My Fuzzy Valentine
A brief break from Beneath the Surface. Another holiday fic with Steve McQueen... because, like the good china, he only comes out on special occassions :)
This should only be a few parts long. Sorry this first one is small, but I'm about to head out to dinner. Will try to get another one out tonight or tomorrow morning. The whole thing should be finished by Friday.
Enjoy, and I hope you like the return of Steve!
My Fuzzy Valentine
It was snowing again. There had been a blizzard all up the east coast over the weekend and now weightless little flakes drifted lazily through the air outside the window beside Cameron’s desk. It didn’t look like it would amount to much, just flurries being blown around by the wind, but it was pretty to look at and Cameron remembered the last time she’d enjoyed the snow had been New Year’s Day. She’d been hopeful then, with the feel of House’s mouth still a memory on her lips.
The next snowfall had trapped House and Stacy Warner in Baltimore, and after that her optimism had faded. Stacy was gone now, but House was still distant most of the time, and he hadn’t invited her over to help with Steve. Cameron felt slightly ridiculous about the fact that the loss of her status as Steve’s back-up owner hurt almost as much as the knowledge that House had kissed his ex-girlfriend less than two weeks after kissing her. Maybe it was because Steve had been the bridge between them, and having it pulled away left her lonelier and feeling bereft. Hope removed was worse than hope denied to begin with.
House was in his office and she could hear his music through the glass walls. She wanted to go in there and ask him what was going on. She wished she had the courage to face his answer, whatever it was. Instead she sat at her desk and read the mass-email Valentine that the hospital had sent to all the employees. She was still staring at it when Foreman and Chase walked in.
The two of them walked over to the coat rack and as Foreman took off his overcoat Chase looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow.
“Nice suit. You interviewing somewhere?” he asked, half joking and half serious. The serious half sounded just a little bit jealous.
Foreman rolled his eyes. “No,” he drawled as if the answer should be obvious. “I have a date tonight. Valentine’s Day. Sound familiar?”
“Ah, that explains it.” Chase pulled off his own coat and hung it up. “That hot drug rep? Larissa? Carissa?”
“Vanessa,” Cameron interjected, looking away from the computer for the first time since their arrival.
Foreman nodded towards her. “Right. Vanessa. And I’d appreciate it if you not call her ‘hot’. We’ve been dating for almost a year. A little respect would be nice.” His expression said that a little respect would also keep Chase from having to visit the dentist for a few new teeth.
“Sure. Right. Sorry.”
“You gotta date?”
“Nah,” he replied and if his eyes strayed to Cameron’s slim form, Foreman pretended not to notice. It was the unspoken rule that no one would ever mention that one-night stand again.
“What about you, Cameron?” Chase asked. The rule didn’t require that he stop being nosy.
“No. It’s a made up holiday anyway,” she declared.
Chase laughed. “This, coming from little Miss Hopeless Romantic?” He ignored the fact that her mouth had flattened into a tight line.
“Knock it off, man,” Foreman said, nudging him with his elbow. “She said no.”
A sound of exasperation tripped out of Chase’s mouth and he turned to go get a cup of coffee. Foreman watched Cameron’s expression relax slightly before she sighed and swiveled back to face her computer. He knew that she probably didn’t appreciate his macho protective act, but he was tired, more than tired, of watching her get hurt.
He hadn’t meant to find out about him.
Her husband.
He’d just been down in the clinic collecting a chart when he’d seen Cameron and Wilson standing toe to toe. Gossip wasn’t his thing, but when the two nicest people in the hospital appeared ready to shout at each other, it got his attention. He wondered if House knew, and he wondered if the miserable bastard had come to the same conclusions he had, or if he had learned ‘dead husband’ and let that be the defining foundation of Cameron’s personality in his mind. At first the knowledge that Cameron was a widow had shocked him. Then he had thought that it explained a lot about her and then, days later, he had begun to think that while it explained some things, she was too complex for that to be the only thing that influenced her life. Still, he figured Valentine’s Day was one in a long string of painful reminders of her husband. If he could help keep the pain at bay, then he would.
He couldn’t know that this year her painful introspection was caused by a completely different man.
“Any new patients,” he asked, thinking to get Cameron’s mind off of the previous conversation.
She jerked her head towards House’s office and the pounding bass that rattled the glass. “Rolling Stones this early in the morning means he’s bored,” she said. “No new patient.”
“Well I hope it stays that way. I’d like to stay under the radar for a while until he forgets about last month,” he said, referring to his brief stint as department head. He figured that if they had a slow week or two, House wouldn’t have the opportunity to abuse him by making him do the grunt work.
“I think he’s got a pretty long memory,” Cameron said with a wry little smile.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Foreman replied and then he headed to the coffee maker.
This should only be a few parts long. Sorry this first one is small, but I'm about to head out to dinner. Will try to get another one out tonight or tomorrow morning. The whole thing should be finished by Friday.
Enjoy, and I hope you like the return of Steve!
My Fuzzy Valentine
It was snowing again. There had been a blizzard all up the east coast over the weekend and now weightless little flakes drifted lazily through the air outside the window beside Cameron’s desk. It didn’t look like it would amount to much, just flurries being blown around by the wind, but it was pretty to look at and Cameron remembered the last time she’d enjoyed the snow had been New Year’s Day. She’d been hopeful then, with the feel of House’s mouth still a memory on her lips.
The next snowfall had trapped House and Stacy Warner in Baltimore, and after that her optimism had faded. Stacy was gone now, but House was still distant most of the time, and he hadn’t invited her over to help with Steve. Cameron felt slightly ridiculous about the fact that the loss of her status as Steve’s back-up owner hurt almost as much as the knowledge that House had kissed his ex-girlfriend less than two weeks after kissing her. Maybe it was because Steve had been the bridge between them, and having it pulled away left her lonelier and feeling bereft. Hope removed was worse than hope denied to begin with.
House was in his office and she could hear his music through the glass walls. She wanted to go in there and ask him what was going on. She wished she had the courage to face his answer, whatever it was. Instead she sat at her desk and read the mass-email Valentine that the hospital had sent to all the employees. She was still staring at it when Foreman and Chase walked in.
The two of them walked over to the coat rack and as Foreman took off his overcoat Chase looked him up and down with a raised eyebrow.
“Nice suit. You interviewing somewhere?” he asked, half joking and half serious. The serious half sounded just a little bit jealous.
Foreman rolled his eyes. “No,” he drawled as if the answer should be obvious. “I have a date tonight. Valentine’s Day. Sound familiar?”
“Ah, that explains it.” Chase pulled off his own coat and hung it up. “That hot drug rep? Larissa? Carissa?”
“Vanessa,” Cameron interjected, looking away from the computer for the first time since their arrival.
Foreman nodded towards her. “Right. Vanessa. And I’d appreciate it if you not call her ‘hot’. We’ve been dating for almost a year. A little respect would be nice.” His expression said that a little respect would also keep Chase from having to visit the dentist for a few new teeth.
“Sure. Right. Sorry.”
“You gotta date?”
“Nah,” he replied and if his eyes strayed to Cameron’s slim form, Foreman pretended not to notice. It was the unspoken rule that no one would ever mention that one-night stand again.
“What about you, Cameron?” Chase asked. The rule didn’t require that he stop being nosy.
“No. It’s a made up holiday anyway,” she declared.
Chase laughed. “This, coming from little Miss Hopeless Romantic?” He ignored the fact that her mouth had flattened into a tight line.
“Knock it off, man,” Foreman said, nudging him with his elbow. “She said no.”
A sound of exasperation tripped out of Chase’s mouth and he turned to go get a cup of coffee. Foreman watched Cameron’s expression relax slightly before she sighed and swiveled back to face her computer. He knew that she probably didn’t appreciate his macho protective act, but he was tired, more than tired, of watching her get hurt.
He hadn’t meant to find out about him.
Her husband.
He’d just been down in the clinic collecting a chart when he’d seen Cameron and Wilson standing toe to toe. Gossip wasn’t his thing, but when the two nicest people in the hospital appeared ready to shout at each other, it got his attention. He wondered if House knew, and he wondered if the miserable bastard had come to the same conclusions he had, or if he had learned ‘dead husband’ and let that be the defining foundation of Cameron’s personality in his mind. At first the knowledge that Cameron was a widow had shocked him. Then he had thought that it explained a lot about her and then, days later, he had begun to think that while it explained some things, she was too complex for that to be the only thing that influenced her life. Still, he figured Valentine’s Day was one in a long string of painful reminders of her husband. If he could help keep the pain at bay, then he would.
He couldn’t know that this year her painful introspection was caused by a completely different man.
“Any new patients,” he asked, thinking to get Cameron’s mind off of the previous conversation.
She jerked her head towards House’s office and the pounding bass that rattled the glass. “Rolling Stones this early in the morning means he’s bored,” she said. “No new patient.”
“Well I hope it stays that way. I’d like to stay under the radar for a while until he forgets about last month,” he said, referring to his brief stint as department head. He figured that if they had a slow week or two, House wouldn’t have the opportunity to abuse him by making him do the grunt work.
“I think he’s got a pretty long memory,” Cameron said with a wry little smile.
“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Foreman replied and then he headed to the coffee maker.