My many thanks to StormyMonday and UchidaKarasu for helping me out and editing this chapter in English! And my deep gratitude to Koralina for the inspiration, editing, ideas, interesting discussion and passion with which she's doing it!
The next day, Chase didn't show up for work. He left a message for Foreman that he was taking an unpaid leave, and hopefully would be back, but he didn't know when. Adam received an email saying that she could consult with Chase if needed. The same message was received by Park. He made girls believe that each had an exclusive opportunity to get help from him.
He began his search for Wilson first. He had tried to find him once, after House's funeral, but relatives said that Wilson had gone to one of the Chicago hospitals, and didn't want to be disturbed. Chase respected oncologist's choice and didn't push any further, though he felt himself obligated to his teacher to take care of his dying friend.
To eliminate the simplest option, where Foreman's conclusion that House was alive was wrong and Wilson was dying in the hospital without his friend, Chase made a phone call to Chicago. As he had expected, they didn't know anything about a patient named James Wilson. He didn't want to trouble the grieving relatives further, knowing that Wilson had kept them in the dark about his whereabouts. So, he had to find another way to locate Wilson, and House along with him.
The best way was to follow the money, and Wilson was not very good at covering his tracks. Chase knew a girl who worked at the department of VISA payment system. He had to listen to the usual tirade about how heartless of a bastard he was, but good sex did wonders. And very soon he received a treasured piece of paper with the latest transactions from Wilson's credit card.
"You know, I risked my career to get you this!"
"Huh," Chase answered, getting a grasp of the fine print, making a note to himself of the last location where, most likely, House made Wilson take out the maximum cash advance in the nearest big city, which was Philadelphia.
"Am I going to see you again?" the girl asked coldly, knowing what a mistake she had made. "You only come see me when you need something."
"Honey, I'm sorry!" Chase drew his attention back to the girl, and throwing the piece of paper to the side, gently hugged her. "Sure, you'll see me again! And it's not like I'm good for nothing for you as well."
He smiled and made his way under the silk underwear, kissing her hips all the way up. How he loved to mix business and pleasure!
cCc
Philadelphia was one of the oldest city's in the US, and standing there on the narrow street with small buildings surrounding him, Chase could feel the history. According to his data, the two friends had been here three months ago. Normally, nobody would have remembered two strangers after so long, but one of them was House, and that was enough.
Using tools like manipulations and lies, the ones he had mastered during his years of working for House, Chase received a description of the two men, older than the average age, on choppers, one of them carrying a cane.
After that, Chase returned to Princeton. He took out quite a lot of cash from his bank account, left behind his credit cards and car, packed up a small bag with personal belongings, and headed to one of the largest motorcycle shops located in another part of the town.
His old dream had come true; he bought a motorbike. Chase didn't understand why he had waited so long to do so.
He didn't like choppers, as they were heavy and hard to control on the road. Sport bikes he liked, of course, but they weren't designed for a long-distance travel. Eventually, he settled on the sport-cruiser since it was the best choice for his current plans, and would be useful when he returned home. Chase was surprised that he was sure he would go back home to Princeton. But even if he settled elsewhere, this kind of motorbike would come handy. He turned on the ignition, enjoying the roar of the engine.
So the chase began. Like the differential diagnosis, bit by bit he gathered available information, using his instincts and how well he knew House and his habits. Certainly, it would have been easier if he had friends in the police department, although it was unlikely that House would be stupid enough to attract their attention. On the other hand, it was House, so anything was possible. Chase smiled again, he was so happy that his former boss was alive, and he didn't care at all whether he wanted to be found or not.
Eventually, Chase was able to follow the main route of other travellers. They were moving to the west, mainly using small, narrow roads and avoiding major cities. Chase confirmed he was on the right track by visiting pharmacies along the way. He knew the approximate list of medications required for Wilson's cancer, and local pharmacists were willing to share that information for only twenty bucks.
Sometimes, of course, he would end up on the wrong track, and he had to return to the last confirmed point and start all over again.
He lost a lot of time when he reached the coast of Los Angeles. Chase was convinced that the two friends would move to the south, but he was wrong. Maybe he wanted to go south himself and enjoy the waves of the Pacific Ocean. But this trip was not about him, so he had to turn around and go back.
The trail broke in San Francisco. Climate and architecture was a bit similar to Princeton. Chase had a hunch that the friends were somewhere in the city. It was the first big city, after Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and possibly House had managed to persuade Wilson to undergo chemotherapy at last. There was also the possibility that the oncologist was too weak to go any further. In any case, Chase went to look for a pharmacy.
Chase's guess was correct – he found a pharmacy, and with it the coffee-shop which was regularly visited by a man with a cane. And now he was sitting at the far corner of the coffee-shop waiting for House to appear. The waitress said that he was coming in at the same time every morning, so Chase arrived a little earlier not to miss the moment.
Heavily leaning on his cane, House entered the coffee-shop and headed straight to the counter to place an order. He didn't notice his former employee closely watching him from under the brim of his cap. He looked a lot worse than the last time Chase had seen him. Obviously, the Australian's worst fears had come true, and Wilson was so bad that they were forced to settle down.
Chase didn't approach House, but discreetly followed him to an apartment in a five-story building. He came closer and watched through the turbid glass of the porch door, as House balanced the coffee in one hand and opened the door with the other. The apartment, as expected, was on the first floor.
Chase had done such a tremendous job, but didn't dare call out to his former boss, or knock at the door. Instead, he settled outside and watched the apartment. During the day a pizza delivery guy had come by, and towards the evening a boy with a couple of bags from the nearest diner. The windows were almost constantly covered with thick curtains, and after dark the light of the flickering TV was seen seeping through them.
The next day, Chase continued his observations and noted that the routine life of his former boss hadn't changed much. The difference was that he wasn't going to work anymore, and his one and only patient was constantly at his home. There was no medical mystery, only the terrible reality of watching someone he cared about so much fade away and being unable to help. A condition Chase knew too well.
Chase realized that his persistence led him here just in time. He'd had a slight hope to find two friends in the joyful pleasure of freedom, but instead he would join them in the most difficult moment of their lives.
A/N: I'm so sorry for such a long delay in updating this story, but from now on, I hope I'll do it quite regularly.
Thank you very much everyone who took their time to review! Please stay tuned and leave a comment, thank you!
