"That's insane..." Wilson muttered, "How..."
"I don't know, but it fits, doesn't it?" Cameron asked.
"In a manner of speaking, yes, it does." House replied as he gently twirled his cane in the air, "Of course, just saying she's a kid who was abused and had TB at some point in time fits as well. But I like your idea, it's more creative."
"So what do we do?" Wilson asked.
"Well, last time I did a DNA test I was strung up by Cuddy for a week and not given any food and water." House said, "So, I'm thinking... we don't tell her?"
"How are we supposed to get their DNA?" Cameron asked, "You know they won't give it up."
"Well you'll have to use that pretty little head of yours." House said with a smirk, "Use your imagination, Cameron, you're friends with the kid, you should have the motivation to do it."
Cameron sighed and rolled her eyes slightly, "Okay." She left House's office and there was a silence that could have been cut with a knife. House's whole perception on the situation had changed quite suddenly, as if nothing in this case was the same as it had been only minutes before.
"We need to call the police," Wilson said, "If it's true... She won't have to testify to the sexual abuse."
"We need to confirm it first," House said quickly, "If it isn't true then we'd only be stirring it up even more."
"What if it is true?" Wilson asked, "What..."
"I'll get Cameron to find them," House said slowly, "She's pretty deep into this as it is,"
"You won't be able to tell Jenny," Wilson said, "Not for a while at least, not while she's still in crisis."
"We should be seeing results within the next few hours." House replied, "If it is Addison's..."
"What if it isn't?"
"Then I don't know what to do," House admitted, "I'm out of ideas."
"This has really drained you, hasn't it?" Wilson asked quietly, "You're actually worried about a patient!"
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"What are you, five? You are worried about here!" Wilson said with a gleam in his eyes, "You don't have to deny it, we all are worried, she's a fifteen-year-old kid who's going through something no human being should."
"I may be worried a little." House admitted with a shrug, "But in no way have I gone all out and actually started caring, she still lied..."
"Yeah, yeah I know. You don't have to explain it to me." Wilson stretched his sore muscles as he stood up, "I'm going home for the night, are you-..."
"I'm staying here," House replied, "I want to know the test results as soon as they're in."
"Who's going to tell her?"
"Cameron-..."
"Why her? You always make her."
"She's a woman." House said, "Woman tell other women things, that way there can be a lot of crying and stuff and I won't get my shirt wet."
"Most considerate of you."
"I know."
xXx
"I thought maybe you could use some coffee," Doctor Cameron was proud of herself, she wasn't able to give coffee to Gloria Corbin yet, fortunately the glass she had her water in earlier had been fished out of the trash. Foreman had taken the cup and questioned Cameron just why they were running parental tests, Cameron knew it wasn't her place to explain so she simply told him to ask House. Now she needed Daniel Corbin's DNA and the coffee he accepted from her was the key.
"Thanks." Daniel Corbin took a sip and continued to stare into Jenny's room.
Cameron hadn't really stepped on Corbin's toes at all, so she felt safe in asking him questions in hope of finding some answers or truth behind what she had read on the internet.
"She's on the road to recovery," Cameron said quietly, "You've got quite the little fighter for a daughter."
"She's got a strong will." Corbin agreed.
"We're still a little worried about nerve damage, her fever is holding strong at 104 degrees, but the medication we're giving her should bring it down very soon."
"Good, I'm glad."
"She's... a very nice girl." Cameron said with a small smile, "She's-..."
"You believe what she's told you, right?" Daniel Corbin turned to face Cameron, "The abuse, the hate, you believe all the just like the rest of the doctors do."
"I... believe there are signs, and her boyfriend doesn't really seem like the kind of guy..."
"He's a strange kid." Corbin said quietly, "Protective of her in ways I never imagined. I love my daughter, Doctor Cameron, I would never hurt her."
"I think that means you have to talk to her when she's better." Cameron said quietly, "Because she's under the illusion that her family doesn't care about her."
"Her family cares about her." Corbin said as he took another sip of his coffee. "I've told the others doctor, now I'm telling you, for your own safety, don't get involved in this situation. It's not safe. Get my daughter better and let me take her home where she belongs."
"You wonder why people don't trust you?" Cameron asked, "You hardly come off as the caring parental figure that she needs."
"My daughter will grow up strong willed and brave..."
"Your daughter will commit suicide from what she's had to endure before she's given the chance to grow up."
"If you think that, then do something about it." Corbin dared, "She's not saying anything, is she? You have nothing without her words." With that said, Corbin crushed the paper coffee cup in his hand and tossed it into a garbage can only a few feet away.
"Go home," Cameron said firmly, "Give your daughter a little peace for the night. She can't run away."
Daniel Corbin smirked slightly, "I admire your courage to stand up for my daughter, but trying to be a hero or prove yourself to your boss will get you nowhere in this."
"Go home." Cameron repeated without being phased by Corbin's words. She watched Daniel Corbin turn on heel and walk down the hallway and out of sight, the young doctor smiled to herself and walked over to the garbage can. She pulled a plastic bag out of her white lab coat pocket and with a pair of tweezers, leaned over the garbage can and pulled out the cup.
"Perfect."
xXx
"So, you going to tell us why we're doing a DNA test on these cups?" Chase asked as he leaned against the counter in the lab.
"No." Cameron replied as she pulled out the coffee cup and sighed slightly.
"Does House know why?" Foreman asked from his microscope.
"He told me to do this." Cameron replied simply.
"So, the question remains, does Cuddy know?" Chase asked.
"No, and you're not going to tell her." Cameron said quickly as she looked up at the Australian. "Right?"
"Sure, if it's that important."
"It is."
"House is going to be paying out of his own pockets for this," Foreman muttered, "Does he know that?"
"He doesn't care," Cameron said, "Come on, this is really important."
"Okay, okay." Foreman muttered, "So, who's DNA am I looking at?"
"Gloria Corbin's."
"And you've got-..."
"Daniel Corbin's, the man is a creep."
"I could have told you that." Chase pointed out, "The man has serious issues he needs to deal with."
"He needs to start dealing with them on someone else's head." Cameron muttered, "I swear, when I was talking to him, he was so pleased with himself, like sexual abuse was a comical subject for him..."
"Whoa, slow down." Chase said quickly, "Sexual abuse? When did this happen?"
"House talked to Jenny's boyfriend, apparently it started a few years ago." Cameron replied, "That's how he knew she was allergic to Interferon, when she started getting sick her father thought it was Hep B so they took her to a doctor."
"And, what? The doctor just ignored the fact that she was there for a Hep B test? Didn't he ask any questions?" Chase demanded.
"Apparently the doctor attending didn't believe her when she told him," Cameron explained, "But this is all from the boyfriend, It may or may not be true."
"Probably is." Foreman muttered, "This kid has all the problems..."
"Has she said anything about it?" Chase asked quietly.
"Nothing," Cameron replied sadly, "I tried talking to her but she's too scared. I don't think her boyfriend was lying, I think it was all very real, that bite on her arm was from when she tried to run away a while ago. Her parents really don't want her leaving."
Foreman pulled a glossy paper from the slot in the printer and looked over the results, he had to check the paper twice, rub his eyes and then check a third time to be certain. "Guys..." He said, "This is weird..."
xXx
"Are you certain?" House asked.
"Positive." Foreman replied, Cameron and Chase stood behind him in the small office, cups of coffee in their hands. Everyone looked exhausted.
"Double checked the results?"
"Triple checked." Cameron replied sadly, "What do you want to do?"
"Has Gloria been discharged yet?" House asked as he unscrewed the lid to his Vicodin and popped a pill into his mouth.
"Not yet." Foreman replied, "Someone ought to..."
"Cameron, you think you'd be able to contact the-..."
"Yes." She said quickly. "I'll go do that right now."
"You didn't even let me compliment you." House said, "I was going to call you a 'people person'. Now I've used my good compliment for the week."
"Sorry," She smiled slightly and walked out of the office.
"So what are we going to do from here?" Chase asked quietly.
"Someone has to tell her." House said firmly.
"I don't know her that well..." Foreman said, taking a step back toward the office door.
"I think she's annoying." Chase lied as he too took a step back.
House rolled his eyes, "It is your job to inform patients..."
"Let's look at it logically," Chase said, "Would you want to be the one who told her?"
"No," House said firmly, "Which is why I'm making one of you do it."
"I think," Foreman said, "Because you get along with her so well, we'll let you do it."
House didn't argue, which was strange not only to him but to the other doctors as well. Both Foreman and Chase were certain they would have to give the life altering news, instead, House didn't fight them. It was almost like a part of him wanted to tell Jenny, like he felt it was his duty to do so.
It was one forty-eight in the am, the halls of the hospital were dead. The lights over head flickered slightly in an ominous fashion, the air was suddenly much thicker than House had ever remembered. The antiseptic smell reeked violently and sunk into his pores until he was the smell of the hospital. He lived there, he ate the cafeteria food, he drank the water from the cooler, he slept in his office and at times like this he wondered why he put himself through all of it. House didn't exactly hate the hospital, he hated the feeling of it, it was the saddest and happiest place in the world, and to him, it was always more sad than happy. He had cut himself off from the joy and now was drowning in the sadness.
He had wandered the halls, Ipod in hand, 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' playing quietly on repeat and quite ironically as far as House was concerned. His music let him go off into his own world, it was almost pleasant in a strange way, the hospital was not the ideal setting for such a song and yet... it fit. He had been wandering the halls for an hour and a half, stopping frequently to rest his leg, he has passed Jenny's room three times.
Over the years he had given bad news to many families. Things had happened, he had changed and he no longer had the ability to tell another human being that their life would be changed drastically because of something he did. This was not his fault, so why was there a sinking feeling in his gut, why did he fear telling this young girl such an important thing?
He stopped and stared through the glass wall to where Jenny was laying. Spencer was on the other side of the room sleeping in a chair, undoubtedly Jenny told him to get some rest, she was that sort of person, one more concerned with others than with herself.
House gently slid the door to her room open and closed it, careful not to wake the young man who was finally getting rest after days of pacing the hospital and being worried. Jenny lay on her bed quietly, fiddling with a wire and some beads, House noticed immediately that her hands shook slightly, making her task a difficult one. He limped forward and stood over Jenny for a moment, the girl did not look up, nor did she even acknowledge his presence, she just continued trying to put the beads together to form a shape.
Eventually frustration got the better of the young girl and she forcefully pushed the lizard away. Beads of sweat still hung on her forehead, her entire body was still just a mass of bones, almost no flesh, her skin was ivory in the dim light.
"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.
"Okay." She said meekly with a shrug, still not making eye contact.
"How many of those have you made since you got here?" House asked as he picked up the half-finished green and blue lizard and looked at it.
"Sixteen," Jenny replied, "I can't finish that one though, my hands keep shaking."
"You're body still isn't used to the nutrients its receiving." House replied, "It's ease off."
"So, am I getting better?"
House nodded, "You'll be free to run as far away as you want in a week or two."
"Has my mom been discharged?"
"Not yet." House replied, "We need to talk about something rather serious."
"What?" Jenny asked.
"You're parents." House said.
"I already told doctor Cameron," Jenny said quietly, "They never abused me..."
"Oh stop lying already." House snapped in a low voice, "I don't like patients that lie remember? Besides, I'm not here to talk about that." He had obviously scared Jenny, the young girl shrank back slightly in fear. House sighed and pulled a chair closer with his cane before sitting down and staring at the young girl.
"You said thirteen years ago things were different, they felt different."
Jenny nodded rather numbly.
"Doctor Cameron did some research when we suspected tuberculosis. Thirteen years ago there was a two year old girl in BC who had been admitted into a hospital for tuberculosis. Three days into her stay she disappeared, they never found her or who took her."
Jenny had a bewildered look on her face, if it was possible for her to turn any more white, she would have. Instead she simply looked quite faint.
"Did you know your parents aren't biologically related to you?"
"No..." Jenny whispered as she slowly shook her head, "No, no it can't be..."
House watch the young girls reaction and without realizing it, found himself leaning over and gently placing his hand on her shoulder, as if he was trying to offer some kind of support. Jenny buried her head in her arms and sobbed quietly, and in the darkness, 'Boulevard Of Broken Dreams' finished playing on the Ipod before fading away into the darkness.
A/N: Thank you everyone, I appreciate your support and caring words. :) I'm not certain if I should do my final story shocker, but I really don't want this to end so... stay tuned!