Chapter Text
When Chase went into work that day, everything was normal.
He signed himself in, had brief conversations with the nurses and doctors he came across, went up to the diagnostic room and checked that they had no case, leaving before House found him and threw something at him.
Chase went to see patients checked in from the previous day before he and went to do some rounds amongst the ICU.
He checked in with new patients, helped in a cold blue, distracted a family while a mother got checked out for vomiting blood.
Sometime during lunch, because he was free, he got called to watch over some medical students.
Fortunally, at that moment, came the call that an emergency was coming in.
Chase stayed by the hospital doors with the students, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. He listened to the nurses as they informed him about the patient and when they said the patients name, Chase felt alarm rush through him, his heart beating faster as panic spread through him.
Silently, he prayed that it was just a coincidence, that the name, and vague description, was just a coincidence but as soon as the ambulance arrived, he knew his prayer was ignored.
Standing back, he watched as the head nurse directed the students and together, they wheeled him into the public wing, other patients hidden behind curtains, where Chase watched them work, only interrupting when they needed permission or had confusions about what to do.
Chase observed the man.
He was skinny, clearly malnourished and his skin was covered in stains. The stains were a mix of dirt, blood and smoke.
Soot covered the man’s once blond hair, making it and his face a shade of gray.
Chase listened as the students talked.
“Smoke inhalation..”
“Do we intubate?”
“No, just a mask for now, his blood oxygen is good”
“Blood level is high but within parameters”
Chase watched as they eventually stepped away, leaving him with a complete view of the man, noticing things he didn’t before.
The man now had a mask on his face, giving him oxygen and there was an IV in the palm of his right hand leading to bags that were giving him nutrients and a pain killer. Along with that, he also had minute cuts and scrapes along his arms and what Chase could determine to be week old bruises scattered everywhere.
After some evaluating and talking with the students, he was left alone in the room, staring down at the patient.
“What happened to you?” Chase whispered to him, wondering where the man had been and what led him to this point. His heart squeezed at how thin the man was and he knew without needing to touch that the man’s ribs would be sticking out, showing how underweight he was,
“Doctor, this man came with the patient”
Chase turned to the door where a nurse was, standing before the door and nodding in the direction of where a man was standing, looking through the window.
Despite the situation, he smiled.
He saw the nurse glance between him and newcomer but he ignored her, walking out the room to hug the man who hugged him back, tight.
“It’s good to see you, Rob"
Chase laughed, pulling away before he punched the other man in the chest "what are you doing here Matt?”
The man smiled, rubbing his chest with one hand while gesturing to the room with the other “i found him”
Chase fell silent, looking through the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Matt do the same.
“What happened?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the heart monitor.
“I had furlough. Came to New Jersey to see you but before i got here, i saw a house on fire. I had to intervene”
Chase nodded “of course”
“Robert.. They brought him out and he wasn’t breathing” Matt's voice was tight but controlled.
Chase closed his eyes, heart hammering in his chest at the thought.
“Chase? Woahhh”
He turned, seeing Wilson walking up to him, eyes moving rapidly between him and the man next to him.
After a second of silence, Chase sighed and gestured “Doctor Wilson.. Matt Casey. Matt Casey.. Doctor Wilson”
Wilson stared at them, eyes constantly moving as he stuttered out “y-you look the same”
Chase smiled as Matt laughed, gesturing between them and speaking dryly “yeah, he’s my twin”
Chase turned and grinned at his brother who grinned back.
“Twin? But.. the accent?” Willson’s face scrunched up.
Chase nodded “seperated at birth. I was raised in Australia”
“I was raised in Chicago” Matt Casey added after.
Just as Wilson opened his mouth, Chase groaned, hearing the click of the cane before the person holding it appeared.
“Surprise. Surprise. The Wombat has a pack”
House wobbled up from behind Wilson, Cameron and Foreman following, staring at Casey with wide eyes.
“The collective group of Wombats is called a wisdom. A Wisdom of Wombats” Chase rolled his eyes as he snarked back.
“How do you know that?” Casey laughed, shaking his head.
“I don’t know” Chase slowly responded, confused as to where he learned it before.
“So.. Separated at birth?” Cameron asked in the silence that followed.
“Who’s that guy?” Foreman asked when Chase said nothing, pointing to the patient.
“Alex Summers” Casey answered, moving to look through the window.
Chase copied just in time to see the heart monitor jump. Chase felt his own heart lurch and he saw Casey stepping closer to the window, staring at the man in the room.
When the monitor returned to normal, Chase breathed out a small breath of relief before turning to Casey and making a movement that asked the other man to follow.
One of the nurses passed him, telling him that Alex will be suited in his own room soon.
As Chase led him away, the others following, a thought occurred to him.
“Did you call Mac?”
Chase saw how Casey’s eyes widened, mouth opening and closing like a fish and instantly, Chase knew the answer.
“I’ll call him, alright?” Chase reassured, smiling softly even as a guilty look came over Casey’s face.
“So? How?” Cameron called to him as he led them into the Diagnostic room.
Chase growled to himself, tired of her impatience.
Opening the door, Casey was the first to sit, choosing a seat that faced the door.
Chase sat next to him as he pulled out his phone, ignoring the others who sat opposite him, Wilson being the only one to sit on his side of the table, next to him.
He was half surprised that House had willingly followed but then he realised that House was likely just doing this to get blackmail or to get out of doing his job.
Pulling up the number, Chase called.
He heard the ringing.
“Hello?”
“Mac! Hey, it’s been a while” Chase smiled, turning to Casey who shared his relieved look.
“Yeah, it has. What’s up, Doc?” He heard Mac grin.
Chase couldn't help but snort, but he forced himself to focus.
“Straight to the point. A patient came in today. Smoke inhalation”
Mac stayed silent.
“It’s Alex”
Chase heard a breath being released and he wondered if Mac was feeling the same as he was.
“What? Is he alright?”
“He’s alright as can be but I suggest you get over here. It’s bad enough to concern me”
The opposite side of the table stayed silent, watching him.
He ignored them, listening to the sounds of Mac breathing.
“I’m on my way”
Hearing silence, he pulled back the phone to look at it, tutting when he saw that Mac had hung up. Looking to Casey, he shrugged “he’s on the way”
Looking in front of him, he stared down House.
House stared back, a slow grin making it’s way across his face.