Poor Chase, nobody makes him feel loved
His dad never tells him he's sick and then cuts him out of the will
His sister isn't *really* up for a reciprocal relationship
The first time he and Cameron have sex, she's high and tells him "don't turn into a good guy on me now"; after that, it's fwb "like microwave pizza." He's steady as the sun for her, putting out healthy boundaries and communication however he can, and in the end, she still leaves him for reasons even SHE can't fully articulate. And he's still so invested in reconciliation.
The lady from the wedding pegs him, accurately, as a nice guy who's lost his way. But they don't connect.
House cares about him, so deeply, but after Chase's stabbing, is unable to come visit him. Chase knows this. Chase *articulates* this. Chase does not FEEL this. He doesn't feel loved. (For the record, I think House does his best with Chase. I think House tries to be kind and supportive in early seasons, in his own way, and again after the divorce. And House pushes Chase, when he needs it. But their relationship is a whole OTHER question.)
He and Foreman care about each other, but Foreman holds EVERYONE at arm's length. Screwing with each other and pushing each other to be more, to avoid the hypocrisy, etc. are the closest they get to *close*.
I think Chase is *absolutely* close with Thirteen. But he's the big brother figure. He takes her out for coffee to talk through the guilt of killing someone. He comes in for the rescue and keeps her from blowing her life up in After Hours. And when she leaves, there's a bit of an implication that they don't really keep in touch (but also this was mid-2000s tv where they did NOT know how to write a character off and still keep them in the other characters' lives).
Chase has a long, hard road towards loving himself. Feeling like he's enough. Standing up for himself and his worth and believing it. And while he does have help growing up and pushing himself, he has almost no help in loving himself. But, more or less, he gets there anyways
