A/N: Just an FYI, Hughville and I are not medical professionals. Any errors in this post are ours. Just go with it LOL

Chapter Fourteen

Hunger pangs woke House. The room was dark and he reached up to turn on the bedside lamp. Cameron lay with her back pressed against his side. He craned his neck and saw she was sound asleep. Carefully, he got out of bed and went into the closet. He pulled on pajama pants and a t-shirt. On his way out of the room, he grabbed his cane.

Wilson sat at the large island in the kitchen drinking a glass of milk. House looked at him in surprise.

"I figured you'd be down the Bunny hole," House commented as he rummaged in the refrigerator.

"Been twice but I can't sleep," he responded.

House pulled out a platter of sandwiches left from the memorial reception and put it on the counter. He grabbed the milk and poured himself a glass before sitting down. He devoured two sandwiches as Wilson watched.

"Gonna need your help," House told him as he picked up another sandwich.

"Does it involve committing a felony?"

"No. I want another ketamine treatment."

Wilson stared at him in shock. "The last one didn't work."

House smirked. "That's because you're a lying, manipulative bitch."

"I did it-"

"Yeah, yeah," House interrupted. "You did it for my own good. Whatever. This time is different. It'll work."

"What does Cameron think?" Wilson asked him as he took a sandwich.

House took a huge bite of his own sandwich and looked around.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "You didn't tell her, did you?"

House swallowed. "I need this," he said quietly. "I'll tell her once it's done."

"This is not good," Wilson sighed.

House reached across and grabbed half of his sandwich. "Gonna help me or not?"

Pushing the remainder of his sandwich toward House, he finished his milk. "When and where?"

"Pushover," House grinned. "My apartment when Allison and the others leave for Asheville."

"No."

House narrowed his eyes when Wilson held up a hand. "My apartment in Asheville. We'll tell them we're going to meet with prospective admins for the hospital."

"If you were a woman, I'd kiss you," House grinned.

Wilson got up. "Thank God I'm a man."

"What're you up to?" House asked Cameron a couple days later when he found her in the library with her laptop.

"Looking at homes. So many choices."

"Anything good?" he asked as he joined her on the couch.

"A few possibilities. I like ranchers…"

When he arched an eyebrow at her, she sighed. "Not just because of your leg. I've always liked them, I also like an open floor plan."

"This is your thing. Just tell me where to sign on the dotted line."

She cocked her head to one side. "This will be our place, House. I want you to have at least some say in the choice."

"I'll go with you when you want to check them out."

She nodded and leaned over to place a peck on his cheek. "Good. Let me show you a few places that I'm considering."

After an hour, they'd narrowed their search down to three homes in Asheville and Black Mountain, and made appointments to check them out over the coming weekend. "We can stay at GG's while we're looking. There are also lots of open houses going on so if you're up to it, we can check them out too," Cameron said.
House nodded. "Sounds good. Wilson said he's already found an apartment and it's available now so he's moving in over the weekend. It's in Asheville. Also, Mundell wants him and me to scope out potential administrators for the hospital and we have a few lined up for interviews next week. So that's what we'll be doing."

"That can be your project, decorating the new place will be mine."

House leaned over and kissed her. "Now that's what I call a compromise."

She smiled at him. "Well, all good relationships are based on truth, trust, and compromise."

He stood up. "So you're good with me going with Wilson?"

She nodded. "Sure. Hilary and I are leaving next week. Try to behave," she said teasingly.

House rolled his eyes. "Well now I won't have any fun."

Cameron laughed. "Go pack. I'll see you next week."

House leaned down and kissed her hard. "I love you," he whispered against her lips.

She stroked his cheek. "I love you, too."

"I would do anything for you. You know that, don't you?"

She smiled and kissed him. "I would, too."

House stood and limped quickly from the room. He closed the doors and leaned against them. She would understand. She had to. He was doing the ketamine treatment for both of them. So, she would understand. Pushing away from the doors, he slowly made his way upstairs and packed.

A week later, Wilson stood beside the bed in the spare room of his new apartment. He adjusted the monitors House "borrowed" from the hospital and double checked the bag of ketamine hanging from an IV stand. A sound behind him made him jump slightly. House stood behind him wearing a t-shirt and loose shorts. A catheter tube ran up his leg into his shorts and he held the bag. His hair was cropped shorter and he was clean-shaven.

"You shaved and cut your hair?" Wilson asked.

House got into the bed and arranged the catheter. "I thought you'd be more interested in the fact I inserted my own catheter," he replied.

"Shockingly, that doesn't surprise me," Wilson replied as he swabbed the back of House's right hand.

House winced slightly when Wilson inserted the IV needle. "I hope you don't stick your patients."

"If you wanted gentle, you should have told Cameron."

House looked up at the IV bag as Wilson applied a pulse oximeter and EKG patches. Once everything was ready, House closed his eyes. Then he opened them again.

"Don't try anything funny while I'm out," he told Wilson.

Wilson smirked at him and opened the valve on the IV. Within about a minute, House was out. Wilson pulled a chair up to the bed and turned on the television.

The next morning, something woke Wilson. He sat up slowly and twisted his neck to work out the kinks. The television still droned but he heard someone moving around in the apartment. He got up and unlocked the door. He slipped out and closed the door as quietly as possible. Treading as lightly as possible, he quickly made his way down the hallway and then down the short flight of stairs to the living room. Hilary stood by the couch unpacking a large shopping bag. She looked up when she saw him.

"Morning!" she smiled. "I brought those pillows we liked so much."

He crossed the room and kissed her. "Thanks."

She put the pillows on the couch and then stood back to look at them. Wilson looked toward the hallway. He had to get rid of her without making her suspicious. She switched two pillows then sighed happily.

"Oh, and I got the bedding for the spare room," she told him as she picked up the bag and started to walk toward the hallway. Wilson ran and jumped in front of her.

"You don't have to worry about that now," he said trying to take the bag from her. "I'll put it on the bed."

She pulled the bag free from his hand. "But I want to see it. It won't take me long."

Before he could move or think, she opened the door to the spare room.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" she yelled. She turned to look down the hall at Wilson. "Why is he hooked up to all that stuff? Is he sick? I'm calling Allison."

Wilson stood staring at her in shock as she pulled out her phone and descended on him. He was dimly aware of her talking to Cameron and then clicking off her phone. When she smacked his cheek, he shook his head.

"It's ketamine. It works like a reboot for his brain," he told her softly. "He shouldn't be in pain when he comes to."

Hilary shook her head. "What?"

"It's a drug that can stop the pain in his leg. He got it about a year ago." Wilson looked down at his hands. "It worked for awhile. He's constantly in pain, Hilary. You see how many Vicodin he takes. If this works, he'll be able to walk without his cane and stop taking the Vicodin. I'll leave him under long enough so he doesn't go through withdrawal from the Vicodin. It's what he wants."

"Why didn't he tell Allison?" she demanded. "She's his fiancee. She has a right to know."

"I told him that. He wants to surprise her."

Hilary blew out her breath in disbelief. "This is not a surprise. This is a lie. You lied to me, too."

The front door banged open and Cameron dashed in. "Where is he?"

"The spare room."

Cameron ran past him and into the room. Hilary and Wilson followed her. She stood beside the bed looking at the IV bag. She turned when they entered. Two red spots burned on her cheeks and her eyes flashed.

"Ketamine?"

Wilson nodded. "He's tired of being in pain."

"I know he is but he didn't have to lie to me," Cameron said anger sharp in her voice. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. "I can't deal with him or this right now."

She stalked past them and Wilson flinched when the front door slammed shut.

"You're both idiots," Hilary told him then turned and left.

"Yes, we are," Wilson said softly.

Wilson took a deep breath and brought House out of the coma. He hoped it worked, and that the Vicodin had worked its way out of his system as well. After some time, House's eyes fluttered open and he looked around.

"Hey," Wilson said, trying to look nonchalant but he knew House would see right through it.

"Hey," House replied, his voice raspy. "Water?"

Wilson went and brought him a glass of ice water and sat down. "How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess. My leg isn't throbbing, which is a very good sign. It always does in the morning."

"That's good then. You're going to need some PT."

House nodded. "Don't remind me. I'll make sure the house Cameron and I pick will have space for some sort of a home gym."

Wilson nodded but he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, causing House to narrow his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No, that's not nothing. What's going on?"

"House…"

House sat up straighter and bared his teeth. "What?" he asked again, his voice louder.

"She knows, House."

"How?"

"Hilary came over, I tried to stop her from coming in here, but she saw you and told Cameron, who came over to see for herself. She's really mad. You two might never recover from this."

House sighed. "She'll come around. She hasn't been able to stay mad at me for long."

"I don't know about that..."

"Where is she now?"

"GG's house with Hilary."

"Where's my phone?"

"You really think she's going to talk to you?"

"If she doesn't, we're going to GG's."

Wilson handed over House's cell and he called Cameron's but it went straight to voicemail. "Cameron, it's House. I know you're upset but at least let me talk to you. I'll be at Wilson's." He sighed as he ended the call.

"She's not going to call you back, House. I'll be shocked if she does."

"She will."

"But what if she doesn't?"

"Well that's not going to cheer me up, is it?" House threw the covers back as Wilson removed the IV and other wires from him.

"Take it slow."

"I know," House snapped. His only focus was getting to Cameron. He knew she'd be mad and he really hoped he'd be able to make her see his side of things.