CHAPTER 15

We need to celebrate this

House stopped at the door to his office and took a deep breath. Through the glass he could see a woman sitting at his desk, from behind he couldn't really tell what she looked like but he immediately knew he wouldn't like her. With one last grimace he sighed, opened the door and walked in clearing his throat. The woman turned in her seat to look at him and gave him a soft smile.

"Doctor House, my name is..." She said but he interrupted her.

"Sabrina... I know."

"Actually, it's Samantha..." She smiled, stood up and took a few steps closer to him boldly.

"Yeah, yeah... Samantha." He shrugged indifferently. "Samantha Harlot, right?"

"Harris." She snapped a little but soon composed herself and smirked. "Nice to meet you."

"Well, judging by the smug expression on your face I believe Cuddy told you she doesn't care about who I want to hire and that I have no say in it so over there you can see the conference room, make yourself at home." He growled and without looking at her again he hobbled to his desk.

"Thank you... I hope we will get along." She said and when she noticed two young doctors walking in, she turned and made her way to the conference room herself. House watched her carefully as she shook hands with both Foreman and Chase and they talked about something he couldn't hear.

The truth was he could do a lot worse. She seemed self-confident and daring, looking at her again, he had to admit she wasn't even that ugly. She was obviously in her late thirties, she had blonde, shoulder length wavy hair, brown eyes and a nice smile with a couple soft wrinkles around it. She was curvaceous but not really fat and all he could hope was that she would make a good member of the team too. This way he wouldn't have to deal with Cuddy and make her fire her.

He got up from his chair and walked in the conference room too.

"Hey, kiddos... Enough with the hearty welcoming, I'm sure we have a patient to treat...huh?" He grumbled and looked at Foreman.

"Yep, we do..." Foreman nodded and pointed at one of the blue files on the table. "A teenage patient presents with a low-grade fever and mild anemia but..."

"Hmmm, exciting..." House said and faked a smile taking one of the markers and walking to the whiteboard.


Days, weeks, even a couple of months had passed and everything seemed just fine. Cameron was happy at her job at Princeton General, her previous fellowship with House ensured her slightly better conditions so she usually worked the morning shifts and had plenty of time to spend time with House, her dog, her friends... House and his team were doing fine too, Chase, Foreman and Harris proved to be very good doctors, House was less grumpy even though patients were still annoying and there weren't many things he could complain about.

It was the week before Easter, Tuesday evening when House came home and threw his backpack on the couch. Cameron emerged from the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe.

"Hello there, you're early." She smiled and put a spoonful of a yogurt in her mouth.

"Yup... kids have been behaving well lately." He smiled imperceptibly and took of his coat.

"Oh, I have to send Chase and Foreman a thank-you note for letting my hot boyfriend come home early."

"Well, actually it was Harris who insisted on monitoring the patient for the rest of the night telling me to go home and relax." He shrugged and made his way to her kissing her soundly on the lips.

"Harris?" She asked narrowing her eyes a little.

"Yeah... I thought Cuddy was messing with me when she hired her but she's... okay." He replied turning his back to her and opening the fridge.

Cameron watched him suspiciously but then she shrugged it off and threw the empty cup in the trash.

"How about we have dinner at that great sushi place downtown?" She suggested.

"Nah... let's stay in tonight."

Cameron pouted. "But I'm dying for sushi."

House turned to look at her and pulled her in his arms. "We can order in."

"Hmmmhmm..." She mumbled in disapproval shaking her head against his chest.

"Or..." House said and placed a kiss on her forehead. "We can make sushi."

Cameron chuckled a little. "You are sooo using the plural wrong."

"I can teach you..."

She pulled back and gave him a surprised look. "You can make sushi?"

"Duh..." He smiled and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him again.

And so they made sushi. Dating Cameron was a lot more different from the other relationships he had been in before because everything they did together actually seemed like a lot more fun. She was standing at the table in the kitchen while he stood behind her, his chin laid on her shoulder.

"Finely, finely... cut it finely!" He muttered under his breath.

"I'm trying..." She pouted and House just laughed placing a soft peck on her cheek. "Stop, you're distracting me."

At that point he started nibbling at her ear and she gasped and jerked violently and the salmon dropped on the floor together with the knife.

"Nooo..." She shrieked and saw Aupa eat the raw fish quickly. "Damn..."

She turned to face House and sulked. "I'm really hungry and this is just... wrong."

"You're doing okay..." He said and kissed the corner of her lips.

"Okay? How is this okay?" She asked and pointed at the mess all over the kitchen.

"Awkward, clumsy... but okay." He shrugged with a soft smile. "And sexy."

"Let's just order pizza, please." She begged giving him her best puppy eyes.

On Wednesday it was the day of greasy Chinese food and Road Rash. They sat on the couch with the consoles in their hands racing on bikes and laughing.

"This game is older than me..." She giggled.

"It's a cult game..."

"I'll beat you anyway." She threatened with a smile.

"Wanna bet?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay..." He mumbled, his eyes never leaving the screen. "If I win, you'll give me a lap dance."

"Huh... " She said and passed his bike. "And if I win, you'll take Aupa out in the morning."

"You're on." He said and with a vicious smile he pushed one of the buttons.

"Heyyy!" She yelped. "You can't kick me off the bike, that's not fair! How did you even do that?"

"All is fair in love and war." He smirked.

"Oh, okay... so this is war then." She said and looked over at him with a wink.

They played for nearly an hour, laughing, knocking each other from their bikes when she maneuvered her bike and pushed him off the road. "Buh bye..."

"Damn it..." He said and frowned. She smiled up at him, turned the game off and grabbed his hand to lead him to the bedroom. "It's late..." She said. In the bedroom she gave him the lap dance anyway.

On Thursday they went bowling with Wilson and his girlfriend Nina.

On Friday House came home at about eight in the evening and the only one to greet him was Aupa.

"Hey, I stole the Let's Go Fishin' Game from the Pediatric Oncology for tonight. Game on!" He smiled and limped over to the kitchen to give the dog some treats.

"You did what?" He heard Cameron say and when he turned to look at her his jaw dropped. She looked... stunning. She wore a shiny strapless dress, her hair was pulled in a high bun and she wore a lot of make-up, which was an unusual sight.

"Where... where are you... go...going?" He mumbled.

"I'm going out with Becky and Lucy, I told you about it." She smiled and checked herself in the mirror.

"Like...like this?" He said instantly feeling jealous. He was well aware of the fact that Cameron was an extremely beautiful woman but seeing her like this made him realize how possessive she was making him feel.

"Yeah, is there something wrong?" She smirked knowing what he had on mind.

"Well... um... I just don't want anyone groping you."

"Don't worry, we're going to a gay club with Luke and Simon." She smiled and walked slowly towards him. She was taller in those strappy heel sandals and he pulled her to him kissing her and running his tongue along her bottom lip. She smiled against his lips and put her arms around his neck. "I'll come back early."

"Uh, okay... So I take it we'll play the Let's Go Fishin' after you take some Ecstasy again."

She pulled a face and looked at him. "Shut up."

"Avoid the Dark rooms." He said and kissed her again, and she chuckled and nodded.

At about two in the morning House was dozing off in front of the TV when he heard the door open. He sat up and looked at her.

"Hey, so how was it?" He asked.

"Great..." She smiled.

"Come here." He ordered and she made her way to him standing between his legs as he put his hands on her thighs. She bent down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead as he kept caressing her soft legs.

"Missed me?" She asked and he nodded silently, his eyes filled with lust. Then he motioned for her to sit on his left leg and she did so snuggling closer to him.

"So, no groping?" He asked in a husky voice kissing her ear.

"None..." She shook her head smiling wearily.

"I can grope you, you know." He said and wiggled his eyebrows but Cameron let out a sigh and yawned.

"I need to sleep." She said and kissed his cheek ever so gently. "They called from the hospital, they need me tomorrow and on Sunday."

"What? Why?" House asked. He didn't like the idea of being without her the whole weekend.

"I don't know, obviously three doctors quit and they are short-staffed." She shrugged and nuzzled against him again closing her eyes. It felt too good to be with him.

"And what about me?" House said faking a sob.

"It's just the weekend, I'm sure they'll hire someone soon."


But they didn't. Weeks went by and Cameron was working overtime, leaving early in the morning and coming home at about ten or eleven in the night, taking a shower and passing out immediately. At first House was trying to be understanding and supportive but as the time passed, he was becoming more and more frustrated. Whenever he tried to talk to her about it, she would just brush him off telling him it was only temporary and with a kiss she turned and fell asleep.

On one rainy Tuesday night, House was in the living room with Aupa while Cameron was already in bed sleeping. He remembered he wanted to read an article on Ischemic heart diseases and limped to the bedroom to get one of the Medical Journal issues. He walked in and knowing it was only nine thirty he turned the light on and opened one of the drawers of his cabinet. He heard Cameron growl as she sat up, her eyes weary and puffed.

"Jesus, House, I'm trying to sleep here."

"Sorry, I needed something." He said.

"You could have taken it before I told you I was going to bed." She snapped back angrily and he had to take a deep breath to stay silent and not to tell her something he would regret. He went on searching while she turned around in the bed and closed her eyes. A few minutes later he took a pile of the journals and wanted to put them on the table but they slipped out of his hands and fell down on the floor.

"Dammit! I told you I was tired!" She sat in the bed and flashed him an irritated look. This time she was yelling.

"It's not even ten yet. And I need this, my patient's dying."

"So are mine and if I'm not focused on the job, I'll screw up and kill someone."

"Well maybe if you didn't work so much..." He said furiously.

She got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. "I need to pee."

When she was passing him, he looked at her closely. She was wearing shorts and a tank top and he sighed leaning against the wall waiting for her to come back. When she returned and wanted to go back to bed, he grabbed her arm to stop her.

"We need to talk." He said watching her carefully.

"Now? You've got to be fucking kidding me." She snarled and tried to wrench free but he grasped her much tighter this time and looked into her eyes.

"This has to stop." He said and narrowed his eyes at her. "Have you seen yourself?"

"What?!"

"Look how skinny you are. You don't eat, sleep..."

"I'd like to sleep but you're not letting me..." She hissed angrily.

"STOP! Listen to me!" He was furious. "I tried to understand you but this is too much. You are exhausted all the time, you don't have time to eat, time to relax, have fun. We haven't had sex for weeks."

"Oh, so that's your problem!" She snapped at him and once again tried to pull away but he was stronger, much stronger.

"No, it's just one of the things I've been trying to talk to you about."

"So what? I'm busy. I thought you would be supportive, you above all people should know how hard it is to be a really good doctor."

"Yes, but there are also other things in life." He objected.

"Like sex, right?" She said and frowned.

"Like your dog, for example... Have you even noticed that your precious pet has been limping? Have you?"

"What?" Cameron gasped. "What happened to her?!"

"She's fine. She pulled a muscle in the dog park the other day."

"I..." She let out wanting to say something but House jumped it.

"And do you know how I know? Because it's me who's been taking care of her lately!"

"Oh my god, if it's such a burden to you, I'll find someone to take her for walks!" She yelled.

"That's not my point, damn it!" He shouted and she jerked and wrenched free. Then she turned around quickly and took a few steps away from him.

"You just can't handle that I'm doing great at my job..." She sniffled a little, her back still turned to him. The moment she said that she realized how stupid it sounded.

He rolled his eyes and walked after her slowly grabbing her arm more softly this time and turning her to look at him. "You can't go on like this. I'm glad you like your job but this is too much."

She blinked away the tears building in her eyes and shook her head. Then she looked at him and nodded. "O-kay." She said in a low voice and he put a strand of her hair away from her face.

"I'm tired." She said matter-of-factly and he leaned closer and kissed her forehead.

"Promise me you'll talk to them tomorrow."

She nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Get some sleep." He said in a conciliatory voice in the end and left her alone in the bedroom.


The next day House didn't even have time to think about the fight they had as his patient was dying and he couldn't figure out why. He and his team spent the whole day redoing all the tests, trying all the meds and he didn't even reply to Cameron's text.

I should be off at eight today. We'll have dinner, okay? Allison

In the end it was both him and Harris who thought of Valvular heart disease, gave the patient the right treatment and they all could finally relax a little. House was at his office when he saw his ducklings laugh and chat in the conference room.

"We sooo need to celebrate this." Harris said and took a sip of her coffee. He noticed she was drinking from his red mug and smiled a little. She was the hero of the hour and deserved to use his mug if she wanted to.

"Totally.." Chase said and looked at his watch. "How 'bout we go to the Lee Harvey's and drink all the booze they have."

"Count me in!" Foreman replied.

"You guys go first, I really need a shower, but I'll join you, okay?" Harris said and finished her coffee.

They all left the room and he reached out to get his cell and dialed Cameron's number.

'Hello?'

'Hey, it's me, sorry I didn't text you back.'

'Oh, that's fine... I've been busy anyway.'

'Um, we saved the patient, how about we celebrate it? You can buy me a dinner.' House joked a little but Cameron fell silent.

'Um, I... I... House, they... they really need me here tonight, can I take a rain check?' She asked in a sheepish voice and House felt the anger bubbling inside him.

'You promised something last night.'

'I... I know. I'll make it up to you, I promise. It's just tonight. I'll come home in the morning and wake you up with a kiss and fresh bagels, how about that?' She tried to reconcile but House wasn't interested in her excuses anymore.

'Whatever.' He growled and hung up.

With a sigh he threw the phone away and sat down putting his face in his palms. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that until he heard somebody clearing their throat. He looked up to see Samantha smiling at him.

"Are you okay?" She asked and walked closer to him.

"Yeah, sure." He said.

"Really?" She wasn't buying that.

"Yes. I'm going home."

"Home? Come on! After what we did today? Why don't you get drunk with us? We have to celebrate."

"Not in a mood for those two. You go, have fun." He said and turned to look out of the window.

"I don't need to get drunk with them. I just need to get drunk." She said with a soft smile. "Come on, I know a great place, just you and me."

He turned again to face her and she took his coat from the coat-stand throwing it at him.


I'll continue soon, but please, please, pretty please... can I get some review? They make my heart melt... ha ha :) thank you.