Thanks for the reviews, and glad you all are back! You'll find out who's sick, but will House know how to treat her/him OR him/her.
Sorry about the cliffhangers for the chapter's endings, but doesn't it keep you coming back to read? :o) And since I post every day, it's not like I'm leaving you hanging for a week.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWO
"House? Are ... are you there?" she asked after several silent moments.
"Cameron?" he asked, his voice just as shaky as hers.
"Oh, god," she muttered, disbelieving it was actually his voice. "It's re ... really you? You sound ... wrong."
Although House tried to be strong, he was finding it hard to be when he heard her sniffle. He went outside on the porch and leaned against the railing. "What's going on?"
"From what I've pieced together, Wilson was in Cuddy's office yesterday. She's been having a really rough time of ... a lot of things."
House closed his eyes tightly as his stomach churned.
"Cuddy sort of lost it. Wilson took her home as usu ... They had fallen asleep and when she woke up around eight last night, she couldn't wake him up. They brought him in by ambulance a few hours ago and Cuddy called us all in."
'Took her home last night ... as usu ... usual? Couldn't wake Wilson up.' Oh, god.
He couldn't comprehend that—either the fact that there might be something wrong with Wilson or the fact that he apparently had stayed overnight with Cuddy before.
"... Anemic ... severe fatigue ... bruises easily ... House?!"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Have you checked ..." He threw out several tests and asked if they had been run.
"Yes. First we checked autoimmune anemia disorders but nothing. Low blood platelets, Rh normal—"
"Did you check his iron level?"
"That was the first one we ran. It's normal. He does have an ulcer that we're treating. An MRI showed bowel inflammation and he's being prepped now for exploratory surgery."
"Okay." House splurted out more tests to run, ones that Cameron would never have thought to run on her own. " Call me when he's out of surgery," House told Cameron.
"What happened—"
He didn't hear her question because he'd already hung up the phone. He knew what she was going to ask anyway, and he didn't want to explain himself—he never had before. Why start now?
Throwing his head back, he stared at the full moon, its rays breaking through branches partially hiding the cabin.
From the driveway, a roaring engine approached the cabin along with two other cars that parked. A heart beat later—someone else's heart—the Cullens got out of the cars. But House didn't bother looking behind him. He knew it was Bella's truck, and he knew the 'party' was just beginning.
"Are you howling at the moon again?" Jasper called out from Bella's truck as he pulled bags from the bed.
Thought maybe I'd try out the werewolf life, you moron, House thought.
"Oh, yeah, Bella," Edward said sarcastically as he, too, grabbed bags from the bed of the truck, "He's in a fantastic mood." When Carlisle stepped beside him, Edward told him, "We've got a problem."
"Oh, cheer up, Greg," Alice chirped as she bounced beside him on the porch. "You'll like what we got you."
House looked down at her and smirked. "Got me that hooker I asked Santa for?"
"I don't think Tanya would appreciate you talking like that," she snickered as Carmen, Eleazar and Emmett met the Cullens to help with the gifts and luggage.
"Hey, don't drop that. It's break—" Alice started.
Jasper held the bag precariously as he tried to carry too many bags in one hand. Being that both hands were full and overloaded, a bag slipped from his hand, but no one could see what was happening. As the bag hit the hard, crusty surface of the snow-covered driveway, the shatter of glass echoed.
"—breakable," she finished, shaking her head. "That was your present, Jasper."
"Sorry, dear," he said as he picked up the mess.
House turned around to see what had happened but remained silent as he watched the others enter the cabin till they completed bringing in everything.
Carlisle was the last on the porch and approached House. "How's it going, Greg?"
"Been better," he grunted, not looking at Carlisle.
"Carmen told me you've actually been behaving yourself."
House simply shrugged.
"What are you going to do about Dr. Wilson?" Carlisle asked.
Shooting him a sharp look, House asked, "Is nothing of mine sacred?"
"I'm afraid not. You've got an internet connection here. You are more than welcome to do all the research to help him."
"It's not enough, Carlisle. I've got to be there," he told him, trying to control his anger.
Carlisle shook his head adamantly.
"Didn't I pass your stupid-assed test back in June?"
"You've got the resources available here. It's not necessary for you to go."
Carlisle didn't like to be so stern, but he knew he had to be. While it was true House had gained even better control of his thirst urges, Carlisle was well aware that Aro and Caius would return if they found out House was allowed to be 'let loose.' Carlisle did not spend the past century with his growing family to take any chance at losing them.
"I've been a good boy," he said mockingly. Now, his voice was angry.
"We're both doctors. We can work on this together."
"I can heal him," House said, his voice low and strained. "He doesn't have to die."
"Right now, it's not life-threatening," Carlisle reminded him.
House considered his offer and slowly nodded, agreeing to help from Carlisle. "Anything to get out of giving excuses for not getting anyone presents."
Carlisle snickered and put his hand on House's shoulder. "We already knew you didn't, Greg."
~~ * ~~
Drs. Foreman, Chase and Cameron sat in the diagnostics room looking over more test results that had been completed. The sun was shining brightly through the windows right before nine a.m., yet it didn't brighten their spirits. All three were exhausted as they were there all night, although they took turns sleeping on Cuddy's couch.
"God," Cameron said exasperated as she pulled back her hair into a pony tail, "Nothing is coming up."
"Cameron," Chase asked, "who did you call from Wilson's cell phone?"
"Just a number he had programmed," she answered indifferently.
Foreman saw Wilson's cell phone on the table, reached out and grabbed it. Cameron pushed forward to get it before he did, but she failed.
"Let's just see who it was," Foreman said as he checked the contact list of names. "Hmm, nothing unusual," he noted, his voice accusatory.
Foreman had no clue whether the numbers were unusual or not, but he was hoping to evoke something in Cameron and she would spill the beans. Looking at Cameron, he then went into 'dialed calls.' After checking the most recent calls, his eyebrow rose at one particular number, placed after midnight just hours before. What intrigued him the most was the call was placed right before Cameron had the epiphanies about what tests to run.
"360. Let's see what area code that is," Foreman said as he stood and went to the computer.
