A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out. Writer's block got me, and then real life got me haha. This is shorter than the others but hey, that happens. I hope you don't find House too OOC in this chapter. I went with what popped into my head. The chapter changed direction from what I initially had in mind, but I think it works. Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor so if some of this seems medically impossible, just go with it. Love you guys!
Misery Loves Company
The doors to the ER slammed open and Cameron was brought in first, followed by House. They were both still unconscious but amazingly there wasn't a lot of blood, considering the severity of the crash.
Twenty minutes later, Cuddy came in. "What the hell happened?" she shouted while Chase was shouting orders to the other doctors and nurses.
"Head-on collision with a garbage truck. Thankfully they still had their seat belts on but..no airbags, and no locking mechanisms on the belts."
"Weren't they driving Cameron's car?"
Chase shook his head. "No, it was House's Vette. Cameron was driving."
Cuddy closed her eyes to steady herself. "So what do we know?"
"Cameron has a broken leg and a concussion from when her head hit the steering wheel. House looks like he has a few cracked ribs from his chest making contact with the dash and several lacerations from broken glass. They'll live, but I don't know how long Cameron's going to once House finds out about his car."
Cuddy hid the smile that was itching to come out. "Get them into the ICU when they're done here."
"Dr. Chase..Dr. House isn't breathing..there's a ton of fluid in his lungs."
"Shit!" Chase hissed as he rushed over to his boss's bedside. "It's a pleural effusion. Start draining!"
**
They managed to drain all the fluid from House's lungs and bandage his chest to help heal his broken ribs but that was all they could do. Cameron's leg was cast and she seemed to be doing okay, even though she hadn't woken up yet. All the tests came up normal and it appeared she was just in a deep sleep from being severely knocked out when her head hit the steering wheel.
House was the first to come around and at first he didn't know where he was, or why he was there. But the familiar surroundings made him feel a sense of relief. He glanced over and saw Cameron lying in the bed next to him. Her leg was in a cast, propped up, and her head was bandaged. She was still asleep and even with the cuts and scrapes, he thought she looked like an angel.
"Cameron.." he said, his voice a little weak. When he tried to move, he felt a stabbing pain in his chest and he winced. What the fuck? His chest felt like 100 pound person was sitting on it.
"Cameron!" he said again, a little louder, but there was still no response.
The sliding door opened and Foreman entered the room to check on her. "What's going on?" House demanded, trying to hide the fear in his voice.
"You were both in a nasty collision. What's the last thing you remember?"
House thought for a minute. "Handing Cameron my car keys so she could drive me home because I was tired." Then it dawned on him. "My car…"
"Totalled. Sorry, House."
House closed his eyes and rubbed his temples to fight off a sudden impending headache. "Damnit!"
"It's just a car. You're both lucky to be alive."
"What happened to her?"
"She's been unconscious since they brought you guys in. All the scans show normal brain activity. So she's basically just in a deep sleep. If she doesn't come out of it by the end of today, we'll run some more tests."
"Run em all. I don't like that she hasn't come around at least once. Even if she is on pain killers. What did you put her on?"
"Just Tylenol #3 for her broken leg. It's amazing you guys weren't much worse, considering that car has no airbags."
"They built cars better back then. Airbags are for sissies."
Foreman chuckled. "They also save lives."
"We're alive," House pointed out.
"You were very lucky."
**
Two days went by and Cameron showed no signs of life. The team was getting worried, and so was House, even if he'd never show it. He ordered a magnitude of tests and they all came back normal but he wasn't convinced. Something was very wrong and he wasn't going to relax until he discovered why she wasn't coming out of it.
It was late at night and everyone had gone home. House managed to get out of his bed and moved over to Cameron's side.
"Okay, enough's enough. Time to join the land of the living."
No response.
"You've been asleep long enough. You have to wake up so I can yell at you for totaling my car. Look, for what it's worth, I'm glad it was you who drove and not me. I would've gotten us both killed. But, and if you ever tell anyone I said this, I will kill you myself, if I was going to die, I'd rather it be with you than anyone else." He took a glance around to see if anyone was watching and then placed his hand over hers. "You've done something to me. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but..it's a good thing." He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb as he watched her face for any change or cue that she might be hearing him. "God damnit, Cameron if you die on me I will never forgive you!" he hissed as he squeezed her hand.
After waiting several minutes, he sighed in defeat and limped painfully back to his bed.
He was awakened the next morning by several voices, none of which he recognized. When he slowly opened his eyes, he saw an older couple and a young woman standing near Cameron's bed talking softly to her. He figured they must be her parents and maybe a sister. Cameron's dad glanced over and noticed House watching them.
"She's in a coma. You can talk to her till your lips fall off and she still won't know you're there," House volunteered before the man could speak.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I would be her boss. You should be thanking me. If I had been driving you'd be visiting her in the morgue."
"What are you saying? Were you drinking, Dr. House?" Cameron's mother gasped.
"No but I was extremely tired. Too tired to drive so your daughter offered to drive me home. Sorry, don't remember anything after that."
"You've got some nerve…"
"David, calm down. Getting angry at Dr. House won't change anything."
"Yeah David," House smirked as he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. "Keep it down over there. Some patients are trying to sleep."
***
"It just doesn't make any sense for her not to be awake at this point!" Chase argued with Foreman.
"Comas rarely make sense. But she's in there somewhere. All her vitals are normal and her pulse is steady. She must be having one hell of a dream because her REM cycles are through the roof."
"Maybe she's afraid to wake up because House will kill her for wrecking his car," Chase laughed, unaware that House was listening.
"The fact that you think I value a car more than a human being staggers me," House grumbled, still keeping his eyes closed.
|This is you we're talking about, House," Foreman laughed, Chase looked nervous and House gave them both the death glare.
"It's late. Go home. I'll keep watch."
Leaving quickly before he changed his mind, the two doctors were gone in a flash, leaving House alone once again with Cameron. It was going to be his last night in the ICU before they transferred him to another area but until she came out of her coma, Cameron would be staying put.
He watched the printouts with interest. There was definitely normal brain activity. She was going through all 4 cycles of sleep.
"Oh Cameron," he sighed. "What's going on in that head of yours? I'm not even pissed about the car anymore so don't worry about that. You need to wake up so we can go on another hot date."
No response.
"Once your leg heals of course. And I get this ridiculous corset-thing off. It feels like some medieval torture device. Oh, and when you do leave here, you'll be staying with me so I can keep an eye on you until your cast is off. Sex should be a trip, huh?" he chuckled. Then he got out of bed and sat in the chair that her mom occupied a few hours earlier.
"You look so beautiful lying there. I normally wouldn't tell you this, but that first night together, I was afraid to sleep. I..was afraid you'd be gone when I woke up in the morning and I don't know how I would have dealt with that. But you stayed, as part of me knew you would. We have something. I'm not sure what it is, or if it will work out but I'm up for trying if you are."
A/N: I'm going to end it here. Next chapter might be the last one. I seem to be experiencing some bouts of writer's block lately, or maybe lack of inspiration. Could be both. I get inspired by very random things. For example, "Venice" was conceived one morning when I made a latte and then watched an Alan Rickman music video that looked like it took place somewhere in Europe hah. So ya never know. I could one day take a shower and then get inspired to write some steamy shower one-shot. ;) So anyway, stay tuned, kids!
