Things became very tense in diagnostics after that. Chase tried to re-establish some personal boundaries at work by spending free-time between cases in ICU or the clinic and never speaking to House unless absolutely necessary. House was equally determined to thwart Chase's efforts by calling him back from the clinic or ICU – usually using a made-upconsult as an excuse if he even bothered with an excuse – and pestering him to talk. However, Chase had a talent for finding things to genuinely keep him busy and out of reach. And House's dedication to the mystery of Richard Chase left him with little time to badger the elusive Aussie.

"Maybe I should make him sit in the corner for a time-out until he quits sulking," House complained to Wilson two weeks into his fight with Chase. They were in his office tossing the oversized tennis ball back and forth. "I think that's an appropriate response to something as juvenile as giving his boss the silent treatment, don't you?"

"What'd you do to piss him off, anyway?" Wilson asked. House sneered and started tossing the ball to himself. Wilson just chuckled at the exclusion. "I don't think I've ever seen Chase at odds with you like this. Even with the Vogler drama, remorse drove him back to you within days. We're going on weeks this time, and he's not the one who feels guilty. It must have been pretty bad."

Not as bad as it would be if House blabbed his findings around the hospital, though, so he didn't tell Wilson or anyone else what he'd gleaned from Chase. Instead, he focused on the other Chase mystery. If he could wake the twin than Chase would go back to being gratefully beholden to him and House could go back to getting anything he wanted from his Intensivist. So Foreman spent most of his time trying not to get freaked out as he ran test after neurological test on his co-worker's double and Cameron was kept busy researching various foreign agents that had been known to cause comas. And House wracked his brain for any new, old, or radical explanation he could come up with. Unfortunately, nothing was forthcoming. It didn't help that House kept glancing at his calendar, becoming painfully moreaware with each day that it was almost three months since Rowan Chase's visit. He had a feeling that soon it was going to take a lot more than a wake-up call for Ricky to get Chase to let him off the hook.

Wilson left House to watch General Hospital in peace, but that plan was interruptedwhen a man wondered in. He was middle-aged, in his forties perhaps. He wore a black cashmere sweater and gray slacks. He was cleanly bald with heavy eyebrows over chocolate eyes, a broad nose, and a thin mouth. He stood tall and straight even with his thumbs hooked in his pockets. He seemed to be in no hurry to explain his presence, content to wander and examine House's domain.

"Are you lost?" House said. "Or do you actually have a reason for interrupting me? And by reason, I mean a good one."

"Yes," the man said absently. He wasn't even looking at House. House instantly disliked this man and looked forward to letting him know it. "I'm looking for Doctor Robert Chase," he said. Once his underling was mentioned, House quickly recognized the accent. "I was told I'd find him in this department. This is Diagnostics, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh," House said warily. This man could only be one person and he could only be there for a limited number of reasons, none of them good. Maybe he should just throw him out? But he had no grounds to remove him from the hospital– he wasn't bothering any patients – so he'd probably just continue searching until some idiot led him straight to Chase. "But as you can see, Chase isn't here right now."

"Hmm," the man nodded. He looked Doctor House over appraisingly. "You're Dr. House, aren't you?"

"That's me," House said.

"It's very important that I speak to Robert," the man insisted. "Do you know when he'll be back?"

"Actually," House shut his still playing television back in a drawer. "He's with our most recent patient right now." He picked up a random file, probably full of billing statements he was supposed to do last year, and pretended to examine the contents with concern. "So he can't really be socializing."

"I assure you this is not a social call," the man said. He was politely menacing.

"Yeah," House said. "Well, I was just heading up there anyway. Why don't you wait here and I'll see when Chase is going to be available."

"Thank you," the man smiled and took a seat in the chair in front of House's desk. House forced a tight smile back and hurried out of the room to look for Chase.

He found him in the NICU doing routine checks on all the infants. Chase seemed oddly at ease in the usually hectic environment. House would have to make sure Chase spent less time down here in the future. He didn't want his Fellow getting complacent or too attached to a position away from him. That could lead to contentment, and that was unacceptable.

"You do know you work for me, right?" House said. He stood behind Chase and watched him work over his shoulder. "You're not supposed to be wasting all your time down here."

"Do we have a case?" Chase asked without turning around.

"Not as of five minutes ago," House said. "But I'm sure we could if we tried real hard."

"Than you're the one wasting my time," Chase said. He moved on to the next basinet. "Page me when you find someone worthy of your interest, and I'm all yours."

"Great," House drawled. He followed Chase around, watching him work, until he finished checking over the last baby. "So…what's your brother look like?"

"Not funny," Chase said.

"Not the brother I meant," House countered.

Chase paled three shades and spun around. His expression begged the seasoned doctor to take back what he'd said, make it go away, and House regretted his inability to do it. Chase took a shuddering breath and pulled himself together. Being on the opposite side of the planet from his family had given him a feeling of freedom and security. Those feelings were crumbling around his feet now. But he could handle this. He wasn't going to fall apart, especially not in front of Dr. House, not again.

"So he's here?" Chase asked. House nodded. "Office?" Another nod. "Right. Better get this over with then. Thank you."

House and Chase rode up to Diagnostics together. Either it didn't occur to House that Chase might want a little privacy for his reunion, or he didn't care. When they reached the office, however, Chase stopped him at the door.

"This won't take long," Chase said.

"Oh, don't worry," House said. "I have a longer attention span for this sort of thing. TV drama takes at least an hour." Chase didn't smile or move. House rolled his eyes and sighed in a harried manner. "You've got five minutes."

As he watched House walk away, Chase had to bite his tongue to keep from calling him back. The impulse to cross himself also flashed in his mind. He hadn't seen this face in years, and family reunions hadn't been going very well for him lately. But Chase didn't call for help from House or Heaven; he took a deep breath, ran a nervous hand through his hair, and stepped into the office.

"Hello Jakub," Chase greeted his brother the same way he'd greet a standard clinic patient.

"Robbie," Jakub smiled broadly. He got out of his chair and came for a closer look of his little brother. It looked like he wanted a hug from him too, but Chase stepped back. "You look great."

"You seem to be doing well too," Chase said. "I heard you made partner at Goldstone. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Jakub said. "We're branching out now, into biotech engineering, in case you're interested."

"I'll keep an eye on the medical journals," Chase said. "So, are we caught up enough for you to get to the point yet? I only have about three more minutes, you see."

"You're busy; I understand," Jakub said. "But I didn't spend eighteen hours on a plane for three minutes, Robert. You and I need to have a real talk."

"With or without lawyers?" Chase asked. Jakub frowned and folded his arms. Chase barely resisted the compulsion to look at the floor like the chastened little boy he felt like. Jakub was so like their father. "Leave your number. I'll call you when I'm available."

"Today, Robbie," Jakub warned. He handed Chase a business card with his cell phone number circled and his hotel number scrawled on the back. Chase put it in his lab coat pocket. Jakub hesitated. He hadn't seen so much as a picture of his little brother since he entered medical school, and he didn't want want to leave so soon. He approached Chase again, but apparently their time was up because Foreman popped his head in.

"Chase, House is looking for you," he informed them. He glanced at Jakub curiously.

"We'll talk soon," Jakub said. Chase nodded, but he didn't relax until Jakub was out of the office and in an elevator.

"Who was that?" Foreman asked.

"No one," Chase said. Foreman raised an eyebrow to show his skepticism, but let it go with a shrug. Chase rubbed his fingers over the embossed writing on the card in his pocket. First Rowan, now Jakub. Why the hell was his family suddenly so keen on migrating to Jersey?