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Chapter 45
Cameron rolled onto her back, not wanting to open her eyes yet. She could hear rain hitting her bedroom window and the sound of it only made her want to sleep longer. When she did finally open her eyes, she was surprised to see it was ten o'clock. She hadn't slept that late in a very long time. Of course, she didn't usually get drunk that often either.
She could hear noises coming from her kitchen, assuming House was probably trying to find something to eat. She was amazed that he was even still here. She could smell coffee and this gave her the energy to get out of bed. As she sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed, the sheet fell to her waist, exposing her black lacy underwear. When did I change into this? She tried to remember. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to recall last night's events. She remembered going to the bar with House, eating and drinking and she even remembered walking into her apartment but that was it. Everything else was blank. She opened her eyes and saw House's tennis shoes lying beside her bathroom door. Why are his shoes in my room? A knot was beginning to form in the pit of her stomach. She glanced over her shoulder at the other side of the bed and could tell someone had slept there. Did I have sex with House? She wondered desperately as she closed her eyes and placed her hand over her mouth. Please No. Not like this. She said quietly under her breath. Her head was pounding and she was dizzy. Two signs of a hang over. She stood slowly, holding onto her nightstand until she regained her balance and stepped into her bathroom. She needed to confront House and find out what had happened.
She quietly closed the door. She didn't want him to know she was awake yet. She took a good look at herself in the mirror and cringed at the face staring back at her. Her hair was a tangled mess and she wasn't sure if it was makeup smeared under her eyes or dark circles. She washed her face, brushed her teeth and combed the knots out of her hair, pulling it back into a ponytail. She looked at herself again. She was pale but she looked better that what she did. She stepped back into her bedroom and threw on a pink tank top, a pair of pajama pants and her silky purple robe, leaving it opened in the front. She took a deep breath and headed towards the kitchen. Her head was still spinning. It took all her strength to not crumple to the floor but the thought of a cup of coffee kept her going. She rounded the corner of the kitchen to find House cooking eggs. She leaned against the wall and watched.
House knew she had walked in but didn't look at her. "Morning Sunshine. Want something to eat?"
Cameron cringed at the thought of food. "No but a cup of coffee would be nice." She said softly.
House placed his eggs onto a plate and grabbed a mug from the cabinet next to the stove and filled it with coffee.
It surprised Cameron that he had made himself so comfortable with her kitchen in such a short time.
He turned to hand Cameron the cup of coffee, looking at her for the first time. "You look like hell."
She rolled her eyes and took the cup from him. "Thanks."
They both sat down in the living room, House divulging in his food and Cameron sipping her coffee.
House was sitting on the cushy arm of the sofa while Cameron nestled down into the pillows. He didn't seem to notice that she was looking at him.
She noticed his bare feet first, thinking how she had never seen his bare feet before. She then glanced at her own bare feet and thought how weird this seemed, the two of them sitting in her living room in their pajamas. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing. He had on a pair of blue and white stripped pajama pants and a white t-shirt. His hair was tussled slightly, giving him almost a boyish look and his unshaven face was more apparent that normal. She realized she had a small smile on her face and quickly discarded it before he noticed she was checking him out. She heard him say something, taking her away from her thoughts.
"Sure I can't fry you up some eggs? Toast?" He said with a mouth full of food.
"I'm sure. The coffee's good though." She answered, taking another sip. "All this time you have had me or someone else make coffee when you knew how to make it all along."
"Another one of my secrets." He said, taking his last bite. He sat the plate on the coffee table, wiped his mouth with a napkin and slid down on the sofa next to her.
Cameron gave him a side ways glance still wondering if they had slept together. She wasn't sure how to approach the subject other than to just ask. "I guess there is no way to ask this but to just to ask it. Did we…" She stopped and cleared her throat. "Did we…" Cameron couldn't spit out the words.
"Are you asking me if we did the mattress mambo?" He said with a cocky grin.
Cameron looked away from his mocking eyes. She waited for him to continue knowing he was taking his time in answering to torture her.
He leaned forward slightly knowing it was driving her crazy to wait for an answer. "Were you dressed when you woke up?"
"Barely." She answered.
"Two things you should never forget." He paused. "A - you wouldn't be dressed in anything and B - you wouldn't have to ask if we did."
Cameron let out a long sigh. "Unbelievable." She mumbled.
House heard her and smiled. He didn't have to look at her to know she had that defiant look on her face.
"So, I take it - that was a no. Then why was I in my underwear?"
"Because that's what you chose to wear when you tried to seduce me." He could hear the gears turning in her head.
Cameron snapped her head up. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you don't remember. You were great." Thoughts of how Cameron looked last night entered his head. She was more than just great but he wasn't going to let her know that. "You're performance was amazing."
"You're screwing with me because I can't remember anything."
"Nope. You waltzed right in here, dressed like a stripper and kissed me. It was quite a kiss, if you know what I mean."
Cameron tried again to remember what she had done last night. "Please tell me you are lying." She pleaded with him.
"Then I suppose you don't remember telling me you are still in love with me." He said, watching her out of the corner of his eye.
Cameron stopped breathing. Did he just say what I think he said?
House realized she was holding her breath. "You might want to breath Cameron."
Cameron looked up at him. "Did I really say that?"
"You did." He was enjoying the situation too much to let her off the hook.
Cameron dropped her head into her head. "Oh my God. I can't believe I said that to you." She looked up at him again. Remorse on her face. "I'm sorry. Why are you still here? After that comment, I would have guessed you would be several states away by now."
"Thought about it." He glanced at her. "But I figured I would stay and take advantage of the situation."
"But you said we didn't."
"We didn't. You passed out."
"But you slept in my bed."
"Because you asked me too. You were crying and being such a girl. You were pathetic." He said softly.
Cameron paused. "But you turned me down. Why?" She asked boldly.
"And be like Chase? Then I would be the pathetic one." He said truthfully.
She looked away from him. "Wow. That's definitely bringing up the past."
"Besides, the timing wasn't right." He added.
Cameron looked at him curiously. "I think you have made it perfectly clear many times that the timing would never be right."
House stared back at her but didn't say anything.
"I think I need to take a shower." She said, changing the subject.
"I wouldn't argue with that." He teased.
"Very funny."
As Cameron stood, a wave of dizziness over came her causing her to lose her balance. House quickly reached out and grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.
Cameron looked at his hand on her then down into his blue eyes. "Thank you. That's twice you've come to my rescue."
House noticed how pale she had become. "Maybe you should lie back down. A shower can wait."
Cameron suddenly realized how bad she was feeling. "I think maybe you're right." She slowly started walking towards her bedroom.
"Need some help?" He offered.
"No. I can do it. Thanks." She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "House."
"Yeah?"
"Thanks - for everything."
He gave her a nod and she continued down the hall.
He leaned back and thought about what she had said about the 'timing never being right.' How many times had he made her believe that he never wanted her; that every time she thought there was something between them, he would twist it around and make her think it was all in her head? She would be very amused if she ever found out how much she had turned him on last night. The thought of her in her lacy black underwear still aroused him. He sat up and shook his head of the thoughts. Maybe I need a shower, a cold shower to get my mind off of things, he thought. He took his plate to the kitchen and limped to the hall bathroom to wash away his thoughts and any lingering feelings.
**********
It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon when Cameron finally woke up. She saw that it was still raining outside and the air was chilly. She loved days like this. She sat up to see if she felt any better and she did. Although she still had a headache, the dizziness was gone. She peeked into the living room to see what House was up to and found him asleep on the sofa. She stepped back into her bedroom and decided she would take her shower. As she was getting the water ready she heard a car alarm start going off. At first she didn't think anything about it but when the alarm didn't shut off, a weird feeling came over her. She looked out her window to see it was her jeep that the sound was coming from. The headlights were blinking rapidly and the sound was piercing the air. She quickly slipped on some shoes and hurrid into the living room. House was awake now and sitting up.
"What the hell is that noise?" He asked in a gruff voice.
"My car alarm." She answered as she was putting on her coat.
Realizing the god awful noise that woke him up from his nap was a car alarm, annoyed him even more. "Where are you going?"
"I have to turn it off." She said and opened the door.
"Wait. I'll go with you." He said and slipped on his shoes and followed her outside.
Cameron shut off the alarm with her key-less remote and silence filled the air once more.
As she approached her jeep she felt something was wrong, knowing the alarm wouldn't go off for no reason. When she walked around the driver's side, she gasped. House saw her expression and when he arrived by her side, he too was surprised at what he saw. They both stood there, getting wet from the rain.
Written in black spray paint, in large letters, was a message.
"You Are Not His."
Cameron was doing her best to not hyperventilate. "I can't believe this."
House glanced around cautiously. "We need to call the police Cameron. Let's go back inside." He said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her away from the car.
While he called the police, Cameron paced back and forth trying to understand why someone would be doing this to her. House let her pace, knowing it wouldn't do any good to try and get her to sit down.
Suddenly she stopped. "I have to throw up." And she ran down the hall to the bathroom.
There was a knock on the door a few minutes later and House answered, letting the policeman in. By the time Cameron joined them, he had explained everything that had happened.
"We need to take your statement Doctor Cameron." The policeman said.
"Okay. I was supposed to go down to the station today and make a statement for what happened yesterday."
"Yes. Doctor House has explained that and who the detective is you are working with. I will take your statement for this incident and notify Detective Hodges because the two cases may be related. I will also let him know that you will be coming in on Monday to make the other statement."
"Thank you." She answered and proceeded with her statement.
House stood back without interrupting.
The last thing the policeman said to Cameron before leaving was for her to consider staying somewhere else for a couple of nights.
Cameron closed the front door and went to the window to stare out. "He knew you were here with me." She said softly. "He could be watching us now."
"He could be. We should stay a couple of nights at my place."
"What difference would that make? He can follow us there too." She said, mesmerized by the rain falling on the pavement.
"True but I have an unopened bottle of scotch that would help us get through the night."
She turned and smiled at him. "I haven't had my shower."
"I have running water."
Cameron nodded in agreement and went to gather a few things. She wasn't sure if she would be there just for the night or longer. So, she made sure she had work clothes for Monday morning, just in-case. She knew she should probably tell House to go home, that she would be alright but the truth was, she was scared and didn't want to be alone.
She met him in the living room with bag in hand. "I'm ready."
"I called a taxi. Should be here in a few."
They both sat in silence until the taxi pulled up to take them to their new destination.
**********
Down the street, Steven Mayer watched as the taxi pulled up to Allison's apartment. He had been watching when he witnessed House walking a swaggering Allison into her apartment. He had stayed all night, watching her windows, looking for some kind of indication that what he feared the most wasn't happening. However, the infamous doctor did not leave, leaving him no other choice but to let Allison know that he was not pleased with the situation.
Steven followed the taxi down the road, careful not to be noticed and watched as House and Allison both walked into the up-scaled condo. He waited until the lights went on inside before he headed back to his place to decide what his next move would be.
