Chapter 2
Cameron stared at Chase and Cuddy, pushing her phone away from her slowly, as if unsure of what just happened. Chase was the first to break the silence. "What just happened," he muttered. "Do you think he knows that we're married?" Cameron asked in response. "I thought you never talked about your life outside work.."
Chase looked up, his eyes shining with sincerity. "If House knows about you, it's not because of me. And for what it's worth, I doubt Remi or Eric said anything either." Cuddy added her support "I haven't mentioned you Allison, and when Chase started working at Princeton, we met with lawyers to create a secure contract and ensured there was no paper trail leading back to you, you know that."
Cameron nodded. When House hired Chase, they had worked with an excellent legal team to ensure her connection to Chase remained hidden. For her protection, as well the safety of Chase and her children, it was vital that Gregory House not know they were a couple. If Cameron had learned anything about House, it was that he craved puzzles, and her past absolutely could not become his latest obsession.
Chase spoke up. "That leaves us with two possibilities. Either House does know and he has some kind of scheme planned, or he doesn't know and simply wants to hire you. Lisa, is this job offer legitimate?"
Cuddy sighed, knitting her brows together in thought. "Last month House was treating some nuns for CO poisoning and there was some concern among the nuns that we didn't have a female doctor on-call. I explained to them that we were short-staffed because a highway accident had called most of our staff away, and assured her that House was quite capable of treating CO exposure."
Cameron remembered that night. She'd first heard about the pile-up on the evening news and then Chase had called to say he'd be in surgery all night. She could imagine the nuns wouldn't have liked to be stuck in the clinic with House.
"And the nuns demanded you hire more female doctors?" Chase asked.
"No, they understood and allowed House to treat them." Cuddy responded. "But that weekend I was reviewing case files and realized a mostly male department was bad optics for the hospital. I suggested he hire another female doctor, someone to round out the team. Of course he mocked me and I didn't bring it up again." She picked at her apple pie. "I guess he's decided to hire someone after all."
Chase began clearing the table, placing his dishes in the sink and the ice cream back in the freezer. "If you do take this job" he said, glancing at Cameron, "the contract will need to be just as strong as mine and it will need to include childcare arrangements. I don't want our boys anywhere near that hospital." Cameron nodded. "I've always been a bit jealous of the work you do Robert," she admitted. "I just don't know if it's worth the risk."
As Cameron began helping Chase in the kitchen, Cuddy gathered Rachel from the living room where she was watching cartoons. "I'll do some digging around and find out what House knows about you and get some legal advice. I'll call you this evening. Thanks for lunch."
After Cuddy's car pulled out from the driveway, Cameron leaned into Chase. Chase wrapped his arms around her and resting his head on top of hers, whispered "whatever happens, you're going to be okay."