A/N - I decided that it was time for a change and have branched out into the world of 'House' fanfiction. Please tell me what you think by sending me a nice, cheerful reveiw! Enjoy
Anything But Ordinary
He did what he did every morning when the alarm started that annoying, overly happy tune. He slammed his fist on it and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. Mornings always meant the terrible pain in his leg and the indescribable urge to slip back to sleep. He fought the urge and rolled out of his bed, pausing to pop a couple of Vicodin before making his way to the shower. Hopefully, today would be interesting, otherwise it would be a waste of a good sleep in.
Foreman hated being stuck in traffic. It happened every morning, regardless of what time he left his house. It was always the same, some idiot deciding that speeding on the slick morning roads was a good idea. Foreman was so used to the stalling of traffic that he always kept a set of medical textbooks on the passenger seat. He settled himself back for a long wait.
Chase liked being at work this early. The halls were almost empty and the coffee was still fresh enough to make it almost enjoyable. He liked the silence that seemed to almost seep through the walls, the kind that would be destroyed the moment that House walked through the doors. He seemed to be able to suck the joy out of any room with the simple tapping of his cane. The only good thing about working with House was that rather then getting his trashy magazines delivered to his own home, he had them sent here. Chase picked up the one on the top, sinking into the nearest seat, fully intending to relax before the day got off to a start.
Cameron hated mornings. This one in particular. She had gotten together with an old college friend last night and despite her protests, found herself in a bar, shots lined up along the counter. She could not really remember what they had done but whatever it was, she was paying for it in spades this morning. Her body ached, her head thumped and her stomach churned as she all but crawled into the shower. She was never going to drink again.
When Cameron arrived at work, Chase was in the room next to House's office, his feet up, magazine open on the table.
"Hey Chase"
Chase looked up at her, frowning as she placed her bag on the seat before heading to the coffee machine.
"You look horrible"
Cameron poured herself a cup of coffee, adding a couple of sugars before taking a seat across from him.
"Good morning to you too"
"What did you get up to last night?"
"Drinking."
"Oh, that explains it."
Cameron popped a few pills, combining aspirin with some antacid that she had found in her bathroom cabinet. Chase smiled at her as she took a large swallow of water.
"You almost look like House doing that"
Cameron glared at him before closing her eyes and leaning her head on the table. Foreman walked in a few moments later, ignoring their good mornings and heading for the coffee machine, his medical books still tucked under his arm. They waited in silence for the familiar sound of House's stick on the tiled floors of the hospital, the sound that would indicate the beginning of a very long day. It cam sooner then they thought it would. House usually walked in a good hour after he was meant to actually start but today he was here a whole fifteen minutes earlier then normal. He also had a deep frown on his face.
"Does anyone know what time Cuddy gets here in the morning?"
Chase shrugged.
"She was here when I arrived at about 7:30"
House sighed and tapped his stick against his foot.
"She must sleep here. Do we have a case yet?"
They all shook their heads, before returning back to the things they were doing before House had arrived. He spotted the magazine that Chase was reading, snatching it out of his hands.
"What has Daddy told you about touching things that don't belong to you?"
Chase frowned at him before picking up the newspaper, trying to pretend that it was as interesting as the magazine that he had been reading. House settled himself in a chair, his foot up as he started to flick through the trashy tabloid. That was how Wilson found them, relaxing or in Cameron's case, dozing when they should have been working.
"Nice to see that you all earn your pay"
House didn't even raise his eyes from the page that told of Britney's new meltdown.
"We work hard, we play harder."
Wilson sighed before throwing a file at House.
"Now you get to work a little harder."
House finally put the magazine down, picking up the file but not bothering to open it.
"What is it?"
"Forty year old man presenting with dizzy spells and vomiting"
"Wow, sounds fascinating."
Sarcasm dripped from the comment but Wilson refused to back down.
"There is nothing physically wrong with him, not that I can find anyway."
"He has dizzy spells and vomiting. Are you sure you looked in the right places?"
"Yes I am. Look into it will you House? Here's been here a week and wants nothing more then to go home"
Wilson left the room and House stood and approached his trusty white board. He opened the file and began to write down the very small list of symptoms that the man had presented with before turning to his team.
"Time for work children. You need to run the normal battery of tests."
They all stood, pausing as House began to speak again.
"Check everywhere. There must be a reason-"
With nothing more then a slight sway of warning, Cameron collapsed on the floor. House looked down at her before looking at Chase and Foreman.
"Am I really that boring?"
This is what affected ones judgment. Having one of your own unconscious on a hospital bed. House would never admit it to anyone, he even had a hard time admitting it to himself but it always upset him when they got sick. Up until this point, it had only been Chase and Foreman but even that had him worried. Now Cameron was lying in the bed, her face ashen, her breathing labored. They had taken blood, urine and had secured a CT scan and a MRI for the afternoon but until then, it was nothing more then a guessing game. They needed to piece together Cameron's last twenty-four hours and backtrack, try to find what had made her so sick, so fast.
"How is she?"
Chase had slipped silently into the room, coming to stand beside House.
"Hard to say. I'm just waiting for her to wake up so I can find out what's she been doing for the last twenty four hours."
"Well I know that she went out with her friend last night."
"I gathered that much from her tox screen. She still had alcohol in her system. I also need to check her over from head to toe."
"I can do that if you want House"
House shook his head.
"Oh you would like that wouldn't you? Her lying prone and unconscious while you check her over. Must remind you of your days in college"
"I didn't mean-"
"Yes you did. Did you run her blood?"
"Yeah and her white cell count is up slightly. Not enough to explain this sudden illness though"
"Good. Leave."
Chase opened his mouth to speak before turning on his heel and leaving the room. House turned his attention back to Cameron, whose eyes were beginning to open.
"You're awake"
"What happened?"
"You collapsed. How do you feel?"
"Tired and achy. Mainly in my arms and legs."
House stood and moved to the side of her bed, lifting the sheet up as he went. Her left and her right arm were both swollen, as well as her wrists and hands.
"Cameron, I need to look at you properly"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I need to look at you from head to toe"
Cameron shook her head.
"No. Not you."
"Why not? Am I not your type? Here I am thinking that you liked me"
"Cuddy. Get Cuddy"
House covered her again before heading to the end of her bed, pulling the sheet off her feet. They were swollen as well.
"How long have you felt sick?"
"Not that long. A couple of day's maybe. I thought I was coming down with a cold."
"Turns out it's something a little more sinister."
"Just get Cuddy so that you can find out what's wrong with me"
House nodded once before heading out of the room and to Cuddy's office.
Cameron didn't know what was more embarrassing. The fact that she had collapsed in front of her teammates or the fact that her boss had just given her a through physical examination that left nothing untouched. Cuddy had given her a small smile before writing a few things in her file and leaving the room. House appeared a little while later, standing at the end of her bed.
"Cuddy found some sores on your feet, arms and legs. Do you remember when they came up?"
"About a week ago. I was dog sitting and I thought that I was allergic"
House frowned, glancing at the file before lifting the sheet at the end of her bed, exposing her upper thigh. The small sore was red and when he put his finger over it, it was slightly bumpy, like an orange peel.
"It could be an allergic reaction but I get the feeling that it is something a little more sinister. We'll do more tests, including a biopsy on this sore. I am going to need your house keys."
Cameron sat up but the moment she did, her breathing became hitched and her eyes wide. House gently pushed her back down.
"You need to lie still. Tell me where your house keys are or I'll just get the black neurologist to break in for me."
"Foreman would not do that"
"Oh yes he will. This is the guy who didn't think twice before stabbing you with a needle, remember? He won't think twice about breaking into your house either."
"In my handbag, which I presume is where I left it this morning."
House nodded, covering her legs up again before leaving the room. Chase and Foreman where back in the coffee room, pouring over medical texts books.
"What are you doing?"
Foreman didn't life his head when he answered.
"Looking for answers. Is she awake?"
"Yes and claims that the sores started about a week ago. She thought it was an allergic reaction to the dog she was looking after."
House finally found Cameron's hand bag on the floor, next to the seat she had been resting in. He picked it up and emptied the contents onto the table.
"House what are you doing?"
"Foreman, you are going with Chase to check out Cameron's house."
House picked up one of the tampons that had tumbled out of the bag.
"Our little girl is growing up so fast."
Chase gave him a hard glare before snatching the keys out from the pile of Cameron's belongings.
"She's sick House. She does not need you giving her shit."
"Oh feeling protective, are we? Or are you just annoyed that I wouldn't let you do her physical examination?"
Chase glared at him again before leaving the room, Foreman trailing behind. House waited until the coast was clear before looking over the two men's notes that they had scribbled. Most of them were nothing more then guesses but there were a few that could possibly explain everything that Cameron had presented with so far. House moved over to the white board and rubbed off the previous case, one that they had never gotten a chance to solve. The dizzy-spells-and-vomiting man would have to wait. He wrote Cameron's name at the top before quickly writing down her symptoms and right in the corner, the possible reasons for why she was sick. He sat back in a seat and stared at it. All he could do was wait until something came back to for them to look at.
Cameron's house was much tidier then Foreman had expected it to be. He wasn't surprised, after all she presented as a neat freak so it was an automatic assumption that she would be one within her personal life too. He just never expected her to be like this. Everything was so tidy, even the books in her bookshelves were in size order.
"Chase, if there is anything here, she would have cleaned it up"
"Yeah Alison's like that. She likes everything where it belongs."
"Complete order huh?"
"Yup. You want to take the bathroom and I'll do the kitchen"
"And the bedroom?"
"We'll tag team it"
Foreman moved from the living room and into the bathroom, standing at the doorway for a moment to take in his surroundings. Her bathroom, unlike the living room, was a little messy. Foreman put it down to her feeling like crap that morning and didn't clean up after herself. The floor mat still laid in front of the shower, dark with water. Her make up littered the counter and her hairbrush sat in the sink. It smelt like soap and Cameron's perfume and for a moment, Foreman felt worried for her. They were co-workers, occasional friends but nothing more. But in that second, standing in her home, he wondered when she would be here again. If at all. She was annoying, nosy, sometimes weak and manipulated House with those big doe eyes of hers. But she was also a fantastic doctor and he respected her for it. He shook off the feeling of sadness and moved forward, searching the cabinets, drains and any mould on the shower curtain.
"Hey Foreman, look what I found"
Chase was standing in the doorway, a packet of Marlboro lights in his hand.
"Cameron smokes?"
"Apparently"
Chase frowned at the packet.
"I've never seen her smoke."
"Working with someone like House would force anyone into a bad habit"
Chase continued to look at the packet with a strange wonder as he bagged it.
"You done here?"
"Yeah and found nothing. You?"
"Just the smokes. Lets hit the bedroom"
Foreman gathered his things and followed Chase into Cameron's room, silently apologizing to her for the violation of her personal space. Despite what people thought of him, he knew that to someone like Cameron, this was the ultimate act of betrayal.
Cameron felt like every one of her limbs weighed a thousand pounds. She could hardly move. No one else was in the room with her and she needed to tell them something. Her chest hurt as she tried to extend her arm, trying to find the buzzer to get the nurse.
"What do you need?"
House walked in at that moment and Cameron had never been so happy to see him.
"My chest really hurts and I can't catch my breath"
House took his stethoscope out of his pocket before gently pulling back her hospital gown and pressing the end to her chest. He was greeted with a strong rhythm and lungs that popped with each breath.
"It almost sounds like pneumonia"
"But it's not. Do you know what's wrong with me yet?"
"No, but we will."
Cameron, with a huge amount of effort, caught his wrist in her hand, tugging him a little closer.
"Promise?"
House looked into her eyes and saw the fear there, the desperation for an answer.
"I don't want to promise."
"Humor me"
"Fine, I promise. Let go of my wrist"
"I can't. My hand is locked."
House frowned and looked down at her fingers. New sores had sprouted over the back of her hand, slowly making their way up her arm.
"You have new sores. I only saw you two hours ago"
House gently pried her fingers off his arm before slowly stretching them, making Cameron almost scream in pain.
"God that hurts."
"I figured."
He moved onto her other hand, as well as her feet and legs, getting the same reaction. He felt a horrible feeling coming over him, one that he was not all that familiar with; confusion.
"Cameron, can you think of anything – "
Cameron began to thrash around, her jaw locked tightly, her head going from side to side roughly.
"We need some help in here!"
House tried to keep her still, watching helplessly as blood slowly began to seep from her mouth.
"What the hell is wrong with you Alison?"
It took every bit of his strength to hold her still as the nurses fussed over her before giving her a shot to try and halt the seizure.