A/N: Well, here we are. The end. Thank you so much to all who R&R'd. I broke 100 reviews!! I'm so excited about that. I hope you liked this fic, and I hope you enjoy this chap! Thanks to JB and userunfriend for the bag ideas!

Chapter 19: the reception

When they arrived at the banquet hall, Cameron was alarmed when she saw that the parking lot was full. How could they have been last? They hadn't even been the last to leave. Surely, Foreman and Chase weren't there yet with the gifts. Her hope was dashed when they entered, House ever on the lookout for Doris, and she saw the table full of gifts, the paper bag in the middle, like the centerpiece from hell.

She ran a hand over her face, and let House drag her to the table at the head of the room, where the rest of the wedding party was already seated. They took their places, House next to Wilson, and Cameron next to Mary Ann. House shufted uncomfortably, for Doris was only one spot away from him, Mary Ann's brother Mark in between them. Cameron looked out at the tables of guests, chatting amiably and munching the little mints and candies that were at the center of each table.

Her heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on a dark haired woman seated with Cuddy. The two women were talking and laughing together. It was Stacey. Cameron was about to ask Mary Ann why she was there, but then remembered that she and Wilson had been friends. Of course he'd invite her. She leaned forward until she felt her head hit the tablecloth. She looked over at House. He was keeping an eye on Doris. He hadn't noticed Stacey yet.

Wilson stood up and clinked his glass with his fork. Everyone quieted down and focused on him. He thanked them all for coming and expressed his love and appreciation for his bride. It was a cute little speech, and Cameron felt herself get misty eyed. Mary Ann spoke next and Cameron had the same reaction. She looked over at House to find him looking at her. Which of them was next? She suddenly couldn't recall. She bit her lip in thought for a moment, decided it didn't matter, and stood up.

She talked about how she'd first met Mary Ann through a patient, and had then introduced her to Wilson. She said they deserved each other because they were both caring, compassionate people. She knew their marriage would last forever. She could have gone on. Her original had been longer, but she figured people were hungry and didn't want to listen to her all evening.

House stood up.

"I don't really have anything prepared, which reminds me of Wilson's last wedding…"

"Wait!" Cameron called, not liking the direction the speech was going. Heads turned to look at her. She dug in her purse and came up with the draft she'd found in a ball in front of the TV the previous night. "You can read this."

"No way. I'll improvise."

Cameron opened her mouth to reply, but Doris Wilson stood up.

"Nonsense, Gregory. I'm sure it's wonderful. I'll read it if you like."

He looked like he was going to argue, but he was too nervous about contradicting Wilson's mother.

"Wonderful! Pass it to me Alison, if you would please." Cameron passed it to Mary Ann, who passed it to Wilson, who passed it around House to Mark. From there, it went into Doris's hands, and there was no getting it back.

She cleared her throat and put on her reading glasses.

"Wilson, I'm glad you're getting married, again, because maybe now you'll be happy. As your friend, and nothing more, I suppose it's my job to make sure you're happy. And Mary Ann makes you that way. I've known you forever, and I've seen you unhappy. Don't be that way anymore. You'll depress Mary Ann. Anyway, this is the worst speech in the world, and there's no way you or anyone else will ever hear it, so, in conclusion, I hope you'll be together forever and make each other complete."

There was a heartfelt 'awww' from the guests, and a noise of disgust from House.

"That was just beautiful, Gregory. It was short and sweet." Doris dabbed at her eyes with her hankie.

"Thank you, House," Wilson said with a smile.

"That was sweet," Mary Ann added.

"Yea, yea, yea. Cut the damn cake so we can eat. That'll shut you all up."

The cake was cut and everyone got food and sat back down to eat. Cameron kept glancing back at Stacey. She was still talking to Cuddy and stuffing her face with cake.

"Cow," Cameron thought, cutting a small piece of cake with her fork and lifting it daintily to her mouth. Unfortunately, the piece fell off the fork halfway to her mouth, and fell in her lap, leaving a chocolate stain on the front of her dress on its way down. She groaned and dabbed at it with her napkin, succeeding only in spreading it around more. She didn't want to get up and draw attention to herself, so she just continued on like nothing had happened.

After food, it was time to throw the bouquet. Cameron got up and joined the other single women behind Mary Ann. She smiled at Susan and Cuddy, and glared at Stacey, alone at her table and still eating, when the other woman wasn't looking.

"Ok, is everybody ready?" Mary Ann asked. A chorus of yeses answered her and a drumroll began. She pitched the bouquet and it sailed through the air. Cameron ran for it but her bare feet slipped on the tiled floor and she went down. She dived for the bouquet and hit the floor.

She came up victorious and held the bouquet aloft amidst cheers. She got up, straightened her hair, smoothed the stained dress, and went back to the table with the bouquet in hand, silently triumphant.

Then Wilson threw Mary Ann's garter. House stood in one spot, amongst a few other men, and caught it one handed as it sailed through the air with about half the gusto of Mary Ann's bouquet.

"I'm adding this to my collection," he stated, and went back to the table.

"How'd you know where to stand?" Cameron asked.

"I've been to all of Wilson's weddings. He throws it the same way, same speed, from the same spot every time. Good ol' predictable Wilson." He stashed the garter in his pocket, and looked around for Doris. He couldn't find her, but his eyes fell on Stacey, in a simple maroon pantsuit and heels.

"What's that doing here? Wilson!" Wilson came back over the table.

"Why is Stacey here?"

"Because she's my friend and I wanted to invite her. I honestly didn't think she'd show up."

He shrugged and jogged back to Mary Ann, leading her back to the table so they could open gifts. Chase brought them the first one, Foreman the second, and so on. Cameron held her breath when she saw Chase return with theirs. Wilson and Mary Ann read the side of the bag, and Wilson cast House a puzzled glance.

"It's a long story," Cameron explained, embarrassed.

Wilson reached into the bag and came out with an air freshener shaped like a pine tree. He held it up and looked at House.

"You don't see those every day. Could be a real collector's item," he justified. Wilson shook his head with a grin, and let Mary Ann pull out the next item. She came out with a T-shirt that stated, 'I'm with stupid' with an arrow pointing to the side.

"There's a matching on in there for Wilson. I figured you could wear it when you argue. And both count as one item, so there's 5 to go."

Mary Ann folded the T-shirt and placed it on the table, fishing out Wilson's as well. Wilson reached in and came out with a box of condoms.

"Come on, House!"

"What? You can never have too many, after all. Now, you guys can go crazy. Like rabbits."

This seemed to be a prompt to pull out another item. Mary Ann did so, and came out plastic headbands with bunny ears attached. There were two sets.

"Like I said…" House explained.

By this time, Cameron was thoroughly embarrassed and was hiding her head in her folded arms on the table to avoid showing her red face to the rest of the room.

The next gift was a coupon book.

"$4 off an oil change in there," House called.

Wilson then pulled out a novelty foam finger, not huge one since it fit in the bag, but a foam finger all the same. He noted which finger was being held up and replaced it immediately in the bag.

"I figured you could find some use for that. If nothing else, give it to me. I'll find plenty of uses for it."

The last gift was a postcard featuring bikini clad women on the beach, and the caption 'wish you were here.'

"What's the meaning of this one?" Mary Ann asked.

"You can send that to me while you're on your honeymoon."

"Thank you House and Cameron, although I'm guessing Cameron didn't have anything to do with picking the gifts," Wilson said, putting the items back in the bag.

"Anytime," House replied. Cameron just smiled.

After the gifts had been put away, the music started and Wilson and Mary Ann went to the floor for their dance. Cameron watched them happily, and glanced over at House, noting how his eyes kept darting this way and that. Doris was MIA again. That always made him nervous.

"Do you wanna dance?" she asked him. He looked over at her as if he hadn't noticed her presence until that moment.

"What?"

"I said, 'do you wanna dance?'"

"If it'll keep Doris off of me," she looked dejectedly at him. "And, of course, because I would love to dance with you."

"That's what I thought you said," she put her hand in his and they went to the floor. They stood close and just wrapped their arms around each other. Cameron was in heaven. She felt as if she were floating on a cloud. It didn't even matter to her that they weren't actually moving, just that they were close. Wilson noticed them dancing, Cameron's head resting comfortably on House's shoulder, and went over to the DJ. He talked with him for a moment, then went jogging back to Mary Ann.

The song 'Beauty and the Beast' began to play and House looked over at Wilson.

"I know this is your doing, Wilson," he called to him. Wilson just grinned.

"Oh, stop it. It's perfect," Cameron murmured, caught up in the song and the smell of him. He shut up and held her until the song was over. Once it ended, she reached up and kissed him gently, thrilled as she always was when she felt him kiss her back. Then they went back to the table, sitting next to each other and talking about nothing in particular.

Cameron noticed Stacey coming back from the restroom. She was coming down the stairs when she fell over the last one and landed on her ass on the floor. Cameron stifled a giggle and tried to look concerned and worried as several people went to help her. House observed her reaction.

"Thrilled about the misery of others? If you are, it's a major turn on."

Cameron giggled again. "Just hers. Besides, she's wearing very high heels. You warned me about those, remember?"

"Yep. And I warned her too, after last time. She doesn't listen."

As it turned out, Stacey had hurt her ankle, and Susan offered to drive her to the hospital to get it looked at. Once she was gone, Cameron felt more at ease, less self-conscious. She took turns with Cuddy, both sharing a dance with Wilson. Then she shared one with Chase, under House's watchful eye, and then with Foreman. They all did the chicken dance, even House, and good times were had all around.

The reception began to break up at 11, and House and Cameron were among the last to leave.

"That was so much fun. I never want Wilson to get married again, but that was fun! Even though I stained my dress, and my feet are freezing that was great!" she gushed. House led her to the car after they said all their good-byes and they drove home.

Her hand found his thigh and she rubbed it suggestively.

"Ya know, we never did do anything last night," she reminded him.

"Nor will we do anything tonight."

This confused her. "Why not?"

"Because of Wilson and Mary Ann."

"What about them?"

"They're going to be having sex too. It's just gross."

Cameron sighed. "Whatever you say. I'll wait."

"I'll wait as long as I have to," she thought, already thinking about what wedding dress she would wear.

A/N: There it is! I'm so sad it's over, but it had to happen sometime. I hope you've enjoyed this chap and the fic itself.