************
Chapter 53
The team, along with Cuddy, were waiting in House's office when House and Wilson walked in. House hated the solemn look on their faces. It made the horrible situation more real.
"Well?" Lisa asked.
Wilson shook his head sadly. "She wasn't there, just her car. The police are there now. We came back here to wait."
"Did anyone see anything?" Lisa persisted.
"We don't know yet." Wilson said and sat down.
All eyes turned to House, who was now standing behind his desk. He could feel the heavy weight of their stare.
Finally, Foreman's voice filled the air. "Emily Patterson coded."
House sighed heavily. "And… is she still breathing?"
"Not without the machine." Taub said.
Lisa walked over to House's desk. "She's gone House. We can't save her."
House stared at Lisa and for a minute, he thought she was talking about Cameron.
Lisa realized how her statement must have sounded and quickly continued. "The patient is brain dead."
House nodded not fighting the situation. "Is her family here?"
"Her mother showed up this morning but her father won't be here for another hour or so." Thirteen said.
"Are her parents divorced?" House asked curiously, thinking how he really didn't know anything about his patient but then again, he never did. His job was to cure them, not to hold their hand.
"Yes, her parents are divorced." Thirteen answered.
House rubbed his scruffy chin. "Let them decide when to pull the plug."
"You're not even going to see if we missed something?" Taub asked in an annoyed voice.
House studied his team for a minute. "Did you do everything you could to stabilize her?" He asked Lisa.
"I believe we did." Lisa answered.
He looked at Foreman, Kutner and Thirteen. "Any new ideas, new tests we can run?"
"Not with her being brain dead." Foreman answered.
House looked past them, avoiding their sad eyes. "Are we sure she's brain dead? Has she been tested?"
"Yes." They said in unison.
"But?" Taub said.
"Then there's nothing else we can do." House said as he sat down.
"That's not like you." Taub persisted, ignoring the glares from his colleagues.
"She's brain dead. What part of that do you not understand. No matter what we do, it's not going to bring her back. Leave it alone." House said in a low voice.
Not liking the answer, Taub abruptly left the room.
The room with glass walls filled with silence again. House hated what the silence meant.
"Did Detective Hodges say anything?" Lisa asked, looking at Wilson and House.
Wilson decided to answer since it was apparent House wasn't. "He doesn't have enough information to say anything, at least not yet."
"So, we don't have any idea what happened?" Kutner asked.
It was apparent that Kutner, Foreman and Thirteen were still trying to grasp the situation and needed something to fill the blanks. Wilson understood this and told them what little information he and House knew.
"Cameron's car was there with her coat and purse inside laying on the back seat but nothing appeared to be disturbed in her apartment. So, the confrontation must have happened while she was getting into her car. When we left, the police were starting to talk to the other residents and searching her car. It will probably be a while before we know anything."
"Why didn't anyone tell us what was going on?" Foreman finally asked the one question that had been bugging him since he found out about everything.
"Because everyone is a suspect and the Detectives asked us not to say anything." Lisa answered.
"But you guys know we would never hurt Cameron. Didn't she know that?"
"Of course she knew that." Lisa answered.
"Cameron didn't want anyone to know. She didn't want anyone to feel awkward around her." Wilson said
"That's so Cameron, isn't it?" House finally spoke.
All attention turned back to House.
"It's true." He added.
"So, we just wait?" Foreman asked.
"I'm afraid so unless you can think of anything you have seen or heard that might help." Wilson said.
"So, Christy's death has something to do with Cameron?" Thirteen asked.
"They think the same man who killed Christy is the same one who has been stalking Cameron." Lisa answered.
"That's horrible." Thirteen said barely above a whisper.
"Well, I can't stand around. I'm going to check on Taub. I don't want him saying anything that will give Emily's mother false hope." Kutner said.
"I'll go with you." Thirteen said as she walked out the door with Kutner.
Foreman looked at Thirteen. "I'll be there in a minute." He paused and then continued. "There's not anything else you're not telling us, is there?"
"You know everything we know." House answered.
"What about Chase?" Foreman asked.
The question stunned House, Wilson and Cuddy.
"What about Chase?" House asked, his agitation apparent.
Foreman could tell the question bothered House. He stepped forward and continued. "He should know, shouldn't he? I mean, someone… one of us should tell him what's going on."
"Why the hell should we worry about Chase? He didn't give a shit when he screwed around on Cameron."
Lisa sighed. "Foreman's right. One of us should let him know what's going on before he hears it on the news or around the hospital."
"Again, why?" House said slowly.
"Because, there was a time he cared very much about Cameron and in a way, he's still a part of this team."
"He's not part of this team." House spat out.
Wilson knew this wasn't going very well. "House. They're right. Chase should hear it from one of us."
House glared at Wilson but didn't say anything else.
Lisa looked at Foreman. "You tell him but do it where no one else can hear. The news will get out soon enough."
Foreman nodded and left to find Chase.
"Does she have family?" Wilson asked.
"She has a brother." House answered.
"I'm sure the police will notify him." Lisa said.
Eerie silence filled the room again.
"I need to make some calls." Lisa said, breaking the silence. "Can I get you anything?" She asked House.
House looked at her with empty eyes. "Why would I need anything?" He said flatly.
Lisa gave one of her annoyed sighs. "Of course. I forgot who I was talking to." She turned to Wilson and motioned for him to meet her in the hall.
Wilson waited for Lisa to leave before saying anything. "She worried about you."
"She's always worried about me."
Wilson shook his head. "I need to get back to work. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm better than Cameron." House said sarcastically.
"House this isn't your fault."
"I thought you were leaving." House said giving Wilson the clue he didn't want consoling at the moment.
"Right." He paused before continuing. "I'll check on you later." Wilson said and walked into the hall to find Lisa standing by the elevators, waiting. He quickly walked towards her.
"Is he okay?" She asked in a worried tone.
"No. He's not. He feels guilty and he's worried that the worst is going to happen and I have to say that I'm afraid of that too."
"We can't think like that. Do whatever you have to do to hold him together." She paused. "I should have seen it."
"Seen what?" Wilson asked.
"That House is in love with Cameron."
"You didn't want to see it, just like I didn't want to believe you are in love with House."
Lisa looked into Wilson's warm eyes. "I thought I was in love with him. I care about him, I always will but I don't love him. Can we move on now… please? I know I hurt you but it would kill me to lose your friendship."
"I'm trying. I just need some time." Wilson admitted.
When the elevator doors opened, Lisa stepped on. "Can we talk later?" She asked quickly, before the doors closed.
"Yeah." He answered.
**********
House waited until Wilson had left his office before he unlocked the filing cabinet behind his desk and pulled out the file that had Cameron's name on it.
He quickly scanned the file and found what he was looking for at the bottom of the second page. One brother, Bryan. Lives in Chicago, Illinois. House jotted down the number and took out his phone. He hesitated before dialing the 773 area code. He wasn't exactly sure how to start the conversation but knew Cameron would want her brother to hear the news from someone she trusted rather than the police.
House held his breath as he heard the first ring, his heart pounding against his chest. After the fifth ring, he was beginning to think no one was going to answer when all of a sudden the ringing stopped. There was a pause and then a male voice spoke.
"Hello." The man said.
House froze.
"Hello." The person on the other end said again.
"Is this Bryan Cameron? Allison Cameron's brother?" House finally managed to ask.
"Yes it is. Who is this?" Bryan asked.
"This is Greg House."
House paused.
Outside, the wind had picked up and the snow that had been promised, had begun to fall. House watched the snow fall as he continued with the dreaded news he needed to tell Bryan.
