House - Moving On


Title: Enjoy the Silence
Pairing: House/Cameron
Rating: PG-13


“So did you enjoy your first monster truck rally?” House asked as they walked down the street towards the car.

Allison considered her answer carefully. “It was loud. And dirty. But interesting.”

“You hated it.”

“No, but I think once was enough.”

“Fair enough.” They arrived at the car and House unlocked Allison’s door and held it open as she got in. She gave him a surprised look as he waited for her to get settled and shut the door behind her.

“So I guess chivalry really isn’t dead,” she said when he climbed in to the drivers seat.

He shrugged as he started the car. “You were nice enough to come with me so I can be nice in return.”

She considered his words. “You’re a lot nicer than you like people to believe.”

“Shh. Don’t let it get out; I have a reputation to protect.”

They both laughed before falling into a comfortable silence. A few minutes later, House pulled up in front of her apartment building.

“Would you like to come up for a drink?” she asked impulsively.

House looked surprised at the invite. “Sure, why not, neither one of us has to work tomorrow, right?”

“Right.” Allison started to re-think her invite. She’d admitted to herself a long time ago that she had a crush on Dr. House, but he was her boss and she didn’t want to do anything to embarrass herself.

They walked into her apartment and she was thankful that she’d cleaned the apartment thoroughly a few days ago. She went into the kitchen and opened her refrigerator.

“I have a few bottles of Budweiser and a bottle of chardonnay,” she said.

“A beer would be great,” he replied, busying himself by walking around her living room and looking at the various pictures she had framed around the room. He smiled because he knew Cameron was a family oriented person and her pictures reflected that. He found her stereo and was surprised to see that they shared similar music tastes. “Mind if I put on a CD?” he called to her.

“That’s fine,” she said, coming back into the room with his beer and her glass of wine. She set his beer on the coffee table while he fiddled with the stereo. She settled into the couch, her feet tucked up underneath her. Her heart was beating a little faster than normal because of House’s presence in her home, but she was determined not to make a fool of herself.

She was surprised to hear Depeche Mode on her stereo. She still preferred the music of her youth to anything that had come out recently, but she wouldn’t have expected House to choose something like that. He sat on the couch next to her and picked up his beer. They sat in silence, enjoying the music.

“Allison,” he finally spoke, startling her by using her first name.

“Yeah, um…” she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to call her boss by his first name.

He seemed to sense her hesitation. “You can call me Greg since we’re not in the hospital.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

“Why’d you agree to go with me tonight?”

She considered her words carefully before she spoke. “I wanted to try something new. I have a tendency to get stuck in a rut and miss out on fun things. And I wanted to see how you acted outside of work.”

He nodded. It was obvious that he was carefully thinking about his own response. They were both aware they were treading on unsteady ground. “Do you think I acted differently tonight than I do at work?”

“Yeah, everyone does. You were more relaxed tonight. Not trying to solve all the problems of the world, just enjoying the show.”

He nodded again. They sat in silence for a few more minutes. A new song kicked on the CD player.

Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world


They shared a look. Greg decided to stop trying to form words and he leaned over, pulled Allison towards him and gently pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm


The kiss became more passionate. When the heat became unbearable, Allison pulled back and stood up. Greg looked at her, a hint of apprehension in his eyes. She took his hand and pulled him up from the couch, leading him towards her bedroom.

Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Pleasures remain
So does the pain


They stood next to her bed, looking into each other’s eyes. Greg took a breath to say something, to make sure Allison was really okay with what was going on, but she shook her head slightly and pressed her finger to his lips, indicating that he should remain silent. He exhaled and nodded before leaning down to kiss her again.

Her hands moved to his chest and she began to slowly unbutton his shirt. She pulled it off without breaking their kiss, tossing it to the side and ran her hands up and down his bare back, giving him chills.

He slid his hands down to the hem of her tee shirt and broke the kiss so he could pull it over her head. He tossed it aside to join his wayward shirt on the floor somewhere and turned her around so her back was pressed against him. He brushed her hair to the side and began to kiss her neck as his hands slid around to the front and cupped her breasts. He fumbled for a moment with the front clasp on the bra, but soon removed it.

It didn’t take long for the rest of their clothing to join their shirts scattered across the floor. As they fell into her bed, Allison said a silent prayer of gratitude that she’d changed her sheets that morning.

***

Allison awoke alone in the morning. She closed her eyes and luxuriated in her memories for a few minutes. She had been surprised by the intensity of their love making, by the spontaneity of it, and by the fact that they hadn’t spoken a single word to each other after Greg kissed her.

She supposed that it was for the best that they hadn’t tried to talk about it, it would have ruined the moment. She knew that they couldn’t actually have a relationship; it would be a conflict of interest since Greg was her boss.

A yawn tore through her and she rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up a little more. She definitely needed coffee, so she stumbled out of bed, still naked and headed for the kitchen to make a pot.

She blinked her eyes several times when she got to the kitchen to make sure what she was seeing was real and not a sleep deprivation induced hallucination. The coffee pot was full and next to it sat a bud vase with one perfect rose. Propped against the vase was a note.

Allison –

I remembered that you liked your coffee strong in the morning. Hope this is strong enough.

Last night was amazing, but I don’t think we can discuss it without ruining it, so let’s just enjoy the silence.

What are you doing next Saturday? I found out that Depeche Mode is giving a concert in Philly.

- Greg

She re-read the note four times before putting it down long enough to pour herself a cup of coffee and smell her rose. She laughed to herself as she re-read the note again and decided to pick up the phone.

She dialed the number that was on the bottom of the note and the answering machine kicked on. As soon as the beep sounded she said, “The coffee was perfect, the rose was perfect and the concert sounds perfect.”

Allison had a feeling that Greg was sitting next to the phone, listening to her message, but she knew that he was right and they should just enjoy the silence.

End