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

Haunted

Chapter 11: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Hour 23

There are several differences between dreams and hallucinations. A dream is a series of mental images and emotions during sleep where as a hallucination is a sensory experience in which a person can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel something that isn't there. Which begs the question which is worse a hallucination or a dream?

Cameron found herself walking down a large corridor with metal doors on either side, her bare feet chilled on the cold linoleum with every step she took. The air around her was moist and heavy it clung to her skin like dew to a morning flower. There was no end in sight, trudging onward she tried to open a door but it was locked so she tried another and another, all locked, every door was locked. She could feel the slight tug of panic pulling at her gut as she tried door after door until she finally fell to the floor weeping in exasperation.

Her sobs echoed through out the hallway. Cameron quieted herself as another cry was heard. This cry was one of a baby. She quickly rose to her feet and ran down the hall but the echo made it impossible to tell where the screams were coming from. On and on she ran checking door after door, none would open for her. Tears were streaming down her face as another and another cry was heard. So many babies were crying that the echo was almost deafening.

Cameron ran for what seemed like an eternity until one door finally opened for her. As she felt the handle turn beneath her hand the screams became louder. Swinging the door wide so that it thumped against the wall of the room she saw Lily standing in the center of the room holding an infant in her arms. There were several cradles around her each containing a screaming babe as Cameron stepped closer she could see rashes and lesions on each one growing at incredible speeds.

Her eyes went to Lily as she shushed the little one in her arms. She was wearing yellow scrubs and a hair net with a mask dangling from the exposed sinews of her neck. She leaned down and placed a small kiss atop the the babies head leaving a maggot to crawl all over the child's face. Shrill cries were heard from all of the cribs. Cameron could see the flesh being eaten off their tiny bodies. She cried out in frustration as she stepped the rest of the way into the room.

"Why are you doing this!" She shouted at Lily who was humming itsy bitsy spider as she rocked the infant. "Please, they are just babies!" She tried to plead with Lily who now looked as if she were eighteen.

"The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout." She singed merely as she walked her fingers up the babies stomach and gently tapped its nose. "Down cam the rain and washed the spider out." Running her hand back down she gave it a playful tickle. "Up came the sun and dried up all he rain." Again her fingers walked up the little ones stomach, the necrotizing just at its heels. "And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again." All the babies erupted in the most horrifying scream as the necrotization went over their faces and maggots began to emerge from the open soars.

Cameron let out a blood curdling scream as she fell to her knees. Her body trembling with every sob. Pain began to shoot through her with each heave of her chest it was all she could do to keep from screaming out again.

"Cameron?" A soft voice made her eyes pop open, cold sweat dripping from each pore. "You were having a nightmare." Came the voice again, she recognized the voice it had a thick Australian accent.

"Chase?" She whispered as the room came into focus. Chase was leaning over her shinning a light in her eyes. Once he turned off the light she could see Foreman readying to draw blood. "What's going on?"

"House thinks it might be Leprosy." Foreman said with a lack of belief in his voice. "A resistant form probably a mutated strain of the lepromatous form."

"We are starting the treatment and we're going to run a FITE stain." Chase finished as he hung the IV bags on the stand. "Are you ready?" He asked as he looked at Foreman with syringe in hand. Several nurses had gathered in the room awaiting the doctors signal to restrain her.

Taking a deep breath she nodded and closed her eyes tight. She felt the straps go around her wrists and a tongue guard being slipped into her mouth. One more deep breath as the tourniquet tightened over her arm, the pain already beginning to set in. "Here we go." Foreman slipped the needle into her skin, she clamped down on the tongue guard as a wave of pain and anguish crashed into her.

Hour 24

Twenty four hours. Twenty four hours had passed since the infection began, Twenty four hours that had felt longer then eternity and yet not long enough by far. The team remained quiet as they waited for the results of the FITE stain to pop up on screen. Painfully quiet. So much so that when the phone rang all three men nearly jumped out of their seats.

Wilson was the first to recover and grabbed the phone. "Wilson." Chase and Foreman watched as he rolled his eyes annoyed by whatever was on the other end. They both looked at him questioningly as he hung up the phone.

"I know your mother taught you better then that Jimmy." House chastised the oncologist as he opened the door and strolled into the room.

"And I'm sure your mother didn't." Wilson countered as he folded his arms. "and no I don't have Prince Albert in a can."

"You're no fun." House rolled his eyes and limped over to where an open chair was and took a seat. "Results in yet?"

"No." Foreman started just as the computer beeped informing them the the test was complete. The entire room held their breath as they looked at the screen.

"Negative for tuberculoid and lepromatous." They all let out their collective breathes in a heavy sigh. "Negitive for Mycobacterium Leprae. It's not Leprosy."

"Blood work is still the same, no change." Foreman was looking over the printout of the latest blood work they had put through along with the FITE stain. "Wait, whats this? He looked over the paper again before glancing up at the rest of the team.

"Well, what is it?" House asked after he didn't say anything for a moment.

"Her O2 stats, they've nearly doubled in the last hour."

Hour 25

"We've got her on a respirator, thats all we can do for now." Foreman sat back against the wall with a sigh. "So far no change. We should take her off the Leprosy treatment and try something else."

"What about MDR Staph A?" Chase asked from behind a pencil in his mouth. "We haven't tested for that."

"Multiple Drug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, I like it." House mulled it over in his head for a couple minute.

"It would explain why the drugs we've been giving her isn't working." Wilson said as he poured another up of coffee. It had been a long day and it was only going to get longer.

"Some of the symptoms don't match though." Foreman began to protest but quieted after receiving a glare from House.

"Start her on the glycopetides." House ordered. "How are the O2 stats?"

"Still rising." Foreman shook his head as he opened the door. "If they don't come down soon, her lungs will collapse."