The Secret Lives Of Others - Chapter One – When We Collide
Death is not the end but a mere beginning in the true journey to come. Do not fear the very thing that will set you free. Do not fear the very thing that you cannot escape
Unknown
She did not fear death the way that many of her friends did. How could she? Death had taken her parents when she was sixteen and now it was coming for her. She had seen thousands of doctors and they had all said the same thing: illness unknown. At eighteen there were still so many things that she wanted to do. Find her birth mother was one and actually getting to live like a normal teenager for a while was another. That would never happen now. So she stayed in her seat, in the same house she was raised in, awaiting the undeniable arrival of death. It was bound to come at some point. It always did.
House said nothing as he read through the file, his feet on the table, popping his gum occasionally. This was the moment he loved. He knew that they were waiting for him to say something, to do something. They were all but diving over the table to get their grubby little hands on the file that was clutched in his own. Even though he finished the file, he waited another ten minutes before putting it down with a bored sigh. As soon as the slim card board hit the table, Cameron snatched it up and read it quickly.
"She has a lot of symptoms"
"Good. We can get this done fast and move onto something else far more interesting"
"According to this, she has seen hundreds of doctors with no result. That is interesting"
"Not enough for a person like me Cameron. I'm like Indiana Jones, I need constant action"
Cameron rolled her eyes before allowing the file to slip out of her hand and land in front of Chase and Foreman, who had given up and were waiting patiently for their next case. Truth be told, Cuddy had made him take the case. Apparently the girl had made a plea to her to find the best doctor who could help save her life. Cuddy, being the big breasted marshmallow that she was, agreed. And so he was stuck with a case that he had no real interest in. He didn't even know the girl's name. All he knew was that he was being forced into a position that he hated being in. That of a charity case. This disease, whatever it was, had better be good. No, it had better be damn good. He had better things to do. The General Hospital marathon was on T.V in a few hours and he wanted to be there for it.
"So, what do we know my minions?"
"She's sixteen"
House turned and glared at chase.
"Well done Einstein."
"We don't know that much House! What makes you any different from the hundreds of other doctors before you?"
"Because I know what I am doing. Now tell me what her file says"
Chase picked it up and frowned as he read down a very short list.
"Dehydration, low red blood cells, low white blood cells, sleep deprivation, sleep walking, weight loss, hair loss, weakness, dizzy spells and nausea. It almost sounds like all this girl needs is a good night's sleep. Everything can be traced back to not sleeping"
"Well done Chase, go tell the patient she's cured while the rest of us continue to work. Silly Wombat"
Cameron frowned at her boos.
"Do you even know her name?"
"Why do I need to know it?"
"Because at some point you will have to address her. Either to save her or tell her she's dying."
"Fine Little Miss Empathy, what is her name?"
"Brett Ashley Hogan"
"Dear God, what kind of person would give their girl a boy's name?"
Cameron rolled her eyes again for the second time that morning. He liked to keep count that way when her eyes eventually fell out, he would have a number to give to the reporters.
"She's named after the heroine in Hemingway's 'Fiesta'. Did you read any good books in high school?"
"The only good books were those with naked woman on the front and in the middle. Anything else was and still is a waste of my time. How was she found and bought here?"
"According to the police report she was found by a neighbor. Brett talked to Cuddy while she was waiting to be seen."
"So she's stubborn. Is there a photo there? Is she pretty? Because if she is, I am SO meeting her now"
Chase found the picture in the back of the file and slid it over to House who caught in with both hands. Brett was pretty, with long brown hair and big blue eyes. In fact, he looked a lot like someone he knew.
"It does not look like she had any hair loss to me"
"That's a wig"
"Oh. That explains it then. Right I want you to collect every bodily fluid that you can and run the normal tests."
All three of them got up from their seats and left. House remained where he was, picking up the file that had been left abandoned on the table. He flicked through it idly before putting it down again. He had no interest in this. He wanted to go home.
Cameron was startled by the young girl's sick looking appearance. No sixteen year old should look as sick as she did. Her hair was all but gone, her skin hanging off her bones and dark circles around both her eyes. She looked like someone who was coming out of the tail end of cancer treatment. Cameron approached the bed with what she hoped was a confident smile.
"Hello Brett, I'm Dr. Cameron"
The girl frowned at her, her voice husky when she spoke.
"I thought I was under Dr. House"
Cameron waved off the urge to sigh. They always thought that he would be there caring for them. Truth be told, they did the work and he came in afterwards to save the day. No-one really saw what went on behind the scenes.
"Dr. House is busy right now but he has read your file and that is why I am here. He wanted to run some tests."
Brett laughed a bitter laugh that didn't sound right on her.
"They always do that. Almost as if they expect a big neon sign telling them what is wrong with me"
"You need to have faith"
"In what? I'm going to die. Just like my parents did"
Cameron said nothing as she collected samples of saliva and blood. That done, she settled down at the end of the bed.
"Tell me what you know of your family history"
"Not much. I'm adopted. My biological mother was sixteen when I was born and she gave me up for adoption"
"So you have no idea of your biological background?"
"No. I think that's why it's so hard for people to diagnose me"
"Ok, so do you know anything about your birth mother?"
"Not really. Like I said she was sixteen and unwed. It was a closed adoption so my parents never met her."
"That's it?"
"I was planning to meet her when I turned twenty. I guess that idea is down the toilet now, isn't it?"
"We are going to do our best to get you better"
Cameron got up to stand but Brett used a hand to grab her wrist.
"I remember something else about my biological mother. She was training to be a doctor"
Cameron nodded, made a note and walked out the door. She kept walking until she got to the bathroom and once there she promptly brought back up her breakfast. This was it. This was the moment she had been dreading for the last sizteen years. Someone knew her secret. Worse still, that secret was sitting on her own doorstep. She slipped onto the cold, tiled floor and allowed herself to step back to the past.
She found House in his office, feet up, his eyes glued to the television.
"Did you run the tests?"
"Results are pending"
"Then why are you here interrupting my T.V time?"
Cameron said nothing, just took the seat on the other side of the desk and watched the show with him. He didn't want her there but she needed to be. For some bizarre reason, she needed House to know what she now knew. She needed him to confirm her suspicions. Finally an ad break came and House switched it off.
"So what do you want?'
"I have a problem"
"What?"
Cameron sighed, closed her eyes and allowed the truth to slip from her lips.
"I think Brett is my daughter"
House said nothing but she knew that when she opened her eyes, he would be studying her. He was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth.
"Maybe it would be good for you to back up a little Cameron. From the top now"
"I got pregnant at sixteen and gave the baby up for adoption. I think that Brett is that baby."
"In a much larger form of course."
"Not really a time for jokes House"
"Just stating the obvious. Why are you telling me this?"
"I need you to run a paternity test. I need to know"
House nodded and then his mind slipped into yet another gear.
"Do you want to know if you gave this to her?"
"Excuse me?"
"She's lived like this for most of her life. That leans towards the fact that it is most likely genetic rather then a plain boring normal person illness."
"So I could be the reason for this?"
"Shame on you and your whore like ways."
Cameron shook her head and opened her mouth so that he could get the sample, watching him as he popped it into a clear sample bag.
"So where to from here?"
"We wait for the results from this and you are not to go near that kid until we do"
"What are you going to do?"
House frowned and flicked the T.V back on.
"The only thing a sensible person can do. I'm going to watch some more General Hospital"