A/N: For the record, I'd just like to say that I like Cuddy. She was fantastic in the first couple seasons. The banter and gameplay between her and House was hilarious. But at the end of the day, she was, as House said, an administator - a different species. And in my opinion, the current romance is completely destroying everything that made Cuddy great. Cameron could have those slightly pathetic, truly cringe-worthy, oh-god-why-would-you-ask-that moments, because she was naive and young and yeah, kind of pathetically devoted. It worked. But it doesn't really work for Cuddy. It's kind of wrong. And really pathetic. I mean, taking over his office to get his attention? She's a grown-up. One of the youngest administators of a hospital that size, or something. One of the only women in a position like that. And she just totally loses all self-control and respect? Maybe when she was in junior high. Sorry. Long rant. There's a lot of frustration building this season. Don't even get me started on the new people. On with the show.

"Have you ever seen His Girl Friday?" The question came at him out of the blue the instant he picked up the telephone. He had been expecting Wilson, or Cuddy maybe (he'd left before she'd tracked him down to yell at him for the stunt he'd pulled to diagnose his patient earlier). The brusque, breezy delivery almost made him doubt who he thought was on the other end.

"Why?" he managed before the silence stretched too long.

"I was just watching it and thought of you." She said it flippantly. He wondered if she was drunk. Truth be told, he's a little buzzed on scotch and Vicodin, so he played along.

"Really?" he drew the word out. "Why's that, Doctor Cameron?"

"The main character's an ass," she said cheerfully.

"What does dear Robert think?"

"God only knows." He could hear her smiling; the common phrase a subtle dig at Chase's piety versus their shared ambivalence.

"Trouble in paradise? Do tell." His tone was sardonic, mocking, as usual, but he had yet to really attack her. He told himself he was pumping her for juicy gossip and biding his time.

"What's to tell? He did something idiotic and I'm crashing with my girlfriend for the night. She thinks I'm calling him."

"And why would she think that?"

"Oh, I don't know. I guess there's a character that reminds me of him, too. Very nice guy."

"But my guy's an ass."

"Of course."

"What happens in the end?"

"What do you think happens? The ass gets the girl."

"Are you trying to tell me something, Doctor Cameron?"

"Certainly not. You've always made it very clear that you weren't interested. Everything the ass does is to get the girl back. Gets the nice guy thrown into jail three times and nearly kills his mother."

"Well that's overkill. I leave people's mothers out of it – most of the time, that is." He recalls a number of occasions that it wasn't true and decides that 'most of the time' was generous. "So watching the nice guy lose is the way to bounce back from a fight with the British Ken doll?"

"House, there are only three men a girl can count on no matter what." Cameron says in a playfully superior and utterly foreign tone of voice. "Ben, Jerry, and Cary Grant."

He lets out a short bark of laughter at that. "Is that so?"

"It is. I'd better go." He hung up. She rolled her eyes. He could have said 'good night'. But then he wouldn't be House.

That was a Friday, but even if it had been a working day the next day it wouldn't have made much difference – they only saw each other when he or his fellows sought her out. The next Monday, it was like the phone call never happened. She wondered on Tuesday if she'd made a mistake in calling him – but really, what did it matter? Was there still something there? Well – yes, there was potential. But she'd moved on. She was no longer pining. And even if she did stop dating Chase – a breakup was on the horizon – she was still happy with where she was. Professionally she was – maybe not being used to her full capacity, but she liked the ER. She liked helping people. Somebody had to do this job. The exhaustion at the end of the day made her feel like she was doing something worthwhile, without the emotional rollercoasters and moral dilemmas of House's employ. By Thursday, she had forgotten about the phone call, having just gotten into a huge fight with Chase in a storage closet.

Friday at 8:00 she was coming off a 12 hour shift and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep after dealing with a nasty car crash with kids involved. There were two in the ICU and she told the head nurse she'd call later to check on them. House would crucify her for doing that, she thought to herself as she made her way to the car. Chase would crucify her for thinking about House. She was actually thankful that he was working tonight.

She noticed halfway across the parking lot that there was something sitting on the roof of her car on the driver's side, like you would put down a cup of coffee if you couldn't find your keys. She got closer and picked it up. Ben and Jerry's – cookie dough, her favourite. And below that – a DVD. Only Angels Have Wings. With a Post-it on the cover telling her to start it at 10:00. It put a smile on her face as she drove home and stowed the ice cream in the freezer. She took a long shower, like it could wash away the memories, and then put some kind of frozen meal in the microwave without paying much attention to it. Then she looked down at herself. She'd slipped into sweat pants and her college sweatshirt, and pulled her wet hair into a messy bun. Should she change? No, she decided. This was the perfect way to prove that she was over him. And she really didn't feel like putting effort into her appearance tonight. She did take her hair down – her grandmother would kill her if she went to bed with wet hair. She checked email after her dinner and then tried to concentrate on a medical journal. It was useless. She poured a glass of wine and cleaned the living room. She was waiting for ten minutes with her ice cream, wine, and the movie in the DVD player. She called the hospital to check on the condition of the two little girls. The same. She started the movie at ten, glancing despite herself at the door before she did so. The phone rang at 10:05.

"Hello?"

"Did you start the movie?"

"Yes."

"Good. How many times did you look through the peephole to see if I was coming?"

"I limited myself to staring at the door from the couch in the living room."

"Ouch."

"It could be more a reflection on my day than on you."

"I heard. Dare I ask, or will you get all weepy?"

"The kids are in the ICU. The verdict's still out on the father, too."

He grunted an indeterminate sort of reply, which was more understanding than she'd dared to hope for. They watched in silence for a while until the movie banter prompted theirs again. They stayed on the phone the entire movie. They didn't say all that much, and nothing of substance, but he made her laugh.

As the end credits rolled she felt a twinge of regret. He was going to hang up now.

"Are you going to be able to sleep?" he asked quietly as she turned off the tv and the dvd player and carried her wine glass and the empty ice cream container to the kitchen.

"Yeah, I think so," she smiled. "Thanks for the ice cream."

"Don't get used it. You can buy your own next time." He grumbled. There was silence then, and not a comfortable silence like during the movie.

"We should do Hitchcock." She said finally.

"Mmm." He grunted noncommittally. He hadn't lashed out, though. That was both impressive and surprising. And a little frightening, too.

"I guess – good night." She said, not pushing her luck by pushing him to set a date.

"Night." He mumbled, and hung up.

And that's pretty much how it went. The next time she knew that she'd have a night at home and Chase-free, she left a DVD on his desk. He called, they watched, they laughed, he hung up first. And then it was his turn to pick. It had been going on for about three months when Chase finally broke up with her. She'd been waiting him out. This way he kept his pride intact and hopefully wouldn't be completely unbearable when they happened to cross paths at work. She didn't say anything when House called that night except to make a joke at Chase's expense. He reciprocated with a story about something idiotic Chase had done before she'd been hired.

Several months later, she knew that he had an undiagnosed patient and was sitting at home brooding instead of sitting in his office brooding, and she cautiously asked about the symptoms. They bounced ideas back and forth, missing completely the second half of the movie, but they had two or three good ideas for the fellows running gels all night. She stopped by his office the next day.

"Hey."

"Look who it is. Want me to fire Thirteen?"

"No, I just wanted to find out if you diagnosed the patient or not."

He glared at her.

"What?"

"Since when do you not know the names of patients?" She caught the file he tossed at her.

"Since they're not mine, I guess." She looked it up and burst into laughter. "How's Joe?" she managed several minutes later.

"Who's Joe?" he asked casually and she burst into laughter again.

The fellows in the other room looked at each other.

"What's going on?" Kutner hissed.

"Who cares?" Taub asked.

"Maybe if he's getting some he'll be less cranky." Kutner said hopefully. The phone rang and Cameron made House answer it.

"Is it just me or has he been worse lately?" Thirteen mused. She and Kutner looked at each other.

"You try to break them up and he'll break you," Foreman warned. He wasn't sure how to feel about this new development. On the one hand, Cameron was laughing. On the other hand, it was House. Sooner or later he was going to hurt her. And there was Chase to consider. Foreman would take Cameron's side any day of the week, but he did feel some kind of loyalty to Chase – like any disparate entities who went through a traumatic experience together.

"Chase? Can you come get your little bleeding heart? She's making a mess on the rug." House said, pleased at the prospect of annoying Chase. Cameron's face went carefully blank. There was an awkward pause before Chase ignored the comment and updated House on the condition of his patient, then hung up abruptly. House was about to tell Cameron but was interrupted by Cuddy and the twins' angry entrance.

"What are you doing here, Doctor Cameron?" she demanded.

Cameron looked at House and then back at Cuddy. "I just came to check on the condition of House's patient." She said.

"Why?" Cuddy demanded again.

Cameron squared her shoulders. "Just curious. I should get back."

"Yeah, maybe you should." Cuddy would later regret lashing out at Cameron. It was like kicking a puppy. She was angry at House, as usual, and the younger woman just got caught in the crossfire. Cameron left and she proceeded to chew out House about his unusually vicious verbal assault on a major donor.

A/N: I would appreciate feedback on my characterization of House. I mean, he has to be out-of-character to be in a relationship, but I'm trying to plot a believable arc to get him there. Let me know. Thanks!