This is kind of a fun chapter! I hope ya'll enjoy it! Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is related to House M.D. If I did, I would be making money off of it but sadly, I'm not. cries
Chapter Six: "The name's Chase. Robert Chase."
Cuddy promenaded into the hospital with a certain air around her. Usually she went straight for her office or for some coffee, but this time her first destination was Kara's room. So far, as long as Kara was in the hospital, Cuddy almost certainly wouldn't be able to get any sleep. Every time her eyes closed, pictures of Kara dying and needing her help flashed into her mind, making her wake up distressed. She nodded to the nurse and entered the room, stopping to stare at the vacant bed. The thoughts of her running away immediately swept through her mind and she turned to the door, ready to alert every policeman, every hospital, every person in the entire world when suddenly, she spotted House's head. "House?" She asked, stepping forward.
A vociferous grunt answered her which told her he was still sleeping. She couldn't help but smile. House had stayed the entire night in Kara's room, regardless of her wishes. She walked around to chair, going to wake him up but froze at the shocking sight. Kara was curled up against House, one hand clutching his gray coat tightly and the other wrapped around his waist. She seemed to be at ease. Cuddy's eyes watered at this heartfelt sight. Slowly, she poked House's shoulder carefully. He grunted indolently and his eyes flickered open. Cuddy took a sharp intake of breath, noticing that Kara had shifted. House glanced down at the pressure on his lap and his eyebrows rocketed upwards. House looked up at Cuddy as she was mouthing something to him. "Did you know?" She had mouthed.
"No." He mouthed back, shaking his head. For a moment, House sat there inaudibly, watching the regulated breathing of Kara as Cuddy looked down dotingly at them. "Should we wake her?" He whispered huskily. Lip reading was harder than it looked, particularly when someone just woke up.
"Of course not. She might get embarrassed or something." Cuddy whispered back, biting her lip. She was a bit envious. House nodded and grabbed her underneath her arms. "What are you...?" She began, but House had already stood up, placing her on her bed. He went to stand up but was stopped as his coat was still clenched in her fist. "Careful!" She hissed at him as he wrenched his jacket from her fist.
There was a moment of silence as they waited for Kara to wake up and start yelling but she never did. "She must be deep asleep." House said, smoothing his jacket.
Cuddy nodded and looked at House, her nose wrinkling slightly. "Go home, take a shower, and get dressed into some fresh clothes, then come back to work, got it?" She ordered, stepping away from him.
He scowled and smelled himself. "I don't smell bad. But I'll take the time off anyway." He told her with a shrug. He picked up his cane and looked over at Cuddy. "Whenever you want." He said softly.
She turned to him, confused. "What's that suppose to mean?" She asked. Sometimes, House made no sense.
He smirked. "I'm ready now and I think she is too." He added, not explaining himself.
Cuddy frowned, tilting her head to the side. Her eyes suddenly widened as she understood what he was talking about. "Really? Oh, Greg!" She whispered shrilly, hugging House tightly. She could stand his bodily odor just this once.
House blinked before slowly wrapping his hands around Cuddy. He put his chin on top of Cuddy's head and closed his eyes, bringing back many memories. All too soon enough, they parted looking at each other apathetically. He nodded and headed out of the room, followed by Cuddy.
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"You should have seen him. It was like he truly cared about her well being." Foreman said, looking over at Chase and Cameron. All three of them had noticed House's weird fascination of the newest patient. Not that he didn't have a fascination of weird cases like this but this fascination was about the patient as well.
"Do you think Cuddy has anything to do with it?" Chase asked, raising his eyebrows. It was probable that Cuddy had threatened House with something that would have to make him act like he was. It probably something to the fact of clinic hours or Vicodin.
"No, she seems to be acting strange too." Cameron answered, shaking her head. She had spotted Cuddy staring in at their new patient. "Wilson might know." She offered.
Foreman shook his head. "He was the first person I asked after House's bizarre behavior. He said he had no clue but he had noticed something was going on between both of them." Foreman sighed, staring down at the whiteboard. House hadn't even been asking them what they thought then calling them idiots afterwards. He was the one who was doing all the guessing and preparations. "You know how House gives patients weird names sometimes. I wonder..." He trailed off, looking at Chase and Cameron.
"You wonder if he'll do anything if we say her name wrong." Cameron finished. Foreman nodded. It wasn't a bad idea.
"It probably wouldn't hurt." Chase added, nodding his head. If House corrected them, something was definitely going on. If he didn't, well they would come to that when they reached it. They waited for about an accumulated of thirty minutes before House finally showed. He was moving around like he was stiff and his hair was still wet. House headed immediately for the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup.
"You look like you just came out of the shower." Cameron told him, staring at the many wet stains on the back of his shirt as he scratched his back.
He turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "I did." He said honestly, looking at the whiteboard. He frowned slightly, his brows furrowing. "So, what can we put together now?" He asked out loud, but not directly at the three.
"It would help if we had...Katy's medical records." Chase said, remembering what they had agreed on.
House jerked around. "Her name's Kara." He snapped, glaring at them above his coffee cup. He had not given them her medical records for the fact that he really didn't want his ducklings finding out that Kara was his child. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by it. They just really didn't need to know. He watched them inquiringly as each of them glanced at each other with surprised looks. They had planned this.
"House, what's the deal?" Cameron finally asked, sensing how the other two didn't want to ask the unasked question.
House frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked guardedly. What were they up to? Usually he could tell what they were doing or what they wanted. But this time, they were completely off their territories.
Foreman sighed. "You know the patient. You seem to actually care a great deal about this patient. You're even taking safety precautions. House, you never take safety precautions. Something's up." Foreman told him, looking bravely at House. House frowned. So, he was being duped by the ducklings. He had to admit, he would never have thought that they would have been able to accomplish something like this. And he intended to keep it that way too.
"There's nothing going on, except for the fact that our patient could be dying from a mysterious illness that we have yet to come up with and the state is looking in on us since she's an orphan." House lied, turning back to the whiteboard. "Is it wrong to care?" He asked rhetorically before clearing his throat. "I want an LP done before she has another radiculits somewhere in her body." He turned and limped out of the conference room, leaving his ducklings sitting in their chairs, thunderstruck.
Chase was the one to break the silence. "He's lying, I know it." He said, letting out a big breath.
Foreman rolled his eyes and stood up. "He's always lying. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out." Foreman told him, rolling up his sleeves. Cameron smiled feebly before looking over at Chase sympathetically. "Now, let's go do that LP."
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Kara couldn't remember ever being in a hospital for so long. This was probably the fourth day at this hospital and she had only been in a hospital around two hours when a clinic had been backed up. She sighed as Dr. Chase pushed her into the MRI room. She was supposed to have one yesterday but the pain in her calf prevented her from doing one. Dr. Chase smiled at Kara reassuringly. "Now, it's pretty simple. Just lie there and let the machine do its job. Might I interest you in the ocean?" He asked, pointing to the opposite wall. Kara glanced over, seeing the ocean displayed on the wall. Fishes swam contentedly underneath the surface and she even saw the seaweed sway in the current. Kara smiled dryly. "Keep it there?"
She nodded quietly, watching him hook something on her finger. He pushed a button, which made her start going into the MRI machine. Dr. Chase exited the room quickly after that. Kara laid there quietly, not really looking at the screen. Every now and then she did, but she wasn't really interested in ocean life. She let her mind wandered aimlessly. She probably could have fallen asleep if only it weren't for the horrible noises that came from the machine. The MRI seemed to take forever. Finally, after about an hour, which in reality was only fifteen to twenty minutes, the machine turned off and Dr. Chase pushed the button, letting Kara slid out of the machine. The wall was back to its dull, white color.
"So, find anything interesting?" Kara asked, watching him unhook her from something or other.
Dr. Chase glanced at Kara, smiling lightly. "Your MRI is clean." He began, pushing Kara out of the room and towards her own room. "But,"
"That means you don't know what's wrong with me. So you're back on square one again?" Kara finished, looking up at him eloquently.
"Sort of." Chase answered, putting her in her room. "You are going to have to lie down on your side." He said. Kara did as she was told, feeling him open up the hospital gown. She turned her head questioningly, her eyes seeming to change into a darker color. "It's for the test." He assured her, cheeks flushing ever so slightly. She gave him a suspicious look before turning back. He swabbed her back. "Now, this is going to hurt a bit." He warned her, holding the needle.
Kara nodded, closing her eyes. "Ow." She whispered, grabbing the blanket of the bed. She kept her cling to the bed until the test was over.
"Alright, I'm all done." He told her, helping her lay down carefully. "Do you want anything?" He asked.
Kara frowned. "I feel...nauseated." She murmured, her face twisting sickly. He frowned. Suddenly, vomit spurted out of her mouth and nose. Chase grimaced, trying not to stare at today's breakfast. "I feel better." She said, wiping her mouth on the blanket. Chase nodded and turned to fetch the poor soul who was going to clean that mess up.
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"Well, the tests are clear but she felt nauseated after the LP." Chase said, entering the conference room. House looked up from sipping his expresso. Cameron and Foreman were also in the room. Chase paused uncertainly, wondering why all three of them were in there at the same time. Were they starting a mutiny or something?
House frowned. "Did she have vertigo right before it?" He asked, grabbing his black marker.
Chase shook his head. "Not that I know of. She just said she was nauseated and then spewed her breakfast all over the bed." Chase answered, collapsing in his chair. Cameron wrinkled her nose in disgust. House wrote down 'Vomiting' on the board with the other collection of symptoms that didn't let up. All of them knew that if she didn't have vertigo, that couldn't be the lead to any balance disorders.
House glared silently at the board. To tell the truth, he didn't even have a simple clue of what she could have. Everything seemed to contradict each other. He let out a sigh and looked at his watch, smiling lightly to himself. "Anyway, I got to go. Watch her carefully and maybe we'll figure out this bugger." House said, starting to limp out the door.
"You sound as if you have an appointment." Cameron told him, frowning.
He turned, glancing at them. "Actually, I do." And with that, he walked away, leaving all three of them looking at each other questioningly.
Cameron leaned in slowly, looking at Chase and Foreman. They, too, leaned in. "Why do I think he really doesn't have an appointment and that Cuddy and him are hiding something from us?" She asked, pursing her lips.
"Because they are. You know House use to be really good at keeping stuff away from us. But this time, he sucks." Foreman answered.
Chase nodded. "Yeah. So, what now?" He asked, smiling cheekily at the other two.
Foreman and Cameron looked at each other before glancing at Chase. "You're the one who gets to follow House." Foreman said, smirking slightly.
"Good luck, 007." Cameron teased, slapping his shoulder before Foreman and her quickly took their exit. Chase was left sitting dumbly on his chair, his mouth slightly agape at the position that his colleagues put him in. Follow House? He'd rather cut his own hand off! Well, maybe not. It would be interesting to find out what exactly was the deal with House. He sighed and stood up, turning in the direction House had went. He couldn't have gotten far. He probably was at his office, collecting his backpack or something.
Chase followed House silently as he limped down the hall, completely unaware of Chase. Of course he would, Chase was about twenty feet away! Chase watched him enter Cuddy's office. He couldn't help but frown. It was going to be hard to listen on them now. He started over there, building up as much courage as he needed. A hand grasping at his shoulder made him stop. He turned to Wilson. "Hey Wilson." He said coolly.
"Hey, have you seen House?" He asked, frowning slightly. Chase guessed it was something to do with Wilson's lunch. Chase wondered slightly if he should tell him that he was following House and planning to eavesdrop on Cuddy and him.
"Not necessarily." He started slowly, itching to head over there. They could be finished for all he knew!
"What do you mean, not necessarily?" Wilson asked, furrowing his brows. "What's going on?" Chase was acting differently then he ever had. Something wasn't right here.
"The name's Chase. Robert Chase." Chase answered, mocking James Bond.
Wilson's eyebrow rose. "So you're spying on him? Well, go on. Tell me if you hear anything good." He chuckled, shaking his head. Spying on House was nearly impossible. House always had this freakish talent of knowing things. It wasn't normal. Then again, House wasn't normal.
Chase nodded and slipped into the first room quietly. The sectary (a/n: I don't know if it's called something else. If you know, tell me and I'll fix it!) wasn't at her desk which gave Chase the advantage of listening in! He did a silent cheer before crouching down beside the doorway, slipping his fingers underneath the door and opening it up just a tiny bit.
"Are you positive that she's had enough time? Maybe we should wait just a little more. I mean, you don't even have a clue of what she has." Cuddy was saying apprehensively. Were they talking about their patient, Kara? The sound of her high heels made it clear that she was pacing.
"Didn't you see her this morning? She must be ready." House told her, crossing his arms.
Cuddy let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll talk with Ms. Charles tomorrow. Today's visiting day at the orphanage. So she can't show up today." She sighed, smiling up at House slightly. "What about the whole not married situation?"
House shrugged. "We'll come to that when we get to it." He answered minimally, leaning on his cane slightly.
Cuddy frowned. "Why do you have your stuff with you?" She asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. "It's only one."
"Lunch break." House told her, patting his stomach loudly. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Hey, a growing boy has to eat." He defended.
"You're not growing." She chided, nodding her head in approval.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He teased, turning around and heading for the door. He paused ever so slightly, shaking his head.
"What?" Cuddy asked, bewildered.
"Nothing." He answered. Chase slipped his fingers out underneath the door and crawled around the desk to get out of sight. House went through the door, sighing loudly. "You know, stalking is a federal offense." He said, leaning over the desk.
Chase slowly got up, flushing violently. "I wasn't stalking." He muttered, avoiding his boss' eyes.
"Uh-huh." House nodded. "If you want to know what's going on, all you have to do is ask."
Chase raised his eyebrows. "Okay. What's going on?" He asked, frowning ever so slightly. This was too easy. What was House up too?
"Mind your own damn business." House answered, slamming his cane into Chase's thigh. He straightened and walked out, leaving Chase rubbing his new injury behind. House limped up beside Wilson, who was at the counter, finishing a file for his patient. "Chase stalks me."
Wilson nodded, not even looking up. "You stalk people too." He told him, closing the file and handing it to the nurse.
"But that's different." House whined.
"How so?" Wilson asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend.
"Because I do it just to annoy the hell out of people. Lunch?" House answered, shrugging slightly. Wilson rolled his eyes but nodded.
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House limped his way into Kara's room. She looked up from her food, which happened to be a salad from McDonald's. "I know you're not just checking up on me because you're being medical." Kara told him, placing her fork down. She looked up at him expectantly. House's eyes widened only slightly. "I'll make an exception for this time though." She told him, picking up her drink.
"Thank God, I'm so relieved." House told her, sitting down on the side of her bed. "Where'd you get the Mickey D's salad?"
Kara shrugged. "I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was here." She told him, offering him a piece of chicken. He declined. "So, what's so important that you need to break my wishes?"
"Well, you know my ducklings." He began, looking outside to make sure none of them were listening in. Kara's face contorted into confusion. "Chase, Cameron, and Foreman." Kara nodded, remembering them. "They're getting nosey and wanting to know why I'm so interested in caring for you."
Kara frowned. She hated nosey people. "And you want me to be quiet when they interrogate me, right?" She asked. House nodded. "Don't worry. I get it. My lips are sealed." She said, grabbing her water and taking a sip.
"You sure? I mean, it's not like I'm ashamed of you or anything. It's just it would be much better if they didn't find out." He said, worried that Kara might get a little hurt.
She looked up at him with those loveable blue eyes that appeared when she was in a good mood. "I told you. I understand exactly why you don't want me to tell them. It's fine." She assured him for the last time, frowning at her table. House nodded and handed her the remote, which she was trying to reach for. She smiled lightly at him before turning on the TV. House turned and walked out of her room, humming McDonald's song.
Alright, please review! The three C's are appreciated.