A/N: It's awful quiet out there LOL. To those who are still reading, thank you for your comments :) Keep em coming! :) Here's another chapter.

Chapter Four

Cameron turned on the coffee maker and set about making breakfast for herself. House was still asleep so she made sure to keep quiet. He had been impossible to be around but she knew it wasn't his fault. Anyone would be in that kind of mood when they weren't feeling well. Or at least, that's what she tried to convince herself.

There was a brisk knock at the back door so she opened it to find Tim standing there carrying a shopping bag.

"Morning, Ally."

"Hey, Tim," she said as she opened the storm door to let him in. "You're out and about early this morning."

"I was out for a run. Stopped by the store to grab a few things but it smells like you've already got breakfast going."

"What did you bring?" she asked.

"Just a couple of bagels with cream cheese."

"Well I'm just having toast with avocado, so have a seat."

Meanwhile, House slowly woke up from sleep. The smell of toast was in the air and made his stomach churn but he didn't get sick. He took that as a sign that hopefully the worst was over. It had nearly been five days of hell and he'd had enough of the nausea, cramps and chills.

He still felt like crap, however, and once he sat up, he saw floaters in front of his eyes for a moment. Carefully he stood, grabbed his cane and hobbled out into the hallway. Then he heard the voices in the kitchen and very slowly went to investigate.

"What are you doing with that old cripple when you could be with a hot, able bodied stud like me?" Tim asked Cameron, his hand on her thigh, caressing it softly

House gave his head a shake. What the ever-loving fuck…

"He needs me…"

"And I need to butter your muffin," Tim growled as he pulled her to him and buried his face in between her breasts.

House was paralyzed as he watched them ravage each other right there in the kitchen. No..this can't be happening… and with that, he quickly turned and went back to his bed where he collapsed on it, throwing his arm across his eyes.

"Did you hear that?" Tim asked as he paused eating his bagel.

"Yeah. I'll be right back," Cameron said as she got up to check on House. He appeared to be asleep, but he was lying on top of the bed. Grabbing the blanket, she gently draped it over him and placed her hand on his forehead. He was still pretty hot to the touch so she wrung out a washcloth in the bowl next to the bed and gently wiped his face.

House murmured something unintelligible before rolling over onto his side.

"What?" Cameron asked.

"Leave me the fuck alone," he mumbled.

"House…"

"Get out!"

"Fine! Whatever," she snapped and quickly left. When the door slammed behind her, she leaned against it and closed her eyes, counting to ten. "It's just the withdrawal," she said to herself. "He didn't mean it."

A couple of hours later, House limped into the living room and looked around. "Where's your fuck buddy?"

Cameron blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Hand Job."

"If you mean Tim, I don't know where he is."

"But he was here earlier, right?"

"Yeah he came by on his way back from a jog."

"Don't insult my intelligence, Cameron. I saw you two."

She cocked her head to one side and narrowed her eyes. "What exactly did you see?"

"I saw everything."

"So you saw us having breakfast. What's wrong with that?"

"I saw him butter your muffin, if you know what I mean," he said with an over- exaggerated wink.

She looked completely confused and shook her head as if to clear it. "House, whatever you believe you saw, it wasn't real."

"It looked pretty real to me!" he snapped at her.

"Do you honestly think I'd do that to you? I mean seriously? With Tim? He's like a big brother. I've known him all my life."

"He doesn't look at you like a big brother."

"I don't really care. I don't like him like that. So whatever you saw, was all in your head. And I know it's not easy to hear, but it was a hallucination, that's all. When I came in to check on you, you had a fever." She reached up and gently touched his cheek. "I love you, House. I would never do that to you."

He looked down at the floor, both hands on the handle of his cane as he leaned heavily on it. "I'm sick of being sick."

"I know, but I think the worst is over. You're not nauseous anymore and you've been able to eat a little bit."

"I hope so."

"Look, why don't you come sit outside, get some fresh air? It's nice out. Do you want some tea or something?"

He thought about it and nodded.

"Okay, go have a seat on the porch and I'll bring it out. I was just about to make myself some coffee, anyway."

"I'd rather have coffee."

"I don't know, it might upset your stomach. I'd stick with some tea for now. Are you hungry?" she asked.

"A little."

"Okay, I'll make some dry toast, too."

House went outside and was hit by a blanket of humidity that made him almost instantly want a shower. However, after a few minutes, he had to admit the fresh air felt good. He unzipped his hoodie and took it off. The breeze felt nice, even though it was warm.

Cameron came out balancing a plate with toast and two mugs. "Here you go," she said as she handed him a mug. He took a sniff. It smelled like Earl Grey with a hint of ginger.

"Thanks," he murmured as he took a tentative sip. It tasted okay so he took a few more before trying a few bites of the dry toast.

"What was it like?" she asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"What was what like?"

"Being with Cuddy."

House glanced over at her. She seemed very uneasy as she tucked one leg under her and bit her lip.

"Why?"

"I'm just curious, I guess. Was she the same at home as she was at the hospital? Controlling, I mean."

He nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. I mean, there were good times of course, but they were few and far between. All those years leading up to it, it wasn't the ideal relationship, for either of us. I tried to please her and I failed," he said with a heavy sigh and took another sip of his tea.

"So how did you two hook up in the first place?"

He told her about the crane accident and losing the patient, despite his best efforts. "She was there when nobody else was at my darkest hour. It just seemed right at the time. I know she had regrets after, and so did I but we decided to give it a try anyway. It was good for a few months and then things changed. She tried to get me to babysit Rachel, and when I said no, she'd withhold sex. Underhanded, yes. And I caved every time because someone had to look after the little ankle biter. Then she had the cancer scare which turned out to be nothing. But things weren't the same after that. And then, out of nowhere, she was gone."

He looked away from her, but not after Cameron saw his eyes were glassy.

"I miss her," he said softly, almost to himself.

"I know," she whispered and gently placed her hand over his. "It's okay to think about her, House. I don't expect you to forget her just because you're with me. I liked her too, even if I didn't always agree with what she did. Honestly, some of the things she did to you were downright cruel and unethical."

He didn't say anything, just nodded. "You're right. It was hardly the ideal relationship. I just didn't want to die alone. Wilson always said I would."

"Wilson's not right about everything, you know."

House just shrugged and picked at his toast.