"Good morning Natalie." Chase tried to flash a convincing smile, but his attempts at any cheer were flat. His restless mind made for a long evening with little rest and recovery time.

"I hope you don't mind if I mention you look like crap. Another wild night?" Natalie scorned.

"No, I just didn't sleep well. You didn't page me just to check up on me, did you?" Chase posed the question with a flirtatious grin.

"Dr. House made me page you. Drs. Cameron and Foreman are already in there."

"I wonder what he needs all three of us for? I guess I better go find out. Want to come along for fun?"

"Yeah, right. You know how they say doctors make the worst patients? Dr. House is beyond worst. A smart person wouldn't be such an asshole around so many people that have access to drugs that could kill him."

"Welcome to my daily life. Thanks Natalie."

Chase walked in to see House, Cameron and Foreman all less than patiently waiting.

"Too busy flirting with that pretty nurse to join us serious doctors trying to work? You look like hell, so give the banging nurses a rest for once."

Foreman wasn't in the mood for House's insults this morning, even if they weren't geared at him. "Get on with it, House. Some of us have jobs to do."

"Very well." House turned his laptop around on the tray table. "This is the answer to all your questions."

"It's in Japanese," Cameron observed with great irritation.

"What, none of you speak Japanese? I thought you all were smart."

Chase looked at the screen. "Research studies for the brain injured. The rest is a bit too technical for me."

Cameron and Foreman looked at him rather surprised. Chase was getting rather tired of defending his actions. "Japanese is a language taught in Australian schools. I also got to visit there a few times. I know just as much as your high school French."

"What do brain studies have to do with anything? I assume you have a point for all this." Foreman still wanted the answers he was looking for.

House was enjoying irritating his temperamental neurologist through suspense, but decided it was time to press on. "Electronic brain stimulation. Studies have been done all over the world, including very small studies in the US. None have been more aggressive and more promising though than the research in Japan."

"This is about my patient, isn't it? How did you find out?" Cameron tried to be confrontational, but was quickly shot down by glances from Foreman and Chase. "Never mind, I should have known you would find a way to stick your nose in our business."

"Come, take a look. The writing might be in Japanese, but there are plenty of pretty pictures. The diagrams make it easy for even Chase here to understand."

Chase was too disoriented for witty comebacks with House this morning, so he chose not to acknowledge the usual insults. They all gathered around the screen to examine the diagrams.

House was ready to spout off all the knowledge he attained in his fruitful search. "Time to show my awesomeness. In the US studies, doctors attach a cuff to the wrist and send a 20-milliamp charge through the median nerve which sends the signals through the cerebral cortex. Those studies are performed by one doctor in Philadelphia. The Japanese are far more aggressive. They implant the electrodes right into the spine. The success rate is not anywhere near as high with the arm cuff as opposed to the implants. Of course part of that reason could be that the US study is having great trouble finding people to participate. This country is way too sensitive to the whole quality of life thing. The Japanese aren't as picky."

Cameron skeptically processed House's knowledge transfer. "Why would we consider either of these options? We could end up waking a vegetable. She could do that on her own."

"The mother wants it." Chase answered in a quiet voice.

"Cameron, you aren't seeing the greater good that can come from this. These researchers are chomping at the bit for willing subjects with brain injuries. This patient could end up doing a lot of good for many people someday. Young brains make for outstanding case studies and could provide years of valuable data."

"This isn't a lab rat, House. We need to show some human responsibility here." Cameron was livid that yet again House was missing the human element of the analysis.

Foreman, after having some time to mull over the idea, saw the viability. "I could see why this would work. This type of stimulation is used for muscle control in quadriplegics. The idea is that the electricity makes it to the brain, crossing the opposite hemisphere, and stimulating the arousal centers. Instead of stimulating the muscles, you are working straight through the primary nervous system. It actually sounds very reasonable. Planting electrodes in the spine seems rather extreme though. I would imagine that should only happen for those that have spent a long time in persistent vegetative states."

"I need facts. What are the benefits? The best case scenario, what is it?"

House frowned. He knew Cameron wasn't going to like the most hopeful result. "The best case was a woman who was declared brain-dead. She was taken off the respirator and started breathing on her own. Her mother deemed this to be a miracle since the doctors told her it wouldn't happen, so she agreed to the cuff stimulation for her daughter. The treatment woke her up."

"Sounds great, so now her daughter is living independently and holding down a good job, right?" Cameron knew House was leaving out the most important part.

"She still suffers from lack of impulse control, short-term memory impairment, slurred speech, but she can walk and function somewhat. She requires constant care from her mother."

Cameron took that response to be argument enough that this risky option should not be considered.

House wasn't done yet. He wasn't going to take Cameron's stuffiness as a sign of defeat. He never did before. "Most of the cases push someone from a persistent vegetative state into a minimally conscious state. This patient would be considered at worst minimally conscious right now. Who knows what function she could recover? These researchers would kill to have a young 11 year old brain that is not PVS in their study."

"I'm not willing to tell this poor mother to let these people play Frankenstein with her daughter. Because she is so young maybe it is not worth prolonging what could easily be a very long unproductive life."

"It isn't your call!" Chase shouted. The others expressed deep surprise over him abruptly joining the conversation after staying quiet. "It is your job to present options and the risks. You wouldn't be giving false hope. This mother is rather wise."

Cameron frowned knowing that her objections were not considering all the options Mrs. Harris wanted to hear. She didn't care though, since Mrs. Harris was so damn wrong. She continued her devil's advocate mindset. "What in the world does electronic stimulation do to someone with a bullet in their brain? Wouldn't that act as some type of lightening rod?"

House as usual was prepared for any type of resistance. "I don't think anyone knows what it would do. We need to get the bullet out anyway."

Now it was Foreman's turn to raise objections. "House, as a doctor, I don't think I'll need to tell you the risks involved with killing her by digging into brain tissue to remove the object."

"The part of the brain it is in will likely result in the bullet shifting. It is in a rather soft area. That sinking could kill her or greatly impair her anyway, unless you don't want her moving the rest of her life. What did the MRI show?"

"Considering the bullet didn't have enough metallic composition to upset the MRI, yes, the risk of it breaking apart in her brain was evaluated. The bullet didn't look like it was intact. The possibility that the bullet would break apart was listed when the VP shunt was inserted for the hydrocephalus."

"So how do you get the fragments out?" Cameron was waiting to hear the next big and reckless House plan.

"One dangerous plan at a time please. Take it easy on me, I'm in the ICU. My brain isn't exactly operating on full capacity. That is what my crack team of doctors is for anyway. There must be plenty of bullet-in-brain cases out there that outline some new breakthrough procedure. I think."

"I've heard enough." Foreman was ready to get on with his day now that he did his part in humoring his boss. "I have a patient with a real condition that needs to be treated."

Cameron decided to join Foreman's lead. "Yes, me too." All three turned away and started to exit the ICU.

"Chase," House motioned to him as the others were leaving. Chase walked back over to the bed and tried to speak, but was hushed by House as he waited patiently for the others to get out of sight. As soon as there were no signs of their presence, he started talking.

"Two things. First, get Cameron off this case. If she has her way, the patient will be a full-fledged home decoration by the time she is twelve."

"That's not my call. Cuddy put her on it. If it was my call, I'd still let her keep the case."

"No you wouldn't. All I'd have to do is insult you a little and you would yank that thing away from her faster than a child with a sharp knife. You masochists are so predictable."

"Yeah, well lucky for me, that isn't the case. You said two things."

House's expression turned to one of a bit more humility. "I want you to do my vitals check this morning. I'm not feeling great. I think I have a fever."

Chase's face instantly showed deep concern. He grabbed his stethoscope and listened to the chest. "Something isn't right. Heartbeat is a little fast. I'll have to do a full exam."

House nodded in reluctant agreement. "This stays between you and me for now. Tell Cuddy only if you find something."

"Okay, deal." Chase said as he began the examination.

------------

Foreman had the test results in hand and needed to consult the resident immunological expert to verify his proposed course of treatment. He finally managed to find Cameron in the lab analyzing blood samples for her patient.

"There you are. I have been looking for you. I have the test results back." Foreman handed her the sheet of paper.

"So, he's HIV positive. You going to start him on anti-retrovirals?"

"Yes, although I was hoping you could recommend the doses since he will also be on the antibiotics. Hopefully the combination of the two will get rid of the infection."

"Sure, I'll write down a course of treatment. When are you going to tell him?"

"I was going to wait until his tongue was at least back to normal so he could ask questions."

"Good idea. I'll work on this as soon as I'm done here. It shouldn't be too long."

Foreman noticed that Cameron was finishing a blood test. "Have you found anything out?"

"She is responding well to the antibiotics for the infection in her lungs. I just can't figure out what caused it. Chase is doing the LP later this morning. Anyway, come back in a half hour and I'll have those recommended doses for you."

Foreman nodded and turned to leave. "Foreman, can I ask you a question?" He knew what that meant. Cameron was having yet another personal crisis that she had to resolve now.

"Sure," Foreman replied in a helpful tone, but really he was slightly upset that he didn't escape in time.

"Do you think I did a really rotten thing to Chase?" Cameron showed some extreme guilt in phrasing the question.

"I think you put him in a really awful position. Yeah, I would say you hung him out to dry."

"What would you have done?"

"Send the mother to Cuddy if she got too insistent. Don't send anyone to a fellow doctor based solely on his religious beliefs. You could have at least consulted Chase on her questions and dealt with her yourself. You can't run from tough situations because they make you uncomfortable. Of course Chase was also a fool for agreeing to speak to the woman. He needs to learn to say no."

"I don't think the conversation went well. He was pretty freaked out afterward."

"What did he say?" Foreman was surprised that Chase would actually reveal any details.

"Nothing. As usual, he wouldn't talk to me."

"I have never known Chase to hold grudges. Just give it a few days to blow over. In the meantime, you need to deal with your patient's family and only you. Also, apologize to Chase."

"I tried. He didn't want to hear it."

"That is because you tried to apologize as the helpless victim whose mess he had to clean up. Show some responsibility and then apologize. He might be open to it then."

Cameron held her head down knowing Foreman was right. She didn't like hearing it, but he was right.

"Anyway, I need those doses ASAP. I'll be back in a half hour."

"They'll be ready," Cameron assured. Foreman was correct that she needed to get back to her job. She would worry about the rest later.

a/n: This brain stimulation stuff is for real! I read all about it in a recent article. Sounded like a great medical mystery to play out here, especially with all the religious themes. Chapter 7 is in editing mode and should be out soon. Thanks for reading!