Getting to Know You

Epilogue

Chase leaned with his back against the lobby desk, messenger bag slung over his shoulder, waiting for Cameron to come up from the ER. They were leaving early to head to the airport to pick up Andrew, Ben, and Roger for their week-long visit. He closed his eyes, tired from the early wake call to do an emergency surgery this morning, but started when a loud voice erupted through the lobby.

"I didn't sleep with your girlfriend!" came House's purposefully over dramatic shout. He stopped directly in front of his former fellow, who was wide-eyed and blushing as he looked around the lobby, shaking his head at everyone who was staring.

"Glad to see you haven't become completely immune to my immature antics," House said, tapping his cane on the floor.

"How do you…" Chase began.

"Heard Foreman telling the rest of the team to keep yours and Cameron's little spat to themselves. Said I would only make it worse," House replied. He made a mock sad face, mouth drooping downwards. "It's like he doesn't know me at all!"

"House…" Chase warned.

"Oh, quit your whining. I'm not here to ruin your day. Just glad I got the chanceto embarrass you," he said, now eyeing Chase up and down. "Interesting thing is, you already know I didn't sleep with Dr. Goody two-shoes. Because if I had slept with her after our one unsuccessful date, it's highly likely I would have bragged about it, which you know. And Cameron would likely have accidentally let it slip in some way or another, as she tends to often do. Do you happen to recall your previous one-night stand?"

Chase sighed, finally meeting House's gaze, frustrated that House could read him so well. "Yeah, I know all of that. I just got…jealous."

"Insecure is a more appropriate word," House said, tilting his head to the side and raising his eyebrows. Right now Chase was his reluctant puzzle, as he couldn't walk away while waiting for Cameron. "Or scared. Something happened between the two of you in the past few weeks. You've both been nauseatingly happy since you started your little love fest, but lately it's been even worse. You took some kind of step, and now you're afraid she'll leave you, so you picked a fight."

"I…" Chase tried to say, but House cut across him.

"Don't argue, I'm right," he said, leaning a little more heavily on his cane. "And after all the work you put into getting the girl…"

"We talked about my past, okay? Leave it alone. You're so damned nosy," Chase said, disgruntled, maddened that House could read him so well.

"Curious is a better word," House answered, unfazed. "Newsflash: If you told the Camster all about your daddy issues she probably loves you even more. She just can't help herself with things like that. Cameron would be the last person to stay in a relationship she doesn't want, so quit being so insecure, it's annoying. And don't be such a self-sabatoger. It's more your girlfriend's arena anyway."

"Ha," Chase laughed, sarcasm lacing his tone. "Yeah, you don't know anything about self-sabotage." He shook his head, smiling a little. He enjoyed his more honest banter with House, now that he was no longer his boss. It added a different dimension to their relationship. "Are you done analyzing my relationship now? Shouldn't you be bothering Wilson or something?"

"He's busy with…"

"Amber," Chase finished. "Well if you ever need a bowling partner again, I'd be up for it."

House surveyed him for a moment, the expression in his blue eyes unreadable. "In your dreams, wombat," he responded. But there was the ghost of a grin on his face. "Anyway, I'm out. Here comes trouble."

Chase's eyes flickered up to see Cameron walking toward them, looking a little perplexed.

"Hey, House," she said, raising her eyebrows at them. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope," said House. "I'm just off to pretend to ask Cuddy about a treatment for my Mr. Nice Guy patient." With that, he whisked off in the direction of Cuddy's office.

"Ready?" Cameron asked Chase, her tone not altogether unfriendly, though her lips were pursed, a sure sign she was irritated.

"Yeah," he replied, reaching into the front pocket of his bag for the car keys. "My car?"

"Seeing as how my car is still at your townhouse…"

"Right," Chase replied, feeling sheepish.

They made their way out to Chase's hunter green SUV, saying hello to a few colleagues as they passed. They climbed into the car in silence, and Chase could feel that Cameron was still angry with him from the tension radiating off her body. He drove out of the parking lot and got stuck at the first red light, finding himself unable to keep quiet.

"So," he asked, hesitant. "Are you still…mad at me?"

"Yes," she said, not looking at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm really sorry," he said, still not knowing what had possessed him to ask such a question in front of the others, or in the fashion he did. "I shouldn't have acted that way."

"You're right about that," Cameron responded, finally turning to look at him, eyes narrowed. "What the hell, Robert?"

"I admit that I was way off base blurting it out like that in front of everyone," Chase said, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as he turned onto the interstate entrance ramp. "And I couldn't be sorrier. But while it isn't anybody else's business, it is at least a little bit mine. You didn't have to be so hostile when you answered."

Cameron huffed. "I was a little shocked at you, so I didn't exactly think about what I was saying!" Cameron said, raising her voice a tad. "You embarrassed me."

"And you embarrassed me!" Chase shot back, trying to be careful not to have a lead foot, his kneejerk reaction when driving while frustrated.

"I just don't know how many times I have to tell you that I'm over House!" Cameron responded. "I respect him as a mentor, and in a weird way, a friend, just like you do. I had a school girl crush years ago. I just don't get your jealousy when nothing happened between us, something you already knew, something you heard me say after House faked cancer last year! I'm with you, Chase. You. I don't just get into relationships for kicks or because they're convenient! God, you of all people should know that!"

Chase sighed, steeling himself. "I got scared okay?" he said, voice raised, but going down with each word. Cameron looked at him again, eyes squinted in a mixture of interest and confusion. "We've been getting even closer over the past few weeks, after I spilled all that stuff at Thanksgiving, and I just got freaked out that you would leave. I'm just tired of people leaving."

He chanced a glance over at her before focusing on the road, noting that her expression had softened. "We both acted like idiots," she said, reaching over to grasp his arm lightly. "And I'm not going to leave you. You need to trust me like you tell me to trust you."

He moved his right hand from the steering wheel, taking hers in his own and resting their intertwined fingers on the console.

"I am trying to learn that every good thing won't always be taken away from me," he said, hating that his abandonment issues, though completely understandable, had gotten in his way. "But then again, I think we're both learning that."

"Agreed," Cameron replied, flipping on the heat to warm herself against the frigid late January weather seeping in the through the windows. "And we should also learn to not fall for any more of House's fake illnesses. We should really have known better after the cancer."

"We should," Chase agreed. "But syphilis actually seemed really plausible." He cleared his throat, relief starting to creep into his veins. "So, fight over? I know I was an idiot…"

"I understand much better now why you acted like that," Cameron said. "I just wish you'd said something before. Of course, I'm not always so fantastic at knowing why I act a certain way until after the fact," she admitted, a small smile gracing her features. "And I'm sorry for responding the way I did. But yes, fight over." She nudged him with her shoulder. "So tell me something: I know Andrew and Roger are from Australia originally, but how did Ben end up there, exactly? You never said."

"Oh, yeah. He worked at a parish in London for several years, but they started a mission at a sister church down in Melbourne a couple of years before I left for the U.S. that his diocease sent him to work for," Chase answered. "He really likes it there. Says the weather's much better. So he got to be friends with Roger and Andrew."

"Ah okay," Cameron responded, pulling the edges of her sweater over her fingers. "That makes sense. Do you mind if I ask you one more thing?"

"Shoot," Chase said, curious.

"Do you," she hesitated slightly before continuing. "Do you regret becoming a doctor? I've been wondering."

Chase took his eyes off the road for a split second to glance over at her, surprised. This was something he hadn't thought about for quite some time, something that used to plague him but that he had put to rest when he took House's fellowship.

"I used to," he said, flicking on his blinker. "But I don't now. My reasons for becoming one were convoluted, but I really love it. It's all so fascinating, and it makes me feel like I'm making a difference. It's challenging, and I like that."

"Good," she said, a slight smile gracing her features, squeezing his hand lightly. "I'd hoped you'd say that."

They spent the rest of the thirty minute drive to Newark catching up on hospital gossip and expressing their relief that the nursing strike was finally over, simply content to be together. Cameron was excited and intrigued to meet Chase's friends, especially now that he'd met her family. Upon parking at the airport, they made their way to baggage claim and waited for the trio to arrive.

"It's been a little over a year since I've seen any of them," Chase mused. "Hard to believe. Oh, wait," a wide grin spread across his face. "That's them now."

Cameron looked up, examining the three men Chase was pointing toward, telling her who was who. Andrew had neatly trimmed dark brown hair, dressed in kaki's, an un-tucked hunter green polo and loafers, a messenger bag similar to Chase's slung over his shoulder; Roger had longish dirty blonde hair and mischievous hazel eyes, dressed casually in worn jeans and a University of Melbourne Med School t-shirt; Ben had red hair and donned glasses, still dressed in his clerics, an easy going smile on his face.

"What, no airport run?" Andrew asked as they reached the three. "I'm only slightly hurt."

"Rob couldn't risk falling and looking like an idiot in front of his girl," Roger quipped as Ben rolled his eyes at their antics.

"Very funny," Chase said as he greeted them, each of them pulling him into different versions of a bear hug. Cameron thought that she'd only seen him look this elated a few times before. He took her hand and pulled her gently forward. "Guys, this is…"

"I think we know who this is," Roger interrupted, stepping forward. "It's a pleasure, Allison," he said, reaching out to shake her hand. "Rob didn't do you justice," he said, a playful flirtation in his tone.

"Shut up Roger," Ben teased, reaching out for Cameron's hand as well, his British accent neatly differentiated from the two Aussies beside him. "He did so. Glad to finally meet you."

"But not as glad as I am, Padre," Andrew said, hugging Cameron in greeting, surprising her, but she hugged him in return, chuckling.

"I'm so glad to meet all of you," Cameron said, a warmth spreading through her veins and smile on her face. "I've heard so many stories."

"Oh," Andrew said, poking Chase in the chest. "You'll get to hear many more before we leave. Don't worry."

"Embarrassing me already and you haven't even been here 10 minutes," Chase said, shaking his head and laughing.

"It's my job to embarrass you," Andrew responded, slinging an arm around Chase's shoulders. "Am I right boys?"

Roger and Ben nodded in agreement, sly grins on both their faces.

A few hours later found the five of them sitting in the living room of Chase's townhouse, open containers of takeout from Chase and Cameron's favorite Chinese place scattered over the coffee table. Chase sat between Andrew and Ben on the couch, while Roger lounged in the recliner. Cameron stood in the adjoining kitchen, watching them as she re-filled her glass of white zinfandel. The four of them were laughing over a photo album Andrew had brought along, which contained photos from his and Chase's shared childhood all the way up through college. He'd brought it along specifically to show her he'd said, to which she'd responded that she liked him already. She loved the way being around his old friends brought such a smile to Robert's face, and she stood back for a moment, content to simply observe them. They'd made leaps and bounds in the past few months but he was still an intensely private person, she knew, and just watching him with these friends from his past helped her learn more than it would be possible for him to divulge. She watched as he rose from the couch, wine glass in hand, to join her.

"Entertaining yourself?" he asked, shooting her a grin, a sight which had long caused her heart to race, years before she would ever admit it to herself.

"Very much," she teased, re-filling his glass for him. "There are some great pictures in that album." She reached out and pinched his cheek in gest. "Little Robert."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, unable to stop from laughing. "None of that in front of the guys."

"Don't bother with that," Andrew called, turning to look at the pair, a twinkle in his eyes. "We already know you're whipped!" He turned to Cameron and made a sort of half-bow in her direction. "Only in the best way, of course."

"That's right," Cameron agreed, a sly smile on her face as Roger erupted into laughter, Ben shaking his head, obviously amused.

"Do you get your kicks from embarrassing me?" Chase questioned, leaning against the counter, sipping his wine and glancing at Cameron over the rim of his glass.

"Of course," Cameron answered, placing a light hand on his chest when she noticed the guys had become engrossed in the soccer match (or football, as they called it) that had just appeared on the flat screen. She took a fistful of his shirt and pulled him toward her gently. "Thank you," she said, voice lowering to a whisper.

"For what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, perplexed.

"For…letting me in. For telling me everything you did. For letting me meet your friends," she said, a smile playing at her lips. "It means a lot."

She watched the emotion rise to his eyes like waves to the shore, slow, but inevitable.

"It means a lot that you wanted to know all those things," he said, hand moving to clasp the one that rested on his chest. "And I'm glad you're getting to meet them."

Cameron leaned into kiss him, but her lips had only just brushed his when they were interrupted by a shout from the living room.

"Rob," Roger complained. "Dear Benjamin here is claiming that Manchester United has divine providence on their side because he's rooting for them. Can you please tell him he's wrong?"

"I don't know that I can argue with a priest, mate," Chase said, taking Cameron's hand and leading her back into the living room to join his friends. "We'll just have to see whose side God is on when the match is over."

Although she wasn't a sports fan, Cameron thoroughly enjoyed watching the match with Chase and his friends, charmed by how much excitement the combination of good calls and a little too much wine could cause. And in that moment of not so quiet domesticity, Chase's arm wrapped loosely around her shoulders, she knew that the decision she'd made standing on the front steps of this very same townhouse all those months ago, the decision to take a chance on loving the complex man who sat beside her, was one of the best she'd ever made.

A/N: Hi readers! I hope I ended this well…I wasn't sure about it, but I hope it works. I decided to set the epilogue at this particular point in time after re-watching season 4 a few weeks ago, and still being utterly bewildered by the whole, "You slept with House, didn't you," scene. It was just so wildly out of character for Chase to ask such a private question in front of that many people, and to suddenly be that jealous when he'd just been hanging out with House a few scenes before. So this is my fanfic explanation for that. Chase has always been afraid of letting out too much information about himself, so it would make sense that his fear of losing Cameron would cause him to react in such a fashion. Anyway, I had an AMAZING time writing this fic. Chase is my favorite, and his character is so intriguing, plus I really adore Chameron. I'm starting to work on an AU season 7 fic (it's AU post Recession Proof) that is Chase-centric, so be on the lookout! And thank you for reading!