Off To Work We Go

As soon as Cameron found a radio station she liked, House changed it. Cameron would counter by changing it back to her station, but House would just flip it back. In the backseat, Foreman and Chase were rolling their eyes. This was going to be a long and frustrating ride if House and Cameron couldn't get along. They weren't in the mood to play babysitter either. After Cameron had changed the station for the fifth time, House spoke up.

"What did I say about chick music?" he shot at her.

"That was NOT chick music," retorted Cameron. She changed the station to a country channel. "THIS is chick music!"

"Sounds the same to me," said House.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Fine, what do you suggest?"

As soon as House pulled up to the next set of lights, he yanked an iPod out of the pocket of his leather jacket. It was attached to a cord. "Plug it in," he said.

"To what?" asked Cameron, completely confused as to how these things worked.

House sighed. "The cigarette lighter, duh."

Cameron took the iPod from him and plugged it into the cigarette lighter. Minutes later, the Rolling Stones could be heard blasting through the speakers of the SUV. Nonetheless, House continued to turn the volume higher and higher.

"Turn it down!" shouted Cameron above the music.

"What's that?!" shouted House. "I'm sorry! I can't hear you!"

Cameron huffed in frustration, and she turned the music down herself. "Shouldn't we be getting to work?"

"Work?" asked Chase from the back seat. "How are we supposed to work?"

"I don't see any patient near by, do you?" added Foreman.

Cameron held up Elizabeth's file. "We could at least go over her file," she said. "I could call them and get a better history."

House took the file from Cameron's hands and threw it into the backseat.

"Hey!" she shouted. "What was that for?!"

"No work," said House.

"But—," Cameron started to speak, but was interrupted by Foreman.

"Look," he said. "Why don't Chase and I start brainstorming ideas, and you can get a history."

Chase sighed. He was actually hoping for a vacation for once in his poor, rich boy's life.

"Oh relax, Chase," said House. "I'm sure Foreman will do most of the work anyways."

Cameron pulled out her cell phone. "Can I have their number please?"

Foreman dictated the number to Cameron, and it wasn't long before a woman picked up on the other end.

Woman: Hello?

Cameron: Hello, ma'am. My name is Dr. Allison Cameron. Is Martha Mattock available?

Martha: This is she.

Cameron: Oh, hello, Mrs. Mattock. I work for Dr. House, and I was just calling to get a better history on Elizabeth.

Martha: You work for Dr. House? Do you know when you guys should be out here?

Cameron: We're hurrying, Mrs. Mattock. We're actually on the road as we speak.

Now, since we can't legally practice in Louisiana, we'll need to be prepared to consult another doctor on this case.

Martha (confused): What?

Cameron: It's illegal for my colleagues and me to practice medicine in any state but New Jersey. So, in order for us to treat your daughter, we'll need another doctor set up to treat Elizabeth. A specialist, pediatrician, physician, anything will work. Can you do that for me?

Martha: Um, I suppose I could call her pediatrician. So, does that mean you won't be helping Lizzie?

Cameron: Well, Mrs. Mattock, we'll technically be consulting another doctor on the case. Legally, we won't be her attendings. We won't have the final say in anything, but we will be giving our advice and input as to her treatment and options.

Martha (reluctant): Okay, I'll call her pediatrician, I suppose. Is that all you wanted?

Cameron: Actually, no, Mrs. Mattock. I called to get a history on Elizabeth.

Martha: Isn't there one in her file?

Cameron: Dr. House likes us to go into a bit more detail. You'd be surprised how often it turns out to be something that should be in the file, but isn't.

Martha: Okay, what would you like to know?

Cameron: Can you please give me the causes of deaths for her father, grandparents, and any other relatives that you can? It would also be ideal if you could describe her usual activities for me… sports, clubs, school, things like that. And, if you can, describe the environment that you live in. I know it's asking a lot, but it's very important.

As Martha proceeded to give Cameron a better history, the boys were in the backseat working on a rough differential. Foreman had pulled a notebook and a pen out of Cameron's backpack, and they were currently treating it as their temporary whiteboard. So far, they hadn't been able to come up with anything that Elizabeth's other doctor's hadn't already ruled out. As soon as Cameron hung up the phone, she turned to give tell the boys the information she had learned so that they could add it to their notes (they weren't legally her doctors, so they couldn't add them to her chart).

"What'd you find out?" asked Chase.

Cameron read over the notes she had taken from her phone call:

Mother: Hay fever, otherwise healthy

Father: Died in car crash

Brother: Died in the same car

Grandfather (father side): Died in the same car

Grandmother (father side): Died of pancreatic cancer

Grandmother (mother side): Still living – healthy

Grandfather (mother side): Died of West Nile Virus – cause, mosquito bite

Parents both only children; no other relatives have died.

"That's not very helpful," sighed Chase. "Car crashes aren't genetic. Neither is West Nile. I suppose we could check for pancreatic cancer, but I doubt that's what's causing all this."

"Maybe it's some other type of cancer," suggested Foreman with a shrug.

"There's more," added Cameron. She continued to read her notes allowed.

Attended private school – Catholic

Home schooled after quarantine

On swimming/diving teams

Taken off the teams after quarantine

Volunteered in local hospital one day a week

House is near the lake, but Elizabeth never swims in there (too swampy)

Has had no visitor since quarantine besides her tutor, her mother, and her grandmother

"She went to Catholic school?" asked Chase.

"Unless you thing nuns did this to her," said House, "I think we can move on to the next point."

Chase rolled his eyes. "Chemicals from the pool? Fungi from the lake? Insect bites? Toxins or infections from the hospital?"

"We've got a lot of tests to run," said Foreman.

"And no patient to run them on," added House. "Cameron, you get us a dummy yet?"

"A what?" she asked.

"A dummy," he repeated. "If we're going to treat this kid, I don't want some Louisiana doctor getting in my way. We want a doctor who cares about her, but will let us do whatever we want to her."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "The mother is going to try and get the pediatrician to meet with us."

House nodded. "And when she calls, tell her I want blood tests, an MRI, and a CT."

Chase and Foreman looked at each other reluctantly.

"House," said Chase quietly. "She's quarantined."

"We could have the local hospital send over a portable MRI and a nurse," said Foreman. "But they're probably going to be just as reluctant."

House huffed. This was going to be a tricky one, wasn't it? Not only was he going to have to figure out a way of diagnosing this girl without his usual battery of tests, but he was also going to have to do it with the supervision of a pediatrician. In his opinion, that was no way to cure a dying girl.