Fic: An Unforgiving Past: Miscommunication
Title: An Unforgiving Past: Miscommunication
Chapter: 3/?
Pairing: House/Cameron
Chapter Rating: T
Story Rating: M
Author: peace_and_war
Summary: “She was woken by the doorbell, she sat up, half afraid to answer the door, unsure of who it was, unsure of what to expect.” Cameron relives after seventeen years, the attack on her life. The attacker turns up at PPTH as her patient, and tries to attack her again, and everything she's built up threatens to crumble.
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
Some kind of magic,
Hypnotic, hypnotic,
You’re leaving me breathless,
I hate this, I hate this,
You’re not the one I believe in,
With God as my witness.
I Caught Myself - Paramore
Cameron was asleep on her couch, escaping from the reality of the day, finally in a place where Tusker was just a nightmare, and the world didn’t exist.
She was woken by the doorbell, she sat up, half afraid to answer the door, unsure of who it was, unsure of what to expect. She didn’t want any company, she wanted to spend the evening alone, processing the day, and figuring out a plan on how to move forward.
She gathered the courage to walk to the door, to find one Greg House standing there, looking uncomfortable.
‘House.’
‘Cameron.’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Seeing how you were.’
‘I’m fine. Thanks for coming.’
She began to close the door, but his cane stopped her.
‘You’re not fine.’
‘Is that a question, or an observation?’ She asked, knowing she was probably not going to get an answer worth listening to.
‘You’re not fine, and I know this has got to be hard on you-‘
‘Do you really know? Do you know what it’s like to be stabbed and left for dead? Do you know what it is like to go through six months of excruciatingly painful physical therapy? Do you know what it’s like to go through a court case, where you have to face your attacker? Where your story is in constant doubt, and you feel like you are a monkey in a zoo enclosure? That you may have to see the person who hurt you on the street, and hope to God they don’t recognise you?’
‘No.’ House was observing her face, and noticed the years of pain and hurt on her face, and realised in some capacity, he may not have added to it, but he may have stopped it going away.
‘I didn’t think so. The thing is House, you think you are always right, and for the most part you are. This time, however you are not, so just let it fucking go, and go.’
‘I can’t do that. I brought food, and I don’t think you’ve eaten a lot today..’
It was then she noticed the Chinese takeaway bag in his hand and the smell coming from it.
‘Did you get beef and black bean?’
‘If I say yes, will you let me in?’ House replied, a hint of snark in his voice.
Cameron rolled her eyes and opened the door to let him.
***
‘Why did you really come tonight House?’ Cameron turned to look at House, wanting his true answer to the question.
‘To see how you were.’ House set his beer back on the coffee table next to his feet.
‘You don’t usually care about others, unless they have something you don’t know.’
She looked intently at House, trying to gage his reactions, the one on his face validated what she was saying.
‘I’m right aren’t I? You want to know what happened seventeen years ago. Well, I’m not up for telling that story again today, you’ll just have to wait.’
‘Okay.’
‘I know you know how it feels to feel like you’re dying, but, how did you bounce back from it?’
‘That’s also a story for another night.’ House replied, not wanting to go into that conversation tonight.
‘Okay. What happened between you and Wilson today? I heard about it, but..’ She trailed off, waiting for him to reply.
‘That’s a story for tonight.’ He had the beginnings of a smile on his face.
‘He had feelings of repressed guilt over Amber, and I was his outlet. He punched me, and I caned him in the crotch.’
‘That explains the bruise on your eyebrow, and the fact Wilson was walking around weird, talking in a higher octave for the rest of the day.’
A smile began to form on her face, but stopped as she blurted out her next thought.
‘That also explains why you are here, and not at Wilson’s. You should just tell him you are sorry.’ Cameron replied simply.
‘That means admitting I did something wrong.’ The word ‘wrong’ felt wrong coming out of House’s mouth, it wasn’t one he usually associated himself with.
‘No, it doesn’t. It means you are sorry for Ambers death, you’re not admitting any responsibility for it. You’re sorry for her being on the bus, that she was in the crash. But it was her choice to get on the bus, her choice to pick you up, and her choice to give you back your cane. She could’ve stayed at home, or made you get in her car.’
Her rationality seemed to have slightly angered House, but for once she didn’t care because it was the truth.
‘Don’t you think I know that? I’m sorry that she died, yeah, but I did everything I could to save her. I shouldn’t be apologising to him for that.’
The animosity of that sentence startled Cameron but she didn’t let that show.
‘Maybe you should be telling Wilson that, not me. I don’t blame you for her death, and I don’t think anyone else does either, and I think deep down, Wilson doesn’t either.’
‘I don’t like the philosophical side of you very much.’
‘I don’t much either, but you’ve got to believe in something, otherwise, everything else falls apart. And that’s when we fall apart.’
House nodded and they both sat back into the couch, realising that the television had been on the whole time and neither had realised, because they were so absorbed in their lives.
Chapter: 3/?
Pairing: House/Cameron
Chapter Rating: T
Story Rating: M
Author: peace_and_war
Summary: “She was woken by the doorbell, she sat up, half afraid to answer the door, unsure of who it was, unsure of what to expect.” Cameron relives after seventeen years, the attack on her life. The attacker turns up at PPTH as her patient, and tries to attack her again, and everything she's built up threatens to crumble.
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
Some kind of magic,
Hypnotic, hypnotic,
You’re leaving me breathless,
I hate this, I hate this,
You’re not the one I believe in,
With God as my witness.
I Caught Myself - Paramore
Cameron was asleep on her couch, escaping from the reality of the day, finally in a place where Tusker was just a nightmare, and the world didn’t exist.
She was woken by the doorbell, she sat up, half afraid to answer the door, unsure of who it was, unsure of what to expect. She didn’t want any company, she wanted to spend the evening alone, processing the day, and figuring out a plan on how to move forward.
She gathered the courage to walk to the door, to find one Greg House standing there, looking uncomfortable.
‘House.’
‘Cameron.’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Seeing how you were.’
‘I’m fine. Thanks for coming.’
She began to close the door, but his cane stopped her.
‘You’re not fine.’
‘Is that a question, or an observation?’ She asked, knowing she was probably not going to get an answer worth listening to.
‘You’re not fine, and I know this has got to be hard on you-‘
‘Do you really know? Do you know what it’s like to be stabbed and left for dead? Do you know what it is like to go through six months of excruciatingly painful physical therapy? Do you know what it’s like to go through a court case, where you have to face your attacker? Where your story is in constant doubt, and you feel like you are a monkey in a zoo enclosure? That you may have to see the person who hurt you on the street, and hope to God they don’t recognise you?’
‘No.’ House was observing her face, and noticed the years of pain and hurt on her face, and realised in some capacity, he may not have added to it, but he may have stopped it going away.
‘I didn’t think so. The thing is House, you think you are always right, and for the most part you are. This time, however you are not, so just let it fucking go, and go.’
‘I can’t do that. I brought food, and I don’t think you’ve eaten a lot today..’
It was then she noticed the Chinese takeaway bag in his hand and the smell coming from it.
‘Did you get beef and black bean?’
‘If I say yes, will you let me in?’ House replied, a hint of snark in his voice.
Cameron rolled her eyes and opened the door to let him.
***
‘Why did you really come tonight House?’ Cameron turned to look at House, wanting his true answer to the question.
‘To see how you were.’ House set his beer back on the coffee table next to his feet.
‘You don’t usually care about others, unless they have something you don’t know.’
She looked intently at House, trying to gage his reactions, the one on his face validated what she was saying.
‘I’m right aren’t I? You want to know what happened seventeen years ago. Well, I’m not up for telling that story again today, you’ll just have to wait.’
‘Okay.’
‘I know you know how it feels to feel like you’re dying, but, how did you bounce back from it?’
‘That’s also a story for another night.’ House replied, not wanting to go into that conversation tonight.
‘Okay. What happened between you and Wilson today? I heard about it, but..’ She trailed off, waiting for him to reply.
‘That’s a story for tonight.’ He had the beginnings of a smile on his face.
‘He had feelings of repressed guilt over Amber, and I was his outlet. He punched me, and I caned him in the crotch.’
‘That explains the bruise on your eyebrow, and the fact Wilson was walking around weird, talking in a higher octave for the rest of the day.’
A smile began to form on her face, but stopped as she blurted out her next thought.
‘That also explains why you are here, and not at Wilson’s. You should just tell him you are sorry.’ Cameron replied simply.
‘That means admitting I did something wrong.’ The word ‘wrong’ felt wrong coming out of House’s mouth, it wasn’t one he usually associated himself with.
‘No, it doesn’t. It means you are sorry for Ambers death, you’re not admitting any responsibility for it. You’re sorry for her being on the bus, that she was in the crash. But it was her choice to get on the bus, her choice to pick you up, and her choice to give you back your cane. She could’ve stayed at home, or made you get in her car.’
Her rationality seemed to have slightly angered House, but for once she didn’t care because it was the truth.
‘Don’t you think I know that? I’m sorry that she died, yeah, but I did everything I could to save her. I shouldn’t be apologising to him for that.’
The animosity of that sentence startled Cameron but she didn’t let that show.
‘Maybe you should be telling Wilson that, not me. I don’t blame you for her death, and I don’t think anyone else does either, and I think deep down, Wilson doesn’t either.’
‘I don’t like the philosophical side of you very much.’
‘I don’t much either, but you’ve got to believe in something, otherwise, everything else falls apart. And that’s when we fall apart.’
House nodded and they both sat back into the couch, realising that the television had been on the whole time and neither had realised, because they were so absorbed in their lives.