Author's note: I deeply apologize for having neglected this story for so long! I just finished up my final paper--the very last assignment of my undergraduate career, in fact. So now, I'm definitely ready to continue on with this, especially since I don't actually have a job yet. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Don't own.
Chapter 9
Wilson awoke abruptly a mere 10 minutes after he had finally fallen asleep to his cell phone ringing. He had been sleeping better after having moved into a condo near the hospital—his bed was certainly more comfortable than House's sofa—but tonight he had had a hard time dozing off. He had been replaying his conversation with Cameron over and over in his mind, wondering if he was making the right decision about pursuing her so soon after his separation with his wife. The divorce wasn't quite final yet and he did have a notorious reputation with women. He wasn't even sure how he felt about his beautiful colleague; he did know he wanted to be there for her during a difficult time in her life.
Dinner with Cameron and her brother wasn't inappropriate. It was thoughtful. At least that's how Wilson rationalized his instinctual response to ask her out. He was surprised at his own behavior, he remembered thinking just before he had dozed off. But it did not measure up to the surprise he felt when he heard Cameron's trembling voice on the line.
"Allison? Are you ok?"
"Dr. Wilson, I'm so sorry for calling you this late. You said I could call if I needed anything, and I really need you right now."
Wilson sat up in bed, his heart beating rapidly as he hung on her last words.
She continued, "It's my brother. He's in the ICU here at the hospital. Something happened to him on his way to my place … Can you come in?" She sounded very shaken up.
Wilson was already up and changing his clothes. "I'm on my way," he responded before hanging up.
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Cameron checked her watch, then rested her elbows on her knees and dropped her head into her hands. It had been nearly 4 hours since Jack had been admitted to the hospital. While riding in a taxi to meet Cameron, he had suddenly found himself unable to breathe. Being so near the hospital, the driver hurried to Princeton-Plainsboro. Since then, Chase, who had been working the late shift, conducted all the tests he could think of to determine what was causing Jack's acute respiratory problems while Wilson attempted to learn more about the status of his lung cancer. The conditions certainly seemed linked, but they weren't taking any chances.
Cameron wanted to help and she did as much as she could to assist Chase, but they both knew that she was not in the right state of mind to help diagnose her brother. Jack had labored breathing but was sleeping now, which allowed Cameron some time to herself. Sitting in a waiting area near Jack's room, she realized that she couldn't allow herself to sleep; she wanted be aware if a new symptom manifested itself. It was difficult, though, because she was both physically and emotionally exhausted.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Dr. Wilson gazing down at her. She smiled weakly at him as he sat down next to her and handed her a coffee.
"I have some news." Cameron took a deep breath before Wilson continued, "We finally got faxed Jack's records from his doctor. According to these x-rays, his tumor is small, but we'll need to do more x-rays to see what has changed since they were taken and hopefully, we'll able to operate to extract the tumor. But we still need to figure out what caused his episode tonight. It's possible it was caused by the cancer."
"You don't sound too convinced."
"We simply don't want to ignore any possibilities."
Cameron smiled again. "I really appreciate everything you're doing."
Wilson returned her smile. "You're welcome. I'm going to take Jack to get x-rays and then we can look at them together, ok?"
Cameron's eyes welled up. It meant so much to her that she could trust Wilson implicitly with her brother's health and that he would in turn take care of her: he knew how to comfort her and keep her included. She only nodded to him as he left to attend to Jack.
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Some hours later…
House entered the hospital in a positive mood, which was uncommon for him. He had been getting a lot more sleep now that he and Wilson were getting used to each other's sleeping schedules. Wilson was more considerate of House's tendency to sleep in, and so the apartment was again moderately quiet in the morning aside from Steve McQueen's rummaging around in his cage.
His good mood diminished when he entered the Diagnostics office. It was empty, but it was clear that people had been there recently. Coffee was still brewing, files and papers littered the conference table and Wilson's unreadable scribbling was etched across the white board. House debated about whether to page his team or to go in search of Wilson and find out what was going on. He chose the latter, thinking it would be easier to get straight answers out of Wilson.
House ventured down the hall and soon noticed Wilson approaching him from another side hallway, coming from the patient rooms. House walked towards him and observed, "You look like hell. Been here a while?"
"Yeah, I have. Look, we need to talk."
"We certainly do. Where's my team?"
"On a case… House?"
House was no longer paying attention to Wilson. He had noticed Cameron down the hall, sitting in a nearby waiting room and with her head resting on one of her propped up arms. She was asleep and House was annoyed. He had hobbled quickly in her direction and before Wilson could stop him, House was poking her with his cane. Cameron jolted awake, clearly surprised that she had fallen asleep.
"So you both seem to have had long nights. I may have kicked you off the case, but that's no excuse to be taking naps. That's my job. Now will you get in my office? Find Foreman and Chase while you're up."
After a look of disgust at House and a look of anger at Wilson, she turned around and entered a nearby patient's room.
House looked even more frustrated. "What's her problem?" he asked Wilson.
Wilson sighed. Cameron was clearly angry that Wilson hadn't told House what was going on, and she had a right to be annoyed. He wasn't sure, though, how to break the news. House had already begun to follow her into the room, but Wilson grabbed his arm to stop him.
"You don't want to go in there."
"Why the hell not? Will you give me some answers?" House clearly did not like being left out of the loop.
"The patient," Wilson looked meaningfully through the blinds of the room, where Cameron was sitting on the edge of the bed and speaking calmly to the Jack, "is Cameron's brother."
House eyebrows raised in response. "The lung cancer brother? Well, I guess I should be pleased. That makes him your case and not mine."
Wilson tightened his jaw as he watched House retreat to his office. It caught him off-guard every time to consider how heartless House could be.
