Unexpected discoveries (1)

A.N. Plot spoilers for George Orwell's 1984 ahead. If you haven't read it, you really should. Since this is the second date, and since I love writing romance, it's a two-parter. The third date will likely also be a two-parter.


House was sitting in his armchair reading the paper and sipping a beer while he waited for Cameron to pick him up for their second date. She had remained mysteriously tight-lipped about her plans for the evening, saying only that he was to dress smartly and be ready at 6 p.m. House had rolled his eyes but was secretly intrigued. The fact was that he knew very little about the woman. She was from Chicago, but aside from a passing mention of an aunt upstate, he knew nothing about her family. As for her hobbies, he had learnt that she liked reading and exercise. That was it. Tonight was therefore something of a fact-finding mission.

Still, he couldn't reduce the whole thing to an intellectual enquiry. Their previous date, their closeness over the past couple of weeks, had been surprisingly enjoyable. There had been no awkwardness, and she hadn't attempted to push him into escalating things. It had been so long since he'd actually dated someone and he was finding the experience rewarding.

House was content to let things simmer for now, though he had to admit that he was looking forward to the physical side developing in due course. He had learnt early on that he was a man who could not long do without the pleasures of the female body, and since things had progressed with the immunologist he had refrained from calling on his usual girls. The monotony of monogamy was a necessary evil that would, hopefully, pay dividends soon enough.

There was a knock at the door. House folded up his paper and set his half empty beer bottle on the coffee table before ambling over to the door and opening it. Cameron looked ravishing. "Hello", he managed, stepping aside to let her into his apartment.

"Hi", she replied lightly, wandering close enough to fill his nostrils with her subtle perfume.

House breathed in deeply, still facing out into the empty corridor, attempting to compose himself. "You're wearing the red dress".

Cameron made a slow circuit of the living room, pretending to ignore his heightened reaction by looking around. "Yeah, well, I've not worn it for a while, so I figured: why not?". Reaching the coffee table, she picked up the beer en route to his bookcase, which she studied for a few moments. "You don't have as many medical books as I was expecting".

Having closed the door, House wrapped his arms around her waist and looked over her shoulder at the shelves. "I keep them in the corridor".

Cameron continued her exploration, running her finger over various titles. As she had imagined, his taste was eclectic. Most seemed to be non-fiction, though there were a few science fiction novels and, of course, the complete works of Arthur Conan Doyle. George Orwell also made frequent appearance. She stopped at 1984. "I haven't read this for a long time".

"One of my favourites".

"I wonder why? Idiosyncratic, socially awkward middle-aged man fights tooth and nail against the higher-ups and the system, desperate to retain his individuality amidst crushing conformity".

"More or less".

She leant back into House's chest. "And, if I recall correctly, our protagonist falls in love with a younger co-worker and they carry on a torrid affair unbeknown to their colleagues".

"Mmm. That's about right", the other murmured, brushing her ear with his lips.

Cameron placed the beer on a shelf and turned around suddenly, looking up into his eyes. "But at the end of that book, Big Brother wins. Our two lovers are broken, betrayed, and they barely recognise the face of the other in the crowd. The memory of their time together fades, like it never existed".

House met her gaze and nodded slowly. "You're right. That does happen in the book, by the end. But before that, the time they share is the happiest of their lives".

"But what if this ends at some point in the future? Will you forget me? Will I become just another face in the crowd?". Cameron's voice was low, and her eyes revealed a touching vulnerability that softened House's heart.

He brought a hand up to her cheek and her lashes fluttered. "I don't think I'll ever forget this face, Cameron. Not anymore".

She smiled and nuzzled against his palm. "So, we're agreed. Big Brother's not going to break us".

"Agreed", House nodded sternly, though with a grunt of amusement.

"Shall we pinky swear?".

"We could. Or I could just kiss you hard and that could stand as our oath of allegiance".

"Oh". Cameron also thought about it. "OK, let's do that instead".

Barely had she finished her sentence before House's lips overwhelmed her own. His body pressed forwards, forcing her back into the bookcase. She released a moan and brought a hand up to his stubbled cheek; the other slipped to the open buttons of his shirt and the soft hairs of his upper chest.

House could feel her breasts against his torso. One hand held her tightly by her bare shoulder, while the other slipped to her ass, kneading it through the fabric of her dress. "You're not wearing underwear", he observed between kisses.

"I am", Cameron whispered as she nibbled his lip. "You just, ah, won't be able to feel it".

This caused House to growl and he planted kisses and bites along her jaw and neck, Cameron leaning back to give him access, delighting in the sensation of his stubble and tongue against her skin. She loved the way she could make her usually restrained boss lose control. For so long she had considered him cold and heartless, but now it was becoming apparent that this couldn't have been further from the truth: beneath the icy exterior was a hot-blooded, powerful man. And she would bring that man to the surface if it was the last thing she did.

After many minutes, the two broke apart, the passion gradually reduced to embers. Cameron placed her hands on House's chest and looked up. His normally bright eyes returned an inky blackness and her position against the bookcase enhanced his height such that he towered over her.

Not for the first time since he had resumed at Diagnostics, she thought he resembled a big cat or some other apex predator. "You look like you want to eat me", she whispered, eyebrow raised.

"I do want to eat you. Sooner or later, I will taste every square centimetre of your body. And, after I've done that…".

Cameron's mouth was dry, taken off guard by his sudden turn to sexual talk. "'After you've done that' what?".

"Well, you'll just have to find out, hey?".

House stepped back, but not before kissing her nose in a way that was becoming increasingly familiar to Cameron, and she wrinkled it reflexively. "You keep doing that". She had her hands in his blazer pockets, preventing him from moving too far.

"Keep doing what?".

"Kissing my nose".

"I suppose I do, yes", he shrugged. "You don't like it?".

"I like it. I just want to know why you do it". Cameron imagined that she would get to experience a few other House-isms before their time was done. The anticipation made her shiver, probably because she had never seen him display his affection so openly. The real thrill was that his affection was directed at her.

"I think you have a beautiful nose and whenever I kiss you there you wrinkle it adorably".

"Huh". Cameron tilted her head to the side.

House gave her a confused look. "Now what?".

"You, sir, are a hopeless romantic! I can't believe it. All the hookers, all the girlfriends, all the acid comments and ironic eye rolls. Dr. Gregory House is a romantic!".

"I am not", House replied, attempting to release himself half-heartedly from her grip.

But Cameron held tight and continued as if she hadn't heard him, lost in a train of thought. "Things are starting to make sense—now I know why you got me a gift at Café Spoleto, why you helped me at go-karting, why you keep offering me lifts, why we haven't slept together yet". Eyes alight with mischief, she punctuated each of her next words with a prod of his chest. "You. Are. A. Gentleman!".

House attempted to maintain a look of mild irritation, but her joy at this discovery was so genuine that it was hard not to smile. "If you poke me again, I'll bite your finger".

"Nah, you won't. You're too much of a gentleman for that. But don't worry, House, your secret is safe with me". Cameron rose up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear: "I won't tell anyone that you're really a lovely human being".

House gripped her waist in both his hands. "I'm not a lovely human being. Truly".

"Well", she murmured thoughtfully, "perhaps you're right. I know only what you've shown me, so my investigations are as yet incomplete".

"I could say the same thing about you".

"It seems we're both running at an information deficit, Dr. House".

A half-smile tugged at his lips. Of course, one of the reasons he'd insisted on her organising this date was so he could learn more about her, gain an insight into her life, rather than just her career. It was something of a relief, not to mention a bit of a turn on, that Cameron had already perceived what he wanted.

The attraction to her had always been physical—it was her body that had inhabited first his hallucination, and now increasingly his dreams; but recently it had been the intangibles that drew his attention: her intellect, her wit, her confidence not just in herself but in them as a couple. Since their head to head in the office, her seemingly unshakeable belief in a relationship had been as endearing as it was reassuring.

Cameron, for her part, studied the other's face. House had kept her guessing: maintaining distance some days, seeking her out on others, refusing to give her too many details into his personal life. This was typical House behaviour and entirely to be expected.

And yet, she had also done similar to him. There was a reason for this, she knew. It was a self-defence mechanism. Ever since she had sat at her table in the dead of night drinking hot chocolate, she had known to be careful, to take it one day at a time. The depth of her feeling for House scared her. But precisely because it scared her, she knew she couldn't be reckless—there was too much at risk. If she committed herself too hastily, if she demolished too soon the barriers around herself, there was a real chance of permanent damage if things between them fell through.

Cameron was convinced that they belonged together, but she was equally as sure that her heart couldn't withstand a House-sized hole. A gradual escalation of intimacy was the best policy, and she said as much out loud.

"An escalation of intimacy is an interesting proposal". House ran his hands up her sides before resting them on her shoulders.

"And what form should that escalation take, huh?", she asked, enjoying the sensation of his hands on her skin.

"Well, we could…". House bent his head to whisper in her ear, and his words caused her heart to beat faster and brought an immediate flush to her cheeks. "But I think before we do that, we should do this", he continued, whispering his idea in her other ear.

"Well, you weren't kidding. That is an escalation".

"Yep". House pulled back and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "What say you, Lady Cameron?".

"I say 'aye', Lord House. We'll each think of a personal question to ask the other before our next date and, no matter what it is, we have to answer". In a way, the immunologist knew that this suggestion was even more significant than the development of a physical aspect to their hitherto chaste relationship. She imagined that sex to House was just that: sex. Beyond the biology involved, and the simple joy of its consummation, it was a straightforward act which need not entail an emotional connection.

But House was offering a ticket into his consciousness, was willingly allowing her to puncture his protective shell, if only for one question. She of course would need to do the same, but this was acceptable. Like an equation, things would balance themselves out. But only if both parties enter data. Cameron smiled, relieved that her recent insight had been proven correct.

House read her smile as further confirmation. "It's settled, then?".

"It's settled".

"Good. So where are we going for our date? Because I know you have more planned than 'hanging around in my apartment'".

Cameron chuckled and gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek. "I sure do. Let's go, buster".