Limping into the mercifully warm foyer, House chucks the crusts of his lunch into a nearby trashcan and makes his way towards the elevators; ducking stealthily as he passes the doors to the clinic. A well worth precaution it seems, as the glass doors reveal none other than the Dean of Medicine, gaining in size and speed as she approaches. About to make an ungainly sprint, House's curiosity peaks and keeps him where he is when he sees she is being tailed by two of his darling minions. They get to the door and it swings open, spilling the three of them into foyer. House hangs back and takes in the scene with growing intrigue:
Cuddy; irate and exasperated. Chase; nervous and flustered. Cameron; pale and shaken.
"Look, it's probably not as bad as it looked..."
"Not as bad as it looked, Dr Chase? We'll be lucky if she doesn't sue!"
Chase runs a hand through his hair anxiously; wishing he'd spent a few extra moments flirting with the blonde receptionist at the front desk and thus avoiding this scene altogether. As it is, he had asked the lovely little piece at the desk which room he could find Dr Cameron in, hoping to run some of their more erroneous test results past her. Cameron had been with a young patient and her mother at the time, patiently coaxing the nervous little girl to relax and roll up her sleeve so as to obtain a blood sample.
He had waited for her in the doorway, nodding politely to the patient's mother while watching Cameron swab the crook of the girl's arm with alcohol and mutter reassuringly that all she would feel was a slight pinch. His attention- having wandered as he waited- had been rapidly brought back to the scene at hand by a piercing shriek as the young girl had writhed upon the bed. Running forward, he had grabbed Cameron- who had been on one knee; blinking in confusion at the needle poking out of the jagged cut it had made in the girl's arm with her descent- and shoved her aside to aide the screaming child.
"I don't suppose either of you would care to explain how a routine blood sample has ended with a seven year old girl needing stitches?"
"I... C-Cameron must have slipped... Right?"
He looks back at his colleague who has her hands balled into white knuckled fists at her sides.
"I- I'm sorry... I just got dizzy I guess... I..."
Cuddy's expression softens slightly. Had it been House who had ripped open a young girl's forearm, such excuses would have no such affect, but the young brunette is diligent, hardworking and not known for making mistakes. She regards Cameron with kind concern.
"You honestly don't look very well, Dr Cameron, you really should have said something."
"I guess I just thought it'd just pass..."
Cuddy sighs and looks down defeatedly at what House assumes is the wounded patient's notes. Sensing that he, at least, is out of hot water, Chase throws the brunette a belated glance of concern. There are bruised circles under her eyes, and a spray of blood freckles her left cheek. She gives him a small, tight smile; waiting for Cuddy's instruction as to what comes next. Closing the file, the Dean gives Cameron another once-over before shaking her head.
"Cameron, you look like you seriously need some rest. Take the day off. I'll let House know he probably shouldn't expect you in tomorrow, either."
"That won't be necessary."
House growls as he hobbles over to stand beside Cuddy. Chase looks nervous once again under his boss's scrutiny, but it's Cameron who has House's attention. She really does look in need of some serious rest; her skin- in contrast to Chase's- showcasing an alarming pallor; the blood spatter on her high cheekbone so livid in comparison that it looks fake. She looks incredibly tired and impossibly small in the unforgiving light of the overheads, and House is momentarily disturbed by the idea of how easy it would be to just crush her at this precise moment.
"Dr Chase, please cover the rest of Dr Cameron's clinic patients. Dr Cameron, go clean the damn blood off your face and see me in my office before you leave."