Chase's plane had a layover in San Francisco and then it was straight on to Sydney. It would already be Sunday when he arrived. He'd spend that day getting over the jetlag, maybe make a few calls to old friends to kill off Monday, and then on Tuesday he had his appointment with Dr. Noel. His father had pulled a lot of strings to set that up, but for once Chase didn't resent it.

The flight was lonely. It was the off-season and business class was almost empty. The smattering of other passengers was trying to sleep. Chase stared out the window at the dark clouds beneath the plane and pictured the inky ocean miles below. Suddenly, a hand with pink fingernails was tapping him on the shoulder and startling him so badly his skin rippled.

"I said, would you like a drink?" the flight attendant asked softly.

"No," Chase shook his head. "Thank you. Well…maybe some water?"

"Coming up," she smiled.

Chase leaned back in his seat and wondered if he really hadn't heard her or if he'd just been distracted. By the time the attendant returned with his water, he'd fallen asleep.

When he arrived at Sydney Airport, he was startled to spot his father waiting impatiently at the entrance to the terminal. He was glaring back and forth between the security guard and the flight board. He didn't see Chase until a woman on a cell barreled into him and knocked over his suitcase. Rowan looked for the source of the commotion and smiled broadly when he saw his son. He jogged over to help him pick his things up, since the woman hadn't even slowed down, but Chase waved him off.

"I've got it," he said.

"Are you sure?" Rowan asked. "You've had a long flight and you look exhausted. Didn't you sleep at all?"

"I'm sure," Chase insisted. He picked up his bag with one hand and, after some hesitation on both parts, awkwardly hugged his father with the other arm. "I didn't think you'd be here. I was going to catch a cab, call you when I got settled."

"You made a reservation?" Rowan frowned.

"At the Radisson," Chase nodded.

"Robert, that's ridiculous," Rowan scolded. "You're going to be here for weeks and you haven't been home in ages. You'll stay with me."

It wasn't completely unexpected, but Chase was still unsettled by the offer. He'd only been to his father's house a handful of times after his parents' divorce. Faced with prospect of spending the better part of a month there, he'd really rather put out the funds for a hotel. But he could hardly tell his father that, especially after all the trouble he'd gone to. So he just nodded, tried to put on a grateful smile, and followed Rowan out to his car.

Rowan's large house was over an hour outside the main city, and fifteen minutes later father and son were still stuck in mid-city traffic. Chase leaned against the window; this was going to be a long and uncomfortable drive. He tried to get distracted by reorienting himself with the Australian rules of the road. It took a few blocks for him to get used to driving on the left side of the road and he was impatient at every red light when he felt they could have been turning right if in New Jersey. But once they got onto open road, there were no more distractions.

"So," Rowan said. He kept his eyes firmly on the road and both hands on the wheel. "How far has it progressed?"

"I can still answer you even though you're not looking at me," Chase said a bit petulantly. Rowan glanced at him admonishingly. "It's between ten and twenty percent. Tinnitus is getting to be more constant, a bit more distracting. Nothing disabling yet, though."

"Well, I suppose that's something to be grateful for," Rowan said a bit too cheerfully. Chase didn't bother to correct him, but he knew it was actually bad news. His hearing loss was progressing more rapidly. He might lose as much as another ten percent by the time he left Australia, unless Dr. Noel could help him. "So, have you made any other plans while you're here?"

"Not yet," Chase said. "It was kind of last minute." He paused and turned to look at his father's profile. Sometimes he wished that he'd taken more after his father than his mother. His mother was beautiful, but his father was always very distinguished looking, much more desirable in Chase's opinion.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "For doing all this." Rowan glanced over and smiled broadly with surprised pleasure. Chase shifted in his seat. "I really don't want to lose my job."

"You'll find a way to make things work, Robert," Rowan said. "You always do. Besides, Dr. Noel has a very high success rate. Would you like me to go with you on Tuesday?"

"Uh, no," Chase said with a nervous chuckle. "I think I can manage. Besides, I'm sure you're busy. I don't want to put you out."

"Not busy," Rowan shook his head. "Hardly. I'm retiring." Chase jerked around so fast his seatbelt caught him painfully in the crook of his neck. He stared at his father with open astonishment. Rowan Chase retiring? Impossible!

"Since when?" Chase asked.

"Oh, it's been in the works for a while," Rowan shrugged. "Technically, it won't come through for another couple of months, but I'm using my stockpile of vacation time to fill the gap." He glanced back at Chase and smiled. "So, I have plenty of free time and only you to fill it with. I'm glad you didn't wait to come home."

"Yeah," Chase murmured uncertainly.

This was too strange for him to deal with on top of everything else. As a child, he'd given up very early on catching his father's notice. Now that he had it, Chase didn't know what to do with it. He felt uncomfortable under such scrutiny and attention. Well, be careful what you wish for, he supposed.

They pulled up to Rowan's house. It was more of a manor, really, and a tribute to his father's Czech heritage. His father had taught him to speak his native language when he was little, but he'd stopped using it even before the divorce. He wondered how much he'd actually remember now. The house had three levels, not including the basement, made of solid stone. There were two balconies, over a dozen rooms, and his father lived alone, except for a staff of two. House's snippy assumptions aside, Chase didn't have a stepmother. Rowan was about as devout a Catholic as his son now was, but he never remarried after the divorce.

Chase followed his father into the house and up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. It took him a moment to recognize it as the same room he'd stayed in a few times when he was a kid. Most of the rest of the house had been redecorated to some extent over the years, but this room was untouched.

"You're probably tired," Rowan said. "Why don't you get some sleep? We'll have dinner later."

"Okay," Chase nodded and put his bag down at the foot of the bed. He heard his father close the door behind him. He toed off his shoes, climbed on top of the covers, and the let the jetlag chase his thoughts away.

Back in the states, the Diagnostics department was already feeling the heat. Mostly because House was doing his best to condemn Foreman to the depths of Hell. Since Foreman was the one who deemed Chase unnecessary, House decided he should pick up the slack while he was gone. So Foreman's breaks were generously granted to Cameron while he was banished to the clinic or labs. Heaven help him if House caught him without a task. Cameron watched with a frown and nagged House about his unreasonable behavior, telling him they were all stressed enough without him taking it out on Foreman. House wondered if she would defend him as readily if she knew what he'd done, but he didn't tell her. Because while he held that ace in the hole, Foreman didn't dare complain, at least not as loudly as he normally would.

On Monday, it got even worse. House was so unbearable that Foreman gave up, threw quite a tantrum, and went home early. When he stepped through his door there was a message already waiting on his machine. He winced when House's voice filled his condo, informing him that if he wasn't in at least an hour early the next morning he'd better not come in ever again. Foreman sank down on the bed and finally resigned himself to a month of misery. He could tough it out that long, but if Chase still was forced to leave after this experiment was over, Foreman knew that he'd be leaving too.

In Australia, it was Tuesday, and Chase was sitting at the table across from his father over breakfast. It was even more uncomfortable than the other meals they'd shared over the past two days. Today neither of them could even managed to catch-up small talk they'd been stretching as much as possible. Chase was barely eating at all, just pushing his sausages around the plate.

"Robert, you're going in for an ear exam, not surgery," Rowan said. "You're allowed to eat." Chase chuckled a bit and took a bite obligingly. "You're sure you don't want me to come along? I could drive you."

"Dad," Chase said gently. "You being there won't change the outcome. Either he can save my hearing, or he can't."

"I suppose," Rowan nodded. They ate in silence for a few minutes more. Rowan wiped his mouth with his napkin and folded his hands on the table. "Did you pray last night?" he asked.

Chase nearly choked on his eggs. "Excuse me?" he exclaimed.

"I was just curious," Rowan explained. "You used to say your prayers every night. I didn't know how much you'd kept up with it after you left the Seminary."

"I…pray," Chase admitted. "Sometimes."

"When was the last time you went to church?" Rowan asked.

"When were you?" Chase challenged.

"It's not an accusation, Robert," Rowan said with both hands held out. "As for me, I hadn't been in years." He'd stopped attending church regularly after his divorce. After that, he only went to confession after he'd heard that Chase gave up the Seminary in favor of medicine. "But I've started going again recently." Chase frowned but nodded. Something about this didn't sit well with his already troubled stomach. "What about you? Are you going to answer my question?"

"I don't attend much," Chase shrugged. "I'll stop in to hear mass sometimes, usually on holidays, but other than that…"

"Cafeteria Catholics," Rowan smirked. "That's what they call us, isn't it?"

"Cheers," Chase raised his glass of orange juice and polished off the last of it. He dabbed his mouth with his napkin as he stood and picked up his dishes. "I'd better get going," he said. "Do you know the number for a cab here?"

"Come on," Rowan said. He picked up his own plate and took Chase's out of his hand to carry both into the kitchen. "I'm going to drive you." Chase started to object, but Rowan held up his hand. "You don't want to be late, and I still have a parking space."

"All right," Chase conceded. He put on his jacket and followed his father out to the garage. "Thanks."

The two of them split up once the reached the hospital. Chase went to his appointment and Rowan used the time to go clear out some remaining items in his old office. As soon as Chase gave his name to the receptionist she was all smiles – apparently his father was still popular among his colleagues – and she sent him right in.

"You must be Robert Chase," Dr. Noel stood up and offered his hand when he came into the office. Chase nodded and shook his hand. "So, your father tells me you're an intensivist?"

"That's right," Chase said.

"Not an easy field to adapt to if your hearing loss is total," Noel said bluntly. "But it's not impossible either."

"Well, my primary is in vascular surgery," Chase said hopefully. "Even if I can't stay in the ICU…"

"You certainly wouldn't be the first deaf doctor practice medicine," Noel agreed. "You just need to be prepared to make a lot of changes, if you have to. Now, your audiologist sent faxed me your most recent results, but I'd like to run a fresh set. Otosclerosis can progress very rapidly in some cases."

Chase spent the next couple hours going through tests. Even as they were happening, he was gauging his own results as best he could and not liking what he found. He hoped it was just his pessimism showing again, but when he recognized the expression on Dr. Noel's face once they were back in the office he knew it wasn't.

"You've lost another few percentage points," Noel said, handing Chase the results to examine for himself. Chase sighed and closed his eyes. "Depending on how it progresses, you may have some options."

"Stapedectomy," Chase nodded.

"Hopefully," Noel agreed. "Although, that's not my primary concern. The real danger is that the bone growth could damage your auditory nerve. In that case, a hearing aid might be helpful, but if the damage is too severe your deafness will be total and irreversible."

"When will I know?" Chase asked. "I mean, how long do you think?"

"We're looking at within a few months," Noel said gently. "When do you go back to the United States?"

"Three weeks," Chase said.

"I want you to schedule another appointment before you leave," Noel said. "I'll have a better idea of your progression then and we can discuss treatment options. There are several excellent surgeons in the US. I'll make a few calls."

"Thank you very much," Chase said. They shook hands again and Chase went to schedule his appointment.

"All right, Dr. Chase, we'll see you then," the receptionist smiled. "Oh, by the way," she added gently. "You're staying with your father?"

"Yes," Chase nodded.

"Yeah," she nodded sympathetically. "How's he doing?"

"He's…fine," Chase said. "He's doing well."

"Oh, that's good to hear," she said. "Tell him we're all thinking about him."

"I'll do that," Chase said slowly. He stepped out into the corridor and paused to consider the woman's words. He replayed the conversations he'd had with his father since he'd arrived. The unexpected visit… Chase's brow sank into a frown and he went to find his dad.