While we're all social distancing I found my old fanfiction notebook from 2006. I recently caught a rerun of House on TV too so I thought maybe I'd finish this. I think I had something much longer and more dramatic planned out, but I don't know what and this beginning was decent so I kinda added a quick (slightly abrupt!) ending. Not sure how I like it, but I wanted to give it closure. Title from The Cure's song "Friday, I'm in Love." Sorry for the cliffhanger – it's open-ended so you can choose what happens next! So, I hope you enjoy!
She knew it was coming. By this point it was almost inevitable. She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down to sift through House's mail.
"Morning," Chase said as he walked in to the room a few minutes later.
"Good morning," she replied, barely glancing up.
He set his bag and coat down on a chair and walked over to the coffee pot. Since they were alone he figured that now was as good of a time as any to get the weekly statement out of the way.
"Hey, Cameron?"
"Yeah?"
"It's Tuesday."
"Thanks, I forgot to check the calendar this morning," she answered sarcastically.
He hesitated, but decided to ignore her comment. "I like you."
She lifted her head from what she was reading, but didn't turn to look at him. "I like…those new cinnamon granola bites they put in the vending machine." She stood up and headed for the door.
"See you again next Tuesday," he said, softly.
His only response was the door swinging shut.
Foreman was walking towards the diagnostics department when he saw Cameron leaving the office.
"Hey, Cam, do we have a –"
She cut him off, "No."
Foreman raised his eyebrows, opened the door, and found Chase with a cup of coffee in his hand, staring at the door with a confused look on his face.
"Man, what did you do now?" Foreman asked, smirking and shaking his head.
"What? Why do you think it was something I did?"
"'Cause she looks pissed and you look guilty."
"Morning kiddies, we have a case." House tossed the files onto the table and limped over to the whiteboard.
"Where's our female duckling this morning? Has she already flown the coop? Which of you two said something to aggravate her?"
They looked at him blankly.
"Well, it couldn't have been me this time. I just got here."
"House, ducks don't live in a coop, that's chickens," Chase spoke up, referring to House's earlier comment.
"Ah, it was you then, ol' chap. So, you can go find her and tell her we have a case."
"No need, I'm here." Cameron walked in, sat down, and started looking over the file.
After browsing for a minute she said, "It could be Huntington's Disease. We should do a brain scan to check."
House looked at Cameron. "Good idea."
He shifted his focus to Foreman and Chase. "What's wrong with you two that she came up with a suggestion in half the time?"
"Don't be too hard on them," Cameron jumped in. "They spent their morning learning the days of the week."
Chase looked annoyed and Foreman just looked confused.
"Well, someone woke up on the snarky side of the bed this morning," House said, aiming his comment at Cameron who just rolled her eyes. "Now, go do the tests while the patient is still alive!"
They all got up and started walking, Cameron purposely walking at least four feet ahead of Chase.
"Women," he muttered under his breath.
"I heard that," she shot back without even turning her head.
'She's never gotten annoyed when I've told her I liked her in the past. What's different this time?' he wondered.
They were cordial to each other in front of the patient, and Cameron couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for being so short with Chase earlier.
'Why am I being so hard on him? It doesn't matter what he says. It's not like I feel anything for him. I mean, I enjoy his company and I would miss him if we stopped spending time together, but that doesn't mean I have feelings for him. Sure, I've imagined what it would be like to have a future with him, but that doesn't mean anything, does it?'
He didn't understand why she didn't want a relationship and she didn't want to explain it to him. Maybe she was more damaged than she'd like to admit.
"Earth to Cameron." Chase smiled.
"What? Sorry," she said, apologizing more for being snappy than for being distracted.
"I was just asking what you saw."
"Oh." She peeked into the microscope one more time. "It's normal. What'd you find?"
"Nothing. I think we're going back to the drawing board."
They left the lab to see if Foreman had found any information from the brain scan.
After discovering that Foreman's test was inconclusive for Huntington's, but ruled out a few things, they had a place to start.
Two weeks later, after everyone had either quit or been fired, Cameron had just walked back in to her apartment from grocery shopping. She still had another week before her new job would start. She flipped on the news as she made lunch.
"Today is Wednesday, Ju—"
The anchorman cut in, "Today's Tuesday. I think you're a bit ahead of yourself!" he joked.
"Oh, I guess I'm wishing the weekend was closer! Today is Tuesday June 5, 2007 and we're live…"
Cameron froze. 'It's Tuesday. Chase didn't remind me. He isn't even here to tell me that he likes me. Maybe he doesn't even like me anymore, after the way I treated him last time he told me.'
She surprised herself when she realized just how much she wished he were there. For some reason she felt especially lonely. She was supposed to be moving on, not dwelling on the past. 'Besides,' she rationalized, 'he's the one who wanted a relationship, not me…right?'
She had been happy with their original agreement – just sex, no feelings. She still didn't feel ready to have a "real" relationship, but at least with their arrangement she had some type of connection for a few weeks.
'Stop thinking about Chase,' she chastised herself, 'even if he does have a hot Australian accent.' She smiled at that last thought and she could hear his words echo in her head, "It's Tuesday…"
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the telephone.
"Hello?" She held her breath, wondering if it was Chase.
"Good afternoon. Is this Dr. Allison Cameron?"
She let out her breath, hearing an unfamiliar voice. "Yes."
"Hi, I'm Mark with USA Today. We're running a special deal –"
"No thanks." She cut him off and hung up before he had a chance to say anything more.
She sighed and flipped on the TV, but ended up lost in her own thoughts.
'I do like Chase. I'm just not ready for a relationship. So, I'll just be alone for a while. I'm okay this way.'
Two more weeks went by and Cameron's new job had begun. She really liked her new position – it was engaging and rewarding. Still, she felt like something was missing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Later that day, as she was cleaning old papers off her table, she found a note that Chase had written and her heart leapt. Suddenly she knew what was missing and what she wanted to do.
She picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number. It rang a few times before going to voicemail.
"Hey, Chase, it's Cameron. Today is Tuesday and," She took a shaky breath before speaking again, "I like you. I know it's taken me too long to say it back, but I miss you and if you're still interested I want to give us a try. Please call me. Bye."
She hung up, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety. She knew she did the right thing, but what if he didn't feel the same way anymore? She could only wait for him to call back and hope that his feelings hadn't changed.
