Chapter 10. Blowin' In The Wind

They got the woman settled in a bed in Room Ten. Cameron said her name was Vivian and she'd been brought in just before dawn by a neighbor who had to get back to his own family. She seemed to be in as bad a condition as Pete had been, gasping for breath.

"I gave her a decongestant and the antibiotic. She's got a fever, too, and her blood pressure's low, " Cameron shouted above the storm just as Zach closed the door. "I'm afraid they waited too long and she's already developing pneumonia," she continued in her normal voice.

"What about Cousin Whatsis?" House asked.

"Harry? The decongestant is helping him but not as much as it did Kelly," Cameron said. "She's doing pretty well and I think Ralph can handle her as long as one of us checks on them periodically." She seemed reluctant to leave Vivian, but said, "Let's get Harry into Room Nine."

House, Cameron and Zach trooped back out into the downpour to get the other patient. Cameron had been right. Harry hadn't recovered as much as Pete or even Pam. Once they had him in bed, Cameron told House, "We brought some of the supplies and equipment from the clinic. I suppose we can set up a little lab in one of the bathrooms."

House wasn't sure whether she was asking Zach for permission or him for help. But Zach didn't seem to have a problem with her idea. "Just let me know if there's anything else you need," he said. He left them and went to get the bags, filled with the items Cameron had insisted on bringing. It gave House an opportunity to look at Cameron more carefully. She'd been running herself ragged. Her hair was wet and disheveled, and she'd probably slept in her clothes.

"Why don't you take a nice hot shower and change, then catch a few Zzzs?" he suggested. "I slept enough to cover for a few hours, and Chrissy's in Eleven if I need her."

She blinked. "What have you done with Gregory House?" she asked with a weak smile. She probably would have said more if she weren't so tired. "Thanks, House. Seems like I'm thanking you all the time lately."

"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively. "Just go."

"OK. I'll be in Vivian's room if you need me. I want to monitor her closely," Cameron said and left. House watched her go.

"Are you and the doctor an item?" Harry asked in a weak voice.

House realized he'd been listening to them. "Why do you want to know?" he countered.

"'Cause if she's free, I wouldn't mind taking a crack at her."

House laughed. "She's out of your league," he said, appraising the patient. He didn't think much of his intelligence. "At least her ex-husband has a few functioning brain cells."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the patient demanded.

House sighed. "If you don't know, then nothing," he said. "Dr. Cameron probably asked already, but do you smoke?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, not at all sure what that had to do with anything.

House nodded. "That's why your lungs were weak enough to be affected by whatever caused your shortness of breath."

Zach returned with a couple of large plastic shopping bags. "You can set up here," he suggested.

But House had had enough of Harry for a while. "I already have some stuff in the room I'm sharing with Pete," he told Zach. He looked at the patient. "You should be OK here. One of us will check in periodically, but if you start gasping again, call me in Room 12." He didn't think Harry would realize how ridiculous that sounded.

"You're leaving me alone here?" Harry protested.

"You don't need a babysitter," House told him. He took one of the bags from Zach and led the way outside.

"You didn't have to be so sharp with him," Zach said. He had to shout to be heard over the howl of the wind and thundering rain.

"He rubs me the wrong way," House explained in just as loud a voice, and Zach didn't argue. "Guess you'll have a big job cleaning up when this storm is over," House said, indicating the debris that littered the area between the gas station and the motel and diner.

"Folks'll help. We get storms like this every few years. We've gotten used to working together to clean up the town," Zach told him. They'd reached the door to Room 12 and entered together.

Pete was sitting up in bed, finishing the last of his breakfast and trying to tune the TV, but mostly he was getting snow. "Looks like the cable's out," he said.

"I think the broadcast stations lost power," Zach said. "But the cable's definitely out, too. Sorry Pete."

"Guess we'll have to find some other way to pass the time," Pete said. "Anyone for a game of cards?"

House laughed. He was beginning to really like his roommate.

"Well, I have to get back to the office, not that anyone's checking in today," Zach said. "Call me if there's anything else I can do. At least the phone system in the motel is working."

"I'll set this equipment up and then go check on Pam and Kelly," House said. "Then maybe I'll take Pete up on his offer."

It didn't take long after Zach left that House realized there wasn't enough room in the bathroom for everything. It might be a make-shift lab, but between Cameron's equipment and what he'd bought, there was a lot. In the end, he put the blood and urine samples in the undercounter mini-refrigerator, and some of the meters and gadgets on the table he'd used for his breakfast.

He checked Pete's blood pressure, which was slightly low, and listened to his lungs with a stethoscope. Satisfied that the lungs were clear, he donned the raincoat one more time and headed out into the wild weather to check on the other patients.

House headed first to the furthest room, number eight. He found Ralph hovering over his wife, but she looked better than she had the day before. "She's breathing better," he said. "But I'm still worried about her."

House did a cursory examination and told him, "She's responding to the medicine Dr. Cameron gave her. Just stick to that and she should be OK."

"Thanks," Ralph said.

House shook his head. "I'm just..." House realized he was going to say he was just doing his job, but when had it become his job to tend to these patients? He shrugged. What difference did it make? He finished what he started to say, "...just doing my job. I'll be in Room Twelve."

He left Ralph and Kelly just as he found them.