A/N: Hi everyone! I'm still alive after all! :3 Sorry, I know it has been ages, but you should know, reviews motivate me to write. So keep them coming!

Disclaimer: The medicine part of the story is rubbish. I made it up.

When I woke up, I didn't want to open my eyes. There was too much to ponder over, and I needed time to question my sense of reality. Unsurprisingly, my first thought was that of Robert taking Vicodin. Had I imagined everything? Was it a dream quickly turned into a nightmare?

No such luck. I peeked from the edge of the covers to be greeted by the pale pink ceiling of the hospital room. I opened my eyes wide to check for people in the room. I was alone. Quickly throwing off the covers, I stood up and checked the room for my clothes. I felt fine, and yet I was in a hospital gown. Not successful in my endeavour to find my clothes, I sat back on the bed to think about my next move. My mind wandered to Cuddy and the disapproval that she was bound to display at the stupidity of my actions. Reality crashed over me in waves, and I felt guiltier than ever. How was Robert doing? Was he going to be alright? I needed to talk to an adult, a mature, sensible person who wouldn't scold me but would help me sort out my messed-up life. I stood up too quickly, and nausea threatened to overtake me. I clearly wasn't at my best. Ignoring the feeling, I walked to the Oncology department, hoping Wilson would be in his office.

My knock sounded rather desperate, and his "come-in" rather surprised. Without waiting for further invitation, I sank into one of the chairs in his office and told him everything I remembered. He was a good listener. He didn't interrupt me, and I took advantage of the silence to rant to my heart's content.

"So it's my fault that Robert is sick and Cuddy is going to kill me," I finished, burying my face in my hands.

Although I had found it extremely strange that my only friend in the hospital (before Dan and the others, of course) had a son my age, I got over my initial shock. More accurately, circumstances caused me to. It didn't, however, feel weird to talk to James, despite not having such a conversation in months.

"So let me get this straight. You saw Robert taking Vicodin?" James asked in disbelief. I sighed and looked up at him. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Of course he'll be alright. Even if it's a special case, which is extremely unlikely, you have House. Your major concern should be Cuddy's reaction."

"I know. She's probably going to ground me forever. Not that we get to go out enough anyways," I said, seeming petulant even to myself. "I don't want to meet her. Not till I know that Robert is fine. Or after that, actually. So.. do you mind if I stay here a while?"

"So you want to hide here till Cuddy finds you and force me to take the explosion. You sound just like House."

"You know she is going to overreact. I just.." I trailed off pathetically, and looked back at him in the hope of some sympathy.

"Listen, Al, I understand that all this is stressful," he said, speaking more carefully. "But avoiding the problem isn't going to make it go away. So you're going to speak to Cuddy, and you're going to do it now."

"What time is it?" I asked, choosing to ignore his previous statement.

"Ten to six. But that's beside the point. If Cuddy finds out you were here she'll consider me your partner in crime." I almost smiled. "Go talk to her," he said, giving me a serious look. My smile faded.

"It's evening already?" He shot me an exasperated expression at the attempt to change the subject. "If you don't go I'll tell her that you tried to hide here."

I scrambled up. "Fine. But you're on my side." "I'll do my best," he said, sounding resigned as I shut the door and walked to Cuddy's office.

She noticed me before I knocked. Perhaps it was weird that I just stood there without knocking (it was a glass door after all) but I needed a moment to collect myself. I realised that she was waiting for me to enter, and opened the door.

"How are you feeling?"

Not quite the reaction I had expected. "I'm okay. I'm slightly nauseous, but not much apart from that." She took out her prescription pad and wrote something on it.

"How is Robert?" I asked in a small voice. She looked back up. "He's recovering. He had lung complications. He'll be back to normal in a week."

"Was it because of what we did?" I asked, my voice even smaller than before.

"What did you do?" she asked, looking at me intently. She seemed curious rather than angry.

"Uh.. I was tired and bored and I really wanted a change. So I convinced him to come with me." I almost whispered.

"And?" she asked, still looking at me intently. "We went to the park and sat on those benches and… came back soon after" I said, my face turning slightly pink.

She said nothing. I waited for about ten seconds before speaking again.

" So for how long am I grounded?"

She raised her eyebrows at my brazenness, which was what I perceived it to be.

"I'm not grounding you. However, I must impress upon you the seriousness of what you did. It's dangerous to roam the streets in the middle of the night, and you're well aware of that." She paused. "The rain didn't help either," she added as an afterthought. "What surprises me is your instinct to run away when overworked. Talking to me was an option. I could have arranged something else. That's what I'm here for."

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again," I said, meaning every word of it.

She nodded her head in acknowledgement. "While I understand that this is stressful, so is the life of a doctor. Part of the job is to lean to deal with it in positive ways. So there will be consequences."

I knew this was coming. I waited.

"I'm confiscating your cell-phone for a week. You will apologise to House for endangering his student. And to Chase, though I don't suppose I need to tell you to do that." Her eyes smiled at the last part, and although her lips didn't, I knew I was forgiven.

"No, you don't," I agreed, the corners of my mouth turning up into a small smile. "Can I go see him?" "You can, but you need to rest after that. I'm nearly done with these; I'll come with you. Why don't you go and change into your clothes while I finish these?"

As we walked through the corridors, heads tuned back to work and gossip turned into medical conversations. Cuddy showed no sign that she was aware of the change, yet how could she not be? I didn't notice we were going to the hospital pharmacy until we reached there. "Emetrol for the nausea", she said, handing me a small strip.

When we opened the door and walked in, his eyes remained shut. I was sure that he was pretending to be asleep. When he woke up, he was going to in more trouble than I had been, after all. I sat on a nearby chair and waited. He would talk to me when we were alone. As I expected, Cuddy left after a few minutes.

"Robert?" I called out softly. His eyes jerked open immediately. "Geez. I thought it was Cuddy."

"You look terrible," I offered with a smile. "Thanks!" he exclaimed, pretending to be offended. "No, seriously. How mad is she?" he asked, sitting up. "She let me off pretty easily. She confiscated my phone for a week and she's making me apologise to House." I shrugged. "A week?" he exclaimed, sinking back into his pillows. "And to you," I continued. "What?" he asked, seeming confused.

"It was my fault" I began but Robert cut across. "Cameron."

"Don't call me that. I prefer Al"

"So stop apologising over stupid stuff! It was as much my fault as yours! And you didn't ask me to take the Vicodin, I did that by myself."

"Why?" I didn't mean to interrogate him, but I needed to know.

"It hurt. A lot."

"Wimp," I teased, moving over to sit next to him. I knew that he wasn't one but I needed to keep the conversation light. Now wasn't the time for that talk.

"Meanie" he responded.

"Wimp."

"Meanie."

I loved it that I could act like a five year old around him. We sat comfortably in silence, and I felt all the walls that I had built around myself over the previous incident fall away.

House poked his head in. "Did the Prince finally kiss Sleeping Beauty awake? Or was it the other way round?" he asked. I just rolled my eyes. Robert, on the other hand, blushed slightly before averting his eyes.

House snarked back, but I didn't pay attention. Was Robert embarrassed by me? Did he regret it?

"I have to go."

"Already?"

I didn't hear him as I shut the door and made my way back to my own room. I had a lot to think about.