Saving Grace:
The Goodbye
A/N: Just posted a spur of the moment smutty House/Cameron one-shot called Pocket Aces. Check it out!
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Unnecessary disclaimer: None of the characters appearing in the TV show "House, M. D." belong to me.
Abstract: When Cameron's marriage with Chase falls apart, she decides that she cannot wait for another man to come around to be a mom. What happens when a wrench gets thrown in her plans? HC
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When Cameron was discharged from the hospital, House used it as an excuse to leave early and take her home himself. She had been commanded to stay home for the rest of the week, but no amount of whining and rationalizing could convince Dr. Cuddy that House needed to stay with her.
She wasn't exactly happy about being stuck at home, but it wasn't an unexpected turn of events. She was supposed to take it easy for a while. That would be a bit of a challenge.
She found herself mainly doing paperwork that she convinced House to bring home to keep her busy. Aside from that, she was vegging out in front of the TV feeling like a lazy bum. She was awakened from a pleasant nap late in the afternoon one day by the doorbell ringing.
She hummed a show tune as she walked towards the door. Who would be here at this time of day?
She opened the door to see the divorce lawyer and Robert Chase standing there. Her humming stopped abruptly.
"Hello Dr. Cameron," the lawyer said briskly. "I'm sorry to bother you at home, but Dr. Chase said that you would most likely not want to wait on this."
Cameron nodded wanly, and stepped aside, letting the two men in. "I wasn't exactly prepared for a visit," she said, excusing the disorder of the room and her disheveled appearance.
The three of them sat at the dining table and discussed the papers. The lawyer explained everything to them, and they both signed in all the appropriate places.
It was completed quickly, and soon Allison Cameron was saying her goodbyes to the two men.
"I'll get you the name of the attorney I know who does wills within the next couple days, Dr. Cameron," the divorce lawyer said as an aside, a continuation of an earlier conversation.
"Thank you," she responded.
Chase hung back as the lawyer left. He and Cameron stood awkwardly apart.
"I'm sorry, Allison," he said sorrowfully. "About all of this."
"I know you are, Robert," she responded in a soft voice. Neither looked the other in the eye.
"I hope that one day you can forgive me," he said.
"I hope so too," she answered him. She wasn't making any promises.
He stepped forward and pulled Cameron into a quick, awkward hug. "Goodbye, Allison," he said softly.
He pulled away and went to his car. Cameron stood at the door with her arms wrapped tight around herself. "Goodbye, Robert," she eventually answered in a whisper, his car halfway down the street.
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When House came home that evening, he found her watching Braveheart with tears running down her cheeks.
"Please tell me you're not crying over Braveheart," he greeted her.
She jumped up form the couch and ran to him, putting her arms around his neck. Her tears soaked into his shirt.
House made a face of confusion and surprise, but he answered with sarcasm. "Is that a carrot in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"
"We signed the divorce papers today," she said, muffled by his chest.
House sighed, dropping all pretenses of sarcasm, and put an arm around her. "Kid," he said, with a shake of his head, "You've had a hell of a week."
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Cameron returned to work the following Monday, and the days fell into a sinus rhythm like the throbbing of the heart monitors that populated the hospital, a steady rhythm only interrupted by the small milestones of pregnancy.
She had first felt a kick on a Thursday evening. The way she had cried, House thought something was seriously wrong, but she only had to place his hand on her belly for him to understand. Her skin's warmth seeped into his hand, and somehow, into his heart. He felt the kick, and it brought out emotions he wasn't sure he had at all. He excused himself quickly, citing some kind of medical emergency.
Another night she had woken up a bewildered House by crawling into bed with him, explaining that she couldn't sleep due to nightmares about the baby. He held her close and told her it would be alright. She slipped out of the bed before he awoke the next morning, and, to House's relief, she never mentioned the night again. House sometimes wondered if it had only been a dream.
Things moved steadily along until the day Cameron's will attorney showed up at the door.
House had answered. "Stephan Marcus, attorney at law, here to see a Dr. Allison Cameron," the man introduced himself.
"Allison," House called out, "There's a lawyer here to see you." He eyed the man suspiciously. Hadn't the divorce been finalized?
Cameron rushed to the door and greeted the man warmly. "Mr. Marcus, it's good to finally meet you! Shall we get started?"
House backed away, attempting to analyze the situation. He sat on the couch and pretended to watch TV as he listened to their conversation from the dining table.
"This is mainly to assure the security of my daughter in case anything happens to me," Cameron said.
"Well, we can take care of that, and any other concerns you have. Do you have someone in mind to care for the child?" the lawyer responded amicably.
"Yes, my brother Jim and his wife."
House's ears perked up at this. He was intrigued. Who was this brother she talked about?
House's interest waned as the conversation shifted to discussions about trust funds, liquidation, and donations. He was mainly concerned with gathering more information about the brother.
When she had finally bid the man farewell, she wandered first into the kitchen, and then sat herself down beside House with a bowl of ice cream covered in ketchup.
House looked over in disgust. "How can you eat that?" he said.
Cameron shrugged. "It sounded good."
House shivered in revulsion. "On a less disgusting note, I didn't know you had a brother."
"Jim's the only family I have left," Cameron said matter-of-factly.
"How's that?" House asked, intrigued.
"Mom died in a car accident when I was a kid. Dad had a heart attack last year," she stated with little emotion.
House stared at her. "You intrigue me, young grasshopper."
"What part of that is so intriguing?" Cameron asked.
"The part where you didn't cry," he answered quickly.
She shrugged, showing a little more humanity this time. "Mom's been gone for twenty-five years. Dad and I were never close."
House paused for a moment before asking for more information. "So tell me about this brother of yours."
"His name is Jim, he has a wife, Marie, and they live in Illinois with their two cats and a great dane named Lucy," she answered glibly.
"Lucy as in 'I Love Lucy' or 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds'?" House asked with a small grin.
Cameron laughed. "Lucy as in the girl from Charlie Brown," she clarified.
"So they're next in line to inherit the kid," he said, gesturing to her stomach.
"Yes, Jim gets Grace if anything should happen to me. He never really wanted kids, but he's the only family I have," Cameron said with a shrug.
"I see." House frowned. If something happened to Cameron, Grace would be the only part of her left. A part of her that would be off to Illinois to never be seen again.
He got up and stepped over to the piano. He didn't really want to deal with those kinds of thoughts now. He drowned them in Beethoven.
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That night, he awoke once again to feel a presence climbing onto the bed with him.
He waited for the tell-tale whisper of his name, but it never came. Instead, he felt her warm, soft body silently press against his own. His eyes flew open, but closed again moments later, the rhythm of her breathing relaxing him into sleep.
In the morning, she was gone. But that morning, and every morning after, he could still smell her rose-scented shampoo on the pillow.
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