Okay, last chapter everyone! I could have done another one, but it would have been too short and I'd like to end it at ten chapters, it's a nice number. Thanks a whole lot to all my reviewers, you guys are what kept me writing, including all those people who either favorited this or put it in their alerts…

I'd also like to make something clear; I don't write sex scenes. Okay? I prefer to stay on the fine line of suggestivity. Not that I haven't tried writing them… it's just that they never work out. And I feel it takes away something from the story. I don't mind reading them, but I don't like writing them.

So, enjoy! And I don't own House, M.D.

Chapter Ten

Easy

Easy to be with you
Easy to obey
Easy to forgive you at the end of the day
Easy not to judge you
Easy to betray
Easy to adore you though you want to run away

----

House stirred slowly and woke up with a jolt. He looked around the room and saw Chase nodding in his sleep on the chair next to him. He groaned at the renewed pain in his thigh. Maybe that had been the one good thing about killing himself with vicodin; it had been completely painless. However, he wasn't dead and Chase obviously didn't want him to die. House thought over their conversation of last night. Had Chase really said those things? It seemed like a mere dream to him, so far away and unreal.

"Hey pretty boy," He called out at the blond, who snapped out of his sleep at once. Stifling a yawn, he said; "Hey… are you okay? How's your leg?" causing House to stares, at a loss for words. Chase was genuinely concerned… really worried about his health. That was a shock to him. "I'm… I'm fine." He told his duckling, trying to smile. Chase grinned back at him; "Great. A silence passed through them, disturbed only by the beeping of House's heart monitor and Chase grasped the old man's hands in his own. "Greg," He suddenly said, leaning his head to rest it upon House's chest, "I… please, promise you won't ever do anything as stupid as what you did yesterday. I never want to go through that fear of losing you again."

House stared back with a vacant look, and cleared his throat. "I promise." Chase's eyes widened, and House added, "Robert." Chase smiled.

"It's the first time you've ever called me by my first name." House stated dumbly, making the blond laugh; "It's the first time you've ever promised something to me. And yesterday was the first time you ever said you loved me." He shot back and House smiled, defeated, and stroked the side of Chase's face. "Don't ever think I want to risk losing you again. What I did was stupid, but it proved my point; you need me."

Chase nodded, deciding against trying to deny it; "I do." Just then, Cameron and Foreman entered the room. Cameron spoke up before anyone else could; "The nurses said you'll be fine. You can go now." House smirked and nudged towards the nightstand where his vicodin bottle was and Chase handed it to him. He took two of them and lay back down, waiting for them to take effect.

"Here, thought you might want this…" Cameron told him, holding out House's unfinished package of Smarties from yesterday. He took it and began eating them quite happily, until he felt the pain in his leg dissipate and he got up slowly with the help of his cane and Chase. Everyone watched closely as he stood up and limped his way out of the room. Only he could act as normal as this after a suicide attempt.

No one dared mention it, guessing everything had been sorted out.

House seemed in a reasonably okay mood for someone who'd just had a massive overdose of vicodin. "So, what happened to the little mermaid?" He questioned, looking at the whiteboard as they entered the conference room. It had previously been wiped clean by Cameron, so House could only guess they had solved the case. Foreman was the one to answer him; "Chase found the answer. She was pregnant. She had an abortion like… four hours ago." House frowned; "What? That's it?" They nodded back at him.

"Yeah… that was it." Chase told him, "I noticed no guys had visited her… anyway, we ran another test of her blood samples and found cell fragments in them. So… her rash wasn't actually a rash. It all just… fitted in." House stared at him; "Wow! My little wombat's all grown up!" He acclaimed.

"It wasn't hard. Just a bit of deducing. I just did what you generally do. Think of the craziest reason she could be sick and stick with it until it's either proved right or not. Turned out to be right is all." Chase shrugged. House nodded; "Well good. You should do that more often," And he turned to his two other ducklings, "See that? Take example on him." Cameron smirked and Foreman rolled his eyes. They sat down and chatted about various things. Cameron frowned at their boss; "You're in a good mood today." She remarked. He scowled sarcastically; "There you go, ruining all the fun!" He said.

"No, but really!" She pressed on, "I mean, you nearly died only a few hours ago and now you're talking casually with us and stuff. Aren't you… troubled or something?" House pouted slightly, then smacked his lips; "Nope. I'm alive, forgiven, my leg's not being a bitch today and I've got my little wombat to entertain me tonight. What could I be troubled about?" He asked, a significant smile as he looked sideways at Chase, who felt a slight squirm in his stomach and blushed. Cameron shrugged with somewhat widened eyes; "Okay then… good." Foreman was smiling knowingly and Chase avoided his stare.

He knew that if he was going to be with House, he'd have to put up with the man's snide remarks every day probably, but he would deal with that somehow. Hopefully, he would manage to not go completely insane, if that was even possible.

They got lunch, joined by Wilson and went back to the conference room afterwards, with intentions to do as little work as possible. That is, until Cuddy came in, announcing they had to get a move on. "Okay, I know you're all procrastinating in here, so either you get to the clinic or do some paperwork, or just leave, but stop wasting your time here." She told them crossly and Foreman shot gunned the paperwork at once. House categorically refused to go down to the clinic and sent Cameron, threatening to make her do his own hours too. She left like a bullet and Chase remained seated, awaiting his sentence. Nothing came; in fact, House went to sit in his office, so he decided not to try his luck and took out his crossword puzzles. There was no one left to tell him to work so he might as well.

He was nibbling his pencil when he heard House talking. He looked up and saw him with Cuddy in the office. Their voices were muffled so he couldn't make out what they were saying. Cuddy was currently snapping at him, looking pretty annoyed. House growled something back and she sat down in front of him. Chase frowned; what had House done already that could get him in trouble? They hadn't really left the conference room since House had been released. No… they hadn't gone anywhere except the cafeteria and House had been strangely calm. Well, it wasn't that strange if you understood the fact he'd nearly died after all…

"FINE! I'll just leave then!" He heard House shout and he limped into the room, looking at Chase, "C'mon, let's go. I'm tired." Chase took notice of Cuddy scowling behind the older doctor's back, but he nodded, "Okay." He quickly hid his crosswords, hoping Cuddy hadn't noticed them and got up, swinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. Cuddy didn't stop them from leaving, merely told them warningly; "I'm going to let you leave early because you don't have patients, but make sure you're in here tomorrow ON TIME, House, otherwise… you don't want to know." House smirked, "Yes I do." She scowled even more; "You're going to have so much clinic duty that you'll even grow to like it, am I clear?"

"What, like Stockholm syndrome?" House asked, and she sighed, leaving without answering. House grinned at Chase and they left happily. Once they were in the parking lot, Chase stopped House by grabbing his arm; "The nurse said you shouldn't drive." He told him, "At least until tomorrow morning." House hummed resentfully, but followed Chase to his car.

As he started the engine, House ordered; "Stop at a Chinese takeout, and head to my place." Chase really didn't want to eat takeout; the sheer thought of it make his stomach turn over, but he complied. He let House order what he wanted at the drive-thru and shook his head when he was asked what he wanted. "Really? Nothing?" House pressured him, but he nodded; "It's fine." House shrugged and paid for his stuff before they drove off, not talking for the rest of the drive.

Even once they were sitting in House's living room, Chase watching his mentor eating his takeout, they were completely silent. Until House looked up at him; "You sure you're not hungry? I'll give something, I'm not a dog; I can share food." Chase shrugged. "Something to drink?" House asked, but he shook his head yet again; "I'm not hungry." He affirmed, "I'm just wondering, you know… about us."

House didn't reply immediately, chewing his fried chicken with a distant look upon his face. He swallowed, took a gulp of Pepsi and took a sharp inhale before speaking again, "Why wonder? We've been through this right? Just ask me; what's wrong?" Chase frowned; "I know, it's just that trying to get answers out of you is near-impossible. I'm just wondering what's going to happen now, that's all. Nothing to be worried about." House chuckled, "Have you actually been in a committed relationship before?"

"Of course – I, well… Not really." Chase admitted. House raised his eyebrows, clearly awaiting more. Chase tittered.

"A few girlfriends in high school… after that I was in med school, so you know, less time and stuff. But I did have one other girlfriend in med school – she, um… left. She told me I was working too much so I didn't have time to be with her as much as she'd have liked." Chase divulged slowly, still a little embarrassed at talking about himself to House. He knew it was a big step that he had to take though. House nodded, taking in the information, and swallowed another eggroll.

"Any boyfriends?" He asked him swiftly, making Chase's stomach squirm for the umpteenth time today. He shook his head; "No. I kind of always knew I had something for guys in a way, but… I guess I was comfortable with just girls."

"You weren't curious?" House inquired, making the blond shake his head again, "You've had a boyfriend before?" He asked his boss incredulously. He suddenly had an image of a younger House walking hand in hand with another guy. It nearly made him burst out laughing. Somehow the thought of House being in love was strange – that thought was strange in itself because he was in love right now wasn't he? Meanwhile, House was chewing his chop suey thoughtfully. "I wouldn't call it having a boyfriend, but yeah." Chase stared at him with a bland look. "So you…"

"Made out at some parties and stuff. It never got serious though. Fuckbuddies if you prefer." Chase nodded, incredulous. "But you like me right?" He asked all of a sudden. He had to know.

"I'm serious about you." House told him and Chase smiled. Having finished his takeout, House went to throw the empty cartons away and returned shortly, stretching his arms up as he sat down. "So what now? Any more inquiries?" He asked the blond doctor, who shrugged; "What now? Are we just going to continue like this…? I mean; your place, my place… your car, my car…?"

House openly laughed. A true, full laugh.

"What are you saying my dear Chase?" He asked contemptuously, "Aww, you want to move in with me?" Chase blushed, "Well that was the idea, yeah…" House smiled, but didn't say anything. "But stop kidding around! This is serious, um… relation talk, you know?" He said, making House laugh again, "Yeah I know. So you want to move in or what?"

"That's what I was going to ask. Do you want me to move in?" Chase shot back.

"Yeah, my apartment's nicer." House established firmly, winking. Chase rolled his eyes; "That's what I was saying. If I move in, it'll be here, but do you want us to live together?" Chase pressed on, trying to get House to understand how uptight the situation was making him. House grinned; "Sure! We'll be just like The Odd Couple! You be Felix and I'll be Oscar."

Chase grumbled; "I shouldn't have brought this up. Just forget about it for now, okay." He told House, regretting his decision to talk about it this quickly. He put his face in his hands and sighed heavily. He heard House cough. No doubt was he too regretting having had the conversation. Maybe he was mad at himself for teasing Chase.

"Chase…" House said slowly, and he looked up at him, "What?"

"I'd be thrilled if you'd like to move in." He admitted hurriedly, and Chase grinned; "Really? You mean it?" House nodded; "And you don't have to be Felix." He grinned back. Chase laughed shortly. "Thanks. That means you'll be cleaning then?" He rose, continuing along the lines of The Odd Couple metaphor. House snorted. "Not a chance." He finished clearing up the things that were left on the coffee table; notably a Pepsi bottle and his fork, and came back to sit next to Chase, this time really close. "So… what now?" he asked for the second time that evening. Chase shrugged and was about to speak when House stood back up and went to the TV.

Chase's heart thumped harder against his rib cage than usual as he bit back what he'd been about to say, storing it away for later. House turned on his X-box and came back to the couch with the remotes, pouting; "Wanna play with me?" Chase smiled; House was such a kid sometimes, but was quick to comply, taking the remote hastily, with the optimism of beating House.

Tough luck. House was pretty good. Chase stuck out his tongue and sat up straighter as he time and again tried to beat House to the finish line, ineffectively. When House threw a fist in the air shouting; 'Goal!' for about the fourteenth time, Chase decided he'd had quite enough. "Okay, haven't you beaten me enough now?" He inquired as House reloaded the game, looking ready for another round. He turned to look at him; "What you want to play a different game? Fine with me." He smiled sneakily and shut the game off, slumping back down on the couch afterwards.

Here it was, Chase thought, the moment he'd been waiting for all day but at the same time dreading. It was time to go to bed now if they didn't want to be late for Cuddy. Chase knew they could trust her to stick to her words. He gulped and turned to face House, who gave him a derisive worried face; "Oh no, this is the awkward part where you ask for make-up sex isn't it?"

Chase stopped to stare at him; god, how did this man manage to be so strait-forward about these kind of things? He tried not to let his nervousness show through as he smiled as genuinely as he could and replied, "Yeah. It is." And leaned in to kiss him.

It was by far their best kiss ever; Chase felt like he was falling in love all over again. House was letting his emotions shine through, for once he wasn't scared of what Chase would think. They were completely exposed to one another. The moment was beautiful until House got up with a content face; "Coming to bed honey?" He posed in a bizarre feminine manner, as if Chase were his husband. Chase gave him a weird look and followed him into the bedroom where House leant him some pyjama pants, stating; "Tomorrow you're bringing over your own things. My clothes don't really fit you."

"I thought you said they did…" Chase told him and he shrugged; "I kept giving you old clothes from when I used to be shorter." With that, he went to brush his teeth, leaving Chase to change. His stomach was being all fluttery again, and he tried to ignore it while he sat on the bed waiting for House. Finally, he limped in the room and pointed to the bathroom; "Go brush your teeth. There're some spare brushes in the top drawer." He told him, sounding almost motherly. Chase obeyed, while biting back a laugh.

House sat on the bed, massaging his thigh and trying to resist taking a vicodin; he had only four left so he'd rather be in pain a bit right now than when he'd have to walk tomorrow. He twiddled his thumbs and waited for Chase. He could hear him brushing his teeth in the bathroom next door, and it was still strange to him. He was happy at the thought that Chase was going to live here, but that didn't mean it wasn't weird. He was a long way away from Stacy; he remembered he'd found it strange living with somebody at first but he'd gotten used to it after a while. But this was not Stacy; Chase was much more clingy and he wasn't a girl, and no matter how much House accused him of being one, he'd had proof of it. He smiled.

Just then, Chase was back, looking more like he was attending a funeral than about to sleep with someone. "C'mon, try to relax." House advised him as the other man seated himself in front of him on his hands and knees. He gulped; "I know… I'm…" House smirked and leaned in to kiss him. Hmm. Minty. He felt Chase smile and it somehow escalated his confidence. He moved so he was on top of Chase and winced at the jolt of leg pain that followed. Chase kissed back vehemently as their clothes were discarded, but stopped when he looked up at House's face. House quickly tried to camouflage his look of pain, but it was useless.

"You're in pain. Let me lead." Chase told him, assuring him that it would be okay with a nod of the head. "I'm okay. It – ahh – it's fine." He tried to say though the hiss of pain that came from him leaning on his leg too much and shifted his weight onto his other knee. Chase smiled; "Either take a vicodin or let me take over." He said gently.

"I can't," House seethed, "I won't have any left tomorrow if I do." Chase nodded; "C'mon… I don't want this to be angry sex." House sighed, defeated, but he knew Chase was right. He'd get his turn. Chase helped him flip over onto his back without it hurting his leg too much and continued what they'd started. He paused to look at House's leg; he'd never really properly seen it. The first time, they'd had sex in the dark, the other time he'd seen him naked in the shower but hadn't really looked at it. He lightly touched the scar with his finger and he felt House squirm.

"Don't be ashamed." Chase told him when he saw House's hesitant face, "I like it." He admitted, feeling slightly stupid. House apparently thought it was a strange comment too put it was put aside.

It was really the first time they were doing this with the light on. It made it somehow even better, and Chase tried desperately to memorize every moment of it, all the subtle things that made House's body unique. He was gorgeous in the dim yellowish light.

House couldn't keep his eyes off Chase's face. It mesmerized him; peaceful, with his hair clinging to the sweat that had formed slightly on his forehead. His eyes were the best: all that emotion swirling in his green orbs made it all worthwhile. It made him realize how much he'd missed making love. Because to him, this wasn't just sex. The look, the light radiating off his cheeks and shoulders and the shadows formed by the outlines and curves of his muscles – everything was so perfect.

House twisted on his side to turn off the light as Chase slumped down next to him, burrowing into his back under the covers. House pulled the covers back on his side, consequently pulling Chase in too. Chase rubbed his feet on his, curling his toes. His feet were cold and it made House jump but he smiled. It was kind of cute.

They stopped tossing, fighting for the covers and settled down, ready for a good night of sleep. The only real one they'd had for a while now. Everything was back in its place.

----

Chase nibbled a pencil as he worked on his crossword, completely unaware of the suggestive glances House kept sending him. Cameron was sitting next to him, drinking her coffee and trying to ignore House and Foreman was looking extremely bored, playing around with a rubber band. Wilson was sitting with them too. Unlike Cameron, he was smiling at House.

"Everything's going well I take it?" He asked his friend, who glanced at him; "Sure." Foreman noticed Chase's lip curl into a small smile and said; "You two made up then?"

House chuckled, "That's a relative way of putting it. We like it rough don't we, Aussie? Rawr." He stated, pinching Chase in the side, making him squirm and blush slightly, "Will you cut it out? I'm trying to – hey, that's it: rough!" He said, writing the word down in his crossword. House smiled; "Always happy to help." Chase glowered at him, though with a smile and Cameron let out an 'aww'.

"When's the marriage then?" She asked, making House choke. Chase stared at her and Foreman laughed; "Nice one, Cameron." As if saving them from the awkwardness, Cuddy suddenly came in, hands on her hips. "Wilson! I'd expect better of you! Patients are dying and you're here drinking coffee? Get a move on!" He lost no time in obeying, clearly not keen on getting shouted at some more and ran off to attend to his business. Cuddy then rounded on House.

"You: clinic duty." She stated.

"Aw, but mom…" He whined, and she scowled; "I noticed you came in on time this morning. Great. But you don't have any patients yet, so go." He groaned, but got up, taking out his bottle of vicodin – shit, he'd forgotten it was empty. He kicked the underside of Chase's chair, making him yelp and stare up at him indignantly. "Blondie, come with me." He said. Cuddy frowned; "You don't need Chase to examine patients House."

"Precisely. I need him to relieve my pain." He said, "And since you sent Wilson away…" She stared, and he scowled sarcastically; "Geez, I'm talking about Vicodin! I need a refill." Cuddy nodded, but told him; "Okay, but Chase is coming right back up here afterwards. I don't want anyone coming to me saying they found you two in a closet somewhere or something." And she sat down, crossing her arms and reading the newspaper that was laid out on the table. The cripple glared at her but she didn't take notice of it, so he and Chase went downstairs in silence, House silently fuming.

He was waiting in the lobby for Chase to return with his vicodin, when he heard a familiar voice behind him: "Greg…" He turned around slowly, gaping at the person. It was Stacy.

"Hi… Stacy…" He managed to say. His brain was buzzing. She smiled and walked up to him, "How are you?" She asked, smiling. He smiled too, "Well, the past five years have been like… have you ever seen those Girls Gone Wild videos?" She smirked; "Your life's been like that or it's been spent watching them?" He smiled back; she always knew what to say to beat him.

She started to speak; "I have missed you…" but before House could say anything in response, it was interrupted by Chase, who stepped into the scene unaware of what was going on; "Hey House, here." He gave him the bottle, and House mumbled something but didn't look at him. Chase turned his gaze curiously to the woman he was looking at, and she smiled at him. This seemed to make House realize he was there and he turned to look at the blond doctor; "Thanks Chase." He said at last.

The woman held out her hand; "Stacy Warner. You must work for Greg?" She said importantly. Chase took her hand and shook it slowly, looking between her and House. House was looking really put off by the situation. "Um yeah. Robert Chase." He answered. She smiled again and looked back at House, "I need your help." She stated, holding out some files.

Chase couched as House moved in to look at what she was showing him and said; "Um… I'll go back upstairs," he told him, placing a hand on House's forearm tenderly, nearly possessively, "See you at lunch?" House locked eyes with him at last and smiled; "yeah." Now that was reassuring for Chase and he made his way back to the conference room. Was this Stacy… The Stacy? He couldn't help wondering, but there was only one way to know.

"What took so long?" Cuddy inquired as he stepped in the room, going back to his seat. He couldn't answer for a few seconds, but he finally managed to say; "um, I went to refill House's vicodin, and when I came back, he was talking with this woman. Actually, they weren't really talking… Just… looking at each other. Um, she shook my hand and said she was called Stacy. Stacy Warner." He saw Cuddy's face grow softer.

Cameron frowned, "So?" She asked. Of course she didn't understand; she'd never even known House was once with a girl called Stacy. Cuddy sighed; "That's her." She told Chase, who nodded; "That's what I figured."

"Who?" Cameron questioned again and Chase sighed heavily; "House's ex-girlfriend." She uttered a small 'oh…' and fell silent. Foreman's eyes widened; "House used to have a girlfriend? Must be one hell of a character." He thought out loud. Chase smirked; "It'll be okay thought, right?" He asked Cuddy, "House told me he was the one who left her – he doesn't still have feelings for her does he?" Cuddy scratched her forehead; "That's not exactly true. They kind of decided to end it together. She was tired of him more than he was tired of her I think. I'm not sure, because he never wants to talk about it, but he's probably really troubled by her appearance. Of course, he still loves you. Don't go worrying about that." She reassured him.

He nodded and they were all silent until Cuddy's cell phone rang. "Hello?... Yes… Oh, dear. …Okay, I'll have someone replace him. Okay, thank you." She said and hung up. Chase was worried all of a sudden; "Who was it?"

"Oh it's nothing. One of the teachers for the interns is sick…" She took out her pager and wrote a note to someone, then stored it away. "Cover your ears." She advised them. Foreman frowned; "Why?" She didn't answer, so they all exchanged looks until the door banged open and House limped in spectacularly, roaring; "WHAT THE HELL?"

Cuddy had been the only one to actually cover her ears, so everyone else flinched and House walked up to the middle of the room; "YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?" He continued, obviously pissed. "STOP YELLING!" Cuddy yelled back at him. House scoffed; "Hypocrite…" Cuddy sighed, "Look, Dr Riley is throwing up; he obviously can't teach. I need someone to replace him."

"Oh did you witness the spew? Or are you just taking his word for it?" Cuddy smirked, "He doesn't have a history of lying to me." House moaned; "But why me?!"

"Because the world hates you? Or because it's a class on diagnostics – whichever reason suits your narcissism better. Now go, I'll give you two hours off clinic duty. I know you'd rather listen to yourself for a few hours than listen to patients. Class starts in twenty minutes." She scorned at him, and he sighed, giving up. "Whatever… I'll do it. See you later." He bent down to place a small kiss on Chase's cheek and walked out.

Cuddy sighed happily; "Well, that was easier than I thought." Chase put a hand on the spot House's lips had touched moments ago, with a distant look on his face. He then said slowly; "House… never does that." Cuddy smiled, "What kiss you on the cheek?"

"Yeah. In front of people… I mean, he teases me about it but…" Chase trailed off, and Cuddy's smile grew, "I know why." Chase gave her a confused look and she explained, "He knows you know about Stacy, so he's implicitly reassuring you that there's nothing going on with her that could change his feelings for you. He wants you to know he loves you but, you know House… It's not everyday he says those words." Chase stared at her, but he understood.

"Wow… wish I was a girl. How do you understand those things?" He asked, grinning in appreciation. Cuddy shrugged, "Don't know. We just do." Cameron smiled, "I think it's great for House. He's a little less miserable you know."

"You've noticed a change?" Chase inquired. He hadn't really noticed anything except the teasing, really. Cameron nodded, "Yeah, he seems a little happier maybe? Less angry. Well, except for when he was yelling but there was a reason for that. Usually he just mocks everything anyone says for the heck of it…" She thought out loud.

They were all lost in their thoughts for a while, Chase continued his crosswords, and Wilson came back. Cuddy immediately rounded on him, but he held out his hands, as if she was going to hit him, "No one's dying!" He assured her, "I'm here to get House for lunch… where is he?" Cuddy frowned at him, "He's teaching a class. You sure no one's dying?" He smirked at her and looked around. "Anyone else wants lunch?" He inquired. Chase, Cameron and Foreman exchanged inquisitive looks and shrugged, "Yeah," Foreman spoke for them all, "It's not like we would be wasting time – we don't have any patients and House is teaching so…"

They got up and went to eat with Wilson. Cuddy rejected their offer, stating she had some work to do and parted ways with them.

Chase was unwrapping his sandwich when it came to him: he could ask Wilson about Stacy. "Hey Wilson? Um…" He started and the oncologist looked up at him, waiting for what he had to say; "I found House talking with someone this morning. Um… I asked Cuddy and she told me it was her, Stacy Warner."

Wilson swallowed his mouthful and said, "Yeah… I had lunch with her a while ago. Because we're still friends you know, and she told me she needed help with her new husband's case. I advised her to ask House… She said she would think about it. I didn't expect her to come so soon, though." Chase nodded, and nothing more was said on the subject.

----

House was, in short, a pretty good teacher. The four doctors had gone to sit down in the back of the class to listen to the end of his lecture. Cameron was astonished by the story when Chase told her it was House's own.

"Because of the… extent of the muscle removed," House was currently saying, "The utility of the patient's leg was severely compromised. Because of the time delay in making the diagnosis, the patient continues to experience chronic pain." He flinched at his own words, and looked down at his hands, falling silent.

One of the students spoke up; "She had no right to do that." She said. Another student argued; "She had the prox." The girl shot back, "She knew he didn't want to have the surgery." The guy went on: "She saved his life." Another of the students butted in; "Well, we don't know that! Maybe he would have been fine." The girl sighed, "It doesn't matter. It's the patients call." The first guy who'd spoken finished; "The patient is an idiot!"

A silence rang through the classroom and House chuckled; "They usually are." After a short pause, he looked around, "Don't you have a buzzer or something? What time does this class end?"

"Twenty minutes ago." Cuddy told him, having just appeared in the doorway. House got up and went to move off the stage, "I'm not doing this again." He held up a coffee mug for her to see, "And this guy is not the world's greatest dad. He's not even ranked. Who the hell lets their kids play with lead-based paint?" He inquired, giving the mug to her, "That's why he's always sick. Buy him some plastic cups and the class is all his again." With that, he left. The dumbstruck students exchanged weirded-out looks and gathered their things to leave.

House was walking alone in the corridor when Chase came up to him; "I thought you were great Greg." He told him proudly. House smirked, "Thanks… or whatever." Then he smiled, "Um, look. Sorry about earlier… You know, with Stacy."

Chase shrugged derisively. "It's okay… It's normal you would be… surprised… at seeing her. I don't mind." House nodded, "Well, anyway. We're invited to eat lunch with her and her husband later at ten." Chase stared, "We?" House nodded, "I just told her I was seeing someone." He told the blond, grinning, "I just said; 'I'll introduce you'. I didn't use any pronouns."

Chase laughed, "Well, she'll be shocked." House chuckled, too. "Probably." He winked at Chase and took his hand as they both walked out of the hospital together.

----

Sitting in the restaurant, House was currently balancing some forks on his glass with a toothpick.

"House… people are staring!" Chase told him, looking around and trying not to speak too loud. "I'm bored. And they're late." He stated, trying to remove the toothpick without the forks falling. Just then, Stacy arrived. As she sat in front of House, everything fell down and House slammed his hands on the table with a displeased look, "Thank you."

Stacy smirked, "You're welcome," She answered dryly and turned to Chase, "Robert, right?" Chas nodded awkwardly and shook her hand. House looked around, "Where the hell is what's-his-name anyway?" Stacy glared at him; "He'll be here. I'm sure he's just running a little late…" House scoffed: "He's cancelled two exams, he's not going to –"

"He's scared of you." Stacy asserted wryly, and House smirked, "Sure. The ex-boy-toy. Yeah, that makes sense."

"House!" Chase said, nudging him with his elbow. "I'm sorry." He said to Stacy, who smiled when House didn't continue to nag. "Wow, Greg, you found someone who can actually control you."

Chase smiled back and asked, "So what's wrong with your husband?" Stacy seemed pleased by his interest and answered shortly; "Sudden mood swings, he gets aggressive, abdominal pain and he's passed out twice." She explained. Chase nodded and turned to House; "What do you think?" House made a non-committal jerk of the head; "He's twenty minutes late. Maybe you should go see if he hasn't passed out in your living room." Stacy smirked, ignoring the taunt, "He'll be here." She said again.

"Why? Because he loves you and does everything he's told?" House asked. Stacy shook her head; "Because I didn't tell him you'd be here." She elucidated, her eyes widening. House smirked and jabbed her thumb at her to Chase, "That's a smart one." He said scornfully.

House and Stacy were staring at each other with contemptuous look when a man entered the restaurant. He spotted them and came to the table, "Stacy." He said and she looked around at him. "What's going on?" He asked, looking around the table, his gaze lingered on Chase for a second then on House. Stacy made him sit and held out a hand to House; "Hi." House said pleasantly enough, but anyone who knew him well could tell he was being sardonic; "I'm Greg House. You must be Matt."

"Mark." Stacy butted in, but Mark looked it over as he sat and shook House's hand warmly. "Don't worry about it." He turned to Stacy and whispered something in her ear. The exchanged a few short words and turned to House and Chase. House gestured to Chase with his hand, "This is Robert Chase. My boyfriend." He stated, with a look that seemed to dare Mark to laugh. Mark seemed a little taken aback, but shook Chase's hand anyway; "Nice to meet you."

"Wow… Greg House." Mark stated, making House smirk, "Yeah… heh, wow." Stacy threw him a dirty look, but Mark didn't notice, "I haven't been avoiding you – I just didn't want to waste your time." He told him, "Everything's fine. All the doctors who checked me out said I was just stressed. College season… kids, parents… they're all over me." He stated, while gesturing with his hands a lot. House nodded, "Makes sense to me."

"Greg." Stacy pressured dangerously. "What do you want me to do?"

"You said you'd check him out!" Stacy told him a little angrily. House shrugged, "Says he's healthy." Chase cleared his throat, "Maybe there's really a problem. You should at least let us check you out?" House slapped his hands together; "Great! Two against two! This is going to be fun!"

"Stop it…" Stacy said dejectedly, "You're not making anything better."

House seemed annoyed all of a sudden, and he picked up his glass to Mark, "Cheers to relationships." Mark determinately stared back, picking up his glass too and they rushed to down it before the other.

House was the first to finish his glass of beer, slamming it down on the table. Mark followed shortly, nonetheless losing. "You two are being very childish." Stacy remarked, and Mark shook his head; "I think that… whoa…" He looked around vaguely and House helped his head lay down safely on the table without hurting him just as Mark passed out.

Right on cue, a group of paramedics arrived; "Someone called 911 for a wagon to Princeton-Plainsboro?" He inquired in the restaurant, his team holding a stretcher. "Garçon!" House cried, snapping his fingers at the paramedic. They came to pick up Mark and rushed him away, reassuring the people of the restaurant that there was nothing to worry about.

Stacy rounded on House; "You dosed him!" She shouted out incredulously. "You wanted me to check him out." House argued, "Although I was a little worried that they were going to get here before he passed out… It would have been harder to get him to drink." Stacy scowled at him, gathering up her purse. Chase stared at House, "How did you get that stuff in his glass without me noticing?"

"When you went to wash your hands." House explained and Chase bit his lip, "I'm so sorry." He told Stacy. "Don't be." She assured him, "You'd better hope he's sick." She warned House before leaving.

House turned to the Australian, "See? I don't love her. Actually, I do – I'm just not in love with her." Chase smiled and House took his hands, "I'm in love with you." This made Chase grin and kiss him right there, in front of the whole restaurant. And itt was just right that way.

----

They had to wait until the following morning to do a differential. Cameron and Foreman finally arrived and House had gone to sort some things out and was going to return soon. Chase was sitting in his chair, a little tired from having spent the whole night at the hospital.

"Tummy ache, cranky… No apparent reason." Cameron began as she walked from the coffee to the whiteboard, "Any thoughts?" She leaned on the board and turned to her colleagues, who stayed mute, "Foreman? Are you going to contribute? Or are you too tired from stealing cars?" She asked, imitating House's manner of speech. Foreman looked up from his bowl of cereal with a less-then-amused face. Cameron pouted, "What? I'm being House… it's funny!" Foreman smirked, "I know. You made milk come out of my nose."

Chase laughed and Cameron went back to her place just as House walked in. "Good morning," he announced, "You guys read the file?"

"Previous tests revealed nothing of concern." Cameron stated. House turned; "Alright then. We're done. What d'ya think? Ball game… whatever, I just wanna hand with you guys." Cameron sighed, her shoulders drooping. "What about drugs?" Foreman asked, reading through the file, "His tox screen revealed massive amounts of chlorohydrate…" House smirked; "Oops, sorry that was me. I had to drug him to get him in here. Doesn't think he's sick." He said, stirring creamer in his coffee.

"Who does?" Foreman asked, raising his eyebrows as if making a point.

"His wife." Chase told him. Cameron looked up at House, "The woman you used to live with." House smirked at her, "Yeah, that's her Indian name. On her driver's license it's Stacy. Though, I assume you have a point." He shot at her, taking a sip of coffee. "Well, yeah, you believe her over the patient himself. That's why we're taking this case."

House looked at her thoughtfully, then stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, I hear voices. All the time, telling me to do stuff – it's crazy!" Cameron's stare didn't falter, "What happened to everybody lies?"

House walked up to her and stared her in the eyes, "I was lying." He then walked away to sit next to Chase, leaving her to ponder what he'd just said meant. "Do all the tests those other doctor did, when those are negative; ultrasound his belly. Then do a CT scan of his abdominal area, with and without contrast. Did I miss anything?"

Chase smirked; "Kitchen sink?" House turned to him, "Well we could certainly get that – Oh, you!" He said, laughing and giving him a short kiss. Chase kissed back happily, not even caring that Cameron and Foreman were there for once. He really didn't care anymore.

"Go now. Obey your master, little duckies. Don't come home too late and don't talk to strangers." He told them, picking up his briefcase as he went to his office with one last smile.

One of the rare true smiles they had ever seen him make. Only Chase could make him smile like that. They got up and went to examine the patient, House smiling in their wake.

----

A/N: Well, now it's over. I really didn't want to get too much in the whole Stacy thing because it would have been too long and repetitive. So I'm gonna leave it there. I like to leave endings that open up something so you can kind of imagine what'll happen next, you know?

Thanks for reading it anyway and, as always, thanks to everybody who reviewed!