Insomnia Part 4-Day 1 of Vacation-Movie Night
After their little late morning breakfast, Cameron busied herself with taking a shower and doing a little cleaning around the apartment. She thought this might deter House from sticking around and continuing his game. She was up for the challenge but she wasn't quite ready to name the terms, yet.
In retrospect, him staying at her apartment for a week was ridiculous but she was too tired from the whole ordeal the night before to really fight it all at full strength. When things got out of hand completely, she knew by then she would be able to wrestle with the whole concept.
Gradually, House had found plenty to keep himself occupied around her apartment. There was the television, of course, which had supplied entertainment for the first several hours (Couldn't miss his soaps even if he was on vacation), rummaging through her medicine cabinet ( Not very interesting. Just the regular run of the mill OTC meds.) This was all while Cameron was in the kitchen scrubbing the floor for no reason but to avoid him.
That's when he found the closet near the bathroom he couldn't open. It was locked. What could she possibly be keeping in there? But he had been caught, she had past him in the small, dark and musty hallway. She eyed the closet and him.
"Looking for something?" she had asked fierce. Her hands were red worn from scrubbing. Her hair was tied up in a little playful bun. She had a bucket in one hand.
"Sorry, thought I might have found Jimmy Hoffa back here."
"They found that dead body, House. We're just lucky you weren't his doctor," Cameron said.
"My father was a union man," House said. He followed her into the bathroom and looked around curious. She had a powder blue shower curtain with a large rubber ducky on it. Every time House saw it, he felt a little sympathy for Cameron. Did she know nothing about style?
Cameron poured some dirty water down the sink. She grimaced at House. "Listen, I've given this whole thing a lot of thought and honestly, I am feeling a lot better. There's absolutely no reason you have to stay. I mean, its pretty much going to be like this all week."
Cameron cracked the faucet. Hot water ran out with a loud squeak. House leaned against the door and watched the dirt go down the drain.
"That's why I'm staying," House said. He smiled wickedly and cocked his head.
Cameron wiped the sweat underneath her nose with the top of her wrist. Her eyes wandered a bit confused.
"I don't do anything on vacation, really. I'm pretty happy with that," she said forcibly. She looked in his eyes for him to give up.
House rolled his eyes. "No, you're not," he said with a scoff. "You work. That's what you do. You live for it." He took the bucket from her and smiled. He brought the bucket high and shook it in her face. She flinched. "First rule, no more washbuckets!" House exclaimed.
"Hey!" Cameron cried.
"You and I are doing something different with our week off." he said. He put the bucket next to the toilet.
Cameron sighed and bit her lower lip. House folded his arms and stood a little taller. He looked at her waiting for some response. She looked about lost.
"What? I don't know," she said.
"What do you do for fun?" House asked loudly. His arms went out flapping. He paused, looked up and then into her eyes. "Sorry, I should explain that three-letter word. It might not be in your vocabulary. The word "fun"-and I know this is a hard concept for you to grasp-means to do something for purely pleasurable reasons."
Cameron compressed her lips and looked at him dirty. Her nose scrunched up. She opened her mouth in disgust and then stomped out of the bathroom.
"I don't need to take this abuse. You are the last person I need to justify my life to!" she exclaimed back at him. She went into the front room and looked for a pillow to scream into. Was she really that boring? She held a pillow. House limped into the front room and sighed.
"I wasn't looking for an excuse. Just an answer," he said. Cameron dropped the pillow embarrassed and sat down cross legged in a pout.
House raised his eyebrows in agony. She really wasn't taking well to this whole thing. Maybe he should leave. He walked toward the doorway slowly watching her with dark eyes.
Cameron didn't notice since she was rubbing her palms against her eyes.
"I like to construct scrapbooks, okay?" Cameron said with grief.
"Scrapbooks?" House said slowly. "What are those?"
Cameron's eyes flickered with disbelief.
"Well I guess that makes perfect sense. You don't have much love for people," she said grim.
"I like people," House said, "I just don't think they care much for me."
The honesty in his voice made her turn and look at him differently. His face was cold. He stood a man apart. She hated admitting to herself that she liked that about him. Cameron smiled at him. He smiled a lesser smile but no less genuine.
Cameron decided she would bother explaining to him the concept of scrapbooking.
"It’s a photo album but you do extra artistic flairs to present the pictures more poignantly."
House sat on the couch next to her with a worried face. "Sounds God awful boring..."he said trailing off in an agony.
"Actually, I made a small scrapbook of our department," she said. She went to a bookcase and brought out an ivory colored photo album no larger than a half a foot tall but about two feet wide. The front had the gold engraved letters PPTH on it. She handed it to House. He opened it feeling awkward.
The first page was a picture of Dr. Robert Chase. He was laughing and had his hand around some nurse who was quirking a twisted smile. The photograph was framed in gold and had a satin blue background. Stitched in dark blue thread underneath the picture, in the satin, were the words "Laughing Chase."
The second page was a picture of Dr. Foreman. He was dressed up like Santa Claus and giving a present to one of the children in the hospital. His eyes were somber in the photo and the child had a happy grin on her face. The background was green satin and stitched in fire engine red underneath the photo were the words, "Giving Foreman." House reflected on this one a bit. He smiled a little. He never knew Foreman had done that on Christmas for the children. Cameron was watching House interested in his expressions. Then, she snapped forward over to the couch and remembered what was on the third page.
"You can give it back," she said, trying to grab it back.
"Wait a minute," House said pulling it away from Cameron. "There are only a few pages. I want to see the rest." She looked at him a bit nervously as he turned the page.
It was a picture of him. House's eyes narrowed and then his eyebrows crinkled a little crooked as he looked at Cameron in amusement. It was a picture of his face. He could tell from the scrutiny in his eyes he was sitting alone in the conference room and staring off at the white board solving some problem. The picture looked like it was taken at some distance. The background was a mahogany satin and in bright canary yellow thread it said, "Thinking House."
Cameron swallowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. You just didn't seem the picture taking type."
She sat next to him. He glanced at her and shrugged. "I'm not. But this is...nice." He said the word "nice" with a lot of cautious discretion. He cleared his voice a little.
"Just to keep a record. Something for me to remember my time at the hospital," she said casual.
"It seems a little more than that," House said to Cameron. He looked at her with a little bit more respect than she thought was warranted. It was surprising. She tried to not let it overwhelm her. He turned the page. It was the last page of the small little album. In the background, there was pink satin, and in white ivory stitched underneath Cameron's picture were the words, "Working Cameron." She was sitting in the lab at the electron microscope waving and smiling as the picture was taken. She looked tired but happy. She was wearing her lab coat and glasses.
"Chase took that picture," Cameron said.
"This is exactly what I am talking about," House said. "You're always working. Your fun stuff even says your working!" he cried. He shut the book and handed it off to her with a smirk.
"I couldn't think of a better word," Cameron said with open hands.
"You could have said "Interesting Cameron," House said with a snap. Cameron rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She put the scrapbook on the coffee table with a sigh.
"Maybe your right...I could be a little more inventive with what I do on my days off."
"Maybe..." House said sardonic.
"Oh, I'm hungry again," she said suddenly.
"Okay, listen very carefully," House said exaggerating his voice too much. He sat up straight and looked at her with false urgency. Cameron swallowed her lips a bit and looked into his eyes with strained humor. She was listening. "You are starting to have a selfish thought. It’s a wonderful start which can lead to fun. So, just don't think and tell me what do you want to eat and try, I know this is hard, to make it fun!" He flourished a hand and smiled.
Cameron grinned and softened her gaze on him. He didn't expect that. He withdrew a little into himself for a moment. She expected this a bit and narrowed her eyes but kept up appearances well and didn't betray his obvious discomfort.
"Pizza-lots of pizza and ice cream." Cameron said. She threw back her shoulders.
"Okay," House said. "This sounds like a job for your nursemaid. I shall order the pizza and I shall procure the ice cream in I assume mass quantities."
"And then, I want to watch Russell Crowe in Gladiator since that's the only film he is naked as possible in," she said. House quirked a smile. His eyes went wide. Cameron blushed a little.
"Now you are talking. Bod for the ladies and violence in it for the men. Sounds like a movie night?" House asked.
"Yeah," Cameron said. She was surprised how well everything was falling into place.
"Stop thinking,” he warned again. “We can watch some midnight horror movies and I got some great ones at my place. I'll stop and pick them up before I get the ice cream."
"Horror?" Cameron asked wary.
"Classic. Night of the Living Dead," House said with a smile. He got up off the couch and went for the door.
"Flavor?" House asked quickly.
"Anything chocolate," Cameron said with suppressed glee. House checked his jacket pockets for his keys and left.
Cameron sat alone for a second and didn't think. When she finally started thinking again, she was happy to realize she might enjoy having him around for the week.
In retrospect, him staying at her apartment for a week was ridiculous but she was too tired from the whole ordeal the night before to really fight it all at full strength. When things got out of hand completely, she knew by then she would be able to wrestle with the whole concept.
Gradually, House had found plenty to keep himself occupied around her apartment. There was the television, of course, which had supplied entertainment for the first several hours (Couldn't miss his soaps even if he was on vacation), rummaging through her medicine cabinet ( Not very interesting. Just the regular run of the mill OTC meds.) This was all while Cameron was in the kitchen scrubbing the floor for no reason but to avoid him.
That's when he found the closet near the bathroom he couldn't open. It was locked. What could she possibly be keeping in there? But he had been caught, she had past him in the small, dark and musty hallway. She eyed the closet and him.
"Looking for something?" she had asked fierce. Her hands were red worn from scrubbing. Her hair was tied up in a little playful bun. She had a bucket in one hand.
"Sorry, thought I might have found Jimmy Hoffa back here."
"They found that dead body, House. We're just lucky you weren't his doctor," Cameron said.
"My father was a union man," House said. He followed her into the bathroom and looked around curious. She had a powder blue shower curtain with a large rubber ducky on it. Every time House saw it, he felt a little sympathy for Cameron. Did she know nothing about style?
Cameron poured some dirty water down the sink. She grimaced at House. "Listen, I've given this whole thing a lot of thought and honestly, I am feeling a lot better. There's absolutely no reason you have to stay. I mean, its pretty much going to be like this all week."
Cameron cracked the faucet. Hot water ran out with a loud squeak. House leaned against the door and watched the dirt go down the drain.
"That's why I'm staying," House said. He smiled wickedly and cocked his head.
Cameron wiped the sweat underneath her nose with the top of her wrist. Her eyes wandered a bit confused.
"I don't do anything on vacation, really. I'm pretty happy with that," she said forcibly. She looked in his eyes for him to give up.
House rolled his eyes. "No, you're not," he said with a scoff. "You work. That's what you do. You live for it." He took the bucket from her and smiled. He brought the bucket high and shook it in her face. She flinched. "First rule, no more washbuckets!" House exclaimed.
"Hey!" Cameron cried.
"You and I are doing something different with our week off." he said. He put the bucket next to the toilet.
Cameron sighed and bit her lower lip. House folded his arms and stood a little taller. He looked at her waiting for some response. She looked about lost.
"What? I don't know," she said.
"What do you do for fun?" House asked loudly. His arms went out flapping. He paused, looked up and then into her eyes. "Sorry, I should explain that three-letter word. It might not be in your vocabulary. The word "fun"-and I know this is a hard concept for you to grasp-means to do something for purely pleasurable reasons."
Cameron compressed her lips and looked at him dirty. Her nose scrunched up. She opened her mouth in disgust and then stomped out of the bathroom.
"I don't need to take this abuse. You are the last person I need to justify my life to!" she exclaimed back at him. She went into the front room and looked for a pillow to scream into. Was she really that boring? She held a pillow. House limped into the front room and sighed.
"I wasn't looking for an excuse. Just an answer," he said. Cameron dropped the pillow embarrassed and sat down cross legged in a pout.
House raised his eyebrows in agony. She really wasn't taking well to this whole thing. Maybe he should leave. He walked toward the doorway slowly watching her with dark eyes.
Cameron didn't notice since she was rubbing her palms against her eyes.
"I like to construct scrapbooks, okay?" Cameron said with grief.
"Scrapbooks?" House said slowly. "What are those?"
Cameron's eyes flickered with disbelief.
"Well I guess that makes perfect sense. You don't have much love for people," she said grim.
"I like people," House said, "I just don't think they care much for me."
The honesty in his voice made her turn and look at him differently. His face was cold. He stood a man apart. She hated admitting to herself that she liked that about him. Cameron smiled at him. He smiled a lesser smile but no less genuine.
Cameron decided she would bother explaining to him the concept of scrapbooking.
"It’s a photo album but you do extra artistic flairs to present the pictures more poignantly."
House sat on the couch next to her with a worried face. "Sounds God awful boring..."he said trailing off in an agony.
"Actually, I made a small scrapbook of our department," she said. She went to a bookcase and brought out an ivory colored photo album no larger than a half a foot tall but about two feet wide. The front had the gold engraved letters PPTH on it. She handed it to House. He opened it feeling awkward.
The first page was a picture of Dr. Robert Chase. He was laughing and had his hand around some nurse who was quirking a twisted smile. The photograph was framed in gold and had a satin blue background. Stitched in dark blue thread underneath the picture, in the satin, were the words "Laughing Chase."
The second page was a picture of Dr. Foreman. He was dressed up like Santa Claus and giving a present to one of the children in the hospital. His eyes were somber in the photo and the child had a happy grin on her face. The background was green satin and stitched in fire engine red underneath the photo were the words, "Giving Foreman." House reflected on this one a bit. He smiled a little. He never knew Foreman had done that on Christmas for the children. Cameron was watching House interested in his expressions. Then, she snapped forward over to the couch and remembered what was on the third page.
"You can give it back," she said, trying to grab it back.
"Wait a minute," House said pulling it away from Cameron. "There are only a few pages. I want to see the rest." She looked at him a bit nervously as he turned the page.
It was a picture of him. House's eyes narrowed and then his eyebrows crinkled a little crooked as he looked at Cameron in amusement. It was a picture of his face. He could tell from the scrutiny in his eyes he was sitting alone in the conference room and staring off at the white board solving some problem. The picture looked like it was taken at some distance. The background was a mahogany satin and in bright canary yellow thread it said, "Thinking House."
Cameron swallowed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. You just didn't seem the picture taking type."
She sat next to him. He glanced at her and shrugged. "I'm not. But this is...nice." He said the word "nice" with a lot of cautious discretion. He cleared his voice a little.
"Just to keep a record. Something for me to remember my time at the hospital," she said casual.
"It seems a little more than that," House said to Cameron. He looked at her with a little bit more respect than she thought was warranted. It was surprising. She tried to not let it overwhelm her. He turned the page. It was the last page of the small little album. In the background, there was pink satin, and in white ivory stitched underneath Cameron's picture were the words, "Working Cameron." She was sitting in the lab at the electron microscope waving and smiling as the picture was taken. She looked tired but happy. She was wearing her lab coat and glasses.
"Chase took that picture," Cameron said.
"This is exactly what I am talking about," House said. "You're always working. Your fun stuff even says your working!" he cried. He shut the book and handed it off to her with a smirk.
"I couldn't think of a better word," Cameron said with open hands.
"You could have said "Interesting Cameron," House said with a snap. Cameron rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She put the scrapbook on the coffee table with a sigh.
"Maybe your right...I could be a little more inventive with what I do on my days off."
"Maybe..." House said sardonic.
"Oh, I'm hungry again," she said suddenly.
"Okay, listen very carefully," House said exaggerating his voice too much. He sat up straight and looked at her with false urgency. Cameron swallowed her lips a bit and looked into his eyes with strained humor. She was listening. "You are starting to have a selfish thought. It’s a wonderful start which can lead to fun. So, just don't think and tell me what do you want to eat and try, I know this is hard, to make it fun!" He flourished a hand and smiled.
Cameron grinned and softened her gaze on him. He didn't expect that. He withdrew a little into himself for a moment. She expected this a bit and narrowed her eyes but kept up appearances well and didn't betray his obvious discomfort.
"Pizza-lots of pizza and ice cream." Cameron said. She threw back her shoulders.
"Okay," House said. "This sounds like a job for your nursemaid. I shall order the pizza and I shall procure the ice cream in I assume mass quantities."
"And then, I want to watch Russell Crowe in Gladiator since that's the only film he is naked as possible in," she said. House quirked a smile. His eyes went wide. Cameron blushed a little.
"Now you are talking. Bod for the ladies and violence in it for the men. Sounds like a movie night?" House asked.
"Yeah," Cameron said. She was surprised how well everything was falling into place.
"Stop thinking,” he warned again. “We can watch some midnight horror movies and I got some great ones at my place. I'll stop and pick them up before I get the ice cream."
"Horror?" Cameron asked wary.
"Classic. Night of the Living Dead," House said with a smile. He got up off the couch and went for the door.
"Flavor?" House asked quickly.
"Anything chocolate," Cameron said with suppressed glee. House checked his jacket pockets for his keys and left.
Cameron sat alone for a second and didn't think. When she finally started thinking again, she was happy to realize she might enjoy having him around for the week.