disclaimer: i don't own House...damn it.

Merrie: GOOD LORD! You have a serious obsession with that, don't you?

He raised an eyebrow at her suddenly determined features. "A requirement?" he repeated, his voice laced with a combination of disbelief and worry for himself. He shrugged. "I'm in, as long as this doesn't involve a rubber chicken and a purple tutu."

Her brow knit in confusion. "What?"

"Drunk. College. Bad choices," he said in a way of explanation. "Don't ask for details."

She raised a hand to stop any possible words that might spew out of his mouth. "I really wasn't going to." She brushed past him on her way to the stairs. "If you want me back..." She took a deep breath and turned to face him again. "Show me a good time when we get back to New Jersey."

His eyebrows rose, causing his eyes to widen. "OK," he said slowly. "But won't that make things a bit awkward at work?"

"What? Oh, God, not that," she said, and she could have sworn that a disappointed shadow flitted across his face. "All I meant was that when we get back, show me a good night on the town. Not a date," she added before he could ask. "Just two people having a good time." She started towards her room.

"Right," he said, nodding affirmitively. "And if we happen to have sex afterwards, so be it."

She sighed in disgust and continued up the stairs, a smile threatening to break out as she heard his incredulous, "What?"

Cuddy eyed her fellow doctor from over her coffee mug. "You're not serious," she stated, taking a sip.

"Very much so," Wilson countered. "He might not have told me, but I know House and he's there. And," he added. "It's better than where you think he went."

"Where who went?" Foreman asked, walking into the breakroom with Chase.

"House," Wilson answered, only glancing up at them briefly. "I say he went to Baltimore to see Cameron."

"Thank you!" Foreman said, sitting next to him. "It's better and more likely than where Chase thinks he is." All heads turned in the direction of the Austrailian.

Chase glared at Foreman. "Vegas is a perfectly possible option," he defended himself snappishly.

Wilson snorted into his cup. "It's a lot more likely than what Cuddy thinks he's doing."

"And what would that be?" Foreman asked, turning to his boss.

"She thinks House is hiding in his house and plotting ways to annoy people."

Foreman and Chase both raised their eyebrows at Cuddy. "What?" she demanded. "It's possible, and you all know it."

"Right," Wilson said skeptically. "My vote's on Baltimore."

Chase made a strangled noise in frustration. "He's not even bloody interested in her!"

"Sure he's not, Cleopatra," was all Wilson said.

Foreman stared at Wilson in appreciation. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for saying that to him."

"Fine," Chase snapped. "But will you both stop calling me that? And if you're so sure of where he went, why don't you put your money where your mouth is?"

"You're on."

Cameron was comfortably seated in bed, flipping through a magazine when his voice startled her.

"Define a night on the town."

She glanced up at him as he leaned comfortably against her doorframe. She shrugged. "I don't know. Dinner, a movie, museum...something."

He limped into her room and sat in the same spot he'd been on last night. "Dinner and a movie?" He frowned. "Sounds a whole bunch like a date to me. Tell me, do I have to clear it with dear ol' Dad beforehand?"

"Fine," she said, putting her magazine down and scootching closer to him. "I don't really care. Take me out somewhere, anywhere. Have fun, get out, and possibly not be sarcastic."

"Yeah," he laughed. "Like that's ever going to happen."

She smiled lightly, nudging him with her shoulder. "I know."

They sat quietly for a few minutes, her shoulder still lightly touching his.His cane would occasionally thump the bed frame, showing his awkwardness about the situation.

"So," she said, when the silence became too much. "Want to go back to the mall?"

He turned his head sharply to look at her. She turned her head to meet his bright blue eyes. "What?" she questioned.

His eyes narrowed in a startling tender way on her features. "I knew it," he said. "You like having those idiots stare at you."

She looked confused, and asked, "What are you even talking about?"

She seemed genuinely lost at his statement, and he couldn't help but feel some satisfaction shoot through his veins. Apparently, she had been so preoccupied with him that she hadn't even noticed the younger men when they openly perused her body. "Nothing," he said, turning his face so that she couldn't see his satisfied smirk.

"Oh, no way in hell are you gettig away that easily, House."

"Okay," Wilson said, looking down at his list. "We've got Foreman, and myself for Baltimore, along with Nurse Betty; Cuddy, Carl from Bookkeeping, Judy the secretary, and Brandon the intern for plotting; and Chase, Thomas the intern, Nurse Sheila, and..." He raised his eyebrows. "Kevin from Bookkeeping, all for Las Vegas."

Cuddy examined her own sheet. "Wilson put in fifty dollars, Foreman put in seventy, and Nurse Betty put in forty. I put in fifty, Carl put in thirty, Judy put in twenty, and Brandon put in twenty-five. Chase put sixty in, Thomas put thirty-five, Sheila put twenty, and Keven put in twenty. That brings us to..." She raised her eyebrows. "Four hundred and twenty dollars."

A breathless doctor appeared in the doorway. "We...heard...about...the bet," he panted, holding a list out. "Here's the list." He handed the piece of paper to Chase, and then walked away, a hand clutching his side.

Cuddy smirked at the paper. "Well," she said. "This increases the amount by...quite a bit."

TBC...

(did anyone get the Kevin/Carl from Bookkeeping thing? If you did, congrats.)