A/N: This story is, first and foremost, a birthday present for my friend Liz (XxIcexX).

It's going to be an episode featuring a medical mystery and all that, so this first little bit is meant to be like the first minute or so of the show, where you meet the patient.

I plan a total of eight chapters, including this one. I did my research as well as I could to make my work accurate, so I'd love it if you could give me a chance here and leave reviews when you're done, because that's how I can pick up on little mistakes I can fix later. I would appreciate feedback.

It takes place mid-season 4, so the amount of romance in here, despite V-Day, is minimal – just some House/Cuddy flirting at most. Cameron makes an appearance, and those of you as tired of Thirteen as I am, breathe easy knowing that I kept her mostly to the sidelines. I wanted to let Cuddy, Wilson, Kutner, and Taub shine too – as well as House, of course.

Updates will be swift as this story is already pretty much finished on my computer, so that's it for my eternally-long author's note and I hope you guys like this. Enjoy.

--

I. Prologue

--

"Good God, this is brutal, isn't it?" Elizabeth grinned, her smile trying its best to retain some sort of lightness. "Far too much to remember. I am destined to fail tomorrow."

Luke looked exceptionally tired under the limited light of the tiny, dim lamp perched on the table beside them. Shadows danced around the messy dorm room, the paper scattered around the floor, the stubble Luke hadn't had the time to properly shave. His smile did not make as much effort to be light.

"I know. But hey, at least you'll have me to fail with you." His words were punctuated by a rich yawn. "We can be cooking school drop-outs together."

"Wow, you little ray of sunshine, you." Elizabeth smirked, blowing a stray lock of dirty-blonde hair out of her face. "You fill me up with incalculable optimism."

"What?" Luke pouted. "You were the one telling me you were destined to fail tomorrow!"

"Yeah, so you're supposed to comfort me, console me, maybe give me a kiss, and then tell me I'll pass with flying colors," she informed him. "You have to be there for me, and so far, you're doing a suckish job."

Luke felt a smile tugging at his lips. He paused, and then asked, "…Is it too late to give you that kiss?"

Elizabeth giggled, blushing. "I suppose not."

"Sweet." Luke leaned in and pressed his lips against Elizabeth's, a certain relief in being able to do something that did not cause him as much grief as studying did. He could feel her smiling into his mouth before she pulled away.

"You're an idiot. Get back to work." Elizabeth gave him a playful smack on his face.

"Lizzie…" he complained.

"Don't you 'Lizzie' me – I might have to use something cuter against you." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the unfortunate young man and then coughed, the sound harsh in the midst of their otherwise-noiseless room in the middle of the night.

"That cough still getting to you?" Luke asked sympathetically.

"Yeah." She coughed a few more times, labored and scratchy, before reaching for the bottle of lozenges discarded on her right.

"Stupid colds," she added as she popped a few into her mouth and swallowed. "I hate being sick."

"Well, since it's winter and all, it's kind of, like, destined to happen." Luke shrugged, yawning again. "You'll get over it…although, I am surprised. You've been sick a while now."

"I know." Elizabeth coughed once more.

"You sure you don't want to go to the doctor?" he wanted to know.

"No, no, it's fine." Elizabeth coughed a few more times, harsh and throaty, her expression disgruntled at both his proposal and her own diminished health. "It's only a cold. Besides, our test is tomorrow –which is a little more important to me right now."

"I guess," Luke allowed, unwillingly changing the subject. "Can you believe they're giving it to us right around Valentine's Day?"

Elizabeth threw him a dry look. "I can't believe you can't believe that," she said, rubbing her nose and sniffing. "Do you think any administrator cares it's almost Valentine's Day?"

"They should," Luke decided. "I wanted to take you out."

"Well, that's very nice of you, but we've got other crap to do. Like this." Elizabeth coughed once more and shoved her book in his face. "Now stop distracting me!"

Luke raised his hands in defense. "Hey, hey, you let me distract you – you're at fault here too," he said.

"Whatever." Elizabeth buried her face in the crook of her arm to hold down another brief coughing fit. She sounded choked, grated – like a fork in a garbage disposal. The expression on Luke's face was one of deep-seated concern as he surveyed the young woman's condition.

"Liz, you sure you don't want me to call someone?" he asked. "I mean, you're coughing your guts out. I don't like it, it doesn't sound right."

Elizabeth raised her hand to silence him, continuing to cough violently into her sleeve, and Luke observed with growing unease.

"No," she tried to say between coughs. "No, no, I'm fine…I'm really…"

Now her coughing took a turn for the worse and he could tell, instinctively, that something was quite wrong. Elizabeth was getting worse. Finally, she emerged from her sleeve, her pretty face significantly panicked, her green eyes practically bugging out of her face.

"Luke…Luke…" she gasped. Her coughing stopped and extreme anxiety colored her voice. "I…I can't…"

Frantic, Luke attempted to recall that health course he took, way back in high school, as he looked on to his frightened, ailing companion. Elizabeth was beginning to shake fiercely, her lips turning blue and the warmth in her complexion rushing out of her like water through a hose.

She was in trouble. Big trouble. Due to extreme shock, Luke's brain was completely frozen up, and he could think of nothing to help her, save her life, so he did the next best thing:

He fumbled for the cell-phone in his pocket, punched in three numbers, and hollered desperately into the phone, "Help! Help! My girlfriend's dying!"

--

A/N: Review button's right down there…