Hello all!! Hope you've had a wonderful day! I apologize, I meant to have this story up sooner but with the holidays and school and recent break-up I've been a little preoccupied :D Anyway, here's the first part of the sequel!!

This story takes place about 2 days after Chase has been released from the hospital (what he's doing at work I'm not sure...over-achiever much??) Anyway, I wanted to make this fic a little more light-hearted than my previous one seeing as it was kind of dark there for a while. Lots of randomness and things that make you go "huh?" in later chapters!! Love ya!!

-Layla

Chase bit back a cry as an arm swung sideways and slammed into his side with crushing force. Taken by surprise, he toppled backwards, landing hard on his hip and wincing. Almost immediately, the patient was subdued and sedated. The thrashing stopped and the patient was still, the entire room silenced almost instantly.

A nurse behind the IV stand watched Chase with worried eyes and started forward to help him. However, the doctor managed a weak smile in her direction and began to pull himself to his feet. "I'm alright." He assured the other members of the staff who were all regarding him with the same look.

Chase brushed himself off and excused himself from the room, walking down the hall in a deliberately hurried fashion. He was thrilled he could lie as well as he did becuase in reality the pain was about to knock him over. Sharp tremors of agony coursed through him with enough strength to give him goosebumps. His hand went to his side, brushing over his shirt lightly and causing him to gasp. Even the lightest of pressures hurt and a wave of nausea swept through him.

Turning abruptly, Chase rushed into an empty bathroom and sank to his knees on the cold tiles. He hunched over the toilet, gagging several times but yielding nothing. Finally, the pain subsided and he leaned back against the wall, breathing hard and sweating. His shirt moved a little against his side and he could see a few bright blotches of blood had soaked through the fabric. Lifting his shirt carefully, Chase peeled back the bandage that had been taped to his side and gasped.

The wound was bright red and swollen, yellowish pus weeping slowly in between the stitches, at least five of which had been broken. Blood mixed with the aspirating fluid and threatened to ooze down his side had Chase not taped the bandage back in place. He sighed deeply and let his head fall back against the wall. 'Great…it's infected.' He thought miserably, wondering how he could replace the broken stitches without telling anyone. The wound was at such an awkward angle it would be almost impossible to do without screwing something up but he didn't want anyone to find out the stitches had been broken in the first place and he definitely didn't want anyone to find out the wound was infected on top of everything else. Still, he couldn't run the risk of infecting a patient and, with little other option than that, he resigned himself to his fate.

Standing slowly, he was about to make his way to find someone to help him with the stitches when his pager went off. Pulling it out of his pocket, the young man read the message and sighed softly. Changing his direction, pain still fresh in his mind, Chase walked back down the hall to patient's room.

OOOOO

"So how did you know it was Ergot poisoning?" Cameron asked as Chase stepped back out into the hallway once he was through.

The younger man shrugged, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Any topic that would take his mind off the fire trying to engulf his side was a good topic. "I remember reading The Crucible when I was in middle school and discussing the various afflictions the girls suffered. They seemed remarkably similar to our patient's so I followed through on it discovered she was suffering from the same disease. Nothing special." He blinked rapidly, a flush fighting its way through his face.

Cameron laughed once and shook her head. "Trust me, Ergot would be the last thing I would think of." She stopped and stared at him, her eyes analyzing his posture and movements.

"What?" Chase asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious and somewhat embarrassed.

"Are you feeling alright? You look kind of…wilted."

Chase shook his head a little and offered a weak, apologetic smile. He was about to ask for her help with the stitches but was violently cut off as a cane rapped him hard on the ribs. Immediate, overwhelming pain shot through him and he doubled over in agony.

"Good morning!" House greeted far too cheerfully, side-stepping the doubled over doctor.

Cameron's eyes widen and she rushed to Chase's side. "House!" She snapped irritably. "What was that for?!"

"I didn't see him." The older man answered simply, shrugging lightly.

"You…hit me with your cane…!" Chase gasped, squeezing his eyes shut as another surge of crippling pain rushed through him.

"Still didn't see you."

Cameron ignored him and placed a hand on Chase's back. "Chase, are you alright?"

Chase tried to answer her but found it damn near impossible to form the words. Cameron's voice seemed incredibly far away and echoed through his head persistently. Focusing on his breathing, Chase tried desperately to suppress the pain in his side.

"Chase?" Cameron tried again, her voice concerned with a note of panic as the younger man continued to remain silent.

House frowned at the blond's lack of an answer and moved forward a little. "Chase, it's not nice to ignore women. Trust me, I know."

Once again, Chase tried to say something, anything to the two doctors above him. There was a loud, irritating buzzing in his ears and his vision was beginning to cloud around the edges. Suddenly, the floor titled at an obscene angle and Chase toppled forward.

"Chase!"

Chase wasn't entirely sure if it had been Cameron or House that had yelled his name as he began to fall. Not that it mattered, he was far too unconscious to say or do anything about it anyway.

Sorry for the cliff-hanger but don't worry, I didn't kill Chase :D If I'd wanted to do that I would have done it in my previous story (j/k) Hehe, hope you've enjoyed it so far and as always, if there are any concerns or issues please just let me know!!