Chapter 4
"Breakfast of champions," said Doug placing the plate in front of her.
"Thanks," said Kate starting on the pancakes. "You're not eating?" she asked.
"Have a breakfast meeting at the school."
Kate nodded and ate. Pancakes were her favorite and Doug's, well, they were pretty good.
"I made lunch, too," he said. "Roast beef sandwich, from last night. In the paper bag in the fridge. You go to the study group on Tuesdays, right?"
"Yeah," said Kate with a mouthful of pancake. "Thanks." Crumbs of pancakes went flying over the bench.
"Your mom won't be back til Friday now, another patient has come forward."
"Okay," said Kate, swallowing. "Is there anything you need me to do?"
"No. I won't be home until late tonight, got a night lecture. I'll be back by 8, so you should too."
"Can do."
"Make sure your room's clean, do the dishes, and take out the trash."
"Okay."
"See you tonight," said Doug, he picked up his briefcase and left the kitchen.
Kate breathed a sigh of relief when the front door closed. But of course, she finished her pancakes before she started on the chores.
Kate grabbed her backpack and the trash bag as she was leaving. Her hand jolted a few times as she tried to deadlock the door. Kate shook her hand out, assuming it was a twitch, and locked the door. She laughed at herself until she went to try and put the trash down the chute and her left hand did the same jolting motion trying to open it. Angrily, Kate shoved the trash down and stomped down the stairs.
Kate arrived at the study session at the library still in a bad mood about the twitching. Her hands and arms kept jittering. And only extreme concentration seemed to stop it.
"What's up with you?" Toby asked after around half an hour.
"What?" Kate asked, looking up from her math textbook.
"You're quiet, you're never quiet."
"I just," she put her pen down. "I have this twitch." As if on cue her right hand twitched three times.
"See? And it won't stop unless I really think about it."
Toby laughed a little. "You could see a doctor, you know?"
"Oh I know way too many doctors."
"Come on, then. A few of us were going around back to smoke."
Kate sighed. She hadn't the smell of cigarettes but the slightly fresh air might be good. Or at least the change of scenery. Kate followed Toby. When he said 'out the back' he really meant 'out the back'. They went through the toilet corridor and opened a door that was filthy and then, yep, there was the trash.
"Classy, Toby," said Kate as he sat on the literal gutter next to the trash.
"Don't say I don't know how to treat a lady," he said with a smile.
Kate looked at the two others, she didn't know them.
"Oh, this is Meredith, and Jake," said Toby. "Guys, this is Kate."
"Sup," said Meredith. Jake just inclined his head and pulled out a lighter and began flicking it.
"Oh no, Jenny, not you too," she said as Jenny appeared from the door behind. "What, I need to let of steam too."
Meredith then pulled out, oh yep. That was a joint.
"I thought you said smoking?" asked Kate.
"Yeah, weed," said Jenny, tapping Kate on the shoulder. "What are you a prude?"
"Prude is not really the right word for this and I'm not a prude nor against marijuana, just not for me." Kate pulled up a flatted box to the gutter and sat down on it away from the others.
"I thought you said…" said Toby.
"Oh, you guys go ahead, I don't mind, I just needed something else to do than think about…" she looked at her arms, neither flinched. "See it's already working."
"Are you already high?" asked Jake.
Kate made a face.
"She's twitching," said Toby.
"Sick," said Jake.
"Probably," said Kate. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
The others shared around the joint and the smell started to get into Kate's deep breaths. It was disgusting. "That stinks," Kate said.
"You're missing out," said Jenny.
"I don't think I am," said Kate with a smile and opening her eyes. "Where did you even get that?" she asked Meredith.
"My brother," said Meredith after a drag and passed it to Jake. "Don't know where he gets 'em from but you know, good times and all that, I'm not going to say no to his generosity."
"Fair enough."
"My parents don't know, so don't tell them."
"Meredith I don't even know your last name, let alone your parents."
"Right…"
"What do your parents do?" asked Jake after his drag and passing the joint to Toby.
"They're all doctors of some sort."
"All of them?"
"My mom used to be a ER doctor, now she works in medical malpractice as a lawyer, my stepdad is a neurologist and is doing some trial test thing to change the brain at Princeton, and my dad in an oncologist and my stepmom…actually I don't think she's a doctor. I can't remember what she does."
"I understood about half of those words."
"Katie's like a genius," said Toby.
"Katie like, reads and pays attention to her home-school packets," Kate said sarcastically.
"True that."
Kate's left hand twitched.
"Woah, that was cool," said Jake.
"Ah, my friend is back," Kate sighed.
"Why's it doing that?" asked Jenny.
"No idea."
"Shouldn't you maybe ask one of your many parents?"
"I'd rather not." Her hand twitched again, and Kate slapped in on her leg.
"Don't think you can scare a twitch," said Jake.
"I can try."
Katie pulled her backpack off and pulled out her sandwich.
It wasn't until Kate got home that night that she realized her mistake. Despite not smoking weed, she probably smelled like it. She sniffed her shirt. "Dammit," she said out loud.
Kate pulled off her clothes and threw them all in the hamper. She showered and scrubbed herself harder than ever. Yelling in frustration at each twitch. Kate dressed in clean clothes, shoes, and a jacket. She grabbed the hamper and the washing powder and headed downstairs.
The clock said 6.15 so she was in luck. After she started the load she went upstairs to grab her book from under her pillow and headed back down to the laundry room.
Kate thought she deserved a prize of some sort as she carried the now clean clothes into the lounge room. She was sorting the washing when Doug came in.
"You did laundry?" he asked.
"Hamper was practically full, thought I'd do it."
Doug smiled and kissed her ear. "Thanks." He went to the kitchen to reheat some roast beef for dinner. Kate always thought it was odd, Doug never kissed her cheek, always her ear. Did he like her ears? Did he feel weird about kissing her cheek? Kate never asked. He'd been her stepdad for nearly 6 years, it was far too late now to ask.
Both of Kate's hand twitched as she folded her jeans.
"What was that?" asked Doug from the kitchen.
"Nothing," Kate said stretching her arms out. "Just a twitch. I'm just a bit tired, I guess."
Doug frowned a little. "Did you want me to heat you up some leftovers?"
"Sure."
"I'll put yours on next."
"Thanks," Kate said, adding her folded jeans to her pile on the couch.
Doug watched her fold for a little bit and then went back into the kitchen. Kate put the laundry away, the hamper back in the bathroom. When she'd done that Doug had put her plate on the coffee table and had the TV on. Kate sat down with an exhale.
"Thank you," she said. She ate and they watched Lost.
That's how the rest of the week went. Kate doing random chores. Doug cooking. Kate twitching at least fifty times a day; she'd started counting. Thursday she went out the back of the library again while the others smoked a joint and she tried to control the twitching. She learned that Jake played the guitar and was just as good high as he was sober. By Friday morning Kate was a little concerned and did a full body check. When she was 5 the doctors had showed her how to check for abnormal marks and bruises on her body. But it was hard. Thankfully, with her mom out of town and Doug always working she could use the full-length mirror in their room and a handheld mirror to check her back side. There was nothing. Thankfully. She kind of hoped it was bruising or blood causing the twitching. But as that was her only symptom there was no way in hell she was going back to the clinic. They all knew who she was now. She rocked up and someone would let slip that Doctor Wilson's daughter had been in the clinic and then her dad was all up in her business with his sad eyes pretending to care and Kate just didn't have the energy for any of that.
When her mom came home on Friday night Doug said he'd pick her from the airport and they'd go out to dinner. Kate ate the leftover lasagne Doug had made, he really was getting good at cooking. She washed the dish, put on the dishwasher, vacuumed, dusted, cleaned the bathroom. Kate was about to go to bed when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey darling, is mom!"
"Hey mom!" the noise down the line was very loud. "Where are you?"
"Doug and I are going to spend the weekend in Atlantic City!"
Kate blinked. "What?"
"We thought because we'd been a part for the week we'd have a fun weekend! We'll be back Sunday lunch, okay darling?"
"Um, okay…"
"Doug said he's got some frozen meals he made in the freezer for you, okay? And cheerios in the pantry."
"Um, sure."
"Love you darling."
"Love you mom."
Colleen hung up. Kate held the phone in her hand for a little while before she put it down on the receiver. "What the hell?" she asked herself. They'd gone out to dinner, night's away but a random trip to Atlantic City after her mom had been gone all week? This was odd, even for them. Kate's hand twitched. She punched the wall. Thankfully not hard enough to leave a mark. She went to bed.
And awoke suddenly, freezing. Kate rugged her blankets up, tucking herself in tight. She was so cold she couldn't go back to sleep. After an hour she gave up, went out to the lounge room wrapped in her blankets and turned the thermostat up all the way. She waddled back to bed, shivering. And eventually fell back asleep. The morning sun streaming in woke Kate up hours later. That and her mouth was dry. Ugh, she'd slept with her mouth open. She went out to the kitchen, downed a glass of water. And then another. Then, she felt a little better. And a little hot. Oh yeah, thermostat. Kate turned it off. Took a shower. Cheerios for breakfast. 2 twitches. 12 twitches. Made her bed. 7 twitches. Thirsty again. Another whole glass of water. Three twitches while trying to drink. So maybe a mostly full glass of water. Kate unpacked the dishwasher. 17 twitches. One broken glass. She cleaned it up, cutting herself four times because that's how many twitches she had. Thirsty again. More water. No twitches. Winning! Kate began to feel cold again. She checked the time, nearly 11am. Dammit. Kate sat on the couch, wrapped herself in the throw blanket. Waited for it to pass while watching whatever was on TV. When it passed she looked at the time again, nearly 1pm. Yeah this wasn't good. Annoyed, Kate packed her backpack, locked the door and headed out to the bus stop. She stopped counting her twitches.
If Kate had thought about it she might have just admitted herself to the ER, but then her dad would definitely be called. But a Saturday afternoon in the clinic was busy. Too busy. Kate drank water. Made her tummy upset. Went to the bathroom. Still thirsty. Still not feeling well. She was probably hungry. Finally a nurse came to put her in a room.
"Hi," said a chipper voice when the doctor finally came in.
Kate opened her eyes. She didn't realise she'd fallen asleep. "Hi."
"What can I do you for?"
"I've been having twitches, chills, and I'm very thirsty. I've drunk about five gallons of water since I've been waiting."
"You're very on top of your symptoms."
"Child of doctors."
The doctor looked at her chart. "And hemophilia b. That's an issue."
"I did a body check yesterday, nothing. And I'm not in pain."
"I'll be the judge of that."
The doctor checked every inch of her. Verbally ignoring Kate's twitching arms but there was always a pause, Kate guessed she was counting them.
"Any changes to diet?" the doctor asked when she'd finished checking Kate.
"No."
"Change in exercise or different activities?"
"No."
"New places?"
"No."
"Parties?"
"No."
"Drugs?"
"No." Kate finished her water. "Can I have more?"
The doctor sighed and took the bottle. "Sure, I'll be back."
Kate leaned back on the bed. This doctor had no idea. The doctor hadn't gotten another opinion, she was back to quick with the water. She handed the bottle to Kate who downed nearly half of it. "Any chance of food? I'm starving."
"You feel hungry?"
"Obviously."
"Or is it nausea?"
"I think I'd know the difference."
The doctor shrugged. "You'd be surprised."
Kate threw up all over the doctor's lovely white coat. Lovely reddy brown vomit with, yep, a bit of undigested cheerios.
"Oh my god," said Kate. "I'm so sorry."
The doctor closed her eyes. "It's fine."
"I don't think it is."
The doctor turned and left the room.
"Oh my god what happened to you?" asked a nurse.
"Patient in room 3. I need a shower. And she needs to be admitted," she doctor handed the chart to the nurse. "She's got something serious, and she has hemophilia b and just threw up red, so I'd get her stomach checked."
The nurse nodded and looked at the chart. Underage. She looked at the next of kin. The kid clearly had a sense of humor, next to her next of kin she had written 'only call if you 150% have to' and then, huh, Doctor Wilson. Hattie had heard the rumors of Doctor Wilson's mysterious child. And here she was. Hattie went to the room, "Kate?"
Kate was wiping her mouth with paper towel. "Yeah?"
"We have to admit you."
"No you don't."
"We need to check your stomach, and that involves a lovely camera going down your throat, which means a bed, and your symptoms alone are…"
"No because that means you have to call my dad."
"Yes, and I'd say I 200% have to."
"That's not funny."
"Personally I think I'm hilarious."
Kate's hand twitched and she scratched her neck.
Hattie sighed at Kate.
"Fine," said Kate.
Hattie put Kate in a wheelchair and took her upstairs. "I'll get the nurse's desk to call Doctor Wilson."
"How wonderful," said Kate.
Hattie wheeled Kate next to the bed. She climbed in and Hattie pulled up the side. "Lie on your side in case you throw up again."
"Again?"
"You threw up earlier."
"What?"
Hattie reached out to Kate's face, "follow my finger," she said and moved it back and forth across her face. Kate blinked slowly.
"I don't feel well."
"I know,"
"Nurse?" asked the doctor from the door.
"14 year old female, vomiting red and brown, hand and arm twitches, extreme thirst, and now confusion."
The doctor came over, and felt Kate's head. "She's cold. Miss, anything else?"
"You're handsome," Kate said.
"Medically?" the Doctor said, looking at Hattie.
"Hemophilia B," said Hattie.
"Shit. Get an IV, with K, platelets and blood, get the nurse to get the camera we need to check stomach for a bleed."
"Yes, doctor," Hattie ran off.
"What's your name?"
"Kate," said Kate.
"Good."
"How long have felt like this?"
"Today." She twitched.
"How about the twitching?"
"Tuesday."
"Vomiting?"
"No."
"You haven't vomited?"
"No."
The doctor touched the corner of her mouth. "You mouth says otherwise."
"My head hurts."
"We'll get you something for that."
A nurse appeared with an empty IV and began setting it up.
"No needles," said Kate. "I'm bubble wrap girl."
The doctor and nurse exchanged a glance.
"Is there anyone we can call?" asked the Doctor.
"Please don't call anyone."
The nurse got the needle ready and prepped Kate's line. The nurse pressed the needle in and Kate screamed.
Another nurse appeared with the IV and set her up. "This is going to help," said the nurse.
"You always say that," said Kate.
"Get her on saline too," said the doctor. "She's going to be dehydrated again. And get the endoscope ready!"
Hattie ended up making the call. If it was her daughter lying in there being confused and stabbed and cameras about to be shoved down her throat she'd want to know. Thankfully, Doctor Wilson worked here so his number was on file.
"Hello?"
"Doctor Wilson, is Hattie from the hospital."
"What's going on?"
"Kate's here."
"What?"
"She's got a slew of symptoms and we have to do an endoscopy; she threw up red and brown…and breakfast. She didn't want us to call but-"
"I'm on my way."
"What the hell is that?" Kate asked upon seeing the endoscope.
"That is a camera," said the doctor.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Doctor Finch, and we've met twice already. You keep forgetting, but you seem a little clearer now."
"My head hurts."
"We're giving you something in your IV."
"Will that stop the pain of the camera going in to me?"
"Surprisingly it's only uncomfortable, not painful. Think of it like a really long thick piece of spaghetti."
Kate made a face.
"Now I'm going to ask those fun questions again now that you seem a bit clearer."
"What questions?"
Doctor Finch sighed.
"Your name?"
"Kate."
"Birthday?"
"May 21st."
"Any changes in diet?"
"No."
"Changes in exercise?"
"No."
"Any drugs?"
"No."
"Prescription?"
"No."
"Abdominal pain?"
"Not until today."
"And the twitching?"
"About 50 times a day since Tuesday."
"Specific."
"I have doctors for parents."
"And yet it took you four days to come to see one."
"It was just twitching until today."
"Ah of course. Because twitching is normal."
Kate rolled her eyes.
"Let's get this camera rolling."
Kate took a sharp intake of breath.
"Kate, it really doesn't hurt," said Doctor Finch. He put gloves on and set up the monitor. The male nurse from before came over. "It really does feel like spaghetti."
Kate nodded but said nothing. "Try and relax."
Kate took a slow deep breath, and then Doctor Finch fed the endoscope into her mouth and down her throat.
"Kate?" someone had just come into the room.
"Doctor Wilson," said Doctor Finch. "I didn't realize I needed a babysitter."
"You don't," said Wilson coming around to the other side of the bed.
Kate's eyes met Wilson's. He may not see her an awful lot but he knew what fear looked like. Wilson took Kate's hand in his. She squeezed.
"You think gastronomical bleeding?" asked Wilson.
Doctor Finch watched the screen. "Yes, she threw up breakfast and it was reddish brown color. Doctor Bennett was covered in it. Poor thing. And she's had twitching in her hands since Tuesday. Plus the lovely onslaught of symptoms today."
"Like what?" asked Wilson.
"Confusion, chills, extreme thirst."
"Infection?"
"That's what I'm thinking I'll find…oh my god."
"Jesus," said Wilson, looking at the monitor.
Kate's hand squeezed his harder.
"It's…" Wilson started.
"Your stomach lining has been eaten away at the entrance to the intestine," said Doctor Finch.
Kate frowned.
"We can fix it," he added. "That's why you felt hungry, and that's why you threw up the blood and breakfast, it couldn't be digested properly. I'm just checking everything else."
Doctor Finch went back to focusing on the monitor.
"He's going to check your intestines aren't bleeding either," explained Wilson. "It's not excessive, is it?"
Doctor Finch shook his head. "No, it seems only linked the breaking down of the stomach lining. Which is odd in itself since Kate has said five times now, she hasn't changed her diet. But we can worry about that later when…" his voice trailed off.
"Finch?"
"Her intestinal tract is a little worn too, but I think that's from digesting blood and stomach acid…okay, Kate, I'm going to slowly take it out now, it's going to feel a bit like you're gagging but just let it happen, okay? Don't try to swallow."
Doctor Finch slowly pulled the endoscope out. Kate gagged a bit and coughed when it came out. Almost as soon as it was out her hand twitched, and she let go of Wilson's hand.
"You lied," Kate croaked at Doctor Finch. "It didn't feel like spaghetti at all."
Doctor Finch smiled. "Once your finished on your saline drip we're getting you down for surgery."
"Wonderful."
"Doctor Wilson, you'll need to sign the form then I suppose."
"Sure," said Wilson and followed Finch out of the room. "I'll be right back," he said to Kate.
"Didn't know you had a kid," said Finch at the nurse's desk.
"I thought we had a professional relationship."
Finch inclined his head. "Surgery form for Wilson," said Finch to the nurse.
The nurse handed over the form on a clipboard to Wilson. He signed it.
"I guess, but having a sick kid as a doctor is a bit different."
"Kate's not sick," said Wilson defensively.
"She's got hemophilia b, that's a lifelong illness."
"It's less dangerous that diabetes and she's not an invalid."
"And yet here she is with a slew of symptoms that can all be linked to her haemophilia."
"I saw the endoscope, Kate wasn't bleeding in her stomach."
"Because she threw it all up over Doctor Bennett."
"That was at least two hours ago."
"And 45 minutes ago she finished her IV to help her clot," Finch said staring down Wilson.
"Look, I will give your daughter the medical care she needs, but maybe you should pull your head out of your ass." Doctor Finch walked away.
Wilson sighed and went back into Kate's room.
"Doctor Finch seems lovely," said Kate.
"You heard that?"
"The floor's linoleum and you left the door open. Sound travels."
"Great."
"How does one's head get up their own ass?"
"Ask House."
Kate smiled.
"Where are your mom and Douglas?"
"Atlantic City."
Wilson shook his head. "What?"
"Atlantic City. Doug picked mom up yesterday at the airport and they went."
"And left you alone?"
"I'm 14."
"Yeah, I know. They left you alone for the weekend? Did they know you were sick?"
"I was twitching. It's hardly pneumonia."
"Your mom was away?"
"All week."
"Where?"
"Job at her old hospital in Seattle. Patient's suing."
"It was just you and Doug all week?"
"You're jealous?"
Wilson scoffed. "Of what?"
"Stepdad and me hanging out at home alone all week."
"Are you on morphine?"
"No. I get weird on morphine apparently. Not mean."
"Oh so you're being mean on purpose?"
"She learned from the best," said House from the door.
"What are you doing here?" asked Wilson.
"I'll called your house about tonight and your wife said you came to the hospital to see your daughter. I figured it was important. Now my autumn child, you know better than to talk meanly to your father."
"House, stay out of it."
"Her symptoms don't make sense."
"House…"
"Oh the meanness to the father is teenageritis but the other ones, they're not common hemophilia symptoms."
"You read my chart?" asked Kate.
"No," said House. "I read your digital file. Doctor Bennett is very punctual. Or perhaps bitter from having you throw up all over her."
"House," warned Wilson.
"All right fine. Fix the stomach thing that is important, I bet you 50 bucks within 2 hours the symptoms will return."
"How about Kate just gets the medical treatment she needs now, and we'll worry about other things, later?"
House and Wilson watched as Doctor Abernathy operated on Kate's stomach.
"That's far too damaged for just internal bleeding," said House.
Wilson sighed. "You can barely see."
"I can see the monitor."
"It's 10 yards away."
"Refacing is nearly complete, Doctor Bell, would you like to finish the sutures?" said Doctor Abernathy.
Wilson pressed the microphone button. "Does the intern have to that?"
"Does the overbearing oncologist have to instruct me on how to run my OR at a teaching hospital?"
Wilson said nothing.
Doctor Bell took over finishing the sutures.
"The damage to the intestines seems minimal, almost like chemical burns. I'm going to take a sample to biopsy," said Abernathy. "And while Doctor Bell finishes up with the slowest sutures I've ever seen, we're going to run a colonoscopy to check the lower organs for similar affectations. Don't worry Doctor Wilson, Bell's slow but thorough. I'm sure the sutures will live up to expectations." Abernathy looked at to Wilson watching. Wilson smiled politely but embarrassed.
"Burning in the digestive tract isn't usually a symptom of internal bleeding," said House.
"Thank you for your professional analysis," said Wilson dryly. "But if she's been bleeding for a while, we both know it can be. You just want to be right."
"Oh the horror."
Wilson turned to face House. "Kate isn't a mystery for you to solve."
"You and I both know those bruises and bleeding on her body in the last few weeks were no accidents. And she's been adamant about not contacting any parental figures about her medical conditions which leads me to think…"
"Shut up, House."