Family Meeting

He stared up at the white ceiling, listening to his heart monitor beep beside him. House had left hours ago and Aura had visited him briefly. The air between them seemed different somehow. Like they both knew something, but didn't know if the other did as well. She seemed sad and unsure, neither of which Chase was used to seeing with his good friend. Chase sighed and brought his blanket up to his shoulders, still staring at the ceiling.

Despite the news he received today, he felt a strange sense of peace. His mind and body were not completely his own and yet, he didn't feel a sense of panic or fear. It was like he was given an answer he didn't know he needed. He was given a piece of information that gave him some control moving forward. Only problem was he didn't know how to move forward from here. He sighed again, looking over to the window. It was nighttime now, the moon high in the sky. Chase blinked slowly, focusing on calming his breathing and the beeping of the heart monitor. He felt the comforting feeling of weightlessness and he relaxed into the bed, the soothing, light pressure near his eye began to pulse.

Maybe this is what Dr. House meant by trying to talk to someone. I'm not sure how this works.

Chase lost focus and felt his body give an awkward jerk as if he was falling. The soothing pressure was gone. Chase shook his head in frustration, looking back out the window. He focused on slowing his breathing, listened to the steady beep of his heart monitor, felt his body sink into the bed again.

Focus.

Silence.

Tap.

You've done well.

Chase almost lost focus again when he heard a soft voice, sounding vaguely like his, cut through the silence. Chase didn't know what to say.

Dr. House told you his theory, yes?

Yeah. He paused. You're...someone else? Do you have your own name?

Chase heard a small laugh.

Yes, I have my own name just like you have your own name. I'm Rado. It's good to finally talk to you.

I didn't know you existed until today. Chase paused again. How long have you been here? Can you read my mind? Are you why I don't remember things that well? Did you make the Christmas tree puzzle book thing? That's been bothering me for a while.

Another small laugh.

One thing at a time, Robert. To answer your questions, I've been here since the age of four. The closest to "mind reading" I can do is how we're communicating now, but no, I don't know all your thoughts. What you don't remember, I or someone else does. Just how you remember things that we don't. And Kindy made that tree, not me.

Silence fell between them, Chase taking time to think through what Rado just shared with him.

This is kind of weird.

This is very weird, don't sell us short.

Chase felt himself laugh lightly, almost losing focus again. He had so many questions, but didn't know where to start. He felt himself getting tired.

Dr. House said there's five...of us...in here?

That I know about. There could be more and we're just not aware of each other.

How does that work?

Rado paused again.

I don't know, if I'm honest. Maybe we're just hiding from each other and only come to the Front when our purpose arises.

The Front? You have your own purpose for being here? Chase hesitated a moment. Do I have my own purpose that I don't know about? What about the others you do know about?

He heard Rado chuckle again.

Slow down. We have plenty of time. Rado paused. The Front is where you are now. It's where you are most of the time, all things considered.

So the Front is the place of control?

Of the body and conscious, yes. I came about at 4 years old in response to a traumatic event that we might discuss later.

Might? Don't I have a right to know?

Rado paused for several moments. If it wasn't for the light pressure near his eye, Chase would've thought that Rado had gone away altogether.

I came about to protect against that event and to cope with the aftermath so no one else would have to. It would essentially defeat my purpose if I told you.

Chase noted the slight tone of anger in Rado's voice.

I didn't mean any offense. Sorry.

It's quite alright. We have a lot to learn.

Chase hesitated again, feeling exhausted.

Rest now. We can talk more tomorrow.

Wait, one more question.

Silence.

Please?

Go ahead.

Can you tell me about the other three? Just a general idea. That's my last question for tonight, promise.

It was almost as if he could hear Rado sigh.

Briefly. Kindy, the one who made you the tree, is a child. Nails is just a paranoid, aggressive person, probably in his teens. Rabbit...is the original. He's been dormant since the age of 4.

Chase felt his blood run cold.

Original? Then...what does that make...me?

He felt the pressure near his eye disappear.

xXxXx

"Morning, have you eaten yet?" Aura asked, sitting next to him. Chase nodded, forcing a smile.

"I did. I'd like to be able to get out of this room for a little bit though. I've been in here a while." He said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"That's fair. Let's see if we can make that happen." Aura went to go talk to a nurse as Chase changed into fresh clothes in the restroom.

He stared at his reflection, hands gripping the side of the sink. He stared into his own eyes, thinking of what Rado had said last night. He still had questions and he figured Rado would be the one to ask. He sighed heavily, dropping his head down, closing his eyes.

"Chase," Aura said through the door. "The nurse said we can walk around the nearby hallways for a while if you want, but we'll need to be back by about 11:30 for when your doctors come check in." Chase straightened and opened the door, a small smile on his face.

"Perfect, I've been in here for too long." Chase quickly slipped on a pair of slippers and they left the room. They slowly walked side by side in companionable silence, Chase relieved to finally be out of the room, even for a short time.

"So, did Dr. House tell you about his theory?" Aura asked quietly. Chase made a sound of acknowledgement, giving her a brief side glance.

"He did. Your thoughts?" Aura shrugged lightly and sighed.

"I guess it's nice to have a potential answer, even if it's hard to understand." Chase nodded. "What about you?" Aura looked up at him with wide eyes. "You're still Chase, right?" Chase laughed.

"Yes, I'm still here." He dropped an arm around her shoulders, shaking her slightly, making her laugh. "It's going to take time to work through whatever this is and move forward, and I'm thinking I'll follow through with the case study idea." She was surprised at his optimism.

"You seem pretty calm about all of this." Chase bit his lip lightly as they turned a corner.

"I guess putting a name to this has given me a sense of control and direction I didn't know I needed." He said quietly. "I'm freaked out by it," He laughed lightly. "My mind and body are not completely mine, but I think I'm in the right place to help sort this out."

They moved to the side and pressed their backs to the wall as they saw a doctor and several nurses quickly roll a female patient on a stretcher down the hallway towards them. As the team moved passed them, they heard yelling from up the hall.

"Let's head back," Chase said, turning around. "Sounds like someone's upset." Aura nodded in agreement and they started walking back to Chase's room while the yelling continued behind them.

"That lady was probably that guy's wife or something. I don't blame him for being upset." They turned another corner and were back on the hallway containing Chase's room. They saw his team of doctors at the far end of the hallway.

"Looks like we got back just in time." Aura said. They turned around when they heard running footsteps and yelling behind them. They saw a man running up the hall, a security officer running after him. "Man, that guy does not quit, does he?"

"Nothing can get in the way of true love, obviously." Chase said sarcastically, moving to the side of the hall. Just before Chase could safely get out of the way, the man crashed into him, sending them both to the floor. Chase glanced at the man on the floor to his left and then to the out-of-breath security officer just stopping at their feet. The man had started to climb to his feet, still yelling about wanting to see his wife. Chase moved quickly, using the chaos of the scene to his advantage. He rolled forward and rammed his shoulder into the security officer's knee, making him release a sound of pain.

"Chase, what the fuck are you doing?" Aura screamed as she saw her friend swipe the gun off the officer's belt. Chase pointed it at the man, making him stop yelling. He raised his hands slowly.

"Hey man, sorry for knocking you down, but I have to see my wife. It's nothing personal." Chase held the gun firmly, staring.

"Sir, let's take it easy here." The officer said calmly, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "We don't need any more problems here, right? Just put that down slowly and kick it over to me."

"Chase, please listen to him." Aura said pleadingly, seeing his team of doctors approach from the corner of her eye. "This -" She shook her head, looking tearfully at House. "This isn't right. Chase wouldn't -"

"Quiet." Chase growled, still firmly pointing the gun at the man who had knocked him down. He saw the officer twitch and turned the gun to him, stepping away slowly until his back was pressed against the wall. House limped forward slowly and stood between Chase and the other man. He locked eyes with Chase, noting the darker, green color. The blonde stared back at him, the gun still pointed firmly at the officer.

Don't do something stupid.

"Don't." Chase said darkly, now swinging the gun to point directly at House's chest. House felt his blood run cold, but kept his face passive.

"Sir, if you don't follow -"

"Stop." House said, still staring at the blonde. "He's my patient. Don't talk to him."

"House, I swear to God -" Cuddy started, but House held up a hand, silencing her.

It was quiet. The noise and chaos of a few moments ago seemed like a distant memory. House and Chase continued to stare at each other. House knew this wasn't Chase. He would bet that this is the one who comes forward when needles have been present. He didn't know how to talk to this one. Normally, he would guess and hope for the best; however, having a gun pointed to his chest changed his strategy. Dark, green eyes bore into his, rooting him to the floor. House saw nothing but anger and coldness. It was a look of someone willing to do anything in order to survive.

This one came out both times needles were present, however briefly. But Chase has been around needles too. What made this circumstance different? Rado seems like the protector and I'd imagine Chase is the main person, so he wouldn't have a specific purpose...I'm assuming. What's the purpose of this one?

House noticed that Chase still hasn't moved and barely blinked. It was almost as if someone would attack if Chase had his eyes closed for too long. Chase continued to glare.

"What do you want?" House said calmly. Chase briefly darted his eyes to the officer, who was standing closest to him. House nodded.

"Hot Shot," House said to the officer. "I don't feel like getting shot, so back up a few steps. You're too close." The officer glanced at him curiously. "Step back. Now." Slowly, against his better judgement, the officer backed away from Chase, leaving no one within 10 paces of him. Chase continued to glare at House, gun still pointed at his chest.

"You got a name?" Chase frowned, glare deepening with suspicion.

"Why?" House shrugged, not breaking eye contact.

"I got the name of two now...just curious about who you are." Chase blinked.

Come on. Give me something.

"Help." Chase whispered, dropping the gun from a trembling hand. He slid down the wall, curling into himself and burying his face into his knees, breathing deeply.

"Chase?" Aura asked cautiously as the officer quickly holstered his gun from the floor, looking back at House with a questioning look. House limped forward, standing a few paces in front of Chase.

"I'm so sorry." Chase whispered, not willing to look up. House glanced at his team and Aura, then back down at Chase.

"I can't pull you up and we're not talking here." His team moved to help Chase off the floor as he limped towards Chase's room. "And I know that wasn't you, so don't apologize for something you didn't do."

xXxXx

Chase settled back against the pillows, blanket drawn up to his chin. He was mortified. House sat in a chair at the foot of his bed, his feet propped up and ankles crossed, with his hands folded on his lap. Aura sat next to Chase, a fearful expression on her face.

"What happened?" Chase asked quietly, looking up at the ceiling. Aura breathed deeply and rubbed her nose.

"We were coming back from a short walk around the hallways and that guy came running up behind us. I guess his wife was just admitted. You," She patted Chase's shoulder. "Tried to get out of his way, but he ran into you and you both went to the floor. Then you were a dumbass and went for the security officer's gun." Chase blanched, glancing at her. Kutner shook his head.

"I don't think it was Chase though." Aura inhaled deeply, patting her friend's shoulder again.

"Right. Someone else." She forced a smile to her pale face, standing. "I'm going to go walk off my nerves. I'll be right back." She left quietly, Kutner noticing the look of guilt on Chase's face.

"We're going to figure this out, Chase, but what happened wasn't your fault." Kutner said quietly. Chase only nodded, glancing at House.

"I think I'll take you up on doing the case study." He said, making House nod in acknowledgement.

"That's great, Chase." Cameron said. "I'll handle the paperwork for it later today."

"So what now?" Foreman asked, leaning against the door, looking between House and Chase. "If the case study gets approved, then Chase, you'd have the option of either staying at the hospital or completing the case study by an out-patient program, right?" He asked House, who shrugged.

"Probably, but if you did it through an out-patient program, I'd doubt you'd be able to complete it from Australia." Chase sighed lightly, looking back up at the ceiling, but briefly glanced at House again.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked quietly, turning to House with slightly glassy eyes. House nodded. "When you told me about my diagnosis, you told me to see if I could...talk to someone...in here." He tapped his temple, making House nod again. "Last night, I got to talk to Rado for a little while."

"I didn't think that was possible." Foreman mumbled from the door.

"We don't know much about DID, so at this point, anything is possible." Kutner said, noticing that House didn't seem to have much of a reaction. House kept eyeing Chase carefully.

"Do you know how you were able to do so?" House asked, trying to keep his tone casual. Chase rubbed his eyes, sighing, Rado's comment about Rabbit began bothering him again.

"Basically focused on my slowing my breathing. That beeping helps too." He gestured to his heart monitor, going back to covering his face.

"So meditation?" Foreman asked incredulously. Chase rubbed his hands down his face, nodding.

"Sure, but it's very tiring to focus like that."

"What did you and Rado talk about?" House asked. He saw Chase briefly become emotional before sighing and rubbing his eyes again. He took a deep breath just as Aura came back in.

"You were able to talk to one of them?" She asked, placing a coffee next to Chase. He nodded again. "That's great, Chase. What did you two talk about?" They were surprised when Chase forcefully dropped his hands next to his lap with a thud. He exhaled exasperatedly and looked at House, eyes glassy.

"Rado told me about Kindy, Nails, and Rabbit. But he didn't tell me much about them last night. I was really tired."

Now we have names.

"What did he say about them?" Chase pointed to the Christmas tree puzzle book on the other side of the room.

"Kindy made that. Kindy's a kid."

Makes sense with the tone of voice and demeanor.

"Nails is paranoid and aggressive. Rado thinks he's a teenager." He paused. "He probably..." Chase trailed off, waving his hand to the hallway.

"Nails was the one we saw earlier." House finished for him, making Chase nod. House waited for Chase to say something about Rabbit, but was mildly surprised when Chase seemed hesitant.

"Did he say anything about Rabbit?" Aura asked. Chase frowned, then shook his head in frustration, slapping his hands down on the bed again. House saw a tear slide down his cheek.

Something about Rabbit is upsetting to him.

"He said Rabbit was the original. He's been dormant since he was 4 years old." Chase whispered, letting the tears slide down his cheeks. "What does that make me?"

Silence.

Not what I was expecting at all.

House brought his legs to the ground, tapping his cane thoughtfully. He looked back at Chase's tearful eyes, not wanting to admit that he felt sorry and scared for the blonde. He spun his cane between his hands, eyeing Chase carefully.

"Do you think you can ask him what he means?" House asked quietly. Chase wiped the tears from his face, clearing his throat. He looked out the window at the setting sun. He sniffed.

"Maybe." He rubbed his eyes.

"Or see if we can trigger Rado to come out and ask him." Kutner suggested, but he was surprised when House shook his head.

"Chase needs to figure out how to live with this disorder. We're doing no one any favors by taking that kind of shortcut."

Since when was he noble? Cuddy would be so proud.

"I'll give it a try, but I'm not making any promises." Chase mumbled, settling into the bed, drawing the blanket up to his chin and looking out the window. He looked embarrassed. "Can you...move to the right a little bit, please? Looking out the window helps." He said to House, who side stepped a few paces. Chase took a deep breath, trying to loosen his body. He focused on slowing his breathing and the beeping of his heart monitor. He timed his blinks to the rise and fall of his chest. Chase felt his body become weightless, sinking into the bed. After several minutes, a comforting pressure came near his left eye.

Are you there?

Chase heard a soft laugh.

Of course I'm here.

I think Nails almost shot Dr. House today.

Oh? How interesting. That does sound like something he would do.

I don't understand why he even came out though. Aura and I were just walking back to my room and I got knocked down by a guy panicking because he wanted to get to his wife.

Well that's probably why.

Chase paused.

Because the guy wanted to see his wife?

Because you got knocked down. Nails probably perceived that as a threat to well-being. That's why he's here.

To be a defense?

We're all defenses, in a sense. Nails is the defense against physical attacks and perceived threats to physical well-being.

What about Rabbit?

There was a long silence. Chase still felt the comforting pressure near his eye, so he knew Rado was just hesitating with answering his question. Unbeknownst to him, House had moved to his bedside, looking down at him with furrowed brows. He gestured to his team and pointed at Chase's face.

"His irises are vibrating." Foreman whispered, looking over at House.

"He's talking with someone." House mumbled.

Of the five of us, Robert, Rabbit is the original. He was here first, but he's been dormant since the age of four. He can't come forward anymore.

Not to sound selfish, but what does that make me? Did I just come around into existence like you, Kindy, and Nails?

Rado paused again.

I guess you should think of yourself as the "main one" or "head" of the operation. You're the face. He paused again. Rabbit was originally named Robert. He just became known as Rabbit after you came along about maybe six months after I did.

Chase felt his blood run cold. He couldn't breath. The beeping on his heart monitor became frantic as Chase lost focus. Before the doctors could really process what was happening, Chase had ripped the wires from him and launched himself off the bed, running to the restroom. He slammed the door and locked it, dry heaving into the sink.

"Chase?" Aura asked fearfully through the door. "Chase, please say something. What's happening?" The doorknob rattled.

"Chase, I need you to unlock the door." House said evenly, keeping the confusion and anxiety from his voice.

Chase ignored them and looked at his reflection. He looked into his own eyes, trying to come to grips with the fact that he himself is not who he thought he was. He brought a shaking hand up to the mirror, touching his reflection gingerly.

I'm not who I thought I always have been. I'm a defense for someone else. I...took his identity it sounds like.

Chase balled his hand into a fist and punched his reflection in distress, shattering the glass. Comforting pain seared through his hand as glass cut his hands and fingers, blood dripping onto the sink and floor. His knuckles had made contact with the concrete behind the mirror. He heard a pounding on the door as he moved to sit in the shower, cradling his hand, not noticing that he had stepped on glass and now also bloodied his feet.

"Chase, get away from the door." House ordered as the pounding continued until Foreman knocked the door open with his shoulder. The door swung on its hinges as silence fell. They saw glass and blood. They saw Chase sitting in the shower with a bloodied hand and feet. The blonde looked around, blinking slowly, green eyes softening when he saw blood and the shattered mirror. He looked up at House, sympathy in his eyes.

"I take it Robert didn't take our conversation very well?"

xXxXx

Alright Gang,

Thanks for sticking with me. I honestly don't really know how case studies in hospitals work, so just roll with it. _

Reviews would be wonderful and appreciated!

When-Rabbit-Howls