"You know why you aren't going to leave this hospital?" House asked. Chase didn't answer. It didn't matter if he answered, he knew House was going to analyze him and tell him exactly why. "It's because you're empty."

"Everyone's empty," Chase said.

The pair were drinking at a grimy old bar. It was a grim sign, the shittier the bar, the shittier House's mood. Chase didn't want to agree to the invitation. He wanted to run away from House, he wanted to be alone and far away. But he couldn't run. He was stuck in a rut.

"True," House said. "But you're especially empty. You slept with a nun, for Gods' sake."

"Yeah, and you're the poster child for a meaningful life," Chase said.

House downed a shot of tequila, grimacing. "Hey, I save people's lives for a living."

"Does it make you feel any better?"

"No," House said shaking his head. "A couple more shots here."

"Well there you go, saving lives isn't enough meaning," Chase said. "So what am I supposed to do?" He downed his shot and took a glug of water as a chaser.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"No," Chase said. "You know you just don't want to admit it."

"What, we're supposed to live together happily ever after?" House snorted. "Come on Chase, you're not that naive."

"Why can't it work that way? Are we really that miserable?" Chase asked, looking at House straight in the eyes.

"It would never work," House said.

Chase sighed. He was tired of this conversation. It was far from the first time they had had it. "Of course it wouldn't. You'd never let it work. You'd have to sabotage it just to prove that you're right."

"Exactly."

"If we're already so miserable how could it hurt to try? Maybe we could have just the tiniest bit of happiness in our lives, if only for a minute before it all explodes."

House was avoiding eye contact and staring straight forward. Then he got the look in his eye. The look he got when he had an epiphany and figured out exactly what was wrong with the patient. He turned to Chase. "Okay, let's try and see how it works out."

Chase was stunned. "Wait, are you serious?"

"I'll make you a bet," House said. "It'll cause more problems than it does good. If I win, we give up, if you win we're in a relationship."

"Really?" Chase asked. A rush of emotions filled through him. He was shocked, panicked, ecstatic. He shook House's hand formally. "Let's do it."

The next thing they knew it, they were in House's bed. It was awkward getting there to say the least, House with his cane and Chase on crutches. When they got there, Chase was on top of House kissing him passionately. His legs were crying out in pain, but it didn't matter, he kept going. The sex was hot, sloppy, slow. It was everything Chase wanted it to be.

Afterwards, they laid side by side, breathing heavily. "Well, I think that's one point for me," Chase said.

"You do know there's no winning in sex right?" House said.

"I'd say there's no losing," Chase replied. "I'm determined to win this bet."

"I hope you do," House said sincerely, and Chase rolled over and kissed him long and slow.

The next morning the team plus Wilson were gathered in House's office. Chase was sitting down, his crutches against the wall.

"Why am I here?" Wilson asked.

"Ssh," House said, sitting behind his desk, wearing sunglasses and tossing his ball up in the air. "We're waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Taub asked.

Foreman walked into the office, his face stony as usual. "You paged me, House? Is it about a case?"

"Even better," House said. "Chase, why don't you tell them the good news?"

"What news?" Foreman asked frowning. Or maybe he wasn't frowning, it was hard to tell with him.

"Apparently, House called you all in here so we could you tell you we're in a relationship," Chase said.

"What?" Adams said.

Wilson laughed. "You told me you had a surprise House. I must tell you, I'm absolutely floored. Seriously, it's about time. Congratulations." He left the room to go do real doctor things.

"I see," Foreman said. "I know you're not going to listen to me, but don't let it interfere with your work."

"Yes, boss!" House said as Foreman left. Then to Chase he said, "So how embarrassing is this, on a scale of one to ten?"

"Zero," Chase said. He had thick skin. He had worked for House for years, he had been a lot more embarrassed before.

"Damn," House said.

"Am I missing something?" Taub asked.

"House bet me our relationship will fail," Chase informed him.

"Well that's healthy," Taub replied.

"So that's why you didn't want to go on a date with me," Park said.

"Yeah, that's why," House said sarcastically.

"Hey, I thought it wasn't a date?" Chase said. Park blushed.

House took off his sunglasses and put them on his desk. "So this is significantly awkward, one point for me."

"Aw, come on man," Chase said.

"Are we going to work today, or can I go home?" Taub asked.

House motioned to the files on his desk. Each member of the team took one. "Patient is a twenty one year old college student with swollen joints."

"Why do you care?" Chase asked.

"Are you questioning my judgement? He's got a football scholarship and he's in too much pain to play," House said.

"That doesn't answer my question," Chase said.

"The patient is to young for arthritis," Adams said. "Are there any other symptoms besides the pain and swelling?"

House shook his head.

"It could be gout," Taub suggested.

"Great, you three go take blood from the patient," He said motioning at Taub, Parks, and Adams. "Chase you stay here and enjoy my company." Chase couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, don't let it affect your work," Taub said, before leaving with Park and Adams.

A/N: I haven't been in the House fandom forever, so go easy on me. I know this story didn't keep a consistent tone, but I still liked how it turned out. I hope you liked it. Please Review? I'll try to update as soon as possible.