Continued thanks for those reading and reviewing!
Sad that the season 6 is over :( But so many great scenes like always.
Who would've guessed House, Chase, and Foreman would be singing "Midnight Train to Georgia" together? Absolutely love those scenes.
[] From Episode 19 "The Choice" []
Chase: "Drinks are on me and Foreman tonight."
House: "Sorry. Pap smear."
Chase: "We didn't want to do it either but Wilson already paid us."
House: "Its gonna suck."
Chase: "…I know."
House: "Where and when."
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~~Chapter 4~~
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Dumb was not a word that anyone would associate with House. And as egotistical as it sounded no one knew this better than House himself. This meant he was very well aware of his growing attraction to Chase over the years.
Before bringing him on to the team, of course House knew how smart Chase was but what really put icing on the cake was the first time he laid eyes on the wombat. He remembered thinking he'd have someone with more than half a brain and something pretty to look at.
Stupidly, he didn't realize the other man had managed to wiggle his way into House's thoughts and feelings until it was too late. By then, he tried anything possible to distract his mind, which is where Cuddy came into play, but it still wasn't enough.
So he took the only opportunity he could to best distance himself from Chase and ended up firing him. Not his proudest moment but self-preservation ultimately won out.
Now all that time and distance was wiped away the moment he felt Chase pressed up against him. It seemed like they were both designed to fit perfectly with each other. House allowed himself to absorb the feel of the lean body.
However, his attention was immediately diverted yet again when he felt Chase lightly nuzzle his neck, right below his left ear. Having nothing else to hang onto, House wrapped his arm around Chase's waist for some irrational fear that he would lose his balance. Right as he regained an ounce of control and began to open his mouth, Chase beat him to it.
"House?"
The word was breathed right into his ear, causing House to shiver unconsciously as well as tighten his grip on Chase.
As a result, the blond let out a small gasp in surprise. Again, he felt a shiver travel down his spine.
A few seconds later, House was finally able to reel in his hormones. Letting out an obvious cough he said, "I thought I told you to stop flirting with me."
He felt Chase tense up and then slowly pull away to glance at House. There was a slight look of concern as he tried to determine if the older man was being serious.
Never passing up an opportunity to mess with someone, House kept his face blank. However, that quickly turned into a smirk as he noted Chase's worry increasing. To his amusement, it had the desired effect as he watched the worried brows unfurrow, raise slightly in question, and then finally lower as he figured it out.
"Asshole." Chase muttered, trying to sound irritated but failed miserably. It was impossible due to the face that House still had his arm very well situated around his waist.
A loud bell chime suddenly interrupted House's smart-ass response.
Chase had learned from the last visit the bell was signaling that visiting hours were coming to a close.
The sound brought them back to reality like being splashed with a bucket of ice water.
Chase watched House's tell tale signs of social discomfort. Head tilted down…looking off to the side, breaking eye contact.
"Time to go." He finally said, hand dropping from Chase's waist.
Chase didn't say anything as he looked at House, hoping he would catch his eye and get back the connection that was just there. But in true stubborn fashion, the other man would do no such thing.
"Fine." Chase muttered, jaw clenched and taking a step back, arms returning to his sides.
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The walk back to the main building was completed silent. Each man was trying to digest the last few moments.
Originally, Chase was content to keep quiet while holding on the anger and frustration that only House could cause. That was until his stupid memory flashed back…
…warmth of the arm around his waist…
…being pressed firmly against House…
…that smug smirk…
'I can't believe I'm simultaneously attracted and pissed off. Blood bastard.'
And now with that thought distracting him, the anger slowly started deflating like air from a balloon. The sympathetic side of his nature kicked in.
If this had been happening to Cameron, he would've been the first to remind her that this was House. You could literally count on one hand the number of people the diagnostician truly trusted. Not to mention said man was currently residing in a mental institute, definitely not a desirable setting to pursue any real intimate relationship.
With House being cut off from the outside world, it left him too much time to be alone with his thoughts. Too much time to talk himself out of taking any chances. Yet with all this knowledge, Chase didn't feel any more deterred.
'That must make me crazy on some level. Well at least that gives us another thing in common.' Chase thought, feeling his patience renew.
They had now reached the main building and just as he was about to walk in, a gentle tug on his wrist stopped him. Turning, he found a pair of bright blue and very determined eyes staring back at him.
"Wait…"
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Instinct was a funny thing sometimes. It's meant to protect you, to keep you alive and kicking. But what do you do when your instincts protect you too well.
The bell chime had sent his senses into full alert and he had backed away from Chase before he could even realize what he was doing. It was like his body went on autopilot. Not that it should be surprising, considering how many years since he had been with anyone, mainly Stacy.
House felt a slight twinge in his chest when he heard Chase mutter before starting to walk back to the main building without giving him a second glance.
His brain went into diagnostic mode as he caught up and fell into step with the Aussie. The main mystery that needed to be answered was whether or not to make amends for his error and there by allowing this thing between them to continue to progress.
It was easy to tell from his physical reactions that his body certainly had no objection. A fact that he tried to disregard but knew he couldn't.
The smart and logical choice would be to leave things as they've always been. Eventually, he would come up with a way out of this place. Scheming was one of his well-known attributes after all. He would get back to his own world. No gratitude would be given to anyone but himself.
On the other hand, thinking like that contributed to where he currently ended up. And being in Mayfield was not where he wanted to stay. He had made up his mind by the time they reached the back of the main building and grabbed Chase by the wrist to stop him from entering. He knew he had to get this out now.
"Wait…"
When Chase turned around, House expected to be faced with an angry or frustrated glare. Interestingly, he only saw a patiently waiting stare that he would typically see from the blonde when they used to work together.
"…there's something you need to know before you leave…thanks…for the help and for coming here…I know I don't make it easy…so thanks."
Chase stared at him taking in what was just said. House thanking someone and admitting one of his faults at the same time was rare to say the least. And not only was he hearing it, the words were being spoken directly at him.
'Who knew I'd ever be standing in this spot?'
After that thought, he finally realized that House was waiting for some kind of reply.
"No, you don't," he smirked, "and you're welcome. I'll see you next week House."
Intentionally this time, Chase moved forward and gave House a brief hug.
"Stay out of trouble," he said lightly before giving the older man a quick squeeze.
Flashing him one more smile, Chase turned and made his way to the front entrance.
Not moving from his spot, House watched until Chase vanished from sight.
"Next week," House murmured to himself.
"Hey Roomie!" he heard before Alvie crash landed next to him coming from who knows which direction.
"So what's the word from Big Bird? Any updates for Operation Bust Out? Gonna cut the power and we make a break for it? Something like that, huh?"
House waited until he saw Alvie would stay still for more than two seconds before replying, "The next step is to play nice and follow along."
"I don't get it," Alvie said immediately confused, "How is that the next step? It's not really a step. More like the opposite of a step or laying down even."
"Sorry Charlie. We're standing down. So says the bird."
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"Tell me about Dr. Chase."
"Oh come on. Really? I thought you shrinks were supposed to be subtler. Spying from the windows were we? Doesn't inspire much in the doctor/patient confidence."
"Didn't realize that it was that much of a secret. I also wasn't aware that you and Dr. Chase were close."
"We're not."
"Close enough for him to come visit repeatedly."
"Two times."
"Still. You had two other members formerly on your team from what I know. Neither of them has come to visit."
"What exactly are you fishing for?"
"I would simply like to hear from you personally about your relationship with Dr. Chase."
"I think the intel you've gathered is sufficient. Or is your file in need of some juicy details for your late night reading sessions? I don't blame you. Personally I think it's the hair that does it."
"I'm sure that I don't have to tell you that your attempts to deflect are just as telling as if you were having an honest conversation. Only difference is that it takes a little longer to get to the point."
"Well good, as long as we're both getting something out of it."
"I'm curious, what do you think will happen if you share the details of your life?"
"Absolutely nothing. Therefore, there's no point in wasting my breath."
Nolan let out a small smirk as if he was expecting that very answer. "If that's the case, then I would assume you would mind indulging me. If you're right, then you will be no worse off and we can finish for the day. Besides, it's not like you have anywhere pressing to be…which won't be anytime soon until I say so."
House immediately frowned as Nolan proved his point. It was so much easier to get his way at work while being irrational because there were no real consequences to face.
He fiddled with his cane for a bit, trying to piece together what to say.
It had been a few days since Chase left and House had actually kept his promise to not scheme. He even made an effort to participate in the next day's group session. In reality, he still wasn't 100 percent sure about what his final decision would be but figured it was the smarter play for the time being.
Which is presently why he didn't want to deal with Nolan's "request". Ultimately, though, he needed to give him something to get him off his back for today.
"Chase…was the first one I hired. When he first started he was an approval seeking push over. Naturally, this suited me just fine."
"And now?"
House shrugged, hoping to down play his feelings.
"He took in what I was able to teach him. Learned how to handle the highly complicated cases and became a better doctor along the way."
Nolan nodded in a typical non-judgmental way for a psychiatrist.
"Good…good. Now how about personally? Aside from the working environment, have you and Dr. Chase interacted socially outside of the hospital?"
House rolled his eyes up the ceiling as if he really had to think back to remember.
"There was the occasional drink or two as well as a few trips to the bowling alley."
"Uh huh. Was there anyone else there besides the two of you?"
Again, House fiddled with his cane, holding back a sarcastic reply.
"Nope."
"Not even Wilson?"
House let out a short exhale in frustration, not liking where the conversation was going.
"Wilson and I weren't exactly seeing eye to eye at the time."
"You mean after Amber died."
House briefly clenched and unclenched his jaw a few times.
"Right."
"So why did you decide to invite Dr. Chase and not one of the other two?"
"Approval seeking push over, remember? Why else?"
Nolan slightly smirked as if he were waiting for that question.
"Well…one could say that there's a little bit more to it. That Wilson is someone who you have the highest confidence in. Someone who you've allowed to see you at your absolute worst and still trust to not abandon you. And with Amber's death, you realized, in Wilson's absence, you would have to reach out to another."
"Wow! You really should set up one of those booths at a carnival. How do you know that Chase just wasn't the first one to walk into the room?"
"Because you are not a man of chance, House. You are a man of absolutes. Clearly, this is not a one sided matter either. He appears to be almost as protective of you as you are of him. Not that I have to tell you but it was clear when I introduced myself the other day."
"And I'm happy that you're feeling proud. Are we done?"
"Just one last question…Is Dr. Chase currently involved with anyone? Romantically, that is."
House paused while getting up from his chair as he heard the question.
"How exactly is this relevant? Plus, I really don't think you're his type."
"Just curious for the moment. Is he?" Nolan shrugged and stared patiently for the answer.
House felt the muscle in his cheek twitch in result of how tight his jaw was clenched.
"No." he ground out.
Nolan smiled in satisfaction.
"See you next session."
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Thanks again to everyone for sticking with the story! Good news is I can definitely say the next chapter is going to be a lot juicier.
As always love any reviews that come in, so please don't be shy :)