Thanks to MissingCanceledShows for betaing,
Chapter 8: Did This Really Just Happen?
House sat in the dark for a long time, nursing a beer in one hand and holding his phone in the other.
Wilson wanted to talk to him. It was the only thing that kept running through his mind. Wilson wanted to talk to him. Why?
He had no idea. But House had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with Cameron. They had already gone that route, and Wilson would have confronted him face-to-face if he felt the need.
No, this had to be something different.
Tuesday rolled around, and while it had been less then twenty-four hours, Wilson was still nervous that he hadn't heard from House.
He knew that the two hadn't talked to each other in seven months, but he had expected some form of reciprocation.
Cameron hadn't said anything when he had asked what she thought would happen and that alone worried him.
Cameron usually had a guess about how House would act, and her guesses could be pretty dead-on. But she had just shrugged.
It depends on how hurt he feels. She had explained. Between the two of you it's been almost eight months of silence. House might feel abandoned, or want to treat you unjust and give you the cold shoulder back, when he started it to begin with. At least with all the cat fights and behind the back talking girls do, when someone apologizes, its over and done with except for snide comments that fade after a little.
Tuesday led into Wednesday and then Thursday, and by Friday Cameron had threatened Wilson with various forms of bodily harm if he didn't take a breather and calm down.
By the next Monday she had resorted to glaring at him from time to time and shaking her head, mumbling under her breath "Men."
"Hello?" Alice's voice echoed through the kitchen and she stuck her head out until she met Houses' eyes.
"Good to see you again Dr. House."
"You're not going to throw me out?"
Alice shrugged. "Allie has been in here and so has Jimmy. He wants to talk to you, she's wants you to talk to him, and I just happen to hear all of it." A ghost of a smile flickered across her face. "And I do have to say, I'm curious to hear what you have to say."
"So immediately we're starting off on the prejudice that they're right and I'm wrong?"
"If I thought that they were completely right you wouldn't be here," was Alice's immediate response.
"So I'm right?"
"I never said that either." She poured two cups of coffee and handed one to him. "Sugar right?" She went about mixing in a heap of sugar and settled down in a booth across from him.
"So what are you saying then?" House was watching her cynically.
"Who say that anyone has to be right Dr. House? Everyone made some form of mistake."
"Are you going to pick my brain for answers and then analyze me?"
"I'm not a psychiatrist Dr. House, I just happen to be a good listener who can give good advice."
"And having Jimmy ignore me for eight months was good advice?" He snarked bitterly.
"You seem to be forgetting that James can form his own opinions, and as an adult is responsible for his own actions." Alice didn't loose her cool as House continued to stare at her. "What James had to deal with was the then the now. The how do I make it through to the next day? Not, what can I say to House to make him feel better for thinking that he killed my girlfriend." Alice shrugged. "It doesn't work that way."
"Why not?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Life doesn't work that way Dr. House."
"You can drop the doctor," House grumbled, "no one uses it anyway."
"Only if you call me Alice," She finished her coffee and stood. "Just one passing thought before I leave you to you coffee House. You told me earlier that no one could have possible experienced the pain that you went through. I'm not conceding your point by any means, but I'll let you see it that way if you want to. James' girlfriend died, and it hurt James. It broke him a little bit. How long did it take you to return to a semblance of yourself?"
"Point?"
"He gave you time, didn't he? You wanted time, and James didn't. But then you gave him time, and he got angry so he retaliated." She paused for half a second before adding, "anyone can become angry, House. That's the easy part. But to be angry at the right person, at the right time, for the right reason – that's hard. Sometimes it's damn near impossible."
House finished his coffee silently, and stood up, pulling his wallet it out of his pocket.
Alice walked out of the kitchen and shook her head.
"Don't worry about it House, I'll put it on AJ's tab." House raised an eyebrow in confusion and Alice snapped her mouth shut. "I forgot that she goes by Cameron with your group."
"AJ?"
"Allison Jane."
"Allison Jane Cameron." House rolled it off his tongue.
"Allison Jane." Alice repeated firmly. "That's who she's been her whole life. Wasn't a Cameron until she was thirteen, almost fourteen. Allison Jane she'll always be."
House didn't know what to say to that, so he let it slide.
Three days later House walked into Wilson's office while his friend was with a patient and sat down.
He didn't say anything, and the patient kept shooting him concerned looks. Wilson only shot him one smile before he continued to talk about the patients' treatment plan.
When the patient left, House limped back onto the balcony and then down to the ER. Cuddy had granted his ex-ducklings vacation request and she was leaving in five days for a four day vacation, coming home Christmas Eve day. He wanted to harass her a little before she left. She was still a puzzle to him, and there weren't enough pieces to solve her yet.
"Hello AJ." It was the first time he had acknowledged her on one of his visits to the ER besides a snide comment or some food thrown her way.
"Been talking to Alice?" was all she said, a note of amusement in her voice.
"Your mom," he shot back sardonically.
"My mom doesn't call me AJ."
"No?"
"Allie-luv," her voice was now clearly amused. "She just never caught on to AJ. Said that my name was Allison, and someone should use a form of it, even if it was a diminutive. So she did."
House smirked. "Can I call you Allie-luv?"
"Only in your dreams."
He took a step closer to invade her personal space, and was rewarded with wide eyes and a quick step back. Still got it… he thought satisfied.
"What do you want House?" He stared at her lips and thought about kissing them. Thought about telling her that Wilson was his, and that he had him back now nah nah na na na. Thought about asking her about Concrete Angel and Jacob. But he didn't do any of that, just stared for a minute, as she looked uncomfortably away from his to thoughtful gaze.
"Something I can't have."
And with that he left. Maybe Wilson would be willing to buy him lunch even though they still hadn't said two words to each other.
Wilson was watching him from across the table as he expertly picked through a salad, tossing away the lettuce that looked like it had been picked up by patients as they walked the grounds.
"Are we just not going to talk ever again?" He asked finally, trying to break the silence.
House took another chip and took a loud bite, smacking his lips. "I was thinking about it, but I guess we could talk about something. Did you see the new nurse in cardio? She has six fingers on her right hand and looks like a man."
"I thought she was a man the first time I saw her." Wilson admitted. "And then one of the other nurses called out 'Susan' and she responded. Confused me for a minute. Did you see the new janitor, the one who used to be a male prostitute?"
House snorted. "Nope. Not yet. Does he look like Chase?"
Wilson grinned broadly. "I haven't seen him yet either, but some of the nurses were fawning over him."
"Up in peds?"
"No, down in the ER." Wilson's brow wrinkled for a moment. "I haven't really been anywhere in the other departments when I'm not needed."
"No new nurses."
"No." He thought of what Allison had said all those months ago when he had gotten the woman's number. That he could get a number and not call her back. But it was different with the nurses at the hospital. "Al's been harassing me to go and flirt, but its harder then anyone would think."
"She thinks you should date?" House wouldn't admit he was surprised, but he was. He had expected Cameron to expect Wilson to stay loyal to Amber for years and years, until he found someone just as damaged as House to try and fix.
Wilson just nodded, choosing not to get into it with House. "Yeah, she does."
House took a bite of his Reuben before frowning.
"There are pickles on my Reuben."
"You say that like you're surprised."
"They stopped for a while." House handed Wilson his sandwich and Wilson peeled the pickles off without thinking about it, popping them into his mouth.
"Good to be back?" Wilson questioned with a tired grin.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is."
House wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but a tired Allison Cameron was carting the two of them home.
She wasn't angry, which confused him even more.
The two of them were completely wasted, but he wasn't getting a speech about alcohol or getting drunk in the middle of the week, or how she probably had to go to work in five hours.
"Have fun?"
"Yep." Wilson giggled and put an arm around her shoulder.
"Jimmy?"
"Allie?"
"I'm driving, and I really do not want to get in an accident."
"Okay?"
"You smell like a tavern and it's very distracting."
"What if I kiss you?"
"I'll throw you out of the car."
"No you won't."
Cameron pulled over and raised an eyebrow. "I won't?"
House laughed. "She's got you there." He leaned forward so he was between Cameron and Wilson, as Wilson pulled his arm back.
"What if I kiss you?"
"Out the car you go too." She glanced back for a split second to smile. "And you're less wasted them Jimmy, so I'd throw you harder."
"You probably throw like a girl."
"Next time you see Alice ask her about the time I beat Ian up."
"Was that when you had purple hair?" Cameron silently cursed. Trust a drunk Wilson to start asking personal questions with House in the car.
"Purple hair?" Cameron signaled and switched back into traffic with an eye roll.
"Let's not get personal tonight. Now, which one of you has keys, and are you staying at one person's place?"
"You can take us both to my place Allie, if you have my key, because I don't know where I put mine."
"House, do you have yours?"
"That's a half hour out of your way." Wilson pointed out.
"Why are you coherent enough to know things like that?" Cameron snapped, irritated.
"I don't know. Can we crash at your place?"
"If either of you wake me up at a crazy hour I will kill you." She threatened. "But yes. Only because I don't feel like adding onto my driving time at three in the morning."
The moment that Wilson was on Cameron's couch, he was out like a light, snoring loudly.
"And where am I supposed to sleep?" House leered at Cameron brightly. "Your bed?"
"I have a futon in the small bedroom to your right. Let me grab some blankets and change and I'll set it up for you."
She disappeared into her bedroom, presumably to change from her ratty jeans and paint stained t-shirt into something else, something more 'pajama' like.
House followed her and watched almost mesmerized as she stripped off her shirt and unhooked her bar, pulling on the shirt that was on her bed.
There were thin white lines on her back that House figured were scars, and when he approached her to ask who the hell beat you? she whirled around, the shirt to her chest.
"House!"
"What?" He asked innocently. "I'm drunk, low inhibitions."
"First off, you're drunk, I'm not. Second off, why the hell would that matter? Stay away."
Still clutching the shirt to her chest with one hand she propelled him out of the room with the other.
"Linens are in the closet by the spare room. Take care of it yourself."
She slammed the door in his face and House started. "Who beat you up?" He called, but she didn't respond.
The next morning she cornered him, face angry.
"Let's get this straight. I'm glad that you and Wilson are friends again. But that doesn't make us friends. So stay out of my personal life."
"That's it? No hug and kiss of congratulations? Just an 'I'm glad your back?'" House threw at her. "I thought little Allie-Luv with her need to cure everyone would want to hug me and sew me back together with magical kisses."
"Guess what House? Life doesn't work that way. Just -"
Cameron shook her head when she realized that there were no words to describe what she didn't want him to do. She hadn't lied when she had told him she was glad about him and Wilson. But her life? Cameron was fine without House.
But she did, after all, start it when she told him her mother called her Allie-Luv. Or maybe it was Alice's fault for calling her AJ instead of Allison. But she couldn't blame Alice for doing that, it was a normal mistake.
"Just, don't." Cameron finally settled on.
Wilson walked into Houses office and raised an eyebrow.
"Hi James." She shot a final look at House and then disappeared.
"What was that about?" Wilson asked, handing House a cup of coffee.
House shrugged innocently. "I have no idea."
Alice is paraphrasing Aristotle: Anyone can become angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not easy.
Aristotle