Disclaimer: I do not own House MD; it is created by David Shore, and affiliated to FOX Broadcasting Network.
Parings: House/Cameron
Rating: K+ basically the equivalent of PG. The highest I will go up to is T (PG-13), so don't expect anyof thosescenes ;
A/N: I did some research for the medical terms and such. So those are credit to WebMD. I've wanted to a House/Cameron fic for a while now, so that's how it came to be. Inspirations are from the minutes before I sleep, I tend to think a lot, lol. Also, I like to let things develop at a slower pace, just to warn you before hand.
As for spoilers, this is more of a 'on-the-side' story, but there will be reference to the eps. For the first chapter, it will be all episodes up until Heavy (though I don't think there is . . .)
Enjoy!
Not Without Flaws
Chapter 1
House slid his armchair back and turned on his conventional, black stereo. A talk show of some sort rang out but it was abruptly stopped as he switched the radio to FM. Why listen to talk shows anyway? After all, half the people involved don't have a clue what they're talking about. ". . . let's see now, I'm in the mood for some . . . rock?" The display now read '106.5' as he adjusted a small knob. A commercial about detergent cleaners sounded, House cursed under his breath. Blasted commercials, just another factor that will eventually be used by future historians to explain man's downfall . . .
Walking toward House's office, Cameron could see through the glass panes that House was enjoying his lunch break, lying back in his chair. I guess that's an improvement, as opposed to playing his Gameboy. Or what was that new device that came out . . . ? The . . . She looked down the corridor absent mindedly; a small boy deeply engaged in his handheld immediately jogged her memory. Oh right, the DS.
Pushing the glass door open, she realized House was listening to the radio, a commercial was playing. Good, talk to him when he's not listening to music . . . or he'd blow. Cameron cleared her throat to get his attention, "Dr. House--"
"Ah Cameron," House looked up. No. Don't do that next time. Reminding himself, he looked away and as the sight of Cameron gave him an airy feeling in the stomach. "And how are we doing on this fine day?" He asked casually. Noticing the commercial about Krup's Ketchup was over, House rejoiced inside waited for a song to come one.
"The test--" Cameron stopped, a song had started and the music was getting quite loud, she wasn't going to try and talk over it. No sane person would ever try to compete with a megabass stereo turned up near to its limit. Instead, she thought she'd just wait until it ended. Glancing over at House, she noticed that he was apparently not aware of the amount of decibels his stereo was dismissing, nor of Cameron's sudden stop, and seemed to be enjoying the music. If you could call it that, it was more like an angry, husky toned lady . . . yelling; it was easy to make out the chorus though . . .
"Why do you love me
Why do you love me
Why do you love me it's driving me crazy
Why do you love me
Why do you lov----"
The room was suddenly devoid of sound as House hastily reached over and turned the power off. The chorus seemed to be echoing, ringing out again and again. An awkward silence filled the room as Cameron stood still in front of the door, her lips pursed, and her brows slightly raised. House's head raced against time as he opened his mouth to say something smart, something cruel; anything. But his mind went blank and nothing came out. Damn! He closed his mouth, and opened them again, but before he could say anything, Cameron's voice cut in.
"Why Do You Love Me, by Garbage. I heard it back a while ago." Sensing the prolonged silence, she continued quickly. "It's . . . a nice song." It was a lie, but nothing else came to her mind.
". . . Ah." House gave a hesitant nod; he could feel his sardonic old self coming back to him. Thank God . . . "Well aren't we smart. You deserve a gold star." He scrunched up his nose and gave a big grin.
Cameron gave an irritated smile, "Why thank you." Before House could say more, she started again. "Look Dr. House, I know you're on your lunch break, but the test came in positive. We've confirmed the diagnosis. It's sarcoidosis." She gave a chuckle, "Hey, what do you know, it rhymes!" a smile crossed her lips and she gave a little shrug, she hadn't meant for it to rhyme.
House couldn't help but emit a small smile. He nodded, "That's great news. Well, not great, but at least we can start him on the right treatment. It will last for a fairly long time though, it all depends. Start him on the corticosteroids, you know which one to use. Oh, be sure to keep him on the oxygen regulator periodically, his respiratory system won't be stable for at least another 3 months. We certainly wouldn't want him out of breath again. . . hmmm . . . why do I still have the suspicion that the last time he was short of breath was caused not by the inflammation of his lung tissues, but of a certain female presence in the room?" He squinted at Cameron, "Do you happen to recall?"
Sighing, Cameron half rolled her eyes and turned to the glass door. Ah . . . the doorway to my freedom. I couldn't ask for more. She pulled it open, "Alright, I'll start him on the treatment." She muttered without glancing back, the last she heard before the door closed quietly was a shout out from House, something about it being a better idea if Chase or Foreman treated the patient. Walking on, she ignored his comment, and what do I see in him? Cameron hoped her mind would answer with something similar to 'no clue', but all thoughts of House quickly swarmed her and – No Allison! Don't even think about that! She shook her head vigorously and hurried to the patient's room.
Back in his office, House twirled his cane skillfully between his fingers, an amused grin hung on his lips.
> > >
"So Joseph, how are you feeling?" Cameron walked into the patient's room, a man in his late twenties lay on the bed. His face was covered in a rash of a painful shade of red, an oxygen mask was strapped onto him. He turned his head with effort as the young doctor walked in.
"Dr. Cameron. Hi." He rasped through the mask. Cameron lifted his head up gently and uncovered the mask from his face. "There, better? You can have it off for the next hour or so."
"Thank you." Joseph's voice was weak and sounded harsh. "My joints, they ache." He paused to inhale a breath of air before exhaling it, "Especially my shoulders . . ." the man twisted his shoulders and from his expressions, you could tell it was excruciatingly sore.
"Great." No not great! What am I saying? House is having a bad influence on me. "Uh, what I mean is that painful joints are another one of the symptoms presented in the disease of sarcoidosis. This is what we believe-- well, what we've confirmed that you have.
"S . . . sarcoi . . ?"
"Yes. Sarcoidosis, Joseph." Cameron continued, "It is a very rare disease, and unfortunately at this stage in human advancement, it isn't possible to reverse the effects, but we can prevent further damage to your lungs; with corticosteroids, specifically prednisone to stop the inflammation."
"How long . . ?" he gave a small cough, and attempted to clear his throat.
"Looking at your conditions, I'm guessing around a year . . ." Seeing distress craw across the patient's face, Cameron searched for something that would comfort him. ". . . Well, you never know. You might be able to get out in just 6 months." She gave a hopeful smile.
Joseph gave a small nod and forced a weak smile.
"Joseph, Dr. Chase will be here soon to give you your first dose of the prednisone. If you need anything, the nurse is always here. I'll remind her about your oxygen mask." Cameron grabbed the clipboard from the patient's bedside, where his periodic conditions were recorded down by the nurses, and turned to leave.
"Dr. Cameron . . ." Joseph managed to call out.
Cameron turned around, her eyebrows flicked up questioningly. "Is something wrong?"
"Could you . . . come here for a second . . ?"
The young doctor frowned slightly, puzzled. But nevertheless, she walked over and tugged the patient's blanket up higher, in hopes of comforting him. Her hands rested on the covers as she waited for him to speak.
"Umm . . ." Joseph shifted around, "I . . ." he looked up into Cameron's eyes and breathed sharply as he became aware of her deep blue eyes, there seemed to be no end to them . . . He swallowed.
"Joseph?" a look of concern swept over Cameron's face. "Are you alright? What are you experiencing?" Her frown deepened, "Joseph, what--"
Cameron was stunned, her jaws fell down slightly.
The young man had taken her hand in his. "Dr. Cameron . . . I just wanted to tell you . . . that, you can call me Joe." With his other hand, he placed it gently on top of Cameron's and gave a smile.
Cameron drew her hand away immediately. "I- I'm sorry . . ." She backed away a few steps. " . . . Joseph . . ." she breathed out quietly, avoiding the young man's gaze. Turning to escape the room quickly, she gave a small gasp as she was caught off guard by the sight of House standing outside the glass window. His sapphires were staring straight at her, they had a twinkle of amusement in them.
Dr. House! No! I-- The stiffening silence seemed to strangle Cameron as she tried to do something, anything. She knew that running out there and explaining to him what happened would have been best, but her legs refused to carry her. House raised his eyebrows to the sky, and slowly started to turn.
Wait! Cameron finally regained physical control of her body. She sped out the door and headed for the direction he had turned to. There it was, the steady outline of House, limping away. Damn! She lost sight of him as a sea of patients, nurses, and doctor swarmed her view. Her run turned into a saunter and eventually a stop.
Cameron caught her breath and after a few moments, she gave up. Giving a deep sigh, she leaned on the nearby wall and tilted her head back. House's comment repeated itself in her head . . . that the last time he was short of breath was caused not by the inflammation of his lung tissues, but of a certain female presence in the room . . . but of a certain female presence in the room . . . a certain female presence . . . Cameron sighed again. I just had to fall for a guy that knows all. She shook her head at herself and headed down to the lab. She would have to talk to House later.
A/N: The rhyming thing with 'diagnosis' and 'sarcoidosis' was not actually intended, ; I was really shocked when I reread that passage and found it to rhyme. So I made some changes to include that little bad joke, heheh, sorry.
Hope you liked it, I'd appreciate any feedback
ACMD
