Dearest Readers,

"Now get up here so I can paint the bull's eye on your back! Uh…my "bull's eye," I of course mean camouflage…now hurry up, Cupcake."

Read on, Cherubs.

Over and out.

Return of Rider

"Greg! Come on, let's go!" Chase shouted down the hallway, computer bag on his shoulder and a slight smile on his face. House always made them late, but Chase was in the process of an attempt to change that.

"Hang on, Blondie!" House called back as he came down the hallway, walking much slower than usual.

Chase rolled his eyes and walked towards him, knowing that House was being slow on purpose so that they would be dramatically late. He grabbed House's hand and pulled him towards the door, but he felt House yank him back towards him. Chase let out a surprised yelp and found himself pressed firmly against House, with said man looking down at him fondly. Chase smiled up at him and wrapped his arms around House's neck, letting his bag fall. House brought Chase closer by wrapping his arms around the young man's thin waist pulled him closer.

"We're going to be late once again, Good Sir." Chase said with a grin and House placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I'd much rather stay here." House closed the gap between them and Chase gladly allowed it. Chase didn't really bother to fight for dominance anymore; he knew House would win anyway. But, when he was up to it, he would try. House invaded Chase's mouth greedily, making Chase moan slightly. House ran his hands up the blonde's back, noticing that Chase's bones were not as prominent as they used to be. Chase now found the idea of not going to work to be very tempting, but his thoughts were interrupted when House's phone began to ring. They pulled apart slowly, House sighing a bit angrily as Chase picked his bag off the floor.

"What?" House barked into his phone. Chase always felt sorry for the person on the other end of the line whenever House was mad.

"It's Cuddy. Where the hell are you?"

"Chase is taking forever to get ready and-" Chase slapped his arm lightly.

"Bull. Chase does his best to get you here close to on time. Get here in 20 minutes." And she hung up. House looked at his phone, closing it.

"Now that was just rude." He said, looking up at Chase who was trying hard not to laugh.

"You had that coming." Chase said, laughing slightly. He grabbed House's hand again and led them out the door.

HouseXChase

"Fear not! We are alive and well and ready to kick some disease-infected ass!" House shouted as he dramatically limped into the conference room, Chase following behind, really trying to not shake his head at his lover's behavior. House turned to him.

"Psst. Wombat...you're supposed to say your line." Chase gave House a pointed look as he hung his computer bag on the coat rack. "Psst." House said again, clearly not giving up until Chase said what he was supposed to. Chase sighed, defeated and turned towards Cameron and Foreman who were looking at him apprehensively.

"Sir House-alot is on a quest to retrieve the Holy Scripture of Medicine: the cure to Sir Foreman's stubbornness and Lady Cameron's emotional instability." Chase said as he sat heavily in his seat, looking at the puzzle in the newspaper. Cameron and Foreman glared at House who was staring back at them, a childish grin on his face.

"I'm not emotionally unstable!" Cameron cried, her face turning red. Chase made a "tisk" sound, but Cameron ignored it.

"I'm going to choose to not say anything because I have a feeling that's not going to do anything." Foreman said as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Oh you're good, Homie." House said as he turned towards the door and felt his blood run cold. "Chase, come here." Chase looked up at him confused.

"Why?" Cameron and Foreman were looking at their boss with confused looks as well.

"Chase, just come here."

"Not until you tell me why. Why do I have to move 6 feet from where I'm at now?" House felt anger and panic rise in him.

"Chase, if you want to admire my good looks ever again, then you'll move your ass over here."

"But-"

"Now!" Chase jumped, hurt that House had shouted at him.

But then he looked closely at his lover's blue eyes and saw something that's rarely there: panic. Fear. Chase stood slowly, keeping his eyes locked on House's. He felt his heart start to pound in his ears.

What's gotten into him?

He walked over to House and the older man grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind him.

"House! I don't understand. What's wrong?" Chase asked worriedly, as House refused to let him move from behind him in any way.

Chase had always known that House was possessive and protective of him and that came from love, but what was going on now? Chase tried to peer around House to see what was making him panic. But House used his other arm to push him back into place directly behind him.

Why is he making himself into a shield? A shield from what?

"You two," House said firmly to Cameron and Foreman, "get by the counter and hide behind the lower cabinet doors. Foreman, put Cameron behind you." They stared at him confused, but didn't want him to yell at them, so they did as they were told. Kneeling down behind a cabinet door, Foreman put Cameron directly behind him, protecting her from whatever House was so worried about.

"Aw, well isn't this sweet?" A man's voice said and Chase felt his heart stop.

Foreman peered over the cabinet door and recognized the man immediately: the man in the doorway was here not too long ago, seeking forgiveness from Chase. He looked over at the blonde and saw him clinging to the back of House's shirt with his eyes clamped shut. Cameron peered around Foreman and gasped quietly, recognizing the man as well.

House glared heatedly at the man, trying to keep Chase as closely behind him as possible. He started to become frustrated as Chase kept trying to look around him to see what he was protecting him from. Chase let out a small sound of pain when House pinched his arm, telling to stop struggling against him. Chase remained still.

Cameron looked over at the couple when she heard Chase give the small sound of pain, wondering what it was. When she realized what happened, she peered over Foreman's shoulder, placing her hands on his back. She looked over at the man threatening Chase and instantly saw why House forced Chase to get behind him and told her and Foreman to get behind the cabinet:

The man was tapping a gun against his leg.

"What do you want this time?" House barked, feeling Chase shake behind him.

"Just came by to say hello to my friend." The man said in a sickly sweet voice. House glared.

"He's not your friend, so leave."

"No. Not only has he not given what I want, but he needs to pay for his disrespect that he showed me a few days ago."

"Don't come anywhere near him." House warned, feeling Chase's hands tighten their grip on his shirt.

He took a glance over the man's shoulder and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw Wilson leading a very angry Cuddy towards the conference room. Never in his life would he have thought that he would be relieved to see an angry Cuddy.

They stopped in their tracks a few yards from the door, taking in the scene: Foreman hiding behind a cabinet door, with Cameron behind him, and House standing protectively in front of Chase who was clinging to House's shirt. Wilson saw House dart his eyes to the Oncologist's right, indicating to get the police.

Wilson nodded and ran towards that direction as Cuddy silently made her way towards the door, not wanting to draw the attention of the unknown man. She turned to see Wilson and 5 police officers run towards the conference room. The officers talked to each other, devising a way to get into the room without anyone getting hurt. They stood from their crouched position and quietly made their way towards the door. Wilson beckoned to Cuddy to get by him, which she did swiftly.

"Sir, you're going to have to come with us." An officer said from behind the man who spun around, surprised. Chase stiffened when he heard the new voice, but not daring to take a look for who it is.

"I just need to get something from Dr. Chase and then I'll be on my way." The man said, turning back towards House.

"Sir, you can get whatever it is later. But, right now, you're coming with us." He reached out towards the man, who turned around again and pointed the gun at the officer's face. The tension was now even thicker as Wilson and Cuddy peered through the glass to take in the scene. "There's no need to get violent here, Sir. We are simply going to transport you from the hospital."

"Shut up." The man snarled.

"Wait." A quiet, timid voice said. The man looked over his shoulder to see Chase trying to get out from behind House. "Greg." Chase said quietly, placing a hand on House's outstretched arm.

They stared at each other for a little while. Chase silently telling House that he was not going to be far away and that this was something that he needed to do. House understood this, but was still hesitant to lower his arm. Chase gave him a tiny smile and turned towards the man, stepping about 3 feet in front of House. Chase held his hands behind his back, wringing his fingers slightly.

"If you just wanted that one thing from me, then you can have it." The man's smile widened. House's attention was drawn from the man's face to Chase's moving hands, seeing that his hands were starting to turn slightly red.

"I'm sorry." The man grinned.

"Good boy. That wasn't so hard was it?"

"I'm sorry that it's actually you who are everything that my father said I was." The man's face reddened and he swung around and pointed his gun at Chase.

The officer immediately went into action when he saw that the man's attention was fully on Chase. He tackled the man to the ground, gun flying from his hand. They struggled but the officer sat on the man's back, putting his hands in handcuffs. Chase felt himself release a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. The police officers were walking the man out of the room when Chase called them before they left.

"Wait." Everyone turned to him, confused. A small sarcastic smile was on his face.

"Hurts doesn't it?"

The man glared at him with pure hatred as the police dragged him from the room, Chase laughing slightly. He heard House sigh lightly behind him and turned around, seeing him relieved. Chase gave him a look that told him that he was fine, but House knew better:

Chase was shaken up by the arrival of the man and was just trying to not make House worry about it too much.

Foreman and Cameron came around from the cabinet, surprised that Cuddy and Wilson were with them in the conference room. There were a few moments of silence before Cameron spoke.

"Chase, who was that guy?" The blonde was quiet for a few moments and House glared over at her, telling her to be quiet.

"His name's Rider," Chase started looking over at her, surprising everyone that he answered. "I've known him since I was a kid." They nodded, knowing that Chase wouldn't tell them anymore.

"In case you couldn't tell…he's a prick." Chase chuckled lightly as he went to grab his stuff. "He's always been like that though." House eyed him carefully as Chase swung his bag over his shoulder with his jacket over his other arm. He felt his heart skip with worry as he watched Chase walk towards the door.

"Something tells me that the police will be back here to ask me about Rider, so I think I'll save them the effort of coming here just by going to them." Chase said, giving House a look telling him to stop worrying about him. "I'll be coming back though, depending how long it takes."

"Take your time, Chase." Cuddy said kindly, knowing that Chase felt bad about leaving. Chase gave her a light smile.

"Hopefully it won't take long. I'll be back later." With that, he left the conference room with House fighting hard against the urge to go after him.

HouseXChase

Alright Gang,

This chapter ended up being a bit different than the original one, but I think it's much better.

As always, patience and reviews/PMs would be appreciated!

When-Rabbit-Howls