he was doing much better without her there. And then there was House. Finding out he'd been in a relationship with Cuddy still stung a bit. No matter that she'd loved and married Robert, a little bit of her still had feelings for him. No matter that she blamed him for ruining Chase. No matter that she'd fled Princeton because of him.
She sighed. She really didn't want to think of House or her old job. Especially didn't want to think of Chase. But being in Wilson's presence brought a lot of feelings out in her. She found she was happy to see him. He was the only one she'd tried to keep in touch with after she left. They had emailed and chatted a couple of times, but had started to drift. It had been a couple of months since the last time she'd heard from him but seeing him had felt so good. And she found she was looking forward to spending some more time with him at this dinner tonight.
Allison felt a shiver go through her and realized the bath water was getting cool. It was time to get out and get ready for dinner. She grabbed a towel and dried off, going out into her room to pick something to wear. She surveyed what she'd brought with dissatisfaction. She'd brought some nice outfits, but nothing to impress the man she'd be with. The thought stopped Allison cold. She wanted to impress Wilson?, she thought with panic. Why?, she questioned herself. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her in all manner of disarray, mussed and looking the worse for wear, after hours of working in the E.R. But right now, here, she wanted to wear something to make him see her as someone besides a doctor and a friend. She wanted this to be like a date.
She sat down on the bed, surprised at the revelation she'd just had. She questioned everything about this. She wondered why, after all these years of knowing him. Maybe it was just an attempt to reconnect with her old life, the one she'd fled from. She shook her head, throwing off the feeling. This was simply a dinner between two old friends and she rarely got a chance to play dress up. That was all. Besides, she'd left her husband for being influenced by House. She wasn't about to start up with the man who was House's best friend and had been ruined by him years before they'd ever met. That was what she tried to tell herself anyway.
Going through her choices, she settled on a flowing casual dress, in blue and white. She set about drying her hair and then doing her makeup. It was nearing six-thirty by the time she finished up, putting a shawl around her shoulders as a final touch. She heard a knock on her door and went to open it.
"Right on time." Allison said to James.
"Always." he smiled at her.
God, she thought to herself, his smile. No wonder so many women fell for him, he had a beautiful smile. She wondered why she'd never really noticed it before. Stop it!, she thought to herself. It's just Wilson! She grabbed her purse, threw in her room key and left the room with him. He offered her his arm, which she took and they proceeded to the elevator. It didn't take them long to get to the dining room, where they were promptly seated. Wilson held out her chair for her and helped her get seated before taking his own chair. The waitress took their drink order, before leaving them to look through the menu.
"You look wonderful tonight, Allison." James complimented her, appreciating what he seen.
She blushed a little. She wasn't much used to hearing compliments anymore, and the fact that he was saying it to her made her happy. But then, Wilson would have said anyway, cause he was nice, she told told herself.
"Thank you. It's one of my favorite dresses."
"Well, it suits you. You should dress that way more often." He smiled at his silliness.
"Where would I wear it? Running diagnostics? Checking on lab cultures?" she smiled to let him know she was joking.
"I meant outside the hospital, Allison. Not that I seen you much outside of PPTH, but it's a good look for you. Maybe get you out on a few more dates."
"Maybe I don't want to date, James. I haven't exactly been lucky with the men I've chosen." Allison looked at her menu.
"Maybe you just hadn't found the right one yet."
"Maybe. Is this where I say "someday my prince will come?" she joked, trying to lighten the suddenly somber mood.
"You could. Or maybe you could say you just haven't found the right one yet, the one who would appreciate Allison Cameron." He was being serious. He noticed something in her that had changed since he'd last seen her. Something akin to defeat and having given up. He didn't like seeing her that way.
"So what looks good to you?" Allison asked, abruptly changing the subject. She was tired of this probing, not wanting to discuss her non-existant love life.
James looked at her, wanting to say "you do", but refrained. Instead he looked at the menu, before saying the chicken in a creamy garlic sauce looked rather good. When the waitress came back, that's what both of them ordered, along with an order of the house bread.
They sat and made small talk about the conference, dodging the more personal stuff again. Allison was glad for that. She'd never been one to pour her heart out to anyone, even someone she'd been a shoulder to cry on for. It's like their past friendship was bonding them together this week, but they were taking babysteps towards something else.
The evening passed rather quickly, moreso than Allison would have liked. She'd been relaxed and happy, laughing more than she had in so long. It had been the most enjoyable evening she'd had in a while. He told her the story of betting House about having chickens in the hospitals and avoiding security and all she could do was laugh and be glad that he'd won the twenty dollar bet. She would have been Team Wilson all the way on that one.
They finished up their meals with a delicious dessert of simple lemon meringue pie. After finishing, Allison joked that she needed to go for a walk to wear off all that she'd ate. Surprisingly, he took her up on the offer of going for a walk. Apparently he liked her company, she thought, smiling.
So, once again, they found themselves outside, this time sticking to the wraparound deck that lead to a gazebo with a bench. They were far enough away from the hotel to have some privacy, but not that far away. They stood watching the last of the sun disappearing, purple and red streaks filling the sky. With the last of the sun gone, Allison gave a little shiver and pulled her wrap tightly around her. Wilson noticed, taking off his jacket and putting it on her shoulders.
"You don't have to, James. You're going to get cold." Allison protested.
"I'm fine. You're the one with the bare shoulders." he smiled at her.
"Well, I never imagined spending so much time outside! It really is beautiful here." She wandered over to the lone bench in the gazebo, taking a seat on it. He watched her for a minute before following and sitting down beside her. When she shivered again, he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to give her some warmth. She didn't object, instead snuggling in close.
They sat there, content with one another. Not the thing she'd ever pictured happening at this conference. She'd been looking forward to a couple of the presentations, a nice trip away from her job, but had not expected to ever end up like this. She tilted her head up to look at him. She watched him silently, wondering why he was being so nice to her. She supposed it was in his nature, but still, she wondered if he could ever see her as more than a friend and ex-colleague. He finally caught her looking at him, and she looked down, blushing that she'd been caught, glad that the darkened sky could hide her reddish cheeks.
"Allison..." he trailed off. He lost his train of thought looking at her, instead, he reached his hand out, cupping her chin and tilting her face back up to look at him. He lowered his head, brushing his lips against hers. Again, finding no objection within her, he deepened the kiss. She soon snaked her hand along the back of his head, pulling him in closer to her. Her heart was beating wildly, her mind telling her that this was a bad idea, her heart telling her mind to shut up. For his part, he'd always wondered what it would be like to kiss her. And at this moment, he was very glad he had.
After a few moments, they parted, both slightly out of breath, and neither knowing where the other stood. For a few moments, an awkwardness crept between the, before Allison smiled and settled herself back into the crook of his arm. She snuggled close to him as he pulled her tightly to him. He rested his chin against the top of her head, not wanting to lose contact with her. He'd never, ever thought this would happen, here or anywhere, not with her. He'd always had an attraction to her, but had never acted upon it, mostly because she'd first had a crush on House and then she'd been involved with Chase. It just was just never in the cards for them. But here, alone with one another, he finally had a chance. He had no idea where this would lead, the circumstances weren't ideal, but he found himself wanting to find out, and not just on a physical level.
They finally broke their silence when it became colder and Allison began to worry that he'd be too cold without his jacket. Regrettably, they decided to return to the hotel. Neither really had wanted to go back inside, but they trailed in the direction of it, his arm tightly around her shoulders, hers wrapped around his waist. He walked her to her room, and she surrendered his jacket back to him.
"Thank you for the jacket, but you most have been freezing. You didn't have to." She held it out to him.
"I wanted to. You needed it more than I did." He took his coat back from her, and slipped it on. "Do you want to meet for breakfast in the morning?"
"What time? Dr. Turner's presentation is at ten. We can meet for an early breakfast, if you want."
"I'll be here at eight. That way, if we need to take a walk again, we have plenty of time." James moved closer to her.
"I like walking with you, Wilson. It leads to very interesting developments." Allison didn't object to his closeness.
He took her in his arms again, kissing her gently.
"Goodnight, Allison." he said when he finally, reluctantly broke the contact with her.
"Goodnight, James." Allison felt her cheeks redden again. She found she enjoyed kissing him, something she'd never would have dreamed. And she hadn't been really happy to end the contact. She found that she wanted more than just a kiss.
She watched him walk down the hall, until he disappeared. Only then did she open the door to her room. She let herself in, and once there, leaned back against the door, thinking about what had happened. What did she want with him?, she asked herself. A relationship? A one night stand here at the conference, where nobody but the two of them would ever know? She only knew what her body was telling her, that if he'd wanted to pursue anything this evening, she would have. She only knew one thing. She didn't want a friends with benefits relationship like she'd had with Chase initially. That had blown up in her face. But she also wasn't sure she could do the one night thing either. She was getting to the age where that didn't appeal to her anymore. So, what did she want?
She launched herself off the door, making her way to the lamp and turning it on. That was the problem, she didn't know exactly what she did want. If she and Wilson were to start something, things were going to be difficult for him in Princeton. Chase would probably make things tough on him, House would torment him about it, maybe to the point where James would surrender and give up on them. But if she didn't try, she'd never know, and she might lose out on something wonderful. And she found that she wanted to see if things could work with them.
At that, she shook her head at herself. They'd only just reconnected, spending a day together, and she was here, mapping out a potential relationship with a man who was as badly damaged as she was. Who was to say he wanted anything more than casual sex with her? The man did have a reputation, after all. Suddenly, a yawn erupted from her, and the day caught up with her. She decided to get ready for bed, stop thinking and just sleep on the whole thing. Besides, they had a few more days to see if this would lead to anything between the two of them, and she just might be being foolish thinking it was anything more than a kiss. She hoped the next few days would give her the answers she was looking for, because she was more confused then she had been in a long time.