Hey everyone! Sorry this post was a little later then normal. I know my grammar and spelling isn't the greatest in the world but take into consideration that were I'm from you could probably count the average IQ on one hand after a cannery accident. But I am trying so please forgive my grammatical errors.

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

Haunted

Chapter 10: Hide and Go Seek

Hour 20

"How far has it spread?" House was pacing back and forth in front of the white board partly because of the pain in his leg and partly because of his growing fear that they wouldn't be able to save Cameron in time.

"The rash is just a few inches below her chest." Chase let out a weary sigh before continuing. "The lesions are about a quarter way up her thigh." When he had pulled the covers back to check the rash he saw them, large pusstuous soars growing up her thighs. This disease seemed to have three stages the first being the rash, lesions second, and necrotizing being the final stage before death. She was now in the second stage and time did not seem to be on their side.

"We could biopsy the lesions." Foreman suggested after a moment of thought. "Maybe we can find something there."

"The biopsy of Lily's lesions revealed nothing." Wilson knew that they needed to find the answer to this and fast but between Lily, Mr. Gale, and Cameron they had ran nearly all the tests they could think of.

"I've already done it, they're looking at in in the lab as we speak." Chase had biopsied them immediately. He regretted having to do it, the pain of the biopsy had nearly caused Cameron to faint. This disease seemed to make her impervious to most medications. Chase had started to wonder that even if they did figure it out would a treatment really work?

"So what now?" Wilson asked as he glanced up at the clock again. The way he figured it she only had twenty hours left since they had amputated her legs.

"We leave her on the Legionnaire's treatment a little while longer then we'll try something else." Cuddy had remained silent as she listened to the team discuss the case but she did not like the idea of how House was just trying treatment after treatment with no medical facts to back him up.

"House, you are not putting her through needless and expensive treatments." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a stern administrative glare to let him know how serious she was.

"Expensive?" House chuckled lightly to himself as he aimed his attention towards the Dean of Medicine who was leaned against the door frame. "You know what the number one enemy to doctors is?" Cuddy rolled her eyes and shook her head 'no'. She knew that House would answer the question on his own. "Bureaucracy."

"How do you figure that Dr. House?" She didn't like being accused of being a bureaucrat, she was just trying to do her job.

"As a doctor you are charged with the care of your patient. Their lives are in your hands. What do you tell a person who is dying? 'I'm sorry we can't treat you. It's to expensive.'" House crossed the room so that he was standing right in front of Cuddy leaning on his cane as he looked her square in the eye. "They say that you can't put a price on human life. But we have. How much is Cameron's life worth?"

Cuddy was taken aback. She stood with her mouth open for a moment but no words would come out. Taking a deep breath she calmed herself and looked back at the diagnostician. "Do the damn treatments." With that she turned and left the room to hide the tears that had sprang up in her eyes.

Hour 21

The lab was still quiet. A few technicians had began to show up to begin their shifts for the day. The sun had barely risen over the horizon yet the staff was all bustling working on Cameron's case. Chase and Foreman were in the lab going over the latest test results and doing a few new ones as they ate some breakfast. They were not hungry but they knew that they needed to eat something to keep themselves going because sleep would not be an option anytime soon.

The latest blood cultures were all the same and the biopsy of the lesions revealed nothing. It was like this disease was hiding from them in a sort of twisted hide and go seek game. And whatever it was it wasn't just going to give up. In their own way they were playing a game as well, pin the diagnosis on the patient.

It was painful to sit by and watch their colleague suffer in such a way and they knew it was only going to get worse. The pain alone when the necrotizing starts would be unbearable, they would have to put her in a chemically induced coma to get her through the pain. The only question was if they out her under, will they be able to wake her again?

Hour 22

House leaned against the nurses station outside Cameron's room. She had finally managed to drift into a restless sleep. House knew that there had to be something that he was missing. Something that they had over looked. They had ran all of the tests for all of the disease even remotely similar and still came up with nothing. Or had they?

He hadn't thought of it before because the symptoms didn't quite match up but these symptoms didn't quite match up with anything. It was possible. He stuck out his cane as a nurse walked by nearly causing her to trip.

"Hey!" She started but he cut her off.

"Page doctors Chase, Foreman, and Wilson."

OoOoOoOo

As their pagers went off they immediately headed for the diagnostics lounge were they found House tossing his red and gray ball off the wall. "What is it?" Foreman asked as he was the first one through the door.

"Take her off the Legionnaire's treatment and start her on dapsone, rifampin, clofazimine, and ethionmide." House directed without looking at the trio of doctors that was staring at him dumbfounded. Wilson was the first to speak."

"Leprosy? You want us to treat her for Leprosy?" He pinched his nose with his fingers as he tilted his head down. "House, the symptoms don't match."

"We haven't even tested for it." Chase and Foreman almost chimed in unison as they exchanged an unsure glance.

"Then run a FITE stain after you start treatment." House ordered giving his signature glare and smirk as he leaned on his cane.

"But House..."

Wilson was cut off by House's cane as it met his shin. "Treatment is quicker. Now go do it." The doctors left the room, Wilson limping as they headed off to try out House's latest theory.