Disclaimer: I swear I own nothing- was there ever any doubt?

I want to say a HUGE sorry to everyone who was waiting for me to update this- I feel terrible. What happened was: I can up with what I thought was a great idea, enthusiastically started posting...and then realised that I didn't know where to go with it. Well, now I have found my way!

Sorry again, but I promise that I'm now going to be updating regularly (and hopefully starting a new House-fic that I can't get out of my head).

Thanks to everyone who: a) read b) reviewed and c) liked my last fic 'Everybody's past catches up with them'.

This chapter is dedicated to:

Sweetgreuy: I read your fic, loved it (still love it!) but had trouble reviewing (I'll try again!). (By the way, I voted at least fifty times for Cammie- she's losing to Cuddy, though!)

Danishdynamite: who reminded me that I had begun this fic and forgot about it!

Dr.Cameron: who asked me about this fic too! (And has given me some of the nicest reviews for my last one)

RaeAnne: who is a seriously great author!

saz89: who has reviewed without fail.

Beneeta: who does the same thing!

And to everyone else who gave me (often undeserved) encouragement.

I hope you like the rest of this fic- Enjoy! (And please review!)

A piercing scream jolted Allison Cameron awake.

Panic gripped her. She had to get to whoever was screaming- they needed help. She struggled with the sheets that had somehow managed to twist themselves around her, before eventually landing on the cold wooden floor. The shock brought her to her senses.

She had been screaming.

As she sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around her, rocking back and forth, she tried to recall her dream.

It came back to her in snapshots: House standing by the white board; House mocking the stranger that had been looking for him; House collapsing with the first shot…

She leaped to her feet.

It was 4.35am. She'd crawled into bed three hours ago, when exhaustion had finally overtaken her. Judging by the state her bed was in (her pillows were strewn across the room, and the sheets were twisted in knots), she hadn't had a very restful sleep.

She flung herself towards the bathroom to prepare for work. But the image refused to be banished. It haunted her until she was aware only of the desire to be with him. To check that he was ok. To make sure that he wasn't bleeding from his throat…

The hospital was dead.

It wasn't often that she saw it before six am, but when she did she was always struck by how peaceful it was, compared with the madness of the daytime.

She swiftly made her way to the ICU on the fourth floor.

Exiting the elevator, she saw two nurses dressed in pink scrubs seated at the desk, bent over their paper work. The younger of the two looked up at the sound of Cameron's footsteps.

"I'm afraid visiting hours haven't started yet. How did you get in here?"

The other nurse got to her feet. She had recognised the pretty doctor as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

"I'm afraid she's new," she gestured towards the other nurse, "Dr. House's room is just down the hall. He's doing as well as can be expected. I thought you'd be up to see him," she added, giving the sympathetic smile that was usually reserved for the spouse of a critical patient.

Allison concealed a wry smile. She didn't know the nurse, but evidently she had heard of her. She hadn't realised that gossip about her and House had spread as far as ICU. She wondered, without any real curiosity, just what the current gossip about the two of them was. Since their 'date' a year ago she had noticed a few sly glance from people in the hospital. Of course, all of that had died down once Stacey arrived back. Still, it would be interesting to know what was being said. She was pretty sure that everyone was surprised to see that she wasn't keeping vigil at his bedside- as if he would want her there, she thought with a flash of humour.

She smiled her thanks to the two nurses, and slowly made her way down the hall.

"Who was that?" she heard the new nurse inquire.

"That was Dr. Cameron." came the hushed reply.

"You mean the one who-"

She was shushed into silence.

When Cameron reached his door, she froze. She was physically incapable of turning the handle and entering the room. A cold fear swept over her, and she didn't know why. She just knew that she couldn't go into that room…

She made it back to the nurses' station quickly.

"Are you done?"

The sympathetic one seemed surprised. The doctor glanced at her name tag: Nurse Carver, it read.

"He's…asleep." Her voice sounded weird, even to her own ears.

The two women exchanged glances.

"He's in a coma."

Cameron blinked. "I know. I just…uh…didn't want to disturb him."

They clearly thought that she was crazy.

She had to get out of there.

"Nurse Carver," the woman looked pleased that she apparently knew her name, "I really wanted to talk to you. It's about Dr. House. I know that he's your patient, and I was wondering if I could ask you to let me know how he's doing- if I'm in ICU, or I call up…or something…"

The nurse looked hesitant. "We're not really supposed to disclose medical records to people who aren't next-of-kin."

"I'm one of his doctors," she responded firmly, successfully keeping her emotions in check, "I treated him who we first brought him to the ER. I just won't be…actively…treating him because I'm going to be a bit busier from now on."

Nurse Carver's gaze was enquiring.

"I'm taking over as Head of Diagnostics. Dr. Cuddy asked me yesterday," she gave the woman a friendly smile, "If you could help me out, I'd really appreciate it."

There was a great deal of comprehension in the older woman's eyes. "No problem, Dr. Cameron."

"Thank you."

With a smile and a nod she finally sailed out of there and into the elevator.

By the time she made it to House's office, she was hyperventilating.

She didn't understand a damn thing.

She'd had a nightmare- she'd seen her boss getting shot, it was understandable. Hell. It was normal. And it was also normal to want to check on him- to see him, to make sure that he was ok. So why couldn't she? Why had she remained frozen outside his door? What was wrong with her?

The questions whirled in her mind, but she couldn't find an answer.

It seemed liked a wasted trip to the hospital, she thought as she yawned.

Well, not entirely.

She'd struck a deal with Nurse Carver.

Allison Cameron was no fool. She was aware that the nurse was going to let her see House's chart, even though it was against hospital regulations, because she had just given her the hottest gossip to hit the hospital in months- possibly years, before anyone else heard about it. House's youngest duckling was filling in for him as Head of Diagnostics- and she hadn't a clue how to run a department.

Well, she'd worry about that later, she thought as she curled up in House's chair. But right now, all she wanted was a few hours of shut-eye before the boys made it in and she started having to act like a boss.

AN: How was that? Please let me know!...and read the next one!