Well . . . Chapter five is up. Yeah . . . Um, anyway, has anybody but me read this? SPOILER ALERT " . . . Chase admits he needs a break.. . ." or " . . . Chase begins working in the neonatal intensive care unit. . . . "END SPOILERS What the heck! Does anybody know anything else? I'm thinking maybe Chase's fellowship is about to end. Oh, and I haven't forgotten about Chase! He's in the next chappie.

The medical jargon is pretty much exactly the same as in the show, but I have no idea how to rewrite that stuff without messing it up. Deal with it.

Replies:(What! I only have one anom review? Come on guys! I need you!)

Wolfy Runner: He will, sort of. . .

Disclaimer: Ha. You make me laugh.

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

Wilson would have to broach the subject carefully. He knew House "needed to talk," but the man could be really sensitive about his ducklings. "Have you told them yet?"

House continued staring at whatever was so interesting on his desk. He knew exactly what Wilson was talking about. "They seemed to have figured it out."

"They think. They don't know."

"They'll know when he doesn't show up in a few days. Or months. Or years."

"Well, what about Chase? Have you talked to him?"

"Sure, I've talked to him plenty of times. Oh, you mean after Vogler fired him? No. He can't diagnose for me anymore. Why else would I talk to him?"

"Maybe to see how he is? What he's doing? Or, I don't to know, to apologize?"

"I have nothing to apologize for. Someone would have been fired no matter what. Vogler is the one who should–"

House broke off as Foreman appeared in the lounge next door. He stood up and followed Wilson into the room just as Foreman was opening a file.

"Kidney and liver cysts are both benign, and lymph nodes all came back clean."

House looked as well. "His left armpit node has antibodies for CB 11."

"Well, not enough to indicate lymphoma," Wilson muttered.

"We never tested for hairy-cell leukemia."

"No, but we would have picked it up somewhere besides one lymph node."

Cameron, who had been quiet until this point, looked up. "Spleen is normal too."

House turned to her. "Size isn't everything. The spleen is the mother load for hairy-cells. Let's cut it open."

Wilson looked at him incredulously. "That's gonna kill him!"

Foreman shook his head. "His brain's turning into mush, and he's at risk for more infections, so we have to do it."

House shrugged. "That sounds good to me. Go forth and biopsy!"

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

The timid knock on his office door told him that he would look up to see Cameron, no doubt delivering test results. All of his ducklings had their individual entrances, and House knew them well. While Cameron's general politeness kept her from barging in, Foreman waltzed in like it was his office. Chase was a medium: striding in not as confidently as Foreman, but not patient or self conscious enough to wait at the door.

Well, Chase had strode.

He looked up at Cameron, driving the thoughts of Chase from his head. "What?"

She seemed hesitant. "Why did you run the second ELISA test?"

"Please, spare me the 'I am really good at heart, but just keep defenses up on the outside' thing. I've already gotten it once from Wilson; I don't need it from you."

"You're miserable–it's obvious, but does that mean you hate everything? You can say what you want, but we all know why you ran that test."

"Then why are you asking?"

Cameron seemed to grow bolder with every word. "Just wanted to see if you had the balls to admit it. I guess not. It sure is a lot easier to pretend to hate someone than to care about them, huh?"

"Yeah, I ran the test because I really care about Mr. Senator. I wanted to show him how much I like him."

Cameron was full out glaring at him now. It was a bit disturbing; he had trained her well. "You know that's not what I'm talking about."

"Actually, I don't. I really do dislike a lot of people."

Cameron sighed and dropped her gaze. "After you find a replacement for Chase, I'm turning in my two-week notice. I've already secured a position at Jefferson." She quietly left the room, and for the second time that week one of his ducklings had left him speechless.

MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD

"I don't care what the risks were. It could have very easily killed him!"

"Would you get over it? We didn't even have a signature before the new symptom popped up."

". . .You . . . I swear, House . . . Are you trying to bring this whole hospitable down, or just me?"

House smirked as Cuddy stormed off. She had been plenty ticked that he was going to do a spleen biopsy on the Senator. He had tried Foreman's argument, but it hadn't worked on her. He enjoyed seeing her blow up, but it also meant something else: the snitch had been at work.

His mind reeled as he considered the traitor's identity. Was it Foreman? Foreman wasn't loyal per se, but he wasn't stupid either. If he was fired he could easily get another job that was just as good, if not better. He had that kind of CV. Cameron no longer had a motive; she obviously wasn't worried about getting fired if she was quitting. Maybe it had been a nurse.

It's actually easier for me to get rid of a board member like Cuddy or Wilson than to get rid of a doctor. That's interesting, isn't it?

He froze as that conversation with Vogler flew through his head. No, House decided. Wilson is your friend.

But still. . .

House had told him about Carly's meds. He had been there when they decided to biopsy. And Wilson had been insistent that House apologize to Chase. He felt bad for Chase. But was it because Chase had been fired for something Wilson had done? No!

It's easier for me to get rid of Wilson. . .

TBC

You took the time to read it, now please take the time to review.