Chapter 6 – Just Too Hot.
Cameron had been in hospital for 5 days now. House came in every lunch time and they talked about nothing in particular: The current case the team were working on, what Chase and Foreman had been doing. She found it interesting as Chase would come and visit her before his shift and tell her his side of the stories. What she wanted most was to get out of the bed; to see something other than the 3 blank walls and the same people walking past the glass front to her room.
She looked down at the cast on her leg and groaned inwardly. If she was going anywhere it was going to be on crutches or in a wheel chair. She didn't want either. She remembered back to when she had been 12 and had broken her leg and loved the attention she got when she turned up at school on crutches. The idea of everyone staring at here now filled her with dread.
Cameron had already had the physio come in and re-taught her how to use the crutches that morning and they were propped up in the corner of the room. She took a deep breath and slid her feet off the bed. Her stomach ached and her right leg felt heavy from the cast. She put her good leg onto the cold hard floor and slide off the bed reaching for the crutches as she did so. So far so good she thought as she put the crutches on each arm and took a first step. She was glad the morphine was yet to wear off. She pulled her dressing gown round here and took a deep breath.
She went through the door backwards pushing it open with her ass, and slowly started down the hall. She was only the floor above the diagnostic board room and decided to head for there. She concentrated on walking, each step followed by the click, click of the crutches. A few of the nurses she knew smiled at her as she passed but no one stopped her. She was glad. She wanted to sit down, her hands were starting hurt and her chest was aching. She wouldn't sit in the corridor, she wanted to hide. She made it to the elevators and was relieved as the door opened straight away.
She stepped inside and learnt against the wall. The 15 steps she had taken from her room to here had worn her out. She took a deep breath; coughed slightly and realised she was sweating. She wasn't going to go back to her room. She hated giving up. The doors opened and she looked out onto the empty corridor and wondered for the first time what time it was. As she started walking towards the glass fronted office she realised it must be later than she thought, the hospital was nearly deserted. She could see that it was dark outside but that meant nothing this time of year it could be 4 o'clock in the afternoon. She stopped just outside the boardroom. It was empty. She closed her eyes as the ache became more of a constant pain. The pain seemed to have moved it was higher up. It didn't worry her too much; she did feel like she had run a marathon.
She took the final 3 steps and pushed open the door of Houses office. House was sat in the comfy chair in the corner of the room. His feet propped up on the footstool in front of him. His eyes were closed. She wasn't sure if he was asleep or just thinking. The pain in her stitches was getting worse and she was exhausted. She hobbled across the room and sat in the other chair, laying the crutches on the floor. She put her hand to the wound in on her stomach and wished she had thought to bring the little pot of painkillers that were sat beside her bed. The pain subsided a little and she realised that House was asleep. He was snoring very gently.
She grinned around the pain, thinking that she should really get back to her bed. She was so tired that she thought it better just to sit here for a bit. She must have fallen asleep herself for a while but House was still asleep when she opened her eyes. She still wasn't feeling too good. She watched him for a while. It was nice to see him looking so peaceful.
She thought about the time they went to see the monster trucks how much he had made her laugh and the way he looked at her with those bright blue, curious eyes. She wondered whether they would ever enjoy each others company like that again. She was woken from her day dream by a fit of coughing. This isn't right she thought, and realised she was still sweating.
The coughing had woken House and he opened his eyes and looked towards her. The coughing had stopped but her breathing was still laboured. House stood up and walked towards her. He put a hand on her forehead.
"You're burning up." He said matter-of-factly. "How long have you been sat here?" he said lifting her arm and looking at his watch to take her pulse.
Cameron didn't reply. She was shivering now. "You're an idiot" he said, reaching across her to grab the phone. Once he had spoken quickly to someone and put the phone down he leant over Cameron and undid the cord on her dressing gown.
"Oh House" Cameron moaned softly as leant her forward and gently and took the gown off completely. Where were those orderlies House wondered as he laid her back into the chair and lifted up the pale green t-shirt she was wearing to examine the wound. It looked fine, no redness or bleeding.
Her skin was pale and clammy, her temperature was extremely high. "I love you House," she mumbled. House stopped his fingers resting on the wound.
"Your temperature must be extremely high, you're delirious." He said pulling down her t shirt as the orderlies burst in with a wheel chair. House tutted loudly at them and followed them as they headed to the elevator. They got in and the orderly pressed the up button.
"Don't take her back to her room you idiot," House shouted at the orderly. The guy looked a little confused as House stuck his cane out and pressed the down button. "She needs ice, ER has more ice than where she was."
The orderly seemed to realise the emergency of the situation and rushed out of the elevator, once it had reached its destination, shouting "We need to cool her down quick!"
House hobbled as quickly as he could behind them as the duty doctor took over. Cameron was lifted onto a bed and ice was poured over her pale form. House was left leaning on the wall watching. Again he felt scared. Had it been the fever talking when she had said she loved him? He admitted he was useless at this stuff and watched as drugs and fluids were hooked up to Cameron. He took the little orange bottle from his pocket and knocked back two of the pills. No one was watching him; they were busy trying to get Cameron's temperature down. House was more concerned with what had caused it. Her heart rate was becoming normal again and House closed his eyes.
