Chapter 4: Sparks Before Flames

"And even though the moment passed me by I still can't turn away. Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose got tossed along the way." Name, The Goo Goo Dolls

Chase and Kate lay on his dorm room bed with their lips heavily dancing together. One of Chase's hands slipped down to Kate's knee and brought her leg up so it wrapped around his waist then that same hand traveled up her thigh and stopped at her waist.

His hands were not the only ones exploring. Kate had started out on Robert's back and was now on his chest. She had yet to explore below his waist. She put a hand on his waist and waited.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked.

"I'm fine." Kate said going back to kissing him. His hand moved up her waist to her chest. When Kate froze Chase removed his hand and sat up. "Sorry." Kate said as she scooted away.

"No, it was me. I crossed into territory we haven't talked about."

"My boobs are territory…" She grinned through a blush.

"Blood rushing to the brain lack of vocabulary." They were both quiet for a long time. "We should probably talk about this."

"Probably…" She really didn't want to but it was going to come up again inevitably.

"So, in making out my hands will not go on your bra or panties." Chase said.

"Okay and my hands won't go below your belt."

"They haven't as of yet." Chase reminded her and placed his hand under her chin.

"Right..." She blushed.

Chase smiled. He loved being able to make Kate blush. He loved her innocent and occasionally naïve way of thinking. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please?" Kate wrapped her arms around Chase's neck and pulled him close. Before kissing him she said: "Your hands can go near the back of my bra, but no unclipping it."

"I wouldn't even dream of it." He smiled. "Anything else or can I get back to kissing you?"

She stopped him from kissing her once more. "I'm waiting to have sex until I know my future is set."

He froze and processed. He knew that Kate was a traditional Catholic so he should not have been surprised that she wasn't a believer in pre-marital sex. "Okay," He said.

"You don't have problem with that?" Kate asked surprised. Chase always had a way of impressing Kate and changing her view of him for the better.

"Honey, I'm not going to stop loving you because you don't believe in sex before marriage. Guys who dump girls because they won't have sex are stupid and pathetic. Sex is more than just bodies connecting and pleasure. It's both a bonding and pro-creation experience at least according to the church."

"Someone paid attention in their theology class."

"It was Spirituality and Sexuality."

"That sounds so… wrong."

"It actually wasn't so bad as it sounds." His mouth offered her wet satisfaction.

"I'll have to take your word on that. You are really okay with us not having sex."

"Yes." He gave her a peck on the cheek. "Just to be clear I don't want kids right now." He breathed between kisses. "Guess what?"

"What?" Kate asked suspiciously.

"I love you." He said. It wasn't the first time he had said it but it still had the same if not a bigger effect on Kate.

"I love you too." She said.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." He said kissing her after each "you".

"I love you too." She leaned back on the bed and went back to kissing her boyfriend. Everything was good until Chase pulled back. "What's wrong?"

"I just need to stop." Chase walked over to the couch and Kate understood why. He crossed his legs on the couch and turned on the television.

Kate stood up and went over to the couch. "Can I sit down next to you?" He nodded his head. "Would it make you feel better if I said I was happy that you had one verses you did not?" He looked at her confused. "I'd rather you have an erection than you didn't because it helps as a reassurance of how you feel. It makes me happy that you have something that gives you away. It's like how I blush… like I am now."

"Yeah, you are bright red."

"Plus, it's a normal thing. I blush and get horny for you. You have an erection. So what! It's just a part of life that tells us how much we want and enjoy each other."

Chase grinned at her. He felt better. "How horny?" He joked with her. He did not expect an answer or what she did next.

Kate shifted so that she was straddling his lap. "Crazy horny to the point where I find it hard to pull back myself." She leaned in to kiss him deep and hard while pushing her hips against his.

"You should go." Chase said breathing hard to catch his breath. "If you don't we'll possibly end up doing things we'll regret."

Kate stood up. "Okay," She saw his logic even though she did not want to. She grabbed her bag and tried to look for her sweater.

Chase found it and gave it to her. "I'll walk you to the door."

"You don't have to."

"I want to." They got out into the hall and Chase leaned against the wall with arms folded.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, I'm just processing…"

"Can I ask, what?" She looked nervous as she waited for a reply.

"You in there. You let down your guard and went out of yourself for a few moments."

"It occasionally happens when hormones are ragging."

"It was nice to see, but I think that we should not change your plan of waiting." Kate smiled. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." She turned to leave. "I'd kiss you but my lips are starting to hurt."

"Same here."

"See you tomorrow Rob."

"Good-night Kate."

The case with Jeff had ended. He had lupus and as suspected a bacterial infection. The case was solved and a new one had come in. Kate was down in the E.R. filling in for a member of the staff who had called in sick. Kate had done an E.R. rotation back in her internship. She liked the energy of being in an E.R. everyone was always on the tips of their toes. It was exciting, nerve racking, and scary. The scary part was that split second between being able to do something and nothing. Life and Death controlled the room.

She waited outside and heard the wailing siren in the distance. Being in the E.R. also meant that Kate had a break from the drama within House's department, to say the least: the whole bonding thing had not gone well. Cameron had attempted to pull a power play and failed. Cameron's jealousy was annoying and Kate could only take so much. As for Foreman, he was being anti-social but Kate took that as more of a personal quality. Robert on the other hand was something completely different. Over the past couple of weeks, they had grown a little closer. They were starting to become friends, which was nice but awkward as well.

Kate took the gurney inside and started to work on the patient. There had been a bad car accident. The results were her patient: a seventeen-year-old boy with broken ribs and a banged up head. He was in good shape compared with some of the other passengers. "I'm going to get you in for a CT and MRI." Thus, the night progressed on.

Kate was leaving but was paged up to House's office. She walked in and sat down in a chair at the table. Cameron looked at her strangely. "What?" Kate asked.

"Nothing. It's just you look…"

"I look what?"

"You look horrible. Are you hung over?"

Kate laughed. "No. I'm exhausted. I was in the E.R. last night."

Foreman looked at Kate confused. She had been working with them yesterday. She was still in the same clothes from the day before. "Did you go home last night?"

"No."

"When did you sleep last?" House asked looking at Kate.

She was quiet and had to think. "Um…Yesterday night. Before you say anything, I was within the legal time limit. Now I'm not. Can I go home now?"

"You can't drive." House turned to Chase. "Take her home."

"I can drive myself. Thank you." Kate said. She got up and started to walk to the door. She turned around and went back to the table. "I need my keys."

House shook his head. "Chase."

Chase got up and took Kate's keys. "Come on. I'll drop you off."

Kate rolled her eyes, but she was too tired to argue. She let Chase have her car keys and drive her home. She told him directions to her apartment. He parked in front of the building and Kate got out of the car.

"You don't need to follow me." Kate said as Chase got out of the car.

"I just making sure you get into your apartment before passing out." Chase said as he walked over to the building door.

Kate opened the door, went up the stairs to her apartment, and opened the door. She went in and straight to her bedroom. Chase closed the door behind him as he walked into the apartment. Kate emerged moments later in pajama bottoms and a camisole. "I'm fine now…" She noticed that Chase was looking at a photo album. She knew why.

"I can't believe you still have these." He said looking up from the photo album.

"Either can I." Kate said. She was surprised that she had not thrown away let alone torched the photo album. "Well, you were a major part of my life during those years." The album contained pictures from when Kate and Robert had graduated college, med school, and were starting their internships.

Chase put the album back on the shelf. "Sorry." He said gesturing to the album.

"Don't be. It's a part of life. Pictures should be looked at."

Chase nodded. "I'm sorry for hurting you back then. Things didn't exactly end well between us."

"Well, if you are referring to when you walked out and never called me. Then I'd have to agree with you." She said a little harsher than intended. "Sorry. I'm tired and being a bitch tends to coincide with that."

"Actually, I probably deserved that. I was an ass."

Kate looked at him. "Robert, I forgave you a long time ago but thanks. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sleep well Kate."

"Night Robert." Kate said as Chase left. As hard as Kate tried, she could not fall asleep. She got up, grabbed the photo album, and looked at it. She flipped through the pages looking at the photos. In most of the pictures she had was in college. Since she was dating Robert at the time, he was in most of the pictures with her. She flipped to a certain page. She looked at it. She had so many plans back then, but they were all gone. She went back to bed and fell asleep.

It had been a couple of days since Chase had dropped Kate off. However, he was still thinking about that night and the past. It was late and he was the last one to take off. He was leaving the locker room when he saw Kate. She was in a strapless dress that came down to her knees. It made Chase stop and catch his breath.

"You look great." Chase commented.

"Thanks." Kate said as she closed her locker.

"What's the special occasion?"

"I have a date."

"Oh…" He tried not to look jealous or as if he cared. "With who?"

"Um, Dr. John Martin. He works in the E.R. I met him in a shift. He's nice."

"Well, have fun."

Kate smiled. "See you tomorrow."

"Sure," Chase said. As he watched Kate walk away, he could not help but feel jealous. It did not make sense to him. It was Kate. She was a woman, a rather attractive woman, who could make her own decisions. He had no reason to be jealous. They had ended their relationship ages ago. There would always be some type of feeling for Kate, but they weren't strong or the type they were before. It wasn't as if he had strong feelings for her anymore…did he?

Kate walked into a diner and sat down. Her date had not gone as planned. John was a nice enough guy, but his priorities were different than Kate's. He had been a gentleman but in conversation Kate realized how different they were. She had actually walked out on him during dinner. She never did that.

She ordered a Boca burger, just because the place made a decent one, and a strawberry shake. Kate wasn't the one to focus on calories so she didn't fixate on how unhealthy her meal was. She would run it off in her daily run tomorrow morning. Kate sat eating her meal when someone sat next to her.

"I thought you had a date." Chase said as he sat down next to Kate.

"I did. It ended very quickly." Kate said before taking a sip of her shake. "Are you my new stalker?"

Chase shook his head. "No. I eat here once in awhile. It's near my apartment."

"Sure."

"Plus, I forgot to go shopping and coming here sounded easier and simpler than cooking." Chase ordered when the waiter came up to him. Then he turned back to Kate. "So, what happened with your date?"

"We have different objectives for life. Usually, I would have stayed—"

"Yeah, you're not one to walk out on a date." Chase recalled.

"I didn't and never want to be a trophy."

Chase made a disgusted look on his face. "What an ass."

"Yup."

The evening continued while Chase and Kate sat eating. After eating, they continued to talk never once getting bored with the different conversation topics. Kate may have not had a good date but that was made up for at the diner. If anyone had been looking, they would have seen two people with sparks flying.

A/N: Hey, sorry about the lack of updates. Moving will slow everything down. Yes, I did take a High School Theology class called: Spirituality & Sexuality. It was awkward but eventually became less.

Disclaimer: I don't anything appearing in House M.D.