Hello

"I have a theory." Kutner said carefully. Eventually finding House on the roof of the hospital sitting on the ledge, his legs dangling. House nodded at the space next to him, a silent invitation to sit. Kutner was surprised, but said nothing as he sat.

"What's your theory?" Kutner rubbed the back of his neck, feeling suddenly nervous. It was a wild idea, but seemed to be the only thing that made some sense.

"What if," He started carefully, trying to gauge House's mood. "What about Dissociative Identity Disorder? Admittedly, I don't know much about it, but -"

"No one does." House said quietly, looking straight ahead. "I was thinking the same thing. It's the only thing that makes sense." He gave a sarcastic scoff. "Dissociative Identity Disorder making sense. How interesting, but it's a highly controversial thing." Kutner raised an eyebrow at him.

"Since when did you care about controversy?" House actually laughed lightly, tapping his fingers against his knees. He thought for a moment, seeming to be doing quick mental math.

"I think," House started slowly. "We've seen four people since Chase has been admitted. I think Chase is the 'main' one, or whatever the term is." House used finger quotes for 'main.'

"You think there's four people in there?" Kutner asked, trying replay all interactions they've had with Chase in the last two weeks. House shrugged as he swung his legs back over and stood slowly.

"Could be more." Kutner paled as he watched House gingerly descend the stairs.

Holy shit.

xXxXx

"Kutner convinced me to not go to the clinic. I owe him a lot." House said as he and Kutner walked back into the conference room, noting that Cuddy and Wilson had joined them. Cuddy looked angrily at Kutner.

"I didn't! He's just being himself!" Kutner said loudly, holding his hands out in a defensive position. House rolled his eyes.

"And I thought you were alright." Kutner was flattered, but hid it as he sat.

"Aura went to go visit Chase?" He asked, looking at Cameron. She nodded.

"Yeah, she left not long after you did."

"It's good she's not here." House said, picking up his marker and writing on the board. Foreman looked at him, confused.

"Why is that? I thought having a good friend of Chase's here would be helpful to the case." House stepped away from the board and pointed.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

"Not quite ready to explain that yet." House said. Foreman rolled his eyes as the other doctors sat back in their seats, sighing.

"You can't be serious. Do you know how controversial the very idea of that diagnosis is right now?" Foreman asked, irritated. House narrowed his eyes at him, tapping his cane. He glanced at the other doctors, sensing their doubt.

"I know it's a controversial diagnosis, but it's the only thing that fits what we've been seeing."

"I think," Kutner added, sitting up straighter. "That whatever Chase doesn't remember, someone else does. For example, Chase doesn't remember Foreman getting blood samples from him."

Silence.

"However," He looked over at Foreman. "You said that he was aggressive when you were getting the samples. What if..." He hesitated. "What if Chase wasn't being aggressive at all?What if that was someone else and that's why Chase doesn't remember his blood being drawn? Because he wasn't...there?" He ended on a question. Cuddy sighed.

"I see where you two are coming from, but that's one hell of a diagnosis that we don't know much about." House headed towards the door, thinking.

We need to trigger him. Now that we have an idea, we need to trigger him to see if we can see a switch. Let's see if we can talk to someone besides Chase.

xXxXx

"Hi Dr. House," Aura said brightly as he and the team entered Chase's room. Her eyes darted between Cuddy and Wilson. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Aura."

"I'm Dr. James Wilson and this is Dr. Lisa Cuddy," He said politely.

"They were the first people I met here." Chase added, writing in an answer to the crossword puzzle. House eyed him carefully.

Right hand. This is Chase.

"Any more news?" Chase asked, looking up at House, his green-blue eyes hopeful. The doctor hesitated. He wanted to know if his theory was correct and if he was on the right track. He walked to the other side of Chase's bed, sitting down, and propped his feet up on Chase's bed, crossing his ankles. Chase smiled again, looking at him. Cuddy rolled her eyes.

"Possibly, but I need to ask you a couple questions." Chase nodded.

"Okay, what do you need?" House kept his tone casual, thinking of the instances of when Chase appeared to be different in their interactions.

"Remember how we talked about causes of memory loss?" Chase nodded again. "I forgot to add that childhood trauma can lead to memory loss." He paused. "It's like a type of defense mechanism." He paused again, watching Chase. Aura shifted next to Chase, giving House a worried look. Chase blinked slowly at him.

Tap.

Tap.

"I didn't have the happiest of childhoods, but I'm failing to see how that impacts things now." Chase said evenly, staring at House with cool, green eyes. House stared back.

There you are.

Silence fell in the room, House and Chase continuing to look at each other. The blonde gave a slight smile.

About time.

"Childhood trauma can impact adulthood. We see it all the time." Cameron said, interrupting the silence. There was a strange feeling in the air. Aura looked between House and Chase, who were still looking evenly at each other. House now having a small smirk on his lips.

There was a start to an understanding between the blonde and doctor.

Whoever this is, he must be some kind of protector. The primary defense.

"What's the next clue?" House asked, nodding towards the crossword puzzle book on Chase's lap. Aura looked down, grateful for a change in topic.

"4 letters: Spanish house."

"Casa." House said, watching Chase. The blonde grabbed the pencil and wrote in the answer.

Left hand. This one is left-handed and Chase is right-handed. Interesting.

Chase put the pencil down, looking back over at House.

"You said you had questions?" House smiled lightly.

"Just two for now, actually." He lifted his legs off of Chase's bed. "Did you ever figure out who made you that?" He used his cane to point at the puzzle book that was folded into a Christmas tree. Chase stared at him, thinking.

He already knows the answer to that. What an ass. He's great.

"I did." Chase started slowly, looking evenly at House. "It was made by someone who never got the chase to experience childhood."

He's talking about another one of them.

"But do you know them?" Aura asked, looking at her friend curiously. "You don't know anyone here besides me." Chase shrugged, looking at her.

"I guess he just need some creative freedom." Aura shrugged and picked up the puzzle book, used to her friend's antics.

"That's fair, I suppose. I guess when you're surrounded by illness, using any outlet and sharing it with others is a good way to get through it, right?" She asked, the other doctors slightly nodding, knowing that something deeper was happening. More silence fell in the room. House tapped his cane against the floor.

"One more question for now." He said quietly and Chase looked at him evenly. House ignored the feeling of Chase looking straight through him.

He's a protector for a reason.

It was quiet, with the exception of Chase's heart monitor. House and Chase eyed each other, House knowing that he was being tested. He knew that he was no longer talking to Robert Chase. He leaned forward, his arms on his knees. He stared into Chase's green eyes, rubbing his cane between his hands. House smirked lightly, which Chase reciprocated with a light smile.

They both knew.

Finally.

"You had another question?" Chase asked. House nodded, locking eyes with Chase, refusing to look away despite the chill that went down his spine.

"Who are you?" He asked quietly.

Silence.

Aura blinked rapidly and looked between House and Chase, unsure why the doctor would ask such a question. She was about to speak up when Kutner placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he shook his head slightly, hoping that she got the hint to not say anything yet. House and Chase continued to stare at each other, feeling each other out. House moved first.

"You know our names. And you're not Chase." He leaned back in his seat. "So what's your name? Do you have one?" Chase laughed lightly, shaking his head.

"Of course I have a name, but -" He glanced at Aura, seeming to feel a sense of regret. He looked at Aura with a sense of admiration and respect. Aura's brows furrowed.

"Chase?"

"You have always been good to him." He hesitated. "Maybe something should have been said earlier." He looked back at House.

"I'm Rado. It's about time we talk."

xXxXx

Alright Gang,

Boom!

Reviews would be wonderful and appreciated!

When-Rabbit-Howls