So my beta and I were very busy. The good news is I have another chapter ready and it will be up either tomorrow or Tuesday. I promise.
Jess
Chapter 10: Pictures to the Soul
Snow began to fall had begun on the way back to Allison's apartment (Tina was just going to sleep there so Wilson didn't have to make a trip to four different places that night), and Tina bounced excitedly.
"Do you have the day off Blondie?"
"If I say yes is it going to end badly?"
"Never."
"So yes?"
"I have my camera."
And just like that, the world made sense.
Tina had always been a photographer at heart and years ago Allison had become her favorite subject.
"No."
"You don't have the day off? Well, we'll make it a short photo shoot."
"I do have the day off. But I'm tired."
"James, want to drop us off at the park by Blondie's house?"
"Jimmy, if you know what's good for you, you'll take us back to my apartment. And then leave so that I can kill Tina with no witnesses."
James laughed. "What if I take you to the park and stay there?"
Tina wrapped an arm around her cousin. "Pllleaasee?" She cajoled. "I'll love you forever."
"You already love me forever."
"I'll buy you breakfast at Alice's."
"We get fed for free." House watched the friendly banter with amusement.
"I'll buy drinks the next time we go out."
"Next two times."
"God you're a pain in the ass."
"Keep it up and it'll be three times." Allison warned her.
"Two times." They shook on it. And Wilson turned left instead of right at the next light to bring them to the abandoned park. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and the snow was sticking to the ground giving the whole place a magical, mystical feeling.
"Okay, everyone out." Tina was rummaging through her bag for her camera.
"Everyone?" House repeated.
"Hell yeah. I have three subjects now, instead of one. Get out."
House rolled his eyes. "No."
"Yes."
"Are you going to buy me drinks too?"
"You can come with us," she replied dryly, "now get out before I drag you out."
Wilson walked over to the side of the car, and pulled House out.
"Cameron said that she'll make us coffee if we go take some pictures."
House pumped a fist in the air. 'Just don't expect me to smile."
Tina ignored him.
"Allie, you know what to do."
Cameron sighed, and hiked over to the swings. "Can't we just do action shoots? I don't want to pose."
"We won't be here for very long." It was four and the sun was just beginning to rise. The light drifting snow at a deserted playground, the world still untouched at that hour created a beautiful picture.
Allison made it to the swings, but continued until she reached a slide, where she proceeded to climb a ladder and slide down it, ending up sitting on the ground with a smile.
Tina rolled her eyes and snapped a picture.
"Tell me when you get cold." She directed over to House and Wilson.
"What about Allison?" Wilson asked, completely missing Houses' glare at the use of her first name. Tina didn't and she smirked.
"Blondie doesn't get cold."
House was cut off from commenting by Cameron's impatient voice. "Guys! We don't have all night!"
"It's day now." Tina pointed out, raising her camera and getting a shot of Wilson and House.
"Tina if you want me to be here," Allison warned.
"Yeah, yeah."
"I'm totally not against walking home."
"But you love me to much!"
"No, not really." The two teased each other mercilessly as Tina arranged them in various poses and allowed Cameron a few 'fun poses.' Jumping off the swing and spinning around in circles.
House was amused by the childishness of it all, but Tina seemed to have seen it all before. She posed them easily and even got a few small smiles from House. By the time that the pictures were finally done with snow was falling in thick drifts and it had been over an hour of pictures.
They had protested, but Allison was insistent,
"Tina and I can share a room, one of you can take the couch – it's a pull out and one of you can take the spare bedroom/office futon. It's ridiculous weather to drive in though."
She had disappeared into her bedroom to change, and had come out to make all of them hot chocolate/coffee/tea.
Allison stepped out of the room, and trekked to the kitchen where everyone else was sitting. Tina had also changed into comfier clothes, and Cameron had found some older men's clothes that she would give House and Wilson to change into – her brothers were always forgetting clothes when they crashed with her. She usually just kept them for either when they stayed again or as comfortable sleep clothes.
House was watching her, contemplating her. It was only after Tina made a face that Allison realized what shirt she was wearing. Ian had made one for her, as well as himself years ago, a personal gag gift that no one else found funny.
It was a white jersey, with black three quarter length sleeves. On the front, dripping in maroon red were the words damaged at best, like you already figured out. The back read AJ Foster (the last name the kids in her first group home had given her, seeing as she didn't have one) and the number 24. The number of foster homes and group homes she stayed at before the Cameron's had adopted her. In the bottom, spiraling around in a circle were the words: One out of seven children are abused. Seven out of seven never deserved it.
Ian's t-shirt was the same, except on the back it read Ian Smith, 12.
House, she could tell, was unable to form words. Who, in their right mind, wore a shirt with the words damaged at best, like you already figured out on it? He hadn't yet seen the back, but probably wouldn't make a connection to her. AJ was her name after all, but Foster wasn't. And House, in all reality, never met the girl she used to be. The hard-ass AJ Foster with black eyes and broken bones – the one who barely felt pain – she was no longer there.
Maybe somewhere, hidden, but not on the surface. Not anywhere that House could see.
The damage was already done, so to speak, and Cameron moved on with her routine of drink making. If she went and changed her t-shirt, it would have just raised more questions. Ones that she wasn't willing to answer.
Cameron woke up later that day, unable to sleep. It was Sunday, and the other three people occupying her apartment were sleeping. At least Tina was – she was spread across the bed, a foot here, an arm there and all the blankets on her side of the bed.
This, Cameron remembered, was why when there was family reunions and not enough room for people to get their own beds, she refused to share with her cousin. Give her Nikki who snored and talked in her sleep any day.
If it was a normal night of sleeplessness she would go for a jog – which was out because one, she was tired, two, Tina would give her hell, and three, the recent snow made it a bit dangerous.
Any other time she would curl up with a good movie, or go through photo albums of hers. And usually the I survived that would help her drift into a more peaceful sleep.
Her albums were in the office though, where House was slee-
Cameron sat up in bed. If she hadn't been awake then, she was certainly awake now. House was in the same room as her memories. Some of her oldest secrets. Ones she wasn't ready to share.
She grew up in a world where no one remembered her name.
Sunshine and butterflies did not exist. It hurt, and it was hard. She could have never been a stuffed animal made by grandma, because she did not, in fact, have a grandma.
House never seemed to realize that fact. That her life was not perfect. That she had not grown up a golden child, because she had not had someone to be golden for. With a sigh Cameron flopped back down on her bed and closed her eyes.
Sleep was never going to come, but she didn't really have anywhere to hide out.
Just wait for it to pass…. She coached herself silently.
Cameron stayed wide eyed and awake for the rest of the night.
House limped into Alice's two days later and walked back into the kitchen to find her, ignoring the sign that blatantly read please seat yourself, someone will be along shortly. A sign under that stated unless you work here please do not enter the kitchen area.
He now knew that it had been added specifically for Tina and Allison, who , apparently had no self control when it came down to serving themselves when it was busy.
"Alice!" She lifted her head and smirked at House.
"Can I help you?"
"We had a sleepover the other night," House fluttered his eyelashes for effect "and I was searching the house and came across some pictures."
"Of course you did," Alice muttered. "Allie would've been too nice to make you sleep on the couch." She straightened completely and put the spatula she was holding down. "Well, that's to bad Dr. House. I don't have anything to say about any pictures."
"There were legal documents," House persisted. "Evidence of abuse. No charges were filed, but there were pictures. And a crime scene." He hadn't been able to look at the pictures, because the sight of a little dead boy lying on the floor - eyes glazed open had been harsh, even for him.
"Is nothing sacred?" Alice picked up the spatula and was now advancing towards him mouth; set in a thin line.
"I couldn't look at them," House admitted. "I don't like seeing dead children, no matter how much of a heartless bastard people say I am."
"That was Jacob, Dr. House. And no charges were filed because there was no one still alive to file charges against, except for maybe the state or social workers. Now, please remove yourself from my kitchen, or can't you read that signs?"
House retreated immediately.
Cameron rubbed an eye and called out the next name. The ER was slower than usual today, and she was still not caught up on sleep. The man that stumbled his way over to her with his friend supporting him was obviously drunk. The friend held a cloth to his arm.
Cameron sat him down and gently removed the dish towel from a deep wound in his arm that immediately reopened and started bleeding.
"What happened?" She asked, picking up the file to take notes.
"Bar fight." The friend replied shortly. "Peter's a bit of a friendly drunk. He grabbed some chicks ass, and her boyfriend lost it." The two couldn't have been more then twenty five and Cameron held in her sigh.
"It's going to need stitches."
"Dude it's like gushing blood! He's going to have an awesome scar!"
"What exactly did he cut his arm on?"
"Some shit in the bar." Cameron checked the file again. Lovely. He was going to need a tetanus shot.
"I'll be right back." She disappeared to get the appropriate supplies, and when she returned was surprised to find Peter and his friend – whose name she learned was Jared, facing off.
"Dude, you need to get this stitched up." What happened next would always remain a bit of a haze to Cameron. From other people she would later hear that Peter lashed out grabbed her by the arms and slammed her head into the wall before security could apprehend him.
Tina had picked her up later that night, cursing darkly. Besides a concussion and some bruises that were already appearing on her upper arms she was fine. Tina didn't see it that way, but she reluctantly allowed her cousin to swear her to secrecy as well as the nurses.
The night shift was skeleton for the most part, and the nurses that were there were some of the older ones who had grown to really like and appreciate Cameron. And that was how House and Wilson never learned of her escapades in the ER.
The phone rang and Cameron cursed as she almost stabbed herself in the eye with mascara.
"Hello?"
"Blondie?" There was relief in her voice. "It's Tina."
"I figured."
"I ran into a bit of a problem." Tonight Tina was fulfilling her promise of drinks for the pictures.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing really." Tina sighed. "Remember how I was in Philly today?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, I got a flat, and there's a snow storm coming in. I'm just crashing at a hotel."
"Okay." Allison sighed. "Just try and stay safe. Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Go out with House and Jimmy and have a good time. We'll get together next week."
"Fine. I'll talk to you later, Tina. Love you."
"Love you too."
House was sitting on the couch playing his Wii Sport when his phone rang.
Jimmy Boy Wonder, House mused, before he picked it up.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to have to take a rain check on tonight." Wilson's voice was completely apologetic. "One of my patients was just readmitted, and I have to run some tests and talk to them."
"Have a lackey do it."
"I'd rather not. Just go out with Tina and Allison. And be nice."
"I'm always nice Jimmy-Boy."
"Don't hurt her." His voice was serious. "She's breakable, and I don't want to have to glue the pieces of her back together after you're done House."
"So, first you're afraid that she'll break me, and now you're afraid I'll break her?" House's lips twitched in amusement. "We're not even going on a date, mom. Tina will be there to make sure that we don't engage in any inappropriateness. I promise to keep everything above the waist line for tonight."
Wilson sighed and chose to ignore his second comment. "I was afraid of her hurting you, that night, even if I think that you're a big boy. Allison is more vulnerable. She's to trusting sometimes. I don't want to see her getting hurt again."
"Again?"
"You don't know half of it."
"That's right." Houses' voice was low. "Because no one will tell me a GOD DAMN THING and I'm sick of it."
"She doesn't think that you've earned the right to learn those things about her House. I'll see you later. Give the girls my regrets. Good-bye."