Chapter Sixteen
Six weeks later, all seemed to have returned to normal. House and the ducklings continued with their investigative work, rivaling the best TV dramas. Chase and Cameron had moved past the giggling, ogling stage and seemed to have settled into a loving relationship.
House avoided one and all as much as he could. Especially Chloe. He just didn't know what to say to her anymore. He knew more about her than he ever cared to, if he ever cared, and he didn't like what he knew. He simply didn't want to think about it.
Chloe had returned to her usual schedule of work, sleep and her weekly visits to the nursing home. She felt she'd lost a good friend. It was always that way. She wasn't even in the scene anymore, yet it had cost her something special. She didn't like herself much these days.
Jason Adler on the other hand, was sitting in a cushy federal prison, surrounded by people who were just dying to learn from him. He, of course loved the attention. He began collecting information on a series of rapes which was occurring up and down the eastern seaboard. A bit of trivia he might be able to use someday. Information was always a good thing to amass.
One Wednesday afternoon, Chase found himself in the cafeteria alone. He collected and paid for his food, looked around and, to his surprise, saw Chloe eating her own lunch. He decided to join her.
"May I?" He began.
"Sure, have a seat." She was contentedly munching on her sandwich.
"How are you, Chloe, I haven't seen you for quite some time."
"I'm fine, Robert. All is well. Esi has returned to her home in Ghana and the nuns here are keeping in touch with her. I sent her a letter the other day. Hopefully, she'll write back. Sister Pius says he sounds happy."
"I'm glad to hear it." Chase noticed that Chloe seemed sad. "How are you, really, Chloe?"
She smiled. "Don't try to psychoanalyze me, Robert. It will do you no good. I did what I thought was right. Being an adult is all about making decisions, then living with the consequences of those decisions. I simply have to live with mine. It's not always easy or fun, but there it is." She shrugged.
"Can anyone join this little love fest?" Chloe was shocked to see House standing at her elbow.
"Of course, Gregory, make yourself comfortable."
"Nah, might get arrested in this state."
Chase shook his head, but laughed just the same, as did Chloe.
House slid in beside Chloe. "So, Chuckles, what are you doing here in the middle of the day. I thought your kind shriveled up and died in the sunlight." House was actually smiling at her as opposed to laughing at her.
"Hospital-wide in-service. Been here all morning learning about all the various ways a patient can get hurt and blame it on me. Love that sort of stuff, so intellectually challenging." She rolled her eyes.
Chase's beeper chose that moment to go off. He glanced at the message and smiled, then excused himself. "Clinic crisis, gotta go!"
House and Chloe watched him leave. Neither one believed the excuse. They both smiled.
"So, Chlamydia, how are you?"
"You care?"
"No, it just seemed the polite thing to say."
"Since when do you do the polite thing? Come on Gregory, what's really on your mind? Quit fooling around and get to the point."
"Okay. What the hell possessed you to put yourself through that ordeal anyway? Did you really think some stupid video recording would actually save someone's life?"
"Translation: I was shocked and appalled at what I saw that night. It made me re-evaluate my opinion of you. I don't think I like you much anymore. You've shown me a side of you that I find unappetizing to say the least."
He furrowed his brow. "You need a new House-English dictionary."
"I did what you always do… the right thing. Sometimes it takes forms that are ugly or painful. In this case, I chose to do what I knew Adler would fall for. He was true to form and everything ended as it should. You had no business being there. I'm sorry you don't like me much anymore, I have to admit, that truly saddens me. I told you once that losing your friendship would upset me and it has. I'm sorry about that. Perhaps it was a bit melodramatic, but I still think I did the right thing and would do it again."
Her appetite was gone. She watched the gears turn in his head.
His voice had lost the hard edge it usually has, "I don't dislike you, Chloe. I thought I knew you, thought I had you figured out. You keep throwing me curve balls. I'll be wondering what you're thinking from now on. I won't be able to depend on my radar, because it's obviously broken when it comes to you."
"Well, I'm glad I'm able to keep you guessing."
He could see the sadness hadn't left her eyes. "You haven't lost my friendship." He reached into her lap and squeezed her hand. "Just keep the whips and chains in the closet where they belong, okay?"
She nodded her head, still feeling a sense of loss.
"Hey, I have tickets to a play."
"You only take women to plays if you want to see them naked."
His wiggling eyebrows was his only response.
Chapter Seventeen
Normally, he would want to be aggressive at this point. Assert his masculinity on his intended. He could tell she was ready, waiting. However, this time was different. He was going to try to turn the tables on her, do the unexpected. He hoped he could actually pull it off. It took everything he had not to ravage her right then and there, she was so inviting, her scent so primal. Instead, he held back, nibbled instead of bit, lightly stroked instead of fondling, ignored her open legs, concentrating instead on her open mouth. He rained kisses on her face, her neck, her breasts. His hands were everywhere at once and nowhere in particular.
Her body was in a purgatory of need. She ached for him. This wanton teasing was driving her to distraction. 'Just fuck me already!' her brain was screaming. The part of her brain that could still think, that is. She quivered in uncontrollable lust as she watched him torture her slowly, methodically. The man was pure evil. He was holding back and it was making her wild with anticipation. Every stroke, every touch was bringing her closer to the edge.
His eyes brightened and a smile spread across his face as he watched her finally succumb to his ministrations. Her back arched upward, a silent scream on her lips. He was no where near her clitoris, in fact, his hand was lazily draped across her belly. Her orgasm came entirely from within her mind, her emotions simply took over her body. He had done it! Brought her to the brink of insanity without ever penetrating her physically. Heady stuff, that. He waited until her breathing resumed something akin to normal, watched as she buried her face in his chest. Only then did he release himself upon her.
He quickly mounted his firebrand, finally acknowledging her begging core. Swiftly he entered her, intent on bringing her even more sensory overload. His mouth devoured hers, whatever sounds she would make, he would swallow whole. Her arms and legs clamped down around him, fully intent on never letting go. He filled her, completed her, possessed her. Her mind faded, then utterly disappeared, her body screamed and shook its approval, cried out for more. He happily complied, holding her as close to him as was humanly possible, never once allowing anything to come between them, not even a thought.
He broke the grip on her mouth just long enough to hear her call out his name, just long enough to whisper hers. His body shuddered as they simultaneously splintered into the molten lake that was her bed. Time and reality had flown away, nothing was left but their panting bodies, their quivering limbs, their spent energies.
She had touched his mind, of that she was sure. And it was good.
He had touched her soul, of that he was certain. And it was beautiful.
The morning light trickled through the window and found them entangled in an embrace neither ever wanted to break. It was just too good.
Chapter Eighteen
Too good to last for long.
Trees whispered together in small groups, telling tales out of school, watching the passersby hurry on never knowing they were being observed. The cooling air crept by the ankles promising firewood and candlelight. Sunlight penetrated cloud, playing hide and seek with shadows. If you listened closely you could hear the approach of winter. The heat of springtime was cooling, gently slipping away into the clutches of hibernation. It was always a sad time, a time of loss. Greens, yellows, blues and pinks drained away into grey.
That's how he felt as he stared out the window. Drained away. The best of his life was gone, taken from him or thrown away by him, it didn't matter. It was gone. There were sparks now and then, but no fire would ever be re-lit. He knew that, yet he wished it could be otherwise. Though he didn't know how he would function were things any different. He'd pushed people away for so long, there simply wasn't any incentive to pull them back. Who would want to return? Why would they? He was incapable of sympathy and only barely aware of empathy. His life was so black and white – there was only the deepest of thoughts or the most frivolous of actions. He was the walking epitome of the All or Nothing Law.
She was the only one who didn't want anything from him. And now it was time to push her away, too. He'd revealed too much. She'd reached in and touched him. That wouldn't do. How could he be different, special, if someone actually understood him?
Chloe woke to that look in House's eyes and she knew immediately it was time for him to go. No fuss, no bother, just a quiet exit. They both had what they needed from each other and that would have to do them for awhile.
He gathered his things, showered and left. She watched him from her window, mourning his experiences, his choices, his life. Her own choices hadn't been that stellar. She knew why Jimmy never abandoned him, knew she never would either. Chloe just couldn't let hope die. Life sucks.
Chapter Nineteen
Chloe was not a happy camper. She'd received a note from her nurse manager to stay over Monday morning after her shift ended for a meeting with administration, specifically the Vice President of Patient Care Services (aka the Director of Nurses). Meetings like this were never pleasant and she was in quite a paranoid frame of mind.
Their royal highnesses showed up at about 9:30a.m., 2½ hours after her shift ended. They were lucky Chloe wasn't fast asleep already. Her nurse manager, the VPPC and Chloe withdrew to the conference room which was a little larger than the converted closet which was her office.
After the forced pleasantries, the VPPC got down to brass tacks. "We understand you had a very interesting case recently regarding human trafficking. I'll get right to the point. We'd like to write this up for one of the nursing journals. However," she paused, "upon reviewing your personnel file, we find you only have an Associates Degree in Nursing."
Chloe's back was up to begin with and this snide little remark was enough to push her over the edge. "Is there a problem with my educational qualifications?"
"Well," the VPPC stated, rather condescendingly, "it's just that we have a reputation to uphold here at PPTH. As a teaching hospital, it simply looks awkward to have a charge nurse with only an entry level degree submitting articles to journals."
"Then I would suggest, with all due respect, you have someone else write the article. Yourself, perhaps?"
Chloe's nurse manager tried to calm the escalating conversation. "Chloe, no one is saying you are not a qualified and competent nurse…"
"What precisely are you saying, then? I've been practicing nursing longer than both of you combined, please do not insult my intelligence by flouting your BSNs or MSNs in my face."
"I'm saying," continued the VPPC, "that Dr. Chase has been asked to write up this particular incident for the New England Journal of Medicine as part of their ongoing series on regulatory successes. We want the Nursing Department recognized as well. We're concerned that as a teaching hospital, not all of our nurses are availing themselves of the opportunities we offer."
"Not all nurses believe that university degrees create better or even competent nurses. If my thirty years experience isn't good enough for you, then perhaps you should have someone else write the article and spare yourself the embarrassment."
"I'm glad you agree. I will expect you to offer your insights into this case to whomever we do choose to collaborate with Dr. Chase, as well as to whomever we choose to write the nursing journal article. As always, Chloe, we are pleased and proud to have nurses like you in our employ and hope you continue the hard work you've given to our patients."
Chloe did not rise or shake hands. Her nurse manager shot her a worried look as she escorted the VPPC out of the conference room.
Chloe picked up the phone and called Human Resources to check her longevity status and possible retirement dates. She always knew this day would come and she knew it would all boil down to her obstinate refusal to get her bachelor's or master's degree in nursing.
Then she wrote her resignation letter. On her way off the floor, she slid the letter under the door of her nurse manager's office.