This is a short chapter but it was all that needed to be told. Thanks to all of you who reviewed on chapter 2, reviews make me happy and when I'm happy I like to make those who made me happy, happy. Therefore the more you review the more I will update.

Disclaimer: House MD is property of David Shore and Fox TV, only the plot is mine.

Haunted

Chapter3: Forty-Eight Hours

Dr. Douglas Baum had been the attending on Alex Gale's case eleven months ago. Cameron had contacted him to get all the information she could on this disease. Dr. Baum faxed over everything he had on the case but said he would have no part in dealing with the disease again. Cameron sat at her kitchen table diligently reading the file hoping to find some answer as to what had killed Lily. The disease had taken the same coarse in the father except it took longer to kill him, forty eight hours.

The fact that it took longer in adults didn't make much difference, it didn't help Cameron figure out what it was, or what caused it. Maybe if House had been given more time he would have been able to figure it out. Cameron also checked several on lie medical data bases and found no documented cases of the illness.

She could feel her eyes begin to feel heavy as she reread Alex's file for the fifth time. It had been a long day and the lack of sleep from the previous night certainly didn't help matters. She forced her eyes to stay open with a determined sigh and continued to read. After the sixth time through the file she tossed it aside and rested her head in her hands. The answers were there, they had to be. Didn't they?

Cameron could not help but feel the urge to cry as an overwhelming sense of failure and uselessness washed over her. She envied House's skill and intelligence when it came to solving tough cases, it often made her feel like a bad doctor at times too. Perhaps she was a bad doctor, maybe this wasn't the right occupation for her. Death is an everyday thing, but there was just something about the way in which Lily died that would not leave her mind. She feared that if she didn't find the answer soon she would lose her mind.

"Lose my mind" She mumbled from beneath her palms. "I think that's already happened. I'm pretty sure hallucinations fall somewhere under psychosis."

"I lost something too." Cameron jumped out of her seat as she heard the voice coming from behind her. Lily stood behind the chair in which Cameron had been sitting, this time she appeared to be about ten years of age. The fact that she had appeared again wasn't what frightened Cameron who backed away towards the refrigerator unable to scream, it was that Lily had no skin, the deep cavernous holes covered her entire body. "Will you help me find it?"

Cameron felt her stomach turn as the smell of puss and rot drifted into her nose. Covering her nose with one hand she backed away farther. "I'm trying to help you. I just need more time."

"Time falls away too quickly. Where was time when I needed it?"

Cameron's back hit the refrigerator door as she took one more step. There was no where else to go. She could feel the warm tears now, as they fell from her eyes.

"Where was my time?" Lily asked again as she took a step forward. Cameron cringed as she heard the sound of bones breaking as Lily stepped towards her. "Can you help me find it?" Three more steps, bones snapping, popping, crunching like twigs, she was only a few steps away from Cameron now. The smell, the holes, the breaking bones, Cameron wept as the bright blue eyes peered deeply into hers.

Slowly Lily took one more step, as she put her weight down Cameron heard the most horrid snapping sound as she came crashing to the floor. Cameron let out the most heart wrenching scream as blackish red blood oozed from the holes in Lily's skin, the smell intensified ten fold as green puss began to mix itself in stream. Cameron doubled over vomiting what little content she had in her stomach, she closed her eyes trembling as she cried. When she opened them again Lily was gone.

Tucking her knees into her chest Cameron began to sob uncontrollably. After about twenty minutes she was able to collect herself. She forced herself off the floor and cleaned up her mess though she still trembled. She took in several shaky breathes as she tried to get her muscles to stop spasming. "I need a shower."

A shower was a good idea, she could feel her muscles relax as the hot water cascaded down her body. Her head rested on the wall as she breathed deep the steam the clung heavy in the air. She stayed like this until the water turned ice cold, quickly she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself as the cold air hit her. As she wiped away the steam from the mirror she cried out as she saw the image of Lily Gale just as she died.

It was gone as soon as it came, Cameron once again fought to get her breathing under control. Time, if only they had had more time to test the disease they could have helped her. Cameron drew in a deep breath as she realized what she needed to do. Time may be up for Lily but she could at least find the answer to give her peace.

"Good morning, Dr. Cameron." Nurse Brenda greeted cheerfully as the immunologist walked past her with long determined strides. Cameron merely nodded a greeting and continued on. On past the clinic, on past the pediatrics, on past diagnostics and oncology and down to the morgue.

They had kept a sample of Lily's infected blood to run tests on it. Cameron hoped that it was still there, if House could run tests he could figure out what it was that killed the little girl and her father. After a few minutes of searching she found what she was looking for and headed for Dr. House's office.

House was leaning back in his chair playing Metroid Prime on his Nintendo DS, Chase was sitting half asleep in the chair next to the door with a pencil in his mouth as he looked over his latest crossword while Foreman was discussing a case with Wilson as Cameron walked in. Her face was flush, eyes tired as she glanced at her colleagues then looked dead at House. "You have forty-eight hours." Before anyone could ask what she meant she jammed a syringe into her thigh.

Tbc.