a/n: Be prepared, this one is a little more dramatic than most. Not your typical fluff, but I really think everyone will like. Lots of angsty Chase in this one.

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It took Cameron a minute to realize she was on the couch in her family room. Even with her eyes open, she was in too much of a daze to grasp her whereabouts. She carefully raised herself up, giving the room a minute to spin before sitting fully upright. That's when she saw Chase sitting in the armchair across from her with a strange scowl on his face.

"I'm sorry Robert. I must have dozed off."

"You were out for three hours. I was worried so I called Dr. Ades. She told me about your dizzy spell over two weeks ago, while I was in surgery. Why aren't you doing what she told you to do?"

"I'm taking it easy."

"Like hell you are. I've seen you tear through this house the past few weeks trying to organize it at a frantic pace, and I know House isn't taking it easy on you since Foreman left. When you got home your ankles were blown up like two balloons and you could barely keep your eyes open. Your blood pressure is starting to spike. Do you want preeclampsia?"

"It won't get that bad. I just went a little overboard today. You see, a little rest and I'm all better."

"We have an appointment first thing in the morning."

"I don't need to go to Dr. Ades each time I get a little sleepy."

"A little sleepy? You were exhausted to the point where you were incoherent and your pulse was racing. That can't be good for you or the babies."

Cameron stood up. "Let's not talk about this now. I'm still really tired and going to bed."

"You can't avoid this!" His outburst startled her a little. "You and I both know a lot of twin pregnancies don't go full term. You need to go slower than other pregnant women at 28 weeks because you are carrying twice the load. These babies aren't ready to be born yet."

"Yes Robert, I'm a doctor too. I know the issues, and I'm fine."

Chase turned around as his frustration was about to really set him off. He took a deep calming breath, knowing that upsetting her right now wouldn't be the wisest thing to do. "Fine, we'll see what the doctor says in the morning."

"You coming to bed?"

"No. I can't sleep. I'm going to read for a bit."

Cameron turned him to face her and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine, stop worrying."

Chase kept his head lowered, refusing to make eye contact. Cameron sighed, knowing he just needed sometime to cool off, and went upstairs.

Chase sat back down in the armchair. He didn't want to think about the worst that could happen. He's seen worst case more often than other people though, so he couldn't avoid it. He also knew he couldn't force other people to see reason either, so it was out of his hands. He did the only thing he knew what to do in moments like these. He said a prayer.

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"We have a new fellow starting tomorrow." House announced as Cameron and Chase entered the conference room. They had stopped by to drop off her things on the way to their appointment.

"Tomorrow? I haven't met any candidates. I thought I was supposed to be part of the interview process." Cameron wasn't at all surprised that she was excluded.

"Really? I could have sworn you told me he was perfect and that I should hire him."

"Nope. What's his name?"

"Something even I can't pronounce. Just call him Al."

"You hired a foreign doctor?"

"You didn't object when I hired your hot Aussie husband. I know you have a thing for accents."

"I didn't object because he was here first and he came from an actual English speaking nation. Does this guy speak any English?"

"Sure, schools in India require English to be taught. It's just a little broken, that's all."

"You hired him so you could practice conversational Hindi, didn't you?" Chase said.

"I hired you two for similar lesser reasons."

Cameron shook her head. "Fine, whatever. Do what you want."

"He's your trainee." House announced.

"What?!" Cameron shouted. "I'm weeks away from maternity leave. What can I possibly show him in that time?"

"You've crammed for exams, right?"

Cameron was about to go ballistic, but Chase stopped her. "You can deal with him later. We have an appointment." Cameron nodded. Both flashed House their own unique glares of contempt before leaving.

House cracked a huge smile. He knew it wasn't wise to aggravate a pregnant woman, but she made it too easy.

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"You're done working," Dr. Ades declared after examining Cameron.

"No, House needs me right now. He has no one else. A new fellow starts tomorrow."

"Tough. I usually tell expecting mothers of twins to stop working anywhere between 28 and 30 weeks. You can't handle the stress anymore. You should have been done two weeks ago."

Cameron looked at Chase for some type of backup, but he was smiling in full agreement with the doctor.

"Please, I just need another week. I promise I won't push myself."

Dr. Ades looked at her skeptically and carefully weighed the decision. "One week. No physical tasks, and if you see so much as an slight puff in your ankles you get in this office for a blood pressure check."

"Yes doctor," she replied begrudgingly.

"Normally I'd write up orders for your employer, but I know he would just ignore them anyway. You need to be firm with him about the rules."

"Okay," she replied like a child that had just been scolded.

"Great. I need a few minutes alone with your husband."

Cameron's eyes grew wide, not certain what sort of secret messages they were about to share. She didn't like it.

"It's okay," Chase told Cameron. She gave them both one more suspicious glance before apprehensively leaving the room.

"I understand you and Dr. Foreman will be open for business soon in an office in this building."

"Yes, it will be ready in a week or two. Are you part of some welcoming committee?"

"Robert, I'm not a doctor that usually pries in the personal business of my patients, but the timing couldn't be worse for Allison. She's part of your stress you know."

"She hasn't been involved. I've kept her away from all of it."

"She still sees your stress. How about your new home?"

Chase's look turned shameful. "Yeah, that's been a problem. It's better, but we aren't where she wants to be. I haven't been able to help like I hoped and she won't sit still. She has this obsessive desire to get everything in order."

"She's nesting. That's a very common behavior as the arrival gets closer."

"I can't get her to be reasonable most of the time."

"I know I don't have to lecture you about all the risks right now. All she has to do is overdo it once to be pushed over the edge. Please watch her carefully."

"I will."

"Thanks for calling me right away about this. Don't hesitate if anything happens again."

Chase nodded. "I won't. Thanks."

"Oh, and Robert," she said stopping him as he was about to leave. "Welcome to the neighborhood."

He smiled in appreciation and went to join his wife.

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Chase and Cameron stood outside the plain office door. There were no windows around it and the sign in front was empty, no designation marked as yet.

"Don't expect anything too spectacular. We are after all starting small." He told her with his hand on the doorknob, ready to open the door.

"I've seen enough medical offices. Trust me, I have no expectations." She replied.

He opened the door and they entered a small waiting area, holding only eight chairs along three walls. The other short wall had only a door. "The chairs are for show. I doubt we would actually have eight people in here at one time." Chase said.

"Appearances are important. You'll have plenty of non patient visitors anyway."

He opened the door that led them to the rest of the offices. There was a small reception desk to the right, a large conference room to the left and an exam room and tiny supply room at the back.

Voices came from the large conference room, so they went in there. The room had a large table with two simple desks in the corners. A brand new unused white board stood proudly in front of them, begging to be used. Cameron ran her hand over the smooth surface, in awe at its clean magnificence.

"Pretty cool, isn't it?" Asked Foreman. He and Pamela stood at the conference table going over color swatches.

"Oh, please don't let this be what I think it is." Chase said, holding his head.

"The walls are generic and bland," Pamela replied. "Haven't you put any thought into some colors and wall hangings? Oh, I've got it. We should go for an outback theme."

"Ha ha ha." Chase deadpanned. "I'm sure with your new position you can find someone who specializes in decorating medical offices. In the meantime, we need you far away from a color palate."

"Relax. Look at the samples. They are nice and neutral. If anything, you should be scared over me picking art. Tell me, do you lean more toward Picasso or Monet?"

"Warhol."

"That's sick and wrong." Pamela looked at her watch. "As much as I'd love to debate artistic merits, my lunch hour is over. It's your practice, do what you want."

"I need to get back to work too." Cameron said. "This is really nice."

"Don't let House-"

"Don't worry. I'll take it easy." She gave him a kiss. "Might I suggest the same for you. You're still on medical leave, remember?"

He smiled over the fact that she had him there. He watched her and Pamela leave, then turned back to Foreman, who was looking at him in disgust.

"What?"

"You two are pathetic. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I was going to come see you next."

"What's up?"

"We've got work to do." He handed Chase a file.

"A referral? We aren't in business yet."

"We are now. Pamela gave this to me. This referral is personally from Jerry Anderson."

Chase read over the notes. "Why doesn't he give this to House?"

"Maybe because we won't give him crap for it. That and House is having staff issues."

"Where do we see this person? We don't have any supplies in our exam room yet nor an installed computer system to process the info."

"That's where your wife comes in. She's going to see her in the clinic and admit her, then list me as the primary physician."

"Cuddy isn't going to like this."

"Cuddy won't have a choice. My privileges are all clear and this one is coming from the top."

Chase smiled. "You just wanted the first case and are taking advantage of my medical leave."

"Yeah, that also was a reason. We need to get our feet wet and turning down a personal referral from Jerry Anderson isn't a great way to start."

Chase nodded, accepting he was right. "When are you seeing Mrs. Miller?"

"In about two hours."

"Call me for a consult as soon as you are done. We start this process together."

"Hmm, I'm sorry, wasn't there an issue of you not being medically cleared to work?"

"Foreman-"

"If it's anything major, I'll let you know. Otherwise, it's under control. Be happy, we are in business."

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"House, sign this." Chase put the paper in front of him.

"Good morning to you too Dr. Chase. I don't remember giving you an examination."

Chase held his arms out and turned around in a full circle. "You see, fit for work."

"You could at least ask nicely."

"Right. Have you ever asked nicely for anything?"

"I'm not the one that needs a paper signed."

Chase put his hands on his hips. "Come on House. Foreman has been working non-stop with Mrs. Miller for two days and needs help."

"That doesn't sound like asking."

Chase huffed, lowered his head, and swallowed his pride. "Please?"

"Okay, on one condition. You take this case." House handed him the file.

"Why, don't you want it?"

"We already have a case. My slim staff can't handle more than one."

"Your staff never handled more than one." He looked over the file. "You sure you don't want this? It looks pretty straight-forward."

"Which is exactly why I don't want it. Too boring."

"Fine, I'll take this if anything so you'll take it easier on Allison. She's supposed to be done you know."

"She can go as soon as we're done with the case."

"Is that going to be done in four days?"

"I'm not sure, but I doubt it."

"That is not acceptable."

House held out his hand. "Wasn't I supposed to sign something?"

Chase handed him the paper with un-amused scowl. House signed it and handed it back to him.

"Four days." Chase told him while he was leaving.

House didn't respond. He wouldn't worry about it. Cameron wouldn't leave him with a case. She'd never forgive herself.

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"House, we need to talk." Cameron was at her wits end.

"This is so sudden. After all, you are having another man's babies."

"I can't take this. Face it, Al sucks. He doesn't learn easily and I have to do the work for both of us. I have a huge headache, my back is killing me, my ankles are swollen like two balloons, and I'm so damn tired I can't see straight. I was supposed to be done working two days ago. I almost gave Mr. Reynolds the wrong dose of medication before I caught myself."

"Sounds like you are the doctor that sucks."

"Al needs hand holding. Neither of us can do this."

"He's learning. He just needs a little time. He'll come around."

"Fine. I'll let him loose. If he kills someone, it's your problem." She stormed out of his office. He looked up to notice a minor stagger, but dismissed it as Cameron disappeared into the conference room.

House went back to reading his paper, then something dawned on him. "Did she say headache?" He got up.

"Dr. Cameron," Al said entering the conference room. "The lab results."

Cameron held out her hand to accept the piece of paper, but it was shaking. He noticed her wince as she read the results. "Yous in pan?" Al said with thick accent.

"The word is pain Al and yes, I'm feeling PAIN." That was when a sharp stab hit her gut. She screamed. Al instantly rushed over and helped her into a chair. "Dr. House!"

House was already there next to him. He saw the gut wrenching grimace on Cameron's face. Cameron felt another sharp stab and screamed again.

House took immediate action and shouted instructions to Al. "She's having contractions. Call a response team and get some magnesium sulfate."

He ran out of the room just before Cameron screamed again. House helped her to the floor, laying her on her left side. "Stop it! I have a standing rule. Kids are not allowed in diagnostics."

"I'll tell them." She stopped to absorb the pain of another contraction. "It's not working. These kids are so damn stubborn."

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Chase made it from the medical building to the ER in 6 minutes once he got the page. As soon as he was spotted, the ER nurse pointed toward the bed. Cameron was lying on her left side, oxygen mask on, hooked up to monitors and an IV that was suppressing contractions. He looked at the fetal monitor, which was surprisingly strong. Then he looked at Cameron's vitals, which weren't so good. Her blood pressure was 185/110, oxygen levels were low and her heart rate was erratic.

"Hey, I thought I told you no more medical emergencies." He brushed the top of her head and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Sorry." She said through the mask, her voice weak and tired.

"Robert, a word please?" Dr. Ades asked from behind.

"I'll be right back." He kissed her forehead and joined the doctor in a private area. "What happened?"

"She started having contractions. Luckily she was in the office with House. He administered the magnesium sulfate and got her down here right away."

"It's preeclampsia, isn't it?"

"I can't do a positive diagnosis for 24 hours, but I'd bet the farm on it. Proteinuria was at 310 mg. We'll have a better idea if her blood pressure is still bad in five hours."

"Any seizures?"

"No, the quick use of the magnesium sulfate prevented that. She still wasn't done with House?"

"She hasn't been putting in full days and was supposed to be done by tomorrow. She came in with me this morning and we were going home in an hour. They were finishing up a case."

"Well now she doesn't have a choice. She's on bed rest for the rest of the pregnancy, and judging by how bad she is right now, she might have to be hospitalized until delivery."

"What are the chances of her delivering prematurely?"

"It seems like a forgone conclusion now. If she's diagnosed as severe and holds out that long, we will likely induce at 34 weeks for her sake. She hasn't been vomiting because of the Phenergan, but I suspect she will soon since she has to go off it now. The potential stress risks are too high."

"Have you run any liver and kidney function tests?"

"We are waiting for the labs to come back, but so far no warning signs."

Chase ran through the flurry of questions in his mind, trying his best to maintain composure. "How long do you realistically think she'll go before delivering?"

"After what happened today, she could go at anytime."

Chase got more panicked. "She's not even at 30 weeks."

"She really needs to get to at least 32. We'll know more in a few days after we monitor her levels of sickness and stress if she can go that long."

"Okay, we will take it day by day." Chase ran his hand through his hair to remain strong, but inside he was falling apart. He didn't want to start talking about worst case.

Dr. Ades felt his worry and had a way to ease it. "Robert, there is good news in all this. I did a quick ultrasound when she got down here and recorded the scan. Would you like to see it?"

Chase nodded, eager to see what she was happy about. Dr. Ades turned on the monitor.

His eyes lit up at sight of his two children. Their size and shape was ideal, both weighing around three pounds. Both were facing down, and their heart rates strong and normal. Whatever distress their mother was feeling was completely lost on them. They both looked so healthy, so perfect, so beautiful. He was overcome with relief. What he saw next though made him bite his lower lip to fight back tears.

Dr. Ades smiled. "You saw it."

"The other one's a boy." He said with a quivering voice.

"Are you going to tell Allison?"

"I don't know yet." He took a slight pause to process all the swirl running through his mind. "Are you going to give them steroids for lung development?"

"Not yet. We will have to consider that though if she doesn't improve."

He nodded, then buried his face in his right hand.

"Robert, I'm most worried about Allison right now. The pregnancy is toxic to her and destroying her well being. These babies could survive well if they had to be delivered early. If she goes into extreme distress at anytime, we will do an emergency C-section without hesitation."

Chase didn't know whether to be scared or relieved. He was so glad that the babies were good, but so worried about the mere thought of losing his wife. He couldn't do this without her.

"I understand," he said softly.

"You can go back to her now. She needs to know you are there."

He wiped a tear away and went back to a sleeping Cameron. She looked so fragile and helpless, and all he could do was wait. He stroked the top of her head lovingly and gave her a soft kiss. "You'll get through this."

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a/n: Sorry for being such a drama queen! Just FYI, preeclampsia is a common pregnancy complication, and one I flirted with myself. It's far more common with twins. In a nutshell, the babies become toxic to the mother. It ranges from mild to serious, so you'll have to see how this case plays out! Thanks as usual for reading and all the wonderful comments on this.