Cameron tried to stop the tears as she looked down into the room below. It was always hard to watch burn victims being cared for. When she arrived they were still cleaning the burns.
Chase was lying on his stomach. The skin on his back was bright red and black. She couldn't help but wince as the team washed and scrubbed the dead skin away.
Cameron blocked it out as she took in the rest of the body. There were bruises and cuts on his arms and legs. His hair looked like it was wet so it was almost brown. His hands and feet were wrapped in bandages. Her mind told her that it was in hopes of saving his fingers and toes from frostbite.
But out of all of that was going on in the room the thing that troubled her the most was the blue tinge to Chase's skin. Cameron didn't know if it was so pronounced because of the sterile and whiteness of the room he was in.
"His core temp is actually up a degree from when he was first brought in." House suddenly appeared next to her. "He'll warm up, just being indoors. We've already started him on antibiotics."
"Hopefully it will kill off what ever infection he's got going at the moment." Cameron finished her bosses thought.
"Once we get him in a room, we'll put him on warm oxygen and keep him under blankets."
Cameron nodded, once again focusing on the man below. She felt House shift and she turned to him. "Do you know what happened?" She asked.
"He was found under a car. It saved him from being buried in the snow. It created an air pocket. The burn, I'm guessing, is from the explosion. The car landed on him. He's lucky he only had a dislocated shoulder. The cold actually helped him too. It slowed down his body enough for it to survive on the amount of air he had. One of the clean up teams at the site tripped over him. All in all, he's damn lucky to be alive."
Cameron nodded. She knew that the other people who had been found had been found dead. It seemed to her, that someone up above was watching out for Chase. She just hoped that who ever or what ever it was didn't stop.
Cameron smiled as she saw Chase's eyes start to flutter open. He had been unconscious for the past two days. It was both a good and bad thing.
The unconsciousness was not due to drugs although they had him on morphine. They couldn't risk knocking him out, especially with his heart weak from the cold and brain activity minimum. It was good because it kept him away from being in pain and uncomfortable. It was bad because until he woke up the chance of him surviving with out brain and heart damage increased.
Chase's brain activity had started to increase earlier in the day. Cameron had informed House that she would sit and watch him, wanting to be there when her fiancé woke up. His body temp had risen slowly, and was now around 98 degrees. They had been right that by just being indoors in dry clothing, his body temp would rise.
She couldn't help but smile at the image her fiancé portrayed while lying there. Young and innocent instantly came to mind. Because of his back, Chase was positioned on his stomach. The nurses had wedged a pillow under him. Cameron thought it was House's idea of a joke because of the way his body curled around it. His hands and feet were covered by not only bandages but also socks and mittens. He was dressed in flannel pajama pants and a flannel shirt that was on backwards, to keep his back opened. It allowed the nurses and doctors easy access to the burn. There were two blankets that were covering his lower half. But that was all the allowances House would allow to keep Chase warm.
Already there was a pink tinge to his cheeks that indicated there was a fever brewing. There was now worry that Chase's body might not be strong enough to fight off what ever infections had taken hold of his body. "Come on Robert. Open your eyes for me." Cameron cajoled as she moved closer.
Slowly, Chase's eyes opened to mere slits. "Cmrn." He whispered.
"Shh." She soothed running a hand over his head. "I'm here Robert. You're going to be okay. Would you like something to drink?" She had a cup of water at room temperature next to her.
"Cold." He said as he took the straw into his mouth.
"I know you're cold. You'll warm up soon." Chase let the straw fall from his lips.
"Hurt."
"Yes you were hurt. Do you remember what happened?" But Chase was already back asleep. Cameron put the cup down and adjusted the morphine a bit, to make Chase more comfortable. That would have to do for now. She'd see how lucid he was when he woke up later.
She picked up his chart that was at the end of his bed and made a few notes. Looking at her watch she figured that it was about time for House to stop by and see how Chase was doing and tease Cameron about something.
The teasing didn't bother her lately. She knew that it was House's way of showing that he cared. If he didn't then he would have made her work and ignored anything that had to do with Chase.
Chase didn't regain consciousness again till the following day. His body temp was now up to 99 degrees. Foreman was sitting with him, giving Cameron a break, when Chase started to whimper. "Chase. Wake up." Foreman moved closer and spoke to him. A quick glance at the machine next to him, told Foreman it would be a bit longer before the next dose of morphine was delivered. "Just a few more minutes Chase."
"Hurt."
"I know. You were in a bad accident."
"Cold." Chase interrupted again.
Foreman saw him shivering under the blankets. "You were buried in the snow. You're body temp is back to normal."
Chase cried out as he shifted. Foreman moved to sit on the bed. Taking Chase's hand in his he held it tight. "You just need to get through the pain for a bit longer. Five more minutes, and then more morphine. I promise."
As much as Foreman wanted to give Chase more drugs he knew that it was dangerous to do so. If Chase could hold out for the next few minutes it would be healthier for him.
Holding tighter, he felt Chase grasp his hand as he continued to cry out. "Come on Chase. Don't be a sissy. It's just a little pain." Foreman hoped by talking he could help Chase with the pain a bit. "Are you a man or a wombat?"
"Fuck off." He stuttered out. Whether it was pain or cold, Foreman didn't know.
"Although Cameron might like something cute to cuddle up to at night."
"Slept only once. No cuddling." He managed to get out while crying it.
"Hmm, she seems the type to cuddle. She's been real worried about you."
"Worries about everyone." Another painful scream. "Please. Drugs." Chase begged, tears running down his cheeks.
"I can't Chase. I wish I could. You're already on a high dose of morphine."
"Make it stop."
"Only a few more minutes Chase. Then you can go back to sleep. Next time won't hurt as much."
"Can't. Oh god. Please. Just stop. Hurts. Cold." Chase's words were getting even less coherent.
Foreman understood that amount of pain. It got into your head, into your brain. Made you say and do stupid things. Became the one thing to focus on. If it could be misguided, or put on the back burner, it dulled, a bit. But with out something to distract a person it was all consuming. And after awhile, even drugs don't help.
He understood why they weren't keeping Chase sedated. But at what cost? Wouldn't it be better for him to be pain free and risking brain or heart damage then being in pain till his heart couldn't take it any more?
He, House, and Wilson had all discussed Chase's medical care, and had decidedly left Cameron out of it. House said it was because she was all girly and makes the wrong decisions. Foreman and Wilson both agreed that it was ethically wrong for a wife, or future wife, as the case might be, to treat their husband. It wasn't done in normal practice and there was no reason to go against the law here.