A/N: I know after that last chapter this one is dismally short, but I wanted to get something posted & the fundraiser chapter is providing to be harder to write than I thought.

And I have to say thank you to everyone who reviews. The last chapters got the most reviews of any chapter so far. You guys are awesome!!!!!

Chapter 40

The Fundraiser – Getting Ready

Chase leaned casually against the wall beside the apartment door while he waited for Jasper to finish getting ready. He glanced at his watch and tried not to become impatient. They needed to be at the fundraiser early if they were going to make it for the big event. Big event might have been too much of an understatement. What was happening today had been, in the opinion of all and sundry at PPTH, absolutely inconceivable. Chase was just glad he'd never put money on the matter. He'd have lost his shirt. And a few pairs of jeans. Probably some sneakers.

"Mikki, we're going to be late," Chase finally called out. "This is only going to happen once in a lifetime. We can't miss it."

"Robbie, I just … my hair … and I never should have let that clerk talk me into this dress…" Jasper wailed from the bathroom.

Chase frowned. At work Jasper was cool and confident, sure of herself and in control. And with him, she rarely let her insecurities get the better of her. But he knew that when it came to something like this, she just felt out of her element. It had never mattered to him that she had weight issues. In all honesty, he never thought about it or really noticed. One look at her face and those eyes and she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He didn't care if nobody else agreed with him. He just wished she would.

He walked resolutely to the bathroom and opened the door without knocking. She whirled around from her place at the sink and faced him, tears glistening in her eyes. She wore a pale pink wrap dress with a deep v-neck. Chase couldn't have named the material, but it floated around her body like a cloud of cotton candy strands. Her hair was down and curled softly around her shoulders.

"Michael Jasper, I have never seen a more beautiful woman in my life than you at this very moment," Chase said firmly. "I don't care what anyone else thinks, you're gorgeous and I love you."

Jasper laughed and cried at the same time, which came out sounding very much like a snort. Chase grinned. That sounded more like the Mikki he knew.

"You could have just said I look nice," Jasper said as she dabbed at her eyes and tried not to smudge her makeup.

"Would you have believed that?" Chase asked as he stepped into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her waist. She shook her had. "Good thing I didn't then." He kissed the tip of her pert little nose and watched her dark eyes gleam.

&&&&&&&&&

Price nervously adjusted his tie and tugged on his sleeve cuffs as he stood outside his date's apartment door. He still wasn't sure he was ready for this; it was such a public appearance. And as good as House had been about the whole matter since … well since he'd been given no choice Price was loathe to provide him such an easy target. He could only hope that today's event would be enough to distract him.

Price unbuttoned the sport coat of his new summer suit. It had cost him more than he'd like to admit paying for clothes. But when you wanted to make an impression, Brooks Brothers was simply the choice. His white Belgian linen suit was the perfect ensemble for an afternoon garden party. The lavender shirt and dark purple tie were fun but still professional; this was a work function after all.

Smoothing down his tie for the last time, Price raised a tightly clenched fist and knocked politely and precisely on his date's door. It opened almost immediately, giving the impression that its owner had been standing just on the other side awaiting that knock just as anxiously as Price had been delivering it.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Wilson gave up trying to get Lisa to relax about ten minutes after they arrived at the university's gardens. With barely three weeks to go until her due date, Wilson really wished that she would slow down a little, but realized that today of all days was not the time to argue with her about this.

Hopefully, once the stress and the planning for the fundraiser and her evil ploy to get House and Cameron … maybe she'd finally slow down. In the meantime, Wilson watched with a strange mix of desire and pride as his incredibly adorable pregnant girlfriend barked orders at the caterers and wait staff. He wasn't sure if it was the glow the emanated from her since she'd begun showing, or if it was the contrast between her stern demeanor and her outfit, but she'd never looked better.

Mother Nature had decided that summer had arrived. The heat had been nearly unbearable the past week, and for someone in their final weeks of pregnancy summer heat was just cruel. Lisa had abandoned the somewhat formal white linen suit she'd purchased for this event and instead donned a navy blue and white gingham print sleeveless dress. The wide shoulder straps and navy blue belt at the empire waist were vaguely reminiscent of Dorothy. And for some reason Wilson wasn't willing to analyze, she looked fantastic. Maybe it was the heat affecting him as well, but he was having a hard time keeping his hands off her. It had been a very long month.

Wilson brushed a few invisible bits of lint from his tan Brooks Brothers Italian cotton suit. Lisa had rolled her eyes at him that morning while he'd fussily ironed his salmon toned no-iron shirt and carefully selected a pink and white striped tie. He couldn't help but nitpick over his appearance, especially today.

&&&&&&&&&&&

Cameron stood in the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror one last time. She was glad she had let Lisa talk her into buying this dress. The ever practical side of her had said it was silly. She didn't need something so extravagant, not the second time around. But she ignored that practical voice for once and let the impulsive side make the decision.

The ivory chiffon sheath dress accentuated her naturally willowy figure. The pleated bust gave her a little shape and definition where she needed the help; the empire waist and tie back showed off her slim waist perfectly. It was light-weight and flowed nicely, for which Cameron was very grateful in this heat wave. She'd pinned up her long brown hair, allowing only a few tendrils to escape and curl down her neck.

House hadn't seen the dress, and it was one of Cameron's biggest worries. It wasn't obvious, but House didn't things to be obvious to figure them out. She only hoped he'd be so upset about having to dress nicely that he wouldn't take particular notice.

She stepped out of the bathroom and into their bedroom, prepared to start wrangling him out of the jeans he would insist on wearing and into a suit. She couldn't have been more surprised to find him sitting on the bed, his dress cane in his hands.

House had waited until the last possible moment to start getting dressed. His lack of argument in putting on a suit was sure to garner unwanted attention from her. Wilson had chosen the charcoal gray suit, light gray dress shirt and sky blue tie. House would never have put together such an outfit, but he acknowledged his fashion sense was more appropriate to a Rolling Stones concert than a garden party.

House stood up when he heard her exit the bathroom and the two simply stared at each other. House couldn't remember ever seeing Cameron look so beautiful. If he hadn't had important plans today, they never would have made it out of the bedroom. She looked like an angel, and House couldn't help but think how fun it would be to help her fall from grace.

Cameron looked House's lean frame up and down. She suspected Wilson had something to do with getting him into that suit, and she was glad that she'd be the one to get him out of it later. The dark gray and straight lines made him appear taller than normal and flattered all the right spots on his lanky frame. And although Cameron wouldn't have believed his eyes could ever look better than they usually did, the tie seemed to draw out unknown depths of blue that mesmerized her.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Wow yourself," he answered.

"We need to get going, we'll be late," Cameron said. House glanced at his watch and nodded. He limped toward her and held out his arm. Cameron linked her arm with his and gave him a radiant smile. This was going to be a great day.