Unexpected Comfort - (35 Parts)

[aggedy_ann]

And I managed to get the next part finished tonight. Yay Me! LOL

Chase walked Wilson back to his office, reminding him to take it easy and take breaks when he was doing paperwork so he wouldn’t fall asleep at his desk again as well as promising Not to tell House that Wilson had fallen asleep at work. Wilson sat down at his desk with the large coffee he had grabbed from the cafeteria and began preparing to see his first patient.

Chase continued into the differential lounge and sat down with the test results waiting for Foreman. Pulling a tissue from the box on the table, he blew his nose and walked over to the computer. Sighing as he rubbed his itchy eyes, he checked the pollen forecast and sighed. No wonder he was miserable, and it also explained why Wilson had been rather sniffly and congested at lunch.

He looked up as Foreman came back in the office and sat down at the table. Chase walked over and joined him. “You okay?” Foreman asked, noticing that Chase’s eyes were tinged slightly red.

Chase nodded. “Fine. Allergies are kicking my arse.”

“Taking anything?”

“Zyrtec.” Chase sighed. “Can you do me a huge favor and write me a scrip for some eye drops?”

Foreman slid his chair over to Chase and pulled his pen light out of his pocket. He glanced at Chase’s eyes. “Onset?”

“Last week, along with sneezing, congestion, sinus pain and itchy ears. Pollen’s really high.” Chase gestured to the computer where the website with the allergy forecast was still up on the screen.

Foreman finished his examination of Chase and pulled out his pad. “You wear contacts?” Chase shook his head as Foreman handed him the scrip.

“Thanks. Back to the patient?” Foreman and Chase went over the patient history Chase had gotten as well as the preliminary CBC and tox screen before Foreman crossed over to the white board where Chase had carefully written the symptoms in one corner.

“Obvious answer would be meningitis.”

“No neck pain.” Chase pointed out. “But we should do an LP anyway to make sure. What other tests should we run?”

“Blood culture, MRI, EKG, Chem Panel, ANA to rule out autoimmune. Regroup after that to see what it shows.”

Chase and Foreman left to go do the tests with Chase occasionally looking in on Wilson. The tests and results took most of the day, so Foreman and Chase took a dinner break around 5 where Chase told Wilson that it was time to go home.

It was nearly 7 before they finished and returned to the differential room. Things went a lot slower when they number of employees was reduced by half obviously. They arranged everything for in the morning, and Foreman headed out, leaving Chase to shut everything off.

He noticed that the light in Wilson’s office was still on, so he walked over there, knocking sharply on the door. He peeked in and saw Wilson, so he entered. “I thought I told you to go home 2 hours ago.”

Wilson looked up and blushed. “I thought you’d left. I just wanted to finish this up.”

“You’ve been here for 11 hours. You’re sick; you shouldn’t be working so hard your first day back. House is gonna be pissed.”

“He’s been calling for the last hour and a half.” Wilson indicated his phone, which read 9 missed calls. Chase sighed as Wilson set his pen down. “I’m done with this file. I just have a couple more…”

“That you can look at tomorrow. You need to go home and rest. House is going to have both of our heads.” He paused as he noticed Wilson’s eyes growing vacant and as the oncologist reached for a tissue.

“Huh-ihhschuhhh, huhh-uhrishhehhh…uhshahh, huh-rhishhh…huhshuuu, ehhrishhehhh…huhh-uhhhshh, uhshuuu.” He shook his head and blew his nose. “I’ve been sneezing like every 20 minutes for the last hour.” He complained.

Chase looked at his watch. “Because you should have taken more cold medicine then. And pollen’s really bad.” He took a tissue from Wilson’s desk and blew his nose, then tossed the tissue in the wastebasket, noticing that it was full of tissues and several surgical masks that Wilson had worn to protect his patients.

Wilson scrutinized the young Aussie, taking in his pink-tinged nose and red, puffy eyes. “Allergies are really getting to you.” He clucked, sympathetically. “You have meds, right?”

Chase nodded. “Zyrtec at home and Foreman wrote me a scrip for my eyes since they’ve never been this bad before. I just need to go and get it filled. And you Need To Go Home.” He said as Wilson’s cell phone started buzzing again and Wilson hit the button to silence it. He handed Wilson his briefcase and jacket. “C’mon, I’ll walk you out; I need to stop by the hospital pharmacy and fill this.”

Sighing, Wilson shut down his computer and switched off the desk lamp, taking his briefcase and suit coat from Chase. Chase waited as he locked his office and the two of them headed for the main entrance. Chase watched Wilson walk out the front door and towards his car before crossing over to the pharmacy to drop of the prescription. After telling the pharmacist he’d be back in a bit, he turned to see Wilson’s car pull out of the lot. Smiling to himself, he headed back to diagnostics to finish shutting everything down and locking up. Pulling his phone out his pocket, he took a deep breath before he dialed House’s number.

“Wilson? Where the hell are you? Why haven’t you answered your phone?” House was pissed.

“He’s on his way home now.”

“Chase? Why did you let him stay this late? Hehchahh! What’s wrong with you? You know he’s sick and shouldn’t overwork himself. Hehtschahh!”

Chase took another deep breath while House loudly blew his nose. “I told him to go home around 5. Then Foreman and I were busy finishing up the tests on the patient. I noticed he was still here when I came back to shut things down and lock up, so this time I walked him out. Call me back IF he’s not home in 20 minutes since I’ll still be here for a bit.” Feeling his nose start to itch and not wanting to deal with an irate House any longer, Chase flipped the phone shut, seconds later, ducking his head into his shoulder. “Ei-chuhh, eshchuhh.” Blowing his nose again, he went about making sure that the computer and coffee maker were turned off and everything was ready for the next morning, then, went to go pick up his eye drops before heading home for the night.

Wilson drove back to House’s apartment and went inside, knowing that House was Not happy. Rubbing his nose with his wrist, he walked in. House was sprawled out on the sofa with a carton of sweet and sour pork on the coffee table.

House fixed him with a glare. “Where the hell have you been?! I called you 12 times in the last hour and a half!! What part of “don’t overwork yourself” didn’t you understand?!”

“I lost track of time, and I had a lot of work to catch up on.” Came Wilson’s weak defense.

“Did you even eat today?”

“Chase dragged me down for lunch. And kept making sure I was getting fluids.”

“Guess he’s good for something.” He stopped and thrust the box of tissues at Wilson.

Wilson barely had time to grab a handful and nod his thanks before doubling over in a harsh fit. House watched as Wilson suffered through a dozen rough, wet, body-bending sneezes, before finally stopping and blowing his nose.

“Bless you. Last time you took cold medicine?” He asked while Wilson caught his breath.

“Ludch.” Wilson leaned against the wall, blowing his nose again.

“Go take some more. And I ordered you some garlic chicken; it’s in the kitchen. My suggestion to you would be that you eat first, then take some Nyquil and go to bed since you clearly overdid today. Huhtchahh, ixxchahh, hitshchahh.” He watched as Wilson headed for the kitchen to grab the food and switched over to the armchair so Wilson could have his couch-bed back.

He watched as Wilson came back with his food and a can of sprite. He found an old movie on TV and watched as Wilson ate dinner. “Go change.” He ordered when Wilson was done eating. House switched on the lamp and turned off the overhead life while Wilson changed into sweats, brushed his teeth, took his contacts out and took his antibiotic, allergy pill and Nyquil.

Wilson curled up on the couch pulling the blanket up to his chin. “The Trouble With Harry?” He asked, glancing at the TV before he slid his glasses off.

House nodded. “Must be some sort of Hitchcock special going on.” He shrugged. “Go to sleep. And you’re working normal hours tomorrow since we’re riding together.”

Wilson nodded, knowing that he had over done it today, judging by the fatigue flooding over his body. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

[tma]

He noticed that the light in Wilson’s office was still on, so he walked over there, knocking sharply on the door. He peeked in and saw Wilson, so he entered. “I thought I told you to go home 2 hours ago.”

Wilson looked up and blushed. “I thought you’d left. I just wanted to finish this up.”

“You’ve been here for 11 hours. You’re sick; you shouldn’t be working so hard your first day back. House is gonna be pissed.”

“He’s been calling for the last hour and a half.” Wilson indicated his phone, which read 9 missed calls. Chase sighed as Wilson set his pen down. “I’m done with this file. I just have a couple more…”

AWWWW!!! That is SO him... step Away from the files- Wilson. You can do it.

And I So Adore bossy House... "you clearly overdid it" "Get changed" "you Are working normal hours tommorrow" Just put a big smile on my face. He gets so protective of his Jimmy.... even though he doesn't like to show it very much. *grins*

Can't wait to see more.

[Vetinari]

“Anything you want me to pass on to the tuh-team? Hhuhh-uhhshuhh, uhh-ruhhshehh…hihhtshuhhh, huhh-uhhruhshooo.”

Sorry I know you've already written the next part but I had to say I'd like him to pass on as many germs as possible to the team!

[evelyn]

Wilson is perfectly in character! I don't know how you do it! And House IS really sort of bossy with him in the show as well.

And oh, oh...it seems like Chase is getting sick as well...isn't he? I'm also very sad, that this story is slowly coming to an end, but the Chase sequel makes me sooooooooooo excited at the same time. I can't wait to read that, but I'll miss this....weird, right? Add more please!

[aggedy_ann]

AWWWW!!! That is SO him... step Away from the files- Wilson. You can do it.

And I So Adore bossy House... "you clearly overdid it" "Get changed" "you Are working normal hours tommorrow" Just put a big smile on my face. He gets so protective of his Jimmy.... even though he doesn't like to show it very much. *grins*

Can't wait to see more.

I love being able to write Bossy House esp. as that's probably the most acceptable way to show House as caring about Wilson. House cares through yelling a lot lol.

“Anything you want me to pass on to the tuh-team? Hhuhh-uhhshuhh, uhh-ruhhshehh…hihhtshuhhh, huhh-uhhruhshooo.”

Sorry I know you've already written the next part but I had to say I'd like him to pass on as many germs as possible to the team!

Well, He definately passed on as many germs as possible to Chase. Probably not so much to Cameron and Foreman though (But that's cuz I have a harder time writing them and they won't get their own story...but feel free to imagine those two. Chase has definately been contaiminated, however.

Wilson is perfectly in character! I don't know how you do it! And House IS really sort of bossy with him in the show as well.

And oh, oh...it seems like Chase is getting sick as well...isn't he? I'm also very sad, that this story is slowly coming to an end, but the Chase sequel makes me sooooooooooo excited at the same time. I can't wait to read that, but I'll miss this....weird, right? Add more please!

Considering that I'm sad about finishing this and excited for the next one, I don't think it's wierd. And Chase still isn't ready to admit anything, yet. As far as HE'S concerned, it's allergies. But that's not what the evil girl with the keyboard thinks.

[Guest hollywoodx]

This is realy goos stuff =D

[Vetinari]

“Anything you want me to pass on to the tuh-team? Hhuhh-uhhshuhh, uhh-ruhhshehh…hihhtshuhhh, huhh-uhhruhshooo.”

Sorry I know you've already written the next part but I had to say I'd like him to pass on as many germs as possible to the team!

Well, He definately passed on as many germs as possible to Chase. Probably not so much to Cameron and Foreman though (But that's cuz I have a harder time writing them and they won't get their own story...but feel free to imagine those two. Chase has definately been contaiminated, however.

Oh Chase'll do very nicely thanks!

Considering that I'm sad about finishing this and excited for the next one, I don't think it's wierd. And Chase still isn't ready to admit anything, yet. As far as HE'S concerned, it's allergies. But that's not what the evil girl with the keyboard thinks.

Please continue to be an evil girl as much as possible. Of course I myself would never be evil!

[aggedy_ann]

Sadly, there's only part left of this story. Anyway, here's the second to last part.

Wilson slept soundly; the next thing he remembered after pulling the blankets over him on the couch was House shaking him awake. He opened his eyes to see the sunlight coming in the windows. Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that maybe he had overdone things slightly the previous day. He rubbed his hand across his tired eyes and sat up. “What tibe is it?” He sniffled, reaching for the tissues and blowing his nose.

“7:00. Figured you’d want time to primp before work. I’m going back to sleep; wake me in an hour. Have breakfast waiting.” He slowly limped his way back to the bedroom as Wilson stood up to grab a change of clothes and hop in the shower. This shower was much shorter than yesterdays, realizing that if he didn’t save House a lot of hot water, there would be hell to pay. He quickly got dressed and turned his attention to shaving and hairstyling. Satisfied that he looked as good as he could; nothing could disguise his reddened nostrils and dark circles under his eyes. Well, nothing short of concealer, but he knew if he tried it, House would never let him hear the end of it, and it’d be all over the hospital by the lunch. Sighing, he glanced at his watch and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Sighing, he pulled a frying pan out of the cupboard and began making scrambled eggs. He knew House would want pancakes, but he really just didn’t feel up to it. He started the coffee and got everything out for breakfast before leaving to wake up House as it was nearly 8:00. Waking House took was just as much fun as he anticipated it being, and he was grateful to return to the kitchen. At least the eggs didn’t yell obscenities at him.

Half an hour later, House was in the kitchen and flopped down at the table. Wilson handed him a cup of coffee and plate of food, joining him with his own. House clearly hadn’t taken the time Wilson had in ensuring he looked his best. “You need a haircut.” Wilson remarked, looking over at him.

House glared at him, forking eggs into his mouth. “Do we have to go to work today?”

Wilson looked at him and nodded. “Yes, House, we have to go to work today.” He rubbed his nose and sighed. “And it’s not like you’re really going to have to do anything other than torture your team. They’ll be covering your clinic duty and patient interactions. I, on the other hand, don’t have a team, so I’ll be doing my own work. Oh, I was supposed to tell you last night, Chase has a dentist appointment this morning, so Cameron’s taking his clinic duty this morning.”

House sniffled. “As long as I don’t have to, I don’t care what they do.” He pulled a napkin from the stack on the table and waited. “Hehhchahh. Hexxchahh, exxchuhh.”

He blew his nose loudly and coughed.

“You have everything you need?” Wilson asked. “Cold medicine, cough drops?” He rubbed his nose again and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” House finished eating and pushed his plate aside.

“Stuck sneezes.”

“I can help.” House glanced over towards the peppershaker on the table with a wicked glint in his eyes.

“Not with that.”

“There might be a stray cat in the alley. I can go check.”

“No. That’s perfectly fine. It’s gone now.” He lied, finishing his coffee and ignoring House’s crestfallen expression. “Ready to go?”

“If I have to.” House scowled, grabbing his backpack as Wilson rinsed the dirty dishes in the sink before grabbing his briefcase off the couch.

He handed House a jacket. “It’s still a bit cool out.” House made a face at him, but shrugged into the jacket anyway. Wilson slipped his suit coat on and the two of them stepped out of the building.

The cool morning air and the bright sun flared the tickle lurking in Wilson’s nostrils to unbearable proportions and he fumbled in his pocket for his handkerchief. “Huhrushhh, uhhruhshhuhhh…huhrihshhh, uhhrihhhshh…Rihhshuhh, uhhshuhhh, uhshhuhhhh.” He grabbed onto the wall for support during the fit. The tickle faded out of a total sneeze, but he remained on the brink. He turned his head to face the bright sun and stared, feeling the tickle intensify again. “Huh…huh…Huhet-PSCHOOO-ushchooo.” The force of the double bent him over, and he remained there for a second to regain his balance.

“I guess that deserves a bless you.” House sighed. “And dramatics are my specialty, not yours.” Wilson straightened up and blew his nose. He continued walking towards the car, using the remote to unlock it. “You sure you’re getting better?”

“Yes. If you didn’t notice, the last 5 of those weren’t cold sneezes since they didn’t fit that pattern. Allergies are kicking in, and the sun was brighter than I expected.”

He put the car in drive and continued to work, listening to House cough and sniffle pathetically the whole ride there, no doubt in an attempt to garner sympathy in hopes that Wilson would go to Cuddy and try to get him an extra day off.

Wilson and House entered the hospital and parted in front of diagnostics. Wilson continued to his office and settled down at his desk to finish catching up on paperwork and prepare for his first patient.

House opened the office door to find Cameron and Foreman sitting there reviewing the tests results from yesterday. He threw his backpack in the corner and sat down at the table.

“Feeling better?” Cameron asked, smiling at him.

“No.” He sniffled, “but Cuddy made me come in anyway. So, what’s up with the patient?”

“No change since last night. No seizure activity since yesterday. LP negative for meningitis.” Cameron told him, standing up to head off to the clinic. “I’m sure you and Foreman can handle going over the rest of the results while I’m at the clinic. Chase should be here soon anyway.”

She hurried out of the room, leaving Foreman alone with House. The two men began pouring over the test results as they waited for Chase to come in.

“Did you guys do an EEG yesterday?”

Foreman shook his head. “We ran out of time. Plus he’s already had 3 EEGs done by previous doctors.”

“When Chase gets here, do another one. Hexchahh.” He loudly blew his nose. He began a complete review of the file Cuddy had given Chase yesterday so that he could get up to speed on the patient.

Half an hour later, Chase came in from the dentist, looking miserable. He set his stuff down and looked at House and Foreman. “What did you do to your jaw?” House asked, noticing that it was slightly puffy.

“I had a cavity filled.” Chase sniffled. “What’s with the patient?”

“You two need to go and run and EEG.” House coughed, standing up. “I’m going to go make sure Cuddy knows I’m here.” Grabbing his cane, he limped down towards the administrative offices.

“Alright. Let’s get the EEG.” Chase grabbed a handful of tissues out of the box on the table and followed Foreman towards the patient’s room.

“Allergies still getting to you?” Foreman asked in an attempt at politeness.

Chase nodded. “Yeah. It was a lot of fun at the dentist this morning. Had to keep trying to let him know I needed to sneeze as he had a drill in my mouth. The drops are helping my eyes, at least. Eichuhshh.” He sneezed into the sleeve of his coat. “I’m just stuffy and sneezy.” He sighed turning into the patient’s room to transport them to have the EEG.

[evelyn]

Chase and the dentist!!! OH GOD! THAT WAS FUNNY!!!!!

I'm waiting for that last part! I hope you're going to post it soon!

[aggedy_ann]

Chase and the dentist!!! OH GOD! THAT WAS FUNNY!!!!!

I'm waiting for that last part! I hope you're going to post it soon!

Thanks...I'm working on the last part; I've got a page of it written and I should have it done either tonight or tomorrow. *sigh* I always get sad when I finish stories.

[evelyn]

It's like finishing reading a book or watching the last episode of a TV show... Anyway, I'm looking forward to the last part, as well as to the sequal...and I'm sure I won't be disappointed!

[aggedy_ann]

And this one is over.

Hope you like it (and yes, it's set up for the final story in the series)

Chase and Foreman finished with the EEG and returned with the results as Cameron was returning to from clinic duty. House was sitting at his computer, glowering. Chase grabbed a glass of water and sat down at the conference table next to Cameron while Foreman informed House that it was time to look over the EEG results and figure out what was wrong with the patient.

House determined that broad spectrum antibiotics would be helpful for the patient and sent Cameron and Foreman to administer them via an IV, telling them to take lunch after that. Once they had left, he turned to Chase, scowling.

“What? I told you last week I had a dentist appointment, and Cameron covered clinic hours for me.”

“Don’t care about that. This weekend…how much did you tell them?”

Chase looked surprised. “Me. Nothing. You think I want them to know that I gave up my weekend to take care of you. Foreman doesn’t need any more ammunition on me. Eichuhh, chuhh, eishchuhh. And Cameron’d probably be pissed you didn’t call her.” Chase brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

“Don’t try to tell me you’re sick now. Trying to prove you’re better than me by not calling in sick? And I didn’t want Cameron because I knew she’d smother Wilson and me to death. At least you’d bring your book or something to stay busy.”

“It’s hay fever. Really bad hay fever. It’s just annoying, that’s all.”

“Take anything? Cuz your sniffling is getting on my nerves.”

“Zyrtec, Benadryl allergy sinus and some eye drops. You’re going to have to deal with it. We put up with yours.”

Fortunately, he was saved from House’s ire by Wilson walking into the office. “Ready for lunch? Or am I interrupting something?”

“In a few minutes. I need to do a few things first.” House limped over to his desk as another trio of violent sneezes struck Chase. “Making sure my intensivist isn’t trying to fake sick on me.” He replied as Wilson blessed Chase.

“It’s hay fever.” Chase repeated, sighing. “I have bad allergies; I always have.” He blew his nose and chucked the tissue in the trash. “And I’m going to lunch.”

Wilson watched as Chase walked out of the office. “Give him a break, House. He helped us out a lot this weekend.” He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped at his nose. “And

it looks like it’s going to be a rough allergy season.”

“Quit whining.” House walked out of the office as Wilson followed him, again marveling at just how fast House could move with the cane. After they had gotten their lunch in the cafeteria, they sat down at a corner table and began eating. “Chase is sick, you know.” House pointed out.

“He has allergies. You didn’t see how red and puffy his eyes were before he had Foreman write him a scrip for eye drops. Check the pollen counts. I know that some of my sneezing and sniffles are still from this cold, but my itchy eyes aren’t.”

“10 bucks says he’s caught your cold.”

“You can’t bet on his health. And he’s spent more time with you than me, so If he’s sick, he probably got it from you.”

“And I got it from you, ergo, it’s your cold. 20 bucks.”

Wilson sighed. “He’s not sick.”

“Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

Wilson rolled his eyes, knowing House wasn’t going to let up. “Fine.” Wilson turned towards the wall and ducked his head down. “Hihchishhh, iihrihshhh…uhhshehhh, hetschhhfff, het-mmmschhh, hetschhmppt.” He blew his nose as softly as possible and turned back to his food. “It’s been like this all morning.” He griped as House rolled his eyes.

“Just because you paid for lunch doesn’t mean I have to listen to you whine and complain the whole time. I’ve had to deal with Cameron fussing, Chase sniffling and sneezing, and Foreman…Hahhchahhh!…well, he’s stayed out of the way, so I haven’t really had to deal with him.”

House reached out to steal some of Wilson’s fries and looked shocked when Wilson moved the plate away. “Keep your germs off my food.”

“You can’t catch the same cold twice.” House pointed out, leaning farther forward and grabbing a handful of fries. He coughed roughly into his fist and took a swallow of his coffee.

“Just go easy on Chase. He helped out a lot this weekend. And I’m sure once Cameron sees how bad Chase’s allergies are, she’ll be all over him and back off on you a bit.” He continued eating his sandwich.

Chase returned to the offices after a short lunch, taking advantage of the fact that everyone was gone to have some privacy to feel completely miserable as well as enjoy the quiet of the room. He logged onto the computer and began checking the allergy forecast. Sighing when he saw that it was higher than yesterday, he walked over to the cupboards in the kitchenette and pulled out a fresh box of tissues since he had stashed a few boxes in there the previous week, not wanting to use the cheaper, rougher tissues that the hospital had. He carried the box with him and walked over to the conference table, intending to look over the case file. Sighing, he pressed his palms against his itching eyes, leaning his elbows on the table.

“Did the drops help at all?” He heard Foreman ask.

Chase moved his hands to look at Foreman. “Yeah. They’re not as bad as yesterday. Just a bit itchy and sore.”

Foreman sat down next to him, pulling out his penlight again. “They do look better than yesterday. Not as red. You sure the soreness isn’t a reaction to the drops at all?”

Chase nodded. “I’m sure. They always hurt when my allergies are really bad.”

“I’d get some regular eye drops, the lubricant-artificial tear kind that you can use as needed. That way you can sort of rinse your eyes out every few hours.”

“Thanks.” Chase sighed, picking up the file.

“Why’d you even come in today? Between this and having your cavity filled, you certainly could have called in. No one would have blamed you.”

“Except House. You know he’s sick and Cuddy made him come in. He’d take every chance to ride me about calling in today he got. It’s just annoying and a bit hard to concentrate at times. I’ll get through it. Sorry if I’m annoying you.”

Foreman shrugged. “You’re not as annoying as House at least.” He watched as Chase pressed his fist against his nose, and he opened the box of tissues that Chase had brought to the table, handing the Aussie a few.

“Th-Thanks.” Chase sniffled, pressing the tissues against his nose. “Eichuhh, chuhh, heh-chuhhh…eischuschh.”

“Bless.” Cameron said, walking into the room. “Are you catching House’s cold?” She walked over next to him and tried to place the back of her hand on his forehead.

Chase squirmed away from her. “Hay fever.” He sighed. “Seriously, do I need to wear a sign saying ‘I have really bad allergies?”

Cameron smiled at him sympathetically. “Are you taking anything?”

“No.” Foreman interrupted. “He’s decided that he wants to be miserable. That’s a dumb question, Cameron. Of course, he’s taking something.”

Chase nodded. “Zyrtec, he wrote me a scrip for eye drops yesterday, and I took some Benadryl allergy sinus this morning.” He glanced at his watch. “And I can take some more now.” He pulled the pills out of his pocket and swallowed them with a glass of water as House came back in the room.

“What did the EEG show?” He flopped down in a chair and slid one of the tissue boxes over to him. “What, can’t share the tissues? Had to get your own box?”

“It’s almost empty.” Chase pointed out as Cameron came back over with two cups of tea. She handed one to House and the other to Chase. “I told you, I’m not sick.” He protested as she set the cup down.

“Can we focus on the sick person we’re getting paid to treat?” Foreman asked. “The EEG showed very mild seizure activity. There were two slightly abnormal readings, each one under a minute in length.”

“Probably caused by the infection.” House discounted.

“The MRI did show some inflammation in the brain.” Cameron pointed out. “Probably from the infection. Have we ruled out encephalitis?”

“Not yet.” Chase said. “Corticosteriods to reduce the inflammation? And we should probably do a CT scan.”

Foreman nodded. “If it’s encephalitis, the antibiotics won’t do anything. We should start eliminating viruses to see if any of them are treatable.”

House nodded. “Go draw the blood and start the drugs. Cameron, Chase, get the CT, then join Foreman in testing the blood.” He ignored the glare Chase gave him and headed over to his desk. The quickest way to get Cameron to stop fussing over him was for her to see how miserable Chase was and spending time with him was the best way for that to happen.

Fortunately for Chase, Cameron was focused on the CT scan, and he was able to fight back or stifle most of his sneezes and keep his sniffling to a minimum. One the scan was completed, they dropped the results off for House to look at and joined Foreman in the lab to test blood.

3 hours later, they had isolated the virus, however, it was one that wouldn’t respond to antiviral treatment. They returned to the office and filled House in. After telling Chase to stop the antibiotics since they had been proven useless, he sent the rest of the team home and went to collect Wilson.

Once he had managed to pry Wilson away from his desk, they headed home. House flopped on the sofa while Wilson went into the kitchen to start dinner. Half an hour later, he called House into the kitchen for grilled chicken and mashed potatoes.

Wilson sat there, sniffling and picking at his food while House devoured his. It always took his appetite at least a week to rebound after getting sick while House’s never seemed that affected. Finally finishing his meal, which was smaller than House’s to begin with, he stood up and began to wash the dishes.

“You can save those for tomorrow.” House pointed out before doubling over with a loud sneeze.

“And you can help.” Wilson pointed out.

Sighing, House stood up and walked over to the sink. The best way to keep Wilson from overdoing things was to help him, as much as he didn’t want to. When the dishes were done, he dragged Wilson back to the living room, ordering him to rest on the couch.

Wilson picked up the remote and began flipping through the channels finding “Rosemary’s Baby” on TV and they settled back to watch it.

Chase went to the patient’s room and stopped the antibiotics, then went to the locker room to grab his stuff and head home. Before he went home, he stopped at the store to pick up some more groceries. He knew that chicken soup wouldn’t do anything for his allergies, but it was a comfort thing that would help him feel somewhat better, so he picked up the ingredients to make some soup as well as a few boxes of tissues and some miscellaneous grocery items including the eye drops that Foreman had suggested. The store was more crowded than he had anticipated, so it took longer than he would have liked to get everything he needed and get home.

After he finished putting the groceries away, he made himself a sandwich for dinner since he wasn’t very hungry.

“Eichuhh. Chuhhh! Eichuschhh.” He sighed, grateful he had bought more tissues and Benadryl. His allergies hadn’t been this bad in years, he thought, taking two more Benadryl. He noticed that his throat was somewhat sore as he swallowed the pills. “I’m not sick.” He told himself as a chill went through his body.

Realizing there was only one way to settle this, he walked to his bathroom and dug through the medicine cabinet to find his thermometer. Finally locating it, he pulled it out and blew his nose a few times before sticking it in his mouth. He had an old-fashioned non-mercury thermometer, the kind that takes at least 3 minutes that he had had since before he started medical school. He kept meaning to get a new one, but he never thought about it when he was healthy and when he was sick, which was maybe once or twice a year, he always felt to lousy to go out and get one.

3 and a half minutes later, he pulled the thermometer out of his mouth and read it. 99.8°. Sighing, he leaned against the bathroom wall. He was sick on top of his allergies, again, something that hadn’t happened for years. He dug through the medicine cabinet some more and located an almost empty bottle of Nyquil and two packets of cold medicine. Downing the remainder of the Nyquil, he sighed again, knowing that he’d have to drag himself to the store tomorrow to pick up more Nyquil and pills. He also knew that by tomorrow, his throat would be hurt worse, he’d be coughing, and his nose would be completely stuffed up. And he’d also have to call in, giving House more opportunities to mock him. Feeling the Nyquil begin to dull his mind, he dragged himself to his room to change into sweats and an old t-shirt before crawling into his bed and pulling the blankets over his head, making sure the tissues were within close reach.

-Fin

[LOSTfreak]

Yay! Chase is sick! This story is absoltely wonderful!

[aggedy_ann]

Thanks....I should be posting the sequel sometime this week. I'm not allowing myself to write today until I can make myself do some studying. So, hopefully the biographies I bought on Thursday will stop distracting me and I can pull out my psych book soon, then work on the story later tonight. But the first part will be up sometime this week.

[tma]

I will write something more coherent at a later time- but YAY!!! Sniffly, miserable wombat cuteness.... dang- I want to be Cameron. *innocent look*

[evelyn]

I will write something more coherent at a later time- but YAY!!! Sniffly, miserable wombat cuteness.... dang- I want to be Cameron. *innocent look*

Same with me! Nothing coherent..... I loved how House knew Chase was sick before he did! House is such an evil! I think poor Wilson'll have to pay him that money.. Chase was brilliantly in character.

I hope that House and Wilson'll take care of him!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR MORE!

[aggedy_ann]

Okay, I know that I said I needed to do some studying before I worked on this, but, yeah... I blame Chase since he's been after me to write this since I started the previous story. And now that I've posted the beginning, it's off to Wal-mart for some last minute school supplies and then it's study time for at least a couple hours. Seriously.

Title: Surprising Comfort

Fandom: House MD

Characters: Wilson, Chase, House, cameos by Cameron and Foreman and possibly Cuddy.

Disclaimers: Not mine unfortunately

Summary: Chase catches House and Wilson’s cold. Follows Expecting Comfort

A/N: There really aren't any spoilers in this one. It takes place during season 2 when House and Wilson are living together. Also, this fic follows my previous stories, Unexpected Comfort and Expecting Comfort, so it might help to have read those. And actually, and I'm not trying to pimp out my stories here or anything, but it might help to read some of my other House stories since I tend to carry little facts and details from one story to the next. But that's your choice.

He was sick on top of his allergies, again, something that hadn’t happened for years. He dug through the medicine cabinet some more and located an almost empty bottle of Nyquil and two packets of cold medicine. Downing the remainder of the Nyquil, he sighed again, knowing that he’d have to drag himself to the store tomorrow to pick up more Nyquil and pills. He also knew that by tomorrow, his throat would be hurt worse, he’d be coughing, and his nose would be completely stuffed up. And he’d also have to call in, giving House more opportunities to mock him. Feeling the Nyquil begin to dull his mind, he dragged himself to his room to change into sweats and an old t-shirt before crawling into his bed and pulling the blankets over his head, making sure the tissues were within close reach. – End of “Expecting Comfort”

House dragged himself into his office before his staff for once. He noticed the light flashing on his answering machine, so he hit the play button as he switched on his computer.

“House, it’s Chase.” Came an incredibly congested voice. “I’ve got your damn cold, and won’t be in today. Call me if you have any questions; I’ll be awake for another hour or so while I wait for the cold medicine to kick in.”

Smiling to himself as he was now 20 bucks richer, he picked up the phone and dialed Chase. After 4 or 5 rings, he heard Chase’s stuffy “Hullo.”

“Chase, House here. I thought you weren’t sick.” He knew this verification would come in handy if Wilson wanted more, plus Wilson would be all over him for if he Didn’t call and inquire as to Chase’s health.

“So did I,” Chase snuffled. “But my throat was sore, so I took my temperature, and I’ve got a fever. So, thanks ever so much for this.” The sarcasm, unfortunately, was lost in the pathetic-ness of his congestion.

“I see. So it wasn’t allergies.”

“It’s both.” Chase sighed.

House sighed inwardly, not sure how this would affect the bet with Wilson. Of course, the bet was that Chase was Sick, and Wilson had insisted it was just the boy’s allergies, not both. “Sorry. You getting sick was not part of my ‘get Wilson to rest’ plan.” House himself had caught colds in the fall when his hay fever was in full force and could sympathize with the intensivist. Not that he would. That was as much of an apology as Chase was going to get. “Did you stop the antibiotics last night?” He paused as he heard Chase squelch a violent sneeze into a tissue.

“Hihh-chhttt, chmmmpt, hih-chxxt.” 3 more barely stifled sneezes followed before Chase attempted to softly blow his nose and respond to House. “Yes, I stopped the adtibiotics. Adythig else you deed?”

House took a moment to interpret Chase’s stuffy speech as well as one to let him wonder what House was going to want.

“No. That should be everything. Wait a minute. Are you sure this isn’t some ploy for you to get out of clinic duty this morning?”

“Do. Bake Cabrid or Forebad do it. I dod’t bide doig clidic.” He pointed out. “Dow, cad you let be go so I cad blow by dose.”

“If you think that will help. See you tomorrow.” He hung up as Chase was responding that he wasn’t sure if he’d be in the next day either.

Yes, Chase was sick, and Wilson was going to be paying up, he grinned as Cameron and Foreman walked into the room.

“You’re here early.” Foreman remarked.

“Yup. And one of you is covering Chase’s clinic duty this morning since he’s sick.”

“I thought he said it was allergies.” Cameron was somewhat irked.

“It’s both.” House said watching her relax since she now knew Chase hadn’t lied to her. “Foreman, I believe it’s your turn to take the clinic since Cameron was there yesterday.”

Foreman sighed. “Do I have to? Can’t we just tell Cuddy we’re short another doctor and can’t staff the clinic today?”

Cameron rolled her eyes. “Honestly! I’ll do it. You two can run tests on the patient to see how he’s doing.” She stood up to leave.

“But I’m sick; I should stay away from the patient. Hixxtchah. What kind of immunologist are you?” House sneezed to prove his point.

“Foreman can handle the interactions; you can do anything that doesn’t put in direct contact or wear a mask like Wilson’s been doing.”

Rolling her eyes again at the childishness of her boss and colleague, she stalked off towards the clinic, making a mental not to call Chase later.

Cameron was busy in the clinic and Foreman and House with the patient until lunchtime. She returned to the office to grab her purse and leave for lunch. Foreman had already left, and House was waiting for Wilson.

Wilson walked into House’s office to collect him for lunch. The older doctor was sitting at his desk, blowing his nose. “Hey.” Wilson said, casually. “How are you feeling?” He hadn’t been able to see House all morning. Spending the last week out sick had set him far behind on paperwork plus one of his oncologists was on vacation for a week, so he had a higher patient load, granted for the sicker patients, he wore a mask as he still was feeling the effects of his cold and did not want to pass it on. Infecting House had been enough.

“Like crap. And Cuddy won’t let me go home.” His eyes brightened as he looked up at Wilson. “Listen to this.” He pushed the button on his answering machine and had Wilson listen to the message.

“That’s Chase?” Wilson asked. The Aussie’s voice was nearly impossible to understand due to the thick congestion that clouded his speech.

“Yes, it is. And you owe me 20.”

Wilson reached for his wallet. “I really thought it was allergies.”

“It’s both.” House informed him, holding out his hand to collect Wilson’s money.

“Then I don’t owe you anything. It’s allergies.”

“But he’s sick. You were betting that he wasn’t sick, which he is.”

“And you were saying his symptoms weren’t from allergies, which they are.”

House sighed. “But he’s sick, so therefore, some of them are from that.”

Wilson opened his wallet. “I’ll give you 10, since you were only half right. He’s sick, but it’s also allergies.”

House rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He snatched the bill out of Wilson’s had. “Ready for lunch?”

Wilson turned away from House. “In a min…huhhrishhh, ehhrishhehhh. Yeah, I’m ready.” He blew his nose forcefully in his handkerchief and pulled a small bottle of hand sanitizer from his pocket. He followed House out of the room and down to the cafeteria.

I start school tomorrow, so updates might come a bit slower on this. Then again, knowing Chase, they might not. Hope you enjoy the final part of this trilogy as much as I do writing it.

[Vetinari]

Yippee!!!

Does the "more wonderful Comfort" dance

Chase Mm-hm!

[ID2006]

yay... I am loving this story... and as usual can't wait for more. However, I understand how school can interfere at times (I start tomorrow too).

[evelyn]

I'm glad Chase has been after you!!! I'm already in love with this!

Yeah, school's coming...I almost missed it. And you know what? When I have all the time on earth to do something creative and fun like to write a story or something I sit down and start reading a book I 'll need for school...And when school's here and I don't have any time at all and I should be studying I suddenly find my inspiration and mood to have a little fan. It isn't normal at all. But feels good though....

But poor Chase! All at once. It's no good...

More please! Pretty please!!!

[Vetinari]

yay... I am loving this story... and as usual can't wait for more. However, I understand how school can interfere at times (I start tomorrow too).

funny you know....I have MUCH MORE time when school goes back!

Oh and I'll just say again how much I love this story (just in case I get kicked out for threadjacking)

[aggedy_ann]

Since someone insisted on keeping me awake last night until I wrote, here's part 2 which I added to today:

After lunch, House and his team regrouped to his office. Wilson continued on to his office and checked his calendar, he had a patient in about half an hour and after that, had the entire afternoon to catch up on paperwork. Fortunately, it was one of his regular patients, not a new one or one he was covering this week, so instead of having to spend time familiarizing himself with the file, he had time to make a few phone calls.

He picked up the phone and dialed Chase’s number.

“Hullo?” Came a stuffy, accented voice after several rings.

“Chase, it’s Wilson. Just calling to see how you were doing.”

He heard a slight laugh. “You haven’t talked to Cameron?”

“No, I went straight to my office after lunch. I assume she called to check up on you.”

“Yeah. She wouldn’t get off the phone either, no matter how many times I told her I needed to rest. Just kept fussing over me.”

Between Chase’s accent and his congestion, it took Wilson a few seconds to translate every sentence that Chase said. “I won’t keep you long, and I promise not to fuss. Just let me know how you’re feeling.”

“Like death. Pretty much how I’ve felt the couple days, only 10 times worse and with a sore throat, fever, chills and muscle aches.”

Wilson clucked sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Eichuhh. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’re sick and allergy-stricken right now; if you have to sneeze, then sneeze; if you need to blow your nose, blow your nose. Despite what House says, I am a doctor too. I can handle it.”

“Thanks. I’m trying to convince myself to get up and change into something that isn’t pajamas so I can go to the store and pick up some more cold medicine. I thought it was allergies until after dinner last night and didn’t pick up any when I was at the store yesterday. Heh-chuhh…eihhchushht. And I didn’t have much here. I just took the last of it.”

Wilson glanced at his watch. “I’ve got a patient in a bit and then nothing for the rest of the day. I can pick some up for you and drop it off. I mean, it’s the least I can do after you helped us out so much this weekend, and we infected you.”

“You don’t have to.” Chase weakly protested, more out of politeness than anything.

“Really, I don’t mind. I can pick up whatever you need and bring it over. I’ve just got this one patient left and it shouldn’t be a long appointment. And I know I can convince Cuddy to let me leave early. It’ll just be about an hour or two before I can get everything and get over there if you don’t mind waiting.”

He heard a relieved sigh from Chase. “Honestly, I think it’d take me that long to get myself up and moving to go to the store. I can leave the door unlocked so you can get in if I’m sleeping.”

“As long as you don’t mind waiting for me, that’ll be fine. What do you need from theh…huhhruhshhh…store?”

“Just some Nyquil and some daytime cold medicine, probably some cough drops and cough syrup too. I don’t get sick all that often, so I’m not real stocked up with that stuff. Food and juice and all, I already have.” He paused to cough. “Actually, I could use some canned soup. I don’t keep any here; I bought the stuff to make some chicken soup last night, then didn’t have the energy to make any, so I could probably use some canned.”

“I can make the soup since you’ve got the stuff to make it. Otherwise, the chicken’ll probably go bad before you feel up to using it.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.” Chase protested.

“You didn’t. I offered. I can pick you up canned soup, but my homemade is a thousand times better. Plus I enjoy making it.”

“Only if you want to.” Chase relented, knowing that Wilson was an amazing cook and that homemade soup was a lot better than canned which was why he preferred to make it himself rather than buy canned soup. “If you change your mind, you can pick up some canned soup.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in awhile. Go back to sleep if you can.”

“I’ll try. Thanks. I’ll pay you back for everything when you get here.” Chase said, giving him his address.

“Don’t worry about that; I owe you some money for the stuff you picked up over the weekend.”

“Okay. See you later.”

“Later.” Wilson hung up the phone as he heard Chase start sneezing again in the background. Picking up the phone again, he dialed Cuddy’s office to negotiate leaving early.

“Hello.” Came her brisk answer after 2 rings.

“Cuddy, it’s Wilson. Umm, I have a favor to ask you.”

He heard her sigh. “Wilson, House is not leaving. There is plenty he can do in his office, and since his department is down Chase, he can stay.”

“I’m not calling about House. I’m calling about me. I’ve only got one more patient this afternoon, and I’m pretty well caught up on paperwork, and I was wondering if I stayed on call, if I could take the rest of the afternoon off. I was going to check on Chase, and I could use some more…” He inhaled sharply. “H-Hold huhhh-shhehhh, uhhsheshh.” Fortunately a double struck him at the right time and realizing that that was it for now, he carefully counted to seven, then expertly faked two more sneezes. “I could use some more rest.”

“Bless you. Well, since I heard you put in 11 hours on Monday, you’re done with patients for the day, you have no clinic hours and I know you’ll stay on call and come back if we need you as well as that you’ll probably come in early tomorrow to justify this to yourself, I suppose I can let you. And you do still sound a bit sick. Get some rest, and call and let me know how Chase is doing.”

“Thank you, Cuddy. I owe you.” He ignored the slight twinge of guilt at allowing her to think that his continued symptoms were from his cold and not his hay fever, and said good-bye with just enough time to blow his nose and re-sanitize his hands before his final patient of the day came in.

45 minutes later, he was leaving the clinic and on his way to the store. Walking quickly through the store, he picked up some cold supplies as well as a few things that he and House needed and a surprise for Chase.

That's all for now. There's still a lot more coming, although I doubt this will be as long as the last one. Although I do have a very demanding muse right now. *glares at him* Don't make me use my ultimate evil plan.

[evelyn]

This was really cute! I don't know why..maybe because of the phone conversations and Chase's congested voice..

I loved Wilson being so nice! BTW! What surprise did Wilson pick up for Chase in the store??? I have to know that!!!!!! Please write some more!

[aggedy_ann]

This was really cute! I don't know why..maybe because of the phone conversations and Chase's congested voice..

I loved Wilson being so nice! BTW! What surprise did Wilson pick up for Chase in the store??? I have to know that!!!!!! Please write some more!

Thanks. As for the surprise, that part is coming...it's written since I wasn't sure about including it and I just need to wait until I get to that point in the story to stick it in. It will be revealed...in time.

[aggedy_ann]

Part 3:

Wilson arrived a Chase’s townhouse 45 minutes later. He knocked at the door and after a minute, opened it. As he had expected, Chase was curled up on the couch, sound asleep, surrounded by crumpled tissues. He walked over to the kitchen and set the bags on the table, pulling out the cold medicine and box of tissues he had bought as he didn’t know how well Chase had stocked up on tissues. Seeing the mess around the young Aussie, he pulled out one of the garbage bags he had bought for him and House and began picking up the used tissues and empty tissue box next to the full one. He emptied the wastebasket next to Chase, noticing how red and chapped his nose was. Tying the bag shut, he set it in the kitchen.

He debated waking Chase to ask him where things were in the kitchen but as it was a small kitchen, there were only so many places Chase could store things, so he let him sleep. He located a pot and pan before opening the fridge to pull out the chicken. As the chicken was cooking on the stove, he searched the cupboards for chicken bullion or broth. Finding the chicken broth, he poured it into the pot and began chopping carrots and celery.

When they were done, he dumped them into the broth, took the chicken off the stove and began slicing it into small pieces. After that was done, he carefully placed the chicken in the broth and turned the burner down so it could simmer together.

He began unloading Chase’s dishwasher and after a few wrong guesses, found the proper places for everything, keeping a pair of bowls, spoons and coffee cups out for later. He loaded the dishes he had used in and then took a few minutes to search the cupboards for tea. Finding a few boxes, not to mention enjoying Chase’s well-stocked and organized kitchen, he set them on the counter. Taking the teakettle off the stove, he filled it with water and began to heat it. He placed the tea bags in the cups and waited for the water to heat up before pouring it over them.

“Eichushh, chushh, eichuhh, hehchuhhh, eh-chushh.”

Wilson turned towards the living room when he heard Chase start sneezing. “Bless you.” He told him as Chase reached for the tissues and loudly blew his nose, blonde hair hanging framing his face and hanging in his eyes.

“Thanks.” Chase started when he saw Wilson standing in the kitchen. “How long have you been here? And you didn’t have to clean up after me.” He said, noticing that the living room had been picked up and blushing at the fact that Wilson had handled his snotty tissues.

“About an hour. And I wanted to. You looked kind of pathetic covered in used tissues. There’s soup simmering on the stove.”

“Why didn’t you wake me when you got here?”

“You looked and sounded like you could use your rest. I made some tea; it’s almost ready.”

Wilson picked up the tea and one of the shopping bags and walked over to the living room. He sat down on the couch next to Chase. “Let me get your temperature first. See if you’ve got a fever.” Chase nodded. “Where’s your thermometer?”

Chase reached over to the end table and handed Wilson the thermometer. Wilson stared at it. “It’s non-mercury.” Chase pointed out as it was one a non-digital thermometer.

“It’s been a long time since I used one of these. I’m not sure if I know how to read them anymore.”

“I can. Just a sec.” He reached for the tissues, blushing slightly. “Umm...this will take a minute. I need to clear out my nose so I can breath through it long enough for you to take my temperature.”

Wilson watched as Chase blew his nose. After a few blows, he stopped him. “Maybe we should look at an alternate method of taking your temp.” He suggested. He watched as Chase’s face showed a look of horror, and the younger man blanched and swallowed hard.

“Not what I meant.” He reassured Chase, reaching into the bag and pulling out a tympanic thermometer, ripping the packaging open. “House broke ours this morning, so I picked up one of these as well as a couple 10 second digital one for him. Thermometers don’t last long around House.”

“And mine last forever. I’ve had that one since before med school.” He watched as Wilson put batteries in and a probe cover on the tympanic thermometer.

Wilson gently pulled Chase’s ear up and back, inserting the thermometer. A second later, he had the temperature. “100.6.” He informed him. He pulled the digital thermometer he had bought for House out of the bag. “And as this one takes 10 seconds as opposed to 3 minutes, I’ll leave this one here for you.”

“Thanks. Hehh-chhmmt.”

“When did you last take some cold medicine?” Wilson asked.

“Around noon. I’ll take some more when I eat. Heh-chhuhh, eichuhh, eichushhh.”

“Bless you.”

“Thaks.”

“Mind if I check your ears and chest?” Wilson asked, gently.

“Go ahead.” He waited as Wilson pulled out his stethoscope and otoscope. Wilson listened to his breathing first, nodding as it sounded okay. Then he checked Chase’s ears, frowning as he noticed the amount of fluid in there.

“Lungs are okay. Your breathing’s a little raspy, but not bad. There’s quite a bit of fluid and some swelling in your ears, but no redness. How prone are you to ear infections?”

“How did you know?” Chase seemed surprised at Wilson’s perception. That was a statement he would have expected more coming from House.

“You knew a lot of things that would help my ears feel better with mine. Figured you must have had a history of them.”

“Yeah. Hehh-tchuhh. Sorry I’m sneezing so much.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can’t help it.”

“That’s why I’ve slept so much. I’m not sneezing then.”

Wilson smiled, reaching for his cell phone. “I told Cuddy I’d call her after I checked on you and let her know how you were doing. Hope you don’t mind.”

Chase shook his head, blowing his nose again.

Wilson dialed Cuddy and waited for her to answer. After filling her in, he handed the phone to Chase. “She wants to talk to you,” he said, with a slight smile on his face.

Chase talked briefly to Cuddy and handed the phone back to Wilson. “She wants to talk to you again.”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you were going to rest.” She told him sternly.

“Chase has a comfy chair, and I figured he could use his rest, too. I rested. Who do you think I am, House scamming you to get some time off?”

“Well, House certainly wouldn’t get time off to go play nursemaid to Chase. Make sure you rest yourself, too.” She reminded him. “And tomorrow and Friday, can you check on him as well to make sure he doesn’t wind up with an ear infection? I swear that boy is like you. Doesn’t get sick often, but when he does.”

“That’s no problem. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye. And tell Chase not to worry about calling in. I’ll let House know that he’ll be out the rest of the week.”

“Thanks.” Wilson closed his phone and turned back to Chase. “You’ve got until Monday to rest and get better. She’s going to let House know for you, so you don’t need to call in. And I’ll be stopping in the next few days to check on your ears for you.”

“You sure I’m not putting you out?”

“I don’t mind. You did it for us. And it’s not like you can check your own eardrums. And you know to call me if they feel any worse.”

“Yeah. I know what it’ll feel like if it turns into an infection. And I’ll call. You made soup, you said.”

“Yeah, hungry?”

“A little bit.”

Wilson smiled and headed for the kitchen to dish up a few bowls of soup.