Chapter 6

Larry pulled a chair over and sat next to Amita, looking sadly at his sleeping friend. It was not lost on him that he and Amita had formed a wall between Charlie and the watchful NSA agent. He glanced at Amita and touched her hand. "He's getting the best possible medical care. He'll be fine."

"That's not a very scientific conclusion, Larry," Amita said, smiling sadly at him.

"I wasn't speaking as a scientist. I was speaking as a friend." He squeezed her hand and released it.

A tear rolled down Amita's cheek and she angrily wiped it away. "I kept teasing him about those damned burgers. He was so sick, bleeding inside, and I was making fun of him."

"None of us knew how sick he was. He was even making light of the situation, so he couldn't have felt that poorly."

Charlie opened his eyes and took a moment to focus. "Hey, Larry, Amita," he murmured.

"Charlie!" Amita smiled as she touched Charlie's cheek. "How are you feeling?"

He closed his eyes and leaned into her cool hand. "Tired. But it doesn't hurt as much. That's a good thing."

"Good," Larry said. "You gave us quite a fright, Charles."

"And I didn't even finish my presentation. Were my fans disappointed?"

"Devastated," Amita said. "Marshall Penfield was especially upset."

Charlie waved a hand dismissively. "Probably just waiting to catch me in another mistake."

Amita laughed. "That does seem to be his favorite hobby."

Charlie chuckled and grimaced.

"Do you want me to call the nurse?" Amita asked.

"No. It's okay. Just don't make me laugh." He looked up at the IV bags hanging above him. "Blood?" He asked.

"Yeah, Agent O'Connell says you were bleeding internally. He's the only one they allowed to stay with you," Amita said, scowling at the agent.

Charlie followed Amita's gaze. "He just wanted to make sure I didn't give away any state secrets."

O'Connell looked up from his book. "Charlie..."

"It's okay, Mike. I understand. I'm not thrilled, but I understand."

The door opened, and a woman and two men entered the room. Charlie smiled, "Amita, Larry, meet Dr. Cameron, Dr. Chase and Dr. Foreman. They're part of the diagnostics team."

Dr. Cameron smiled at Charlie. "You look like you're feeling a little better." She opened the folder she carried and pulled out a pen. "I need to confirm some of the information you gave us earlier."

"Sure," Charlie said. "What do you need?" He glanced apprehensively at a tray of equipment that Chase had brought in. The blond Australian was putting on rubber gloves.

"Well, it's about your travel in the last six months," Cameron said, "You stated that you haven't been outside the country. Is that right?"

O'Connell put his book down and leaned forward as Charlie answered. "That's right. Why?"

"Dr. House just wanted to eliminate some possibilities. Some diseases that have the symptoms you're exhibiting are just not seen in the US."

Chase looked up and snorted. "House thinks you're lying."

Charlie glanced at the NSA agent, then turned back to Chase. "I am not lying. The last time I was out of the country was when I went to England in 2004."

Chase shrugged. "House believes that everybody lies. Have you been taking any antibiotics?"

"No. I suppose House would think I'm lying about that too."

Chase grinned. "Probably. But we'll take our chances. I'm going to have to collect some stool samples."

Charlie grimaced. "That sounds like fun. What for?"

"We need to eliminate various bacteria and parasites as causes. And when I finish with you, Foreman and Cameron are going to do a colonoscopy. Here, let me help you roll over onto your side." Chase looked up at Amita and Larry. "You might want to give us a bit of privacy."

Larry blushed and stood. "I think that would be an excellent idea. Amita, why don't we go get some coffee?"

They found their way to the cafeteria, and Larry treated Amita to coffee and a sandwich. They were both amazed that it was almost dinner time. They'd been so caught up in the whirwind of activity in the bowels of the hospital, they had lost track of time. Once they had settled down at a table near the window, Larry said, "Amita, do you have any idea what Charles was doing last week?"

"No. He said he was consulting in DC."

"The doctors don't seem to believe he stayed in the country." Larry said as he lifted his sandwich to take a bite.

"I know, and I don't understand it. Why would Charlie lie about something like that?"

"Perhaps the presence of NSA agents is causing his reticence. I think it's reasonable to conclude that he worked for the NSA last week, and they are afraid that he will say something that might jeopardize something they're working on."

Amita smiled. "Yeah, Larry, I'd say that was a pretty reasonable conclusion. I wonder where he really was."

"Perhaps we can get him to give us some clues. The doctors seem to believe that it's important to their diagnosis to know where Charles was last week."

They finished their lunches and took their drinks with them back to Charlie's room.

By the time they returned, Chase was gone, presumably taking his stool samples with him. Charlie had fallen back asleep, and Cameron and Foreman were setting up their equipment. Amita's eyes widened and she grimaced as she said, "You haven't done the colonoscopy yet?"

Cameron said, "We're waiting for the sedative to take effect."

Amita smiled fondly at the sleeping Charlie. "Looks like it's taken effect already."

Charlie stirred and opened his eyes. "Oh, hey, hi, guys," he croaked and tried to clear his throat. "Could I get a drink?"

Amita looked at the doctors, who nodded. She poured a glass of ice water from the pitcher on the nightstand and held the straw to Charlie's lips. He drank until Cameron looked up. "You'd better slow down, Charlie."

"Sorry," he said, "I'm just really thirsty." His eyes widened as he saw the machine. "What's that for?"

"Just another test," Cameron said. "Colonoscopy. Don't worry. You won't feel a thing."

"Easy for you to say," Charlie muttered.

Cameron glanced at Larry and Amita, "If it's okay with Charlie, you're welcome to stay."

Larry, looking shocked, stammered, "I ... uh ... I don't believe that will be necessary."

Amita touched Larry's arm. "Why don't you take Charlie's phone and go sit in the waiting room? Don said he'd call..."

"Don?" Charlie's eyes opened. "Don's coming?"

"Your dad, too. Don said they'd be here around midnight."

"What time's it now?" Charlie asked.

"A little after six. I just figured I'd give Larry a good excuse to get out of here."

"Excuse taken," Larry said, heading for the waiting room.

Cameron approached the bed. "Okay, Charlie, I've given you a mild sedative. It'll relax you for the procedure." She injected something into a port on Charlie's IV. "The procedure shouldn't be painful, but I'm upping your pain meds a bit just in case."

"Thanks," Charlie murmured. His eyes were drifting shut.

Amita touched his cheek. "Charlie, is it okay with you if I stay?"

"Mmmhmmm," he nodded.

Amita heard movement behind her. She'd forgotten that Agent O'Connell was there. She turned around, and found the agent leaning forward, looking at her and listening intently. ""He's not telling me anything, Agent," she said.

O'Connell sighed and went back to reading.

Amita held Charlie's hand as Cameron and Foreman began the colonoscopy. Charlie grimaced, but didn't wake up. She couldn't resist peeking at what they were doing, and she winced at the length of the tube they were inserting.

Foreman met her gaze and smiled. "Don't worry, we don't use all of it."

"What are you testing for?" Amita asked.

"Well," Cameron said, "We're looking for whatever is causing the pain and bleeding. This is actually a camera that lets us see inside his large intestine."

"What do you think is wrong with him?"

"We really need to get the results of this and the other tests before we jump to any conclusions. It could be a bacterial infection, diverticulitis, food poisoning. There are a lot of possible causes."

"Cameron!" A grizzled looking man with a cane called from the doorway. "Are you going to stop chatting and start the show?"

"Dr. House," Cameron said, sighing. "You're just in time."

"Good. I love the butt cam. Nothing quite like a visual tour of the inner workings of the colon, don't you think?" He smiled as he addressed Amita. "I trust Mr. Edwards here is a friend of yours."

"Eppes," Amita said, "His name is Charles Eppes. And yes, Larry and I are his friends. His father and brother will be here later."

"Oh, great. Friends AND family. Foreman, remind me to stay clear of this room when the family arrives." Turning to Amita, he added. "The only thing I hate more than meeting patients is meeting their friends and families." He pulled a chair over and sat in front of the monitor. "Okay, let's get this show on the road!"

Amita noticed Dr. House grimaced as he sat, and absentmindedly rubbed his right thigh. He scowled as he caught her looking at him, and she quickly looked away. She heard the rattle of a pill bottle and glanced back in time to see House pouring several pills from an orange prescription bottle into his hand and popping them into his mouth. "Vicodin," House growled, "the breakfast of champions."

Amita closed her eyes and prayed a silent prayer. Her beloved Charlie was in the hands of a pill popping misanthrope, and she couldn't see any way to get him out of this hospital. She found herself wishing once again that Don and Alan were there.