[OTA] It must've been love...

[cutthroatbitch]

It was just on dusk and the approaching evening found Amber sitting alone on the beach in the wake of watching the sun dip to the horizon and set peacefully after it's performance of the eclipse earlier. There were still people walking along the beach and milling around, so she wasn't quite in solitude, but it was still peaceful

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[c18_h21_no3]

"Didn't think you were the 'wallow in your own misery on the beach' type."

House had taken to studying Amber as she stared off at the sunset for a few minutes now, watching her facial expressions change ever so slightly. He was fairly certain that whatever it was she was mulling over, it had something, if not everything to do with the fact that Thirteen showed up earlier that day. House had made it a habit to sneak a peek from time to time at Cuddy's new arrivals, and spotted her name in all her bisexual, now potentially bikini-wearing glory.

Amber had been here long enough, and had had enough time to deal, that House could safely assume she didn't make it a habit to take time out of a perfectly decent day to brood over her own entrapment on the island... unless something happened to trigger it. Putting two and two together, he figured it only made sense that seeing someone else Amber knew she'd never be able to go back with would do just that.

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber glanced up at him, doing a slight double take to find House there. She smirked at him and then went back to watching the water, which now looked a deep aqua colour in the receeding light. "Well my wallowing in misery look very much looks like my contemplating my next murder face. It's all about the look in the eye and what weapon I'm considering this time around," she joked and rested her elbows on her knees. "Didn't think you were the type for long walks on the beach at sunset," she threw back with another questioning glance up at him.

[c18_h21_no3]

"Apparently I need to get out more," he threw as an excuse. "It just so happens that my 'needing to get out more time' and my 'clinic duty time' fell right in the same few hours. Just keeping my priorities in check."

House limped to stand next to where Amber was seated, chin down as he watched her look up at him. She was somewhat surprised to see him here, which was sort of expected. The past two months had been strange. He had been strange. Felt strange. Thought strange. Even acted strange on a certain level. Rob's whole case combined with the date with Cuddy got him thinking about why he was really here, and why he couldn't make the most of it. Or, really, why he wouldn't let himself make the most of it. His eyes directed back toward the horizon, cane half digging into the sand as he put his weight against it. Eventually, hopefully, he'd go home. He knew there was a future for him waiting, with Wilson here from a different time being evidence. There was no future for Amber. None. He felt a pang of guilt prick up his conscience

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber smirked. "He'll get you back, you know. When you least expect it, he'll land you with a patient with explosive diarrhoea and MRSA or something. I don't buy the passive-aggressive Aussie act at all. I think he learnt most of his tricks off you," she mused, trailing her fingers through the sand. She was in much the same boat as House, but for different reasons. Rob's case had affected her, plain and simple. She saw the solider around the island regularly and he looked much better. Not 100%, but better. Happy. He had found love on the island, and she was happy for him. She just missed having someone that made her smile like that

[headofoncology]

Biting the proverbial bullet would be so much easier if death wasn't involved. Wilson knew it had been unfair of him to reflexively avoid Amber on the island. She didn't deserve to be treated like that. This was the woman he had loved... still loved. Just because she died, didn't mean he could just switch everything off. In fact, there wasn't a day that went by that he didn't miss her deeply. Even to this day, he still struggling with the wake of the bus crash and had chilling nightmares of her lying cold in the hospital bed and having to switch those machines off at her request

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber had frozen a little once she realised who was joining her on the beach. It didn't help when he took those few moments because it was just enough time for her to wonder why the hell he was here. Maybe to tell her that they both couldn't work at the Med Centre because it was too awkward.

As his soft words filtered into her brain though, her face fell into a small frown of confusing and she cleared her throat. "For what? Avoiding me?" She shook her head. "I told you, I understand. The last thing I want is you suffering anymore over this. I know it's weird. More than weird. I don't know if there is even a word for it. It's not like we have much precedent to work on, is it? But if you're here to apologise for my death, if I have been reading those distant looks you have been giving me since you got here right..." She paused, drawing a deep, slow breath as she stared at the water. "Breaks my heart to realise you could even think for a moment any of it was your fault."

[headofoncology]

Wilson reflexively dropped his head shamefully, his features twisting a little in pain for a few moments. It wasn't that he felt like she was scolding him for his feelings, but she was so spot on it was scary. "I didn't know if you could go on after you died. I blamed myself, I blamed House, hell, I even blamed you on some leve for leaving me. After everything, I really felt like my time had come with you. It was different to any of my previous relationships, and we just didn't have enough time. You could see the world through my eyes, and then you were just... gone. You died in my arms, and you were so brave," he told her, smiling at her as tears pricked his eyes. "You said it was time to go, and I knew it was true, but I didn't want to say goodbye. You were strong right to the end. House tried to save you. He did all he could, but it was just too late. He even risked his own life. I can see all that clearly now, but everytime I tried to approach you since you got here, all that pain just came rushing back. But it wasn't fair on you

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber nodded slowly, watching him intently as he spoke. "It wasn't all one-sided, you know. I was technically trying to avoid you too. I didn't want to cause you more pain. And to be honest, because I came from a few months before... all that happened, I didn't know how I was supposed to respond. I knew that everyone, besides Chase, experienced the crash and being the token dead chick has really screwed with my head. Things were okay when I ended up here. House was pissing me off because he was inteferring and I think that is why I ultimately came here, until I knew I was dead. Now I guess it really is a second chance. The thing is, I'm stuck here. I can't go home, so how much is worth risking in a second chance when it's possible you could go again at any moment. You've been here before. It's been interesting to see a transition."

[cutthroatbitch]

Amber looked up in surprised and them smiled. "Knock yourself out," she agreed, gesturing to the spot beside her. "Got a lot of boobie traps set up on the route into my pants anyway. Not every man likes to try his hand at tackling them. I've been here well over a year now and seen maybe three rainy days the whole time. When they come, you appreciate them. The beach remains surprisingly beautiful even in the rain in this place. But the outward view of the whole island can be deceiving in general. It looks perfect, but I've still seen people get seriously ill, people die, people commit crimes. Have you been here long?" she asked him.