Amazing Grace- A House/NCIS story

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything House related except DVDs. Ryan is mine, though.

AN. Yes, I know I wrote Cameron as a blonde, even though the story is set what would have been season 4 if no one quit or got fired. Which means she may have been blonde anyway. Also, abrupt ending. Soz.

Chapter two:

Dr. Greg House sat in his office playing his PSP when he heard the door open to his office. Not even looking up, he sighed heavily.
"I promise you, I am going down to the clinic the minute I finish this level," he swore.

"Well, the first thing wrong with that sentence is that you said that ten minutes ago," the voice replied.

House briefly glanced up at his boss, Dr. Lisa Cuddy and shrugged casually. "I swore revenge on the evil monster. My mother told me to always keep my word."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "The second thing wrong with that sentence is that there's been a change of plans. You've got a new case, so no clinic."

"Can't I not do clinic, but not do the case either?" House begged.

Cuddy ignored him and walked into the adjoining conference room where House's fellow, or 'ducklings' as the nurses had fondly nicknamed the three were lounging around.

"New case," she began briskly, tossing them each a file, which they all caught, well practised at the art. House reluctantly got up, picking up his cane and made his way to the table, taking the coffee mug Dr. Allison Cameron offered him as he passed her.

"Marine?" Dr. Eric Foreman said in surprise glancing at the first page.

"He's spent the past six months in Palestine," Cuddy affirmed. "On the journey back, two sailors died of some mysterious disease. Now, he's showing the same symptoms. Nausea, migraines, respiratory distress and paralysis. The other two men died when the paralysis reached the chest and their heart failed."

"Ok, then why don't we do blood works and then..." House trailed off when he noticed Cuddy looking guilty.

"What?"

Cuddy sighed, knowing her employee would react badly. "Uh, this is a serious thing. No one knows how its treated, what causes it, anything. So... uh, they're sending a team down from NCIS to assist and supervise."

As she had suspected, House exploded. "What? How are they supposed to help? They're not doctors! They're just detectives who never got to play with a plastic boat in the bathtub!"

Cuddy glared at him. "House, they have a job to do. And you will co-operate and be civil!"

"Or what? I can't go to the senior prom?"

"Co-operate, or you will find yourself a new office in the clinic!"

House wisely kept his mouth closed and she turned to Cameron, Foreman and Dr. Robert Chase. "I know I can count on you three to play nice, but I'm warning you anyway. They'll be arriving in two hours. This is the time to keep all illegal tests and procedures under wraps. Understood?"

The three ducklings nodded in agreement, and with a final glare to House, Cuddy left the office.

"Uh, stupid question, but humour me. What is the NCIS?" Chase asked hesitantly in his Australian accent.

Cameron and Foreman exchanged a look. "It stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Services," Foreman answered him.

"Basically," Cameron explained to her colleague. "They deal with all naval related crimes. It used to be called Naval Investigative Services, but it changed in 1992. It's kind of like the navy equivalent to the CID. Uh, based in Washington. They do good work."

The three men glanced at her in confusion and amusement as she returned to the file.

"Uh, Cam?" Foreman asked momentarily.

"Hmmm?" she asked, glancing up with a smile, at the nickname of her surname he had used.

"How the hell do you know all that?"

Cameron laughed, taking her glasses off and leaning back in her chair, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Well... my Dad is retired navy. Lieutenant Colonel, actually. And Andrew, my older brother is a Captain."

"Seriously?" House demanded, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"Yeah. Plus, I've got a whole bunch of friends from high school who are in the Marines. They're actually based in Iraq at the moment."

She seemed oblivious to her co-workers shock and returned to her work. As they couldn't begin the differential until the NCIS arrived, they continued to do regular checks on their patient and spent their time, grilling Cameron about her family, much to her annoyance. She was almost relieved when she saw Cuddy coming down the hall. She discretely smoothed down her simple black turtleneck top, picked a piece of lint of her black pants and shook back her long blonde hair.