Dearest Readers,

This chapter has a bit of profanity.

Read on, Cherubs.

Over and out.

Chapter 6

Chase was the first one in the conference room the next morning. He sat down in his chair with his crossword puzzle; however, his mind did not focus on the puzzle in front of him. He rubbed his left arm gingerly, feeling the bandages underneath his shirt. House had patched up his arm; the gash near his elbow needed a few stitches and a good cleaning. He wouldn't let House touch the gash on his bicep, even though it took quite a while to make him back down. Neither of them spoke as House went to work patching up his arm. A tiny smile graced his lips as he remembered the feeling of House's fingers against his skin, noticing that sometimes his fingers would linger longer than necessary.

Cameron and Foreman came into the conference room, bringing him out of his thoughts. They carried on their conversation and sat down, waiting for House to arrive. After 30 minutes of waiting, House finally showed up, folder in hand. He dropped the folder on the table and began writing symptoms on the board.

24 year old Female

Blood in saliva

Erosion in stomach/esophagus

Deteriorating teeth

They stared at the board with raised eyebrows, why were they given a case so easy?Chase began to squirm in his seat, no longer looking at the board. This girl was bulimic. Did House do this on purpose? Did House purposefully find a case that involved an eating disorder or was it just coincidence? Was House deliberately rubbing his problem in his face?

Chase glared at House, who was looking back at them calmly. Yeah, he found this case on purpose. Anger burned inside him; after everything House has said and done…he had to go and rub his problem in his face. He felt his eyes narrowed dangerously at the table, as he felt House's eyes fall on him.

"So! Let's go meet this Princess!" House said, a little too hyper to be considered normal for House. Cameron and Foreman looked at him quizzically; House wanted to go visit a patient?

"Who are you and what have you done with House?" Foreman said as he stared, confused at House, who was now twirling his cane. House grinned.

"Oh you're so silly, Mr. Home-boy! Come, come! Let's go!" House led everyone out of the conference room; Chase dragged himself after the team.

HouseXChase

Her name was Lily and she was pissed. Like usual, House didn't seem to care as he stood at the foot of her bed.

"So," House began as he stared at the young woman, "you have heard of diet and exercise, yes? Shoving your finger down your throat isn't going to get you anywhere…well, except here. The blood in your saliva is from the tear in your esophagus and stomach. The tears are from the stomach acid that you so kindly keep vomiting and the acid is also making your teeth deteriorate…interesting huh? So, in order for the tears to heal, you need to quit making yourself throw up. You need to quit this behavior, otherwise you're going to be here for a very, very long time."

Lily glared at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. Chase glared at him as well from his place by the door; House was having a 'major ass episode'. Chase wanted to say something, to tell Lily that she didn't have to resort to this kind of behavior, but that would make him a hypocrite…and anything that he would say to her, he wouldn't believe himself.

"Fuck off, you jerk." Lily spat as she turned to look out the window.

"You're just angry because I'm right." House said, grinning.

"No, I'm pissed because you seem to think you know what you're talking about when in reality, you don't. You have no idea what it's like to make yourself vomit just to make yourself feel beautiful."

Right now, she didn't need a doctor…she needed someone who understood. Shaking slightly, he walked towards the side of her bed, attracting Lily's attention. He reached up and removed his name tag and shoved it in his pocket. House eyed him carefully as Cameron and Foreman looked on with curiosity and confusion.

"What are you doing? Why did you take your name thing off? Aren't you supposed to wear it?" Lily asked, confused. Chase tucked his hands in his pockets and looked her in the eye.

"I took it off because I'm not going to talk to you as a doctor. I'm going to talk to you as a fellow human being. I've..." He didn't want to say that it was actual him who struggles with an eating disorder. He was just going to make up a little white lie. "I've known someone with an eating disorder." House continued to eye Chase, expecting him to not admit his eating disorder.

"Oh please! I could tell from the moment I saw you that you're a fancy rich guy who's never had any problems. Mommy and Daddy still buy you things even though, by the looks of it, you're in your late 20s. Mommy and Daddy pamper you even to this day, you stuck up, tight ass, spoiled rich kid. You people make me sick! Fuck off and leave me alone! And don't pretend like you understand because you don't! I don't care if you've known someone with an eating disorder!" Her words stabbed him in the heart and made his anger boil. House was even more worried, not knowing what Chase's reaction would be. Chase closed his eyes, centered himself, and opened them to stare her in the eyes with anger behind them.

"First off, my mother died years ago. She was an alcoholic who drank herself to death." Cameron and Foreman raised their eyebrows in surprise. "Second, my father left when I was still quite young, leaving me to take care of my mother. I was never pampered. My father is rich, I am not. I do not rely on my father because I haven't spoken to him in years. Third, how do you know that I don't understand?" He paused, feeling himself become too emotional; he breathed deeply again.

"I was very close with the person I knew with the eating disorder. When you have that kind of relationship with someone, you kind of bounce off of each other; you're not really different from each other, so it's easier to relate to the other person." House continued to eye Chase carefully as Lily's anger began to ebb away as she listened to Chase.

"In all honesty," Chase continued, lightening his tone of voice. "People like you make me sick, thinking that you're the only going through what you are. I don't know your life's history and quite frankly, I don't care. But don't you come in here bitching that your life sucks because let me tell you, yours is a lot better than a lot of other peoples'. Do what Dr. House tells you and you'll get out of here so that you can continue to bitch about everything around you." With that, Chase left, leaving behind a stunned silence.

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When they returned to the conference room, they noticed that Chase's things were gone. House sighed quietly. He had a strong feeling that getting the case was pushing it too far, but at least it got Chase to talk a little bit. He expected for the blonde to say that he knew someone with an eating disorder; not saying that it was actually him with it.

"Cameron, go be mushy-gushy with the brats in pediatrics. Foreman, go do my clinic hours." House said, as he limped down the hallway.

"What about you?" Cameron asked after him.

"My wombat ran away"

HouseXChase

Alright Gang,

Boom. A simple statement with massive implications. ^_^

Reviews would be wonderful!

When-Rabbit-Howls