Chase stood alone in the conference room, lab coat off showing the nutmeg brown dress shirt and pale yellow tie that were mostly hidden previously in the day. His arms were folded and he posed like a statue staring at the words on the white board. The day was winding down and he still had yet to find a way to help his patient. All he was able to do so far was deeply understand her predicament.

Wilson walked in to see Chase posed at the board the same way he has witnessed House so many times. He wasn't sure to be happy or scared by this moment. Speaking of House, he looked over and noticed he had gone for the day. Damn I was hoping to get a beer, he thought.

"Chase," Wilson said, "I've got back all the biopsy results. All the tumors are benign."

"That's good to know," replied Chase. "I don't think I can add anymore issues into the scenario."

"She's going to need surgery on her kidneys and liver to remove large tumors when she is stable, but for now they aren't hurting anything."

Chase quietly nodded while continuing to stare at the board in deep pensive thought.

"Sympathetic nervous system stress?" said a surprised Wilson as he read the board. "I suppose that is possible, but good luck proving it."

"Yeah, tell me about it," said a very tired and stressed Chase.

"Look," said Wilson noticing Chase's frazzled demeanor, "come with me. We both really need a beer."

Chase was thrown back by the invite. He and Dr. Wilson never talked much professionally, let alone in a social environment. "Okay", he said pleasantly surprised, "I'm up for that."

------------

"Why an Intensivist?" Wilson asked Chase as they got another round of beers. "I think the burnout rate for Intensivists is higher than Oncologists."

"I'm good at making people comfortable," Chase replied. "It fit."

"Adrenalin junkies become Intensivists, not people pleasers," Wilson countered. "Couple that with a long fellowship under House, well you must be certifiably crazy."

"I like the pace," Chase admitted, "but when I first got into medicine I would have been happy being a country doctor too. Opportunities pushed me otherwise."

"I can relate to that. I ended up learning Oncology because my uncle had cancer. One taste of the frenetic pace and I was hooked. Why the US though? Why go 8,000 miles from home?"

"Medicine in Australia wasn't as challenging. For one, I was in the shadow of my father. I didn't want to be the high profile doctor he was. I just wanted to heal people. Then, my entire internship was with a nice older outback doctor that was very set in his old-fashioned ways. He didn't want to open his mind or learn anything new. It ended up bring very dull because I liked to see all possibilities. It drove him crazy."

"But House?" asked Wilson. "Isn't that a little extreme?"

"When I had the opportunity to learn in a new country where the name Chase wasn't well renowned in medicine under an ill mannered but brilliant doctor, well I just couldn't refuse. Crazy, absolutely, but I was at a point where I was tired of playing it safe."

"Safe you did not, that is for sure. I have known House for almost fifteen years and I still don't feel safe around him. I'm always wondering what he will do next. So, have you gotten everything you wanted out of this?"

"I certainly would have never put Diagnostic Attending on my career aspirations list. Of course, I didn't have a career aspiration list. I just wanted to be a better doctor." Chase replied candidly.

Wilson sat there smiling at what Chase was saying. "You are surprising me."

"How so?" asked Chase.

"I have seen you work with Foreman and Cameron a long time. They are always bending your ears about something personal. House said you never once have told them anything about yourself or brought your issues to them. I'm surprised you are talking so easily about yourself with me." Wilson said.

"I talk about myself all the time to patients. That personal connection makes treatment much easier for both of us. I'm selective though. That approach only works for certain people. Cameron and Foreman are not those people."

"I'm House's best friend and I can't easily talk with him. He never wants to know about my life unless it involves torment and harassment." Wilson said. "I know what you mean though. Patients are often easier to relate to than your own co-workers."

Just then Chase's pager went off. He pulled it off his waist and read that he needed to check in with the ICU. "It looks like I have to go back," said Chase. "Thanks Dr. Wilson, I really needed that break."

Wilson smiled as Chase left. What a good kid,he thought. He wondered how it was that he and Chase never talked much before now. No wonder House has always liked him.

----------------

"Her heart is getting weaker," said the ICU nurse as Chase checked in on the status. "Her blood pressure is still not dropping."

"Okay, let's start her on a diuretic. Start her on 125 mg acetazolamide. We will have to watch her kidneys though because it will be harsh on them. Let me know if anything changes. I'll be back first thing in the morning."

Chase got in the next morning and proceeded directly to the ICU. The results were not good as he suspected. The diuretic was wreaking havoc on Estelle's kidneys, which was causing her body more stress, so the blood pressure wasn't going down. He had them cut the dosage to see if that would help. Then he went to inform Cameron and Foreman of the situation. He was already feeling a bit agitated, so he knew he better watch himself around Foreman.

"We should try an anti-diuretic," said Foreman. "Vasopressin is used for lowering blood pressure. It is also used when patients don't respond well to high amounts of epinephrine."

"Vasopressin can cause intense allergic reactions in hypersensitive people. Given her reaction to the bee sting, I would put her in that category." Chase countered.

"There is a risk of that happening," argued Foreman, "but the benefit could outweigh the risk."

"The last reaction almost killed her. The next one will." Chase replied.

"She's is going into heart failure. She needs some type of drug intervention now." Foreman was starting to use his demanding tone.

"Drug therapy at this point will only kill her faster," Chase argued back. "She still has too much in her system and it is making her worse. We need to focus on detox methods or SNS therapies that are not stressful to the body."

"There is no time for that now!" shouted Foreman. "She needs immediate action."

"No action is buying us time right now!" Chase shouted back. He could really feel the anger well up inside. Then he paused and decided to try a calmer tone. "Anything else will just quicken the end and that will do us no good."

"If something doesn't work, you try something else. Doing nothing will not fix the problem." Foreman said in very aggressive manner. He was not ready to back down. "We should try an ibogaine rapid detox now so we can treat the real problems."

"You know her heart and kidneys are too weak to handle such a process, and her lungs aren't looking so hot either. Any solution cannot involve more stress to an overly taxed system." Chase said trying to be professional, but the edge in his voice hinted that he wanted to choke Foreman.

"You are being irresponsible. I'm going to Cuddy." Foreman declared in contempt.

Chase was furious at this point, but stood there with a scowl and his arms folded while maintaining composure. "Cameron, please leave the room."

"Chase I…."

"Now!" he said very firmly. Cameron stared at both Chase and Foreman with worry and left slowly while watching both of her colleagues. She wanted to be sure they weren't going to kill each other.

"Close the door behind you," Chase instructed. He then walked over to the door to House's office and closed it.

"I know you don't respect me," Chase started in a calm voice, "think you're a better doctor, and believe the only reason I'm in this position before you is because I got here a year earlier."

"I'm supposed to question..."

Chase interrupted and started talking firmer and louder. "Your arrogance and in-your-face challenges work great with House, but that doesn't work with me. When dealing with other doctors, you are going to have to know when you are being constructively arrogant and when you are being a complete jerk! Guess what you are being right now."

"You are wrong about this." Foreman said defiantly.

"Back off now! My decision stands."

Foreman and Chase stared at each other delivering a message with their eyes that neither was going to back down. "I'm the attending in charge," said Chase. "It's my call."

Foreman finally relented. "Fine, go ahead and kill your patient. You're the one that will have to answer to your actions." He stormed out of the office.

Chase continued to stand there, arms folded, seething over the argument. He opened the door to House's office. "I hope you enjoyed the show, House."

"This is the best vacation ever," House said shouting back.

------------------------------------

Cameron wasn't waiting anymore for Chase to gain control of the situation. Since Foreman was getting a talking to, she would have to see Cuddy on their behalf.

"Is her family complaining?" asked Cuddy as her hands rubbed her temples on each side.

"No, but..."

"Then we don't have a problem," said Cuddy. "It's not like Chase is giving her poison."

"He doesn't know what he is doing," argued Cameron. "He believes that waiting while doing nothing is all we can do."

Cuddy dropped her arms to the desk and positioned them so she could address Cameron in a more official tone. "When House told me he was promoting Chase, I knew that the adjustment for all of you would be rough. However, I like House truly believed Chase was ready for the challenge. So far, he has not proven either of us wrong. Since you are the only one complaining, and I'll likely see Foreman in here soon, I'm going to tell you both the same thing. Adjust."

"What if the patient dies?" asked Cameron.

"Then Chase will have to answer to me. He knows that though and he isn't in my office complaining about it." Cuddy firmly answered. "Anything else?"

Cameron shook her head, got up with her trademark pout and quietly left.

----------------------

Chase stood in the office alone, tired of looking at a white board that offered no answers. He started pacing around. Maybe movement will give him the idea that was eluding him.

He walked around the table and saw a stack of mail sitting there waiting to be read. Sorting through some mail for a few minutes should help give my mind a break, he thought. He shuffled through the stack and found that his monthly journal to alternative medicine had arrived. As he glanced at the cover, his eyes popped open real wide as the idea finally hit him like a huge ton of bricks. "Of course," he said slapping his forehead. "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

He raced over to the phone. "Yes, this is Dr. Chase. I need Estelle Anderson moved to a private room immediately."

--------------------

Cameron and Foreman arrived at the ICU later to see Estelle was gone. "What happened?" asked Cameron to the nurse.

"Dr. Chase had her moved to a private room. Something about a sensitive procedure."

"Thanks," replied Cameron.

"What do you suppose he is up to?" she asked Foreman.

"I'm dying to see what he has come up with," he replied.

They both raced upstairs to see what Chase was doing. They got to the room to find the blinds closed. When they went in, Chase and a young woman they never met before were working on Estelle. She was turned on her stomach and on her entire back were thin needles.

"Acupuncture?" said a very surprised Cameron. "Is that even allowed here?"

"Why do you think we are in a private room? I didn't want to raise any eyebrows." Chase replied.

Cameron and Foreman continued to look at him skeptically. "Come on, it fits," Chase contended. "A proven drug free complementary therapy for conditions such as acute and chronic pain control, allergies, anxiety, fright, panic…"

"Drug detoxification," said Foreman smiling. "I'll admit you are dead on. I'm mad I didn't think of it."

"This won't be a replacement, but it will help until she is better and her system is clean," replied Chase.

Cameron walked over to the monitors. "I'll be damned. It is already helping. Look, her blood pressure is slowly improving." She couldn't believe that Chase worked through the problem under all that stress. She never thought he had it in him.