Hello everyone!
I finished chapter 15 today, I'm posting it and heading straight to bed :p
Ok, as I promised you will see some action in this one ;) Cameron's parents arrive at the hospital with her brother's daughter and go to find the doctor who is going to treat her. And some House-Cameron moments of course.
The next chapters are going to get a lot more interesting as they try to find out what's wrong with the little girl and Cameron with House deal with her parents.
Thank you all for reading my story and taking the time to review and tell me what you think about it :)
Disclaimer: I don't own House MD...
Chapter 15: The parents' arrival
.
Monday morning and Cameron was in her office a lot earlier than normal.
She hadn't managed to sleep well the previous night and she felt uneasy and nervous from the moment she opened her eyes.
Not even House and Beth's playful banter and antics had managed to relax her. So she had left earlier for work, trying to distract herself with work, while House remained at home in order to drive Beth to school.
By nine o'clock she had drunk three cups of coffee and of course this was not helping her at all to quell her nerves.
A knock on the door caught her attention from a file she was reading and when she looked up she saw House with a bag of bagels in his left hand and a knowing smile on his lips.
"I thought that you must have drunk like a tone of coffee so I brought these." He said, lifting the paper bag in order to show it to her.
She smiled softly at him and he entered, moving in order to take the chair that was in front of her desk and place it next to hers.
He handed her the bag and poured himself a cup of coffee before sitting down on the chair next to hers.
"Thanks…" she said and placed a kiss on his lips.
"Doing any better?" he asked, grabbing a bagel from the bag.
"Nope. The amount of coffee I had isn't helping either." She replied.
"They are coming at eleven, right?" he asked, taking his coffee cup away from her grasp.
"Hey!" she protested.
"Eat a bagel, that's why I brought them." He said and she raised an eyebrow in question.
"Because every time you are nervous you start drinking coffee and you forget to stop." He clarified and she rolled her eyes.
"Fine…" she mumbled and took the bagel he handed to her.
"And yes, they are coming at eleven." She answered and he nodded.
"Want me to be here?" he asked in concern making her smile.
"I think I'll handle it." She said, trying to convince herself too.
"I'm just a page away. Just call and I'll barge in the office!" he said seriously and she laughed slightly.
"I don't think it will be necessary but if I need you I'll page you." She replied.
"Oook, got to go hide now, Cuddy will probably come after me. She still hasn't punished me about the stunt I pulled with the exam rooms' supplies." He said with a theatrical sigh and she shook her head in amusement, a smile finding its way to her lips.
"You can go." She said, sounding more confident than before and she dropped a kiss on his lips.
He took his mug and exited her office leaving her alone again.
She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes for a few minutes, willing herself to relax and it worked a little.
House's visit of course had helped a lot. He always had the way to make her forget the things that were in her mind.
She opened her eyes and they landed on the paper bag with the bagels and that's when she noticed the little note on them.
I'll be hiding on the roof. If you want to kill some time come and meet me ;)
Alone…
She laughed out loud. He could be such a child sometimes. And she loved everything about it.
She tossed the file she was holding on her desk and exited her office, making her way to the roof. But she wasn't very lucky as she ran into Cuddy.
"Allison! Have you seen House?" she asked suspiciously and Cameron shrugged.
"Hey Lisa. Nope, I haven't seen him. I don't think he has come in yet, I left earlier than usual and he stayed at home to drive Beth to school." She said and Cuddy nodded.
"Ok, I'll just keep looking." Cuddy said with a smile and continued her way.
Cameron felt a little guilty for lying to her boss and friend but continued her way to the roof. When she reached her destination she found House gazing down, his back turned to the door.
"Funny thing… I found a strange note on the bagel bag, do you know who might have written it?" she asked with an innocent smile and he turned to look at her.
"You do what notes from strangers tell you to do? And here I thought we were married." He said, looking at her suspiciously a small smirk playing on his lips.
She smiled at him and moved to stand in front of him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest.
His arms came to wrap around her body and he kissed the top of her head.
"I lied to our boss." She mumbled against his chest.
"I've corrupted you." He said with a small laugh and she smiled against his chest.
"She was looking for you, asked me if I had seen you." She explained.
"And you said no. Niiice." He dragged out and tightened his embrace around her body.
"Not nice but I wanted to come to you so if I ratted you out I would have to return to my office." She clarified making him smirk.
"Whatever, it was really cool." He replied, the smirk never leaving his lips.
"Sooo, if Cuddy thinks that I am not here why don't we go to my office?" he asked and she pulled back a little in order to look in his eyes.
"What are we going to do in your office?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and he waggled his eyebrows suggestively making her chuckle.
Her beeping pager made him groan. She looked at it with a sigh and then turned to look at House again.
"My patient has pulmonary edema." She announced apologetically.
"Maybe I should go and have a talk with that patient…" he mumbled under his breath.
"I think he has enough problems already." Said Cameron with a teasing smile but he just tightened his arms around her waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"Can you let me go? I must check on the patient." She said, placing her palms on his chest.
"Fine…" he muttered and pulled back in order to look at her.
He placed a soft kiss on her lips and let her step out of his embrace.
"Lunch?" he called out as she was making her way to the door.
"Sure." She replied with a smile and she left, leaving House alone on the roof.
It was much later that House decided to leave the roof and go back to his office. He glanced at his watch and saw that the time was almost ten thirty and he wanted to be near to the Immunology department in case Cameron needed him.
So he took his PSP and went to sit at the small waiting room close to Cameron's office, observing everyone and everything that passed by.
It was twenty minutes later that he noticed a couple, both the man and the woman around sixty, with a little girl who couldn't be older than ten years old.
He studied them as they walked towards the waiting room. The first thing he noticed was the man's eyes. And then he watched the woman, her characteristics and mannerisms.
He came to the conclusion that Cameron didn't look a lot like them but she had some distinctive features of both of them.
They told the girl to sit on the couch where he was sitting and they went to talk to the nurse's station to ask if the doctor would see them.
He studied the little girl while they were away.
She was thin and had medium length dark brown hair but what caught his attention were her eyes. They seemed familiar but so strange at the same time.
He had seen some photos of Cameron and her brother. They didn't have the same eye color. Cameron had their father's eyes while Jake their mother's. But genes always have a way to surprise you, he mused as he studied the little girl.
She looked tired and drained. She was hugging a teddy bear tightly and was looking around, watching the people walking by 'til her eyes landed on him.
He gave her a small smile and she smiled weakly at him.
"Are you a patient?" she asked cautiously, noticing his cane that was resting against the couch.
"Nope, I'm a doctor." He replied matter-of-factly and she looked at him with a frown.
"I'm just hiding from my boss, she is chasing me around and wants me to do my job, isn't that crazy?" he asked making a face and she laughed.
"Are you a good doctor?" she asked, her green-blue eyes looking straight into his.
"That's what they say. But I just prefer to play with my PSP." He said showing the game to her.
"I like to play too!" she said with enthusiasm and he smiled.
"Are you any good?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and she nodded.
"You are not scary as the other doctors with the lab coats…" she whispered honestly.
"I think you are the first one to say that." He replied with a smirk and the little girl smiled.
"Just so you know, not all doctors are scary." He said with a wink and stood up.
"Now I have to go because my boss is going to find me and I don't want that." He said with a sigh and she nodded, hugging the teddy bear even tighter against her chest.
He stood up but didn't go that far. He stood by the elevators and watched as the couple returned and they took the little girl and headed for Cameron's office.
Here we go… he thought and headed for his office.
xOxOx
Cameron was reading her patient's file when she heard a knock on her office door.
She glanced at the clock on the wall and let out a breath. She closed the file and rested it on her desk and placed her pager on top of it.
"You can come in." she said, her voice steady despite how anxious and nervous she felt.
The door opened and her parents and a little girl walked inside her office and then stopped dead in their trucks upon seeing her sitting behind the desk.
"Allison?" asked her mother in shock trying to register what was happening.
"Hello mom, dad." She said evenly looking from her mother to her father who looked back at her, shocked expressions on their faces.
"You are the doctor that is going to treat Haley?" asked her father looking really surprised.
"Yes. I am the Head of the Immunology department and I will take this case personally." She explained.
"I don't understand…" mumbled her mother in confusion.
"Her pediatrician told you that they were only two doctors that could help find out what's wrong. The one is me and the other is the Head of Diagnostics of this hospital. But because her doctor suggested that it's something immunological I will take the case. Now, if something else comes up I will work together with the other doctor." She explained looking intently at them.
"So, you are the best in this field?" asked her father waiting patiently for her answer.
"Right now yes. And I'm also your last chance." She said confidently.
Her parents seemed convinced and nodded in agreement after some moments.
She knew they had questions about everything but she didn't feel ready for them to start bombarding her with questions so she just proceeded like it was just a usual patient.
"Ok, I need to do a quick examination and I'm going to need her medical file and history." She explained motioning for them to follow her.
She led them to an exam room and they stayed silent close to the door while she motioned for Haley to sit on the bed.
"Ok, I'm not going to hurt you I'm just going to examine you and see what's going on ok?" she asked and Haley nodded.
"Can I take the teddy bear, I can't examine you like that." She said softly with a smile and Haley handed her teddy bear to her.
"What's his name?" she asked taking her stethoscope in her hand.
"Oliver." Haley replied shyly.
"That's a really nice name." Cameron commented earning a smile from the little girl who was sitting on the bed.
"So, how old are you Haley?" she asked while trying to listen for any abnormalities in her breathing.
"I'll turn eight next month!" she said and Cameron smiled.
"Do you have the drugs her pediatrician prescribed?" she asked her parents who nodded.
"I think I left them in the car…" said her father "I'll go bring them." He said and left the exam room.
Cameron continued her examination on Haley without saying anything 'til Haley talked again.
"You are my dad's sister, right?" she asked in a whisper and Cameron looked at her in surprise but nodded.
"So that makes you my aunt, right?" she asked again looking at her with wide eyes.
"Yes…" Cameron said in a low tone and Haley looked pleased for figuring this one out.
Helen looked at them without being able to say anything to Haley or to her daughter. She didn't really know what to say.
Cameron didn't know what to say either, although she really wanted to know how Haley knew that, so she just continued examining Haley who seemed a lot more comfortable now.
"I like you. You are not like the other doctors with the white coats. You are like the other doctor I met today!" she exclaimed and Cameron looked at her curiously.
"What other doctor?" she asked.
"He had a PSP and a cane." Haley explained and Cameron smiled.
"I should have thought so. Yeah, he is a very good doctor." She said, looking at Haley.
Her father returned with the drug prescriptions and handed them to her.
"Ok, will you lie down for me while I check these?" Cameron said to Haley and she nodded her head, lying down on the exam table immediately.
Cameron was reading the prescriptions when Haley's body started moving spasmodically on the exam table making Cameron drop the prescriptions and move to the bed in order to hold her down.
"What's happening?" asked her father, fear evident in his voice and both he and her mother moved close to the bed.
"She's is seizing! I'm admitting her now." Cameron replied looking seriously at them and then back to Haley trying to figure out what caused this.