Growing Up Chase

By Rebel Yell

Part Twenty (age 23)

"OOOH! You look so perfect!" Liz restrained herself from squealing, but barely, at the sight of Robbie in his proper graduation regalia. She did allow herself to throw her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could manage. "I can't believe you've done it. I mean, I always knew you could, but…now you're really a doctor!"

" I can't believe you arranged time off from your filming just to come to my graduation. Dan'll be taking pictures."
" Those aren't the same as being here! Besides, Danny takes crap pictures. He always chops people's heads off."
" Yes, I'm the Queen of Hearts that way. Off with his head!" Danny remarked, tapping her on the shoulder. "Let me have some of the Rob-loving, Liz. Stop hogging him."
" That sounded a little gay, Dan." Robbie teased, but he returned the hug just as enthusiastically as Dan gave it.

" I'm comfortable enough with my sexuality to hug another man, okay?"
" Just so long as your wife doesn't get jealous. She could kick my ass."
" Yes I could, and don't forget it, Rob. Congratulations." Jen's hug was much shorter, less enthusiastic, but then she was a relatively new addition to the mix. Liz liked her well enough, and Robbie seemed to adore her, which was good. It was just still a bit of an adjustment to have her around when they got together -- even though Danny had dated her for two years before proposing.

" How's it feel to be official?"

" Like I'm some years away from doing any real work. One year internship, then my specialty training, then I can really work."

" Still, now we have to call you Dr. Chase, right?"
" I hate being called that. Makes me sound like my dad."
" Well, you are both doctors now. A little late to object to the job title." Danny pointed out evenly. He looked half at Robbie, and half at Liz, and asked, "I thought…wasn't he supposed to be coming today?"

" He said he would, when I called him." Liz confirmed, biting her bottom lip as she watched Robbie turn to face her directly.

" You called him. Why? I specifically told you not to bother."

" I thought…I just hoped…if he had come it would have meant a lot to you, wouldn't it?"
" He wasn't ever going to come, Liz." Robbie shook his head tiredly. Liz never could quite stop hoping that Dr. Chase would stop being such an ass -- but Robbie had finally given up years ago. "Maybe if I'd agreed to go to Sydney as a specialist in his field…probably not even then."
" I shouldn't have said anything." Danny sighed himself, shaking his head. "Liz sounded pretty sure when we spoke."
" He said he'd be here before the ceremony. I even told him where we agreed to meet afterwards."
" Thanks for trying, Liz. I know you meant well."

" I'm sorry. I really thought this would be different." Liz apologized, wishing she'd not bothered to try to arrange some sort of meeting between Robbie and his dad. Robbie just ended up hurt. He clearly forced a smile on his face though, and turned back to Danny.

" So, when am I to be a godfather?"
" Not for a bit yet, we've only just married. If you want babies so bad, get married yourself."
" No, see, I like to borrow them. Then when they're being impossible, I can send them back to their parents. It's a great racket, being an uncle. Colin's living the high life, I tell you."
" Yes, the soon-to-be priest is living the high life." Danny retorted, chuckling.

" He's got four nieces and six nephews…all the rent-a-kids you could want."
" Yes, and he's also got a vow of celibacy and poverty -- still want his life?"
" On that note, not a chance."
" Speaking of Colin, where is he?" Liz asked, having expected to see him at Robbie's graduation. Colin had been adopted by their little trio, mostly because Robbie insisted on dragging his former roommate along on as many holidays as possible. Colin had never messed with the groups' dynamic like Jen did, for some odd reason. Liz refused to think that it might be just because she didn't like other women sniffing around her men. Even if they were just friends, they were still her men. She was pretty sure that was the reason, she just didn't like admitting it. She refused to contemplate how she'd react if Robbie ever settled for a particular girl -- but since it seemed a far off prospect, she could pretend she wouldn't be a raving jealous lunatic about it. It was completely irrational, she didn't love Robbie that way and she wanted him to be happy and settle down and live a nice, happy life with a family of his very own, but she didn't want to give up her position as the most important woman in his life either.

" He couldn't make it in, he's on a required retreat of some sort. Which is unfortunate because now I've been invited to his parents' home to celebrate later this month. I love them all, but there's just too many people in that little house. More than twenty -- assuming it's just his immediate family."
" Yes, but his mother will force feed you every sweet known to mankind."
" There is that advantage, yes."
" Well come on. Let's get you out of this get up, and into something comfortable. You've only got less than a month before you start at your new hospital, so I intend to finance you getting absolutely off your face tonight." Danny shoved Robbie's shoulder hard enough to make him stagger, as they walked towards where they had parked before the ceremony.

"You're buying?" Robbie asked, eyebrows raised.

" Well, I may not be a doctor like you, but I think I can afford rounds for tonight."

"Good, because this doctor hasn't any money until he starts getting paid next month."
" What happened to your trust fund money?" Liz asked, knowing Robbie's mother had left him quite a substantial amount of money. It was just in trust until he was 35, with Dr. Chase as the trustee for some inexplicable reason. Since Robbie had started university though, Dr. Chase had been depositing the interest into Rob's bank accounts every quarter. It wasn't a small amount, but paying tuition and rent and bills and the like took up quite a bit of it.

" Legal stuff. Dad's trying to sell the house, I'm fighting, everything's been tied up for a bit."
" You haven't lived in that house since your mum died. No one has."
" Point is, it's mine, isn't it? If I want to keep it, let it sit empty while I live in a box behind Woolie's, that's my right, isn't it? Not his to do with as he likes. And I'm moving back to Sydney now -- was planning on living at home. Trust Dad to let it sit empty for years and try to sell it when I'm actually planning to live in it." Robbie snorted harshly, but let Liz slip an arm around his waist, "It's likely her idea, at any rate. Trying to wipe away any trace he was ever married before."
" You still have keys to it then?" Danny asked, grinning widely.

" Yeah, of course. I doubt he's bothered to change the locks since I was home last -- he hasn't had them changed since Mum died. Why?"
" Well, we're all headed back to Sydney tomorrow morning, right?"
" Yes. Why? I never trust you when you get that look on your face, Daniel Kelleher." Liz answered, before Robbie could.

" We'll get back just in time to hit the beach for the night. Bit convenient, Rob still owning a place right on it, isn't it? Just like when we were young. We'll invite people over, and aggravate Rob's old neighbors. Go swimming in the dark. Remember old times. And get Rob absolutely trashed again."

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A/N: Someone is sure to yell at me, but here's my explanation for the age -- at the University of Melbourne there is an undergrad admittance program for medicine that takes six years. That much I know (I did do some research, y'all). From there, my reasoning is thoroughly based on an American university experience -- if you stay over the May-August break, and take classes, it's quite possible to knock a year off expected graduation. So, anyway, in keeping with my characterization of Chase, he doesn't go "home" on the breaks. So he's graduating a bit early. I figured all this out (quite carefully actually) in order to keep somewhat close to House's season 1 statement of Chase's age. I couldn't quite make it, as you'll see in later parts, but I got sorta close. And yes, I did all this around my research for my thesis --which is nearly complete, hence the sudden flood of "fic" writing time.