Gamer girl
A.N. Happy Halloween!
When I was younger I played the Command and Conquer computer game franchise, and it was famous at the time for its live action cutscenes. Jennifer Morrison (who plays Cameron) acted in one of those games (I obviously had no idea who she was!), and you can still find her scenes on YouTube. This chapter is an homage to her gaming past, and the game she and House play is my favourite of all time.
Barely had Cuddy knocked on Wilson's door than it opened. "Hey, sorry", he said, "just on a call. Make yourself at home".
Cuddy smiled and wandered down the hallway as Wilson retreated into the kitchen, still with a hand over the receiver. She had only been here a couple of times since he had moved in. The place was more centrally located and closer to the hospital than his previous apartment. The short corridor through which she had just walked led out onto a vast open plan living area, separated from the kitchen by a partition. Floor-to-ceiling windows studded the far wall, and she made her way over to test the street view. Unusually for such large things, she could feel absolutely no draught, and a quick rap with her knuckles suggested that they were triple glazed. It was a busy Friday night, and cars zoomed past, but none of the noise reached her. An eerie experience: to be in the centre of town yet completely insulated.
The television, which even her untrained eye took to be extremely expensive, sat facing a lavish sofa suite. Neither had been in place at her last visit.
Cuddy sank into a cushioned chair and glanced at her wristwatch; they would need to leave soon if they were to reach House's on time. Though she tried hard not to eavesdrop, she could still hear Wilson talking on the phone from the other side of the partition: a downside of open plan living.
At length, Wilson made his way over. "Sorry about that".
"No worries". Cuddy waited for him to elaborate on the call but no explanation was forthcoming. "You OK?", she prompted eventually.
"Uhuh, yep. I'll just grab my coat then we can go". He disappeared into his bedroom, which angled off the hallway. "Thanks for driving!", he called out.
"Not a problem", she replied. "I still can't believe you were able to snap this up. Did you sleep with the realtor or something?".
"Hah, I wish", he snorted, having returned wearing a brown leather jacket and carrying a bag of beer bottles. "She had real big ti-".
"-I'm not a guy, James", Cuddy interjected drily, "so feel free not to finish that sentence".
He grinned. "Acknowledged. You set, then?".
"Yeah…is that a new jacket?", she asked as he was locking the door.
"It is. What do you think?".
"Trendy".
"Cool. Been looking to update my wardrobe".
The pair walked down to the lobby and out to the sidewalk, the outer door clicking shut behind them. The wind, which was blowing into their faces, picked up. Though the days were beginning to lengthen, the early spring air still carried a chill.
"Umm, OK". Cuddy raised her eyebrows. Wilson had never once struck her as a clothes horse.
He noticed her surprise. "What? I can be fashionable, too, y'know".
They reached Cuddy's car and climbed in, Wilson dumping the beer in the footwell on the passenger side.
It took Cuddy a minute to answer as she pulled out into the Friday evening traffic, the headlights of oncoming cars lighting up her rear view mirror. "Sure you can be fashionable. I mean, I'm yet to see it, but…".
"Come on. Compared to House I'm-".
"-lemme stop you right there. House is not a standard by which to judge fashion sense, OK? That guy does shirts and sneakers. Nothing else".
"Sure, sure", he replied, raising a finger, "but my point still stands".
"I will accept that, yes, compared to House you dress like a veritable Ralph Lauren".
"What department's he in?". Wilson glanced across, his face boyishly innocent.
"Err, what?".
"What department's Ralph Lauren in? One of the new hires from the Townsends?".
"No. Ralph doesn't work at the hospital".
"Ralph? You got your eye on someone, Lisa?", Wilson teased, using the finger he had raised before to prod her in the shoulder.
Cuddy stifled a smile and affected an air of deadly seriousness, though still keeping her eyes on the road. "Yes. We're thinking about going public soon. You think House'll mind?".
"Why would House mind?".
"Oh, y'know, just because he's not with Cameron anymore, and I thought it might be in poor taste to flaunt our fledgling relationship". She was finding it hard to keep a straight face.
"Ah, well, I think it's fine. Besides", he added a touch defensively, "we can't be expected to stay forever single in solidarity".
Now it was Cuddy's turn to glance across. "You speak as if you're no longer single. Who was that on the phone before?".
"No one. Just a friend". The oncologist looked out of the window, his hands laced together on his right knee.
"Huh. You don't have any friends, though".
"Believe it or not, but my entire life doesn't revolve around Princeton Plainsboro. Or you and House", he replied archly.
"OK, sorry", she murmured, somewhat chastened.
Ten seconds passed in silence.
"No, I'm sorry", said Wilson eventually with a short sigh. "It's…I've literally only just met this person. We haven't even gone on a date yet. So I'm keeping things quiet. And away from House".
"Mmm. Sensible. Temper expectations and all that".
"Exactly".
"You're texting each other?".
"Yeah, just back and forth a bit. Nothing too serious".
"What does she do?", asked Cuddy as they stopped at a red light. A police car pulled up in the adjacent lane, both its occupants talking animatedly. The driver looked familiar, and it took her a few seconds to realise that she had spoken to him the night of the massive crash and House's injury. Princeton really was a small town.
"She's a radiologist, actually. Not at our place", he added quickly.
"Cool, well, I hope it works out for you".
"And I hope it works out between you and Ralph Lauren".
Cuddy met the kindly brown eyes of her companion and smiled widely. "Thanks. One day at a time".
"So…have you brushed up on your poker skills? If not, it could get messy".
"You forget that I dominated both of you at the oncology benefit last time around".
"House was preoccupied with Esther 2.0, though". The three friends had been playing at the same table when Cuddy had been informed of a young boy with gastroenteritis. House, however, had thought otherwise. Working through the night in their formal wear, he and his fellows had correctly diagnosed Erdheim-Chester, an incredibly rare condition.
"And what was your excuse for sucking?", she asked casually.
"I was the wingman. Someone had to keep you at the table". Wilson's explanation rang hollow even to himself.
"Sure. Let's just see how it pans out tonight, huh? Did he mention to you if Cameron is playing?".
"Nope. It'll be interesting to see how that dynamic's working out. What's it been? Two weeks?".
"Almost. Are we expecting a scene of domestic hell or domestic bliss?".
"God knows. I only managed a few days myself". Wilson was alluding to the time a couple of years ago when he had slept on House's couch after the dissolution of his most recent marriage. Things had been somewhat rocky, to say the least.
"Cameron's made of tougher stuff than you, though".
"No disagreement from me", muttered Wilson to the sound of Cuddy's soft chuckle.
House was in the middle of gunning down NSF terrorists with an assault rifle when he saw a coffee cup emerge in his peripheral vision and settle on a mysteriously appearing coaster.
"One sec!", he shouted as his ears filled with the sound of spraying bullets and screams of pain. Only when the last terrorist lay flat on his back did he hit 'Escape' and remove his headphones.
"I made you a coffee". Cameron stood over him.
"Thanks". He took a sip and replaced the mug on the coaster. "Where did you get these?".
"The coasters? Found 'em in your kitchen".
"Not seen them before", he admitted.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?", she wondered aloud. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your gaming".
"Wait". House span in the desk chair so that he was facing her. Since the study was small it meant that his knees brushed her legs. Neither moved to break the contact.
"What's up?".
"Wilson and Cuddy are coming over later tonight to play some poker and eat pizza".
"Oh, OK. I can make myself scarce, no problem. Maybe I can head back to my apartment, actually: pick up clothes, check the fridge, et cetera".
"Sure, you could do that, if you wanted", he nodded, bracing himself: "or you could join us".
Cameron's heart beat a little faster. The last time they had all hung out together, at bowling, she and House had been together. "Err, well-".
"-it's fine. Forget it", interrupted House, looking down at the floor and tugging an ear habitually.
The heart already beating faster now melted at his awkwardness, as usual. Obviously he had thought her hesitation to have arisen from social discomfort. "No, I was just gonna say that I don't know how to play poker, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea. I'd just drag down your game".
He swished his hand dismissively. "That's no problem. I can teach you. Or we can play as a team. Whatever works".
"Hmm, well, got no plans for this evening, so why not?", she smiled.
"Cool", he grinned back. "Kick off at six. We tend to play for an hour, eat, then resume".
"Sounds good". They looked at each other for a few seconds. House had not turned back to the computer, though, and she felt compelled to fill the silence: "you should drink your coffee before it cools".
House duly took a sip. "What're you doing at the moment?".
"Porter's got me overseeing a new hire in the ER. I'm scheduled a call with him in thirty or so". When House had discovered her intention to leave Diagnostics for the ER he had retreated to think atop the hospital roof. She had followed him up and, after a little soul searching, they had discussed her career in a different part of the hospital. One of House's suggestions had involved her mentoring less experienced staff members with a view to growing her leadership profile. This scheduled call had arisen from that conversation months in the past.
"You have a bit of spare time, then".
"A bit", she nodded. For a split second she imagined him suggesting another shower. House had insisted on simply using the washcloth this morning, and Cameron had hidden her disappointment.
"Well, I mean", he began a little haltingly, "I could, sort of, show you what I'm playing? If you were interested, that is".
"Sure. I haven't seen computer games since I lived with my brothers". She crouched down and examined the screen. "So, what's going on here?".
House unpaused and played without headphones to make conversation easier. "The game is called Deus Ex. Basically, I control this dude and he works for a government agency called UNATCO—United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition—which deals, as you might expect, with terrorists".
"Those grey metal guys over there?". She pointed.
"Yeah. The NSF. Northwest Secessionist Forces. They wanna split from the Union and bombed the Statue of Liberty in protest". House panned the camera until a ruined, pixelated, Statue came into view on the horizon.
"That's not a great plan, it seems to me. Can't they put forward their secessionist manifesto politically?".
"Nah, the American government are bastards. Anyway, we gotta sneak around and infiltrate the Statue, where the NSF have their command centre. Then we interrogate their leader and, hopefully, complete the mission". House played a little more, taking out a few guys, lockpicking some doors, and sneaking into the main area. At this point he turned to Cameron: "you wanna try?".
"I'll get you killed", she laughed.
"I saved it, so no worries. Come. Sit. I need to stretch my legs anyway". He hauled himself up with the help of the flame cannon and looked expectantly at her.
"Ugh, fine", she said, doing as instructed. "But I only have thirty minutes".
"Perfect. So, you use W, A, S, and D to move around and the mouse to fire your weapon, which right now is an assault rifle". House watched as she completed a few exploratory movements. As with their go-karting date last year, she appeared to be a quick study. "OK, great. Here". He slipped the headphones over her ears, watching over her shoulder.
"I just shoot these men, then?", she asked loudly over the game sound.
"Yep, gun 'em down, no mercy. Keep moving otherwise they'll draw a bead on you".
"They're shooting me!".
"Keep moving".
"I'm assuming the display top left is my health?".
"Uhuh. Your arm just got melted-".
"-my arm is screwed!", she shouted over him.
"Yeah, run to those crates over there and crouch down by pressing the 'Control' button", he tapped her shoulder and pointed off to the left of the game field. "Use a medpack by pressing '4'".
"These guys want me, don't they?!". Bullets whizzed overhead.
House laughed at the phrasing but the game sound masked it. "They do want you, yes", he agreed loudly, before whispering softly under his breath: "they'll need to wait in line, though".
Cameron double-tapped two terrorists as they rounded the corner. "Sorry, men; wrong place, wrong time. I think I got them all", she added to House, throwing a glance his way.
"Yeah, now you gotta head up a couple of flights to the command centre. Press 'R' to reload".
"Roger. Will there be more enemies?".
"Probably. Use the mousewheel to scroll through available weapons". House reached across and took up his coffee mug, sipping from it while tracking her progress. He thought she looked heart-stoppingly cute wearing his clunky gaming headset.
"I'm good with the rifle. What time is it? My call…".
"You're fine on time", he assured her.
For the next little while Cameron navigated the rest of the mission, only occasionally needing to rely on advice from House. Having successfully interrogated the terrorist leader and handed him off to friendly troops, she sat back, exhaled loudly, and set the headphones on the desk.
"How was your first gaming experience?", he grinned.
"Gimme some of your coffee". She accepted the cup and took a couple of healthy gulps. "I enjoyed it", she said eventually, "but it wasn't my first time. I played a bit as a kid, and I played your Gameboy, remember?".
"That's true", House nodded, thinking back to the time recently when he had woken up in the days after the crash and observed her trying, and failing, to complete one of his favourite racing titles. "But I don't get how you can be so shit at that game and so good at this".
"I wasn't that good", she conceded. "My arms were shot to hell".
"Mmm".
They both smiled at each other. Cameron got to her feet and stood before him. It was a tight squeeze in the confines of his study. Neither minded.
"Well…guess I'd better log on for that call with my Padawan learner", she smiled.
House's heart skipped a beat at her casual use of Star Wars terminology. "Guess so", he agreed. "You're a few minutes late".
"I'll just blame you".
"'House made me play Deus Ex'?".
"Was thinking more along the lines of 'House was in pain and needed my help'", she mused, sliding past him close enough to fill his senses with her familiarly subtle smell.
House breathed in deeply, but discreetly, through his nose.
"How is your pain, by the way?", she asked, turning back from the open doorway.
"OK, I think. Not thought about it for a short time, at least". He wondered if she sensed the cathartic effect she had on him. Probably not.
"That's good. So…I'll see you for poker later?".
"Yep. In a bit, Camster".
House sank back into the deskchair, slipped on his headset, and resumed from where she had left off. He didn't catch the little smile on her lips at the nickname which had not seen use for a long time.
