AN: YAY!! My first House M.D. fic! I'm so excited! Wow...ok. I hope you guys like this. There aren't enough Chase/Cameron fics, so I thought I would add to the pot, so-to-speak. Review for me, people and enjoy!
The Perfect Proposal
By: (v)e
What the hell? Chase asked himself. It was three in the afternoon and he was scrubbing down for yet another long surgery he'd had to scheduled. This one at the last minute. Thankfully this one was only going to take six hours, but still. He wasn't looking forward to spending those hours elbow-deep in some guy's chest.
Chase scrubbed furiously at his skin and amended his last thought. He loved being on the surgical staff. But after having to clear a tonsillectomy and an appendectomy from his afternoon to fix this guy...he would be backed up for a week and probably have to cancel his date with Allison tonight. He groaned and rinsed his hands.
For God's sake, it was their three year anniversary today and he was going to be stuck in the OR for it. He'd spent two months preparing for this. God hated him, it seemed.
And to top it off, something was wrong with Allison. He knew it. Not wrong, per se. But something was going on. She'd barely said two words in the past two lunch dates they'd had and to top it off, he'd seen for talking to House atleast ten times in the past three days.
No, he wasn't jealous. They'd passed that hurdle a long time ago. It just seemed odd.
Chase knew that Cameron was still on amiable terms with the diagnostician, but they only talked every so often when she was pulled into a case by one of House's fellows. Now, it was like Cameron was seeking out the arse to talk to. Was he being paranoid about all this?
No, he trusted Cameron. She had chosen him...why was he still justifying this? Ugh...he hated House so much.
"Dr. Chase...we're ready." Chase was pulled out of his thoughts by his surgical assistant. "Alright, Tara, I'll be there in a moment." The blond smiled at him and went back into the OR.
That girl really needed to get over him. This crush was getting annoying.
However, he didn't have time to think about that. He had another patient to fix...for House. His ex-boss had caught him as he was coming out of another surgery and basically conned him into doing this. Apparently, their patient, Jason Walters, had a mass in his heart that was throwing clots into his vascular system. It needed to be removed so that he would live long enough to be diagnosed.
Chase remembered the conversation as he slipped into the OR.
"Hello, dingo. How's the bloody trail treating you?" House's annoying voice reached Chase as he threw his contaminated scrubs into a bin.
Chase didn't look up as he washed his hands again. "Hello, House. How will you be annoying me today?"
House looked offended. "I'm offended! Why would you ever think that I would try to annoy you? I love my little wombat!" He protested sarcastically.
"House, whenever you deliberately seek me out, it usually means a large headache and three Tylenol for me and God knows how much trouble, depending on your mood, so why don't we cut the crap and get to why you're bothering me?" Chase said as he dried his hands. "I've got another surgery to prep for in twenty, so get on with it." Chase turned to him. "What do you want?"
House turned serious and leaned on his cane heavily. "I have a thirty-five year-old male in need of open heart surgery for a mass throwing clots. All the OR's are booked and this guys isn't going to survive long enough to-"
"Why ask me?" Chase demanded. "Have Cuddy coerce another surgeon who isn't book solid for the next two weeks." He said with finality.
Chase began walking away, but, unfortunately, his former boss still had one good leg and followed. "This man is going to die if you don't-"
Chase turned and pointed at him accusingly, "Don't play the 'dying patient' card with me, House. People die all the time and I'm not such a bleeding heart that I'll take any patient thrown my way. You want to talk life and death? Let's talk about the thirteen year-old I have in fifteen that will die of an exploding appendix if I don't remove it." House scoffed.
"Don't be melodramatic. That girl has a good week before she's even close to that. And since when do you need convincing to save a life? Cameron was sure that you would be fine with it. She assured me that you were a very caring person." He replied.
Chase rolled his eyes and turned to continue on to his next OR.
"The 'girlfriend' card. You are desperate." Chase stopped and looked at him, noting the shifting eyes and uncertain look in his eyes. House was up to something. "Why do you care so much?" Chase looked at him closely and House took a step back.
"Fine, if you don't want to help the father of four, then fine." House said bitingly before limping off.
That was weird, thought Chase. House never does anything without reason and he would never have walked away without getting what he wanted. What was he up to?
Chase began his trek to the other OR for the third time, fully intent of getting ready for his next procedure.
And so led to the next conversation...
When he was within ten feet, however, the most unlikely person to see in this wing of the hospital popped out of the elevators. Allison Cameron.
Chase looked at her with delighted surprise. "Hey. What are you doing here?" He said smiling. Cameron didn't answer till she was in front of him.
"Why won't you take on House's case?" She demanded.
Chase groaned. "House sent you to convince me to do the surgery? That's low, even for him." He said walking past her and into the scrub room. She followed.
"No, I'm concerned. This man will die if you don't operate and you're treating it like it's nothing." She pushed his shoulder so he would look at her. "Robert, what's going on?" She asked seriously.
Chase groaned. "You'll be pissed." He replied seriously, leaning on the sink. Cameron's face softened slightly and she shook her head.
"You're so...what is it? I won't get mad." She promised, thinking of how he looked like a child that had just stolen from the cookie jar.
Chase sighed. "It's just...today's our anniversary and I wanted to do something special for you...and if I do this surgery, then I'll have to work late just to catch up." He explained. Cameron's face was covered in shock. "Besides, they're other surgeons that can do. Hell, House could do it himself. He knows how. There's an EOR available for times like this." He rationalized.
Cameron shook her head. "That is so sweet." She paused, her eyes filled with love, but she soon spoke. "Robert, I really appreciate it, but sometimes we're going to have to put things off. And House can't do it. He's been having trouble with his hands lately. Nerve damage due to the long-term use of the Vicodin. And his fellows have no surgical experience." She said somberly, looking away.
Chase shook his head at the irony. "Alright, Alli, I'll do it. Which OR is he in?" He asked, defeated. Cameron motioned to the doors behind him. "In there..." She looked away guiltily. "House kind of hijacked your other patient. You got ten." Chase rolled his eyes and turned to scrub down.
"Hey." Chase looked up and was met with a kiss from his girlfriend. "I love you, koala bear." She said sweetly.
He smiled at the nickname. "I love you more, angel face." She returned his smile and, with one last kiss, left the scrub room, smiling.
Chase shook his head and felt the velvet box in his pocket. House had better be glad he loved that woman so much...
With that last thought, Chase switched to surgical mode and approached the table holding his patient. "Anesthetized?" He asked, looking at the body that was shrouded save for his chest.
Angela Tara nodded the affirmative as she slipped on his gloves and apparel. "He's dead to the world, Chase." He nodded to Tara, Foremen and House's three fellows. He glanced up and noticed Cuddy and Wilson watching and wondered why they were there.
Dismissing it, Chase spoke to Tara. "Scalpel 10 for initial incision." He was handed the instrument and poised his hand for the cut. As he prepared to cut, noticed something unusual. The patient had an ACDC tattoo on his right pectoral. It looked familiar...
Suddenly, the doors to the OR flew open as Cameron strode in. Chase pulled away, shocked, "Cameron, this is a sterile room, you can't be in here without-"
"Chase, I have to talk to you, immediately." She said urgently. Stopping a few feet from him.
"It'll have to wait. I'm kinda in the middle of something." He replied, indicating the patient on his table.
Cameron came closer and Chase threw down his scalpel in frustration. "Great, the sterile environment is gone. Glad you went to all that trouble to get me to-"
"This is more important." Chase looked at her closely and noticed that she was flustered. She was nervous about something.
"More important that a patient-?"
Chase about died of heart failure when the patient on his operating table sat up and pulled off the paper covering, revealing a shirtless Dr. Gregory House. His ex-boss turned to face him and smirked mischievously. "Hey, koala bear."
Chase tried to form words, but the shock was too great. He had never suspected a thing. They had all totally conned him.
He looked around, noticing all the smiles on the faces of the room's occupants and the one's of the people in the observation room.
Movement in front of him brought his attention back to Cameron. When he looked at her, she was down on one knee, smiling and reaching into her scrub pocket. "Bloody hell..." He muttered, as his left hand was taken.
Cameron's smile widened. "Robert, you've always decided when we would take the next step in our relationship. Now it's my turn." She told him. "You asked me out every week for four months, just waiting for me to say 'yes'. You pushed tooth and nail to say that we were going steady and finally you nagged me endlessly till I said yes to moving in with you. Despite my stubbornness and everything else, I can't live without you. And I thought that would never happen again." Tears began to form in her eyes.
"I love you more than anything in this world, Robert Chase. And I know I'll want you forever. So..." She took a deep breath. "I want you to be my husband. Robert, will you marry me?" She asked, pulling out a silver band and slipping it on his finger.
Chase looked flabbergasted. For several seconds, the Australian tried to form words. Never in his life had he expected Cameron to propose to him. It also touched him deeply that she took this step, considering her late husband. And the fact that she had chosen to do it this way just left him blown away.
After five seconds had passed, Chase felt a nudge from his 'patient', "Just say 'yes', wombat!" House cried, impatiently.
Chase finally got a hold of his shock and remembered how to talk. "Yes." He said, pulling Cameron to her feet. Chase gave into the urge that had possessed him since she'd started talking and kissed her deeply. Chase heard House's groan and the OR's occupant's hoots, but he didn't care. This had to be the most amazing day of his life. "I love you."
Cameron glowed with happiness as he pulled away and Chase thought that she had never looked more beautiful. "You are so unbelievable!" he exclaimed.
"I know." She said happily.
"How on earth did you pull this off?" He wondered as Cuddy and Wilson entered the OR.
Cameron laughed at the look of wonderment on his face. "Well, I was trying to think of an unconventional way to ask you-"
"And came to me." House inserted cockily as he pulled on his shirt.
"I helped her come up with this." Foremen put in, as he shook Chase's hand. "Congratulations, Chase."
"Thanks." Chase said, still a little winded. Next in line was Wilson who smiled and shook Chase's hand and hugged Cameron, before joining House on the other side of the room.
Cameron's smile didn't waver. "Then we had to go to Cuddy to get an OR opening." Said administrator came up and hugged Cameron before shaking Chase's hand. "Good luck." She said warmly.
"Thanks." Chase replied. She smiled at them fondly. "Bridal shower and bachelorette party." She told Cameron, who laughed.
"Ok, well, as much fun as this is, I do have a patient to diagnose." House announced. House addressed his fellows. "Follow once you're done congratulating the duckies. Foremen." Then he was gone. Foremen followed him, along with Wilson.
Cameron smiled from Chase's side and kissed his cheek. Next were Thirteen, who expressed an interest in a bachelorette party, and Taub and Kutner followed, teasing the surgeon about his gullibility.
As they left, Chase called after them. "Oh, and tell House I suspected it all along." He smiled as Kutner shook his head, "Yeah, yeah."
Finally, Tara came up and offered her congratulations, "Now, I have a bet to cash in." She said happily.
"A bet?" Cameron asked. Tara smiled. "House bet he'd faint." She said with a wink at the Australian. Chase shook his head and watched her leave.
Once they were alone, Chase turned to Cameron. "God, I love you." He said disbelievingly. She laughed lightly and kissed him. "I got you." She teased.
"Yes you did." Cameron smiled in triumph over her fiancé. "Now, you're mine, Dr. Chase." She loved flirting with Chase. It never got old. He always caught her off guard. Suddenly, it hit her just how much she loved him and Cameron reveled in it. Loving Chase was just too easy.
She pulled him close and sighed in bliss, her hand resting on his chest. Chase smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, angel face." He whispered. Cameron started as she felt something slip onto her left ring finger. She looked at her hand and saw a perfect platinum diamond solitaire resting on her finger. "Robert...I-"
She looked up and saw Chase's eyes filled with tenderness. "Allison...will you marry me?" He asked quietly. Cameron smiled up at him. "Of course." She replied without hesitation. She let out a soft squeal of happiness as they kissed and felt Chase smile. Everything was perfect in that moment. It wouldn't stay that way all the time. But just then..
It was the perfect day...
...the perfect moment...
...the perfect proposal.
AN: Yes, kinda corny, but extremely cute. I apologize if it's OOC. Please provide feedback. Love ya guys!