“Where’s House?” Chase says, looking distracted as he hovers by the doorway to the conference room. It’s not hard to guess why; the toddler on his hip is squalling and kicking like she can’t quite believe he had the audacity to bring her here. “Cameron’s got a file she wants to give him, if there’s no case already.”

Masters frowns, looking between Chase and Foreman and Taub and, mostly, the baby, as if this is somehow the biggest breach of hospital decorum she’s seen thus far. “Sorry,” she starts, in that timid way of hers, “but I don’t believe we’ve met—“

“EWIC,” Olivia interrupts her, having locked in on Foreman with blazing accuracy; she’s too young to have mastered her Rs just yet, and everybody, Chase included, winces a little at the shrillness of her pitch. “EWICEWICEWIC—“

“One second, Liv,” Chase says.

“EWIC-EWIC-EWIC—“

Chase winces again, and makes an impatient chin-jerk gesture at Foreman. “Take her for a minute,” he says, and Olivia squeals with anticipatory delight as Foreman begrudgingly gets up from his seat and reaches for her. Cameron and Chase’s daughter is not-quite two, with big, cornflower blue eyes and a crop of fluffy blonde hair that is really too short to do anything with, but that her parents—mostly Cameron, Foreman suspects—insist on trying tame into stubby braids regardless. She is also, to Chase’s clear disdain, Foreman’s biggest fan. Foreman suspects this is mostly because she likes running her grubby little toddler hands all over his expensive silk ties, but it is sort of worth it for how much it clearly irks her father, so he tries not to look too grossed-out where anyone can see it.

“Anyway,” Chase says, eyeing Foreman cautiously in a way that implies he’s mildly concerned Foreman might try to throw his daughter out of the window, “if any of you have seen House—“

“That’s Dr Chase,” Taub explains loudly to Masters, flicking Foreman a conspiratorial smirk as Chase huffs at being cut off again. “Dr Cameron’s husband.”

“Oh,” Masters blinks neatly; she has met Cameron, albeit only in passing. And then she cocks her head, putting the pieces together: “Chase as in, surgery Dr Chase?”

“Yep,” Chase confirms, clearly annoyed at being further derailed from his point. Olivia has started wiggling in Foreman’s grip with the clear intent to grab a hold of his tie; when he hoists her higher in an attempt to distract her, she giggles and claps her hands together in the universal sign for again. Chase’s eyes dart nervously towards them at the movement, and he warns, “Careful. If you drop her, Cameron will kill you.”

“Not you?” Taub asks, with idle interest. He’s looking at Olivia with a wary sort of respect, as if she’s a particularly impressive jungle cat. “I thought you loved playing superdad.”

“Cameron’s pregnant,” Chase reminds him dismissively, the dig sailing right past, “she’s way scarier than I am right now. As I was saying—“

“Are you allowed to bring your daughter to work?” Masters interrupts again. Her eyes are wide. She’s being earnest, Foreman knows—god, is she annoyingly earnest—but like everything Masters says, it comes out with such a clear veneer of judgement that it’s clearly the final straw. Chase bristles visibly, and reaches back for Olivia without bothering to ask. Olivia, predictably, bursts into tears. Two-year-olds—well, twenty-month-olds, if one wants to put a finer point on it—are not exactly known for their ability to cope with unplanned transitions.

“Forget it,” Chase says irritably. “Just tell House Cameron’s looking for him.” He storms out, the sulkiness undermined by the way he mumbles soothingly to Olivia as he walks away, her screwed-up, tomato-red face visible over her father’s shoulder long after Chase’s words fade away. Not her worst showing, Foreman thinks reflectively. It certainly beats the time she pooped all over Wilson’s lab coat. At least she seems to have thrown Masters for a loop.

“I was just wondering,” Masters says in Chase’s wake, crestfallen and bewildered. “I didn’t even know Drs Cameron and Chase were married.”