Sorry for the lack of updates! A lot of things have been happening and life has been busy! It's my birthday tomorrow, and I have been in a few organizations that have kept me away from my pen and paper (and keyboard)! So, all of that mixed together is one big tangled ball of string! But, you don't want to read excuses, you want to read a story!

Chase's First Visit

"Dr. Chase, you worked with the patient during the duration of the case, correct?" asked a member of the hospital board, never glancing at the doctor in question.

"Yes, sir, I did."

"You deny you did anything directly to cause Mr. Deleyney's death, correct?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

House rolled his eyes from where he sat in the back of the room, like he had for Foreman's hearing the previous day. The formality was going to kill him; that and the quiet between questions and answers. Stacy was sitting at the table next to Chase, who was pale and sweating, his hands clenching and twisting in his lap. Foreman, who was sitting next to House, shook his head. They had been doing this for about a half an hour, questioning Chase about the simple details over and over again, waiting for a slip. The moment he even hesitated to answer a question, the directors would pounce on him.

"You are in possession of a handgun, correct?"

"No sir. I was in possession of a handgun once, but it was taken away after the shooting as, um, evidence."

Chase bowed his head, feeling the tears well in his eyes. He promised himself he was not going to lose control, that he was going to keep everything buried. He had tried not to think of Cameron since the funeral and it had almost worked until that moment. The hospital director in charge of torturing the young man looked over the thin rim of his glasses, raising an eyebrow, eyes cold.

"Dr. Chase, if you could regain control of your emotions, we could continue?"

Stacy poked Chase in the ribs and Chase looked up, sniffling a bit.

"Yes, sir, we can continue."

"Now, you were incarcerated for a brief period of time for assaulting another doctor; bail was paid in a time period of one hour by a Stacy Warner, correct?"

"Yes, sir, that is correct."

House shifted in his chair. The director was really getting on his nerves; always ending a sentence with 'correct' was annoying. House didn't like to be annoyed. Or played with, for that matter, when it came to matters such as this, and he was furious that the director was toying with one of his team members like a cat with string. Chase deserved better than this; looking down the row of chairs to where Cuddy sat, arms crossed, House raised an eyebrow. Cuddy shook her head and sighed softly; she didn't like this, either.

"You brought the handgun in question to the hospital the next day, storing it in your personal office space-"

"A desk," muttered House, scrunching his face and shaking his head. "A desk, not 'personal office space...'"

"-and you then left your office to do what, Dr. Chase?"

"I went to comfort a co-worker, sir."

"To confront a co-worker? Did I hear correctly?" asked the director, tilting his head while jotting something down in a file.

"No, sir, to comfort a team member, a friend of mine. You heard incorrectly."

Chase's voice choked with emotion at the end of the sentence and Stacy made to elbow him in the ribs once more, but thought better of it. There was obviously something Chase needed to get off his chest. The director crossed out the scribble in the file and laid his pen on the table, the room silent.

"Then, after you 'comforted' this person, you followed them?"

"Yes, I did, sir. I followed her to the parking lot, trying to convince her to think before what she was going to do."

"What was this person going to do?"

House felt his rage bubbling. Cameron was not to be called 'this person.' Cameron was Dr. Allison Cameron and Chase was not just an ant to burn under a magnifying glass. This director was a jerk, House decided, and woe be to them both if he was the one doing the questioning when House was put in front of the board.

"She was going to give Dr. House a letter, sir."

"What did this letter say?"

"How many times do I need to say this?" said House loudly, not even bothering to stand up. "That letter is none of your business. It's no one's business but my own and how about we stop playing the game 'Let's Drag Dr. House Into Everything'?"

House's voice was booming and Cuddy reached across Foreman and took his hand, gripping it tightly. House felt Cuddy's nails dig into his skin and knew that, if he said one more word, besides an apology, the nails would draw blood.

"I apologize. No one is playing that game; I forgot."

House sucked his teeth and tried to rub the marks out of his hand as Cuddy took her nails from his skin, giving him a warning glance.

"Continue with the events as they happened, Dr. Chase," continued the director, his voice strained.

"As I said, I followed her out into the parking lot, where Dr. Foreman and Dr. Wilson were helping Dr. House load boxes-"

"To the point, Dr. Chase."

"Sorry, sir. I realized the man had the gun by the time I saw Dr. Foreman duck and saw the man's shadow behind me. I jumped to the side and heard the gun fire. The man dropped the gun and ran off. It was only then I realized Allison was dying-"

Chase lost his emotions completely, sobs shaking his shoulders, the doctor hiding his head in his hands. The directors grumbled among themselves.

"Take him out of here, someone," ordered the director who had been questioning Chase. Wilson stood and escorted Chase from the room, followed by Cuddy. That left Stacy, Foreman, and House to hear the verdict. They sat there, seemingly forgotten, until one of the directors ordered them out as well.

Allison, hi. How are you doing?

That was stupid, sorry. I don't know how to start everything off. I really suck at this sort of thing, talking to other people. I sound like House right about now, don't you think? I just wanted to come and get some things off my mind before I go home. Foreman told me he brought flowers yesterday and I thought that was a good idea. I found some forget-me-nots. I thought you might like them... I'm just going to get to the point: my hearing was today and I lost it. I ended up having to leave the room.

Cameron, I just can't stop thinking about you, now. All day today, I cried. I cried like an idiot, in front of everyone, just thinking about you again. I couldn't even hear my own verdict. They came out and told me later, as I sat in the waiting room, trying to control myself. It turns out I have to attend anger management classes because of my accident with House that day and I'm not allowed to possess a firearm for years and years to come. That won't be a problem for me, though; I never want to hold another gun in my hands, seeing what mine did to you. I'm also on suspension for a month and I have a probationary period for one year. They made it clear that they were being lenient on me.

I bet it was because they pitied me.

I'm freezing and I need to get home; Foreman was going to stay the night at my place, on the sleeper sofa, to make sure I'm alright and, if he gets there before I do, there'll be hell to pay. I just didn't want to go home and toss and turn, knowing I didn't give you any flowers or talk to you at all, considering how close we were before. You remember all the good times we had together. You were more than just a friend, Cameron. You knew who I really was and you let me tell you my deepest secrets. I miss you; I miss seeing you, holding you, taking you to dinner or out to lunch.

I love you, Cameron, and I'll come back sometime. Just wait for me, okay?

Just wait...

I made it so angst-y at the end, I almost couldn't stand it, but I love how sappily romantic it is. There are some things left unsaid between Chase and Cameron and there is something going on here that will come out sometime during the story. (Don't worry; so far, Chase isn't going to commit suicide or anything drastic...)

Please leave me a review and tell me what you think! I love hearing from those who read my stories, no matter if they like them or not (I don't think I have to worry about any flames, thank goodness; everyone here is very civil and polite, as far as I know!) Thank you so much for reading and hopefully I'll be a little quicker in my updates! Thanks again!