Coming Forward

"I'm Dr. House." He said as he limped into Chase's room, closing the door behind him. Chase looked at him curiously, remembering the name from the receipt.

"You're the one whose name was written on the receipt?" House nodded and sat in the chair near Chase's bed.

"I don't usually talk to my patients," House started. "I get the facts, treat the patient, and send them out the door. But," He paused. "Your case is a little different, I suppose."

"How so?"

"There doesn't seem to be a specific physical reason that could possibly cause your memory loss. All your tests came back normal and you haven't had any head injuries. By all accounts, you're quite healthy. Plus," House lifted his legs and crossed his ankles on the edge of Chase's bed, causing the blonde smile slightly. "I want to figure out why you were looking for me."

"Me too." Chase chuckled. "I've bumped my head against the door frame of my car before, but I doubt that it was hard enough to cause memory loss." House nodded.

"People do that a lot; you have to have a major head injury to have memory loss, especially to the extent of yours."

"What do you mean?"

"This isn't traditional amnesia." Chase was quiet for a moment.

"How do you know that? Isn't amnesia the name for memory loss?" House hesitated for a moment.

"That's true, but your memory loss seems to be functioning a bit differently from what we see in regular amnesia cases."

"How so?"

"Forgetting two international trips, being in the United States and not knowing you were in the United States let alone your reason for being here, forgetting about a year of your life, and also forgetting what you've said a minute after you said it all without a known influence or head trauma. Traditionally with amnesia, it's triggered by a traumatic event, head injury, or drug use. Some medical conditions cause amnesia as well. You don't fit into any of those things." Chase's brow furrowed slightly.

"What did you mean by forgetting what I said a minute after I said it? I haven't done that."

"Dr. Kutner told me and the other doctors about your discussion of you being right-handed." Chase rolled his eyes slightly and huffed.

"I'm fucking right-handed, okay? What's the point?"

"You said after clarifying that you're right-handed that you find it frustrating to get ink on your left hand while writing—"

"I never said that." Chase butted in, his green-blue eyes narrowing.

"Yes you did, Chase. Dr. Kutner is a good doctor and is also very observant," He would take that compliment to the grave. "He knows that that's what you said, but you don't remember saying it even though you said that a minute earlier before you told Dr. Kutner again that you're right-handed and that you never said that you're left-handed."

"I'm not left-handed!" Chase shouted. "I'm right-handed! Why the fuck are you making such a big deal out of it?"

"Because it's important." House said, keeping his voice calm and his anger in check. Chase slumped back on his pillows, glaring at his lap, his blonde hair hiding his features from House.

"Chase," House said, keeping his voice calm. "We need you to cooperate so we can figure out why you've had extreme memory loss and how we can make sure it doesn't happen again."

"So you can fix it, you mean." Chase hissed quietly, looking angrily back at House, his eyes darkened as he stared at the doctor.

This is what Kutner and Foreman were talking about…it does feel like he's staring straight through you. Interesting. I bet he'd hold his own in a bar fight.

"I'm not a robot," Chase hissed again. "You can't 'fix' me like I'm a machine."

"We do need you to cooperate." Chase sighed and brushed his blonde hair away from his eyes.

"How can I forget so much?" He asked quietly, looking back up at House, his green-blue eyes catching the light in the room. "This has never happened before."

"We don't know, Chase, that's why we need you to cooperate with us and give us as much information as you can." Chase looked away again fiddling with his fingers as he looked out the window. House leaned back in his seat.

"Chase, are you willing to cooperate with the other doctors and me to figure out what's going on?" Chase was quiet for a few minutes. House sighed, thinking that Chase wouldn't answer.

"This is taking a little longer than I expected." Chase said quietly; House leaned forward in his seat.

"What did you say?" Chase looked back at him.

"What?"

"What did you just say?" Chase quirked an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't say anything." House sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat, his thoughts racing.

So I've seen what Kutner and Foreman were talking about with Chase's eyes, but they only seem different when he's mad…we're just looking too deeply into that. Now he's forgetting what he said moments earlier.

It's almost like Chase has issued a challenge.

xXxXx

"You didn't go home, did you?" Cameron asked as she, Kutner, and Foreman entered the conference room early the next morning, seeing House sitting on the conference table and staring at the board.

"No." House said flatly, not looking at them.

"You didn't go home?" Wilson asked as he too walked in, followed by Cuddy.

"No." House repeated, still staring at the board.

"Do we have anything new?" Cameron asked, sitting down at the table.

"His eyes," House started, instantly grabbing Kutner's and Foreman's full attention.

"You saw it too." Kutner said, making House nod.

"Saw what?" Cuddy glanced between Kutner and House.

"They only darken when he's angry,"

"Darken?" Kutner asked, drawing House's and Foreman's eyes to him.

"Elaborate." House said shortly.

"His eyes weren't dark to me, they were actually kind of bright." He paused. "But it still felt like he was staring straight through me and it was kind of unnerving, but he didn't seem angry." House glanced down at the carpet as Foreman gave Kutner a quizzical look.

"What were you talking about when Chase seemed to look at you differently?" Kutner thought back to yesterday.

"I think I asked him about his mother remarrying." House continued to twirl his cane.

Foreman and I saw Chase's eyes get dark, but that's only when he gets angry apparently. But Kutner said that Chase's eyes looked bright…why the hell would they be brighter than they already are?

"Did you actually go talk to him?" Wilson asked, pouring himself a coffee and sitting.

"Briefly. Mostly to clarify that his memory loss is functioning differently from traditional amnesia and we need him to cooperate and try to remember as much as he could." He paused. "Chase said this was taking a little longer than he expected."

Silence.

"So he's playing us?" Foreman asked, sucking his teeth angrily. Cameron shook her head, looking at her boss.

"No, I don't think he is. Chase seems genuine when it comes to what he can and can't remember." House seemed to nod tightly.

"Maybe we should get a psychologist on this case too." Cuddy suggested, but House shook his head, still twirling his cane.

"I think Chase has issued a challenge." House start slowly, eyes staring at the board. "He was looking for me and I'll be damned if I back down."

xXxXx

Chase laid in bed, looking out the window, moonlight streaming in between the curtains. House had left him a little while ago and he was feeling a little weary from his lack of understanding of what was happening with him.

How is this happening? I've never had an interest in leaving Australia. Why would I want to travel abroad? Why would I go looking for a man I've never met? Why would I stop talking to Aura? Come on, Chase. Think harder. Focus.

The beeping of his heart monitor was soothing, making him feel a sense of calm. Chase blinked slowly, eyes still looking out the window. He felt his body sink into the bed, almost like he was weightless. Chase breathed slowly.

He felt a familiar, light tap near his left eye. A very small and brief pressure that he recognized whenever he felt a lot of stress or became emotional. It was a strange comfort.

Tap.

Silence.

Tap.

Rest now. I have things under control.

xXxXx

Alright Gang,

Reviews would be wonderful and appreciated!

When-Rabbit-Howls