A/N: I know my chapters are quite short but as compensation I tend to post two at a time, or quite quickly, reviews appreciated.
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"You have reached the office of Doctor Lisa Cuddy. If you would leave a message after the tone along with your name and a contact number then we will get back to you as soon as possible."
Beep.
"Doctor Cuddy this is Allison Cameron. I am calling you to confirm the details of my leave of absence. I know we discussed this and I am really just calling to say that I would like to have the full month as you suggested, I have been invited to talk at the annual immunology conference in San Diego, and another in Texas, so I would like to clear my agenda in preparation. On a more important note tell House that the sugar is in the left hand cupboard behind the animal crackers, I imagine that he is unbearable without it. Thank you once again, and see you on my return."
Beep.
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Three weeks had passed with no exciting cases for the team, and House was bored. He was so bored in fact that he was voluntarily spending time in the clinic, which would have been good had he not been reducing them to tears as a matter of course. The last clinic patient of the day had just left the room and House made a bee line to his office, with the single minded intent of relaxing for a few minutes and playing on his game boy.
"House!" He grimaced as he heard the slightly insane tone of Doctor Cuddy made its way across the room, followed quickly by the woman herself.
"Why Doctor Cuddy, I must say that is a stunning top you're wearing. Really lets them breathe doesn't it..."
"Nice, but your bare faced lechery isn't going to get you anywhere. You have a new case." She handed him the file and turned around.
"But mommy, I've got so much homework to do!" He turned to see Cuddy's retreating form and rolled his eyes. He flicked open the file boring…there has go to be something better for me to do than this…
As he reached his office he noticed a new medical journal piled up on top of the precariously stacked mail. Well I have noting better too do...
As he flicked through the journal he noticed a familiar name, Well I never…
Doctor Allison Cameron- Systemic lupus erythematosus: Dealing with idiopathic auto- immune diseases in everyday life.
The article was interesting and to the point, but seemed so un- Cameron. There was no ethical debating over rights to treatment or the importance of a support structure for the patients and their family. Even odder was the inset at the bottom of the last page of the essay; which informed the reader that Doctor Cameron had recently participated in two medical conferences which had been received ecstatically by scholars nationwide. Fascinating…He studied the small picture, predictably included to advertise that you could be in medicine and be beautiful; the first noticeable thing was how frail she looked. It was difficult to tell from such a small photo, but he could definitely see her collar bones more than usual. The photo had been taken while she was on stage and it seemed that she looked tired, no exhausted. To anyone else she would have just looked like a slightly skinny but beautiful, young female doctor, but House had been observing her since she began working for him.
"We got your page, what's up? Do we have a new case?" It was Foreman's voice that shook him from his thoughts, and he left his office. He tossed the journal onto the meeting table and turned to the board.
"New patient, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis six months ago, but is having complications, palpitations, rashes, loss of sensation, the like…"
"Could be something systemic"
"Fibromyialgia?"
"How about lupus?" A voice broke in from the doorway.
"Cameron, hey!" Chase sounded like a puppy dog happy to see its master once again.
"Nice of the famous Doctor Cameron to join us again. Was Texas too hot, or did you just miss us? Yes I saw the article…"
"You read the journal?" Her voice was disbelieving though with a trace of amusement.
"Hey, what article?" It was Foreman this time, his own voice showing a hint of incredulity.
"It's on the table in front of you home-boy, if you hadn't been so interested in my cane you would have seen it"
"Now are we gong to solve this case or what? Chase get an MRI, Cameron blood tests, Foreman…well do whatever it is you do, got it? Good. Go"
Cameron was the last to leave the room and as she turned she could have sworn she heard the gruff voice of her boss say "Welcome back"