[House] Wheel Within A Wheel
title: Wheel Within A Wheel
part: 1/10
author: Me, apparently
pairing: Foreman/Chase; implied House/Chase; implied others/Chase
rating: R
summary: Something has happened between Foreman and Chase - the latter just doesn't know what. When House sends them to Australia to save a patient's life they end up facing death - and each other.
a/n: Set sometime during season 2. Old school, baby!
x-posted
Strong hands are crushing his hips to the sheets and he knows he couldn’t get up right now even if he wanted to. He feels his eyes widen as something inside of him, some vital part even, breaks and he’s reduced to a screaming, sobbing mess. He’s just a body, or maybe just this part of his body that’s being teased mercilessly.
His legs are spread so wide it almost hurts, but he doesn’t give a damn, can’t really bring himself to as the other’s head slowly moves deeper and is almost exactly where he wants it the most and his body’s tingling with excitement. He buries his hands in the other’s short hair, urging him on without words and he feels his tongue. He’s really going to, he’s really-
And then it ends.
“Chase, hey, look at me.”
But he doesn’t want to look at him! He doesn’t want anything, but to get lost in this feeling. The other says something, he never catches the words, only sees his full lips moving.
“What do you want, Chase?”
The dark eyes are keeping him pinned to the sheets. He can’t get up, doesn’t even want to. He can’t decide. He can’t get up. He can’t stay here either. Why does he need to decide things? It was all going so well and-
“Coffee or tea, sir?” the stewardess asked, the flesh around her dark almond-shaped eyes crinkling.
Rubbing his eyes, he looked up at her. “Some tea, please.”
She filled one of those plastic cups that always burned one’s fingers, then proceeded to hand Foreman his coffee. The other doctor was sitting across the aisle - a fact that made Chase happier than it probably should have.
The damn dream was back to torture him again and he was feeling whiny enough without having to spend almost forty-eight hours in a tin can with Foreman. Travelling should be an occasion of joy and hopeful anticipation, not barely suppressed rage and annoyance. His fingers curled around the edge of his belt. He was tired and the thin tea wasn’t helping.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched the other doctor reading a magazine, smiling at whatever he was reading. Genuine smiles were rare for Foreman, but Chase had to admit it made him rather attractive.
Too attractive for you. he silently berated himself, wishing he could remember what his dream meant. It wasn’t that he didn’t know dreams were more of a psychological thing and did not necessarily bear any semblance to real events, but circumstances were in favour of it being true…
With practised ease, gained by too many late-night calls, Foreman slipped into his clothes. Chase was still sitting on the bed, but he wasn’t watching, teal eyes fixed on a thin slice of pale light filtering through the shutters. It would be the perfect moment to speak up and ask Foreman, but he didn’t. Perhaps people (his father, House, Foreman) had been right all along and he was a horrible pushover, but somehow he just couldn’t do it.
There weren’t too many possibilities why he could be here, after all.
“Close the door when you leave.”
Foreman’s words weren’t exactly unfriendly, not even cold, but Chase felt goose-bumps creeping all over his body.
Foreman grabbed his keys and cell, then left. Chase knew he only needed to get up right now and he would manage to get to work on time; his car was parked two streets away.
But he couldn’t move.
It had all been House’s idea, of course. The Australian exchange student had come to the States just two days ago? Hey, why not fly over to Australia and check her dorm?
Somehow they had managed to get tickets for this flight on short notice, but of course they were stuck in economy class and had to fly via Europe.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I should’ve refused. But you never could deny House anything, could you?
Something like a smile crossed Chase’s face and for a moment he almost looked like a happy tourist.
His job was tiresome and sometimes even outright dangerous, but he had never had any second thought; had he wanted an ordinary job he would have left House a long time ago.
For this job he even did a thing he would not have believed possible.
He was going home.
After one stop in Frankfurt, Germany, and another in Dubai, they finally reached Melbourne.
“Nice airport. Now where does the patient live?”
Foreman hadn’t spoken with him since Germany where he had made a brief remark about the length of a girl’s legs.
“I don’t think we really should go there just yet,” Chase murmured. “It’s the middle of the night and I’m sure her room mates wouldn’t want to deal with us right now.”
Grabbing his bags, Foreman made an eloquent shrug.
“Food and lodging’s on us, you heard Cuddy. I don’t want to spend any more of my own good money on this trip than I have to.”
They were making their way toward the exit, almost alone. Theirs had been the last flight for a couple of hours.
Melbourne Airport wasn’t a particularly remarkable place, but for Chase it held a lot of memories. This was where he’d left Australia a couple of years before and he hadn’t meant to come back. That he was here now was completely House’s doing and yet….
He remembered that he probably should give Foreman an answer.
“Let’s just get a hotel room for the night and leave everything else to morning. Trust me.”
“It really is summer here.” Foreman chuckled as they stepped out into the balmy February night. “How could you ever leave this place?”
The question was a rhetorical one, yet Chase had to bite down on his tongue hard. It wouldn’t do to get into an argument with Foreman right now. He pushed back a stubborn strand of hair and dragged his suitcase outside. House had made fun of him for having one in the first place, asking if he kept all his girl stuff in there.
They made their way to a taxi driver who was singing along to Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’. The song had been popular at around the same time Chase started med school. He quickly gave the driver directions so he could listen to the song, quickly following Natalie’s voice down the road of memory.
As a doctor he was fully aware of the power of smell and sound to trigger memory, still, he hadn’t anticipated this powerful force to hit him so hard.
Suddenly every street sign seemed like a friend, a thing that required his full attention and silent greeting even if he was fairly sure he had never been to some of these places before.
If Foreman noticed he didn’t say anything.
Eventually they stopped in front of a small, slightly shabby-looking hotel. Chase was just about to pick up his suitcase from the trunk when something small and hard hit his side. He looked up to find a woman grinning up at him, her thumb and pinky raised to form the surfer’s greeting.
“Hey, mate.”
“Hey, Romy.”
“Hey, Chase’s acquaintance. Can I get a key to the room?”
“This must be that guy you so vividly described in your e-mail.” Romy grinned at Foreman, flashing a row of perfectly white teeth. Short and round as she was, she definitely didn’t lack confidence - a trait Chase had always admired.
“I am and I’m tired. So would you please give me the key?”
Chase could tell that Foreman was feeling uncomfortable, especially since he didn’t know about the contents of the e-mail. Just as well. What had happened wasn’t exactly his, Chase’s fault, and if Foreman got a little scared so much the better.
“Yeah, well, about that room…” Romy smiled sheepishly, running a hand through her hair. “One hour ago a bus showed up, fully loaded with noob-backpackers. Couldn’t pass by that chance, now could I? But there’s a room left for you and it’s even one with direct access to the pool. So there.”
“You did want to keep costs low, didn’t you?” Chase grinned at Foreman, but it wasn’t a happy smile. He fully knew what this meant and he did not like it one bit. Having had to go on this trip with Foreman was bad enough, sharing a room was like having a car accident in the middle of a tornado.
“Whatever. The key, please.”
Romy finally relented and handed an old-fashioned brass key to Foreman. She whistled and a gangly youth appeared who picked up Chase’s suitcase, pointedly ignoring Foreman’s luggage.
“We have so much catching up to do. I’m sure you won’t mind if I borrow your colleague, right?”
And with that Romy dragged Chase off.
“You’re sleeping with him.”
“I’m not!”
They were sitting at a low table at the back porch, sipping coke and trying to overcome the initial awkwardness - with different levels of success.
Romy didn’t seem to have any problem with him, but Chase just found it a bit overwhelming to be back in Australia and to be talking with a girl he’d had a short affair with, which had ended badly nonetheless.
“Whatever. I told Riley you’re back.”
“I don’t think he wants to see me.”
“He doesn’t.”
For a moment Romy busied herself with a suspicious-looking brown lump and some small squares of paper. Eventually she lit the joint, offering it to Chase after a deep drag.
“Fucking your best friend’s baby sister does have its effects on people - especially the best friends.”
“If you knew that, why did you ever agree to go out with me in the first place?” The sole source of light came from a cracked lamp dangling somewhere overhead, but Chase didn’t need to see his friend’s face to know she was smiling.
“I was in love with you, Robert. Still am. Some habits are just hard to get over, I suppose.” She took back the joint, pulling just a little too hard. She coughed violently, breaking the utter silence for a moment.
“You’re the only one who’s ever called me Robert - except for my father that is.”
“Don’t try to distract me. That Foreman, what happened between the two of you?”
Chase sighed softly, taking the joint back from Romy. He was a doctor, he didn’t do drugs anymore, wasn’t supposed to. But Romy was right about the old habits and right now marijuana might be the only way out of his dilemma.
If he told Romy about that night, what had happened then, it would become real. Well, it was real enough all right, but some things just don’t hurt as much if you never speak about them.
On the other hand, getting things out of your system was healthier. And she was the only one who might understand.
“It’s complicated,” he finally said, pulling his legs up to his chest. “He doesn’t like me. You know, this whole rich versus poor thing.”
“Didn’t your dad leave just about everything to Marjorie?” Romy asked, deftly putting together a second joint. “You’re not rich.”
“He thinks I am.”
“He’s a doctor. He’s rich, too. I really don’t see why… but do keep talking.”
“Well, you know we’re working for Dr House who’s not exactly encouraging good relationships with or between his employees. And somehow it’s just… it all sucks.”
“Robert.” Romy sighed softly. “Ignoring it won’t make it go away.”
“The problem is that-“ He leaned in closer to her, whispering now. This wasn’t exactly meant for anybody else’s ears. “I don’t know.”
Romy rolled her eyes at him, elbowing his side. “How can you not know these things?”
“I just don’t. I woke up at his place one morning and I didn’t know what had happened the night before. I do recall that I went there because there was something incredibly important I had to do or say and….” He shrugged. “It’s odd.”
“You never could hold a drink.” Romy took another drag from her joint, the light briefly illuminating her face before fading away into darkness. “And you’re just too bloody beautiful for your own good. I have a pretty good idea what happened.”
“He’s not like that.”
At least that was what Chase kept trying to tell himself, he just didn’t know if it was true or not. Sure, he had found no trace of any sexual activity having taken place, but Foreman was anal about his apartment. It was so neat Chase would have happily agreed to eat from the floor. Foreman would have cleaned it before he’d ever woken up and he had been hung over so he just couldn’t be completely sure.
“Whatever happened, you need to clear it up and quickly. Robert, there’s something I didn’t tell you…”
Chase looked over at Romy, frowning. They had been exchanging e-mails for years now and she certainly hadn’t held back when it came to her boyfriends and other activities, so what was this now?
“I got the news when you were already flying. Other people from your patient’s dorm are sick. Something’s happening here and... oh well, someone has to tell you. Marjorie’s diagnosing them.”
Chase didn’t reply, just kept watching the cracked lamp banging against the wall.
If there ever was a good time to be facing your own inner demons it certainly wasn’t now. But what choice had he ever really had?
part: 1/10
author: Me, apparently
pairing: Foreman/Chase; implied House/Chase; implied others/Chase
rating: R
summary: Something has happened between Foreman and Chase - the latter just doesn't know what. When House sends them to Australia to save a patient's life they end up facing death - and each other.
a/n: Set sometime during season 2. Old school, baby!
x-posted
Strong hands are crushing his hips to the sheets and he knows he couldn’t get up right now even if he wanted to. He feels his eyes widen as something inside of him, some vital part even, breaks and he’s reduced to a screaming, sobbing mess. He’s just a body, or maybe just this part of his body that’s being teased mercilessly.
His legs are spread so wide it almost hurts, but he doesn’t give a damn, can’t really bring himself to as the other’s head slowly moves deeper and is almost exactly where he wants it the most and his body’s tingling with excitement. He buries his hands in the other’s short hair, urging him on without words and he feels his tongue. He’s really going to, he’s really-
And then it ends.
“Chase, hey, look at me.”
But he doesn’t want to look at him! He doesn’t want anything, but to get lost in this feeling. The other says something, he never catches the words, only sees his full lips moving.
“What do you want, Chase?”
The dark eyes are keeping him pinned to the sheets. He can’t get up, doesn’t even want to. He can’t decide. He can’t get up. He can’t stay here either. Why does he need to decide things? It was all going so well and-
“Coffee or tea, sir?” the stewardess asked, the flesh around her dark almond-shaped eyes crinkling.
Rubbing his eyes, he looked up at her. “Some tea, please.”
She filled one of those plastic cups that always burned one’s fingers, then proceeded to hand Foreman his coffee. The other doctor was sitting across the aisle - a fact that made Chase happier than it probably should have.
The damn dream was back to torture him again and he was feeling whiny enough without having to spend almost forty-eight hours in a tin can with Foreman. Travelling should be an occasion of joy and hopeful anticipation, not barely suppressed rage and annoyance. His fingers curled around the edge of his belt. He was tired and the thin tea wasn’t helping.
Out of the corner of his eye he watched the other doctor reading a magazine, smiling at whatever he was reading. Genuine smiles were rare for Foreman, but Chase had to admit it made him rather attractive.
Too attractive for you. he silently berated himself, wishing he could remember what his dream meant. It wasn’t that he didn’t know dreams were more of a psychological thing and did not necessarily bear any semblance to real events, but circumstances were in favour of it being true…
With practised ease, gained by too many late-night calls, Foreman slipped into his clothes. Chase was still sitting on the bed, but he wasn’t watching, teal eyes fixed on a thin slice of pale light filtering through the shutters. It would be the perfect moment to speak up and ask Foreman, but he didn’t. Perhaps people (his father, House, Foreman) had been right all along and he was a horrible pushover, but somehow he just couldn’t do it.
There weren’t too many possibilities why he could be here, after all.
“Close the door when you leave.”
Foreman’s words weren’t exactly unfriendly, not even cold, but Chase felt goose-bumps creeping all over his body.
Foreman grabbed his keys and cell, then left. Chase knew he only needed to get up right now and he would manage to get to work on time; his car was parked two streets away.
But he couldn’t move.
It had all been House’s idea, of course. The Australian exchange student had come to the States just two days ago? Hey, why not fly over to Australia and check her dorm?
Somehow they had managed to get tickets for this flight on short notice, but of course they were stuck in economy class and had to fly via Europe.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I should’ve refused. But you never could deny House anything, could you?
Something like a smile crossed Chase’s face and for a moment he almost looked like a happy tourist.
His job was tiresome and sometimes even outright dangerous, but he had never had any second thought; had he wanted an ordinary job he would have left House a long time ago.
For this job he even did a thing he would not have believed possible.
He was going home.
After one stop in Frankfurt, Germany, and another in Dubai, they finally reached Melbourne.
“Nice airport. Now where does the patient live?”
Foreman hadn’t spoken with him since Germany where he had made a brief remark about the length of a girl’s legs.
“I don’t think we really should go there just yet,” Chase murmured. “It’s the middle of the night and I’m sure her room mates wouldn’t want to deal with us right now.”
Grabbing his bags, Foreman made an eloquent shrug.
“Food and lodging’s on us, you heard Cuddy. I don’t want to spend any more of my own good money on this trip than I have to.”
They were making their way toward the exit, almost alone. Theirs had been the last flight for a couple of hours.
Melbourne Airport wasn’t a particularly remarkable place, but for Chase it held a lot of memories. This was where he’d left Australia a couple of years before and he hadn’t meant to come back. That he was here now was completely House’s doing and yet….
He remembered that he probably should give Foreman an answer.
“Let’s just get a hotel room for the night and leave everything else to morning. Trust me.”
“It really is summer here.” Foreman chuckled as they stepped out into the balmy February night. “How could you ever leave this place?”
The question was a rhetorical one, yet Chase had to bite down on his tongue hard. It wouldn’t do to get into an argument with Foreman right now. He pushed back a stubborn strand of hair and dragged his suitcase outside. House had made fun of him for having one in the first place, asking if he kept all his girl stuff in there.
They made their way to a taxi driver who was singing along to Natalie Imbruglia’s ‘Torn’. The song had been popular at around the same time Chase started med school. He quickly gave the driver directions so he could listen to the song, quickly following Natalie’s voice down the road of memory.
As a doctor he was fully aware of the power of smell and sound to trigger memory, still, he hadn’t anticipated this powerful force to hit him so hard.
Suddenly every street sign seemed like a friend, a thing that required his full attention and silent greeting even if he was fairly sure he had never been to some of these places before.
If Foreman noticed he didn’t say anything.
Eventually they stopped in front of a small, slightly shabby-looking hotel. Chase was just about to pick up his suitcase from the trunk when something small and hard hit his side. He looked up to find a woman grinning up at him, her thumb and pinky raised to form the surfer’s greeting.
“Hey, mate.”
“Hey, Romy.”
“Hey, Chase’s acquaintance. Can I get a key to the room?”
“This must be that guy you so vividly described in your e-mail.” Romy grinned at Foreman, flashing a row of perfectly white teeth. Short and round as she was, she definitely didn’t lack confidence - a trait Chase had always admired.
“I am and I’m tired. So would you please give me the key?”
Chase could tell that Foreman was feeling uncomfortable, especially since he didn’t know about the contents of the e-mail. Just as well. What had happened wasn’t exactly his, Chase’s fault, and if Foreman got a little scared so much the better.
“Yeah, well, about that room…” Romy smiled sheepishly, running a hand through her hair. “One hour ago a bus showed up, fully loaded with noob-backpackers. Couldn’t pass by that chance, now could I? But there’s a room left for you and it’s even one with direct access to the pool. So there.”
“You did want to keep costs low, didn’t you?” Chase grinned at Foreman, but it wasn’t a happy smile. He fully knew what this meant and he did not like it one bit. Having had to go on this trip with Foreman was bad enough, sharing a room was like having a car accident in the middle of a tornado.
“Whatever. The key, please.”
Romy finally relented and handed an old-fashioned brass key to Foreman. She whistled and a gangly youth appeared who picked up Chase’s suitcase, pointedly ignoring Foreman’s luggage.
“We have so much catching up to do. I’m sure you won’t mind if I borrow your colleague, right?”
And with that Romy dragged Chase off.
“You’re sleeping with him.”
“I’m not!”
They were sitting at a low table at the back porch, sipping coke and trying to overcome the initial awkwardness - with different levels of success.
Romy didn’t seem to have any problem with him, but Chase just found it a bit overwhelming to be back in Australia and to be talking with a girl he’d had a short affair with, which had ended badly nonetheless.
“Whatever. I told Riley you’re back.”
“I don’t think he wants to see me.”
“He doesn’t.”
For a moment Romy busied herself with a suspicious-looking brown lump and some small squares of paper. Eventually she lit the joint, offering it to Chase after a deep drag.
“Fucking your best friend’s baby sister does have its effects on people - especially the best friends.”
“If you knew that, why did you ever agree to go out with me in the first place?” The sole source of light came from a cracked lamp dangling somewhere overhead, but Chase didn’t need to see his friend’s face to know she was smiling.
“I was in love with you, Robert. Still am. Some habits are just hard to get over, I suppose.” She took back the joint, pulling just a little too hard. She coughed violently, breaking the utter silence for a moment.
“You’re the only one who’s ever called me Robert - except for my father that is.”
“Don’t try to distract me. That Foreman, what happened between the two of you?”
Chase sighed softly, taking the joint back from Romy. He was a doctor, he didn’t do drugs anymore, wasn’t supposed to. But Romy was right about the old habits and right now marijuana might be the only way out of his dilemma.
If he told Romy about that night, what had happened then, it would become real. Well, it was real enough all right, but some things just don’t hurt as much if you never speak about them.
On the other hand, getting things out of your system was healthier. And she was the only one who might understand.
“It’s complicated,” he finally said, pulling his legs up to his chest. “He doesn’t like me. You know, this whole rich versus poor thing.”
“Didn’t your dad leave just about everything to Marjorie?” Romy asked, deftly putting together a second joint. “You’re not rich.”
“He thinks I am.”
“He’s a doctor. He’s rich, too. I really don’t see why… but do keep talking.”
“Well, you know we’re working for Dr House who’s not exactly encouraging good relationships with or between his employees. And somehow it’s just… it all sucks.”
“Robert.” Romy sighed softly. “Ignoring it won’t make it go away.”
“The problem is that-“ He leaned in closer to her, whispering now. This wasn’t exactly meant for anybody else’s ears. “I don’t know.”
Romy rolled her eyes at him, elbowing his side. “How can you not know these things?”
“I just don’t. I woke up at his place one morning and I didn’t know what had happened the night before. I do recall that I went there because there was something incredibly important I had to do or say and….” He shrugged. “It’s odd.”
“You never could hold a drink.” Romy took another drag from her joint, the light briefly illuminating her face before fading away into darkness. “And you’re just too bloody beautiful for your own good. I have a pretty good idea what happened.”
“He’s not like that.”
At least that was what Chase kept trying to tell himself, he just didn’t know if it was true or not. Sure, he had found no trace of any sexual activity having taken place, but Foreman was anal about his apartment. It was so neat Chase would have happily agreed to eat from the floor. Foreman would have cleaned it before he’d ever woken up and he had been hung over so he just couldn’t be completely sure.
“Whatever happened, you need to clear it up and quickly. Robert, there’s something I didn’t tell you…”
Chase looked over at Romy, frowning. They had been exchanging e-mails for years now and she certainly hadn’t held back when it came to her boyfriends and other activities, so what was this now?
“I got the news when you were already flying. Other people from your patient’s dorm are sick. Something’s happening here and... oh well, someone has to tell you. Marjorie’s diagnosing them.”
Chase didn’t reply, just kept watching the cracked lamp banging against the wall.
If there ever was a good time to be facing your own inner demons it certainly wasn’t now. But what choice had he ever really had?