"How is he?" Wilson asked as he walked into the observation room with Cuddy.

"Not good. The infection is pretty widespread in the peritoneum. They seem to be having trouble going through it all. I'm so glad Chase caught it."

"When did you start noticing problems?"

"House started noticing something this morning and told Chase about it. He followed the proper course of action. I just didn't check in on him in time this afternoon."

"He confided in Chase? His favorite punching bag? Will wonders never cease?" Wilson always had a hard time trying to understand House's attitude toward Chase. He knew that House liked to torment those that he liked, but he didn't realize how much he had grown to trust him. He looked over to see the overwhelming concern on Cuddy's face. "Don't worry. This couldn't have been prevented."

"I was so damn focused on the ketamine that I overlooked one of the more common post op risks with his type of injury. I don't know why I pretend I'm a doctor anymore."

"You gave him ketamine?" A voice asked from behind. A stunned and annoyed Cameron stood there after hearing everything.

"Dr. Cameron, this is none of your concern." Wilson was willing to take charge of the situation since Cuddy was feeling a bit down.

"He's my boss. I have a right to know if any treatment involving possible permanent neurological side effects was performed." Cameron protested.

"No, you don't. This is a highly experimental process that House privately wanted. For the sake of the hospital, the less people that know the better." Wilson was not going to let her go on in her usual way. Not today.

"I see, so that is why he needed constant supervision. Chase was in on this?"

"At first, no." Cuddy replied. "I had to tell him though when he noticed the side effects. He was sworn to secrecy and specifically told not to tell you or Foreman."

"That was wrong..."

"Enough, Dr. Cameron." Wilson said in an authoritative tone. "The topic is no longer open to discussion."

Cameron sat on the bench silently with a pouty look on her face and her arms folded.

Wilson was pleased with her compliance. "That's better."

Together their eyes all fixed on the procedure below. The doctors were struggling to get a grasp on the amount of damage done once they were able to find the tear. They did their best to clean and drain the wound area before stitching House back up.

Cameron took a moment to observe Chase during the operation. Normally in surgery he quietly stalks in the background, jumping in calmly on the occasion that his critical care services are needed. This time though, he stood in the corner and barely moved. She could only guess what reactions were being hidden by that surgical mask, but she sensed he was personally affected by this.

When it was all done, Cameron watched Chase abruptly leave the operating room. She herself then quickly left the observation area, prompting a stare from Wilson and Cuddy.

"If I find out she went after Chase to berate him for not telling her about the ketamine, I will have to kick her ass myself." Cuddy was not putting up with crap today either.

Wilson smiled. "Chase needs to learn how to fight his own battles. He's in for a doozy."

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

"Have you seen Dr. Chase?" Cameron asked an OR nurse.

"I think I saw him head into the locker area. He didn't look very happy."

Cameron entered the locker room to see a rather devastated Chase sitting on the floor in the corner, knees up, with his head down in between them.

"Chase?"

"I just need some time to myself right now," he said with a muffled voice.

"It wasn't your fault. You checked him out thoroughly and nothing indicated peritonitis. You followed the proper course of treatment."

"I wasn't thorough enough."

"I don't know how you could have known there was a GI tear when initially there was absence of fluid in the abdomen. You and Cuddy caught it in time."

"Did we? He's in critical condition and fighting an infection that kills people when untreated." Chase's voice now started to crack.

Cameron grabbed his chin and moved his head so that his eyes met hers. "It wasn't your fault."

Chase pulled his face away and went back to his downward look of shame.

"What's up Chase? This is the second time in a few months that I have seen you completely consumed by guilt over a patient. You are a doctor, not God."

Chase continued to sit silently is despondence. He certainly wasn't going to explain his grief to Cameron. He couldn't explain it to himself.

"This time I'm not taking no for an answer. We are having that drink."

Chase said nothing, but the expression on his face indicated he wasn't going anywhere.

"You are not going home like this, being left alone to wallow in your guilt and misery."

"Are you sure you aren't speaking for yourself?" Chase finally felt pushed into responding to her annoying attempt at caring.

"Maybe I am. If that is the case, we are helping each other out."

"Cameron, just go away."

"I am not leaving you alone this time. He's my boss too. We need to support each other."

She slid down the wall and took the space next to him on the floor. Chase in disgust tried to get up to leave. She grabbed his left arm and pushed him back down.

"If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that I can overpower you. Sit and we can take a little time to accept the enormity of the situation. We don't even have to talk. We can just sit here."

They sat there together in awkward silence for several minutes. Chase suddenly remembered something he had to do. "Foreman. I need to call and tell him what happened."

"Don't worry I already took care of it. He is going to try and get back late tomorrow afternoon."

They sat there for several more minutes in identical awkward silence.

"I'm thirsty." Chase said while still staring straight forward.

"Let's go," Cameron replied with a straight look on her face.

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

They sat down at a quiet table in a remote corner of the bar. Couples that wanted to share personal and private moments usually grabbed that table. Cameron hoped that the private area would help them relax a bit more. She noticed Chase looking very sullen and uncomfortable as they sat down.

"Chase, you should be happier. You have been trying to get me alone for a drink for a year and a half."

"We are well past that stage of cuteness. We passed that the day we slept together. Let's skip the intimacy and move straight to the sex."

"You seemed okay with it."

"I was, I mean, I am... Hell I don't know what I'm trying to say. This shouldn't mean anything."

"Okay, this means nothing. Nothing except two friends trying to share their burdens with each other. Let's face it things have been pretty crappy lately."

"I don't have much to share."

"No, you just have to carry all the burden yourself. There's no sharing that. You had to go it alone growing up, so you have to here." Cameron said sarcastically. "We are a team. What happened to House was not your fault. If anything, it is his fault for being enough of an ass to tick someone off enough to shoot him."

Chase slightly grinned at that comment. "I suppose many were wondering why it hadn't happened before."

"Exactly! See, there you go, you are looking at this using a proper perspective."

"I feel guilty because he was depending on me to help him."

"You did help him. When House wakes up, he will know it too." Cameron grabbed his hand in reassurance.

"But I..."

"Let go of it. You are always an effective doctor because you don't let yourself care too much. You can't do what you do and get personally involved. You see more death than all of us put together."

Chase pulled his hand away. "This involves someone we know. Detachment isn't that easy, remember?"

"I know this case has personal meaning, but we went through it with Foreman and we will go through it now."

"Oh, great example!" Chase was flabbergasted that she would bring that up. "If I recall, we comforted each other with another round of sex while Foreman was in a bed lingering. Twice now you have grabbed me at very vulnerable times. Will you be able to do that now that it is House?"

"Would you do it if I said yes?"

"So this friendship and comfort drink was just another trick to get me to go to bed with you again?"

Cameron paused realizing that she was upsetting him worse. "No, that was not my intention. I was vulnerable those times too."

Chase got up ready to leave.

"I'm sorry Chase; the conversation strayed. Let's start over." Cameron pleaded.

Chase looked at her with utter contempt, sat back down and took a huge gulp of beer to calm himself down. "Where do you want to start?"

"Explain soccer to me. The World Cup is coming up, right?"

"Yes. I'm surprised you knew that since no one in this country really takes any interest.

"Did you ever play?"

"You don't grow up in Australia and not play soccer."

"Isn't it football where you are from?"

"In Australia it is either soccer or football. They recently have tried to call it football to align with the rest of the world, except the US of course, but there is also Australian rules football which is something different. I grew up calling it soccer."

"I see then why Australia never advances very far in the World Cup. You're too busy not knowing what to call it."

Chase flashed a look of offense at the dig on his home country. "Oh yes, the US is loaded with plenty of international soccer superstars. I never said we were good at soccer; probably because it's a loyal tradition to have a few in the pub before playing as well as after."

He smiled and they both laughed at his observation. "So Australia is just a drunken version of us." Cameron concluded. "See, we do have something to talk about. Tell me more."

a/n: Not much to elaborate on here. I hope you liked. The rest of the story is turning out to be pretty cool. More updates to come in the near future.