Please Forgive Me

Chapter Five

Both Wilson and House arrived at the airport after running home to pack a bag for the next day, then sat in the oncologist's car for several minutes while trying to figure out if catching the redeye flight out to Chicago was the right thing to do, and finally House spoke up to break the silence between them as he looked at his friend saying, "You know this plan is pretty idiotic right, especially coming from you?"

Wilson nodded, then he answered, "Yes, now that I've had time to actually think about it."

"Good, glad we had that settled," the genius replied eagerly as he moved to get out of the car. "Let's go!"

"You do realize that we're heading to Chicago," Wilson responded as he began to follow after the crippled doctor walking surprisingly fast for his disability. "It's not the destination mind you. I've been to Chicago. I like the city. It's just that it's almost midnight now and we're planning on just skipping town and travelling for a few hours, just to go for another few hours to invade one of our friend's privacy by breaking in to her apartment so that we can search for something we most likely won't find."

House smiled and then asked, "Come on, where's your sense of adventure? This is going to be fun. Not only do we get to see Cameron's new digs, but we will also have the chance to grab a slice of Chicago's finest pizza, the best pizza you will ever have in your life. And it means we don't have to go to work tomorrow. Cuddy will be so thrilled when she gets your call. You know you want to go. Otherwise, you wouldn't have suggested it in the first place."

The oncologist glared at him as they stood in line to be checked in at the gate and answered, "I think subconsciously I knew that you would have suggested it if I hadn't of, so I did it before you could."

"Oh I thought of it all right," House replied arrogantly. "I was just waiting to see how much you cared about our Dr. Cameron to see if you'd do the right thing."

"Breaking and entering isn't exactly the right thing," Wilson said sternly. "If we get caught and or arrested, I will leave you to rot. I hope you know this."

A few hours later when they arrived outside of Cameron's new place since she moved there after she quit working for House at Princeton Plainsboro a few months ago. A long and awkward silence had fallen over the two friends once they boarded the plane. Wilson knew that House would never admit it, but he could tell that the man was worried about Cameron. And so was he.

While they began searching through the woman's things, Wilson looked over at House and asked worryingly, "Are you okay?"

House turned to face his friend as he stated questioningly, "Why, should I not be?"

"No… yes… I mean, admit it, House," he responded in frustration. "You're worried about Cameron. Why else would you have jumped so quickly to join me here?"

"Uh… maybe because I was happy for the excuse to be doing this," the narcissistic doctor answered smugly as he opened up the top drawer in Cameron's dresser and pulled out a pair of her underwear. "She likes to wear rainbow colors."

Wilson scoffed and then replied, "Put that down and try to act as though you're concerned like any normal human being. If there's anything here that can help us find out if Cameron was worried about someone who might want to hurt her, then I doubt we'll find it in her underwear drawer."

House responded, "Au contraire. A woman's underwear drawer is the perfect hiding place to hide something one would never want anyone else to see."

"Do you even know Chase at all?" the oncologist asked quizzically. "If he ever came here to see Cameron, that would be the first place he'd look in the moment her back was turned. And you sure don't waste any time."

"Yeah, you're probably right," the genius answered as he closed the drawer and moved on to the dresser beside her bed."

Wilson watched him for a few seconds and then spoke up again saying worryingly, "I know that you are worried, and not just about Cameron or even about Chase. You may not say it, but your face and your silence does. I'm sure that once Cameron is found and safe again, everything will blow over and Chase will be back to work in no time. He's just upset right now, which he certainly has every right to be. He's scared and angry, and he's lashing out at the one person whom he knows that he can lash out at. And it's like I told you earlier, most of what he said earlier tonight was true. You are partially to blame for them breaking up, because of all of your meddling and tricks."

House asked sarcastically, "Is this you trying to make me feel better? Because you really suck at it."

"House…" Wilson said with frustration, having grown tired of his friend's constant narcissistic attitude while trying to deflect the seriousness of their conversation.

"Of course Chase will be back. And maybe Cameron too if I play my cards right, if she survives that is," the doctor replied.

The oncologist immediately retorted, "No… no… no… no, you can't possibly think about using this tragedy to try to get Cameron to come back to work with you."

House riffled through her mail lying out in the open upon her coffee table in the living as he responded, "Of course not. She'd be working for me, not with me. I am the boss after all, remember?"

"House, do you have any idea how insane that is?" Wilson asked angrily. "Not to mention how morally wrong that is, especially since your lack of morals is one of the reasons why she left."

"Believe me, I know it," House answered surprisingly without any hint of sarcasm in his voice, then paused for a few moments to think. "Did I ever tell you what her last words to me were? I'm not exactly proud of it, but she was right. I just didn't want to admit it, least of all to myself."

Wilson looked at him with curiosity as he asked, "What did she say?"

The genius sat down on the couch, while his only friend took a seat beside him, and then he continued, "Well first she told me that she was in love with me. Then went on to say that she had tried to be like me, to try to understand me because she thought she could heal me. If I had been more serious about what our friendship really meant, then maybe she would have been right. She told me that lives can't come second to the puzzles our patients present to me. And finally accused me of poisoning Chase because of what happened with Dibala, that I will eventually do the same to Taub and Thirteen. She said that she was sorry for us both for what we had become because there is no longer any way back for us. Cameron was right, but you and I both know that even though I know it, I'm never going to change. I'm incapable of change."

"That's bullshit," Wilson replied curtly. "You can change. It's just that you don't want to, at least not yet. Maybe one day you will. She's going to be alright. We might not be able to find her, but surely the police will and then if there's anything you can do, it's apologize for pushing her away."

"Well, seeing as there's nothing here, we should probably find a hotel and get a few hours of sleep before heading home," House responded. "Just remind me to stop by that pizza place I told you about before. I told Chase I'd find her. I'll find her."