Tumbling Dice

By: Taz (vikingggoddss)

Pairing: Robert Chase & Remy (Thirteen) Hadley

T for now but will change to M later on.

I love House and the show, especially Chase! Gahd, he's so sexy and hot! I already miss him. :(

I always wanted him to get with Thirteen—they'd be so darned pretty together! Hehe.

Anyhoo, here's me making that happen since the writers never gave it to us.

Feedback and comments are totally appreciated.

Chapter 1

The Prodigal Daughter Returns:

Remy 'Thirteen' Hadley was nervous as she walked back into PPTH for the first time in almost a year. After finding him waiting for her when she exited the gates of prison a few days ago, House had taken her on a road trip of the most bizarre kind. And while they'd bonded over building a super spud-gun to defeat House's teenage nemesis, her former boss had somehow talked her into coming back to work for him, too. How he'd done it, she really didn't know. When she'd left here almost a year ago, she'd sworn to never-ever return. But, she supposed, her need to want to reconnect could have something to do it. Prison changed a person. Well, then again, so did killing the one person she'd been closer to than anyone else in the world; her brother. Seeing him deteriorate right before her very eyes had also snuffed out something vital within Remy.

Hope.

She no longer had it. She'd had to witness firsthand what she was in for with her Huntington's and it had been horrible. Her mother's decent into the disease had been so long ago that she'd been too young to really understand what had taken Mom away; but her brother's demise had been a harsh dose of reality. He'd suffered. They both had. Giving him a peaceful way out had been a far better option than continue watching him slowly waste away into the agonizing, ugly death waiting for him.

In the end it had been the only option and Thirteen didn't regret her decision one bit. She did miss him though.

House had said he'd kill her when the time came—she was going to hold him to that, she thought, as she punched the up button on the elevator that would take her to the Diagnostics Department. It was like taking a trip back in time—when she'd first gotten the fellowship with House, she'd had a zest for life and medicine. Working for House wasn't easy. He was a complete and utter ass most of the time. He could be ruthless and often more than a little insane when diagnosing a case, but he was brilliant and Remy had to admit, she missed the excitement of working a differential with him and the team.

When the elevators opened, Thirteen took a deep breath and stepped off the car. Her stride was confident and determined as she walked the corridor towards the glass doors of House's office/conference room. She was still the same person, basically, but if the last year had taught her anything, it had taught her that life was too damned short and she had one shot at it. She had better make it count. After helping her brother die, she'd promised herself to make whatever time she had left count-even if she really didn't believe in happily ever after anymore.

Remy pushed open the doors, glad no one was there yet. In those quiet moments she had a few minutes to prepare herself for the inevitable questions she knew she would face today. The only upside was that she wouldn't have to answer any of the; 'What was prison like?' or 'What did it feel like when you put that needle in your brother's arm?' questions that would arise if the team knew her *actual* circumstances. House had promised her he wouldn't tell anyone and surprisingly, she believed him; despite his motto that 'everybody lies'.

Yeah, House lied. He did a lot of things when it suited him, but, outing her didn't benefit him or a patient, so Thirteen felt confident he'd keep her secrets.

She started setting up for the day…reacquainting herself with the feel of the place when the door opened and a rather dreary, heavy-set red head dressed in a too short plaid skirt, dark stockings and a frilly blouse came in. She had a lab coat on which meant she was a doctor, not a lost visitor.

Thirteen glanced at her questioningly, but didn't say a word. She rarely played her hand first.

"You must be Dr. um… Thirteen?" It was said more as a question than a statement of fact.

Thirteen took in the really bad wardrobe and her brow shot up. The girl seemed far too chipper to be on House's team—not to mention House could be a pig where women were concerned so Thirteen assumed the young woman was either some kind of genius or House had totally changed his views on women, philosophy and his practice in general.

Yeah, like House would ever change!

"Remy Hadley," she corrected, not at all sure why she said that, since she'd never had a problem being called Thirteen before. "Nice to meet you."

Just then the whole team came in and in between all the hugs, the welcome backs, and questions (some hostile-at least from Foreman) Remy realized she was still a good fit and it felt good to be back.

It was only when Chase pulled her in for a hug, that Remy had second thoughts. His hard chest pressed up against her breasts and for just a second Remy felt a tingle ripple through her and settle in her belly. Her hands fluttered down his back and God, he was so…firm. Remy suppressed the shudder of raw desire she felt, putting it down to the fact that it had been a long time in between sexual partners for her. She swung both ways, (everyone knew it) but she'd had zero interest in satisfying any urges with the women she'd met in prison. Chase's arms wrapped around her even tighter and his cologne invaded her senses. He smelled sexy as hell and she suddenly had the insane urge to toss him onto the glass conference table, rip his clothes off and see for herself if he lived up to the gossip the nurses at PPTH used to spread about him and his sexual prowess.

House's sarcastic voice broke them apart. "Aww, look at that," he mocked, pausing in the doorway and leaning on his cane. "Fresh out of rehab and you already have a new playmate." Remy turned away, letting her long hair curtain her face to hide how flustered she was. Chase flushed too and House seemed pleased with their reaction. "Hey, at least you're going for pretty this time and not apathetic…" he groused, limping into the conference room. He glanced Foreman's way. "Because we all know how well that worked out, don't we?"

The word rehab had everyone shooting off a fresh round of questions. Thirteen shook her head at House's false, yet plausible excuse as to why she was AWOL for a year. "I thought we wouldn't mention the rehab," she said, picking the lesser of two evils to focus the team on. She'd rather them inquire about some make-believe problem rather than the all-too-real reason she'd actually been gone for a year.

House shrugged and hobbled over to his desk. "I thought it best to get it out in the open. It'll alleviate all the awkward lies."

"Wow," she said, playing her part. "I haven't even put on a lab coat yet and you're already violating my privacy. Thanks, House, I think that's a record, even for you."

Foreman glared at Remy, his stoic mask slipping just a tad. "I never even knew you had a problem. When were you going to tell me?"

House smirked and answered before Thirteen had a chance to. "See? Awkward." He tilted his head and added to the already melting pot of drama. "And he didn't even mention you and Chase practically groping each other? Weird." He shrugged and did his 'aw-shucks' look. "Because that's the first thing I'd have asked about if you were my ex, but then again…he is Robo-Doc…" He made a sad face and taunted, "Don't hate him cuz he's cold, maybe he's just built that way."

Thirteen spared Eric a small glance as she answered his questions. "I'm fine and I didn't have a problem when we were dating. And I don't have a relationship with Chase," she added, turning back to House and crossing her arms.

"Funny, I didn't say relationship. I said playmate…as in meaningless sex—which according to the nurses on the second floor Chase is rather good at, but…" House's grin turned predatory and Remy realized her mistake too late. She wanted to take it back, but it was out there. And like a shark smelling blood in the water, House honed in on her slip of the tongue. "You said relationship…which means you think there's a potential for a relationship-which means sex with Chase wouldn't be meaningless-it'd be meaningful." His eyes darted back and forth between Chase, Thirteen and Foreman; all of which were wearing varying looks of shock, dismay, and anger.

House grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

"Interesting," he said and surprisingly let it go as he tossed a file at each of his staff. "Kendall Pearson. 16-year-old aspiring pirate."

"She's that Canadian kid who's trying to be the youngest person to sail around the world, right?" Chase commented, doing his best to ignore what House had just insinuated, even while his eyes kept going back to Remy speculatively.

To her credit, Thirteen managed to not let House's comments get the best of her, nor did she return any of Chase's questioning gazes. Letting the team, or worse, House see that she was affected by the Australian doctor would be like waving a red flag in front of bull—not a good idea. She and Chase hadn't been exactly close before she'd left, but she'd always thought he was extremely good looking. What woman with eyes wouldn't? He'd showed a definite interest in her, too, but she'd shot him down the one time he'd actually made a pass at her. The timing had been off, not to mention, having him bluntly ask her to sleep with him hadn't been up to par with his normally charming seduction techniques. Then there was Foreman...

The phrase 'once bitten-twice shy' came to mind and Remy wasn't at all sure she wanted to travel down that road again-especially with a man with Chase's reputation with women.

House watched Chase as he stared intently at Thirteen. Meanwhile, Thirteen focused on anything, but Chase. There was a definite attraction between Chase and Thirteen and his internal radar to sense trouble brewing between his team went up another notch. He almost rubbed his hands together in glee. The possibilities to torment here was phenomenal. Especially Chase. He was like one huge hormone-chasing anything in a skirt. He went through women like Kleenex and if anyone would give him a dose of his own medicine—it'd be Remy Hadley. And if it blew the proverbial lid off Foreman's top—well then, that was just gravy.

House's blue eyes sparkled with mischief, yet he kept it all business for the time being.

"She collapsed yesterday during a practice run. Luckily for us, cameras were there," he said, hitting a button on the remote for the flat screen. A shot of a sailboat with one person on deck flashed across the TV. "Corporate sponsors want us to check that's she seaworthy before the clock strikes the 'you're too old to set a record.'" He glanced at the team. "Gives us three days."

Masters glanced up from the chart. "Could be simple dehydration. She told the Coast Guard she had felt dizzy."

House shook his head. "Pulse and BP were normal at the time of the rescue. It's not dehydration."

Taub was focusing on the screen, watching it intently. "What about her back?" The team paused, House included and he replayed a part of the DVD. "Look," he said pointing to the T.V. "Right before the collapse, she hit the small of her back on the railing. Damaged adrenal glands caused adrenal insufficiencies, which caused the collapse."

House smiled slowly. "Nice. Blood draws every 15 minutes for four hours. Let's track her cortisol." And then just as everyone got to their feet House gave a small smile and said, "Oh and let's see if we can solve this one in less time than it takes Chase to…oh, I don't know, convince Thirteen he'd be the best choice in her previously long list of crappy choices."

Foreman; who'd been, so far, watching the entire drama unfold silently, finally let out a long sigh. "Okay, stop," he said. "Chase and Thirteen aren't sleeping together."

"Oh, you'd like to think it'll never happen, wouldn't you?" House fired back, sarcasm dripping off his every word. "But look at them. Both so pretty it makes your eyes hurt, don't it?" House paused and ignored Chase's and Thirteen's dramatic eye rolls at his theatrics. "We all know Chase can score a hat-trick with the ladies." House said; reminding Foreman of the wedding they'd attended last year where Chase had slept with three women in one night. "Landing Thirteen after all this time would be a grand slam or do you really think she'll never date again?"

Foreman took a deep, calming breath. "No, but I do wonder why you're so curious?"

"And I wonder why you aren't?" House fired back. "Or you're in denial. Either way—you're an idiot. Go run the tests. Chase you and Thirteen do the blood draws," he added, turning away from his team, effectively dismissing them and leaving them to deal with the can of worms he'd just opened.

There was a long pause where you could almost hear a pin drop as Chase, Thirteen and Foreman all stared at each other, but then Foreman let out a sigh and suggested they focus on the patient and not House and his insanity.

Chase seemed about to say something and Remy held her breath, praying he wouldn't make mention of House and his comments, but then he nodded and Remy exhaled a soft sigh of relief.

As she left the room, Thirteen thought she was in the clear; that is until Chase took hold of her elbow and held her back as the rest of the team headed for the elevators. Shit! What if he had sensed that House was onto something and not just doing his usual House nonsense of divide and conquer?

"Is he right?" he asked without preamble.

She didn't even try and pretend she didn't know what he was talking about, but she did try and circumvent his curiosity. "House says things designed to cause tension between his team. You know that. He's done it to you how many times?"

"That's not what I asked you," Chase said, those brilliant blue/green eyes searching hers, as if he could find the answer there.

Thirteen looked away. She'd told herself she'd start living life, but faced with the prospect of opening up and letting someone in again, well, she found it harder than she'd expected.

She took a deep breath and faced Chase squarely. "No," she lied. "He's just trying to stir the pot. Don't take it personally."

He didn't look convinced, as a matter of fact, his intent scrutiny of her was way too close to House's for Remy's liking, and for a brief, terrifying second, she thought he might actually call her a liar! Her heart lodged somewhere in her throat, as her mind raced for an escape, but then his expression changed, and a brief flash of disappointment washed over his handsome face before he became as expressionless as Foreman, on his best day.

"Fine," he was all he said, but Remy heard the cool professionalism in his voice and for some reason, it bugged her far more than it should.

XXXHOUSEXXX

Please leave a review or comment & let me know what ya think. Is the UST good or should it be sooner and thicker? Let me know peeples!