Chapter 3
A/N: Thank you for the reviews! They are inspiring me to write more and since I don't know the path I want this story to take, I love the input and suggestions! Enjoy!
Having furiously scrubbed the blood from her skin and washed her hair, Cameron felt somewhat rejuvenated as she pulled on the clean lavender scrubs from the pile of extras in the laundry bin near the door. They always had extras for those unfortunate doctors and nurses that got pee'd, puked or bled on everyday as they did their jobs.
She quickly towel-dried her hair and left it to dry loose, untamed around her shoulders. Not bothering to re-apply any makeup, Cameron hoped that no-one could tell that she had been crying and quickly collected herself in front of the mirror. Good enough, she thought running her fingers through her hair one last time and throwing her stained clothes in the trash-can. She knew that she could easily wash them out at home and they would be good as new, but she didn't want to remember anything about this horrid day.
Just as she was pulling on her extra pair of running shoes kept in her locker, the pager at her waist beeped furiously, signaling House was being moved to the Intensive Care Unit. Quickly she tied the laces and sprinted down the stairs to the second floor ICU just as the elevators opened revealing a small team of nurses and the surgeon, Dr. Walsh, pushing a gurney followed by Foreman, Chase and Wilson.
Standing six feet away, Cameron didn't even register the group of people at House's side; her focus was on the man laying unconscious on the gurney. Hot tears sprung to her eyes as she took in his ailing appearance. His face was whiter than a sheet blowing in the breeze and his eyes were sunken in and bordered by dark circles. He was intubated and the blue plastic of the tube looked harsh against his pale skin and bandaged neck.
Shaking away her emotions, Cameron crossed the short distance to him and helped guide the gurney into the ICU and his waiting place by the window. "How long are you going to keep him in the coma?" She asked Dr. Walsh, surprised again at how calm and clinical her voice sounded.
"Until his blood pressure stabilizes again and we can be assured that his neck is healing efficiently. He did receive blood transfusions in the OR and I suspect that we should be able to lighten his anesthesia within the next twelve to twenty-four hours and have him extubated by the morning."
Cameron nodded, "Can I stay here with him?" She was acutely aware of the surprised looks she was receiving from her colleagues and quickly covered up her slip. "I mean, I don't think we should leave him alone until he wakes up completely." She turned to Foreman and Chase, "We could take shifts and monitor his progress."
Foreman nodded, "Sure. I'll take the first shift but let me go get my book from the office. I'll be right back."
Chase agreed as well and he and Wilson headed off to the doctors call room to make good use of the beds provided for doctors spending the night at the hospital. "Are you coming Cameron?" Wilson stopped in the doorway and motioned towards the call-room, "You can take the next shift so why not get some sleep now?"
"Yeah sure, just give me a minute; I want to wait until Foreman gets back."
Wilson nodded and sensed that she needed a minute alone with House. He had his suspicions that more was going on between the two doctors but he didn't dare mention it to either of them. He followed Chase down the hallway and hoped that the Aussie didn't snore too loudly.
Cameron turned her attention back to the patient and picked up his chilly hand, rubbing her fingers absently over the IV tape attached there and staring at his face for any signs of recognition. Of course in his chemically induced state his face showed no signs of movement and the hiss of the respirator did nothing to calm her nerves. "Damn it House," she whispered softly, "this is not the way I planned us spending the evening." She checked her watch, 1:06am, Friday, June 9th. Cameron yawned and sat back in the plush chair provided for family members in the ICU, her eyes growing heavy from the strain and the hour.
"Hey sleepyhead, I'll watch him now." Cameron jerked awake, not realizing she had fallen asleep and regarded Foreman through tired eyes. "Thanks. I'll just crash down the hall in the call-room."
"Here take these." Foreman handed her two peach-colored earplugs. Seeing her look of confusion, Foreman quickly explained. "I just walked past there and heard Chase sawing logs. I'm surprised Wilson hasn't suffocated him with his pillow yet."
"Thanks." Cameron glanced back one last time at House and walked wearily to the call room. She quietly entered the dark room and located an empty bed in the far corner. Chase's snores seemed to reverberate off the walls and Cameron looked over at Wilson's bed in the dim light of the nightlight and saw that the doctor had pressed a pillow up against each ear and one over his face. "Nice," she thought to herself and put the earplugs in. "He should just sleep in the office." She lay down on the hard mattress and was asleep within seconds.
MDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMDMD
When Cameron opened her eyes, she was completely unaware as to her surroundings. Slowly the events of the night before came back to her and she sat up quickly, wondering why no one had come to get her for her "shift." Foreman slept peacefully in the bed Wilson previously occupied and the loud snores of Chase were silent leading her to believe he also wasn't in the room. She checked her watch again and was shocked to see it was already seven in the morning! She threw back the covers and left quietly so she didn't wake up Foreman then sprinted down the hall to the ICU.
"What the hell?" She asked Wilson accusingly as the oncologist sipped coffee and read the newspaper by House's bedside. "I thought Foreman was going to come get me when his shift was over."
"Good morning to you too," Wilson said teasingly, "nice hair." He motioned to her rustled locks, the after effects of sleeping all night on a hospital-issue pillow. "I woke up when Foreman came in a five and decided to take your shift; you seemed pretty out of it."
"Oh," Cameron unconsciously ran her fingers through her hair, "where is Chase then?"
"Foreman kicked him out about an hour ago so he's gone to get breakfast." Wilson folded the newspaper and handed it to her. "Here, I'm done with it. I hope you like scrambled eggs and toast because that is all I told Chase to bring back; we can't really trust the cafeteria food can we?"
"That's fine," Cameron said distractedly. "How are you holding up?" She thought that Wilson seemed a little cheerful while his friend was laying there in a coma.
"Can't complain considering how House is probably feeling now. He is probably so pissed off that he is the one in the coma and not the other way around. We had a deal that if either of us ends up in a coma, the other is allowed to do everything that he does to the poor coma-guy on the third floor and see if we would actually know what was going on while unconscious." Wilson smiled, "So far, I've eaten a muffin over him, hence the crumbs, and am currently debating whether or not to give him a migraine for kicks."
Cameron smiled half-heartedly. "Has Dr. Walsh been in to see him yet?" She noticed with relief that House was extubated and seemed to be breathing fine on his own without the respirator.
"Yeah, he just left actually. They extubated him and because his BP has remained stable since right after his surgery, they just lightened the anesthesia and he expects House to wake up sometime tonight or tomorrow morning." He looked up as Chase entered the room carrying a large collection of Styrofoam boxes that emitted the unmistakable aroma of fresh scrambled eggs, bacon and syrup. "I thought you said you were going to the cafeteria?" Wilson asked, noticing that he also had a pile of napkins adorning the name "IHOP."
"Yeah well, I wanted to go home and have a shower and there is an IHOP close to my place so I figured what the hell?" Chase set the food down on the little night-table beside House's bed and looked at his boss happily. "They extubated him already?"
Wilson repeated what he had told Cameron then he and Chase excused themselves to take breakfast to the conference room of House's office. She promised them she would be along shortly and bring Foreman,but shejust wanted to sit with House for a minute. Ignoring the looks they gave her, Cameron sat in the chair by the bed for a few minutes longer watching his breathing and reassuring herself that he was still there.
T.B.C…