2.

It had been 13 hours and 12 minutes since Wilson had first entered Sloan Kettering, the minute they had entered the ward and Cameron's oncologist Dr. Amanda Sherwood had been called things had happened quickly, they had inserted a centre line into Cameron's neck, scanned her abdomen, started her on hyper hydration and given her blood and platelet transfusions as well as high dose antibiotics, and now 13 hours and 15 minutes later as he watched her sleep Wilson couldn't help but fear that she looked worse than she had before.

Her respiration rate was a lot higher than he would have liked it to be, as was her temperature, an oxygen mask sat over her face and her skin was covered in an angry red rash that had been caused by a reaction to the antibiotics.

Standing up he shook the cramp out of his legs before walking over to the window and opening his cell phone.

"Cuddy it's Wilson, listen I won't be in today so can you have one of my residents cancel my clinic appointments and can you tell House that Dr. Cameron won't be in either, in fact she won't be in for a while she's taking a leave of absence."

"And you're the one telling me this because?" Dr. Lisa Cuddy asked understandably confused, as far as she was aware Wilson and Cameron never interacted outside of a hospital setting.

"I'll explain everything later," Wilson assured her as he hung up his phone and turned his attention back to Cameron who was starting to stir.

Blinking rapidly Cameron noticed Wilson stood at the end of her bed as her vision started to clear. "Hey," she breathed, pulling the oxygen mask down off her face.

"Hey," Wilson echoed.

"What are you still doing here?" Cameron asked as she pulled herself into a sitting position, wincing at the constant sharp ache that seemed to have taken up home in all of her joints.

Wilson shrugged. "I thought someone should be here."

"Has Amanda been back?" Cameron asked.

Wilson shook his head. "She'll be in later this morning."

"Did she say anything to you after I fell asleep?" Cameron asked.

A part of Wilson didn't want to replay the conversation to Cameron but another part of him, the doctor side knew that she had a right to know. "With your counts being so acute she thinks it would be best to start treating you on the AML protocol as soon as you are strong enough. As soon as you're over the pneumonia-"

"Pneumonia?" Cameron asked struggling to remember when it had been said that she had pneumonia.

Shaking his head Wilson silently berated himself for not remembering that the diagnosis of pneumonia had been made while she was in a near comatose state from all the drugs that were being pumped into her. "Amanda ordered an x-ray because she was worried that you're oxygen saturation levels were dropping and you were working hard, she was concerned about respiratory infections and as it turns out she was right, the x-ray showed right and left lower lobe consolidation."

"That would explain the oxygen mask," Cameron sighed as she closed her eyes.

"With the AML treatment she wants to start you on is the 3 drug remission induction therapy consisting-"

"Why the 3 drug course why not just 2?" Cameron asked.

Pulling the chair closer to the bed Wilson sat back down. "She'll be able to explain it better but with such a high count she thinks the use of the 3 drugs will give you a better coverage."

"Ok," Cameron agreed. "How long do you think it will be until we start?"

"I'm not your oncologist," Wilson reminded her. "You really should be talking to Amanda about all this."

Opening her eyes Cameron turned to face him. "What if you were?"

"You have-"

"You're just as good," Cameron insisted.

Wilson sighed, leaning back in the chair. "If you really thought that you would have come to me earlier."

"I hoped no one would ever have to find out, I hoped things would stay like they were, burying my head in the sand was my way of dealing but now … now things are different and-"

"Does that mean you are going to tell House, Foreman and Chase?" Wilson asked.

Cameron shook her head slowly. "At the moment I'm surviving a step at a time."

"Even if I was your oncologist I would still suggest the same combination; daunorubicin, cytarabine and thioguanine is the best step forward," Wilson said leaning forward and pulling the oxygen mask back onto her face as the alarm next to her began to beep steadily to let him know her oxygen saturations were dropping.

Cameron took a series of slow, steady breaths relishing the relief the oxygen gave to her aching lungs. "Then it doesn't matter who my oncologist is."

"If I treat you," Wilson began, his voice slow and tentative. "Then it would have to be at Princeton-Plainsboro and then there would be no way of hiding it."

"Maybe … Maybe I'll stay here then," Cameron breathed.

"Cuddy will need to know," Wilson reminded her.

Cameron nodded. "I know. When you go into work today you can tell her all about it."

Wilson watched as Cameron drifted back off to sleep, he was still there a few hours later when a nurse entered the room carrying a unit of blood. "Counts still low?" he asked.

The nurse nodded. "Dr. Sherwood wants her to get 2 more units of blood and another of platelets."

"Listen I have to go and do a few things, I'll be as quick as I can but can you make sure that someone calls me on my mobile if there's any changes?" Wilson asked.

The nurse nodded. "Of course."

"Anything changes, anything at all and I want to know," Wilson insisted.

Standing up Wilson pulled his jacket on, his shirt was creased from spending the night sleeping in a chair, stubble was starting to grow on his chin and he hoped that his breath didn't smell as bad as his mouth tasted. But as he looked over at the woman sleeping in the bed none of that mattered because everything that he had to moan about paled in comparison to what she was facing.

MD-MD-MD

Entering his office House was shocked to find only 2 of his 3 employees sat at the table discussing the latest case.

"Dr. Cameron still on her little excursion?" he asked tapping his cane against the foot of the whiteboard.

Foreman shook his head. "Nope she's off and according to Cuddy she's off for the foreseeable future."

"Well why don't we all take off?" House said. "I mean it's not like we have jobs to do, it's not like there's sick people that need us to realise that they are sick."

"She probably has a genuine reason," Chase offered.

House leaned heavily on his cane. "Did Cuddy say anything else?"

Foreman shook his head, tapping his pen against his hand. "No. Just said that she was off until further notice."

"Cuddy has to know why," House muttered to himself as he stared at the symptoms on the whiteboard.

FEVER.

MIGRAINE.

SEIZURE.

ABDOMINAL SPASMS.

BLOODY VOMIT.

"Right people let's find that diagnosis and seeing as we're down a player I expect you to bring your full game for once," he told them as he turned his attention away from the blackboard trying not to let himself worry about why Cameron had taken off so suddenly.

MD-MD-MD

Entering her office Cuddy was shocked to find Wilson sat in the chair. His shirt looked like he had been sleeping in it for a week and judging from his dishevelled appearance he probably hadn't slept in weeks.

"So you and Dr. Cameron," Cuddy began as she sat down in her chair. "How long has that been going on and how on earth did you keep it secret from House? The guy is a human lie detector."

"There is no me and Cameron," Wilson told her.

Cuddy narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Really? Then how did you know she won't be coming in?"

"Because I'm an oncologist and she has leukaemia," Wilson replied, getting straight to the point.

"Leukaemia," Cuddy stuttered. "H … How?"

Sighing Wilson replied almost mechanically. "It's caused when the bone marrow-"

"I know how leukaemia occurs," Cuddy snapped. "What I meant is when was she diagnosed and how did I not know about this before now?"

"She was diagnosed about 2 and a half years ago now," Wilson told her. "And the reason we didn't find out until now is because it was being well managed by interferon and she had all her medical records put into her married name because she didn't want anyone knowing," Wilson explained.

Cuddy sighed. "Years? It's chronic?"

"CML," Wilson replied.

"And now?" Cuddy asked.

Wilson closed his eyes, he was exhausted after a sleepless night spent trying to sleep in a hospital chair. "She's progressed rapidly from the chronic to the blast phase, at the moment she's receiving symptom care for her low platelet count, low red cell count and the acute pneumonia that is attacking her lungs."

"Where?" Cuddy wondered trying to take onboard everything she was hearing.

"Sloan-Kettering," Wilson answered.

Cuddy nodded. "Good, I mean that's a good hospital."

"Yeah and the oncologist taking the lead on her case is one of the best," Wilson added.

"What's the plan, long term I mean?" Cuddy wanted to know.

Shifting his position Wilson tried to get comfortable, his back was aching from spending so long in uncomfortable chairs. "At the moment her acute symptoms are stopping them from making any concrete long term plans, they've inserted a central line mainly because she's already received such a high volume of blood and platelet transfusion as well as high dose antibiotics, they were concerned they might have to put her on CPAP as she was working so hard and yet her breathing was still struggling but she seems to be improving on just oxygen. Amanda-"

"Amanda?" Cuddy asked, cutting him off.

"Amanda Sherwood, she's Cameron's oncologist," Wilson explained.

Cuddy nodded. "She's good, really good, we did our internship together."

"Anyway her main concern is that because Cameron has progressed so quickly and become so acutely symptomatic and her white count is still rising despite the hyper hydration she's worried that blood vessels may become blocked, if it continues to rise over the net 12 hours she's going to consider using leukopheresis," Wilson said, making sure that Cuddy had all the information, not just so she knew what Cameron was up against but because being able to share the burden with someone made him feel better, he only wished Cameron would allow other people to know.

Cuddy picked up her pen and began to fiddle with it, something she often did when she didn't know what to say. "How … Is … How is Dr. Cameron holding up?"

"How do you think?" Wilson scoffed.

"I suppose it was a stupid question, it's just for once I don't really know what else to say," Cuddy admitted.

Wilson nodded in agreement. "I know."

"I'm fine when there's a policy or protocol that I can refer to but in times like this I'm just as lost as any other concerned colleague," Cuddy sighed, dropping her pen on the table and leaning back in the chair.

"I was hoping I could take a few days off?" Wilson asked. "Or maybe a week," he added. "I have holiday time saved up and I'd be happy to use that it's just I think someone should be there and as we are the only 2 that know I'd like it to be me."

Cuddy nodded her head slowly. "Of course but listen sooner or later House is going to start asking questions and when he figures out that we know something he won't stop until he finds out."

"I know but this is the way Cameron wants and right now I'm not going to fight her on it, I think she's got a big enough battle on her hands at the moment, don't you?" Wilson sighed as he covered his mouth to try and stop himself from yawning.

"Ok," Cuddy relented. "Take as long as you like I'm sure we can find someone to cover for you."

"And House?" Wilson asked.

Cuddy sighed loudly running her hand through her hair. "I'll tell him that Cameron went on a soul-searching mission to Africa to build houses for the orphans."

"He'll never believe that," Wilson told her.

Cuddy shut her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. "I know, I'll figure something out, maybe I'll tell him that Cameron's gone back home to look after a sick Auntie or something but I'll find a way to keep him from digging for as long as possible."

MD-MD-MD

Cuddy had hoped she would have at least a few hours to come up with a good cover story from Cameron's absence but she realised she was wrong when the door to her office flew open just 15 minutes after Wilson left to go back to Sloan-Kettering.

"Cameron has taken a leave of absence?" he asked as he stood opposite her desk.

Cuddy looked up from the form in her hand. "You got the memo."

"You sent a memo?" he asked. "Sorry I didn't get it, you see the person that reads my mail for me has decided not to come into work for the foreseeable future."

"House-"

"What does she want this time?" House asked.

Cuddy shook her head. "I-"

"Does she want another date? Maybe she wants me to take her to Paris," House said as he sat down in the chair not long vacated by Wilson.

"No," Cuddy bluntly answered cutting off House's string of suggestions.

House could sense something in Cuddy's demeanour, there was something more to Cameron taking time off than he had first assumed. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing," Cuddy lied.

House shook his head. "No, you're lying, you're doing that thing you do when you lie."

"What thing?" Cuddy asked trying to change the subject.

House saw straight through Cuddy's diversion tactic. "Don't try and change the subject. What is going on with Cameron?"

"She's had to go home for a while," Cuddy lied, knowing the lie was an easy one to unravel but she hadn't had time to think of anything else before being confronted by House.

"Why?" House asked.

Cuddy took a mouthful of her now cold coffee. "Her Aunt is sick."

"And she couldn't tell me this herself because?" House said, drawing out the question.

"Because she didn't have time before her flight, she came straight to me, we sorted out the paperwork and she went to the airport," Cuddy said, surprised at how convincing her lies were beginning to sound.

House's pager beeped bringing the conversation to an end. "When my patient has stopped dying I will get the truth out of you," House vowed as he limped out of her office.

MD-MD-MD

As Wilson opened his eyes he was shocked to find Cuddy opposite him carrying a takeout bag and proper coffee.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting up and removing the coat that had been laying across him like a blanket.

Cuddy held out the coffee. "I thought you might need provisions."

"Thanks," he mumbled taking the steaming hot coffee from her.

"How is she?" Cuddy asked sitting down in the empty chair next to her.

Wilson looked over to the room behind him, the blinds were closed but he could see the shadow of someone moving around. "They started her on leukopheresis about an hour ago."

"Her white count that high?" Cuddy asked surprised that it had come to that.

Wilson nodded. "And her breathing wasn't getting any better despite oxygen therapy and high dose antibiotics so they've put her on CPAP."

"Shit," Cuddy muttered. "I saw her yesterday morning and she looked-"

"I know," Wilson agreed.

Cuddy might have been a doctor but oncology was not one of the areas she was overly familiar with. "Do they know why she got so sick so quick?"

"Amanda figures it could be because everything hit her at the same time completely knocking all of her body systems out, the pneumonia knocked her respiratory system out which in turn put pressure on her cardiac system, the infection knocked her white cells out of sync and it didn't help that it was already taking a hit from her bone marrow which was rapidly producing leukaemia cells leaving no room for healthy cells like red blood cells and platelets," Wilson explained.

"And they're not worried about tumour lysis syndrome?" Cuddy queried.

"They have her on hyper hydration and prophylaxis for that, hopefully after the leukopheresis her white count will head back to normal and she'll be out of the danger zone," Wilson told her.

Putting the bag of takeout down on the table Cuddy leaned back in the chair. "How's she dealing with all this, she must be-"

"She's too out of it to really know what is going on, she's barely awake for more than a few minutes at a time and even then she can't really talk," Wilson replied.

Taking a long sip from her coffee Cuddy winced as the hot liquid burnt her throat. "Is any of her family here?"

"I don't think she has told them," Wilson frowned suddenly realising that with everything happening so quickly he hadn't had time to realise that no one from Cameron's family had to his knowledge even bothered to call and find out how she is.

"Don't you think that's a bit … well weird?" Cuddy asked.

Wilson narrowed his eyes. "Maybe she doesn't have any family."

"She does," Cuddy retorted.

"How can you be so certain?" Wilson wondered.

Cuddy took another sip of her coffee, this time being careful to make sure it didn't burn her throat. "Because she has someone listen as her net of kin."

"How do you know it's a relation?" Wilson asked.

"It's her brother, at least that's what is states in her file," Cuddy informed him.

Wilson looked at her, his eyes full of suspicion. "And you have everyone's file memorised like this?"

"I might have taken a look at it before I left," Cuddy admitted.

"I don't suppose you happened to make a note of the name and contact number?" Wilson asked.

Cuddy nodded sheepishly. "I might have done, you know just in case."

"Is it a local number?" Wilson questioned.

"DC," Cuddy replied.

Wilson opened up the takeout bag to find a selection of foods from the deli down the road. "As in Washington."

"No as in London," Cuddy snarled. "Of course it's Washington?"

"What does her brother do?" Wilson asked, suddenly realising how little they all knew of Cameron, or at least as far as he was aware how little they all knew of Cameron outside the hospital.

Cuddy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but we could find out."

"We can't call him … can we?" Wilson wondered.

"Why not? I mean his sister is critically ill and he is her emergency contact, he should be here and with what lies ahead Cameron will need all the support she can get and with her refusing to let anyone at work know this seems like the logical option," Cuddy reasoned.

After considering the situation for a few minutes Wilson relented. "Alright, you ring the brother, I'm going to go and sit back in with Cameron, I don't want her to wake up and find she's alone. She's scared enough as it is."

MD-MD-MD

A few hours later Wilson found himself able to breath as Amanda finished bringing him up to date on Cameron's condition, they had taken her off the leukopheresis and her white cell count was reaching safe limits while her breathing had improved enough to allow the CPAP to be replaced by an oxygen mask and then a nasal cannula just a few minutes ago. As Amanda left the room he sunk down in the chair net to the bed watching as Cameron slept, pleased to see that her breathing was better.

"Hey," she breathed opening her eyes and turning to face him.

Wilson smiled at her. "Hey," he echoed.

"How come you're here every time I wake up?" she croaked, her mouth and throat dry.

"Because I have nothing better to do with my time, this way it at least makes it look like I have a life outside work," Wilson joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Cameron smiled. "Glad to be of assistance."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, pleased to see her smile for the first time in what felt like days.

"Tired," Cameron admitted.

Wilson nodded. "I'm not surprised, you've taken quite a hammering over the last 24 hours."

Cameron closed her eyes allowing herself to relax. "And it's only just started," she whispered as she fell back to sleep.

Entering the room for the first time Cuddy was shocked by the young woman's appearance. Cameron's skin was so pale it was practically transparent, she had an angry red rash and large bruises where the doctors had taken blood, lines snaked in and out of her measuring her vitals, giving her fluids and medication and a small plastic tube sat beneath her nose giving her some oxygen to help ease her breathing.

"It is as bad as it looks," Wilson sad as Cuddy cautiously sat down in the chair next to him.

Cuddy didn't say anything instead she turned her attention to the machine recording Cameron's vitals.

"Did you get hold of her brother?" Wilson asked when Cuddy made no move to speak.

Slowly Cuddy tore her gaze away from Cameron and turned to looked at Wilson. "I left a message with his PA, he was busy in a satellite conference call."

"A satellite conference call?" Wilson asked.

Cuddy nodded. "Apparently Cameron's brother doesn't just work in Washington but he works at the White House, he's like in the President's inner circle or something. Anyway he's some important big shot that couldn't be disturbed."

"Not even by the news the that his sister is critically ill?" Wilson asked as he took the news onboard.

Cuddy tapped her fingers against the arm of the chair. "I didn't even get a chance to relay that information. I just said that I was a colleague of his sisters and could he call me as soon as he had the chance because his sister was ill in hospital."

"And?" Wilson asked.

"And she said she would pass on the message," Cuddy sighed as she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes.

Looking over at the bed Wilson couldn't help but wonder about what else he didn't know about Allison Cameron, he hadn't even known she had a brother let alone one that worked with the President, as he watched her sleep he wondered what other secrets were hidden beneath the surface.