'Tis the Season - House, MD

[MoonDuck]

Yeah, yeah, I still have to finish my Secret Santa. But I had this written up for a while, and I wanted to post it while it was still Christmas (at least for me ). It's set sometime in the first few seasons.

Chase pushed open the glass doors to House’s office. Cameron and Foreman were already there, lounging in the chairs around the table, doing nothing besides waiting for House, as per usual. The office was decorated for Christmas, with tinsel hanging from the ceiling along the walls and a miniature Christmas tree on the table. To add to the holiday feel, the cold New Jersey air outside was swirling with snow, and the window had collected a thin layer of the white powder.

“You’re late,” Foreman said.

Chase shrugged. “House isnd’t here yet,” he replied. He almost cringed at how congested he sounded. His voice was low, husky, and almost completely stuffed up. He was late because he could barely drag himself out of bed that morning, and everything he did took him longer than usual. He woke up with a headache and couldn’t breathe through his nose. His throat burned, the pain almost unbearable when he tried to swallow. On top of that, he was much tireder than he usually was in the mornings, so all he wanted to do was to play hooky and go back to sleep. Any cold symptom you could think of, Chase probably had.

And where was he now? PPTH. Funny how that worked out.

Cameron’s eyes were filled with concern. “Are you okay?” She cared. That was nice. You would have to be blind not to see it, though. His nose, eyes, and cheeks were red, and there were circles under his eyes.

Chase shrugged. “It’s just a cold.”

“You look like crap,” Foreman said. “For a cold, that thing is kicking your ass.” A cold was almost an understatement.

Chase only muster up a glare in response, though it wasn’t very menacing, the way he looked. He took his hat off, revealing unusually unkempt hair, and set it on the hat stand. He walked to the table and took his bag off as he plopped into the chair, next to Cameron and across from Foreman. He barely had time to take a breath before, “HurRUHSHhoo!” Chase sat up, his abdominal muscles tightening, and doubled over, burying his face into his hands, then bent over further as another sneeze escaped him. “AH’SHhhuh!” They were harsh, and it hurt his throat even more, if that was possible, to sneeze. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and sat up.

“Bless you,” Cameron said.

Chase rubbed his head. “Thanks—” He broke off coughing, covering his mouth with a fist and hunching over again. He pulled out a crumpled tissue when the fit had died down to blow his nose. He was a sniffling mess. Chase stood up and threw it in the waste basket, then proceeded to wash his hands. He’d only just sat back down when House came through the door.

“We have a case,” House announced. “Fifteen-year-old girl. Kid’s name is Jane.” He threw the files onto the table for his team to read, threw the backpack slung over one shoulder onto the ground, and limped to the whiteboard. “Differential.”

Cameron looked at the file. “Jacqueline,” she corrected.

House scoffed. “Does it matter?”

“She had a seizure, neck pain, and… only sees in blue now?” Foreman asked, looking at the file.

House looked at him. “That’s what it says, doesn’t it?” He said articulately, as if Foreman were an idiot. “Come on, give me something.” He looked around the table. “Nothing?” There was disbelief in his voice.

“It could be anything,” Cameron said. “Why are we taking this case?”

“So Cuddy would leave me alone,” House answered. “I think the blue threw her off. Fix the girl and we can all go home early.”

Chase cleared his throat. “We could do a lumbar puncture,” It was risky, him speaking. He didn’t want House to know he was sick. He knew he looked bad, but he tried to be as awake and alert as he could. His voice still sounded a bit congested.

House nodded. “Get an LP. You,” he said, pointing at Chase, “Stay away from my patient. You can go to the clinic instead. Cuddy gave me six hours this week.”

Chase’s cheeks grew warmer than they were before. House had noticed he was ill, and he hadn’t even so much as coughed or sniffled. He guessed that it was pretty obvious by the way he looked, but he had hoped that House wouldn’t say anything. Did he really look bad enough to not be able to work with the patient? Sending him to the clinic for six hours that day as opposed to working on the case seemed like House was trying to punish him for having a bad cold.

The next few hours were torturous. It was walking back and forth between the lobby and the exam room, listening to patients come in with the stupidest problems. One teenager came in and started off by whispering, “I tried to smoke yesterday, but I think I did something wrong.”

It didn’t help that he his cold, which he was sure by now was turning out to be the flu, was taking over his body the whole time.

“Miss Perry?” Chase called, as loudly as he could without his throat hurting worse than it already was. He hoped he was heard over the noisy chatter in the waiting room.

A young woman stood up and walked over to him. She wore a long winter coat with her hair pinned back, standing tall and looking brightly at him.

“Follow be to room onde,” Chase said. He sniffled, trying to clear his nasal passages. “What’s the problemb?”

She held up her hand. “I burnt it earlier today,” she answered, almost apologetically, as if she were sorry for taking up his time.

“Let’s see,” Chase said, pulling on a pair of rubber gloves . “Does it hurt?” He asked. He held her hand, inspecting the burnt side carefully. It was red and swollen.

“When you touch it. And it hurts more, fades a little, then more again.”

“You should be fine, it’s just a first degree burn. I’ll wrap your hand in gauze.” His voice caught in his throat, and he broke off coughing, barely finishing his sentence. Chase turned away from the patient. “Excuse me. You’ll be good to go in just a… just a minnn… HUuah’shhuh! AAhh’HSHhoo!”

“Bless you.”

Chase took a quick breath before snapping forward again. “EHH’cshhoo! AHSSHhhi!”

“Are you sure you’re okay to work?” Miss Perry asked, not thinking about how the doctor was exposed to patients while sick but concerned about his wellbeing.

“I’m fine,” Chase reassured her, blushing. He shouldn’t be here, and he didn’t like it when people called him out on being sick as if it was a crime he was guilty of. Especially since he was a doctor working around already sick patients here to get better, not pick up the flu. He finished off the bandage. “Do you have aspirin or ibuprofen at home?”

She nodded.

“Take some when you get home for the next couple of days.” Chase turned the door handle and held it open.

“Thank you, Doctor. I hope you feel better soon,” Miss Perry called as she exited the room.

Chase shut the door behind her, then let out the cough he’d been holding in. He bent over, leaning against the door, almost keeled over coughing. He supported himself with one hand on his bent knee, using the other one to still cover his mouth. They hurt his chest and tore through his lungs. Chase walked over to the small sink when he was finally done, clearing his throat. He washed his hands, then mentally prepared himself for the next patient to come of the many he would be seeing that day.

His lunch break finally came three hours later, but he had no appetite. He stood in the waiting room of the clinic, filling out a form for a patient he just saw.

“Where’s House?” Chase turned to see Cuddy walking up to him.

“I dond’t kndow,” Chase said. “Probably ind his office.”

“I meant, why isn’t he doing his clinic hours?” Cuddy shook her head. “What happened to you?” She asked, making a face of almost disgust.

Great. “House didnd’t wandt be ndear the batient, so I’mb doigg his clidic hours indstead.”

Cuddy frowned at him. “Are you running a fever? You look warm.”

Chase was so hot that he was on the verge of sweating, and he assumed that his cheeks were flushed. “I’b fide,” he reassured her. He sniffled, rubbing his index finger under his nose. It was great timing. “Hahh’shhhoo! Heh’shhi! Ahh… EHhh’shhhoo!” He covered his mouth and nose with his hands, trying to turn away from Cuddy.

“Chase…”

Just then, his pager went off, beeping rapidly. “I’ve got to go,” he said, rushing past Cuddy and out the clinic before she could say anything.

“She’s seizing!” Foreman shouted as Chase ran in. Foreman, Cameron, and a couple of nurses were holding Jacqueline down, trying to keep her still.

Soon, the patient was stabilized again. She blinked up at the doctors standing around her. “Who are you?” She asked.

“I’m Doctor Cameron, this is Doctor Chase, and that’s Doctor Foreman,” Cameron explained, frowning. Why didn’t she remember who they were? Chase was understandable, but the two doctors who had been treating her all day?

“What am I doing here? W-where am I?”

“Could be Lupus,” Cameron suggested. They were back in House’s office.

“It’s never Lupus.” House shook his head.

“Meningitis? Aneurism?” Foreman listed. “There are a ton of things that it could be.”

Chase turned away from the group, bringing his hands up to his face. “HurrASHHoo! AH’Hehshhooo!” He snapped forward, catching the sneezes in his hands.

“So narrow it down.” House turned to Chase, glaring at him. “And what does the wombat think?”

Chase shook his head, clearing his mind. “Legionds?”

“‘Legionds,’” House imitated, mocking Chase’s congested pronunciation of the word. “Get an MRI and draw blood. Run the tests.” House got up and walked out of the room, presumably to bother Wilson or to avoid Cuddy. “You know where to go,” House called over his shoulder to Chase.

Chase sighed. He pulled a soiled tissue out of his pocket and blew his nose hard, trying to make use of the crumpled paper. He’d be done by four and home before six, if he finished all of House’s clinic duty. What he really wanted to do was to curl up in his bed and sleep. He knew he probably wouldn’t be able to come in the next day anyway.

Foreman walked out of the room swiftly to draw the blood for the bloodwork. Chase stood up, taking his time. No one was in a rush to see him; he wasn’t even supposed to be there. Cameron stayed behind, walking alongside him to the door.

“Want some help in the clinic?” She offered. “She’s stable, for now, and we’ll start the tests first, which only needs one person.”

Chase shook his head. He stopped at the door, hand on the handle. “It’s fine. Don’t want House to catch you.” If Cameron was caught in the clinic, both she and Chase would be in trouble for doing his work together. “AHH’SHhh’uhh!”

“Bless you.”

“Thanks,” Chase said, sniffling and clearing his throat.

Cameron stood next to him, not moving or giving in to him. “At least go home. You look dead on your feet. Let House do his own clinic hours.” She tried to persuade him. She cared about him, and Cameron didn’t want him to be sick. It hurt her to see him so miserable.

“I kndow…” Chase looked at Cameron, not sure what he should do. As much as he wanted to leave, he was afraid of House taking his job. If House found out that he’d just left, who knows what he’d do?

Cameron gazed back into his eyes. “We’re standing underneath mistletoe,” she murmured.

Chase looked above him. Sure enough, stuck to the ceiling right above them was a sprig of green. He hadn’t noticed that when he first walked in earlier that day. “So we are.”

And they kissed.

[SneezyHolmes]

Aww how cute! Loved this!

[Seniorstatus14]

Yay!!! A Chase sick fic!!!! So adorable

[fraggle]

Chase sick! Awesome

Great story, hope there's more.

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Chase is my favorite, forever rewatching House MD episodes on Netflix <3

[Sophie<3]

Chase was so hot

I couldn't agree more!

I really, really enjoyed this little story! Sick Chase is my favorite Chase! <3

[spirkestielgirl87]

Yes!!! I haven't read a fresh sick!chase fic in forever! I went through a period where I must have read every single one ever written and once the show ended they dissipated until I thought I may never read a new one again. I am so grateful! I love that it has the three original ducklings, that's my favorite. And House torturing a sick Chase while Cameron goes behind his back and tries to care for him... just... THANK YOU! And the ending was just adorable!