Let's Get Started

"Any ideas?" Cuddy asked wearily as they walked into the conference room. House limped over to the board and uncapped a marker, trying to organize his thoughts.

Memory loss

Drug use?

"Chase doesn't seem to be showing any physical symptoms." Cameron said as she sat down at the conference table.

"His heart beat and breathing are irregular and he has tremors." Foreman said as he leaned against his usual spot on the wall.

"Those are just caused by confusion and fear. Anyone would be freaked out in his situation." Kutner corrected, glancing over at him. A small and brief smirk crossed House's face.

How many times has Kutner damaged Foreman's ego today?

"I don't think this is just amnesia." Cuddy added as she sat next to Cameron at the table.

"We have no idea yet if there's a specific physical cause of his memory loss, some trauma, or drug use." Wilson agreed, standing near the door with his arms crossed.

"He doesn't strike me as someone who abuses drugs." Cameron pitched. House scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"So naïve to still believe in the good in people. What's wrong with you?"

"And we don't know how long he's been in the United States." Cuddy added again before Cameron could retort.

"Even Chase doesn't know how long he's been in the United States since he didn't know he was here in the first place." Kutner said, twirling a pen between his fingers. He suddenly tapped his pen on the table and looked at Cuddy. "He could have been here since September of last year since that was when his last memory occurred." There was a brief moment of silence.

"The doctor who admitted him wrote in his file that there was no head injury." Cameron added as she read Chase's file briefly.

House twirled the marker between his fingers, his brain working in overdrive as he tried to think of any possible explanation for what was happening with Chase.

Kutner shoved his hands in his pockets as he leaned back in his chair, propping it on the back legs. He rocked gently, thinking. His eyes landed on the receipt that they kept with Chase's case file for safe-keeping. A thought occurred to him:

If Chase doesn't remember traveling to the United States…I wonder if he remembers traveling to France. It's a long-shot, but we need to start somewhere.

He dropped the chair back onto all four legs and stood, grabbed the receipt, and headed towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Cameron asked, looking back at him.

"I'll be right back."

xXxXx

"Hello," Chase said politely as Kutner walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hi Chase, I didn't introduce myself earlier, I'm Dr. Kutner." He said, smiling kindly at him, trying to make the blonde feel slightly comfortable; Chase returned the smile slightly.

"May I?" Kutner asked, indicating the bed near Chase's knees.

"Of course." Kutner sat down on the bed, thinking through his questions carefully.

"I know you're scared," He started, making Chase redirect his eyes down to his lap. "Forgetting that much is a very frightening and confusing thing."

"What's causing it?" Chase asked quietly, not looking up at him. Kutner hesitated.

"We're not sure yet." He hesitated again. "I also know you're a bit overwhelmed right now, but I need to ask you a couple more questions." Chase nodded slightly.

"Alright," He looked up at him. "What do you want to know?" Kutner wrapped his fingers around the receipt, figuring that he would ask other questions before asking about the receipt.

"Have you ever lost time before?" Chase quirked an eyebrow.

"Lost time?"

"Have you ever forgotten anything that happened over the course of a few hours, days, or even weeks?" Chase looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I think it's fairly normal to forget things." He countered, making Kutner nod in agreement.

"Agreed, but have you ever completely forgotten any and everything that happened over the course of a certain amount of time? Have you ever had days that you have no idea what happened?" He paused. "Have you ever had memory loss like you discovered today?" Chase broke eye contact with him and fiddled with his fingers, thinking.

"I don't think so." Chase finally said, looking back up at Kutner.

"What's your father's name?" Chase gave him a confused look and laughed.

"Why?" Kutner smiled lightly.

"Just asking basic questions to test your memory."

"I never met my biological father."

"So you don't know his name then."

"From what my mother told me, his name was Rowan." Kutner nodded lightly.

"Did you mother remarry?" Chase's left eye briefly twitched as if the question had upset him. He blinked slowly and looked over Kutner's shoulder at the movement behind him, thinking through his answer. Silence filled the room for a few moments.

His mother probably did remarry and there's tension between him and his stepfather. He probably needs some encouragement to see why knowing family history is important for us to help him.

"Why is that important? I don't share any genetics with him." Kutner kept his tone casual.

"Knowing family history can be very helpful for us to solving your case and figuring out how to help you." Chase nodded, clasping his hands together.

"That's fair, then yes. Yes, she did remarry. I was about 4 years old, I believe." Chase said, looking back up at Kutner. The doctor nodded slightly and as he pulled the receipt out of his pocket, he paused and looked back up at Chase. He was looking calmly back at him, hands folded on his lap, his green eyes seeming to see straight through him.

Something's not…right. Something's off.

He brushed the thought aside as he pulled the receipt from his pocket.

"Chase, have you ever been to France?" He asked carefully, flattening out the receipt. Chase was quiet as he fiddled with his fingers, looking at Kutner's hands.

"Chase?" Kutner pressed lightly, pushing the blonde into thinking faster.

"Pardon?" He looked back up at him.

"Have you ever been to France?" He repeated, noting Chase's hesitation to another one of his questions. Chase's brows furrowed.

"No, I haven't. Why?" Kutner sighed quietly and placed the receipt on Chase's lap.

"Do you remember fiddling with this before you were admitted here?" Chase picked it up and stared at it.

"Yeah, but I couldn't really read it because I was too lightheaded. I was kind of freaking out." Kutner chose his words carefully.

"This is a receipt from France. At least I'm assuming from France, since it's in French. That's why I asked if you've ever been there. Do you remember being there?" He saw Chase's grip tighten on the receipt has his green-blue eyes scanned the printed words on the receipt, not understanding what he was reading since he didn't speak French.

"There's also writing on the back." Kutner pressed gently, turning the receipt over in Chase's hands. "Did you write that or know who did?" He kept his voice soft, knowing that he was overwhelming and confusing Chase even more. Chase shook his head and wiped his nose.

"No," He said, his voice thick again with unshed tears caused by confusion and fear. "I've never been there. I don't know anyone in France. I've never been outside of Australia. Why the hell would I have gone there?" He shouted his question, catching Kutner off guard. Chase tossed the receipt aside and gripped his blonde hair in his hands, rocking slightly.

He's getting frustrated now. Frustration, confusion, and fear is a very dangerous combination.

"Why can't I remember? I've never forgotten something like this before." Chase asked fearfully, looking back up at Kutner. He was quiet for a few moments.

"I don't know, Chase, but we're going to do our best to figure it out. Can I ask you something else?" Chase nodded.

"Are you right or left-handed?" Chase scratched his nose.

"Right-handed, why?" Kutner shrugged, holding the receipt in his hands again.

"I don't know. The handwriting just looks weird to me. Some things look like it was written by someone left-handed since it's a little smudged." Kutner put the receipt in his coat pocket and stood. "Never hurts to ask though."

"I'm sure anything helps, but I don't really pay attention to stuff like that." Kutner nodded and pushed his chair away.

"But it is frustrating when I get ink on my hand." Chase said, making Kutner look down at him.

"What?"

"When I'm writing, I always get ink right here." He indicated the side of his left hand near his pinkie. Kutner's eyes narrowed briefly as Chase yawned, rubbing his eyes.

He's right-handed. How would he get ink on his left hand while writing?

"But you said you're right-handed." Chase opened his eyes.

"I am right-handed. I thought we already established that."

"So how could you get ink on your left hand while you're writing if you're right-handed?" Chase quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I never said that." Kutner felt his confusion mount.

He doesn't remember what he said a minute ago? Short term memory loss? But he's forgotten traveling across the world and almost a year of his life. He can't forget that much time and then forget what he said a minute ago. Alright Lawrence, don't freak him out. Play it off and come back to it later.

"That's right." Kutner said, rolling his eyes and snapping his fingers as if he just remembered. "I do remember you saying that." Chase let out a relieved laugh.

"I'm sure it's tough trying to remember everything and keep things straight with your job." Chase straightened up a little bit in the bed. "Dr. Kutner?"

"Yes? Did you need something?" Chase nodded.

"Yeah, I need a phone charger. I'd like to call my good friend to let her know where I am, but I don't know her number by heart and my phone's dead." Kutner's heart raced a little bit at the thought of possibly getting more background information about Chase.

"I'm sure I can find you one. Sit tight for a few minutes."

xXxXx

As his phone charged, Chase scrolled any conversations he's had through text or recent calls. The most recent call he made was to his good friend, Aura, back in September. Same with any text messages. Chase stared at his call and text history. While he was not the most social person, he didn't expect his lack of communication to be this severe. Him and Aura had basically grown up together. He viewed her as like a big sister he never had. They shared everything with each other, even the vulnerable and embarrassing moments.

This is too weird. Aura and I talk all the time. There's no way I'd go no-contact with her and not remember.

Hands shaking slightly, he scrolled to Aura's number and called. It rang for a few moments before her voice came through the other end.

"Hey, Chase!" Aura said brightly. Chase smiled. "I didn't expect to hear from you so soon! How's your trip? Where are you now?"

Silence.

Trip? I've never had an interest in leaving Australia. Why the fuck don't I remember any of this?

"Aura," Chase choked out eventually. He could sense Aura's anxiety through the phone. "I...I need some help." She inhaled sharply.

"Oh God, Chase. Where the hell are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'll come get you." He heard her shuffling around. He shook his head.

"Listen." Aura stopped moving. "Aura, I'm in the United States. New Jersey."

More silence.

"Why are you there? You never mentioned going to the United States. You said the furthest you were going was France." Chase froze as he remembered the piece of paper that Dr. Kutner had shown him. It was a receipt from a shop written in French.

So I guess I was there.

Chase sighed in defeat. They were both quiet, Aura coming to the understanding that something serious was happening.

"Whereabouts in New Jersey are you?" She asked softly.

"Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Prince - "

"You're in the fucking hospital?" Aura shouted, causing Chase to jerk the phone away from his ear. "My God, Chase, what the hell? That's it! I'm coming. I don't care if you get discharged, your ass is staying there until I'm able to get stuff together and get to you." Chase felt a sense of relief as he heard more shuffling in the background.

"You would travel all the way here with no notice?" He asked quietly, causing Aura to pause and suck her teeth.

"Of course I would, you dumbass. That's what good friends do. I'm going to need a little bit of time to get things together though." Chase nodded. "Give me two weeks and I'll be there. But Chase," She paused again. "Are you hurt? Why are you in the hospital?"

Where to start?

"I'm not hurt, but I can't remember much of anything."

"You've always had a hard time remembering things though."

"Not like this, Aura. It's never been this bad."

"How bad?" Chase paused, rubbing his eye.

"I-I don't remember how I got here." Chase started to feel himself become emotional again.

Silence.

Chase heard Aura sit down, almost like he could see her take in this new information.

"How long have you been there?"

"The hospital or the United States?"

"Both." Chase hesitated.

"I got admitted this morning, but..." He didn't finish his thought. He knew Aura understood. He heard her inhale deeply again, settling herself.

"Chase," She said softly. "What's the last thing you remember before being in the hospital?" Chase shook his head, feeling a tear slide down his cheek.

"Don't."

"What was it?" He knew she wouldn't let it go. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, clearing his throat.

"Visiting Grandma." He heard a sharp thud. "Aura?" He asked, a slight panic tone to his voice.

"Fuck, sorry. I dropped my phone." She said. "Chase, that was -"

"Almost a year ago, I know!" Chase yelled, frustrating leaking into his phone. Aura was quiet.

"I'm sorry, Chase." He heard her shuffling around again. "Give me a couple weeks to get things together here. I want to be there. Whatever is going, maybe I can help your doctor." Chase nodded.

"Thank you." Chase whispered, a small smile on his face. Aura sucked her teeth.

"It's what good friends do, jackass."

xXxXx

Alright Gang,

Reviews would be wonderful and appreciated!

When-Rabbit-Howls