Author's note: Still don't House. The questions of "I thought House was never married" is addressed in this chapter. Cameron isn't so much jealous as she is indignant.


Chapter 3: The Bet

Cameron slowly walks back to the conference room. She finds Chase and Foreman in the conference room. Chase has his feet kicked up on the table and is working on a crossword puzzle. Foreman is studying his flashcards he made after his brain biopsy and illness.

Cameron walks into the conference room. She looks at Chase and asks "Did you meet that woman? Cuddy's friend?"

Chase shrugs. "Was she the cute blonde with Cuddy?" Cameron throws her hands up in exasperation. "I'll take that as a yes. No, I was not formally introduced. Cuddy told me to hit the road when they got up to House's room."

Cameron goes to the coffee maker. She swishes the coffee in the pot and then dumps it in the sink. She sets about making a fresh pot. Foreman glances over at Chase and smirks when Chase lifts his eyes to the ceiling and shrugs.

Chase asks "Cam, did Cuddy introduce you?"

Cameron measures out the coffee grounds. "Actually, she introduced herself."

Foreman sets his cards on the table. "So, what's her name?"

Cameron pours water into the machine and then turns it on to brew. "Her name is Dr. Kate Kowal. She is Cuddy's friend. Cuddy said she is a rheumatologist from Seattle. She is the department head at some hospital there."

Chase puts his puzzle down. "How does she know House?"

Cameron faces her two co-workers. "She claims to be House's ex-wife."

Foreman starts laughing. Chase looks confused and says "What do you mean 'claims'? She either is or isn't."

Cameron walks over to the conference table. "When I asked Cuddy how she knew House, she walked out of House's room and said 'He writes me a hefty alimony check every month.'"

Foreman laughs harder. Chase starts to laugh too. Cameron stares at the as they have lost their minds. She says "How is this funny? Our boss has an ex-wife and he never bothered to tell us!"

Chase points out "Lots of people are divorced, Cam. My parents were. Hell, even Wilson is getting divorced."

Cameron says "But why wouldn't he tell us that he was married once? He told me that he had never been married?"

Foreman deadpans "Everybody lies, Cameron." She frowns at him. He continues "Cameron, even you were married once." Cameron looks shocked. "What? You never told us. House did, one day when he was bored and you were in the Clinic. He said that was why he thought you had so many issues."

Cameron indignantly says "I don't have issues."

Foreman shrugs. "I am not saying you have issues. That is what House said. But, consider this: Should Chase and I consider you a liar because you never told us you were married? Or should we just assume that since you are not married now, there is some sort of history attached to that relationship from the past that you don't want to dredge up and relive today? Maybe House and his ex-wife had an especially nasty breakup and he didn't feel like telling his staff about it. It doesn't make him any less of a doctor or any less of a pain in the ass."

Cameron considers what Foreman says. Chase gets up as the coffee finishes brewing and rinses out his coffee cup. Cameron says "But why wouldn't he tell us? He seems to know everything about us. Why shouldn't we know about him?"

Chase shrugs. "I really could care less if House was married before or not." He stirs some creamer into his coffee. "Hey, do you s'pose she is single? She was awfully good looking."

Cameron groans. "I swear all you think about is hooking up with women." Chase impishly grins.

Foreman says "Cameron, I think you are just mad that House lied to you. I don't know why you are so surprised about him lying."

"But why would he lie to me about being married?"

Foreman looks at her with pity. "Why does House do half the things he does? You know, we should all cut this poor woman some slack. I mean, she must not be that bad of a person if she came all the way from Seattle to see him."

Chase settles into his seat. "Do you s'pose she is nuts? I mean, she was married to House. I would think that any woman that married him had to be a bit off."

Foreman smirks at Chase. "I think that if she divorced him, she probably was only suffering from temporary insanity."

Cameron walks over to the coffee machine and pours herself a cup of coffee. "You don't know that she divorced him. House probably divorced her. After all, he is the one who stayed in the same state as Cuddy after the divorce. It would have made more sense that she stayed near her best friend. I bet he divorced her."

Chase points out "You said House pays her alimony."

Cameron shrugs. "Big deal. It's more common that the man gets stuck paying alimony to the woman. I bet he divorced her."

Foreman's eyes light up. "You serious? You willing to be on it, because I will take you up on the bet."

Cameron's eyes twinkle. "Ok, you are on. I will be you 200 dollars that he filed for divorce from her."

Foreman grins. "And I bet she filed for divorce from him. Chase, are you in?"

Chase shakes his head. "Nope, I am broke this week. Besides, I don't feel right about betting on her if I am going to ask her out." Cameron rolls her eyes.

Foreman laughs. "Chase, I am so glad you have a conscience."

Chase shrugs off the remark. "So, how are you two going to find out who filed for divorce from whom?"

Cameron says "We could check the public records."

Foreman replies "Or we could go ask Cuddy."

Cameron shakes her head. "Cuddy is going to be biased towards her friend. We can look up the public records." Cameron gets her laptop and starts surfing for the information on the internet. After several minutes, Cameron frowns.

Foreman asks "What is it?"

"If they were divorced in the county, only the last two years of records are available online. I don't see House's name, so I am assuming they have been divorced more than two years," Cameron tells them.

Foreman frowns. "Then let's go ask Cuddy."

Chase suddenly grins. "I have a better idea." Foreman and Cameron look at him. "Go search House's apartment."

Foreman and Cameron smile smugly at each other. Foreman mockingly says "What? No objections from the voice of morality?"

Cameron grabs her jacket. "House would do the same to any of us. Let's go. Chase, are you coming?"

Chase stands up and says "Why not?"

The three ducklings head to House's apartment. Foreman easily breaks in the front door. They walk into the apartment. Chase pulls the door shut behind him and says "Well, we can wreak all sorts of havoc; the only person who lives here is in a coma and won't be back here for a few days."

Foreman makes a beeline for the filing cabinet and starts searching it. Cameron walks over to Steve McQueen's cage. She says "I had forgotten about his rat. What do you think he was feeding Steve?"

Chase shrugs. "Is there a canister of rat food around?" Cameron finds it and nods. She feeds the rodent. Chase peruses the titles of the books on the bookshelf. Cameron walks over to the piano. She gently runs her fingers over the ivory keys. She feels slightly guilty for invading House's home. Chase wanders back to House's bedroom. Cameron looks at some of the sheet music on the piano top. It is a mixture of jazz, blues and classical music. Most of the composer names are obscure.

Chase calls out "Who wants to know if House wears boxers or briefs?"

Cameron arches an eyebrow at Foreman who looks disturbed. Foreman says "Chase, why on earth are you checking out House's underwear?" Foreman and Cameron listen to Chase nervously cough and stutter for a moment. Cameron starts going through some papers on House's desk.

Foreman says "Aha! Jackpot!" He holds up a folder labeled "Kowal". Chase comes out of House's bedroom with a copy of Hustler.

Cameron incredulously says "Chase! What the hell is that?"

Chase looks at her like she is stupid. "It's this month's Hustler. Why? You want a peek?"

Foreman ignores them as he flips through the folder. He suddenly grins and hands a paper to Cameron and says "I win."

Cameron snatches the paper from and quickly scans it. It says that Katherine Marie Kowal-House filed for divorce from Gregory Daniel House citing irreconcilable differences. The date on the paper shows that the divorce occurred well before House's infarction and before he dated Stacy. Cameron also notes that they were married for close to five years before they divorced. She hands the paper back at Foreman and says "We need to stop at an ATM on the way back."

Foreman says "Of course." He puts the paper back in the folder and returns the folder to its original location in the desk. Cameron exits the apartment, followed by Foreman. Chase rolls the copy of Hustler up and sticks it in his jacket. Chase pulls the door shut behind him.