| |
Tension
by Jessica
Tension
Chase shifted uncomfortably in his chair and continued to chew on the end of his pencil. He glanced nervously at Cameron, who was sitting across the table updating Jessica's chart with what they had observed in the checkup they had just performed. She was writing quickly, occasionally stopping and impatiently tapping her pen on he table. When she had finished, she slammed the folder shut and dropped her pen, and looked up. Chase looked away quickly, realizing that he had been staring at her, but it was too late. She had noticed.
"What?" she demanded, in a tone that was quite different from her usual patient one.
"Nothing," he said quickly, and concentrated very hard on a spot on the wall.
Cameron rolled her eyes and got up to make herself some coffee. She kept her back turned to Chase as she stirred in a small amount of sugar slowly, determined to avoid looking at him for as long as possible.
Chase couldn't remember ever seeing her act this way. Then again, since they had begun working together, her job hadn't been in jeopardy and no one had been trying their best to make her look like an idiot in front of House. He cringed at the last part, feeling genuinely guilty. He had taken things too far.
Without really thinking, he blurted out an apology. "I'm sorry."
That was it. Cameron couldn't take it anymore - she had been holding her tongue for over a week now, but he was asking for it. Before she could stop herself, Cameron rounded on Chase, glaring furiously at him.
"Sorry for what? Sorry for purposely trying to make me look bad in front of House to save your own ass? Sorry for insisting that I made a mistake when I didn't? Sorry for being a superficial jerk and insulting a patient?"
Chase was taken aback. "I - well, yeah, but-"
She cut him off as he scrambled to defend himself, "Sorry for being so damn selfish and insecure that you had to betray the trust of our entire department?" her voice was raised and she slammed her cup of coffee down on the table to punctuate the last statement.
Chase just stared back at her, open mouthed. Cameron continued to glare at him.
"Wh-what?" he managed to stammer after a few moments.
"Don't play dumb, you know exactly what I'm talking about," she snapped. In a more hushed tone, she continued, "I know it's you that's been feeding information to Vogler."
Chase rolled his eyes and looked down.
Cameron made a disbelieving noise. She hadn't known for sure, but the Chase's guilt was glaringly obvious now.
"This is all my fault," he mumbled.
"Oh, please," Cameron snapped. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself."
Chase looked up at her, surprised. "Don't act like you aren't blaming me for this Cameron," he replied, raising his voice to match hers. "The fact is, If I hadn't done that, this situation wouldn't be so out of hand. Just look at where I've gotten us, this department is a mess."
"Not everything is about you, Robert," she retored scathingly.
"No, it's about you, isn't it Allison?" he replied sarcastically. "You and your little schoolgirl crush on House."
---
Wilson and Foreman rounded the corner, heading back towards House's office after lunch. They slowed and exchanged glances, hearing Cameron's and Chase's raised voices issuing from behind the glass walls.
Foreman sighed, "About time those two had it out, she's been giving him the cold shoulder for almost a week now."
Wilson concentrated on trying to listen for a few moments, then shook his head. "No good. I guess those glass walls do block out sound. Now they lower their voices? Come on, this is suposed to be an argument."
"Too bad, I'd pay to hear this," Foreman said, and they laughed.
"Why pay when it's more fun to imagine what they're saying?" House limped up behind them, and stopped. The three of them strained to hear when the yelling resumed, and watched as Cameron pointed angrily at Chase, who then said something that made Cameron's jaw drop.
"Score one for Chase," said House.
---
Cameron stared, open-mouthed, at Chase for a few seconds. "How dare you!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you not want me to know?" Chase said in a mock-apologetic tone. "Because then it wouldn't have made much sense for you to have told me about it, would it now?"
"I thought I was confiding in a friend that I could trust," countered Cameron. "Obviously you're not much of the latter, and the former is out the window since you felt it necessary to make a joke out ot it with Foreman - and at this point I'd be shocked if Vogler didn't know," she added venemously.
"I'd be shocked if anyone in this hospital didn't know," laughed Chase.
"Right," mused Cameron, "I guess you do have that big of a mouth."
"No, I meant that even if no one, let alone me, ever said anything, it would still be pathetically obvious. And I do mean pathetic," he replied.
Cameron was seething now. Without thinking, she replied by yelling out the first thing that came to her mind.
"What, are you jealous?"
---
"Ah, finally Cameron learns how to yell," laughed Wilson. Cameron's voice had clearly penetrated the glass, and several passing doctors, nurses, and patients had glanced towards the office curiously.
"Now we know exactly what they're arguing about," said Foreman, with a sideways glance at House, who rolled his eyes.
"I think Chase is moving in on your girl," said Wilson sarcastically. "Looks like you'd better watch out, considering his smooth technique and-" they watched as Chase obviously floundered for a comeback, "-sharp wit."
House laughed. "Score one for Cameron."
---
Chase just gaped at Cameron. All he could do was repeat the question.
"What? Am I jealous? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Cameron couldn't believe she had said that, but it was too late - and she wasn't backing down.
"Just answer the question," she said coolly.
"What does it matter if I'm jealous or not?" he retorted, louder than he had intended.
Cameron crossed her arms and squinted at him. "You are jealous," she said accusingly, very amused at the fact that Chase's cheeks were tinged pink now and he was looking more uncomfortable by the second.
"No, I'm not," Chase said a little too quickly, prompting Cameron to raise her eyebrows at him.
They glared at each other determinedly, neither of them quite sure what to say or do next.
---
Cuddy turned the corner and stopped short at the sight of House, Wilson, and Foreman standing in the hallway, laughing.
"What could possibly be funny enough to warrant an oncologist, a neurologist, and a diagnostician standing around in a hallway in my hospital, laughing?" she demanded.
All three turned around. Foreman was startled and Wilson looked guilty, but House merely shushed her and turned his attention back towards the office as Cameron's and Chase's voices became audible again.
"What oh earth is going on?" Cuddy pushed past them to see what they were so focused on. When she saw Chase and Cameron still in the midst of their argument, she rolled her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. You've just been standing here, watching them?" Cuddy was quiet for a moment as she watched the argument continue, straining to hear through the glass. "You two have clinic duty right now," she said as she forced herself to look away from the exchange taking place and pointed accusingly at House and Wilson with the charts in her hand, "and you," she added, pointing at Foreman, "should be in there with them doing whatever it is the three of you are supposed to be doing!" she finished, pointing towards the office.
"All the more reason to be here occupying ourselves with something more interesting," replied House, without taking his attention away from his two young doctors.
"Right, what he said," mumbled Wilson. "Are they laughing now?"
"I think they are," repied Foreman, squinting, and completely ignoring Cuddy. "Wh-"
"It doesn't matter why they've been arguing or why they'e laughing, the fact remains that five of my doctors are currently doing something other than their jobs! Come on." With that, she started walking towards the office door, ignoring the chorus of protests that arose from House, Wilson, and Foremen. "Now," she said assertively, cutting them off. They reluctantly followed.
---
After a moment of silence, Chase spoke hesitantly. Never breaking their eye contact, he said slowly, "Do you want me to be jealous?"
Cameron's jaw dropped again, "No!" Her denial was also a little too quick, and she could feel herself blushing.
Chase nodded, but expression was dubious as he remained silent and held her gaze.
His confident smirk disappeared though, as Cameron took a step forward and said, just above a whisper, "Do you want me to want you to be jealous?" Chase swallowed. Cameron raised an eyebrow. "I think you do," she said, in the same throaty tone.
Chase took a deep breath. Two can play at this game, he thought. His smirk returned, and he took a step towards her. Leaning in towards her ear, he replied, "I think you're right." He paused, not stepping back. "I think you do, too," he added.
Cameron's knees felt weak at the low tones of his voice and warmth of his breath in her ear. "I-I think you're right, too," she managed.
Chase stepped back, smiling. Cameron smiled back, regaining her composure slightly now that he wasn't within inches of her.
Their silence turned into awkward pause, both of their smiles disappeared and they averted their eyes. But when both looked up to steal a glance at one another simultaneously, neither could help it: they burst out laughing.
They continued to laugh until Chase noticed Cuddy, House, Wilson, and Foreman headed towards the glass doors of the office. "I think we'd better continue this conversation later," he said, still laughing. "Want to have dinner at my place tonight?"
Slightly taken aback at the boldness of his suggestion, Cameron, still trying to subdue her laughter, nodded. "All right," she agreed.
"Great," Chase replied, flashing her a quick smile. Just as Cuddy reached for the door, his smile disappeared and he raised his voice once more. "I don't understand why you think you're incapable of making a mistake! Just because you messed up and I wouldn't back you up on it doesn't mean that I'm out to get you fired!"
When the door had opened and the four of them had walked in, House had leaned over and whispered to Wilson, "At least we can hear them now." Wilson and Foreman chuckled, and Cuddy shot them a glare.
Cameron didn't miss a beat. "Just because you screwed up the angiogram last month because you were flirting with that resident doesn't mean we all make stupid mistakes like that! I didn't give her the wrong dosage and you know it!"
"As entertaining as this all is," Cuddy cut them off, holding up her hand, "I believe the five of you have work to do, instead of arguing about something absolutely pointless-" she looked accusingly at Chase and Cameron, "-or standing around watching a pointless argument!" she glared at House, Wilson, and Foreman once more. "You three-" she waved the charts at Chase, Cameron, and Foreman, "-get back to work. You two-" she slapped a chart into each of House's and Wilson's chests, "-exam rooms one and two." With that, she turned on her heel and left, and the reluctant pair of House and Wilson followed.
As Cuddy was reprimanding them, Cameron and Chase had exchanged a quick smile. Only Foreman had noticed.
Please post a comment on this story.
Legal Disclaimer: The authors published here make no claims on the ownership of Dr. Gregory House and the other fictional residents of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Like the television show House (and quite possibly Dr. Wilson's pocket protector), they are the property of Fox Television, David Shore and undoubtedly other individuals of whom I am only peripherally aware. The fan fiction authors published here receive no monetary benefit from their work and intend no copyright infringement nor slight to the actual owners. We love the characters and we love the show, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
|
|
|