Chapter 2- sleep

My apologies for the massive 3 week break. I had some partying to do. Will now dutifully return to FFN. (for at least a week)

Just as he was about to knock his cane against the table, waking them both up, Cameron gave a little moan that instantly had all House's attention. His eyebrows raised in amusement as the flickering under her eyelids was joined by a light flush running across her cheeks. Oh dear oh dear. She did have a certain talent for publicly embarrassing herself. Her lips moved slightly as she mumbled something, and House chewed briefly on his lower lip, before deciding against moving closer to try to hear what she was saying. Most likely, it would an admonishment against the giant carrot that had just jumped out at her from behind a hedgerow. Sleep talking was rarely about anything interesting. Most likely…

The dreaming also meant, if he woke her up right now, she'd vividly remember whatever it was she happened to be dreaming about. Not only that, but because she was in REM sleep, she would take longer to wake up than Chase, meaning if he was on the ball, he'd get to see this too. House couldn't let Chase have that kind of privilege.

Rolling his eyes at the things he did for his little ones, House decided he'd go give Foreman the good news first. Leaving Cameron to her dreams, he located the younger doctor in the ward of the 'blood pressure guy.' Leaning against a wall outside, House waited until he emerged, not particularly wanting to go anywhere near a patient.

'Come to tell me I'm working the late shift again?' Foreman asked sarcastically when he saw House lying in wait for him.

'Are you volunteering? I'm sure I can pull a few strings, maybe even talk to Cuddy…'

Foreman sighed heavily, conveying his annoyance with House with impressive depth of feeling. 'Oh OK. Wilson's ordered me to order you to go home. I told him he was being too soft hearted, and about being cruel to be kind and so forth, but the man's incurable. You're off duty as of now. Go, rejoice. And don't wake Cameron or Chase up on your way out. One of them's going to have to do that late shift you mentioned, so they need the sleep.' That wasn't the real reason- only House would get to wake up his little sleeping beauties.

Foreman nodded blearily, and the hope in his face was almost painful to see. House was amused to note that Foreman almost believed that this treat would be taken away again, like some sort of dog with a bone. If he was getting that paranoid about someone stealing his sleep, then perhaps Wilson had been right.

By the time House ambled back to the diagnostics lounge, Foreman had taken his stuff and cleared out, and Chase and Cameron were still sleeping soundly, unmoved. Wilson was being cruel in asking House to end the fruits of his labour so soon. Getting not just one, but two of them to fall asleep here was a major achievement, and waking them up and sending them home would finish it.

Leaning against the counter again, he took a few more moments just to observe. Maybe he could get a camera or something. Perhaps frame the two of them sleeping in with the whiteboard, which was packed full with symptoms and divided up into spaces for each of their patients. It would make a nice photo to tack up on the department pin board, alongside that one of Chase with that colourful bruise he'd developed a few days after being hit by a mobster.

Unfortunately, Wilson was also right, as usual. Malpractice suits were a bad thing, whichever way you looked at them, besides which, whilst they were asleep, he couldn't harass them, which meant he started to get all those nasty fatherly pride type feelings creeping in. Honestly. He was suppressing urges to do horribly clichéd things like drape an extra lab coat over them. Who would have thought?

Sighing at the unfairness of it all, House loudly cleared his throat, watching as neither of them so much as flinched. As he well knew, they were very tired. Rolling his eyes and heaving himself off the counter, he took a hobbling step forwards, lifting his cane and using it to prod Chase in the shoulder. The reaction was amusing and instantaneous.

'Learn that one in seminary school?'

Chase blinked a couple of times, looking at House in absent confusion for several seconds, before shaking himself and releasing his grip on the cane. Contrary to House's earlier theory, he did look mussed, combining well with his wide and confused eyes. House slowly lowered the cane, the tip hitting the floor with a thump as he leant on it with a smug expression. The young Australian clearly still wasn't quite with it, despite his ability to grab the sleep disrupting cane quicker than House could follow. He scanned the room once, before turning back to House and running his hand through his hair (which instantly fell back into place), and gave him that look common to all people who have been woken up when they weren't meant to be sleeping. Sort of the I-was-just-resting-my-eyes-and-why-does-my-mouth-taste-like-a-dead-badger?

'Dah…'

'My compliments on your reflexes. Also, you have officially slept with Cameron now.'

Chase looked over at Cameron, still resting peacefully, and looked back to House, an unamused expression on his face.

'Home. Go. You're no fun to tease whilst you're sleeping.'

'But what about the…?'

'Think very carefully about your next words. Because I will make you stay for another fourteen hours if they're an argument.'

Chase did some more blinking, then shrugged diffidently and stood, moving over to gather his bag. Which left Cameron.

'A Puppy Is Dying.' House enunciated loudly and clearly. She gave a little snort than opened her eyes, looking up at him with a frown before raising her head. Finding no answers from his amused scrutiny she looked questioningly to Chase, who shrugged again, this shrug saying hey, it's House. Don't ask me.

'What are you talking about?' she asked House instead.

'I'm just doing a study on phrases that will wake certain people up. Note; that's a positive on appeal to pathetic pity reflex.'

Cameron lightly rubbed at her eyes, fighting back a yawn and trying to glance covertly at her watch. House shifted, leaning on his cane a little more while he waited.

'Dr. House, I'm sorry. I was just looking through…'

'Your pillow? Relax, Chase was being just as negligent on the job. And by the way- that sounded like a pretty interesting dream you were having.'

He suddenly had her full attention, and suppressed his inner glee to give her a carefully blank look. She retaliated with her own version of Puppy Eyes, which caused him to add: 'and you can go home now. Please. The cleaners hate having to clean drool off this table.'

'Uh… thanks…' she tried, sitting there for a moment longer. House had gone through about three transitions in as many seconds, which was far to fast for her sleep fogged mind to follow. He didn't bother to wait, making his way back to his office, fun had for the moment.

A few minutes later, two still quite tired looking ducklings walked off down the hall together, conversing familiarly. House clamped down hard on his faintly paternal smile.

The next morning, it was all three of them who walked down the hall together, shoulder to shoulder. There was something about having a slave driving boss that reduced the urge for petty squabbling and infighting. Helping each other to keep going during the anti-sleep marathon of the past few days had brought them closer together.

Foreman was finishing off a punch line as he walked backwards into House's office, pushing the door open with his back so he could keep eye contact for the joke. Cameron and Chase laughed on cue as they followed him in, pausing behind him at the sight that greeted them all.

Chase's lopsided grin morphed slightly but stayed firmly in place at the sight that greeted him.

'He's older than he pretends to be,' stated Foreman smugly, but he kept his voice down so as not to wake House. Stealthily, Chase crossed the office to feel the half-empty coffee mug that rested on the desk next to House's head.

'Still warm,' he mouthed.

'He lasted longer than us then,' offered Cameron in a whisper. Foreman indicated with his head that they should take it into the diagnostics lounge, and Chase and Cameron complied.

'And I'll have you know that I never fell asleep, so House didn't last longer than me,' he stated as soon as the door closed behind them.

'Yeah, right. You slept last night,' Chase pointed out. Foreman shrugged it off.

'Now now children. Why can't we all be winners?' Proving his ability to wake up much faster than Cameron or Chase, House made his grand and scruffy entrance with that pronouncement.

'Because you just proved you get tired like a normal human being,' replied Foreman glibly.

'I was just resting my eyes,' confided House with a quirk of his eyebrow. 'Besides which, me being a 'normal human being' would be no fun at all for our dear patients. Remember them? The ones you didn't care enough about to just snort a triple espresso and suck it up?'

'But you told us we could go home,' protested Cameron, as always, missing the point of his sarcasm.

'Everybody lies Dr. Cameron. Now, watch closely.' In two limping strides he was by the whiteboard, and three quick flicks of the pen had crossed out two symptoms and circled a third. Raising his eyebrows at his children, he waited for them to get it.

The End.