Chapter Three: A New Team
Two years later…
Robert Chase twisted the silver wedding band on his ring finger and listened to Cameron and Foreman argue back and forth. They were fighting over whether or not it was okay to get a court order to treat Rebecca Adler or not.
"She wants to give up. Even though we know it's a tapeworm," Foreman's voice snapped him back to reality.
"She wants to die and do it in peace in her home." Cameron said.
"Shut up both of you." House snapped, "You guys argue like a married couple. The only person who should bitch like they're married is Chase, because he is."
Chase watched House walk down the hall towards his office, "Wait! I think I have an idea of how we can prove it's a worm."
"Now he's bitching. What's the idea?"
"Worms under regular hundred year old x-ray machines light up like shotgun pellets. If we x-ray her thigh muscle we could prove that it's a worm." Chase said.
" I like wombat's theory. Do it." House said as he stood up.
Shaking his head, House left the office and headed for the elevators.
Chase followed Cameron and Foreman out of the office to do the x-ray.
For two years, Chase had worked there and when he found out about a job working under House he'd jumped at the chance. Now, after having worked there, he still found it amusing that neither House nor the team had never really asked him about his marriage, but made jokes about it. It seemed like something House would do more often, but he didn't. On more than one occasion, he had harassed Wilson about his failed marriages and other issues relating to it, but never had he really said anything to Chase. Maybe it was because Chase never said anything or maybe it was because House didn't care. Whatever the reason, Chase always got a kick out of the fact that his marriage was really brought up. In his mind, it was the first thing House would have gone for if he'd wanted to make his life miserable.
Emma Chase walked down into the atrium of the hospital and shook her head. Whatever Cuddy wanted it couldn't be good. If it dealt with House she was pretty sure she'd have a fit of nerves. House created more problems in the legal department than any other doctor that she'd ever known. Granted, she'd never met the guy, but more complaints and lawsuits came across her desk about him than any other doctor in the hospital.
Walking into the clinic, she smiled at the young nurse standing there handing out forms to patients and walked towards Cuddy's office. She caught a brief glance of Wilson standing there at the station signing paperwork and looking flustered. Emma knocked once on Cuddy's office door before entering the room and taking a seat in front of her desk.
"You wanted to see me, Lisa?" Emma said.
Cuddy smiled and shook her head, "Thanks for coming down so quickly. I need your help and you're the only one who I think I can trust to help me with this."
"What's up?"
"I need you to watch House for me. He's not taking cases and behind in everything." Cuddy said.
Emma's blonde eyebrow sky rocked into her hairline, "You want me to babysit House for you? Lisa, please tell me you're joking."
"I'm not. I'm sorry. I need someone to watch him because he isn't doing his job and we get more lawsuits about him than any other doctor on the staff here."
"Why don't you have someone from the team do it? Robert can do it."
"I think it's easier if you do it because House isn't your boss, I am. He can't order you around like I can. I'm sure that you can take him on Emma. Please, I've asked at least ten people and they've all said no. Please, I'm asking you as a friend." Cuddy said.
Emma collapsed down into the chair and groaned, "I'll do it on two conditions, a nice fat raise and more paid vacation time. Oh, and you can't fire me if something goes wrong."
"Deal." Cuddy said, jumping at the chance that finally someone agreed to watch House. "I'll be by your office later to give you the details and everything."
Emma stood up and chuckled, "Are we still on for that Thursday night pole dancing class? I told Robert about it. I swear to God I've never seen his eyebrows go so far up into his hairline."
Cuddy laughed and confirmed that they were a laughing Emma walked out of Cuddy's office. Her heels made a click-clack noise on the floor as she walked out into the clinic.
"You look happy about something." Wilson said as he stood at the nurse's station and handed the chart to the nurse.
"I've been stuck at the babysitting House indefinitely. Cuddy and I are doing a pole dancing class."
Wilson chuckled, "It's not that bad. I mean pole dancing."
"Yeah, sure…when House finds out about the pole dancing the sex jokes will never end."
"Don't tell him. Let House figure it out on his own."
Emma snorted, "Yeah, it's not bad at all. House will eat me alive."
She walked away and towards the main elevator and halted mid-step. What would Robert think about her babysitting his boss?
"Mary, is Doctor Chase in an exam room?" Emma asked as she stood at the nurse's station a few hours later.
"He's in exam room two," Mary said as she placed the file back in their rightful places.
Emma nodded and walked around the station and knocked on the door to exam room two. She heard Chase call out for her to enter and she opened the door.
"Can I help you?" he asked, looking at her with an amused glance as he listened to an elderly man's lungs.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Sure," Chase said as he finished listening to the man's chest. "You're good Mr. Nicholls. Just a chest cold like I said earlier."
It was a few minutes later after Mr. Nickels had left that Emily leapt up on the exam table and threw herself back.
"You're not going to believe me when I say this but Cuddy wants me to babysit House." She said as she watched Chase wash his hands.
"Cuddy wants you to watch House? Why would she do that?"
"Because Robert, Cuddy said that since House has been behind in things and not performing to his best and my job is supposed to babysit him and make sure he's doing as he's told. Probably to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid or anything that kills another person."
"So we get to go to work together, it sounds like torture." Chase said, leaning against the counter.
"You get to work. I get to babysit," Emma groaned.
"True," Chase said. Emma sat up and swung her legs off the side of the examining table and shook her head.
"I don't know what I did to piss Cuddy off but this feels like punishment. By the way, I still have that pole dancing class on Thursday so you'll be stuck doing dinner on your own if you can manage that."
Chase chuckled, "I'm a big boy. I can feed myself Emma. As for House, he really isn't that bad."
Emma snorted, "The last time you boiled water you burnt the pan. Can I trust you just to order take out?"
"Fine. I'll get that Orange Chicken for Hop-Ping on the corner and because I love you so much I might get a little extra but it depends on what kind of mood I'm in." Chase said.
Emma shook her head, "Now who's playing dirty. What's that for?"
"Pay back from this morning. You can't walk around the condo wearing next to nothing and then say you're not in the mood for sex. That's torture. Are you free for lunch?" Chase said, wrapping his arms around her.
"Mm, that sounds nice, but I'm sorry I can't. I have to figure out how to solve an issue that cropped up in the ER last night. How about dinner later?"
"Promise you'll make my favorite?"
Emma laughed and kissed his lips, "I'll make sure to do that."
"Thank you. Love you," Chase called as he watched her petite figure open the door.
Emma blew him a kiss over her shoulder, "I love you too, Doctor Chase."
"I just want you to sit in with them while they are brainstorming and if House tries to suggest anything crazy I want you to stop him. Just make sure whatever he does our asses are covered please, Emma. Oh, make sure that he doesn't try anything insane or that could kill someone. If he's lying about something and you have no idea what it means medically come and get me," Cuddy rambled as they both walked down the hallway towards House's office two weeks later.
Emma looked down at the tight black business dress she wore with the black stiletto heels and counted to ten. This job already sounded more boring than it already was making out to be.
"Lisa, I don't understand why you just don't hire another doctor and use that doctor as your spy so to speak. Why me? I don't know the first thing about medicine. I'm a lawyer, not a doctor."
"Emma Chase, you are one of the best lawyers that I know and probably the only person that I know that could take House on. You don't need to be a doctor, you just need to make sure that everything that he does is covered by us and we're safe from being sued." Cuddy said as they approached House's glass door. "Besides, I'm giving you an extra twenty thousand a year to watch his ass. It's a trade off. You can't bitch about having a nice six-figure income."
Cuddy pushed open the door to the office and stepped into the room. Foreman and Cameron looked at Cuddy with raised eyebrows.
"You didn't even get an accurate family. The father is not the father," House said as he looked towards Cuddy.
Emma had to hide a smile at the look on House's face as he looked at Cuddy.
"Who's this Cuddy? I didn't know that you wanted to have a three some with a hooker. I'd love to, but I'm more of a brunette man then a blonde one." he said sarcastically.
"This is Emma Chase who will be making sure anything you do is within legal bounds and behave. You can think of her as your new babysitter." Cuddy said, rolling her eyes and ignoring him. "Emma, this is Doctor House. House, she'll be with your team whenever you have cases making sure that you don't do anything that will get this hospital, these doctors, or yourself into trouble."
Emma looked at the four people in the room. Foreman was sitting in a chair opposite House's desk with Cameron standing writing on the board and Chase was seated closest in a chair against the glass wall. House sat behind his desk and was watching her closely.
"Hello Doctor House, Foreman and Cameron. It's a pleasure to meet you." Emma said.
No one said anything. Emily gave Chase a small smile as she sat down next to him in the tan chair and crossed her legs.
"So, what are you?" House asked playing dumb. The fact that Emma was within ten feet of him had his heart pounding. She was beautiful like her mother and memories came flooding back into House's mind. She resembled her biological mother, Helen, in built and coloring. Her frame was tiny and petite and House guessed that he could easily pick her up. The only physical trait that he could see that she carried off him was her eyes. Emma had clear blue eyes that complemented her creamy white skin and bright white-blonde hair. House was surprised that after having lived in Australia for most of her life that Emma wasn't tan like Chase.
"Excuse me?" Emily replied, looking up at him politely.
"I asked what you are. Cuddy's spy or a failed model? Your voice isn't quite American. Oh, damn it! We've got another Aussie. Crikey! I didn't realize when I haired Chase I was going to get his better half also."
"This is Chase's wife?" Cameron said, looking at Emma.
"Did you miss the whole introduction part where Cuddy said that her name was Emma Chase and the fact that Chase's eyes haven't moved from her legs since she entered the room? The Aussie's better half is better looking also. Amazing how nature works." House said mockingly to Cameron.
"I apologize for interrupting your discussions earlier, please continue. I believe you were talking about paternity before Doctor Cuddy and I interrupted."
House gave her a skeptical look and smirked at her, "Nice deflection. So, this is how they make lawyers in Australia? Size zero with a bra size of 32B and standing at about five foot two and a half weighing about a hundred and five pounds? I think you and I will get along just fine even though I don't need you and will be sending you back soon enough."
"Wonderful. FYI. I'm five foot three." Emma replied back just as sarcastic as House was.
Cuddy threw her hands up and left, "Good luck, Emma."
Emma nodded and watched Cuddy leave.
"Thirty percent of all dads don't realize they're raising someone else's kid," House said, changing the subject back to the patient at hand. Emma didn't say anything but listened quietly as the team debated about the patient's health till they were finally told by House what to do.
As everyone left, Emma stayed and stared directly at House, "I will be sticking around and you do know that right?"
"Yep."
"And you're strangely okay with that?"
"Yep."
"You've never before been okay with just agreeing with something like this," Emma stated again as she watched House carefully. "Normally, if something doesn't go your way you throw a fit and make everyone around you miserable."
"I'll be okay just this once for you. I don't know why I'm agreeing to this, but I am," House said as he picked up his dry erase board marker. "I'll think of you more as my personal assistant then babysitter. Deal?"
Emma rolled her eyes, "I'm not your personal assistant, but if that makes it easier for you to swallow this pill then fine."
