CHAPTER 17
Inconclusive
Cameron never contacted House, he had no idea where she had gone, she even changed her phone number and in the end he went back to being miserable, cranky and way too annoying. He was spending all the days and nights either in a hospital or getting drunk in bars... There, however, was one thing that had changed...
On one Thursday rainy night, after a certain amount of Scotch House mounted his bike clumsily and revved the engine. He wanted to go home but decided to go to Wilson's place instead knowing it would be a better place to stay that night. His apartment somehow wasn't his shrine anymore. His mind was filled with thousands thoughts, he couldn't stop thinking about Cameron no matter how much he tried, she never called, Chase told him she had gone to Montana, which pissed him off even more as he felt particularly jealous. Wilson tried to help but it wasn't enough, his pain was getting worse, the puzzles seemed boring, people were boring, places were boring. As his mind drifted back to Cameron again, House completely forgot to turn in direction of Wilson's place so he swerved quickly not noticing a huge puddle. He immediately lost control of his bike and everything went black.
"Wakey, wakey..." He recognized the voice, opened his eyes slowly noticing Wilson sitting next to his bed in a hospital room and House grunted a little.
"What happened?" His voice was hoarse and he was thirsty, his head was killing him and mainly he couldn't remember almost anything from the previous night.
"You're an idiot, that's what happened." Wilson said rather angrily and handed him a cup with water. "This time, it's just a concussion and two broken ribs. House, this isn't funny anymore."
"It was funny before?" House asked and took a sip.
"It's been a couple of months, I know you miss her..."
"Shut up."
"No, I'm done tiptoeing around you. Look, you need to let her go. You screwed up and she's not coming back so just accept it and stop trying to kill yourself."
"I wasn't trying to kill myself." House grumbled and handed him the cup back.
"Really?!" Wilson took the cup and got up pacing the room.
"I got drunk..." House shrugged and looked out the window with a gulp.
"I liked Cameron, she was good for you and I know you were happy with her... but knowing her I don't think she would ever forgive you, you need to accept it and move on."
"How about you move on? To another room? Cancer kids need a hug, I don't." House said still not looking at him. He knew Wilson was right but he definitely wasn't willing to admit it.
Wilson stopped pacing and turned to look at his friend as he rubbed his face. "What about Cuddy?"
"What about her?"
"You practically live with her. I thought rebounding with her might be a good thing."
"No, she practically lives with me, that's the difference." House frowned and closed his eyes. After Cameron had left him, Cuddy started to visit House at home, sometimes she cleaned the place, sometimes she cooked, sometimes they watched TV together, sometimes they had sex. House was distant and cold, but she didn't seem to mind.
"So why are you two together?" Wilson asked dumbfoundedly.
"We're not together. I don't care about her."
"What?!" Wilson's eyes widened. "You can't toy with her."
House chuckled. "She's toying with me, I'm not doing anything. The sex is okay, though, I guess."
"Enough!" Wilson was furious. "I can't watch you destroy yourself anymore. You've been popping an enormous amount of pills lately, getting drunk every day, you've changed."
"No shit, Sherlock!" House hissed. "Leave me alone."
"Cameron is in New York, she works in the ER at the Presbyterian, she moved on and so should you." Wilson shrugged and tossed House's cell into his lap. "I tried to fix the phone but I'm not sure it works."
"How do you know? She... she was in Montana." House looked at him closely.
"Chase told me. They are still in touch." Wilson shrugged and turned to leave. "I have to go, I'll drop by later."
House suddenly felt tired, he closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly. He woke up a couple of hours later when he heard a loud beep. He reached out for his cell and blinked a couple of times to see the text.
Hope you get better soon. Perhaps you should get yourself a tricycle instead. AC (not air conditioning).
House's eyes widened immediately. Cameron. After several months it was the first time she contacted him. How could she know what happened? Why did she even text him? He felt a nudge in the stomach and his heart rate accelerated. He pushed one button quickly trying to call back but she didn't pick up. He tried a couple of times more, but it was obvious she didn't want to talk to him.
Both Wilson and Cuddy came by later telling House he could go home, of course she would stay with him to take care of him.
A couple of months had passed and things were still the same. Cuddy hired Taub instead of Harris, who became a frequent target of House's mocking but besides that nothing really changed. Wilson had no idea how to help his miserable friend, Cuddy pretended not to see that House was just using her for sex and chores and after several attempts House even stopped trying to call Cameron's number.
It was fall, trees remained clothed in green until the middle of October and the sun was shining, all in all a beautiful day... but not for everybody. House was standing in his office playing with his Yo-Yo when he heard his cell ring. He reached out to answer it with a sigh.
"Huh?" He growled.
"Um, House?" A woman's soft voice asked.
"Yes..." He hissed and sat down with a sigh. His leg was killing him again and after taking too many Vicodin he felt dizzy and nauseated. He heard the person sobbing lightly.
"It's... Cameron."
His eyes widened and he sat up in his chair.
"Where are you?" He blurted out without thinking.
"I... I'm in New York. I... I am calling because I need to ask you something." She said softly.
"Sure, sure. What is it? Are you okay?" He couldn't believe she called him. Everything faded away at that point, even his pain as all he could concentrate at was her. Her voice.
"I'm fine. It's... it's my brother." She said and he could hear she was crying.
"Cameron, calm down and tell me what happened." He said gently.
"He had an accident... he was hit by a car when he was skateboarding." She paused a little and he waited for her to go on. "It was bad but he was recovering... but for the past three days he's been going from bad to worse. He's got fever and rash all over his body and... and... nobody knows why." At the end of the sentence she was crying so hard she could barely get the words out.
"Tests?" He asked.
"Inconclusive..." She replied.
"Okay... I need to see him. Where's he?" House said and stood up.
"Presbyterian..." She sobbed again.
"I can be there in two hours." He said quickly and limped over to take his leather jacket. "Do you want me to?"
"Uh huh... please." She said so softly he could barely hear it.
"Okay..."
"Don't... don't go on your bike." She said in the end. "I don't want you to get hurt again."
"I'm sober, I'll be fine." He replied with a soft smile. She still cared about him.
House sneaked out from the hospital and two hours later he walked into another one asking for Allison Cameron. As he limped out of the elevator on the third floor he immediately noticed her standing in the hall talking to a doctor. She was wearing black tight jeans and a light blue sweater, her long brown hair falling down on her shoulders. She was still slim but not as skinny as he remembered the last time he saw her, she was beautiful and for the first time after the awful never-ending months without her, he finally felt something. Something familiar and nice.
She turned around and noticed him, staring at him before giving him an uncertain smile. He slowly walked to her as the other doctor left. Her eyes were puffed and she seemed tired and as he stood in front of her, all he wanted was to hug her. And so did she, yet neither of them had the guts to do it.
"You came... thank you." She said with a sad smile.
"How are you holding up?" He asked with concern.
"I'm okay. I'm just really worried."
They just stood there, his eyes never leaving hers. Watching her, he realized how much he missed her, even more than he thought. He wanted to make things right again, take her home and never let her leave him again. He terribly wanted her to have her there again, even with the dog, gosh, he even missed the dog, he would play piano for her and she would sit next to him, her hand placed on his thigh just like she always used to do it.
"Can I see his file?" He asked and she nodded.
"I'll take you to his room." She said and turned but House grabbed her hand gently unable to stop himself. She looked up at him and he took a step towards her. He reached out and put a strand of her hair behind her ear taking in her sweet scent. She was still staring at him before she closed her eyes and gulped. He pulled her to him hugging her and he felt her relax in his arms.
"I missed you." He said and she pulled back looking up at him.
"Don't do this to me, House... please." She sobbed again, her eyes filling with tears. "I just need your help because you're the only doctor that can help my brother."
He was watching her carefully. "Are you seeing someone?"
She nodded. "I'm happy, House."
His heart skipped a beat. Then he nodded and gave her a fake smile. "Take me to your brother."
It's not too long, sorry 'bout that but it's gonna be fun from now on. Promise. Also, too busy to re-read it, sorry for all the mistakes and typos. If you leave me a review, I'll be sooo happy.
