So it's my first fanfic ever, and I hope it's not too bad. ^^ This is my continuation of S05 E13, and I have very conveniently forgotten that Chase exists, haha. Hope you like. :)

*****

"You're an idiot." House walked into the ER and glared at Cameron.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "I know. For what this time?" she asked cheerfully.

House stared at her. "For quitting."

She laughed and said, "You're just disappointed that you no longer have a boss who will always tell you yes."

House twisted his face into an expression of mock horror at having been discovered but then spoke with all seriousness, without the pretense of mocking his former employee. "No. I'm disappointed that you would quit when you were… winning the game." He grimaced, as if paying someone a compliment left a bitter taste in his mouth, and Cameron watched his expression with amusement. "You were better at playing the game than Cuddy ever was."

She hesitated. "That… was exactly why I had to quit."

House looked at her as if she had lost her mind. He exaggeratedly gestured for her to go on, and she explained, "Cuddy never played the game. I mean, I'm sure she did occasionally, but if she had been the one whose approval you needed for performing full body radiation for your patient, she would obviously have said no."

"But you made the right call. It was necessary to save the patient's life," he responded slowly. "And you said yes because you knew that."

"Because I worked for you for three years. You're inside my head… I can't decide objectively!"

"But you saved the patient's life," he repeated in a voice that clearly told her he doubted her mental capacity at the moment.

Cameron sighed. "For all the wrong reasons. I couldn't do my job because I was all too willing to play your game. I can't be your boss. I can't allow myself to risk patients' lives, and the safety standards of the hospital, because of my inability to say no to a man who rejected me five years ago."

Cameron thought she saw a flicker of emotion pass his eyes but if she did, he quickly hid it and resumed his act of mocking her. "You said I was in your head, not your heart," he said in the same tone as before.

Cameron had to smile. "I lied," she said simply.

House held her gaze. "You're pathetic."

Cameron shrugged. "I'll always say yes to you, House," she said with all honesty, and both of them knew she wasn't just talking about signing off on dangerous medical procedures.

A beat passed before House asked in disbelief, "Why?" Both of them knew he meant, what do you see in me?

With a small smile, Cameron replied in an echo of words she had said to him before. "I like damaged people remember? Explains everything I do."

House actually smiled at that and then said, "Dr. Cameron, I am disappointed in you! I could have sworn that you claimed in your résumé to have excellent listening skills. Don't you remember what I told one torturous night five years ago?"

Cameron teased him back lightly, "I did, Dr. House, and if you had actually read my résumé you would know that I also have excellent memory!" Her tone became more serious as she confessed, "I remember every word you said to me at that restaurant."

House just nodded. His intense blue eyes met her warm green ones and he abandoned abrasiveness and sarcasm for five seconds as he told her softly, "Cameron. I can't be fixed."

She found herself drowning in blue as she looked into the broken eyes she dreamed about so often. "It doesn't matter. I thought about what you said that night, and I thought you were right for a while. I doubted my feelings for you and wondered if I actually was incapable of loving someone without wanting to fix them. But you were wrong. One of the rare times you are," she added dryly and he smirked. She said softly, "You were right that I was – am – attracted to you because you're damaged, but it's not because I want to fix you. It's because… I'm damaged too."

He stared at her wordlessly, and she walked back to her post in the ER, but not before gently running her hand down the length of his arm and smiling warmly at him over her shoulder. He didn't know how long he stood there before he finally spoke. It could have been seconds or full minutes, but all he heard was the nervous rhythmic tapping of his cane against the floor and all he saw was the beautiful doctor who had never stopped loving him, and, if he could ever bring himself to admit the truth, whom he loved too.

"Cameron."

She looked up from stitching her patient's arm and smiled tentatively. "What?"

"Did you mean it when you said you would always say yes to me?

"Of course," she said honestly and he knew it was the truth.

He hesitated. "Would you… like to see Gravedigger with me on Saturday?"

Cameron grinned.

"Yes."