Authors note: See how hard I'm trying? Less than two days between posts is a big improvement on two years! Plus I'm also taking time out to do a bit of medical research. I'd have loved to have been a doctor but sadly my brain would have melted and you don't often see House's team sneaking quick peaks at Wikipedia! If there are any medical doctors out there please feel free to correct me whenever I'd be about to kill someone!

Disclaimer: As in chapter one, in case it still needs saying!

Chapter Six

Double take

Chase felt the first stirrings of interest pervade the general sense of irritation at being dragged out into the cold wet night on yet another magical mystery tour. He was a little disgusted with his priorities that the majority of that interest seemed to stem from the intriguing bundled figure being smuggled in through the rear entrance, rather than the rather shapely blonde hovering over him and glaring at House like an enraged mother tigress.

He could feel Cameron beside him start to take a step forward, instinctively reaching for that initial assessment. He put a hand on her shoulder, halting that forward motion and pretended not to notice the glare she shot him before she settled back into poised tension beside him. Not that the guy didn't look like he needed an urgent differential. Honestly, the face framed by the porcupine haircut and Elvis sideburns was so pale that he half expected the guy to lurch for the blonde and sink his fangs into her jugular. Still, they had all done this dance enough times to know it was much simpler to just let House lead.

He fixed his eyes on his boss, noting that intent gleam in the ice blue eyes as they ranged over the odd pair. He glanced back at the guy in the wheelchair, at the hospital grey blanket tucked around the scrawny body of an unconscious man in his mid thirties with shallow breathing, mild cyanosis and signs of a high fever. He looked back at House, seeing that fixed look of concentration that was the reason he put up with all his bullshit. It was obvious that House was seeing something he wasn't. Sometimes he felt like they were all working with blindfolds on whilst House revelled in his perfect vision, but hell, it was better to be blind but feel the sun on your face than stay indoors, right?

He saw House take a cane-assisted step forward, eyes still assessing the patient, then pause as the wheelchair was yanked a few paces back. House finally looked back up at the girl, who took a deep breath, acknowledging that the glare wasn't doing the job of burning House to a bitter crisp like it had obviously been intended to do.

"You promised" she hissed, some heightened emotion causing the blood to collect in hectic spots of colour high on each cheekbone. "You swore you'd keep this a secret."

House waved a hand in an all too familiar dismissive gesture. "Oh don't get your cute little red thong in a twist." Almost without conscious volition Chase felt his eyes dragged down to survey the tightly stretched denim over the curve of her hips, searching for a flash of scarlet. He blinked and determinedly fixed his gaze at a neutral point above the girl's right ear as House continued to snap in that same impatient tone. "I promised I would keep your boy-toy a secret from anyone in authority, remember. Well, newsflash, these guys have less authority than the night janitor. As least he can decide to clean a blocked toilet when he comes across one. These guys can't do anything without my say so, trust me on this."

Chase noted with a spark of amusement the sound of grinding teeth from Foreman beside him, but was too busy trying to analyse the blink of startled embarrassment that had crossed the girl's face at the sex reference to feel much chagrin himself. He wondered whether House had spotted that.

The air, already supercharged with tension, practically solidified as House continued in an implacable tone. "What's more, and I hate to break this to one of your tender years, but everybody lies. Yes, I swore to keep your nasty little secret, even without knowing what it is, because it amused me to do so. But know this." Chase could have sworn the air between the two would start to sizzle any second as they locked gazes. "The moment I decide it has become medically necessary to involve the outside world in the treatment of your boyfriend, I'll be shouting his existence from the rooftop. No matter what you two have done, I doubt getting found out would really be the end of the world."

Now that was an interesting flinch, Chase noted. He found himself holding his breath as the blonde turned her head for a quick glance behind her at the direction she'd come from, possibly the parking garage. The silence stretched for a second longer than Chase was expecting and he wondered just what the hell House had gotten them all involved in this time. House, too, shifted in impatience.

"Come on" he snapped, "you've obviously already made your decision or you wouldn't be here. Take the plunge and worry about the consequences later, or do you want to add a case of pneumonia to his other problems?"

The girl slumped a little and she even let out a derisory snort. "Guess you're right!" she murmured, and Chase caught an unusual twang to her voice that he couldn't immediately place. "Jumping in without looking does seem to be a speciality of mine" she continued quietly, with more bitter amusement than Chase would have expected from a girl her age. "That and making things worse", her gaze lingered for a moment on the still face beneath her, then she seemed to pull herself back to the here and now to looked pointedly at House.

"So Doctor" she challenged with a wry smile. "You'd better lead the way... again".

House bared his teeth in a predatory grin. "Oh no, little girl. I think this time you'd better go first" his eyes drifted downwards, as she started to squeeze the wheelchair past them to manoeuvre it through the doorway into the building. Chase fell in behind House and just managed to catch the murmured "The view's better, anyway" before the girl, in all innocence, ran over both their feet with the heavy wheel.

Rose couldn't help feeling a little like the pied piper of the disabled as she crept along the corridor pushing the clumsy wheelchair and leading the two limping men and their sniggering colleagues. She reached an intersection in the corridors and glanced back over her shoulder at House, to see him pointing the way with the flame striped end of his cane. The fairytale feeling increased in strength as she turned the corner and immediately felt like she'd grown three foot. She peered forward to where the suddenly luminescent striped corridor walls opened out into a large space lined with rows of tiny brightly coloured chairs, half expecting to see a troupe of seven dwarves appear and start singing a ditty.

Rose glanced back over her shoulder at her procession and saw the pretty brunette lean over to whisper to House in nervous irritation. "Can you please explain why we're sneaking these two into Paediatrics?"

House seemed to ignore her, lurching over to the other side of the day-glow corridor to crack open a door and peer cautiously inside. He turned back to them, pushing the door open behind him and waving them inside with an impatient motion of his cane. Rose felt him glare at her when she hesitated for a moment. "Well, come on!" he hissed, "he's not going to get any younger out here!"

Rose ducked her head to hide a smile as she pushed the Doctor into the kids' room House had indicated, looking down at the pale face below her, at least six or seven years younger than how it used to look, even with the aging affect of the dark circles shadowing the pits of his eyes.

The brunette brushed past her, although Rose noticed that she carefully and quietly shut the door behind their group before rounding on House with growing impatience. "House, are you going to give me an answer? Why..."

"Because A) this is the last place that Cuddy will look for me and I have had my fill of patients filled with Christmas cheer; B) it's the holiday season, time to grasp your dear little loved ones to the bosom of the family. The flood of little broken bones shouldn't be coming in till at least Boxing day; and C)" Rose watched, feeling rather smothered by the unaccustomed wave of cynicism, as House paused to start rifling through the mini chest of drawers to one side of the bright blue bed. It was the dark skinned guy with the number one haircut who finally urged in an almost uninterested tone.

"And C)?"

House seemed to ignore him for a moment, turning to a pair of curtains decorated with what; quite frankly; Rose considered to be a rather terrifying array of psychotically grinning clowns. House scrutinised them for a few seconds before turning towards them with a sneer. "C? Laughter helps you heal. Haven't you seen Patch Adams?"

He threw the curtains apart with a flourish and started writing on the glass of the window in thick red wax crayon. Rose tied to keep her breathing regular as the words BIG SECRET GUY were formed in messy capitals at the top of the window pane.

House spun around fixing his team in place with a cocked eyebrow. "Come on, I'm waiting for a differential here. I'll take suggestions either for what's killing him or what big secret these folks are hiding."

Rose found herself holding her breath whilst the woman standing across the room spluttered in indignation. "You expect us to start guessing what's wrong with an anonymous man we just saw five minutes ago with no examination, records or any medical history?" she blurted, throwing a hand up in a dramatic gesture of frustration.

House settled his buttocks back against the lip of the windowsill, crossing the ankle of his weak leg over the prop of his good one. "So? Get them." He stated with exaggerated patience. "The guy's right there, as is his partner in crime, who I know for a fact is amusingly bad at lying. She may not give you a full history but it should be fun watching her squirm".

As if his words had cut some sort of string holding them back, the three doctors swarmed forwards towards her. Rose had to resist the impulse to fling her body over the Doctor's, blocking their access but instead let the woman draw her gently to one side. She stood with tightly clenched fists as the men unwrapped the blanket and eased the Doctor's black leather jacket from his long arms. Between them they lifted his limp body, sagging like the discarded skin suit of a Slitheen, onto the three quarter length bed. Rose searched desperately for some sort of reaction from the Doctor's slack features as the men worked to remove the black leather brogues from feet that dangled foolishly off the end of the bed. He didn't even stir, the paleness of his skin seeming more pronounced against the white starched linen of the pillow.

She was vaguely aware of the woman murmuring to her in a soft, encouraging voice that she needed to answer a few questions, but Rose's whole attention was fixed on the stethoscope the blonde guy had just pulled from the pocket of his white lab coat. She watched, hardly daring to breath, as the tips were fitted into his ears and the end slid down beneath the neck of the baggy black T-Shirt of the man who had knocked her world askew and now had left her tumbling in freefall.

Rose felt numb, dimly aware of the quiet insistence of the nagging voice beside her and the penetrating crystal gaze of the man at the window, but her whole being was focused on the examination taking place in front of her. She was painfully aware of her own heartbeat, pounding so hard that it seemed like it wanted to burst out of her chest and drown out the questions she didn't want asked.

She took a deep breath as the first glimmer of puzzlement flashed across the boyish features of the man over the bed as he listened.

"Problem Chase?" Despite her internal preparations Rose still felt herself jump as House's voice cracked out across the room.

She watched as Chase furrowed his brow even further, cocking his head to one side as if trying to distinguish a half heard sound. Pale blue eyes looked up, unfocused as he continued to listen. His answer was slow and hesitant.

"I'm not sure." He admitted, sounding distracted rather than embarrassed at his own confusion. He gaze sharpened as he looked over at House. "You better come listen to this." He called, extracting the stethoscope from around his neck and holding it out towards House. "I've never heard anything quite like it."