Title: Talk is Cheap

Author: Goddessof7s

Summary: What was Chase's interview like

Rating: G

Notes: AU sequel to Ears and Eyes Oh and hawkeyecat recommended that I get a beta, anyone interested? Thanks.

Series: Sense and sensibility 2

Warnings: Pre-slash House/Chase, really not so much now but maybe some day. Cross posted to house slash, house-chase and house fanfiction

"Let me get this straight," House sighed, God he hoped this wasn't going to result in getting preached at again, "you hired Foreman because he has a record. You hired me because you think I'm damaged in some way, and you hired Chase...?"

House sighed again, at least she hadn't started in on a "fix-it" lecture yet. "I hired Chase because he was interesting." Cameron blinks at that.

"How?"

"How what?"

"How was he interesting?"

"Well duh he's deaf!" But for House it was more than that. He recalled the interview perfectly. Even the reason behind it. He hadn't wanted to interview Dr. Robert Chase, but Cuddy was excited about his name, and who his Daddy was. She had insisted that he at least interview the guy. So he did. Determined to not like him, (not that that was hard, he hardly liked anyone) he found himself sitting with a pretty boy doctor across from him. But that didn't matter to him, he just sat there playing his gameboy, waiting to see how long Dr. Goldilocks would last. He made a wager with himself that it would be less than five minutes. Thirty-five minutes later he conceded defeat. He was actually going to have to do the damn interview.

"Okay, so why did you apply for this job?" The mundaneness of the question wears on him.

"I applied pretty much everywhere."

Well that was a little different, "what's your favorite sandwich?"

He looks thoughtful for a second, "wheat bread, vegemite, sprouts, sliced tomato and turkey."

House like the answer, complete with an eye on details. He picked up his gray and red ball and spun his chair around and started tossing it up in the air and catching it. "What no cheese?"

There was a silence that was odd, then, "sir I'm sorry if you asked me a question, I'm deaf, I can't read you lips when your back is to me."

"Your deaf?" The comical question face makes it's first appearance as he turns back around. "How do you propose to diagnose patients if you can't hear?"

Chase snorts at this, "I'm deaf not dumb. I can't do everything but I've found some rather unique techniques to get around."

Now this was interesting. "Fine prove it."

"Prove it?" Surprise was the first emotion besides a calm amusement to show in the young doctor.

House smirked at the tone, "yes, this will be a working interview."

The ride in the elevator was filled with silence but House supposed that Chase was use to that. House walked into the clinic, voluntarily, and if Cuddy had been there to see it she'd have declared him possessed and then called it a day, after all possession could only improve the man's disposition. He walked up to the nurse's station and turned to Chase, gripped him by his shoulders (which were firm and muscley in House's opinion) and turned him so that Chase's back was to them. "Don't peak," House mocked him. "I need a patient with a cough, preferably productive."

The nurse thumbed through the charts and passed one over to House he glanced over the file and smiled evilly at the woman. "Perfect."

He grabbed Chase's upper arm, "Come alone Dorothy we have a plane to catch."

"House I think your mixing-well actually I don't know what your mixing, but it's something."

"Like I care. Mr. Gray would you please stand up!" An older man pushing sixty stood up. "Follow us to examine room three."

Closing the door behind the other two House took a moment to enjoy the giddy interest fluttering through him. This was so much better than General Hospital, plus he'd Tivo'd it so he could watch it later! "Okay Mr. Gray, I am Dr. House and this is Dr. Chase and we are conducting a working interview. As in Dr. Chase is going to diagnose you and if he gets it right he's hired!" Chase reached for the file, House pulled it out of his reach. "And he's not going to look at the file either."

Chase surveyed Mr. Gray. Perhaps, House thought, he was thinking up a plan of attack. He was almost dizzy with glee has he watched Chase pull up the man's pant leg, pull his arm out and watch how it moved around. Mr. Gray was starting to get disgruntled at the lack of attention payed to him, and not part of his body. "Doctor, Doctor!"

"Oh he can't hear you he's deaf." House wished that he'd thought to bring popcorn. Ohhh wait he had vicodin at least. He paused to pop two pills. His eyebrows went up in shock as Chase pressed his left ear over Mr. Gray's heart. Chase was so hired.

"He has congestive heart failure."

"Explain." House agreed but wanted to know how Chase got there.

"His socks are too tight, indicating recent swelling, he's short of breath his chest is rising twice as much as normal, also a dry unproductive cough. His shirt is also too tight, recent sudden weight gain or abdominal swelling."

House smiled, "your hired. By the way what's the difference in vibration between a dry cough and a productive cough?"

Chase smiled, almost secretive, "it's not the vibrations from the chest to feel for, but the throat."

House spent most of the rest of the day pondering this and trying to tell the difference.

"What do you only like things that are broken?" Cameron wasn't quite at the whining stage, yet.

"No I didn't say that. I said I hired Chase because he's not boring." House likes Chase because it feels like playing with fire, of all the people he's met, Chase sees past what his lips are saying and sees the truth behind the words the most. Sometimes House hopes Chase sees into him, and sometimes the idea of someone knowing who he is really scares him to death. But at least its never boring around him.