"Let me help you up dear." Chase's mother held out her bony hand, the one that didn't have a drink in it. He grabbed it and she tried to help pull him up, but the force almost took her down with him. Eventually Chase managed to get up on his own; grabbing his chest in agony as he slowly pulled himself up.

"Are you drunk mum?" Chase was amazed that she could still be like this after all this time.

"This ain't heaven, but it is for me. The gin and tonics are unlimited. All I get to do all day is sit in this hot sun and drink everything away. No consequences."

"No consequences except for all that puking you do. Even in death you feel like crap all the time." Another voice came from the distance. Chase's knees buckled but this time he was able to hold himself up. "Dad? Why are you here?"

"I guess a lifetime of achievement in medicine just wasn't enough. Now I'm stuck with her for an eternity. My punishment for leaving her in real life I guess. It's good to see you Robbie. I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"I certainly didn't think I would ever see you again, nor did I want to." Chase bitterly replied.

"I had my reasons Robbie. I didn't want you to see me suffer like you saw your mother suffer before she died."

"Since I was living in the US and you in Oz, I don't think I would have seen you enough to notice. You don't leave your son to hang out to dry like that. You certainly don't tell your son's boss and then swear him to secrecy." The rant was way too much for Chase. He grabbed his chest and noticed the blood spot was bigger. He started to sway.

"Let's get him back to the chairs." Clyde grabbed him before he hit the ground. Rowan took the other side and together they led Chase to the area where they spent their eternity.

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

Cameron and Wilson waited outside the OR for House to come out with news. Cameron's face by now was plastered with dried tears and redness from distress. She didn't allow herself to fall apart until after the surgeons let her remove her hand from Chase's chest cavity. She couldn't help but be horrified as she removed her gloves and scrubbed Chase's blood off of her arms in the scrub sink. They got him from the shooting to the OR in less than 10 minutes, but her comfort level was still poor. A direct hit like that rarely came out well.

House came out with a very troubled look on his face. Cameron busted out in sobs again without letting House say a word. She knew it was bad.

"For all practical purposes, he's dead. His body is being completely run by machines forcing his organs to think he's alive. The damage to the right ventricle is extensive. They're bringing in a specialist by helicopter from Philadelphia to rebuild it."

House walked over to the row of chairs outside the entrance and sat down. "He is going to be in there for hours. Likely the next 24. I suggest you both go home. I'll sit here tonight."

"Absolutely not," Cameron defiantly replied. "I'm not going anywhere. I can't go home. The shooting is still fresh in my mind." She sat down right next to House.

Wilson looked at them both then took the seat next to Cameron.

"I'm not going anywhere either." They all looked up to see Foreman, who was paged by Cuddy. He took his spot next to Wilson.

"Let's hope nobody actually gets sick tomorrow. We will be the sorriest bunch of doctors that ever lived." House kept his quip toned down for now. He was capable of being tactless, but this time the situation was too serious.

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

"Robbie? Can you hear me?" Chase's eyes fluttered open and this time he was able to see his mother's withered face glaring at him with eyes that could only reflect a mother's love. Chase noticed he was sitting feet up in a reclining lawn chair. He had to admit, the position was rather comfortable considering how much like crap he felt. He looked down at his chest to see the blood stain was back to its minimal size.

"Is it always so sunny here?" Chase asked, feeling the burn of the sun on him.

"Yes, but you get used to it. You never get sunburn or heatstroke." His mother sat in the chair next to him and proceeded to slam down her full drink. A moment later he glanced over to see the glass was full again.

"I told you, unlimited. What more could a drunk ask for?"

"How about eternal salvation mum? Is this what you really want for all eternity?"

"Is there a choice?" The look in her eyes showed her deep complacency.

"Yes. There has to be. You were raised Catholic. Souls in purgatory are supposed to await purification. It is temporal punishment. Someone in Heaven is waiting for you to fix yourself."

"I don't deserve Heaven Robbie. Heaven is for souls of purity. I'm lucky I didn't get hell."

"Yeah, well I think this is hell." Rowan jumped in on the conversation. "I can't imagine what purification God is up there wanting from my soul."

"How about to be a better husband and father? Maybe there is a reason you were put with her?" Every time Chase confronted his father, the pain in his chest became sharper. Somehow though, he couldn't avoid saying what he really felt. This chance would likely never come again.

"Yeah, so why are you here?" Rowan asked with complete contempt.

"Come on Rowan," Clyde said amazed by his companion's ignorance. "He's not dead yet."

'He looks like death. Give up son, go toward the light."

"You're an idiot Rowan." Chase's mother jumped in to defend her son as she slammed yet another gin and tonic. "The boy has always been a fighter. He won't give up yet."

"Shut up woman! You know how much I hate being called an idiot."

Chase weakly chuckled. "Boy, aren't you glad you never had to work for House. You would have quit on the first day."

Rowan started fuming. "I don't know why you put up with such abuse from Dr. House. It is all that "turn the other cheek" crap that your mother poisoned you with growing up. You need to stand up for yourself son."

"How do you know that I take abuse from House?" Chase was surprised by their knowledge.

"We can see everything that happens from here dear. Like right now, we know your friends are frantically working to save you from your wounds. You don't know how many times you have made us so proud of you as a doctor." Chase's mother downed another drink.

"They aren't my friends. They don't care about me." Chase put his hand up to his forehead, wondering why he was feeling so hot. His chest started to feel tight like a ton of bricks were on it.

"They have a really strange way of showing it then." Rowan added. "Also, you may have noticed, anytime you deal with the reality of things, the physical discomfort gets worse. That only happens with you in limbo. Once you're dead, only the soul suffers."

Chase became really dizzy at that point. "You think this is my soul trying to let go of my body? I must make amends for my troubles before a clean break happens?"

"We aren't sure Robbie," his mother said. "We died rather instantly and like you have trouble dealing with our issues. That would be great for you though if that were the truth. Lingering might not be a bad thing after all. Maybe a gin and tonic would make you feel better? Help numb the pain?" She held her glass out toward Chase.

Even if he wanted a drink, he was too weak to lift his arms. "No, I think I'll just rest here for a while. It sounds like I have plenty of time. Thanks though mum." After giving his mother a warm glance of appreciation, Chase quickly fell asleep.

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

The team all were startled out of their nodding off when alarms went off and a crash team went racing into the OR. House got up and followed to see what was happening. Chase had coded. "What's going on?" House asked as he walked in loosely holding a surgical mask over his face.

"He isn't getting enough blood to his brain. His body is shutting down."

"He's on the bypass machine. What is shutting down?" House wanted to understand what could be going wrong.

One of the technicians answered. "We are increasing the speed of the centrifugal pump."

Everyone stood practically holding their breath watching the monitors and EEG to see if the blood flow would improve. For several minutes there was no change.

House stared rather gravely, not sure if he would be able to call the time of death on his youngest duckling. He couldn't do it. He resolved to give it a few more minutes.

A few minutes later, just as House was ready to give up hope, all signs started stabilizing. "It's working," the technician joyfully said.

House nodded and turned toward the entrance. He threw away the mask in the scrub area and then grabbed a nearby wall for support. He took a deep breath of relief. That was too close and unnerving for even an experienced doctor to witness. He gained his composure and joined the others outside.

"How long was he down?" Cameron asked with concern.

"Five minutes." House replied somberly.

Foreman and Cameron looked at each other with intense fear. Five minutes of compromised blood flow to the brain was always a dangerous notion.

"Let them fix the heart," House said noticing their concern. "We will worry about the rest later. If his heart doesn't beat on its own, then I think brain damage will be the least of our worries."

They all agreed and continued to hold a quiet vigil.