HEAR NO EVIL

CHAPTER ONE

She sat on the couch in her living room, flipping through a magazine to try to keep her mind off surgery the next day. It was the toughest decision she'd ever made. But ever since her illness five years ago, she couldn't live that that anymore. All of her friends were either against her, or supported her. And those that were against her were no longer her friends. It was like that, unfortunately. There were so many mixed feelings and opinions about the surgery within the community. She was ready, or thought she was.

But she was 22 and she had the money her Grandmother left her. She threw the magazine on the coffee table and tried to sleep but she couldn't. She felt the vibration at her side and relunctantly stood up to take a shower. That would get her moving. But it didn't. As the lukewarm water fell on her face it felt like ice to her. She stepped out of the shower, dried off, dressed, and headed out the door to wait for the taxi to take her to PPTH.

As the cab parked at the entrance to the hospital she paid the driver and walked toward the entrance. She'd seen the man behind her with a cane in his right hand and several folders in his left but didn't pay any attention to him. She opened the door, walked through and into the lobby to the reception desk to ask where the ambulatory surgery building was. She thanked the woman and turned around to see the same man on his left knee picking up papers. He glanced up just as she walked through the door and they shared a look.

With his head down he said sarcastically to her, "Thank you so very much for keeping the door open for me." She kept on walking to the building next door. She thought about stopping to help him but she was already ten minutes late for her appointment before surgery.

"Geez, doesn't anybody have manners anymore?" The man grunted as he slowly stood up and limped into the building. He didn't want to be in this early anyway, but he had so many papers to fill out to renew his liscense in his office because he didn't get anything done at home. Mario kept calling his name, and the piano keys would play by themselves, so he just had to play them to keep them quiet. They were bored. He felt so guilty that he just had to keep them busy. He walked to the elevator, used his cane to hit the 'up' button and waited.

"Dr. House? Did you have a fire in your apt? What are you doing here so early?" Dr. Chase asked as he looked at his watch. It read 6:28.

"No, but don't talk to me until I've had my coffee. Let's see. First cup at 6:40, I'd say talk to me at 7:00 tonight." He said as the elevator door opened.

"Well, how was it?" Dr. House asked.

"How was what?"

"You're hot little date with Cammie." Just then the elevator door opened and House took a few steps out, then turned around. "Your office is this way." He said as he cocked his head.

"I've got one more floor. I've got something to do." Chase answered as the elevator doors closed between them.

House limped to his office, unlocked the door and set the folders on his desk. He went into the diagnosis room to make a pot of coffee but found Cameron sitting in the dark with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee in the air. He poured his coffee as usual with a little emphasis on making as much noise as he could. He stopped to look at her as he passed by her chair. She was asleep with her head over on her shoulder, one hand in her lap, her arm on the desk and her feet propped up on another chair. He grinned a little then walked back into his office.

He sat down, first looking at Cameron. 'Wonder if she was with Chase again last night.' He thought to himself.

He pulled the folder toward him, opened it, then closed it again. He grabbed his ball and through it in the air a few times. Then he turned his computer on, then put the headphones on and turned on the iPod, then he sat back in his chair to think. But about what? What could he think about? Like, for the next three hours? After a few minutes he sighed and reached for the folder. He pulled out a couple of pages and laid them out in front of him and grabbed his pen. He put the end of the pen in his mouth as he contemplated the questions. 'I need to hire someone to fill out these forms.' He thought to himself. Then he began to write.

He hadn't noticed Cameron standing at the door staring at him. "What? Was I snoring?" She shook her head.

"Cameron, come sit down." He said, and she walked to the chair across his desk and sat down.

"How have you been doing?" He asked with a bit of concern in his voice.

"Fine." She answered, unconvincingly.

"No, you know what I mean. It's not every day I walk into my office and find a woman sleeping in my bed...er, office."

"I don't know how I'm doing."

"I need to know something." House said.

"What? Are concerned about me being a doper or being with Chase?" She snapped.

"Right to the point are we?"

"On which point?"

"Wait. Is my head spinning from you going around in circles?" He asked.

She sighed. "No, I don't have a problem with drugs, anymore."

"And?"

"And what? She asked.

"When are you and Chase getting married?"

"What business is it of yours? I don't ask about your hookers, do I? If I were you I wouldn't be too concerned about me when you have your own issues." She snapped as she stormed out of his office. 'I just love getting her all worked up.' He thought to himself as he went back to filing out the paperwork.

A few hours later after Foreman, Chase and Cameron had been in the diagnosis room he was still working on the papers. But he'd also gone to the bathroom three times, had another two cups of coffee, and took a stroll around the floor. House looked up when the door opened and Wilson walked in.

"I heard a rumor, House." Wilson said jokingly.

"Really? Great? There hasn't been any rumors going around since Foreman kissed Cuddy."

"Oh, I didn't hear about that one."

"You didn't miss anything. She was showing her 'fun bags' again and Foreman just couldn't res..."

"House, I need your help with something."

"Good. What other rumor do you want to start?"

"I got a call from Dr. Johannsen about a patient." Wilson started to explain.

"Foreman kissed a patient? Wait, didn't Chase do that, too? I wanna kiss a patient, too!" House whined.

"It's a 22 year old female patient who was in for a cochlear implantation this morning. Dr. Johannsen said he found an anomaly in her ear canal."

"Anomaly? Isn't that what clownfish live in? I'll check with Chase on that one."

"She's been deaf since she was 17. She contracted mono and lost 92 hearing in her right ear, and 60 in her left. She refuses to wear hearing aids and the past five years have been difficult; it's affected her job performance and most recently she almost sideswiped an ambulance because she didn't hear the siren.

"Wilson, if she doesn't want to wear a hearing aid we can't make her."

"There's more. They've not found any nasal polyps, but she has had acute Rhinitis for years. She's been on every antibiotic and steroid possible."

"Did they check her for adenoids?"

"Yes. They were only slightly swollen."

"So, why didn't they complete the implant?

"Because as Dr. Johannsen made the incision he noticed there was no damage to the cochlear. He stopped the surgery."

"Any sign of cancer?"

"No, none at all."

"okay, you win. Leave her file." House said. Wilson handed House the file folder then walked out the door. As the door closed behind him, Wilson grinned sheepishly. 'He is getting soft in his old age.' He thought.

House grabbed the folder and flipped through the papers. Something was suspicious about her background, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He noticed she was in room #207. He grabbed his cane, the file, and limped out of the office to her room. He knew he should give the three muskateers an assignment, but honestly, he needed the break. As he pushed open the door and looked at the patient sitting up in bed, she looked familiar. 'Please don't tell me it was that girl that slammed the door in my face this morning.' He thought to himself as he walked to her bed, then spread open the blinds to look out the window.

"I'm Dr. House. I've been referred to your case." There was silence. He turned around to look at her.

"Did you say something?" She asked.

"What? Are you deaf?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am. But you'll need to look at me so I can read your lips. I picked that up real quick, especially the curse words." She grinned.

"Oh, just testing you to see if you really ARE deaf, or just a rude person by nature after slamming doors on cripples." He said as he waved his cane.

"Were you the man that was picking up papers outside the door this morning? I am sooo sorry! I didn't know anyone was behind me. I would have helped if I had known I did that."

"Uh, sure, Ms..." He opened the file. "Sherrill. Don't tell me your first name is Cheryl."

"No, it's Carol." She answered seriously.

"Really?"

"No, I just like telling people that. It's Barbara." She said as she laughed. House didn't.

Dr. Chase sat in the chair in the diagnosis room fiddling with some papers that he wasn't even reading. His mind was back at the meeting he'd had with Rog Nelson earlier that morning. Rog was the new intern in the hospital and Chase was able to convince him to draw blood and submit it confidentially for an HIV test.

MONTHS BEFORE…THE MORNING AFTER….Chase and Cameron just had sex.

Chase is lying in his own bed thinking about what happened the night before.

'I knew I shouldn't have gone over there. I never had a clue she would take those amphetamines. What was she thinking? What was I thinking? She had the condom, but she bit my lip. The woman was crazed. I've never seen her like that before. And hopefully never see her like that again.'

Back in the conference room, Chase looked over at Cameron but looked away just as their eyes met. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since they came to the room. It had been like that the past few months, ever since that night it had been awkward for the both of them. But not awkward for House. He kept mentioning the rumor (started by House himself) that Chase and Cameron had sex, but he never got any word out of either of them. 'It's okay,' he thought. 'I've been busy trying to get Stacy fired.'

Cameron sat at the desk going through House's mail. She had been feeling terrible about what happened between her and Chase, but couldn't bring herself to talk to him about it. Thank God her HIV test was negative, for now. She'd have to get the test every three months for a year because the virus usually takes some time to show up in the blood. House walked into the conference room, walked over to the white board and began writing.

'DEAFNESS…ADENOIDS SLIGHTLY SWOLLEN' House pulled out a chair and stared at the board for several minutes.

"Uh, Dr. House, are we in on this case or do you have a memory problem?" Foreman asked, snickering.

"22 year-old female with deafness, no apparent cause. No damage to inner, middle or outer ear and her adenoids are only slightly swollen." Dr House answered.

"Did she ever have meningitis?" Cameron asked.

"No, but she had mono at 17 that resulted in her deafness." Dr. House answered.

"Encephalitis?" Chase asked.

"Negative, but ask her if she's been around horses lately. Check her again and also her Eustachian tube; inflammation there can spread to the middle ear." Dr House says.

"Well? I meant today! Cameron, can you stay a minute?" House asked as Chase and Foreman left the room. Cameron stood behind the chair but not making eye contact with him.

"Cameron, check her background. Her file doesn't add up. There's something there I'm not seeing or she's not telling us. I prefer the latter." Cameron nodded her head and walked out the door.

Cameron walked into Barbara's room. She was there before Chase and Foreman were to get her blood work and other tests he'd ordered.

"Bar—ba--ra. points to herself Doc-tore Cam—r-on…"

"Dr., you don't have to talk slowly. I can read lips fine. Just talk normally." She said as she set down the magazine she was reading.

"okay, I'm sorry. Drs. Chase and Foreman will be here shortly to run some tests Dr. House wants. And I just have a few questions for you, if you don't mind." She said as she pulled the chair up beside the bed and sat down.

"It says here you had mono at 17, and that's when you lost your hearing."

"Yes."

"Were any of your brothers or sisters deaf?

"No. I just had one sister."

"Had? Is she deceased?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, a year before Mom did."

"And what did your sister die from?"

"Achondroplasia, dwarfism. It affected her heart. She was only 15." Barbara said sadly.

"I see here your Mother passed away two years ago. What did she die from?"

"Kidney failure. But she did lose her hearing gradually before she died."

"okay…ah, here are the Doctors. They'll get some blood from you and check your Eustachian tube. It won't hurt at all. I'll be back to see you later, okay?" Cameron asked as she walked out of the door.

"okay, Ms. Sherrill. She was telling you the truth. It's just a little uncomfortable. Let's get Dr. Foreman to get some blood, first. That's the worst part." Chase said as Foreman walked to her side to get blood from her. Foreman noticed her left arm was bent backward a little bit.

"Did you ever break your arm?" He asked.

"No."

"Oh, okay. Looks like a break. okay, ready?" He said as he inserted the needle into her arm and drew blood. He put the vials on the tray and left the room.

"This thin tube right here I'll insert into your nostrils and it will send an image back to this box. Then Dr. House can review it for any inflammation." Chase said. She nodded her head as he slowly inserted the tube, which took about ten minutes.

"Dr. Chase, you got a girlfriend, wife, or significant other?" Barbara asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid so."

"Oh, okay. It doesn't hurt to ask."

"But I think Dr. House is available." He said sarcastically.

"Uh, no offense to Dr. House, but there's something about him I don't like." She answered.

"Oh, he harmless, really. But he knows what he's doing...most of the time." He said as he covered his mouth for the last four words.

"I'm sorry, what was that last part?" She asked.

"Oh, he knows what he's doing. He's a brilliant Dr." Chase lied as he walked out of the room.

After Chase dropped off the tube at the lab for analysis, he headed for the conference room. Cameron was sitting at the table, slumped in the chair with her head against the back, asleep. He quietly laid some papers on the table and pulled out a chair to sit in. Chase sat looking at her. 'She's beautiful asleep.' He thought to himself. After a few minutes the door opened, and in limped Dr. House. He glanced at Cameron, then at Chase.

"Did the stud make Cammie tired today, Dr. Chase?" House snipped.

"Dr. House, would you just stop!" Chase said so loud that it woke Cameron up and she almost fell out of her chair.

"Hu...uh...wha..." Cameron muttered.

"Don't you remember, Cameron, Chase brought you in here this morning." He looked at Chase and winked. "Glad you took care of her, ole' boy." He said as he grabbed his coffee mug and walked into his office.

"Allison, we need to talk. I'm getting worried about you." Chase said as the door closed behind House.

"I'm fine, Chase, really."

"No, you're not. And I think after what we've been through you can call me by my first name." Chase said.

"I SAID I'm fine!" Cameron said as she stood up, then got dizzy, then ran into the bathroom off the conference room. Chase stood outside the door, listening to her vomit into the toilet. He immediately got a knot in the pit of his stomach. He walked back over to the table and sat down, waiting for Cameron to come back out.

"Allison, sit down." Chase told her.

"No, I have to go t..."

"No! You will sit down and we need to talk!" He ordered. Cameron sat in the chair in a huff and folded her arms across her chest, glaring at him.

"Allison," he said, "Are you pregnant?"

"Wha? Hell no!" She scoffed.

"Oh, come on! Either you're pregnant or it's those HIV resistant drugs you are taking that's making you sick. You shouldn't stil...wait, are you are doing those amphetamines again?" Chase asked as he leaned over the table to try to reach her hands. She quickly jerked them away.

"No! You know me better than that, Chase."

"I thought I knew you, but after the night we were together, I'm not so sure. If you are, you have got to get some help."

"House does it! And his Vicodin is worse than what I'm taking."

"And what are you taking, then?" Chase asked. She sighed heavily and leaned against the back of the chair.

"I haven't been sleeping well the past few weeks. I guess the toll of the 'incident' finally just got to me. I've been taking Doral to get to sleep and at first it worked. Then I had to take more, but in the morning I was dragging. Then I started with speed, but now that I haven't taken either of them in a few days, my body is just drained."

"Cameron, you got to get yourself help before you kill yourself." Chase begged.

"I never saw you beg House to go get help! Why, huh? Wait, has he asked you to talk to me?" She asked.

"No, of course not. You're just being paranoid."

"I AM NOT!" She said as she stood up to walk to the door. "And if you tell House we've slept together, I'll make sure you never have children, understand?" She walked out of the room.

She had to go see Barbara, but she had to clean herself up. She walked into the bathroom and ran cold water over her face. She looked in the mirror and didn't like what she saw. She looked like she was a drugged out biker who'd been on the desert for miles. 'I need to stop this. I do NOT need help!' She said as she dried off her face and headed to Barbara's room.

Chase sat in the conference room contemplating what his next move should be. But he knew. Just knew. He jumped when heard something hit the glass door to the conference room and turned around to see House standing at the door. He limped in and sat down across from Chase.

"Have a lover's spat?" House asked. "I heard you two arguing. Is she in trouble?"

"No. Well, yes. Can I talk to you off the record?" Chase asked.

"Sure, but I can't promise I won't start another rumor about her throwing up in the bathroom, you stud!" He snickered. The corner of Chase's eyes became smaller as he glared at House.

"Seriously. There's something wrong with Cameron and I'm afraid for her." House sat up in the chair and gave Chase all of his attention.

Dr. Cameron opened the door to Barbara's room and walked in. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. When can I get out of here? I've got a hot date with a Dr. I met earlier." She joked. Cameron's eyebrows went up then she immediately relaxed them.

"How are YOU, Dr.?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen that look before, in my own mirror. Are you getting help?" Barbara asked.

"Help for what?"

"Oh, you are in the denial stage, I see. Yeah, that was the toughest for me." Cameron walked over to the window and stood facing the bed.

"What are you saying, Barbara?"

"Oh, the 'innocent' stage. I never went through that, but I've heard about it. It's not flattering on a Dr. "I think that Dr. Chase is worth kicking it."

"Wha...?"

"I saw the way you two looked at each other. And he said he has a girl. I just figured that was you." Cameron sighed and dropped her shoulders, almost in defeat.

"I've had problems in the past, yes. And I kicked it. But a couple of months ago, I took Ecstasy. Big mistake. I don't know why Dr. House didn't fi...I'm not here to talk about myself."

"Well, I'm only 22, Dr., but believe me, I've spent alot of time in psychotherapy. I don't mean to pry, I really don't. But I see the pain in your eyes, seen them in my own eyes. Like betrayal. You feel like you betrayed yourself? Your confidence is shot, and you make one mistake." Cameron nodded her head.

Barbara continued: "With me, it took the death of my mother to make me stop cocaine. It was the only way for me to get through the day. My 'big' mistake was letting the love of my life go. Don't give up on that hottie, Dr., if you don't mind me saying."

"Well, I'm here to make you better so you can go home and get on with your life, Barbara."

"Hey, is that Foreman available?" Barbara grinned.

"Uh, no. I don't think so." Cameron answered.

"But I thought hospitals were the perfect place to find a rich, available, good-looking Doc."

"Well, there's House, but you don't want him. He's grumpier than a bear being dragged out of its den."

"OH! I love bears!" She laughed.

"I'll be back later with the results of your tests, okay, Barbara?"

"okay, but here's my business card with my room number on it, in case, you know, you run into any available Drs." She teased. Cameron walked out of the room with a grin on her face.

Dr. House sat in his office with Steve munching on a piece of cheese. Steve stopped and got into his wheel and started running.

"What's my wittle Stevie Weavie doin', huh?" House said as he stuck his finger between the cage bars. "OW!" Wilson walks into the office.

"What's wrong with Cameron, House? She has been acting weird lately."

"Yeah, she's jealous because I had TWO hookers last night." He snickered.

"Did you get any of those forms done, homey?" Wilson asked looking at all the paperwork scattered on his desk.

"No. I'm talking to Cuddy later about getting me a secretary. I wonder if Anjelina is available." House hesitates. "Have you heard from Stacy? She hasn't been in in over a week."

"Her and Mark are having, er, problems, no thanks to you." Wilson answered.

"Yeah, well, I do what I can."

"House, you need to take it easy on Stacy."

"She never made it easy on me, has she?" House said as he looked at the door. Stacy walked in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to talk to Greg, please, James."

"Of course." Wilson said as he walked out of the office.

"What do I owe the honor of your visit to my humble abode?" House said sarcastically.

"I wanted you to be the first to know that you've won."

"Oh! Great! You mean you'll sleep with me now?"

"Oh, stop being an idiot. I know it's difficult for you. But, you know what? I would have slept with you. You were GOOD! But you looked at my file. I never thought you would even stoop that low. I wouldn't sleep with you now if you were the last man on earth."

"Oh, you'll change your mind. Many women have." House snipped.

"Greg, I've made arrangements at another company in Denver. Mark and I are leaving in two weeks." House stares at Stacy with a pouty expression on his face.

"okay."

"okay? That's all you have to say."

"Yes." Stacy left his office. House grabbed his GameBoy and started to play. Dr. Foreman walked into the room.

"Dr. House, when I was taking blood from Barbara Sherrill's arm I noticed it was bent back a little awkward. She said she never broke her arm."

"Maybe she lied." House answered. "Where's Cameron? She hasn't come back with her medical history."

"I think I saw Chase and Cameron go down to the lab." Foreman answered. House threw the GameBoy on his desk, reached for his cane. "Come on. Let's see if we can stop them from giving each other hickies. That is just sooo gross."

Drs. Wilson and House walked into the lab to find Chase at a microscope and Cameron with her laptop on the desk.

"Darn, we're too late, Foreman. I guess I'll have to sneak a peek at the hickies later." Foreman shook his head as he walked over to Cameron. "What have you found?"

"Ms. Sherrill's T-cells are fine, no encephalitis, meningitis..." Cameron answers taking the glasses off.

"And her Eustachian tube is clear." Chase said.

"What is her medical background, Cameron?" House asked.

"Her mother died two years ago of kidney failure, and her sister died at 15 of Achondroplasia with heart failure. Other than her upper respritory infections she's basically been healthy. Cameron answered.

"Is there any history of drug use?" House asked.

Cameron hesitated, "No."

"Did you ask her if she'd been around horses, Dr. Cameron?" House asked.

"Oh, no. I forgot."

"Oh, never mind. I'll do your job for you." House said as he walked out the door. Chase, Foreman and Cameron looked at each other in confusion.

House limped down the hall to the elevator when he ran into Rog, the new intern. Rog hit the 'up' button.

"So, I heard you had an early morning this morning." House asked Rog.

"Yes, sir." Rog answered, seeming very nervous.

"So, how did it go?"

"How did what go, Sir?" House loved it when he made an intern so nervous they 'Sir'd' him. "The meeting with Chase."

"Fine, Sir." He answered staring at the floor display.

"Chase said he was happy with the end result?" House egged Rog on.

"Oh, he got the results back already? I hope it wasn't HI..." House glared at Rog.

'Ah, so it WAS an HIV test, and they DID have sex. Wow, ammo. I LUV it.' House thought to himself. The elevator door opened on the lobby floor and Rog walked off. "Have a fabulous day, Rog!" House said sarcastically. Rog turned around to answer him but ran into the wall. He rubbed his forehead as the elevator door closed. House got a huge grin on his face. House walked off to talk to Barbara in her room but she wasn't there. Good. He didn't want to see her anyway. Just as he turned around to leave Barbara stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh, Dr. House. I was wondering when I'd see you again. Did Dr. Cameron give you my business card with my number on it?" She asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Pardon me?" House asked, thinking she had given Cameron the card for him.

"Never mind. When am I going to get out of here?"

"Are you gonna drink this?" House asked as he pointed to the unopened can of Pepsi.

"Not if you're going to charge me $200 for it. Help yourself."

"No, I'll send the charge to a Lisa Cuddy. She'll take care of the bill." He said as he grabbed the can, took out three Vicodin and swallowed them down.

"Dr. House, what's wrong with Dr. Cameron?"

"What do you mean?" He asked as he leaned against the wall.

"I don't think I should be talking with you about that." House looked at her confused, wanted to ask her about it but needed to ask some questions.

"Ms. Sherrill, have you been around horses, lately?"

"Yeah. My aunt has a farm in Pennsylvania. I spent a couple of weeks down with her."

"Ah, I see. Now, I understand your sister died of heart failure at a young age. Is there any other history of that in your family?"

"No, not that I can remember."

"May I see your arm, please?" House asked as he approached her bed. She extended her right arm, but House lowered it and raised her left arm. He looked at the inside of the elbow very closely, then verified that indeed her arm was slightly bent backward.

"Ms. Sherrill, are you right hand or left handed?"

"What difference does that make?" She asked.

"Right or left?" He asked impatiently.

"Right handed, why?"

"Because I noticed needle marks on your vein there." He pointed to the inside of her elbow.

"Oh, those. I did heroin." She said nonchalantly.

"When?"

"Right after Karen got really sick, my sister. I was 16." House looked at her seriously. "For how long?"

"Until after my mom died two years ago." House thought for a moment. "So, you did heroin for four years, correct?"

"Wow! You figured all that in your head? Hey, are single?" House stared at her dumbfounded and cleared his throat.

"Yeah. I'm not proud of it. Just proud that I kicked it. Why are you so concerned about that?"

"I'm not. You were 17 when you got mono, right? How soon after that did you lose your hearing?"

"That was during the time Karen was really sick. Mom was working two jobs, I was babysitting for three families and it was tough. I was doing heroin right before I got the mono. Mom was so stressed out, and when she was at work I'd take care of Karen."

"I see." Dr. House answered. "I'll send Dr. Foreman in to get some more blood. What did you mean when you were talking about Dr. Cameron?"

"We were just talking about any available Drs. here. But I do like Foreman. He has beautiful eyelashes. And your blue eyes! Wow! Bet you get alot of women with those eyes."

House looked down at the floor just as his beeper went off. He took it off his belt hook, looked at it and left the room. He walked down the hallway from the elevator to Cuddy's office; it was her that paged him.

"You rang?" House asked in his best Lurch voice as he walked into her office.

"You remember that patient a while ago? Sarah Lewis? She's back."

"Oh, I thought I'd cured her of her hallucinations. Don't you want to see her? She might have a message from your great-great grandfather." House said sarcastically.

"No, you see her again, House. She saw you first."

"Oh, so, are you saying I'm better than you are?"

"No, I'm just saying I don't want to get my $250 designer blouse dirty." Cuddy answered. "Now get going. She's in exam room 3." House left Cuddy's office and walked back to the elevator. He'd been thinking about the last time he met the psychic psycho:

FLASHBACK TO THAT TIME

"What's your problem today, uh, Ms. Lewis?" House asks as he looks at chart.

"It says it right there on my chart." She says as House looks up with a 'you smart-a$$' look.

"Yeah, I can read. How long has your ear been bothering you?"

"The past two months. I've been on Prednisone, 3 different antibiotics, had CT Scan and I'm still having monster headaches, dizziness and my right ear has been really bad. I've missed one to two days a week since then, and it's still not getting any better."

"Stand up." House walks toward the woman.

"Close your eyes and stand as still as you can." She does so. House grabs his GameBoy out of his pocket, sits down and starts playing.

"What are you doing?" She asks after a few moments.

"Waiting for you to fall on your face."

"Dr...House...are you PMSing today?" House sighs and stands up.

"okay, okay. Do it again." She does so again, slightly rocking to and fro.

"okay, open your eyes. Have you had any damage to the area behind your ear?"

"Yes, a car accident in '92. But I've never had problems with my ear; it was the sciatic nerve. I did physical therapy."

"I want you to get an MRI." House writes something on a piece of paper.

"Take this to the basement; have them bring me the results back. In the meantime..." House takes out a bottle, pops the lid and hands the woman three tablets.

"These will make you feel all better! Take one before you go to bed tonight then when needed afterward. No alcohol, tho. You amateurs can't handle the mix." She takes the pills from his hand and he starts to walk away.

"Dr., don't think I'm a nut case, but who's Liz, or Lizzie?" House stops dead in his tracks and reaches the door handle without answering.

FLASHFORWARD TO THE PRESENT

It really unnerved House about her, and about LizBeth. He shrugged the whole thing off as he proceeded to exam room 3. He opened the door to see her lying on the exam table. She turned as he walked into the room.

"Hi, Dr. House." Sarah Lewis said.

"Hi. What brings you back to see me? How are those voices of yours? Are you answering them back, yet?" House said sarcastically as he opened the file with her medical background.

"You're very funny, Dr. You remind me of my brother. He is an arrogant, pompous jerk, too." She laughed then grabbed her stomach. "My regular OB/GYN is out of town and I've been having alot of pain, cramps, and I'm passing clots."

"How big are they? Are you bleeding excessively?"

"About the size of a grape. Every time I stand up I pass one, then the pain immediately goes away. It happened four times yesterday. The pain was so bad I didn't go to work. Yes, the flow is heavy."

"Can you tell me your prior menstrual cycles?"

"They were pretty irregular, forever. The longest I've gone is a year. I've been diagnosed with PCO, polycystic ovaries, especially my right one. Then, three years ago I was diagnosed with cervical dysplasia..."

"A precancerous cervix. What procedures have been done?" House interrupted.

"Yes. One of my PAP smears showed moderate to severe dysplasia. I had inpatient surgery for a cone biopsy and the Dr. discovered my uterus was also showing abnormal cells, so she did a DNC. Then, every three months for a year I'd have the LEEP procedure, three months later, a PAP smear. And they always showed up the same, or when the cervix was fine, my uterus wasn't. Finally when she put me on Provera my periods were regular, but then I passed clots the other night."

"She test you for the Human papillomavirus?"

"HPV? Yes. The type of strain I have doesn't cause cervical malignant cancer but is a result of the HPV. Finally, after she did cryosurgery, I had the required PAP smears that were normal. I've been fine the past year until the clots."

"Sounds like you did your homework." House commented.

"Yeah, I'm a Google freak. I'm just worried that maybe some ovarian cysts burst, and that's why I'm passing clots."

"Very good. I'll give you a prescription for Motrin 600 for the pain, and you need to get an ultrasound of your ovaries done. If that doesn't show anything, we'll do another cone biopsy. The HPV may have come back." House said as he wrote on his pad. He handed the paper to Sarah.

"I'll get Dr. Wilson in if need be." House said as he started for the door.

"Is Dr. Wilson an oncologist?" Sarah asked almost excitedly.

House noticed it and turned around. "Yes, he is." House left the exam room. Sarah sat on the exam table with a smile on her face.

House walked into his office and plopped in his chair, taking the bottle of Vicodin out of his pocket and downed a couple. It had been a long two hours of work for him; he couldn't take another patient. Cuddy walked into his office and stood at his desk.

"You're not going to sit down? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" House snipped.

"That depends. I was wondering what you are doing on Thursday? I know you avoid your parents so I didn't think you'd be going to see them."

House's eyebrows rose with interest. "Are you asking me out on a date in two days?"

"No. I'm asking you if you'd like to come over for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm in the mood to cook but don't want to cook for just me. What do you say?"

"Are you making a ham or turkey?" House asked.

"Turkey." She answered.

"With turkey stuffing or cornbread stuffing?"

"Cornbread stuffing."

"Are you having sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes?"

"Would you like the whole menu? okay, I'm doing a turkey with cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, potato salad, cranberry slices and rolls." She said exasperatingly.

"Ew, I don't like cranberry slices. Can we have corn instead?"

"Sure. I think I have a can of corn." She said.

"No, I don't like canned corn. Can you do frozen corn?" House asked.

"Wait a minute! I only asked if you wanted to join me, not build a whole menu on what you do or do not like."

"okay. One more question." House said.

"WHAT?" Cuddy snapped.

"What's for dessert?" House said with a grin.

"Bring whatever you want to bring! I don't care. Be there at 4, okay?" She said and left the office.

'Man, I need to find another profession. Like, Master of "How to Tick People Off 101. I'm GOOD at this!' House laughed to himself.

Just then Cameron walked into the conference room, sat at the table and went through the papers in a file. House just stared at her. She still wasn't acting right to him. He was starting to get just more than concerned, which was rare of him and he knew it. But after what 'that deaf girl' said, he had to find out. He grabbed his coffee mug and walked into the conference room. Just as House entered the conference room Dr. Cuddy opened the door.

"May I see you outside, Dr. House?" She asked.

"I didn't do it! The patient said I could!" He said as he rolled his eyes at Cameron before walking out into the hall.

"There's just been a memo sent out that all employees must take a required drug test tomorrow." She said.

"Wow. Guess I'm fired, huh?" He said with a smirk.

"No. But I wanted to give you a heads up." She said. House nodded his head and walked back into the conference room.

"Barbara Sherrill said she had been around horses on her Aunt's farm over the summer." Cameron said as she took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "And Chase confirmed she didn't have nasal polyps."

"okay. Get an equine encephalitis test, wait, I didn't ask for Chase to check for nasal polyps. What a moron. I asked for her Eustachian tube be checked. Would you take care of that?" House said as he sat down across from her.

"The chances of a horse passing on encephalitis to a human is rare." Cameron stated as she nodded her head to his question.

"Yeah, and so is a certain Dr. of mine taking amphetamines." House responded. She just looked at him blankly. "Oh, I know all about that." House said.

"Chase has got a big mouth."

"Not really, it was just a theory, until now." House said with a satisfying grin. "What's going on, Allison?" Cameron slumped in her chair. "I've been, uh, stressed out lately."

"Why haven't you come to me?" House asked.

"Why do you care? You're not the most comforting person to come to for emotional support."

"How long before your last check?"

"Six months...two more to go."

"I want you to take tomorrow off. Have a nice five day weekend. I'm sure you want to be with your family. But you and I have some talking to do next week. I wanna be the only drug addict in Diagnostics." House said with a wink.

"I can't take off tomorrow. There's Barbara's tests to do and some pa..."

"Cameron, don't argue with me. It'll be covered. Mabye Rog can handle that. He's a newbie. He can pick up the slack from you pros." House said.

"I'll see. I have to go check Barbara's ears." She said as she walked out of the room.

Dr. Cameron walked into Barbara Sherrill's room in the early afternoon to find her lying in bed with the covers up to her shoulders.

"How are you feeling, Barbara?

"I think I'm coming down with something. I've got a cough now and have a sore throat. Think I have a fever, too." She answered.

"Well, your face does look flushed. Let's get your temp." Cameron said as she went to a cabinet and pulled out a thermometer.

"I'm going to need one more blood test and check your Eustachian tube. I'll only be a minute, okay?" Cameron said as she walked to her bed. Cameron put the thermometer in Barbara's mouth and checked her pulse from her wrist. After a few moments the thermometer beeped, Cameron took it out and looked at it, frowning.

"Barbara, do you have a headache?" Barbara's eyes rolled in the back of her head and her body shook with a seizure. She grabbed her, turned her on her side and screamed for help. Several nurses ran into the room as they tied her down and Cameron administered Adavan. Her seizure slowly died down. She took blood from her vein, checked her ears and her pulse.

"Keep a close eye on her, will you, please?" She said to one of the nurses as she left the room.

Cameron personally dropped the blood off at the lab and asked for the results as soon as possible. The tech mumbled something about going out of town and the tech that comes in in the morning will do the test. Cameron walked back up to Dr. House's office to give him the update on Barbara when he saw House loudly reprimanding Chase over the nasal polyps he checked instead of the Eustachian tube. Chase's back was to the door, and when House saw her he waved her in.

"Barbara has just had a seizure.." Cameron said as she relayed the news to Dr. House. She hesitated before she said the tubes were clear.

"You may leave, Chase." House said angrily as he glared at him. Cameron followed him out the door.

"okay, I've had enough. I'm going home. Gotta get ready for my BIG date on Thursday." House said out loud as he turned the computer off, grabbed his bike helmet and headed out the door.

Later that night, House sat in his recliner in his apartment, ate a t.v. dinner and watched a movie. He'd been meaning to watch this GREAT movie called Maybe Baby with British actor Hugh Laurie that he'd heard was really funny. While he was watching the movie and done eating he reached in his pocket for some 'goodnight pills' and found the bottle empty. He cursed and stood up to go to the dining room table where he'd left the newly filled prescription. As he passed his bookshelf he glanced at a photo album. He went to the table, popped a couple of pills, walked back to his recliner but stopped to grab the album.

He sat down and thumbed through the book. He got to a picture of a man and woman standing next to each other, arm in arm with huge smiles on their faces. The man was in his late 20's with a full head of hair, and the woman looked the same age. He grinned as he recalled when the picture was taken.

HOUSE'S MEMORY:

Greg House and Lisa Cuddy went on vacation together to Lancaster, PA the summer they interned at Princeton Medical College together. They were standing in front of an Amish buggy they'd passed after they ate at Good and Plenty Restaurant. Lisa bought an Amish-made quilt for an outrageous amount of money, but she liked it. It was one of the best vacations he'd had.

There was a knock on House's door. He grunted and stood up, went to the door and opened it. Cameron stood there looking exhausted.

"I was just on my way home from the hospital and wanted to drop by to tell you Bar..."

"Can this wait til tomorrow, 'cuz I'm expecting my hooker any minute." House asked.

"The Equine Encephalitis test did come back positive, and she's in a coma now." Cameron said as she tried to peek into House's apt. House noticed and opened the door wide to let her pass.

"Oh, you're watching Maybe Baby? That is such a goood movie!" She said as she walked to the couch beside the recliner. She noticed the album was open to the pic of the two.

"Wow, you've got hair!" She teased. "Who's the woman?" She asked, then realized it was Cuddy.

"Oh." She said rather disappointed. Just then the phone rang.

"Hello? Yeah, hi, baby..." a moment of silence. "You'll be over in five minutes? Great, see you then. I've got the condoms." He said as he hung up the phone.

"That was Bambi. She'll be ov..."

"I know, I heard." She said as she walked back to the door. "See you tomorrow, Dr. House."

"No, I told you to take a day off. Really, we can cover everything. Besides, I have to keep Chase and Foreman busy, don't I?" He said with a wink.

Cameron didn't say anything else as she walked out the door. House closed it behind her, headed to the window to watch Cameron make it to her car safely, then headed for the phone to call Wilson back. He had no clue what House was talking about.