Chase's Secret Chapter 7, a house, m.d. fanfic

Disclaimer: Don't own.

A/N: Hey! Okay so the last chapter was very dinky and so I filled this up with a much Chase as possible. (Smiles.) Also, I used a few Australian slang words, but I'm not sure I used them right. So if there are any Aussies out there, please tell me. There is also a little dictionary at the bottom if you scroll all the way down if you're not familiar with them…

"The surgery was a success, the surgeons were able to fix the problem and save her liver," Chase reported.

"So…," House limped back and forth in front of his white board without his cane, rolling his ball in his hands, "What causes liver problems along with these other symptoms?" He gestured toward the white board where he just finished writing April-May's symptoms.

This was, once again, met with silence.

"Come on, come on, come on people. Anything!" House encouraged.

The team spat out a few mediocre ideas and they were immediately shot down by House.

Cameron sighed, "I know her tox screen we negative, but—"

"No," Chase insisted softly, "she's clean." He once again had that look in his eye that he didn't really believe what he was saying.

House decided that sparing his feelings we not the right thing to do in this particular moment so he looked Chase in the eye and said with a cold edgy tone asked, "Would you be willing to bet her life on that?"

Chase looked down and fiddled with his pen thinking.

Would you be willing to bet her life on that?

Would he? He knew that she had done pot a few times after they quit. But that was it. She would have told him if she was doing anything else. She knew better than anyone how drugs messed everything up. He knew too. That's why he never did drugs after they were in rehab. They promised no more heavy drug use. Chase always stuck by that, he felt strange even taking over the counter (well now behind the counter) allergy medicine and cough syrup. She stood by that too. Besides those few times to unwind. She is clean.

Right?

Chase sighed.

"I'll go ask,"

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"Are you clean?" Chase decided to take the April-May approach to asking the question: straight and to the point.

He stood before her with his hands jammed all the way in his pockets and a hard serious look on his face.

"We quit the hard stuff, drongo1."

"Are you doing anything else?"

"Why? What are you guys thinking?" She was staring to get worried. (Cue House: "Everybody lies,")

"Look, if you are doing something I promise it'll be apples2, but I really need to know. Because if you're not then… we have no idea what wrong,"

"Besides being blotto3 every night with you… no," She gave him a look like the very thought of any drugs make her sick.

"Okay," Chase said curtly.

"What? You don't believe me?" She asked flabbergasted.

"No, I do…," Chase sighed and looked up searing for an answer in the white repetitive tile pattern, "…It's just… I know you did pot a few times after…" He looked down.

"Aw, come one baby, that's not hard or dangerous…," She pulled Chase down onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him.

Yes it is! Chase thought that's how it all started! But he didn't want to upset her right now. Besides she was grown-up she can take care of herself.

Right?

Chase was the one to pull away first, "Anything else? Even if it seems harmless…,"

"No, that was it, I promise," April-May looked him straight in the eye and with such truth in her eyes that it could even turn House into a believer.

Chase nodded, "Alright, I'll be by later to check on you," He stood and walked to the door.

"Are you apples2? You seem a bit gone4" She called after him squinting her eyes from across the room to get a better look. "You have your psycho face on,"

Chase sighed, there was just way too much going on right now. "I'm fine; I'm just… tired is all. Get some rest," He ordered stepping out of the room before she could protest that, that was a sucky answer.

The thing was he was a bit gone4. All this stuff was running through his head going 500 mph:

My best friend is sick.

I didn't trust her.

I trusted an uncaring son of a bitch before my best friend.

She still thinks pot is okay.

I didn't even try and talk her out of that nonsense.

She isn't clean—not for real, anyway.

She's going back… she's going back to all that crap in high school!

What if I can't save her?

Chase stopped at the other end of the hall way as the office to take a break. He leaned up against the wall and took five deep breaths trying to calm himself down. It wasn't working. She was still screwed even if they figure out what wrong with her. And they might not. She is too adventurous, too crazy, and too nonchalant when it comes to her health and safety. God knows how many times Chase had to rush her to the hospital or get her to throw up when she downed too many pills with too many shots back in high school and even a few times in college. But he thought all that was over when she got her diploma and a steady writing job that let her be adventurous without screwing up her brain in the process; he hoped it was all over. Going back to that would suck.

He couldn't always be there to save her, and he needed her to be here with him, to be saved and safe. He needed her to survive, she kept him sane. She kept him from taking the big dive off the deep end. Without her he'd be back in Australia taking over his dad's practice and attending boring, fancy award parties accompanied by his step mother and his bratty half siblings every weekend instead of having fun. She was the reason he was standing here. She was the reason he was happy 80 percent of the time as apposed to sad like he was before he met her.

And now she's screwing everything up…

Chase took another deep breath, composed himself and walked back to the office.

1Drongo means: stupid person; fool.

2 Apples means: okay; alright.

3 Blotto means: very drunk.

4 A bit gone means: mad; silly; insane.