I am not only thanking housefan53 for betaing this chapter, I am dedicating it to her, for being such a wonderful friend.

And another thing. I'm updating to day because I feel quite happy, because it's Wednesday, and in less than an hour, House is on. :)

Chapter 6 – Picture Perfect

"Ok, time for dinner," Cameron said.

Helen picked Dani up, and she and Chase followed Cameron into the kitchen, where she motioned for them all to take a seat at the table.

From the oven, Cameron withdrew a steaming pot that let off an appetising aroma.

"Here we go," she announced, putting it down in the middle of the table. "I'll get some plates."

Cameron hurriedly set the table. Helen served the casserole up for them all.

"You hungry, Dani? How much do you want?"

Dani indicated a little bit with her fingers.

"There you go. Robert?"

"Thanks," he said, holding out his plate, and she spooned a bit out.

"Allison?"

"Thanks," she echoed, pushing her plate towards Helen.

As they began eating, Helen began talking.

"So," she said, with an innocently subtle wink at Cameron. "I have a question. Why is it that she introduces you as Robert, yet she refers to you as Chase?"

Chase opened his mouth uncertainly.

"I…don't know," he said truthfully. Helen turned to Cameron, who just shot her a frown.

"You're Allison's colleague, am I right?"

Chase swallowed quickly before replying.

"Yeah. With Dr House."

"Oh, yeah, heard all about him!" Helen exclaimed. "Allison's told me very interesting things about your boss."

"Really?" Chase enquired, interest sparked. "What kind of things?"

"What a cranky old misanthrope he is, without a sense of love in him at all, but so incredibly-"

"Thanks, Helen," Cameron interrupted. Helen flashed her a smug look and Cameron started to regret asking Chase to stay.

Chase, though, was clearly enjoying himself. He looked as if he was having trouble keep his amusement to himself.

Cameron nudged his foot under the table, glaring playfully at him. She was very much taken aback when he raised his eyebrows flirtatiously at her.

Cameron glanced furtively over at Helen, but she was now busy, looking interested at Dani's recount of the day.

When she turned back to Chase, he was still gazing intently at her, holding his spoon halfway to his mouth. His mouth slowly turned up into a smile, his eyes laughing, and Cameron snorted into her plate, earning odd looks from both Helen and Dani.

Chase was eating again, looking quite normal, and Helen tilted her head questioningly at her before putting her attention back on Dani.

Still chewing his food slowly, with not much expression, Chase gave a faint wink that told Cameron he knew exactly what he was doing.

Cameron wasn't sure whether to say anything or not, but something Dani said made up her mind pretty quickly.

"And I showed him the picture."

"What picture, sweetie?" Helen asked, her voice quite chirpy.

"The one on the bookshelf."

Helen stared at Dani, confused, for a moment, then her face relaxed into a small smirk.

"Did you? And what did he say?"

Dani shook her head seriously. "Not much."

She looked so cute, staring up at her mother, but Cameron couldn't help but hate her – just a little – at this particular moment. She kept her head down, her heart and mind racing. That must have been what his eyes had been flickering to before.

The big question here was: how did he interpret it? Maybe he figured she just liked the lighting.

Cameron quickly readjusted to the real world, shaking her head. This was Chase; she knew perfectly well how he would interpret it – probably the same as she would if she had found a picture of her in his apartment. He would assume she liked the subject.

Which, she admitted, to herself at least, wasn't entirely untrue.

Realisation hurts when it hits, Cameron discovered.

It wasn't untrue at all.

In a quick rush of emotion, Cameron wondered what she'd been hiding from. In the spur of the moment, she reached over the table, grabbed the front of Chase's shirt, pulling him roughly towards her, and kissed him, hard.

She kept her eyes open, and fought an urge to laugh at Chase's stunned expression. She shifted her gaze over to her right, taking in Helen's look of disbelief, and Dani's of confusion, mixed, perhaps, with a little curiosity.

Cameron, noticing Chase looking like he was about to have a heart attack, though also looking rather happy, released her grip, and smiled coyly at him.

Cameron felt triumphant. And out of breath.

Looking around her, it was only the shocked silence that greeted her that brought on the first wave of embarrassment.

"Oh, God," she groaned softly, raising a hand to her forehead which, had she been older, would most likely have been creased with worried lines.

She took a deep breath, trying to cool her reddening cheeks.

She wasn't looking at either of the two adults, nor her niece, though Cameron had no idea whether Dani understood what was happening.

Cameron's vision was blurring now. She didn't even think about trying to stop the tears. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that when she opened them again, she would wake up.

Cameron flinched when she felt a hand touch her just above her elbow.

"Hey," Chase said quietly. "Don't cry."

Cameron swallowed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Could you…excuse us a minute?" Chase asked Helen awkwardly.

"I think we might…go," Helen replied slowly, looking with concern towards her sister, who still refused to make eye contact.

"Come on, Dani, let's go." Dani moved around the side of the table and took Helen's outstretched hand.

Cameron was standing uncomfortably in the midst of it all, whereas Chase still seemed to be half out of his chair, having been dragged into that position earlier.

"Bye, Aunty Allison," Dani said, stopping by Cameron, who gave her a watery smile.

"Bye, sweetie."

"Call me later, ok?" Helen breathed in Cameron's ear as she passed. Cameron nodded without raising her head.

Cameron and Chase stood in silence through the hushed voices from the front, and it was only when she heard the door close, did Cameron move. She dropped her hand, and reluctantly lifted her gaze to Chase's. Her steady stare seemed to be unnerving Chase, because he broke it.

Shuffling his chair back, Chase took Cameron's hand, pulling her over to the sofa, pushing her into a sitting position.

"Ok," he said firmly, giving the air of someone talking to a very small child. Cameron, just then, felt younger than Dani. "Do you want to talk?"

"Not particularly," Cameron responded.

"Do you want me to go?"

Cameron shook her head.

"No. Sit down. We should talk."

"I thought you just said-"

"My wants and my needs are quite different." She attempted a weak smile, but Chase didn't return it, so she wasn't sure if he'd seen it, or if, even, it had been there at all.

"So," Chase said, taking a seat. "Talk."

Cameron couldn't say she didn't try.

"I…it wasn't…I mean-" Cameron broke off, sighing in frustration. "It doesn't look like we're going to get very far with this."

"No. But do you have a better idea?"

Cameron shook her head sorrowfully.

"Look, what are you trying to tell me?" Chase asked her. "Are you trying to explain your actions, are you trying to tell me your feelings, are you…" he trailed off, hoping she'd pick up on one of his options.

"I…don't know," Cameron answered helplessly.

"Well, why don't you figure that out first?" Chase suggested. "I might go."

"Wait."

The word was out before she could stop it, before Chase had even pulled himself up out of his chair. Chase looked expectantly at Cameron, but when she didn't speak, he raised his eyebrows quizzically.

"Yes?"

Cameron didn't know how to respond. Her mind had come to a complete standstill. Slowly, she prodded it back into functioning properly, and asked herself one question.

She wasn't sure if she liked the answer, but she acted on it.

"I do have a better idea." She got up, and took a few small tentative steps towards Chase. He also stood up, looking interested in what she had to say.

But she didn't say anything. She made one last movement, closing the gap between them.

Chase responded rapidly to the arm she put around his neck with his own placed on her waist, almost as if he were expecting it. She hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she was doing the right thing, but it turned out she didn't have to make a decision, as Chase brought his head down to hers and kissed her gently, pulling her closer to him.

With all doubts vanished, Cameron let herself go, and stopped worrying. Over Chase's shoulder, she spotted the picture of her and Chase, still grinning at her from the bookshelf, and she mirrored their happy smiles inside, feeling excited at the prospect of many more pictures, lined along her walls.