Can't Take It In
House/Cameron Ficathon (Scars)
Written for: re_eth_ke
What she wanted to see in her story:
1. Snark
2. House's motorcycle
3. H/C progression
What she didn't want near her story:
1. Wimpy Cameron
2. Chase
3. Overload of fluff
Wordcount: Word says 3,488

The last thing Cameron - or she figured anyone - wanted to do with her weekend was work. Obviously, being part of one the country's top diagnostic's teams put a wrench in her wishes that once Friday evening rolled around, she was free. She didn't mind much if she had work to do.

Going to another state for a medical conference - where all you did was sit, listen and maybe take some notes - was not the way she wanted to spend her weekend. Chase had come up with an excuse as to why he couldn't make it, but Cameron was honest. And now, she was miserable.

Among other doctors from Princeton-Plainsborough Teaching Hospital, she, Foreman, Wilson and House had flown to Florida for a national medical conference. Dr. House had turned down the offer to give a lecture (obviously) but Dr. Wilson had accepted the offer wholeheartedly. Cameron didn't attend Wilson's lecture because she knew House would sit in the back, making comments through the whole thing, and she didn't want to hear it.

When she thought of a weekend in Florida, she thought of the beaches and the shopping; not a crowded forum with lectures here and there.

She spent most of the day trailing around with Foreman, not seeing - or really wanting to see - anybody, since at these national conferences she usually saw at least one person she went to medical school with. Sometimes she hated seeing people from back then. She never really saw Dr. House around, though she knew he was somewhere. Foreman had left her alone after a while, going to see his pharmaceutical representative friend, who was practically doing little infomercials in the hall for passing doctors.

She didn't see anybody again until she was getting ready to leave and she found Wilson and House heading out as well. She caught up to them as they were standing at the coat check.

"Wilson, how was your lecture?"

"Riveting." House answered for him as he put a dollar in the tip basket that sat on the counter. "I was on the edge of my seat the whole time."

"When you weren't asking stupid questions, you were snoring." Wilson rolled his eyes.

Cameron smiled sympathetically and then turned to House. "What are you waiting for? It's Florida, you don't need a coat."

The woman behind the counter set down House's motorcycle helmet and he picked it up.

"I do need this. Still don't need my brains splattered all over the road."

They were all heading for the door.

"You brought your motorcycle? How did you manage that?"

"He got the airline to bring it." Wilson explained, not trying to hide the fact that he thought the whole idea was completely stupid.

"I didn't know airlines did that." Cameron said, surprised.

"They made a special exception for me." House said sarcastically as they came upon his bike, parked almost exactly in front of the building that hosted their conference. "I'll see you later. I'm going to the beach to check out the babes." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Don't let them see your cane." Wilson joked.

"Chicks dig the cane." House replied, climbing onto the bike and snapping the cane into it's holder.

Cameron rolled her eyes. She watched as House drove off and remembered riding on the back with him.

"You going back to the hotel?" Wilson asked.

Snapping out of her memories, she looked at him. "Yeah."

"Need a lift? I rented a car."

"Yeah thanks."

She followed him to a small parking garage that sat right across the street. Since the conference was a national event, all the closest hotels had been booked up for months. All four of them had managed to get rooms in the same hotel, but it was far enough away to need a cab or a rental car.

Or in House's case, his motorcycle.

Cameron was still thinking about the time she'd gotten to ride on his motorcycle. She had ignored the urge to keep telling House how dangerous it was for him not to wear a helmet. At the same time, she never wanted to get off the back of his bike, having an excuse to finally put her arms around him.

She knew he had liked her riding with him, too. Of course, she never told him that because she knew it would be a waste of time; he would just deny it and try to make her feel stupid for having feelings for him.

They found Wilson's rental car on the third level of the parking garage. They drove to the front booth and since Cameron was the first to have money out, she reached across Wilson and gave the money to the guy in the booth.

"Have a nice day." The guy said as he raised the gate.

"Thanks, you too." Wilson said and pulled out to the curb. Waiting for an opening in traffic, he glanced at Cameron. "You didn't have to pay for the parking."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Just think of it as my way of saying thank you for giving me a ride back to the hotel." She put her wallet back into her bag.

Wilson laughed. "House is right."

Cameron looked up at him. "Right about what?"

"You!" He shook his head. "He was right. You are too nice."

She scoffed. "I am not too nice."

Wilson let out a short laugh.

"House should know!" She tried to defend herself. "If he makes me mad, I tell him." She paused. "Usually."

"Usually?" he raised an eyebrow. "You have to be firm with House. Tell him straight out you're not taking his crap."

"I don't take his crap." She said, this time sounding a little more defeated.

"Out of everybody, you take his crap the most. That's why he knows he can torment you."

She didn't reply to that. Of course, she had already known that was true, but she didn't really like hearing it from people. Especially Wilson, House's best friend. She couldn't help but think maybe that was all she was to House, just someone to torment. Someone to play with.

Wilson pulled into the parking lot of the hotel they were staying at and was lucky to get a spot that was rather close. As they walked in, he glanced at her and knew her mind was working overtime. She needed to stop thinking about House.

"So, are you going out anywhere tonight? Is there any place you're going to check out before we all go back tomorrow?" He asked, trying to distract her from all things House.

Cameron shook her head. "I think I'll just read a book or watch a movie. I'm not really in the mood to go out." She didn't look at him because she knew he was looking at her like she was crazy. "What about you?"

He shrugged. "I might check out a bar."

They were in the elevator already, heading for the 7th and 9th floors.

"Have fun." She said as she stepped out a moment later.

"You too." He replied, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
It was a little after 9:30pm when Cameron's cell phone rang. She had gotten some food from the hotel's restaurant for dinner and then started watching a movie in her room.

"Hello?" She answered, turning the volume down on the tv.

"Cameron!" It was Foreman. "What're you doing?"

She could tell he was having fun, where ever he was. "Nothing, just watching a movie."

"Good. I found this great bar at the beach. You need to get down here!"

She was certainly surprised. She'd never heard Foreman so relaxed before. "Um, no that's ok. But you have fun."

"No, you have to come down here!" He paused for a moment. "There are a lot of guys here, too."

Wondering if she was really talking to Foreman, she pulled her phone away from her ear to look at the ID. Yup, it was Foreman. "I guess." She didn't really want to go out, but she hadn't been able to stop thinking about House. Maybe having a drink would get her mind off things.

"Great!" He said and gave her directions to the bar.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
When Cameron got to the bar, she was surprised that it really was on the beach. The main room opened right up to face the sand and the water. All in all, it was a cute bar. Except that it had a cheesy Hawaiian theme to it and she was practically assaulted on the way in by a scantily clad woman in a coconut bra and grass skirt who put a lay around her neck.

Cameron found Foreman at the bar with his drug rep. girlfriend.

"Hey!" He yelled happily when he saw her.

"Hey." She replied wearily, silently hoping that nobody had slipped him something. He was acting way too happy; nothing like the Foreman she knew.

She ordered a drink and scanned the bar for something to do or someone to talk to. Her heart jumped when she saw a man in the corner on a cell phone, wearing a black motorcycle jacket. When he turned around, her hopefulness was squashed with disappointment.

He wasn't House.

Taking up a spot at the bar, Cameron joined into Foreman's conversation with his girlfriend for a while. After a little while, Foreman and his girlfriend went to play some pool and Cameron stayed at the bar counter.

Inside, she was feeling a little miserable and she was well on her way to drowning her sorrows. She was on her third mixed drink, and that one was almost gone.

"Glad to see you're out having some fun."

She turned her head to see Wilson sitting next to her. "Lots of fun." She said, almost a bit sarcastically. She finished her drink and asked the bartender for another.

While the bartender was standing there, Wilson ordered two beers.

Cameron turned to look at Wilson again. "What're you doing here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her; he could tell she was drunk. "Drinking?"

She let out a short laugh. "Duh."

The bartender set their drinks down and she took a big sip of what was now drink number four.

Wilson took the two beers he ordered. As well as being drunk, he could also tell she was miserable. "Do you want to come over to the table? You don't have to sit alone over here."

"I'm good." She waved him off.

"Ok, well the table's over there if you change your mind." He said and then left her.

As soon as he was gone, she took another sip of her drink and got up, walking out to the porch they had that opened up to the beach. She leaned against the railing and watched the waves splash onto the shoreline.

By this time, she didn't even know if Foreman was still at the bar, though she had figured he would come say goodbye before he left.

There were couples sitting and walking on the beach. She was jealous; there was no denying it. She wanted to walk along the beach with someone, or even just go to a stupidly themed bar with someone. Her main problem was that the only someone she wanted to be with, didn't want to be with her. It was easy to forget about her misery at home, where there were lots of people around that she knew, but being in another state with only three people was hard. Especially since one of the three was the person that she so desperately wanted a chance with.

A body sidled up beside her and their beer was set on the railing.

"There you are." House said.

"Here I am." She replied, keeping her drink close as she continued to stare out at the beach.

He looked at her wearily. She had bags under her eyes and she looked extremely tired. The last time he'd seen her like this was the day after she'd tried drugs. Except this time wasn't as bad. "Wilson told me you were here... and looking miserable."

"Why would I be miserable?"

He shrugged. "Wilson doesn't lie."

He had to admit to himself, he was curious as to why she was acting the way she was.

She was about to take another sip of her drink but her stomach suddenly protested that idea. She set her drink down on the railing.

House was watching her closely, trying to solve the puzzle of her.

She sighed, uncomfortable under his insistent gaze. "This bar sucks." She put her hand up to her forehead and pushed back her hair.

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and started dialing.

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"Calling you a cab. You're drunk so you're obviously not driving yourself." He replied.

She hadn't planned on driving herself since she didn't have a car. She watched him as he talked to the cab company and told them the bar's address. As he hung up, she put her hand to her mouth.

"You ok?"

She shook her head.

"Ok. Let's go wait out front for the cab." He led her back through the bar towards the front door, stopping to talk to Wilson on the way out.

When they were finally outside in front of the bar, Cameron sat down heavily on a bench. House sat down next to her, spinning his can through his fingers as they waited for the cab.

"Y'know, I'm not a child. I can get back to the hotel on my own." She said, leaning away from him.

He didn't know if she was leaning away because she was drunk or because she didn't want to be near him. Knowing her, he expected the former more likely. "I know."

"So, you can go back inside." She watched him for his reaction. She wanted to be alone, but at the same time she really liked being alone with him.

House turned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want me to go back inside?"

When she didn't answer, he nodded a little and went back to watching for the cab, which showed up about five minutes later.

He opened the door for her and climbed in after her.

"What are you doing??" Cameron asked, looking at him like he was crazy.

He ignored her and told the driver what hotel to go to.

"House." She said firmly, trying to get him to stop ignoring her.

"Cameron." He matched her tone.

"This is ridiculous! Why are you doing this?" She paused. "Is it because you have feelings for me?"

Slightly uncomfortable, he glanced at the rearview mirror to see if the driver was watching them and listening in. He didn't seem to be, making House feel at least a little more relaxed.

"Just because I have feelings for you does not mean you can just start pretending that you care." Cameron was slurring her words a bit. "I know you don't give a damn about me, so why pretend now?"

He rolled his eyes and looked at her. "Cameron, stop talking."

She looked taken aback and obviously didn't know what to say.

The cab pulled up to the hotel they were staying at. House paid the driver and he and Cameron both climbed out. They went right inside and to the elevator.

"What floor are you on?" He asked her.

"Seven." She replied and when the elevator jolted into action, her stomach felt like it rolled. "Oh, god." She didn't know whether to put her hand to her forehead or over her mouth.

He saw the sick look on her face and took a little step away from her.

She dug her room key out of her purse and had it ready when the elevator doors opened onto her floor. House followed her into her room and waited as she spent a few minutes in the bathroom.

When she stumbled out of the bathroom, she crawled right onto the bed, not caring that House was standing right there.

He wasn't going to admit that he was worried about her, not to mention puzzled by her behavior. He didn't think anybody had put anything in her drink - though that concern had crossed his mind - he knew she'd just had too much to drink. The question was, why was she drinking so heavily? Obviously, he wasn't about to ask her. He figured he'd do the only thing he knew: leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He was headed for the door when she spoke up behind him.

"House?"

He sighed silently to himself and turned back to her. "Yeah?"

She was curled up on the bed and had tilted her head down to see him. "Could you stay? Just for a little while..."

He would tell himself later that he only agreed to stay because he was slightly worried about her. But at the time, he didn't really know why he stayed.

He went to sit in the chair in the corner of her room when she slid over on the bed to make room for him there. Again, he didn't know why, but he sat down next to where she lay. Grabbing the remote from the nightstand, he turned the television on, but kept the volume low. He soon found an old black and white mobster movie to watch.

House had long thought that Cameron had fallen asleep beside him, when she spoke up.

"I ruined your night out."

He looked down at her, seeing that her eye makeup was smeared. He looked back to the tv because he couldn't handle her eyes on him. "It wasn't that great. That bar was lame."

"A beer's a beer, isn't it?" She asked and he could tell she was feeling at least a little bit better.

"Seems like they had some good mixed drinks." He pointed out.

She shifted uncomfortably. "They were good at the time."

"They always are." He flipped the channel, looking for something to watch that had been made in the last couple of decades.

After a moment, she said "Thanks for staying."

He glanced down at her, but he didn't reply.

When Cameron finally did fall asleep, House spent a few moments looking down at her.

Even when she was drunk, she was beautiful. Sometimes when he looked at her - even at work - he wanted to kick himself for being so stubborn and closed off that he had turned her away.

He crawled off the bed as gently as he could - so he wouldn't wake her - and made his way to the door. As he walked out, he didn't allow himself to look back.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
They all flew back to New Jersey the next day and House couldn't help but feel torn that Cameron was seated a few rows up and over from him and Wilson. He wanted to see her, but Wilson's questions would have been impossible to answer if she were sitting right there.

"So, what happened to you last night?" Wilson asked, picking at his little pack of airplane peanuts.

"Nothing." House grumbled in reply and dry swallowed a vicodin since the flight attendant who managed the cart of refreshments had seemed to have disappeared off the plane.

"Nothing... or nothing?" Wilson raised an eyebrow.

House looked at his friend. "Don't be an idiot."

Wilson put his hands up. "I don't know, I just thought -"

"Well, stop thinking." House said, glancing up the isle. "And stop talking while you're at it."

While Wilson wondered why he put up with House's abuse, Cameron glanced back down the isle to see House pull his head back quickly.

She sat back easily in her seat and smiled. She hadn't been too surprised that morning when she woke up to find House had gone.

She didn't know if anything had changed between them, but she knew she could always hope. She felt like she would always hope that he would realize his feelings for her and sometimes she might have a hard time dealing with her own feelings for him.

Knowing, deep down, that if she ever needed help, he would be there, gave her a sense of relief.

Cameron slightly regretted the way the night before had played out (she thought maybe she could have used their trip to her advantage, if she hadn't gotten totally drunk)...

But now she was glad to be going home.



{end}