Chapter 5

Author's Note: A big thank you to everyone who is reading or sent reviews! It means a lot to me:) I hope you are all enjoying the story and I apologize the last one was so short. I didn't think it needed to be dragged on, I wanted to get the point across short and sweet. This one should be a bit longer. Enjoy:)

Sweat was pouring down her brow and it was becoming increasingly difficult to take a deep breath through the pain in her ribs but Allison was so focused on trying to revive Jake that she barely noticed. The boy had stopped breathing almost three minutes ago and she had been doing CPR alone for that entire time. Her body was shaking with fatigue and she was dizzy with lack of oxygen when they finally pulled up to the doors of the ER.

Waiting in the ambulance bay was a team of nurses and doctors (one of whom was Cuddy) with a gurney. The doors to the car were thrown open and several gloved hands were pulling Jake from the backseat. Allison started to lose grip on his chest and panicked, "Wait, wait! He has a torn aorta."

The team paused long enough for Allison to climb on the gurney with him, holding her fingers in his chest. She ignored the worried glance from Cuddy and started rattling off his stats, "Fourteen year old male, gunshot wound to the chest, he's lost about half his blood volume. BP is falling very fast and he stopped breathing three minutes ago. He also has a collapsed left lung."

They rushed into the ER so quickly that Allison didn't even see House standing there, a shocked expression on his face when he saw her. She was covered in blood and bruises and was ghostly pale. House quietly followed the team to the trauma room and stood just inside the door.

A surgeon rushed in out of no where and took over holding Jake's chest. "Get me a clamp now!" He bellowed, pushing Allison to the side.

She immediately started doing chest compressions, trying to help get his heart started. "Come on Jake," she whispered, "don't do this now." Her breath was coming out in painful pants as she blindly pushed on his chest, ignoring the searing pain in her shattered wrist.

Cuddy met House's eyes over the din of the trauma, motioning him to get Cameron out of there. She grabbed her arm and pulled softly, "Come on Dr. Cameron, you need to go sit down and get checked out."

"No. I don't want to leave him," Allison protested. Her efforts were in vain however when a nurse accidentally bumped her side causing her to gasp in pain and shut her eyes.

House nodded imperceptibly at Cuddy's request and limped over to Cameron. "Come on Cameron." He tugged on her arm, dragging her away from the grisly scene in front of them.

"House?" Allison hadn't even noticed him and was surprised to still see him here, she thought he "checked out" at five. "I'm not leaving!" She glared at him.

"If you want your job next week, you will leave now," he insisted, pulling her more forcefully to the door. House mentally noted that she barely had the energy to stop him even with his bummed leg. "Come on, lets go over to the clinic."

"NO! I want to wait until he is stable and his mother arrives." Allison paused to catch her breath before continuing, "She was shot up really bad. I don't think she has much of a chance." Involuntary tears sprung into her eyes, "Oh god, what if she doesn't make it because I left her there. I told the police to call and ambulance and we bolted with Jake. What if she doesn't make it because of me?"

House was barely listening to her ramblings. "Cameron, you did the right thing getting him here so fast. Now come on!" He was trying to get her into the clinic and away from the chaotic ER before the mother did actually arrive.

"Oh god." A flush came over her entire body and before she could even make it to the trash can, Allison threw up on the floor, narrowly missing House's shoes. Tears of shame welled in her eyes. "I'm sorry House. I just.." her words trailed off as her knees started to give out.

House, who had jumped back when she spewed, took a giant step forward on his bad leg and caught the falling doctor just in time to get her into the chair beside them. "Hang on Cameron," he said through gritted teeth as he struggled to get her settled and breathe through the pain in his leg. Popping a vicodin, he regarded the woman in front of him. Her face was pale and sweaty, her lips starting to tremble. She was going into shock.

"Hey, Nurse Betty!" House waved to a nurse who was just leaving a patient room, "Can you be so kind as to get Dr. Cameron a wheelchair?"

Glaring at House, she brought over a chair and helped Cameron up and into it.

"I don't need a wheelchair," Cameron protested. "I can make it."

House scoffed, "Sure. All you need is to take a header and add to more of those bruises, let alone break my leg." He stared her down and she promptly shut up, letting the nurse wheel her to the deserted clinic.

House followed, leaning heavily on his cane. Despite his easy composure, he was really worried about Cameron.