Part 7

Cameron woke up at 6 am, panicking for a second that Oliver hadn't woken her during the night before remembering that Matthew had him for a few days and he was actually in Chicago right now. She took a breath and got up, knowing that after that adrenaline rush, she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. By the time she got to work she was buzzing from the coffee that she had consumed that morning, it was a good thing too considering how chaotic the emergency department seemed this morning.

"Dr Cameron," one of the residents came up to her, she had frazzled hair and had only started in the department a week ago so was still finding her feet. "Do you have time to talk about a couple of patients that presented overnight?"

"Mollie," Cameron said quickly, trying to calm her down. "Everyone's stable, right? There's nothing urgent that I need to see right now?"

Mollie nodded slowly.

"And you've got your pager?"

"Yes," Mollie confirmed.

"Okay then let's get a coffee from the cafeteria and then we'll go through everything," Cameron said as she walked out of the department with Mollie, leaving the department in the hands of some more experienced fellows for ten minutes.

Once she had calmed Mollie down and reassured her that she had made the right the calls that morning before she'd arrived, Cameron went back to the emergency department.

She first saw a seventeen year old with diabetic ketoacidosis, the treatment had already been started a couple of hours ago so she didn't change anything, just went through the condition with the boy and his parents.

Then she went to the next patient, it was a woman in her fifties who looked to be asleep on her bed, Cameron frowned and looked at the patient's chart which were at the end of her bed.

Her name was Jane Warren.

Cameron wracked her mind and came to the quick conclusion that nobody had talked about this patient with her yet.

"Ben," she called out to the fellow that was nearest to her. "Have you seen Jane Warren yet?"

Ben looked over at the patient before confirming that yes, he had seen her that morning.

"She came in this morning, her neighbour brought her when she was found confused walking down the street," he started before telling her the rest of the history of the patient.

"What's the differential?" she asked.

"We've ruled out hypoglycaemia," he begun. "But we're thinking dementia, maybe acute delirium or even alcohol."

"What investigations have we done so far?" she asked, not wanting to put too much pressure on him but knowing that there was something not quite right about the way this patient was presenting. After all the years that she had been a doctor she had developed an instinct for these things.

"We've sent routine bloods and a urine culture and we've put her on IV fluids," he informed her.

"No medication or drug history?" she asked again, even though he had already answered this question.

"No," he confirmed. "She did have a gastric bypass three months ago, but there were no surgical complications."

Cameron nodded and went to examine the patient and talk to her herself.

When she had finished, she was none the wiser as to what her condition was but the patient's lethargy and tremors were making her even more concerned.

"What do you think?" Ben asked her, eager to learn.

"I don't know," she admitted honestly.

"Doctor Cameron!" she heard one of the nurses call her from behind.

She turned around to see Jane Warren having a seizure, she ran forward with Ben hot on her heels.

"It's definitely not dementia," she muttered as she stabilised the patient.

Chase had been in his office going through referrals when Foreman walked in. He was searching for a case where he thought he could really make a difference because a lot of referrals were for something that didn't need an expertise diagnostics department or they were hopeless cases looking for a miracle.

"You're not going to knock?" he asked without looking up.

"My hospital," he said, shrugging as he took a seat in the corner.

Chase continued looking through his referrals for a minute longer, hoping that maybe if he ignored him for long enough then he'd just leave.

"So, Cameron's back," Foreman commented, clearly not having a more subtle way to bring it up.

"Yes," Chase agreed, still refusing to look up from his paperwork and give Foreman the satisfaction of getting under his skin. "And she has been for almost two months now."

"How are things going between the two of you?" he asked, again not being subtle.

Chase put his papers down at that and looked at him with furrowed brows.

"I'm not going to gossip with you about Cameron like a ten year old girl," he said sternly, giving no room for manoeuvre. "There's nothing going on."

"Okay," Foreman said, putting his hands up in the air in surrender but he still didn't move from his spot and a minute later he was talking again.

"She said the two of you have been hanging out," he continued, not taking the hints.

"You know that hanging out doesn't equal sex, right?" Chase insisted with a big sigh.

"It usually does with you and Cameron," Foreman teased.

"Are you forgetting the horrible divorce we had just a few years ago?" Chase questioned. "I've been helping her settle into her new house, where's the crime in that?"

Foreman raised his eyebrows in response, clearly not thinking much of his defence.

He didn't want to get into it with Foreman because he didn't really want to think about it himself. Cameron returning to Princeton had made him feel at peace and like he was floating on the sea where one wrong move would unbalance him and cause him to sink. His present now was so close to the future that he had once imagined and he didn't want to let that go, of course there were moments when he thought about something else, something more. But those thoughts were quickly dissipated when he thought about how great their current friendship was or when he saw her son and realised that there was so much more at stake this time.

"Was there anything else you wanted to ask me about my personal life or are you going to let me get back to work now?" Chase asked irritably.

"Actually, I'm here to bring you your next case," Foreman said before handing him a file.

"A 54 year old female called Jane Warren, presented with confusion which has now progressed to lethargy and seizures," Foreman stated.

"Who's the referring attending?" Chase asked, now his entire focus on the file in front of him.

"Me."

He looked up immediately at the voice of his ex-wife and unconsciously allowed himself to smile at her.

"And you can't use your own diagnostic skills to diagnose this woman?" Chase teased her, momentarily forgetting that Foreman was also in the room.

"Apparently not," she replied before pointedly looking at Foreman.

Foreman had the sense to at least look embarrassed when Cameron's glance made it clear that she was under the impression he thought she couldn't diagnose the patient herself.

"It's not that I don't think you can handle the case," he defended himself. "But what's that point in having a dedicated diagnostics team if we don't use them for cases like these."

"It's my case Foreman," she insisted. "I don't want to give up on this just because you want to give Chase something to do."

Chase raised his eyebrows at her, not appreciating the tone of voice she had used.

"If Cameron thinks she can handle it then I don't care," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I can find another case."

"You've been trying to find a case for five days," Foreman pointed out. "What are your team even doing right now?"

"I don't know," Chase reluctantly muttered. "Paperwork?"

The disapproving look that Foreman gave him said it all.

"This hospital isn't paying your team to spend a week without a patient," Foreman insisted. "And Cameron if you really don't want to leave this case then you can work on it together."

He looked at Cameron and saw that whilst she wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect she gave him a look that indicated if he said yes then she would too.

He hadn't worked with Cameron on a case in years. Back in the day they had worked well together, rarely disagreeing or going against each other like they both had with Foreman. Of course, they challenged each other and pushed each other to be better doctors, but it was a constructive working relationship. So maybe it would work again this time.

"Okay," Chase agreed.

He saw Foreman smile, apparently proud of himself for forcing the two of them to work together, Chase had a feeling he was trying to play matchmaker. Probably because his own personal life was so boring.

"Fine," Cameron also agreed aloud. "Then let's get to work."

With that she walked into the conference room, pulling out the whiteboard and a marker to start the process of the differential diagnosis for Jane Warren.

Foreman looked at him pointedly, gesturing for him to join her so Chase rolled his eyes at him before quickly getting to his feet to join her, texting his team on the way.

The next day they still hadn't come to a conclusive diagnosis, but between the four of them they were excluding plenty.

"So, we've ruled out heavy metal toxicity, stroke and neuroleptic malignant syndrome," Chase stated as he crossed these diagnoses off the whiteboard.

Cameron was sat in her chair, her white coat hung over the back of her chair like it had done when they were fellows. It was such a familiar sight that he momentarily forgot what he was supposed to be doing.

"We need to talk to family or friends," Cameron said decidedly. "Right now, we have no history of what happened before she was found confused by her neighbour."

"We'll go and talk to the neighbour," Adams volunteered, gesturing to herself and Park. "While we're there we'll take a look at the house as well."

"Great," Chase agreed. "Then Dr Cameron and I will try to find out information from the son who will apparently be here in an hour."

He tried to ignore that glance that Adams and Park shared when he said that, it felt judgemental and gossipy. He could only imagine what they were going to be talking about on the way to Jane Warren's house.

If Cameron noticed their shared look she didn't say anything, just put the files back together and stood from her chair, smiling at Chase in the process. He felt his breath catch and he forced himself to ignore the butterflies that he was feeling in his stomach, he had a case to focus on so he pushed those feelings that were threatening to surface themselves back down.

An hour later they were sat with Jane Warren's son, a nineteen year old college student who looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

"Luke," Cameron started, using the soft tone that she always did when talking to patients or family members. "Your mom is really sick and we need your help to narrow down what could be wrong with her."

"Okay," Luke replied, almost seeming uninterested. "I don't know how much I can help you though, I've been away at college for the past couple of months."

"Has your mom mentioned anything to you about medications that she might be taking? Or whether she's been doing anything different with her life recently?" Cameron asked, still keeping her voice soft but not hiding the inquisitory nature of her questions.

"She hasn't said anything," Luke said. "But I don't talk to her much, we're not close, never have been."

Chase sighed but felt like there was something else there, something Luke wasn't telling them.

"Why weren't you close?" he asked.

Cameron shot him a sharp look, warning him to not push the kid. Her motherly instincts were taking over.

"She was crazy," Luke said, clearly not caring that much about Chase's intrusion into his private life. "I spent a lot of time with my grandma because my mom was never a real mom, she would sometimes spend days on end in bed, ignoring me or go out partying. When I left to go to college, I decided to not let her ruin my life anymore."

Chase nodded, feeling some sort of kinship with Luke. His own mom had been so hard to deal with at the end of her life, drinking so much that she was barely there for him and his sister.

"Does your mom drink a lot?" he asked pointedly. "Or any drugs?"

He felt Cameron look at him again but this time he ignored her look and made eye contact with Luke.

"I guess she did when she went out, but there wasn't a lot of alcohol in the house and I don't think she did drugs," he said. "At least I never saw her do anything like that."

Chase sat back in his chair and looked at the kid, his posture and attitude reminded him of himself when he was younger and he felt sorry for the kid because he'd had a bad start to life and now it looked like his mom was going to die, making it even worse.

They asked Luke a few more questions, none of which had particularly enlightening answers, and eventually the day ended with the team no closer to finding a diagnosis for Jane.

"After a day like today I need a glass of wine," Cameron said as she grabbed her coat from Chase's office.

"Matthew has Oliver?" Chase asked, looking up at her, almost hopefully.

"Yes," she responded. "He's in Chicago, I'm going to collect him on Friday and then we're spending the weekend with my parents."

"How are they dealing with the move back here?" Chase asked, knowing Cameron's parents had always wanted her to live closer to them.

"They keep guilt tripping me for moving their grandson across the country," she sighed. "I don't think I'll ever live it down."

"How about instead of a glass of wine we share a bottle tonight?" Chase suggested. "Come over to my place and we can hang out, watch a movie or something."

"That sounds perfect," Cameron said with a smile on her face. "I'll be there around seven?"

At 7:30 they were both settled on Chase's couch, a glass of wine in each person's hand with their bodies facing towards each other.

"Can I ask you something?" Cameron asked him suddenly and Chase felt his heart skip a beat, wondering if she'd started having some of the same feelings that he had.

He nodded, too afraid to speak for a second.

"Before you took the job you were worried about not measuring up to House," she started and Chase raised his eyebrows in surprise, that wasn't where he thought this conversation was going. "On days like this when we're struggling to find the answer, do you still feel like that?"

He paused for a moment, trying to think about how to articulate his feelings on this matter, because she was right; it had been the thing he was most nervous about when he took this job.

"Sometimes," he admitted. "But I've realised now that if House can't be here then I'm the best person for the job. I might not be House but I can still make a difference in the department."

She smiled at him with pride at the man he had become, no longer wanting to emulate House but wanting to make his own mark on the world with the confidence that he could.

"I'm glad you didn't become House," she said before she really had time to think how that might come across to him, because that had been one of the reasons she had left him, thinking that House had poisoned him so much that he was becoming a different person to the man she had fallen in love with.

"He didn't want me to become like him either," Chase told her, thinking back to the conversations they had after the stabbing. "He told me as much when I was recovering from the stabbing, telling me not to live my life bitter and alone, it made me realize that I do want more from life than what he had."

Cameron had listened to Chase and it felt so nice, so intimate that he was letting her into his life like this, and it was stirring feelings in her that had been building for weeks now, maybe even months.

"Do you think about our relationship?" she asked tentatively. "Was that something more?"

She saw the surprise on his face and wanted to take back what she had said immediately but then his expression softened.

"I think about it sometimes," he answers quietly, barely daring to make eye contact with her. "It was… I don't know Allison; it was chaotic and passionate and… I just don't know."

She nodded sadly; it hadn't been exactly what she had wanted to hear but she understood. There was so much history between them and she had left him, it was crazy of her to even think that he might have feelings for her now.

"Why are you asking me this?" He asks her, almost defensively but still with a soft voice that he reserved only for moments of true vulnerability.

"Because I still think of it," she confesses. "I ask myself 'what if' more often that I should."

It was too late to go back now and her heart was beating fast at the thought of the conversation they were about to have.

"It doesn't matter what if," he insisted. "Because now you have a baby and our friendship is good."

"There was a time our relationship was good too," she disputed, suddenly needing to get her feelings out about all of it.

"Don't you think what we have now is better though?" he asks.

She couldn't help but remember the time when he had been the one convincing her and chasing her, now it was her turn to chase him, to figure out what he was feeling about her and whether it matched what she was feeling for him.

"Yes, it's better than what we had then, somehow I feel closer to you now than when we were married," she says softly. "But I don't know if it's better than what we could have now, as the people we are now."

"Is that what you want?" he asked her, still keeping her at arm's length as though he was scared that she was going to back out at any second.

She took a breath and realised that this was the moment that she would have to make a decision, should she open up to Chase again and risk their friendship or should she keep the friendship and have to wonder what if for even longer, never knowing if a romantic relationship with the versions of themselves that they were now could be everything she'd ever wanted.

"I think so," she whispered, scared of what she was admitting to. "I don't know if it will work but these last couple of months, being back here and having you as a part of my life like this, hell ever since we got in touch again you've been a bright spot in my life and not in just a friendship way."

Chase moved closer to her, putting his hand on hers and she had a moment where she was terrified that he was about to let her down gently and tell her that he didn't see her as anything more than a friend now.

"I feel that too," he confessed. "I've been thinking about that something more that I want a lot recently and every time I think about it, I think of you."

She leaned forward and kissed him, a soft, sweet kiss that leaned on all of the comfort and familiarity that they had with each other.

When they separated, they both let out a nervous laugh, a reaction to the bizarre circumstance that they were in. Three years after their divorce and just six months after she'd given birth and here they were kissing in his living room.

"We should take it slow," she insisted.

"You can't kiss me like that and then want to take it slow," he teased her.

She knew he wasn't serious and how important it was to both of them that they not rush into this relationship.

"I think you're right," he eventually agreed. "How about we go on a date tomorrow night, since you have to get Oliver on Friday?"

"That sounds perfect," she smiled as she leaned forward to kiss him again. This time the kiss was growing more passionate, more intense and soon enough their hands were roaming each other's bodies and Cameron could feel herself giving up on the taking it slow idea that they had come up with just minutes ago.

She pulled away and smiled at him apologetically.

"Maybe I should go," she suggested sheepishly. "I think we need to cool off a bit, at least until after our date tomorrow."

"You're driving me crazy," Chase laughed at her.

Suddenly she had a moment of realisation.

"She's crazy," she said out of nowhere.

"What are you talking about?" Chase asked, confused.

"Jane Warren," she explained. "Think about everything her son said, having times when she was showing symptoms of depression and then others of irresponsibility an mania. She has bipolar disorder."

Chase nodded, suddenly seeing the pieces fall into place.

"She has lithium toxicity," he inferred. "She hasn't told anyone about the diagnosis but she's been taking lithium for it."

"We need to get to the hospital," she said excitedly, she almost seemed more excited about cracking the case than the reignition of their relationship.

She got up from the couch and went to get her coat.

Chase watched as she walked away from him and he smiled to himself, his life was already feeling a little brighter.