Title: Fight for the Future
Chapter 1 – Old Habits & New Concerns

Summary: AU 3QUEL to NB & FT – Something worth having is worth fighting for and for House and Chase's new family it's worth everything. As their new family bond continues to strengthen its also tested with an outside threat, a close friend's family troubles and some working woes. Will they survive & be stronger in the end?

Disclaimer: House MD and its characters are not mine any of the OC's are mine (names taken from a random name generator) any resemblance to any of my readers is by pure coincidence.

A/N: yay we're back (sorry for the long wait but RL ganged up on me with a medical issue and I had to keep my multi-chap story count to 3 and I hope that's okay and all of you my dear readers come back!). Okay so right from the start I am going to say that NOTHING is going to permanently break apart out father/son team. But much like the last two stories there are outside forces that will try to divide and conquer. I hope you have all realized that I love our House/Chase dynamic and so won't do anything to harm that in the long run, however, I like my baddies and every so often my muse Alice has an itching to write a femme fatale! For those that didn't trust me and left or complained in the 2nd story, it hurt but I hope those with the good sense to trust me, will give this story a chance and enjoy the ups and downs, dangers, fluff and all the father/son goodness that we can offer. We like the new challenges and devious tactics a female baddie can bring and hope you'll like it as much as us. BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER the focus of these stories is House/Chase so they'll always be stronger in the end! Thank you all in advance for your amazing support and I hope you enjoy this adventure as much as the first two!

It had been one week since their first beach outing since Chase was cleared by Dr. Chan; one week since Chase's first ride on his favorite material possession – the surfboard he had been given by House and one week since a professional colleague had asked him to would be able to be a character witness in a medical hearing where there was accidental negligence and the patient was lost. But since the family had launched a personal lawsuit it was now coming down to what House was calling a paltry character assassination.

House pokes his head into Chase's bedroom that quiet Sunday morning in search of his boy, wanting to see what was delaying his arrival into the kitchen for breakfast as per their routine. Ever since Chase had been handed the legal hearing papers by Terry Halston, Chase's mind and attention had been distracted.

"Does my duckling feel like liver and onions for breakfast?" House asks as Chase just nods and looks back down at the papers in his grasp. "How about blue cheese and onion soup?"

"Sounds…good," Chase mumbles, his eyes kept downward.

"Fricasseed duckling?"

That finally makes Chase look up in wonder. "What?" He asks with a small frown as House gives him a light tap on the side of his head. "I don't know why I agreed to this."

"You thought it was a good idea at the time?" House counters.

"Would you have?" Chase challenges.

"Hell no I would have said it's a stupid idea and don't let the door hit your ass on the way out."

"He's kind of my friend."

"I would have told Wilson that," House retorts.

"That's helpful," Chase sighs as his face gently winces and House's smirk morphs into a concerned expression. House's hand gently rests on Chase's cheek and then his forehead as Chase watches in wonder, looking at House and almost daring him to give him a negative prognosis. "I didn't sleep well last week," he sighs as he flops backwards onto his bed and looks up at House with a small frown.

"Why did you say yes? I've seen his pout, it's not that convincing."

"I felt sorry for him," Chase huffs as he fold his arms under his head and looks up at House. "Why is this even an issue? He was nice to them during the whole process. He admitted the mistake was beyond his control and then…"

"The distraught family comes forward because they need the money so they are suing. Plus they have the lowest life lawyer in the book representing them."

"How do you know that?"

"I snooped. Oh yeah he's a real winner!"

"Comforting," Chase replies as he slowly sits upright and tosses the paper deposition at House who tosses it right back. Chase grabs a small pillow and hits House on the side; House grabbing the larger pillow and hitting Chase on the back of his head.

"That's child abuse," Chase lightly protests.

"Child abuse would have been if I used my cane," House states matter of factly.

"That was even an option?" Chase shakes his head as he snatches the papers back.

"Next week it'll all be over and then we'll celebrate by heading to the Hamptons."

It was that simple fact that Chase's face lit up like a happy child made telling him the news all that much sweeter. His hand rests on Chase's back and gives it a warm pat as Chase places the folded up papers onto his nightstand and then looks at House with a tight lipped smile.

"Breakfast."

"Breakfast," Chase agrees as the two of them slowly stand up and head into the hallway, Chase asking questions about the place they would be renting and feeling his agitation lessen and his excitement for his first real vacation in months starting to grow. For a few seconds he pictures himself on his board…first thing in the morning before anyone else is up – just him and the waves. Freedom.

"Are you already there?"

"Hmm thought I had more of a poker face."

"Ha! Yours is worse than Wilson's and his is the worst I've seen," House laughs loudly as Chase offers an instant pout; House looking at him with grin. Chase pulls away and heads for the fridge, House watching him in concern. Normally he'd wonder what was causing his boy's fingers to silently tighten around the handle of his coffee mug and turn slightly white as he holds on until a fatherly hand rests on his shoulder.

"Worried about the hearing?"

"What? No," Chase tries to brush it off as he remains with his back to House, his eyes nervously darting up at the cupboard and then down at the empty mug in his grasp. But when he starts to feel the silence ganging up on him, he turns to look at House with a heavy frown and then nods in resignation.

"You said it yourself it's nothing."

"Then why am I stressing?"

"You need coffee," House retorts as Chase rolls his eyes and steps aside as House reaches for the coffee grounds that he was trying to get earlier.

"It's just a technical testify," Chase starts to justify, mostly to settle his own inner turmoil.

"Stick to the script."

"They signed the waiver and…and that was it."

House stops Chase's actions mid-movement, forcing Chase's soft sapphire gaze to look up in wonder. "You hesitated."

"But it's a character assassination right?"

"That would be my guess and I'm usually right," House gently boasts.

"He did his job the same way any of us would."

"You're also a character witness right?"

"He did his job."

"Robert," House's firm but soft tone forces Chase's eyes to look back up and his posture slightly slump. "If you get up there and falter, even slightly, that low life lawyer is going to rip my boy apart and then you'll have to be called as a witness in my trial for when I kill the lowlife. Couldn't take the pout," House concludes with a small 'chirp' of his lips, making Chase's expression soften.

"I shouldn't have said yes."

"Is it giving you chest pains?"

"A few but I know it's just the stress of all this. Like you said in one week it'll all be over and I'll be okay."

"Having even mild chest pains isn't something you can just scoff at and not be concerned about. You do want to get back on that surfboard right?" House counters as Chase purses his lips. "After breakfast we'll go over what he expects of you and what you need to say and if all else fails we'll get Bruno pay a visit to the lowlife lawyer."

Chase's lips offer a small chuckle over House's suggestion, knowing that Bruno would more than agree to be the muscle; all they had to do was ask. His agitated mind slightly settles as he thinks about Bruno showing up at the lawyer's place with a large plastic bat and hitting him on the head like they do in the cartoons and the less than reputable professional falling down with a surprised look on his face.

House changes the subject to something that would bring a smile to Chase's face, sticking to their morning ritual of reading a few choice headlines from the paper and trying to find ways to mock those that were the focus of the piece. It works as Chase feels the slight pangs in his stomach subside and the tightness in his chest starting to ease.

But as soon as breakfast ends and Chase thinks about reviewing the request for the hearing, his anxiety flares and he sharply inhales.

"I think today's a perfect day for a walk. Get outside and wear off some tension," House mentions after the kitchen was cleaned and they were just going to linger as per following the rest of their weekend routine. Chase, however, can think of no real reason to turn down House's offer, and so both get their shoes and sunglasses, House his sun hat and head into the hallway; talking about a few more headlines that were a bit more controversial than the others.

They reach the end of their enjoyable walk, selecting a bench and sitting down to relax. Chase's eyes dart around before coming to rest on House's questioning glance.

"Force of habit," Chase acknowledges in a soft whisper.

"No one around to hurt my boy."

"'Cept maybe the lowlife lawyer," Chase huffs as he sags a bit further into the bench.

"Know what to expect going in and you'll beat this guy at his own game. Trust me."

"You've had dealings with him before?" Chase asks in wonder.

"Twice. Now read me that statement and then I'll see if I can pick it apart and prepare you for a showdown with the devil."

"I think I'll be okay."

"Robert…"

"Why is it when you say my name in that tone I can't seem to refuse," Chase huffs as House's lips break into a wide grin.

"Trust me. We need to do this."

Chase pulls out the statement he had prepared and then starts to read it; House listening until all the words were offered and then putting himself into the role of the loser lawyer and trying to pull apart every single word that was offered, wanting to twist it in his favor and ensure the doctor and hospital lost and the family walked away with as much as they would.

"Told you role play could be fun," House concludes as Chase leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees.

"As fun as having my wisdom teeth pulled without medication. Ah damn what was I thinking," Chase groans as House's hand rests on his back. He looks at House with a soft frown and then back down. "Think it'll be that bad?"

"I know it will be."

"Which case did you have to square off on with him?"

"Oh it wasn't that important."

"You don't want to tell me?" Chase counters as he straightens back up and looks at House directly.

"That's correct," House replies as Chase offers him a gentle eye roll. "It's not important."

"Then why won't you tell me?" Chase inquires.

"There was a child that died a number of years back and…"

"A child…I don't…"

"It wasn't my patient but I was called as a character witness on behalf of the other doctor."

"How did you do?"

"Lost."

"What?" Chase asks in shock. "You…lost?"

"Yes but you can still think of me as the brilliant genius I am."

"Oh trust me your secret of being human is safe with me," Chase gently teases. "But I am still in shock."

"I agree that it is shocking but this clever bastard was able to twist my words so that it seemed like I was just agreeing for something to do and that was it. He didn't care about the medical evidence he just wanted to make us look bad and he did. Brilliantly."

"Which doctor was it?"

"Ryder."

"What? I thought he…oh god…that's why he took his life?"

"Couldn't live with the guilt that he was found at fault of that child's death."

"But I thought that…wait…"

"Hold on my boy," House interjects in haste as he leans in closer. "Five months later a board of inquiry under the direction of Doctor Chan, whom you might know, found Dr. Ryder innocent of all charges and he was acquitted. Meant little because he was dead but it brought some peace to his family and it exonerated the hospital. It was blamed on a faulty piece of equipment that Ryder had no idea of the flaw when he used and the manufacturer found at fault it but it was too late. So that's why I want to prep you before you go on the stand."

"Okay," Chase agrees as he looks at House with an appreciative glance. The two of them sit a bit longer on the park bench before it's time to get up and slowly head back to the apartment to finish off the rest of their day, just relaxing and enjoying the last few hours of their Sunday.

After dinner the two of them bring their Sunday to a close by watching some lame reality show on TV and offering their own play by play commentary and just enjoying each other's company. But despite giving answers with a genuine smile, some of Chase's answers are pulled and almost feel contrived and House knows his precious boy's mind is now thinking about the hearing and it was causing his happiness to wane.

Just as their show draws to a close, Chase watches House push himself up from the couch and disappear into the hallway and out of view. Thinking that it was time to call it a night and House wasn't in the mood for bedtime pleasantries, Chase flips off the TV, turns off the light in the living room and slowly heads down the dimly lit hallway toward his bedroom.

Chase pulls on his night shirt just as House knocks on the door and then enters with an object in his grasp.

"Haven't had to bring this out for a few months but I think until this legal fiasco is over you might need it. I don't want you at work around live patients ready to fall asleep and do them and yourself harm," House explains as he hands the small device to Chase.

Chase looks down at the CD player with the relaxation CD into it and then back up with a tender smile. "I tried to hide my agitation."

"I know you remember?"

"Tonight I don't mind," Chase admits humbly as he places the CD player on his bed side table and then slumps back down on the edge of his bed, his hands folding into a ball on his lap. "I was hesitant at first…I should have listened to my gut. I always want to help the underdog."

"And that isn't a bad thing most of the time. But this time it could be," House comments in a tender tone as he sits down beside Chase on the edge of the bed, his shoulder playfully nudging Chase on his left. "Just remember, sometimes it's okay to take a page out of my book and say no."

"What if he had gotten a subpoena?"

"What if he asked someone else?" House counters in haste as Chase looks up in wonder. "You don't always have to be the one that falls on the sword for every hard luck case that comes his way. You're too valuable to me to lose to some medical mishap."

"Is it too late to back out now?" Chase asks with a heavy sigh as his shoulders slump and his head lolls to the left and rests on House's right shoulder; House's arm stretching out and wrapping protectively around Chase's shoulders and giving them a squeeze.

"You gave your word and now you have to honor that because if you back out now, it'll eat away even more than it is right now – if that's even possible," House replies with a heavy sigh. "But we will get through this like we have everything else and you'll be fine and we will go on our holiday."

Chase gives House a nod and then whispers goodnight and watches as the older man pushes himself up from the bed and slowly heads toward the opening. He turns back and gives Chase a fatherly smile before he disappears around the corner, not to be seen again until morning.

After pushing himself under the covers, Chase pushes 'play' on the CD player and allows the soothing relaxation music to fill the space around him; his brain telling him to latch onto a happy memory and hold onto it for the remainder of the night. And for the most part it works, Chase seeing himself on the surfboard and feeling the happiness starting to comfort him and warp him in it's protective arms until early morning.

However, about an hour before he's to wake up, Chase's mind replays his discussion with Terry Halston and suddenly his chest seizes and he finds himself gently gasping for air. His eyes snap open and he looks over at the clock with a frown before he looks away and rolls onto his side, his back to the clock.

I should have said no, Chase's mind groans as he closes his eyes and tries to get his heart rate to slow. The exercise proves futile as he sees himself on the witness stand, question after question being fired at him until his heart seizes and he fades to black as House shouts his name in the fading distance.

"Damn…shoulda said no," Chase whispers as he rolls back onto his other side and reaches for the ear buds. After he pops them in, he turns the volume up slightly and then tries to find another happy memory. He finally fixes on House telling him about their summer week stay in the Hampton's at the rental House down the block from Dr. Chan's brother's place and his mind is able to offer him another bout of restful sleep until his morning alarm goes off.

House hears some soft shuffling in the hallway the next morning, a few seconds later the bathroom door closing and the shower starting up. He lies in bed thinking about the countless times he'd gone to bed with silence engulfing him and then wake up the morning with the same situation greeting him with open arms.

Having the younger man a permanent fixture in his home was more than a god-send it was something he had come to actually enjoy. Sure there were tense moments and the occasional argument, but the good outweighed the bad and this was his new family now and that was worth fighting for.

House's thinks about Chase's current dilemma as he hears the younger man's voice starting to hum a happy tune in the distance and his brow furrows. I'll be damned if I let that bastard tear my precious boy apart on the stand, House's mind vows in silence as his frown fades as Chase starts to belt out an American rock tune with his obvious Aussie accent. A few seconds later he pushes himself out of bed and heads for the kitchen, eager to get the day started, get into work and see what new medical mystery he could pawn off on his team while he waited for them to come up with an answer he would already know.

He hears Chase exit the bathroom, still humming a happy tune and once again can't help but feel his lips slightly curl upward. No one will ever hurt my boy again…ever. No one. And if they ever try…they will be sorry! I swear it.

XXXXXXXX

~Melbourne Australia – 3 months earlier~

"Look you know I'm good for it. I need that money," the female voice hisses in a low undertone; the two figures standing in the shadows in the darkened alleyway.

"You're the one that got into bed with Trent," he sneers in return. "I told you not to take what you can't pay back!"

"Arne stiffed me and I need…"

"How much?"

"Hundred large."

"What the hell!" The male leans in with narrowed eyes; the woman holding her ground. "You went to a mob loan shark and asked for a hundred grand with no means to pay it back!"

"Dan you owe me!" She hisses right back. "Don't make me call in a favor of my own!"

"You're a cold bitch."

"Where is my money?"

"And how do I know you'll pay me back?" He huffs as he pulls his black knapsack off his back and holds it in his grasp. She leans in closer, her fingers deftly fondling a sharp object in her grasp, her weapon ready for use.

"I promise you'll get what's coming," she whispers as her lips start to lightly kiss the sensitive skin around his sensitive lobe. But his male excitement is short lived as within seconds, a horrified gasp escapes his lips as her fingers drive the deadly object into his heart, killing him instantly. "Now I don't owe you anything," she growls as his lifeless body falls to the ground in the dark. She had purposely worn gloves; having developed her whole plan around a 90's TV episode and information she found on the internet. Thank God for Google, she had wryly thought when she realized what she needed to do to survive. She grabs the cash from his pocket, casually tosses the wallet on Dan's unmoving corpse, shoves the knapsack into her purse and then steals away into the night.

First stop was to pay back Trent the money and get his goons off her heels and then…then I need something big…something big I can retire on for the rest of my life and disappear forever. Her plan…to find a viable money source, take it and never look back; doing whatever she had to and stopping whoever she had to in her path. She pays back Trent and then takes her leave, jumping in the back of a cab and giving the driver the address to a new apartment. But fate was about to intervene, her eyes glancing down at the headline on the front page of the Melbourne Sun:

'Millionaire and philanthropist, Dr. Rowan Chase dead.'

At first she just shrugged it off as nothing, another rich guy dead and his money going to his family. Big deal. But it wasn't until she started to read about the late Doctor's stormy family relationships, dead estranged wife, troubled family past, his only surviving heir and becoming a social recluse at the end that the wheels started to turn in her evil mind. He left the boy and his mother when the boy was young…the mother was forced to seek solace in the company of strangers. She's dead. Hmm what if Rowan Chase has another surviving heir? A daughter…one he never knew about? She's dead she can't say otherwise. He's dead…he can't contest. The son…he probably lives alone. I befriend…get myself into the will in case something happens and then….something happens. Rowan's son ends up dead and I inherit everything…take the money and disappear – forever. Perfect. Nothing will stop me.

The plan was perfect in her mind…of course there was something she wasn't counting on – a fatherly protector – a determined opponent – one that would fight for his son no matter what and not give up until he was declared the winner. A fight was coming – a fight for the future.

A/N: Okay so …. Here we go hehe. Remember much like the last 2 stories that reached over 25 chapters, the length will depend on your support – the more reviews and love we get the longer the story will be b/c then we know we are doing the right thing. I hope you like the start, yup gotta start with some angsty tension hehe. How will the hearing turn out for Chase? Will he sail right through it or will his health be adversely affected? How will it affect his impending holiday? And don't worry you will see Wilson and Bruno in the next chapter so please let me know your thoughts in a review before you go and thanks so much!