Hello everyone!
I hope you are all well :)
Thank you all for reading this and thanks to everyone who took the time to drop a comment and tell me what they think!
Chapter 25 is ready for all of you to read. It's time for Cameron and Chase to have a conversation without House interfering this time.
I hope you are going to enjoy this!
Let's move on with the story...
Disclaimer: I don't own House M.D. and the lyrics are from the song 'The reason' by Hoobastank...
xOxOx
I've found a reason to show
a side of me you didn't know
a reason for all that I do
and the reason is you
xOxOx
August, 2011
You sit on the piano bench, your hands on your lap and you just stare outside the big window, just enjoying the quiet of the room. You let out a breath slowly and then you turn your attention to the piano.
Your finger traces the ebony and ivory keys and you press down gently. You look for the tablatures and you frown when you don't see them where you left them.
"Greg, where have you put the tablatures that were on the piano?" you ask but you get no answer.
"Greg?" you call out his name.
"Wha'?" you hear from somewhere in the house. He must be in the bathroom…
Hector trots to you and he rests his head on the bench. You ruffle his fur and he tries to lick your hand as your fingers run through his fur.
"I didn't call you." You tell him, never seizing your movements.
"You didn't?" Greg's voice makes you turn around and you see him standing in the middle of the living room, a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair sticking out in every direction.
"I was talking to Hector." You explain and he walks closer to you so that he is standing right behind you.
You turn on the bench so that you are facing him and he is standing between your parted thighs. You drop a kiss on his navel and you see goose bumps appear on his skin.
"Where did you put the tablatures?" you ask with a raised eyebrow and he looks innocently at you.
"Aren't they were you left them?" he evades and you smile.
"If they were I wouldn't have asked you." You point out and he scrunches his face up.
"True…" he mumbles, scratching his head.
You are ready to say something but your pagers go off simultaneously making him groan.
"That can't be good." You say with a sigh and you get up in order to check your pager.
"Cuddy?" he asks and you nod.
His phone starts ringing and he throws his arms in the air in frustration.
"Come on! It's Saturday!" he exclaims and he walks towards you.
He grabs his mobile phone and he stands right behind you, his chest resting against your back, and answers.
"Cuddles! How can I help you this wonderful morning?" he says in a fake cheerful tone and you smile, leaning back to him until your head is resting against his shoulder. His free arm comes to wrap around your waist.
"House I need you here." Cuddy sounds desperate but Greg has to be his usual self.
"Cuddy, I think we talked about this, I can't be your sex-slave anymore I'm engaged!" he says in bewilderment and you try not to laugh.
"This is serious House, stop joking! I need you and Allison here now." She says urgently and he frowns.
"Is it an epidemic or something? Because if it is then Allison is not going anywhere." He states adamantly.
"No epidemic, I promise. They brought in two siblings, the one is already in a coma and all the tests come back inconclusive. Originally they thought it was just the flu but apparently they were wrong." She explains and Greg puffs his cheeks and then lets out the air slowly.
"Why do you need Allison and not just me?" he asks, quirking an eyebrow.
"Because obviously something is attacking their organisms and since we can't find something in the tests it must be something immunological."
"So? The Head of Immunology is on duty today, he can help." He says with a small shrug and you snort.
"Do you remember what happened the last time you worked with Jenkins?" she asks and he pretends to be thinking about it.
"Can you enlighten me?"
"You called him incompetent, you told him that he probably got his medical degree from a Happy Meal and you shouted that he was cheating on his wife while you were standing in the middle of the lobby." She reminds him and he smirks.
"Yeah! That was fun, maybe we should do it again sometime." He suggests and Cuddy groans.
"No, you'll stay away from him. Last time he said that if he had to work with you again he would quit."
"Huh… that might be convenient. Do you want Jenkins' job?" he asks you and you shake your head in amusement.
"Do you want to hear me beg?" she asks in frustration.
"That would help a lot." He states matter of factly.
You think he has tortured her enough so you just grab the phone from his hand.
"Hey Lisa, we'll be there in half hour tops." You tell her reassuringly.
"Thank you Allison! Thank God you are there… I've called House's team, do you want anyone from your department?" she asks.
"No, it's fine, we will handle it." You tell her.
"Ok, I'll see you two in a while." She says and you hang up the phone.
"Get dressed." You order and he frowns.
"Hey! You usually use that tone when you say 'undress', don't ruin it for me!" he whines and you laugh.
You kiss his lips and you trail your hand down his chest and to his navel, your nails scratching him gently.
"Maybe later…" you say in a sultry tone and he groans from deep in his throat.
"I'll hold you to that." He says and he heads to the bedroom in order to change. You just follow him with a smirk on your lips.
xOxOx
"No, no, no and no! Where did you come up with ideas like those? A five year old would have better ideas than you!" he shouts looking from Foreman, to Thirteen to Taub and then to Chase.
He then turns to look at you with a raised eyebrow.
"Please tell me you have a better idea 'cause right now I'm thinking about jumping out of the window so that I don't have to listen to them!" he exclaims in annoyance.
"Yeah, good idea, jump off the window…" Chase mutters under his breath and Greg glares.
He lets out a breath slowly and he looks at you again.
"Maybe we are missing something." You say with a sigh.
"You are saying that it's not something immunological?" he asks furrowing his brow.
"I didn't say that. Maybe we are missing an infection or some kind of trauma." You suggest.
"So, you are saying that their system was already compromised and that something we are missing is going to finish them off!" he says with, feigning enthusiasm.
"Yeah… something like that." You agree.
"We would have found the infection." Chase contradicts.
"Not necessarily." You state calmly but he doesn't seem to be willing to listen to you.
"We ran every test known to mankind! We would have found something if there was something there! But since there isn't-"
"Will you shut up already today? You are disagreeing with everything she says and, frankly, it's getting really annoying!" Greg interrupts him and Chase just glares at him, clearly frustrated.
"You two, one will go to the lab to run a blood work again and the other to the parents. Find out anything you can about the past month. And then go check on the patients, I need to know about every scar, scratch and freckle they have." He tells to Taub and Thirteen who leave the conference room at once.
"Foreman, check the scans again. Did they do a lumbar puncture before the kids lights went out?" he asks and you nod.
"Ok, check that too."
"And you" he says, pointing his cane to Chase "take a break and when you come back you better listen to what everyone has to say." He says seriously and Chase follows Foreman with a huff.
"Imagine how he would react if he wasn't dating…" he mutters under his breath and you smile weakly.
"I'm going to the cafeteria, are you coming with?" he asks but you shake your head.
"I'm going to wait the results from the lab." You reply and with a nod he exits the conference room, leaving you alone.
You let out a sigh and you rub your hands over your eyes.
This thing with Chase has really started to tire you. You are tired of having to explain yourself every time to him. It's been three months since you started working at PPTH again and he still isn't talking to you unless it is absolutely necessary.
Greg isn't helping the situation at all. He infuriates Chase even when he isn't trying to.
You guess that what is bothering Chase most of all is the fact that you are pregnant… and Greg is doing a great job at showing him what he couldn't have with you. You glance at the whiteboard and you see the ultra sound picture of your baby at one corner. Greg replaces it every month with a new one.
You can't blame him really… he would do all these things even if Chase wasn't working for him. Most of the things he does he does them because he wants to and not to get on your ex-husbands nerves. But the result is the same…
Chase wanted all those things with you. He wanted a relationship, a family and now he sees another man with you. And not any other man… the man who had a big role in destroying your marriage.
You know he is moving on but he is still bitter about this, even angry at some point. He has his rights but this situation has really started to get a toll on you and you don't know how much longer you are going to be able to handle it.
Another sigh escapes your lips and you gently rub your temple. You feel the start of a headache and you wonder how you are going to work like that for the rest of the day.
"Hey, you ok?" Eric's concerned tone brings you back to reality and you give him a small smile.
"Fine, just a headache, no need to worry." You say reassuringly and after studying your face for a few seconds he nods and he takes a sit next to you.
"Did you find anything?" you ask but he shakes his head negatively.
"I just hope that Remy or Taub will find something…" he mumbles tiredly.
"We'll figure it out." You say confidently and he smiles.
"Always the optimist, right?" he tells you and you shrug lightly.
"I try…"
Greg returns that moment, a cup of coffee in his left hand, his cane in the right.
"LP?" he asks when he sees Eric.
"Nothing that can help us." He replies.
You can tell that he is frustrated. You are all here since morning and you haven't been able to find out what is wrong. The bad thing is that you are running out of time…
"We found the infection!" Thirteen announces as she, Taub and Chase enter the conference room.
"They both have it?" Greg asks.
"Nope, just the one who is currently in a coma. The infection made him worse, that's why he is in a coma. So we are back to genetic." Taub says handing you the test results. Greg reads them over your shoulder and he writes on the whiteboard.
"Great! So now that we know why he is in a coma, let's find out what is killing them both!" he exclaims.
"I told you to listen to her." he tells to Chase and he turns to write on the whiteboard again.
"Let's go, differential again!"
xOxOx
Despite the fact that you explained the coma the other symptoms still didn't make any sense. Around two o'clock in the night Greg decided to send everyone home. You had all ran out of ideas and by staying there you weren't a big help.
When you returned home you immediately fell asleep and returned to the hospital early the next day.
Your patients' condition was thankfully stable and one of the siblings had a new symptom. At least that would give you some new ideas.
Unfortunately, the sun has started to set and you have no idea what is wrong with your two patients.
"We are missing something…" Greg mutters, his forehead colliding with the glass table.
"You think?" Eric says sarcastically but Greg doesn't even pick his head up to look at him.
"Come on, give me something, anything!" he says in frustration and looks around.
"Ok, crazy idea…" you start and he looks questioningly at you.
"Right now I'd test even for the dumbest thing, even for Lupus!" He says and you look pointedly at him.
"Seriously?" he asks in bewilderment.
"Why not? It fits… SLE can be genetic. It can mimic other illnesses, illnesses we have ruled out since every test came back negative. There is no other explanation, we don't have any more ideas and-"
"It fits." He finishes your sentence and a grin finds its way to his lips.
"Allison, I love you." He states before dropping a kiss on your lips.
"Go test them, if the test comes back positive start them on corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. And inform the parents what is going to happen from now on." He tells his employs and they all leave the room.
You don't miss Chase's look as he walks out with the others.
"How on earth did you think about it?" he asks you when it's just the two of you and you smirk.
"I am writing an article about 'the great imitators', you know, diseases that often mimic or can be mistaken for other illnesses." You say and he nods.
"Lupus is one of them."
"Yeap."
He sits down on the chair next to you and he catches your hand in his. He drags you to him and he makes you sit on his good leg. He brushes his lips softly against yours and you wrap your arms around his neck.
"I knew you'd come in handy." He whispers before kissing you again.
You willingly respond to him and you feel his hand resting on your swollen belly as he continues kissing you. He breaks the kiss and he rests his forehead against yours.
"I'm going to tell Wilson that we had a case of Lupus! A double case of Lupus!" he announces enthusiastically and you chuckle.
"And I am going to the balcony, take some fresh air." You tell him and after dropping one last kiss on his lips you get up.
xOxOx
You are at the balcony for five minutes when you hear the door sliding open. You turn around, thinking that it's Greg, but you see Chase standing there.
"Allison… Sorry, I thought no one was out here." He says and he is ready to leave but your voice stops him.
"Robert you can stay, I was just-"
"Watching the sunset, right?" he finishes for you and you nod.
He walks closer to you, he comes to stand next to you and he rests his elbows on the railing. He looks straight ahead and he leans forward, mimicking your stance.
"This is getting ridiculous…" he mumbles and you turn to look at him but he is still looking straight ahead.
"This thing between us… I know that this situation we are into now is my fault. But I can't help it sometimes. I may be in a relationship and all but it's hard… seeing you with him that is." He continues and you don't speak, you just let him say what he has to say now that you two are alone.
"I'm trying; I want you to know that. I'm trying really hard not to react that way. Obviously it's not working…" he says with a small chuckle.
"Guess I'm going to have to try harder. I don't know if I'll ever get used to seeing you with him like that… pregnant… I guess that's what got me the most…" he adds in a whisper.
Your hand rests on his bicep and he turns to look at you, a sad smile on his lips.
"It has always been him, right?" he asks in a low tone and you avert your gaze.
He gives your hand that is resting on his bicep a little squeeze and you turn to look at him again.
"I loved you, I really did…"
"But not like you love him." He states and you nod.
"This feeling whenever I am with Greg it's… I can't even describe it. It's something more than love, something pure, unconditional. I feel complete when I'm with him, like nothing else exists except from us… I've never felt like this before…" you try to explain.
He looks straight ahead again and he sighs.
"I was trying to convince myself that we would have something like that. I was doing a good job, you know. But deep down I knew you wouldn't love me like you love him. I knew it wasn't just a crash, I knew that you really loved him…" he tells you in a low tone and he looks straight in your eyes.
"I'm sorry for hurting you. That was never my porpoise, I want you to know that…" you say sincerely and he gives you a weak smile.
"I know that Allison… and I'm sorry for overreacting but this man has the ability to enrage me."
"Yeah, many people have the same problem." You say with a small frown.
He snorts and he looks at you with a raised eyebrow.
"Problem?" he asks in amusement.
"Fine, it's a natural reaction, happy?" you ask, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips.
"Much." He states and you both turn to look at the beautiful sunset in front of you.
The silence is not full of tension anymore, this is a comfortable silence.
"Pregnancy agrees with you…" he says, tilting his head in order to look at you. "You are practically glowing." He compliments and you blush lightly.
"Thank you…" you tell him and he nods his head.
"Greg told me that you are dating a doctor from Pediatrics." You say casually and he rolls his eyes.
"Of course, House can't keep his mouth shut!" he exclaims with an exasperated sigh. "But he is right, as usual… We're going slow but… I think it's good." He adds with a small smile and you can't help but smile too.
"I'm happy for you Robert."
"I'm happy for you too Allison. If he is the one you want." He teases and you shake your head.
He catches your hand in his and he pulls you in a hug which you return at once. It feels good to be able to talk to him again and not dread seeing him in front of you.
Of course Greg has to exit Wilson's office at that precise moment.
"What the hell is going on here?" he demands to know and you both pull away in order to look at him.
"I'd better go." Chase says and after giving you a small smile he leaves the balcony, sliding the door closed behind him.
"What was that all about?" he yells but he immediately gets alarmed and forgets all about you and Chase when he sees your hand coming to rest on your abdomen, an unreadable expression on your face.
He jumps over the small wall that separates the two balconies and he comes to stand in front of you, his hand covering yours.
"Are you ok?" he asked, worry evident in his voice.
The smile that finds its way to your lips makes him frown.
"I'm fine, just… the baby moved." You tell him, the smile on your lips widening.
He looks at you with a stunned expression and suddenly he crashes his lips on yours, taking you by surprise by the intensity of his kiss. Your arms wrap around his waist and he pulls you as close to him as he can. When you finally break the kiss you are both breathing heavily, your foreheads resting together.
"Why was the wombat hugging you?" he asks breathlessly, his hands on either side of your belly.
"We talked." You reply and he frowns.
"Talking doesn't require his arms around you." He states, clearly agitated. And jealous…
"Seriously?" you ask with a smug smile and he huffs.
"Fine, I'm jealous, happy now?" he states in frustration, his voice rising and he is ready to pull back but the small movement against his palm makes him stop.
"I think the baby doesn't like yelling." You state and a small smile finds its way to his lips.
"And to answer your question I am very happy that you are jealous. But you don't have to be. We're engaged, we're living together and I am pregnant with our baby. Want more?"
He walks towards the chairs and he slowly sits down, dragging you with him until you are sitting on his good leg. His arm wrap around your waist and he buries his face in the crook of your neck.
"One more thing…" he mumbles and you smile.
Your arms wrap around him, holding him to you and you kiss his head.
"I love you…" you whisper and you feel him smile.
"Much better…" he mumbles and he pulls back. His eyes lock with yours and you give him a brilliant smile.
"Where is the sun?" he whines making you chuckle.
"It's still there, it hasn't set completely yet…" you reply.
He leans back, resting his head at the back of his chair and he draws you to him. Your head rests on his shoulder and he holds you close to him.
"That's nice." He comments and you nod.
"Wanna go home?" he asks.
"Let's stay for a while." You mumble.
He drops a kiss on your forehead and you just stay there, watching the sun disappearing over the horizon…