A/N: Based on the prompt "comfort hugs" from enigma731. Set in the beginning of season 4, mentions of 4x02 The Right Stuff and 4x03 97 Seconds.
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It was Cameron's first day in the emergency room at PPTH and she was eager to begin the work. The amount of good that could be done for the general public was endless and excitement caused a series of flurries to fly inside the pit of her stomach. No more one patient a week, no more groping around in the dark for a diagnosis, no more trial and error, no more House. Here, she could do some real good. Walking into the ER, dressed in the characteristic light pink scrubs, she wore a smile and greeted the nurses cheerily before reading the nearest chart and checking in on her first patient of the day, blissfully unaware of the chaos speeding down the highway in a desperate race to reach the hospital.
Cameron lost ten people before the clock had read eleven o'clock. A bus crash on a nearby interstate devastated the lives of dozens of children, leaving so many fatally injured and, in too many cases, dead. There was no easy way to loose a child. Cameron tried to comfort the families but it didn't help. These people had lost their son or daughter and no measure of compassion could change that fact. She was helpless as parents shook their child, hoping that this was all a joke and that they would wake up after a few violent jolts. But it didn't work that way and they knew it, an infinite number of tears falling. All Cameron could do was try her darnedest to save the next one even when the future was bleak and ended with the same result as the last.
When she finally arrived home, Cameron had yet to shed any tears but at the sight of Chase sitting on her couch, waiting for her arrival, she lost her resolve. Her bag dropped from her shoulder to the floor and she started to cry. Within seconds, Chase's arms were around her, hugging her close while she clung onto the front of his shirt. He rubbed her back soothingly and held her tiny shaking figure tight.
"I can't do this," she sobbed against his chest.
"Yes, you can." He pulled back slightly to see her face and brushed back a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I know you can."
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"He didn't even care." Cameron looked up from the book she was reading to find Chase coming through the doorway to her apartment, a mix of melancholy and aggravation across his face. Placing the book on the end table and her glasses on top of it, she waited expectantly on the couch for him to come sit down but he paced around the room instead.
"He couldn't even diagnose his own patient. He'd made one wrong diagnosis after the other and he still couldn't get it right! I wasn't even on the case and I figured it out! And still, he doesn't care." He let out a noise of frustration before finally retreating to sit on the cushion next to her, arms crossed and pouting.
"You kno–"
"I mean, he always treated me like I was an idiot and now, when I get something after only a few minutes that he couldn't get in days, he still can't even be bothered!"
"Ch–"
"He's like a little kid! He can't accept that he's not right all the time. He's so immatu–"
"Chase!" Cameron firmly took a hold of his face and turned it to face her, finally catching his attention.
"Huh?" Chase stared back at her, eyes wide and she smirked.
"Forget about House. He's an idiot. He's a jerk. But you…" She ran her hand along his leg and gripped his thigh, using it as a support as she straddled him. She let her fingertips tickle at his collarbone before wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're charming." She placed a quick peck on his cheek. "You're clever." She lightly grazed the corner of his mouth with her lips. "And you're perfect." And she kissed his mouth. Chase tenderly kissed her back before standing, holding her up by her thighs, and carrying her back down the hall and into the bedroom. Her arms hugged tightly around him and she nuzzled her face into his neck, knowing this was exactly what he needed.
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They both lay in bed, on their backs and staring at the ceiling, unaware of what to say. The silence grew uneasy as time passed and they knew that eventually something needed to be said. Chase took a deep breath but Cameron beat him to the punch.
"You'd tell me, right?" There was an unusual wavering characteristic in her voice that grew as she continued. "You'd tell me before you did something that could take you away from me forever?" She turned to face him to be met with a strong pair of arms that enfold her and she immediately reciprocated the motion, wrapping her arms around him.
"I would never do what he did, Cameron." He pulled her closer to him. "I'll never leave you."
"Are you sure?" The unsteadiness still present as she spoke.
"I promise."
And they fell asleep in the comfort of the other's embrace.
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fin