Chapter 31

"Why did you ask me out?" Izzie asked Alex as she took another sip of her margarita.

Alex shifted in his seat. They were sitting in a booth in the hotel bar. Tilting his head, he asked, "Why did you say yes?"

Izzie's eyes swept down to look at the table. Her smile was small and self-conscious as she replied, "Because you took care of me the night Denny died."

Karev cringed to even hear her mention Denny's name, but he now wanted to know more. "You were hurting."

Izzie nodded, her eyes shooting back up to his. "I know. But what I mean is that I had called you nothing. And I was wrong."

It was Alex's turn to look down with self-derision. "You weren't wrong, Izzie," he said, his voice raspy. "I wouldn't have done that for anyone but you."

Her eyes focused on his. "But why for me?"

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. He was about to say those words he had never uttered to anyone else, not even his mother. "Because I love you."

Izzie couldn't contain that big grin Alex had been waiting to see for months. "And that's why I said yes."

…………………………………

Burke and Cristina were still sitting on the beach with a bottle of wine. The moon was full and bright, creating an ethereal glow all around them. The bride took a swig of wine and then passed it to her new husband. "So what do you think being married is like?"

"Hopefully, it's a lot of sex, and I hear there's a tax break," he joked as he rubbed the back of her neck with his free hand.

"Well, that's always an incentive to tie yourself to someone forever," she said, continuing the banter.

Burke looked down at her sincerely. His deep, chocolate eyes penetrated hers as they often did. "I don't feel tied to you, Cristina. You never weight me down," he said. "We're building something wonderful together, not being suffocated by it."

Cristina scanned his face. He had never looked more honest, and he was always honest. Lifting her hands up to his chest, she kissed her husband deeply.

………………………

"I want to get the hell out of here," Chase mumbled as he plopped his head down on the pillow in Foreman's room.

Foreman chuckled as he flipped on the television. "It hasn't been the best trip," he agreed. In all honesty, he was missing New Jersey. He loved his job and he was ready for another case.

Chase's night had evaporated as soon as he had seen Karev and Izzie kissing in the bar. He had never had this much trouble with a woman before, and he did not like the pain that it caused. Chase liked simple; that's why he had stopped anything from happening between him and Cameron before it started. But he had let his guard down with Izzie and it had cost him. He was not going to do that again anytime soon.

They both sat up as the phone started to ring. Foreman picked up the receiver and listened to frantic orders coming from the other line. After he hung up, he shot off the bed, grabbing his jacket from the chair. Confused, Chase stood. "What's going on?" he asked his friend.

"That was Cuddy. We gotta get House. Now," he relayed as he flung the hotel door open.

………………………

Derrick Shepherd was sitting in a chair in the lobby alone, pretending to read a book. Bailey was right. He had not been alone for the past twelve years and he did not know how to handle it.

The surgeon began to wonder if he really did love Meredith Grey as much as he thought he did or if he was afraid. Addison had hurt him so deeply in New York. As soon as he moved to Seattle, he found Meredith. Derrick had once told her that she had kept him from drowning. Was that all that she was: a life raft, a band-aid to heal the wounds?

A pang of jealousy and pain stabbed at his gut when he saw Meredith walk into the hotel with George O'Malley. They were laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves. He had the urge to go up to them and break it up, but he refrained. Her smile was so happy and looked too genuine to ruin it.

Derrick's shoulders slumped again when he saw Wilson and Addison step out of the elevator and head towards the bar. The oncologist had his arm around her shoulders. He knew that he had not done right by her either. Yes, she had cheated on him, but he had taken her back willingly. Shepherd never committed again to her, and he thought that he might have actually ended up hurting her more than she had him.

A single tear slipped down his cheek as he quietly said to both Meredith and Addison, "Goodbye."

……………………………

"This has been nice, George," Meredith said honestly as he walked her to her room.

George tilted his head to the side with a smile. "You're not going to cry again, are you?"

She laughed. Meredith was glad that nightmare of a moment was past them. "No, I don't feel like crying anymore," she assured him.

He stopped walking. His bright blue eyes scanned hers as his lips were slightly open. She had never noticed that he made this expression before, even though he happened to do it often. "So how do you feel?" George asked.

Meredith wrapped her arms around her body and sighed. "I feel like I want to move on," she replied. "And I want to move on with you."

The way he looked at her made her shudder. When he had moved in, he was a boy. But the determination in his eyes and facial features made it impossible for her not to see a man. "I won't be a rebound, Meredith," he said in almost a whisper, but it was a strong tone.

She took his hand in hers. "You won't be," she promised.

George O'Malley grinned like a schoolboy as he pulled her to him, kissing her lips softly and with maddening perfection.

………………………………

House was watching Cameron sleep peacefully next to him. He was still shaking from what had just happened between them. The diagnostician had always found her gorgeous, but when she completely let go of her inhibitions and allowed herself to be Allison, she was indescribably desirable and beautiful. He could not help but wonder what she had thought about the last couple of hours. House felt embers of unquenchable jealousy burning in the pit of his stomach when his mind drifted to the other men she must have been with. He wondered what her husband had been like, and Chase. He hoped to hell that he could measure up to them, but he doubted that he did.

Cameron stirred as she realized that someone was watching her. As she opened her eyes, she tried to stifle a gasp when she saw House looking back at her. Cameron had been afraid that he was just a dream, but the man was real and what they had just done had been real as well. She was still tingling from the experience. Cameron had not been with a lot of men, but she did not need experience to know that that had been amazing. Sliding her hands lightly down his chest, she shyly mouthed, "Hi."

The room was dark and still, but there was enough light from the moon shining in that he could see her perfectly. House smiled softly as he rubbed her arm up and down. But his fears resurfaced. When Cameron made a move to reach for him, he rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom without saying a word.

Cameron frowned deeply as she often did, hurt and confused by his coldness. Flipping over to her back, she covered her forehead with her hand and shut her eyes. Worries whirled through her head. She had thought that they had been wonderful together, but she now wondered if he had felt the same way. Was all he had told her that week a clever manipulation so that they would end up in bed? She hoped to hell that it wasn't.

She heard the toilet flush and the water run. Cameron took a deep breath as he reentered the bedroom. Her fear turned to anger when she saw that he was gathering up his clothes. "What are you doing?" she asked, impatience and irritation evident in her voice.

"I thought you could use some sleep," he lied. "I tend to snore." House wanted her to ask him to stay. He needed her to ask him.

"Are you serious?" Cameron demanded. "Are you that much of a jackass that you would leave me alone after our first time together?"

Her anger and his own insecurities caused him to shout, "I thought that you'd want me to leave."

"Why?" she cried, not caring at the moment that the room next to them was hearing an earful.

"Because you'd change your mind once you slept with me!" he yelled back, his face pale and frightened. House looked like a lost child.

Cameron leapt from the bed. "Would you shut the hell up for once and stop feeling sorry for yourself?" she scolded, creeping closer to him. She was breathing harder now from the fighting. "No one else has ever made me feel the way you did tonight. What we did was perfect," she said quietly but with passion. "What we did was here," Cameron added, putting her hand on his heart.

House ducked his head down to kiss her. Their groans mixed to make a passionate harmony that released their anxieties and trepidations. They hugged each other as tightly as they could manage, almost as if they wanted to be of one body.

He backed her up until her legs hit the side of the bed. His hand cupping the back of her head, House guided her gently to the pillow. Cameron moved her hands over as much of him as she could reach while her lips nibbled at his neck and chest. Before he lost all sense of reality, his hazy blue eyes looked into hers. House knew he had to tell her, had to reassure her before they did anything more again. "Allison?"

Panting, she stilled beneath him. "Yeah?" was all she could muster from her dazed tongue.

It was time. In a whisper, he said, "Allison, I—"

"House! House! Are you in there?" Foreman hollered through the door as he banged on it loudly.

"What is it with this town and interruptions?" he sighed, frustrated. Cameron blinked stupidly, dying to know what he was about to say, hoping that she already knew. "Stay here," he instructed as he got up and put on his pants.

House opened the door only enough to see Foreman and no more. "If you're hoping to make it with McDreamy tonight, I'm very sorry. He's not here," House said snidely.

"You weren't answering the phone," Forman informed him, hurriedly. It was true. House had taken the phone off the hook in hopes to detract distractions.

"And that should have given you the hint that I don't want to see you until I absolutely have to," he retorted, starting to shut the door in Foreman's face.

Foreman forced it open with his hand. Chase had finally caught up to him and was now standing behind the neurologist, breathing heavy. "Believe me," Foreman promised. "I would not have voluntarily found you if I didn't absolutely have to."

House smirked. "So what is it? Please make it snappy and to the point."

His subordinate glared at him. "Cuddy called," he said. "The governor of New Jersey has collapsed with no explanation. We've been asked, or more along the lines of ordered, to treat him. Cuddy wants us on a plane like five minutes ago."

House rolled his eyes. "She always has to find a way to tug on my leash, even across the country." Addressing Foreman, he ordered, "Lobby. Thirty minutes." He started to shut the door again.

"No, Greg," Cameron declared. She knew what he wanted to do with his last half hour in LA. "The Governor's life is more important."

"Fine," he said like a spoiled child. "Ten minutes." He finally closed the door on a stunned Foreman who never thought they would get as far as sleeping together before they killed each other. Glancing over at Cameron with his hand on his hip, he said mockingly, "It's hard to date chicks who are morally devoted."

………………………………

Wilson and Addison were still sitting in the bar, his hand over hers. "We're not good at being just friends, are we, Jimmy?" she asked with a smile.

He grinned back. "I guess we're not," he agreed. "What do you want to do about that, Ad?"

Addison looked down at their hands. "I think that I want to give us another try in New Jersey," she said.

Wilson's heart quickened. "As a couple?"

Her face beamed as she replied, "Yes, and very much more."

Wilson leaned over the table to kiss her when his cell phone rang. He grimaced when he saw that it was House. "Can't you find another friend to annoy?" he asked. "Oh, wait. Maybe you should find some more friends to have first."

"Well I would, but you're possessiveness scares them all away," he volleyed. "Cuddy has beckoned us back ASAP—another dying politician and all. We'll be in the lobby in about ten minutes. Are you coming with us?"

The oncologist turned to Addison. "I don't think so, House. I'm going to take a week and help Ad move," he told his friend.

House nodded even though he knew Wilson could not see it. "We'll see you in the lobby anyway?"

He chuckled. He knew that House was more sentimental than he let on. "Okay."

…………………………

Hearing all the commotion, several of the Seattle doctors congregated downstairs. Izzie gave Cameron a big hug as she said, "Keep it touch."

Cameron squeezed her in return. "I will," she answered.

"Does anyone want to keep in touch with me?" House asked. "I write with surprising depth and romanticism."

"A postcard every once and a while would suffice, Dr. House," Meredith joked. As she shook his hand, she said softly, "Thank you." He gave her a quick nod of recognition. She was grateful for the wakeup call he had given her. House had told her that she wasn't acting like a woman. Meredith Grey had not seen a man in George, but she never realized that someone might not see a woman in her.

Choked up, George faced the Jersey doctors. "I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for what you did," he said.

"We're just glad that you're alive," Foreman replied, shaking his hand.

Izzie walked over to Chase. He was shocked that she even acknowledged him. She smiled at him. "You got me through this week, Robert. I won't forget that."

His jaw dropped. Chase was not exactly sure what she was talking about because she had never told him about Denny, but he was sure that she was sincere. "I won't forget you anytime soon either," he said with a warm grin.

House limped towards Wilson and Addison. "Don't bring back any more strays," he teased.

"Don't worry, House," Wilson said in his usually thick voice. "You're the only mutt I need."

House laughed freely. "I'll see you next week."

They all said their final goodbyes and headed for the airport. The doctors bought their tickets home and waited in the terminal. Cameron felt as if a boa was wrapping around her body, suffocating her. She had to know what House had been about to say. "Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, leaning towards him.

He stood up and they went to a quieter spot in the corner. "What were you going to tell me tonight? I need to know," she said, echoing the question she had asked so many months ago.

"I don't remember. It wasn't important," he lied.

Cameron's jaw began to clench. "Greg, you don't need to be afraid of me," she promised. With a smile, she put her hand on his arm. "I won't crush you either," she whispered.

House took a shaky breath. For once, he knew it was right to trust someone again. He wanted to trust her. "Allison, I love you."

She stared at him for a second and then began to laugh. House frowned, replying, "What happened to the whole not-crushing vow?"

Cameron shook her head. "No," she said, referring to why she was laughing. "It's just that I love you, too." He let out a gust of air and wrapped his long arms around her. They kissed until there was no breath left in their bodies. The new couple turned to go back to Chase and Foreman, House's arm draped over her shoulder. Cameron's hand lifted to hold the hand that was dangling over her arm.

Greg House looked down at Allison Cameron, his blue eyes content and gleaming. "Let's go home."

The end.