DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.

AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.

Chapter 4: The face you see

House lay in his room at the hospital in Berlin, waiting for the doctors to take him through to the operating room. He had been in Germany for three days now, and they had been an endless craze. He had thrown Wilbur into his carry-on bag at the last minute, as Stacy placed his suitcases in his car the morning they'd left. As they flew over the ocean, Stacy had opened his bag looking for tissues and found him on top.

"What is this?" she'd laughed, pulling him out.

House stared at her unfocused for a moment, before replying. "Cameron gave it to me. Some sentimental good luck thing, or whatever."

Stacy had automatically tightened her lips and replaced the pig, pulling out the tissues. "When did she give you that?"

"Last night," House muttered, putting on headphones to watch the movie.

When they'd landed and collected their luggage, they'd gone and checked Stacy into her hotel and House into the hospital, where they'd met the doctors. Stacy left Wilbur in his backpack, and House, upon finding it, had sat him on his dresser. After the operation, he would remain in hospital for a week, before moving to the rehab clinic for the next three months.

John and Blythe had arrived that morning, and were with Stacy now in the cafeteria. And now here he was, lying in bed and staring at Wilbur. Every night since his arrival, he had gone to sleep picturing Cameron's face after their kiss. Her expression had been one of surprise and confusion but not regret which for some unknown reason, encouraged House. The arrival of the nurses interrupted his musings, and they wheeled him off to the operating room, and his parents and Stacy wished him luck. As the anaesthesias prepared to administer the sedative, his last conscious thought was of what Cameron was doing now. 'Stupid Wilbur," he thought, and blacked out.

At that moment, Cameron was in the midst of chaos, known as the PPTH ER. She was doing three things at once, and dashing about with a pile of files in her arms, when she suddenly turned and literally, ran into Wilson.

"Oh, god! Sorry, Wilson," she apologised, bending to pick up the files and their contents that had fallen on the floor during the collision.

"It's fine," he laughed as he got down on the floor to help her. Suddenly, he frowned and caught her arms, forcing her to look at him.

"Cameron, are you ok?" he asked in concern. Cameron's face was drained of colour, and she had large, dark circles under her eyes.

She smiled thinly at him, standing up again. "Yeah, fine. Having a clumsy day, that's all."

Wilson raised an eyebrow. "I meant, as a whole, are you okay? You don't look so good. If one day running the ER does this to you, I wouldn't want to see you at the end of the three months."

Cameron sighed, massaging her temples and took a shaky breath. "No, I'm not so good. There's... a lot going on."

Wilson was worried now. "Ok, do you have time for a coffee break?"

She laughed dryly. "I haven't even had lunch yet. It's been crazy here all day."

He took the files off her, and handed them to a passing nurse. "Dr. Cameron is taking an hour lunch now. Anything less urgent than a three car-pile up, don't page her. Got it?"

The nurse nodded, as Wilson led a protesting Cameron out of the ER and to the cafeteria. They took their lunches outside to enjoy the last of the afternoon sun, and Wilson looked at her expectantly. "Ok, talk. What's going on?"

Cameron sighed, inwardly reflecting it would be good to finally tell someone. "The other night... my birthday... I got home after the party and brought all my presents inside and everything, and then realised I'd forgotten to give House this... thing. My stuffed toy pig, it's a long story, but there's this old joke that it has magic powers for the sick, so I thought I'd give it to House. So, I took it over and Stacy wasn't there and I gave him the pig... and he kissed me."

Wilson choked on a mouthful of coffee. "He what?"

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, and it was a full on kiss too... and then it was incredibly awkward, and I went home."

"Ok," Wilson said slowly and she buried her head in her hands.

"I haven't slept in three nights... I can't stop thinking about it, and what he meant by it... expect knowing House, he probably didn't mean anything by it... god! And then I'm trying to mentally calculate the time difference between here and Berlin, which is hard when you haven't slept.. And wondering if he'd had the surgery yet, and what he's doing, and what he's thinking..."

She was on the verge of tears and Wilson rubbed her arm in comfort. "Hey, Allison... it'll be okay," he said soothingly.

"How? I'm trying to keep busy so I don't think about it, but I don't think it's working."

Wilson hesitated. "Cameron, do you still have feelings for him?"

Cameron looked up at him, tears running slowly down her face, which she wiped away impatiently. "Honestly? I can't tell. For four years, it's just been these constant mind games... I don't know. And it doesn't matter anything, because he's with Stacy. And that's another reason I can't stop thinking about it. He's in a relationship! And I kissed him, which means he cheated on Stacy. With me. I've never done anything like this before! And I just keep hearing my Dad's speech from the party, saying that they're so proud of me because I have good morals and a big heart... how is what I did an example of good morals and a big heart? Or good judge of character, whatever my Dad said."

Wilson sighed, mentally cursing his friend, as he comforted Cameron. "Allison, listen to me. He kissed you. You didn't do anything, he made the decision to follow through and you reacted emotionally. It's the natural reaction. And your Dad is right. If you didn't have good morals and a big heart, you wouldn't be stressing over this. You need to just distract yourself, until House comes back and then either you'll talk, or ignore the issue. You can't lose sleep over it, especially not for the next three months. You'll need every bit of focus and energy for the ER, trust me."

Cameron sighed, and a small smile spread over her face, her body instantly reacting. "You're right, Wilson. I'm totally being a basket case, aren't I? Sorry to dump this all on you," she apologised.

"Forget it. That's what friends are for," he smiled.

He changed the direction to a lighter topic and at the end of the hour, she bid him goodbye, and made her way back to the ER.

"Hi, Cuddy," she greeted the Dean of Medicine, who was just leaving the clinic.

"Hello, Dr. Cameron. How's the ER going?"

"Good. Busy," she smiled.

Cuddy nodded. "That's good. Not for the patient's, of course..."

"I get it," Cameron laughed, reassuringly. "What's the flier?" she asked, referring to the piece of paper in the other woman's hand.

Cuddy held it up. "I'm planning a new benefit for May, two weeks before House comes back. To raise money for a new clinic. I've only just started and it's already frustrating me," she laughed.

Cameron smiled sympathetically. "Do you want some help planning?" she offered.

Cuddy looked relieved. "Would you mind? That would be fantastic!"

"No worries, it'll keep me busy," she laughed.

"Well, if you're sure, why don't we get together for lunch tomorrow and go over the details?" Cuddy suggested.

"Yeah, great. Ok, see you then," Cameron smiled and continued on her way.

Two weeks later, Wilson was in his office, just finishing up a patient's paperwork, when there was a knock on his door.

"Yeah?" he called, and when he looked up his jaw dropped. "Stacy?!"

"Hey, James," she smiled entering the office and shutting the door as he came round the desk to embrace her.

"What are you doing here? House didn't bail on his rehab, did he?"

Stacy shook her head. "No, no. He's at the clinic in Germany, with Blythe and John."

"And you're here," Wilson said pointedly. "Is it work?"

"No..." Stacy cleared her throat. "Greg and I ended it."

Wilson was stunned. "Whoa!"

"Or more specifically, he ended it," she continued.

He was speechless as he sat her down. "Ok, what happened? Did the operation fail?"

She smiled. "No, it worked perfectly. There's no pain, no nothing. They're even going to get him off the Vicodin."

"So, why did he end it?" Wilson was confused.

Stacy actually laughed. "Because he finally realised what I've known since I came back. He's in love with Allison Cameron."

A broad grin of joy and disbelief spread across Wilson's face. "You're kidding?"

She shook her head. "Nope. He's totally head over heels in love with her."

"How did he realise that?" Wilson demanded, then realised he was talking to the woman who had just been dumped. "Oh, sorry."

She shrugged. "Don't be. Since I came back... it just didn't feel right. But of course, Greg being Greg, he pointed out things I didn't even notice."

"Like?"

Stacy sighed wistfully. "That I came back, expecting us to pick up where we left off six years ago, before the leg. And that I somehow thought if the operation worked, I could stop feeling so guilty over causing the leg in the first place. And he's right. I did... I mean, even now, I could never bring myself to touch his scar. Because, it was a reminder. I guess shuddering every time you touch your boyfriend's leg isn't the best ground for a relationship."

"So, he ended it... and what did you do?" Wilson asked cautiously.

She smiled. "I said it was about time he realised that he loved Cameron; and wished him good luck. I stopped off in Paris on my way home, so I can finally say I've been... and thought I'd stop by on my way home. Greg didn't call you?"

Wilson shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, Stace."

"Don't be. It just wasn't meant to be." She and Wilson hugged and then she left his office.

Wilson managed to resist until he had gotten home, had dinner, done a load of laundry and half-heartedly done his paperwork before calling House's room in the clinic. It was only seven o'clock there, but he was surprised when House answered almost immediately , his voice alert.

"Guten Tag?"

"House? You're up at seven o'clock in the morning?" Wilson was confused.

"Please, Jimmy. I've been up for an hour. What can I do for you?"

Wilson hesitated. "Uh, Stacy stopped by today. She just got home from Paris."

"Yeah, she said she was going to," House replied casually.

"So, you ended it with her? When?"

"About a week ago."

"Can I ask why?"

"I think you just did," House rolled his eyes, as he moved his bed to a sitting position. "Oh, that's not what you meant. You want the goss, the heart to heart."

"Yeah, and you want to give it to me. Spill!" Wilson ordered.

House sighed slightly. "When Stacy showed up, asking me to come back... Cameron came and saw me. She told me... that you can love as many times as you want, but you only have one great love that changes you once in your lifetime, and if you have a second chance with that person, you should just take it. That's what convinced me to go through with it. I automatically thought Stacy was that person for me."

"And now?" Wilson asked quietly.

"Do you remember that hallucination I had after I got shot?"

"Yes," Wilson said slowly, trying to follow his friend's train of thought.

"Well, in the hallucination, when I woke up the first person I saw was Cameron. And when I woke up after the operation... the first person I wanted to see, was Cameron. All I could see was her face. And I just realised... maybe she's that person for me. The one who changes me."

"So this realisation, came before or after you kissed her?" Wilson asked.

House's jaw dropped. "How do you know about that?"

"Cameron."

This pleased House immensely. "Oh yeah? How's she doing? Is she pining for me?"

Wilson faltered. "Oh, well... she's... she's around."

House frowned. "What the hell does that mean? 'She's around?' How is she?"

"Fine... you know, I've been busy... haven't seen her much..."

Even through a long distance phone call, House could tell when his best friend was avoiding an issue. "Wilson, what's going on with Cameron? Spit it out!"

Wilson sighed, dreading his friend's reaction. "Cameron... was discharged today."

House choked on his own saliva. "What? Discharged? What the hell are you talking about?"

Wilson reluctantly admitted with a deep breath. "Well, she's been a bit... distracted since you've been gone. She's trying to figure out what the hell you were playing at when you stuck your tongue down her throat, and feeling guilty because it happened when you are- or were- in a relationship with another woman. The ER's been hectic and then she's helping Cuddy plan a benefit... all, I might add, in an effort to stop thinking about you... and the other day... she collapsed."

"What?" House practically yelled, and Wilson actually held the phone away from his ear.

"It's not surprising really," Wilson continued, whilst House breathed fire down the line. "She's overworking herself, barely sleeping or eating... her body gave out."

"But she was discharged today, you said? So she's ok?" House demanded.

"She has pneumonia. She wanted to go home, and Cuddy agreed."

"Cuddy agreed to discharge her? She has pneumonia! How is she supposed to take care of herself?" House was furious, which secretly thrilled Wilson.

"House, she's a doctor. She knows what to do, and Chase, Foreman and Cuddy have all agreed with me to call in on her while she recuperates," Wilson said calmly.

House sighed. "This is my fault. I'm coming home!" he announced and Wilson froze.

"Oh, no, no, no. You can't skive on your rehab! Listen, House- she'll be fine. When you come home, you can talk to her then, ok? Maybe use the time to think about what you actually want to say to her?"

House didn't answer, merely growled down the phone, letting Wilson know he agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Good. I'll keep you updated, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever... Hey, Wilson? Do me a favour?"

Wilson smiled. "Sure."

House hung up the phone, and sighed leaning against his pillows as his parents entered the room. "Good morning, sweetheart! How are you today?" Blythe asked him.

"Fine," House said distractedly. "Just got off the phone with Wilson."

"Oh, good. It was good of him to call," John House said as he sat down.

House nodded, his thoughts still on Cameron, so that he almost missed his mother's comment. "I suppose Stacy's home by now?"

House rolled his eyes. "Mom, I know you like Stacy, but there was a reason we ended it."

"A better reason than the last time, I hope," John said bluntly.

"Yeah, actually. I realised there's someone else."

Blythe and John looked horrified. "What? Was it Marc?" Blythe demanded.

House was puzzled, before he realised what his mother was implying. "Not her, Mom! No... I realised I'm in love with someone else."

John grinned, he unlike his wife, had not favoured Stacy. "Good for you, Greg! Who is she?"

House hesitated. "Well... would you guys object if I was with someone... younger?"

"Of course not!" Blythe said immediately. "We just want you to be happy, sweetheart."

"Good to know. Her name's Allison Cameron."

It was John who made the connection first. "Allison Cameron... that young girl that works for you? We met her that time?"

House nodded calmly. "Yeah, that's her."

Blythe now looked worried. "Greg, she's awfully young, isn't she?"

"She's thirty," House protested. "She just looks younger."

His parents were silent as they processed this information. "Well," Blythe said finally. "You'll have to bring her to our anniversary party in August."

House was startled. "Whoa! Ok, first of all- we're not together yet. Secondly, we may not get together at all... I've kind of put her through a lot," he admitted, for the first time having to imagine what he would do if Cameron didn't return his feelings. Although his doubts were small, based on the past four years and their kiss, they were there.

Blythe patted his arm in comfort. "Greg, just tell her how you feel. That's all you can do."

House resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Right."

The next day, Cameron was on her couch watching TV when a knock came on her apartment door. Slowly, she made her way to the door to reveal Wilson clutching a container.

"Hey, Wilson, "she greeted him.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're supposed to be resting?" he chided her.

Cameron laughed. "I was, until I got up to let you in."

"Oh, right." He held the container aloft. "I come bearing soup."

She smiled. "Thanks, just stick it in the microwave."

She returned to the couch as he did so, then casually turned to her and remarked, "I- uh... I spoke to House last night."

Cameron's heart skipped a beat. "Really? How is he?" she asked breathlessly.

"Fine. The operation worked, and he's started rehab. He heard you were sick."

"Oh?"

Wilson grinned at her. "He asked me to pass on a message."

Cameron held her breath. "What?"

"See what happens when you lend out your lucky pig?" came the response, and Cameron laughed, a real laugh, almost allowing herself to hope that her relationship with House could return to normal despite their kiss.

"Typical House," she murmured, and Wilson nodded in silent agreement.