DISCLAIMER: I don't own House. But I do watch it religiously.

Q is for Quarantine

Chapter Eleven: A Single Word

"Cameron…" He wasn't sure if he had said this out loud, or if it was just in his head. Either way, he was sure of one thing.

He was content.

Chase started at the sound of the gruff voice by his ear. His involuntary jerk also roused Cameron from her sleep, and her eyelids flickered open for one second before closing again as she fell right back into stupor. Someone chuckled nearby, and Chase forced himself to crack open at least one eye. He was rewarded with the sight of, well, sight. Light poured in through the elevator doors from the hallway beyond, blasting his blurry eyes with more brightness than he could handle, and he was tempted to just shut them and go back to sleep like Cameron had. If only he could –

"Hey, you! Come on, get up!" boomed the figure in the door, bending down to give Chase a sharp poke in the ribs. Ouch.

That made Chase angry. And angry Chase minus beauty sleep equals violent Chase; which was probably why James recoiled quickly after rousing the slumbering Australian and catching sight of the animosity in his eyes. Had it not been for Cameron barring his body into the corner of the lift, Chase didn't doubt for a second that he wouldn't have thought twice about decorating the lift compartment with the other doctor's brain matter… assuming there was any. But, in true Chase style, he blinked to clear his thoughts, dug a hole deep in the dark recesses of his brain (and yes, he did have a brain - contrary to House's 'Chase is the stupidest' speeches) and buried his anger, letting the cool, calm and collected Chase surface to engulf his fiery thoughts. Funny how sleep – or lack thereof – made him just as grouchy as… House without Vicodin.

"Er, yeah, as I was saying," said James agitatedly, eyeing Chase with a little apprehension, "you've got to get yourself – and, um, Doctor Cameron – to the diagnostics office ASAP."

"Why?" Chase asked as he gently shook Cameron, but she only clung onto him tighter. Great. Chase could almost hear James sniggering, but he was holding back for fear of the intensivist taking his head off.

"Director Walker has requested your presence."

As if I give a shit what your boss 'requests'…Chase shifted Cameron with difficulty, so that she was leaning against the wall and not him. Her head lolled to the side, and as the weight alteration twisted her neck sharply, her eyes flickered open and she took a surprised breath in, looking around in the way people do when they have no recollection of the past few hours.

"What's going on?" she murmured almost incoherently, eyes bleary and out of focus. Chase got to his feet, joints practically creaking with the effort, and offered his hand to Cameron, pulling her up also. She swayed, grasping Chase's arm for support.

"You might want to get out of the elevator," James told them, voice edged with impatience, and ignoring Cameron's posed question. Chase looked over to his colleague; he doubted she would have noticed if the CDC official had answered anyway, seeing as her eyelids were drooping heavily over her usually clear blue eyes and she was wavering jarringly on the spot. Chase only had a second to comprehend what was about to happen, before it did.

"Oh, my –" He abruptly staggered forward, holding his arms out to catch Cameron's body as she fell forward, fast asleep again. Is it even possible, he thought as he fought to keep Cameron's body from making painful contact with the floor, for people to fall asleep standing? Grunting, he heaved the lightly snoring Cameron into a vaguely upright position, and, seeing as she showed no signs of waking up, swept her legs from under her and carried her in what could be simply described as 'bridal style.' She mumbled softly and curled more comfortably into his chest, circling her arms around his neck and nuzzling closer into his shirt as she did so. Chase had one arm supporting her back and another under legs; his arms felt ropy and strong, but that only registered fuzzily in Cameron's mind as she fell deeper and deeper into the realm of dreams. Chase couldn't help but notice the slight smile on her face as she did so, and he frowned, wondering what on earth she was thinking about.

"Come on," said James gruffly, stepping out of the elevator doors, which were now wide open. Chase saw the corridor ahead, lit with lights but completely devoid of movement and life, all the surfaces and objects in the hallway covered with clear plastic film. He sighed and began taking slow deliberate steps out of the cramped compartment, so as to not drop his sleeping charge. This was proving to be quite difficult, considering he was suffering from random bouts of dizziness and a dense build up of fatigue. The thought of his bed at home made his mind wander wistfully… then the feeling of Cameron in his arms brought him sharply back to earth as he tried to get the image of Cameron plus bed out of his head.

James was tapping his foot impatiently. "Hurry up," he said like a whining child urging a parent to buy him more candy than was necessary. Chase glared at him, anger bubbling up from its burial sight. The CDC doctor huffed again (perhaps a little uneasily) and started scuttling down the hallway, motioning with his hands to encourage Chase to keep up with him.

"What's – so – important?" asked Chase as he caught up with him, breathing shallowly and panting, even though Cameron's body hardly weighed anything in his arms. Cameron's right; I'm such a weakling… if I'm still alive by the end of this quarantine, I really need to get down to the gym and earn myself a six-pack or something… "Why – the – rush?"

James skittered around a corner, nearly tripping over a line of plastic-coated chairs. "Oh, you know, the disease is spreading, people are bleeding and patients are dying – nothing really worth rushing for."

Chase stopped to catch his breath, even though he knew he was only a very short distance from House's office. He scowled at James' last comment, but made no effort to carry on running. Cameron sighed happily in his arms, pressing her body closer into his. Oh, man…

James had stopped also, scampering back to where Chase was standing. He wore an identical scowl. "Didn't I tell you?" he said with deliberate mildness, hovering close to Chase's ear, "Doctor House is waiting for you and Doctor Cameron. And from what I gather, he's not a very patient man, so –"

Chase was already sprinting before James had finished his sentence. House was not a man to be kept waiting.

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"Nice of you to finally turn up."

Chase burst through the doors, laden with sleeping Cameron and James tailing behind.

"Got caught up in the elevator," was all Chase could come up with.

House nodded, and smiled when he saw who Chase was carrying. "Get up to anything interesting in the elevator?" he asked inquisitively, raising an eyebrow. James snickered.

Chase reddened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

House sighed, then decided that, for once, he wasn't going to pester the poor boy about his love (sex) life. "I was talking about theorising for the disease," he said, exaggerating his impatience, then winking mischievously at the younger doctor to let him know that he wasn't going to let this one go easily. "Didn't you and Cameron come up with anything to tell me? You know, during your bouts of touching and feeling-"

Chase grunted, cutting House off abruptly. James got the message. "I'll be on the fourth floor hallway if you need me."

"Don't worry," said House to James' retreating back. "We'll call if we need a fresh human body for testing. Do you prefer death by lethal injection – or by the cane?"

Chase shook his head and made to follow James out of the door. House quickly stepped in front of him and jammed his stick into the doorway to stop him from leaving, a wicked gleam playing in his eyes.

"So," he said, as if he was a news reporter, anxious to get the latest celebrity gossip. "How was it? You know, since she wasn't drunk or high this time-"

"Nothing happened," said Chase wearily.

House looked scandalised. "Are you sure?"

Chase gave him a frank look, then turned his gaze onto Cameron who was still snuggling happily into his chest. Something flared in his lungs as he sucked in a breath, something raw and fiery – but whether it was an emotional or physical burning (or if it had anything to do with Cameron) he didn't know. He took another experimental breath, and his chest ignited again, tendrils of fire licking at his throat. Cameron sighed and buried herself deeper into the folds of his shirt, seeking warmth and reassurance. Fighting the urge to cough, Chase held her tighter.

"Chase?" House rapped him – hard – with the tip of his cane. "Reliving the fantasies of last night?"

"No," said Chase curtly, walking through the now-free doorway. "I told you, nothing happened."

"You say nothing happened," said House, practically stepping on Chase's heels. "But we both know that's crap."

"Look, all we did was sleep together –" House let out a jubilant exclamation of glee; Wilson owes me…!. Chase rolled his eyes and finished the sentence:

" – as in the literal way. We didn't sleep together sleep together. We just… slept together." Wow, the same two words four times in one speech, go figure.

"So you just slept together, not slept together slept together?" Hah! Three times in ONE sentence – beat that!

"Yeah… we just slept together." Dammit, only once. Oh, my God, we're turning this into a competition?

"Just slept together?" Grrr, now I'm just repeating what he says…

Chase grunted. …?

House frowned. "I don't get this; did you sleep together sleep together, or did you sleep together sleep together… or just sleep together… or sleep together?" And this round goes to House! Six times in one sentence – I'm so good! Hmm… wait, what were we saying again? Dammit, lost the original subject…

Chase briefly considered whacking House around the head, but then he remembered Cameron was sleeping quite peacefully in his arms and thought better of that idea. "House, we did not have sex." He made sure to emphasise the last part of the sentence, so that there could be no misunderstandings. The look on House's face was priceless; if only Chase was in a lighter mood to appreciate it.

"Oh." Oh yeah, original subject: sex in the elevator. I remember now… "I don't believe you."

"Good for you," Chase retorted, turning into a room at random and peering about for something to put Cameron on. A bed would have been good. He cast about for one that was not covered with that stupid protective film, but it seemed not one of the surfaces in the hospital had escaped the horrors that were see-through sheets of plastic.

House coughed audibly behind him. "If you're looking for a bed to do Cameron on, then I think that one over there looks quite comfortable."

"Don't you have anything better to do?" snapped Chase, momentarily losing some of his recently acquired cool. First no sleep, then James poking him (more like practically begging for his finger to be bitten off), now House was on his ass again… was the whole world against him?

"Me, something better to do? You mean other than try to find a way to get out of here? Well, there's watching free porn on the internet, and then there's annoying the hell out of you guys – but I can get that from you and Cameron right here, right?" House rubbed his hands together, as if in anticipation of an eagerly-awaited event.

"I'll meet you back in your office," said Chase firmly, translated as 'clear off because I am majorly pissed and am milliseconds away from hitting something tall, lean and blue-eyed – and it's not Cameron.'

House laughed – cackled. But he got the message. "Be sure to video everything for me – I think I'm gonna need some entertainment in this place." He swaggered arrogantly out of the ward, being sure to close the door securely behind him. He was so sure Chase and Cameron were going to end up together by the end of the week; he smiled evilly as he imagined Wilson's face when he had to hand over the fifty bucks. It wasn't so much the money, but the feeling that he was right; House liked that feeling, and experienced it often. It was almost as addictive as Vicodin.

Grinning foolishly, he hobbled back to his office, and awaited the arrival of Chase. It was only then that he remembered that Foreman was locked up somewhere, dying of some deadly disease, and that he and what was left of his team had done virtually nothing to help the situation. This was not the time for porn or sex tapes.

He seriously hoped that Chase hadn't taken him seriously on the whole video thing. Chase was pretty brainless, after all.

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Chase picked up Cameron and laid her on the gurney he had prepared for her, or basically the gurney that he had ripped the plastic coating off, exposing the blankets and pillows. At least she would be warmer and more comfortable on it.

Chase placed her delicately into the middle of the bed, and drew up the sheets around her, and wrapped her carefully into the blankets. He took special care around her head (did she have a concussion?), making sure that it was rested as comfortably as possible on the stiff hospital pillows. Tresses of her auburn hair caressed her cheeks and fluttered around her face as she breathed in and out in the relaxed state of sleep. Chase cocked his head for a moment, just to listen to the sound of her even breathing in the deathly silence of the room. He knelt and bent closer, looking intently, mutely towards her face and reached out a hand to catch one of the tendrils of hair that would flitter in the air around her nose because it seemed like a perfectly ordinary thing to do…

As an exhaled breath licked the palm of his hand, he thought he caught faint sounds that whispered out past his hand, along his arm and jumping off his shoulder into his ear canals. Frowning, he noticed that Cameron's lips were moving, and she was murmuring things in her sleep. It wasn't a nightmare, as far as Chase could see; a faint smile creased the skin around her mouth and she was curling quite happily into the bed sheets around her. What was she saying? Did it have anything to do with what she was dreaming? Curious, Chase leant even closer to her, trying to trap every sound that came out of her mouth so that he didn't miss a thing.

Cameron mumbled softly. Chase wondered, again, just what exactly what she was thinking. Cameron said something incoherent once more. Chase couldn't help but smile. It felt nice; the sound of her breathing, her 'happy' sounds as she lay at complete rest, her smooth and textured features soft and relaxed. He couldn't help but feel that satisfaction that he felt when they were in the elevator together, that sort of bond that was not physical but was like reaching out to touch something that wasn't really there – and when your fingers brush it, what you once imagined is suddenly there. He couldn't explain it. It was not real, not really there, but it was. It just was.

"Hmmm…" Cameron murmured again. "Hh – mm…"

Chase waited to see if any real words would form. What was she dreaming?

"Hh… House…."

It's funny how a single word can rock your world. Chase thought that as he pulled away from Cameron's face, as he traipsed silently out of the room. He turned to shut the door, but found that it was already sliding shut behind him. Cutting him off from something he thought was real.

A.N. I'm sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that I haven't updated for so long. I've just finished my finals, so now I've got LOADS of time to write fanfiction.

Thank you all for your FENOMENAL response to the previous chapter. I was so touched by the amount of reviewers who left me a note; sorry if I didn't get to reply to all of them this time, but I will next time! Again, I'm extremely sorry for the long update. I hope it was worth the wait!

Hope you enjoyed!

Daygoner