Love Hurts

Chapter 8 – Lunch With Chase Equals A Jealous House

The next day House woke up to see Christine still asleep and tucked safely underneath his arm. "Good morning" he said as he removed a piece of hair away from her face. "Morning" she said with a cute yawn. "What are you doing up already?" she asked him. "I just woke up" House answered her. Christine smiled as she sat up and stretched allowing House a full view of her naked body. "You know…we can always call in sick…I'm sure Chase and Foreman could handle everything" House said as he grabbed Christine and placed her on his sheet covered lap. "Although that sounds amazing…we can't do that…plus wouldn't it look a little weird if you and I both called out sick?" Christine asked him. "So what? Who cares what they think?" House said. "Uh House…we have to care…no one can find out about this…we made a deal" Christine reminded him. "I know…but it wouldn't be the worst thing if someone did find out…accidentally" House said hesitantly. Christine just looked at House, she knew something wasn't right. "Who did you tell?" she asked him trying to sound calm about it. "Wilson…he wouldn't leave me alone about it…he just kept prying and asking and I caved" House said. Christine looked at House and laughed at the sad puppy dog face he was giving her. "You tell Wilson everything so I'm not surprised…as long as it stays between the…3 of us…we'll be fine" Christine said as she gave House a peck on the lips and got out of his bed. "So are we still calling in?" House asked as he watched Christine grab her clothes from her bag. She looked over at him and laughed as she left his room and headed towards the bathroom.

"So how about the new Nurse in Oncology?" Foreman asked Chase as they sat in their usual chairs surrounding the glass table in the Conference Room which was located right outside of Dr. House's office. "Nah…I've never really been into blondes" Chase said. "Right…just tan Italian Doctors with huge-" Foreman was cut off by Chase. "Shut up Foreman! For a fellow Bachelor, you talk about her way more than I do" Chase pointed out to him. "I just talk about what I see and I see how you look at her…you like her…you're just afraid to admit it because you think it'll end up the same way as it did with you and Cameron" Foreman said. "First of all, Christine is engaged, meaning she's off limits unless she likes to commit adultery…and as far as Cameron goes…that was a mistake that we both fixed before it got out of hand" Chase said. "Sure…I guess having sex in the Sleep Study Room was a mistake too" Foreman said. Before Chase could answer him, Christine came trotting into the room, followed by a happy, whistling, House.

"Good morning everyone" House said with a smile. Foreman and Chase exchanged confused glances as they watched Christine making coffee. She seemed to be completely oblivious to the way House had been acting for the past few days. "Since we don't have any real work to do…what's on everyone's agenda for today?" House asked as Christine handed him the first cup of coffee. "Well…I have some paperwork to catch up on and I guess I'll see if any help is needed in the lab" Foreman said. "Cuddy already told me I have to help out in the ER" Chase said. "Me too…supposedly they're under-staffed today…she grabbed me before I left last night and told me" Christine said. "Geez…you would think that you guys were working for Dr. Cuddy now" House said. "What are you going to be doing?" Christine asked House. "Dreaded Clinic Duty…or I can just OD on my Vicodins and spend the day getting my stomach pumped" House joked. Christine looked at House with a serious stare and House let out a laugh. "I'm just kidding…I wouldn't do that…I'll just bother Wilson" House said.

After all the coffee was gone, everyone left the room. House headed downstairs to the Clinic, Foreman went to the Lab and Christine and Chase went to the ER. "So…is it just us or have you too noticed how strange House has been acting lately?" Chase asked Christine as they boarded the elevator. "What do you mean?" Christine asked him. "House has been acting very strange lately…it's as if he's always high…which he usually is but it seems like there is something else going on…he's acting…happy" Chase pointed out. Christine couldn't help but let out a laugh. "He's probably seeing someone and doesn't want anyone to know about it" she said. "Yeah…he probably has a different hooker for every night" Chase said. Christine just looked at him and laughed again. "House is House…who knows what is going on with him…as long as he does his job, I don't care" Christine said. Chase just looked at Christine as the elevator doors opened. The truth was he wasn't expecting an answer like that from her. Maybe House didn't have her under his spell…and maybe she wasn't like Cameron, which made Chase want her even more. Chase followed Christine up to the main ER desk; he watched as she grabbed a file and briefly scanned it. "This should be fun" she said to him as she went to walk off but he stopped her. "Christine…later on…you want to grab lunch together?" he asked her. "Sure, you know where to find me" Christine answered him with a smile. Chase smiled too and watched her and she walked away from him. Once she was out of sight, Chase grabbed a file and thumbed through it about 8 times before he could finally concentrate on it and not on his up and coming lunch date with Christine.

A few hours later, Chase was ready for lunch. He walked around the ER and stopped when he saw Christine bandaging up a horrible gash on a patients calf. He watched as she spoke to the patient. She had such a sweet and caring nature about her, it reminded him of how Cameron was, always wearing her heart on her sleeve and going that extra mile for the patient. Chase was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize Christine standing right in front of him. "Just let me wash up and we'll be ready to go" Christine said to him. "Sounds good to me" Chase said hoping that she didn't catch him staring so adoringly at her. Since the ER was such a madhouse, they decided to have lunch in the cafeteria. "So what made you want to become a Doctor?" Christine asked him as they sat down at a table away from everyone else. "My father was a Doctor so growing up I pretty much had no other choice" Chase said. "Your father was a Doctor?" Christine asked making sure she had heard right. "Yeah…he passed away last year…lung cancer" Chase said taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm sorry" Christine said taking a long sip from her water bottle. "It's ok…my father and I didn't really have a great relationship…he left when I was very young…I always blamed him for everything…my alcoholic mother that I had to take care of and everything else that was wrong in my life" Chase said. "I'm sorry…I didn't know" Christine said feeling sorry for him. "It's ok…without a screwed up childhood I wouldn't be where I am today" Chase said. Christine smiled as she took a bite of her sandwich. "Enough about me, what about you? You're young, intelligent, beautiful and engaged…I'm sure your fiancée is the happiest man on earth" Chase said. Christine just looked at Chase and let out a laugh. "I'm actually not engaged anymore…I caught him cheating on me so…its over" Christine said finishing off her water bottle. Chase's jaw dropped in shock, part of him was ecstatic and the other part felt truly bad for her. "I'm so sorry…I didn't know" Chase said sincerely. "It's ok…I like being single again" Christine said to him. Chase smiled at her and she smiled back.

"So how is Clinic Duty going?" Wilson asked House as they both entered the cafeteria. "Horrible…if I had a dollar for every patient complaining of a runny nose or itchy eyes I wouldn't have to steal money from you anymore" House said as they got on line to get food. "That's not what you wanted to ask me" House said. "What do you mean?" Wilson asked him. "You want to know how everything is going between me and Christine" House said. Wilson just looked at House and laughed. "Fine, you caught me…how is everything going? Since you mentioned it" Wilson asked. "Well if you must know…everything is fine…the sex is amazing" House said as he waited for Wilson to pay for their food. "That's all it is to you…just sex" Wilson said as they sat down at a table. "Duh…the girl just broke up with her fiancée…how rude of me to make her love again" House said. "She doesn't love you…she's just using you, House" Wilson said. "You say using I say…getting her frustration out…if you know what I mean" House said taking a big bite out of his Reuben sandwich. Wilson rolled his eyes as he finished off his fifth coffee of the day. "This wont end good" Wilson said. "Who said it has to end?" House said chomping down on some potato chips. "How can you of all people trust her?" Wilson asked him. "It's just sex…who needs trust?" House said. "It's not just sex, House…and the sooner you realize that, the better" Wilson said as his eyes wondered over to the table in the opposite direction of theirs. "You're just jealous that she's with me and not with you" House said. "Are you sure she's with you?" Wilson asked him bringing his eyes and focus back to their table. "Of course I am what kind of question is that?" House asked getting defensive. "Do you know where she is right now?" Wilson asked him. "Of course, she's in the ER" House said. "Are you sure about that?" Wilson asked. "Of course I am! Now what's with these questions?" House asked curiously. "House, she's in here right now…sitting at the table across from us with Chase" Wilson said. House just looked at Wilson; he knew Wilson wouldn't lie to him. He glanced across from them and there she was, sitting down with Chase, talking, smiling and laughing away. Part of him was angry and the other part felt ok but he couldn't let Wilson think he was right so he brushed it off as if it meant nothing to him. "So what? They're colleagues…they can have lunch together…the last time I checked, having lunch with someone didn't mean you slept with them too" House said. Wilson just looked at him and shook his head. "I hope you're right House…for your sake" Wilson said as he looked at his friend who was trying so hard to hide how he was really feeling.