An epidemic rans rampid in the halls of PPTH...and someone dies from it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The next day, Friday, House stayed home, called the lawyer, got some papers that he required and worked on those for better part of the day. He wasn't happy about it, not at all. But he had to do what he had to do and quit complaining no matter how painful his fingers were from writing so much or how stiff his neck was from sitting so long or how hard his head pounded from all the information he had to retrieve from his brain cells.
He had just walked back from the kitchen with his fourth mug of coffee when the doorbell rang. He reluctantly walked to the door without looking through the peephole and saw her standing there with an angry expression on her face. He slowly opened the door.
"You and lover boy have a nasty fight again? Oh, don't tell me you're doped up again. I don't want you to attack me li…"
"Shut up, House!" Cameron screamed at him without taking a step closer to come inside his apartment. "We're not at work so I can pretty much yell at you as much as I want or need to at the moment!"
House slammed the door in her face and stood there counting down from five…four…three…the door bell rang and he opened it again.
"Okay, I deserved that. But you have no idea what you are doing!"
"Oh, please enlighten me, little girl." He said sarcastically.
Her eyes narrowed and seared into his skull. It took her a moment to get over his last comment. "Dr. House, you have completely gone over the edge, there should no longer be any doubt that you should be committed! God only knows what…"
"What in the hell are you talking about?" He demanded.
"It's just that…you shouldn't…it wasn't right…oh, damnit!" She said as she stormed away and slammed the building door behind her.
House rolled his eyes, shook his head and closed the door. He turned to see Wayni staring at him. "Don't ask me, poochie, I don't know what that was about. But that was Cameron. Stay away from her. She's insane."
After she came back from blasting her boss for his stupidity, Cameron turned the lock in her apartment door quietly. She threw the keys on the table in the hall and walked to her spare bedroom, where she found her still sleeping. Ever since she knocked on her door at 3:30 that morning, she slept most of the time, which was a good thing because it'd help with the dt's from no drugs in her system at the beginning stage. But she knew it would only get worse.
She turned and walked to the kitchen to make some soup because she knew her visitor would want some when she woke up. After all, on Cameron's drug binges she always woke up starved.
---Dr. Cuddy sat in her office and looked over some paperwork. She let Cameron go early because she flew through all the paperwork so quickly that she didn't need Cameron's help for the rest of the day.
She hadn't slept much the past few nights worrying about what she was going to do with Rog. She was ever so grateful House was so mature about the whole thing when she went to his place the previous night. Well, she was more relieved he didn't try to get sympathy sex from her, or for her. Cuddy never knew what kind of mood House would be, especially now with trying to get custody of his daughter, Charnie.
---Foreman and Chase sat in the conference room discussing a prior case that really wasn't all that interesting to solve.
"That poor woman must have been in excruciating pain. With her ear pain from TMJ, low-grade fevers, dizziness and headaches and now the CT scan showed the metal from the dental equipment broke off and lodged in the back of her gum. That's just bizarre." Foreman said as he tossed the folder on the table.
"I can't believe her general dentist didn't find that in the first place. When they did mine, they took an extra x-ray of the root, too. I saw it. Pretty cool." Chase responded.
"Oh, don't tell me you never took an improper x-ray." Foreman shot at Chase, who returned his comment with a sneer.
"You know," Chase said to change the subject. "We've really got to do something about no cases coming in. With Cameron working in Cuddy's office she hasn't been going through his mail. Hey, you were his boss before, why don't you go through his mail?"
"I'm afraid I'll find a subpoena or STD results from all his hookers." Foreman answered then they both laughed. "Hey, but seriously, what is Cameron gonna do?"
Chase looked at him with a serious expression. "I don't know, but I don't think it's a good idea for her to get involved. She didn't want to get in the middle of it, either. She told me she never got in the middle of any of her girlfriend's boy troubles before and she didn't want to start now."
"Phfft, considering she's the woman that took the man she had a crush on." Foreman said.
"Yeah, well, she's got me now, and I'm a much better man than House would be to her." Chase shot back.
"Oh, that's not what I heard." Foreman teased back and Chase threw a packet of sugar at Foreman and hit him in the forehead.
Just then the phone on House's desk rang. The two doctors looked at the other as if challenging who would rush to answer his phone.
"I don't want to get it." Foreman protested.
"Why not? I thought you liked answering his phone."
"I did when I was his boss. But not now." Foreman replied.
"Chicken." Chase said as he stood up and headed to the phone. Foreman watched Chase's facial expressions go from boredom to interest to surprise to utter shock. He hung up the phone and headed out the door in a hurry.
"HEY! Where ya' going?" Foreman hollered but Chase didn't respond.
---Back at House's apartment he threw the pen on the table, rubbed his eyes and looked at Wayni sitting on the couch staring at him.
"What? You don't like me now, either? Well, tough!"
Wayni picked her head up and wagged her tail. "Okay, okay. Let's go for a walk." House said as he went through the ritual of getting her ready for her outside adventures.
He opened the door and had to tighten the collar around his neck because a front had come through later that night and the temperature was now 40 degrees with 37 mph wind gusts. Wayni was hesitant to walk outside but House lightly kicked her in the butt and she scurried down the few stairs to the sidewalk. He felt light, cold drops on his face from the drizzle and tilted his head back to feel them cool his face.
He felt Wayni pull at the leash handle in his hand, he looked down at her and she'd taken the leather leash in her mouth to walk herself. That was a little quirk she'd picked up a few days ago. He grinned and followed her down the street and the drizzle changed to snowflakes, coming in sideways from the winds. Wayni barked and jumped up snapping at the flakes that grew bigger. He walked down just a few more rows of townhouses when his cell phone rang.
"House."
"Greg, it's Cuddy. I need you to come into the office immediately."
"What for? It's snowing! The roads are slick and dang..."
"Drive your car and get your ass in here, now." Cuddy demanded then hung up the phone.
House looked at his hone with a look of disgust. "Wayni, you wanna go to the hospital? Cheer up some sick people? Or
maybe bring some back to life?"
---Back at Cameron's apartment she was sitting on the couch watching the afternoon news about the incoming 5-7 inches of snow when she heard scuttling feet come toward her. She looked up to see her recent, temporary roommate rub her eyes and with the other arm hold her stomach.
"How are you feeling, Missy? Better, I hope."
"I feel like crap, thank you very much." She said as she walked to the couch and sat down.
"I made you some soup. You hungry?"
She glared at Cameron. "You're kidding, right?"
"I know food sounds awful right now, but believe me, you'll feel 100 better." Cameron said as she stood up to get her the soup.
"Girl, I'd settle for feeling 20 better right ab..." And she ran off to the bathroom to throw up.
Cameron shook her head as she walked back in the living room, set the cup of soup down and walked into the bathroom. She found Melissa hugging the bowl and dry heaving. She grabbed a washcloth, ran cold water over it and handed it to Melissa. After a few minutes she took control of herself and Cameron helped her back to the couch. Cameron handed her the cup of soup and Melissa drank it slowly. She held the cup in her hand like it was 20 degrees in the apartment.
"Missy, I know it's hard right now, and it's going to get a lot worse. I wish you could stay with you bu..."
"Oh, god, I don't expect you too. I've already started stalking the man and why in the hell did I call Sheila?" She hesitated a moment at the horrendous thought. "I feel bad enough for what I did to Greg and that little girl. She deserves to be with her father."
"I don't think you have to worry about House with Charnie. After all he did for Andie, that little girl just passed away, I saw a whole different side of him." Cameron told Melissa, hoping it would ease her worries. "Uh, I did something really stupid."
"YOU? Do something stupid! I don't believe it." Melissa said with a little smirk.
"I just came back from chewing him out...well, I didn't make any sense but it made me feel better."
"Oh, my god. What did you say?" She asked as she lay her head on the back of the couch.
Cameron laughed at herself. "You know, I'm still asking myself that."
"Allie, I need your help." She said solemnly as Cameron looked at her intently. "I can't live like this anymore. Will you take me back to Princeton-Clarkston Rehab Center? I want him back bu..."
Just then Cameron's phone rang. "Sorry, Missy, this might be work." She said as she picked up the phone, listened a few minutes then hung up.
"Nothing serious, I hope." Melissa said as she closed her eyes.
"I wish it weren't, Missy. I've got to get to the hospital. Will you be okay here alone tonight? I hate to do this to you."
"I don't need to be a burden on you anymore. I'm ready to crash again, anyway." She said as she stood up but swayed a little.
Cameron helped Melissa back to bed. "Help yourself with anything you need. Here's the phone. Do you need me to call Dr. Stafford?"
Melissa sat down on the bed. "No. Thanks for everything, Allie. You're a life saver, girl."
"A lot of people care about you, Missy, they really do. You have to take care of yourself right now. I'll call you as often as I can, okay?"
---Back at PPTH it was 4:30 before everyone was gathered in Dr. Cuddy's office: House, Cameron, Foreman, Chase, Cuddy and Wilson, plus a few more doctors that she had called after Chase stormed into her office earlier that afternoon.
"House, I don't think it's appropriate you brought Wayni here. We are not a dog kennel.." Cuddy snapped as she stood at the edge of her desk.
"But it's gonna snow, boss! I don't want her in the house all alone and freeze to death." House snapped sarcastically, as if he took it as a personal attack, which it was.
"Oh, don't tell me you're just pissed that Angelina Jolie is pregnant with Brad Pitt's baby! As far as that...mutt...precious puppy..." she said sincerely, "you're going to have to do something with her." Cuddy hesitated a moment.
"The reason why I called everyone here so late is because we got a call from the CDC in Atlanta earlier. Four counties in the area have had reports of the Norovirus and Norwalk virus, with eight dead. They wanted to know what our plan of action will be in case we get any cases. First I want to know if anyone has had any patients they believe may have been treated with the same symptoms."
Dr. Lamont, a doctor in the E.R., mentioned he'd had a patient that came in two days earlier with flu-like symptoms. He sent her home for bed rest and plenty of fluids. Cuddy told him to call the patient back as a follow-up to see if the symptoms have worsened.
"Dr., have you been feeling sick the past day or so?" Cuddy asked.
"Just a little nausea but it could be because of my wife's cooking." He answered and everyone laughed a little.
"Okay. Go down to the lab now and get some blood work done. We need to catch it early if anyone has been in contact with a possible infected patient." She said as Dr. Lamont stood up and walked out.
"One down..." House started to say before Cuddy shot him a nasty look and he flung up his shoulders with a head tilt to add a little 'cuteness' that he knew she hated.
"As for the rest of you, I want the same, but if anyone has any symptoms, even if you think it's nothing, I want to be notifed. Are there any questions?" Cuddy asked but no one said a word.
"Now, for the bad news. The CDC has put us all under quarantine." Cuddy informed the doctors. "More security guards will be here shortly..."
Cameron's eyebrows rose in surprise at she thought of Melissa back at her apartment; Foreman shot Chase a look of regret at the thought of leaving Nancy alone; while Chase looked at Cameron and winked; and Wilson squirmed in his chair at the thought of not seeing Sarah and Charlie for a few days.
"You brought us in here under false pretense to tell us we're captives now? Do you have any idea how ludicrous that is! I have no food for Wayni and I have paperw...stuff to do that can't wait! You know that." He shouted.
"Dr. House, this is not a debate match. You have no choice. This isn't coming from me."
"Oh, sure it is! You just told us all..." House snapped but was interrupted by Cameron.
"For how long, Dr. Cuddy?" She finally asked the question everyone wanted to know.
Cuddy looked forlornly at her doctors and shook her head. "Have no idea. There several doctors flying in tonight to the four county hospitals, including ours, to review patient's records just to be on the safe side. There are cots set up downstairs that maintenance did before they lef..."
"You let the night crew go! I bet you just told them they'll be find and dandy?" House said sarcastically.
"They currently are showing no sym...wait, why am I telling you this? You have your orders" She said as she stood and walked behind her desk, sat down and picked up the phone.
The doctors stood up grumbling and walked out except Cameron, who asked House if she could take Wayni around, as a
distraction from the latest emergency and he agreed. Cameron took her leash and walked out, leaving House standing authoritatively in front of Cuddy's desk before the person she called answered.
"Cuddy, you know I have that paperwork to complete for Charnie's custody date in two weeks! Why couldn't you have told me before I came in here so I could have at least brought in the papers? And I even brought Wayni! That was just careless and thoughtless of you."
"Under the circumstances, I think the judge would und..." She started to say.
"BUT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" House screamed at him. "You can mess with me all you want, but how could you jeopardize my daughter, Lisa! I thought we were friends."
"House, this isn't easy for me, either. I've had to call Rog...well, he wouldn't talk to me, but I talked with his aunt and he's coming in tomorrow morning. We both have someone other than ourselves to worry about now, don't we?" She said rather coldly.
House muttered under his breathe and stormed out of her office but he wasn't quite sure where he was going to go. There were just two patients in the waiting room, the older woman sitting behind the reception desk that didn't like House at all and made it very clear of that fact and a few more people meandering around. He knew of no other place to go except the ob/gyn doctors' lounge which had the best t.v. reception to keep his mind preoccupied. He was pissed with himself he actually sacrificed General Hospital because of filling out the paperwork. He turned on the t.v., sat down and subconsciously reached out for Wayne but remembered Cameron had the puppy.
---Dr. Cuddy threw her head back and ran her hand through her hair. She had spent most of the afternoon getting most patients out of the clinic area and checking with other areas of the hospital on patients that might have been checked in. Luckily there weren't any so her main worry now was the enclave of patients that might be teetering in.
---Wilson walked into his office angry but tried to control it. Not much made him this mad, except when it involved his family. He reluctantly called Sarah and asked her how she and Charlie had been feeling the past few days. She said they'd been fine, not sick at all, and was sorry he had to stay there over the weekend. But she understood his predicament and let him talk to Charlie.
"Hi, Daddy!" He said, oblivious to the current plight.
"Hi, Buddy! I won't be home for a few days so you have to take care of Mommy for me, okay?" Wilson said sadly.
"I will, Daddy! I pwomise! I'll make her dinner tonight! I can nuke Macawoni and Cheese! I LOVE cheese."
"I know you do. Call me whenever you want to, okay? Love ya' Buddy." Wilson said as he hung up the phone. He was so upset he didn't even wait to hear his son say goodbye, which he immediately regretted.
---Foreman, Chase and Cameron all headed to the conference room with Wayni sniffing at every corner and wagging her tail like the hospital was her second home.
"So, what are we supposed to do for the next few days?" Chase sighed.
"You have your crossword puzzles that Foreman can help you with and Foreman needs to beat my high score in Sudoku and I've got Wayni to babysit." Cameron said in her optimistic tone of voice.
Both the male doctors sneered at her and Chase threw a piece of crumpled paper at her. Under the stress they couldn't help but laugh, but the laughter didn't last very long.
Cameron called Melissa in House's office so she could have some privacy. Little Wayni was playing with the laces of House's extra pair of shoes he kept under the desk, although he never wore them; they were more for security than comfort.
"Hey, Missy. How are you feeling?"
"Better, thanks. What's goin' on over there?" Melissa asked groggily.
"Long story. I need you to do something..." Cameron started to say.
Back in Dr. Cuddy's office, she sat at her desk when Dr. Filmore walked in. "We have a problem. Dr. Lamont tested positive for
Norwalk." She said solemnly.
"Damn. Okay, did anyone get in touch with all the patients he saw?" She asked but Dr. Filmore just shook her head.
"Fine. Go ahead and get set up for blood work on everyone else, probably Dr. House's conference room would be good. And ask Dr. Wilson to call the patients that have not been contacted yet. And see if you can find Dr. House. He's around here somewhere. Check the ob/gyn lounge first." She said as Dr. Filmore nodded her head and walked out.
Shortly thereafter Cuddy was about to walk out to check on what everyone was doing when a fully-suited man knocked on her door and she waved him in.
"Dr. Cuddy, I'm Dr. Gerald Firth of the CDC. What preparations have you made and have there been anymore patients or personnel showing symptoms?" He asked as he sat down across from her.
She explained everything that had been set up and he seemed satisfied with the result. Dr. Firth filled Cuddy in with the rest of the plans as Cuddy noticed a swath of security guards come in with rolls of plastic and tables and everything else needed for an epidemic.
The boys were getting bored up in the conference room when the team from the CDC came in and practically destroyed the room by setting up their necessities. Cameron had been off the phone for a few minutes and seemed really irritated by their appearance. Chase picked up on it and walked over to her.
"Allison, why are you so nervous?"
"Robert, I need your help with something, but you have got to keep it quiet!" She whispered as she led him out into the hallway. "Missy is at my apartment. She's awake now and is going to help us do something."
"I thought you said she wasn't."
"Yeah, well, I lied." She shot back with a grin. "We need to find a rope, long enough to get out off a balcony and something big enough to hold something the size of, let's see, Wayni."
"You've got to be joking! How do you expect to pull that off with all these guards around? It'll never happen."
"Just shut up and help me." She said as she took his elbow and led him down the hall.
Dr. Filmore went directly to the lounge and saw him sitting on the couch with his head on the back cushion. She knew who he was but she never had the opportunity to talk to him. She scared him, though, was all she knew. She never was one for confrontation.
"Dr. House?" She said as she pushed the door open. House jerked and turned around with an annoyed expression. "Dr. Cuddy wants us all in your conference room for blood work, please."
"Oh, tell her I do have blood so she doesn't worry." He snapped as he turned his head back around and closed his eyes.
"Dr. House, if you don't mind me say..."
"Actually, I do mind you saying."
"Wow, you really are cranky, aren't you? They were right." She said snottily as she walked out.
House sat there for a second and told himself he had to check on Wayni anyway, then Steve crossed his mind and wondered if he'd fed him before Dr. Cuddy made him 'rush' to the hospital. He had no idea who he was going to call but then remembered the nerdy kid from next door who might just be crazy enough to drive the roads now that the snow had started to blow in. He dialed information on his cell phone and then dialed the kid. House was shocked he was willing to come to the hospital to get his key to get into the apartment. Of course, House threatened the kid's life if there was anything missing and lied that he had the place booby-trapped.
He stood up, stretched and headed to his office. Again, he was shocked to see his conference room and desk turned into a command post. He passed by Wilson's office first and saw him sitting behind his desk on the phone. He glanced up just in time to
see House walk by but House couldn't read the expression on his face. The two men hadn't said a word to the other about anything since their 'fight' earlier in the week.
He pushed the door open to the conference room and asked Foreman where Chase and Cameron went.
"I think they went to find an empty room." He snickered.
"Dr. House? I'm Gerald Firth of the CDC. We need to get blood from all personnel to determine whether anyone else has been infected."
"Anyone else? Oh, Dr. Lamont. He tested positive?" House asked.
"We are not in the position to divulge patient's names, Dr. House. I'm sure you realize that."
House gave him a smirk, pulled out a chair and sat down with is feet propped up on the desk.
"Doctor, would you kindly put your feet down from the desk? We have business to conduct here." Dr. Firth said.
"You have blood to draw. Do it so I can leave." He said curtly.
"No one can leave un..." Dr. Firth started to say.
"I meant leave you. You're so tense. Have you thought of aromatherapy?"
Dr. Firth gave him an aggravated look as he waved to a female technician that looked about 17 in the typical white coat to draw blood from House.
"Please be careful, honey. I bleed easily. I don't cry easily, but maybe you can make me..."
She pulled out his arm rather roughly, prepped his arm and shot the needle in the vein in the crease of his elbow which made House wince a little.
"Did that make you cry? I can try again." She said as she gave him a satisfied grin.
"You're cute. How old are you, 9?" He shot back.
"You may leave now, Dr. House, and please stay away until...if we need you." Dr. Firth said as he nodded his head to the door. House happily walked out and went over to Wilson's office.
Dr. House tried to change his expression before he walked into his friend's office but by the look on Wilson's face he didn't think he succeeded. Wilson didn't say a word to House while he just stood there staring down Wilson.
"What do you want House? I've got like ten people to call and I don't have time for you."
House raised his eyebrows as Wilson's words cut through him. "Don't have time for me? You sure had time for me the hundreds of times Julie kicked you out of the house." House retorted.
"House, that's not what I meant. It's just a bad time."
"It is, isn't it?" House asked as he sat down.
"House, Charnie is doing great. I apologize for the way we handled it but..." House interrupted.
"WE? I don't recall talking to Sarah."
"Sarah agreed. Little C.T. is fine, House. Are you?" Wilson asked sincerely.
Just then House's pager went off. He looked at it briefly, said "that was quick" and walked out as he said, "Bambi came here quick!" And started singing A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down as he walked out.
He headed for the office of Dr. Yu, whose office was on the same floor but thankfully far enough away that hopefully no one would know what he was up to. House was grateful Dr. Yu had been off all week. He pulled a credit card out of his wallet, slid it between the door and lock and it easily popped open. He grinned in triumph as he walked through and toward the balcony sliding glass door, unlocked it and walked through as he pulled a key out of his left pocket. He leaned over the balcony and saw the kid stand beside a tall oak tree.
"Hey!" The kid hollered up to him. "You Doc House?"
"No, I'm Dr. Kildare! Here's the key with my cell phone number attached. Call me when you are on your way back over here." House yelled down as he took aim and threw it directly down at him. The kid caught the key in one swift motion.
"Okay, you owe me $100 for this, Doc!" He screamed, waved and walked away.
House turned around to walk back into the office when he saw Cameron and Chase walk down the hall toward Dr. Yu's door. Wayni had her leash in her mouth, Chase carried a cooler and Cameron held a thick, long rope. House never did turn the light on so they didn't see him standing there as Chase put down the cooler, pulled out his own credit card and slid it between the crack, just as House had done earlier. But he'd forgotten to lock it behind him when he came in.
House quickly limped toward the bathroom door in the corner of the office and closed the door just enough to see what the two were up to.
"Robert, it was probably just the maintenance crew that forgot to lock it. It's no big deal. Why are you so paranoid?" Cameron asked as they walked through. "Besides, we should be used to breaking and entering with House's patients. I just don't recall that being mentioned in the interview with him. I'll have to remember the next time I go on one if I'm supposed to break the law."
"Allison, shh! There are guards all over this place! And now with that patient of Dr. Lamont's being brought in we don't have time for this."
'Please don't have sex! Please don't have sex!' House said to himself over and over. 'I think I'll throw up...please don't have sex!'
"Okay, Missy should be here in about 15 minutes. What do you wanna do now?" Cameron asked seductively.
'Noooooooooo!' House thought to himself then realized she'd said Melissa was going to be there. His mind reeled and from the corner of his eye saw Wayni come sniffing toward the bathroom door. House's stomach dropped as he tried to quietly close the door without being heard and he succeeded. He could hear Wayni's little nose sniff at the crease at the bottom of the door and prayed they wouldn't come into the bathroom.
"Damn, girl! I don't walk around with condoms on me, for pete's sake!" Chase said as he stepped closer to Cameron. "But we could make out." He said slyly.
House heard the last part but was at least glad he wouldn't have to hear them have sex or worse yet, see it. 'Well,' he thought to himself, 'maybe I could pick up some pointers...OH HELL! What am I thinking! God help me!'
"Okay, okay. That's enough, Bobbie. We have to rig up the rope to the cooler to get Wayni down to Missy." Cameron said as she pushed Chase away from her.
By the time they were finished Cameron's cell phone rang and she walked out onto the balcony, where Melissa was standing down at the exact spot House's neighbor was standing a few minutes earlier. They talked on the cell phone as Cameron explained to Melissa what she was going to do, and House slowly opened the bathroom door again so he could see the action.
"Okay, we have to keep the lid on the cooler while we let her down so she doesn't fall or cry out...someone might hear her. But trust me, it'll be fast enough that she won't lose any air."
Chase picked up Wayni, set her in the cooler and walked out onto the balcony where Cameron was standing. "Ok, I've got to hang up to lower her down but I'll call you right back." Cameron and Chase got a solid grip on the rope and lowered the cooler down to Melissa.
House thought then would be a good time to sneak out but he had to make sure his puppy made it down okay. 'But why the hell is Missy here? Oh, that sneaky Cammie!' House thought to himself as he continued to watch the two struggle with the rope as Wayni was moving more than they expected her to.
They both let out a sigh of relief as Cameron grabbed her cell phone and dialed Melissa's. "Great! I left some money in the cooler to buy her food. Thanks soo much, Missy." She said then listened to Melissa talk for a brief moment. "I will. We better get back in and you better get out of here! I'll call you later."
House watched the two high-five each other and walk out the door, making sure it was locked before they walked away.
Dr. Cuddy walked through the halls of PPTH inspecting the current condition of her hospital: there were cots lined up against walls with metal stands to hold bags of medicine drips; two-and-three drawer cabinets filled with syringes, gauzes and the like; voices echoed through the then empty halls. Dr. Firth decided the clinic had more space than the E.R. to set up initial patients and leave the E.R. for patients that were in the worst shape.
Outside came the screams of a siren that pulled up front at the clinic entrance. She looked down at her watch to see that it was only 8:00 pm. "Oh, this is going to be a long night." She said to herself.
Dr. Lamont's patient earlier in the week, Vicky Smithers, was brought into an exam room for initial diagnosis. Dr. Lamont himself was already in a room set up for six patients to join him, and Vicky would be his first roommate. Her symptoms were much worse that the Dr.'s, with vomiting, severe stomach cramps, headache and a temperature of 102.9. A few doctors asked her a round of questions while nurses inserted fluids for dehydration and antibiotics, which more than likely would have no effect.
Dr. Cuddy realized this crisis was for real and decided to go upstairs and prep her staff on what to expect now that two patients were there. When she walked into the conference room she asked her team to meet her in Wilson's office next door, where House and Wilson seemed to make amends, for the moment's predicament, it seemed.
"House, where's Wayni?" Dr. Cuddy asked as she took a seat in front of the gang.
"Yeah, Cameron, Chase? Where's Wayni?" House asked with a sly grin.
Chase shot Cameron a guilty look. "She's around here somewhere. She got hold of the leash and ran off." She lied.
House shook his head because he knew the real scoop. Cuddy filled everyone in with the two new cases and assigned Foreman and Chase to them, with orders to wear protective masks, like they didn't already know that.
"Dr. Firth also needs an update on the possible cases that might have come in the past week. Have there been any, Wilson?"
"A few possible cases, but no other symptoms than regular stomach ailments."
"Okay. Can you keep in contact with them?" Cuddy asked as Wilson nodded his head. "I need everyone to keep their cell phones and pagers on." She said looking directly at House, who responded with a roll of his eyes.
Cameron was the last one to head out the door and House called her back in.
"Wilson, don't you have to go to the bathroom or something?" House asked.
"Actually, no." He answered.
"Yes, you do." Wilson suddenly realized what House wanted then walked out. "Have a seat, Dr. Cameron." House said tersely as she did so.
"So, where is my little puppy?"
She twisted in her chair as she thought of what she was going to tell him where she was without giving too much information out.
"I had a friend come get her." She said truthfully.
"Aw, I see. And who might that friend be?"
"It doesn't matter. She's at my place and she'll be safe."
"How's Missy?" He finally asked, irritated that she was not being honest with him.
"How should I know, Dr. House? I haven't talked with her." She flat out lied.
"Did you know breaking and entering into a Dr.'s office is illegal?" He asked as he noticed her face turn a shade of red.
"That never stopped you from having us do it to patient's homes."
"Cameron, when did Melissa come to your place?"
Her face turned completely red this time now that she'd been caught. "This morning. How did you know?"
"Don't you know by now I know everything? Is she okay?" He asked genuinely.
"Yes, she's fine. But I don't think you want to be talking to me if you need to know anything about her." She said as she stood up and walked toward the door.
"Thanks, Cameron…for taking care of Wayni." She stopped at the door, turned back around and nodded her head.
Within a few hours, ten new patients had been brought in from area hospitals. Cuddy met Dr. Firth in the hallway and he told her there were now over 50 cases in area hospitals and the next few hours were going to be hell with the overflow of patients. She calmly told him she had already briefed her doctors and they were ready.
She walked into her office, sat behind her desk and looked out the window at the snow that was just beginning to blanket grassy spots and lightly blew over the streets. She thought of Rog flying in the following morning and grew apprehensive as thoughts went over and over in her head, which she hated to do to herself.
Shortly, all the doctors were downstairs reviewing case after case of patients that had slowly begun to come in. Cuddy went to the reception desk and watched with pride at her staff for how well they were organized. Vicky, the first patient to be brought in, had lapsed into a coma. The paramedics brought in her little sister who was just showing the first symptoms of the flu-like virus.
One of the maintenance crew had been admitted with mild symptoms, which was expected because if anyone would have been in close contact with an infected person it would have been one of them. Dr. Chase walked out of the exam room from examining him and ran into Cameron in the hall, who was on her way to another exam room.
"Robert, are you feeling okay? You look pale."
"Fine, fine." He simply said as he walked past her, but gave her a wink. "Hey, have you seen House? We need him."
"He's hiding. You know him."
Later that night, Melissa sat on Cameron's couch watching the evening news with Wayni asleep on her chest, which she assumed knocked her out from hearing her own mother's heartbeat. She anxiously awaited any news about what was going on at the hospital but nothing was mentioned. Cameron didn't give her any information earlier and she was starting to worry. It was a lot easier for her to worry about someone else than it was for herself.
A little while later the phone rang loudly and startled her awake just as David Letterman was announcing his next guest, Hugh something-or-other. Wayni growled and flew over on her back on the couch by Melissa's side after being slightly thrown from off her chest. She groggily, but eagerly reached for the phone and picked it up.
"Allie?" There was a moment of silence on the other end before she said, "Hello?"
"It's not Allie." Came a male voice she instantly recognized and she became queasy, not from being sick but from hearing his voice unexpectantly.
"Hi, Greg." She said nervously.
"Hey." Another moment of silence as they both fought to find the words, any words, to express what they were feeling, which never really seemed to be a problem before.
"How are you, Missy?" He asked tensely.
"Good, yourself?"
"Good. Where's Wayni?"
"She's giving me the evil eye to go outside right now." She answered with a little giggle. "Greg, what's going on at the hospital?"
"It's just a minor epidemic, nothing to worry about. Missy?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you okay?" He asked.
She threw back her head and closed her eyes, took a deep breathe and answered, "I will be." She paused a moment. "Greg, you don't know how bad I feel about what I did to you and calling Sheila an…I shouldn't have done that…it was none of my business and I'm sorry…" She muttered one word after the other too fast as she always did when she was nervous and under stress.
"Missy, please. Don't do this, not now. Do you think we can talk when this mess is over with?"
Melissa opened her eyes and looked at Wayni, who began sniffing at the front door to go potty. "Greg, I've got to go now. Wayni needs to go outside or I'll have a mess to clean up."
"Okay. Missy?"
She smiled to herself before she answered him. "Yeah, G-Diddy?"
He smiled to himself at that before he said. "I still love you," then quickly hung up without hearing her response. And her response was the tears that filled her eyes as she grabbed her coat and took Wayni to do her business.
House sat and stared at the phone for a second wondering why the hell he said that. But he had to play Scarlet O'Hara for a while and 'put it off for another day'. He grudgingly headed down to the clinic to see what had progressed since he'd been sleeping for the past few hours.
Which as it turned out, he wished he never had gone down. There were now 37 patients in exam rooms, and a few in the hallways. He stood watching Cuddy walk toward him.
"Where were you? We needed you down here hours ago." She snipped as she made a few notes in a patient's folder and placed it back on the counter, grabbing another one.
When he didn't answer she said, "We lost Vicky Smithers and three others." She said desperately. "This has got to be over, and soon."
At that point, Chase and Cameron walked down the hall toward them. Cuddy noticed his forehead was a bit sweaty and he looked pale, still.
"Chase, are you sick or have you two been doing the wailing horizontal mamba?" House asked, and all three doctors yelled at him to shut up at the same time as the three walked away from him to an exam room.
"Well, if I had known it was going to be that easy…" House said out loud as he headed to another one of his secret hiding spots.
In the exam room, Dr. Cuddy asked Chase a few questions while Cameron set up an IV then placed a thermometer in his mouth.
"You should have come to me as soon as you felt sick, Chase!" Cuddy said angrily. "Well, nothing to do now but let it run its course. You better hope it's not as serious as the others." She said as she walked out.
Cameron fussed at him a little bit more until the 'ready' beep went off on the thermometer. She took it out of his mouth and looked at it, frowning. "102.4. Yep, congratulations! And Mom is right. You better hope you aren't gravely ill." She said then leaned in and kissed his cheek through the face mask.
The remaining hours on the night shift were chaotic and stressful yet everything had been running smoothly. The sun had just risen and Cuddy's staff was able to get an hour of shut eye. A few part-time doctors, Wilson, Foreman, House and Cuddy had settled into the lounge on cots, except for Cameron, who chose to stay with Chase.
Cuddy tried to sleep but couldn't because she was too anxious about the thought of seeing Rog in a few hours. She'd decided to let the current crisis pass before she'd have the talk with Rog about what his plans were. Which, she hoped, were to come back to PPTH. She sighed, opened her eyes and looked around the room, catching House lying on his arm and staring at her.
"It's ok. They're all still out. You okay?" House asked as he winked.
She smiled back at him and nodded her head. She heard a cot squeak and looked up to see House sitting up and leaning in to be closer to Cuddy so he could whisper.
"Cuddy? Do you think I'd be a good father?" He asked nervously.
"Greg, from what I've seen so far, yes. It's an adjustment period for any parent. Are you really worried about it?"
"Of course I am. When Stacy first told me she was pregnant I didn't know what to think. But since Charnie's been with me the past few weeks I've grown a lot."
"To be fair, and not to make this sound harsh but Melissa was with you. She's not anymore; it's never been just you and C.T. Do you think you can handle it, just you two?" She asked but he was thoughtful for a moment but didn't reply.
"Greg, you know you have plenty of support, especially from me and Wilson, at least. And if you need anything else let me know, ok?" She said sincerely. He nodded his head and gave her a half-grin.
"When is Rog coming in? He asked.
"His flight lands at 8:45." She answered.
House nodded his head as Foreman moaned and turned over in the cot. House rolled his eyes and said, "Wet dream," which made Cuddy laugh until her pager went off.
She looked at it, frowned, stood up quickly and said, "Come with me." Cuddy's tone of voice startled House and he followed her out of the lounge.
They rushed down to the room where Chase had been previously admitted and House instinctively went to check on him but Cuddy pulled at his elbow and pulled back the curtain to the most recent patient.
Lying on the hospital bed surrounded by a clear plastic sheet that surrounded her from the top of the bed to just at her waist was an unconscious Melissa.
House stood at the foot of her bed and stared at the thick oxygen mask over her mouth and tubes that came from the insides of both of her arms. Her breathing was thick, fluid-sounding and very shallow. House looked at Cuddy like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"What's her condition?" He asks as he steps toward the monitor to check out her vitals.
"Temp 105.4, pneumonia has already set in, and with her immune system compromised..." She answered but stopped herself when she saw him lean over her, slide his hand under the plastic sheet and rub her cheek. She quietly stepped away and snuck out the door to give House and Melissa time...'to say goodbye.' She thought to herself.
House stood at Melissa's bed for half an hour or so watching the sweat from the fever drip down her cheeks. He gently wiped it away and dried her wet forehead with his hand. She mumbled incoherently and House, out of frustration at not being able to see her actually face to face, pulled down the plastic canvas from her face and laid his head on her chest.
He closed his eyes, listened and felt her heartbeat then smiled as he recalled all the good times they'd had together, and prayed for more of the same as soon as she recuperated. Her breathing became more laborious and he could hear the fluid in her lungs gurgle against his ear.
"Missy, god, please, don't leave me. I need you." He moaned as he tried to keep back his tears. "We need you." He let the tears fall then felt a hand touch the back of his head. He looked up at her face and smiled.
"heydoc..." She mumbled weakly. He brushed the palm of his hand against her cheek and held her face in his hand. With her right hand she reached for the oxygen mask and pulled it off her mouth.
"You need to keep that on, baby." He said as he grabbed the mask and tried to put it back over her mouth.
"I...m tired...Doc...wanna talk...you bef...I go." She whispered as she put her hand on his left cheek.
"Don't talk like that!"
"No...no...ready..." She said as a tear rolled down her temple. "Waynis at Cams...fine.."
Melissa's breath became sporadic, her eyes remained open but grew blank as she whispered, "iloveyou" between only exhales, her chest rose in its last exhale of life and the monitor behind him beeped a solid wail.
"Noooo noooo!" He sobbed uncontrollably for the longest time, saying 'i love you' over and over until he had no more tears left.
He leaned in to her lips and gently kissed them for the last time. Finally he got his composure, completely removed the plastic canvas and lovingly covered her entire body with the bedsheet.
He wiped his eyes, took a deep breath and walked out into the hall, where he saw Cuddy standing just across the doorway. She looked at him empathetically but he turned right and walked to the elevator, where he was met by Cameron who had just come back from the cafeteria with some food for Chase, whose fever had finally come down and his prognosis for a full recovery was excellent.
Cameron noticed his eyes were red and swollen and was curious to ask what was wrong but she decided against it. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for a minute when she heard him say something, which she had to ask her to repeat because she wasn't sure she'd really heard what she thought she heard.
House nodded his head and said, "Missy just died," then he bolted out through the sliding doors just as they opened before she could say a word.
He walked into the conference room but forgot that it had been turned into the command post. He looked at Foreman who sat in a chair at the table but he didn't look right to him. House walked to the coffee machine, poured a cup and turned back around, just in time to see Foreman stand up then collapse to the floor.
"Another one bites the dust." House said then headed back out the door, totally ignoring the other doctors who helped Foreman up to take him down with the other ill patients.