Chapter 3

Cameron stood in front of mirror, checking her hair for what had to be the tenth time. Her cell phone began to ring. Checking her watch, she saw that her date was now 15 minutes late. Assuming it was him calling with an excuse, she answered the phone.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"I don't know, where are you?" House asked in his best creepy voice.

"House?" Cameron asked.

"No, it's the boogey man, but I lost the directions to your apartment. Where are you again?" House joked.

"What do you want?" Cameron sighed.

"Just checking in on your and your date. He's not getting too fresh is he? I haven't had time to set up my video camera."

"God, you're such a …" Cameron was too exasperated to even come up with a good word.

"Chick magnet? I know, it's a blessing and a curse" House quipped. " Judging from the tone of your voice, you're not having a very good time."

Cameron sighed. How can he know that?

"He's late, that's all. I'm afraid we'll miss our reservation." Cameron knew there was no point in arguing with House. She swore, sometimes it was like he really was a mind reader.

"Ooh, dinner first. You know what that means, don't you. He'll expect you to put out," House teased.

"You're such a child, honestly House," Cameron scolded, just as the doorbell rang. "He's here, I've got to go." She hung up without waiting for a reply.

House smirked to himself. This was going to be fun.

Just as Cameron and her date, a very handsome, but slightly boring young man, were sitting down to dinner, her cell phone began to ring again.

"I'm sorry," Cameron said, "I have to answer this, it could be the hospital." She answered the phone.

"So, where did lover boy take you?" House asked, without so much as a hello.

"House, what in God's name do you want now?" She tried to speak quietly and calmly; she didn't want her date to know who was on the phone.

"Nothing, I just missed hearing your soothing voice," House crooned.

"House, I'm serious. Stop calling me." Again, she hung up without waiting for him to reply.

House grinned to himself. This was way too easy, only two calls and she was already in a fluster. Well, maybe just one more to make sure he really got his point across.

When the phone rang again, Cameron almost didn't answer it. But, her caller ID wasn't working, and she knew it could be the hospital.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized again to her date. "My caller ID isn't working, I have to answer." He smiled politely, but she could tell he was beginning to get annoyed.

"Dr. Cameron." She answered the phone.

"Is this Dr. Allison Cameron?" a female British voice inquired. It sounded a little off, but Cameron didn't give it a second thought.

"Yes, may I ask who's calling?" Cameron replied.

"This is a neighbor of Dr. House. I heard a loud noise from his apartment. I know he was just released from the hospital, so I came down to check on him and found him on the floor. He says he's alright, and he went to his bedroom, but I didn't think he should be alone."

"Did he ask you to call me?" Cameron asked, confused.

"No," the voice replied, " I found this number on his cell phone, he'd left it on the couch. I'd feel better if someone came by to check on him, and your number was the first one that said doctor…" the voice trailed off.

Cameron sighed. She really had no choice but to go and make sure he was okay. She turned to her date with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, there's been an emergency, and I'm afraid we'll have to cut our date short." She turned back to the phone. "It's alright, I'll stop by to check on him as soon as I can get there."

"Thank you," the voice answered. "I would just fell so guilty if I left him and something happened. I'll just slip out, so he won't think I was meddling. He can have a bit of a temper, you know."

"So I've noticed." Cameron answered. She hung up the phone and began to gather up her things. She turned to her date, who was now looking very annoyed.

"Greg, I'll call you tomorrow and maybe we can reschedule. Sorry, this happens sometimes when you're a doctor." She smiled again.

"My name is David, not Greg. Don't bother calling, I know when I'm being ditched." He turned and stormed off, leaving her to pay the check.

Cameron looked stunned. She'd called him Greg? She hadn't even noticed. She mentally kicked herself. House better be bleeding when I get there, she thought to herself.