A/N: I hope everyone is staying safe and all is well. Here's another chapter :)

Chapter Four

Things were a little awkward for the next couple of days. The kiss they shared, as hot as it was, hung over their heads. House wondered what it would take to get her to kiss him like that again. It was certainly one of the hottest kisses he'd experienced in a long time, from anyone, and he'd certainly had his share of kissing women. Cameron, however, wasn't just any woman. If he played his cards right, she'd be putty in his hands. He just needed to find her melting point.

"So who's interviewing these pathetic hopefuls? Or is this going to be a joint venture?" House asked her as they ate lunch at their desks in their office.

Cameron took a sip of her drink. "I think we should both be present. But I also think we need to have a code word or a signal or something. If the applicant isn't the right fit, we can end the interview and send them on their way."

"Because "get the hell out of our office" is too harsh, huh?"

She smiled. "Yeah, just a little. You need to work on your subtleties, Dr. House."

"I didn't become a doctor to be subtle. I became a doctor to solve the puzzle and get the answers that nobody else could. Being subtle doesn't work. Everybody lies, Cameron. When the chips are down, you get to learn what's really important to people. When they're on the brink of death, and the one thing, the one vital piece of information they're holding back is the one thing that could potentially save their life. And it might be too late. So sometimes a little browbeating is necessary. Why did you kiss me?"

Cameron almost choked and she grabbed her drink for a long sip to clear her throat while House sat and watched her closely.

"Where did that come from?" she sputtered.

"I need to know."

She searched her brain for an answer but the one she didn't want to tell him, kept screaming in her head. Just tell him!

"You kissed back," she pointed out, hoping it would divert him a little. Although she knew he'd circle right back to the real issue.

"How could I not? What was I going to do? Fight you off? I don't think so."

"You could have. Should have."

"Why?"

"Because it's like I said before…"

"Yeah, yeah, we shouldn't mix business with pleasure. I got that part, but you kissed me. It was pretty hot, too."

He watched her blush and get flustered.

"It's not a bad thing, you know," he said. "Whatever happened in that stairwell was going to happen sooner or later." He crumpled up the plastic wrap from his sandwich and tossed it into the bin behind her before he stood up. "And it will again, sooner or later. Now, I don't know about you," he added, as he grabbed his cane, "but I'm in the mood to interrogate...err..interview some hopeful applicants."

She nodded and cleared off her desk. "Me too. Have you thought of a code word yet?"

"How about, "that's very interesting," if they're a definite contender and "we have a lot of other applicants to interview yet" for those that aren't?"

"Perfect. And I mean it, it's good. What if I interview them in the conference room? If I like them, then I can send them on to you. Then you can use the code phrases to end the interview."

Of course, he had no intention of using either of those code phrases, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He was going to have fun with the applicants, and some, at their expense. After all, if they couldn't handle a simple interview, how would they handle working for him? They would need thick skin if they wanted to be on his team, and he was going to put them to the test.

The first applicant was Doctor Elaine Gill, an endocrinologist. She was a widow, came from a hospital in western Canada and heard about the job posting from an online friend who lived in New Jersey. When she told her brother, Kevin Parkinson, a neurologist working at the University of British Columbia, about it, he was all too keen to go with her. So they emailed their resumes, packed their bags and flew across the country once they were contacted for an interview. Neither of them knew anything about Jersey or the hospital, but Elaine had read the journal article House wrote about the baby boy with Hypothyroidism and was very impressed with it.

Likewise, when Cameron interviewed her, she was very impressed with Gill and sent her onward to be interviewed by House in the next room. However when she saw a younger, very thin man walk into the office, with blue eyes that rivaled House's, she couldn't stop staring.

"And you are," she stopped to glance at the resume, "Dr. Parkinson?"

"I am," he said as he took a seat in front of her. His legs were so long he had to stretch them out off to the side. He couldn't have weighed more than 140 pounds soaking wet and Cameron thought he'd definitely give House a run for his money in the looks department. There was also something very familiar about him. She turned and glanced into the office where House was talking to Gill and Gill was watching her with amusement.

"Okay...what am I missing here?" Cameron asked him.

"Besides the fact that we look alike?" Parkinson asked her. Then he grinned. "She's my sister."

Cameron was blown away. "Are you twins?"

Kevin laughed even more. "No, she's five years older than me. We just look a lot alike."

"It's uncanny."

Meanwhile, House was watching the exchange between Gill's brother and Cameron. "Am I boring you?"

Gill turned her attention back to House. "No, sir."

"Do you know that guy?" House asked, gesturing to her brother.

"You could say that."

"Is he your husband?"

Gill burst out laughing. "Please. No, I'm a widow. That bean pole in there is my brother."

House looked just as shocked as Cameron and took another look. "Interesting. So anyway, why do you want to work for us?"

"Us as in you and Dr. Cameron?"

"Well, it's my department but she runs it with me."

"Are you two a matched set?" she asked with a slight smile.

House liked her witty banter and smirked. "Working on it."

Gill nodded. "I see. Well, I read your article about the baby boy with Hypothyroidism and it was good. Very unusual case."

"Yeah it was. I guess that sort of thing would be right up your alley."

"It is. I guess you could say I have a special interest in endocrinology, and hypothyroidism specifically."

"Why's that?"

"In your article you mentioned the baby girl in Canada who was born with it. I'm her."

House cocked his head to one side and studied her. "No way."

Gill grinned. "Yes way. You can call my Mom and ask her. Or call the hospital in Vancouver."

Meanwhile, down the hall, a man was kicking the bathroom door to get it open but it was clearly locked.

"Son of a bitch!" he hissed as he pounded on it in frustration.

"Excuse me a sec," Gill said as she stood up. House noticed her slim, athletic figure as she left the room and went across the hall. They talked for a minute and then she reached into her pocket and took out some kind of tool. In seconds, she had the door unlocked. The man thanked her profusely and she returned to House's office looking smug. "When you gotta go, ya gotta go."

"Never mind there are other bathrooms on this floor," House smirked.

She shrugged. "Sorry. Where were we?"

"You clearly have no problem breaking and entering," House said. It was a statement more than a question.

Gill shrugged again. "Sometimes ya just gotta get in."

"Ever break into a patient's home to get answers?"

"No, but the thought had crossed my mind now and again. Why? Is that what you do?"

"No, that's what my team is for. I might call upon you to do things that you might find unethical or just plain crazy. If you can deal with that, great. If not, there's the door and thanks for reading my article."

"Did I say I couldn't deal with it?" she asked. "Like you said, I have no problem doing a little B and E since patients lie. Serves them right."

House smiled slightly. "You start on January second. That going to be a problem?"

She smiled. "Not for me. Gives me time to go home and pack my stuff and find a place here."

As she got up, she saw her brother heading for the main office. A few minutes later he came out smiling.

"You got it, too," she said with a broad smile.

House watched the two of them leave and signaled for Cameron to come into the office.

"Two down, two to go," House said as he sat back in his chair.

"I think they'll be fun to have on the team. Gill is a firecracker, that one," Cameron chuckled.

"She has a penchant for B&E's."

Cameron's eyes widened. "And just how do you know that?"

"Well, she broke into the men's washroom in less than ten seconds and said she considered breaking into patient's homes when she felt they were lying to her."

"Looks like you might have found your match. Her brother is a real sweetie. Cute as hell, too."

"Don't get too excited, cougar. He's fruitier than a Christmas cake."

Cameron looked doubtful. "No way."

"Yes way. I'm a guy. We can tell these things."

"Whatever, as long as he's a good doctor, it doesn't matter."

"Nope, it doesn't. At least I don't have to worry about him hitting on you. Are we keeping Tyler as our assistant?" he asked.

"Do you want to?"

"Yeah, he's good. He gets shit done. We need that."

"Fine. We have a few more applicants but they're not coming in until tomorrow."

"Good. Then if there's no other business, I'm taking off early."

"You can't just take off when you feel like it."

House pointed to the door. "See that? My name's on the door. And he whose name is on the door makes the rules."

"My name is on the door too," she said as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Yes it is, which means you can go too," he said and started shoving things into his bag. "Want to grab something to eat?"

"I think you know the answer to that, House."

He shrugged, trying to brush off the sting of being rejected yet again. "See you tomorrow, then. What time is the first victim...err...applicant coming in?"

"Nine."

House winced. "Nine? Jesus, doesn't anyone sleep in anymore?"

"Not when they're keening for a job."

"Whatever. G'night, Cameron," he said as he grabbed his helmet and took off.