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He offered him a job.
A career.
He offered him a home, a family, the life he never had but constantly craved from the time he was a small boy.
Rowan came with good intentions this time. Well, possibly. Who knows, really? He seemed to have good intentions and to the naked eye that would have been enough. Robert was resistant at first. When his dad appeared in the doorway of the office he figured the man he called father was only there to attend a conference or speak at a seminar, but after spending a little time with him he came to the realization that his dad was there for him. It had never been like that before, and if he was being honest, Robert would admit he was filled with excitement.
“I want you to come home to Melbourne,” his dad croaked out in his unusual mixed accent, “I miss you. If you come back with me, I can get you a job at the hospital I work at.”
At first, Robert didn’t buy it. He and his dad were never exactly close despite how much he looked up to the man as a child. After Rowan abandoned Robert and his mother, that respect all but disappeared. But as days passed and Robert saw how kind his dad had become, how caring and cool, he felt like the offer was legit. And once he felt that way, he thought about how much better his life would be if he worked with his father rather than for a sneaky, self-absorbed ass like House.
When House found out about the offer, he was less than pleased.
“He’s an idiot,” House spoke forcefully, angry at the idea of Rowan offering Robert a job.
“That’s not fair, you know, the way you’re criticizing my dad. He’s not that guy anymore,” Chase tried to defend.
“The hell with your father…” House sounded pissed.
“Greg, for god’s sake,” Wilson chimed in as his best friend chastised the younger doctor. He knew House well; he knew that the reason for the yelling and the anger was not because he was frustrated with Chase, but rather because he cared. Underneath House’s thick, hard shell was someone who truly cared about his fellows.
“He waltzes in here after 16 years-.” House began ranting.
“Fifteen.” It wasn’t a good defense, Chase was certain of that, but he wouldn’t stand for his boss to belittle his father like that.
“Excuse me,” the sarcasm was rich, “fifteen years and acts like nothing has happened. Wake up, Chase! This is the same guy who didn’t think enough of you to pick up the damn phone!”
“He made a mistake. I’m sorry if not everyone can be as perfect as you, but if I can forgive him why can’t you?”
The words echoed around the three men who seemed to be at a standstill, each one stubbornly holding his ground.
“Because he’s not doing this for you, he’s doing this for himself,” House hissed, “and if you think any differently then you’re just as big an idiot as him.”
“Hey, just cool it House, we can talk about this another time,” Wilson placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder to ground him, to let him know he was bordering on going too far. He knew House was a control freak but what Chase chose to do with his father had nothing to do with any of them. Sometimes, people need to make their own mistakes in order to learn from them.
“You know what, there’s really nothing to talk about,” the offense in Chase’s voice painfully obvious, “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time…my whole life actually. And now it’s happening and nothing is going to stop me. Tomorrow will be my last day.” The hesitation felt on his last sentence was as clear as a dinner bell. The young doctor had a child-like view on the situation: like a little boy on Christmas still believing in Santa Claus.
“Oh yeah, I don’t think so…” House muttered under his breath just loud enough for Chase to hear.
“Who cares what you think, you’re not my father!” Chase spat before storming out of the room, leaving the two men with the weight of the situation.
The next day came like a lead balloon for House. There were so many things he knew he should say to Chase, so many warning signs that the young doctor was missing. House didn’t know much about Rowan Chase, but what was painfully obvious was the selfishness in his ways. He’d known exactly where he son was working for years and never once did he stop by. He never called. He never wanted anything to do with Robert and now suddenly he took an interest. It was disgusting.
House had dealt with his own father’s bull shit and he could sniff it out a mile away.
But he couldn’t tell Chase that, no, no he couldn’t. The young blonde kid would have to make the realization on his own just like he did. Dads disappoint, it’s what they do, or at least the ones House knew did. Each boy has to learn that on his own before he becomes a man.
Sitting at his desk, the gray New Jersey sky looking duller than ever. House pondered what he could say to make his fellow stay. What could he do to snap him into reality? At what point has he really overstepped?
When he turned around he saw his team walking into his office ready to discuss their case. They babbled on but House barley heard a word they said. His mind had traveled into the distance and almost as if he willed it to happen, Rowan appeared in the doorway.
“Robert,” he spoke strangely, “do you have a moment?”
The father and son walked over into the conference room area adjacent to the office. Luckily for House, Foreman, and Cameron’s prying ears they could hear the entire conversation through the thin glass walls.
“What’s up dad?” Robert sounded like a typical son addressing his dad. It was like the past didn’t exist.
“Some business came up that I have to handle…so…we’re going to have to put our trip on hold for a little bit. You understand…?”
“Yeah…yeah that’s cool.”
Listening at the doorway House and Cameron locked eyes, both not shocked to hear Rowan bailing on his son. Foreman and Wilson were fooled into thinking it was good for Chase but Cameron and House knew from the start that he was trouble.
“Just for a couple of weeks,” Rowan tried to lessen the blow.
“I understand.”
“Maybe a little bit longer.”
“Yeah, whatever.” There was a twinge of rage and disappointment in Chase’s tone which made Cameron’s sympathetic gaze even sadder. Kids who come from good parents like Cameron don’t understand the dynamic; they’re filled with foolish hope that things will work out. House knew better. He always knew better.
“Look I’ll call you next week and we’ll square up the details. Okay?”
“Yeah…yeah…” House could see through the open door that Chase was barley even looking at his father.
“It was great to see you, son,” Rowan tried one last time to seem human. Robert looked up at his dad, his icy blue stare even colder than normal.
“You too, Dr. Chase,” his tone was heavy. Rowan shook his head, patted his coat on his arm, and walked out of the room into the hall without even hugging his son goodbye. And there, standing alone in the conference room was Robert, back at square one. Alone. Fatherless.
Foreman wandered back over to the chair in the corner to at least pretend like he wasn’t just listening. Cameron, chewing her lip in anxiousness, didn’t know if it was better to give Robert a minute or go in and wrap him in a tight hug. She liked him…and secretly she was glad he wasn’t going anywhere. Maybe she’d have the confidence to tell him that now.
House wasn’t like his two fellows, he wasn’t afraid to face the kid and get in his business. Like the assertive ass he’d always been, he marched into the conference room to find Chase frozen in the spot he stood.
“I’m sorry, Robert,” House uncharacteristically used his employee’s name. He liked referring to them all by there last names because in a weird way it dehumanized them, but now…well…
“You know what? Actually this works out better for me, you know? Having to move again and all, it’s a lot and I just got settled and my place here is pretty nice…” the denial was strong.
“It’s okay to be angry…” House weirdly spoke. Cameron was still by the wall listening and Foreman couldn’t believe that the selfish ass he’d known for years was actually being nice.
“Hey why should I be mad? At least he said goodbye this time. I just wish I hadn’t been fooled again, you know?”
“I’m sorry,” the words shocked Cameron and Foreman, but Chase just looked at his boss defensively as the older man spoke, “you know, if there was something I…”
“You know what? You don’t have to do anything,” Chase seemed bothered, enraged, “it’s not like I’m still eleven years old, you know? It’s not like I’m gonna be sitting up all night asking my mum ‘when’s dad coming home’, you know? Who needs him anyway? Hey, he wasn’t there to teach me how do brain surgery, but I still learned didn’t I? And I got pretty damn good at it, didn’t I?”
“Yeah, you did.” House stood in amazement as he watched the young man get so worked up, so angry, so frustrated with life. He was going to break, it was only a matter of time.
“Got through my first date without him, I learned how to drive, I learned how to shave. I learned how to fight without him, I had fifteen great birthdays without him, he never even sent me a damn card. To hell with him!”
The way Chase screamed those words made it impossible for anyone on the floor to not hear the hate and anguish he suffered. House looked on, waiting for it, waiting for the point where the wave crashes on the beach.
“I didn’t need him then and I sure as hell don’t need him now…”
His eyes were glassy.
“Robert…” House quietly spoke.
“No, you know what House? I’m going to get through life without him. I got through college without him, I got my first job without him, I’m going to marry the most beautiful girl and we’re going to have a whole bunch of kids. I’ll be a better father than he ever was, and I sure as hell don’t need him for that because there isn’t a damn thing he could ever teach me about how to love my kids!”
House just stared at him, deeply analyzing him. And then, it happened. The realization overcame Robert.
“Why doesn’t he want me?”
He didn’t cry.
He didn’t crumble to the floor.
But House could see it, he could recognize it because he once made the same realization. Without another thought, House embraced the young doctor and silently offered the comfort that a father should offer his son.