Week Thirteen: Babysitting, Baby-waiting

"Mariana, I understand if you have to call out, but…" Cuddy let her voice trail off with a sigh. It wasn't fair of her to hold such high expectations for her nanny, she knew. The woman got sick and had her own family just as much as anyone else did. But it was going to lead to the day becoming infinitely more complicated and it was only five o'clock in the morning.

Trying to convince Mariana to come in regardless seemed destined for disaster, considering that the woman had to pause on the phone and throw up two times just within the phone call, so she told her to get better and decided to look for a back-up sitter that could come in on short notice.

She could call up her sister, of course, but she didn't really feel like a whole litany of words about the choices that she'd made recently was going to help her at all right now. She'd barely be able to get through the door against the torrent of advice. She could call her mother as well, but that might go the same way – except that her mother wanted her and House to get back together instead of break up.

Cuddy walked back and forth, almost pacing. There was an idea that was presenting itself to her, but it was doing so with a clear coda that reminded her that it was an awful idea, perhaps the worst idea.

No, she reminded herself a moment later, the worst idea would have been to call House and find out if he could babysit. Not that he hadn't before – and, apart from swallowing a quarter somehow, Rachel had come out of it unscathed – but in his current state House wasn't likely to be much use to anyone at all. He seemed to be barely any use to himself.

But there was another person – a person who was really too entwined with House currently to know any better, but perhaps also someone who really ought to have a day-long lesson in what she was getting herself into. And a person who wasn't currently employed, at least not that Cuddy knew about.

Cuddy picked up the phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a previously perky, now extremely tired voice answered.

"Hello, Dr. Cameron. It's Dr. Cuddy. Am I interrupting anything?"

"No," Cameron replied, sounding a little suspicious. "Is this another lecture about what I'm choosing to do about House? Because if it is, I don't need it right now. I have enough going on…"

"I wasn't calling to lecture you, Dr. Cameron." As much as she would have liked to, she reminded herself. Cameron's plan didn't seem to be well thought out at all, but any plan that was connected to House never seemed to be a well thought out plan. "I'm calling because I need your help with something."

"With a case?" Cameron inquired, "Because I can't really be around the hospital right now…"

Cuddy cut her off.

"It's more of a… personal thing."

Cameron's eyes went wide.

"What do I do?"

"Thought you liked kids, Dr. Cameron," Cuddy told her evenly.

Cameron blinked.

"Well, yeah, but… I haven't babysat since high school. She's…" She watched Rachel take a small lap around the room with eagerness, yelling happily. "Small. And fast."

"And she breaks things, so be careful," Cuddy warned. "Don't let her out the door. She can outwit you. You're smart, Dr. Cameron, but my kid… my kid is wiley."

"As in the coyote?"

Cuddy laughed.

"More effective than the coyote. And less explosions. So keep an eye out. I figure it might help to give you a preview of what you're going to have to expect."

Cameron peeked around Cuddy's shoulder and looked at the small child, who then sat down on the floor and began sticking her fingers in her mouth with happiness. She hadn't really thought about it that far, now had she? She had thought long and hard about having the baby – she'd replayed that scene over and over in her head until she thought her eyes would pop out. But actually raising the child? How hadn't it truly crossed her mind until now?

"I'm up to the challenge." She tried to say it lightly, as if the whole thing was funny, ha-ha funny, something that didn't require that much actual effort.

Inside, she could feel herself shaking.

"Rachel," Cameron said with increasing exasperation, "I told you not to grab that juice pitcher off the counter. Now look what you've done!" She grabbed the big package of paper towels off of the counter, at least the part of it that wasn't soaked in juice, and by the time she started mopping at it she already hated the tone she had taken with her.

She reached up and rubbed at her eyes, tiredness flooding into her body already. That brief moment was enough time, however, for Rachel to scoot up on the table, swinging her legs and gazing over at her hapless babysitter innocently.

"I was bad, Miss Allison?" she asked, making her eyes as big and wide as saucers. "Are you mad at me?"

In all honesty, the answer was yes. Rachel hadn't stopped moving since Cameron had gotten there, and if this had been the hospital she would have thought – only thought, she promised herself – about sedating the kid so that she could actually sit down for a few moments and have a proper cup of coffee.

Not that she was supposed to be drinking coffee right now. They seemed to keep changing that, admittedly – one journal said to lay off caffeine entirely, another said to do everything in moderation… Cameron was beginning to think the job – pregnant woman as well as babysitter and… God, mother – she was actually going to be a mother… was impossible if caffeine wasn't in the equation.

Not that she was having much time to think about it, before a Crash emitted from the next room.

"Rachel!"