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CHAPTER 10: Please read and comment.
After Chase hung up, Cameron closed her cell phone dejectedly.
She knew that even before she had called Chase that he wouldn't be too happy with the fact that House had offered her a position back on his team.
But she didn't think that he wouldn't even want to discuss it with her.
She had told him the truth. She had missed the cases. The ER was gratifying in its own way, and heading up the Community Outreach program was rewarding as well.
But it wasn't the same as solving a puzzle that most doctors couldn't solve.
And at the same time, Cameron couldn't get Chase's words out of her head:
"YOU DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO THE JOB. YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO HIM."
"WHAT IF CHASE IS RIGHT?" Cameron thought to herself. "WHAT IF I'M NOT OVER HOUSE?"
At that moment, she decided that she needed to talk about this with someone.
Someone who understood House better than anyone else.
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A few moments later, Wilson heard a knock at his office door.
"Come in," Wilson said as he was looking down at his desk, filling out prescriptions for his patients.
Cameron walked into his office, shut the door behind her and leaned her back up against it. Wilson looked up from his work at her.
"What's up?" Wilson asked.
"…I need your advice," Cameron asked tentatively.
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Not long afterwards, Wilson opened the glass door to House's private office. House was sitting at his desk with his feet up reading a tabloid magazine.
As soon as House saw the expression on Wilson's face, he knew that Wilson was going to annoy him.
"Did you know that Jennifer Morrison is dating that guy from 'Prison Break?'" House asked him, hoping to deflect the impending interrogation he knew was coming. "House…" Wilson began.
"I wonder why she and that handsome Australian actor broke off their engagement," House continued.
"House," Wilson repeated with agitation.
"She was probably jealous of his hair," House snarked.
"We need to talk," Wilson said firmly.
House put down the tabloid on his desk.
"That's code for, 'I need to lecture you about something you did wrong.' Not interested," House told him.
"I just saw Cameron. She said that you offered her a position on your team," Wilson said.
"She's right," House replied.
"You actually want her to come back?" Wilson asked incredulously.
"I want Chase to THINK that I want her to come back," House replied.
Wilson scrunched up his face in confusion.
"You're going to have to explain that to me," he said.
"Oh Jimmy. You disappoint me," House chided.
Wilson continued to stare at House, still not understanding him.
"If Chase thinks that Cameron is considering coming back to me, he'll be too distracted and miserable to charm the thong panties off Cuddy this week," House explained to him in a pedantic manner.
"Why do you assume that Chase even WANTS to charm her panties off?" Wilson asked.
House shook his head slightly. "Are we talking about the same Cuddy?" he asked Wilson. "The one with the great breasts, the zesty bod—"
"Chase is dating Cameron," Wilson interrupted.
"And Chase and Cameron are having commitment issues," House told him.
"And how do you know that?" Wilson asked him.
"They've been dating for a year and a half, and there's no ring on Cameron's finger," House said.
"That doesn't prove anything," Wilson argued dismissively.
"And when I went down to the ER after Taub punched me, she told me that most nights, she stays over at Chase's place," House said.
"She… willingly offered that information?" Wilson asked.
"Yes. After I gave her the third degree about their relationship," House said.
"So what does that prove?" Wilson asked with exasperation.
"So either they're staying at Chase's place because his apartment is cleaner than hers, or because she doesn't WANT him at HER place. Which one makes more sense to you?" House asked him.
"Instead of trying to drive a larger wedge between Cameron and Chase, you should confront your feelings for Cuddy," Wilson told him.
"But this is so much more FUN," House pointed out.
"And confronting your own feelings actually takes some GUTS," Wilson said flatly.
At this, the smug expression on House's face disappeared. He looked away from Wilson's pointed stare and back down at his tabloid.
"Hope Cuddy is ok with you getting Cameron out of the ER," Wilson said before leaving House in his office alone.
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At around 6:30 that evening, Chase and Cuddy were sitting at the small, round table in their hotel room, eating Chinese take- out that they had delivered to the room, and going over their presentation notes.
"The conference director assured me that the projector would be ready for our Powerpoint slides tomorrow," Cuddy told him.
Chase nodded quietly as he read one of the note- cards they had prepared for tomorrow.
"Do you get stage fright?" Cuddy joked.
Chase didn't answer her.
Instead, he took one of the fortune cookies that was lying on the table that had come with their meal. He opened the plastic and tossed it on the table.
He then opened the cookie, took out the fortune, read it to himself and shoved it in his pants pocket without eating the cookie.
Cuddy still hadn't asked Chase about his peculiar fortune cookie habit.
But based on how quiet he had been since they had returned from shopping that afternoon, she didn't think that this was the right time to ask him about it.
"…You're awfully quiet," Cuddy commented.
"Just trying to concentrate," Chase muttered.
"Chase, you've been re- reading the same card for the last ten minutes. What's going on?" Cuddy asked him.
Chase sat back in his chair and exhaled deeply. He kept his gaze on the table, and wore a defeated look on his face.
"House offered Cameron her old job back on his team," Chase told her.
Cuddy blinked her eyes in complete shock.
"WHAT?!" Cuddy exclaimed.
Chase, not paying mind to her reaction, kept his gaze on the table.
"You know, when she resigned a year and a half ago, I actually thought that she'd moved on," Chase said.
"…But she just can't let go of him," Chase added sadly.
But instead of sympathizing with Chase's plight at the moment, Cuddy angrily got up from the table and headed over to the bed. Chase watched her as she did so.
"That's it," Cuddy stated with an edge to her voice.
"What are you doing?" Chase asked her with confusion.
Cuddy didn't answer him.
Instead, she pressed the button for speakerphone and dialed House's cell number from memory.
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House was in his apartment watching "The New Yankee Workshop," when his cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket, keeping his eyes glued to the TV as he opened it.
"If this isn't a naked beautiful woman, I'm hanging up," House said into the phone.
"Cameron ISN'T going back to your team," Cuddy stated firmly, ignoring House's greeting as she paced around the hotel room.
"Are you naked?" House asked her hopefully upon recognizing Cuddy's voice.
"Did you hear what I said?" Cuddy said as she continued to pace.
Chase merely watched Cuddy walk back and forth while she spoke to House on speakerphone.
"News travels fast, doesn't it?" House said knowingly.
"You want a new fellow, then INTERVIEW someone. Cameron's staying in the ER," Cuddy told him.
"Cameron doesn't WANT to be in the ER," House said.
At this, Chase felt a dull ache inside him. Not knowing what else to do, he looked down at his lap.
"Then she should either apply for another position in this hospital or let her look for a job in ANOTHER hospital," Cuddy stated, completely unaware of Chase's feelings.
Chase suddenly looked up at Cuddy, stunned.
"You're willing to FIRE Cameron to prevent her from working for me? Two seconds ago, you said she was needed in the ER," House told her.
"I'm willing to fire Cameron to prevent YOU from going over my head," Cuddy told him feeling her blood boil.
"You're pretty sexy when you assert your dominance. Chase must be on the bottom this week," House said.
Chase felt a wicked flush creep up his neck and his cheeks at House's comment.
But Cuddy didn't acknowledge Chase or what House had said in any way as she continued her tirade.
"You have NO authority to make ANY decision regarding employment without my approval!" Cuddy stated.
"Since when? I fired Chase, didn't I?" House said.
"And I hired him back," Cuddy stated, almost in triumph.
"And now we know why, don't we?" House said.
Cuddy stopped pacing and stared at the phone.
"You didn't hire him back because he's a great doctor," House said, his voice dripping with disdain and sarcasm.
"You hired him back because you can't STAND it when I usurp your absolute authority," House stated.
Cuddy felt her stomach turn at House's words.
"That's why you put Foreman back on my team to watch every move I make—" House began.
"Foreman needed a job and you were playing 'Survivor' with job applicants!" Cuddy exclaimed.
"That's why you put Wilson in charge this week—" House continued.
"You're LUCKY I put Wilson in charge instead of someone else in that hospital that you've managed to alienate with your insanity!" Cuddy shot back.
"And that's why you re- hired Chase again. To SPITE me," House continued.
A curt chuckle escaped Cuddy's lips.
"You're such an a$$," Cuddy told him over the phone.
"But I'm right about Chase," House shot back.
"No. You're NOT," Cuddy stated vehemently.
"I wonder if you would deny this so strongly if Chase wasn't in the room with you," House said.
Before Cuddy could respond, she heard House hang up on the other end.
"Goddamn him," Cuddy said angrily.
"It's true, isn't it?" Chase asked her flatly.
At that moment, Cuddy suddenly became aware of the fact that Chase was in the room with her. She spun around to face him.
And she was met with a hurt look on his face.
"You hired me back because I'm a pawn in your little game with him," Chase said softly and slowly.
"Chase… that's not why I hired you back…" Cuddy said, gently shaking her head.
Chase chuckled quietly.
"I'm such an idiot," he said.
Chase then got up abruptly from the small, round table he was sitting at, grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the chair and headed for the door. Cuddy went after him and grabbed his arm.
"Chase, you have to believe me," Cuddy said. "That's not why I hired you back."
Chase met her pleading gaze and contemplated at least a dozen things to say back to her.
But instead he shrugged off her hold on him, turned away from her, opened the door and left her alone in their room.
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A few moments later, Chase got into a cab that had pulled up to the front entrance of the hotel.
"Where to?" the driver asked him.
Chase had left the hotel room in such a rush that he absolutely no idea where he wanted the driver to take him.
He just knew that he wanted to go somewhere that would help him forget about Cuddy, Cameron and House for a while.
"…O' Sullivans Pub," he told the driver.
TBC…