Our little House doesn't feel so good...and Chase deteriorates.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A little past 9:00 am that same morning it was still windy and snowing, with about 6" of snow on the ground. Dr. Cuddy sat behind her desk anxiously awaiting Rog's return because his help was desperately needed. She still had no idea how she was going to handle the situation but she'd had worse ones to handle. Right now her mind was set on the grim state at the hospital.

Chase and Foreman were now patients and Chase was in worse shape than Foreman. Cameron had been attending her two friends as best she could as well as assisting other new patients. Chase's fever had spiked the last hour and he had begun to vomit excessively. His red blood count had last been reportedly dangerously low, which meant his anti-bodies weren't fighting off the infection that raged through his veins. To make matters worse, Chase had begun to hallucinate the last two hours. Wilson did the best he could with diagnosing incoming patients but he had just started to get an attitude about being at the hospital because he really wanted to be home with his family. It was the first time in his life (married life) that he'd had that thought, which made him smile). He'd even thought about starting a fight with House but knew he'd lose because House had his own issues to deal with.

House had actually seen quite a few patients; not because he was needed to assist in the enclave of patients but because he needed to harass someone (anyone) so his mind would stay clear of any thought of Melissa and of possibly losing his daughter, Charnie.

He was in exam room 2 with a line of patients waiting outside the door as he heard their health complaints and would either send them to Admittance or would hand them a piece of paper to allow them to leave. He would see patient after patient and he'd accomplished it rather swiftly by saying only one word: either 'congrats' or 'leave.'

The thought of ducking out and finding a nice, quiet place just crossed his mind when Dr. Gerald Firth, project director at the CDC, popped his head in the door and told House there was to be a meeting in the conference room in 15 minutes.

"But, Doc! I have that line of people to see and just can't make it, but thanks for asking." House told him.

"Actually, I didn't ask you. I told you. 15 minutes, please." Dr. Firth answered and walked out.

"He admires me soo much he asks me to ALL his meetings." He told his patient with a sarcastic grin.

Almost half an hour went by before House walked into the conference room with about 15 doctors and nurses who looked completely exhausted, including Drs. Cameron, Cuddy and Wilson. They'd work around sleep-shifts so they could rest for a few hours, but after more than 12 hours of non-stop craziness it just started to take its toll. Shifts that were 12+ the doctors were used to, but within that time frame there would always be a lull in activity. The difference with the current situation was its continuity of incoming patients without, it seemed, time to breath.

House noticed the look of anger on Dr. Firth's face as he'd looked as his watch.

"Sorry, had a meeting in the bathroom first. Please continue." He said as he stood in the corner of the room trying to look interested in what was going on.

"As I was saying," He continued, "The reports from the other hospitals are they are still receiving patients, most of them in critical condition. I need to get an update from you, Dr. Cuddy, on the number of admittances and deaths within the past 12 hours."

Dr. Firth stopped talking just long enough to wave Rog in. A few doctors greeted him back and he took a seat as far away from his mother as he could to find a chair. Dr. Cuddy smiled at Rog as he sat down but it faded just as quickly when he didn't look at her. Of course, House caught all of this but she seemed too ashamed to look at him.

"I must warn you, the next 24-48 hours will be the worst. I must also insist that every single one of you, including techs through-out the building, wear sterile gloves and face masks that cover both your nose and your mouths. In my opinion there have been what, four doctors that have been afflicted, and we need as many doctors as we can find. Everyone must do what they can to prevent any further contamination. This particular strain seems resistant to all known antibiotics out there. We've already tried them all."

He stopped talking for a moment to turn to the dean of the hospital. "Dr. Cuddy, I must commend you on your organizational ability to have this hospital run smoothly. I don't believe I've had the pleasure of working in such a successfully structured emergency situation."

She nodded her head with a faint smile and Dr. Firth said a few more meaningless words (which, to House, they all were) then dismissed the crew, reminding them to wear their protective gear.

House didn't move as we watched what might transpire between long-lost mother and son, but Rog was able to sneak out after Dr. Firth cornered Cuddy and she wasn't able to follow him out. He noticed the sadness in her face as she tried to hold it together while she talked. House stood there until everyone left before he grabbed Cuddy's arm as she was about to walk out.

"Cuddy, when was the last time you slept? You look awful." House said.

She looked up at him and for an instant looked relieved at the thought. "Oh, geez, thanks. And you need a shave. But I've got too much to do. There's no w..."

"Cu...Lisa, you're not going to do yourself any good, or this hospital, if you don't get some sleep."

"House, I can't."

"Don't argue with me, woman! Now come on!" House said as he grabbed her arm and led her out into the hall. "Besides, we need to talk."

House and Cuddy sat down on two cots that were in the doctor's lounge. The other doctors were still downstairs tending to the sick.

"Greg, I don't know how this is happening. Chase is on a ventilator now, and I'm having to fight with Cameron to see other patients and there's Rog who hasn't said a word to me and..."

He leaned over and put his hand on her knee. "Lisa, there will be plenty of time for you two to talk. Now just lie down and rest."

"Since when have you gotten so bossy?"

"Uh, since I've lost Melissa, and Stacy, and I sure as hell don't want to lose you, too." He said sincerely.

"Ok, you're scaring me. Do you have a fever?" She said as a weak attempt at humor.

He smiled back at her. "Be afraid. Be VERY afraid." He said as he laid down on the cot and stared at Cuddy for her to do the same.

---Downstairs in admittance the hustle and bustle hadn't quieted down at all. Dr. Firth was running the show. He had just gotten off the phone with Dr. Nguyen at the lab to tell him she confirmed seven more cases of Nirovirus, with 23 more to test for. He ran his fingers through his hair and prayed it wouldn't get any worse.

---In Chase's room, Cameron had taken a few minutes to check up on him and he didn't look very good. His breathing was slow and very shallow; she was afraid his lungs were filling up with fluid. He hadn't regained consciousness since last night and he was still hallucinating. He wasn't responding to the antibiotics and his fever remained at 102.8.

"Robert," she whispered in his ear. "if you make it out of here in one piece, I'll promise you I'll marry you. My parents like you and I like you an..." She felt the tears roll out of her eyes but didn't bother to wipe them away.

"Ok, well, we'll have to be engaged for a year but then I'll marry you." She said but didn't know why.

She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes just for a second. The next thing she knew her pager went off and she looked down at it. 'Rog-lobby'.

She sighed, looked over Chase's vitals, which were stable. Not good, but stable. She kissed the tips of her fingers and brushed them against Chase's lips then headed down to the lobby. She glanced at her watch; it read 2:30 pm Saturday; she'd slept for 30 minutes.

'This weekend is going by too slow.' She thought to herself in the elevator.

Cameron was in desperate need of coffee but she waited until she got with Rog so they could get coffee together. She hadn't had a chance to talk to him when she saw him in the conference room, and he didn't know Melissa had passed away the night before. She saw Rog standing next to Dr. Firth going over some charts.

"What's up?" She asked as she approached them.

"I'll get on those right away." Rog said to the Dr. as he watched him walk away.

"How have you been, Rog?" She asked.

"You want some coffee?" Rog asked as he walked away from her.

She had to skip pretty fast to catch up with him. "Yes! And Rog, I've got some bad news for you."

He shook his head. "I know. Carmen told me about Melissa when I first got here." He said matter of fact and it seemed to Cameron very unemotional.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh, there's not much more that can happen to me that I can't handle, Allison." He said coldly.

All Cameron could do was nod her head. They walked down the hallway and over the intercom a woman's voice hollered, 'CODE BLUE ROOM 412. CODE BLUE 412.' Cameron's stomach dropped to the floor.

"Oh, my god!" She said quietly and ran off toward the elevator.

"Allison, wait up!" Rog called after her.

"THAT'S ROBERT'S ROOM!" She said just as the elevator doors closed between them.

When Cameron rushed into Chase's room there were several nurses and doctors working on reviving him. The monitor gave a steady beep to indicate he had stopped breathing.

"Allison, let them tak…" Rog started to tell Cameron as he entered the room and held her back from assisting. His grip was firm enough to succeed.

The two stood by helpless as they watched the doctor holler for paddles and after several attempts of shocking his heart the monitor started to bleep a regular heartbeat.

"He's in sinus rhythm." The doctor said relieved as the nurses continued to do their job in stabilizing him.

As Cameron let out the breathe she'd been holding for the past few minutes Rog gripped her shoulder harder, as if in affirmation that Chase was going to be okay.

"Allison, let's go."

"Rog, I can't just leave him." She protested.

"When did you last get sleep?" He asked her.

"I don't remember." She answered bluntly.

"Come on." He said as he tried to escort her out of the room.

"No…no…"

"Tough!" He said and forced her out into the hallway to the doctor's lounge, where House and Cuddy were sleeping soundly on their cots.

"Allison, how's Eric? I hear he got 'bit', too." Rog asked because the silence between them was killing him.

"Much better than Robert. He'll be fine." She answered as she reached for the lounge door.

"Of course, Allison, they'll both b…" Rog started to say but ended mid sentence as he opened the door and saw his mother and House asleep on cots.

"Oh, I forgot something. You get sleep and I'll check on you later." Rog whispered so as not wake the two.

But in his awkward, clumsy way when he turned around to walk away his foot got caught between the door and Cameron's foot which caused him to trip on his own feet. He grabbed the wall for support but it wasn't the wall; it was a shelf with various metal instruments on it. He successfully stopped himself from falling but did succeed in the instruments crashing to the floor in a horrendous scream.

They heard Cuddy call out as the door closed between them and they both got on their knees to pick up the instruments. Rog prayed Cuddy wouldn't come out in the hall until he was able to get away, but that wasn't Rog's luck. Rog had forgotten to get in the 'Lucky' line before he was born; he spent too much time in the 'clumsy' line.

"Cam…Rog?" Cuddy said as she opened the door and saw the two on their knees.

"Oh, no! What did Rog knock over now?" House hollered from the lounge as he sat up but was in no hurry to stand and leave.

"Sorry, Dr. Cuddy, really." Cameron said apologetically as she grabbed the last of the equipment and placed them back on the shelf Rog had straightened back up.

"It's ok. What ti…3:35? I can't believe I've been asleep for two hours." Cuddy said as she was about to turn around to get House up when he walked through the door.

"How many scalpels hit the little lady on the way down?" House teased as he saw the three oddly standing there just staring at each other. Well, Rog was staring at the floor because he couldn't quite face his mother yet.

Cameron shot him a nasty glance before she gave them the update on Chase.

"Well, you two have some catching up to do." House said as he walked by Cameron, put his arm around her shoulder and forced her down the hall, under her disapproval. She had gotten used to House and not question things he did sometimes; well, that was a lie but she was too tired to really care.

Dr. Cuddy and her son, Rog stood in the hall like a squirrel looks at a shelled peanut, not quite sure how to attempt getting to the nut inside.

"How have you been, Rog?" Cuddy asked nervously. "Do you want to go back in the lounge?"

"No, I've got to get back downstairs."

"Rog, I know you've had a diff..."

"You have NO idea!" He said and stormed away.

Cuddy could do nothing but watch him as he walked away. She felt the tears build up in her eyes and she walked off to the bathroom to freshen up a bit before she headed back downstairs. She stood in front of the mirror at the sink and looked at the reflection, a reflection of someone she didn't know anymore.

Her eyes had dark circles underneath even though she'd slept hard and for two solid hours. She just wished Rog understood why she put him up for adoption, although she didn't think he'd fully come to terms with it. All she could do was pray that he'd eventually understand.

House walked into the conference room to get coffee before he headed upstairs, although he was only just putting off the inevitable: having to go downstairs and see actual patients.

Dr. Firth greeted him with a snide, "Where have you been, Dr. House? We have a major backlog downstairs and we can't afford to lose the little amount of doctors we have now."

House just shot him a dirty look, headed to his office and grabbed his Purple Onion Monster game and walked out without saying a word to anyone.

He had been meaning to call his mom but he didn't think they'd hear the news all the way up in Michigan. He really didn't want to hear her barrage of questions, even though he knew she was just being concerned about him. He finally came to the conclusion he'd call her after the crisis was over.

As he walked down the hall toward the elevator he got a little dizzy and had to stop and lean against the wall for a few minutes. He thought it was because he hadn't eaten much and had been under non-stop work mode that his body was just pitching a fit. But then he got a chill that ran from his toes to his head and he was suddenly cold, and then realized he felt achy. He wiped his forehead and for a split second he thought he felt clammy, but again he attributed it to being so tired.

He shook it off and headed to the lobby. It had been a few hours since he'd been downstairs and he was shocked at the number of patients that had been admitted. It was absolutely chaotic.

"House! Over here! We need you!" He heard a male calling but for just a split second he seemed to zone out for a minute. "HOUSE!"

He finally turned to where the voice was coming from and saw Wilson leaning over a bed holding down a patient. There were two other nurses who were struggling with the man's legs while another Dr. was trying to give him a sedative.

House reluctantly walked to Wilson, rested his cane on the side of the bed, took the syringe from the doctor and in two seconds flat had injected the man in his left thigh. The other doctor helped Wilson hold the man's arms down until the sedative kicked into his system.

"Man, what is your problem! I yelled for you like 4-5 times!" Wilson fussed as the man slowly resisted and he fell unconscious.

"Sorry. Thought I saw Angelina walking down the hall." He lied as he turned to walk back out after he grabbed his cane.

But the first step he took suddenly there was a loud ringing in his ears and he lost his balance. His cane hit the corner of the chair leg and he went down.

"HOUSE!" Wilson screamed as he ran to him. "Hell, buddy! You don't look so good..."

While House is comatose as a patient in the hospital infected with the Norovirus, he has incredible dreams and hallucinations...

THE TALES OF VICODIN HARRY AND THE FIVE N.J. DOCTORS

"Hi - Hooooooooo! ECHO Hi - Hoooo! Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to work we go...whistle whistle whistle whistle, Hi Ho! Hi Ho! Hi Ho! Hi Ho!"

The Five N.J. Doctors all skip into the lobby of PPTH on a bright, spring morning. The birds are chirping, the kitties are purring, the flowers are blooming and the dogs are fetching. Nothing could be any better than this adventurous place on earth for the Five N.J. Doctors.

Dr. Flirty walks in and gropes the nurse at the reception desk while grasping his pocket organizer; Dr. Whiney complains his Dad died without telling him; Dr. Ice-F walks in like an arrogant, pompus jerk; Dr. Clueless walks in and immediately wonders where her lovey-dovey boss is and Dr. Bossy walks straight to her office to meet with the hospital lawyer, Stupida and Dirtbag from the board on the latest case of neglect.

"And when can we expect to see Vicodin Harry, Dr. Bossy?" Dirtbag asks as he wipes flakes of dirt from his new $1,258 leather, custom-made pair of shoes.

"The last time I saw him he was after some witch with an apple. I think it was Roberta, the Wicked Witch of Accounting. Wait, Dr. Flirty, didn't you go out with her once?"

Dr. Flirty looks at her with a sarcastic expression. "At least I am not on "JewDate" like some people in this office but I won't mention Dr. Bossy names Dr. Bossy." He shoots back as he adjusts his wedding ring.

"Enough you guys..." Dr. Whiney whines.

"Oh, please! Stop with that, will ya! I am sooo sick of hearing that!" Dr. Ice-F fusses as he checks to make sure he has the same pair of sneakers on that his boss, Vicodin Harry, has. "I'll come after all y'all with my street buddies and we'll bash in some skulls!"

"All right, children! All of you just stop it." Stupida yells. "Ah, there's Vicodin Harry now!"

Dr. Ice-F smiles as he sees he his wearing the same pair of sneakers that the man he soooooo admires is wearing the same.

"About time you got here, Vicodin Harry. I wouldn't be surprised if your Mamma smacked ya cuz she was in labor with you for two weeks!" Dirtbag shoots out as he watched Vicodin Harry walk to the coffee machine, pour coffee into his favorite red mug and turns around and smiles smugly.

"Actually, it was four weeks of labor, and it was well worth the pain, don't you think?" Vicodin Harry replies.

"Vicodin Harry, where is your cane? You aren't limping." Dr. Clueless asks him as she bats her eyelashes and crosses her legs - Sharon Stone style in 'that' movie.

Vicodin Harry's eyes bug out of their sockets and he says, "Hey, it's my dream! I don't need a cane to walk...and I don't need to stuff the front of my pants and I can have Angelina Jolie and Carmen Electra...AT THE SAME TIME!"...

...The next thing he hears is water crashing on a shore and someone calling "Gilligan! Where are you? Gilligan!" He turns into the trees and sees a thin, short blonde man walk toward him in a red shirt and gray pants that were too big for him.

"Skipper, I haven't seen Gilligan. Where's your pocket protector, Ace?" He says.

"Well, Professor, the last time I saw him he was with Ginger in the cave and they were both nekkid and..oh, it was a horrible sight, let me tell you! I think she nipped into the 'special coconut' batch! Hey, have you found out about that mysterious illness affecting the local chimps?" Skipper asks the Professor.

"Heck, no, Skipper! Not with that Ginger crawling all over me and begging to go out with me and stuff! It's horrible! I mean, there really isn't anywhere to GO on this stupid desert isle!"

MUSIC Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of five fateful doctors. That started on the not-so tropic port of Princeton, New Jersey.

The Skipper got them all lost while filing divorce papers, Professor was a snarky sailing man with no cane or sense of direction,
The Mate was Austrailian that knows he isn't British...

...uncharted desert isle...with Gilligan, the Skipper, too...that hottie Ginger and Mary Ann, Mr. Howell, who lost his wife, here on Gilligan's Isle! END MUSIC

Skipper and the Professor walk back to camp where they were met by Mary Ann, who was drawing up the next plan of action to get everyone off the island because she had a business meeting with a scrooge, Edwina Vogloser.

"Did you find Gilligan?" Mary Ann asks as she hands the Professor a ripe pineapple.

"Hey, where's the Scotch to go with my pineapple!" The Professor fusses.

Just then Gilligan and Ginger crawl out from behind the bushes with their hair messed up and she's wearing a stupid expression on her face.

"Mr. Howell! You missed it! I ran into some hidden cash with your name written all over it! But since you squealed on the Professor and got us all lost, it's mine, now! You can't have it! Neener Neener Neener!" Gilligan says as he walks to the table and bites into the Professor's pineapple without even asking...

...The next thing the Professor knows is he's standing in the middle of a living room, straight out of the 60's, and this blonde is standing in front of him.

"Hi. I'm Samantha! My husband Darren is at work. Want me to get rid of that pain in your leg for you so you never have to use that cane again?" She asks as she twitches her nose...

...The next thing he knows he's inside a bottle with a circular couch and a chandelier hanging in the center, straight out of Alladin.

"Master! Oh, Master! I was soooo worried about you!" He hears a woman say as a blonde with a pony-tail and bikini showers him with Scotch and chocolate and steak and Reuben sandwiches...

……………..Greg House is about 12 years old and his sister, LizBeth, is 6. It is her first day at kindergarten and he's helping her get her things together in her backpack in the living room. Their father is in the kitchen eating breakfast before he drops her off.

"Elizabeth Ann! I told you to get that stuff packed last night. Greg, stop helping her!" He belts out between bites of toast with jam.

Greg and LizBeth look at each other and Greg rolls his eyes with a reassuring smile to let her know not to worry about him fussing and continues to check off a list of her required supplies she needs to bring with her.

He whispers, "Okay, little lady, looks like you're all set. You look fab! You ready to go?"

"Greg, why can't you come wiff me? I don't wanna go with Dad. Can't you jus' sit 'n the back seat?" She whispers back sadly.

"Aww, I told you, Brett and I have band practice at 8:30. And if you don't get a move on you're gonna be late for your big day." He tells her softly as he ushers her to the kitchen.

"How do I look, Daddy?" She asks excitedly with a huge smile on her face.

"You're wearing THAT dress? Didn't your mother leave out another one? And you need to comb your hair." He scoffs and he looks back at reading the morning's newspaper.

Instantaneously her face becomes heartbreaking and her smile disappears. Greg picks up on her reaction so he takes her by the hand and leads her out the door to the porch, saying, "We'll wait for Dad out here will he finishes eating."

Greg leans against the column while LizBeth sits on the bench.

"Why is Daddy so mean to me?" She asks dejectedly.

"I don't know. I just don't know"………………………………………………………

……………………….The next thing he knows he's a couple of years younger and he's in the grocery store with his Dad in the produce section. His father is picking out a grapefruit for dinner that night and Greg tries to help out by picking up a couple, mimicking his dad's movements and decides the third fruit is the most ripe.

"Here ya go, Dad. This seems right." He says proudly as he hands the grapefruit to his Dad.

"That's no good! What is wrong with you? You are so useless"……………………………………….

...The next thing Greg knows is he's lying in bed with Stacy's head nestled against his chest and running his fingers through her hair while he hums the title song to The Flintstones, the movie they'd seen earlier that day on their 'first date'. He'd planned going to the movie for a week to surprise her because they'd talked about cartoons they grew up watching and she'd said the Flintstones was her favorite. He hadn't anticipated having to apologize profusely as they walked out of the movie theatre.

But he can't help lying there with a smile on his face as he keeps hummer, louder and louder as he's trying to wake her up from her 'nap' after they'd just made love for the first time.

"Uh, Greg?" She softly whispers.

"Hmmmph?"

"After that horrible movie we just saw, the Flintstones aren't my favorite anymore so you can quit humming."

"Well, if I had read the movie reviews and seen how stupid a movie it was we would have gone to see Clear and Present Danger. I know you women just 'die' over Harrison Ford." Greg says teasingly.

"You're just jealous." She snipes back then giggles softly.

"HEY! I am not! He's not lying here with you, I am! He should be jealous of ME!" He says as he playfully rolls over until he's lying on top of her and kissing her and…………………………………..

……………………….The next thing Greg knows he sees Melissa's face float by and hears barking from Wayni and then hears giggles from little Charnie and sees Cuddy's face float by and sees Wilson's pocket protector and LizBeth waving goodbye as she smiles sweetly.

"LizBeth! LizBeth! Come back!" He hollers out for her. He feels something firm touch his shoulder and he hears a woman's voice but doesn't recognize it.

"Liz…..don' gooooooooooo!" He whined until he jerked awake and looked round the room for his sister. "Wha…Liz? LIZ?" He muttered, but it didn't sound the same in his ears as it did in his head.

The woman's face was blurry and he had trouble focusing on the details of her face as he listened to her talk. "Dr. House, take it easy." As she talked she wiped his forehead with a damp washcloth to remove the sweat as the fever he'd had finally came down.

"Whooo ar…u?" He tried to say clearly but his throat was dry and had trouble swallowing. He relaxed and laid his head back down on the pillow. His stomach was cramped very badly and his head felt like he'd been hit by a giant Vicodin pill and he ached just a little bit all over his body.

"I'm Carmen Sanchez, from E.R., helping out here this weekend. Well, it's Tuesday morning now, Dr. I've been monitoring your condition the past two days. But you shouldn't talk. You've been on a respirator the past day and a half. Everyone thought we lost you."

He tried to ask all the questions that ran through his mind but he didn't have the energy to speak anymore. He closed his eyes and remembered the last face that he saw before his dream woke him up: LizBeth.

He quickly faded off to sleep as he heard Nurse Carmen say into her cell phone, "Dr. Cuddy, he's awake…oops, no, he's almost out again. But he's resting…………"

Dr. Lisa Cuddy placed the phone back in the cradle and sighed with relief.

"He's come around." She said to Wilson, who was sitting across from her desk.

"That's a relief. Looks like everyone is coming around. Things seem to be dying outside."

"Oh, bad choice of words, there." She said and smiled.

"Ah, nice to see a smile on your face, Cuddy." He said as he smiled back.

"Yeah, well, we've had over 40 deaths, and even though there aren't any more patients coming in and the ones we do have still need to be heavily monitored so we don't lose anymore."

Just then the door to her office opened and Foreman walked in slowly. "How's it going?" He said as he sat down.

Cuddy relayed the good news about House coming around and for once since Friday night she seemed hopeful that the crisis was over.

"How's Chase doing? Is Cameron still in with him?" Wilson asked.

"Yeah, she was in with him when I went to check up on him. She got him to drink some juice but he's still a little nauseous."

"What I don't understand," Cuddy started to say, "is how House got sick in the first place. I've verified all the patients that might have been exposed and transferred the virus to doctors here, but he never did." Both Wilson and Foreman shrugged their shoulders.

"Well, I'm going to give Sarah and Charlie a call to see how Charnie is doing." Wilson said as he stood up and left.

"Dr. Cuddy?" Foreman asked as soon as the door closed behind Wilson. "I know this is none of my business, but I think you should really try to talk to Rog."

"I've tried, believe me. He won't. He's avoiding me quite well." She said disheartedly.

"Let's just say I have a very good source that he really does want to talk." Foreman said as he stood up. "Is it alright if I head to the lounge to catch some shut eye?"

"Of course, yes, definitely. I've got just a few more papers to complete and I will try to head there myself." She said as she grabbed some papers and started to write.

---Wilson just walked into his office when he caught his phone ringing. He ran to it and noticed it was his home number.

"Hello!" He answered, trying to sound upbeat.

"Hi, honey! God, I miss you! And so do the kids. When are you going to be home? Do you have any idea?" Sarah asked as she tried to cover the kids playfully screaming in the background.

Wilson smiled. "I wouldn't think it'd be past tomorrow, babe. I miss you guys, too."

"No, you don't. You miss your bed." She teased. "Hold on...Charlie! Wanna talk to Daddy?"

"Yay! Yay!" Wilson heard in the background as Sarah handed him the phone. "Hi, Daddy! You don't half ta come home an' time soon 'cuz we're doin' gweat!" Charlie said, then there was a moment of silence.

"Charlie?" Wilson started to say.

"Oh, he ran off to play with Charnie. James, did you get a call from Harold Pittman, the lawyer Greg hired for the custody case?" Sarah asked quietly so the kids couldn't hear her.

"No, wait...I see the message light on. Did he say anything to you?" He asked curious.

"No, I told him to talk to you. He called yesterday afternoon."

"Did you tell him Greg was seriously ill?"

"Uh uh. Not since I didn't know what he wanted." She told him.

"Let me check the message and I'll call you right back. I can't wait to get back home." He said as he hung up the phone and hit the button for 'Message Playback'.

"Dr. Wilson, this is Harold Pittman, the attorney Dr. Greg House hired to handle the custody case of his daughter, Charnie. Please give me a call. There has been a development in the case. I can be reached at..."

Wilson looked at the phone blankly and didn't know whether he should be relieved or deeply concerned.

---Dr. Foreman walked in the doctor's lounge and saw that Rog was asleep on one of the cots with another sleeping in the corner. He sat on the cot closest to Rog and it suddenly dawned on him how exhausted he was. The virus hadn't manifested itself as damaging in Foreman as it had the others, and although he hadn't been in with any patients Dr. Cuddy had given her approval for him to peruse the hospital. But only until Dr. Firth had cleared everyone and the doors would be open for everyone to get back to their normal lives.

He'd just laid back and closed his eyes when he heard Rog say, "How are things going out there?"

Foreman opened his eyes again and turned to look at Rog. "It's really quieted down. Seems like the worst is over."

"Pfft." Rog snorted.

"Rog, you know Dr. Cuddy appreciated you coming in and helping this weekend, but you can't avoid her forever."

"Oh, no? She's done a pretty good job the past...hmmm, how many years?"

"Dr. Cuddy is a good woman, you need to know that. She wouldn't do anything to be hurtful. That's House's job." He said as he chuckled but Rog didn't.

"Eric, how would you have reacted if you were in my shoes? Would you just accept the fact that your boss who hired you is really your mother that gave you up because she didn't want you?"

Foreman's first thought was, 'I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. You're too clumsy.' But then thought against it; it wasn't the time to be cracking jokes.

"Come on, Rog! You know it wasn't like that."

"Yeah, well," Rog started to say as he stood up to leave. "Life isn't as easy as that, now is it?" Foreman could do nothing but shake his head and closed his eyes to get more badly needed sleep.

Back in Wilson's office, Harold Pittman just picked up his phone as he was returning his call.

"Mr. Pittman, this is Dr. James Wilson. You call..." He started to say.

"Ah, yes. I've been trying to reach Dr. House but I haven't heard from him. I've tried both his home and his office."

"Yes, he has been fairly ill but he won't be able to attend the hear..."

"Oh, well, that's why I'm calling..." Mr. Pittman spoke a moment longer.

"I'll let him know right away. And thank you." Wilson pressed the hang-up knob and quickly dialed Sarah.

"Honey, guess what! Sheila Smithers, Charnie's godmother, has decided not to file for custody. She's had a change of heart. Charnie can be with her father now! Oh, man, he is going to be SO relieved! I can't wait to tell him."

"That's fantastic! Oh, I'm so glad that worked out. How's he doing, by the way?" Wilson gave her the update on the crisis at the hospital and House's condition, told Sarah he loved her and hung up.

He smiled wider than he'd had in the past five days and clapped his hands together in victory. He was happy for House, and especially Charnie. She'd be in good hands with her father. And he walked out of his office to go tell House, his best friend, the excellent news.

Wilson walked excitedly to House's room but wasn't expecting him to be awake. He'd been told he'd only just woken up not even an hour earlier. He found House indeed still asleep and Nurse Carmen readjusting the IV tube in House's arm to allow for full flow of meds and fluids to rehydrate him.

"How's he doing?" Wilson asked as he approached the bed.

"Much, much better. He had some pretty wicked nightmares late last night; he talks in his sleep." She said with a sly grin. "So do you, if I recall correctly, Jimmy. I wonder…do you still talk in your sleep?" She added as she walked back to the chair in the corner of the room and sat down in the very chair she'd spent more than 24 hours monitoring House's condition.

Wilson shot her a look of surprise because he hadn't expected her to mention their past 'relationship'. Carmen was one nurse he was able to avoid, thankfully, for the past three years, the last time they were together. He really cared about her at the time but she got a little "weird" for him while they were 'together' and he was forced to put an end to it. But he knew she was a good person and an excellent nurse, that's why he mentioned having Nurse Carmen keep an eye on House.

"Carm, look, I'm in a good relationship now and I'm happy. For once in my life I'm actually happy." He said, hoping to qualm her flirting.

"You said you were happy with me, too."

"Please, I won't want to get into thi…" He started to say.

"Woo u two take tha' outs…" House muttered from his bed.

"House, uh, you're awake." Wilson said nervously as he turned to look at him.

"Unfortunately, yeah." He answered with his eyes still shut.

"Carmen, would you mind stepping out for a bit?" Wilson asked as he turned to face her.

"Sure, anything for you, Doc." She said with a wink at Wilson as she walked by and left the room.

"She had a thing for me when I first came here." Wilson lied.

"Sure, wha'evah you say, doc." House retorted.

"I've got some good news, buddy."

"'Skins actually win th' superbowl?"

"Wow, you never quit, do you?" Wilson said.

"Seems needer' do you."

Wilson shook his head but more in relief that House was getting back to 'normal'. He told House of the call from Pittman and Charnie would be going home as soon as House fully recuperated.

"Of course, Sarah and I will be more than happy to watch her until you're on your feet."

"'mmm sur Sarah'd like tha'." He mumbled, still with his eyes closed, sounding half asleep.

Wilson was on edge himself from pure exhaustion and took his comment the wrong way. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"Caum down. Thank…I appreeccheeate…" And House dosed off to sleep.