Title: Changes
Author: TylerHunt
Fandom: House/Charmed Crossover AU, without any supernatural element
Characters: Dr. Robert Chase/Chris Halliwell
Word Count: 1,890
Rating: PG so far
Disclaimer: Not mine (unfortunately), not making money with it (which is even more unfortunate).
Warning: Slash! AU! Chase-friendly! laughs Does that require a warning?
Beta: The lovely, fantabulous Snookerfran who'd saved my live. Thank you so much, hon!
Author's Notes: I can't tell you where I got the idea this pairing could fit, or why putting these two together, of all people, could be great. One day I woke up and there it was. The idea, I mean. Anyway. I hope you'll like it. Let me know what you think. :)
Again: This is SLASH, people! So spare me your flames, you're warned now.
For all of you, who know this story from a certain LJ already: no worries, lovelies, it's still me. :) I just thought I'd gather some more readers - greedy as I am - and needed a "job-mates and relatives free" account for it. If you don't believe me, just write me an e-mail to the usual address. :) loves
Part 1
Dr. Robert Chase was on his way to clinic duties. Not that he minded. Since the 'Vogler incident', House had lost his trust in him completely. And deservedly so. He'd recently asked Chase why on Earth he should put up with a treacherous rat like him in the future, and Chase had replied because he didn't have a choice, even though Chase wasn't so sure about the answer.
If it hadn't been for Vogler, who'd kept to their mutual agreement and saved his ass when House had been about to fire him in favour of Foreman and Cameron, he would've been out already. He neither had Cameron's desire to fix everybody and everything, nor her sympathy for the patients and her will to see the good things in people, even in House.
And he surely didn't have the self-confidence and remarkable knowledge and experience of an Eric Foreman. The black doctor seemed to always know what he was doing; he wasn't afraid of contradicting House whenever or wherever and he never backed down, no matter how furious, snarky or hurtful House became. Foreman just kept going; doing his "thing".
Yes. Amongst the three ducklings of them, Chase knew Foreman was the best.
But Chase remained like dirt beneath House's shoe: the head of Diagnostics would never let him come near a halfway interesting case ever again. Chase's "department" was "research" now. Meaning, spending endless hours in front of a computer, googling around.
So clinic hours weren't too bad. At least he actually had something to do.
"Ten minutes," Chris Halliwell announced when he and his friend Bianca entered the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. "I'll stay exactly ten minutes. If there isn't a doctor who can see me then, I'm out of here."
He looked around the clinic's waiting room: it was stuffed, which seemed promising. There was no way he'd be seen within ten minutes, and that suited him fine. He didn't want to have to go through some useless examination and an even more useless treatment. The young, dark-haired woman next to him shot him an impatient glance and replied,
"You know, if you hadn't kissed Chet's current girlfriend, we wouldn't even have to be here."
"I didn't kiss her! She kissed me! There's a difference."
"Kiss me next time and you'll stay out of trouble."
"I'd have to kiss Richard before that asshole Chet stops being jealous without any reason at all," Chris muttered and Bianca tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Now, there's an image," she said.
Chris rolled his eyes and regretted it immediately, when a sharp pain shot down his spine violent enough to make is toes tingle. Damn! The "star quaterback" of their school really threw a mean right hook. Chris flinched and Bianca winced in sympathy.
"Let them take a look at you, okay?" she said. "Only to make sure there's no inner bleeding."
"There isn't," Chris insisted. "I'd be worse by now if there was."
"You're such a child!"
"And you're a pain in the ass, Bi!"
With that he leaned against the nearest wall and ignored her. Fuck! His parents would have a fit when he came home like that. No doctor and no cosmetician would be able to camouflage the black eye he was currently sporting. Maybe not even an Academy Award winning make-up artist. The swelling had spread over the whole left side of his face already. Let alone that he couldn't walk upright properly, because marring his face hadn't been enough. No! 'Mr. I-Tarzan-you-nothing' had to punch him in the stomach, too. Asshole!
"Do you think Wyatt will take care of that?" Bianca asked.
Wrong question. Utterly wrong question.
"I don't give a fuck! I'm perfectly able to live my life without my big brother watching over me, you know?"
Bianca eyed him sarcastically.
"Yeah. I can see that."
Useless. Every attempt to talk with Bianca reasonably was useless. Didn't she know that there were hundreds of boys at school, getting beat up by some bulky hunks almost every day, who didn't have a big brother and were still able to survive college?
"That's it," he said, and pushed himself off the wall, flinching a little at the sudden stab of pain. "Time's up. I'm out of here."
Without waiting for an answer he made a beeline for the exit. – Only to be stopped abruptly by a young blond doctor running straight into him.
"OW! Jesus! Can't you keep your eyes open?"
"Likewise," a soft British-sounding accent replied. "Next time just hoot, okay?"
Chris tried to ignore the pain and looked up into a pair of the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.
Chase inhaled sharply when the young man glanced up at him. Light blue eyes, framed by long, dark lashes, soft lips slightly parted in surprise. Was it just him or had the temperature risen a bit within the past few seconds?
The moment stretched, both men still staring at each other, unable to do anything else. Even though Chase was fully aware of how awkward they must look, he couldn't bring himself to move, not wanting this moment to end.
It took a second for the words of a female voice to register in his temporarily-out-of-order brain.
Chase blinked slowly. Once. Twice. The young man still clinging to his white coat mirroring his movements.
"Sorry," the doctor finally managed. "Come again?"
He turned his head to look at the young woman, who had spoken and she looked back at him doubtfully.
"Are you sure you're a doctor?"
"White coat, stethoscope, a nameplate with a 'Dr.' before my name, yes, I'm sure."
The woman rolled her eyes.
"Are you in charge here?"
"Currently? Yes."
"He was beaten up. Could you please take a look at him?"
"Bianca." The young man seemed to have found his speech again. "There are, like, a million people before me and it's nothing, really. We can just go."
Chase returned his attention to the guy, trying to look at him a little more professionally now. A large black eye and a swelling of the left side of his face. The arm now sprawled protectively over his stomach indicated abdominal pain. Chase nodded as if to himself and said,
"I'll make it quick. This way. Sister Hazel! Would you follow me, please?"
Bianca watched as the blond doctor and Chris walked over to an examination room. For a second she could've sworn that Chris...But no. Impossible. Chris was so straight it actually hurt sometimes. Bianca shook her head. No. She must've been imagining things.
Chris was still a little dazed. Not to mention utterly confused by the strong reaction he'd had to the appearance of this doctor. Chase. Robert Chase, the name tag on his coat was telling Chris. Bob. Bobby. 'Stop it!' Christ, this was ridiculous! He wasn't gay! He'd never been the least bit interested in men.
Still Chris was looked over Dr. Robert Chase, examining him carefully, while he told the nurse his name and date of birth and other things they needed for the reception. Finally the nurse left and Dr. Chase asked softly,
"Who did this to you? Your parents?"
"No!" A simultaneous cry from both Chris and Bianca.
"Christ, no," the young man continued. "They don't even know about it yet."
"So? What happened?"
"He kissed someone he shouldn't have been kissing," Bianca explained. Chris shot her an irritated glance.
"Did not. I told you it was her, who kissed me."
"Looked entirely different for Chet."
"He should wear glasses then."
"You know, maybe you should really consider kissing Richard to get out of that."
"You wish."
"Okay, maybe you're right. As soon as Wyatt knows, Chet is so in for a surprise."
"Wyatt?" Chase asked.
"My older brother," sighed Chris, and addressing Bianca he continued, "You do know that I can actually stand up for myself, right?"
"You could. But usually you just don't. Which is, coming to think of it, a little odd."
Chris just shrugged.
"I only choose to ignore the fights not worth fighting, and that's one of them. Jenny won't come near me ever again, case closed."
Bianca rolled her eyes heavenwards in mock desperation.
"You can be so incredibly dense sometimes, Halliwell! She has a major crush on you. Hello? She wouldn't stay away even if her life depended on it." The young woman shook her head. "Men!"
"I'll only have to wait a week at the most, right?" Chris replied, almost bored.
"What?" Bianca looked at him disbelievingly, for once not able to decipher what the hell he was talking about.
"Next week Chet will have another Barbie to play with, so he won't give a fuck what Jenny'll be doing or not or doing with whom. The danger will eliminate itself."
Bianca stared a little longer, then turned to Chase as if she thought it completely useless to continue arguing with Chris and asked,
"So? What is it?"
"I'm not sure yet."
Dr. Chase continued to shine with a lamp into Chris's eyes, put a finger in front of him that Chris had to follow with his eyes, and asked him some questions, which Chris answered dutifully.
"He doesn't have a concussion," the young doctor finally stated. "As for the rest..."
He turned back to Chris and said, "I'm sorry. This could hurt a little."
It didn't. Okay, a little, but not much. Not as much as Chris had been afraid it would. In fact Dr. Chase was so careful that Chris eyes fluttered shut by the gentle touch of the doctor's hand palpating his chest and stomach. Chris didn't know for how long they stayed like that. Somewhere along the way he'd lost track of time. The young man opened his eyes again when Dr. Chase asked,
"Do you do sports of some sort?"
The doctor's handsome face was only inches away from his own and Chris felt a familiar tingle in his belly. His eyes widened in shock when he realised what that meant and drew back as far as he could.
"I...It's..." He sounded a tad breathless. "I'm in the swim team," he finally managed.
Dr. Chase nodded.
"Not for the next few weeks," he said. "I'll prescribe you an ointment and some painkillers. If it's not getting clearly better within the next, say, five days, you'll have to come back, okay? If it's getting worse, you'll have to come back immediately, of course."
"Thank you, doctor," Bianca said.
Chris said nothing. What the hell was wrong with him? Dr. Chase handed him the prescription and their fingers touched briefly. Butterflies. Clearly butterflies in his belly. Chris turned and headed for the door. No way. He wasn't turned on by a man. Period.
Chase watched Chris go. Maybe it was only wishful thinking, but maybe he'd really seen the brief flash of desire in the younger man's eyes.
"I'm sorry," the young woman – Bianca? – said. "He's really acting strange today. I mean, stranger than usual. Chris isn't exactly a sunshine on his good days, but today grumpy is too weak a word for his mood."
Chase smiled.
"Nevermind. See that he'll be following doctor's orders and he'll be fine again in less than no time."
"Thank you, Dr. Chase."
"You're welcome."
The young woman turned and left, leaving Chase wondering if he'd finally lost his mind.
The end (for now)
A/N: Want me to post more?