Title: Spare Key, pt.3/4
Author: Ritaann
Rating: M (( + )), just… things that are not normal, medically and sexually(don't say I didn't warn you)
Beta: lj userlynettinspaghet
Characters: House/Cameron, original character (although lighter than previous chapters I think) with some H/W friendship.
Summary: Ossel makes the ultimate sacrifice… whilst Cameron and House moved towards a crossroads.
Notes: see part one, however in this section I think my biggest boo boo would be an over use of clichés… so beware those also… I hope its work the wait Sarah …
Part Three
SUNDAY 7TH MARCH
08:30
MOSSEL WIGGERY
16 PLAINSVIEW ROAD
Rain pattered against the window pains of his humble abode and suited the cleansing nature of the ritual he was about to perform.
Tied upon his small single mattress of which the bed sheet had been covered with a dark green tarp, the purpose of which only Ossel knew. A strip of gaffer's tape was taped to her mouth allowing only muffled screams to be heard over the sound of the fan whirling above both their heads.
Fear is the only emotion expressed within her blue eyes however in Ossel's eyes it is interpreted as admiration. As he seats himself beside her, he congratulates himself at the easy manner in which he had been able to re-create the situation of his desires.
"Allison," he whispered with a smile, "My name's Ossel. Ossel Olin." He offered his latex glove-covered hand for a shake to the shivering woman on the bed, at which she let out a muffled scream, turning away from his offering.
"That's just my introduction, what do you think?" he asked in an up-beat fashion.
His only reply is that of harsh nasal breaths from his captive as she tries to control her panic whilst desperately wishing she could escape from what she only understood to be a psychopath.
Turning her head, Ossel once again noticed the half finished dye job attempted by his guest and his inviting tones disappear as quickly as they had appeared to be replaced by a particularly gruesome snarl.
With a heart wrenching screech, he stood up off the mattress and began to tear the clothing off his body, neglecting the buttons on his shirt and pants to create a pile of scrap material at his feet.
His victim squirmed and pulled tighter against her ties almost to the point of falling off the mattress, her eyes wide in fright, trying to look at anything but her captor and finding her surroundings to be just as disturbing as the naked, hairless body before her.
For whilst the double chin and Adam's apple would be considered male attributes, as was the skinny, pasty white flat chest that Ossel boasted, puffing up proudly as he peered down at her in disgust, it was not the complete lack of pubic hair that surprised and shocked her most. Rather it was the fact that a penis was nowhere to be found.
"What are you afraid of?"
She had squeezed her eyes shut as he once again sat beside her, naked, turning her head away from his disfigured . His sudden silence, punctuated only by the whirling fan continued for only minutes, yet felt more like hours to her. On the third minute, hoping that all that had happened in the last day had been nothing more than one, nasty dream, she carefully inched her eyelashes open only to see Ossel, balancing himself above her.
With only the whites of his eyes showing and his mouth contorted in what seemed to be an expression of pleasure, Ossel continued his adminstrations of masturbation above a victim that had fainted dead away.
xXx
19:30
MONDAY 8TH OF MARCH
15 PLAINVIEW ROAD
ALLISON CAMERON'S RESIDENCE
"It's been cleared- you can go into any room, except the bedroom of course. We won't be done in there for a while. Do you have somewhere you can stay, for at least the next few nights?" Officer Davis asked as he moved out of the kitchen, past the congregation of police officers and CSI's that had had been milling around her apartment for the past hour or so.
Cameron sat perched on the edge of her couch, staring at the remains of the envelope which had contained the fourth and most recent letter left by, whom she had once thought was just a love sick acquaintance, but who she now came to think of as a murderer.
What was almost stranger than the recent turn of events was the being who had sat on the single seater in the corner of the room the whole time, answering questions when asked, yet generally just observing all that was happening.
It was not the first time in the last hour that Cameron hadn't wondered why he was there, yet she had not had a chance to voice that he really didn't need to stay.
"Of course," House spoke up gruffly coming to stand beside her, "If that's alright with you."
Eyes wide, a warm feeling came over her chest and with a small smile and nod she accepts his offer for which House is glad. After all, she rationalized, Foreman was having his place renovated and was currently sleeping in his bathtub and she wasn't sure what was up with Chase recently.
"If there aren't anymore questions, I'll just grab a few things and we can get going?" she asks hopefully.
"Sure- you still have my card, right? I'll be sure to give you a ring when we're done here or if we turn up anything."
"Actually, officer- I- I have a question." She asks, doing her best to shrug off the hesitation evident through both her voice and posture. His face hardens as he waits for what she is about to say next.
"I know its still early, but could you say if, if that woman was murdered here or-"
There is a silence filled with tension as both pairs of eyes wait for his response and with a sigh and a glance over his shoulder at the room in question, he places a comforting arm on her shoulder.
"We're not 100 sure as to what's happened here, but judging by the amount of blood I'd have to say that its most likely," he pauses for a moment before confirming her worst nightmare, "that she was killed here."
Cameron stands stock still for a moment as she digests this latest piece of information and before he turns away, she thanks him for being honest with her.
Her composure regained she turns towards House.
"I won't be long," and with that she shuffled off to her bathroom to retrieve the few items of use that were not within her bedroom.
center And the week was only just beginning /center
As they walked out of the front door of her building, Cameron already noticed several news trucks and media that had parked on the front lawn. As though instinctively knowing that she didn't want to be photographed, House walked as a barrier between her and the media, using his jacket as a small shield.
"Do you want to bring your car?" he asked as they approached his corvette, "You'd have to park it on the street though.
"No, I've been having problems with it. I've been taking the bus until I find the time to get it fixed."
He then moved forward and sliding his key in the lock, held the door open for a surprised Cameron and waiting until she got in and shutting the door behind her before making his way to the driver's side.
Pulling out of the front of her building, House had made one comment, pointing to the house across the street which had an assortment of mannequins displayed out of its front windows and the sign Mossel Wiggery above the door, all lit up morbidly by the lightning that had begun to flash across the sky.
"Wigs always freaked me out."
center The drive over had been filled with silence. /center
Cameron couldn't help but contemplate House's recent actions. On the tip of her tongue was a thank you that she felt needed to be said, yet knew from past experience that with House, the expressing of such gratitude would only be met with disdain and some snarky quip designed to change the situation into something more manageable and less awkward for himself.
Yet what made her mind twist and turn in confusion were House's recent actions. Taking her out to Atlantic City, the kiss on her porch- and now inviting her to stay at his place whilst hers was unavoidably occupied- where was it all leading?
When he had once turned down her advances, labeling them nothing more than the forays of a misguided school girl, would she now be reading too much into his actions to suggest that he had changed his mind and now wanted something more
xXx
19:35
MOSSEL WIGGERY
"What the- "
Ossel had been watching through his telescope for the better part of that afternoon and now certainly all evening, taking not of all proceedings, waiting for one of the officers to approach his door and ask if he'd seen anything suspicious during daylight hours. To which he would reply, 'No, officer. When I'm in my work, I'm in my world, my element. I wouldn't have noticed anything if a nuclear explosion had happened right outside my front door.'
Nothing much had been happening until CNN started pulling out the front and Ossel couldn't help but smile at the publicity his work was receiving.
That had been an hour ago and with no new changes he was starting to fall asleep, kept awake only by the flashing lights of the police cars that had closed off the street at either end as the team of CSI's swept the street for any evidence of where the murderer might have fled to.
Ossel knew that with the recent rain, they wouldn't find anything of use.
"This can't be happening."
At that moment, from behind the glare of blue and red flashing lights which had assaulted his retinas for the better part of the hour walked out his obsession and the man whom he had known she called 'House'.
Watching his protective nature around her, Ossel couldn't help but growl in response and seeing the duffel bag in her hand he knew she was going to spend the night, possibly the next few days with him.
"No, no, no!"
How would he be able to watch her? Keep track of her every move if she was not right where she should be, in the apartment across the street?
Tearing his eyes away from the view before him, Ossel moved towards the doorway and grabbing his key off the hook he made a decision then and there.
He'd have to follow them, wherever they were going –
There came a knock at the door.
"New Jersey police, open up"
A frustrated growl is emitted from Ossel's clenched jaw as he places the key back onto the hook, stepping forward to open the door.
xXx
20:15
221B BARKER ST, PRINCETON
RESIDENCE OF GREGORY HOUSE
"Bathroom's just through there, that's my room and…" House stated, pointing towards the various doorways that lead off the hallway from the living room, "You'll have the spare room."
Cameron walked into the pale green walled room, taking in the couch by the window, flagged by a small table to its left and a heavy oak wardrobe to its right. An old computer sat on a table in the corner by the door.
Noticing the way she was eyeing the couch, House walked towards it and pulled the cushions off it, throwing it them onto the floor with little care as to where they landed, "It turns into a bed if you pull this," to which he then jerked the ancient couch into what appeared to be a comfortable bed.
"I'd let you put your stuff in there but, its preoccupied at present and.." he waved his cane towards the wardrobe.
"That's okay, I don't have much anyways."
She had been mostly silent, knowing that if she opened her mouth for the barest moment her gratitude would spill out in an uncalculated manner.
"Come with me and I'll get you some blankets and things," and without waiting for her response, he limped out of the room and to a closet that was situated between the living room and kitchen.
Whilst he fumbled with the door and selected what she would need, Cameron allowed her eyes to wander over the living room that she had only been privy to viewing for the brief visit she had made to his apartment the night she had decided to quit.
It seemed much the same except for PS2 console, hand controls and stack of games on the coffee table that hadn't been there that night.
"You play often?" she questioned,
House looked over his shoulder to what she was referring to and with a smirk he replied, "When Wilson's around. You play?" before dumping a pile of bedding onto her waiting arms.
"When my brother's over for a weekend, yeah." She walked back into the spare room and began to make the bed before her into something she could sleep in comfortably, House watching from the doorway.
"How old's your brother?" he asked, the possibility of new information fuelling his curiosity.
"Same age as me- he's my twin, actually."
"You have a twin?" House asked, his incredulity translating through his voice.
"I do- he works as an engineer for Porfrex and Co. and comes down to Princeton when he has a project in New Jersey or Atlantic City."
"You ever play Resident Evil II?" he suggested casually.
"I don't just play the game- I own the game." Cameron teased dangerously.
A sparkle gleamed in House's eye as he moved from inside the door way, "You're on." He challenged with a grin.
"No!" the form on the bed let out a muffled scream.
Cameron sat up; her face was covered in cold sweat, plastering her hair to her neck. Eyes open wide as she stared into the darkness and tried to control her breathing.
She couldn't help but feel as though she was still within her dream, that she was still being chased by the man in the shadow. Looking around, she tried to calm herself by remembering what her unfamiliar surrounds had looked like in the light as House had shown her around.
House.
The thought of him calmed her immediately, and listening in the darkness she could hear something coming from the living room.
Assuring herself that there was nothing and nobody under the bed, Cameron padded out into the hallway, drawing her robe around her to ward off the chilly air that was a direct contrast to the warmth of the bed.
As she stood at the edge of the hall way, peering into the dimly lit room, she stared as House turned a couple of pages on the stand and began to play another piece, his hands gliding over the keys as though he had been doing this since birth.
However she did realize that the sound coming from the piano was somewhat muffled and at half the volume she'd expect from the baby grand.
He had put on the soft pedal so as not to disturb her sleep.
Watching him she almost fell asleep where she stood, but waking slightly as he turned a couple more pages she quietly padded back to her bed.
That night she fell gently asleep to the sounds of Chopin and Poulonc, sleeping through till dawn.
xXx
7:15
10TH MARCH WEDNESDAY
FIRST FLOOR CLINIC
PRINCETON PLAINSBORO TEACHING HOSPITAL
With the clinic closed for the day, House and Wilson sat behind the admitting desk going over the day's charts. Or rather, Wilson was doing the paperwork whilst House had found a tennis ball kept mainly to pacify patient's offspring and was bouncing it off the wall just beside Wilson's head to his annoyance.
"How long will she need to stay with you?"
"Dunno, I guess until the police are done with her place and after she's had the cleaners over- that bastard did a real number on her bedroom. Not to mention-"
"You actually saw the room?"
House shot daggers at Wilson, "I assure you, its nothing you'd ever want to see."
Wilson was silent for a while, signing a few things he put them aside and turned back to House, "You were going to mention something else that would prevent Cameron from returning home?"
"You still coming over to watch the game tonight? Cameron's promised to cook us dinner." House asked, pretending to not have heard and instead change the subject.
"Don't avoid the question."
"I'm just following your lead."
"Yes I will be over 'round six since Cameron's cooking. Looks like things went well on that date you had last Friday, you've got her wrapped around your little finger already."
"It wasn't a date."
"I'll stop calling it one if you'd answer my question."
"Repeat the question," House asked falling back onto an old trick.
Wilson was having none of it and had filed away the question in advance, "You were going to mention something else that would prevent Cameron from returning home?"
House sighed. "Apparently it looks like the woman was actually killed in her apartment-"
"Oh." Shocked into silence, Wilson reached for another stack of charts to work on.
"Yeah." House bounced the ball once more, this time aiming to clip Wilson's ear and almost succeeding.
"You know that can get really annoying- not to mention hurt someone if your aim is off."
"So I've been told," House quipped right back yet continued to do as previous, perhaps even a few millimeters closer to Wilson's head just to spite him.
"So how did last Friday go?"
"It was good." House tried to fend off the possibility of further questioning with a pithy response.
"That's… good." The oncologist thought for a moment as to the best way to respond.
"Wait a minute- it was good?" he asked, a theory forming in his mind and with the opportunity to prove or deny it he knew he couldn't pass it up.
"So was the monster trucks, what's your point?" House responded, annoyed that Wilson couldn't leave his personal life alone for more than a few days.
"Yeah but with that you groused that she stole your candy floss and asked you too many personal questions, yet with Friday…" he trailed off hoping that House would see the light.
Either he hadn't or he wasn't going to let on that he did, because House's look of disdain mingled with disbelief was still plastered over his features.
"Something happened Friday night didn't it!" Wilson shoved the charts aside and turned his chair to face House front on.
House noticed Cameron approaching the desk from the elevators behind them and catching the ball from one last bounce House levered himself out of the computer chair he had been comfortably seated in, ending the conversation in clipped tones, "One more word and no super bowl or dinner for you tonight."
Wilson gave House his best 'who- me?' look yet still couldn't wipe the grin off his face.
"Hey Wilson," Cameron greeted as she came to stand next to the desk, one hand grasping the shoulder strap which held her laptop, the other deep in the pocket of her leather coat.
Wilson nodded in response.
"You ready yet?" she asked House whom had grabbed his back pack from under the desk and was about to sling it over his shoulder.
"So I'll see you tonight?" he turned towards Wilson for confirmation.
"Yeah," he nodded before glancing at Cameron, "I'll see you guys later."
With that, the two of them left a grinning Wilson to his own devices, and as he watched them leave he couldn't help but note the manner in which House guided Cameron through the entrance way with a hand at the small of her back.
End Part Three
Ossel's medical condition (as requested by SarahK to be rare) was found here; I chose (a funny way to put it huh?) Absent Penis. Boy isn't it great to be a girl! Btw. Statistically, only one person in the whole of Australia would have this problem. One. No more than one. (since we have a population of about 20/21 million) so its rather rare. http/health. - what I find most hilarious is that this article is written by a Dr Greene and I am such a big softy when it comes to old school ER… sighs … (another one of my old fandoms, dropped in tandem when I picked up XF … which then dropped when I picked up House … but they all live inside me … somewhere … until a new episode or a re run comes and WAM! I'm in love again …) /lj-cut