Hi everyone. Hope everything's going well for you all.

Thanks so much for all the reviews for the last chapter. I appreciate all of them.

This is actually the last chapter of this story. I made this chapter quite a lot longer than any of the previous ones which possibly explains why it took longer to add it.I'm kind of sad that we're at the end but at the same time I'm happy with the results of my first multi-chapter story. The idea of a sequel I can start over the summer is also a cheering thought. Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed it and thanks to everyone who has read this.

With that said, enjoy!

Excuses.

Chapter 16.

Cameron was getting fed up of this. If she had to listen to another sentence beginning with the words, "Is it true you and House..." someone would get hurt. All afternoon so far there had been nurses and other hospital employees coming up to her, some of whom had never even spoken to her before, all angling for a bit of gossip, acting like they were a close friend of hers. She pushed a small piece of cotton wool into the elbow of the patient from whom she had just drawn blood, perhaps a little harder than was necessary seeing as the spot was probably a little tender. She gave the twenty three year old woman an apologetic look as she flinched.

"Just keep the pressure on it. I'll be back in a few minutes with the discharge papers and you can expect a call from the hospital in a couple of days with the results of the tests. If you do have diabetes it is manageable and the hospital will arrange for you to see a doctor when they call, okay?"

The woman nodded. "Thank you Doctor. Is there a leaflet I can take away in the meantime, just in case?"

"Of course. I'll bring one back in a minute." Cameron looked down at the woman's elbow where she was pressing the cotton wool into the crease of her arm with her index and middle finger of her opposite arm. "A little firmer or it will bruise more." The woman complied, pushing the material tighter into her arm. Satisfied, Cameron reached onto the trolley beside her and retrieved some surgical tape. Ensuring the firmness of the wool on the wound was maintained, she taped the wool to the crook of the woman's arm. "Leave that there for a few hours." Also on the trolley stood a small plastic cup of water which she now offered the woman who accepted it gratefully and took a large gulp.

Cameron watched as the woman drank. "Some people can have odd reactions to blood tests so if you start feeling faint or anything just call a nurse. We won't keep you much longer but we just need to make sure you'll be alright. Are you driving home?"

"No. My husband's waiting outside to drive me home."

"Outside?"

"The cubicle. Not the hospital. He doesn't like the sight of blood. He won't even watch any of the medical dramas on television. He's a little squeamish, that's all."

"Am not." A petulant voice came from beyond the curtain. Cameron poked her head round the side of the curtain.

"It's all over now. You can come back in."

"Has the needle gone?"

"Yes."

A man of around twenty five entered, looking around warily as though expecting a needle to jump up from the trolley of its own accord and stab him in the leg. His wife grinned.

"I swear, you're like a child." At this he stopped looking around and approached her, pouting.

"You know you love me."

"I know." She smiled up at him and he bent down to tenderly kiss her on the forehead and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder.

"How long have you been married?" Cameron asked, curious at the relationship between these two obviously much in love people. The wife smiled.

"Three weeks tomorrow."

"We were on our honeymoon and she noticed she was having blurred vision. We thought she was maybe just hungry but she had no appetite. Her grandmother had diabetes so we thought we better check her out as soon as we got home."

"That was the right thing to do. Congratulations on your wedding. I hope you'll be happy together."

"So far, so good." The husband smiled down at his new wife and bent to softly kiss her lips. Cameron surveyed the scene, feeling the glow of happiness the couple were exuding, and allowed a smile to creep onto her face.

Breaking away from her husband the woman gave him a fond look before turning her face to Cameron.

"Are you married?" she asked even while her eyes flickered to Cameron's naked ring finger on her left hand.

"I was. A long time ago."

"Well then you're definitely with someone." At Cameron's questioning look she elaborated. "There's only one thing that could cause a woman to look the way you did when you came in here- simultaneously blissfully happy and utterly exasperated at the same time. That thing is a man."

Cameron laughed with the woman while her husband scowled.

"Yes. There is someone. He's not the one who's aggravating me though. Well... not at the moment, anyway. I'm sure he will at some point today. It's just the way he is." There was silence for a moment while the couple nodded and laughed and Cameron thought briefly about House upstairs and smiled widely, feeling a lot better. "Anyway, I'm going to get this blood-" The husband shrunk away as she held up the sample "-off to be tested and get you the discharge papers." She smiled at the newly-weds and left the cubicle, walking over to the nurses' station with a new spring in her step. She had not made it half-way, however, when she was stopped by an eager, young nurse rushing towards her.

Cameron was on immediate red alert as she looked at the nurse's flushed face and urgent expression. She braced herself to hear news of an incoming emergency of some kind as the nurse came to a halt beside her.

"Doctor Cameron! Everyone is saying you and House..."

Cameron made an irritated noise in the back of her throat and strode away from her colleague. Vaguely hearing the words 'kissing' and 'cafeteria' from behind her, her hands were shaking as she began filling in the spaces on her patient's form.

If things continued this way, it was going to be a long afternoon.

Meanwhile, House was having quite a pleasant time of it.

He had entered his office sat down behind his desk, a slow smile spreading across his face as he thought about the events of the day. His team hadn't bothered him in over an hour, evidently deciding that a mysteriously happy (well... happier) House was just as frightening and potentially dangerous as a mysteriously angry House. They clearly doubted that whatever he was so pleased about was good news for them and so they had escaped to carry out pointless pursuits around the hospital.

House wasn't entirely sure where they had gone and to be honest, he didn't care. They didn't have a case so he didn't need them or particularly want them around to chat.

In fact, he had often thought it would be excellent if they would all fold neatly into boxes to be stored conveniently somewhere out of the way until they had a case when he could pull them out (not literally, of course, he'd make someone else do that), blow the dust off them and seat them around the conference table to solve the next puzzle before they went back into their boxes. The boxes would be customised, obviously, so that his employees would think he was letting them be original. The real reason behind it, however, would be that if he didn't want to deal with one of them he knew which box not to open. Not that he would be the one to open... oh, never mind.

He shook his head to clear this rather random train of thought and as he looked up he spotted Cuddy marching purposefully towards his office. He knew it was too good to be true. More than an hour or so of undisturbed peace was too much to ask, apparently. He braced himself for the onslaught of complaining about whatever her chosen topic for today was and watched her open the door to his office.

She stood before him silently for a moment before glancing into the conference room, seeming to notice for the first time that it was devoid of House's three subordinates.

"Where are your team?

"Beats me. It's your hospital. What kind of Dean of Medicine are you if you don't know where all of the hospital workers are and what they're doing at all times?"

Cuddy seized her opening. "Speaking of what my employees are doing, why have I heard all over the hospital that my Head of Diagnostics was seen kissing a certain ER employee in the cafeteria?"

"May seem like an obvious answer but... because he was?"

"House, what were you... Do you really think that was professional?"

"It was my lunch break. If I wanted I could go and visit a strip club on my lunch break as long as I don't come back drunk and it doesn't interfere with work."

"You mean with what little work you actually do. Anyway, you go to a strip club and Cameron would kill you."

"I know. I'm just throwing it out there as a 'for instance.' I'm not seriously saying I would. There isn't a good place close enough to get there and back and have a long enough amount of time in there to make it worth it. If you would extend my lunch breaks, maybe?"

"House, you come in late, go home as soon as you can get away with it and miss clinic duty. You don't think you have enough of a sweet deal?"

"Not if I can push it further, I don't. Despite what Shakespeare implies, you can't have too much of a good thing."

Cuddy shook her head. "I'm not extending your lunch break." She frowned, successfully lead off topic by House, she had momentarily forgotten what it was she wanted to say. She quickly searched her mind, hindered in the process by House's smugly smiling face. Suddenly she remembered and took up the topic with somewhat depleted energy. She sighed.

"Look, House, could you please try to limit your displays of affection to outside of the hospital? Especially in front of patients."

"But Mom..." House whined childishly. "She's pretty."

"House." She gave him a stern look and he began twirling his cane in his hand, staring steadily back at her. "Patients expect to be treated by professional doctors, not doctors resembling adolescents who are attached at the lips."

He looked down and nodded slightly, knowing that Cameron would probably agree with Cuddy on this point. He would tone it down in front of the patients and refrain from kissing her in front of them. That didn't mean he couldn't make it absolutely clear that she was his if any of the said patients appeared to be expressing too keen an interest in Allison Cameron.

Now that he was satisfied that the news would be spread sufficiently around the hospital, he was certain that the male employees would be aware of Cameron's updated status as 'taken.' They would also be well aware of his qualities giving them adequate reason to stay away from Cameron if they knew what was good for them. All things considered there wouldn't be a need to continue to claim her quite so obviously, unless, of course, they didn't seem to get the message clearly enough.

Cuddy sighed in relief, clearly grateful for his agreement. "Thank you." She turned to leave but stopped at the door. Hesitating for a moment, she eventually turned back and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm happy for the pair of you, House."

"Thanks, Cuddy."

"I mean it. I know you'll try to treat her well because you appreciate her now. You might not have done three years ago but you've both been through so much since then. She'll be good for you."

"That's what Wilson said."

"He knows what he's talking about. He knows you. Don't let go of her House."

With that she left and House was alone once more. He turned to his computer and opened up a fresh email. Typing a quick message he sent it to Cameron's pager.

Cameron picked up the vibrating pager and scanned the message.

Meet me in my office at 5. Going for a drink. House.

She smiled as she finished it and put it back, a huge grin across her face. Maybe the rest of the afternoon would be just about bearable now.

Roughly two and a half hours later she left the ER. The page from House and the promise of a meeting after work had made the afternoon tolerable enough, but had also caused it to pass more slowly than she'd ever seen time go.

She had looked up at the clock reliably every five minutes, positive that at least twenty minutes had passed, only to be proven wrong every time. Many times she had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself saying some very unladylike words in her irritation.

She left the ER as soon as she could, five o'clock on the dot, and rushed into the foyer, eager to get upstairs and see House.

On her way across to the elevator she stopped as she spotted Chase standing near the entrance of the hospital, apparently waiting for someone. She bit her lip indecisively. If she talked to him she would be late for House. On the other hand she would get the opportunity to tell him first hand of the situation between House and herself.

Her decision made, she changed her course and headed towards the blonde Australian.

At about a quarter to five, House was still sat in his office, having had spent the afternoon doing very little. He had located his hand held game console in the third drawer, buried underneath a pile of paper. He was close to finishing level 6 of Super Mario Brothers when he heard the door to his office opening. He smiled, assuming it was Cameron and she had managed to get away from the ER early. He was proven wrong, however, when he looked up to see Wilson settling himself in the chair opposite the desk. House rolled his eyes.

"It's you."

"Well done. Were you expecting someone else?" Wilson asked with a knowing smile on his face. "Cameron, maybe?"

"Well, I'm not going to stop my game for you." House said, turning back to the game boy and pressed the play button, causing the image on the screen to resume motion.

Wilson took this as a 'yes' and his grin expanded further. "Is she on her way up?"

"I paged her to be here at five."

"It's only quarter to."

"Thought she might be early."

"Where are you taking her?"

House shrugged, still not removing his eyes from the screen. "Bar."

Wilson nodded. "Of course you are. I wouldn't expect anything else from you. Nice and simple."

House made a noise of agreement in the back of his throat. "It should be better than that disaster in the restaurant. More comfortable."

Wilson smiled. "I hope everything goes alright then."

"Thanks, Wilson."

"I have some things to sort out in my office before I head off for the night. I'll call you later to see how it went."

House nodded and lifted his head from the game as Wilson stood up.

"Right. I'll talk to you later then."

Wilson left the room and House returned to his game. A few minutes later he glanced up at the clock and noticed the minute hand had passed the twelve. It was after five o'clock and Cameron was not here. Irrationally his mind started worrying about what might have happened to her. He wheeled his chair over to the computer, putting the game boy down on the desk as he went and typed in another message in a fresh email window.

"Chase!"

Chase turned around at the sound of his name instinctively looking for the brown haired immunologist to whom he knew that the voice belonged. He stood still as she hurried towards him from the direction of the ER. She came to a halt in front of him looking slightly worried and her tongue darted out to wet her lips, a sign of nervousness that he had learnt to recognise.

"Everything alright, Cameron?" he asked, concern laced through his voice. She bit her lip as she seemed to visibly search for words to communicate what was on her mind.

"I wanted to tell you... didn't want you to hear it from somewhere else." She started but then seemed to lose the direction she was going in. This was harder than she expected. She didn't want to hurt him any more than she might have done already. But she swallowed determinedly. He would be hurt so much more if somebody else told him. The only way to prevent him finding out was to go around the entire hospital, threatening everybody she came across to keep their mouths shut and then she would have to give House up. And she was not going to do that.

Chase was studying her face closely, waiting wordlessly for her to continue. She appreciated this. It would be easier if she was not interrupted.

"I wanted to let you know. I'm sure you'll hear it from someone else if I don't. House and I are... er... together." She looked down and smiled at this last thought. The idea of House being with her filled her with happiness but she'd rather Chase didn't see her grinning and assume she was being insensible to his own feelings. She fought to keep her features under control and so with this task on her mind it was a few seconds before her brain registered that Chase hadn't responded. Her eyes rose to look at him, wondering what he was thinking. She was shocked to see that he was smiling slightly; he nodded gently when she looked at him.

"It's alright, Cameron. I told you- I'm happy for you. I'm glad you got what you wanted." He tilted his head. "The way you were acting I thought something terrible had happened. If all you want to say is that you're happy then don't act so nervous."

Cameron laughed softly. Chase noted it didn't have the same effect on him anymore. Vikki's laugh, however... Chase smiled at the thought of Vikki. He hoped one day their relationship could advance beyond friendship.

"Thanks, Chase."

"So when did all this happen?"

"This morning officially but we've been building up to it for a few days." She laughed and shook her head. "On second thought, it's been building up for years."

Chase nodded. "I know. I'm glad he finally realised you were worth it."

Cameron smiled and leaned forwards to give him a quick hug. "You're a great guy, you know."

"Yes. Thanks." He stepped back and smiled down at her. He looked down the around the foyer where he had been waiting for Vikki to walk her out to her car.

Cameron, it appeared, was on her way upstairs when she had spotted him and Chase thought he knew where she was heading. As if she were reading her mind, Cameron looked down and smiled again.

"He paged me before. I'm meeting him in his office and we're going to go for a drink after work."

"Good." At the corner of his vision Chase could see Vikki standing by the clinic doors and he turned his head to acknowledge that he had seen her. Encouraged, she approached, smiling warmly. She reached the pair of them and, standing by Chase's side, extended her hand to Cameron who accepted it immediately.

"Hi. I'm Vikki Tatum."

"Allison Cameron." At the sound of the name, Vikki appeared to do a double take when she recognised it and surreptitiously glanced at Chase before gathering herself again.

"You're the Immunologist Chase used to work with? He's told me about you. It's great to meet you."

"Likewise. Yeah we used to work in Diagnostics together for Dr House. I work in the ER now. Which department are you in?"

"I'm a pathologist. I've been here a couple of weeks. Chase has been helping me get used to the hospital."

Cameron looked across at Chase and smiled knowingly. She had a feeling that this was who he had in mind when he said he may have a romantic prospect on the horizon. The nervous look on his face confirmed it. "I'm sure he has. He's great."

Vikki smiled. "He is."

Cameron's pager beeped against her hip and she pulled it out and glanced down to read it. Scanning the message a grin spread across her face. Once she was finished she tucked her pager back underneath her sweater and looked up again.

"Sorry. I have to go. House wants me. He's waiting upstairs." She smiled again and looked at Vikki. "It was great to meet you." Vikki nodded and smiled as Cameron turned to walk towards the elevator to meet House.

Chase and Vikki turned to face each other. They met each other's eyes and smiled.

"So that's Cameron? The one House was talking about?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah. That's her."

"You used to go out with her?"

"Yes." He replied concisely.

"And now she's with House?"

"As of this morning, yes."

Vikki processed all this information for a second. "It doesn't bother you?"

"It did to start with. Not anymore. She wouldn't have been happy with me and I would have ending up hating myself because I wasn't House. It's always been him she wanted."

Vikki nodded. "Okay then. As long as you're not upset that's fine."

"I can't believe it doesn't bother you."

"Like I said, everyone has a past." She shrugged as the pair began walking towards the doors leading to the car park. "You're happy and she seems happy, doesn't she?" she jerked her head back, indicating the direction in which Cameron had headed.

Chase glanced back over his shoulder at her gesture and saw Cameron waiting for the elevator. As he watched she reached over to jab the button impatiently and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

"I hope it stays that way."

Cameron pushed the button for the elevator again, becoming frustrated at how long it was taking to arrive, knowing that House would be waiting impatiently for her. Finally the doors before her opened quietly and she stepped inside feeling grateful that it was empty. The doors closed behind her and the box ascended up the elevator shaft, letting her out on the floor where she had worked for three years. She hurried down the corridor, bidding a hasty good night to Wilson as she passed him heading in the other direction. He smiled and waved her on her way, informing her as he did so that House was in his office.

She pushed open the glass door to House's office and entered. He had his back to her, pulling the blinds down to cover the door leading to the balcony. He turned at the sound of her entrance and glanced pointedly at the cloak on his desk.

"You're late."

"I was held up."

"I'm hurt that you think something else is more important than me. Go on then- held up doing what?"

"I was talking to Chase and a friend of his."

"That's not a hold up. A hold up is if the roof of an orphanage collapsed on the kiddies in their beds and you were the only doctor in this hospital who they would allow close enough to them to treat them. Now that would have been an excuse I might consider accepting. Talking to Chase is not a good enough reason for standing me up." House gave a mock sniffle.

"Stand you... I was five minutes late! Most people are patient enough to wait for five minutes."

"It should be absolutely crystal clear to you by now, after working with me for over three years, that I am not 'most people', shouldn't it? And it should be equally obvious that I am not the most patient person in the world." House teased her as he walked across the office to be closer to her.

"Anyway, like you can talk. When was the last time you were on time for work?" Cameron asked and tilted her head back to look him in the eye as her stood close to her.

"Depends what you mean by on time. If you mean the time Cuddy would like me to be here then I don't think I've ever been on time. If, however, you mean the time which I intend on arriving then I'm always on time."

"And what time do you usually aim to get here? Because it varies quite a lot."

"I aim to get here about twenty minutes after I leave my apartment."

"Which is?"

"About an hour after whatever time I happen to wake up."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "No wonder you're always late." She muttered. House grinned.

"Part of my charm, Allison. On anyone else it would be irritating but on me it's extremely appealing, don't you think?" He brushed a hand through his hair as he said this, parodying the generic arrogant jock on every teen movie ever made.

It was the sound of her name falling from his lips that sent shivers up her spine and caused her to drop the subject. Smiling languidly in pleasure she reached up to kiss him on the lips.

"Well, I'm here now. You want to go get that drink?"

House kissed her once more before walking over to grab his leather motorcycle jacket from his chair. He shrugged it on and pulled open a random drawer, sweeping all the papers on his desk into the open drawer. Cameron inwardly flinched. She was glad she didn't have to tidy his desk anymore and sure didn't envy the person who did. It was virtually impossible for anybody but House to find anything in his desk. He called it the 'creative chaos of the imaginative mind.' Everybody else called it a bloody mess.

House straightened and looked at her. "Motorcycle okay?"

Cameron nodded. He was a good driver and he wouldn't put her in danger- after all, the last time they had been on the bike together he had given her the only helmet he had. Besides, any opportunity which forced her into a closer proximity to House was not something to miss.

At her consenting nod he reached under the desk and pulled out a second helmet.

"How long has that been there?"

"After the last time I thought it might be a good idea to keep a spare here. Just in case the opportunity arose again to get you close to me."

Cameron took the helmet from his outstretched hand so he had both hands free to open his pill bottle. After swallowing two of the small white pills he put the orange bottle into his pocket and picked up his cane. He came out from behind the desk and walked over to her. Stopping in front of her he battled with his inhibitions and took a deep breath. After revealing how he felt about her to Wilson he felt it was only fair that she should know too. In fact, she should probably have been told before Wilson. Too late for that now, he thought.

"House, are you alright?" Cameron asked, concerned by this sudden onset of anxiety. He nodded that he was alright and looked up at her. She was surprised that she could see so much in his eyes that had previously been carefully hidden. She waited for him to say something, suddenly realising that she shouldn't interrupt him when he was preparing himself for something which took a lot of courage.

Suddenly he mumbled something. "Love you, Allison." Her heart lifted at the words which his eyes confirmed as true when he looked at her. She bit her lip, a smile spreading uncontrollably. He looked down and held his breath, hoping to whoever could hear him that she would feel enough for him to return the words.

"I love you too, Greg." His first name sounded right coming from her mouth. It sounded natural to both of them and House found he liked hearing her voice utter the single syllable.

He looked up into her joyful eyes and stepped forward to envelop her in a strong hug. They just stood for a while, still in each other's arms. Then he leaned back slightly to look down at her face. She stared up at him, that same wide, benevolent smile still adorning her features. He bent down as she stretched up and their lips met halfway in a soft kiss. He stroked her hair out of her eyes as the pulled away and smiled down at her.

"Let's go." He said and they walked to the door. He opened it and stood to the side, allowing her to exit before him in a display of chivalry that Cameron was not really expecting. She thanked him and he nodded shortly to acknowledge her gratitude, not really feeling comfortable with public thanks.

"Where are we going?" Cameron asked as they approached the end of the corridor.

"I think that I should get to choose seeing as how you made me wait for you." He replied, hitting the elevator button with the bottom of his cane. "There's a great bar down the street that I go to with Wilson a lot." He paused for a moment, thinking. "You know, one of these days someone should commend the owner of that place for having the foresight to build an establishment serving alcohol so close to a hospital. Anyone collapses in a liquor induced coma and they could be here in minutes."

"Yes, I'm sure that's one of the main reasons they built it there. Not its proximity to the main road and the lack of many other bars within a couple of miles, but for the health benefit to their customers."

House grinned as the pair stepped inside the elevator which had just arrived. "My time spent waiting, my choice."

Cameron smiled to herself as the elevator began its descent. She didn't say anything to him but privately she thought that maybe it was his turn to do a little waiting. After all, she had waited long enough for him.

A/N: That's it then. Hope you liked the end. I tried to make sure all the loose ends were tied up and I hope all the questions have been answered. By the way, the Shakespearian quote House is referring to in his conversation with Cuddy is from Act Five Scene One of 'As You Like It.' Rosalind says, 'Can one desire too much of a good thing?' Obviously it's not mine- it's Shakespeare's.

Anyway, I really enjoyed writing this story and I hope you all liked it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed for their comments, fantastic support and motivation. It meant a lot to me to read your messages. Thanks to those people who added this story onto their alerts or favourites list.

Finally, I need to say a huge thank you to my best friend Vikki who read through each and every chapter of this patiently, giving her helpful advice and spotting mistakes that I had missed. When I needed a name for a female character I used hers as an ongoing thank you for her support and encouragement. Love you, Vikki.

If you've come this far, thanks for bearing with me and I would like it if you could find the time to leave a review, just a few words to tell me what you thought.

Have a great day,

Jenny.