Chase sort of melted forward the minute he let his brain stop working. He'd done a lot of this after the stabbing, but now he feels like he's coming back to rights again. And if he adds in the fact that he's starting to think more seriously about becoming his own man and leaving House, it feels like this really might be the start of a momentous year. He parts from Ben, hand on his chest.

"Hey," he murmurs, realizing he hasn't asked, "How are you? How are things back in your world?"