DISCLAIMER: I still do not own anything, except anyone you don't recognise.

Again, thank you to everyone who is reading my story. I really appreciate all feedback from everybody. Thanks!

CHAPTER SIX

HEARTS

6:30a.m. The light filtered through the blinds into House's bedroom. Cameron turned over twice before opening her eyes, surprised to find House lying awake next to her.

'What are you doing up? I thought that if 8 was unreasonable, surely you wouldn't be up at 6:30,' she said softly, still trying to get her bearings.

'Well, it's kinda hard to sleep with a fish flipping around next to you. So, I just gave up. Now you owe me a huge cup of coffee,' he replied, smiling slightly.

'Fine. I'll go make some...after I take a shower and get changed.' House jokingly made a face at her.

House lay in bed waiting for her to finish. They both needed coffee. Cameron had spent the night tormented by her own brain, and House was, in turn, tormented by the fact that she was miserable. A long time ago, sleep was welcome as a time to unwind; to relax. Now, it seemed, sleeping had become just as stressful as being awake.

Cameron emerged from the bathroom, fully ready for work. House stayed in bed until the sweet smell of coffee seeped into the room. By the time he coaxed himself out of bed and into the kitchen to join her, she had filled both his and her mugs and sat down.

'I figured the red one was yours. You are not very creative when it comes to picking out mugs. It is exactly the same one as at the office.'

'Two-for-one special at Walmart. Besides, it makes me feel more at home when I am at work, just knowing that the coffee prepared here is being enjoyed in the same cup as I would have at home,' he explained sarcastically, pouting his lower lip. Cameron snorted. 'Are you okay going to work today. It is healthy to take some time off. I think I could pull some strings with your boss and allow you one day to yourself,' he smirked.

'No, work is fine. I'm alright.' She tried to reassure him. However, she would never say the real reason for not taking time off was fear. At work, she was surrounded by people and she knew that Brian wasn't there. Hospital surveillance saw him leaving and would see him entering. At home, she would be alone. She didn't want to be alone. The thought itself petrified her.

'Okay. But, don't let it out that I am trying to help you. It might damage my reputation that I have spent my entire tenure at PPTH trying to build.'

'Oh, I wouldn't dream of it,' she exclaimed, dragging out her words. 'The world must never know that Gregory House could ever act...dare I say it...nice.'

'Thanks for understanding,' he smirked sarcastically, but grinning at the same time.

They finished their coffees and Cameron prepared to leave.

'What are you waiting for?' House asked, seeing her sitting on the couch.

'For you to get ready,' she answered sincerely and innocently.

'Do you see that clock. That clock says 7:15. I am not leaving until, well, at least 9. I will meet you there.'

'Okay.' She gathered her bag and headed toward the door. She stopped with her hand on the knob and turned to face him. 'Oh, and I have a physio appointment at 11, so I hope you don't mind me leaving about an hour. Thank you,' she said, not waiting for a response. She was out the door before House could even react.

HHHHHHHHHH

A car accident on the way to the hospital prevented her from arriving until 8 o'clock, later than normal.

'Hey Cameron. You're back already? Couldn't stand to be away from us?' Foreman asked kindly, coming to give her a hug.

'I haven't been to work in over a week. Being sequestered in House's flat for another day just seemed unbearable. Is Chase here yet?'

'Yeah. We don't have a case, so he's down at the clinic.'

'Oh. I guess I'll go join him. I am almost getting as backed up as House on my clinic duty!'

'I think that is a bit exaggerated,' Foreman said. Cameron laughed.

HHHHHHHHHH

Working in the clinic was positively the most boring thing a doctor could be doing. An hour had elapsed since the time she had signed in and now, and all that had taken place was diagnosing two children with the flu. The diagnoses were not hard, nor time consuming. The worst part came when the parents were convinced that motherly fear and the inter-Web knew more than a doctor. At least 10 minutes was spent reassuring them that with some penicillin, their children would be fine. At least another 10 minutes was also spent telling them how come the parental diagnoses could never be correct.

'It can't be meningitis. The only symptom of meningitis he has is a fever. A fever is not enough to diagnose meningitis.' Or, 'Ms. Davis, I assure you your son does not have pneumoccocal pneumonia. His respiratory symptoms would be much more severe.' Or, her favourite by a mile, 'Your daughter does not have fibromyalgia. She is experiencing no pain. That is the definition of fibromyalgia.'

By 9:30 she was ready to leave, but there was an unusually large number of patients in the waiting room, and it was still to early to use her physio appointment as an excuse to leave. Cameron inwardly groaned and picked up the next file.

'Smith, Rachael. Could you come to Exam Room 2 with me, please?' Cameron tried her best to remain pleasant. The girl looked fine. She didn't even have a visible runny nose.

'Hi, Ms. Smith. I am Dr Cameron. What seems to be your problem?'

'I-uh. Well, I am always so tired, and then...well you see, I am a runner, and lately, I haven't even been able to run a mile. And then, my heart is racing. I mean...racing. Then I get dizzy and I feel so lightheaded. It is like I am going to pass out.'

'Are you on any medications?'

'No. Just a multi-vitamin every day.'

'Any fevers, chills, night sweats, nausea, diarrhea, blood in the stool. Anything like that?'

'No.' Cameron took a closer look at her lips.

'Rachael, have your lips always been like that?' she asked noting the blue coloration.

'Like what?' Rachael asked, unaware of any problem.

'Rachael, I'm going to admit you and run some tests, okay,' Cameron said, trying to be calm. This was not a runny-nose cold.

HHHHHHHHHH

'Hello my minions. How are you this fantastic morning. Wait, I only count two. Now, math wasn't my strongest subject, but I think I need one more.'

'Morning?!,' Foreman snorted. 'House, it's almost 10:30!'

'The mean, crippled doctor over there must have unplugged my alarm clock. It's not my fault, daddy,' House said, as if he were a 6-year-old pleading with its father to not punish him. Foreman rolled his eyes in response.

'We have a case,' Cameron cut in. '26-year-old female-'

'Seriously! Where is the other one.'

'Chase is getting a better history,' Cameron replied, 'presented with fatigue, loss of stamina, racing heartbeat after exertion, dizziness, pre-syncope, and slightly cyanotic lips,' she continued, not missing a beat. 'No history of tobacco, alcohol, or drug use. No significant past medical history. A tonsillectomy when she was 12.'

'Okay. Ideas, people,' he said, scribbling each of the symptoms on the board.

'The racing heartbeat might be supraventricular tachycardia.' Cameron stated.

'Yes. Or, maybe it has something to do with the fact that she just finished some form of strenuous exercise. My heart always races, if you know what I mean,' he said winking.

'She is a regular runner. This is new.'

'She is tired and has lost stamina,' he countered.

'The cyanosis suggests the problem is either in her heart or lungs,' Cameron suggested.

'The dizziness and pre-syncopy points to the heart,' Foreman offered.

'Go forth and scan her chest. And get an echo while your at it. And see if Chase came up with anything useful from the history,' House commanded. He walked into his office and immediately began playing his PS2.

HHHHHHHHHH

Chase had joined the two in the MRI room and was helping them look at the scans of Rachael's chest.

'So, are you ready to kill House yet?' he asked Cameron.

'Actually, we are getting along okay. He hasn't been a total pain in the ass.' She smiled.

'Are you feeling any better.'

'Are you asking as my doctor, or as a colleague?'

'Let's say a doctor.'

'The only place I feel any pain is my leg. The cane is helping me walk. I have a physio appointment at 11 today.'

'Good.'

'Rachael, we need you to stay perfectly still okay,' Foreman interrupted.

'What is that?' Chase pointed between the left and right atria.

HHHHHHHHHH

'House,' Cameron said while walking into his office. 'The MRI suggested an atrial septal defect.'

'Doesn't anyone knock anymore! The space monkeys killed me. Thanks a lot,' he groaned, finally looking up from his game. 'What did the echo find.'

'Chase and Foreman are doing it now.'

'Well then, don't bother me until you know the problem.' Cameron turned to leave. 'Cameron!' he called.

'Yeah.'

'How are you? Doing okay?' He seemed genuinely concerned.

'I'm fine,' she said, doing her best to convince him that she wanted to be here and she didn't need time off of work. That was part of the reason she took this case. It was pretty straight-forward, but she needed House to know she could still do her job just as well as she had before.

'Alright. Go to your physio appointment,' he added, seeing it was nearly 11.

HHHHHHHHHH

Cameron was in the physio department, waiting for Dr. Rivers.

'Hello Dr Cameron. How are you feeling?'

'Better. The sexy cane is helping.' She smiled.

'That's good. So, you are able to get around on your own then?'

'Yep. The only thing I can't seem to do is carry a grocery bag in the house.' Rivers smiled kindly.

'Okay. Well, let's do the same exercises we did last time. If it hurts too much, let me know and I'll stop. Too much pain may hurt you more than help.'

Cameron was nervous as he began working her leg, remembering the burning fire that engulfed her last time the same exercises were tried. The pain intensified, no question. She was waiting for the ignition to be lit, but it never was. Maybe it was the Vicodin helping. Maybe she was getting better faster than she had anticipated. However, she attributed the lessening of her pain to the Vicodin, not wanting to get her hopes to high and risking just crashing farther.

'Good, Dr Cameron. That is progress,' Rivers informed after completing the exercise. 'Now let's work on your strength. Cameron went through a variety of other exercises, all aimed to strengthen the injured muscle and to prevent atrophy. 'Alright. I think that is enough for today. You are doing fantastically!' Dr Rivers said encouragingly.

HHHHHHHHHH

At 1 o'clock, all three fellows were waiting in the conference room for House to return from lunch.

He walked into the room, stuffing his face with a Ruben.

'Echo confirmed an ASD, and Ebstein's anomaly. We have scheduled her for surgery to repair the damaged heart,' Foreman informed him, House mid-bite.

House took his time chewing that bite of sandwich and swallowed dramatically. 'I had a fantastic lunch. This hospital has the best Rubens! Have you told the patient?'

'No. We were waiting for you,' Chase said.

'Go tell her, then go home. Actually, we shouldn't have to come in all week. We have reached our one-patient-a-week quota, saved a life, and...it's only Monday!'

HHHHHHHHHH

Cameron walked into Rachael's room.

'Ms. Smith.'

'Do you know what is wrong with me? Am I dying? Oh God, you don't look happy!' she shrieked.

'It's okay. You have Ebstein's anomaly. We have you scheduled you for surgery in the morning. You might have to take it easy on the runs, but aside from that and normal visits with a cardiologist, you should be fine.'

'What is that?'

'Ebstein's anomaly is basically a condition you've had since birth, but sometimes patients don't get symptoms until they are adults. Basically, one of the valves in your heart, the tricuspid valve, isn't formed correctly and is leaking a lot of blood. Most cases are very mild, but yours was more severe. However, with the surgery, we can fix it.' Rachael's face dropped. 'It's good news. I promise.'

'Will I be able to run my marathon?'

'Rachael, we need to fix your heart. Maybe you will be able to, but our primary goal is to get you better.'

'That means I can't! That's all I've been training for the last year and now it is all for nothing. God damn nothing!' Cameron walked over to the bed as Rachael began sobbing.

'Rachael,' Cameron said softly, placing her hand on her shoulder.

'Get out of here! Don't touch me! Go ruin someone else's life!'

HHHHHHHHHH

'You look like hell,' House remarked walking into the conference room. The other two ducklings had left for the day, and Cameron was the only one who remained. She sat at the glass table with her laptop, answering e-mails. Her puffy, red eyes showed she had been crying.

'What's wrong,' House softly said, noticing her eyes.

'I told her we could fix her and she started sobbing. She said I ruined her life.' Cameron paused for a moment. 'I ruined her life!'

'You didn't ruin her life. You saved it. You were right. It was supraventricular tachycardia. That could have killed her. Too many palpitations and her heart could be worse and worse until it just gave out.' House didn't care how extreme these potential situations were; he just wanted Cameron to feel like she hadn't killed this person's spirit. 'Why do I care?' he mused.

Cameron was angry with herself. She had been growing a spine before now. Patients had cried after hearing bad news. She hadn't been bothered when she resorted to giving the 'hot OTB babe,' as House so kindly had called her, a bottle of antibiotics to prove she had Munchausens. Why did this particular patient bother her so much. What had changed. Maybe she knew the answer, but prayed her problems hadn't weakened her.

'Let's go somewhere.'

'I'm sorry?' Cameron asked, confused.

'There's a nice jogging park near here. We should go to celebrate. It is a nice day,' House said. 'I don't understand why I feel the need to help her. She is making me soft, and she's only been with me one weekend. Oh, God'

'I'd like that,' Cameron smiled at him.

Both hopped into House's Corvette, agreeing it had the better ride and was much cooler looking.

A/N: Please R&R. I should update again soon. Thank you everyone!