Hi folks!
I'm a bit late again, forgive me. My studies are keeping me very busy! And unfortunately for next part you'll have to wait at least two weeks, because I'm going on holiday and I won't have internet with me! I hope you don't mind too much!
So, in this chapter we have the solution of House's two cases...or at least so it appears. But Cameron is not so convinced! There are quite a lot of medical details in this chapter and it is mostly about the diagnosis. I promised that in next one we will have some more characters' action!
Thanks to everybody for reading, and a special thanks to sofi10, ShipperGirl and the guest who have reviewed! I love your comments! They make me keep going!
Please let me know your opinion about the story!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own nothing apart from the plot and the original characters. House - M.D. belongs to its rightful owners!
Note: Eventual slash (House/Wilson), don't like, don't read please!
Chapter 8 – Case Closed?
Chase wondered around in the kitchen, checking the cupboard for something out of place. The apartment seemed to be really clean, considering the fact that two men lived there. They had for sure somebody who kept it tidy up for them. There was no trace of mildew or other source of toxins. Foreman had found a bottle of insecticide in the bathroom, but nothing else. He couldn't stop himself from snorting at the thought they had spent almost an hour driving to get there just to find out that there was nothing interesting.
"House won't be happy to know we haven't found anything relevant" he commented loudly enough to be heard from the floor above. "He will make us checking their work place as well I'm afraid!"
"I'm not doing that. I still have that stupid research to do" Foreman's voice growled from upstairs. "He is in a fool mood and he took it off on me. I'm tired of his games. If he has a problem with Wilson why do I have to get between them?"
"Because House loves screwing with us, especially when he can't get to his real target. But you like working with him anyway, don't you?" the blond jokingly stated as he joined his colleague in the bedroom. He took his time to look around. "Wow. These two guys live as they were still in college! Same bedroom with two beds, one desk for both, papers everywhere, posters and a stock of alcohol. I bet they have drugs and porn as well."
"No porn, sorry. But I found some marijuana in the linen closet. We must check it once back at the hospital. You never know what could have been used to treat it" the neurologist said handing him a little plastic bag. There was a hint of disapproval in his voice. "They are full grown men with a stable job and act like they were college students."
"Oh, come on, Foreman! Don't be such a moralist now! The man we work for his much worse than them! You should be used to this kind of things. With your past, moreover. And, besides, we act childish as well sometimes."
"Sometimes, not everyday. And if you are referring to the hospital polls and to our usual bets, I join them only for the money, not because I enjoy that kind of things. And, for the record, I disapprove House's behaviour's as well. But he is a genius in his job and working for him helps me to become a better doctor."
"You are no fun". Chase put the drug away and approached the other bed. "Have you checked under this one?"
"Not yet" the answer was. "I was going to, but I can leave you the honour."
The blond nodded and got on the floor. "Let's see what they are hiding here!" he mumbled. There was nothing on the floor but he spotted a tile that was slightly more sticking out than the others. He reached for it and with some efforts removed it. There was a hole under it and inside he found a wooden box. "Foreman" he called taking it out and sitting on the bed.
The two doctors exchanged glances after looking at the contents. The box was full of prescriptions and drugs bottles.
"This wasn't written in the case history" the neurologist commented. "Mitchell was hiding it from us. But I can't see the reason of doing it."
"He is epileptic. This explains the convulsion. We must phone Cameron and alert her before she does the EEG."
"Phone her. I'll take care of the drugs. I can't believe it. House was right once again. They are hiding something. Or at least one of them is."
Chased shrugged and left the room, mobile phone in hand, while Foreman stared at the pills for some more moments. This would surely help their diagnosis. And it would make their boss have another not really nice talked with their second patient. The diagnostician was going to press him until he got to know why Mitchell had been hiding his illness. And he had the feelings that things would mess up even more as soon as he would do that.
xxx
Cameron walked quickly along the corridor, heading towards her boss office. Luckily she had received Chase's phone call just before starting the tests on Steven. She absolutely needed to report the discovery to House. She had tried to ask her patient why he hadn't say anything about his illness when they had hospitalised him, but he had just turned his gaze on the floor, embarrassed but firm, and had kept quiet. She sighed. The diagnostician was surely going to gloat endlessly about being right once again about the fact that "everybody lies".
She knock briefly on the glass door before stepping in. "I've got some news for you" she announced calmly.
House was sat at his desk, busy with tossing his ball in the air. His eyes that were looking distant when she entered immediately focused on the woman as she made her statement. "It took you quite a small time to run the tests. Unless you haven't done them because you have discovered something that makes them useless" he commented, letting the ball fall on the floor. "Give me the new data, my tender-hearted queen!"
"I've done the biopsy. Here the result" the immunologist said ignoring the mocking and handing him a some papers. "I've found vacuoles among the muscle cells and I've examined the contents. Harry has a genetic glycogen storage disease."
"Not interesting as I thought. I hope it's a rare one" the older man commented. "There are eleven type of glycogen storage disease. Considering his symptoms he has either Pompe's disease or Cori's. I bet on the first one. Run a test to estimate the enzymes activity so we will see who the winner is. You should know which ones you have to check. If you don't, make your lovely colleagues to help you."
"I'll run the tests. But I'm not finished with the news" she said. "Chase and Foreman are still out. They called me from the patients' apartment. They have found a box full of bottle of Valproate hidden under his bed."
"Tonic-clonic crisis? Wow! I was really wrong! He isn't affected by stress and a cold, but by stress and epilepsy!" House exclaimed with an exaggerated tone. "So boring. He has already the drugs and that means he knows what he has. So there's no case! I'm done. Run the test for Idiot Number One, explain him how the treatment works and give him to the specialists. Then give Idiot Number Two his medicine, tell him he is a complete imbecile since he didn't take his drugs because he was afraid that his friends found out he is epileptic and then discharge him. I have to hide from Cuddy or she'll send me in the Clinic again. That rash on the pelvic region was enough for today! Wait for the other two ducklings to come back and then you are all free to do what you want". With that he got up and started gathering his things.
"But shouldn't we make sure that Steven is fine before discharging him?" Cameron tried shyly. "Why wouldn't he take his drugs knowing that...?"
"Because he is an idiot! And you are as well if you keep on defending him" the diagnostician cut her off grabbing his bag and limping out of the room. "Go and do your job!"
Cameron shook her head and followed him outside only to see the older man pulling out a key from his pocket and opening the door of Wilson's office.
"What?" he asked as she kept staring at him with wide eyes. "I borrowed it! But don't tell Wilson, he doesn't know. If I shut myself in here Cuddy won't find me! If she asked, I've gone home!"
The immunologist rolled her eyes and walked away, mumbling something about patients waiting for her and he crept inside office, locking the door behind him and closing the blinds. Now that he has no cases he could finally focus on his best friend's odd behaviour. And, while waiting for an oblivious Wilson to join him, he had the chance to make up for lost sleep.
xxx
Foreman, Chase and Cameron stood in front of Harry's bed waiting politely for him to finish his meal. The man shot them a questioning glance as he put down the fork, not knowing if the fact that almost all his doctors where there was or not a bad sign.
"Mr. Allen, we have your final diagnosis" the neurologist began in the end. "The biopsy showed vacuoles of glycogen in your muscle cells. We have run other analyses and the results shows that you are affected by Pompe's disease, a rare genetic metabolic disorder. It's caused by an accumulation of glycogen due to the deficiency of an enzyme."
"It's a degenerative disease. Since you have the late onset form it will progress slower than the classical form. The prognosis include possible chest infections, hypotonia, progressive muscle weakness, delayed motor milestones, maybe difficulty in swallowing or chewing and reduced vital capacity" Chase explained. "It doesn't sound very reassuring, but we can keep it under control. Besides it is very unlikely for you to incur in cardiac involvement, especially in the first stages."
"It can't be cured. I'm so sorry. But there are some drugs that can help you. It's called Myozime and is an enzyme replacement treatment" Cameron added sympathetically. "Moreover doing regular exercise, physiotherapy and a diet rich in protein together with the drugs can help your body to eliminate the glycogen and can allow you to live an almost normal life."
Allen kept quiet for a while, assimilating the information. The three doctors exchanged glances for some minutes, then Foreman and Chase excused themselves and exited, leaving the immunologist to deal with the patient. She approached the bed and sat down on the nearest chair grabbing the man's hand gently.
"I know it sounds scary. It's not going to be easy but you'll live, Harry" she said softly smiling reassuringly at him. "There are new projects and researches, they are testing new drugs. You could apply for one of the studies and see if it can help you. Psychological support may help too. You can deal with it, I'm sure. You are strong enough. Besides, I'm sure that Steven will help you as much as you need."
"Thanks, Allison. I'm glad you have been sincere with me about the prognosis. I would lie if I say I'm OK with it, but I think I can find a way to deal with it" he nodded slowly, smiling back a bit sadly. "Speaking of Steven…Does he know about my diagnosis? And how is he?"
The young woman bit her lip nervously. "No, he doesn't know. I thought it was better if you tell him yourself" she answered trying to keep her voice still. "He is fine, we are still running tests, but we are sure it's nothing serious". She couldn't tell him the truth, especially since she didn't know the whole story behind Steven's decision to lie to them. She didn't want to cause trouble between the two men. Their situation was already delicate enough. "You can't see him now, he is doing an exam. But I promise I'll bring him here as soon as he is free to come."
"OK, I'll wait. Let me know if you find out something new about him. I'm looking forward to speaking to him. I miss him."
"Don't worry, you'll see each other soon. I'll leave you alone now, so you can have some time by yourself. Try to relax and get some sleep. You look tired. If you need anything just tell one of the nurse to call me and I'll come, OK?"
"Thanks a lot, Allison. You're too kind. Go, if you need to. I know doctors are always busy!"
She smiled again and waved him goodbye. She knew that Foreman and Chase were waiting for her to join them in Steven's room. She had convinced them to run some other tests just to make sure that all his symptoms were related to his epilepsy. House could call her an idiot, but something was telling her that there was something else behind the case. Tonic-clonic epilepsy didn't cause confused mental state without a crisis. And when he was with Wilson Steven hadn't an epileptic attack, the oncologist would have surely noticed. It was worth the time to do some examination. Their boss was busy with God-only-knew what so nobody would have stopped them. And, if they found something, the diagnostician would have to take the case back. She smiled a bit. Proving House wrong wasn't easy, but it was always more than satisfactory when they made it.
xxx
Wilson unlocked the door of his office, carrying the files of his most recent patients. He had spent almost three hours in Paediatric Oncologist with his kids and it had helped him to alleviate his inner turmoil. He was now feeling calmer and ready to finish his paperwork before meeting Sophia for dinner. He had decided that he should ask for her help to figure out what he was really experiencing. There were no concrete sentiments that he could examine because all he felt when he thought about House was a wave of confusion and fear. He didn't know if it was due to the fact that his mind couldn't accept his being in love with his male best friend or if it was his reaction to a stupid and false doubt. Unfortunately he was more inclined to think that the first option was the more plausible one. He hoped that the intensivist could give him an advice to help him understand how he could work out his real feelings. She had already gone through that kind of situation before him after all.
He sighed and set the folders down on his desk, noticing that the room was rather dark. He didn't remember closing the blinds now that he thought about it. He had a bad feeling. He turned towards the couch, rolling his eyes, and found a too familiar form asleep on it. House was stretched on his back, one arm under his head and the other across his stomach. His breath was deep and steady. James couldn't help smiling softly noticing how relaxed the diagnostician looked in that moment. Lost in a soft oblivion, he seemed unaffected by all the problems that tormented him while awake.
The oncologist approached his sleeping friend silently, not to disturb him, and knelt down besides the sofa, resting his arms on the pillows and his chin on them, curiously studying House's messed hair. He wondered if should leave the other sleep or wake him up in a rude manner for stealing his spare key. He really deserved some sort of payback prank. But at the same time Wilson felt a pang of guilt at the thought of forcing his friend back in the world of sorrow where he had to live. He didn't want to compel him to face the endless pain that never left him, even in his sleep. He could clearly see the hand on the diagnostician's stomach sliding instinctively lower, towards his injured tight. In that moment he could almost understand why the older man had faked cancer to get the heroin. Almost.
He lost himself so deep in thoughts that he didn't notice that House was starting to wake up. The older man moved his head aside and James suddenly found himself staring in those magnetic cerulean-blue eyes.
"What the hell, Wilson! Where you thinking about kissing me by chance?" the diagnostician joked with a smirk. "Isn't it a little too bold even for you? You could at least ask me out before trying that kind of things!"
Wilson blushed hard at the mockery and quickly moved away. "Give me my spare key back" he demanded, hoping to drop the subject. "I'd ask how you got it but I know it would be useless, wouldn't it?"
"A magician never reveals his tricks, Boy Wonder!" the other claimed solemnly sitting up and extracting the key from the pocket of his jeans. "This is interesting, by the way."
"This what?" James dared to ask, knowing that he would regret it.
"Your behaviour. You literally ran away from me only few hours ago and now you are kneeling at my feet" House said, his tone still amused. "If you want to convince me that everything is fine, you should really try harder."
"Shut up" the oncologist mumbled annoyed and got up. "What are you doing here anyway? No, don't tell me. You must be avoiding your Clinic duty. Well, I have to work if you don't mind. I'm not throwing you out, but you have to be quiet."
"You're getting better with your deduction, Jimmy boy. I'm proud of you" the diagnostician commented. "I was sleeping and I wouldn't mind to get back at that. Just keep your door close and we both will be happy."
"What about Steven and Harry? Have you already solved their cases?"
"Oh, those idiots. Number One has Pompe's disease, the biopsy showed it and Cameron ran the tests for the enzyme activity as a confirmation. The other one is epileptic but he had apparently forgotten to tell us. Chase and Foreman found his drugs at their home."
"Pompe's disease? How can you say it so lightly? It's a serious illness!"
"Oh, don't start it, Wilson. He'll live. And I'm done with the puzzle. That's it."
"You'll never change" James sighed and shook his head, mentally taking note to visit Harry later. "And why did Steven lie about his epilepsy in your wicked opinion?"
"Why must you be so biased about me?" House whined pouting. "It's simple. That idiot didn't want his friend to worry about him and so he hid his illness."
"I know what you think about human relationships. That's it" Wilson stated sitting down next to his best friend. "That's quite unlikely, anyway. Harry and Steven had known each other almost for a lifetime, Harry would have noticed if Steven was epileptic. Come on, if one of us had that problem the other would find out for sure!"
"Epilepsy can start during adulthood too, you should know that. Maybe the crises have started recently" the older man pointed out. "And I'm just realistic about human relationships."
"You are not realistic. You are a fatalistic pessimist. Only because you can't build a decent bond with someone it doesn't mean that nobody can!". The younger crossed his arms, stubbornly. "It still made no sense to me. Steven hates lying to Harry. He would never lie to him about something so important. They live together, sleep in the same room, share everything! Unless…Unless his problems have started after Harry's symptoms. Steven wanted to focus on Harry's state and so he hid his own!"
"Nice guess. Can you let me sleep now that you have defended the honesty of their friendship? There's nothing interesting in already diagnosed epilepsy. And your speech about ideals and bonds is even more boring. The matter is closed. The two idiots will be discharged soon and my team will find me another case tomorrow. You can keep your over optimistic view of reality, but leave me in my fatalistic one."
"You are so generous!" Wilson said sarcastically, getting up. "I'm moved."
"Yeah, yeah. Didn't you have paperwork to do?" House complained, swallowing a couple of Vicodin and lying down again. "And lock that damn door."
The other did as he was told. "Now, who is the one who needs his beauty sleep?" he laughed reaching for his chair. Then, after a moment of silence, he said a little bit uncertain: "Another thing, then I'm leaving you alone. Tonight I'm having dinner with Sophia. Do you want to join us? She is probably bringing one of her girls so I thought it would be less embarrassing if I bring someone with me in turn."
"Are you asking me out?". House raised an eyebrow faking shock. "Oh my god! You really wanted to kiss me while I was sleeping! You pervert!"
"House! It's…It's not that kind of date!" Wilson exclaimed embarrassed and too much aware of the fact he was blushing once again. Damn him. "It's just a dinner. I'm bringing you as my best friend! That's all. Stop that! You coming or not?"
"Oh, calm down, Wilson! I'm joking! Did I hit a nerve by chance? Don't tell me you are still all messed up because I was teasing about flirting with Idiot Number Two!" the diagnostician asked amused. "Anyway, I'm not losing the chance to see some hot lesbian action, especially if the actresses are both sexy as your little friend. So count on me!"
"I'm not messed up and I wasn't flirting with Steven. It's you the one who is so often flirting with me!" James spat out exasperated, realizing too late what he had just said. He hoped that House just ignored his comment or he would have been in troubles. "Go back to sleep. I'm wasting my time discussing with your stubborn head!"
"You hurt me, Jimmy! I thought you enjoyed my lovely attentions!" the diagnostician whined showing an offended expression. "You cheater!"
"What are you? Five?" the younger doctor sighed shaking his head. "Leave me alone, House! And no, I don't enjoy being verbally and sexually harassed by my best friend. Sorry, I thought you already knew that!"
"So have you misled me for all these years? How cruel! I thought better of you, Wilson! I'm going to shock Cuddy with my hurt tears now! And it's your entire fault! Poor her! She'll get a heart attack! And Cameron will cry her too emphatic self to sleep as well for weeks!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm dying of guilt. But at least I know that there are two people ready to comfort you! Weren't you eager to go back to sleep? I'll wake you up when it's time to leave."
"You killjoy. I was enjoying myself so much teasing you…OK, I'm leaving you alone as Cuddy said, but don't try anything funny while I'm sleeping or I'll report you!"
Wilson shook his head and avoided to answer. The last thing he wanted was to give House new chances to tease him. Especially since the older man could be right about his being attracted to him. He glanced at the diagnostician who was still staring at him with a strange blank expression that made him anxious. He heard him mumbling something that sounded like "It will be a lot of fun tonight" and then he saw him closing his eyes and starting to doze again. Maybe he had made a mistake by inviting House to that dinner. Sophia would have surely joined the teasing. He thought that he had better to inform her about his recent doubts before their meeting, at least to avoid too unpleasant situations.
He grabbed his mobile, feeling like a high school girl texting her best friend out of desperation, and keyed in. 'Sophia? Can we discuss something?'
The answered arrived almost immediately. Sophia had to be on her break. 'Why r u texting me? U NEVER text! Anyway, u need me to come there?'
He sighed. Why couldn't she avoid useless comments? 'No. Can't talk right now. It's about tonight. House is coming too'.
'OK, no prob. And…?'
'Something happened today while I was in Cuddy's office. I'll explain later. The fact is…'. He hesitated, not knowing how to put it. He didn't want her to make comments like "Better late than never" or "I told you!" or "Getting finally out of the closet? I was waiting for you!". He needed to make her understand how delicate the situation was. '…I think I might have feelings for him'. Not too specific and quite neutral. And he added: 'Don't tease'.
Two whole minutes passed before he got an answer. 'Got it. No worries, we'll work it out, trust me! See u tonight!'.
Wilson stared at the phone screen until it shut down. He didn't exactly know what those words meant but he had the feeling that his friend had somehow already understood the whole situation. He put down the mobile and stole a glance at the sleeping diagnostician. The only thing he could do now was waiting to see what was going to happen.
