Two days later, Chase was putting on the jeans and long-sleeved blue t-shirt he'd arrived in the day of his surgery. The clock on the wall read 10:38, still early enough. He could go home, grab a shower, and maybe come back for the afternoon. House would probably give him a hard time. Unless he spent the afternoon working the clinic, in which case House would just remind him to go under his name. That was a good plan. He'd be back at work, but not in close contact with his co-workers. Hopefully they could bypass the awkwardness that way before they got a new case.
He picked up the rest of his personal items, turned to go, and nearly jumped a foot when he saw House standing in the doorway. Damn it, his hearing couldn't be that bad yet. How could a man clunking around with a cane be so sneaky?
"Checking out?" House said.
"I'm just going home for a quick change," Chase nodded. "I'll be back later this afternoon. Unless we don't have a case, then I might wait until tomorrow."
House's smirk was unsettlingly triumphant as he listened to Chase's plan, but he didn't say anything. Chase waited a moment for him to move, but finally got anxious and tried to push past him. House grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the elevator. That was where Chase needed to go anyway, so he let himself be steered, but when he tried to push the button for the lobby House slapped his hand away.
"Uh, sorry," he said. "You're already late." He pushed the button for the second floor. "You can use the locker showers later. And those clothes match better than anything I've seen you wear in weeks anyway."
"Late for what?" Chase asked.
"You have an appointment with Dr. Monroe," House informed him.
Dr. Monroe was an audiologist in the Otolaryngology department. She was near the top of the list Chase's professor had sent, mostly due to proximity. Chase glowered at House's ongoing interference, but he didn't argue. Now that the team knew about his problem, it was probably best to get all his information straight, see what his options were.
"So," House drawled. "Saw Vogler coming out of your room the other day." Chase braced himself. "Did he bring you flowers?"
"He said he's trying to get more familiar around the hospital," Chase shrugged. "He already met Cameron and Foreman. And you, obviously. My turn, I guess."
"You talk about anything interesting?" House asked.
"Like you sending Foreman to spy on me?" Chase challenged. "Or making yourself my doctor and running tests on me without my consent? Your last patient?" Chase's nurses had kept him up-to-date on the drama in Diagnostics, and he'd worked with House long enough to know when something shifty went down. "Can you give me one good reason why I shouldn't?"
"Because I'm sweet," House simpered. "Not to mention, if I go down I'm taking everybody with me." Chase snorted and nodded, like he didn't expect anything else.
This combative streak was really getting to House. Of the three of them, Chase had always been his best supporter. Chase didn't hero-worship him the way Cameron did; she thought House could do no wrong. So when House did mess up, Chase didn't take it as a personal let down the way she did. And Chase didn't dispute him like Foreman; he thought House was usually wrong, but lucky, even after he proved right. Chase followed House's lead and gave him the benefit of the doubt almost deferentially, which gave House ample opportunities to tease him as sycophantic. But now, it bothered House to know that he'd finally pushed too hard, that maybe Chase didn't trust him.
When the elevator stopped at the second floor, Chase stepped off without a fuss. House herded him through the halls with his cane to Dr. Monroe's office, like a sadistic shepherd collecting a lamb that tried to take its chances with the wolves.
They knocked and Dr. Monroe waved them in with a broad smile. She was on the phone, but clearly trying to She maneuver out of the conversation. Chase had never had cause to work with her, and had only really seen her in the halls a few times. She was a younger woman, maybe a few years younger than Cuddy, with blonde hair (darker than Chase's) and honey-brown eyes. Her office was a bit smaller than House's. Or it may have just seemed that way, since it was crowded with equipment. Chase frowned over his shoulder at House; what had he told Monroe to make all this necessary?
"Dr. Chase," Monroe stood and leaned over her desk to shake Chase's hand. "Nice to see you." She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "And Dr. House. Is there a reason you're here?"
"I made the appointment," House said, pretending to be affronted.
"For Dr. Chase," Monroe said. "I'm sure he'll fill you in later on anything you need to know."
"Not good enough," House said. "His definition of what I need to know, and my definition of what I need to know, are antonyms."
"If Dr. Chase is willing, we could page you after the exam is finished," Monroe suggested.
"Ohhh, I don't know; all that walking," House said. He held up his cane and pretended to wince.
"You can wait in our lounge," Monroe persisted.
It was 10: 44 now; General Hospital started at 11:00. The actual testing probably wouldn't be that interesting anyway, but if there were any major revelations he wanted to be there for them. Unfortunately, neither Monroe nor Chase were budging on this, so it appeared he had to settle for the bottom line. He gave Chase a parting glare, and went to find the Otolaryngology lounge.
"Okay, then," Chase said. "Let's get this over with."
When he made the appointment, House hadn't given any details, so Chase had to explain everything, from his symptoms to his mother, all over again. He didn't mention the horrible effect losing her hearing had on his mother, and Monroe didn't push for anything beyond the clinical. She clearly didn't approve when Chase mentioned House seeing something on the unauthorized MRI, but she was professional enough not to say anything to the other doctor's junior.
After the history was taken, Monroe put Chase through a thorough examination.
Otoscopes probed his ear canals. Headphones pumped out tones at various pitches and volumes. The impedence test proved a bit uncomfortable as the air pressure in his ear increased. All the same, Chase didn't find any of the tasks too difficult and he was starting to feel hopeful.
The whole ordeal took well over an hour. Finally Monroe packed away the equipment she'd brought in. Chase started to help out of habit, until Monroe told him to sit down and relax. He was the patient right now. Frankly, Chase'd had more than his fill of being a patient lately, but he did as he was told. Eventually, Monroe took her seat behind her desk. She leaned forward with her hands folded in front of her on her desk. Chase tensed; he recognized that body language and it rarely meant anything good.
In the lounge, House was bored and irritated. Who came up with the whole doctor-patient privilege anyway? It should include him since he was a doctor. Or maybe it should exclude Chase since he was a doctor and patient at the same time. Whatever it took for House to know what was going on. This lounge didn't even have a widescreen to make up for his disappointment. He glanced at the clock and that was it. They'd been at it for over an hour! What was taking so long? House picked up his cane and went to pace the hall in front of Monroe's office.
Many minutes later, Chase came out. He was already shaken, and when he saw House standing there waiting for him his face fell even further. House raised an expectant eyebrow. Chase rolled his eyes and started for the elevator, but House blocked him with his cane across his knees.
"What happened to my page?" House said.
Chase stared blankly at him. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ten to fifteen percent hearing loss," he said. "Both ears." He stepped over House's cane and tried for the elevator again. House caught up with him and Chase wondered if he could get away with taking the stairs instead.
"And?" House demanded. "Now what?"
"Now nothing," Chase shrugged. "I'm not far enough along for further testing. Technically, she couldn't even definitively say Otosclerosis, except for my family history. So for now, all I can do is wait, hope that a treatment option will become available. She did assure me that my hearing loss shouldn't affect my job performance for at least another twenty to twenty-five percent, maybe more if I can get a hold of the right tools. Anyway, that's hopefully a few months off, so we'll see right?"
"Right," House said. Apparently they were back to being blasé about this. That's fine. He could do that. "Okay then. Go grab your shower and get back to work."
"Actually, I'm still kind of woozy," Chase said. "I think I'll take the rest of the day, if you don't need me. I'll be back in tomorrow."
The two doctors separated on the first floor outside of the clinic. Chase caught a cab back to his building. He was satisfied, if not happy, to see that his new lock and deadbolt were installed while he was gone. He got the new keys from the building super and went inside. He collapsed onto his bed, turned on the stereo and let The Eagles blast as loud as he could without being reported by his neighbors.
Back at the hospital, House left the clinic behind and went to find Wilson. As usual, he was with a patient, but it was just a follow-up visit from a success story, so House was even less hesitant than usual to interrupt.
"You know, one of these days I'm going to be talking to a patient who really is dying," Wilson complained. "What'll you do then?"
"Chase is officially losing his hearing," House announced. "Down ten percent and counting."
"Wow," Wilson sighed and shook his head with his hands on his hips. "That's really rough. Especially for an Intensivist. So what are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?" House frowned. "I'm not an audiologist."
"You know what I mean," Wilson lectured.
"He's got a few months," House said. "We'll deal with it when we have to."
