Lady in Red, House/Cameron, Rated T
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Summary: In the middle of the benefit poker tournament, House made ‘diagnosis’ regarding Cameron’s appearances.
:: This is my first attempt at writing House. Been watching till season 3 and I really like seeing House and Cameron together. There's something about them that's so darn appealing.
:: Taking place in S2x17 - All In. This happens before the kid's brought to Princeton-Plainsboro.
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As soon as the conversation changed from them discussing a patient who had been brought to the hospital with a pole stuck through his head to who's cheating on whom, Cameron swiftly excused herself from a group of nurses she had been talking with for the last twenty minutes. Knowing them, it wouldn't take long for the topic to change again to 'How about you, Dr. Cameron? You're seeing someone?'.
Foreman was nowhere in sight while Chase was putting himself out there and was talking to a beautiful redhead. She smirked. The last time she saw him, he was trying to impress a blonde by telling her about his yacht that he was going to get sometime not so soon in the future; was-going- to being the keyword. As far as the striking blonde knew, the luxurious ship was already parked on his personal beach.
The tournament wasn't something new, but it worked wonder in taking their minds off everyday stresses of life for a while. Work had gone pretty wild lately and she surely wouldn't turn down a chance to have a relaxing evening. Plus, it was a charity event. It's a win-win situation after all.
"Cameron, is that you?" The question was asked with so much insincerity that she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"No, House, it's just your eyes playing tricks on you," She casually said while pouring herself some punch. "Should've cut down the vicodins."
"Wilson! You look so dazzling in some red strapless dress. Is that a wig or you got a hair extension without telling me? Bad, bad Wilson. Tsk, tsk, tsk." House sarcastically replied and moved to lean against the table.
Cameron had to suppress her smile. Sometimes it was difficult to choose whether she wanted to grab his cane and smack him upside the head with it more, or simply accepted him the way he was. But she was in such a good mood tonight she decided to let this slide. "What are you doing here? Thought you'd be drowning in chips with the real Wilson. And Cuddy." She added after seeing her boss seem to be really into the game; her laughter could be heard over the jazzy song.
"Nice dress," House remarked, his eyes scanning her body up and down. "Though it's a little chilly in here. Just wanted to make sure that you're not going to get the cold and stay home tomorrow. You know, there's a 99.9% chance we would get a nineteen year old girl suffered from terminal lung cancer who really, really could use a shoulder to cry on. Your shoulder, obviously, since you're the only one who's weak that way. Mother hen…"
"Sometimes it helps to have one person who cares, especially when you're working with one crazy, cruel, heartless bastard with a bad drug problem who takes entirely too much pleasure in torturing people around him." Cameron fired back, finding no difficulty to come up with a retort. Working with House for almost two years did that. She had turned to one bitter person. Congratulation, Cameron, way to go!
"Blah blah blah… and here I was hoping you're going to quote every adjective from 'Cameron's Egomaniac Dictionary'."
"Shut up, House." She shook her head and yet made no move to leave the Drama King alone. As much as he annoyed her, the interaction was also… comforting. She was actually enjoying this. Gosh, look what she had turned into!
"Experiencing toe pain, knee pain, ankle pain, hip pain, and lots of middle, lower, back pain lately? Headaches perhaps?" With every new location mentioned, he touched his cane to every body part of hers. "Bunions, hammer toes, noeromas, metatarsalgia, Achilles tendonitis… they surely sounds so romantic and sophisticated, don't they? Seriously…."
She put her glass on the table and turned on her heels to finally face him. "House, it's not something new, but gosh! Why do you have to be so-,"
"Charming?" He suggested, putting on his best fake innocent I'm-you're-momma-boy look. "Good looking? I knew this bow tie made me look to die for."
"So annoying." Cameron finished. She had to admit that he looked quite… 'charming and good looking' in monkey suits. Not that she would tell him that.
"Women these days," House went on, like any other days uncaring that the person he was talking to didn't seem excited at the slightest. "They actually pay $500 for those torture devices just to make their asses look good. Well, I do think they do make them look sexy and in charge; gotta love women to be on top…." He crooned with a goofy smile plastered on his face. Two seconds later he shook his head clear. "Sorry, where were we? Right! Osteoarthritis. Well, if it's still in the early stages it's nothing that glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate supplements can't help, but… are those new shoes?"
"It's like only two inches taller than my usual shoes." She commented dryly.
House was ready to snap, as always. "Oh look how little she knows! How do you think a 5'2" boy would think if he heard you saying that two inches didn't matter? He couldn't get on those extreme rides in Magic Mountain unless he borrowed his mom's heels. Can you imagine the horror? He would be scarred for life! And no Cameron to be there and baby him."
Cameron helplessly shook her head, bouncing her loose curls. "I get it, House. I look good. Thank you."
"Excusez-moi?" He acted surprised, overly surprised just for the heck of it. He was, after all, Gregory House. "Are you drunk? I don't remember paying you compliments."
She tossed her hair over her shoulder and took her drink before clinking it against his. Just to complete the evening she leaned over, basking in the smell of his cologne for a short moment. "You're acting like an eight year old crushing on his classmate. You know, you pull her pigtails when all you really want to do is sharing cupcakes on recess."
"Hellooo," House waved his hand in front of her face, grinning wickedly when she slapped it away. "If figuring out something about people then poking fun at them means crushing on them, I'd have been dead by Herpes or Aids by now. Get real."
Cameron took a deep breath to remain calm because she knew it would irritate him even more when he couldn't get the reaction he was waiting for. If only he knew how attractive he looked when he was being… frustrated. "Then no need to sweat over it, right? Enjoy your evening, House." She winked and walked away, leaving a trace of her perfume in the air as she passed.
Grunting, House fished his magic pills out of his pants pocket and swallowed one as he watched Cameron blend in with the crowd. When he turned to limp his way towards the poker table where Wilson and Cuddy were currently playing, he smiled.
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I hope I did okay :) Whataya think?