Disclaimer: Apparently, you can't steal them by zipping them up in body bags and tossing them over your shoulder. They're too heavy for poor little me, at least.
Chapter Four
The next morning, Chase woke to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He frowned and squinted to see his alarm clock; it was only ten past five, so he knew it wouldn't be House calling to tell him that he was late again. With a groan, he reached over to his bedside table and grabbed up his cell phone, squinting at the display screen. "Cameron?" he mumbled sleepily. He opened the phone. "Chase."
"Chase, it's Cameron." Her voice sounded tired and… Did he hear a sniffle?
"Cameron? Are you okay?"
"Yes… No… I just… Look, I need someplace to stay."
"Stay? Why?" By this point, he'd become fully awake and was sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out of them.
"My apartment, Chase. It's gone."
"It's gone?" he asked, sounding just as confused as he felt. "What do you mean, it's gone?"
"Fire…"
"Oh, Christ. Are you outside?"
"Yeah."
"Don't move. I'll be right there." He got out of bed and pulled on his slacks from the day before. "Do you need me to stay on the phone with you while I'm on my way?"
"No. No, I'll be fine." More sniffles. "I'm sorry. It's so late. Well … early. I didn't know who to call. My parents are out of town, my sister's at some stupid camp. My wallet's in there, Chase. It's in the fire. I don't have anything…"
"It's okay," he said soothingly. "Just calm down and sit tight. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"Thank you. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry," he scolded gently, his voice muddled as he pulled his shirt on. "This isn't your fault." He grabbed up his wallet and shoved it into his back pocket before locating his car keys. "I'm on my way right now. Do you need me to pick anything up on the way? There's a fast food place on the way to your apartment; I could get you something to eat."
"No, thank you. I just want to sleep." She sounded tired and on the verge of tears. "I tried calling House and he didn't answer. And Foreman didn't answer, either. And I was going to call Wilson but I thought I'd call you because you're closer and…" There were the tears.
Chase tore out of the parking lot and sped to Cameron's apartment complex. A small frown was on his face when he realized he was her last resort. "Cameron, it's okay. Don't worry about this; you'll be back on your feet in no time. You'll stay at my place tonight and you can take tomorrow off. House isn't going to say no to that, and if he does, you can go to Cuddy."
He heard her sniffles on the other line, accompanied every so often by a barely audible sob. "I don't want to take tomorrow off. I don't…" He heard quite a loud sob. "My clothes, Chase! They're inside! I don't even know if they're wear-able anymore."
"Cameron, you've got to calm down. Look, I'm on my way right now. I'll be there in five minutes at most. We'll ask the firefighters about possible damage. If you're lucky, there won't be too much damage to the structure of the building and you can go in and get anything that you can save."
"It was the apartment below mine," she said tearfully. "Some idiot woman who didn't know how to put out a cigarette. I don't know if anything's left…"
"We'll find out. Everything's going to be okay." At least, he prayed it would be. "Did you manage to grab anything before you got out?"
"I have a robe and my cell phone," she muttered dejectedly. "My apartment was burning to the ground and all I could think to grab was my stupid robe and my stupid cell phone."
"Better than getting your ass caught on fire, right?" he joked gently. "I'm pulling around the corner right now." He'd seen the smoke from a while away and had to park a block away from her building and walk to her.
Cameron stood with her cell phone to her ear, a white, terry cloth robe engulfing her small frame. When she caught sight of Chase, she closed her phone and ran the rest of the block to throw herself into his arms. He held her loosely as she cried into his chest, muttering about all of her belongings and how they were gone and she'd have to buy a whole new wardrobe and find a place to live. He started tuning everything out after that, watching the building as the firefighters tried to put the fire out.
She might really not have anything left, and he rubbed her back lightly to sooth her. "Do you want to stay and see what you can save or do you just want to go?" he asked her gently.
"I want to go," she said quickly, wiping tears off of her cheeks. "I don't want to watch it burn down anymore."
"Come on. My car's down the street."
"Thank you, Chase."
"No problem." He took his jacket off and tossed it around her shoulders if only because she was shaking despite the fact that she had on a warm robe. "Come on," he said gently, opening the door for her. "Let's get you something to eat."
"I'm not hungry…" she mumbled as she got into the car.
"When was the last time you ate?"
"Drinks with House… Six hours ago?" She rested her head on the headrest and wiped more tears off of her cheeks. "I can't believe my place burned down," she said in a whisper.
"It didn't burn down," Chase said sternly, pulling away from the curb and keeping his eyes pealed for a fast food place that was open. "I got a decent look at it… I don't think it's completely gone. You'll probably have plenty of stuff that you can salvage."
"You're so sweet," she said with a sad smile. "I'm so sorry I called you at five in the morning…"
"Stop apologizing," he demanded, locating a Burger King and ordering breakfast for the both of them. He handed the bag to Cameron, who held it loosely as he continued to his own apartment. "This wasn't your fault and I don't mind helping a friend out. Look, I don't have any spare clothes or anything at my apartment, so if you want to run out to a store or something, I can buy and you can just pay me back when you get back on your feet."
"Chase, I couldn't ask you to-"
"You're not asking," he said with a smile. "I'm offering." He pulled up to his apartment and took the bag of food from Cameron, leading the way and opening the door, letting Cameron in first.
She entered the apartment, located the couch, and plopped down onto it. "I don't want you buying clothes for me," she said softly. "I couldn't stand it." Her cell phone rang and she answered it. "Cameron. Yes, I tried to call you. No, it's not… Because, I-" She ran her hand through her hair and listened to whatever the person on the other line was saying. "It isn't… Listen to me! My apartment caught fire!"
Chase handed Cameron her breakfast and she gave him a thankful smile as he sat next to her.
"No, I called Chase. Yeah… No, I'm at his place right now. Why? Because he answered his phone and came and got me, that's why. Of course I'm irritable! My apartment is gone!" She put her forehead in her free hand and frowned deeply before biting into the sausage biscuit that Chase had provided. "No, I don't want you to come and get me. I'm fine here."
Chase frowned and ate his own breakfast slowly, wondering if he shouldn't leave the room. Cameron wasn't asking him to leave, and she wasn't leaving herself, so he sort of assumed that it was okay for him to be here.
"No, it's… Please, don't…" She sighed. "House, I don't want you to."
Chase's head snapped up. House? She was on the phone with House? Son of a…
"I don't want the day off," she muttered before taking another bite of her breakfast. "Well, no, I don't have any, but… No. No, Chase offered to. I'm not accepting it from either of you because I don't want people buying my panties for me, okay? I'd prefer if you both stayed out of it." She sat back on the couch and chewed slowly, giving Chase an apologetic look. "Fine. I'll take the day off, but I'm not- House, you're not…" She gave an angry sigh. "Okay. Fine." She closed the phone and tossed it on the table, glaring at her breakfast.
Chase frowned, looking at the phone and then at Cameron. "House called you?"
"Returned my call from earlier," she mumbled, looking at her breakfast instead of at Chase, which Chase found more than a little disconcerting.
"Cameron?" he asked softly. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she said with a sigh. "I confronted House about what he said to you in the lab. He owned up to it."
"Just like that?" Chase asked in surprise.
"Just like that," Cameron drawled, finishing off her breakfast sandwich and starting on the hash browns. "We talked. It was actually … kind of nice."
"Cameron, you didn't…"
"Nothing happened," she assured him. "Nothing big. It was just a nice night out between two colleagues."
He got the feeling that she was leaving something out, but he wouldn't press it. No matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn't. "Are you going to be okay here when I go to work?" he asked softly.
She nodded, glancing at the clock. "I've got three hours," she said with a small smile.
"I can come back during lunch and take you to your apartment."
"No," Cameron said uncomfortably, shifting a bit as she nibbled on a hash brown. "House said he would."
"House?" Chase asked incredulously. "House is taking you to your apartment?"
"He offered-"
"Which is definitely not like him."
"Chase, I told you that he isn't as bad as you make him out to be. Yes, he offered to take me to my apartment. Well … more like demanded that he'd do it."
"I can't believe this."
"How come you're upset?" Cameron asked curiously.
"Because it's House!" Chase exclaimed angrily. "He's doing nice things for you to get you to fall even harder for him so that he can get to me!"
Cameron blinked and tossed the remains of her breakfast on the table. "Sounds rather paranoid," she told him flatly.
"Look, Cameron, I just think-"
"I know what you think, Chase," she said with a shrug. "I also know that you have some serious issues that you need to sit down and think about. House isn't out to get you. And even if he was, he wouldn't go about it by doing nice things for me."
Chase gritted his teeth and finished his breakfast in silence. Sometimes, Cameron could be so naïve.
---
When he arrived at work, Chase was already tired as all hell. He'd sat up with Cameron, listening to her worries about her belongings right up until he had to leave for work. He made coffee, since Cameron wasn't there to do it, and waited impatiently for the caffeine to brew.
Foreman came in, draped his jacket over a chair, and frowned at Chase in concern. "Hard night?"
"Cameron's apartment caught fire," Chase replied, watching the coffee. "I had to go get her."
Foreman's look of concern immediately turned to one of guilt. "Is … that why she called me so early this morning?"
"That would be it."
"I didn't think it was an emergency," he admitted with a frown. "I mean, with no page…"
"Don't worry about it," Chase said with a shrug, thanking God when the coffee was finished and pouring himself a cup. "She didn't actually expect anyone to answer when she called any of us."
"Any?"
Chase rolled his eyes and turned to Foreman. "She even called House."
"Damn…" Foreman poured himself a cup of coffee and frowned slightly. "Did she say how their impromptu get-together went last night?"
"I gathered how it went," Chase said slowly and distastefully. "And I'm pretty sure it went rather well."
Foreman cringed. "Great…"
House walked in at that moment, tossing his bag into his office and grabbing a cup of coffee. He looked just as tired as Chase did, which surprised the intensivist to no end. Had House not gone back to sleep, either?
After taking a sip of the coffee, House spit it back out immediately. "Who the hell makes coffee this weak?" He looked a Foreman, then sneered at Chase. "Has to be the white guy," he mumbled, dumping the liquid down the sink. "I'm taking a half day today and I expect you two to be able to treat the patient in the afternoon. If something changes and I can do something about it-" He pinned Foreman with a glare. "-then you can call me."
"What are you taking a half day for?" Foreman asked.
"Someone has to take Cameron back to her apartment."
"But she's staying with me," Chase pointed out irritably. "I'll take her back there at lunch. It's not-"
"Going to happen," House cut off smoothly, going to his office. "I'm leaving at noon. Let's get this guy diagnosed already."
Chase scowled at sat at the table, helping in the first differential without Cameron in a long time. He couldn't help but be upset that Cameron was going with House to her apartment. What had happened between them last night? Did she realize that she was playing with Chase's emotions? He doubted it… Cameron wouldn't play with him on purpose. He didn't think she had it in her to do that to someone. At least, he sincerely hoped she didn't.