Hi people, I got bored after a bout of pointless science homework and wrote this. Not particulary long, but I have to brush up on some of the med notes I took from some website. Hopefully, next chapter will be out by Sunday or sometime next week.

Blackrose Kitsune: Thank you for reviewing I appreciate that and yes, it is kind of Chase centric although I plan on writting from different points of view. Hopefully I won't make House into that big of an ass...but you never know...

Review make me happy, hyper, and more readily to write. Okay just joshing ya but they do make me happy.

Shadowed Guilt: Chapter Two Faith

"Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned." murmured Chase.

The little chapel in the hospital was freezing, the pearly grey rows of fake marble pews seemed imposing as Chase kneeled on the hard stone floor before the altar. He was hunched over so his bangs nearly touched the step that led to the altar, his hands were clenched before him. In one of them he clutched a rosary, he ran his thumb over the smooth, flawless black onyx beads. It had once belonged to his mother; she had been religious and devout up until she had found out that Rowan Chase was not only immersing himself in his work but with women also. Their marriage had lasted about four or five years after that before Rowan finally walked out. "Today...I watched a man die and I didn't help him." Chase said swallowing hard, it was true although there were some underlying factors that prevented him from saving the man's life. God didn't need to hear them, they were just excuses no matter how well you worded them or twisted them.

He didn't know how long he kneeled there asking for God's forgiveness, but long enough that when he finally got up, he nearly fell over from the loss of feeling in his knees and ankles. Limping slightly and hissing from the pain of feeling coming back to his legs, he collapsed on the first pew he reached. Suddenly he had the unpleasant feeling of being naked in front of fairly important people, he stared up at the serene face of the Virgin Mary. He couldn't explain it, but he felt as if she and whateverdieties out there were looking into his soul; prodding to see if his intentions were pure. Feeling uneasy Chase got up slowly and limped hurriedly to the back of the chapel and sat down. He didn't leave the chapel for he was on his break and he didn't want to risk seeing House limping after him and badgering him to do his clinic duty for him or something equally as unpleasant. See, to Chase grunt work wasn't the greatest activity on earth, but compared to listening to patients moan and groan over a small cold or something, he'd choose grunt work over it any day.

The feeling of uneasiness seemed to disappear into thin air at the change in Chase's seating, sighing he leaned forward once again and rested his forehead on the cool wood of the pew in frontof him. He rubbed his right leg, trying to get the circulation back faster. He had a raging headache brewing in his skull, he could feel it twisting and growing bigger. Chase was pretty sure this wasn't one of those headaches which disappear within hours, but one that would last all day long haunting him. He jumped as he heard the door to the chapel creak open, slowly and with a lot of fuss. He quickly stuffed the rosary into his coat pocket and pretended to look like he was taking a slight nap. Inside he was wondering who had breeched his privacy, he knew he didn't own the chapel or anything, but hardly anyone came up here. Chase was tempted to look, but then the person who was possibly hovering at the doorway would spot him and talk to him.

Nontheless he was spotted. Chase heard somebody's shoes, possibly high heels, striding towards him. He tilted his head to the left and grimaced as the footsteps echoed loudly through the chapel, hadn't the person ever learned to walk lightly or at least wear not so loud sounding shoes? Chase felt a shift in the air as somebody sat down beside him, waiting to be acknowledged. Judging from the whiff of the person's flowery shampoo smell and an undercurrent of perfume, he could tell it was Cameron. He glanced up at her pretty face as she stared at him, her dark locks fell foward slightly and she pushed them impatiently behind her ear. Chase turned his body towards her, but still didn't lift his head, he feared it would roll off if he did raise it. "Cameron." he said.

Cameron crossed one leg over the top of the other, "Chase, where have you been? House has been paging you for the last five minutes or so."

Where did she think he had been? In hell? Jesus Christ, Chase had turned off his pager since he was in the prescence of God, it would also pass as an excuse to not hear the annoying beep of his pager every thirty seconds. "Sorry, Cameron." Chase apologized softly as he lifted his upper body up with his arms, "I think I accidentally turned off my pager when I went on my break."

She gave a cluck that sounded very much like one of those pushy mothers trying to get their kid examined for something mediocre like the flu, "You know Chase, if something serious came about how would you help if you didn't know?"

Chase thought of something witty to say, but his brain was ready to explode and Cameron did have a point, "Hmph." he said as he laid his head back down on the back of the pew in front of them.

"Headache?" Cameron asked lowering her voice down to a whisper.

Chase nodded his head slowly, "It's a killer."

"I think I have something for it." she said softly and dug in her pockets, "Acetaminophen?"

He glanced at the white pill being offered and sighed with relief, "Thank you." he took it gently from her hand, avoiding as much contact as he could to her skin. He didn't know why but lately he had been jumpy of people touching him and him touching people, especially if they were awake and concious.

Chase stared at the pill for a moment before tipping back his head and swallowing the pill whole, it left a slightly chalky, dry aftertaste. He reminded himself to get a nice refreshing drink of possibly real tea later on in the day, water if he couldn't find a teabag of real tea and not the floral stuff that the americans served. Chase considered coffee, but it would probably be bad for his indigestion especially with the acetaminophen already dissolving in his stomach. He swore that he had lost at least a couple layers of stomach lining to the vile stuffever sincehe had started drinking it. He also had to put into consideration that House had the good stuff in his conference room and even that stuff was just glorified mud.

"Are you planning to leave?" Cameron asked right out of the blue.

Ever wonder how you can choke on nothing but spit? Chase wondered the very same thing as he choked and coughed loudly, "Who told you that?" he managed to gasp through the coughing and the pounding headache that was slightly easing off.

"I've been hearing some things." she said shrugging nonchantly.

"Well, you of all people, should know not to believe everything that you hear." Chase said.

It was probably not accurate, for he had been entertaining some ideas of leaving after his father had died. He didn't have anything to prove anymore, he was already at his wit's end for staying on with House for about a year and a half. If he understood correctly, he had been the first to stay with House the longest and he sympathized for the fellows before him, he now understood why they had left in such a hurry. However he still hadn't made up his mind, his two year fellowship was coming to an end within six months and he had a choice; to stay and employ somewhat permantly at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, go back to Austrailia which held nothing much that Chase valued anymore, or employ somewhere entirely different altogether.

"You know Chase." Cameron continued not heeding Chase's words, "You, Foreman, and I make a team. We balance each other out, if somebody leaves, like when I left, we go insane and start in on each other. Think about it."

Chase remembered very clearly when Cameron had left, there had been a brief and slightly sad celebration of ridding themselves of her. Then Foreman had turned on him, sniffing at his lame diagnosis', glaring at him in disapproval and all around blaming him for the loss of a valuable hard co-worker. Foreman had, if possible, became more arrogant then ever during those days that Cameron was gone, believing himself superior because he hadn't been the one to get fired. When Cameron finally came back, Foreman's and Chase's relationship had never been the same and probably never would be. "Look Cameron." Chase said trying to be polite, "I don't know about you, but right now I'm not up to one of your 'It takes a village' pep talk."

Cameron nodded her head and fell silent. Chase sighed, "What's House paging me for?"

"He wants you to run some gels for the whole of the maternity wards." at Chase's horrified look she chuckled, "I'm kidding."

"Don't scare me like that." Chase said clutching his heart dramatically.

Cameron laughed brightly, it bounced through the room making it seem warmer. "We better go or he'll punish us by doing exactly that."

Chase sighed and got up slowly, stretching he followed Cameron out of the room. On the way out, he let the door sigh softly shutbefore padding softly after Cameron.