Disclaimer: Hope everyone understood that Latin last time. ;) They still aren't mine.
Chapter Seventeen
When Cameron and House walked into her office, Cuddy expected the worst. She'd told Stacy to keep out of the diagnostics department, but she was sure that the other woman wouldn't have listened. So when she saw the couple, she immediately cringed.
"Please don't tell me that I have to yell at someone," Cuddy said as they sat in front of her desk.
"You could if you wanted to," House suggested hopefully. "I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to it…"
"House."
Cameron grinned and nudged his foot with hers. "We thought you ought to get the update on our status before anyone else did. Since you're the boss and all…"
"Update?" Please, God, don't tell me they've broken up, Cuddy thought.
House reached over and took Cameron's left hand, holding it up for Cuddy to see the ring sitting on her finger.
"You're engaged?" Cuddy whispered in awe. When she saw the smile on Cameron's face and the way that House was looking at Cameron, she smiled widely. "You're engaged!"
"Told you she'd squeal," House murmured to Cameron. "Yeah… We're engaged," he said to Cuddy. "I need to know if I need to fire her or not. You know … hospital policy."
"Don't fire her," Cuddy scolded. "I don't care if you two are married with three kids and she still works for you. I don't think anyone else really will, either."
"What the hell is it with you, Wilson, and kids?" House asked irritably. He looked at Cameron. "Maybe she's having a kid with Wilson."
"We aren't talking about me, House. We're talking about you being engaged!" Cuddy exclaimed happily. "James is going to-"
"James?" House asked with a smirk. "He's James now?"
Cameron grinned. "I think you're right," she told House with a somber tone to her voice. "I think they're having a baby and want everyone else to jump on the bandwagon."
"We are not," Cuddy insisted, flustered. "When did this happen?" she asked, nodding to the ring on Cameron's finger.
"A few days ago. Wilson took me to one of his favorite jewelry shops, and-."
"The engagement, House. Not the ring purchase."
"Oh. That." He rolled his eyes and looked at Cameron again. "Dean of medicine and she has no idea on how to be specific." He turned his attention back to said dean of medicine. "Stacy paid a visit to my department. She left. I asked. Allison answered. Fun times."
"Forgive him," Cameron drawled sarcastically. "He's so overcome with joy that he can't even form full sentences."
Cuddy grinned at the couple and sat back in her chair. "Looks like I owe James a bit of money."
"Does everyone in this hospital bet about us behind our backs?" House asked irritably. "I mean, it's fine when I do it. But when people start copying off of me…"
"What was the bet?" Cameron asked curiously.
"James bet me that House would ask you to marry him within the week. I bet against him."
House smirked. "And when did he make this bet with you?"
"This morning… You said he went shopping for the ring with you…" Cuddy frowned. "Damn it."
House laughed. "You, Dr. Cuddy, have been screwed. Perhaps literally; I don't know." His pager went off, followed a few seconds later by Cameron's. "Uh oh. Looks like patient problems." He nodded to Cuddy. "You can call Jimmy now and bitch at him. I kind of wanted to be here for it, but you know… Saving lives and whatnot."
Cuddy frowned and resisted the urge to throw something at House. "Go take care of your patient. Let me know about the wedding."
"Will do." He pulled Cameron out of her chair and led the way out of Cuddy's office.
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As it turned out, the patient had an allergic reaction to the medication they'd put her on and was now refusing any other sort of treatment. House frowned and sat at his desk, tossing a ball in the air restlessly when Foreman delivered the news.
"Someone go convince her that the anti-seizure medication is the only thing that's going to stop her pain," he ordered. "She can't take OTC painkillers. Hell, she can't even take prescription painkillers. The only treatment for CPD is anti-seizure meds."
"I told her that," Cameron replied, just as frustrated as House was. "She says she doesn't care and she wants a second opinion."
"No other doctor in New Jersey is going to diagnose her with CPD."
"Yeah, we know," Chase responded with a frown. "We've all tried to convince her… She's not budging. She wants to be released and she wants a second opinion."
House sighed and set the ball on his desk, snatching up his cane and hobbling toward the door. "Why do people always have to doubt me?" he muttered on his way out.
The three younger doctors watched as House left, all of them wondering whether or not he'd be able to get through to their patient. Cameron shook her head and went into the diagnostics room, plopping down in front of her laptop and logging on to check her e-mail. There was nothing more that they could do right now; everything was in House's hands. She hoped he'd be able to convince the patient to take treatment.
Chase and Foreman followed behind her, sitting on either side and watching her computer screen blankly.
"If he didn't treat multiple times before discovering the disease, we wouldn't have so many patients refusing treatment when we finally know what it is," Foreman said quietly. "He's a brilliant doctor… But he gambles too much with people's lives."
"If he didn't gamble, we'd lose more people," Chase defended loyally. "His treatment might make the patient worse, but they accelerate the disease to help us diagnose. Without the treatments, it could take months to diagnose over half of the patients that we get in here. What he's doing is right."
"No, it isn't," Cameron put in softly. "Foreman's right. House shouldn't be gambling with people's lives. The problem is that there isn't much of a choice… It's either treat what we see or wait for symptoms to show up. I don't feel it's ethical for him to accelerate the diseases."
Foreman and Chase both looked at Cameron in awe. "You don't?" they asked.
"No. And he knows it. But that's a professional matter, not a personal one. And he doesn't have to take my feelings on it into account." She took her glasses off and sat back in her chair, closing the lid to her laptop with a sigh. She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose when she heard Chase clear his throat.
"Nice rock," he said, nodding to the ring on Cameron's finger.
Cameron took her hand away from her nose and looked at the ring, a smile forming on her face. "Yeah… It is."
"He asked you to marry him?" Foreman asked, amazed.
"Mmhmm." She continued to study the ring contentedly. "And I was more than happy to oblige."
Chase grinned at Foreman. "When did he ask you? You didn't have that on this morning when the two of you came in."
"Stacy came for a visit. He asked me after she left."
Foreman snorted. "No romantic preamble."
Cameron gave him a blank stare. "It's Greg House," she said with a small smile. "If I got a romantic preamble from him, I'd go into cardiac arrest." She was still in a state of disbelief over the engagement. How could she not be? It hadn't been quick, exactly. They'd known each other for almost two years, and had spent the last three months in a relationship. An actual relationship. She'd come to accept his living habits, albeit grudgingly. But that didn't stop a small feeling of panic from rising in her stomach when she realized that she was getting married. Again.
House stuck his head into the room and lifted his eyebrows. "Who wants to push some more drugs into the patient?" When he saw the boys grinning at him, he rolled his eyes. "If you two squeal, I will fire you. Chase, go drug up the girl. Be sure not to sleep with her afterwards, though. Foreman, get the discharge papers ready."
Cameron frowned. "What about me?"
"You can sit there and look pretty while I grab a patient file for you to read."
"We already have another patient?" Chase asked, his voice revealing his surprise.
"We've got three, actually. And four more on standby." He found the file he was looking for and plopped it down in front of Cameron. "Go on, now. Get to work. You can do it!"
Chase rolled his eyes and grabbed the prescription paper from House, followed by Foreman, who went to grab some discharge papers. Cameron sat at the table, starting to take notes on the patient file.
House sat at his desk and put his leg up. Things were shaping up pretty well. He was engaged, which still wasn't sitting quite right in his stomach. He had to be in a wedding. Hell, he had to help plan a wedding. He'd been in all of Jimmy's. But to be the groom…? It felt weird.
He tapped his cane thoughtfully on his foot. As he reflected on the past few months, he realized that he had, indeed, changed. Nothing drastic or dramatic. He was still an asshole, and always would be. The only things different were his Vicodin intake and he was little less of a jerk to doctors. He still snarked at patients. He still hated clinic and had started skipping out on it again. Overall, he felt that he'd gotten the better end of the bargain.
Wilson came in with a file, disturbing his thoughts. He dropped the file in front of House. "I have a case for you."
House looked at him and quirked his eyebrow. "Jimmy, I have three cases already and four in standby."
"When the hell did you get three cases!" Wilson exclaimed, distraught. The case that was given to him was beyond comprehension, hence the reason he took it to House.
"Lupro, Raymond, and Miller all handed them to me on my way back here from my current patient's room."
"And the standby?" he asked, stunned. Doctors were actually approaching House to give him cases instead of going through Cuddy? That was just weird.
"Kraft, Filban, Smedley, and White. But their cases were delivered to me by Cuddy." He checked the clock and took out a Vicodin. It was time for it, and he was pretty proud of himself for making it. "I think the only reason Lupro, Raymond, and Miller actually hand-delivered their cases was because they were in a pack. They could attack in numbers, leaving me completely defenseless."
Wilson frowned and put his hands on his hips, giving a small sigh. "So I take it my case will go on standby?"
"Unless it's near-fatal." He looked at the stack of files on his desk and cringed. That was going to be a lot of paperwork…
"It's getting close to near-fatal," Wilson offered.
House shrugged. "Put it on the top of the pile. The four standbys are there for a reason. These people are in outpatient care, so it's no big deal. We'll get to them eventually."
"And if they become near-fatal?"
"Then we'll admit them and treat them," House stated matter-of-factly. "Honestly, Jimmy. Aren't you supposed to be a doctor?"
Wilson set the file on top of the other four. "Thanks."
"No problem. I love having too much work to do. Keeps me out of the clinic."
"You know, Cuddy's going to start on your clinic hours again and you're just going to have to spend more time there each week."
"Shhh. Don't ruin the magic." He stood and made his way to the diagnostics room. "Oh. And good idea betting with Cuddy when you already know the outcome. That was sharp."
Wilson grinned. "You asked her?"
"No, I was just congratulating you on a job well done," he snarked, opening the door. "Hey, Cameron. Wilson's playing stupid again. D'you think I'll get sued if I smack him around a bit?"
Cameron rolled her eyes. "Play nice," she scolded, taking off her glasses and closing the patient file. She waved to Wilson, who waved back before leaving the diagnostics department. "So how did you manage to procure seven patients in the space of twenty minutes?" she asked curiously.
"I just when through this with Wilson," he told her. "I was cornered by three doctors at once. It was an ambush. The other four were reassigned by Cuddy. They aren't emergencies. And now we have another on standby."
"You mean we have more than two days' worth of work at one time? Preposterous," she teased with a grin.
"Isn't it though?" He erased the board and tapped a marker on the top of it. Chase and Foreman would be back soon, he knew. And now, for some reason, he felt awkward around Cameron, which made no sense whatsoever. "When do you want this thing to happen?"
She frowned in thought. "What do you…? Oh! The wedding!" She laughed and shook her head. "I don't know. Did you have a preference?"
"Not really…" He had no idea when to have a wedding. Was one month better than another? "You're the one who's done this before," he reminded her. "I'm the novice."
Cameron snorted. "I did this ten years ago." She paused, considering a possible date. Anything before May would be far too soon. And anything after October would be too late. July or August would be too hot. That left them with June and September. "June or September?" she asked.
"I'm not even going to ask how you figured on those months," he stated blandly. "September's a long time off."
"A lot of planning goes into a wedding. It's a while away, but it would mean less stress."
"Oh, come one. We thrive on stress. Let's go for June."
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly. "It'll come up sooner than you think…"
"Allison, June is fine." He tapped the marker on the dry erase board and watched the door, waiting for Chase and Foreman to come back. "I don't want to wait until September, anyway. It would get on my nerves."
Cameron smiled. House hated waiting. "June it is," she affirmed as Chase and Foreman came back.
"We gave her the first dose of the new meds, but we haven't discharged her yet. We'll keep her for observation."
"Sounds doctor-y," House snarked, turning to the whiteboard. "Next case…"
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By the time they had all three of the new patients stabilized, it was well past midnight. Cameron was nodding off at her laptop, Chase was trying to stay awake by doing a crossword puzzle, and Foreman was on his ninth or tenth cup of coffee for the day. House was in his office, iPod in his ears, tossing a ball in the air.
Having three cases at once was difficult. There had to be more than one person to keep an eye on the patients. The policy was one doctor per patient. The only reason House was still at the hospital was because it was the best place for him to think. The ducklings had their patients covered.
He shifted his focus to the other room, where he saw everyone struggling to stay awake. They were good doctors, he knew. All three of them were outstanding in their field. And he knew that he was hard on them; if he wasn't going to be, who was? Someone had to make them reach their full potential. He'd do it if he had to, though he'd prefer they reach it on their own.
Their repeat diagnoses told him how tired they all were. No one was coming up with anything new; everyone was too tired. He frowned and picked up the phone, calling the nurse's station to ask them to put two nurses on each patient. He needed a clear-headed crew tomorrow, and he wasn't going to get that if they were all here overnight. Once he'd gotten his nurses, he grabbed his bag and went into the diagnostics room.
"Go home," he told them. "I've got double nurses on each patient. I need you clear and focused tomorrow."
Foreman and Chase gathered their things and muttered their goodnights before leaving. Cameron was putting her laptop away, pausing to rub her eyes before slinging it over her shoulder.
"Give me the keys," House demanded, holding out his hand. "You're not driving like this."
She handed over the keys with little debate, knowing full well that she was tired enough to get into an accident. "We've never had this full of a caseload," she said with a yawn.
"I know," he responded, keeping an eye on her to be sure that she didn't fall right over. "The other doctors must be plotting against us. They want the monkey-bars all to themselves at recess."
Cameron grinned sleepily and yawned again. "I hate the monkey-bars, so they can have them." Once she was in the car, she rested her head on the seat and reclined it slightly. "People are going to know," she said tiredly.
"About?" House asked as he pulled out of the lot and started home.
"Us," she replied. "But I don't mind, you know. Cuddy said it's okay." Another yawn, and her eyes drooped closed. "I don't want a huge wedding, Greg."
House smirked. Cameron was always hilarious when she was dead tired. She rambled on and switched topics quicker than a schizophrenic. "Neither do I."
"I have to tell my parents."
"Wait until Christmas."
"Are you telling yours?" Her voice was getting softer; he could tell that she was very close to falling asleep.
"I'll tell them." Eventually. They'd know when they got the invitation, at least. He glanced over and saw that Cameron was sleeping and he smiled. He'd made the right decision in asking her to marry him. Definitely.