Title: "Solitaire"

Author: Jackie W.

Rating: PG-13

Classification: House/Cameron

Summary: Is there really someone even more lonely than House?

Dr. Allison Cameron wasn't really surprised when she woke up on Saturday morning feeling achy and with a low-grade fever. She had probably treated at least two dozen people with the flu in the clinic over the past several days, and before that she hadn't been taking the best care of herself. Between having two tough cases back to back and the anniversary of her husband's death, sleep had been fitful and her appetite non-existent. So she had gone into the flu season run down to start with. Never a good idea. She knew the drill. Plenty of rest, lots of fluids and ibuprofen for the fever and aches. Despite all that on Monday she felt like she'd been run over by a truck, and she was forced to call in sick. She spent the day on the couch watching old movies and was surprised at dinnertime when she got up to make some soup to find that she was feeling dizzy and even worse than she had in the morning. Obviously she'd been unlucky enough to catch one of the more stubborn strains, not the three-day version that the majority of her patients had suffered from.

Tuesday mornings sucked, and that was his professional opinion, House thought as he walked slowly across the parking garage. Any energy you had managed to store up over the weekend had vanished by the end of the day Monday, and on Tuesday morning you still had to suck it up and drag yourself out of bed with nothing to look forward to but four more days of hell. And this Tuesday there wasn't even any good coffee, which meant another day without Cameron to break up the monotony of the place. Chase verified that she had called in sick again. When Foreman expressed concern, House pointed out that Cameron was a big girl, and unless someone had exposed her to another deadly disease she would probably be just fine.

Foreman had the grace to look suitably guilty, and even offered to go cover Cameron's clinic hours, which House agreed to. Of course he didn't tell Foreman that the clinic hours had originally been his and he had put Cameron's name on when no one was looking.

However when Wednesday rolled around and there was no sign of Cameron even House had to admit to himself a bit of worry. Especially since she hadn't called in. At lunch he lobbied Wilson to stop by on his way home to check on her.

"Why can't you just do it?" Wilson complained.

"Jimmy, have you learned nothing about woman? If I go over she will instantly get the wrong idea, and before I know it she'll be picking out china patterns," House explained.

"But if I go over she won't get the wrong idea about me?" Wilson asked.

"Probably, but then it's your problem," House admitted.

Still, when no one had heard from her by 5:00, James was worried enough that he felt he should stop. His concern grew when there was no response to his knocking. As he stood in the hall wondering what to do next, one of her neighbors arrived. After a brief conversation, he learned that the apartment manager, Mr. Kline, lived down the hall, and he decided to try getting him to open Cameron's door. The man was skeptical at first, but after checking James' id, he agreed on the stipulation that he accompany him in to be sure he didn't steal anything.

A long five minutes later, they were entering the apartment. In the living room there was evidence of a meal left uneaten. The sound of a TV led them into the bedroom where the bed was rumpled but unoccupied. James reached over and turned off the TV, and only then was a muffled moan audible. The two men followed the sound into the bathroom where they found Cameron laying in a heap, barely conscious.

James leapt into doctor mode, checking her pulse and finding it steady if a bit weak. Then he touched her forehead.

"She's burning up. Call 911 and get an ambulance. I'm going to try to bring this fever down before it damages any organs," he told Kline, who nodded and went to the phone.

James meanwhile turned on the shower and waited for the temperature to warm up just a bit. Then he tossed his cell phone to Kline who had just returned.

"Call speed dial #3 and ask for Dr. Cuddy. Tell her I'll be bringing Cameron in shortly," he again ordered even as he scooped up his new patient and stepped into the shower with her.

By the time the EMT's arrived Wilson felt that Cameron had cooled down enough and was glad to have the impersonal help to strip her out of her wet clothes and slip her into a dry robe that had been hanging on a hook next to the shower. By the time they had her on the gurney Wilson had also changed. Luckily he'd had his gym bag in the car, and Klein had gone down and retrieved it for him. Now he jumped into the back of the ambulance. Just as the door was about to close Klein tossed him back his cell phone.

"I programmed in my number. Please call and let me know how she is doing," he yelled as they prepared to drive off and Wilson nodded a quick acknowledgement.

As they drove, he got an update from one of the paramedics on Cameron's vitals. Her fever was still dangerously high, but at least she was getting fluids pumped into her via the IV. Her other readings were all within acceptable levels. She would be ok with care, thank goodness. He actually had to take a deep breath to quell the nausea that rose at the thought of what might have happened if House hadn't badgered him into stopping. Thinking of his friend he signaled to the EMT to see if he could use his cell phone and quickly made a call to House's cell. He caught him on his way home, and told him to turn around and meet him back at PPH. He wasn't surprised to see him already standing there when the ambulance pulled up. He'd probably run every red light to make it back.

Neither of them said a word at first. But their eyes met and Wilson knew he saw fear there before House read Wilson's own eyes, and knew Cameron wasn't in immediate danger. Then House snapped back to action and nodded to the EMT's to start rolling through the vitals. By the time they were making their way into an exam room in the ER Cuddy had shown up and was taking over.

"House, you can stay if you are good, but there is no way you are going to be her primary Doctor. It would be unethical," she stated firmly.

House started to argue but Cuddy cut off any thought of it with one glare. Wilson couldn't help but smile at the thought that it looked like the Dean of Medicine had learned a trick or two from House over the years, and now was using those skills against the man himself. He took pity on his friend though as he caught sight of Cameron's pale features again.

"Come on House. I'll update you out in the hallway while Cuddy takes care of Cameron," he suggested.

Five minutes later James had run through everything that had happened at Cameron's and House was unusually quiet. It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what he was thinking. "It’s a good thing you nagged me into stopping, House. You probably saved her life," he confirmed.

To his surprise there was no snide comeback. House just looked at him James and shook his head. "Thanks to you James. If you had ignored me like you had every right to, well," he paused as if the other outcome was too difficult to verbalize. "Just thanks."

"I'd say anytime, but we both know you would take shameless advantage of that," James teased.

He got the desired result as the sparkle returned to House's eyes. "I will anyway."

Just then Cuddy came out to give them an update. "She'll be fine. She got dehydrated, and her fever was way too high, but we've got her on an IV and are bringing the fever down. A couple of days of fluids and she should be able to go home. She's going to be pretty weak for a few days though, so I think I'll call her family and see if someone can come stay with her for a bit when she gets out."

House and Wilson nodded, and asked if they could look in on her. Cuddy gave them the room she would be moved into and told them to wait an hour for her to get settled. The two friends by mutual agreement headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat while they waited. Then they went up to Cameron's room and made sure she was set for the night. Although they both claimed to be heading home after that Wilson made a private bet that House would be in the same clothes the next day.

It was a bet he would win easily as House had no intentions of leaving the hospital that night.

Somewhere in the middle of the night as he alternately slept in his office and checked in on Cameron, House realized that he'd always figured he would be the one that they found dead in his bedroom days after he had expired. After all he had no family in the area or significant other to worry about him. Now he realized that as long as he was at PPH he at least had enough of a dysfunctional relationship with Wilson and Cuddy that one of them would have checked in on him. It shocked him that the only person that had cared enough to check on Cameron had been her boss, who had sent a proxy.

As he thought about the situation though it made sense. She and Chase definitely had a line they did not cross since the time they'd slept together. And Foreman had already made it clear to her that they were merely colleagues. Still, she must have friends outside of the hospital. She was just too damn nice not to. And surely she had family that she actually kept in touch with, unlike him.

Still despite all of that she could easily have died alone in her apartment from something as simple as the flu. Why hadn't she called someone?

As night turned into day and others stopped by to check on Cameron, House retreated to his office. By mid-morning despite his Gameboy he was crawling the walls. Which was probably why he did nothing more than raise an eyebrow when Cuddy barged in.

"Whom do you have listed as Dr. Cameron's contact person?" she inquired.

House just looked at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Right, I forgot who I was talking to. I've called both her father and brother who are listed on her application, but so far I haven't got a hold of them and there's been no reply to the messages I left on their machines," she explained with a sigh.

House frowned as he wondered if he'd just solved the mystery of Cameron not calling anyone. Maybe she had and no one had bothered to call back, or maybe she knew they were traveling and so she didn't bother to call.

"Well when Cameron wakes up we can check the numbers to see if they are current, or if there is someone else we should call," House suggested. "Besides she will be well enough to go home in a day or two," he added with a shrug.

"Can you honestly tell me you want her to go home alone at this point?" Cuddy asked in disbelief. Surely even House couldn't be that uncaring.

House rolled his eyes. "No of course not, but I'm sure she has plenty of people who could help out. Cameron's nice remember? Most people actually like her."

Cuddy nodded. "I'm sure you're right. We'll just have to wait for her to get a little stronger and address the issue with her then."

It would be two days before the young doctor would be strong enough to discuss the matter. Cuddy repeated her attempts to contact Cameron's brother and father, and still there had been no reply. House had put the matter out of his head, and now that the crisis was over went back to convincing himself that he felt nothing more for his pretty duckling than he did for Foreman or Chase.

It was an attitude that would be severely tested in the coming month.

As it happened, House was making his planned once a day stop in Cameron's room when she woke up the first time. He'd thought about staying away completely, but there was no sense in totally depriving himself. Ten minutes a day assured him that Cameron was in good hands and let him go about the rest of his day in blissful denial. Something had caused him to stay passed his self-imposed limit though and he'd been pretending to check over her chart for a good twenty minutes when he heard her groan and looked up just in time to see her eyelids flutter open. After a moment of confusion she tried to speak, but her throat was too dry. He put down the chart and reached over for the nearby pitcher to pour her glass of water. After locating a straw he held the cup so that she could take a sip.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Is this hell?" she replied.

"Some would claim so, but Cuddy might take offense. No you just have the misfortune of being confined to one of our finer ICU rooms in PPH," House explained.

He thought she gave a small nod, and then she drifted back off.

Allison vaguely remembered drifting out of sleep once before. Everything had ached from her eyebrows down to her toes. And her sole companion had been House. It had to be Hell. This time as the real world began to come into focus she could once again hear House's voice, but now he was arguing with someone.

"What do you mean you haven't been able to contact any of her family?" he griped. "It's not like she was raised by a pack of wolves."

A noise from the vicinity of the bed caused both House and Cuddy to turn. Cameron was looking at them in confusion. Cuddy quickly spoke up to deflect their patient's attention away from the subject at hand.

"Well it's about time you decided to rejoin the land of the living," she gently chided. "You know the next time you want a few days away from House you just need to ask. No need to contract a serious case of the flu."

As she spoke she poured Cameron some water and let her take a sip. When she could speak the immunologist once again looked around in confusion. "How did I get here?"

"Ambulance," House cryptically replied.

When she still looked confused he sighed and continued as if explaining it to a five year-old, "You know, an ambulance! Big vehicle on wheels that sick people ride in? Usually has bright lights and a siren?"

Cameron would have rolled her eyes if she were strong enough. Instead Cuddy did it for her before giving Cameron the explanation she was looking for. "Wilson stopped by when you didn't call in. He convinced your landlord to open up your apartment and they found you collapsed on the bathroom floor. You gave us all a good scare but you are going to be fine," she concluded before saying she needed to get to a staff meeting and leaving House and Cameron alone.

House barely waited for the door to close before starting in on a rant. "You know they have this wonderful invention called a telephone. When you are sick or need help all you have to do is pick it up and call someone. And if you really are sick you only need three little numbers. 911. You would think a person as smart as you could remember three little numbers. If Wilson hadn't stopped to check on you and been persistent enough to get the landlord involved you could have died laying there on your bathroom floor. Then I would have to interview for a new immunologist and my life would be a living hell."

Cameron let the words roll. She was still too weak to even think of responding. Later when she was stronger though she would mull over this little speech and analyze it to death. Was he truly mad at her or had he been worried about her? And why exactly had Wilson stopped by to check on her? For now though she struggled just to comprehend what House was saying. When she realized he had suddenly stopped talking and was looking at her as if expecting an answer she gave a little sigh and let sleep claim her once again. House was exhausting at the best of times. In her condition two minutes of him was enough to knock her out.

House for his part looked at her in surprise. His first instinct was to be angry but worry quickly overtook that emotion and his eyes instantly swung to the machines at her side. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw everything in the normal range. He picked up her chart again and this time really looked at it to see if he could figure out why she was so weak. His eyebrow rose as he spotted her weight and quickly scanned to find her iron count. She was good twenty pounds underweight and anemic to boot.

He looked over at the figure in the bed and took note of exactly how thin she was. She certainly hadn't lost all of that weight in the last week. He shook his head in dismay. Seriously the woman needed a keeper.

Not that he was volunteering or anything.

Cameron was in the hospital for three days before Cuddy declared her well enough to go home the following day.

"But, you are going to need someone to help out for a few days while you regain your strength," she chided. "I never did get calls back from your father or brother. Is there someone who can check up on you? Go to the grocery store? Make you a meal?"

Allison thought quickly. Her brother was in London for the next year working, so calling him wasn't an option. Her father was in Florida. Ever since her mom's death four years ago he retreated from the farm to his sister's for two month's every year. She could call him, but he would be worthless anyway. He hadn't seen the inside of a grocery store in fifty odd years. And cooking was woman's work.

"I'll get my cousin Claire to stop in," she assured Cuddy with her fingers crossed under the covers.

After Cuddy left she let out a sigh. At least she hadn't invented a cousin Claire she thought partially assuaging her guilt. She just had no intention of calling her. Last she had heard, via Aunt Gladys, Claire was happily remarried and living in Connecticut with a five year-old stepson and a new baby on the way. Allison felt a momentary rush of jealousy. Both she and Claire had married young and both were widows by the time they turned twenty-two, Claire's husband Gary having been killed in a car crash. It had given the two women a special bond and they had remained close until about a three years ago when life had taken them in different directions.

Now however she had a dilemma that needed to be remedied so she could go home the next day. After a moment of thought she reached for the phone and had the operator transfer her to the University where she quickly got put through to the nursing college. Within an hour they called her back with the name of a nursing student who would be glad to make a bit of extra money over the next week stopping over at Cameron's apartment before and after classes.

After lunch she got Chase to bring a laptop in for her, and along with checking her e-mail she put in an order for groceries to be delivered the following afternoon. Satisfied that she would have food in the apartment and someone to look in on her she spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening napping, No one except for the occasional nurse came in to interrupt her. Indeed now that she was on the mend no one bothered to stop by until Cuddy reappeared the next day with Foreman in tow to take her home.

Other than checking with each other to ensure that that they had gotten all of Cameron's belongings there wasn't much conversation until they got into Foreman's car and were driving away from the hospital.

"So do you guys have a new case?" Cameron asked.

"No, why?" Forman replied.

"I just didn't see much of any of you yesterday. Figured you might be busy with a new patient," she replied with a shrug.

"No, Chase and I are filling in the extra hours at the clinic," he informed her.

She should have felt guilty since some of those hours they were covering were hers, but seeing as that's where she'd fallen ill she simply warned, "Watch out for those little kids with high temps. They're lethal."

Foreman chuckled in response and then sobered as he looked at her in concern. "You really need to take better care of yourself Cam. You were thin before, now you look like a strong breeze could carry you away."

Allison knew it was the truth. Her poor eating and sleeping habits in the month before getting ill had left her susceptible to and unable to fight off the bug. But it was so easy to not bother making dinner when it was just you by yourself night after night. She wondered how some of her co-workers did it. Foreman she realized had a steady girlfriend, so she'd bet he got an occasional home cooked meal. Chase and Wilson always seemed to have some new relationship starting, which would entail nights out at good restaurants. That left House and Cuddy. She had a feeling her habits were closer to her boss's than to the Dean of Medicine's.

That was a disturbing thought

Three day's later Allison answered the phone precisely at 3:00 in the afternoon with a sigh. If her calculations were correct it should be Chase's turn to check in today. Like clockwork over the past several days either Cuddy or Wilson had called around 10:00 in the morning, and either Chase or Forman had taken the afternoon check-in. So it was a real surprise when she picked up to hear House barking out symptoms on the other end of the phone.

"Whoa, House, slow down," she begged. "Let me grab a pencil. Now say them again slowly."

House proceeded to describe the symptoms of the four year old he had in the clinic. With all the flu that had been going around the child had been diagnosed twice by her pediatrician with the flu and sent home to drink plenty of fluids. But something about the case didn't sit right with House, so he'd stepped out of the examining room and called Cameron.

"It looks like classic flu or cold on the surface. Runny nose, fever, sore throat. Then that all settled into a cough and the other symptoms subsided. Now she's vomiting," House added.

Allison didn't even need to think about it. She'd been catching up on her journals over the last three days and had just read an article on the subject. "House listen carefully to her chest when she inhales after coughing," she instructed.

"Damn! Whooping cough. How did I miss that," House mumbled and a second later Allison was listening to the dial tone.

"Glad to help," she sarcastically told the disconnected phone, and with a sigh she hung up and went back to her reading.

Rebecca Norris hummed as she left the apartment of Dr. Allison Cameron. Her patient was obviously doing much better and as such they had agreed that tomorrow Rebecca would just stop in once on her way home to drop off a few groceries. It would be nice to sleep in after getting up early the last three days so that she could stay with the recovering doctor while she showered and got dressed. She thought back with a frown to that first morning when Dr. Cameron had barely made it through the shower and putting on fresh pajamas before she'd collapsed back into bed. Quite a contrast to this morning when the young student nurse had looked up from doing the crossword in delight as the older woman exited her bedroom dressed and looking ready to take on the day.

Deep in thought Becca almost walked right into the man exiting the elevator as she prepared to enter. She stepped back with a quick apology and waited for him to pass before stepping in herself. As she turned to press the button for the first floor she saw that the man had stopped and was staring at her with the most amazing blue eyes she'd ever seen.

"You wouldn't be Claire by any chance would you?" he asked.

Becca shook her head. "Sorry," she replied as the doors closed. Very sorry, she thought as the elevator descended. Lucky girl that Claire.

Meanwhile House was knocking on Cameron's door, the girl in the elevator forgotten. When the door swung open he offered the bag in his hand immediately.

"I brought ice cream," he stated simply as if that was the only explanation needed for his unannounced appearance.

Allison's first instinct was to simply stand aside and let him in, but a little voice in her head told her to stay centered and so she stood her ground blocking his entrance and countered instead, "What flavor?"

House's eyes glinted with amusement. "Chunky Monkey," he replied.

Allison raised an eyebrow. It was her favorite, so with a sigh she took the proffered bag and moved back into the apartment and let him follow her in. As House closed the door behind them she moved into the kitchen to get bowls and spoon. "So what's the occasion?"

"Well, as you know it is my job to nurture and train you so like the excellent boss that I am, I'm giving positive reinforcement for your correct diagnosis today," he explained.

She shook her head and tried to hide her smile of amusement.

"You doubt me?" House questioned.

"I'm surprised you've even heard of positive reinforcement let alone know how to apply the concept," she admitted handing him a bowl of ice cream.

"I'm truly hurt," House pouted. "By the way where is Cousin Claire?"

Allison was unprepared for the question and quickly realized House would be able to tell if she lied. "Connecticut as far as I know," she admitted.

House was silent for a moment and his response when it came was unexpected. "You lied to Cuddy? Cameron, are you a total idiot? What if you'd had a relapse?" he practically shouted.

She looked at him with big wide eyes. "I had help, just not my cousin, House, so relax," she offered in her defense. Then her eyes narrowed. "Besides why do you care?" she challenged.

Good question, thought House. Why did he care?

House didn’t spend a lot of time pondering the question. He simply and sarcastically answered her. "Because I need you back to make a decent cup of coffee in the morning and go through the mail. The pile is practically blocking out the sun in my office," he griped.

Cameron had gotten very good over the past several months at hiding her feelings. So the momentary hurt that she felt at his words didn't even cause a flicker on her features. "Well I'm not going to be back until Monday so you might want to deal with some of it before then. I wouldn't want you to suffer from a lack of vitamin D on my account," was all she retorted.

House didn't reply but Cameron could have sworn she saw a glint in his eyes that meant trouble.

He left soon after and Cameron settled down for a quiet evening. The night before she had started watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice and tonight she made it just up to Mr. Darcy's first proposal. She couldn't help but compare the prideful Mr. Darcy to her own prickly Dr. House. She could easily imagine that if House ever admitted to having feelings for someone it would come out just as horribly as Darcy's declaration. The difference being that House would never admit it, of course.

The following day dragged a bit. Now that she was feeling better, she was starting to get bored. Still after spending only a half hour rearranging some clothes in her dresser, she needed to sit and rest for a bit so she knew she still needed the fours days she had left until she went back to work.

She found herself looking forward to Rebecca's arrival a bit too much for comfort. It was painful reminder of just how solitary her life outside of work was when she happily anticipated a visit from a paid helper. To make matters worse, for the first time since Allison came home the young girl was anxious to leave, as she had a big test in the morning to study for. So after only fifteen minutes Allison found herself alone again.

She turned on the radio for some noise and was putting away the few groceries that Rebecca had dropped off when there was a knock on her door. Frowning in confusion she looked out the peephole. With a sigh she opened the door.

"Twice in two days. This is becoming a pattern," she commented.

"Not really. Today I come bearing Chinese food, and something to keep you occupied tomorrow," House replied.

Cameron eyed the second bag that he carried, the one that didn't advertise "Mr. Lee's" on the side.

"That had better not be work," she warned.

House put the bag from Mr. Lee's under her nose. "I got your favorite."

"It is work!" she exclaimed.

"Come on Cameron. It's just the mail. You can sit and eat bon-bons while you politely refuse all of these requests," House cajoled.

"I don't sit around eating bon-bons, House. And why do you assume that I am alone all day?" Cameron stated defensively.

"There are medical journals on the coffee table that you've been reading, one set of dishes in the sink, and really Cameron, 'Pride and Prejudice'? Could you find a more girly movie?" he pointed out.

Damn, the man missed nothing Allison thought with a sigh. "All right, but only if you remembered the hot and sour soup," she conceded.

House made a sound that sounded like a snort. "You doubt me?" he asked as he pulled the soup out of the bag.

And hour later they were staring at the remains of their meal in companionable silence. Finally House spoke up. "I made dinner, so you should clean up," he suggested, reaching for the remote.

It was Cameron's turn to give an unladylike snort. "Made?" she countered grabbing the remote out of his hands.

"Ok, bought, but the concept is the same." House replied.

"Who's the invalid here," Cameron pointed out using the remote to turn on her movie still in progress.

House groaned at the scene on the screen. "I bring you dinner and you return the favor by torturing me with Colin Firth? Besides I'm the guest," he argued.

"Fine, we'll compromise. Whomever cleans up gets to choose what we watch," Allison offered.

As House gave in and got up with a groan it occurred to Allison that she hadn't even considered that he might just want to go home. As she watched him carry the remains of their meal into the kitchen she realized that he wasn't in any hurry to leave. She shook her head gently in confusion. Every time she thought she had the man figured out he threw a curve ball at her. But what the hell, she wasn't about to kick him out. She was pathetic and lonely and watching House bend over to reach the garbage under her sink was better medicine than all the antibiotics in the world. So she settled back on the couch and shamelessly let her eyes follow him around.

All too soon though he was back and demanding the remote. She handed it over and then made herself comfortable, pulling the afghan off the back of the couch to curl up in. She dozed off halfway through the OC repeat House had turned on and before she knew it she was rudely awakened by House poking her legs with his cane. When she opened her eyes he was standing over her, coat on, ready to leave.

"Go to bed," he ordered and once she had disentangled herself and was standing up he turned toward the door. "See you Monday, Cameron. Don't forget my mail."

And he was gone.

For the first time in years Monday morning couldn't come fast enough for House. He'd realized he was in trouble when he'd spent several hours Saturday trying to come up with a valid excuse to stop over and check on his recuperating duckling, or at least call her on the phone. Then he'd spent several hours doing everything he could to forget about her. He'd then spent a very frustrating Sunday kicking himself for letting her get under her skin. Still Monday brought with it a feeling of relief due to the fact that he knew she would be back at the hospital, even if he refused to acknowledge the reason.

Cameron for her part was also feeling in heightened spirits. The last few days of her recuperation she had been bored to tears and really lonely. As a result she sent out a few e-mails and made a few calls reconnecting with old friends that she had neglected lately due to her busy schedule. Now she was resolved to make time to keep in touch. She'd even called Claire and they had chatted for over an hour.

Still she couldn't believe how wonderful it felt to be back among her colleagues. Chase and Foreman had greeted her enthusiastically, and even Cuddy had already stopped by to welcome her back. However there was a large part of her that was waiting impatiently for House to appear. Strange as it might seem she had missed his biting sarcasm, and his two brief visits to her apartment had only made his absence more noticeable afterwards. Allison sighed as she looked at the clock. She was hopeless. No matter how she tried to put her feelings for the man behind her it only took one small act of kindness on his part to have her silly heart hoping for more. At least she'd learned not to let any signs of her feeling show. She would just secret away the little moments and use them to buoy her up when she was feeling especially low.

She was pleasantly surprised when House arrived a good half-hour before he usually made an appearance, but she kept her professional mask in place. Chase and Foreman both commented however, and were put in their place for doing so.

"More time to torture you three, how could I resist?" House scowled. "Cameron is my mail finally sorted?"

"House she just got here, give her a break," Foreman protested, to which House simply raised an eyebrow.

"It's on your desk," Cameron replied with a sigh.

It looked like life was back to normal.

For the next two days House was in fine form. Everyone, including Wilson and Cuddy were staying clear of diagnostics. Cuddy didn't even complain that House was making his fellows take his clinic time. She figured in the mood he was in it was better to keep him away from the patients as much as possible. Contrarily she hoped that they got a really baffling case for him to solve as soon as possible.

Her wish was granted on Wednesday, when a 55 year-old woman was admitted with a fever, rash on her lower extremities and stomach pain. Soon House and his team were all absorbed with the tasks of running tests and researching possible causes. When her breathing became labored just before they would normally have left for the evening it added another symptom to the board and triggered another round of tests. It also meant that only House left the hospital that night. Finally just before lunch on Thursday, House once again proved his incredible worth by pulling the diagnosis out of thin air. By four o'clock the patient was stabilized and showing signs of improvement.

Soon after, the three weary younger doctors were out the door. House was mere minutes behind them. As he passed through the conference room he noticed Cameron's briefcase sitting on the table. Normally he wouldn't have given it a second thought. But after last week's visits to her apartment and the subsequent time he had spent looking for an excuse to at least call her over the weekend a little voice screamed at him that this was the opportunity he'd been waiting for. Without giving himself time to think he swept the briefcase off of the table and headed out the door.

He considered picking up food on his way, but as tired as Cameron had been he was afraid even five minutes would give her time to be sound asleep when he arrived. And although he refused to analyze why, it was important to him that he see her before heading home himself. So it was less than ten minutes after Allison arrived home that she heard a knock on her door. Glancing through the peephole she was surprised to see House standing there.

Even more surprising was his flimsy excuse. Surely he had realized that as tired as she was that anything in her briefcase would have to wait until morning anyway. Which left the question begging, just why was House really standing on her doorstep? Refusing to speculate, Allison decided to just accept it. Two minutes ago she had decided she was too tired to eat. Now however she found herself telling House she had just been thinking of calling for a pizza, and asking him if he wanted to stay and join her.

As it turned out, Allison really had been more tired than hungry. She barely finished one piece of pizza when she found herself struggling to keep her eyes open. House watched in amusement for several minutes before taking pity on her.

"Cameron, go to bed before you fall over," he finally ordered. "Because I'm in no shape to carry you if you pass out."

She looked around at the remains of the pizza with a sigh. "I'll clean up before I let myself out," he promised, and she was too tired to argue, so she told him goodnight and headed into her bedroom closing the door behind her.

As she drifted off to sleep she couldn't help but wonder if House had been body snatched. Or more likely if he was playing some new game that she hadn't caught onto yet.

It was a question that she would ponder again and again during her waking hours.

Three weeks later she was no closer to an answer. House had stopped even bothering to have an excuse to stop over. He'd just show up every three to four days, sometimes he brought food with him, sometimes they ordered takeout. She never questioned why he was there, for which he was grateful. House had no idea.

Cameron had her theories, which she kept to herself. Neither of them mentioned the impromptu dinners to anyone so there was no one else to question him either. When Wilson noticed that House was bugging him less, he put it down to House still being a bit angry at him over the whole Tritter mess. In the end all either of the two participants knew was that they were less lonely and less stressed. House still sniped at Cameron as much as he did Chase and Foreman, but only when she deserved it, and no longer with the intent to hurt.

And Allison was sleeping and eating better than she had in ages. As a result she started looking healthier, and House found his eyes following her more often than before. Still despite the signs that were there if someone was looking for them, no one really noticed anything. House would say that was because there was nothing to notice. After all, it's not like anything had happened between them in all those weeks. Hell he'd never even kissed her.

Not that he even wanted to he quickly assured himself.

The routine would remain the same for another two weeks, when a sequence of events would cause a shift. Allison's apartment building was being fumigated, and she had to stay away for at least thirty hours. It wasn't a big deal. She needed to be out by 9:00am on a Wednesday, and couldn't get back in until after 3:00pm on Friday. With her work schedule she simply booked a hotel room near the hospital for Thursday night. On Monday of that week she casually mentioned the fact so that House would know not to stop by that evening.

That same day they got a new patient. For the next three nights they all worked late, including House as they raced to keep ahead of the symptoms and their devastating effect. Lunch and dinner each day was brought in by one of them taking a break and going for food enough for all, which they spread out on the conference room table.

Finally on Thursday morning it was Cameron who made the correct diagnosis. Unfortunately it was a death sentence, as there was no cure. All they could do at that point was manage the pain. The man would survive another week at best. After explaining the situation to the patient and his family, they supervised him being moved to ICU and getting a DNR signed, and got ready to leave for the day. Cameron dreaded heading to the lonely unfamiliar hotel room, but really had no choice, so she was relieved when only minutes after checking in and getting settled her cell phone rang and it was House. He offered to meet her at a little Italian place down the street and she readily agreed.

It wasn't until she was heading down in the elevator that the thought crossed her mind that she was about to go out with House. Like in a date, out. With House.

House was nervously waiting at the restaurant. It had crossed his mind before he even called that Cameron could erroneously construe this as a date. It wasn't of course. He just knew she would be upset over the diagnosis today and hadn't wanted her to eat alone. Besides it had been six days since they last had dinner together and he didn't like to break from routine.

He felt somewhat relieved when Cameron showed up dressed casually with her hair pulled simply back in a ponytail. It didn't look as if she had fussed so maybe he'd worried about nothing. And while they talked a lot more over this dinner than they normally did due to lack of a TV show or movie to concentrate on, the conversation flowed normally. So he was totally unprepared when he walked her back to the hotel to suddenly realize he was about to instinctively kiss her goodnight. He mentally gave himself a slap upside his head even as he started to lean in. It wasn't as if he was dropping his date off at her door.

So instead he abruptly left a very confused Allison on the sidewalk in front of the hotel. For a split second she had sworn he was going to kiss her. Then he was gone. On the ride up in the elevator Allison had several revelations. He had been going to kiss her. And she'd been dating House for weeks whether either of them wanted to admit it or not.

Allison was grocery shopping on Sunday when an idea stuck. She literally froze in the aisle as she ran the scenario through her head. It was bold, but simple. With a smile she continued her shopping one eye on her watch, mentally making a new list of things she would need. By the time she reached the checkout she was literally humming with excitement.

And hour later she pulled up outside of House's place happy to see that both the car and bike were parked nearby. She had figured if she got there early enough she could head him off before he decided to drop in on her. With a bag of groceries under one arm she rang the bell and took a deep breath to calm he nerves. When House opened the door she was ready to calmly great him.

"Cameron," he declared obviously surprised. He recovered quickly however and there was instantly a sparkle in his eyes. "I thought it was Bambi coming for our regular session."

Allison rolled her eyes. "I'm tired of take out so I thought I'd cook. There's enough for three I guess," she replied.

"What are you making?" he asked.

"Does it matter?" she responded.

"Well if it sounds good enough I'll call Bambi and cancel so that there's more for me," he explained.

"Pasta with a nice pesto sauce and garlic bread," she offered.

"The kitchen is in there, I'll make the call," House quickly said as he headed for the bedroom.

Allison smirked in victory as she headed for the kitchen feeling like she'd finally breached the walls of his inner sanctum. Meanwhile House was leaning against his bedroom door with a frown trying to figure out what had just happened. During the last weeks he'd been in control. If he didn't want to stop by Cameron's he didn't. If he felt like company he did. A nice simple arraignment. Somehow control had shifted just because she'd offered him a home-cooked meal.

Now it was true, the take-out he'd had at her place and the one meal out had been the culinary highlights of his eating during the last couple of months, but surely he wasn't that desperate for real food. And then he had a thought that made him start to sweat.

Maybe it wasn't the food he was desperate for.

Allison noted that House was quieter than normal during dinner, and she had a fairly good idea why. She'd learned enough about the man over the last two years to know that it was time to take a step back. She'd made her move, and now it was time to give him room so he could accept the subtle change without panicking.

So after clearing the dishes and watching a movie she left, and the over the next several days she didn't once bring up the evening. House gradually started to relax, but even so he forced himself to stay home alone each evening, just to prove to himself that he could. By Thursday he half expected Cameron to make a comment, and he had his snarky comeback all ready. But she didn't, and that bugged him even more.

Allison for her part was worried. Maybe she'd pushed too far she thought with a sigh. Then she mentally shrugged. There was nothing she could do but wait for House to make up his mind. Any movement on her part at this point would be disastrous. So Thursday night came and went. However as she sat alone that evening and ate popcorn for dinner while watching an old movie she had another brainstorm, one that could give House a push but wouldn't threaten his beloved privacy at all.

Friday morning dawned bright and sunny, and Allison's mood as she got ready for work improved to match the day. By the time House came into the office she was positively humming. The mail was sorted, several cases charted, and she was making a second pot of a new specialty coffee she'd brought in as Chase and Foreman had inhaled the first pot. The two men had been stealing glances at her and then looking at each other in confusion all morning. Something was different but they couldn't put their finger on it.

House of course noticed instantly, and he paused to look at her as he got himself coffee.

"Someone has a hot date tonight," he finally commented.

"What makes you say that?" she asked calmly.

''New highlight's in your hair, a bit more makeup than usual, that red blouse that hugs every curve and your black heals that you only wear when you want your legs to look good, because they're an inch higher than most of your others and they kill your feet," he noted.

"Good to know those observation skills are still as sharp as ever, but I don't have a date. I am however meeting friends for dinner tonight," she confessed.

And with one fell swoop she was back in control and any choice House thought he had as to whether he stopped by that evening or not was gone.

Damn the woman.

James Wilson looked over at his friend sitting next to him at the bar. House was looking gloomy even for House. Granted he hadn't spent a lot of time with the man outside of work since the whole Tritter incident, but before that he'd made a second career out of reading House's moods. Tonight he was particularly morose. Wilson thought back over the last week. House hadn't lost any patients, and neither Cuddy or any of the ducklings had come to him with any House related problems, so he was at a loss.

Finally with a sigh he proclaimed, "Well this is certainly fun."

House glared at him, but after taking a large gulp of his scotch his shoulders sagged and he apologized. "Sorry Jimmy. I probably should have stayed home but the walls were closing in on me," he admitted.

"I'm not surprised. We haven't been out in weeks," James replied. "I was beginning to think you were cheating on me," he teased only to see a look of guilt flit over House's features. That was interesting. "But then I thought about how ridiculous that was. Who else would put up with you?" he pried.

In the interest of his sanity House thought about keeping quiet, but old habits die hard and he'd never really been able to keep anything from Wilson. "I hate to break it to you James, but I've been two timing you with Cameron," he confessed.

James was beyond surprised. House and Cameron?

"It's not what you're thinking. It's just that since she got sick I realized that nobody's around to look out for her. Did you see how thin she was? So I started popping around with take out. Or we'd order out. Once we ate at a restaurant. Absolutely nothing has happened between us," House explained.

James mulled that over. Things were starting to make sense. "But you want something to happen, and that scares the ba-jesus out of you, doesn't it?" he guessed.

House glared at him again. "I had everything under control until she showed up at my place last Sunday and cooked me dinner. Who asked her?" House complained.

James gave a lopsided grin as he imagined House's response to the picture of domesticity that Cameron had most likely displayed. He had to give her credit, it was a gutsy move. Then another thought struck.

"And tonight? If you were crawling the walls why didn't you go over to her place again?" he asked.

"She's out with friends," House admitted glumly.

James's couldn't suppress his grin, which made House scowl at him. James just shook his head. "House you have too options. A - Fight this and spend the rest of your Friday nights with me as your bar buddy, or B -Give in and have Cameron cook for you on a regular basis," he summarized.

House spent all day Saturday trying to come up with an option C, but in his heart he knew that his friend was right. There really were only two choices. Problem was he didn’t' know which one to pick. On the surface option B was far and away the better of the two. But option B required a lot of things that House just didn't think he could do, like letting someone besides Wilson in, and compromising. Plus it would probably lead to co-habitation and that opened to door to all sorts of evils like sharing and compromise.

Nope, Option A might be less attractive at first glance, but it wasn't fraught with scary pitfalls. So Saturday night passed with no trip to Cameron's.

Allison wearily pushed a stray strand of hair back behind her ear and glanced at the clock. It was only 3:00pm and she was already flagging. Time for a cup of really strong coffee. To think that earlier she'd actually been glad when Cuddy had paged her into the hospital on a Sunday to fill in for the Immunology Department.

So far this entire weekend had been a huge bust. Since she'd only had the idea about going out with friends on Thursday night she hadn't actually been able to find anybody that was free. It didn't help that none of her friends lived close to Princeton. So she'd gone to a movie and then picked up dinner from a favorite spot and taken it home to eat.

On Saturday she'd used up a lot of nervous energy cleaning her apartment and grocery shopping in case House did show up. By ten o'clock she'd been curled up in bed, fighting off a headache and with her stomach rolling with nausea when he didn't come. She'd spent a fitful night, mostly staring at the shadows on the ceiling grieving the loss of the closest thing she'd had to a relationship in eight years. So the thought of something to distract her the next day had been welcome.

Problem was the work wasn't absorbing enough to distract her. Sure there were several days of labs backed up due to a staff shortage, but she could run labs with one hand tied behind her back. So her mind kept drifting to House. On one hand she dreaded facing him the next day. She was sure that he'd be able to tell how upset she was. On the other hand a small part of her wondered if there was a nonchalant way to let him know she might be stuck at the hospital late tonight just in case he decided to come over.

She really was hopeless.

At 7:00pm she finally gave up and went home. She'd gotten through enough of the tests that there should be plenty for the doctors to review the next day. The few that were left had all been ordered in the last twenty-four hours and none of them were marked critical. She thought about stopping for food on her way home but she was too tired. So when she pulled up outside her apartment and saw House getting back in his car she almost wept.

She hurried over to him, and caught his attention. "Please tell me you brought food."

He looked up momentarily startled and took a moment to look her over. She looked terrible, and he instinctively wanted to make a comment. But something in her demeanor stopped him. It's almost seemed like she was bracing herself to take a punch, and although he'd never physically hit a woman in his life he got the feeling that his normal witty banter would be equivalent to slapping her.

He settled for reaching into the passenger seat where he had just tossed the take-out and held it up.

"Thai," he confirmed.

She looked at him for a long moment and let her breath out on a stuttering sigh. "Thank you," she replied leading the way back into her place.

It took the entire silent trip to her apartment for House to realize that she wasn't talking about the food.

House was tempted to just let them slide back into their previous routine, especially since Cameron seemed to be content with that. They ate the food he'd brought and settled in to watch a movie. But he hadn't made it to the point where he was ready to come back over to her place without being forced to face facts and he knew that it was more than the break from his solitary existence that he'd been missing all week. It was spending time with Cameron. Slowly but surely he'd been learning things about her that she never let show at work.

Like how she loved scary books no matter how gory, but only liked scary movies if there wasn't a lot of physical violence. Or how her love of medical mysteries extended to the entertainment field getting her totally hooked on TV shows like CSI and Bones. Or how she resolutely refused to watch any movie where there was a small child in danger. That last one had re-awakened his suspicions about her having lost a baby and sooner or later he would probably question her on it. For now though he just filed the information away under 'all quirky thing that were Cameron'.

Now he was trying to decide how best to proceed. He wanted to take a small step forward, but he didn't want her to make a big deal out of any gesture he made. Before he could come up with anything he noticed that Cameron had fallen asleep. He snorted as he realized she routinely did that to him. A more sensitive man would be insulted. House found it strangely endearing. It took a certain level of trust to relax enough to fall asleep in someone else's presence, he realized. Wilson was the only person in his current life that he could think of being that comfortable around. At least up until now.

With a sigh he reluctantly woke Cameron up and sent her to bed, promising to finish cleaning up and to lock the door behind him when he left. He was just about to leave when he finally figured out the perfect answer to his dilemma. With a grin he found a piece of paper and pen, and left a note on the coffee table.

He was still smiling when he reached his town home fifteen minutes later. And for the first time in a long time he realized he was looking forward to the week ahead.

Allison woke to her alarm the next morning and for a moment wondered at how rested she felt. Then she remembered the events of the evening before. House had shown up and she had promptly fallen asleep on him. Rested she might be but she was kicking herself for missing a chance to spend time with House.

It was after she'd showered and dressed and made the coffee that she found the note. She was on the third reading when she started to smile. The note was short and to the point. But there was so much you could read between the lines.

PS. You'll need to shop for food too.

House was his normally annoying self that day, and Cameron worked hard not to seem too cheerful, however in an unguarded moment alone as they both got coffee their eyes met and lingered for just a second, then they looked away and the moment was lost. House waited with dread all day for Cameron to mention it, but she never said a word. She'd learned her lesson. House would give her a sign when he wanted any changes to the quiet friendship they were building.

So she was surprised after dinner that night as they were cleaning up together when he brought up the subject of their 'relationship'. She shouldn't have been though, for his method was purely House.

Out of nowhere he made a list of demands. "Nobody knows about this except for Wilson. Let's keep it that way," he began.

When she nodded her agreement he continued. "This doesn't mean anything more than I like your cooking so don't go reading a lot into it."

Another nod, this one a bit more reluctant. If he wanted to believe that she'd let him for the time being.

"And for god's sake I don't want any of your things making their way over here," he finished.

She rolled her eyes at that one. When there was nothing further after a minute she inquired, "Is that all?"

"For now," he replied.

"I have one," she told him.

He simply raised an eyebrow indicating he was listening.

She took a deep breath. "As long as we are doing this… whatever it is, no hookers," she insisted. When he opened his mouth to make what she was sure would have been a sarcastic remark she simply held up a hand. "I can take a lot, but that's just too demeaning House. If it gets to the point where you have to have sex, and you don't want to have it with me, then this ends."

House mulled that over for a moment. That certainly put an interesting spin on things. But he could live with it for now. "Ok, as long as that is the only rule," he agreed.

"I'm not going to ask you to change for me House. I don't expect you to give up the pills or the booze, or the bike or the attitude," she assured him.

He was skeptical, but what could he say. "So you're ok with things the way they are?" he asked.

"Well I sure as hell don't want to go back to spending all my free time alone. Having company is nice, even if we are just playing two-handed solitaire," she said with a shrug. "So until something else changes, yes, I'm fine with this."

Two handed solitaire. He liked the analogy. So with a grin he handed her the last of the dishes to put into the dishwasher.

"Great. You finish up here. I'm going to find us something to watch on TV," he demanded and limped away.

Cameron couldn’t help but smile. She knew most people would think she was crazy, but in her mind simple companionship was under appreciated. This was nice, and who was to say that the 'something else changing' wouldn't be even better still.

When (not if, she insisted) House decided to let more of his walls down she would be patiently waiting.

Two months later Allison was losing patience. It wasn't like the 'relationship' hadn't moved forward. It was just that House wasn't showing any signs of wanting anything more intimate, and lately that was all she could think of. Which really pissed her off. She'd gone months, hell even years without sex before, so why couldn’t she be content now? She knew the answer was that continued close proximity to House was getting to her, especially as they became closer in other ways.

Despite the fact that he had set down the rules, it was House that was willing to bend them. After Allison fell asleep watching TV at his place one evening House had suggested that she leave a change of clothes there. When she would have questioned him he pointed out that a gym bag hardly constituted 'stuff' and if she wanted she could keep it in her car. He was also the first one to suggest a non-food related evening, asking her to join him at a jazz concert he had tickets to.

Truth was they were spending more and more time together. On Sundays, which had turned into a cooking fest at House's place, Allison arrived earlier and earlier in the day. Which actually had helped to trigger her current frustration when she'd arrived last Sunday morning in time to watch football only to have House open the door in just a towel, having overslept. She still had the image burned into her memory. It wasn't just Allison that was benefiting from the better eating and sleeping. In the past months House had been drinking less, and even using less Vicodin, almost getting down to what would be considered a normal dosage per day for pain.

Allison hadn't failed to notice the improvement in his consumption or the positive effect it was having on the man's body. She never mentioned it though. Just like House didn't say a word as she slowly put back on those much needed pounds.

But he noticed. More than he wanted to.

The day that she finally snapped Allison had spent most of the day avoiding House. It hadn't been hard. They had no patient and she had clinic hours to keep her busy. But the calm she had achieved during the course of the day was shattered when House turned up on her doorstep, and she felt the familiar fluttering that was her constant companion lately begin again. She spent the next two hours trying to avoid contact with the man and having an internal battle with herself. Her logical half was telling her to just ride this out. She was hormonal and acting irrationally, and she would only regret any rash actions. But those same hormones were screaming at her to just jump the man.

House meanwhile was trying to figure out what the hell was the matter with Cameron. She was distracted and having problems sitting still. Finally when she jumped up for the forth time during the movie he stood himself and followed her into the kitchen.

As he walked up behind her he demanded, "Cameron, what is your problem. You're up and down so much tonight that you are making me dizzy."

Allison for her part had been giving herself another lecture and hadn't sensed him behind her so when he spoke she jumped a bit and turned towards him in surprise. And that's when all logic went out the window.

With a muttered, "What the hell," she grabbed him and kissed him.

A million thoughts whirled through House's brain at the contact leaving him stunned. But while his brain might have momentarily short-circuited his body had no problem knowing what it wanted and instinctively he reached out and pulled Cameron closer against him and deepened the kiss. A small moan of pleasure from Cameron finally caused his mind to catch up with what was happening and he immediately pushed her away.

Breathing hard she watched as a look of panic replaced the desire that had been there just a moment before. Before she could even say anything, he had stammered out that he had better leave, and was gone.

Leaving Allison behind to mentally berate herself even as she relived the moment when he'd returned her kiss and committed each second of the experience to memory.

She debated on whether or not to go in the next day. In the end she knew she had to suck it up and pretend like nothing had ever happened if she wanted to salvage anything. To her surprise there was a message from Cuddy that House had called in sick, something he never did.

She spent the rest of the day wondering what it meant, although she suspected it was a really bad sign. Finally after lunch she did the only thing she could think of and went to talk to James Wilson.

"Have you talked to House today?" she asked casually.

"I called at lunch when I heard he'd called in sick. He didn't answer. I was going to go over after work to check on him unless you want to," James offered.

"No, I think you'd better go. He's most likely avoiding me," she sighed as she sank down into the chair across from him dejectedly.

"Why would he avoid you?" James asked.

"Because I'm and idiot with absolutely no patience whatsoever," Allison lamented.

"Wait, are we talking about you or House?" James teased.

"I kissed him."

That was the last thing he'd been expecting and he opened his mouth to speak twice before words actually formed. "Did he kiss you back?"

"For a split second, and then he vanished faster than David Copperfield," she told him.

James thought that over and then grinned. "Well if I know House, It's not the fact that you kissed him that has his shorts in a bunch. He knows you like him and that wouldn't have shocked him too much. No, he's upset because he lost control and kissed you back."

Cameron wasn't totally convinced. But James made her promise to consider the possibility, and she left his office deep in thought. She spent the afternoon locked in the conference room pretending to do charting. In reality her mind was going over every second of last night's encounter. Finally just before five o'clock she reached a decision. She packed up her things and stopped once again at James Wilson's office on her way out.

"I'm going to stop to talk to House. In case this backfires it's been nice knowing you," she grimaced.

James just chuckled as he watched her leave. Oh to be a fly on the wall to see this conversation, he thought.

House spent the day trying to decide just what to do now. While almost every instinct he'd honed over the past years told him to run for the hills, the moment he let his mind wander he would get lost in the memory of yesterday's kiss and doubt would take over. Maybe he should just sit back and see where this thing went.

Then common sense would reassert itself and he'd remember that first of all he was old enough to be Cameron's father (Ignoring the fact that if you did the math he'd somehow managed to become a father before he'd actually lost his virginity). In addition he was her boss. And of course there was the big honking fact that he was totally wrong for her.

But gone from the list was the argument that he wasn't interested in her that way. That kiss had pretty much destroyed that pretense. And without that fact to shore up the others he was having a hard time resolving to stay away from Cameron. To his dismay there was a large part of him ready to give in and kiss her again, any possibility for future hurt (hers or his) be damned.

He was still having a mental debate when there was a knock at the door. Hoping it was Wilson come to check on him he opened it to find the object of his internal struggle standing there looking all curvy and kissable in tight jeans and a clingy green top. He froze.

"I brought those Italian beef sandwiches you like," Allison stated as she used House's moment of indecision to plow past him and into the townhouse heading straight for the kitchen.

When she turned he was still standing at the front door.

"Close the door and relax House. I'm not going to try to kiss you again," she told him.

Once he had closed the door she continued. "I'm also not going to apologize for the kiss. I'm not sorry it happened. It was a pretty amazing kiss," she admitted. She handed him his sandwich on a plate, set hers down on the coffee table and went back to get herself something to drink. When she came back in House had moved to the couch and set his plate down in front of him.

"I would like to apologize for springing that on you though. That was totally unfair of me. I won't do it again," she promised as she plopped down on the couch. "What do you want to watch?"

House still hadn't said a word, and for the next half hour neither of them spoke, then as they both finished eating and a commercial came on, House muted the sound.

"So you thought the kiss was good?" he asked out of nowhere.

Allison struggled to keep a straight face as she pretended to think it over. "I'd give it an eight," she finally said.

House frowned. "Only an eight?"

"Well you did cut it kind of short," she reminded him. "Up until then it was headed for a ten."

House smirked and reached for the remote to turn the volume back up.

"So longer next time. I'll keep that in mind," he replied, and then just as the movie started back up he added," Oh and Cameron? Feel free to spring that type of thing on me whenever you feel like it."

Allison sat back into the couch with a contented sigh. Patience, she decided was overrated. Sometimes if you wanted to win the hand you had to stack the deck a bit.

The End