AN: Okay, this chapter has a lot of dialogue in it, but I needed to put it in somewhere. There will probably be 7-8 chapters total, and the drama just keeps unfolding. Thanks to all my reviewers, you're all fantastic. :)

He busies himself at his locker, waiting for her to come. He's in no rush to get home; no one's waiting for him. She finally walks in, and he turns his back to her suddenly, waiting for her to notice.

"They're beautiful." He takes this as his cue to turn around and acknowledge her. He presses his back against the cool locker, trying to prevent his core temperature from rising to boiling. She's holding the flowers, and they look better for her than he could have ever imagined. He realizes he's holding his breath.

She steps closer, and he wants to run forward and kiss her more than anything, but he knows that he can't. He knows she can refuse him; she's done it before. "I thought about what you said, and…" she pauses, and he wonders if he's turning blue from holding his breath for so long. "I really don't want a relationship with you."

He hates how she stresses the negative in the sentence. As if he wouldn't be able to understand if she spoke normally. But then again, he's not really sure if he would have gotten the hint at all. He hates how she can make him doubt himself. He hates how he loves her.

"I know," he lies. He had no idea coming in here if she'd accept him or not, but he'd prepared for rejection and is able to hide it well. He was used to it, from her, from his parents, from anyone who knew him basically. "I also know you like flowers." He manages to force out a small smile to try to convince her that she doesn't need him, but inside he feels like she'll just eat away at him until nothing's left. He realizes that he's closer to the exit, so he leaves first; giving her time to enjoy her time alone and himself time to wallow in rejection.

He throws himself in his car and slams his head on the steering wheel. He knew this could happen; he'd prepared himself for it. But he also knew she could say yes. He knew that tonight could be spent with her instead of alone. He'd thought this through, everything from the note that only she'd understand to the color of those damn flowers.

If only things could be different. If only he didn't have to feel so cold, so hurt, so alone.

Chase woke startled and confused, then realized he was listening to Cameron throwing up in the bathroom. He tried to clear his head from the vivid recollection. You can't keep remembering all of the bad things about her, he told himself. She's yours now. Well, almost. The sound of her vomiting made him feel sick too, and he stumbled over to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet.

After finishing puking his guts out, Chase went over to the sink where Cameron was still retching. Forcing himself to hold up his head, which was in a great deal of pain, he stood next to her. He reached out and gathered her dark chocolate locks of hair into one hand, and used the other to push her bangs as best he could behind her ears. He then began stroking her back, waiting patiently. He supposed the drinking had less of an effect on him because he was larger than her and more used to it. His body was naturally more tolerant.

She finally finished, washed her face, and stood up. "Thank you, Rob," she whispered.

"Any time." He smiled affectionately, and then kissed her warm forehead gently. "Let's get back to bed and sleep this off." He also whispered.

The loud ringing of Chase's phone startled both of them awake. Every noise and light seemed to be magnified by a thousand.

He sat up miserably. "Hello?" he answered, ever so softly, hoping the person on the other end would mimic this tone.

Unfortunately, she didn't. "Dr. Chase? Can you hear me?" Cuddy's voice rang loudly in his ears.

"Uhh, yeah," he said, rubbing his temples. "What's up?" Cuddy, Cuddy, he racked his brain. You were supposed to…to call her today? He felt so confused.

"Chase I need you to come down to my office today around two. Can you make it?"

He blinked at his clock, his eyes sliding in and out of focus. 12:23. "Yeah, I'll be there at two. Thanks."

"Did I wake you?" she asked sternly, like a mother scolding her lazy teenager."

"Yeah," he replied sheepishly. "It's fine though. Two's fine."

"All right," she said warily. "Good bye."

He heard the click of her hanging up, then turned to Cameron. "You up?" he questioned. "Cuddy's about to call."

After Cameron received the same request as Chase, both had dressed, and Chase had thrown together some hand sandwiches, he decided it was time for them to talk.

"Allison," he spoke softly, their heads still remained extremely sensitive. "I think we should talk about last night."

Her gaze dropped to the floor, but she felt his warm, strong hand cup her face and bring her focus back to him. "What about it?" she mumbled.

"I dunno." He felt stupid. She was supposed to take over here. Why did he start this conversation? "I thought you might know what to say," he admitted. She was supposed to handle this awkward situation gracefully; this was female territory, emotions and whatnot, he was really just waiting for three simple words…

"Oh." She decided to play dumb. "Sorry I was such a…control freak. And so abusive. It must have been the alcohol…way too much…plus PMS…I need more control in my life…don't want to lose you…" She knew he could see through it. Curse those steel-blue eyes, for knowing her so well, for making her weak.

"Not that." His voice was less than a whisper. He needed to know, he deserved to understand.

"I know. I didn't mean to give you mixed signals. It just, happened. I trust you, Rob. I know you love me. And I like you. A lot." He had been ready for it this time, the disappointment stung less. "Last night, my head acted without my heart. All the signs said love, but I didn't feel it inside. And I tried to just go with the logic. But all I could think about was Mike." She seemed to have run out of tears from last night, or maybe she was just more in control now. Either way, he was grateful she wasn't crying over her dead husband again. "I can't help but feel this way. My heart never had a chance to grieve because it was so confused with Joe." Wilson had told Chase about her husband's best friend, he just hadn't wanted that ex-love to come up, here, now. "I don't know how to let myself love anymore." She looked up, waiting for him to turn away; to leave her alone again. No one wants to be with someone who can't love, someone so heartless.

Much to her surprise, his eyes seemed full of sorrow and pity, not regret or anger. "Allison, I understand. I'll wait for you. I'll teach you how to love again." His warm stare met her lonely one, and her who self filled with gratitude. For the first time in years, she didn't feel alone.

She fell into Chase's arms, wrapping hers tightly, protectively around his neck. Cameron's head eased onto his shoulder and he cradled he gently, for as long as she needed, he would wait for her.

Cameron blindly walked to Cuddy's office. The pain in her head blurred her vision and the hospital chaos only added to that head pain. She hoped the medicine she took would kick in soon. The only thing guiding her was Chase's strong hand, grasping hers tightly. He led her to the elevation, where she rested her head on his shoulder, then down the hall to talk with Cuddy. Cameron barely noticed the glares she received from some of the nurses. She had what they all wanted. Not simply a gorgeous Aussie with fantastic hair, but a man who would go to any length to make his woman happy.

They walked into Cuddy's first room, took seats on the couch, and waited to be called into her office. True, they sat next to each other, but their hands now remained to themselves and the only way in which they touched was one leg casually brushing the others. There was no denying that they were a couple now, but it was time to act mature about it, they'd agreed. No more kissing in the halls, passing notes, they weren't to act like overly emotional, hormone-raging teenagers. (At least not in public.) They were to act like themselves: two lonely doctors seeking comfort in each other. Searching for love.

Cuddy's office door opened, and she led Foreman out. He looked triumphant, and the sight of his old co-workers brought an even larger smile to his face.

"Hey Cameron, Chase," he said, nodding to each of them. "How's it been?"

"Pretty good," replied Cameron softly. Chase nodded in agreement.

"How 'bout you?" The Australian wondered what made him look so gleeful.

"Actually, I just accepted a job at Mercy Hospital. Gonna be heading my own diagnostic team."

They both offered their congratulations and were then ushered into Cuddy's office.

"Please, have a seat. I- I assume you don't mind doing this together? I figured you would, House mentioned that you two were-"

"It's fine," said Chase, trying to ignore the pain in his head.

"All right." She paused, hoping she wouldn't be delving into unsafe territory. "So, are you two…seeing each other, then?"

"Yes," replied Cameron steadily. Her hard stare seemed to drill into Cuddy, daring her to object to it now.

"Well then." Cuddy looked away uneasily from Cameron and began shifting through some files on her desk. "There's a position at a hospital in Arizona that would fit for both of you. They need good intensivists and immunologists, and there's a chance you'd work together. The only problem is it's so far away. There are openings here, but I'm sorry to say your salary would drop significantly. I've got a list of other openings here for you two, but Arizona's your best bet. Decent hours, nice pay-"

"Thanks," interrupted Chase. "You've certainly given us a lot to think about."

Cameron nodded in agreement, hoping to get out of this meeting as soon as possible.

Cuddy looked confused, wondering why the two of them were in such a hurry to leave. Cameron's eyes were bloodshot, and Chase seemed to droop in exhaustion.

"Well," she started slowly, handing them each packets, "let me know when you come to your decisions. I'll notify the hospitals." She hesitated. "Good luck."

"Thank you," said Cameron, stiffly and quietly.

"We really appreciate this," responded Chase sincerely, glancing at Cameron to signal her to get up. "We'll keep in touch."

They walked out the door and headed to the elevator, wondering if this was the last time they'd be in these familiar halls.

The elevator came to a halt on the first floor and the doors slid open.

"Cameron? Chase?" The familiar voice caused the pair to dart their eyes around, looking for the speaker.

"Dr. Wilson?" It was Cameron who spoke this time, much more strongly than she had in Cuddy's office.

"What are you two doing here?" he questioned, quickly walking up to them.

"Had an interview with Cuddy about where to go from here," replied Chase. "Looks like Arizona's pretty promising for the both of us."

"Arizona? Wow." Wilson seemed lost in thought. "It's weird without you here now. It's like…the ducklings all grew up and moved away."

The two smiled weakly, neither had particularly liked being referred to as a duckling.

"House misses you, you know," continued Wilson, glancing around cautiously, not sure if he should be revealing this. "He won't admit it to anyone, but I can tell."

"How's he doing?" Cameron asked hesitantly.

"Has he replaced us yet?" Chase questioned.

"NO, he's been insisting on working alone. He's overworked and overtired. Cuddy's not gonna let it continue for much longer. She sees he's not doing well." Wilson failed to mention House's hallucinations of the three ducklings, figuring it was best if kept quiet. "Well, good luck to both of you." He stepped forward to shake Chase's hand and hug Cameron goodbye. They walked out together, leaving Wilson to feed off of House's loneliness.

Chase led them to the car and started the engine, wincing slightly as it roared loudly. He felt a strange sensation in his pocket, and then realized it was his phone vibration.

The Caller ID read Cuddy. Confused, he flipped open his phone. "Hello?" he asked uncertainly as Cameron gave him a weak, confused glance.

"Dr. Chase, I'm sorry to bother you again. I hope you haven't left yet."

"No, not yet." He replied, wondering what on earth she needed.

"Oh, good. You just left some unfinished paperwork here regarding your termination." He frowned. I was fired, he thought harshly. Why can't she just say that? "Do you have a moment to come back and take care of it? Sorry, I forgot to mention it before. It won't be long."

"Yeah, that's fine." He unbuckled his seatbelt. "Is Cameron all caught up?"

"Yes, her resignation letter covers it all. Thanks."

"All right, bye." He hung up and turned to Cameron. "Cuddy's got more paperwork for me. I won't be long."

She nodded, her eyes closed. "Okay," she mumbled, half asleep.

He kissed her on the forehead and walked back to Cuddy's office. She opened her door, led him in, and gestured for him to take a seat.

"Dr. Chase, I need to talk to you alone now."

"There's no paperwork?" He wondered what she was up to.

"Chase, there's another offering in Arizona. For you, not Cameron." She was trying to keep her voice even while attempting to manipulate him into making the right decision. "They've offered a position to you as head of their intensive care unit, a much better offer than the other. Almost double the salary."

His mind began spinning. He knew what a good opportunity this was. "Why couldn't Dr. Cameron hear this?"

"She didn't receive a similar offer. I wanted to give you the opportunity to accept without…any other pressures."

He looked at Cuddy in the eyes, defensively. "What do you mean?"

"Chase, if you took this job, it would mean you and Cameron wouldn't see each other. Two different departments, two different specialties, two different jobs. I don't want her to hold you back."

"Hold me back?" he sounded distrustful, but then thought about it logically. If Cameron were here, would he be able to look at he and tell her he was choosing not tow work with her anymore? Would he seem too selfish putting his career in front of his love life? Or lack of love love life, he thought bitterly.

She saw him reasoning it out in his head. "We wouldn't have to tell her."

He looked up sharply. "Huh?"

"I said before that you two might work together. We could tell her it was a misunderstanding. She doesn't have to know if you willing chose not to work with her."

It seemed so cruel put that way. He wanted Cameron and he wanted this job. True, he could se her outside of work, but would it be fair to lie to her?

Cuddy looked at Chase, her eyes softening a little. "You've got time to decide. I figured you'd hear me out more if you heard me alone. Just let me know as soon as you make up your mind."

"Okay, thanks. I'll keep in touch." He grabbed the file with all of the information about this wonderfully horrible job and walked to the elevator, still dazed.

He was so astonished that he didn't even notice who was standing in the elevator when he stepped in. He didn't notice until he heard the familiar voice bring his train of thought to a screeching halt.

"Dr. Chase," said Gregory House, in his infamous mocking tone. "How's life been treating ya?"

AN: So this chapter's a bit different from the others, I think. I just needed to get all the characters in. Review please. What did you like the best? What did you hate the most? (I'm still fascinated by the fact that people think I'm good.) So review! The next chapter gets pretty intense...