A/N: I hope this uploads properly. I had a few messages from friends that read this saying they had no clue what I was on about when I was asking them if they thought the last few chapters read okay as there hadn't been an alert to say they were up... I wish I could tell you I'd fixed it, but I have no clue why that happened, so I might just be writing this into the abyss :p. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter if you do manage to read it, and hopefully, there will be another one up today/ tomorrow as I'm stuck home playing nurse to my dog who's just been spayed and is both perfectly fine to bully her sister and chase her around the garden, yet acting as though she's on her deathbed any time I look in her direction and thus has to be waited on hand and foot :p. Send good vibes to Echo, even though she's actually totally fine :p.
"Okay, so here are the ground rules."
Cameron speaks up from her position on the floor; using the sofa as a backrest and cordially ignoring the uneasy glance shared between the others with the muttered warning of
"So long as one of you helps me up later - and doesn't say anything clever while doing it - I'll be fine."
In all honesty, she finds the overt seriousness of their concern more amusing than she does irritating.
"Starting the evening off with a set of rules. It's like you never left, Allie."
Chase grins as he plonks down next to her on the plush maroon carpet.
"I didn't leave. You make it sound like I've been gone ages."
"It felt that way."
Foreman muses from the attached kitchenette, and the blonde nips at the tip of her tongue and waits for him to reenter the living room with a trio of glasses carefully balanced in his hands before continuing primly
"And that brings me to my rules for the evening... Which are, I mean, could we-... Could we not talk about it?"
She pleads hopefully, and the boys shake their heads and insist sternly
"No way."
"Not a chance."
Handing Cameron her beer with a small shrug in response to her chilly glower, Foreman takes a seat in the armchair to the right of the sofa and sighs
"You know that's not going to happen."
"We were worried about you."
Chase reminds, and the blonde sips at her drink with thunder at her brow, before relenting wearily
"Fine. Ask your questions. But could we get them out of the way so that we can have a nice night?"
"Maybe."
"We'll try."
"Okay... Go on then."
She sighs, and Chase chuckles; looking to his side to study the blonde curiously as she keeps her attention trained on the flickering blue flames filling the hearth. They had initially planned on going out for the evening - the favoured suggestion being Darnelli's and then a trip to the Thirsty Sailor until closing - but the weather has once more turned for the worse, bringing great veils of sleet and thunder in from the east, and so they'd come to the decision earlier today that they would spend the evening at Foreman's to break in his new gas fire and eat their body's weight in pizza.
"Well, how are you for starters?"
Foreman prompts with a grin, and Cameron glances up at him and rolls her eyes.
"Fine. I have an appointment in a week to go and get my stitches removed, and, yes, I will be getting someone else to do it, don't worry. I have physio once a week for the next month for my shoulder, and I have about seventeen boxes of chocolate I probably won't eat sitting on my counter from Nancy and the others in the ER."
"And you didn't bring them?!"
Chase grumbles, earning himself a smirk when the blonde reasons silkily
"Guess you'll just have to come over to my place and help me hoover."
"Only if you have orange cremes."
"You're revolting, and yes, I think so."
Cameron nods, and Foreman mutters that he'll sort out her laundry in exchange for anything with nougat. Raising a brow as the thought brings him to another small wonder, he asks curiously
"Is that wine you brought over really from Cuddy?"
"Yeah. She said she'd leave me something in my locker. Matti brought it over along with some of my things."
The blonde explains, hiding a grin as she relives the profoundly awkward cup of coffee shared with her overly-stern, fastidiously proper counterpart Mathilde; a draconian middle-aged French woman with an unlikely penchant for owls.
"You know what else is revolting? Favouritism."
Chase sarks pointedly, and Cameron shrugs as she muses
"I'm not sure it was favouritism as much as it was an offer of calm before the storm in what promises to be an incredibly awkward conversation when I go back to work. I head a department; I think she might be worried I'll do something else stupid, and the wine is merely a cover to pretend that we're close and that I can confide in her."
"It's still favouritism."
Chase insists, smirking as he teases
"You're moving up in the world. First House, now the Dean."
"He's right, although I'm not sure you're about to blackmail Cuddy into taking you out on a date."
Foreman chuckles, and the blonde cocks a brow as she replies seriously
"Well, we haven't tried the wine yet. Who knows."
"I would actually pay you to ask her out and see what she says."
Chase confides wistfully, and Cameron shakes her head as she sips at her beer, unsurprised when the boys avert their accusations onto House and supposing that her lack of denial as to his favouring her speaks volumes.
"House? What are you doing here?"
Cuddy looks up from her inspection of the freshly stripped bed in surprise when she senses she has a visitor.
"I could ask you the same thing. Slumming it with the peasants carrying out cleaning duties rather than sitting up in your office on your throne?"
"If you're referring to my desk chair, you've been woefully misinformed. I keep meaning to switch it for something that isn't falling apart, but things have been a little hectic lately and it's slipped my mind."
She purses her lips as though implying that this is in many ways House's fault directly.
"I wouldn't know. Although, if you can tear yourself away from grunt work, we could go take a look at it together? But, I get to sit on your lap; I have a bum leg."
"Cute, but you and I both know I'm not the one you're wanting to get up close and cosy with."
"True, but Wilson's heading out of town in a couple of days to see family, so I'm open to other offers."
House sighs theatrically, and Cuddy shakes her head as she perches on the edge of the recently vacated hospital cot and scolds
"You know, it might do Allison's confidence some good if you were to refrain from implying you're more interested in homoerotic trysts with your best friend and office ruts with your boss than you are in having anything to do with her."
"Cameron doesn't need more confidence; who knows what she'll go get herself into next... And who says I can't have a bit of everything?"
House growls, smirking lecherously, and Cuddy rolls her eyes as she replies primly
"Well, I can certainly assure you I have no interest in fulfilling your fantasies. I suppose the rest is up to James."
"He'd be lucky."
"Debatable."
The brunette muses silkily, before reiterating her previous question.
"What are you doing here? Were you wanting to see the girl?"
"No... Maybe. I don't know."
House replies gruffly, frowning as he strives to answer what should be a relatively simple question.
Sensing she's not going to receive any more of a response than this, Cuddy cocks her head and informs him
"She's been released into temporary care. They've managed to locate her father in Poland and arrangements have been made, but our part in all of this is done save for any further hearings and questioning the police might have... I've made it fairly clear that they should come to me should they need any more information on your girls, but you have only yourself to blame for that whole business with the gun."
"It wasn't my gun."
"It was your head that man was aiming for."
"Mm, more my chest."
"Yes, well, neither body part had any business being at that warehouse."
"Cameron had no business being there."
"And I have told her so, and will be doing so again formally once she's had a couple of days to rest and recuperate from her stupidity."
"I'm telling her you said that."
"Yes? So you will go and see her?"
Cuddy asks slyly, and House hesitates for a moment before admitting with a casual shrug
"I saw her yesterday. She mentioned you were planning on giving her a good hiding. Now, if it were me, I would-"
"-House, if you finish that sentence, I'm going to have to write you up. There are only so many comments about what you would like to do or have others do to your colleague's behind that I can let slide before it just becomes irresponsible on my part."
"She's not my colleague anymore."
"Then you can discuss your desires with Allison directly, but not in the workplace, and leave me out of it."
The Dean states firmly, unable to hide her surprise when rather than bristle at the suggestion or make a crass remark, House simply sighs and confides
"I wasn't sure if she'd be entirely receptive to such discussions last night, what with still feeling a little wiped out, but I'll run it by her later."
"You saw her last night?"
"I said so."
"You said yesterday. I presumed you'd finally relented - temporarily! - from being an asshole and went to check on her before she was given the all-clear to go home."
"I did that part the night before. Don't know what all the hype was about, really. She didn't even bother getting dressed."
"House."
Cuddy warns, but she keeps her attention trained on her old friend curiously as she tries to decide if he's messing with her or telling the truth about visiting Cameron after hours.
"Did you really go and check on her last night?"
"I didn't check on her. I asked her out for a drink and she agreed... We needed to talk."
House tacks on this last part a little more seriously, and the brunette nods as, while she has made sure to keep her distance from the bickering rife within Foreman's team unless called on to intervene, House's recent comments in light of the blonde's disappearance have suggested that he'd taken things to a point that even he'd been able to see was too far.
"Just tell her you like her, House."
She sighs, crossing her arms defiantly over the soft swell of her chest as she readies herself for the vitriol of defensive sarcasm guaranteed to result from this unwelcome advice.
"I have told her. Twice now, I think."
"Oh."
Cuddy replies, not bothering to coach her expression into one of less obvious surprise.
"Good."
She states finally, offering him a small smile before looking back down at the bed and smoothing out a small crease and adopting a more businesslike tone.
"I just came in here to check everything had been sorted and completed. This is one chapter of running this hospital I'm only too keen to draw a line under and be done with!"
"And you're in such a good mood about it, you're giving my team back to me and you're taking us off of Clinic duty for a month?"
"No. Your team is yours to head, but until you get a case in, you'll help out as usual, and you'll do it with a smile."
Cuddy dictates, looking up into her friend's scowl with a serene smirk as she knows just how well her suggestion will have gone down.
"Alright, Stalin."
House growls.
"That's a bit rich. I want you to do your job, or at the very least, send one of your team down to stand in. Not such a crazy request, is it?"
"Ludicrous."
House argues, turning on his heel to head up to his office.
"House."
Cuddy calls him back, and he glances over his shoulder curiously.
"Yes, mein führer?"
"... About the other thing. It could be good for you, it really could... Don't mess it up."