Chapter 4

Foreman returned from checking on Mrs. Quigley to report yet another new symptom. She was experiencing hearing loss. House wrote the new symptom on the whiteboard. He limped to the windows and began twirling his cane, trying to make some connection. As he did, Jasper was staring at Price. He was talking to himself quietly, and his eyes darted back and forth. Suddenly he stood and walked to the whiteboard.

House turned and opened his mouth to protest, but he too noted the odd look on Price's face. It was interesting. Price grabbed the eraser and wiped the board clean. He then rewrote all the symptoms in columns, adding bullet points when he'd finished.

"Did she have protein in her urine?" Price asked suddenly.

"Yes," Jasper replied after glancing quickly at the folder in front of her.

Price nodded and added six more symptoms to his columns in red rather than black marker. He looked it over until satisfied and then turned to House.

"She's got Lassa fever," he announced.

"Lassa fever?" House repeated. "A retired OB nurse from Jersey got Lassa fever?"

"I don't know how she got it, but that's what she has. It explains every one of her symptoms. Mason's Guide to Infectious Diseases, page 897. It's perfect," Price stated.

House found Quig standing outside his wife's room, watching her sleep. Quig looked at him questioningly as Price and Jasper filed into the room beside them.

"We're going to start treating her for Lassa fever," House said.

"Lassa fever?" Quig asked slowly. "How could she get that?"

"The orphanage. They take in refugee overflow kids. They had kids from Sierra Leone a month ago," House reported. Jasper had checked it out as a possible source of the infection after Price's insistence that his diagnosis was correct.

"Is it fatal?" Quig asked.

"Only in about 15 of cases, and usually only when there's no treatment available," House responded. "We're starting her on an anti-viral, ribavirin. We can cure the infection."

"But?" Quig asked. He knew House too well not recognize the implication of that last statement.

"It's possible her hearing loss will be permanent," House answered, staring at his sneakers.

Quig was slow in responding. "But she'll be okay otherwise?" House nodded. "At least I'll be able to sing in the shower again."

"So Allison, your concerns seemed to be centered on his motivations for proposing," Dr. Bell surmised.

"I'm just afraid he's doing this because he thinks it's what I want," Cameron said.

"Is it what you want?"

"Yes, but not if that's the only reason," Cameron said. She closed her eyes. This was all so confusing. "I love him. I would love to marry him. But I won't marry him under false pretenses. If he's only asking because he thinks it will solve our fight or if he's only doing it to try to make me happy then … then it's wrong for him and he won't be happy. That's not what I want."

"I understand. Allison, there's nothing wrong with wondering about these things. Women who have been dating their partners for years sometimes wonder about these very things when faced with an unexpected proposal. It's clear to me you love him deeply by how concerned you are that he will be happy too. The only problem I see is that you're talking to me about this instead of him," Dr. Bell told her.

Cameron snorted. "Sorry," she apologized. "He's not the easiest man to talk to you."

"I can imagine," Dr. Bell said. "How do you usually work things out?"

"Yelling and sex," Cameron said, blushing and turning her face from Dr. Bell's gaze.

"Well, I wouldn't suggest sex at this point," Dr. Bell said wryly.

"That's not how it starts, but somehow it ends up in either yelling or sex," Cameron said. "Or crying."

"Well, if you can avoid the sex for one conversation about your future, the yelling and crying are acceptable. I don't see how you could avoid them over such an emotionally charged subject. Is there any other way you've been able to communicate with him?"

Cameron paused to think about this question honestly. House had certainly gotten better at talking to her over the past year. I can't believe it's been nearly a year, Cameron thought. She thought back over their entire relationship. He communicated a lot through actions, but the only action she could take now was to return the ring or keep it. She needed something from him before she could decide that. She needed to know if he really wanted to ask her. If he wanted it, not if he thought she did.

Cameron closed her eyes and let her mind wander. As she did so, she realized how often she associated House with music. Sitting on his couch and listening to some CD or other that he insisted she would love. Or waking up during the night to hear him playing the piano. Even her own Ipod was filled with music and songs that reminded her of him.

"Music," Cameron said.

"Music?"

"I can tell a lot about his mood by the music he's listening to or playing. And he can tell that about me, too. We have communicated through music before, I guess I just never thought about it," Cameron said.

"Is that something that could be helpful to you now?" Dr. Bell asked.

"Yes, I think it could," Cameron said, and smiled a genuine smile for the first time since he'd placed that box in her hand.