Chapter 6

House paused just down the hall from his office, trying to get a peek into the conference room without being seen. He could see Foreman clearly, head bent over a medical journal. He could also see Chase's reflection in the glass, tipped back in his chair, frowning over a crossword puzzle. What House couldn't see was Cameron. A passing nurse gave him an odd look, and House snarled at her. Frightened, she hurried down the hall to report at the nurse's station that rehab seemed to have had no appreciable effect on Dr. House.

House stepped into the conference room and was greeted with silence. Foreman and Chase simply glanced in his direction, but Cameron, who was sitting at her desk, engrossed in something on the computer, never even looked up. He hadn't expected a welcome back party, but Cuddy would have told them he was coming back today. A 'nice to see you' wouldn't have been out of line.

"No balloons, no streamers?" House snarked. "Geez, what's a guy gotta do to get a little love around here?"

"Cuddy said no stripper and we didn't have any other ideas," Foreman quipped.

"Nice. So, did you kids behave yourselves while I was gone?" House asked, as he made himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip and grimaced. "Who made this?"

"I did," Chase answered.

"Well, now you're not allowed to touch my markers or the coffee pot," House ordered. "Cameron, could you please make us something that doesn't taste like raw sewage?"

"I'm not your secretary, make your own coffee," Cameron returned, without looking up. House noted the icy tone in her voice and mock shivered.

"Brrrr. Okay, I guess Foreman will be making coffee. So, new patient?" House asked, sitting beside Chase. Foreman rolled his eyes, but got up to make coffee anyway.

"Yeah, Cuddy dropped it off this morning," Chase passed him a file. "The ER can't figure it out."

"Shocking," House said, reviewing the file and standing up to begin writing the patient's symptoms on the board. "Dr. Cameron, care to join the differential?" House began writing.

20-Year Old Male

Headache

Dizziness

Chest Pain

Fatigue

Muscle weakness

Loss of Consciousness

"Hit me," House turned to his team for suggestions.

"How did the symptoms present?" Cameron asked. House tossed her the file.

"This guy could just have a bad cold. We need something besides this to go on, these symptoms fit about a dozen ailments without even considering anything unusual," Foreman said, as he finished making a fresh pot of coffee. "What's so special about this?"

"Sudden onset while after a vacation at the beach," Cameron read. "He was driving home with his friends when he fell unconscious. They thought he was sleeping, but when they stopped for gas they couldn't wake him. Sounds like heat stroke," Cameron suggested.

"Or alcohol poisoning, he's 20 and he's not on vacation with Mum and Dad," Chase suggested.

"Except his Blood Alcohol was zero and he's been in the ER over 12 hours and hasn't responded to IV fluids. In fact, he's only starting experiencing the muscle weakness since he got here. It's something else," Foreman noted, reviewing his copy of the file.

"Foreman's right, this is too vague. Cameron, get started on the blood work. I want a full tox screen this time, not just an alcohol level. Chase you go talk to the patient and Foreman you go scare the hell out of the friends. Tell them he's dying, see who cracks," House commanded.

Foreman and Chase left together, discussing their strategy for scaring the hell out of a bunch of twenty-somethings. House expected Cameron to stay to welcome him back, but she stood and left the room without so much as a glance in his direction. Wilson was right; something was definitely off about her.

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House waited in his office, juggling his tennis ball and two pairs of gym socks he'd found in the bottom of his duffel bag. Foreman and Chase came in and just watched for a minute.

"My hands are occupied, not my ears, speak," House commanded, still juggling.

"Nothing to say," Chase reported. "The kid won't say anything. He says he doesn't remember anything, he just fell asleep in the car and then when they finally woke him up he felt awful. So maybe loss of consciousness was the first symptom that presented?"

"Foreman?" House asked.

"I didn't do any better. None of the friends will cop to taking anything or giving him anything. They all seem genuinely worried about him, and none of them seem like they're on anything either. One of them told me that they all went scuba diving while they were on vacation, but that was several days ago and he only just got sick now so I don't thing it's of any help to us," Foreman said.

"Did the tox screen show anything?" Chase asked.

"Don't know, Cameron's not back yet," House answered.

"I'll go check on her," Chase replied. House dropped his tennis ball.

"No, I'll go. She's taking too long. Must have gotten used to being in charge. I guess I need to remind her who's the boss." House tossed the socks at the boys, smirking as Chase realized the pair he'd caught had been worn.