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

Haunted

Chapter 9: Caffeine

Hour 17

The past seventeen hours had taken quite a toll on the diagnostics department. Foreman fought back a a yawn as the youngest duckling kept glaring at Dr. House. He had the sneaking suspicion that he missed something but he was pretty sure that what ever it was he didn't want to know. They were sitting around the glass table waiting for Wilson to return with the latest news about their patient. As if on cue Wilson came strolling around the corner and into House's office.

"No change." Sighing as he put a hand to his weary brown eyes Wilson pulled out the chair next to Foreman and sat down. "She is resting right now, a little sleep may do her some good. A little sleep may do us all some good for that matter."

"How long are we going to keep her on that machine?" Chase asked as he glanced up at the clock. He had on a pair of soft blue scrubs after his little encounter with Cameron, it had felt rather nice to shed his other outfit after being in it for sixteen hours.

"Another hour or so. Next we'll try treatment for Legionnaire's." House was thumping his cane loudly on the floor while sipping on a fresh cup of coffee, he hoped the caffeine would help see him through the end of this case because there was no chance that he was going to go home and sleep while a member of his staff was dying. It was a puzzle this disease, the desire to find the answer burnt strong with in him but the need to save Cameron's life was stronger, sure she was an idiot for doing this to herself but she didn't deserve to die.

"House, the CBC only showed a slight elevation her white count and her Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is normal." Chase countered as he brushed back a few strands of slightly damp hair.

"Her arterial blood gas analysis did reveal a low concentration of oxygen though." Foreman considered the possibility but there was little hope of it being the answer. In all his time as a doctor he had never seen anything quite like this before and he hoped that he would never see it again.

"Never mind Chase." House told his neurologist as he pulled himself up with his cane to get a fresh cup of coffee. "After all he is a natural blonde."

"House!" Chase whined as Wilson began to crack up as Foreman gave the three men a confused look.

"We'll give her the full cocktail, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and gatifloxican. Hell, might as well throw in Larry, Curley, and Moe while we're at it."

Hour 18

It was near impossible for Cameron to sleep. The morphine managed to take the edge off but she still felt the sharp pain of every little move she made causing the IV needles to move about inside her. She wanted to look and see how far the rash had progressed but she could not bring herself to sit up and check. Judging by the fierce itching it was a little above her waist. The itching was the least of her concerns right now, right now all she wanted was some sleep. Just as she cleared her mind and felt as if she could drift off to sleep an eerily familiar giggle echoed in her ears.

Snapping her eyes open she saw Lily's maggot infested facade at the end of her bed. With each twirl of her pink floral dress a wave of nausea came over Cameron as the odorous sent crashed through her. "I'm going to the school dance tonight." She giggled again as she mimicked a slow dance with herself. "Do you think the boys will want to dance with me?" Lily appeared to be about fifteen years of age now, if it weren't for the fact that she was a mass of greenish muscle tissue and slimy insects she would be a very beautiful young woman.

Cameron began to cry as Lily waltzed while humming it out loud. "Can you show me how to do ballet? I've always wanted to try it." When Cameron was younger she had won several awards for her skill in ballet and was even offered a full scholarship to Juilliard but turned it down to go to medical school. Now she lay in a hospital bed hairless and legless with a bed girl dancing around her room. It was more then she could take, she began to weep uncontrollably. The movement as her body trembled with tears also sent shards of sheer agony through her, several nurses rushed into the room as Cameron screamed out in pain but they couldn't hear the tiny giggle as Lily faded away once more.

Hour 19

House sighed as he glanced up at his clock for the fifth time in less then an hour. On the plus side he had managed to master the Confederate Flag and the Eiffel Tower on his yo yo. A small knock came to the glass door as Wilson leaned his head in. "I just talked to the nurses, they had to up her morphine a little."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." House again pulled of a stunning Eiffel Tower before returning it to his desk and pulling out his Nintendo DS. "Do you have any batteries?"

"What do you mean?" Wilson stepped the rest of the way into the room and leaned against House's desk.

"The batteries died when I got to level six." He tossed the old ones in the trash and held his hand out to Wilson awaiting a fresh set of his beloved batteries.

"No, I meant what did you mean by the road to hell is paved with good intentions?" The oncologist rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as House mimicked him.

"Any change yet?" He asked instead of answering Wilson's question.

"No. Do you think its time to start her on the next treatment?"

"Tell the kids to take her off the plasmapherisis and give her the treatment for Legionnaire's." Wilson got up and walked towards the door, he stopped and turned around as House called his name. "Tell them to give her azithromycin, clarithromycin and erythromycin as well."

OoOoOoOo

Cameron breathed a sigh of relief as the last of the plasmapherisis machine was wheeled out the door. Glancing up she saw Chase hanging new IV bags but she couldn't read the labels. "What are they?" She asked in a groggy weak voice.

"We're treating you for Legionnaire's. House ordered the both treatments, guinolos and macrolides." Chase replied as he hooked the new treatments into her IV.

"Thats a lot of antibiotics."

"We need to cover all of our bases. We can't hold anything back with this Cameron." Chase gave her a sympathetic look with his tired blue green eyes. "You haven't had any visitors. Is there anyone you want me to call to come sit with you?"

"No. They'll only be a distraction for House. I'm fine."

"Let me check on your rash and then I'll be out of here so you can get some sleep, okay?" She nodded, grimacing as a spike of pain shot through her with the movement. He pulled the covers back half way before glancing back up at Cameron.

"What? What is it?" She couldn't read his face but she new something was not right.

Tbc