My Markers

House had made it a point to turn off his alarm clock again so that Cameron would be late. Cameron, on the other hand, had learned and made sure to set the alarm on her cell phone so that she wouldn't be late for work. They'd decided to take separate cars to work for the remainder of the week anyways (in order to keep their dirty little secret), so it worked out for the best.

After making a breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes for Grace and herself, Cameron put the rest of the pancakes in a Tupperware container for House to enjoy whenever he decided to get out of bed. After enjoying their morning meal, Grace and Cameron were off to the hospital for the day.

"Why isn't Greg coming with us?" asked Grace. She really was a curious little girl.

"We… wanted to take separate cars," answered Cameron. "Besides, he likes to sleep in a lot later than me."

Grace chuckled. "How come you wanted to take separate cars?"

"We're just keeping our relationship secret at work," said Cameron. "We don't want everyone to know we're dating each other."

"Why?" asked Grace. "I mean, don't Drs. Chase and Foreman already know you're seeing each other?"

Cameron smiled. "Yeah," she said. "They know, but no one else does besides Greg's cousin—Dr. Grant and we're trying to keep it that way."

"Why do you want to keep it a secret?"

"Well," sighed Cameron. "If Greg's boss knew that we were dating, she could have me transferred to a new department or something. Bottom line, it's not a good thing to date people you work with."

"So why are you dating someone you work with?"

Cameron thought about it. "Because I love him."

Grace smiled at the answer; it was good enough for her. "So what am I going to do at the hospital all day?"

&&&&&

Cameron and Grace walked into the Diagnostics Chamber to find it completely empty. Cameron was always the first one to work anyways, so there was no surprise there. Foreman would be there in roughly a half hour, and Chase should be coming in soon after that.

Grace walked around and examined the white board, the book cases, the glass tables, and the desks. It all looked so modern, and it fascinated her.

Cameron watched as her niece took in her surroundings. It never ceased to amaze her how curious and observant Grace was. "Grace, do you want something to drink?" she asked. "I have tea and water. We could go to the cafeteria if you prefer juice or soda, though." She wasn't sure if she should be giving her niece coffee, so she didn't even bother to offer.

Grace thought about it. "I'll have a cup of tea I guess."

Cameron nodded and started a pot of coffee. While that was heating up, she made Grace some tea.

Grace was currently looking through the bookcase when Cameron walked over to her and handed her the tea. She took it gently and began to sip on it. "Yummy!" she said.

Cameron smiled. "Glad you like it."

Cameron decided that until the boys came in, Grace could entertain herself with the television in House's office. He surely wouldn't mind, right?

&&&&&

Foreman came in at 8:00 that morning and began scouting the ER and Clinic for interesting cases (it didn't hurt that he was covering hours while doing so). Chase came in a half hour after him and immediately started on his own Clinic duty. He was still a little embarrassed about his mistake in Charlie's treatment, and he wasn't sure how to face Cameron about it (but he knew he would eventually have to). House came in the latest of them all (duh) at 9:30. When he arrived at work, he discovered Cameron sitting in his desk sorting out his mail while Grace was doodling on his white board.

"Couldn't you find something better for her to do?" he whined.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Oh no," she quipped dully. "I completely forgot about your marker fetish."

House mocked her facial expressions before continuing his prior thought. "Couldn't you just drop her off in Daycare or something?"

"Greg, she's 11," said Cameron. "The hospital's Daycare Center is mainly for infants. Besides, she's not doing any harm."

"She's touching my markers."

"Oh no!" Cameron stuck her tongue out mockingly.

&&&&&

At that moment, Wilson walked into the Diagnostics conference room to find a little girl doodling on the white board. That was certainly odd. House didn't even let Chase touch the markers, but he was letting some random kid play with them? Well, for her young age, she certainly could draw. Maybe she was a step up from Chase.

"Um, hi," said Wilson. He walked over to the whiteboard.

Grace turned around and smiled. "Are you looking for Dr. House?"

"Yeah," said Wilson curiously. "Who… are you exactly?"

Grace held out her hand politely. "I'm Grace Carter, nice to meet you."

That was on help. Wilson was trying to get at why she had the authority to be touching Greg House's markers, but apparently she didn't get it. Still, he shook her hand. "Um… James Wilson. Where did you say House was?"

Grace pointed towards House's office. "He's in his office with Aunt Ally."

Bingo. "You're Cameron's niece?"

Grace nodded, and Wilson was still bewildered. Since when did Cameron's niece (whom he'd never met before) start hanging out in the Diagnostics Department? He shook the thought from his mind and walked into House's office without even a knock.

&&&&&

House and Cameron were currently arguing about markers when Wilson walked into the room.

"Hey," he said whimsically. "House, did you know there's a kid drawing on your whiteboard?"

House winced. "Cameron won't let me send her to Daycare."

"Daycare is for little kids!" Cameron kept trying to explain it, but House just wouldn't catch on.

Wilson was very interested in the little exchange going on, but there was another reason he was here.

"What are you doing here anyways?" asked House rudely.

"I was wondering if you were free this weekend."

"For the last time, Wilson, no I will not sleep with you."

Cameron choked, but Wilson just rolled his eyes.

"I finally found an apartment," he said. "I was wondering if you could help me move in." Finding an apartment was a big step for James Wilson. It meant that his divorce was completely and absolutely final and that he could finally get out of that crappy hotel room.

House glanced at Cameron. She looked both upset and hopeful at the same time. Then he glimpsed at Grace, who was still drawing on his whiteboard. "I… already have plans."

"Oh, right," quipped Wilson. "Since when do you already have plans on a weekend?"

"You know," said House. "You aren't the only person in my life."

Wilson didn't believe what he was hearing. "So what are you doing this weekend?"

House's eyes looked over at Cameron. She had frozen in the middle of her mail-sorting task. Should House tell Wilson? "I'm… having dinner with Ray," he lied. "You know, catching up and whatnot."

Wilson still didn't believe House. "Fine," he said. "What about Friday night?"

House thought about it. They weren't doing anything Friday night, were they? Nope. At least, he didn't think they were. Cameron could 'punish' him later if he'd made the wrong decision. "Sure, Friday sounds good."

Wilson nodded. "Thanks," he said. "See you at lunch?"

House nodded. Lunch sounded good, especially if Wilson was buying. Plus, he could badger his friend about having his office door locked the previous Saturday (what had that been all about?).

&&&&&

Wilson didn't have any patients until after lunch, so he thought it might be a fun idea to pay this Ray person a visit. She was bound to be interesting. After all, she was in fact related to House.

Wilson knocked on the door of the research lab, and Whitner gestured for him to enter.

"Is Dr. Grant here?" he asked immediately.

Whitner nearly sighed. Grant was brand new, and already she had more friends than her. "She'll be right back."

At that moment, Ray walked into the lab to find Whitner talking with one of the most gorgeous doctors she had ever seen. He had perfect golden-brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She thought she'd seem him around, but not this close up. She'd definitely been missing out. "Can I help you?" she asked with a smile.

Wilson was in trouble. He'd just come to pester Ray about House, but he never expected his cousin to be this incredibly good-looking. It didn't help matters considering he was already seeing someone. Still, he couldn't help but give the newest addition to PPTH's staff one if his trademark smiles. "I'm Dr. Wilson," he greeted her and held out his hand, which Ray shook.

"You're Dr. Wilson?!" Ray nearly shouted it. "Oh, I have to buy you lunch, or dinner, or a drink, or something," she said. "You have got to be the only person that's put up with my cousin for as long as you have." Ray had heard stories about Wilson from House.

Wilson liked where this was going. "You want to go grab some lunch?"

Ray looked at her watch. She had time. "Sure," she said happily.

Whitner grimaced in misery as her new colleague scored one of PPTH's hottest doctors.