A/N: Hey hey faithful readers! Welcome to the second (and last) installment of "Tasting the Sky"! Thank you all so much for reviewing the first time around -- totally the only reason I wrote a second chapter. (:

I'm not done with the House team (not by a long shot), so keep your eyes peeled for further fics! I'm also considering pulling together some sort of Bones/House crossover, but that would an incredibly massive undertaking, and I'm not sure I have the time or motivation for a commitment like that. xD

Anyways, I'd love to know what you think/thought!

Also, since I figure y'all are House fans: if you have a Twitter, LiveJournal, or Facebook, check out WildeForWorld! It's Olivia Wilde (aka Thirteen) fans banding together to make a difference in the world; I'm one of the reps, and it's really a great group of people with awesome ideas. Feel free to PM me with any questions. :D

So without further ado, here's Chapter Two! I do not own House or any other of Fox's awesome franchises. :(

Tasting the Sky

Chapter Two: Love Heals

Like a breath of midnight air,
like a lighthouse, like a prayer.
Like the flicker and the flare, the sky reveals.
Like a walk along the shore that you've walked a thousand times before,
Like the ocean's roar -
Love heals.

"Love Heals" -- Rent

---

Cameron couldn't really tell anymore if she was awake or dreaming. Her dreams were bright, frenzied, chaotic – but so was reality, especially lately.

She felt gentle lips on the back of her neck for what must have been the fourth or fifth time, and though her body yearned to roll to meet her lover and soon-to-be-husband, her mind knew that this was just another fantasy. She would drag herself awake and turn to see that she was alone in an empty bed and an even emptier apartment.

Cameron didn't know how long Thirteen had been gone – honestly, she wouldn't have been sure the other doctor had come by at all if the newest glass of water wasn't perched on her side table. She didn't even know if Thirteen had stayed after she had fallen asleep.

The lips brushed the back of her neck again, more determined than her past dream-visions. Cameron was about to lash out and drive the empty promises away when a warm voice made her heart skip a beat.

"I missed you." The soft Aussie accent was as much a part of her as her heart, and Cameron's eyes snapped open.

"Chase--?" she turned almost hesitantly, and even then she nearly collided with him, as close to her as he was. Chase was kneeling on his side of the bed, and his hazel eyes glinted with surprise as their faces slowed to a halt inches from each other.

"Your fever's down," he breathed before pressing his lips gently to the side of her left eyebrow, then moving across her face to her right eyebrow.

"You're home," she replied faintly, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him closer. He happily returned the embrace.

"What time is it?" Cameron asked after a moment, letting him pull back.

"Late. Well, later," Chase amended. Cameron dragged herself up to a seated position, rubbing her eyes blearily.

"Have you been okay? I called a few times, but you didn't answer." His eyes were bright and soothing.

"I've been sleeping," Cameron gave a sheepish grin. Her reality was starting to piece together again, thanks to the amazing man beside her.

"Good." Chase tenderly brushed his lips against her forehead.

"Are you coming to bed?" It was her first clearly-thought out sentence.

Chase chuckled softly. "Most definitely."

Cameron managed a small sound of protest as Chase pulled away from her, though she knew she was no longer alone. Chase talked softly as he moved about the room, running water in the bathroom, changing out of his work clothes. Cameron let his words wash over her gently, allowing her mind to wander and float in the warmth of his presence. She literally craved his presence – was that too hokey to say aloud?

"Thirteen said she dropped by to check up on you earlier." Chase murmured against the back of her neck as he finally crawled into bed. "Said you weren't really with it, so she pushed more Ibuprofen and liquids."

Cameron turned her body towards his as he wrapped his arms around her. "She did. At least I think she did."

She felt Chase's gentle laugh. "I'll have to thank her when I'm not so goddamn worried about you."

"I'm better now that you're home," Cameron replied, leaning so she could kiss him gently on the cheek. Chase brushed one across her cheek in return.

"I would kiss you on the lips, but I don't want to get you sick as well," Cameron explained sleepily as she felt herself beginning to drift off again.

"I understand. We can wait until you're feeling better." Chase's lips touched the soft skin behind her jawbone, sending shivers up her spine.

"I love you," she whispered, the words just barely leaving her lips.

"I love you too." She heard the tender reply before falling into sleep's waiting arms once more.

---

Thirteen felt like a cop on a stakeout.

She flipped through files in the main lobby of the hospital, attempting to look busy. No one questioned her – she could be a master of deception if she felt like it. Plus, House's pets were allowed a certain sort of salutary neglect. They were beneficial for the hospital and its business so they were left well enough alone by most staff members, though not including Cuddy or several surgeons that House had gypped one time too many.

The front door opened again with a blast of cold air, and Thirteen sent a furtive glance from her background position. Nope, just a nurse.

She had milled around for upwards of fifteen minutes when her target came through the door. Chase looked happier than she had seen him since Cameron fell ill four days ago, and Thirteen glanced carefully up through her dark lashes.

There – he held the door as his blonde lover came into view behind him, struggling under a pile of paperwork that she no doubt had to make up, but she looked cheerful. Thirteen was about to dash over and offer to help when Chase gallantly swept the top two-thirds from the stack. They exchanged a quick conversation that Thirteen couldn't read, and Cameron laughed brightly. Thirteen could see her eyes shining from here; Cameron was definitely paler than usual, but love coursed through her like magma, so strong and sure it was almost visible.

Thirteen felt a twinge of some uncomfortable emotion and replaced the file before quickly slipping out of the lobby. She would probably see them later.

---

Thirteen took her time making her way up to the diagnostic room, stopping in on one of their patients due to be discharged this afternoon. She had burned thirty minutes by the time she was striding down the hallway, her shoes clicking a staccato against the polished hardwood.

She had lost herself in the rhythm of her stride when she reached the glass-paneled room, and the beat halted jarringly as she glanced up. Her hand froze for a split second as she reached for the handle. Cameron was standing inside with a file, set aglow by a beam of light from the window behind her. Thirteen regained her composure within less than a second and stalked into the room, her emotions secured behind a seamless wall.

Cameron glanced up from her conversation with Foreman as Thirteen entered and spared her a quick smile before turning her focus back to her former teammate.

"You must have been pretty sick," Foreman was remarking, gazing sidelong at Cameron. "Missing three days of work?"

"Yeah, I couldn't get out of bed until late yesterday," Cameron answered amicably, deftly dodging Foreman's skepticism. "Chase thinks it was a flu or something."

"Hmm," Foreman hedged, though his eyes were sparkling and he was soon smiling.

Cameron had turned her gaze to Thirteen when House all but crashed into the diagnostic room.

"Good morning, chickadees," he sang out, his cane thumping against the carpet. The cold always exacerbated his limp: something he would either ignore or rub in his coworkers' faces. It looked like today he would be ignoring it, Thirteen thought absently.

"You're not a chickadee. What are you doing here, pigeon?" House demanded as he caught sight of Cameron.

Cameron had opened her mouth to speak when he cut her off. "Your plumage is falling out, pigeon."

Cameron tried again, but he cut her off once more. "You look more like a crow to me. A sick crow that's been missing work since Monday."

Cameron shot him a look that very clearly demanded: Are you quite finished? House fixed her with an innocent gaze, and she began again with a sigh. "I have a case for you, House."

"Oh, goody!" House clapped his hands together. "Christmas came early this year!" He held out a hand, and Cameron happily turned over the file.

"Forty-year-old woman with pulmonary edema that's not responding to anything we're administering."

"Pulmonary edema? We get that all the time," House scoffed, though he opened the file and began flipping through it with interest.

"All right, chickadees, let's go check out our new playmate's lungs and heart." He snapped the file closed and stumped out the door, leaving his team to grab their paperwork and scurry off behind him.

All of his team, however, but Thirteen. She lingered, trying to line up the stack of paperwork and old files that House had assigned her to sort, "when she had a moment."

"Do you need help with that?"

Thirteen just about leaped out of her skin as Cameron's warm voice broke the silence. Only a slight jerk of her hands betrayed her surprise. She glanced quickly over her shoulder. "I think I've got it, thanks," she breathed, dragging the stack from the table. Cameron respectfully stood back.

"Thank you for coming to see me, by the way," Cameron spoke up. "I really did appreciate it. Chase did as well, but you know he probably won't say anything." A small half-smile crept to her face.

"It wasn't a problem," Thirteen replied automatically, though heat was rising below her jawline. She tilted her head absently, letting her hair fall forward a little more to hide her gently rising blush.

"Really. Thank you," Cameron replied after a pause, squarely meeting the other woman's gaze. Thirteen found herself caught, despite her better judgment. And then Cameron broke her gaze with a smile, and she was out the door with a warm "Have a good day!"

"You too," Thirteen's voice hung trembling in the still and silent room, and she quickly resurrected the walls Cameron had managed to crack before she left to catch up with her crabby boss and sardonic teammates.

It was funny how quickly a day could change. And today? Not a bad day, Thirteen thought to herself, wondering at the sudden brightness that had infused her formerly-awful day.

Not a bad day at all.

And there we have it, folks! Thanks for reading! Also, bonus points to whomever gets the end line reference. ;)

Dedicated, as always, to the gorgeous Catherine, who never fails to make me smile.