Housecat, I owe you an apology for my lack of geography

I am afraid I have lost face with your country I misplaced

It was not intentional to make Chase continental

My head should be smacked (which would please those of you in the Outback,)

In different locations were not our hovels, I would stand before you and grovel.

Because of my insult, a proofreader I shall consult

To prevent any future calamity with similar tragedies

Your forgiveness I now ask as I begin this task

So with head bowed, I appeal to the crowd

With this disclaimer, (which could not be lamer)

(One moment before I forget, another aspect I will regret

These characters are not mine, just some, part of the time

I borrow and use and unfortunately somewhat abuse

So please do not sue, if you do, I will come unglued.)

'But the valley grew narrow and narrower still,

And the evening got darker and colder

Till (merely from nervousness, not from goodwill)

They marched along shoulder to shoulder.

'Hospital beds,' thought Cameron, 'where not meant for three people.' She was wedged on the narrow bed between her husband and her daughter, both of whom were sleeping soundly. The morning sunlight was shining brightly through her window, and, as the two figures accompanying her continued to dose, Cameron was able to reflect on the events of the evening.

Emma had stayed with her from the moment Wilson had deposited the child on the bed. She had merely placed her thumb in her mouth, curled next to her mother and was instantly asleep, clutching the ever present Wopples. Not even the transfer from the ER to maternity had disturbed the sleeping toddler. Once Cameron had been settled in her room for her forced observation and Cuddy had finished with House, he had made his way to her as well. Wilson had delivered House, clothed in loose fitting scrubs, by means of a wheelchair. After a brief conversation where Wilson was made to promise he would run by their home and pick up House's cane, clothing for all of them and pull-ups for Emma, he had departed leaving the family at last alone. Without preamble, House had instantly rose from the chair and painfully climbed next to Cameron, wrapping her in his arms.

'How are you?' House had whispered as he tenderly pulled back her hair to expose the soft, white skin of Cameron's neck. Leaning into her, he had kissed the exposed area lightly.

'Exhausted, worried, upset, and sore,' laughed Cameron quietly as she turned on her side and attempted to move Emma to make more room on the bed. In the new position, Cameron had been able to snuggle into House's embrace, while Emma snuggled into hers. 'I bet we are a sight,' she had whispered as House pulled her closer.

'As long as we don't move or breathe too hard, we should be fine.' Cameron had felt herself shiver when House's lips moved against her ear. There had been humor in his voice even considering the events of the evening. By snaking her arms around Emma, Cameron was able to take his hand in her own.

'If you keep breathing heavily in my ear, we are going set off the monitors I'm attached too,' Cameron had mused. She recalled how the bed had shook as House chuckled behind her before purposely blowing out a puff of warm air and moving his head to snuggle against her neck.

Cameron could not help from smiling as she thought of House's hand sliding into the hospital gown and running across her side and stomach. 'You must not be too banged up,' she had whispered as his warm hand had sent shivers through her body, which in turn had caused a loud beep to sound from one of the machines slowing ticking away above their heads.

The bed had moved as House had laughed. 'Don't go and get all excited on me. Not only can I do nothing about it at this current moment, but I have had an extensive lecture from Stewart and Cuddy about what we can and cannot do for a while. They made me promise I would be a good boy till all danger to the baby has passed.'

'I got a lecture too,' Cameron had replied caressing the back of his hand with her thumb. 'So I suggest we both start thinking of something else, fast.'

'Spoil sport,' House had again lightly stroked Cameron's bare skin, sending more loud beeps and whines to the machines gauging her heart rate and blood pressure. The sound had caused a light cry to escape Emma. 'Oops,' House had laughed quietly as she released his hand and smoothed her child back to sleep.

After a few moments, as sleep begin to take over, Cameron had entwined her fingers with House's. 'What are we going to do?' she had whispered in the darkness, but sleep had grabbed hold of his consciousness and his breathing had steadied and combined with Emma's.

Now as the morning light shone across the bed, and Emma began to stir against her, Cameron wonder what this day was going to bring.

Then a scream, shrill and high, rent the shuddering sky,

And they knew that some danger was near;

The beaver turned pale to the tip of its tail,

And even the Butcher felt queer.

Wendum opened the door of his apartment to find Winslow making himself at home.

'How the bloody hell did you get in here?' asked Wendum, shutting the door behind him and removing his coat. Shuffling to a chair, he quickly removed his shoes and began a vain attempt to rub life back into his frozen feet.

'What happened to your socks?' Winslow, perched on the sofa casually reading the morning paper and drinking a cup of coffee, watched the man in amusement. 'You do know it's snowing, don't you?'

Wendum grimaced as feeling began to return to his toes, sending pin and needles up his legs. He glanced at Winslow and scowled, 'Answer the bleedin question old man, how did you get in here?'

Carefully and slowly, Winslow set down his coffee and neatly folded his paper before settling back in the sofa and considering Wendum. 'You look horrible. Did you have rough night?'

'Are you going to tell me or aren't you?'

Winslow sighed and removed a set of keys from his pocket, holding them up for the other man to see. 'I have a key. Actually half the hospital has keys to this place.'

'Why?' asked Wendum eyeing him suspiciously.

A light smile formed at the corners of the old man's eyes as he considered the question. 'The hospital owns a small number of furnished apartments for the use of guest or visitors like yourself. Each is conveniently located near the hospital, so some of us, on occasion, have been known to…' Winslow smiled in mock embarrassment, feigning a loss of words, '…lets say, use these locations as rendezvous points.'

A look of disgust formed on Wendum's face. 'Are you saying my apartment is the location for the occasional tryst?'

'On occasion,' smiled Winslow, 'It depends what department is assigned to which facility and who has access to it.'

'That still does not tell me why you are here. This certainly can't be the late policy.'

'No,' laughed Winslow crossing his hands over his knee; he was enjoying this. 'I came because you, my boy, are the talk of the hospital.' Inwardly, Wendum groaned as he listened to the old man continue. 'I though it would be advantageous to check matters out for myself privately, before I approached the subject professionally.'

Wendum eyed Winslow cautiously, 'What have you heard?'

'Oh, the talk of the hour is you tried to rape Allison Cameron.' Winslow watched the man across from him carefully, but was surprised when Wendum did not react.

'And,' asked Wendum.

'So it's true?' Without knowing it, Winslow had moved forward on the sofa, eyeing the man across from him with fascination. 'You actually attacked Cameron?'

Wendum shrugged as he rose and moved to the kitchenette to pour himself a cup of coffee. Holding up the pot, he gestured towards the other man's cup. 'No thanks,' mumbled Winslow, his mind racing.

Nodding, Wendum set down the pot and stood considering his best answer while taking sips of the coffee. 'Do you want an honest answer?'

Winslow nodded, not daring let his eyes leave the other as he slowly rose to his feet.

'I thought it would be entertaining to try to coerce her into infidelity, so I made advances towards her.'

'And?'

'And what?' asked Winslow innocently. 'She responded, I got carried away and then things went wrong, but I didn't rape her.' He paused for a moment as a thought occurred to him. 'I am truly surprised she said I did.'

'She didn't, the hospital rumor mill says it was rape,' quickly interjected Winslow. 'but Dr. Cameron has not backed or denied that claim.' He looked at Wendum curiously, 'You are taking this incredibly calmly. Why?'

Wendum struggled nonchalantly and smiled. 'I know the truth, so I have nothing to hide.

Winslow stood before Wendum, his eyes narrowing as they met the other man's, 'What did you do to her, exactly?'

'I kissed her,'

'And?'

'And nothing, I just kissed her.'

'They say she has bruises.'

'Not from me.'

Winslow eyed the man carefully. As much as he did not like House, and as guilty as he, himself, was of using Cameron, he did not like the idea of someone physically hurting her. Much to his surprise, Winslow found he was getting angry. 'She almost lost her baby.'

'That is unfortunate,' answered Wendum calmly and coldly. He set down his coffee and leaned heavily against the counter, crossing his arms. It was obvious he wanted Winslow to leave and it was more obvious he did not care about Cameron.

Clinching his fist, Winslow advanced on Wendum. 'What did you do to her?' he demanded to know. 'Do you not have a shred of decency anywhere in your body?'

'Not really,' smirked Wendum stepping towards Winslow; his eyes growing cold and fierce as he stared at the old man, 'In fact, I rather wish I had finished what I began.'

Winslow's fist swung out at Wendum, who neatly side stepped the old man and grabbed his arm. He laughed as he easily turned Winslow's arm behind his back. 'That wasn't very cricket old man.'

'Let go of me,' winced Winslow, sweat beading on his head.

Leaning forward, Wendum whispered into his ear as he propelled the old man forward, 'Like I said, not very cricket.' He stopped Winslow at the apartment door, wrenching the arm higher behind the old man's back. 'Now then, why don't you toddle back to the hospital and sort this out for me.'

Winslow felt his knees begin to buckle from the pain streaming up his shoulder. 'House is looking for you,' he gasped. Another centimeter higher and his arm was going to snap.

'Good,' laughed Winslow, 'tell him where he can find me. Better still, let everyone know I'll be there is a couple of hours' With a final wrench he let go of Winslow as the old man let out a howl of pain. Stepping past the old man cradling his arm in the other, Wendum opened the door to the apartment. 'Thank you so much for stopping by, it was a pleasure.' Placing his hand on Winslow's back, he shoved the old man over the threshold and slammed the door in his face.

"Tis the voice of the Jubjub!' he suddenly cried,

(This man, that they used to call "Dunce.")

"As the Bellman would tell you," he added with pride,

"I have uttered that sentiment once."

'Rise and shine, rise and shine,' squawked Wilson loudly in his best bad southern accent as he tried to make his voice high pitched and annoying.

'What the hell is that?' asked House yawning broadly. Sleepily he felt next to him before letting a yelp of pain as he sat bolt up right.

'Oh, come on House, it wasn't that bad,' there was indignation in Wilson's expression as he eyed House. 'I think I would be a wonderful Amanda Wingfield.'

'Where's Cameron?' asked House ignoring Wilson. His bruised and scrapped body ached, and combined with a throbbing pain in his leg.

'She talked the nurse into letting her up so she could bathe and freshen up a bit.'

'And Emma?' House lowered the railing on the bed and swung over his legs. His body was stiff and he needed his Vicodin.

'With her mother. When the nurse brings them back, I'll take Emma up to the nursery for you.' Wilson lifted a bag he had placed in visitor's chair and handed it to House along with his cane. 'Side pocket,' He didn't need to say Vicodin, it was unspoken that would be the first thing House would seek.

'You're just too good, Jimmy,' mused House digging out two Vicodin and popping them in his mouth. '

'Yep, that's me, always the gentleman caller, and never the lead.'

House smiled brightly up at his friend and wiggled his eyebrows, as he lifted his cane and tenderly rose from the bed. 'You would be cute in drag, but I think you should be Laura, not Amanda, or maybe I should be Laura, after all, I already have the limp.'

Wilson looked shocked. 'How in the world do you know who the characters in the Glass Menagerie are?'

House grinned as he lifted the bag and shuffled towards the door, even with the Vicodin, it was going to be an excruciatingly painful day. 'Believe it or not, I played Tom when we did it in high school.' Wilson's mouth dropped open as House continued. 'You should have seen the drama teacher; my Gawd that woman was stacked.' He stopped and turned to Wilson, waiting for him to open the door. 'Wendum showed up yet?' he asked quietly as they moved into the corridor.

Wilson shook his head. 'No, no one has seen him and Cuddy has not only called and paged him five hundred times, but we went to his place last night and no one was there.'

House nodded as he stood waiting for the elevator. 'Let me know the moment anyone hears anything.'

'Don't worry,' said Wilson, 'half the hospital wants to take a swing at him, especially Foreman.' The elevator doors opened and House stepped in. Lifting his cane, he barred the door from closing.

'When Cameron returns will you tell her I will back in a few, I want to shower.'

Wilson nodded, 'Sure, anything else?'

'Yes, actually,' there was embarrassment on House's face as he pulled his cane from the door. 'Thank you.' Luckily he did not see the smile spread across Wilson's face as the elevator doors closed.

"This the note of the Jubjub! Keep count, I entreat;

You will find I have told it you twice.

Tis the song of the Jubjub! The proof is complete,

If only I've state it thrice."

Upon returning to the hospital, Winslow immediately went to his office, closing and locking the door behind him. Cradling his arm, he carefully closed the blinds and sat down at his desk. 'What am I going to do,' he asked himself aloud. His arm ached, and as he tried to flex it, sharp pains ran through it. He had a problem, he knew. If he went to Cuddy and told about his incident and conversation with Wendum, it sealed Wendum's fate on his attacked on Cameron. No one would believe he did not do it. 'Hell,' thought Winslow, 'even I think he attacked Cameron.' He surprised himself as he realized he hoped House kicked Wendum's ass.

Wendum, thought Winslow, had said he would be in the hospital in a couple of hours. If he sat back and did nothing, then maybe Cuddy would intercede. But if he contacted House, then at least House would have the upper hand. Winslow winced both literally and mentally at the thought of going to House and as he tried to move his arm up and down. 'I'm in a quandary,' he thought as he dug in his desk drawer and extracted a bottle of aspirin, a bottle of whiskey, and a dusky glass. Pouring a bit of the whiskey, into his glass, Winslow washed down two aspirins. 'I could just do nothing.' Winslow smiled at this. 'If I do nothing, I am blamed for nothing.' Nodding his head in satisfaction, Winslow poured himself another shot.

The Beaver had counted with scrupulous care,

Attending to every word:

But it fairly lost heart, and outgrabe in despair,

When the third repetition occurred.

Cameron was bored and when it came to being a patient; she was a horror. She had checked her own readouts and examined her chart. As far as she could see, both she and the baby were perfectly fine. When House had briefly returned showered and dressed, he too had looked at the readouts and the chart and agreed, in his opinion, they looked fine, but it wasn't his field. He wanted her to stay put for the time of her observation. 'The kid is going to have enough problems with us as parents, let's not risk anything else,' he had told her seriously before kissing her lightly and claiming he was going to his office. Cameron knew differently. Foreman had always accused her of being anal, which she denied even if was true, but even House knew he was obsessive. Once he had an idea in his head, he was not going to let it go. Cameron knew he may physically been going to his office, but even from there, he was searching for Wendum. She just worried what was going to happen when he found her would be assailant.

Deciding she had had enough, Cameron flew back the blankets House had made the nurse tuck around her, unattached herself from the monitors and turned them off. Digging in the bag Wilson had brought her; Cameron quickly dressed and slipped from the room once she was certain no one was watching. Maybe, she thought, just maybe if I find him first, I can keep House from killing him. Sneaking by the nursing station, Cameron headed towards the lift.

It felt that, in spite of all possible pains,

It had somehow contrived to lose count,

And the only thing now was to rack its poor brains

By reckoning up the amount.

Author's note

Continued next chapter….Cameron goes to her office, just as Wendum arrives.

Sorry this one is so long, I've been playing with it over the last week. I also would like to apologize again for my lack of geography.

Literary quotations to which I do not have any rights: The Hunting of the Snark, by Lewis Carroll and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Literary allusions I previous forgot to disclaim in the story, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spencer. There are probably some more, but I can't remember them at current moment.