CHAPTER 11

Merry Christmas

A couple of months had passed (just like since I last updated this fic) and House and Cameron were still secretly dating. And, well, needless to say, things were good between them. Cameron was spending quite a lot of time in House's apartment since they really didn't want to be seen in public together, and when the apartment turned out to be too boring, they would sneak out of the town to spend a weekend in Atlantic City or another place where nobody knew them. House couldn't help but feel almost happy and he was surprised how easy it was for him to be around her, how natural it felt and how much fun he was having with her.

At work they kept pretending to ignore each other, occasionally House would snap at her and she would snap back, mainly when Foreman started to suspect something when he caught them one day looking at each other with mischievous soft smiles. It wasn't easy to hide their feelings but they knew they had to do it, House didn't really care too much about what could happen to him but he didn't want to jeopardize her studies, her job or her future. However, what he couldn't resist was her dragging him into a janitor's closet for a quickie or her foot running up his thigh during the differentials.

Yes, things were good. So good it scared him at first and he did make a couple of stupid attempts to make her realize she would be better off without him, yet whenever she wasn't around, he felt like shit and wanted nothing but to get her back. He was still screwed up and sometimes he really wanted to talk to Wilson about it and ask him about what he should or shouldn't do but it wasn't an option and so he was on his own, trying to be a good boyfriend, or at least a bearable person.

One night, when they were dozing off after mind-blowing sex, Cameron let go and told him that she loved him. House pretended he was sleeping unable to react but she seemed to be okay with that and they never talked about it anymore.

A week before Christmas, House and Cameron were snuggling in his bed on a Sunday morning, another patient was cured, Cameron passed her finals and they finally had a day off to spend together.

"Oh, by the way…" She said in between kisses. "Can't come to work tomorrow."

"Why is that? Too much sex with your hot guy, Doctor Cameron?" House joked and took a strand of her hair playing with it.

"Huh, that too. But mainly I'm meeting a hot real estate agent who's going to show me a hot condo."

"What?"

"Well, maybe you didn't notice but I've graduated. I must leave the dorm before Christmas."

"Why didn't you tell me?" House asked a little surprised by the information.

"You were too busy taking off my clothes last night. And the night before… Aaand the night before. I didn't want to distract you." She smiled and ran her fingers gently over his chest. "There's one condo I really like, it isn't too expensive, nice neighborhood… It's gonna be great."

"You've already seen it?" House asked.

"Yeah, yeah… Also, um, I was thinking… Could you write my letter of recommendation?" She asked in a sweet voice, her eyes focused on his chest as she kept caressing him softly.

"For what?" He asked dumbfoundedly. They hadn't spent much time together in the past few days due to the dying patients and Cameron's finals but he had no idea there were so many things she wanted to change.

"I need to get a job." She shrugged.

"You have a job." He protested.

She finally took a deep breath and looked up at him with an apologetic smile.

"It's time for me to leave you, my friend." She said and kissed the corner of his mouth. "I heard they're hiring at Princeton General. I want to try it."

"You even want to leave the hospital?!" He was shocked. He hated changes and the hits just kept on coming. "If you tell me now that you're also leaving me, well… I don't know what to say."

Cameron chuckled. "Nope. Also, once I work somewhere else, we won't have to hide anymore."

"Well, Cuddy can hire you, there are other departments and she likes you." House finally gave in.

"She won't when she finds out about us." Cameron smiled and moved on top of him to kiss him deeply.

"Oh, please." House snorted. "She's with Wilson."

"I can see the way she looks at you." Cameron smiled.

"Whoa… do I hear a hint of jealousy there?" House smiled running his fingers down her back to her ass and pinched her.

"Ouch, heeey!" She shrieked.

"So?"

"So what? I'm not jealous."

"Uh huh…" House smirked and kissed her passionately.

"We should get up, I'm starving." Cameron said after another long kiss and sat up on his stomach, revealing her taut body to him. She gave him another smile when he gasped at the sight and as she wanted to get up from the bed, House grabbed her arms to stop her. She gave him a puzzled look before he cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Move in with me…"


They were eating silently still processing what had happened. Did he really offer that? She couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it.

Then she looked at him. "Are you sure about it?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"I mean it… this is serious."

"I know." He shrugged once more. "It's up to you."

"Do you really want me here?" She asked, a serious tone in her voice.

House wasn't able to look at her. He had his doubts, of course. He liked her, possibly even loved her but that really was a big step and maybe he wasn't ready for it.

After another moment of silence he looked at her and rubbed his forehead.

"Yeah… I do." He said in a low voice.

"I… I have a lot of… um, stuff." She said slowly.

"Well, this apartment is quite big." He sighed. "Do whatever you want. Move in with me, or go check out the condo."

"House! This isn't a game. I need to know what you want." She said tired of his evasive responses.

"I want you…" He said after a while and kissed her just to make her shut up finally.

She started kissing him back not knowing what to say either and they ended up having wild sex on his couch.


Cameron was in the locker room changing into her jeans when she heard someone behind her. She turned to see who it was, wearing only tight jeans and a bra when she saw Wilson with a terrified expression on his face.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, Allison." He uttered and looked down. "I was just looking for Chase, I've got the results he wanted."

"Oh, he's in the lab, I think." She said with a smile and turned around to put her T-shirt on.

Wilson looked up again to catch a glimpse of a huge scar on her back and his eyes widened.

"Um, do… do you think you could… give him the… the file?" He stuttered.

"Sorry, James, I'm leaving. I'm visiting my Mom in the City and I'm late already." She apologized and walked past him quickly. "See you later."

Wilson gulped and turned to leave as he realized something.

"You idiot!" He yelled as soon as he opened the door to House's office.

"Huh?" House blinked in surprise. "Did I prank you in a really hilarious way that I somehow forgot? Oh, have you finally found the dead spider in your coffee?"

"The patient from the Clinic you told me about a few months ago and then a couple of times more!" Wilson almost screamed. "It wasn't a patient and the scar wasn't on his leg!"

House's eyes widened a little but he managed to stand his ground. "Unless you swallowed the spider, I have no idea why you're yelling."

"It's Cameron! That's why you were so obsessed with what caused the injury! You… you slept with her!"

House smirked. "Oh, what a deduction, Sherlock…"

"I know you, House. Very well." Wilson said angrily and sat down on one of the chairs. "Have you slept with her?"

"Yes…" House shrugged. "Repeatedly."

"What?! Have you gone completely mad?" Wilson asked angrily. "She's a student! And she works for you!"

House decided to come clean and rolled his eyes at his furious best friend with a smirk on his face. "Took you forever to find out, Wilson. I was expecting so much more from you."

"I thought I was clear about it months ago. I had no idea you were capable of doing such stupid things!"

House snorted: "Seriously? How long have you known me?"

"But what do you want to do?"

"Nothing." House replied indifferently.

"What do you mean? You can't sleep with her anymore."

"Look, calm down or you're gonna have a heart attack. She's finished the med school, she resigned, and she's going to find another job. Right now I'm writing her letter of recommendation."

"And this…this fling? You need to stop!" Wilson grumbled.

"No can do…" House said and turned to his computer again. "First, it's not a fling anymore, second, she's moving in with me."

"What?!" Wilson exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding me!"

House sighed and turned to him again. "I can sense this screaming won't stop anytime soon, how about you buy me a nice Reuben and I let you yell some more. Sounds nice, huh?"

Wilson being bewildered only nodded in disbelief and they walked out of the office heading the cafeteria.


That night, House sat on the couch watching TV while Cameron was dragging one box after another from her car to his apartment.

"You really do have a lot of shit." He pointed out. "You had all those things at your Mother's place?"

"Some of them. The rest is from the dorm. You could help me, you know…" She frowned.

"Bum leg, sorry." He shrugged.

"Huh, you can't carry the boxes but you can hold me against the wall in the shower while having sex? Interesting." She smiled a little shaking her head in disbelief.

"Good things happen when you get your priorities straight." He said with a sexy smile and got up. "Is that all?"

"Um, almost. One more thing. Well, two." She said reluctantly and House looked at her closely.

"Something you need to tell me?" He asked suspiciously.

She paused watching him but then she took a deep breath and turned to get the last two things that were still in her car.

When she walked back in and closed the door behind her, House turned to look at her and almost fainted.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" He snapped, anger immediately bubbling inside him.

She knew what would follow and tried to give him the nicest and sweetest smile she could manage. "I told you I had a lot of things." She said sweetly and bit her bottom lip.

"Yeah! Things! Damn it, Cameron! That wasn't part of the agreement!" He yelled and walked a little closer to her.

"Come on…" She said sweetly again. "Why are you freaking out?"

"That's why!" He yelled and pointed at one of the 'things' she brought.

"Okay, calm down, calm down… This… is Aupa. And she's nice. And well trained." Cameron smiled and made a few steps forward to kiss him in order to calm him down but he stepped back.

"You haven't said anything about having a dog!" He exclaimed again and started pacing the apartment. "I don't want a dog here!"

"Okay, okay… I know, I should have told you, I'm sorry."

"Yeah! You should have!" He was yelling again.

"What's the big deal? It's not like I'll ever ask you to walk her or play fetch with her." Cameron said and walked over to the corner of the room where she put Aupa's dog bed. The dog followed her and when Cameron pointed at the bed, Aupa obediently laid down.

"What the hell?" House's expression darkened even more when he saw what she was doing. "That's where I leave my cane!"

"No, it's not." Cameron barked. "Can you tell me why you are freaking out?" She was getting annoyed too. She knew House would pull a stunt like this but she believed it would blow over rather quickly. Yet, he was furious.

"I told you! I don't want a dog! Not now, not ever! Let alone a dog that looks like a weird spaceship!" He screamed and pointed at the baffled dumb creature.

"A spaceship?" Cameron blinked. "That's a purebred Bull Terrier, you… you dork!" At that point she was yelling as well. It seemed that they were about to have their first real argument and she wasn't sure she was ready for it.

"I'm sorry… Yes, I should have told you but I didn't think it would be such an issue." She said in a conciliatory voice but House didn't care. He was pacing the room again, not knowing what to do or say.

"What do you want me to do now?" She asked in an abrasive tone interrupting his thoughts.

He looked at her angrily and gritted his teeth in order to avoid saying something he might regret later. They were staring at each other until Cameron gave up when she saw he clearly wanted her out of his sight. She ran her hand through her hair desperately and turned to grab one of the boxes.

"Okay, I'll leave." She said sadly and walked over to the door. "I'll take the rest tomorrow."

House gulped, his eyes full of exasperation. He was furious but knowing her well he knew she really was able to leave him and never come back.

"For the love of God, Cameron, wait!" He exclaimed desperately when she put her hand on the door knob. She slowly looked at him with sad eyes. "You should've told me." He added.

"I said I was sorry." She whispered. "You freak out over little things while being okay with big things. I had no idea you would…"

"What do you mean I'm okay with big things? Do you also have an elephant in your car or what?"

"No… I mean…" She sighed and moved away from the door yet keeping her distance from him. "You totally lost your shit when I bought a different type of soap but you didn't say a word when I scratched your piano…"

"You did WHAT?!" House yelled and Cameron's face turned pale.

"I… I thought you knew…" She murmured and closed her eyes while he quickly limped over to the instrument examining it closely. "I'm sorry…" She said and walked over to him to show him the tiny scratch. Then she looked up at him and gave him an uncertain smile before reaching out to grab his hand.

"I'm sorry... It was stupid of me. If you want me to leave, I will. I just don't want to fight." She said and took another step forward burying her face in his chest. It took House a couple of seconds before he looked at the dog and then he slowly put his arms around Cameron with a deep sigh. That's when it dawned on him… he really didn't want to lose her.

"Aupa… What a bullshit name." He said a while later and she chuckled.


A couple of days later things were back to normal and to House's surprise living with Cameron was really good… She was funny and laid-back, he loved having her around, especially when she was running around in her underwear. And somehow he couldn't help but become fond of the weirdly-shaped dog too. It was Christmas Eve, Cameron nestled against him on the couch after they had eaten the Christmas dinner she magically managed to make and they watched TV. Aupa was sleeping on the floor peacefully after her own special Christmas dinner and a long walk that the three of them took earlier. Cameron snuggled closer to him, kissed his cheek and smiled at him.

"How 'bout we exchange gifts?" She suggested.

"Gifts?" He looked at her with a dumb expression. "I… I didn't get you anything."

Cameron's eyes widened but then she just shrugged and got up. "Well, I did."

She walked over to one of the bigger boxes she hadn't unpacked yet and pulled out a brand new electric guitar. House watched her in awe as she walked back to him and handed him the beautiful instrument.

"Sorry, I had no idea how to wrap it." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas."

House mumbled something looking at the guitar when his jaw dropped. "Oh my God!" He uttered and Cameron smiled happily sitting down next to him.

"Like it?" She asked.

"Like it?" He repeated still unable to believe what he saw. "How did… How did you get that?"

"My Mom knows a guy that knows him. Hence I asked her to ask him to ask him to sign it."

"Your Mother knows someone who knows Mick Jagger?" House looked like a five-year-old in Disneyland and Cameron was excited to see him like this. A moment later House put the guitar on the table carefully and grabbed Cameron kissing her deeply. "Thank you… It's amazing."

"You're welcome." She smiled against his lips when she kissed him again. Then House stood up and limped over to the bedroom. When he got back, he handed her a clumsily wrapped gift.

"This one's from me…" He smiled and she ripped open the green wrapping paper to see it was a… blank CD. She gave him a quizzical look as he sat down next to her.

"A mix CD?" She asked and smiled rolling her eyes.

"Kinda… yeah." He shrugged. "All of your favorite songs are there."

Cameron giggled and kissed him. "Thanks… It's the thought that counts I guess."

She took it and walked over to his stereo to play the CD. When the first track started and she recognized the tune she smiled at him, yet when she heard the first line of the song, she froze.

"Is… is that…" She mumbled.

House got up and limped over to her. "Yeah…" He kissed her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Camomile."

She ignored the nickname and looked up at him in surprise. "But… how?"

"A friend of mine owns a recording studio and so I asked him to help me. Basically, this is what you get when you happen to tell Greg House you like the way he sings."

Cameron kissed him deeply again. "I love the way you sing." She said and hugged him. "And I love the idea."

House swallowed hard. "And... I love you…" He said a moment later. She pulled away from him and opened her mouth to say something but she couldn't. Then she licked her lips and cleared her throat.

"Do you want to hear about my scar?" She asked and House nodded silently.


Phew! That was a long one. Happy Holidays and feel free to give me a present in form of a review. :)