- 13 -
"The patient died four days after his admittance. The autopsy results showed that he died of systemic multi-organ failure, and samples of his blood were sent to the laboratory for analysis. He wasn't the only one who was sick anymore. By the time of his death, the patient had spread the disease to at least two other people."
House awoke with a killer hangover, although he probably deserved it after the massive amount of drinking he did the night before. He needed it though. He needed to forget about things for a while. Unfortunately, 'a while' was over, and now he just felt like crap again.
House turned over in bed and winced as pain shot from his leg all the way up into his abdomen. House was confused. That had never happened before. Nonetheless, he grabbed a vicodin and popped it in his mouth as he staggered towards the bathroom. It took him a while, but he finally made it.
He was ready to vomit, but that's when he realized that he didn't have to. His stomach was cramping and his head was pounding. That seemed odd to him; most of the time, he had to throw up when he had a hangover. He dismissed the inconsistency and walked over to the sink to brush his teeth. That's when he got a good look at himself in the mirror.
He was flushed and sweating. That definitely never happened when he had a hangover. He pulled out the thermometer and stuck it in his mouth. He leaned his weak and exhausted body on the sink for support while the thermometer took a reading.
It finally beeped, and he pulled it out of his mouth. "103.6?" he asked aloud. There was no one to hear him say it, but he was still startled. What was going on? He tossed the thermometer in the sink and limped back into the bedroom. He called the first number that he could think of: Wilson.
There was no answer, so he paged him. There were no calls. Where was Wilson and why wasn't he answering his pages and calls?
House finally decided to just drive himself to the hospital and find Wilson there. It wasn't the best idea to be driving in his condition, but it was the only plan he could come up with in his state.
Thankfully, he actually did manage to make it to PPTH without getting in an accident. He considered walking to the elevator and riding it up to the 4th floor to Wilson's office, but he really didn't have the energy. Instead, he took a seat in the chapel and hoped that Wilson, Lisa, or somebody else he knew would walk by.
As luck would have it, somebody did notice him, but not by chance. Allison was coming to sit in the chapel to… what did she say she did in there? Think? Well, Allison was coming to the chapel to 'think,' and that's when she found House.
"Oh my god. Greg, are you okay?"
House nodded. "You've never called me Greg before." He liked it.
"I thought since you were no longer our doctor, I no longer had the obligation to call you House."
So she thought of him as a 'Greg' and not as a 'House'? How odd.
"Are you okay?" she asked again.
"Just a little hot I guess."
She felt his forehead. "You're burning up. Did you take your temperature this morning?"
"103.6."
She nearly gasped. "What?! Why didn't you call someone? Did you drive down here yourself?"
House nodded again. "Wilson wasn't answering his phone."
"Wilson—Wilson—." She scanned her mind for quick answers, but no results were coming up. "Who's Wilson?"
"Dr. Wilson."
"Dr. Wilson…." She tried to think of any Dr. Wilson that she'd ever heard of, but she couldn't. Luckily, the priest that she had met briefly last night walked out of his office and into the chapel.
"Miss Cameron… you look upset, is there anything I can do to help?" he asked in his sing-song Australian accent.
"Oh thank god," she said. "I need some help, Father Chase."
Father Chase looked briefly at the sick man in the pew. "Is he okay?"
"That's what I need help with," she said urgently.
"With all do respect Miss Cameron—."
"Dr. Cameron."
"Dr. Cameron? If you're the doctor, then what do you expect me to do?"
"I need you to find Dr. Wilson, and please hurry."
Father Chase nodded and quickly ran out of the chapel.
Allison immediately turned to House, both angry and afraid. "What were you thinking, driving here on your own?! You're fever is almost at 104 degrees! You could have gone into convulsions, dammit!"
"What did you expect me to do?"
"Um… call 911?!"
House rolled his eyes. "Why do you care anyways?"
"I don't want to see you get hurt… or worse… die."
She wiped the sweat from his head again. "You're really hot."
"Thank you."
She rolled her eyes. He was border-line delirious, and he could still snark. He would always be a mystery to her. "Wilson's on his way."
Right as Wilson followed Chase into the chapel, House started to cough.
Allison immediately jumped from her seat. "Oh my god," she said.
"What is it?" asked Wilson.
"This can't be happening," said Allison quietly.
"What's going on?" asked Wilson. He took a seat next to House in the pew and felt his forehead. "Jesus, House, you're burning up."
"He needs fluids," said Allison quickly. "And if that doesn't work, we may have to try an ice bath."
Wilson looked at her oddly. Who did this chick think she was?
Allison blushed and offered her hand. "Um, sorry. Dr. Allison Cameron."
Wilson shook her hand. He turned to Chase. "Go get me a nurse and a gurney."
Chase immediately did as he was told, and it wasn't long before House was admitted as a patient.
"Have him put in Room 421," suggested Allison. "And pump fluids immediately."
Wilson was confused. "But… that's the isolation room. That department is still under construction."
Allison nodded. "My boyfriend is in there. They have the same thing."
Suddenly Wilson remembered everything that House had told him about his patient, and he hoped to god that they could find a treatment for whatever infection was spreading throughout their hospital.