Chapter 7
A/N: Can someone tell me whether it's mandatory to write disclaimers, please? I've been putting them in some, but they're just annoying, and there's no way I'd be writing fanfic if I actually owned it.
Hey, I finally managed to find a reason why they're all here! And I think this might be ending soon. I can't think of anything else for them to do. Suggestions welcomed with open arms. And tell me if I should continue.
House and Cuddy silenced themselves at her words.
"Better do it again," House said wisely. "You know, finish the job off properly."
To House's annoyance, they all ignored him. They were all gawping at Chase.
Chase looked around at all the pairs of eyes gazing in his direction.
"What?"
"You're here, too?" Cuddy said.
Chase glanced around at them all in the semi-darkness.
"What are you lot doing here?" he asked, wetting his lips. He was getting nervous; they all seemed to be staring at him funny.
Chase soon noticed the beam of light from over his shoulder that the others were looking at. He turned slowly, and came face to face with Foreman.
"I got flashlights," he said, holding them up to show them. Cameron grinned at him, and caught the one he threw her.
Cuddy and Wilson exchanged baffled looks.
"Foreman, where did you come fr-" Cuddy started, but Foreman wasn't listening.
"There are people all over," he was reporting. "Yeah, I heard House and Cuddy, so I came over to see. Some people warned me not to," he laughed. "They thought there was a war going on. I had to see, though. I was worried. Not about him," he said, jerking his head at House. "I thought he might be murdering Cuddy."
Cuddy broke into an unexpected smile. She nodded her appreciation.
"I passed a section with flashlights, and there was a basket of batteries conveniently nearby."
Scanning around with the flashlight, Cameron saw how true Foreman's words were.
There were people scattered around them. Some alone, some with little kids sleeping on them, and one couple even in a tight embrace.
They all threw their hands up to their face when Cameron's flashlight passed over them, shielding their eyes from the sudden brightness.
"How did we not see this before?" Cameron asked dubiously.
"Hate to break it to you, Cameron," House said, in a tone that showed he clearly didn't hate this at all, "but we were all way too excited to notice anything that was going on around us."
Cameron gave her soft version of a glare.
"I'm uncomfortable with so many people around," House said pathetically. "Can I leave?"
"Please do," Cuddy murmured. House made a face at her.
"I get to choose one victim to come with me, though," he said, looking at each of his colleagues in turn.
The bunch of them exchanged nervous glances, though all eyes came to rest on Wilson, who was looking resigned.
House surprised them all, bar Foreman, by choosing Cameron.
"Come on, then," he barked, when she didn't move. She shook her head fearfully.
Cuddy was getting impatient.
"Come on, Cameron, it's not a death sentence."
But the way Cameron was looking, it may as well have been.
"You don't want to come?" House asked, looking amused. "Ok. I'll have to choose someone else. The boys are boring, so…"
Now Cuddy was looking scared.
"Chase."
Chase looked up from the floor furiously.
"Excuse me?"
"Chase," House repeated calmly.
Chase looked around for support from the others. Cameron looked apologetic, Wilson shrugged helplessly, and the others avoided his gaze.
"Oh, fine," House said, defeated. "No one wants to come. Nobody likes me."
Nobody said anything.
"Sadly, I quite like that."
The others nodded in agreement. That was sad.
"I'll just have to stay, then."
Exchanges of annoyed faces passed around the team. They had been happy to hear House was leaving them, and more than a little disappointed he decided to stay.
House sat heavily, and looked expectantly at the others, who followed suit reluctantly.
After a moment of silence - punctuated by snores and groans that, until recently, they somehow hadn't heard - House spoke.
"Now what?"
"We could do what most people do at night," Cameron suggested quietly.
"What's that?" House asked.
"Sleep," she said simply.
"Now you're just being boring," House said, playing with his shoelaces. Cuddy watched him with interest, as he tied and retied them with different knots.
"And besides, I can't sleep when I'm surrounded by people," he added maliciously.
"You could always go over there," hinted Wilson hopefully, gesturing vaguely around.
"With different people? I don't think so."
Cameron shone her torch over to the unknown people again.
"Are you quite comfortable?" she asked a youngish looking boy anxiously. He mumbled something in reply, stood, and walked away. Cameron looked surprised.
She moved on to the next one.
"Sleeping alright?"
The young woman muttered an incomprehensible answer, and stalked away, looking annoyed.
When Cameron turned to the last, she stood for a moment, a little unsure. The young man had winked at her rather suggestively. He started to swagger over, a sleazy smile in her direction.
Cameron turned, disgusted, to Cuddy, to see if she'd noticed this.
She had. Cuddy, laughing inwardly, gave a grimace and a rueful look at her.
Cameron had a silent conversation with Cuddy, their eyes yelling at each other.
I'd run.
That's so mean, though.
Look at him.
What about him?
Just look at him!
Cameron did. Cameron ran. Cameron got three feet away before she tripped and did an impressive tumble, landing back on her feet.
Cameron looked just as surprised as any of the others.
"Wow," Foreman acknowledged plainly. "Where'd you learn that?"
"I…don't really know," she admitted.
"You do gymnastics or anything?" he suggested.
"Yeah, when I was-"
"No wonder you're so light," House said. Cameron turned to him.
"You weigh nothing."
"When I was 6," she said finally.
"When you were 6, you weighed nothing?" Foreman asked.
"I did gymnastics when I was 6."
Cameron was getting very tired of repeating herself.
"So you weighed nothing?" House asked. Cameron stared at him. His face was set to 'curious' notch, but his eyes gave him away. He was being irritating on purpose.
Cameron sighed. She didn't know why she wasn't used to it.
A/N: Look at that! I finally managed to write about three whole paragraphs without dialogue!
Rrr…I really can't get Wilson in character. He's annoying me, at the moment. Actually, I haven't read a House story to date that did have the perfect interpretation of Wilson's character. Let me know if there is one.