I still love you - Choreman
Picture by - @justtoomuch
The stale air in the conference room had a faint scent of dry-erase marker and burnt coffee. They had been stuck in there for the past hour and a half, debating. Dr. House, perched dramatically before the whiteboard, resembled a crazed conductor leading a silent orchestra. He scribbled barely decipherable medical symptoms, muttering incomprehensibly under his breath, his brow furrowed in concentration as he impatiently waited for someone – anyone – to grasp at something even if it were just straws. The whiteboard itself was a chaotic tapestry of interconnected lines, half-formed diagrams, and abbreviated medical terms, a visual representation of the turbulent process churning in his brilliant but erratic mind. Empty coffee cups and discarded papers littered the table.
“Fever. Rash. Elevated CRP. Pain localized in the joints. What am I missing?”
Taub leaned back in his chair, tossing a pen between his fingers. “Could be viral arthritis.”
“Could be you’re wasting oxygen,” House fired back. “Foreman?”
“Still waiting on the lumbar puncture. CSF looked clear visually, but we’ll know more when—”
“Blah, blah, tests take time,” House interrupted. “How about someone has an opinion before our patient flatlines out of boredom?”
Chase sat across the worn oak table in the dimly lit office, his posture rigid. The harsh fluorescent lights above cast an unflattering glow on his face, highlighting the ashen pallor of his skin – a stark contrast to the deep tan he'd cultivated during his two years working outdoors. The usually crisp knot of his silk tie was loosened, hanging slack against his starched shirt. His hands, usually expressive and animated, were clenched tightly in the deep pockets of his expensive wool overcoat, the tremors barely able to be hidden.
“I still think it could be vasculitis,” he said, voice faint. “Could explain the systemic inflammation—"
House cut him off with a wave of the marker. “Oh great, vasculitis. Let me guess what’s next: you’ll say lupus.”
Taub smirked. “It’s never lupus.”
Everyone chuckled except Chase. He was breathing too fast. The kind of breath that tried to go unnoticed — short, silent, forced through the nose. He swayed slightly on his feet, then stiffened like he could will himself steady. Foreman noticed the stillness first. Chase’s posture was too rigid now, as though he were holding himself up by sheer will. His lips had lost their color.
“Robert?” Foreman asked carefully, standing halfway.
Chase blinked. His eyes tried to find the sound, but they didn't land anywhere. He opened his mouth, like he was going to speak—then. A cracking sound as his knees suddenly give out and hit the floor. His body followed fast — head slamming into the corner of the table on the way down before crashing to the floor like dead weight. The impact echoed. The entire room froze.
“CHASE!” Foreman lunged, nearly knocking over his chair as he dropped to his knees. “Somebody call a code!”
Chase lay motionless, sprawled out unnaturally, one arm pinned awkwardly under his torso. Blood trickled from his temple where it hit the table edge, sharp against the floor. His chest rose too fast, his breathing shallow and erratic.
House crouched beside them, all traces of sarcasm gone. “He’s febrile,” he said instantly, the back of his hand brushing Chase’s forehead. “Boiling.”
“Skin’s clammy,” Foreman muttered, fingers pressed to Chase’s neck. “Pulse is weak and thready. He’s hypotensive.” His voice cracked, just slightly, but he didn’t stop working.
A nurse rushed in with a crash cart. “Page the ICU and bring a gurney!” Foreman ordered. “We need fluids, O2—stat!”
House stared for a moment longer, then stepped back and out of the way. His face had gone still. Foreman stayed kneeling, his hand on Chase’s chest, counting each rise and fall, willing them not to slow.
The ICU room was too quiet.
Chase had a nasal cannula threaded under his nose. His vitals had stabilized, but only after two liters of fluids, oxygen, and a careful cocktail of antivirals. His fever hadn’t broken yet.
“Viral pneumonia,” Foreman muttered to himself. “Progressed into sepsis. He never told me. He lives with me, and he didn’t say a word.”
House stood at the glass, watching from just outside the room, his cane tapping once against the floor. “He’s a doctor,” he said finally. “Which means he’s an idiot when it comes to treating himself. We’re trained to ignore symptoms until they scream.”
“He collapsed in front of us,” Foreman snapped, voice lower but sharper. “Hit his head hard enough to need stitches. He could’ve died.”
“And you think yelling at me will make you feel less guilty?”
Foreman didn’t answer. He turned back to Chase, who stirred faintly in the bed — eyelids fluttering without opening.
House tilted his head, something unreadable in his eyes. “Don’t let him go back to work too fast. He’ll try.”
Chase woke up hours later. His first sound was a soft, pained breath. Then his eyes opened, slowly. The light hurt. The room smelled too sterile. But when he turned his head slightly, the blur resolved into Foreman, sitting in a chair pulled close, their hands already laced together.
“You’re here,” Chase rasped, barely audible.
“I never left,” Foreman replied quietly. His thumb brushed over Chase’s knuckles. “Jesus, Robbie. You scared the hell out of me.” The thin green line jumped rhythmically over the black screen. Foreman had known that Chase loved being called Robbie and now he had proof on the monitor.
“I didn’t want you to worry,” Chase murmured, trying to smile. It faltered into a grimace. “Didn’t think it was serious.” Foreman shook his head, looking at his lover.
“You collapsed,” his voice shaking now. “Hit your head. You were septic. You should’ve told me.”
“I didn’t want to be weak.”
Foreman leaned forward, forehead gently pressing to Chase’s. “You’re not weak,” he whispered. “I love you." Chase swallowed. He knew Foreman loved him, that's why they were together, and he loved the other man a ton too.” And I want you to stop pretending everything’s fine just because you’re good at hiding it.”
Chase closed his eyes. The edges of his mouth twitched, something close to surrender. “Okay.”
“Good.” Foreman pulled back, brushing his thumb along Chase’s cheekbone. “You’re going to stay here until the fever breaks. Then we’re going home, and you’re not touching a lab for a while.”
“You hate when I’m homesick.”
“I hate when you almost die in front of me more.”