A House Fan-Fic
entercreativename
author's note: I am not the creator or owner of the characters mentioned in this story. I am instead a poor college student with no money or no hope of money. I wrote this story as a means of exploring the characters in the show, not for profit, notoriety, or other self-assuring means.
Chapter 6 - Circles
House and two of his three underlings sat circled around the conference table in the room next to his office. Joining these regulars were two colleagues that he was familiar with, and a new one that he knew more by name than reputation. He had just asked the team in front of him to name off the symptoms of their missing colleague, Dr. Robert Chase.
Cuddy started off. "Patient first presented with severe acute-onset depression. He was also dehydrated and sweating. Low-grade fever of 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Blood pressure at arrival of ambulance was 99 over 43, pulse rate 96. Patient complained of vertigo which was secondary to the low blood pressure. Variable respiration rate. Patient slipped into coma in transit."
House summarized on the whiteboard as Cuddy rattled off the stats. Depression, dehydration, sweating. Low-grade fever, low blood pressure, high pulse rate. He stood back for a minute, there was a pattern already emerging, but there was also something else there. "Any medications we should know about?"
Cameron then spoke up. "None that we know of, however, it isn't like Chase to talk about his own medical history at work with us. He has been coughing a little lately, along with the dizziness. He's also had a headache - he asked me for some acetaminophen the other day."
"Add to that excessive tiredness," Foreman spoke up. "He finished the last of the coffee the other day and he usually only has one cup."
"And runny nose," Cameron chimed in again. "He used up my box of Kleenexes."
House looked at the board again: Low-grade fever, low blood pressure, high pulse rate. Depression, dehydration, sweating. Cough, headache, runny nose. With the exception of the low blood pressure and coma, it looked like Chase's diagnosis should be easy.
Wilson spoke up next, "It looks like he just has a cold, but a cold wouldn't cause this." House was glad Wilson didn't say what was on everyone's mind at that moment.
Cuddy then added, "Edema of the lower legs, ankles, feet, and hands. Labs aren't too good either. Creatinine levels are rising, but are thankfully still within the normal range. Actually, all blood tests came back normal, including WBCs."
House looked at the board. "The labs tell us something. What are they telling us?"
It was at this point that Chase would usually chime in. Instead, a very quiet Linda Sanford then spoke up. "Um, excuse me, but when were the last labs run?"
Everyone looked at her as the outsider to this circle that she seemed to be. Foreman looked at the chart and confirmed that it had only been an hour and a half and that Chase was stable.
Cuddy then spoke up again, "We've been unable to locate Chase's medical history in any area clinic, so we don't know anything from there."
Sanford spoke, "His father died of cancer this summer. His mother died when he was in high school. Liver failure secondary to alcoholism." Everyone looked at her. "He came to me to talk about his father's death in July."
House continued from Sanford's statement, "Depression could be from either psychological cause or physiological."
"Protein markers were negative for any cancer." Wilson added.
"Foreman and I would have noticed a difference in his personality." Cameron added.
Sanford continued in her high, naïve voice, "He was probably hiding it. He knew that it would effect his work."
Cameron, suddenly argumentative needed to confront this new rival. "Foreman and I would have noticed it when we met outside of work, like we always did."
House looked at them. "You had a secret friendship club meeting without me?" And time to look hurt by them.
Foreman sighed. Now this was becoming more normal for them. A patient was ill, it was their job to find out what was wrong and fix it; House was almost back in his zone as he looked at the board in almost a trance.
"People, listen to me. The depression has to have a physiological cause. He barely knew his father, in fact, he resented him."
Cameron looked scorn. "You don't know that. How do you know his history with his father?"
House ignored Cameron and instead looked back at the board. There had to be more. He knew there was more, but he couldn't find out by just sitting there. "Wilson, you're with me at Chase's apartment. Cameron, Cuddy, go through this office and hospital looking for anything, especially anything he might have ingested. Foreman, you go with Sanford and examine Chase. Run any necessary tests. And recheck his kidney functions."
Foreman and Cameron looked confused.
"Do I have to repeat myself?" House glared at them. This was affecting him a lot more than any other patient would.
Foreman then had to ask the question, "Sir, I'm usually the one to go and check out a person's home. Why suddenly the interest."
Wilson was staring at Foreman, then shifted his gaze to House, "Yes House, why suddenly you and me?"
House knew the answer but couldn't say it out loud. He owed Chase the dignity of his privacy as much as possible. When the infarction happened, it seemed like everyone at the hospital made House's well-being their main concern. While it was nice to be appreciated, he instead wished that his doctors' and nurses' time was spent fixing him, not visiting him. The only visitors he allowed in were Stacy and Wilson. Even his parents tried to visit him, but he wouldn't see them. All he wanted was privacy then, and he was sure that privacy is what Chase would want at this time as well.
Foreman brought House back from his thought when he restated Wilson's question, "Yes, House, why you and Wilson, and not me?"
House swallowed hard, "We at least owe Chase the dignity of his privacy. Now lets go people."
And with that, they were all off to their separate tasks.