Chapter 15.

We took our samples directly to the lab at PPTH and sweet-talked the tech into putting a rush on the analysis. Still, the earliest we could hope to have any results was the next morning. Meanwhile, I sent Chase and Thirteen home, and left again, this time for my apartment.

I tried to relax in front of the TV, but was unsuccessful. There were still too many unanswered questions coursing through my brain. And I was afraid that young Christopher Giordano was suffering from a genetic disease that wasn't curable, one where the treatment could be even worse than the disease.

I'd been reluctant to think it, but the more times I saw him, the more certain I was that he was suffering from Hunter Syndrome which interferes with the body's ability to break down and recycle mucopolysaccharides because of an inactive enzyme.

If I was right, the best we could do was palliative treatment of his symptoms. Bone marrow grafts have been used but are extremely dangerous. A synthetic version of the inactive enzyme has been developed and used to treat Hunter Syndrome, but lifelong treatment with Elaprase is needed. Without it, or other treatment, the organs deteriorate, dexterity suffers, and mental retardation develops. But of course, the medication had side effects of its own.

Little Christopher didn't deserve this prognosis, and neither did his mother. So I had to prove that it was something else.

I downed some bourbon and it helped a little. I needed to get some sleep so I could think clearly in the morning when I got the test results. Falling asleep wasn't easy. I kept picturing Ellie's eyes, the way I'd seen them the first time, not today at Boomer's. Finally I drifted off, only to be woken by my phone ringing. I tried to ignore it, but after it stopped for two minutes, it started again. It wasn't going to stop until I answered it, or turned off the ringer.

About to do the latter, I glanced at the caller ID. It was Chase. "This better be good," I said.

"Have you considered Hunter Syndrome?" he asked. It didn't sound any better in his Aussie accent.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't avoid considering it," I told him.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed that he wasn't suggesting something I hadn't thought of myself.

"Actually, I'd be more impressed if you came up with an alternative cause for Christopher's symptoms," I said.

"House, Hunter Syndrome is the most likely," Chase argued. "We have to accept that, confirm it, and start treating the baby."

"And not consider anything else?"

"If we disprove Hunter's, then we can look at any other possibilities."

I sighed. "OK. But we'll have to do some more DNA tests on Christopher, and also on Ellie to confirm Hunter's."

Chase nodded. He knew that the disease was usually genetically transferred from the mother. "Guess we're heading back to Dorsey tomorrow."

"Go get some sleep," I told him. "We'll leave as soon as we get the blood test results."

"All right. Good-night, House."

Knowing what we'd planned seemed to relax me enough that I fell asleep again, and didn't wake until light began to peak through my bedroom drapes.

I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. Splashing water on my face woke me, but my leg was aching and so was my head. I really didn't want to have to tell Ellie and her parents what we suspected. I could have Chase or Thirteen tell them, but I had to be there and witness their reaction.

And then there's the fact that I've been trying to make my life mean something, not to mention how I was being haunted by Ellie's eyes.

Once more I arrived at the hospital earlier than my usual time, and went directly to the lab for the results. Analysis of Christopher's, Ellie's and her mother's blood samples was done, but didn't show anything unusual. The swab I took from Christopher's mouth was another story.

"This will take a while longer," the tech told me. "You know there's no quick way for genotyping."

I told her what we were suspecting and made sure she'd focus on that. But I'd need more samples to completely confirm.

Before I left the labs, Chase and Thirteen arrived and I relayed the results so far.

"Chase says we're going back to Dorsey today," Thirteen said.

"I think we'll have to tell Ellie and her family what we suspect."

"What we suspect?" she asked.

"Didn't Chase tell you that we're both leaning toward Hunter Syndrome?" I asked, looking from one to the other. I don't think I've ever seen Thirteen look so horrified. "We'll tell them, and this time insist on bringing both the baby and Ellie in for additional testing."

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said.

"Why?"

"That's a heavy burden to put on Ellie. She shouldn't have to go through the worry that it's Hunters when it could still be something else," Thirteen said.

"You think I like this? If I could come up with something else, something less serious, I'd be thrilled."

"Well, let's get on the road. Maybe something will come to us during the drive," Chase suggested.

What I was thinking about as we drove out to Dorsey was how I would present our need for her to bring Christopher to the hospital. We arrived in Dorsey at ten thirty in the morning, and went directly to the trailer park.

Ellie was home with her father and Christopher. They told me that Willa had already left for the laundromat.

"What did you find out?" Ellie asked. She was feeding Christopher a bottle and we could see that he was trying to hold it himself. At nine months, he shouldn't have had a problem with it, but his hands kept sliding off the sides.

"There's a possibility that Christopher is suffering from a genetic disease called Hunter Syndrome. We can only confirm that with extensive genetic testing on him, and on you," I told her, keeping my tone as matter-of-fact as possible to prevent alarming her.

Ellie looked at Chase and Thirteen. Gone was the look of alarm on Thirteen's face that appeared when I'd first mentioned my suspicions to her. Instead, she just looked concerned. "You agree with him?" Ellie asked her.

"It's important to get you and your son to the hospital for the kinds of tests we can only do there," Thirteen said. "If he does have this syndrome, the sooner we start treating him, the better."

"So, it's treatable?" Ellie's father asked hopefully.

"There are treatments that have helped children with the disease."

"But not cured them?" he persisted.

Those were good questions and they deserved an honest answer. "They treat the symptoms, but no one's come up with a cure. Yet. We'd be able to relieve some of his problems, and perhaps by the time he's a teenager, someone will have come up with a cure."

"But we have to confirm our diagnosis before we begin treatment," Chase said.

"I can't just pick up and go back to the hospital with him!" Ellie said.

"It's his best chance," Thirteen argued.

At last Ellie nodded her head. "All right." She sighed and looked at Christopher. "I'll do whatever I need to for him."