Author: Milady Dragon
Disclaimer: I don't own either show, I just love messing with them a lot!
Author's note: To those anonymous readers who have tried to review and couldn't, I apologize. I didn't have any idea you wouldn't be able to (thought I'd disabled that bit, but apparently not). So please forgive me, and I hope you continue to enjoy!
Chapter Sixteen
Cameron waited until John was asleep again, then left the room. House had gone down to ream whatever tech had let Foreman take the scans a new asshole, and in her opinion they deserved it. Okay, House had done some pretty piss-poor things in the search for a cure, but there were times when that sort of thing was called for. But she hadn't expected that sort of behavior from Foreman, especially since he had to have known the MRI's weren't for any patient he was currently involved with. It hadn't been any of his business.
"Dr. Cameron."
She sighed, coming to a halt just short of the elevator. Cuddy stood there, apparently waiting for her. "What is it?" she asked, hitting the call button a little harder than was actually required.
"I wanted to offer my apologies for what just happened – "
If Cameron hadn't been so completely stressed out about the situation, she doubted she would have said anything confrontational to the person that was her bosses' boss. As it was, she was just plain fed up. "No. You just wanted to prove House wrong about something," she snapped. "And you used my friend's injuries to do it."
Cuddy took a step back. "I assure you, that wasn't my intention."
"You can assure me of anything you want, but what you should have done was go to House first and ask for an explanation. Instead, you barge into John's room, upset Paul and myself, and try to take over when there wasn't any need!" She ignored the chime of the elevator's arrival, instead concentrating on Cuddy. "What did arguing in front of one my dearest friends accomplish except make him overstress himself trying to argue back? What if Foreman had been right, and there had been something seriously wrong in John's brain? What would have been the consequences then?" Her voice had steadily risen, until she was drawing attention to the altercation.
She didn't care.
"You're right, of course."
Cuddy's capitulation threw Cameron off her rant. She stared at the older woman in surprise.
"I should have gone to House first," Cuddy continued. "But from what Foreman was saying, it sounded sufficiently life-threatening that I decided to take direct action. That was wrong, and I apologize."
Cameron was still so angry with both doctors she didn't want to accept. Instead, she said, "Just so you know…as soon as John can be moved, he will be. We trust House, but not anyone else. Especially not Foreman. We don't want him anywhere near John while he has to stay here."
Cuddy sighed. "I understand. I'll make sure he doesn't have access. Will House be moving Mr. Valentine out of the ICU soon?"
"You'll have to ask him that. As you're fully aware, I'm not an attending on this case." With that parting shot, Cameron strode into the elevator, which had obediently waited for her to enter.
Once the doors were closed, she slumped against the wall, shaking slightly as the adrenaline in her system began to wear off. She's just sowed the seeds for them to move John as soon as possible, and in her mind it couldn't be soon enough. God, she couldn't remember ever being this afraid of discovery. Foreman had come so close in getting control of John's treatment, and it scared her. She knew what would have happened then, and she'd been honest with John when she'd said that Foreman would have literally cut holes in her friend's head in order to find out what was causing the unusual test results. She shivered to think what would have happened if John's powers had shown up fully on the scans. What would Foreman had thought about that? She was just grateful that what he'd seen was just a fraction of what would have been there under normal circumstances.
But then, if the circumstances were normal, John wouldn't be lying helpless in the ICU.
The doors slid open, and Cameron practically staggered out of the elevator. She still needed to talk to House, about going to help Elena with the Sharrion. She decided to wait for him in his office, while he was making certain that any more test results didn't get into the wrong hands. She would have pitied the radiology tech if she, herself, wasn't so pissed off.
She made it into the deserted office, making for the nearest chair. The blinds were half-closed and the lights were off, putting the room into a pleasant gloom. It was getting dark outside, reminding Cameron of just how exhausted she was. It had been a long day – hell, a long week – and it was starting to wear her down. At that moment, all she wanted to do was to go home, bury herself under her comforter, and ignore the outside world for as long as she wanted.
No rest for the wicked, though…
Cameron curled up in the chair, resting her head on her hand. She hoped she'd give anyone happening to walk in on the notion that she was sleeping, and leave her alone. She settled her mind as best she could, then contacted Tim.
"Is everything all right, Allison?" the artificial intelligence asked, his mental voice filled with worry.
"For the moment." She related everything that had occurred.
"Very well done," he congratulated.
Cameron chuckled silently. "I didn't do that much, Tim. It was all John and House. They were brilliant. I'm used to House, but I'd forgotten that John was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, even when injured like this."
"Indeed. However, he should not have to."
She sighed. "You're right, of course. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again. Not to change the subject, but have you heard anything from Elena?"
"Only to say that she is bored."
"Then I won't feel guilty about bothering her." Cameron made the mental adjustment, bringing her link with Elena to the fore. "Are you awake there?" she asked, in an attempt to be flippant.
Elena's voice laughed in her head. "Just about. Do you have any news about John?"
Cameron related the last batch of test results. She deliberately glossed over recent events; Elena had enough to worry about. "So there's every indication he'll make a full recovery."
"Thank God." The other woman's relief was palpable.
"He asked me to come to you and help."
Elena made a disgusted "hmph'ing" noise. "Like I can't handle this myself."
"It wasn't an indictment of your abilities," Cameron felt the need to defend John. "He's concerned that something might happen and you'll need help."
"Pot. Kettle. Black," came the snippy reply.
Cameron snorted. After all, it had been John's own independent ways that had put him in his current situation to begin with. "I'm with you, Elena. If you don't want me to come…"
"No, not at all. It's just that it's rich coming from Mister "I have to do everything on my own without backup" Dixon."
She grinned, recognizing John's real last name after a split-second confusion. She'd been so used to him having one alias after another that hearing her fellow TP using it had been a surprise. "Yes, well I know nothing's changed on that front. His appearance in my hospital was enough proof of that."
Elena's mental voice turned sober. "You know, Allison, someday John's going to come against something he can't handle, and his inability to ask for help is going to be the death of him."
Cameron's heart lurched. She didn't want to think that way at all. It had almost happened this time. And he was still in danger…
"Are you all right?" Elena sounded worried.
She quickly clamped down on her fear, answering, "I'm just tired. It's been a hell of a day."
"Why don't you get some rest, and I'll call you when I need you?"
"That's the best suggestion I've had all day. Are you sure you don't want company now?"
"I'm just going to try to sleep myself. I think it's more tiring waiting than actually doing."
Cameron agreed. She bid her friend goodnight, cutting the active connection. Yet Elena was still there, in her mind; as was Paul, sitting vigil in John's room; and Tim, his warm presence peaceful and strong. She couldn't wait until John was there as well, and knew it would just be a matter of time.
She'd quite forgotten what it was like to never be alone.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty!"
House's voice brought Cameron back to herself. She raised her head to look at him. "Sorry," she murmured. Her hand had fallen asleep, and the office was even darker than it had been when she'd entered. "I must have dozed off."
"Well, if that was dozing, I'd hate to see you completely out." He went around his desk, pulling out the desk drawer in order to prop up his bad leg. "I had to call you three times before you answered."
Cameron flapped her hand back and forth in order to restore the circulation. She straightened up in the chair, planting her feet back on the floor. "I didn't realize how tired I was."
"I'd caution you about driving in your current condition, but I doubt getting behind the wheel is on the agenda." He sounded envious.
"And you'd be right." Her spine cracked noisily as she stretched.
"Why don't you head home? If anyone caught sight of you looking like that, they'd think I was poisoning you with arsenic."
"Gee, you sure know how to pass along the compliments." She would have done her usual eye-rolling in his direction, but she was too tired. "I need to talk to you first before I go."
"If it's about what happened – "
"It is, in a way." She told him about Cuddy cornering her at the elevator, and what was said.
House sighed. He grabbed his ball off the desk and began tossing it in the air. "Yeah, well, I had it out with her, too. I even offered to show her the normal scans –"
"You didn't!" Cameron shot to her feet, even as she was grabbing the ball away from him telekinetically.
"Hey!" House shot her such an aggrieved look that it broke though her fear and she laughed. "Give me a little credit, Cameron! Cuddy's been an administrator for so long I doubt she'd know which side was up on an MRI. Besides, if she thinks I don't have anything to hide, she'll leave us alone…for the time being."
Sometimes Cameron doubted that House knew Cuddy as well as he thought he did, but didn't belabor the point. It wouldn't do any good, anyway. She sighed, levitating the ball back into his waiting hand. "What did she say?"
"Only that she'd make sure everyone stayed out of my way. By the way, I've arranged to have the shunt removed in the morning. The intracranial bleeding has stopped, and doesn't show any sign of starting again. Besides, I don't want anything in his skull any longer than absolutely necessary."
She slumped back down into the chair, relief making her knees weak. "Well, as soon as he can travel, John is leaving here. We can't risk anyone finding out about him."
"And you?"
His barb was a palpable hit. Cameron narrowed her eyes, looking at him appraisingly. "As I've said, I'm not important. John is the one who can't defend himself."
"I think he did a damned good job with Foreman."
She wanted to hit him, but suspected he might enjoy it too much. "Yes, but he shouldn't have had to."
'Well, he won't have to from now on. You've trusted me this far, Cameron. Trust me further."
She did trust him. More than she thought she ever would have had to. She cleared her throat, changing the subject. "John has asked if I'd help Elena out with the Sharrion."
House missed the ball. He cursed, then ignored where it had fallen. "And you said yes?"
"Of course I did. But you're my boss, and if you say no…" A part of her hoped that he would deny the request. That he'd draw the line at her participation in Tomorrow Person affairs. Then House could be the bad guy and call a halt to it all…
"Can I come too?"
God, it was like dealing with a hyper-curious child…
"And if Foreman decides to pull more of his bullshit?"
House sighed. "Damn, and I really wanted to meet my first alien race…"