Author: Milady Dragon
Disclaimer: see all the other chapters, because it reads the same.
Author's note: Hopefully ya'll aren't getting too bored. There's still a little way to go.
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Chapter Twenty-One
"House appears to be missing."
Cameron glanced at her fellow Tomorrow People, as they'd congregated in John's room once more. The only one missing was Elizabeth; she'd sent Cameron a warm greeting, deciding to stay out of sight so no one would recognize their "ambulance driver" when she was finally able to pick them all up. It felt really strange, having one of the Federation's premier diplomats playing chauffer.
"Do we really need him, Allie?" Paul asked. The young man was leaning against the window, butt perched on the small sill.
"I'm afraid so." She explained about needing him to sign the discharge paperwork. "I've looked everywhere. His car is missing from the parking lot, so I even took the chance and jaunted to his apartment to check there. It looks like he's vanished."
Cameron was desperately worried about her boss. Yes, House always went out of his way to shirk his responsibilities, especially when it had to do with working in the clinic, but this just wasn't like him. According to the nurse who'd been on surgery duty when John had had his shunt removed, House had stuck around just long enough to see that everything was going well, then he's left the O.R. without a word. After all of House's claims that he'd keep their secrets, his leaving like that was just plain incomprehensible. Especially with Foreman on the prowl.
She hadn't heard anything about the board meeting. She hadn't even mentioned it to her friends, not wishing to worry them unduly. Cameron knew that Cuddy would warn her if the board decided to take some sort of action, but she was feeling helpless. If House didn't show up, and the board came to the conclusion that John's best interests lay in Foreman's hands, then they'd have no choice but to take him straight out of the hospital without being able to cover their tracks.
"I don't think Dr. House would voluntarily disappear like that," Elena said, chewing her lip in worry.
Cameron's laugh was more of a bark than anything else. "You don't know House."
"But you do," John countered softly.
She sighed. "You're right, I do. House might be a royal shit, but even if he didn't agree with what we are, there's no way he'd be so out of touch. You're still his patient, John, and despite what he likes to tell people, he does care about his patients."
Then her pager went off.
Cameron jumped about a foot, so shocked she was by the noise. She pulled it out of her pocket, glancing at the display.
It was an extension she didn't recognize.
She went to the phone, hoping against hope that this was House, having found a new bolthole somewhere.
But Cuddy answered the line. "Have you found House yet?" she asked.
"No, I haven't. I take it you haven't heard anything either?"
"Nothing. Look, Dr. Cameron, I hate to ask you, but could you come down to the boardroom?"
Cameron's heart went cold. "Is there something wrong?"
"I just want you to explain the situation to them. Let them know what's going on. Can you come down now?"
"I'm on my way." She hung up, hoping the others weren't picking up on her emotional state at that moment.
Yeah, right.
"Are you alright, Allison?" John asked, his eyes narrowly examining her.
"Dr. Cuddy needs me," she explained half-heartedly. "It's about your discharge."
It was apparent that none of them believed her, but they remained silent as she left the room. Yet she could still feel their support; even John's, as weak as the connection was.
She was so grateful for them; but at the same time she almost wished they'd never come into her life in the first place.
No, that was unfair. She loved each one of them, and God knew she'd never trade any of them for anything. Her talk with John had made her realize that her place was here, at this hospital, but it seemed as if circumstances were conspiring against her staying. And now, House had pulled a runner, leaving them hanging.
And it was up to Cuddy – and Cameron herself – to get them out of this mess.
Cuddy was waiting for her outside the boardroom. The older woman smiled slightly at her approach, but Cameron noticed that she did look a little concerned.
"What makes you think they'll listen to me?" Cameron asked.
"Honestly? I don't. Once they get an idea in their collective heads, they usually run with it."
"Then what's the point?"
"I don't want you and your friends doing anything before you've had the chance to get your two-cents' in." Cuddy opened the door, ushering her inside.
Cameron had only been in this room once, and that was over some other House-shaped trouble. She could put names to more than half the faces there; most of the board was made up of various department heads. The rest were wealthy investors, those who'd literally bought their way in.
And all of them – with the exceptions of Wilson and Cuddy – hated House with a passion.
Wilson acknowledged her presence with a small grin, which she returned. The rest of the men and women in the room looked at her sternly, and it didn't take telepathy to know that they all thought the same thing: that she was there to defend House.
Well, if House would act like a normal, responsible adult, he wouldn't need defending, would he?
And life would be a lot more boring…
Foreman was also there, standing up in the corner and trying to be inconspicuous. He was failing miserably. Cameron didn't even spare him a glance. She was here because of him, and while John might have pardoned his behavior, that didn't mean that Cameron had.
"Dr. Cameron," Cuddy began, "will you please explain why you and Mr. Valentine's medical proxies have no wish for Dr. Foreman to be on your friend's case?"
"Simply put," Cameron answered, "because Dr. Foreman doesn't have a clue about Mr. Valentine's condition, yet he insists he knows what's best. And it call comes down to the motivation in proving Dr. House wrong."
Ah, now that got Foreman's attention. He straightened, looking somewhat surprised by her verbal attack. Why hadn't he expected her to say something like that? He wasn't an idiot, despite resembling one at times.
"We have total faith in Dr. House's treatment," she continued. "However, because of Dr. Foreman's interference, we have decided to move John to another facility."
Apparently, Cuddy hadn't gotten to that part of her case yet, because the room acted as if this was the first time they'd heard it. Even Foreman took a step forward in shock. "You can't," he gasped. "That would put far too much stress on his condition!"
"You'll find that we can, indeed, move him," Cameron countered.
"You'd risk his life?"
"There's nothing to risk." Cameron practically stood toe-to-toe with her colleague. "He's improving dramatically. He's responsive to all external stimuli and, in fact, the cranial shunt was removed earlier today. The intracranial swelling has completely dissipated. The latest MRI's and EEG's have all shown near-normal readings. The x-rays indicate that the skull fracture is healing perfectly, as are the broken bones in both legs and left arm. And the internal injuries are also mending on schedule. " She certainly couldn't mention the improvement in his mental powers.
Cameron turned to regard the members of the board. "I know what Dr. Foreman has been saying, but the major problem is that he's wrong. He's not at all familiar with Mr. Valentine's condition, beyond a set of MRI scans that have since become obsolete. As one of the medical proxies for my friend, you can be assured that I would never allow any treatment that would put John in danger. He is, in fact, one of my oldest and dearest friends. That emotional bond alone should convince you that I have John's best interests at heart. But, in case it doesn't, then this might: if you remove Dr. House from the case, then you open this hospital to a lawsuit. Because, if you put Dr. Foreman in charge, then you could very well be causing John's death. Do you really want to risk that? Do you want to entrust his care to a doctor who doesn't have all the facts?"
"If only House would give me access to the records – "
"Why should he do that?" She rounded on him, letting her anger show. "You're not his attending. House is. Why should he show you anything?"
"I did originally treat the patient in the E.R. – "
"But you didn't stay on the case. You moved on to another patient."
"Dr. Cameron does have a point, Dr. Foreman," Cuddy interrupted. She appeared to be enjoying herself.
"I would like to add one thing," Cameron concluded. "If you do decide to take Foreman's word over mine, then you'll find my resignation on Dr. Cuddy's desk. John – and his medical proxies – want Dr. House to be his primary attending. It's that simple. John continues to improve under Dr. House's care. He will not under Dr. Foreman's. Now, I have to arrange to move my friend. Because I don't trust this board to make the right decision." With that, she left.
"Has House showed up there yet?" she 'pathed to both Elena and Paul.
"Not yet, Allie," Paul answered.
"You seem a little upset," Elena put in. "Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine when we get the hell out of here," Cameron sent forcefully. "I'm going to have another look around for House. I'll be up there in a few."
"Okay, Allie. We'll be here." With that reassurance, Paul's mental voice was gone.
"If you need anything – " Elena began.
"I'll call. I promise." She could feel the other woman's concern through their link.
"I know you will." And then Elena's voice was gone as well.
Cameron stood at the elevator, stabbing the call button. She had no idea where to even start looking for House, especially since she'd hit all the hiding places she knew about. Then a way to find him suddenly came to her…
"Tim," she called, "was House still wearing his matter transporter belt?" She remembered seeing him wearing it that morning, but had he removed it for some reason? She hadn't been looking for it, so it had slipped her mind to even look for it in any of the places she'd been.
"Let me check." The artificial intelligence faded out for a few seconds, then came back. "Allison, it appears that Dr. House is currently in the parking lot of the Intellex facility."
Her heart did a double beat. "That idiot! Can you transport him back to his office?"
"One moment." There was another pause. "He should now be in his office."
"Thank you, Tim." She bolted into the elevator as soon as the doors were open far enough.
It seemed to take forever, but House's office was only up one floor. Cameron flew out of the elevator and toward his office, fully intending on giving him a piece of her mind. She'd never thought he was particularly stupid, but to go back to Intellex without telling anyone!
She flung up the door, her mouth open and her first retort ready for fire.
The problem was, his office was empty.
"Shit," she breathed, as she took three hesitant steps inside. "Tim, are you sure you jaunted him here?"
"Of course I am, Allison."
"He's not here." She took stock of her surroundings. "He didn't leave, did he?"
"No. I am showing him at the same coordinates I jaunted him to. He should be three feet in front of you."
Cameron glanced in that direction, trusting that Tim knew what he was talking about. It just wasn't like the A.I. to make a mistake like that.
And then she saw that he hadn't.
House's matter transporter belt lay in the exact spot Tim claimed to have jaunted him.
Cameron's heard froze. "He took the belt off."
"I shall try to link directly with the Intellex security mainframe, and discover if Dr. House did indeed enter the building. Do not panic, Allison. I shall find him."
Tim was right; Cameron was panicking. How could he have done something so stupid? He'd walked right into the lions' den without telling anyone, and without knowing what he'd find. She could guess what he'd done – gone to confront Andrew Greer about the Sharrion technology.
She picked up the belt from the floor, holding it tightly against her chest. She wanted nothing more than to jaunt into that building and find him. What sort of trouble had he managed to find? Was he even still alive?
Tears prickled her eyes. House didn't have a clue, and yet he'd run headlong into danger. He hadn't had faith in her, in her friends, and in their abilities, and so had taken it into his own hands to do something about the situation. Why couldn't he have trusted her?
"I have viewed surveillance recordings of the last several hours," Tim reported back, after a few minutes.
"What did you find?"
"Dr. House did, indeed, enter the complex at 11:45am this morning. He has not yet left the main building."
Cameron glanced at her watch. Over two hours ago! He'd been gone that long, anything could have happened to him and they'd have no way of knowing.
"Do not despair, Allison. I shall continue to search. Unfortunately, the interior security system has been locked out. I am unable to penetrate it."
"They could know about you, Tim. Be careful."
"I shall be. We will find him, I promise."
Cameron wasn't reassured. Yes, they'd find him, she knew that. But it was in what condition they found him in that scared her.