House skulked around his apartment for an hour or so until he could be sure that Cameron would be in work and her beautiful coffee replacing the sludge that Chase would have prepared earlier.

Cuddy was waiting for him at the entrance as he arrived.

"Don't you have anything better to do than make sure I get to work on time? Oh lets say... run a hospital?"

"Just because you came in early two days ago doesn't mean you can have an extra long lie in for the rest of the week." She scolded.

"Sorry, adjusting to the fact that I have a sexy body lying next to me at night meant I couldn't get any sleep until she left." He replied.

"But... Stacy left yesterday..." Cuddy said confused, before something of realisation went through eyes. "Hooker could only stay for what you paid for right?" she teased harshly.

House fixed her with a steely gaze and walked past her without comment.

"House! Clinic!"

"As soon as I tell my girlfriend you think she's a hooker... then I'll watch her kick your ass." He shot back angrily from the elevator.

"House!" She called but by then the elevator doors were already closing.

He hobbled into the conference trying and failing to hold back a smile as his eyes fell on Cameron sitting at her desk, her glasses perched on her nose and a few tangles of hair falling across her face.

She looked up at him and her eyes sparkled.

I did that, he thought with pride welling up in him.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hey." he replied quietly and stepped into his office avoiding the curious gazes of Foreman and Chase.

By the time he'd shrugged off his jacket, unpacked his "essentials" from his back-pack and sat at his desk Cameron had managed to dodge the comments of Foreman and Chase to carry his coffee into his office and place it in his hand as she sat down on the corner of his desk at his side.

House sighed softly and rested his hand on her thigh as he sipped his coffee. He could tell the gesture surprised her a little, the muscle tensing slightly beneath his palm. He rubbed slightly in the hopes of soothing her as he leaned back and rested his mug on his own left thigh.

"So what's up?" House asked softly.

"What's up is I've been dodging questions ever since I came in here. Why I'm late... what happened yesterday..."

"Us?" House enquired perceptively.

"Yeah, us." She said softly. "I didn't... I don't know what to say."

"Are you planning on going anywhere?"

"What? No." she exclaimed.

"And I'm not either, so that's sorted." He said looking into her eyes and lifting his coffee to his lips, his hand squeezing her knee gently.

Her hand came to rest lightly on his.

"Okay." she said with a soft smile.

It was then that Cuddy stepped into the office.

"House..." she started.

"Dr Cuddy, meet my you-called hooker." House stated conversationally.

"What!" Cameron exclaimed turning to her boss.

"Told you she'd kick your ass." he muttered.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute... you two?" Cuddy said genuinely shocked. "You two are together?"

"We haven't been "together" yet but it's certainly on our "to do" list." House replied. "I'm thinking the table in exam room 3. It's more comfortable than it looks." He said with a wink in Cameron's direction.

"Greg!" Cameron hissed as Cuddy echoed her sentiments with her biting screech of, "House."

"Don't worry about you precious table." He said to Cuddy, "It doesn't seem like she's up for it." He smiled and jerked his head conspicuously in Cameron's direction.

Cameron smiled.

Cuddy scowled.

"You could have just told me." she said quietly.

"You didn't exactly present a good opportunity... you jumped to conclusions and then jumped down my throat, I mean I know you want to jump me and you're highly disappointed you can't now that I've found a new ass to covet but you did work pretty fast." He said matter of factly.

"I'm happy for you okay?" she said condescendingly. "Don't let it interfere with work and..." Her eyes met Cameron's as she said without any ill will at all. "Good Luck."

"Thanks." Cameron answered quietly with a blush rising in her cheeks.

"And House..." She said turning to him. "Clinic. Now."

"Aw mom, do I have to?" He sighed childishly.

"Yes, my hospital, my rules." she said standing with her back against the open door and glaring at him menacingly.

House growled slightly and sipped his coffee some more as he stood.

"Save me." He whispered to Cameron.

"I can't." she replied with a gentle grin.

He rolled his eyes and leaned forward and kissed her softly, "Just be thankful I love you or you'd be in so much trouble."

"Maybe I want to be in trouble." she whispered coyly.

He grinned and kissed her again until Cuddy coughed loudly.

House rolled his eyes and pulled back.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He sighed. "Well...maybe not just yet." He added with innuendo, a grin and his eyebrow raised slightly.

"Go." Cameron said pushing him gently towards the door.

"Jez no need to get so violent... save it for the bedroom." House murmured, rubbing his arm slightly as if she'd hurt him.

Cuddy sighed loudly. "And here I thought you were unbearable enough when you were miserable." She said regarding him with little patience.

"A happy worker is a productive worker right?" He teased with a grin as he walked past her into the hall and turning to wink slyly at Cameron making her blush even more furiously than she was already.

Cuddy rolled her eyes and followed him to frog march him down to the clinic.

Cameron smiled to herself, then grinned as she turned to the aghast faces of Chase and Foreman.