Greetings Dearest Readers,
**The team is: Kutner, Cameron, and Foreman.** Some folks tend to be a little OOC in this story.
*I'm a bit out of practice with writing, admittedly. After quite a few years away from it, I've decided to try to pick up the hobby again. Patience is appreciated.
*This is fiction after all and I know next-to-nothing about diseases and such, but I do what I can. That may seem unimportant, but in my mind, it is.
**Contains profanity and dark subjects** (Chase has a little bit of a potty mouth)
**This story is undergoing some reconstruction.
Unconscious Living
"For fuck's sake." The blonde rubbed his eyes aggressively, trying to rid the feeling of dust from them. Blinking rapidly to clear his vision, his green-blue eyes refocused and darted around him. His heart froze and breathing shallowed.
He was sitting in what appeared to be the waiting room of a hospital. Nurses and doctors moved briskly around him, his brain not quite comprehending the speed that everything was happening in.
Where the hell am I?
His eyes landed on a man and a woman leaning against the nurse's station, both of them looking as though they held a high position in wherever he was.
"It doesn't surprise me that House hasn't done his clinic hours in a few weeks." Cuddy sighed heavily, rubbing her temples.
"Well this is House we're talking about here," Wilson said, "No one can expect him to do anything that involves face-to-face conversation with anyone, especially people who are sick."
"People who are sick"? So I'm in a hospital? Why the hell am I in a hospital? Where is this hospital? Why do their accents sound bizarre?
He felt his heart beat even faster as the lack of knowledge of anything mounted. His eyes began to dart around him again as he wrung his hands fearfully. Frowning, he looked down at his hands, realizing that he was holding a piece of crumpled thin paper. Feeling like his heart was about to burst from his chest, his eyes scanned over the words, but he was becoming so lightheaded that the words spun on the page.
His body started to tremble as his breathing continued to come in short gasps. He had absolutely no idea what the paper said, where he was, or how he got there.
"So do you have a new strategy in trying to make House do clinic, besides threats?" Wilson asked as Cuddy briefly glanced to her left, stopping when she saw a young blonde man looking like he was about to have a panic attack. She directed her gaze back to Wilson and then darted her eyes towards the young blonde man, making Wilson look over at him as well.
"He's about to have a panic attack." Cuddy said shortly as they both began to carefully make their way towards the blonde.
"Hi there," Cuddy said kindly, drawing the young man's attention towards her. Cuddy and Wilson instantly noticed the look of pure terror in his green-blue eyes. "I'm Dr. Lisa Cuddy and this is Dr. James Wilson." She indicated Wilson to her right. The blonde's eyes darted between them as he tried desperately to calm himself down, while wringing the piece of paper in his hands.
They're clearly not from around here.
"R-Robert Chase." He said softly, his voice shaking. Cuddy and Wilson were intrigued by his thick Australian accent.
"It's nice to meet you, Robert—"
"Just 'Chase'." Cuddy nodded as Wilson took a small step forward and knelt in front of the blonde.
"That's quite an interesting accent you have there. Where are you from?" Chase made eye contact with him and quirked an eyebrow at him.
"I should ask you that. You don't sound like you're from around here." Wilson paused.
Alright James, don't panic. Something weird is going on here.
"We're both doctors here at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey." Cuddy cut in carefully, sensing that something was not quite right about their current situation. Chase looked up at her.
Where the fuck is that? It's definitely not local since I've never heard of it.
Chase paused, his eyes darting between Cuddy and Wilson as his breathing started to come in small gasps.
"W-Which is where?"
"Nurse!" Wilson yelled, barely catching Chase before he collapsed to the floor from his seat. Two nurses and Wilson rolled Chase onto a stretcher, strapping him down. Chase locked eyes with him and Wilson saw pure panic and confusion.
"How did I...get here?" Wilson and Cuddy looked after him sympathetically as the nurses wheeled him off to a room.
"That was bizarre, to say the least." Wilson said mildly, breathing deeply. "I wonder what he meant by 'here' though." He glanced at Cuddy. "Do you think he meant 'here' as in the hospital or 'here' as in New Jersey?" Cuddy shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms.
"I'm not sure. I got the impression that he thought we were the ones out of place." Wilson made a noise of agreement and glanced at the floor, something catching his eye:
A thin piece of crumpled paper.
"Cuddy," Wilson said quietly as he stood slowly. Cuddy turned to look at him as he read a piece of paper in his hands.
"What's that?" Wilson glanced at her.
"Chase must've dropped it."
"That's what he was probably fiddling with before he collapsed. Does it say anything?" He handed it to her, his hand shaking slightly. She looked down at the paper as the words screamed back at her.
Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital
New Jersey, US
Diagnostics
Dr. Gregory House
xXxXx
Cuddy slapped a file down on the conference table, looking pointedly at House as he tossed his red ball into the air.
"New case?" Cameron asked as she pulled the file towards her and flipped it open. Her brow furrowed.
"30 year old male collapses after having a panic attack, appears disorientated and confused, and also appears to have some memory loss. No indication of head trauma." Cameron read, removing her glasses. "Why this one?"
"Well," Wilson said as he rocked on his feet. "Humor us." Foreman scoffed lightly.
"Humor you? I'm sure there's better use of our time." Wilson hesitated.
"He doesn't remember how he got here. And by 'here', we're not sure if he means the hospital or New Jersey." House continued to toss his ball.
"Where's he from?" House asked, keeping the interest out of his voice.
"His accent sounded Australian, so I'm assuming he's from Australia." House stopped tossing his ball and turned towards him.
"He doesn't remember coming here from Australia?" Foreman asked, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Possibly."
"I'm sure there's another doctor who could figure out his case."
"He dropped this." Cuddy tossed the crumpled piece of paper Chase was fiddling with onto the conference table; Kutner reached for it and turned it towards him.
"Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital; New Jersey, US; Diagnostics; Dr. Gregory House." As soon as House heard his name, he stood and limped over to the others.
"He was probably looking for House, so what?" Foreman said shortly.
"He was disorientated and had a panic attack." Cuddy said loudly. "Those are not typical responses for a person who's just looking for someone!" Foreman bit back a retort as Kutner brought the piece of paper closer to his eyes as his brows furrowed.
"He could've gotten overwhelmed from the change in environment." Cameron added. "He's from Australia, right? And since we don't know how long he's been in the United States, he probably just got overwhelmed and began to panic."
"But he became worse when I mentioned New Jersey." Cuddy said, remembering the drastic spike in Chase's breathing.
"Then he asked how he got here." Wilson added.
"Right, and he collapsed before he could clarify and -"
"Interesting," Kutner said quietly, still staring intently at the thin piece of paper. They all turned to look at him.
"What is?" Cameron asked from across the table. Kutner flattened out the piece of paper on the table with the written words facing up at them.
"Well for one," He picked up the piece of paper again and showed them the other side. "This is a receipt from some shop in France, I'm assuming. The language printed is French."
"France?" Wilson asked surprised, as Kutner laid the piece of paper back down with the written words facing up.
"Yeah, and he…what's the patient's name?" He looked up at Cameron as she opened the folder.
"Robert Chase."
"He prefers 'Chase'." Wilson added, before Kutner looked back down at the paper.
"I think the handwriting is strange."
"How so?" Cuddy asked, and Kutner pointed to the first entry.
"If you look at the the first line, it's all written in cursive, but everything else is in print."
"So? We all don't always write the -"
"Here," Kutner continued, cutting Foreman off. "If you look at the 'D' in 'Dr', the curve goes passed the vertical line; but if you look that the 'D' in 'Diagnostics'," He pointed again. "The curve doesn't pass the vertical line and the lines are really thick."
"But—" Foreman started.
"As for the 'New Jersey, US'," Kutner continued. "It looks like it was written by someone who is left-handed because of the way it's slanted and the ink is slightly smudged, as though someone touched the ink before it had a chance to dry a little bit which is a common thing with people who are left-handed."
Silence fell in the room after Kutner's explanation and House looked over his shoulder, trying to see what Kutner explained. His clear-blue eyes began to see all the details that Kutner picked up on.
Not groundbreaking, but interesting.
"Each thing that was written," Kutner continued. "Was written in a different style; the slant of the letters is different and the thickness of the letters is different, meaning that whoever was writing was pushing harder down on the pen." Kutner shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his seat. "I don't know. It just seems a little weird to me. It could be nothing." House made his way towards the door.
"I knew I hired you for a reason."
xXxXx
He heard the door slide open and turned to see the two people he met earlier, Cuddy and Wilson, as well as 4 other people walk in. His green-blue eyes brushed over them as he felt fear start to course through him again.
What the hell is going on?
"Hi Chase," Cuddy said as she stood at the foot of his bed, smiling kindly at him. He returned the smile lightly.
"Hello, Dr. Cuddy. How long am I going to be here?"
"We're not sure actually." Chase's face saddened and he attempted to put on a brave face, fiddling with his fingers slightly. "We need you to answer some questions for us."
"I'll certainly do my best. What would you like to know?" Cuddy gathered her words carefully.
"You asked Dr. Wilson and I how you got here…what did you mean by 'here'?" Chase bit his lower lip gently and looked at his lap. He was silent for a few moments before he made eye contact with her.
"Where…where is New Jersey? I'm not familiar with that territory." House's eyes narrowed briefly.
Not only does he not remember coming to the United States from Australia, he doesn't even know he's in the United States. How the hell did he get through Customs to enter the country with no memory?
His thoughts began to race with all the possible explanations as Kutner's thoughts drifted back to the receipt that Chase was fiddling with earlier.
"Chase, you're currently in Princeton, New Jersey, which is in the United States." Wilson said carefully, having no idea how Chase would respond to being in a different country on the other side of the world.
They saw Chase's body stiffen and his face grow pale as he processed the information he was just given. His eyebrows raised and he stared at a spot behind them, blinking slowly.
Oh shit, shit, shit, shit. What the hell? The United States? How the hell did I end up over here? Why the hell am I even in the United States? I have no reason to be here! Fuck, it must have been expensive to get here, I don't have that kind of salary.
Their eyes immediately directed up to the heart rate monitor as they watched Chase's heart speed up dramatically.
"To answer your question," Chase said quietly, after taking a few minutes to process this new information. "I mean that I…didn't know...I don't know how I got to this country." He said the last part hurriedly, almost stringing the words together. He gave an embarrassed smile as he ran a shaking hand through his hair. "I mean, I've never been interested in leaving Australia. Why would I come here?" He sighed and looked out the window.
Silence fell in the room once more as interest became quite evident on House's face, but he also hid his confusion carefully. Forgetting where you put your keys was completely normal; forgetting your name and personal information was common for people with amnesia or other medical conditions. Forgetting how you came to a different country and not even knowing what that country is? That's different.
We need to know if there were changes in behavior prior to him traveling. Drug use?
"What's your most recent memory before being in the hospital?" Cuddy asked, bringing House out of his thought.
"I was at my grandmother's grave to change the flowers that I always leave there. It was the 13 year anniversary of her death." He smiled fondly as he remembered her.
"I'm sorry to hear about her death, Chase." Cameron said. "When did she pass?"
"September 1st." Tense silence fell in the room and Chase looked up at them, confused. "What?" House leaned heavier on his cane, eyeing Chase carefully.
"Are you sure that's the most recent thing you can remember?" Cuddy asked, trying to keep her tone of voice casual. Chase nodded.
"I'm sure, why?" House made eye contact.
"Today is August 17th." Chase's green-blue eyes shot back towards his lap as an overwhelming feeling of confusion began to crush him.
No, no, no, no, no. That can't be right. I was at my grandmother's grave to give her new flowers like I always do. It was September 1st because I always put white roses on her grave on the anniversary of her death, and it was a pain to get the damn roses! It can't be August!
"No it's not." Chase said flatly, staring at House who saw the confusion turning into anger.
Overwhelming confusion usually causes people to get pissed off…here we go.
"Here." House said, reaching into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Flipping it open he showed the screen to Chase for him to see the date.
Slowly, Chase reached forward to grab House's phone. As he extended his arm, the doctors saw his hand trembling and he gently took House's phone and held it in both his hands, staring at the screen. 'August 17th' glared back at him mockingly as his hands started to shake more, confusion and fear mounting as his brief moment of anger disappeared.
He's completely terrified.
Kutner thought as they heard Chase's heart rate monitor beat faster and the blonde's hands shake harder. Chase felt the world fall away from him as he continued to stare at the phone's screen that was now black.
"Has this ever happened before, Chase?" Cameron asked gently, bending over to be on eye level to Chase's right. He didn't respond. They looked at each other, each of them having the same questions.
This could be more than a traditional amnesia case. Chase traveled from Australia to the United States, didn't even know he was in the United States, and doesn't have any memory of the trip? Not only that, his most recent memory was on September 1st, which was almost one year ago?
Kutner directed his eyes back up at Chase when he heard a small whimper. Chase was clutching his blonde hair tightly in his hands, rocking back-and-forth slightly, and doing his best to not cry while quietly repeating 'no'. He saw Cameron carefully reach out to lay her hand on the blonde's back and was surprised when Chase slapped her hand away, hard.
"Don't touch me." Chase hissed his voice thick with unshed tears. They were all taken aback, including House, as Cameron slowly took a step away from the blonde.
Kutner darted his eyes over to House to see his boss deep in thought, tapping his cane lightly against the floor. But when he looked more closely, he saw a small glimmer of confusion in House's clear-blue eyes, though he was certain that a large amount of confusion lay underneath House's carefully constructed façade.
House's thoughts continued to race, but not coming up with a remote idea of what could be happening with Chase. This couldn't be just amnesia, it just couldn't be.
He prided himself on being one of the best Diagnostians in the world, but besides drug use, he was struggling with an idea of where to get started. Granted, this was only the first time he's encountered Chase, but he had a strong feeling that he would be talking with Chase much more frequently than he would with any other patient. Hell, it's a rare occurrence for him to even see a patient on the first day, if ever. As House limped towards the door, he knew one thing for certain:
He was going to be in for one hell of a ride.
xXxXx
Alright Gang,
This story may seem like I'm drawing out (which is kind of like all my stories), but it's a complex story with many different components, so it's going to take LOTS of development. ^_^
If you have questions, just ask.
Reviews would be wonderful and appreciated!
When-Rabbit-Howls