Title: The Unknown Origin of Friendship
Author: FireTop
Pairings: Wilson/Chase Friendship. No relationships here.
A/N: I know its been a while since I posted. Life has happened to me. I had this story written for over two years already. I decided not to change it to fit into canon. It has taken me a lot of guts to post this work. While the topic is a serious one, it is not my intention to make light of it. I have lost family members to this often enough. Nothing in this story is meant to be mean or spiteful. If you do take offense to something in here, please understand that it was not my intention to do so and I do apologize. The story is complete. I would like to post the whole thing, but if the response from the readers is not there, or there is too many people who are upset by this work I will pull it. Thanks for reading.
A/N2: I tried to write this in a different style, with POV changing and making internal monologue make more sense. Hope you enjoy!
Chase took a deep breath before looking at his pager. 7pm my office it read. Silently he put his pager back on his belt, washed his hands and left the bathroom.
*********
He hoped that he had pulled off being nonchalant for the rest of the day, although deep inside his stomach was churning. He still hadn't been able to eat anything because of nerves. Working for one of the most observant people in the world was hard when you had something to hide.
Chase knocked on the closed door. Logically, he knew that this was the right thing to do. Emotionally, he hoped that this appointment was forgotten.
Before he could chicken out the door opened. "Dr. Chase, what's wrong?"
Waiting for the door to close Chase held his tongue. Once they were alone and the door was closed he blurted out what had been on his mind all day. "I found a lump."
********
Wilson opened the door to his office at the sound of the knock. He had been curious all day. Ever since he received a page at nine this morning from Chase asking for an after hours meeting he'd been curious as to why. He assumed at first it was about House, being Chase asked not to talk to the man about it.
But even in the glimpses and times Wilson and House spent together that day he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about the man.
Opening the door and getting a good look at the young man, terrified boy actually described him better in Wilson's mind, he was worried. "Dr. Chase, what's wrong?" He asked.
Chase kept quiet, so Wilson closed the door. It was only then that Chase spoke. "I found a lump."
Years of friendship with House had helped him keep his face a neutral professional mask at times like this. "Sit down." He motioned to a chair. "Where and when did you find it?" He asked sitting down in the chair by Chase, not behind the desk.
"This morning. I was in the shower." Chase paused for a moment. "Washing." Wilson assumed he was doing something else for a pause like that. "Something felt hard under my hand."
"Where?"
"Left testicle."
Wilson took a deep breath. He wasn't quite sure what Chase came to him for. "Are you here to ask for a recommendation or do you want me to be your doctor?" Wilson didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Whatever Chase needed from him, he would happily give. They had been allies on more than one occasion.
"I don't know where else to go. I don't think I can do this on my own either." Chase said after a moment of silence.
Wilson could see what it cost Chase to say that written all over his face. It was a testament to how scared he was at this situation. "Come on then. Let's get you into a room and examine you. We'll take this one step at a time. Don't borrow trouble yet." As both men stood Wilson laid a hand on Chase's shoulder to stop him. "What ever is down the road for you, you don't have to do this on your own."
********
"I don't know where else to go. I don't think I can do this on my own either." It was more than true. He had no one to go to with a problem like this. His closest friends were cross-country if not cross the world. House would make derogatory comments that he couldn't deal with at the moment. Foreman's attempt at concern would be disconcerting at best. And Cameron had her own issues regarding cancer, and he needed this to be about him not her. Wilson was the only one he could go to. Even if he wasn't an oncologist he was the most caring out of all of them. Wilson was truly the only one he could trust with this.
Wilson seemed to have gotten the hidden message in his words. Just the way he said, "Come on then. Let's get you into a room and examine you. We'll take this one step at a time. Don't borrow trouble yet." Was enough to help settle Chase's mind for the first time today. "What ever is down the road for you, you don't have to do this on your own." And the hand on his shoulder almost brought tears to his eyes. It was more than his father would have done for him.
Despite the intimacy this type of exam required and how uncomfortable, he was surprised at how at ease Wilson made him feel. Lying on his back while another man fondled his balls was something he expected to be weird. Add to the equation that it was someone you knew, and not in a biblical sense he expected to be more uncomfortable. But there was a sense of professionalism to Wilson that Chase more than respected.
"Okay, why don't you sit up." He finally said 45 minutes after he handed Chase the hospital gown to put on. Chase complied and hung his legs over the side of the bed. He watched in silence as Wilson disposed of the gloves and washed his hands. Pulling a stool closer to the bed Wilson sat down and looked at him.
Chase took one look at Wilson's face and held his breath. He knew that this wasn't going to be good. "I want to perform an orchiectomy. There is a growth there. I could biopsy it. It would be just as painful as the removal. Plus I would recommend removing the testicle even if it's benign."
Chase sat quietly for a few moments. He didn't want to loose a part of his body. Especially that part. He was 31. He still had use for it. There was always a chance that Cameron might call him back up. Plus the other women he might still meet. How about his wife? He wanted to one day settle down and raise a family. Would someone want him being disfigured? Would he be able to have kids still? What if it's cancer and he died? What had he done with his life?
Suddenly it got hard to breath. The walls were starting to close it. Everything started to seem over.
"Easy. Breath Chase." He felt a hand on his back, pushing him to lean over. "Deep breaths." He listened to the voice. Breathing starting to get easier. Chase stayed like that for a bit. "I know it's overwhelming at the moment. What questions do you have? I know you have them."
Chase remained quiet. As much as he trusted Wilson he didn't know if he could truly express what was going on in his mind at the moment.
**********
Wilson saw the sheer look of panic in Chase's face and knew he was going to start to hyperventilate. "Easy. Breath Chase." He pushed Chase so that his head was down between his knees. He then rubbed the boy's back in what he hoped to be soothing circles. "I know it's overwhelming at the moment. What questions do you have? I know you have them." Most people had questions at this point.
Wilson was surprised when Chase stayed quiet. Thinking about it, he could understand. This was a major part of his body. A young man such as Chase was, would have many concerns. "Lets see if I can lay some of your fears to rest." Wilson sat on the bed next to Chase.
"You can still have sex. You should have no problem, physically sustaining an erection. Your sperm count might decrease but if you are interested in having children there are remedies for that. As for aesthetics, we will put a prosthetic testicle into the scrotum so there will be no difference in appearance. But every thing will still function normally."
There was still a tension to Chase's body, but it wasn't as rigid as before. Maybe he was able to answer some of his questions. "Now, do you want to do the surgery? I can't force you into it. And you are going to have to fill out some paperwork. If you want a second opinion, I can recommend someone for you. I have contacts at Sloan Kettering."
"No. I trust you. How soon can we do the surgery?" Chase's voice was soft, and he still refused to look up.
"Are you off this weekend?" Chase nodded. "I can set it up for tonight. You'll spend the rest of the night and most of tomorrow here. You should be able to go home tomorrow evening. As long as you take it easy, you should be able to return to work on Monday."
"What about work? Do I have to tell House?"
"Well, see how you feel Monday. As long as you take it easy, stay off your feet for the most part, and no heavy lifting you should be okay. As for House, that's up to you. I understand why you don't want to. I do recommend you at least talk to Cuddy. Just so she knows about some limitations to your work schedule."
"After you remove the testicle, you are going to biopsy the lump?"
"Yes. While you are in recovery, I'll take care of that. I'm also going to order a full body scan to see what else is going on."
"Okay. I'll wait till after you do the biopsy to talk to Cuddy. Maybe my schedule won't be affected too much."
"Sounds like a plan. I'll send Vanessa in here with the paper work and to start an IV. I'm going to get the OR ready and come back for you." Wilson smiled at Chase. "Try and relax. I know that it doesn't mean much, but try." He got off the table and headed towards the door.
"Dr. Wilson" He turned at Chase calling his name. "Thanks." Wilson smiled again, this time with a nod and left the room.
Standing outside the room he leaned against the closed door and closed his eyes. That had been one of the hardest exams and talks that he had ever had to do. It was like diagnosising a family member.
That's what House and his fellows had become to him. Cameron, Foreman, and Chase were like nieces and nephews to House's brother like relationship to him. How could he not care what happened to Chase? There was so much on his mind and so much to do he didn't know what to do first at the moment.
A nurse helped him with that. "Dr. Wilson?"
"Vanessa, great. Have the man in there fill out the paper work for surgery. And then please prep him. I'm going to get a room ready."
"I thought that you were done for the night."
"This was a special request. I don't have to remind you of patient confidentiality." If he were in Chase's position he would worry about what was leaked around the hospital.
"Is everything okay?" She asked concerned.
"No, not really. He's scared and nervous. So try and be patient with him. And remind him that you won't tell anyone what's going on."
"Of course I won't. I'll take care of him. Don't worry. Go do what you need to do."
He knew that Vanessa was the right choice. A woman in her late 50's she worked the night shift because it allowed her to watch her grandchildren during the day while her children were at work. A caring woman, she always knew what her patients needed and went out of her way for them. "Thanks again Vanessa. I knew you would be the one I could trust with this." Wilson smiled one of his patent smiles before heading to the nurse's desk and picked up the phone.
Dr. Berg was more than happy to help Wilson out with the surgery, once he explained who the patient was. Dr. Berg also agreed to keep it to himself. There was no need to have that name mentioned in the operating room. Dr. Berg agreed that the less people who knew who it was the less rumors might be spread. Some might recognize him, but most wouldn't equate Chase with the person on the gurney. Especially with his hair hidden and eyes closed, Chase's two most defining futures as Dr. Berg pointed out.
If Chase only knew how many people he actually had at the hospital who cared about what happened to him. Most of the doctors in the hospital liked House's fellows for two reasons. Besides them being nice for the most part, they created a buffer between House and the rest of the staff. Something the staff was thrilled with.
House would notice something was wrong with Chase on Monday. No matter how well he was doing on that day. Wilson decided he wouldn't get involved. It was up to Chase to handle the situation if and when it arose.