Learning and Understanding, Chapter 2
By JSG
Summary: House/Cameron, House and Cameron learn about each other, and themselves. 1st chapter after the events of "Hunting"
Disclaimer: I do not own House, nor their characters. Don't sue.
Chase and Foreman walked into the conference room to find Dr. House writing several names onto the whiteboard:
1. Cuddy
2. Warner
3. Chase
4. Foreman
5. Wilson
6. Cameron
"What's with the names?" Forman asked, as he and Chase sat down.
"It's my 'Blame List'" House responded, proudly. He then wrote 'My Blame List' on the top, and then added 2 stars around the title, and a stick figure next to it, emphasising the immaturity of the entire concept.
Forman couldn't help asking; "And… your ex-girlfriend is second to the top of the list?"
"Because," he explained, whispering as if afraid someone else would hear "she's a lawyer… she's EVIL." House's eyes were wide, staring at the two doctors. He looked quite mad.
Dr Cameron then walked in, ignoring the looks of the 3 male doctors and sat down, before looking at the whiteboard. It took a moment to register what was on it but then she asked "Why is my name on the bottom of the list?" She asked.
House looked at her name on the list in thought for a moment. "Good point. I can't have the goody two shoes drug user blamed last." Cameron looked down at her desk in embarrassment of what happened a week prior. House then went and erased her name, and rewrote it, managing to fit it in between his ex-girlfriend and Chase.
He looked at the list again. "Hmm…. While we're at it…." House then went and moved Foreman above Chase and below Cameron. "Done, first I blame the women, and then I blame the black guy." He looked pleased.
House pulled out the patient's file, "Alright, time to start work." He opened it and started to read from it. "A black female" he emphasised 'black' and stared at Foreman, trying to provoke a response "8 years old, orphan (I guess her parent's didn't last long in those black ghettos)," Foreman just ignored him, "arrived. Symptoms are… fatigue, coughing, diarrhoea, fever…."
House wiped out the 'Blame List' and started writing the symptoms on the board.
"Differential diagnosis people."
"Could be vasculitis" Foreman suggested.
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After the differential diagnosis House went to do his mandatory clinic hours, leaving his 'underlings' to tend to the patient and look into the causes. After spending 3 hours in the clinic, about half that time actually treating patients, he left. House noticed Stacey and Cameron talking in the entrance, so he approached them. "Oooh! How's it going you gossiping girls? I bet it's just like junior high!" he said, with an exaggerated enthusiastic voice. "Hey, have you told Stacey the story about me costing the hospital 100 million dollars?" House asked Cameron, with a grin on his face She ignored him. "That's one of my favourites," he took a look at Stacey. Her eye's avoided his gaze, obviously still mad at him. He merely sighed, as if remembering the good old times. "Any news on the patient?" the older doctor asked Cameron, ignoring the fact he interrupted their conversation.
She shook her head. "I was just about to run a blood test."
"Well, don't let me keep you waiting, go, go, go…" he shooed her with his cane teasingly.
"House!" the room seemed to stop as Cuddy approached the crippled doctor. House sighed in frustration.
House turned around to respond to Dr Cuddy "I told you, I'm sorry about last night! I'm just not used to women being so…. extremely forward, it makes me uncomfortable."
"My office. NOW!" she said as she walked past.
House glared back but followed. "You could be more subtle. Doesn't this hospital have a policy on relationships between staff?" He then looked behind, to Cameron with a helpless 'please save me' expression. She simply smiled.
Cuddy and House walked into Cuddy's office. Cuddy slammed the door behind them.
"Jacob Porter, remember him?" Cuddy queried.
"Yeah, lovely fellow, met him in the clinic, quite large but…"
"He came complaining an hour ago."
House rolled his eyes, "They always do.…"
"He was crying to bits in my office!"
House shrugged. Cuddy sighed in aggravation.
"You totally tore him to shreds…. He has 5 children you know, 3 of them died."
"I merely assumed…"
"You merely assumed! You may not know this but some people actually listen to you, and take what you say seriously. You don't go about assuming people, especially our patients! You can be wrong and PEOPLE HAVE FEALINGS." Cuddy emphasised each of the last 3 words.
Cuddy was pissed. House didn't know how to respond.
"Just go." Cuddy said in irritation. She gestured House to leave. He left.
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House watched Cameron, who was in the clean room with the patient. He was observing at a distance, from another hallway through a few windows, unnoticed. The patient had been diagnosed; she had full-blown AIDS.
It wasn't much of a puzzle for House.
Her mother probably had it, and passed it onto her daughter. The mother died from something else. The child's HIV and then AIDS went ignored, undiagnosed and untreated. It was too late now, the AIDS was too far and she already had an infection before being admitted into the clean room. All they could do was watch and treat the pain and symptoms. It wouldn't take long for her illness to kill her.
He didn't know why, but he tried to protect Cameron this time. He sent her with Foreman to the orphanage to learn the patient's background and to find any causes, to keep her away from the patient. He sent her to do most of the labs while the two males looked after her and applied most of the medication. But it didn't work, she still cared. She still hung around the patient, visited her. Cameron had probably spent about an hour with the patient today, keeping her company. She probably would tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, until the child died.
Finally, Cameron got up. House saw her wave goodbye to the patient and then start to leave the clean room. Once she was out, Cameron started to cry. House watched a few tears flow down her cheek. She then headed of, towards the conference room. House headed there too, via a different route, and found her facing away, packing up for the night before leaving.
House opened the door and approached her.
He hesitated. "I was wrong about you." He finally said.
Cameron took a breath, brushed away her tears and then turned around to face him, ready for his sarcasm or witty comment. Her emotions were clearly noticeable.
"You don't try to fix everything, you didn't try to fix me, and you didn't try to fix your husband." He said slowly, pausing for a moment. Cameron wasn't sure whether to say something or not, but that was decided by House continuing. "You care. Not only about whether your patient lives or dies, but if they're dieing their death is noticed, by someone, by anyone." He paused again, for a moment in thought. "And that is a part… of what makes you a good doctor."
He went past her, into his office. She didn't respond, but wiped another tear away and sniffed. But House hoped, in some small way, he cheered her up.