House - Moving On


Title: Moving On
Characters: Chase/Cameron & House
Rating: PG-13


She was nursing a glass of wine when he let himself in. He locked the door behind him and sat in the chair opposite the sofa where she was lounging. She looked at him but didn’t say a word. He knew she was waiting for him to apologize but he wasn’t sure what to say.

“Allison, I…”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t spout off some inane apology.”

“But…”

“I’m not interested, Rob.”

“What do you want me to say then?”

She drained her wine glass and reached for the bottle on the coffee table to pour herself a refill before speaking.

“I don’t think I want you to say anything,” she finally said, after downing half of her refill.

“Are you drunk?” He’d never seen her consume much alcohol and he was quite certain that the half empty bottle on the table was unopened when she started her evening.

She rolled her eyes. “Not yet, but I’m working on it.”

“What is your problem tonight, Allison? We made plans to get together and you’re acting like you don’t want me here.”

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don’t want you here tonight. Maybe I changed my mind when I saw how much of an asshole you were today.”

“Allison, I tried to apologize for that.”

“What, you’re going to tell me you’re sorry for all the crap you pulled? Give me a break. You were rude to that little girl today and you all but accused me of making a mistake that you damn well knew I didn’t make! I know you don’t want our relationship to be hospital gossip, but damn it, you could have backed me up when House accused me of giving the wrong medication.”

He reached for her hand and she pulled it away.

“Allison, I’m sorry. Yes, I was out of line with Jessica. It wasn’t her fault she was overweight. And you’re right, I did know that you gave the correct medication, but I was afraid to back you too much because things are so shaky at the hospital now.”

“So you’d rather protect your job than protect the patient? We gave her the wrong treatment because you wouldn’t back me up. She could have lost her breasts or even her life because you wouldn’t speak up!” She drained her wine glass again and started to pour herself another refill.

“Don’t,” he said, taking the glass and bottle from her hand. “You’ll hate yourself in the morning if you drink anymore. And I’ve never seen you act like this.”

“Maybe because I never found out that my boyfriend was a complete dick before,” she retorted.

He sighed. “I don’t know what else to do except say I’m sorry,” he said, moving to sit next to her. He reached for her hand again and she allowed it this time. “Look, I really am sorry. I don’t know why I acted the way I did. I guess I’m just scared. It’s hard for me. I never know if people respect me for me or for my name. You saw how House acted when my dad visited. I’m constantly in his shadow and it makes me insecure.”

She snorted. “You’re the most secure person I know, Rob. You aren’t worried about your job at all, don’t lie to me. I know you’re the one that’s been feeding the information to Vogler about House. But I don’t know why and I’ve been trying to figure it out since I realized it was you.”

He was visibly shocked. He thought that his secret meetings with Vogler had been just that, secret. He’d certainly never told her about them. “Allison, I… How did you find out about that?”

“I have my ways. But I don’t understand why. House has been so good to all of us, why would you go behind his back and try to sabotage him?”

“I’m not trying to sabotage him, just protect myself. He’s a drug addict and he’s unpredictable. Who knows what he’ll do next? I’d rather protect myself and my position than kiss his ass like some people.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Allison’s eyes were wide with shock and anger. He knew he’d overstepped his bounds and he realized that he’d dug himself deeper in to the hole he was already in with her.

“I don’t kiss his ass; I support him because he’s my boss. And he happens to be one of the most intelligent men I’ve ever met in my entire life! I know that his methods are a bit unorthodox, but he has saved the lives of some patients that would have died without his thinking outside the box. He’s a genius and he does it despite being on painkillers for a severe injury. You have to give him credit for that.”

“You have a thing for him, don’t you?” he asked without considering the impact of his question. “That’s why you support him and back him up even when you know he’s wrong.”

“You’re so ridiculously off base it’s not even funny,” she responded, but with a slight hesitancy and her cheeks flushed.

“I can’t believe I never saw it before. That’s why you went to that monster truck rally with him. Does he have a key to your place, too? Is that why we have to keep our relationship a secret at work? Hell, maybe you’re screwing Forman too. Try Vogler next, maybe it’ll help you keep your job.”

“Get the fuck out of my apartment,” Allison said, standing up, her voice shaking with anger. “And leave your keys. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

“What, you’re angry because I called you on your crush?” He didn’t know why he continued to bait her, but he knew that the relationship was over so he figured he may as well say the things that were on his mind.

“At least Greg is man enough to be honest. He didn’t have to tell us that Vogler wanted him to get rid of one of us; he could have just fired someone. And even on drugs, he’s more of a doctor than you’ll ever be. I had my reservations about getting involved with you, my daddy always told me that it was a bad idea to have workplace relationships, but the idea that you’d suggest that I was sleeping my way into my job; well that just takes the cake. I’ve completely lost all respect for you. I hope you’re the one that Greg fires and I hope that just because you’re in bed with Vogler; it won’t save your sorry ass.”

He at least had the decency to look embarrassed. He knew that Allison was a good doctor and he knew that she wasn’t the type of girl to sleep around. He thought about apologizing, but realized that she wouldn’t hear him out. He took the keys to her apartment off of his key ring and set them on the coffee table.

“Allison, for what it’s worth, I am sorry. I don’t know why I’m acting this way. I hope this won’t affect our working relationship.”

“No, Chase, it won’t,” she said, the use of his last name making him wince. “I’m too professional for that. But I won’t put up with any more of your bullshit either. I’ll be watching you and the next time you jeopardize one of our patients to protect yourself, you’ll regret it.”

He nodded. He tried to kiss her on the cheek before he left, but she pulled back.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Okay, sorry.”

He turned and walked out of her apartment, stopping once to look back at her. He was disappointed in himself for treating her the way he had and he knew he deserved everything she said about him. He had no idea what had come over him the last few days and he knew he needed to get his head on straight if he was going to keep his job.

Allison watched him walk out; still furious about everything that had happened that day, at work and in her apartment. She wondered what she ever saw in him and why she didn’t notice what a jerk he was sooner.

“Must have been the accent,” she mumbled to herself as she walked aimlessly around her apartment. She contemplated pouring another glass of wine, but realized that she was already half drunk and five in the morning would be coming sooner than she wanted. She ended up pouring the rest of the bottle down the drain.

It was near midnight and she was too restless to sleep. She didn’t know what to do. She was upset about the breakup with Chase; she’d thought it had potential to be a good relationship. She should have realized that a relationship that had to be kept a secret was always a bad idea.

Even more, she was upset about the things he was doing at work though. She really respected Dr. House and it hurt her to see the way Chase was acting.

Impulsively, she picked up the phone. She was probably too drunk to do this, but she knew she’d lose her nerve if she waited until morning.

“You better have a good reason for calling me at midnight,” was how he answered.

“Uh… Dr. House… I…” She was flustered.

“Allison, if you’re calling me in the middle of the night, feel free to call me Greg.”

“How’d you know it was me?”

“I don’t get many calls from young women in the middle of the night.”

“Uh… but….”

“Allison, what did you want? And why do you sound drunk?”

“I downed a half of bottle of wine tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because I was fighting with Chase.”

“Ah ha. So you two are together. Wilson owes me money.”

“What?”

“We had a bet going. I won.”

“Well, we’re not together anymore.”

“Really? Can you not tell Wilson until I collect?”

“Uh…”

“So you called to tell me that you and Chase split up even though I didn’t know you were together?”

“No, I called to tell you that Chase is the one that’s been feeding info to Vogler about you.”

“Oh, I already knew that.”

“You did?”

“Yep.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Well, I’m going to fire him.”

“You are?”

“Yes.”

“Because of that?”

“Not just because of that. Forman told me I should. I happen to agree.”

“What?”

“Never mind. So you called to tell me Chase was ratting me out. That’s interesting. Is that why you split up with him?”

“No. Well… part of it. Mostly because I had no idea what a jerk he was.”

“Men are rotten bastards.”

“I think I’m inclined to agree with you on that.”

“So, was there anything else, or can I go back to sleep?”

“Oh, no, I just wanted to tell you that before… well…”

“Before you lost your buzz and your nerve?”

“Something like that.” Allison was beginning to feel embarrassed. She couldn’t believe that she was having a middle of the night drunk phone conversation with her boss.

“Allison, I’m glad you called. Now sleep off that wine and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He hung up before she could respond. She sat, staring at the phone in her hand, until the annoying beeping reminded her that the phone was off the hook. She laid down and pulled the comforter over her, reflecting on her conversation with House.

Maybe Chase was on to something when he accused her of having a crush on Greg was her last thought before finally falling asleep.

End