*Dark subjects discussed in this chapter.

The Howling

"Thank you." Rado said quietly as Cameron finished wrapping his right foot in bandages. Rado looked at his right hand, rubbing the bandages lightly. He understood why Chase reacted the way that he did. It was why he reacted as quickly as he could. He figured Chase would have started hurting himself more with the broken blades of glass had he not pushed Chase back and moved to the Front. While he couldn't read Chase thoughts, he had common sense. He figured Chase couldn't handle the reality of Rabbit very well, so he pushed Chase back to protect him from further hurt. Rado folded his hands on his lap, looking at House who was back in his chair at the foot of the bed.

"Are you staying around longer this time?" House asked casually, propping his feet back up on the bed. Rado gave a small smile.

I'm glad I found you.

"Probably. Robert needs some time and space."

"I'm assuming you talked about something that upset him." House said evenly, remembering Chase becoming emotional when asked about Rabbit. Rado nodded, his smile turning shy.

"Firstly, I'll apologize for Nails' behavior towards you. Robert mentioned that Nails had you at gun point earlier today."

That's the aggressive one's name.

"What's his story? Nails. Why did he come around?" House asked, trying to keep his voice and body language casual. Rado quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Nails is paranoid and aggressive." Rado shrugged. "I suppose he's like the 'fight' response when put in a 'fight or flight' situation."

"You don't know for sure?" Foreman asked. Rado's eyes narrowed briefly.

"I just know that he pushes to the Front when there's an actual or perceived threat to physical well-being." He glanced at Foreman. "I don't know everything. I just happen to know a lot." House noted the irritation in Rado's tone.

Interesting. He's getting worked up about something.

"Robert mentioned that he was knocked to the ground. I assume that Nails perceived that as a threat and pushed Robert away from the Front." He fiddled with the bandages on his hand. House tapped his cane thoughtfully.

"What about needles?" Rado furrowed his brows at him.

"What about them?"

"I'm assuming it was Nails who was out whenever blood was drawn or needles were present." Rado shrugged.

"Again, Nails probably saw that as a threat."

"But Chase was also present when he saw a needle." Rado sucked his teeth, seeming to become irritated.

"Again," he emphasized the word. "Nails probably saw the needle as a threat in one instance, but not the other."

Settle. At least they're not being dismissive or accusatory. They're trying to understand.

Rado smoothed his hands down his lap slowly, settling his irritation. He inhaled deeply, squaring his shoulders.

"I don't know why Nails does some of the things he does and I don't always know why he comes out when he does. The same goes for Kindy and even Robert." He stared at House. "Do you always know why your coworkers say or do some of the things they do?" House leaned back in his seat and folded his hands on his lap, understanding...mostly.

"Fair point." House paused. "Do you know anything about Kindy?" Rado shrugged.

"He's a kid who got to experience childhood. Now that we're adult age, Kindy doesn't come to the Front that much because he's not really necessary anymore."

"So Kindy would be the one to ask about childhood?" Kutner asked, making Rado tilt his head from side to side.

"I should clarify: Kindy experienced a mostly pleasant childhood." Aura rubbed her hands down her face.

"Who told me that Chase's stepdad hit him then?" Rado bit his lip, eyeing her.

"I did. The stepdad only hurt myself, Nails, and Rabbit." Rado paused, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Robert and Kindy no nothing of the abuse." Aura's brows furrowed, looking confused.

"But I saw the bruises. I think I'm starting to understand how Chase wouldn't remember any of it, but wouldn't he have been suspicious of physical injuries and not having memory of how he got them? What if I had mentioned it to him?" Rado adjusted in the bed, running a hand through his hair.

Fair points.

"I don't know what Robert thought of the bruises. I can't read his thoughts, but I'm sure he was suspicious of something odd; however," He glared at Aura. "As I said, he doesn't know that he got those bruises from abuse. I would appreciate it if no one tells him until the opportune time."

"But what if I mentioned it? Why tell me if you didn't want Chase to know?" Rado smiled kindly.

"Because I knew you wouldn't say anything. You don't like seeing him upset. When he hurts, you hurt. Mentioning the abuse would've upset him, which you wouldn't have wanted to do." He paused briefly. "I guess I trusted you enough to take the risk and trusted myself enough to handle the aftermath if my risk backfired."

Calm silence fell in the room as Aura looked at Rado with glassy eyes and trembling lips. She grabbed his wrist and gentled rubbed his bandaged hand, sniffing. House twirled his thumbs, hands still folded on his lap. While they had more answers and understanding than they did when Chase was admitted a few weeks ago, there were still a few things that weren't adding up. House assumed that it was Rado who was looking for him in the first place, but didn't know why. There was also the fact that Rado was still kind of vague when it comes to the fifth person, Rabbit.

"What about Rabbit?" House asked, drawing Rado's attention to him. House saw hesitation and sadness in those green eyes. Rado chewed his lower lip lightly, staring. After several minutes of silence, Rado nodded to himself, seeming to make up his mind about something.

"Robert became upset when I told him that Rabbit is actually the original of the five of us I know about."

"So..." Aura started, confused. "Chase...isn't Chase?" Rado shook his head.

"Robert is who he's always been. He just...wasn't here first, like I assume he thought he was."

"So Chase is a defense for Rabbit?" Kutner asked, failing to keep the surprise out of his voice. Rado nodded again.

"Robert came around about six months after I did." House's brows raised in surprise.

"You were created before Chase?" Rado nodded again, his thin fingers fidgeting now. "So do you know why Chase came around?"

"I told him that he is basically the face because he's at the Front most of the time. Rabbit's original name was 'Robert,' so it makes sense to have someone essentially take his place."

"Take Rabbit's place?" House asked, lifting his legs off the bed and sitting up. "Chase...was created to take over Rabbit's identity?" He was surprised when Rado smiled brightly at him, seeming to be relieved.

He's feeling understood...probably for the first time.

"Exactly. It's the only explanation I can think of to explain why Robert came along. I guess, technically, Rabbit can come to the Front; however, he can't really function in any capacity. He's been dormant since the age of four."

"Why?" House asked carefully. Rado inhaled deeply, frowning as his eyes became glassy.

Whatever happened at the age of four, it was enough to create additional people as defenses to deal with it. It seems like Rado is the only one who remembers what happened besides Rabbit.

Silence fell in the room again as Rado looked at his fidgeting fingers on his lap. Aura continued to rub his hand in a comforting gesture. He knew that he should tell the doctors about Rabbit. It would make sense to go back to the source. Maybe he could see if he could get Rabbit to come forward for a brief moment so that the doctors could truly see what he meant by Rabbit being dormant. He looked back up at House, who was looking at him evenly. Rado thought of his words carefully.

"I call Rabbit by that name because that's more or less what he sounds like now."

"So you can communicate with Rabbit?"

"I can hear him sometimes, but rarely." He paused. "I'd prefer to not hear him, if I'm honest."

"Why's that?" Kutner asked, surprised. "I was starting to think that you all would want to be more aware of each other." Rado nodded.

"You would be right. It's the main reason I brought us here." He glanced at House. "I figured it would be time for us to be more aware of each other and figure out how to act as a whole unit instead of separate parts now that the stepfather is dead."

"But why don't you want to hear Rabbit? If he's the original, then he'll play a big role in getting all of you together, right?" Rado looked up at him.

"Have you ever heard the sound a wounded rabbit makes? It's horrifying." Rado whispered. "That's the sound Rabbit makes and I don't like it." House leaned back in his seat, tapping his cane again.

"And he can't come forward anymore?" House asked, Rado catching the underlining question of if he can make Rabbit come forward.

"Rabbit can't really function anymore. We came along to carry on so that he wouldn't have to. The mind is weird." Rado chuckled nervously. House tapped his cane against the floor, thinking through his next question carefully.

"Do you know why Rabbit has been dormant?" He paused as Rado locked eyes with him. "Do you know why you came along?"

Tense silence fell in the room as Rado looked to the window behind House. He knew the question would come, but it didn't make answering it any easier. He bit his lip as he felt his throat tighten with emotion. He knew his story. He knew what happened to Rabbit and why he, Rado, came along in the first place. He brought his knees up to his chest and rubbed his arms as he felt his skin crawl. He pressed his forehead onto his knees, inhaling deeply, trying to steady his racing heart. Several minutes passed as Rado settled himself. Keeping his head on his knees, he turned to look at House to his left. Glassy, green eyes locked with clear-blue ones.

"The abuse wasn't just physical." Rado finally said quietly. House sat back in his seat slowly, developing an idea of where Rado was going.

Sexual abuse.

"What happened?" Aura asked quietly, patting Rado's foot over his blanket. Rado closed his eyes for a moment before looking at House again.

Don't make me say it. Please.

"It was rape." House said quietly. His team shifted uncomfortably as Aura tried to stop a sob from escaping, covering her mouth with shaking hands. Rado tightened his grip on his blanket, still staring at House. He sighed in defeat.

"It was a gang rape." He blinked slowly. "At four years old, Rabbit was subjected to a gang rape involving the stepfather and two others."

More silence. Rado sat up slightly, as if trying to convince himself to talk before he doubted himself.

"Obviously, Rabbit couldn't handle that kind of trauma. He is the only one who experienced the gang rape. I came along to stand in his place as the stepfather's physical and sexual abuse continued until the age of 14." He sniffed, shaking his head slightly. "Robert came along about six months after I did. I'm assuming he came along because I wasn't handling my own abuse very well. The mind's will to survive is certainly something intriguing." Kutner sat on a stool at the foot of Rado's bed, thinking through his words carefully.

"So you came along to take the place of Rabbit since he become incapacity as a result of the assault. Chase came along to...essentially be the face of Robert Chase that has no memory of any kind of abuse." Rado gave Kutner a small, shaky smile and nodded.

"I think so. Kindy came along so that this body could at least have some resemblance to a pleasant childhood and get us through the early years. Nails is the angry fighter who keeps threats away." Rado shrugged slightly, putting his forehead back on his knees.

While I'm familiar with the rape throughout the years, only Rabbit has the memory of the gang rape.

The doctors' and Aura's ears were pricked by an unusual sound. It was a bizarre quiet squeaking and screeching sound. House stood slowly as his patient moved himself back towards his pillows, making his body as small as possible. The blonde curled into a fetal position as blue eyes looked passed House. An odd sense of silence fell in the room as House continued to look at the blonde man, who stared blankly beyond him. Against his better judgment, he hooked his cane on the edge of the blonde's bed and gingerly knelt in front of him, trying to make eye contact.

"Rabbit?"

His patient released a long, loud howling sound, filled with despair and pain. Tears filled the unfocused blue eyes as the blonde released another howl. House allowed strong emotion to show on his face as he pulled himself up to sit on the edge of Chase's bed. The blonde released another howl. Slowly, House placed a hand on the blonde hair, trying to soothe him. Another howl cut through the air.

"House? What the hell going on?" Cuddy asked as she entered the room with Wilson. House glanced up at her as yet another howl pierced their ears.

"This is Rabbit."

xXxXx

Alright Gang,

I appreciate your patience. As always, PMs and reviews are appreciated.

When-Rabbit-Howls