Well, this is the last chapter of this story. Hope you enjoyed it. I've started writing a sequel, and will begin posting it here in a couple of weeks.
Chapter 29. I'm Going Home (Back To The Place Where I Belong)
House strode through the double doors of the gym and down the long high school hallway, forcing himself to not look back. It's best this way, he told himself.
He walked out into the still-sunny street and got into his car, making a probably-illegal U-turn and heading back to US 13. He turned right when he reached the traffic light, heading south to who-knows-where.
He passed Mo's Diner and the Mo-Z Inn and smiled. Cameron had been right. The folks in this town were good people, and Mo, Zach, their daughter and Linda were some of the best. He'd miss Mo's cooking. And he'd had some interesting times at the motel. Very interesting.
It looked like the gas station was back in operation but his tank was pretty full, so he continued on. The parking lot in front of the clinic was empty now. The other businesses in the strip would probably be open again as soon as power was restored.
As he continued on, he finally felt that he was on his way. Away from this town that had welcomed Cameron as one of their own. Him, too, if he was honest about it.
But she belonged here. It suited her ethics, her brand of morality. Yes, she belonged.
He'd never belonged anywhere. As a kid, moving so often from place to place, he'd never fit in. By the time he was a teenager, he'd given up trying. And by the time he finished medical school he'd convinced himself that he liked being the outsider. It was somehow easier, simpler. He wasn't beholden to anyone but himself. He didn't need anyone else's approval or acceptance.
That still wasn't something he was seeking, a sense of belonging, being a part of a community. True, the taste he'd had of that over the past few days had been...what? Interesting? Satisfying? He couldn't put his finger on why it had made him feel...good.
He shrugged and kept on driving, out in the country now. But he couldn't help thinking about Pete and the life the older man had made for himself with a house and a boat he could enjoy alone, people to talk to when he wanted company, a place to find delicious meals when he was hungry.
Fishing is boring, House thought. Having a routine is boring, even if it includes some of Mo's food.
Why am I thinking about food? he wondered as he passed through another small town. Maybe because I'm hungry, he decided. He drove a while further, but there weren't any restaurants or even fast-food places. And what he really wanted was a dish of Mo's chicken and dumplings, or maybe the stew.
He saw a sign for Snow Hill. That was where Cameron had sent a few patients, the nearest town with a hospital. There are bound to be restaurants there. Maybe not like Mo's, but good enough for a quick meal. But it was Mo's food he craved.
Well, there's no one to stop me from having what I want, he thought. He found a spot where he could make a U-turn and headed back north, the taste of Mo's stew luring him back.
Once again he dismissed any eateries in the other towns he passed through. There was only one place he wanted to have his next meal. And when he saw the 'Welcome' sign for the town, he felt his body suddenly relax.
But when he reached the diner, something made him drive on, to turn left again at the light, and drive the half mile to the high school.
The little parking lot at the side of the school was empty now, and so was the street outside. Is she still there? he wondered. There was only one way to find out. He pulled into the lot and got out.
He pushed through the big outer doors of the building and strode back down the hallway. The doors to the gym were wide open. A lone figure stood by the tables they'd used, packing the remaining supplies into plastic bags. Cameron looked up at the sound of his distinct footsteps on the polished wood floor, startled and certainly surprised. Her smile lit up her eyes and he suddenly didn't know what to say.
House would ask 'back so soon?', Cameron thought, but instead she just said, "Hi," followed by "What are you doing here?"
He replied with the first thing that came to mind. "I got hungry."
"There's no food here," she pointed out.
"I had an urge for Mo's stew," he said. His throat was dry and the words came haltingly.
She nodded. "And you drove right past the diner and came here." The emphasis on the word 'here' increased each time she spoke, but she wasn't accusing him of anything.
He swallowed. "I...I thought you'd be hungry too."
Cameron grinned again. "Oh, House!" Her hand reached out and touched his bristly cheek. The warmth of her touch spread through him and he was able to pull himself out of the nervous state he'd been in.
"So. Let's go," he said.
"Ralph and Kelly said they'd come back for me after they took a few patients home," she said.
"Oh. OK." He turned to go without her, even though he was sure she wouldn't let him.
"House! Wait!" Just as he expected, Cameron called him back. "They'll be here before long and I'll send them on their way. I'm sure they want to get back to their own home. It's been a few days."
He turned back to her, suppressing his smile, and reached out to pull her toward him.
"House!" she exclaimed as his hands began to roam. "They'll be here any minute!"
"So?" he replied.
But as if on cue, they heard Ralph and Kelly coming down the hall toward the gym. Cameron pulled away, although not too far away.
"Mrs. Fallon and Daphne are safely home!" Ralph announced, coming through the doorway. His wife looked at House and Cameron and smiled.
"I...I won't be needing a ride after all," Cameron said.
Kelly's smile broadened. "I can see that. Hi, Doc House!"
"Guess we can head on home, then," Ralph said. "Let's go Kel." He took his wife's hand and started to turn to go. "See you two around!" he called back to the two doctors.
Kelly added. "Have fun, you two!" and started giggling as she left with her husband.
Cameron grabbed the bags she'd been stuffing and said, "So, what are we waiting for?" she asked House. "I thought you were hungry."
"Yeah. Hungry." They walked out of the gym together and down the hallway to the front doors. "You know, you should get an outfit like the one you borrowed from Chrissy."
"I'm not a teenager!" Cameron responded.
"No, but those vests you wear make you look like a twelve-year-old boy."
She frowned at him.
"They hide the few curves you have," he added.
Cameron stopped in her tracks and pressed her lips together. "Well, if my curves aren't enough for you..."
"I didn't say that," House objected. "Or, if I did, it wasn't what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?" If she weren't carrying all the bags of supplies, her hands would have gone to her hips, but House knew the look on her face.
"Just that I prefer you to look like a woman," he said, hoping he hadn't already made a mess of things.
Cameron thought about that. Now he's telling me what to wear? But she decided she could live with it, especially because of what he was leaving unsaid. "OK." And she started walking again.
They reached his car and House opened the trunk for Cameron to deposit the bags of supplies, then he got into the driver's seat.
Cameron smiled slightly. She wasn't at all surprised that he hadn't held the passenger's side door open for her. She got into the car, and he drove out of the lot and turned left into the street to head back to the diner.
Before they got to the light at US 13, out of nowhere he suddenly asked, "Do you suppose the hospital that sponsors the clinic or the one in Snow Hill would be interested in starting a diagnostics department?"
He glanced over and saw her smile, the one that lit up her entire face, the one he'd seen a few times since he'd been in this town, the one he rarely, if ever, saw back in New Jersey. It made him smile, too, just to see he'd said something to make her that happy.
"There are also a couple of hospitals in Pocomoke," she said. "I'm sure any of them would be thrilled to have the famous..."
"Some would say 'infamous'," House interjected.
She laughed. "...the famous Dr. Gregory House." Softer, she added. "I know I would."
THE END