a/n: Yes, another update. This twice a week pace is getting a little exhausting, but I'm on a roll and need to run with it. More drama here. Enjoy!
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Chase sat in the chapel, his eyes fixed on the three candles flickering brightly before him. He was too engrossed in the delicate glow of lights to notice the other person entering the room.
She sat down next to him without saying a word, hoping that her mere presence would be enough.
"I'm not thinking the worst," he blurted out after finally noticing Pamela.
"Who does?"
"So, are you going to tell me everything will be okay?"
"Nope."
Chase as usual appreciated Pamela's candor. They silently sat together for another minute, words not being required for their little vigil.
"I am the light of the world." Pamela said, feeling comfort from the illuminations.
Chase leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and took in a long calming breath. "It's a boy."
"Robert, that's wonderful! So you're each going have a mini me."
Chase laughed, probably a little harder than that joke earned. He was too tired and slap happy. "Allison doesn't know."
"You going to tell her?"
"I don't know. I guess I'm too distracted by hoping she'll live." He couldn't believe he just said that. He lowered his head in shame and let his emotions go.
Pamela reached over and grabbed him tight in a hug. "You're scared. I'd think you were some sort of monster if you didn't react this way."
"Sorry, I've had bad luck in losing the people I love."
"You're not going to lose her."
"I thought you just said you wouldn't-"
"I lied."
Chase smiled and broke the hug. Pamela fished a Kleenex out of her purse and handed it to him.
"I've been away long enough," he said. "I only came here to light the candles and say a prayer."
"I'll go with you. Maybe I can amuse Allison when she wakes up by posing the stuffed animals she got in suggestive positions."
Chase showed mock offense. "Hey, I won't have my children exposed to such smut."
Pamela smiled. "Spoken like a true dad."
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House had no idea why he even made the effort. Even though her room was only two floors down, it was an excruciating haul for him just to pay a casual visit. Usually these trips had to mean something.
He chalked it up to curiosity. He wanted to see if his handiwork was still holding up. He entered the room in his normal abrupt way, but the occupant didn't notice. She was still unconscious, not at all bothered by the sounds of monitors or her annoying boss.
He worked his way over to her beside and examined all the vitals. As he would have guessed, the fetal readings were fine, the mother was a mess. She had another boring condition that he didn't want to be bothered with.
As he watched a pale Cameron lying on her side, something did strike his fascination. Why was she willing to sacrifice herself so that her fetuses would live? What sort of instinct inspires a woman time and time again to make that choice? He's seen this with other patients lots of times and never wanted to explore such a notion. Why was Cameron getting him to ponder it further?
No, the reason he was thinking about it had nothing to do with Cameron.
"Oh, I 'm surprised to see you here." Cuddy said as she entered the room.
"Why? She still works for me. What sort of a monster boss do you think I am?"
"One that never makes the trip down two floors without a good reason." He didn't come back with a clever answer. "So, how is she?"
"Crappy."
Cuddy walked over to the fetal monitor and smiled. "The babies are doing great."
"Oh, time to rejoice then." House replied sarcastically.
"You know that when Cameron wakes up, her only concern is going to be for the babies. She'll be very happy to see this."
Cuddy's face slightly soured when she saw Cameron's readings next. That was when she noticed an absence. "Where's Chase?"
"If I were a betting man, which I am, this would be one of those occasions where he goes running to that God of his."
"We should stay here until he gets back, in case she wakes up. This would give us some time to talk. I can tell you about my latest doctor visit."
"Sorry, no time, busy schedule. Great chatting with you though." House left without hesitation.
Cuddy shook her head and smiled at Cameron after looking at the fetal monitor again. "Men will never get it, will they?"
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"Hi Dr. Cuddy," Chase said entering the room. He was pleased to see someone there to watch over Cameron.
"How are you doing Chase?"
"Fine, but I'm not the one with issues. Any change?"
"No. I'm so glad the babies are doing great though. At least something good is happening."
"Yeah," he replied. He noticed a new and inviting chair sitting in the corner.
"I had a comfortable recliner brought in. You look like you need rest too."
"Thanks, I appreciate it." He sank into the chair, letting it absorb all his weary burdens.
"I'll check in later. Please let me know if you need anything." Cuddy turned to leave.
"Do you pray?"
Cuddy turned around and gave him a warm smile. "Yes, sometimes I do."
"This would be one of those times."
"Consider it done. I hope you both, no all four of you, have a calm evening."
She felt overwhelmed by emotion as she left the room. Sure, she could blame it on hormones, but it was the distraught look in Chase's eyes that set her off. She took the stairs up two floors and knocked on the door.
"Just hold me," she told Wilson after he let her in and shut the door. She fell into his arms.
He held onto her tightly. "Bad day?"
"I just came from Cameron's room."
"Is it bad?" He asked with concern.
"No change. It's a situation that hits close to home."
Wilson nodded and continued to hold her, helping her peel away some of her strife. "How's Chase?"
"A mess. Wouldn't you be?" Cuddy realized what she just said. "I didn't mean that."
Wilson pulled away and looked at her blankly, confused by her statement. "Why? Because I can't be a father?"
"James, I didn't mean anything by it."
"I don't have cancer, but I know exactly what my patients are going through."
"You're right. I'm being stupid and emotional. Please forgive me."
He grasped her hand tenderly and led her to the couch, then sat down and invited her to curl up in his arms. She accepted the invitation with relief. "I'd act exactly like Chase if it were you in the same situation. I'd be completely lost." He said, rubbing her back.
She felt like crying. "Let's hope you won't have to face that. I'm so glad you are going to be there for me."
He grabbed her chin. "For us." He kissed her with reassurance.
She dropped her eyes and pulled her lips together tightly, fighting her emotions. "I knew you would make me feel better." She settled back into his arms and they enjoyed a long moment of comfortable silence.
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Chase heard the banging of something against the doorframe. "Foreman?"
"Rise and shine. We've got work to do." He finished pulling in their new whiteboard.
Chase shook off his sleepiness, got out of the chair and checked on Cameron. Her BP was showing improvement, but she was still unconscious.
"She'll be pleased to be in on this. I'm sure she's bored." Foreman said moving the board to the corner and grabbing a marker.
"Who's this for? Mrs. Miller?"
"No, she's not our responsibility anymore. She's got a strange variation of Hodgkin's and was sent to Wilson. She has a good chance of recovery. This is for our new patient, the one House sent you."
"It wasn't Endometriosis?"
"Nope, negative for uterine fibroids too."
Foreman started writing all the symptoms on the board.
"Depression, heart palpitations? Sounds hormonal to me." Chase said.
He then wrote the next symptom.
"Pleurisy? Okay, not hormonal. When did that happen?"
"Last night."
Chase examined Foreman's notes. "She still has abdominal pain. What sort of viral condition would cause pleurisy and abdominal pain?"
"She's had the abdominal pain for some time. I doubt that anything viral has been causing that. It could be the two conditions are unrelated and she picked up something here."
"Embolism?" A soft weak voice from the other side of the room said.
Chase's stomach turned inside out when he heard Cameron's voice. He rushed over to her, smiled and grabbed her hand. "Hey, welcome back."
"Hey, it fits. I'll order a CT scan right away. Thanks Cam, glad you're feeling better." Foreman left the room quickly.
Chase smiled and shook his head. When Foreman was in doctor mode, nothing was going to stop him.
"How long was I out?" She asked softly.
"Less than a day. Just enough to worry us sick. How are you feeling?"
"I'm too weak to move and I want to barf." Cameron suddenly got panicked and tried to lift herself up. "The babies!"
"They're fine," he told her while trying to get her to lie back down. "Still perfectly happy floating inside of mom. You have House to thank for that."
"Really, they're okay?"
"See for yourself." He showed her the readings from the fetal monitor.
Her deep relief was reflected by her intense reaction of joy. "I thought I was giving birth. I'm so happy they're okay." She fought back sobs while a few tears broke through. "Were they given anything? Dr. Ades didn't start them on steroids, did she?"
"She consulted with someone in neonatal, but no, they haven't done that yet."
Cameron exhaled a sigh of relief, then that last word hit her. "Yet??"
"You've got pre-eclampsia. The question now is, how severe? Dr. Ades is consulting with others to determine the best time to induce."
"Never." She said adamantly. "They are staying inside me until they want to come out. I don't care what happens to me."
"Yeah, well I do. You don't need to worry. Dr. Ades did an ultrasound. The babies are perfect."
"It's still too early."
"We'll discuss all that later, once we know more. Your BP is still running too high. You need to relax."
She looked at Chase carefully, and could tell something else was running through his mind. "Wait, you mentioned an ultrasound. Did she record it?"
"Yes, for diagnostic purposes."
"Did you see it?"
"Yes. The babies are fantastic."
"I want to see it."
"There's nothing to see. Everything was normal."
Her eyes opened wide, his guilty look telling her everything she needed to know. "You saw the sex of the other baby!"
"No, no I didn't." She stared at him with narrow eyes and a suspicious glare. "Okay, I did."
"You weren't going to tell me? Come on, what is it?"
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes!"
He moved closer to her, clutched her hand, and looked at her sweetly with earnest eyes. "It's a boy."
Her jaw dropped. "Really?"
He nodded, grinning with pride.
She squeaked out a happy smile just before breaking into sobs. He grasped onto her tightly while she let it all out.
"I'm so happy, and so damn confused. Any cases of fraternal twins not coming from the mother?"
He let go of her and looked at her face to face, brushing away her tears with his thumbs. "That mystery can also be solved later. I'm going to let Dr. Ades know you're awake. You need to rest."
She pulled herself together for his sake. "Okay, hurry back." Once he was gone, she leaned over and examined the fetal monitor again. She was overcome with delight to see the two solid heartbeats. She broke into more weeping.
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Dr. Ades had spent the rest of the day running tests and gathering all the facts, as well as having more consults. She walked into the room, stone faced, not giving anything away. Sure that was a common doctor look, especially to two doctors, but for some reason it still caused them both a concern.
"So, how are you feeling?" She asked.
"Fine, and you came here to tell us something, so get on with it." Cameron was too tired for pleasantries.
"I don't like the look of things Allison. Proteinura is still over 300, your hands and feet are still swollen even after lying on your side for 24 hours, and while your blood pressure is improved it's still too high. I'm extremely worried that you are experiencing hypoxia in the placenta. We are going to have to talk about when to induce."
"Absolutely not." She said adamantly.
"We can wait a little longer, another week or two, but your babies have an excellent chance of survival. Your chances are getting worse the longer we wait."
"Delivery anytime between 30-33 weeks involves an increased risk for learning and behavioral problems. They need to come when they are ready."
"Care for me to start listing all the potential dangers? Somehow, I think you know them already."
"Is there a placental abruption?"
"No signs, no."
"Any hepatic involvement?"
"No."
"Then these babies stay. I don't have any unusual uterine pain and bleeding, the ultrasound was normal and there are no signs of distress to the babies right now."
"There is significant distress to the mother." Dr. Ades argued.
"The mother will tough it out."
Chase got a little livid. "You know this could easily lead to eclampsia, or HELLP syndrome, and you don't want placental abruption. We might not be able to stop the bleeding."
"I know the risks to me. I'm willing to take them."
"You're willing to take the risk? Allison, the babies will be fine. HELLP and eclampsia can exist post delivery. You've already started developing headaches and nausea. Why risk it?"
"I don't have blurred vision and abdominal pain." She lifted her head and turned toward Dr. Ades. "I'm going to be here until the babies are born, right?"
Dr. Ades nodded.
"I'll know when something is wrong, as well as all of you. If you see any sign that the babies are in danger, by all means, deliver. If they are fine and I'm the one experiencing problems, do everything you can to keep the babies viable until they are old enough to be delivered."
Chase was positively frantic by now. "Allison, if you become incapacitated, the decision falls on me. Don't put me in a position to make the choice to save you and go against your wishes, because I'll do it."
"My instructions are clear. You won't have to make that decision."
"I won't watch you risk death so that our children can grow inside a few more weeks. They can survive fine in the NICU."
"No!"
Chase clenched his fists in frustration and turned to Dr. Ades. "Can you give us a little time alone?"
"Absolutely. This is a decision you both need to agree on. Let me know what you decide."
They waited while the doctor left, Chase still seething from his wife's stubbornness.
"Robert, this is what I want."
"You could go into convulsions, get irreversible vascular damage, suffer endothelial cell injury, stop breathing, slip into a coma in which you could never wake from, and/or suffer multiple organ failure. I won't let that happen."
"You might have to."
"I don't want to be widower raising two children on my own. Two children that deserve to know their mother. Pardon me for being so selfish."
"Robert, you've worked in the NICU. You and I both know what it's like for those babies. I can't bear the thought of seeing our children like that. I won't have it."
"Yes, I have worked in the NICU, and if anyone knows it should be me! Most of those babies recover well, especially ones born between 30 - 33 weeks. They have a 95 percent survival rate at that age. They won't even have to go on a respirator. They can breathe on their own easily if they are given steroids now."
Cameron frowned a little, letting Chase know that he had her thinking about it.
"Please. You don't have to sacrifice yourself here. This isn't just about you anymore. These babies need their mother. No child should be raised without a mother. Not if the loss could have been prevented."
Cameron let some tears slip down her cheek. "We should really try for 34 weeks."
"Fine, we can tell Dr. Ades to tentatively schedule to induce at 34 weeks, barring anymore complications."
"Until then, we have to do what it takes to keep them inside for that long, even if I'm in trouble."
"No deal." Chase said with arms folded. He was his turn to be unyielding. "When you're unconscious, you've lost your say."
She folded her arms too and dug in for her stubborn streak. "Then I'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Good." He replied. They both maintained their firm position for several seconds, waiting for the other to flinch.
Cameron gave in first, her face turning pale green. "I'm going to hurl."
Chase grabbed a basin and put it under her just in time. "We'll see how long you can put up with this."