"A rusty old halo, skinny white cloud
Second hand wings full of patches
a rusty old halo, skinny white cloud
Robe that's so woolly it scratches."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Dr. Cameron! Dr. Cameron!"

Cameron raced towards the gurney that was being wheeled into the ER. "What's the deal?" she demanded, looking down at the little girl on the bed. She winced as she saw the blood and the bruising covering her face and neck.

"She was found in a school playground by a lady walking her dog. No identification." The paramedic informed her. "She's still unconscious, but breathing is normal. She's stable. Possible broken ribs."

"Okay." It was seven AM, the ER relatively empty. "Get her to a room and I'll examine her." Cameron ordered, following the gurney to its destination.

Cameron closed the curtains and waited until the paramedics left before beginning the physical exam. Pulling back the sheets, she found the naked girl disturbingly thin. There was bruising covering her entire body along with scratches still oozing blood. Her nose was bleeding but not broken.

Cameron felt gently down her arms, legs, and then ribs, discovering two broken on the right side. Carefully, she lifted the girl's head and examined her scalp through thick, dark curly hair, discovering more bleeding, though nothing serious.

Sighing, she went to grab a bowl of water and some gauze to remove the dirt from the girl's body and determine the extent of the bruising. She was going over the girl's ribs when she heard a moan. Cameron moved instantly to the girl's head. "Hello?" she questioned.

The child's eyes fluttered open and her body tensed. Cameron smiled, a hand moving to touch the girl's hair gently. The girl relaxed as she saw Cameron evidently didn't intend to harm her. "I'm Dr. Cameron." Cameron said softly.

"W-where am I?" The girl's voice was small, frightened.

"You're in the emergency room of Princeton Plainsboro Hospital." Cameron explained. "I'm just cleaning you up so I can see how badly hurt you are. Try not to move, you have broken ribs."

The girl nodded, relaxing slightly. "Okay."

"What's your name?" Cameron asked as she continued to clean the girl up to the best of her ability.

"Evvie." The girl winced a little. "Evelyn."

"Do you remember what happened Evvie?" Cameron inspected the girl's face.

"They chased me. Hurt me." She murmured, closing her eyes.

"Who?"

"My foster brothers." Evvie said matter-of-factly.

Cameron nodded, anger burning inside of her. Trying to keep her voice level, she asked quietly: "Do they hurt you often?"

"Not like this." Evvie said, attempting to sit up and crying out as she discovered just how much it hurt to have broken ribs. "They and their friends got drunk and thought they'd have some fun."

Cameron frowned and helped to settle her back down. Picking up the hospital gown she'd grabbed along with the water she suggested: "Let's get this on you", helping the girl into it carefully.

"Thanks." Evvie murmured.

Cameron smiled sadly. "No problem. I'm just going to grab a few things. I'll need to do blood tests. I'm worried about your nutrient levels." Evvie nodded.

Cameron left briefly to dispose of the dirtied material, wash her hands, and gather some more supplies before returning to the room. "I'll just do this and we should be able to move you down to another floor. You don't really need to be in the ER." Cameron told Evvie as she tied off her arm.

"Will you still be my doctor?" Evvie asked, looking nervous.

"If you'd like" Cameron decided. There was no reason she couldn't continue to oversee the girl. Evvie seemed comfortable with her, and in Cameron's opinion, that was most important. She was sure she could work out permission from Cuddy.

"There's going to be a little pinch." She told Evvie before inserting the needle to draw blood. When she finished, she gently told Evvie that they'd have to call social services.

"Don't let them blame my foster father!" Evvie insisted. "He's so kind to me. It's not his fault his sons are the way they are." Cameron promised she'd pass that on.

"I'm going to get you moved to Paediatrics." She told Evvie. "Then I'm going to call social services and talk to my boss, and I'll be down to see you afterwards, alright?"

Evvie smiled wanly. "Thanks, Dr. Cameron."

Cameron realised she was digging herself a hole that she had little hope of escaping. She too easily became entwined in the fates of her patients. As House had always told her, she couldn't help but care for damaged creatures, human or otherwise. They were her calling. Evvie was no different. Cameron couldn't abandon her to the life she'd been given.

Leaving Evvie's room, she relocated to a more private location to talk to social services, explaining the situation Evvie had been found in, her medical condition, and the words Evvie had asked her to say: not to blame her foster father. They said they'd send a representative over shortly.

From there she made her way to Cuddy's office.

"Come in." was the quiet response to her knock. "Ah, Dr. Cameron."

"Hello." Cameron said quietly. "I'm meant to be off now, but a young girl came in, an abuse victim. She asked if I'd stay her doctor even though I transferred her to Paediatrics."

Cuddy eyed her sceptically. "And do you want to?"

Cameron nodded. "She seems to trust me, and I think I can help her."

"Just keep in mind you can't be at the hospital forever. Even you need sleep at some point." Cuddy cryptically granted her permission.

Cameron nodded and withdrew, aiming for Paeds.

"Evvie?" she questioned as she entered the child's room.

"Hi." Evvie looked much cleaner. Evidently she'd showered as her hair was wet and drying into shoulder-length dark curls. Brown eyes looked up at Cameron tiredly.

"My boss gave me permission to continue being your primary care physician." Cameron explained. "I talked to social services, and they're going to send over someone as soon as they can."

Evvie nodded calmly. "Okay."

"Do you want to try and get some sleep?" Cameron asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I can tell them not to wake you unless it's an emergency."

"Thanks." Evvie lay down against the pillows. Cameron moved forward and pulled the blankets up over her, leaning down to kiss the girl's pale cheek gently. Evvie smiled.

"I need some sleep too." Cameron told her. "But I'll just be in one of the on-call rooms, so I'll tell the nurses to page me if anything happens, alright?"

Evvie nodded. "Okay." Her eyes were already closing. Cameron looked at her fondly before leaving the room, telling the nurses what she'd just told Evvie, and heading for an on-call room to crash for a bit.