Chapter 37: What Were You Doing That Night?

Floating; the peacefulness; the long tunnel; Danny and young Ryan….the flashbacks were shooting at her almost too fast to comprehend as she dreamt. Gateway to heaven; I don't want to go back; too much pain and loneliness; there is someone down there who loves you; He's afraid; He's feeling guilty; I can see House sitting at his piano; House is crying; Go back Allison; You can heal and love each other; Your REAL soul mate is still waiting for you back home….hurry.

The words and visions played over and over in her head. Up until now she had only remembered small fragments of what had happened (or what she thinks might have happened). The whole time these flashbacks were going through her brain, the song from House's piano was playing in the background. She knew she recognized the piece but could not remember the name of the song.

Cameron woke up with a start, breaking out in a small sweat. She was a little panicked and just looked around and got her bearings to make sure where she was. She looked at the clock and noticed it was already 9 p.m.. She hoped House would stop by soon. She really needed for him to verify what she was seeing in these visions before she could truly believe they had happened.

According to her flashbacks, when she died, she had been met at the gateway to heaven by her deceased husband, Danny and their unborn son, Ryan. Many things had been said, but most importantly, Danny had told her that House loved her and that he was afraid. And that he was feeling guilty. He actually let her look down into House's apartment and see what he was doing at that time. He was playing the piano and then started crying.

Danny had told her that she and House were meant to be and that she should go back because they could heal and love each other. He told her that her real soul mate was still waiting for her on Earth.

If she could get House to tell her that he was at home playing the piano and then also crying while she was dying, then she would know the visions were reality and she could believe what Danny said about House. She wished she could remember the name of the song House was playing because that would really clinch it. Maybe once he told her it would come to her and she would know if that was the piece or not.

By 10 p.m. Cameron couldn't take it any longer. House still hadn't stopped by and she knew tomorrow was the pre-trial. She was afraid he'd leave early tonight due to the early morning tomorrow. She buzzed for the nurse and wrote on the board.

When the nurse came in, Cameron held up the board to her which said: Could you please page Dr. House down to my room please. Thanks.

About ten minutes later, House walked thru Cameron's door, bowed gracefully, and asked, "You rang, M'Lady?"

He looked up and was in the middle of giving her a seductive smile, when he noticed that she was obviously upset about something. He immediately got serious and went to her side. He sat on the edge of the bed instead of in this chair and took her hand in his as usual.

"What's wrong Allison?" House asked.

Cameron wrote: I need to ask you something, but I'm not sure how to.

"You can ask me anything, you don't have to worry," replied House.

Allison wrote: "But I am worried. I know how you feel about a certain subject because it's how I use to feel about the same subject myself."

House kind of shook his head as if to clear it and said, "OK. You're going to have to be a little more specific than that."

Allison looked at House and then back down at her board. She finished writing:"Ok. But please don't laugh at me,….I'm being serious. Ever since the accident, I've been having these vision like / flash backs."

Greg looked at her without cracking a smile, and asked, "How long have you been having these 'visions' ?"

Cameron wrote: As soon as I started dreaming. At first they were just little fragments, but each time I dreamt I got more and more of the vision. But it felt more like flashbacks.

"Cameron, I think I'm going to call Foreman back in and have him run another MRI and do some more neurological tests just to make sure there wasn't more brain damage than we thought."

Cameron got pissed and House knew it without her being able to say a word. She erased what was on the board and wrote: Dammit House! This isn't brain damage. Something happened to me when I died. I was met at the gateway to heaven. It was so peaceful and everything was white.

"Baby, I'm sure you think it was real, but it was probably just your brain using up the last of it's creative juices as you slipped away," House rationalized.

Cameron wrote as tears started to fall down her cheeks: NO! I saw them. I talked to them. He told me things. It was real.

Cameron was so upset she was shaking. House knew she believed what she was saying but it was all so far fetched to him. He put his arms around her and brought her closer to him in a sitting position. He asked, "Who did you see Allison? Who told you things?"

Cameron wrote: I saw Danny, Greg. Danny and our unborn child, Ryan. Danny told me it wasn't my time yet and that there was someone one on earth who loved me. She erased it and continued to write: Danny told me that you loved me but that you were afraid.. He said you were feeling guilty over how you had treated me but at the time I was dying you still hadn't known I was even in trouble.

Everything Cameron told me that Danny had said was hitting way too close to home. Surely it it's just a coincidence. She couldn't have REALLY have talked to her deceased husband, Right?, House thought.

Cameron wrote: He said you and I were meant to be Greg. And that I needed you and you needed me to heal and love each other. Please, you have to believe me…I'm not lying to you. I wouldn't make this up, I promise!

House was panicking now. He jumped up off the bed after letting go of Allison's hand like it burned. He immediately regretted his actions because he saw that her feelings had been hurt. He hadn't meant to react that way. It's just that everything her dead husband supposedly told her during this out of body experience was true and it scared the hell out of him. One: because having his feelings summed up nice and neat in a few little sentences (when he had been struggling to decipher them all week) was disconcerting to say the least. Second: If these accurate messages really did come from above, then his whole view of life, Heaven, and Hell.….well frankly just got shot to Hell.

House was rudely brought out of his stupor by a mini white board flying through the air and hitting him in the gut. At the same time that the board hit his gut he heard in a very low, barely audible whisper, "Dammit House! Will you listen to me?"

He charged back in a booming voice, "I AM listening to you!"

All of a sudden his eyes got big as saucers and his smile grew from ear to ear. "Allison?" he said excitedly.

Cameron was so upset about trying to get him to understand about her experience during death that she was totally oblivious. She looked at the silly look on his face and said, "What?"

Again, it had come out as a low, strained whisper….but it was music to House's ears. He sat back on the bed, took her in his arms and hugged her. He laughed and said, "Baby, your voice. It's coming back. You've been so upset you didn't even realize it…but you SPOKE the last two times instead of writing!"

He pulled back to look at her face as realization sunk in. She started to smile and big crocodile tears slid down her cheeks. House kissed each one away.

"Greg?" Cameron asked, "I think I may have a way to prove I was where I said I was."

House looked at her and raised one eyebrow. He asked, "And just how do plan on doing that?"

Cameron asked, "Do you remember the exact time of night I died? Either from Wilson telling you or from reading my chart?"

House answered painfully, "yes". He handed Cameron some water as he could tell using her voice all of a sudden was taking it's toll.

"When I was up there with Danny," Cameron whispered, "he let me look down and see you in your apartment. I saw what you were doing at that very moment. Don't say anything yet. I just want to know if you remember what it was you were doing at that time of night."

Since Time of Death had not actually been called by Wilson, House thought back to the last entry of that night before the letter TOD were written in and then scratched out. He took that time entry and put it with the info directly from Wilson's retelling of the night and came up with Cameron's actual time of death. He then thought back to what he would have been doing at that time in his apartment. It was easy. He was trying to escape and take comfort in his piano playing. It wasn't working. He was drinking a scotch of course. He started playing a song for Cameron. But for the life of him he couldn't remember the name of it. He just remembers that at the end he got so upset be banged all the keys and made a horrible sound and then broke down crying.

"Yes, I remember," House replied.

"OK," whispered Cameron, "I'm going to tell you what I saw…."

TBC……