Ghost From the Past (11/?)
Rating: PG-13 (I think)
Word Count: 990
Disclaimer: I own House. Um, right. That was a lie. I don't own anything. Except seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and my own insanity.
Summary: In the middle of a case, a figure from Cameron's past arrives, creating complications and confusions in her life.
Author's Note: As I said, this is my first House fanfic. The characters may be very, very OOC. It is possible. I have no medical experience, therefore anything I write is probably very wrong. I got an offer for a beta, who saw the first part, but not the second, so all other mistakes are mine. No spoilers after season 2.
Ghost From the Past
Chapter Eleven: Unanswered Questions
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"Ask your boyfriend if his other girlfriend gave him something to eat or drink," House ordered, leaning into the doorway.
"Joe is not my boyfriend," Cameron said, rolling her eyes. Of course, House would say something like that just to get a rise out of her, because she hadn't listened when he sent Foreman to check on Chase.
"Not him. Sleeping Beauty over there. Woke him up and find out if she gave him anything, food, drink, anything." House said.
"You want me to inject him with a stimulant?" She asked incredulously. "We have no idea what caused this. We can't give him a stimulant. We could—"
"I know. Do it anyway."
"No," Cameron folded her arms across her chest. She stared at House, unwilling to back down. There was no way that she was letting them give Chase anything.
"Do you want him to die?" House demanded. "I knew this would happen. You've gone and gotten all involved, and now you can't do your job. If this were any other patient, you'd do it. You'd do it because I told you to, but because this is Chase—"
"Because this is Chase, you're not doing anything. When he wakes up—and he will wake up—then you can ask," Cameron said.
House left the room, muttering to himself about women and hormones. Cameron smiled to herself. She turned to Chase. "You see, I can say no to House. Bet you never thought you'd see that."
She took Chase's hand again. She wished he'd been able to respond to her joke, but she smiled anyway. House would be back, demanding to give Chase an injection. Or he might make Foreman do it. She wondered if Foreman would go through with it.
She touched Chase's forehead again. It seemed cooler. Maybe that was an illusion, but she took a small measure of comfort from it. Chase was getting better. He'd regain consciousness soon.
Of course, when he did, she needed to have a long talk with him about what he'd said to Joe. He had no right to interfere. She looked at him. "You are in trouble, Chase. I wish you were awake. I'd like to know what you thought you were doing."
She squeezed his hand again. "But then, you have plenty of time to explain."
"Cameron?" Foreman asked, coming into the room. "Is he awake?"
"No," she answered, shaking her head. "Did House send you?"
"Yeah. He wants me to wake Chase. I told him that I wouldn't let him." Cameron said. "I think his fever is going down."
Foreman grabbed a thermometer and checked. "You're right. It's down."
She smiled again. "Then he should wake up soon."
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"Allison."
Another visitor was in the doorway. This time it was Joe. She stood up, letting go of Chase's head. She straightened her blouse and brushed her hair back, off the shoulders. She had done something with her hair earlier, and then Foreman had given her an odd look. She was probably a complete mess by now.
"Joe. How is Elizabeth?"
"Shouldn't you know, Allison? You're her doctor." Joe said, watching her. She frowned. Where did this animosity come from? And then she knew. It was because she was with Chase. And if she continued to work for House with Chase, Joe would never stop feeling jealous. There were times when she thought Chase was jealous of House, but he wasn't as unreasonable as Joe was right now. If he really was jealous, Chase understood that he had no claim; he never pushed. She could still work with Chase, but she wasn't sure that she could live with Joe. Not unless this stopped.
"Elizabeth is not my only patient, and I am not her only doctor," Cameron told him. "And this has to stop. You're not my boyfriend, and even if you were, I couldn't live with your jealousy?"
"Could you live with his?" Joe demanded, looking at Chase. "He told me to stay away from you."
"He had no right. And we will talk about it when he wakes up," Cameron said firmly. "But that's my point, Joe. You're being unreasonable. I work with Chase. If you can't accept him as a part of my life, there's no point in trying."
"I know how he feels about you," Joe said bluntly. "How do you feel about him? Because it seems to me you care more than you're saying."
"I don't know," she said. "I don't know how I feel about Chase, and I don't know how I feel about you. But you're not helping by being jealous. And then there's Lauren. You didn't even mention that you were dating anyone. If you don't have to tell me about Lauren, I don't have to tell you about Chase."
"It wasn't like that. Lauren's not—"
"You've been dating for two years, Joe. She loves you. If you can just walk away from her without a thought, then I don't want you."
"Allison—"
"Joe, please go," she pleaded. "This is—I don't want to fight. Just go."
"Okay," Joe agreed reluctantly. He turned to leave and then stopped. "For what it's worth, Allison, I hope he's okay."
"Me, too," Cameron said, taking Chase's hand. "Joe, wait. Did you see Emma give Chase anything? Food? A drink?"
Joe shook his head. "No. Not Chase. She gave you those cookies, though."
"The cookies?" Cameron asked, horrified.