House, it seemed, was feeling better.
"Lewis, Clark," he greeted the fellows as they entered the glass conference room. "Or is one of you Pocahontas? I can't decide. Discover anything fascinating?"
"Actually," Chase said with a sideways glance at Cameron, who had not spoken since the closet and avoided his gaze. "We ran into a bit of a problem."
House looked between the doctors expectantly. He lifted his hands, demanding further explanation. "Which is, what? House go ka-blooey before you got there?"
"No," Chase replied. "He had a silent alarm. Cops came within minutes. We had to hide in the closet so we wouldn't get busted."
"You hid in the closet?" House shouted. Chase winced. Either House was furious, and Chase was about to receive another diatribe regarding his own uselessness, or he was amused and would be making all sorts of "Chase coming out of the closet" jokes for months. Either way, Chase supposed he should leave that part out entirely. "Well, how very R Kelly of you. Could you two be any more clichéd? Why didn't you do something amazingly innovative like vault into the chimney or blend into the walls or, I don't know, tell the fuzz you're doctors trying to avert a national health crisis?"
"We did blend in with some very nice Hawaiian shirts," Chase attempted to retort.
"Avoiding litigation with a man who is so antagonistic and anarchic we suspect him of accidentally poisoning himself while trying to create a bigger weapon for terrorism sounded like a good idea," Cameron wryly added from the door. Chase glanced at her over his shoulder. She stood with her arms folded over her shirt, giving House one of her penetrating and unwavering stares of challenge.
House contemplated their excuses for a moment, then cocked his eyebrow and said, "Huh. Well, okay then."
"Okay?" Foreman repeated from his spot beside the table. "If I'd come back with nothing you would have berated me for ten minutes and then sent me back out, but they come back with nothing and that's okay?"
"Yup," House replied as he gathered his cane and a blank file folder and headed for the door with Foreman on his heels. "We'll just use this guy's paranoia to our own benefit."
As he passed Cameron, he paused. They locked eyes, and Cameron shifted a little under his stare.
"Besides," he said. "Seems to me these two came back with plenty."
Cameron blushed, dropping her head a little as House and Foreman exited into the hallway. As the door swung shut behind them she looked up at Chase with an air of near disgust, and turned to follow her colleagues.
"Cameron …" Chase started, but it was too late. She strode into the hallway and out of sight, and something about her walk told Chase that following her was not an option.
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To be continued ...