By: Oracle Phoenix
Rated: T for teen (May be higher for language based on personal opinion)
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: House/CameronSpoilers: Anything is fair game. You have been warned.
Summary: House is hospitalized again with blood clots in his leg. The difference, this time, is Cameron.
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own House MD or any of its characters or plotlines. If I did, this story would be airing on TV rather than This is the longest I've ever stuck with a story, fanfic or otherwise and I'm pretty proud of it. I've tried to be as realistic medically as possible but there are bound to be mistakes. Please don't hold these against me. I'm not a med student after all. Reviews are appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome but please, no flaming. I fear my fragile ego would not survive the ordeal. :-D Enjoy!
All chapters have been updated since their first posting. I was trying to make it a little more realistic and fix some characterization issues. I would especially recommend reading this chapter again since some of the details and a lot of the dialog has changed. I hope it's a little more believable.
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Chapter 1: Break Your Heart
It had been an average day at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The diagnostic medicine team had had only one admission but it was no easier than any other case they ever received. At 5:00 pm, House, Cameron, Chase, and Foreman were still gathered in the conference room grasping at straws. It had also been a long day; average but long. The entire team was exhausted and acutely aware that their patient was short on time. Tensions were running very high.
The group was silent for a moment, racking their brains for some crucial hint that might save the young woman dying on the next floor. In the semi-darkness of the room, lit only by the dying sun, Dr. House twitched and shifted uncomfortably. The pain in his leg had been worse than usual today and the Vicoden didn't seem to be doing its job. After a moment, he stood, hoping that moving would help ease the throbbing. Suddenly, the pain seared like lightning through his thigh and stars popped before his eyes. His breath caught in his throat and he felt himself pitch forward.
Cameron saw House begin to fall and grabbed him just in time. He struggled to put his feet beneath him but as he placed his right foot he was struck by another wave of unbearable pain and felt his muscles give way as the nerves flared. Cameron could no longer hold him and, instead, simply tried to cushion his fall. As she laid him on the floor, House curled in on himself, shaking in agony. All he could hear was blood pounding in his ears. All he could feel was pain.
Chase and Foreman had run over to Cameron who was kneeling beside House and were helping to hold him still while she checked his vitals.
"His heart is beating out of control. If we can't stop the pain, it's going to push him into cardiac arrest." Cameron's voice was level but urgent and her eyes betrayed her fear.
"Go get a stretcher and 15 mgs of Valium! Any more painkillers could damage his liver."
The two men ran out of the room and Cameron turned back toward House. She was surprised to see tears streaming down his face. He was soaking wet with cold sweat and his body was trembling all over. She laid a gentle hand on his back and spoke soft, reassuring words, hoping to calm him and wishing that she could soothe his pain. He summoned the strength to roll over and looked into her eyes.
He gasped for breath, panting hard. When he spoke, his voice was strained. "Please…stay. He groaned as a fresh wave of pain wracked his body. He wished she would hold him. He needed to be touched, to feel something other than the pain.
Cameron seemed to understand and if she was surprised, she didn't show it. She reached under his shoulders and lifted him into her lap; pulling him to her chest and smoothing his hair back from his forehead. After a moment, she felt his body tense even more and saw him grit his teeth. Tears sprung up in her eyes as he screamed in pain and she held him even tighter. Silently she prayed that Chase and Foreman would hurry back with the sedative and she begged a god she'd never known to slow his racing heart.
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Too many minutes later, Chase and Foreman reappeared with the stretcher and the meds. Greg House was beyond hearing them and his spasming muscles likely wouldn't have complied with their requests anyway, so he had to be held down while the shot was administered. As the sedative did its work and the pain began to seem more distant, House looked up at Cameron. His body was still tense and shaking but his breathing was quickly stabilizing. Cameron smiled gently at him.
"Close your eyes," she whispered. "Everything is going to be okay."
House let himself slip off into an exhausted sleep as Cameron ran her fingers gently through his hair. Once he was out cold she called the guys over with the stretcher.
"Hurry! It almost has to be another clot. He needs an emergency angiogram but don't start blood-thinners yet. We may need to go in and suck out the clot tonight."
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Ten minutes later, they crowded together reviewing the results of the angiogram.
"It's another clot. Two actually." Chase ran his hand through his hair. "We'll have to remove them tonight and then start him on blood-thinners to be safe."
"I'll prep him for surgery," Cameron said on her way out of the room.
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At 6:00 pm, House was in surgery. One of the clots had already been removed and blood was flowing better. Again, Chase ran the small tube into House's leg along with a camera probe.
"I can't find the second clot. I think it broke off."
"Damnit," Foreman groaned. "There's no way a clot that big just disappears. It's gonna do damage wherever it ends up. Find it!"
Suddenly, House's breathing became irregular and the monitors showed a dangerous spike in blood pressure and heart rate.
"I think we found it," Foreman said as alarms sounded from the monitors.
"Cardiac embolism?" Chase asked.
"Probably, but we need to check it before we cut. Cameron, take an ultrasound."
Cameron pulled the equipment over and began scanning House's chest cavity. "The clot has lodged in a vein near the right atrium. It's cutting off blood flow to his heart."
Foreman made the incision and ran the tube in while Cameron guided him with the ultrasound. When he reached the obstruction, he turned on suction in the tube and pulled backward, dragging the clot out carefully. The clot was out, the blood was flowing, and the ordeal was nearly over. They were just about to breathe a sigh of relief when House flat-lined and the monitors went crazy.
"V-fib" Chase shouted. "Get the paddles!"
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Three shocks did the trick. The monitors quieted and the doctors fell silent. Cameron looked at her boss' unnaturally pale face and felt the tears well up again in her eyes. His heart was beating so weakly that she could barely feel a pulse. Foreman let his shoulders slump and Chase laid his head against the wall. Their other patient had been completely forgotten.
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A/N: This part was really hard to write. I hate making House suffer so much but it was necessary to get the story on track. Things will get better for him eventually. I promise. Please R&R!