Wilson
I took one last sip of my water bottle before rising from the cafeteria table. Scarlett looked up at me and interlaced her fingers, "You have to go?"
"I have a consult…" I told her.
"Oh," she thrust her attention to the chicken and rice soup on her tray. "I'll see you later?"
I patted her shoulder, "Fine."
I threw out the rest of the food on my tray and began to walk briskly to my office. Before I got there, Cameron bolted down the hall and ran into me. Her body smashed into mine, flinging us backward.
"Ohmigod! I'm so sorry!" Cameron shouted, though our faces were only inches apart.
"It's okay," I breathed out. "Let me help you up."
She rolled off of me and shook her head. "Sorry."
Cameron's hand reached for mine as I stood, so I took it and pulled her up. For a moment, she stared at me, and pushed her hair back. Our eyes met in an agreement and she rushed off.
*******
House held a tray in his left hand and looked across the room. Foreman sat with Taub and Thirteen, Wilson wasn't there, Chase and Kutner sat alone, and Scarlett had buried herself in the back corner. He limped over to where she sat and kicked the chair backward. "Can I sit here?"
Scarlett, startled by his arrival, dropped her fork and mentioned, "Be my guest…"
He took a sip of his energy drink and looked at her. She drew back and smirked a little. "What?"
"Nothing, there's just a big growth in the middle of your face," House brought his hand upward for emphasis.
She snorted, "You're such a wiseass."
"A very intelligent wiseass," he agreed.
Cuddy entered the cafeteria and stared over at the table. She grabbed an apple and went toward the table where Foreman, Taub, and Thirteen were sitting. "What does he think he's doing?"
They all looked over. Taub stuttered, "Consult?"
"Would House ever do that?" Foreman shook his head.
"Maybe he's trying to get to us. Mess with our head," Thirteen leaned back in her chair.
Back in the conversation across the room, Scarlett had drawn her body a little closer into the table and let her head rest on her extended arm. "You're so dirty."
"Oh yes, and I'm even sicker when I'm in the clinic," House shrugged.
"Charming…"she rolled her eyes.
"What are they doing?!" Thirteen stomped her foot on the ground, aggravated by House's current situation. It wasn't every day that he sat at a table with Wilson's niece.
Cuddy shook her head, "That's not right, at all."
Scarlett rolled her head to the side, her hair fell down. "Anyway, your case."
"God! You have to bring up the crap I deal with every hour. Well, if you must know…" he scoffed at her. "The progression of the disease is getting worse. Coma, not so good. He's out of it though, so we must have done something right."
She nodded, "I thought you could."
*******
Foreman
"Viral encephalitis," Taub pointed toward House's white board.
Thirteen jolted in, "But did he ever cough?"
I thought for a minute and shrugged, "What if it's just head trauma?"
"Nothing on record of that. No broken bones ever," Kutner explained to me.
"Wow, luck for thirty years, then you die," House said. "Or almost. Meningitis on the other hand," he wrote it on the board. He dropped the marker and quickly limped out. Scarlett followed behind him with her camera. I ran to catch up.
"What are you doing?" she questioned him while stepping through the patient's room.
"This," House paused before shouting, "Rise and shine! The day is beautiful, the rain is pelting down on the roof and you're dying!"
Nathan, the patient, looked at House, "You're shouting, why?"
House spoke normally again, "Does this sound abnormally loud?"
I glowered at him, "House, you idiot!"
"No," the patient and his wife stared at him, angry.
The camerawoman began to inch out of the room, as did I. House just stood there looking at the couple who looked back. And slowly, Nathan fell back to the bed.
Marcia's muffled voice screamed, "Nathan! Nathan are you okay?"
"It's no use," House stated plainly. "He's going into a coma again."
"But…"
"A deeper one."
House went closer to the patient. Something was wrong, Nathan's breathes were short and he completely froze. Paralysis…
My boss turned and motioned for me, "Renal failure!"
******
House
"Reye's syndrome…" I told the team.
"That means he's…" Thirteen began.
I finished, "That means he's going to die."
Kutner paused and then spoke, "Can't we at least… treat the renal failure. Could that be okay?"
"I guess we could," Foreman looked at me.
"It's probably a waste if he's just going to die," I frowned.
Thirteen stood up and crossed her arms, "It's never a waste."
Who got the Cameron gene all of a sudden? I thought for a moment.
The team walked out, set on their goal that they were going to save a man with a deadly disease. Scarlett sat at the table, dumbstruck by the situation at hand. Her mouth hung open.
"Close your mouth, you're going to catch flies," I ordered.
She immediately did so and shut off her camera. "Sorry…" Scarlett stood up and began to leave.
"Don't go," it slipped out. I didn't mean to. My hands shook. This wasn't supposed to happen, I couldn't let her know. I couldn't make her think.
Scarlett turned and stared at me, "What?"
What was I supposed to say? "They shouldn't be disturbed." Like I asn't the one who disturbed them.
She paused, "Alright then."
I watched her step closer to me. Scarlett lifted her head slowly and stared. Daggers. Stabbing me with guilt and…
Oh God, I was damned.