IT'S TUESDAY [dot] ORG .::. The Chase/Cameron Shipper Source

Robert Chase and Allison Cameron met while working as colleagues on a fellowship team under Dr. House. By the time Cameron was hired, Chase had already been working for House for six months. The two had a comfortable working relationship from the start, although they would often disagree over Cameron’s overly-emotional approach to cases and Chase’s apparent willingness to throw anyone under the proverbial bus if it meant protecting himself and his job. With the addition of Foreman to the team, it initially seemed as if Chase and Cameron were already set in their ways together as they consistently excluded Foreman from their easy routine of working side-by-side. As time went on, differing opinions, sarcastic banter, and a friendly-yet-conflicting relationship between Chase and Cameron made their interactions all the more enjoyable to watch.

Chase’s attraction to Cameron was clear almost from the very start, and her playful flirtations made frequent appearances despite her insistence that she was attracted to House – not Chase. In “Occam’s Razor,” the third episode of the series, there is a strong focus on Chase’s pull toward the pretty young doctor he works alongside, and Cameron eventually admits to him her insecurities and discomfort in situations of a sexual nature. She rattles off a long and detailed speech about how “sex could kill you,” making Chase increasingly uncomfortable with her descriptions, and by the end of the episode he appears more drawn to her than ever before. His attempt to ask Cameron out for coffee, though, doesn’t even fully leave his lips before she rejects him and walks away. As the first season continues, Cameron is more and more focused on her attraction to House, and the original chemistry she shared with Chase fades into the background as the two return to the playful, bantering work relationship they’d had from the start.

Early in Season Two’s “Hunting,” the team is treating a young patient with AIDS named Kalvin. He is a wild and free party boy who enjoys experimenting with sex and drugs and claims not to care what anyone else thinks so long as he’s happy with the life he lives. Kalvin points out to both Chase and Cameron that their loyalty to their jobs is keeping them from truly experiencing anything fun and fulfilling in life. Neither gives it any thought at the time, but Cameron soon finds her life potentially changed forever when Kalvin accidentally coughs HIV-infected blood into her eyes and mouth. She is immediately placed on a protective regimen of medications and reminded that the likelihood of her contracting the virus is very slim, but Cameron remains extremely shaken by the ordeal. Chase is a supportive friend during this time, offering to take her out for drinks and distract her from the horrors of the day, but inadvertently changes both of their lives forever when he jokingly tells Cameron that she’s safe since it’s not as though she has an exciting, promiscuous past to add to her problems. His words, matched with Kalvin’s advice that Cameron stop being so nice and start taking control of her own happiness for once, lead to Cameron stealing several pills of crystal meth from Kalvin’s stash and experimenting with the drugs after work later that night. High on both drugs and a new longing to experience life without rules, Cameron summons Chase to her apartment. He arrives not long after, assuming she’s changed her mind about his previous offer for a drink, and quickly finds himself pressed back against the wall of Cameron’s apartment as she kisses him. His attraction to Cameron still as strong as ever, Chase kissed her back for a few short moments before stopping them both and attempting to let Cameron change her mind about a decision she was making under the influence. Cameron was completely lucid and entirely aware of her actions, though, and she assured Chase that she was certain. The two have a one-night stand that is discovered by House and Foreman the next morning when Cameron arrives to work still feeling the effects of the drugs. As Chase later tries to help Cameron relax, he tells her that what happened between them the night before should probably never happen again. Cameron agrees and assures him that she doesn’t want it to, trying to play off any signs that the attraction may be mutual. In response, Chase simply warns her that “when two people have sex – unless it sucks – if they can do it again, they’re going to do it again. And it didn’t suck.”

The two return to a normal working relationship, mentioning their sexual night together only occasionally, although their friendship does appear slightly stronger and more playful than before. Cameron is supportive and defensive of Chase when his father suddenly dies and Chase subsequently causes the accidental death of a patient in the aftermath, and Chase begins to show an increasing level of jealousy over Cameron’s ongoing attraction to House. However, their relationship to each other as anything more than friendly colleagues is not ultimately focused on again until the middle of the third season.

In the episode “Insensitive,” Foreman confronts Cameron with the idea that her first marriage was never truly one of commitment and ultimate love since she knew all along that it would only be short term. He tells her that when it comes to love, “the real thing” is devoting yourself to someone that you know you’ll be with for decades to come, and staying beside them year after year no matter how monotonous or difficult it can become. Cameron is visibly shaken by his words, so Foreman finally assures her that “people who avoid commitment are people who know what a big thing it is.” He tells her that even though she may not be ready to take on a real relationship, there’s no reason she can’t have a sex life in the mean time and have a little fun. After thinking about his comments and re-evaluating her life, Cameron makes Chase an offer he can hardly refuse: a no-strings-attached, completely sexual and emotionally-free relationship. Trying to be carefree about the whole situation, she tells him that “out of all the people I work with, you’re the one I’m least likely to fall in love with.” Chase tries to appear offended by her judgment of him, but his ongoing crush on Cameron wins out in the end and the two immediately become friends with benefits.

During this period of their relationship, Chase and Cameron appear to find one another increasingly attractive, and their hunger for each other is insatiable as they end up engaging in sexual escapades all over the hospital and even in patients’ homes while working cases together. Over time, it is hinted at that their “strictly sexual” relationship has slowly started to progress into something more as we learn that they are spending nights together at each others’ homes, telling one another details of their lives (Chase suddenly knows Cameron has an older brother even though Foreman doesn’t, etc), and going out to dinner to spend time together in ways that don’t always include simply having sex. Cameron continues to believe, perhaps for her own self-preservation, that what they have is unemotional and that her rules of their relationship still ultimately control how things go. Chase, on the other hand, finds himself falling completely in love. At the end of “Airborne,” he admits to Cameron that his feelings for her are very real and that he wants their relationship to be something more – something solid. Put off by his attempt to change the rules of their arrangement, Cameron ends things altogether.

When Foreman finds out that Chase and Cameron are no longer sleeping together because Chase wanted more and Cameron didn’t share his feelings, he reminds Chase that Cameron is incapable of remaining emotionally unattached — she has to be lying to him when she says she doesn’t want more, too. In “Act Your Age,” Chase confronts Cameron about it and tries to make her admit that she really does want to be with him because, as he says, “you come back me again and again.” She continues to deny her feelings, and at the end of the episode Chase seems to be backing off when he quietly gives her a bouquet of flowers and gently accepts her rejection when she tells him she thought about it and she’s certain she doesn’t want them to have a real relationship. Despite her words, though, Chase’s sweet and sincere actions seem to be having an effect on Cameron’s resolve. Over the next several weeks, Chase sets out to slowly win over the woman of his dreams by reminding once a week: “It’s Tuesday. I like you.” Cameron seems increasingly annoyed by his efforts, but when House fires Chase in the season finale, “Human Error,” she is faced with the sudden reality that Chase could be gone from her life for good. A few nights later, she appears on his doorstep and shyly whispers to him, “It’s Tuesday.” When Chase points out that it’s actually a Monday, Cameron approaches him and admits: “I didn’t feel like waiting.” The two share their first kiss as a legitimate couple, and Cameron resigns her position from House’s team soon after.

Season Four saw Chase and Cameron taking on new roles in the hospital (Cameron heading up the ER, Chase working as a surgeon) and subsequently receiving far less focus than they had in the past. Although it was only ever hinted at on rare occasions, the two were clearly a functioning and steady romance throughout the year. They hit a few minor bumps in the road along the way concerning Cameron’s past crush on House and Chase’s residual jealousy over the issue, but they survived their first year as a couple intact. Not long into Season Five, the episode “The Itch” allowed us to delve deeper into Chase and Cameron’s relationship and better explore where they stood. A conversation Cameron has with House reveals that she and Chase have, in fact, been steadily together for a year and a half but that the two aren’t yet engaged. She states that although they don’t live together, they spend most nights together – typically at Chase’s place, not hers. House concludes that a relationship on that timeline without an engagement suggests that the couple has commitment issues, and that always staying nights at Chase’s place means one of them has control issues. His words set Cameron off balance, and she becomes increasingly paranoid when Chase later turns down her offer to spend the night at her house instead of his. She begins to push him emotionally, picking fights and perhaps attempting to cause a fallout before Chase could be the one to leave her broken-hearted instead. As they argue, though, Chase reveals that the reason they always spend nights at his house instead of hers is that she has never made him feel welcome and wanted in her home. In a year and a half, she has yet to offer him a drawer for his things or clear out any space in her closet to make room for him in her life. Chase tells her that he knows how hard it is for her to open herself up to love again after losing her first husband, but he can’t continue to chase her forever. In the end, Cameron chooses to trust her feelings for Chase and take the next small step in solidifying his place in her life. She cleans out a drawer for him at her house, and they appear to be happier than ever in the months that follow.

In the episode “Unfaithful,” Cameron casually jokes to Chase that he should “save the gushy stuff for the wedding,” implying to the audience that they’ve reached a point in their relationship where marriage has been discussed and that they are both planning to wed at some point in the future. Several episodes later, “Saviors” once again focuses heavily on their relationship and how they are both reacting to the recent and unexpected suicide of Dr. Kutner, one of House’s new team members. Cameron postpones a relaxing and romantic vacation with Chase to work on a case with House and his team, instantly reinfusing Chase’s fears that she may still be romantically interested in their old boss. His paranoia is unfounded though, as Cameron later confides in House that she’s been avoiding her boyfriend – and their trip to the shore – because she accidentally found an engagement ring hidden in a pair of Chase’s thick socks. Afraid that Chase is only planning to propose out of some knee-jerk reaction to Kutner’s death, Cameron is hoping to avoid the situation altogether and give Chase the opportunity to wait until he’s more certain of his decision. Her refusal to talk to Chase about what’s really bothering her, though, only adds to his frustration and anger, and Chase winds up breaking up with Cameron after she asks him to give her a little more time to think things through. The realization of what her secrecy and hesitation has caused leads Cameron to find Chase later on that evening and admit to him that she found the ring and was simply worried he only wanted to marry her as a gut reaction to the sudden loss of someone close them. “But I don’t care how it happens,” she says finally, “I just want it to happen.” Chase is initially unimpressed and wary of her apology, but his love for her wins out in the end, and Chase gets down on bended knee to propose. The two immediately share the happy news with Cuddy, and House throws Chase a bachelor party a week later — almost killing him when Chase goes into anaphylactic shock after unknowingly coming into contact with strawberry products.

All seemed well and simple for the couple for a brief moment in time, but Cameron’s announcement in “Under My Skin” that she had kept her dead husband’s frozen sperm on reserve all these years throws a wrench into their wedding plans. She tells Chase that it’s merely a back-up plan; that she has no intention of ever divorcing him, but she wants to keep the possibility of children alive and well in case she ever does end up alone again someday. Chase tortures himself over the issue for the entire episode, in the end telling Cameron that he can’t allow her to keep another man’s sperm as an insurance policy against their marriage. If she wants to be with him, she’s going to have to let it go and trust him completely that they’ll be together forever. By the start of the fifth season finale, “Both Sides Now,” it appears as though the wedding has been called off, and Cameron is fretting over how to make things right with Chase without having to get rid of the frozen sperm in the process. Eventually, she realizes that stubbornly hanging onto her past is not worth ruining her future over, and she finds Chase to tell him she’s decided to destroy the sperm. The couple is momentarily happy and reunited, but Chase can sense that something isn’t right. He later approaches Cameron and confronts her about the issue, hypothetically asking her if she’d be ready enough to trust their relationship ten years and three children down the line. When she doesn’t answer, Chase reveals that he knows she doesn’t actually have any doubts about their marriage — she’s simply struggling with the idea of killing the only remaining piece of someone she once truly loved. Cameron breaks down in his arms, relieved that he finally understands and was able to see through her facade, and then admits to him that she never could bring herself to officially cancel any of their wedding plans. With everything finally resolved and Chase and Cameron happily reunited once again, the couple exchanged vows in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the end of “Both Sides Now” and prepared to embark on their new life together as a young, married couple.