Hello peoples who read my story! So none of you correctly guessed what was wrong with Chase . . . frankly I would be absolutely shocked if anyone did. I've got an explanation that has never been in the show before. It's something I came up with on my own. One or two of you did come close in your guesses though.

Originally this chapter and Chapter 14 were one single chapter, but ultimately I broke it up because a) it was really long and b) I get to end this chapter on a cliffhanger. This is the second to last chapter. It's got a lot of family stuff. Enjoy!

I don't own Lab Rats, Chase, Bree, Adam, Mr. Davenport, Douglas, Leo or anybody/anything else from the show.

* * * Bree's POV * * *

Chase and I woke up early, around 6:30. Adam was still sleeping soundly. We made sure to be quiet so we wouldn't wake him up. Chase and I started to discuss what we would do when everyone came in.

"I'll tell them that you're back, Chase," I assured him. "I'll let them know that you're good again."

"But what if they don't believe you?" he insisted. I rolled my eyes. My brother tended to over-think things. Couldn't we just wing it?

"I'm sure they'll believe me," I said.

"And why do you believe me?"

His question caught me off guard. "What?" I asked.

"How come you're so sure I'm good again? I could just be here because Douglas sent me. How do you know I won't turn around and betray you again?"

"Chase . . ." I began, then paused. How did I know, exactly? I wasn't sure if I could put it in words. "We're siblings, Chase. I know you. There's something about you: you don't look like you're going to betray me. You look genuinely hurt and regretful. And I'm daring to believe you. If it turns out that I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. But I want to believe you, Chase. And I will believe you."

"Thank you," he said with a smile. I smiled back, glad my words had comforted him.

"Besides," I added, "you were never a very good actor anyway!" Chase gapped at me and pretended to be hurt. We shared a stifled laugh.

A few minutes passed in silence. We were sitting in the chairs next to the cyberdesk, which Chase was leaning on for support. I was still a little concerned about him. He seemed better after sleeping, but he was still pale and looked pretty weak. He looked unfocused and his eyes were glassy. I picked up his hand and, though he didn't look at me, he smiled. His pulse still felt a little weak . . . I dunno, I'm not a doctor. Maybe I'm wrong. Please let me be wrong.

I heard the elevator come to a stop on this floor. Mr. Davenport walked out, with Leo helping him. At the same time I heard Adam yawn and glanced over to see him stepping out of his capsule. In the 1.7 seconds I had before they would see my younger brother, I threw a knowing glance Chase's way. He gulped.

All three boys froze at the exact same moment. All three were staring at one thing. That one thing squirmed uncomfortably. "He's back," I said. My voice was much quieter than I had intended it to be.

Leo was the first to react. "Chase!" he cried, throwing himself into his brother's arms. I grinned. At least Leo was ready to accept him back.

Chase grunted. "Please, Leo," he gasped.

"Oh, right, sorry," Leo said, taking a step back. But a huge smile was covering his small face.

Adam walked closer, squinting carefully. Then he grinned. "It is you, Chase!" he said. "Wait, you're not a Martian disguised to look like Chase, are you?"

Chase let out a weak chuckle. "No, Adam," he said. Chase glanced over at Mr. Davenport. His eyes wandered to the cast and crutches. "Mr. Davenport," he began, "I'm so . . ."

Suddenly Mr. Davenport was at his son's side, giving him as big as hug as he could while still standing on crutches. Chase wrapped his arms around his father and buried his face in Mr. Davenport's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling back slowly.

Chase looked like he was going to start crying again. "How can you all forgive me so easily?" he asked.

"You're our brother, Chase," Adam said. "I'll always forgive you!" I smiled, glad for Adam's rare moment of wisdom. We all nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Chase murmured. Now I was back to frowning. My brother sounded weaker by the minute. What was wrong with him?

Mr. Davenport must have noticed too, because he asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Um, fine," Chase said in an obvious lie. Mr. Davenport gave him a "look." "Well, I don't really know how to describe it," Chase continued when he saw that he wasn't getting away with it. "I'm really tired and . . . sore, I guess. But I'm not sure if that's the right word."

"You used two abilities yesterday," my father pointed out. Chase nodded feebly. "That's dangerous. What exactly happened last night after you left the lab?"

Chase sighed and took a deep breath. He told us about how Douglas had wanted the files so he could use multiple abilities, how horrible he felt when he got back to the lair, and about his dream. A lump got stuck in my throat when I realized exactly how close my brother had come to dying.

"When I woke up I realized how wrong I was," he finished. "So I came back here. I didn't think you guys would accept me back, but I figured I'd give it a shot anyway."

"We'll always accept you back, little brother," Adam assured him.

"Always," Mr. Davenport repeated. Leo and I nodded in agreement.

"So how'd you get away from Douglas, then?" Leo asked.

Chase opened his mouth to reply, but someone else did it for him. "He didn't."

CLIFFHANGER! And I still didn't explain what's wrong with Chase. Mwahaha! Review and tell me what you think! What was your favorite part of this chapter? Anything make you laugh? Cry? Gasp? See you all tomorrow for the final chapter of Death of a Team!