Since the team had found a case, Chloe hadn't really seen a lot of Chase all day. She probably shouldn't have expected to, she was working after all. But because she had been feeling so lousy, being with him was the only thing that would make her feel even a little bit better. Sometimes the team would gather in the conference room for the ddx, but even then she couldn't talk to him. The 3 would throw out suggestions and then House would send them out to test for them. Occasionally an individual duckling would venture in with a file or an update, but then they would rush away with another order from House.

Chloe did get to see him for lunch, if it could even be called that. More like a cup of coffee in the cafeteria. She didn't want to eat anything and then Chase didn't really have time to. After polishing off a quick cup, a parting glance and a kiss on the cheek later he was gone, and Chloe was still stirring in her sugar. She returned to her desk and dived back in to the pile of paperwork provided by Cuddy. She was so happy when the clock finally struck 5. As if on cue, Chase arrived back to the conference room, just as ready to head home as she was.

Chloe threw her bag on the table, and collapsed on the huge, soft couch. "Today has been the longest day of my life."

Chase closed the door behind them and came into the living room to sit with Chloe. "Do you still feel as bad as you did this morning?"

Chloe sighed. "Not so much anymore, it just got really monotonous filling out the same paperwork over and over again. And now House as a nice big stack of papers to sign. I'm sure he's just stuck them in a drawer somewhere and all of my hard work will have been for nothing." Chase scooted closer to Chloe and she leaned on him. Suddenly she felt much better than she had all day.

"You could sign them you know," Chase suggested, "Cuddy won't care."

Chloe adjusted herself so that she could see Chase's face a little better. "Yeah, I know, she'd would probably just look the other way for it, but I'm not willing to put my neck out on the line like that for him. Forging is a federal offense, and I'm sure the government checks up on those files for security or financial reasons or something."

"I guess so. But don't worry about House. You've done your job, and now those files are his problem once again." Chase held her a little tighter to make her feel more comfortable. "It's not so much fun being stuck in a lab running tests all day either. Cameron's doing most of the direct work with the patient and I get to sit in front of a screen all day."

"I guess we're both stuck doing House's bitchwork." Chloe laughed. She stretched a little then cuddled closer to Chase. "I feel so nice right now, sitting here with you. Can we just stay like this forever?" She closed her eyes.

"Yes, please," Chase agreed, and they both drifted asleep together.

A couple hours later, Chase woke up, alone on the couch. He looked around for Chloe a bit before heading into the kitchen. He hoped she would be cooking dinner there, but sadly he had no luck. Then, he though he heard a voice coming from the spare bedroom she had once stayed in. He walked down the hall and found the voice growing louder as he approached the door. A few steps down, he could actually make out the words that she was saying. It seemed she was on the phone as there were frequent pauses in her speech.

"Not yet." Pause. "Well, not completely, I'm... getting closer." Pause. "I know it's been a long time, but things have been busy."

Chase wondered if he should be eavesdropping on Chloe like he was, but he just couldn't help himself. He pressed his ear up against the door.

"It's been different than expected." Pause. "I'm trying to move as fast as I can! It's not like I don't have incentive. It's a lot of money, and the bank's going to be on my butt soon." Pause. "Of course it's Robert, why else would it be taking so long?"

Chase's stomach flipped at the mention of his name. What does Chloe need money for?

"No! I can't tell him, are you insane?!" Pause. "Sorry, it's just... I've worked so hard to get where I am. Telling him would just make everything pointless."

Chase's heart was racing. What could she be hiding?

"I haven't exactly figured out how to tell him, either." The way she said 'him' hinted that perhaps she was talking about another man. "I'd like to just bust out and brilliantly save the day, but I haven't had the chance to yet." Pause. "I know. Thanks." Pause. "When I do, you'll be the first to know, I promise." Pause. "Bye Banana."

What was that about? What does Chloe need to save? Chase's mind was running a million miles a minute when suddenly he heard footsteps. His thoughts would have to wait while he tiptoed down the hall as quickly as he could. Chloe was heading towards the door. He took a deep breath and then turned to walk back towards the door as nonchalantly as possible.

Just as he was halfway back, Chloe opened the door, looking frustrated. She looked up and saw Chase moving her way. "Oh, hey."

Chase was hyper aware of his facial expressions, he tried to look as unsuspecting as he could. "There you are, I was wondering where you ran off to."

"Just changing into something more comfortable." She tried to brush off her uneasy feelings.

Chase noticed that she was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank. "I guess you wouldn't want to go out to eat then?"

"No, it's fine. I think we should stay in, if that's alright with you," she replied.

"It sounds good to me. I guess I'll change too," He headed towards his bedroom while Chloe moved in the other direction.

"I'll find something to cook, how about that?" Chloe turned to see his reaction.

"Okay," was his only reply.

"Okay." Chloe went to the kitchen.

Chase swiftly changed into jeans and a T-shirt, then headed back to the kitchen. Should he ask Chloe about the conversation he heard? He may as well, what was the worst she could say? "I thought I heard you talking in there."

Crap. Chloe had hoped that he didn't hear her. "It was just Anna, I haven't talked to her in a while, and I promised I'd call her. I just had a spare second after our nap."

"Oh, really? How is she?" He pried.

"She's good. Oh, I didn't tell you, she and Ethan had a baby. A girl, Sasha." She tried to change the subject.

"Wow, that's great." Good news, but not exactly what he wanted to talk about. He redirected the conversation. "What did you talk about?"

Chloe opened the refrigerator and scanned the contents. She couldn't exactly look at him. Should she lie? She knew she couldn't tell him the truth. "Same old stuff, I talked to her Friday before I got here, so basically about our week." She tried again to change the subject. "Crazy that I've only been here one week, isn't it?"

"It is. Seems like much longer." Damn. He could sense that Chloe didn't want to talk. Too bad she wasn't drunk tonight instead of last night. BAD CHASE! He couldn't believe what he was thinking. He decided that he should get his mind off of what he heard. No matter how much it worried him.

Finally Chloe emerged from the refrigerator with a few ingredients: chicken, onions, a red pepper, a couple of other things. "Go relax or something, I'll cook dinner."

"You sure? I can help if you'd like." Was she just trying to avoid him now?

"I'm sure." She thought the cooking would help take her mind off of her current worries. "I want to surprise you with something good."

"Alright." What else could she possibly surprise him with today?

He watched TV while she cooked. An old James Bond movie was on, so at least that could keep him interested for a while. When the movie was over, Chloe entered the living room with a tray in her hands, it held two plates of food and two glasses of water. "Chicken tetrazzini. One of my favorites." She set the tray on the table and handed him his plate.

Chase immediately took a bite, which was a mistake. Chloe tried to warn him, "Be careful! It's–"

"Oww!" Chase yelled. Chloe laughed. "Turn towards me." He did. His mouth was open and he was still trying to decide between spitting out the food, or swallowing and risking burning his esophagus. Chloe luckily helped by blowing cool air in his mouth. Finally he could chew properly. "Thank you."

"Very smart thinking, Dr. Chase." Putting emphasis on the word 'doctor', Chloe handed him his glass of ice water and laughed again.

He took a drink. "I've made worse mistakes." He was very embarrassed.

Chloe didn't really realize how serious he was being. "I'm pretty sure the TV is frying your brain," she joked. "What's on, anyway?"

Chase prepared to take another bite, except he took the time to cool off his food beforehand. "You just missed James Bond," he said in between blows.

"Aww, bad timing." Chloe took a bite of her own food. "Wow! That is hot!" She chewed quickly and swallowed.

"Now who's a smart girl?" Chase retorted.

"Haha, very funny." She stuck her tongue out at him and stole the remote. "Let's see what else is on, shall we?"

"We shall." Chase was too busy eating to care what was on TV. He was also contemplating incorporating the phone call back into the conversation.

Too late. Chloe had already found another movie on TV. "How cute, Stuart Little is on."

He decided against it, she was in a reasonably better mood than she had been in all day. It would be a bad idea to ruin that. There was always tomorrow.

They watched and ate in silence. Every now and then one of them would offhandedly comment or laugh at a funny moment.

"The dad reminds me of House a little bit." Chloe said after her dinner was done.

"Is it his general facetiousness or blunt disregard for others' feelings that got you?" Chase remarked.

"No, not his personality. God, not that. But they way he looks. If we could ever get House to shave and put on a sweater vest or a bow tie, maybe comb his hair and wear some glasses, then you wouldn't be able to tell them apart," she mused.

"Okay, I'll hold him down, you shave him," Chase teased.

Chloe burst out laughing. "No fair! You can get the sweater vest on, then."

Chase was snickering as well. "Why are we even discussing this?"

Chloe was finally able to catch her breath from laughing so hard. "I don't know. I think we've gone crazy."

"I think we have too." He concluded.

Chloe gathered the plates and glasses back on the tray. "Could you imagine? Wrestling House to the ground and making him dress up like a prep school student?"

"I don't know if the wrestling House or the prep school getup is the more unrealistic scenario."

"Me either." Chloe took the tray to the kitchen and set the dishes in the sink, wondering if she should go ahead and wash them or not. She opted for the latter, they would still be there tomorrow, when she wasn't quite as tired. She ventured back into the living room. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten," he answered.

"I'm going to bed," she announced. "Thank god it's Friday tomorrow."

Chase turned off the TV. "I'll come too."

"I'd suggest it, seeing that you're probably going to wake up at 3am anyway." She headed towards the master bedroom.

"Hey, I wake up at 5. That's not so bad," he defended.

"It is for me. I prefer to be woken up naturally, by the sunrise." Her words were very flowy, as if she were on a commercial advertising waking up with the sun. She crawled into bed and curled up under the covers.

Chase changed into a pair of pajama pants to sleep in and got in after her. "I think you prefer to stay in bed until the hours of the day get into double digits."

"I need my beauty sleep!" She justified.

Chase wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "No you don't."

Chloe blushed and kissed him goodnight. Once again they fell into a deep sleep.