Gone for the Weekend

DJ Dubois

June 2006

Pairings: Definitely Chase/Cameron and House/Cuddy.

Notes Part 1: The characters from House MD belong to Universal, FOX and other copyright holders.

Notes Part 2: This is my first Chase/Cameron fic (other than a scene here and there in other fics). Please r & r!

Chapter 1 [Princeton Plainsboro Hospital—first Saturday in October]

Chase went through his rounds, trying to keep a steady and upbeat mood. The patients were recovering nicely from their various ailments. House had actually been behaving himself (for once). Foreman was presenting at some neurologists' meeting. Even the leftovers he had for lunch seemed great.

Still he wished that he could be less guarded about his feelings toward a certain fellow Duckling. After almost a year of adjusting to one another, he and Dr. Allison Cameron had finally connected. Ironically, the event happened during one of their Fearless Leader's more boisterous rants.

House had turned on her, snapping about a missed test of one kind or other.

She glared at him and, after claiming she had clinic duty, stormed out of the room. Using that pretext as a cover, she sat down just out of sight of the window but close enough where she could still hear the discussion. Hearing something unfamiliar to her ear, she turned shocked.

Chase was going at it, uncharacteristically tearing into both House and Foreman. Then he stormed out as well. "Bloody jerks!" Seeing her sitting there and staring at him, he froze. "You heard that?"

She nodded, looking at him with concern. "Every word. Chase, he could fire you…."

He shrugged. "He could. He won't though. He likes torturing me too much. Frankly, Cameron, I could care less right now." He took his handkerchief out and wiped her face.

"Stop. He'll see us," she requested.

As much as he wanted to say 'who cares?', he knew that it wouldn't make her feel any better. "Let's get some coffee."

Three months later, the two doctors felt more deeply and passionately for each other. While they were careful to maintain appearances at work, they often drove to New York or Philadelphia for a long dinner and evening out. They took walks through the local parks surrounding Princeton. They shared their hopes and fears even down to what they both saw in House.

Still the hiding was driving Chase nuts. He wanted to go away for a whole weekend without arousing suspicion or doing the sick leave thing to avoid the clinic. Allison deserves that much. He glanced out the window, admiring the season's first yellows, golds and reds streaking the trees' canopies.

"Nice scene, isn't it, Chase?"

He turned to see Cuddy standing there watching him. "Dr. Cuddy, sorry, I didn't see you."

"Relax, Chase," she assured him. "I'm not House. Believe me; I appreciate the view myself." She looked him over, noting his somberness. "Are you all right?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?" he wondered.

"No reason. Your work's excellent," she noted while making sure that they were alone. "Life's too short to sit and admire the scenery from in here." She smiled at him.

"Excuse me?"

She put her hands up. "I was talking about you taking the initiative with a certain fellow inmate in the Diagnostic asylum." The smile returned to her face. "Believe me; an administrator notices these things."

He sighed, knowing that Cameron was going to freak out when she heard that Cuddy had figured it out. Still, this was too good of an opportunity to let slip by. "Dr. Cuddy, I was going to put in a request for Columbus Day weekend and the Tuesday after…if that's okay."

She looked at her PDA, checking on potential events. "You and Cameron are clear, Chase. Go ahead and make your plans."

"Just like that?" he inquired feeling confused.

"Yes, Chase, just like that. Foreman, Rivera and Wilson are covering the clinic that weekend."

"What about House?" he asked.

"What about him? You both have vacation coming to you. Submit the request for that Monday and Tuesday. Trust me; I'll make sure it's worth his while to sign it," she assured him. Seeing his surprised look, she added, "I have my own plans for that weekend. Keep our secret and I'll keep yours." With a knowing grin, she headed for the elevator.

Cuddy and House? I shouldn't be surprised but…. He scratched his head while heading toward the Diagnostics suite. There he saw his girlfriend putting on her coat. "Heading out?"

"Just finished in the clinic," she indicated. "I noticed you've been moody the last couple of days. Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Now it is. Let's walk out. I wanted to talk to you about something," he replied while putting on his leather jacket and accompanying her down the elevator into the lobby and then outside. Once he felt clear of any gossips, he asked, "Doing anything weekend after next?"

"No. I was going to ask Wilson if he wanted help with the clinic rotation. Why?" she asked.

He took a deep breath, summoning his courage. "I was looking out the window and had an inspiration. You like leaf peeping?"

"I love Fall," she admitted. "What were you thinking of doing?"

"I'd love to get away for the weekend. Maybe we could drive up to Vermont or the Berkshires. We could see lots of color, eat some apples, drink cider and be with each other," he proposed. "Funny thing, Cuddy suggested the same thing to me."

"She what? Chase!"

"I didn't say a word as we agreed," he assured her. "She noticed the little signs, I guess. Anyhow, she told me that it's okay if we want to do that. She'll strong arm House if necessary."

She winced. "Great. If she noticed, that means House probably knows too. I wonder why he hasn't started teasing us yet?"

"Who knows and who cares? Cameron, let's do it. You've been burning the candle at both ends. I'm concerned," he admitted.

She smiled, letting her eyes shine into his. After being rejected by House, Chase has been a godsend. "Sure. Let's do it. Promise me though. No work."

He nodded. "No work, I promise. Meantime, what are you doing for dinner?"

"Jog with me to diNardi's?" she requested before they kissed each other.

"You've got a deal. I'll meet you at your place in twenty minutes," he agreed before they got in their respective cars and drove away.