May. 13th, 2006 01:18 pm
Title: Dying of a Broken Heart
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lovely_ambitionTitle: Dying of a Broken Heart
Fandom: House M.D.
Pairing: House, Chase
Prompt: Heart
Word Count: 343
Rating: PG
Their patient, a man named Zachariah Thompson, has four hours left of the heart he was born with; maybe less. It's broken beyond repair and no method of resuscitation will help now.
Chase has just been dumped by his latest girlfriend and understands a broken heart better than anyone.
And House is left to fix it, the both of them.
*
The transplant team down below is hard at work on Zachariah and up in the observation area, Chase stands with his arms crossed tightly around his torso, as though to ward off attacks from the rest of the world. When House lets the door slam shut, Chase jumps visibly, but he quickly reigns in every sign of emotion from his face. House sighs. Foreman would lash out, Cameron would just let everything spill, but Chase is like the Great Wall of Repressed Emotions.
"When'd it happen?"
Chase doesn't answer, just keeps his gaze fixed on the glass partition.
"Chase, someone smashed your heart into pieces. When?"
"Two days ago," he answers thickly. "What does it matter? Not like I can just pick up a replacement."
He's doing everything in his power to avoid looking at House. House watches Chase from behind for a long moment, watching the way his shoulders are just slightly curled up and the way that his body trembles just barely with every exhalation.
"Make sure Z-guy comes out of post-op fine. And as for you…" he trials off because love advice from him is less helpful than lessons in how to be immoral coming from Cameron. "Just keep an eye on the guy."
Chase nods, looking all too happy to keep distracted. "One new heart being monitored. Check." The impregnable fortress that is Chase's stonewall expression never slips, not until House has left and Chase lets down his guard once more, like he's afraid House would smash his heart just a little more.
House watches all this through the small window in the door and keeps moving. He doesn't have any more replacement hearts. Not today.
THE END
Fandom: House M.D.
Pairing: House, Chase
Prompt: Heart
Word Count: 343
Rating: PG
Their patient, a man named Zachariah Thompson, has four hours left of the heart he was born with; maybe less. It's broken beyond repair and no method of resuscitation will help now.
Chase has just been dumped by his latest girlfriend and understands a broken heart better than anyone.
And House is left to fix it, the both of them.
*
The transplant team down below is hard at work on Zachariah and up in the observation area, Chase stands with his arms crossed tightly around his torso, as though to ward off attacks from the rest of the world. When House lets the door slam shut, Chase jumps visibly, but he quickly reigns in every sign of emotion from his face. House sighs. Foreman would lash out, Cameron would just let everything spill, but Chase is like the Great Wall of Repressed Emotions.
"When'd it happen?"
Chase doesn't answer, just keeps his gaze fixed on the glass partition.
"Chase, someone smashed your heart into pieces. When?"
"Two days ago," he answers thickly. "What does it matter? Not like I can just pick up a replacement."
He's doing everything in his power to avoid looking at House. House watches Chase from behind for a long moment, watching the way his shoulders are just slightly curled up and the way that his body trembles just barely with every exhalation.
"Make sure Z-guy comes out of post-op fine. And as for you…" he trials off because love advice from him is less helpful than lessons in how to be immoral coming from Cameron. "Just keep an eye on the guy."
Chase nods, looking all too happy to keep distracted. "One new heart being monitored. Check." The impregnable fortress that is Chase's stonewall expression never slips, not until House has left and Chase lets down his guard once more, like he's afraid House would smash his heart just a little more.
House watches all this through the small window in the door and keeps moving. He doesn't have any more replacement hearts. Not today.
THE END
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