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. And before anyone points it out, I have noticed that many of my stories feature big yelling matches, but they're really fun to write and add drama, so deal.

Chapter 5: The Thunderstorm

Cameron opened her closet and moved clothes aside to reach the garment bag hanging at the end of the closet. It was early May, and although there was a furious thunderstorm outside, she was dressing to go to the hospital benefit. She had recovered well from her bout of illness, although she still tired easily, and had insisted on coming tonight, although Cuddy, Chase and Foreman all tried to discourage her. Wilson however, agreed it would be good for her to get out, and was picking her up in just under an hour.

Cameron unhung the garment bag and laid it out on the bed. Her hair was in curlers and still damp from her earlier shower, and dressed in her robe she quickly ate a quick dinner before carefully applying her makeup for the evening. Then she removed all the curlers from her hair, and brushed it out, loosely pulling it back with tendrils around her face, and sprayed a touch of perfume on her wrists and neck. With only fifteen minutes to go, she unzipped the bag and stepped into her dress, bought especially for tonight. Her dress was a long flowing strapless dress, in a deep shade of chocolate brown.

She hastily threw on shoes and tossed her keys and cell phone in a small silver clutch as Wilson knocked on the door.

"Hi," she greeted him, stepping out into the hall and locking her door behind her.

Wilson was grinning. "Hi yourself, you look great Allison!"

Cameron chuckled. "Thank you. Come on, I don't want to be late!"

Ten minutes later they arrived at the hospital and Cameron immediately sought out Chase and Foreman, who beckoned them over to their table.

"Nice dress, Cameron," Chase said appreciatively and Cameron flushed.

"Thanks."

The night kicked off with a welcoming speech by Cuddy to the staff and donors, and then dinner was served. Dr. Schafer, who Cameron had been substituting for in the ER had come with her husband and infant daughter, and the two women were talking between the second course and dessert, when Foreman dashed past, stopping to grab her attention.

"Cameron! House is here!"

Cameron immediately whirled around, her heart in her throat. Sure enough, in the doorway talking to Wilson, Cuddy and Chase, dressed in jeans, T-shirt and his bike jacket, was House.

"Excuse me, Fiona," she excused herself from her conversation, standing up and following Foreman to join the group.

"House!" Foreman called when they were within speaking distance, and House looked up saw Foreman and immediately his gaze locked on Cameron. He literally choked on air when he saw her, and she approached cautiously.

"Hi," she said, somewhat breathlessly and he gaped at her for a moment before he was able to speak.
"Hi. How are you feeling?"

She smiled shyly. "Fine. You?"

"Great."

An awkward silence fell between the two, which only Wilson understood, so Chase broke it quickly. "So, where's Stacy?"

House finally tore his gaze away from Cameron to focus on the others. "She's not here. We broke up after the operation, so she's been home for awhile."

Cameron and Cuddy gaped in surprise, whilst Chase and Foreman nodded sympathetically. Cameron immediately assumed Stacy had ended it after finding out about their kiss, and felt a wave of guilt, which was evident in her voice when she winced. "God, I'm sorry House. Are you okay?"

House knew what she was thinking, and actually smiled at the hope it gave him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was the one who ended it."

Cuddy was stunned by this. "What? Why?"

House glanced at her, and then directed his gaze back to Cameron. "Because I realised it's not fair to be in a relationship with someone when you're thinking about someone else."

Cameron's jaw dropped as Foreman, Chase and Cuddy followed his gaze to Cameron. "What are you talking about?" she asked nervously.

House completely forgot about the others standing within earshot as he stared captivated at Cameron. "I'm in love with you."

Cameron turned ashen, and gaped at him for a moment, air seemingly clogged in her throat. "I- I'm sorry... I-I can't...excuse me..." she felt herself begin to collapse and pushed past House and Wilson, making a hasty exit to the doorway. House was left staring at the spot where she'd been standing, a look of utter confusion on his face, before he turned and followed her out to the hallway. He found her in the lobby, taking deep breaths, her face in her hands.

"What the hell was that about?" he demanded, startling her.

Cameron looked stunned. "What was that about? What was that about?" she retorted.

House rolled his eyes. "I don't know, to me it looked like that was me telling you I'm in love with you, but what do I know?" he shrugged sarcastically.

Cameron still managed to glare at him, despite the fact she could barely think straight. "Why now? We've been doing this- dance for the past four years. Every time I take a step forward, you take two steps back! And now, you just start leading, and I'm expected to know all the steps?"

"Well, I'm sorry but I haven't been 'dancing' in years!" House continued with the metaphor, and his voice began to escalate. "So, yeah it's taken me awhile to pick it up. Cameron, I'm ready now. I couldn't be ready before. When you first walked into my office for that interview, I thought 'wow, that girl is incredibly beautiful'. And then we had that case with the sick babies, and you got the parents to hold their kid while the nurse changed the sheets. That is the exact moment I fell in love with you."

Cameron's eyes widened in disbelief. "House-"

"But I thought you deserved more than a man who was crippled and twice your age. The more I tried, I couldn't get over you. And I've realised now, I'm done trying. I don't want to spend any more time wondering what might have been."

House was startled when Cameron's eyes flashed with anger. "You thought I deserved more, so you pushed me away for four years?" she demanded.

She was so angry, she could barely speak, and took a deep breath to try and control her emotions. "House, I met my husband a week after he'd been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. We dated for four months before he proposed, we were married two months after that, and we were married for six months. The entire time we were together, from the day he told me that he was dying, he was trying to make me leave. The night he proposed he asked if I was sure I wanted to marry him, knowing he was dying. Knowing that we couldn't have a future together."

Cameron had tears in her eyes as she relived some of her most painful memories. "I am sick of people who supposedly love me, making decisions about what's best for me, without consulting me. I'm done believing people who make promises they can't guarantee they can keep. I am done falling for people, who then push me away, and yet expect me to keep waiting around. I- I'm just done."

With that, Cameron turned and left the lobby, heading outside where it was still pouring down. House's eyes narrowed, his temper rising. He was faintly aware of a small crowd standing in the lobby entranceway, transfixed on the scene before them, but he paid them no mind as he followed Cameron outside. He knew Cameron had come with Wilson, so wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but followed her nonetheless.

"Hey!" he yelled angrily over the rain when he was within earshot, but she ignored him.

"Cameron!" he called, and again was ignored.

"Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie!!"

This Cameron couldn't ignore and she whirled around to face him, just in time for him to grab her arm and keep her from moving away.

"Listen to me!" he commanded. "You're right. I shouldn't make promises I can't guarantee. I can't promise a happily ever after, or that there won't be times we won't want to kill each other. But I love you, and I've never been able to say that without feeling trapped before. But I don't when I say it to you."

Cameron shook her head, oblivious to the fact they were both getting soaked and tried to pull away, but House's grip was firm.

"When Stacy first came back, you said to me that everyone has one great love. A love that changes them. You told me, you'd take even another second with your husband in a heartbeat. That is exactly the kind of thing I feel for you. If there was even a chance of a life with you, I'd take it. Even if the idea scares me to death. I don't want to have any more regrets. And I already have enough about you."

There was a mixture of tears and rain on Cameron's face as she answered him, House straining to hear her answer through the rain. "I can't risk getting hurt again for maybe a lifetime House. I don't have it in me."

Stunned, he slackened his grip on her arm and she took the opportunity to walk away. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when he was behind her, catching her from behind and whispering in her ear.

"I'll walk away right now, and we can both pretend this night never happened," House swore, though his heart was breaking to say it.

"If," he added, turning her around to face him. "You can look me in the eyes, and tell me there's no part of you that doesn't want this; and there's no chance in hell you could ever love me."

Cameron choked on a dry sob, as she slowly lifted her blue-gray eyes to meet his cobalt blue. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Finally, she swallowed and managed to choke out words barely legible through the heavy downpour.

"I- I never stopped loving you," she said brokenly.

That was all House needed to hear, and he lowered his head to hers and pulled her into him. Their lips met fiercely and Cameron immediately pressed her rain-soaked body as close to his as she could manage. His hands were running through her tangled hair, and all requirements for oxygen were forgotten as they gave in to their building desires of the past four years, and all their tensions from the past three months.

"Well, I'll be damned," Foreman said, grinning as half the hospital staff witnessed House and Cameron's first kiss.

Chase and several of the nurses seemed shell-shocked, and Cuddy turned to Wilson accusingly, who was grinning like the cat who had swallowed the canary.

"You knew he was coming back two weeks early! That's why you said Cameron should come!" she said accusingly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Cuddy sighed and laughed. "Good work."

They were all transfixed by the sight, and finally Cuddy tugged on Wilson's sleeve. "Ok, go get them now."

Wilson scoffed. "You want me to go interrupt their make-out session and be killed? Why?"

"Mostly because it's pouring rain out there, and I have one doctor who's just been on a three month vacation; and another doctor recovering from pneumonia," Cuddy replied and Wilson groaned.

"Ok, ok. Let me just get an umbrella. I don't fancy the soaked-to-the-skin look they do."

Wilson walked towards House and Cameron, who were still entwined in one another's grasp, trying to make as much noise as possible to alert them to his presence. However, he still had to clear his throat twice before they separated.

"Little busy here, Jimmy," House called not looking at his friend and Cameron giggled.

Wilson sighed. "House, I should point out that it's cold and wet out here, and your girlfriend is still recovering from pneumonia and her wardrobe choices aren't designed for wet weather?"

House finally pulled away and looked up. "It's raining," he remarked sounding surprised.

Cameron looked up too. "Right..."

House then noticed Cameron was shivering and pulled off his jacket to put around her shoulders. "Here, you don't want to get sick again."

Wilson smiled softly and gestured, handing them the larger umbrella he had brought out. "Here. Come on, you can make out inside."

Cameron blushed furiously as House put up the umbrella and the three headed back towards the hospital.

"Oh, you guys?" Wilson asked as they walked.

"Yeah?" House looked at his friend.

"It's about damn time," Wilson responded laughing, and House couldn't help shoving his friend lightly.

Cuddy met the couple at the door with a wide smile and towels to dry off. House accepted the towels, and led Cameron to an exam room. He shut the door behind them, turned on the light, before cupping her face gently in his hands and kissing her.

"I love you," he told her sincerely, looking into her eyes when they'd separated.

A brilliant smile spread over Cameron's face, and she chuckled softly. "I love you," she answered, and House folded her into his arms.

"So, how much longer do we have to stay at this thing?" he murmured and she laughed.

"As much as I'd like to say that we can leave right now, probably half an hour at the least."

House groaned, kissed her again and sighed. "Fine. But not a minute longer."

"Deal," she agreed.

Sure enough, approximately half an hour later, Cameron and House bid goodnight to Wilson and the others, and headed out to House's car. He had arrived from Germany, caught a cab home, dumped his luggage and gone straight to the hospital. Now, they drove back to Cameron's apartment, where she let them in and suddenly self-conscious, switched on the coffee pot.

"You should go get changed," House told her. "So you don't get sick."

"What about you?" she protested.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one recovering from pneumonia." He pushed her gently towards her bedroom. "Go!"

She complied, and hurriedly changed into sweatpants and a tank top, a long-sleeved woollen wrap around cardigan over the top. When she came out, she was pleasantly surprised to find House had made the coffee, which they drank in silence. As she nervously rinsed their empty mugs, House came up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, his hands securely around her waist.

"What have I told you about clenching?" he muttered and she giggled sheepishly, blushing.

"Sorry. It's just... it's still a little weird. After everything..."

"I know." House sighed. "Have you ever given a Sex Ed talk?"

Cameron was startled by the strange topic change, but went with it. "Yeah, as an intern at the Mayo Clinic. Why?"

"What's the first thing that you tell all the awkward teens?"

Cameron thought it over and rolled her eyes in understanding. "That sex is the most natural thing in the world, and there's nothing to be awkward about."

"Exactly." House began to plant soft kisses on her neck and up her jaw towards her mouth. "So relax... and let nature take its course."

Cameron smiled as he kissed her again, and began to lead her backwards to her bedroom. House awoke the next morning with bright sunlight streaming through the windows. He blinked adjusting and looked around the room. For a second, his sleep-addled brain couldn't place where he was, until he looked next to him, and smiled softly to see Cameron sleeping soundly firmly wrapped within his embrace. His heart melted as he watched her sleep, and finally he could bear it no longer and gently pressed his lips to hers. It was only seconds before she returned the kiss, and House reluctantly broke the kiss off before he deepened it so he could look at her.

"Hey," he murmured, smoothing her hair back off her face.

"Hi," she replied softly, seeming perfectly content.

"Sleep okay?"

She nodded. "You? Any jet lag?"

"Nope."

Cameron moved to lay her head on his bare chest and they stayed like that for a while, House's fingers playing in her hair, until he broke the silence.

"Do you have plans for today?"

Cameron thought about it and shook her head. "I suppose at some point this weekend I should go grocery shopping, so I don't starve, but other than that, no. You?"

House snorted. "I'm still supposed to be in Germany, remember? Although, I have to call my mom... let her know how things went."

Cameron looked up at him in surprise. "Your mom knows about us?"

"Of course she does," House answered.

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. That I was in love with this incredible woman, and I can't live without her any longer."

He felt Cameron's smile widen, and she sighed happily as his grip tightened on her. "I love you," she said softly.

House smiled. "I love you too."

The first Monday morning after the benefit, Cameron woke up when her alarm went off at six-thirty, as per usual. However, this Monday morning, as she made to get out of bed, there was a strong arm around her waist to stop her.

"Where do you think you're going?" House mumbled sleepily.

Cameron laughed quietly, and kissed his cheek softly. "Good morning. It's Monday. People tend to go to work on Mondays."

House raised his head to squint at the clock. "At six-thirty two in the morning?"

"We don't all wander in between nine and eleven," she teased him. "I'm in the office at seven-thirty."

"You're insane!" House mumbled, pulling her towards him. "Chase and Foreman come at eight-thirty. Be like them."

"If I go in at eight-thirty, I won't get a chance to answer your mail," she reminded him. "Come on, it's my first day back after the ER. You're still on vacation, aren't you?"

House's eyes flew open. "Oh, yeah. But how can I have a vacation if you're at work?"

Cameron laughed. "You'll manage. I'll put the coffee on, and then I'm going to shower. You can go back to sleep."

But House was awake now. "No, I'll come with you," he declared and Cameron smiled knowingly.

By seven, Cameron and House were both dressed and in her kitchen drinking coffee, whilst House inspected her cupboards. "You have no breakfast food."

Cameron grinned. "Well, I didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping, did I? Besides, I don't eat breakfast."

House startled. "What do you mean you don't eat breakfast?"

She shrugged. "I'm not that hungry in the mornings. I eat brunch around eleven instead."

"Geez, what kind of doctor are you?" House mumbled. "Thank goodness you're not a nutritionist!"

She swatted his arm playfully as she rinsed her mug and collected her things for work. "So, did you decide what you're going to do today?"

"Yeah, I was thinking I'd come hang out with you today," he replied seriously. He stared at her as she laughed. "What? I can't hang out at my place of employment with my really hot girlfriend when I'm on vacation?"

"I don't think many people do," she replied, but her eyes were shining. "Ok, then. I'm leaving as soon as I brush my teeth."

House nodded. "On the way home, we're stopping at the grocery store!" he called after her.

When they arrived at the hospital, House stopped her as she began to head inside. "I'll meet you in there. I'll walk down to Krispy Kremes and buy some doughnuts for breakfast."

Cameron grinned and nodded. "Ok. Very nutritious."

House merely kissed her lightly and walked off. Cameron entered the hospital and saw Cuddy at the reception desk in the lobby talking to one of the nurses.

"Morning Cuddy!" she said brightly.

Cuddy seemed surprised to see her. "Cameron! You're here early, aren't you?"

"No earlier than usual," Cameron replied, confused.

The nurse at the desk handed Cameron a stack of mail. "I think most of that's for Diagnostic's, but I'd check it through. A new girl handed the mail today," she warned.

Cameron nodded and began to go through the large stack of letters, whilst talking to Cuddy about the benefit. She was three-quarters of the way through when she felt House come up behind her and she instinctively leaned into him.

"I come bearing doughnuts," he announced, showing her the large box. "Is all that for me?"

Cameron nodded, glancing at the box. "That's a lot of doughnuts."

"What the boys don't eat, we can take home tonight," House replied and Cuddy finally recovered from the surprise of seeing House at the hospital enough to interrupt.

"Home? You guys are living together already?"

"No, of course not," House rolled his eyes. However, they offered no further explanation and Cuddy pressed forward.

"House, aren't you still on vacation? What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging. Don't worry, I'm not planning on working," he assured her.

"Do you ever?" she retorted and Cameron snorted.

House pinched her bottom in retaliation and grabbed the mail off her, leading the way to the elevators. "See ya Cuddy!" he called over his shoulder, and Cuddy smiled to notice one hand was firmly on Cameron's hip.