Kiwanis festival done, broke and luving life.
greendayfan1333: Glad you liked it and another chapter.
xDetBensonx: You're wish is granted.
Firetop: Glad you liked itand no problem.
Death-Muncher: Thankz for liking it and thankz for that encouraging thought. I'm updating.
felixgirl: Glad you liked it and yes I'm spreading the Chase love. I've only caught a few episodes of the first season (started watching when the showed 'The Mistake') but I think the House from first season differs greatly from House in second season. But then again the writer's in all their brilliance have weird continuities for example House's house/apartment thingy (He doesn't live in the same place twice, I swear) And more is on the way.
Anywhoo got such a glow when I got so many reviews, keep them coming. Bon appetite.
Shadowed Guilt: Chapter Six Sorry
House dragged Chase into the nearest men's bathroom. He was surprised he could do it at all, considering he was a cripple and all. But then he had to factor in the lack of resistance due to the fact that he had whacked Chase in the shin when he tried to struggle away. House checked if the coast was clear then pushed Chase into the handicapped bathroom stall, House turned and locked them in before leaning back on to the stall door. So if Chase had any crazy ideas to escape, he'd find it very hard to do so. Chase backed into the corner, rubbing his sore arm and looking for all the world a scared, cornered animal. "Wh-what do you want?"
"Well now." House looked very smug, "The wombat speaks."
Often House would've received a glare from Chase but this time, nothing. Just a nervous glance as if Chase didn't know what was going to happen. House started getting a sense of deja vu as the silence stretched on. Now that House had Chase all to himself, his brilliant mind abandoned him, he didn't know how to start the conversation and Chase sure as hell didn't want to. "So." Silence.
"Um." Chase ran damp hands over his slacks, "You started diagnosing that guy yet?"
"I didn't pull you in here to talk about some moronic patient." House sniffed.
"Then what?"
If it was physically possible, Chase was shrinking before House's eyes. House jabbed his cane at Chase and stopped it a mere millimeter from his nose. That stopped Chase from sliding any further down the beige coloured wall. However he could neither move up or down unless he wanted to break his nose and so was stuck in an uncomfortable position halfway up/down the wall. "I think it's time to talk. With a capital T." Oh how House despised that word, he didn't 'Talk,' he ran/limped as fast as he could as soon as he heard the T word. However he thought it was time for an exception.
"T-talk about what?" Chase was stuttering and his accent was growing thicker with panic.
"You know, if you don't calm down you're going to give yourself a heart attack. Then I'll have to save you or I'll be charged with negligent homicide. If I choose not to then prison is going to be very uncomfortable with a bum leg and all. Maybe they have a special room for cripples or maybe I'll plead temporary insanity and be locked into a padded cell. I always wanted to know how that felt."
To House's credit, Chase concentrated on his breathing instead of protesting that he was stuck in a bathroom stall with his boss. House maneuvered himself so he could lean on his good leg, but still glare at Chase's hyperventilating form. Chase looked defeated if anything, his hair hung in front of his eyes and they swayed every time he took a deep breath in and out. "I need a pair of scissors." House said offhandedly. Chase choked on the air, "Don't worry I don't have thoughts to castrate you and leave you lying here bleeding to death."
That seemed to slightly reassure Chase. House wondered why he was taking the long road to the actual subject he wanted to talk about, he buckled down, "How are you feeling?"
"What do you mean, how am I feeling?" Chase asked, "I'm fine. As always."
"Uh-uh. Liar, liar pants on fire. You took only a week off to go to your daddy's funeral and visit the rest of your family. Only a week, if it were me I would've taken the whole month off. Why didn't you Chase? Cuddy offered you a whole month off and you only took a week."
Chase exhaled in disbelief, "You pulled me in here to talk about why I only took a week off to go to Melbourne for my dad's funeral? It doesn't take that long to host a funeral or a memorial you know."
'Damn, damn, damn.' that was how House's inner monologue was going.
"You know what House, go screw yourself with your cane. Maybe that'll push the stick that's already up your ass into your brain so you won't have to bother me anymore."
House raised an eyebrow, 'Ohhhh angry wombat. Interesting.'
"Just leave me alone." Chase said pushing House aside and strode out of the bathroom.
"Nice going, Greg." House muttered to himself before following Chase out of the bathroom.
Dr Joaquin gave a nod to Wilson and Faith as she went past. "Good night." she smiled.
"Good night." Wilson and Faith said together.
Elena scarved her neck and pushed her way out of the quiet hospital. It wasn't exactly dark yet, about late afternoon to the beginning of the night, the twilight zone. The sinking sun stained the ground a blood red, Elena took a deep breath of cooling autumn air and watched the leaves dancing in the sky above her head. Autumn was her favourite time of the year, where the earth went to rest and the weather teetered on the thin line leading to a cold winter. There were no bugs to bite her if she decided to wear perfume and the birds chirped noisily as they made ready to fly south. She looked up as the formation of geese honked noisily as they flew south for winter. In that one moment life was perfect.
She took out her car keys and started walking to her customary parking spot before she remembered that her car had broken down and was being fixed at a nearby auto shop. She stared down at her fashionable yet uncomfortable heels. Her feet was already hurting from spending twelve hours in them and she vowed never again will she wear them when she worked. In her head she filed a reminder away, 'Bring comfortable change of shoes tomorrow.'
The wind sent a gentle puff of air in her direction, she held her skirt down before it could flare and show her cherry red underwear. 'I must look like Marilyn Monroe right now.' Elena thought wryly.
After the slight breeze was gone she continued her hike to the auto shop. She started humming a song one of her patients had been singing earlier, it had quite a catchy tune to it. Elena knew she had heard that song somewhere before, but she just couldn't put a finger on it and it was driving her crazy. Maybe her husband would know it, he was crazy about music old and new after all.
Elena was so deep in her thoughts that she nearly walked past the auto shop altogether. She stopped and stared at the auto shop on the other side of the street, it was spray-painted on one side by a graffiti artist. It was done in bright and garish colours and the people looked too short and entirely too fat. A smile found its way onto her face, she glanced down both ends of the street and prepared to cross.
Halfway across she dropped her keys that she was still holding from earlier, chiding herself she bent down to retrieve them. As if by some trick of fate, car tires screeched from the gathering darkness, horn honking loudly. Elena remained frozen, a deer caught in the headlights as the car impacted with her willowy body which was still bent. The pain was indescribable and stars shot into her line of vision. She was doing the equivalent of flying, but sooner then later she hit the pavement hard. Pain shot from her brain to her legs, she was thankful that the darkness enclosed her mind shutting her off from the pain. But not before feeling the unpleasant wetness leaking from her face.
Chase was the equivalent of a hurricane coming through the ER as he helped interns and residents when they needed it. It was a busy night, apparently some idiot had started a bar fight which landed ten people with superficial cuts and bruises and three with serious injuries. He tiredly directed a couple of nurses to the nearest available OR and turned around to sign for an angiogram. Apparently the resident doctors were worried that the guy had thrown a clot. "Dr Chase?" a timid red head asked.
"Yes?" Chase asked exhausted.
"I think you should see this." she tugged his sleeve like a puppy would tug your pant leg when they wanted to go for a walk.
"Not right now." Chase said, "Get this man a morphine drip please." he shouted to a nearby nurse.
"No, I think you really need to see this." she persisted.
"I'm sorry, Dr Stevens. But I have a man that is probably bleeding out from-"
For a tiny thing that stood just under 5'5" she had a lot more strength then she should. Dr Stevens forcibly grabbed his arm and pulled him like an owner would with a stubborn mule. Chase sighed and directed a resident to take over, she led him outside. "What's this about?" Chase asked, "I have patients dieing in there."
She shushed him as a screaming ambulance rushed towards them, parking violently, two paramedics jumped out. "Forty-seven year old woman, mixed race, hit by a car."
Chase and Stevens rushed forward, when he got a look at the woman's broken and battered face he nearly backed off in horror. No it couldn't be true, but it was the cold hard fact. Elena was now his patient, he never thought this day would come and he had hoped it never would. The woman was as healthy as a horse and took pains to keep herself that way. Chase immediately blanked his mind and took on his cool doctor persona. It did Elena no good if he couldn't function properly, he shouted orders to a nearby resident to get him a morphine drip. He immediately jammed the ear buds of his stethoscope into his ears as he speed walked with the gurney. He gently eased a piece of bloody clothing away from her body and handed it to an attending nurse who dropped it into a biohazard bin. Another nurse rushed in with an IV drip and some cloths and a bin of water. "I need a ventilator. There's decreased left lung function." he shouted.
In a matter of moments a ventilator was wheeled in, he dropped his stethoscope onto the already bloodied gurney and grabbed a tube. He gently forced it down Elena's throat, he hurried attached her to the ventilator. "Oh my god. She's crashing." Dr Stevens said.
"Code blue." Chase hollered over his shoulder.
But even as he shouted it, the heart monitor flat lined. "Tabernouche. (Damn.)" he muttered, "Paddles!"
A nurse handed them to him and squirted the conductive gel onto the bottom side of them, Dr Stevens moved Elena's cherry red bra aside. "Charging." he said.
"Two hundred joules." a nurse said behind him.
"Clear." Chase shouted as a precaution as he pressed down and shocked Elena.
"Nothing."
"Charging. Three hundred joules."
"Nothing."
"Charging. Three hundred sixty joules."
The ominous shrill of the heart monitor indicated that Elena's heart was still not beating. Everybody froze, Chase dropped the paddles back onto the crash cart. "Time of death, 10:35 pm." Dr Stevens announced quietly.
Chase leaned with both hands on the edge of Elena's bed, his head bowed down in grief. The adrenaline rush that had invaded their bodies while they tried to save Elena rushed out of them like a waterfall. It was almost tangible. The death of one of their fellow co-workers hit them full force. Some rushed off with tears in their eyes, others wandered blank eyed away, yet others dealt with the loss in their own way. Chase just leaned numbly over Elena's lifeless body, he was the only one left in the curtained off area. His body shuddered as he tried to suppress the sobs rising up ready to choke him, "I'm so sorry, Elena."
Chase rested a hand on the door knob, he called the Joaquin's to tell them that their loving mother/wife was dead. They had insisted on coming. He braced himself, he didn't know why but he expected to be yelled at, he always did. But when he opened the door he found himself engulfed in Mr Joaquin's arms and those of his children. Chase hugged them tentatively back, his head rested on Mr Joaquin's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I should've done more."
The embrace tightened, "No need to apologize, son." Chase widened at the last word, "There was nothing you could do. If there is anybody to blame. Blame the drunken driver of that car."
Chase didn't know how long he stood in there embrace, but the dreaded voice belonging to House sounded behind them. "Aw, how touching."
He let go reluctantly, Mr Joaquin patted his shoulder his eyes dark, serious, and just a little teary. "You take care of yourself. Come by the house sometimes." he smiled wistfully, "I'll cook dinner."
A corner of Chase's mouth twitched and he smiled sadly, "You'll see me at the funeral."
"Thank you for your kindness and hard work."
As Mr Joaquin ushered his family out, his ten year old daughter hung back. In her hands she held up a flower made out of globs of glue and felt material, Chase kneeled before her. She gave him a hug and handed him the flower, "Thank you."
He clutched it in one hand and watched the Joaquin's make their slow way out of the hospital. Chase gracefully spun around to face House, "What do you want?"
House seemed unaware that this was a sensitive time, "Diagnostic session."
Chase pushed past him, "I'm sorry, but I have a death certificate still to sign."
Which wasn't entirely true, but he couldn't stand being near House right now. House just stood leaning against the doorframe watching Chase's retreating back, he slowly limped off to the diagnostic conference room and filed this little tidbit of information for later use.