Chapter 9. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

True to her word, Mo knocked on the door of Room Twelve at 7:30. Dressed in the Old Yeller slicker, she carried two plastic shopping bags. She handed one to House, who sat at the table, writing on the dry-erase board.

"There's pancakes, eggs and bacon for you and Pete," she announced. "And lots of coffee."

"Thanks," House said. "Is the storm letting up yet?"

"Naw, it's fixin' to get worse," she said. "Just wanted to bring some food over while I could. How's Pete?" She looked over to where the older man lay covered to his chin with a calico quilt.

"Not bad. The decongestant we gave him seems to be helping. Same with Pam, although your daughter had a scare during the night."

"Oh?"

"The kid developed a rash, probably from the antibiotic we were giving her," House explained. "Chrissy noticed it and called me."

"Good." She chuckled. "She really wants to be a doctor, like Doc Cameron. You and the Doc know each other from before, huh?" she asked.

"She worked for me," he replied.

"We was real lucky Doc Sweeney found her. He coulda got someone we didn't like, but she's real good, and a sweetheart to boot."

House nodded. He'd never argue with that assessment of Cameron. And from what he'd seen the day before, she was also stronger than she'd ever been when she worked for him.

"Well, I gotta get the rest of this food over to Chrissy and little Pam," Mo said, turning to go.

"You'll get some to the clinic, too?" House asked.

"Zach's takin' it over right now," she replied. "Don't worry, we won't forget about 'em."

"They lost power over there, don't have a generator like you do," House said.

"Yeah, that's too bad! Maybe Zach can get somethin' set up for them."

"Thanks, Mo. You and your family have been a big help through all of this," House told her.

"We still have today to get through," she warned, ominously. "That generator has just so much fuel."

House hadn't thought about that. He just hoped the storm would be over by the time the fuel ran out. He also hoped that he'd figure out what had caused these four people to become sick. "Does it run on diesel or propane?" he asked.

"Propane. But even if it was diesel, them gas pumps out there ain't workin'," she replied.

"Too bad."

"You bring some of them hash browns I like so much?" Pete piped up.

Neither House nor Mo had realized he was awake.

"Would I forget?" she asked with a smile and a wink. "Enjoy your breakfasts, gentlemen." She opened the door and the sound of the storm intensified. "I'll be back," she said, in an awful imitation of the Governator.

"So, how're you feeling?" House asked his patient as he began to pull out Styrofoam containers of food from the plastic bag Mo had brought them.

"Hungry," Pete said.

"Well, that's a good sign." He brought one of the containers to Pete. There was a thermos of coffee and a couple of cups. He filled one and brought that to Pete, too. "This'll help," he said.

"Mo's cookin' always helps," Pete declared. "I ain't got a wife, and glad of it, but when I want a good meal, Mo always obliges."

"Is she the only cook at the diner?" House asked, opening his own box of food on the table where he'd been working.

"Yup. Don't need anyone else," Pete said. "She's always liked to cook, since she was a tiny thing." He chuckled. "Bet you can't believe she was ever tiny."

"Everyone was once," House replied.

"Yup, that's the truth." Now that he was feeling better, Pete had turned into quite a talker. Between bites of egg, pancakes, bacon, toast and the hash browns he'd craved, he filled House in on Mo and her family.

"Zach Lindquist started courtin' her when she was still in high school. She was purty as Chrissy then. He went off to college and she waited. They got hitched the day after he came back, bought the diner, motel and gas station with money his old grandpappy loaned him." Pete gulped some coffee, then said. "If I'da been sure of a marriage like theirs, I might of gotten hitched myself. You ever been married?" he asked suddenly.

House shook his head. "Guess I never found the right one. Like you, I would have had to be sure it would work."

"You ever consider that filly in the clinic?" Pete asked. House couldn't be sure whether there was a twinkle in his eyes or not.

"It couldn't have worked. And then she got married herself," House said.

"Married?"

"She's divorced now."

Pete nodded. "She's sure a purty one!"

"You said that already."

"Bears repeating'." He chewed some food, then asked. "Where was I?"

"You were telling me about Mo and Zach," House reminded him, hoping he'd drop the subject of Cameron. "What about Linda?"

"She's Zach's sister. Needed a job when her husband got killed in I-raq."

"So Zach and Mo gave her one."

"Yup.

"And Linda and Chrissy are the only waitresses?"

"In summer they sometimes git some of Chrissy's friends to help. More tourists then, ya unnerstan'," Pete explained. He took a big gulp of coffee and smacked his lips. "In summer Zach wouldn'ta had these rooms empty."

There was a knock at the door. House opened it, expecting that Mo had returned, but it was Zach, the slouch hat on his head dripping rain.

"Doc, wanna give us a hand? We've moved the folks from the clinic over here and I'm putting them in eight, nine and ten."

House nodded, surprised the man had been able to convince Cameron to move. He slid the long raincoat on once more, and followed the innkeeper out to his SUV, parked outside of room ten. The rain was still being driven from the south, right at them. Cameron sat in the front passenger seat until they arrived. Cousin Harry and a woman House hadn't seen before were stretched out on the two bench seats behind her. House recognized Ralph's car, parked a couple of doors down.

"You've sprouted another patient," House told Cameron as he and Zach maneuvered the woman out of the SUV. "Must be all this rain," he quipped.

A ghost of a smile flitted across her face. "And I don't think this will be the end of it," she said, getting out to help them. "House, whatever this is, and it's definitely not an infection, it could have affected many more people but they can't get here."

"What are you proposing? That we go door-to-door?"

"No! Of course not," she insisted, but he knew that if she could, that's just what she'd do.