Chapter 9

"Well, we can rule out the Brazilian hemorrhagic fever; test came back negative. One down, two to go." Foreman said down in Pathology.

"Okay then, which one do you want to take now? Ebola or Lassa?" Wilson questioned, unable to make a decision.

"Better give me the latter one. I think that whichever one comes back positive should be tested again."

'We won't have time. Whoever's test comes back positive should run back to ICU and start the treatment pronto."

"That sounds better. And whoever stays will call House and Cuddy. Agreed?"

"Agreed. Let's do it." Several minutes later, both tests came back. Both looked at the one Wilson tested for. "Whew, negative for Ebola. Which means that…" They looked at the other test, then at each other, quickly.

"Make the call now! It's positive!" yelled Foreman racing out of the lab and down to ICU, Wilson left fumbling for his phone and called House and Cuddy.

"Chase, we've got it!" Chase looked up from tending to his wife, whose fever had risen once again, almost to 106. "It's Lassa Fever!"

"Are you sure this time?"

"Positive. I ran the test myself. We're going to start Cameron on Ribavirin, as well as up her fluid intake, and possibly do a blood transfusion as well. Once we're done with that, then we'll concentrate on her fever and blood pressure problem."

"I just hope we caught it in time." Just as Chase said that, Cameron started to move her head back and forth on the pillow, her moaning still muffled by the oxygen mask she had on. Chase immediately attempted to her down. "Shh, it's all right sweetheart, it all right. I'm here, I'm right here, Alli. Everything's' going to be all right now. Shh…"he whispered to her as he soothingly stroked her forehead and hair, while his other hand was still holding hers, his thumb running across it. It all paid off: very slowly, Cameron's breathing began to even out and return to normal, as if by magic. "Her breathing's beginning to sound better. That's a good sign." He smiled.

"It sure is. If her fever's still where it's at, but her other vitals start to show some improvement, we'll move her back upstairs. But for right now, it's touch and go. Just keep her on the compresses. I'll be right back." Foreman walked out of the room to call House.

"House, it's Foreman. It's working: the Ribavirin's working. Even better, Allison's breathing's slowly returning to normal. But her fever's still really high."

"Alright, I'll be right there." House told him, and then hung up. Foreman walked back inside.

"She still looks flushed. You sure the treatment's working?" House asked once he walked into the room.

"Yeah, still holding at 106. We're going to bring it down slowly though."

"That's good." House was standing next to Foreman, who was on Cameron's other side, replacing a bag of fluids. Very gently, House placed his hand on top of hers, and rubbed his thumb over it, being careful of the IV lines. "You're going to be just fine," he told her quietly. That was when he noticed something on her wrist.

"What's this?" Both Chase and Foreman looked up, then at what House had found. Chase reached over and very gently took her wrist in his hands, trying to get a better look.

"Is that a… nail mark?" Foreman questioned, leaning in to look as well.

"Sure is. Looks pretty deep and large too. Couldn't be more than a couple days old." Almost at once, House's look glazed over, and that invisible light bulb went off, again.

"Chase, you said that Dibala threatened Allison. How did he do it?"

"He grabbed her arm, this arm," he said, careful of the IV. "He must have grabbed it tight enough to leave a mark like that. Why?"

"Because, Lassa Fever can only be transmitted from human to human, and sometimes through skin breaks, much like this. The virus would then enter the blood stream, and infect the victim much quicker than through the air. It's also caused by rats."

"But she wasn't bitten by a rat," pointed out Foreman.

"I can see that. Technically speaking she wasn't, but metaphorically speaking she was… by a very large rat, who I suspect is to walk out of this hospital this time tomorrow." House looked at Chase, whose face was just as red as his wife's.

"I'm going to kill him!" Chase yelled, almost running out of the room, but was stopped by House.

"Now, just wait a minute! As much as you would like to, your wife needs you more. Don't worry, Foreman and I will deal with him." Chase had calmed down, and went back to Cameron, kissing her hand before holding it again. "Ah, just the person I wanted to see." Cuddy and Wilson had just walked through the door. " I solved the case."

"Good work. Looks like Allison's on her way to a full recovery," Cuddy pointed out.

"No, Foreman gets credit for that part. I solved the part of how she got it in the first place."

"How?"

"Lassa Fever's carried by rats, only infecting the people who come into contact with them who later come into contact with other people, and so on. In Allison's case, she contracted in through an open nail mark, cause by a very large rat, also known as the dictator down the hall."

"What?" exclaimed Wilson and Cuddy at the same time.

"It's true. When Allison and I were with Dibala a couple days ago, he accused her of putting an air bubble into a syringe she had. She denied it. So, he threatened her by grabbing her arm, and leaving that nail mark, which broke the skin," Chase explained, looking at Cuddy, then at Foreman. "That's why she wanted off the case. She was scared that something was going to happen to her, which it did. I wasn't going to let her go through it alone, so that's why I took myself off the case as well, and to take care of her when she did get sick."

"That's a good enough reason for me Chase," Cuddy put in. "And I think Foreman can say the same thing." She looked at him, and he nodded. "Now in the mean time, Wilson will stay here and help Chase move Allison back upstairs, while House, Foreman, and myself go deal with Dibala."

"Wait. Do me, and Allison, a huge favor: Dibala's going to commit genocide, I swear it. And after what he's done to my wife, don't let him get away with this," he said, tears in his eyes as he pleaded for help.

"Don't worry. I've already called security, and told them what to do. You'll get your revenge soon enough," Cuddy said to him bluntly. Turning around, she, Foreman, and House left to confront Dibala, for the last time. He's already caused enough damage in this world, and he's not going to do it again. Not in my hospital. Not today, not tomorrow, nor ever again.

A/N: All of the medical terms I have used within this story, I have researched, as well as the disease. Again, my apologies for the lateness of this chapter, and the one before it; it's getting down to the nitty-gritty in school, so updates will probably be once a week until the end of the month. As always, enjoy and R/R!