House M.D. may be over but my Netflix bingeing is not, so here's my contribution to the fandom.

Also, this is in no way condoning unprotected sex. Wrap up, kiddos.

The off-white room was a vacuum, keeping germs and noise at bay while the rest of the world went by outside of the glass. It wasn't one of those special sealed rooms, but that's what it felt like to Ellie as she sat perched in the corner and silence hung over her and the sleeping figure in the bed.

A week and a half. That's how long Jenny's condition had been holding them at Princeton Plainsboro. The deafness and ringing in the ears, loss of balance, and eventually difficulty understanding speech. None of it was life-threatening, just wrong. And weird.

That's also what Ellie's nerves felt like: weird and wrong and unclean and restless. The hospital had stopped being an easy stay three days in, but being able to eventually help pay the medical bills outweighed her need for a good shower and real bed. And plus, it was easiest to keep levelheaded when she had her eyes on Jen almost every minute.

A few shedded strands of hair dangled aimlessly off the hem of Ellie's shirt before floating to the floor. Her eyes followed before shooting back up to acknowledge the footsteps pacing into the room.

Dr. Chase and his nightly rounds left Jenny sleeping for once, checking only the machines for vitals and nodding slightly. It was when he motioned for Ellie to follow him out of the room that her interest was piqued and soon she found herself face to face with him in the hallway.

His stance was stiff, but his face read nearly as smug. "You haven't left the hospital at all."

"Should I be worried about you tracking my every move?" She and the blonde doctor had held light banter pretty steady for awhile now.

"I get that family of patients can stay constantly for a few days," he breezed by her accusation as easily as the stethoscope nearly slipped off his neck, "but you can't have gotten real rest since then."

"The nurses' locker room really isn't that hard to get into. Neither are the showers. I'm not rich enough or in the mood to jaunt to the nearest Hilton, if you know what I mean."

His mouth stretched wide into a laugh in an effort to easily slip the next thought in. "My place is no hotel but it'll probably do you better than…oh, what's that face for? Never had a guy invite you home?"

As an adult lady who could make her own decisions, of course she'd been home with men before. But they had yet to be doctors, and especially not ones tasked with her sister. The inside of her cheek was raw by the time she was ready to answer, and Chase's face looked ready to crumble to dust.

"I can't tell if this is a pity move," she paused to register the defense forming on his lips, "or if all this almost-flirting has been real the whole time."

"I pity a lot of the people that come through this hospital, but you're definitely not one of them."

Ellie nodded and glanced down, left, up, anywhere for the inspiration to keep turning him down. "Look, Doctor –"

"My name is Robert," he took a step toward her and her breath took an accompanying step back, "and I'm not leaving you here."

A slew of goosebumps tingled up her back, and not the warning kind. A real shower and real sleep would do her good and in turn ease Jenny's mind a bit. The younger sister wasn't dying, anyway, just presenting herself as a medical mystery. It would be good for Dr…Robert, to have someone else to worry about for the night.

Packing her small duffel bag wasn't hard and neither was leaving a brief note for Jenny. Ellie's fingernails tapped rhythmically against the steel frame of the elevator on her way down, and kept that beat against her leg all the way out of the lobby.

Chase's car was already heated warmly, warmly enough to comfort the slight hesitation between them on the ride. A radio talkshow droned on about local elections in the background as New Jersey's wintry weather coated the outside world in a monotonous color.

But Ellie was far from bored. Chase's profile was fascinating in the intermittent flashes from the streetlamps, as was the way his car smelled how you'd think Chris Hemsworth would – strong but clean and maybe a little ocean-drenched. Must be an Aussie thing.

"Thanks, by the way." This wouldn't be the only time to get those words out, but might as well get the ball rolling on real conversation anyway. "I promise to not totally eat you out of hearth and home."

He laughed and their gazes briefly met, blue against brown. "I do that to myself enough, no harm if I have to make an extra grocery run." A beat of silence before he loosened his tie and bumped his elbow into hers. "And please don't tell me you'll be spending the whole night feeling bad for this. I'm doing you a favor and the nice thing to do would be enjoy it."

If the upcoming night were a maze, Ellie was having a hard time gauging what twists and turns were on their way.

And still, her smile could've blinded passersby for a moment or two. "I wouldn't dream of otherwise."

The foyer of the house was small but well-lit and deliciously cozy. Chase slung his jacket precariously on the coatrack and did the same for Ellie's before waving a hand toward the hallway.

"There's two bedrooms, I kinda sleep in either one, just make yourself at home."

The first door on the left brought her into a room furnished with cream-colored everything, from bedsheets to doorframe. It was a quaint place to match the rest of the house, though at that point anything was better than bleached floors and starch white patient rooms.

Ellie couldn't stop herself from thoroughly washing her hands of the feel of the hospital and taking the deepest breath she had in awhile, forcing tension out with the exhale. It was surreal to finally take a step back from Jen and the weight temporarily off her shoulders freed her up for a few other exercises.

Nobody ever actually makes themselves at home when told to, especially not on unplanned visits. Ellie slipped into sweatpants and left her duffel and shoes neatly in a corner of the bedroom before venturing back out into the rest of her temporary accommodations.

Chase exited a room further down the hall the same time as she, button down traded for a sweatshirt.

"Kitchen's up here, you hungry for anything in particular?"

Ellie's socked feet plodded lightly behind his. "You seem like a leftover pizza kind of guy."

An almost disbelieving chuckle accompanied Chase as he bent in front of the fridge, rummaging around until he returned upright with two cold boxes of Dominoes. "Is it you that's been stalking me instead?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"Will a bottle of wine?"

Her brows briefly flicked up as she watched him pull two large glasses out of the cabinet and a laugh threatened to bubble from her throat. "You said this wasn't a hotel, but this is quite the room service arrangement."

A shrug and a smirk were the only answers Chase gave, and she noticed how pleasantly different it was from him having to respond to her with too much medical jargon as he'd been doing for the past week. Plus, it was easier to see the outline of his broad shoulders without the disguise of a lab coat.

Stopping herself before she set up an entire venn diagram of Doctor Chase vs. Normal Chase, Ellie tucked the bottle of wine and one box of pizza under her arm and the pair made their way to the living room couch.

"So do you surf on the regular back home down under?"

Chase's face contorted comically as reruns of a crime drama appeared on the TV a few feet away. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you weren't mocking me with all those phrases, and the answer is no. I was too busy with seminary before the doctor thing came along."

"From God to science? That's not a switch of studies you see every day." She toyed with pressing him further on it, but a moment too long passed and he beat her to the punch.

"It's more in line with the family business, and at least Jersey actually gets cold every now and then." He pushed a cold glass of wine into her hand, the condensation making the graze of his fingers slide off easily. "And what about you? Still live in New York like Jenny?"

Ellie uncrossed her legs in favor of tucking one beneath her before raising her glass to tap it against his. "Yeah, I'm in finances for the largest accounting firm in Buffalo. Been on that track since first year of college."

"Mm, I would've pegged you for a more people person job."

"That's the usual response. People expect number pushers to have glasses and a boring gray suit. But I usually try to stay away from the sexy secretary look."

It had the desired effect, with Chase looking over to laugh and give her an almost unnoticeable once-over. "That's probably for the best at work."

The crime show was good and the pizza was better, settling down nicely in Ellie's empty stomach. She snuck a few more side glances at Chase and didn't miss when he did the same to her, but didn't let the curiosity scrape at her mind too hard. If there was any amount of potential sitting on the small couch space between them, she'd let it stand up and present itself on its own.

Two commercials and a shoot-off scene later, the heater kicked on from somewhere down the hallway and matched the faintest buzzing in her temples as she drained the last quarter from her second glass of wine.

Waving Chase off as he offered a refill, Ellie excused herself to go to the restroom. When she returned, the pizza boxes were cleared away and Chase's face gave away his intent to talk.

"That accounting firm can't be the most exciting thing you do." He leaned a cheek on his hand, and the new angle let the lamp behind him outline the tips of his hair in an even brighter shade of gold. "So what've you got? Hobbies, activities, interests?"

"Gardening, running, thinking about space."

He took a moment to dramatically purse his lips before replying, "Cycling, drinking, sea animals."

She laughed – nearly a giggle, how juvenile – and nodded in understanding. "Ok, ok, I get it. That wasn't very helpful. What do you want, random cool stories?"

"It's barely past midnight, so yeah, something to keep the conversation going."

The more new people you meet, the more of the same old stories you can tell. "Alright, for one of my birthdays my best friend and I spent an entire 24 hours in Times Square. The cocktails made it hard to remember the last few hours."

Chase was barely holding in a laugh, and scooted forward a few inches when it finally spilled over. "I'm only hoping you were of legal age?"

"What, you gonna tattle cause I was a couple years under?" she playfully scoffed. "C'mon now, surely you've got something. Say…worst job you've held."

Chase passed a hand over his jaw but couldn't wipe the memory that popped up. "Oh, god. Well, it was year six or seven, and I had to sort books for a church a few blocks from my house. Ridiculously boring, the priests were almost always cranky, but at least one nun's younger sister thought I really was a sexy librarian."

Ellie was rolling by the time he finished, though she wasn't sure when she'd slung her arm along the back of the couch to graze Chase's shoulder or when his fingertips had found their way to her outstretched ankle. His head lolled over to fully face hers, the corners of his mouth twisted up in a mesmerizing half curve.

They stayed just as they were, too much space and too little between them, and Ellie picked up with another tale.

"There were a few months during my third year of college where money was kind of tight." Even Chase could see where this story was probably going, but she marched on with a breezy smile. "And so I had a brief stint at a club. The kind where lots of women take their clothes off."

His eyes widened appropriately, as did his childish grin. "There it is! The strip club past. Straight-laced woman in finances like you? Naw, never heard that story before."

"Allow me to go ahead and ruin your dreams, because I was only a shot girl. I gave out drinks, not more of my skin."

"Now you're either bluffing to get me to not think about it," an accusing finger wiggled back and forth, "or that was some false advertising from the start."

Ellie saw the clear shot and excited warmth tingled all the way to her extremities as she took it. "What, did you wanna think about it some more?"

Two pools of blue slowly sidled their way down her form, and by the time he looked back up Chase's mouth was slightly open and waiting for her as Ellie pressed her lips to his.

It was short and she pulled back fractionally, relishing his breath fanning over her own in the wake. Knocking one pebble off the mountain was about to trigger the avalanche, and it came as a mesmerized Chase brought a hand up and dragged a finger lightly over her upcurved lips.

It was he who leaned forward to meet her this time, and she melted into him open-mouthed. Tendrils of his hair tickled her brow and the hand on the back of her head was gentle, but nothing could drown out his savory lips as they molded to hers again and again, making everything that had happened in that damn long day well worth it.

Ellie's elbow probably got a suspicious looking rugburn from how quickly she dragged herself to straddle Chase's lap. She felt him smile into another kiss, egging her on to play with the short hairs at the nape of his neck.

A slight tug at the hem of her shirt pulled her attention away microscopically, and she reached back to oblige and remove the pesky thing. But Chase's hands closed over hers, interlacing the fingers and leaning forward to rest his mouth next to her ear.

"You sure you're ok with this?" His lilting accent was strong and she'd be lying to say a little more warmth didn't hit her core.

She kissed him chastely, once, and slowly slid his hands down over her ass. "I swear it on kangaroos, or whatever it is that you do."

His chest rumbled with laughter and she took the opportunity to slip her shirt off. Her backside received an appreciative squeeze and when their mouths met again, Chase even introduced a little tongue to make her giggle.

The TV was still providing background noise behind them but the heating unit was no longer the only source of warmth in the room. Chase's hands firmly gripped her waist as she was lazily leaned forward against him, the kissing having slowed to off-rhythm presses.

Ellie leaned back to mumble against his lips, "I think it's your turn now, doctor."

"You know," he started as they worked to shed him of his sweatshirt and t-shirt underneath, "that name doesn't really do it for me. Probably easier to have the kink when it's not part of real life too."

"Fair enough." Ellie responded breathily as she took him in. Smooth and muscled and damn he lived up to the prettyboy status. She pressed a kiss to his collarbone before leisurely leaning flush against him. "Would Robert be better?"

"Please and thank you."

Even after seeing the gleam in his eye she was not prepared for him to lean the rest of the way and nip playfully at her earlobe. A pleased hum escaped her lips as he continued his path down the side of her neck, kissing and even sucking a few key spots.

Chest to chest against Chase was an experience all on its own, he was so real and close and warm and it was almost as comforting as it was hot. Ellie raked her fingers deliberately through his hair, front to back, and took her turn to press a line of kisses along the underside of his jaw.

He grunted low in the back of his throat, a sound to make any girl proud, and soon he had brought her mouth back up to his. Again and again their lips formed together, forgetting about the cold and cruel outside world in lieu of skin and heat and lips and each other.

Chase's hand slowly trailed from the back of her waist around front and up until it was cupping her breast, gently kneading through the bra. The first full-fledged moan grew in Ellie's throat and was released against his mouth, and sparked the tension already hanging in the atmosphere into a fire spreading along their skin.

So far they seemed to be making it a back and forth game, trying to get the best reactions and sounds out of each other. Chase was in the lead and Ellie was willing to forgo the competition under one condition.

"What say you," she purred, tracing fingertips along his shoulders and proudly leaving goosebumps, "we take this somewhere it's a little easier?"

She didn't wait for an answer, merely stood up and winked when his puppydog eyes couldn't get her to stay pressed core to core. A slow and sauntering pace down the hallway did the trick, though, and soon she heard his footsteps following hers.

That was until she felt him pull at her bra strap and the material rushed back to pop her in the shoulder.

"Hey!" She whirled to face him but he'd already slipped past and jogged ahead to the bedroom.

When she reached the doorway Chase was standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, a proud smirk gracing his features. Ellie slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and strolled a few steps until she'd squared off with him.

His blue eyes twinkled down at her. "I'm pretty sure I win, right?"

"Yeah, you should start training for the Olympics. Think you get a prize or something?"

"Wow, way to tear a guy in two." He punctuated his feigned hurt by pulling her into a loose embrace, fingers tracing patterns on her lower back. "And as for the prize thing, you pick up any moves from that strip club?"

She couldn't stop the smile forming during her protests. "Oh, now who's bringing work into it?"

Chase wordlessly grabbed a remote from off the dresser next to him and turned on the stereo in the corner. Out came bluesy jazz music, admittedly in a good beat for removing clothing.

"I can't believe you were ready for that!" Ellie barked out a laugh and slapped at his chest.

"Alright, alright, bad idea. Will you at least let me do the work then?"

She didn't have time to murmur an answer before his lips were on hers again, strong and sweet. She kissed him back, harder, and held on as he slightly lifted both of them onto the bed.

The duvet under her back was blissfully smooth and smelled just enough of lavender to make her smile against him. His body weight against her own dialed that bliss up more and more as he settled comfortably between her legs and Ellie realized she wouldn't mind spending the next two minutes or five years in her exact predicament.

Chase's lips began their southward descent again, this time not stopping at her neck. Her chest was lavished with hot, open-mouthed kisses, matching the heat pooling in her center at his ministrations. She dragged her nails up his back, across his shoulders, and tangled them in his hair once again, trying to pull him impossibly closer to her.

He lifted slightly off her, and she obliged by moving with him as he reached around to unclasp her bra. Once freed, Ellie boldly tossed it across the room and smirked as he took her bare chest in.

Chase didn't move for a few moments, then let his tongue slip into his cheek. "Probably means it's my turn, mm?" Offering a cheeky wink, he slid off the bed and began to fumble with his belt and pants.

Now he was teasing her. Drawing it out, trying to let a hundred-yard stare melt her in just a few feet. And god, it was working. Her mind was spiraling with the anticipation and desire.

He left his boxers on and climbed back on top of her, pressing a smooth kiss to her mouth before picking up where he'd left off. A hand on one breast, kneading, rubbing, caressing. His lips attached to her other nipple, tongue flicking until it pebbled.

A ragged breath tore from Ellie's throat at the onslaught of contact and she grasped at his biceps for an inkling of support. When he switched, she arched her back into him and her nerve endings sparked brighter like a bulb blowing out. Doctors sure as hell knew their way around the human body.

All at once her chest was abandoned and Chase was pecking down her stomach, hands dragging behind. She glanced down to watch the beautiful sight, his hair falling onto his closed eyelids and the lamp lighting bringing out a few freckles across his cheeks.

Then she felt vibrations from his mouth on her flesh at the edge of her jeans and asked him to repeat himself.

"You still good?"

"Much as you are."

He laughed, still against her skin, and the delightful tingles rippled outward. "So the best you've been all week?"

"Yeah yeah, there's your compliment."

He made eye contact again and boyishly smirked as he deftly undid the button, and Ellie squirmed as a few devious fingers wiggled on her hips before he dragged the denim off and away. On instinct she clamped her thighs together, keeping the heat and dampness to herself. But Chase moved to lay beside her and slowly tangled a leg with hers, gently holding it open as he firmly pressed a palm to her core.

His mouth captured hers again and with it the sighing moan. She breathed him in as if he wasn't already all around her, massaging her parted lips with his own while keeping an agonizingly slow and circular pace with his hand on her heat. If kisses were oxygen she'd have enough pure air to last a month.

It was hard to concentrate on any single thing, but Ellie still gathered herself enough to bite and drag at Chase's bottom lip, trying to get a rise out of him. It was his turn to moan and she gave him a heavy-lidded gaze only replicated in the most sensual of Renaissance paintings.

It definitely did get a rise, as his desire pressed even more firmly into her thigh.

But there wasn't much time to gloat over her power before two of his fingers slipped past her underwear to directly stroke her already soaking folds. She shivered at the touch, not wanting the tantalizing moment to stop but also needing him to continue past it.

When he did, dipping two digits in half-knuckle deep, encouraging whimpers escaped her. Chase leaned into her more, beautifully and suffocatingly close, every inch of skin laying feverish waste to her own.

And then, heaven help her, his lips were caressing the outer shell of her ear as he murmured, "You sound gorgeous."

Yearning made a beeline for Ellie's center and her hips rose to grind against his hand for relief. He obliged, first removing the thin panties and then letting greedy kisses knead her mouth as his fingers moved about her wet heat, coaxing and stretching her delicately and deliciously. Then they crooked in a 'come hither' gesture, and the world behind her closed eyes was starry.

Through her writhing underneath him, a brief hiss escaped in the form of, "Fuck."

"We're getting there," he placated teasingly, not lessening the motion between her legs.

That would be all and well except that she needed him more than sanity at that moment, and so groped around with her hand until she was palming him through his boxers.

Chase slowly drew away from the last kiss, eyes still closed, and let his nose rest next to hers as his exhale blustered against her. He was already hard, not much work to be done, but she stroked him all the same, drinking in his blissful expression.

Quickly he shed his boxers and lowered himself back on top of her, nibbling at her neck as he pumped himself a few more times. The world slowed a bit as he locked eyes with her, gnawing at his lip before smashing them into hers. Ellie hummed into it, clawing at his muscled back like clinging to a cliff edge for life.

Lining up with her entrance, he eased himself in with a satisfied grunt. She keened underneath him, feeling him fill her up just right then pull back out to create that perfect drag of friction. A hand was on her waist and the other in her hair, always holding her, firm and sweet and everything she needed as they found a rhythm and began rolling madly against each other.

Gasps whirled into moans and groans and a whole symphony of sinful noises, and Ellie felt familiar bowstrings begin to tighten in her core at all of the work. He thrusted into her over and over again, clinging and shifting and even reaching a thumb down to press her clit in circles, bringing her closer to sweet relief.

But she wasn't in this solely for missionary with a foreign guy, and so suddenly she grabbed Chase's shoulders and managed to mutter, "Hang on a sec."

Fighting the frustration of pausing the heat of the moment, she quickly rolled them over until she was once again straddling him and he was sensuously splayed underneath her.

"I, uh…" His breath was ragged, chest flushed, but a stupid grin plastered to his features.

"You're welcome."

She laid forward on him to steal a few sloppy kisses, sex-mussed hair enclosing them for a few seconds before she leaned back up. Lowering herself onto his still hard-on was easy and then they were undulating against each other again.

A titillating new spot inside her was being brushed and she braced herself against his chest as the orchestra of pleasure fired up again. His hands moved to fondle her breasts fervently, squeezing in time with their rhythm. Skin sliding on skin, Chase deep inside her, and the thrill of it all wound that coil tighter and tighter just below her belly.

A puff of air blew the hair out of her eyes enough to gaze down at him. Slowly falling apart, just like her, and not wanting to be put back together anytime soon. She rolled her tongue along her open lips, grinning wildly when he glanced up to meet her eyes, and rode him for all he was worth.

Then it snapped, white hot heat flooding to every nerve as she shuddered and clenched around him, his name tumbling from her lips like a blessing and a curse. He followed right behind, eyes squeezed shut and grunting in pleasure, euphoria travelling through both of them as he emptied into her.

Ellie collapsed onto him, sweat-slicked and spent. His hand glided up and down her back, easing them both down, and grazing fingers eventually became intertwined.

Minutes passed, breathing regulated, and that damn jazz music was still lowly calling to them from the corner. Chase's chest suddenly rumbled against her ear as he tried to nonchalantly pass off a question. She could see the smirk without even looking.

"So, you did come here to get a shower, right?"

Even by terrible hospital standards, vending machine coffee was still the best bet for caffeine in the morning. Ellie tapped randomly against her styrofoam cup as she was once again seated in the corner next to Jen.

The younger woman hadn't even woken up when Ellie slipped back into the room a bit after the sun came up. Though she would've been back even earlier if Chase's lips hadn't distracted her in a secluded section of the parking lot before they came in and discreetly parted ways.

She was glad to be back beside her sister, able to keep the same watchful eye as ever, though she couldn't deny that the quiet room let her thoughts keep flashing back to particularly passionate moments of the night previous. A wistful smile was probably still resting on her features when the door slid open and Dr. Cameron came in.

"Good morning," the brunette woman chirped, rolling the cart of usual tests toward Jen. "How are you?"

Ellie nodded, she could always count on her to be cheery. "Well enough, thanks."

"Well, as usual there weren't any changes with Jenny overnight, but we've got a whole new theory and workups to do after I get her vitals."

Ellie would've thanked her if the door hadn't been yanked aside and an older man strolled into the room, a cane at his right side and flanked by baffled doctors Chase and Foreman on the left. She smoothly avoided eye contact with the former, though not for lack of brightening up at the sight of him.

But she'd never seen this other man before, dark hair and slightly grayer stubble offsetting unnervingly blue eyes that got closer and closer until he was nearly in her face.

"Uhm," Ellie glanced around to the other three doctors, silently asking for help. The blazer distinguished the older man as not a hobo, but the personal space issue was not helping. "Hey, who are you? Why are you here?"

"Hi, I'm Dr. House," he said smugly, swinging his cane around once, "and I'm the guy who's actually in charge of your sister's case over there. Good morning, sick girl."

Indeed, Jen had woken up and was equally confused. But Ellie didn't have time to greet her before Dr. House was tapping her jaw and waving a q-tip in front of her face.

"Open up."

She dared a glance at Chase, whose wide eyes spoke of worry. "Why do you need a sample from me?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I'm the one with an M.D. behind my name and I might be checking you for something your sister might have."

"I thought you ruled out –"

"Shut up and exhale, please." He cut off her protests by swiping the swab against the inside of her cheek and then sniffing when she breathed. "Now tell me, was it chardonnay?"

Ellie's eyes narrowed and the faintest bit of nervousness scratched at her throat. "Beg pardon?"

Dr. House ignored her and continued his own musings. "It's gotta be a white wine…"

"House." Chase let loose an annoyed sigh, confirming her suspicions that somehow they'd been found out. His hands hung wide in defeat as he relented. "It was a Riesling. But not very strong, we weren't drunk."

"Of course you weren't. Just loose enough to roll around in the sack."

"What? You…" Cameron turned to Chase, eyebrows furrowed but the rest of her face giddy about the gossip. "You slept with her? Brought out the wine and everything?"

Foreman was chuckling to himself and slapped Chase on the shoulder. "Last week you were complaining about night rounds. You're welcome."

Chase's eyes rose to meet Ellie's again and he shrugged an apology. She merely smiled at him and offered a wink. In no way was she ashamed of what happened, but having it spotlighted and ridiculed in front of her sister and the other doctors hadn't been her plan either.

She turned back to Dr. House and his haughty grin. "So you're a regular Sherlock Holmes, hm?"

"Yeah, you should see my pipe." He limped a few feet away and leaned against the counter. "But Chase obviously didn't brush his tongue hard enough, because your breath smells like the same wine. Not to mention you made a sloppy escape, three orderlies saw you sashaying away like stargazing lovers…or maybe it was just Chase looking at your ass."

Ellie scoffed, leaning back and swinging one leg over the other. He'd done the most damage already by spilling the beans, so she wouldn't let him steal her pride, too. "Can't say I hadn't done the same to him before."

A roomful of startled gazes met her, though a smile tweaked at Chase's lips and he stood a little taller.

"Well how does your poor, abandoned sister feel about that?" House fired back.

Jen spoke up instantly. "This sister is proud. El was getting antsy around here anyway."

He just rolled his eyes and made a face. "Blondes." His cane clicked a few paces toward the door before he spun around to throw one last jab. "By the way, Chase has massive daddy issues. Hope that won't ruin anything.'

"I've got some, too. Nothing I can't handle."

Dr. House had a gleam in his eye, nearly proud of her wit, when he left the room and the other three doctors filed out with him.

The door had just barely slid shut when Jen singsonged, "You have to tell me everything!"

Only a few days later, they found it. A benign tumor growing on one of Jen's cranial nerves, officially called acoustic neuroma. One painstaking but successful surgery later and she was good as new.

Ellie alternated those last nights between Princeton Plainsboro and Chase's house. She was still able to focus fully on her sister, and was winded with relief when they received the diagnosis. But it also helped to have Chase around to offer a comforting hand or playful smirk while they were both caught up at the hospital, though they stayed away from any further PDA. You know, professionalism and all that jazz.

Not to say that maybe the broom closet wasn't used for a feverish quickie or two.

But finally the last morning rolled toward them, and so did Jen's wheelchair despite her protests for not needing one.

"Hospital policy," Dr. Cameron repeated and eased the girl into the chair. "Once you and your sister get home you can do all the walking you want, though you should still take it easy for a few days."

"Speaking of which, I'm gonna go pull the car around front." Ellie squeezed her sister's hand and, gathering their last belongings from the overstay in that room, headed straight for the elevator.

Footsteps soon sidled up next to hers and a delightfully familiar voice said, "Can I help you with that?"

Chase's handsome face regarded her warmly as she smiled at him. They'd had a goodbye of sorts the night before when he muttered "I'm gonna miss this" against her neck and she gripped his shoulders harder in response, but now her time at the hospital was truly coming to a bittersweet end.

"Good morning to you, too," she replied, but kept a hold on her duffel. "Look, I'm just gonna go toss this in my car real quick and then be back inside for Jen. Wouldn't want us to get distracted if you walk me out for too long."

He laughed, his hands up in surrender as he followed her into the elevator. "Alright, you got me. But pardon me if I stalk you for a bit longer, I've gotta bring this file to the first floor."

Before the elevator doors could shut and grant them sweet solitude, Dr. House slid inside.

"Figured I'd join the farewell party." He tapped his cane a few times, feigning innocence unsuccessfully.

Chase pursed his lips but didn't move any farther away from Ellie, leaving his fingers to dawdle at the small of her back. She'd work with what she could get, though it did nothing to deter House from speaking up.

"So, are you a hooker?"

"I can only imagine why you'd ask me something like that."

House shrugged and shot Chase a glance to stop him from interjecting. "If you made one of my lackeys think with his downstairs brain so easily, I'm just wondering if your job is all downstairs-based."

"I'm with an accounting firm. Top floor office, actually." Ellie kinked an eyebrow at him as the elevator dinged open, but he merely nudged her out with a push to her leg from his cane.

She squeezed herself next to Chase to avoid a nurse rushing by, then separated before anything could be said. "I'll be right back in."

As she skirted toward the doors, a smirk set into her lips as she could still hear Chase protesting to House behind her, "My ability to do my job was not compromised by this."

The errand to the car was brief, as promised. She tossed bags and papers in the backseat and carded a finger through her hair as a few snowflakes landed in it. She could only hope her car heater still worked or they'd get hypothermia just driving to New York, and that would land their asses right back in a hospital.

Though she'd have no complaints if they were brought all the way back to Princeton.

The lobby doors swooshed open in front of her just as Jen was wheeled out of the elevator, and Ellie strode purposefully over to them as her sister took the chance to thank the doctors around her.

"Even thanks to you, Dr. House," Jen finished, though the older doctor only nodded in response, his mouth pressed into a thin line.

Ellie moved to stand behind the wheelchair and surveyed those around her with a bright smile. "Yes, thanks so much to all of you. Pass our thanks to Dr. Foreman when you see him, too."

She shook hands with Dr. Cameron and moved on to House, where she matched his stare for a few good seconds, each searching for a witty jab to throw. His came first, and was in the range of exactly what Ellie was expecting.

"Pretty young blondes usually can do better than accounting."

"Yeah, maybe I'll look into that hooker thing."

She gave him a curt nod, happy to provide a little back-and-forth if that's so obviously the only way the man communicated.

And then the only thing left standing in the sisters' way of leaving was Chase, and quite literally. His hands were clasped in front of him and his sky blue gaze roamed around Ellie's face for a moment or two before settling on her eyes.

She once again shamelessly noted to herself how attractive he was and how she definitely earned a mental pat on the back for tapping that. If a picture was worth a thousand words then a touch had to merit a few as well, and so she let her hand affectionately grasp his forearm and kept the speech simple.

"Goodbye, Robert."

Gripping the wheelchair handles, Ellie scanned around the busy lobby and began rolling Jen away with her. She took two steps, three, four, and yet as the fifth landed her pride had had enough of being a sissy.

"Ah, fuck it," she said to a surprised sister as she locked the chair wheels and spun on her heel.

The three doctors were still standing there as she retraced her steps, a mischievous half-grin toying at her mouth. Straight to Chase she went, whispering, "Sorry, not done yet," before she curled her hands under his coat collar and pressed her lips to his.

He only hesitated for a second before reciprocating, apparently matching her attitude of 'to hell with who sees this'.

His hand moved up to rest gently on her cheek, caressing and feeling her skin one last time to a chorus of small gasps and confused murmurs from those around them. His lips were smooth and warm, rolling to a rhythm they found easily after so much practice.

Finally they called the bliss to an end and pulled away, sharing one more flirtatious smile before Ellie rejoined her sister a few paces away.

Glancing over her shoulder, she looked past some stunned grandmas, a couple nurses whispering, past Dr. Cameron's slackjawed mouth and House's haughty gaze to see Chase still beaming proudly.

And that was about all that mattered.