In the neonatal intensive care unit, House leaned on his cane near the open door, which revealed at least a dozen incubators containing fragile sick babies. "Exhibit A," he said, pointing to one of the nearest incubators, "baby girl Hartig. Term baby, forty-two hours old. Went into seizures 6 hours ago, brought into intensive care, diagnosed with obstruction of the small bowel."
"I'm still amazed you're in the same room with a patient," Dr. Wilson sarcastically joked.
"Or that you learned her name," I added, reaching for the chart hanging on the baby girl's incubator.
"People don't bug me until they get teeth," House responded to Dr. Wilson. "And sorry, CJ, I promise I'm working on learning your name," he added sarcastically, widening his eyes.
"Exhibit B," House continued his odd presentation, pointing to another incubator. "Baby boy Hausen. Another term baby, forty-eight hours old. Brought into the NICU before the Hartig baby: fever of unknown origin, 101 degrees, trending upwards."
I quickly grabbed the chart of the second baby and compared them.
"Wow, that is amazing," Dr. Wilson said with feigned surprise, moving around the room. "You hung out in the OB/GYN lounge and heard about two sick babies," he said with mock surprise, smiling smugly at House. "It's eerie," he sarcastically concluded as he approached one of the two incubators, presumably to touch baby Hausen.
"Don't touch that," House and I coordinated surprisingly, stopping Dr. Wilson before he could touch the possibly infectious baby.
"Alright..." Dr. Wilson nodded, taken aback, stepping slightly away from the fragile baby.
"What's going on?" Dr. Wilson asked again after a few seconds of silence, looking puzzled.
"Yeah, what's going on, kid?" House asked, his strange smile growing, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm almost certain there's an infection spreading in the hospital," I said, causing House to smile broadly.
"No, PJ, the children have totally unrelated illnesses," Dr. Wilson kindly explained.
"No, they fell ill within four hours of each other," House countered.
"They were in the same delivery rooms, and the maternity rooms are neighboring," I added, "which makes transmission possible," House immediately affirmed.
"Okay, this is really cute," Dr. Wilson said amusedly, gesturing towards House and me, "but it doesn't add up. The Hartig girl has a bowel obstruction," he explained, "no matter how close their beds are, I'm pretty sure kids can't share a blockage."
"Look, kid, this is why you shouldn't trust a doctor's diagnosis," House sarcastically affirmed. "What does bowel obstruction on a chart indicate?" leaning on his cane, House asked Dr. Wilson.
"Well, normally, I'd say it indicates a patient's bowel is obstructed," Dr. Wilson said ironically, "but I'm pretty sure you have some deeper truth to impart..." he continued before being immediately interrupted by House. "It means that some random doctor of indeterminate skill thinks that the patient's bowel is obstructed."
"Trying to avoid laughing, 'okay, you're upset because they threw you out of their lounge,'" Dr. Wilson affirmed.
"They threw you out of their lounge?" I asked amusedly as House rolled his eyes, moving towards the basket beside one of the baby's incubators, "no, they didn't," House immediately denied, taking an X-ray print.
"Look at the X-ray," House said, handing the print to Dr. Wilson. "It's a normal gas pattern."
"You want, I can get you a key to the oncology lounge," Dr. Wilson calmly said to House, "kid, explain to Wilson what that means," ignoring the other doctor's words, House pointed again to the X-ray print.
"There's air in the colon," I responded, immediately understanding House's request.
"If it's air, then no bowel obstruction," House nodded in agreement, causing Dr. Wilson to furrow his brow slightly as he studied the image again.
"Even if it's air, it could have been there before the obstruction," Wilson commented, no longer so sure.
"No," House immediately denied, "something's infected both these infants."
"And what do you plan to do?" Dr. Wilson asked, leaving the X-ray print.
"I'll go to Cuddy; we need the maternity ward shut down," House said seriously, looking at the babies.
"Cuddy won't shut down the maternity ward because..." Dr. Wilson was saying but was interrupted, "I knew it was you," someone practically shouted from the hallway outside the neonatal intensive care unit.
"Walter, what's going on?" surprised, Wilson asked the man, taking a step forward to stop the furious man's rapid walk.
"He's what's going on," the annoyed man pointed at me, repeating himself.
"Mr. Stratford?" when the man was close enough, I recognized him, "I warn you, kid, no one related to House will get near my daughters," advancing even more before being stopped by a surprised Dr. Wilson, Mr. Stratford declared.
"Oh, so this is the girl you've been telling me about, PJ," House said with a broad smile, "you dog," he continued, putting his hand on my shoulder with exaggerated pride, "if she's anything like Walter's wife, I understand why you needed that morning-after pill prescription."
"What!" much more annoyed, Mr. Stratford exclaimed again.
"Ignore him, Walter," now actively holding back the small man, Dr. Wilson tried to reason with him, "and you, shut up, House, don't cause trouble," annoyed with House, Dr. Wilson continued.
"Mr. Stratford, your daughter and I are just friends," quickly removing House's hand from my shoulder and moving away from the man, I tried to explain to the furious man with my hands up, strangely trying to demonstrate my innocence.
"I don't believe you; I don't know what you've learned from this man, but it can't be anything good," still being held back by Dr. Wilson, Mr. Stratford pointed at House with disgust, who, pretending to be offended, placed one of his hands on his chest while shaking his head slowly.
"Okay, that's enough; we have real doctor work to do," stopping his performance, House said, "Walter, I promise you on my word that PJ is a great kid," seriously, House continued, leaning on his cane, "just let them be teenagers; I know PJ loves her, and he's willing to take responsibility," he continued maliciously smiling.
"Shut up," Dr. Wilson and I ordered House simultaneously, who was smiling amusedly.
"He's a good kid, Walter; he's just learning medicine from House," releasing the stout man, Dr. Wilson explained again, trying to reassure the man who still looked upset but much less threatening.
"Oh sure, let's trust Wilson's judgment," House exaggeratedly exclaimed, raising one of his hands, pretending to be offended, "if no one is going to listen to me, it wasn't a joke that I have real medical work to do; when you're done here, go to the office, kid," walking proudly alongside the other two doctors, House disappeared from sight.
"I'm being completely serious, stay away from my daughter
," still obviously frustrated, Mr. Stratford said, pointing at me with a furrowed brow before angrily walking back where he came from, leaving Dr. Wilson and me alone in the hallway.
"Kat or Bianca?" Dr. Wilson discreetly asked.
"You know his daughters?" surprised, I asked.
"When Walter Stratford started working at the hospital, he invited a few of us to dinner at his house," Dr. Wilson explained calmly, "unfortunately, he also invited House," he finished ironically.
"Well, neither of them, it wasn't a lie, Kat and I are just friends," I quickly explained.
Sighing softly as he shook his head, "House wasn't wrong; Melinda Stratford is a beautiful woman," Dr. Wilson affirmed suggestively, before he could deny the accusation again, Dr. Wilson's pager alerted him, "I have to go, but good luck, PJ," lightly tapping my shoulder, Dr. Wilson said before quickly walking away.
"She's just a friend," I managed to say to the doctor before he disappeared completely, waving his hand in farewell as he walked.
With a faint but growing migraine, I stood incredulous at the happenings in front of the neonatal intensive care unit. A moment later, the cry of one of the babies reminded me of what was going on. I had some books that I needed to return to the hospital library before heading to the diagnostic lounge.
After a brief moment speaking with the librarian, Neil, I walked with a much lighter backpack to the diagnostic lounge.
Inside the office with glass walls, the three other doctors who worked alongside House were each doing their own thing. Dr. Foreman was studying a series of X-ray images, Cameron was standing reading some documents, while Chase was peacefully sleeping in one of the chairs.
Silently greeting Cameron, the only one of the three present doctors who noticed my presence, I took a seat in one of the free chairs to wait for House.
A few minutes later, House entered his office, taking a large red book from one of the shelves at the entrance and then throwing the book at Chase, immediately waking him up. "Get up!" he exclaimed, walking to the center of the room. "We're going hunting," House continued, amused.
"For what?" exasperated, Dr. Foreman asked.
"Wabbits," House immediately responded sarcastically.
"Wabbits," slowly shaking his head, annoyed, Dr. Foreman repeated.
"You're not funny," House sighed with false defeat. "Explain, kid," leaning on his cane, House ordered.
"We believe there's an infection spreading among the newborns," I explained.
"No," House immediately said, "you believe it, I know it for a fact, and therefore, all of us will look for evidence so that Dr. Cuddy accepts that there is an infection spreading to the beautiful newborns," House finished with great sarcasm, leaving no room for the other three doctors to argue.
"Let's split up," House ordered. "Chase with Cameron, the kid with Foreman, and with me," he finished.
"So we're going to search for an imaginary infection just because you and the kid think it exists?" annoyed, Foreman asked, mocking House.
"Yes," shamelessly House responded immediately, "so, we're looking for newborns, possibly just a few hours old, fever of unknown origin, seizures, cough with sputum," ignoring Dr. Foreman, House continued listing each symptom. "I thought I was just teaching the kid, do they really need me to explain how to differentiate between a healthy newborn and one that isn't?" House asked ironically.
Without responding, the three defeated doctors prepared to leave.
"Come on, kid, let's go find some Wabbits," walking beside me, House said, seeming excited.
After searching several rooms with perfectly healthy newborns, House, Dr. Foreman, and I stopped in front of the maternity nurses' desk. "I'm telling you, House, there's no infection spreading in the hospital," Foreman said tiredly.
"Good news, no epidemic," appearing suddenly in one of the hallways of the wing, Dr. Chase assured as he walked alongside Cameron.
"Tragic, huh?" Foreman sarcastically asked, staring fixedly at House, exasperated.
House seemed somewhat annoyed, staring down one of the hallways. "Overflow rooms, third floor," he said immediately, breaking away from the desk and walking toward one of the elevators.
"This imaginary infection has spread to the next floor?" Foreman asked sarcastically, mocking House, receiving no response from the cane-bearing doctor.
Following House to the elevator, we went up to the third floor. "Is there any chance we're wrong?" I asked the man as we walked to one of the rooms. "Sure, but it's more interesting if we're not," House replied in his usual sarcasm, jokingly pushing open the door to the first room to enter.
Inside the room, a small family with a newborn baby in their arms, obviously worried, was studying the baby. "We were just going to call," one of the two women in the room immediately commented.
"Did he get hot all of a sudden?" House asked seriously, approaching the baby and gently touching his forehead to feel his temperature.
"Yeah," the same worried woman replied.
"And we're on," carefully leaving the baby in the arms of one of the women, House quickly left the room.
"Someone will come with you shortly," reassuring the two puzzled women in the room, I followed House out of the room.
"Go get your siblings," jokingly, House instructed me, "we have an infection to figure out," he continued seriously, walking down one of the hallways.
Heading back down in the elevator, I met the three doctors having a conversation in front of the nurses' station. "So, did House finally give up?" Cameron asked when she approached them.
"No, in fact, we found another patient; House sent me to brief you," I immediately responded, causing all three doctors to close their eyes in disappointment. "We have a real infection spreading through the hospital," defeated, Dr. Foreman said, walking out of the wing followed by Cameron and Chase, equally defeated.
"Hey, Brenda," approaching the desk, I greeted the nurse on duty.
"Oh honey, how are you?" the woman asked cheerfully, "are you here for your volunteer work?" she continued, quickly searching through papers on her desk, probably for some patient who needed a nail trim or a sponge bath.
"I'm good, thanks, and for now, I won't continue with my volunteering," I explained immediately, fortunately stopping the nurse in her document search.
"Oh, that's too bad. In all my years, you've been the best volunteer. You learned incredibly fast everything that needed to be learned," the woman said sympathetically.
"Yeah, I know, I learned a lot," trying to hide the forced nature of my smile, I replied, "sorry, do you know if my mom has arrived yet?" I quickly changed the subject.
"Don't you know?" surprised, the woman asked, "I'm sixteen already, I came on my own," I explained to the nurse.
"Oh honey, you're a grown up now," the nurse said with excitement, "let me check," resuming our previous conversation, she picked up her phone, presumably calling the desk where mom would be working.
"Yeah, your mom arrived several minutes ago. Do you need me to pass on a message?" removing the phone from her ear and covering the microphone with her hand, the woman asked.
"No, it's okay, I'll talk to her later. Thanks, Brenda," I said as a farewell, getting ready to go to the diagnostic lounge. "You're welcome, sugar," the woman replied with a big smile before continuing her phone call.
In the office with glass walls, the three doctors under House's command were discussing while sitting around the table.
Foreman, upon my arrival, began with an obviously fake cough that he repeated loudly a couple of times, even elbowing Chase lightly to get his attention but failing.
"If you want to know something, you can ask," I said, assuming the reason behind his strange behavior.
"He's got you there," smirking, Chase said.
"What do we know?" after rolling his eyes forcibly at Chase and giving him a slightly stronger elbow jab, Foreman asked, avoiding eye contact and keeping his eyes on some document previously on the table.
"As far as I know, three sick newborns, cough with sputum, spiking fevers, BP's plummeting, coming from two delivery rooms, three different maternity rooms, and I don't know if there are any common personnel or common equipment related," I explained to the three present doctors. "Oh, one of the babies was diagnosed with a bowel obstruction by some radiologist. House doesn't trust that diagnosis," I continued, making Chase and Dr. Foreman snort unsurprised.
"I don't trust whoever made the diagnosis," entering along with Dr. Cuddy into the office, House said, dropping a bunch of papers on the table, allowing the other three doctors at the table to quickly lean in to take them.
"Three sick babies, and a fourth showing early symptoms," writing on the board, House said.
"How bad?" obviously concerned, Dr. Cuddy asked seriously.
"Spiking fevers," reading one of the charts, Chase said, "BP's plummeting," Dr. Foreman continued, "they're barely able to keep systolic up; at this rate, they'll be dead in a day," Dr. Foreman said completely serious, looking at the other charts.
"Where did this come from?"
"Two delivery rooms, four different maternity rooms, no common personnel, and no common equipment," Cameron immediately responded.
"Well, there's gotta be something in common," with growing desperation, Dr. Cuddy told House.
"Yeah," sarcastically, House affirmed, "that would be the difference between an epidemic and a coincidence," he continued with a smirk.
Ignoring House, apparently with a growing migraine, Dr. Cuddy shook her head while rubbing her forehead, "I'm putting a team together," she asserted, "we're going to start swabbing," defeated, Dr. Cuddy left the office.
"Dr. Cuddy," following the concerned woman out of the office, I called out to her, stopping her in the hallway.
"Yes, PJ?" urging me to respond quickly, the woman asked.
"You know my mom is pregnant..." I was saying, but the doctor interrupted me, "yeah, don't worry, I'll send any vulnerable person home," she replied without stopping.
Back in the office, the three doctors were turned towards House. "Thanks for coming back. Now that the kid is here, we can start. Differential diagnosis, people," House ordered with a marker in his hand.
"Parasite," Dr. Foreman immediately said, causing House to write it on the board.
"Spreading too quickly," Cameron disagreed, and House crossed out the word he had just written.
"Virus?" Chase asked, making House write on the board again.
"No lymphocytosis in the blood tests," I disagreed, remembering the data from the charts.
"And they're not responding to a cycle of avirarapovirin," Dr. Foreman added, "if it's some other virus, we'll never find it in time anyway," nodding at Dr. Foreman's reasons, House added a question mark next to the word.
"Bacterial infection," I said as a last possibility. House pointed his marker at me, nodding before writing it on the board. "It's not responding to broad-spectrum antibiotics, so we've got something resistant," as he wrote on the board, House said seriously, "the usual suspects."
"MRSA," Dr. Foreman immediately said, "it's always MRSA in hospitals," House nodded, writing on the board.
"Maybe a contaminated food or water source?" uncertainly, Cameron said, "Pseudomonas," she continued, and House nodded slightly before writing on the board.
"VRE?" Chase asked, unsure, and House also wrote it down.
"H. Flu," I added, "okay, those are the big ones," House wrote it down as well, "cultures will take forty-eight hours, might as well be post-mortem," ironically, House commented, "we'll start them on Vancomycin for the MRSA and Aztreonam for the rest," closing the possible infections, House ordered, "let's get MRIs, check for abscesses or some occult infection," House continued, pointing at me, House said, "grab us if you find something important," walking to the door of the office, House continued, "or unimportant," ending by leaving the office.
Bidding farewell with a silent nod from the three doctors, I left the office behind House.
"So, Walter's daughter," walking through the hospital corridors, House with a smirk said suggestively.
"No, we're just friends," I responded exasperatedly to the annoying man, who simply narrowed his eyes, examining me.
"Let's say I believe you. Walter isn't the first one to accuse you of doing his daughter," House said amusedly, studying my expression, surely finding what he was looking for. "So, who, do you have a girlfriend?" the man asked sarcastically.
"Yeah," after a few seconds of internal debate, I replied to House, "by chance, Kat and I were alone for a few hours at the mall, but it was just as friends," I explained to the man, feeling foolishly confident talking to House about my life.
Snorting, House shook his head, "how did she take it?" House asked interestedly.
"Who?" I asked.
"The queen," House immediately responded ironically, "the hormonal teenager blind enough to go out with you," the man corrected himself sarcastically.
"Well, I don't know, she didn't want to talk to me," ignoring the man's joke, I replied.
Narrowing his eyes, House stopped for a moment. "Is she a cheerleader?" he asked, receiving an affirmation from me. "Popular, eye-catching, possibly blonde, during lunch, she possibly sits in the center of the cafeteria," House began listing things, "she has at least two friends who always accompany her, she obviously stands in the middle when they walk down the hallways, and it seems like people instinctively move out of her way?" leaning on his cane, House asked with a smirk.
"How is it possible that you know that?" I asked amazed by the man's deduction.
Starting to walk again, "you're athletic, unpleasantly kind, much taller than average, and obviously, you have good grades," calmly House affirmed as he walked, "but you're basically socially inept," raising his cane sarcastically, House continued, "which is basically the perfect mix for someone with attention-seeking behavior and a highly inflated self-esteem," smirking, House continued.
Before I could say anything, House continued, "the strange thing here is that she didn't confront you publicly," furrowing his brows, House said, "which leads me to think two things: either she needs time to maximize the situation, she'll start with rumors slowly spreading throughout the school, she'll let herself be seen crying by some people, and before you know it, the whole school will know that you and she broke up and that you're an ass and she's a victim," smirking, House asserted.
"Oh yeah? Can you tell me the lottery numbers for that day?" I sarcastically asked.
"That or she cheated on you and thinks you found out, so she needs to avoid you to buy time thus avoiding you causing a public confrontation, doing the above before you do," ignoring my question, House continued.
"Yeah right, or she's just upset and needs to clear things up," annoyed, I replied.
"I hope your social idiocy doesn't infect your diagnostic ability," with feigned concern, House said, "the last thing I need is for you to mistake a cold for prostate cancer," House continued.
"Ha ha, ironic coming from you," I responded, pointing at the man.
Feigning offense, House stopped for a moment, "if you're so sure, you won't mind putting money on it," changing his expression, House said with a satisfied smile, entering the clinic.
"Yeah sure, I'm going to bet that my girlfriend isn't an opportunist, you don't even know her," annoyed, I said.
"You're right, I don't know her," with a conflicted expression, House said, "then it's better for you, you have no problem with it, fifty?" he continued after pretending to think for a few seconds with a challenging look, staring me in the eyes.
"Fine," I said after a few seconds, making House smile widely.
"Just don't cry when you find out I'm right," sarcastically, House said, walking to his usual office, "go to your other girlfriend and have the first patient come in," pointing to the nurses' station, House ordered, entering the office.
"PJ, how are you?" cheerfully, Nurse Fryday asked.
"I'm good, how about you, Fryday, and how's James?" I asked kindly, remembering a past conversation with her about her son, taking a chart from the stack.
"Oh, you're so kind, PJ. James is much better, as you said, it was just a cold," warmly, the woman said, "I heard about the maternity ward," leaning over the desk, the nurse made sure no one could hear her, "it's good that they sent your mom home. Is it very serious?" she whispered, continuing.
"Yeah, I'm glad mom went home too. For now, It's only infecting newborn babies; we still don't know much," I reassured the concerned woman.
"Oh my God, poor little things," with sadness, the nurse said, "well, I'm sure if anyone can figure it out, it's you guys," hopefully, she continued.
"I hope so," tapping the chart lightly in my hand, I thanked the woman before calling in the first patient.
A man who obviously had a cold.
Following our usual procedure, House remained seated in his chair, 'watching' as I did what should have been his job with the obvious cases of colds, then if he agreed with my diagnosis, he took care of prescribing the necessary medication, and I would have to take the papers to the nurses to call in the next patient.
After several 'type one' patients, House had me call in another patient, "Jill Valentine," I said in front of the chairs filled with people waiting for their turn, causing a woman to stand up immediately; she seemed to have pain in her feet from her way of walking. "Yes," relieved, she said.
"Dr. House will see you now," pointing to the office, I nodded at the woman.
Entering the office behind the woman, I indicated for her to sit on the bed in the center of the room, "this is Doctor House," introducing the doctor, "Doctor House, this is Mrs. Valentine," handing the chart to House, I presented the woman.
"Mrs. Valentine, what's the reason for your visit today?" obviously tired, House asked apathetically.
"My joints have been feeling all loose, and lately, I've been feeling sick a lot," the woman explained, pregnancy? "
maybe I'm overtraining; I'm doing the marathon, like ten miles a day, but I can't seem to lose any weight," the woman continued.
"Lift up your arms," from his chair, House asked, obviously suspecting a pregnancy as well.
On her left arm, the woman had a birth control implant scar, also noticing the scar, House reluctantly stood up, "you have a parasite," sarcastically, House assured.
"Like a tapeworm or something?" worriedly, the woman asked, still keeping her hands up.
"Lie back and lift up your sweater," House ordered, the woman followed House's directions, lying back while keeping her arms up, "you can put your arms down," House continued, making the woman follow his instruction, lifting her sweater to show her abdomen.
"Can you do anything about it?" obviously worried, the woman asked.
"Only in some special cases and during the first four or five weeks," preparing the portable ultrasound, House sarcastically replied, "after that, it becomes illegal to remove, except in a couple of states," House continued, using the ultrasound on the woman's abdomen.
"Illegal?" surprised, the woman asked.
"Don't worry," House said, "many women learn to embrace this parasite," he continued, "they name it, dress it up in tiny clothes, arrange playdates with other parasites."
"Playdates..." not understanding, the woman murmured.
"You're pregnant," surprised that the woman didn't understand, I clarified, surprising the woman.
"It has your eyes," House added ironically, turning the ultrasound screen.
"But that's impossible," the incredulous woman said as she stared at the screen.
"Well, I assume you weren't getting your period," House sarcastically said. "Maybe that should have given you an inkling."
"But I'm on this birth control implant," the woman argued, still incredulous.
"Yeah, I know," House said, writing on the chart. "We saw the scar on your arm," he explained to the puzzled woman.
"My doctor said I might not get any periods at all if it was working," the woman quickly tried to excuse herself.
"Mm-hmm," House murmured, still writing on the chart. "Interestingly enough, you also don't get any periods if it isn't working, which is why you were supposed to get regular pregnancy tests," he commented sarcastically, not noticing the remorseful expression on the woman's face. "I'm going to send a nurse in here to schedule your prenatal care," House said wearily. "You're due in about five months, so start planning the shower," he continued, causing the woman to pale.
"Um, Doctor?" the woman said, embarrassed, catching House's attention. "My husband and I wanted to have a kid soon, but oh God," the woman began, completely embarrassed, "like four months ago we had this really big fight," she continued, much more embarrassed, House and I obviously understanding where the conversation was going. "He moved out, and I did something stupid," the woman explained quickly.
"One-night stand?" House asked the woman, giving me a smirk.
"Ex-boyfriend," the embarrassed woman admitted.
"I'll schedule you a paternity test, too," House wrote on the chart.
"I can't let my husband know," the worried woman said.
"Does the old boyfriend look like your husband?" House asked.
"Yeah..." after thinking for a few seconds, the woman responded, shrugging slightly.
"Then just have the kid," House said calmly. "He'll never know," he assured the woman. "The most successful marriages are based on lies," House said ironically to the woman. "You're off to a great start," House said, taking the chart and leaving the office.
A brief awkward moment ensued in the few seconds that the woman, who seemed on the verge of tears, and I were alone in the office. "The nurse will be here in a moment," I said, quickly excusing myself from the increasingly tearful patient.
Outside the office, House had finished giving orders to the present nurse. "Come on, kid, your siblings have things to tell us," he said, walking out of the clinic.
Bidding farewell to the nurses present in the clinic, I quickly followed House through the hospital corridors.
Inside his office, the other three doctors under House's command were sitting, sharing equally troubled expressions.
"Well, you look cheery," House said sarcastically, walking to his chair. "What's going on?" he asked seriously.
"The Hartig and Chen-Lupino babies," Cameron said sadly. "Their kidneys are shutting down."
"And the urine test shows no casts," Chase added.
"Which means the antibiotics are causing the kidney failure."
"You're the nephrologist," Foreman said. "Which one did it? We'll take 'em off that one," he continued, after a few short seconds without receiving a response. "Don't tell me both Vancomycin and Aztreonam can..." Foreman was asking.
"They both can cause this," Chase interrupted him. "There's no way to know which one it is."
"No test," I added, annoyed. I could only think of one way to be sure which medication was working.
"We can't take them off the antibiotics," Foreman objected. "They'll die of the infection."
"If we leave them on both the antibiotics, they'll die of kidney failure," Cameron argued sadly.
"So, we take our best guess, then," Chase resolved. "Which drug's causing the kidney failure?"
"It's like I said, it's always MRSA in hospitals," Foreman immediately responded. "Take 'em off Aztreonam," he voted.
"I still think it's the Pseudomonas," Cameron said. "I vote to take them off the Vancomycin."
Throughout the discussion, House, very unlike his usual behavior, only watched the doctors discuss with seriousness on his face. "There's no point in guessing," House declared after closing his eyes for a brief moment.
"No, House," I said immediately, deducing what he was about to order next.
"Take one kid off Vancomycin and the other off Aztreonam," he ordered the doctors, ignoring me.
"They have the same disease; you want to give them different treatment?" Chase asked incredulously.
"What the hell are you doing?" Foreman asked, annoyed.
"Therapeutic trial to find the cause of the infection," House responded sarcastically.
"You can't do this," I said more annoyed to House.
"It's wrong," Foreman added.
"We have four sick kids, at least," House said. "Who knows how many more haven't started showing symptoms yet?"
"We have a duty to these two!" Foreman exclaimed.
"If these two have different reactions, we know how to save the rest," House declared harshly.
"You can't gamble on a baby's life," tears filled my eyes with fury. I had lost lives many times in my work as a paramedic, but this was much worse.
"So you're condemning one of these kids to die based on random chance," equally upset, Foreman said.
"I guess I am," House nodded seriously. "And kid, this is the job. Deal with it or go home and hug a teddy bear," he said irritably before walking out of the office.
"Where are you going?" Chase asked the man.
"I'm going to Mommy," House sarcastically responded, leaving the office.
"He can't do this, can he?" I worriedly asked the doctors still in the office.
"It's House," Foreman, still annoyed, said, and that was enough of an answer.
"I don't like this," Cameron said sadly.
"House is right; it's the best way to ensure the lives of the other babies for now," Chase argued.
"There must be an ethics issue with this," I said.
"Oh, there definitely is," Foreman monotone said. "But it's House; by now, you should know him," he continued ironically.
With Foreman ending the discussion, the office fell silent. I could feel increasing pressure in my chest, and I couldn't stop thinking about my soon-to-be-born brother or sister. There had to be something we could do.
Standing up abruptly, I walked to the board. "We missed something," I said annoyed. "Are we sure it can't be a parasite because of the transmission speed?" I said, and the doctors slowly nodded.
"PJ..." Cameron said as she stood up calmly with a small friendly smile.
"We also said it's not a virus because we didn't find lymphocytosis in the blood test," I quickly said, ignoring Cameron. "PJ, mate," Chase said equally calmly, standing up, "but how about a virus that affects locally to an organ?" I said hopefully but also a bit desperate, making Cameron slowly shake her head.
"Maybe we could..." I was saying, but I was interrupted.
"We wouldn't know until the autopsy," Foreman calmly said. "I'm sorry; we didn't miss anything; we just don't have a way forward for now. I'm truly sorry, PJ," surprisingly kinder than his usual demeanor toward me, Foreman said.
"But..." I tried to make another argument, but Cameron, now beside me, stopped me by putting her hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, PJ; we've done everything we can for now; there's no other way."
Unable to help it, a few tears escaped my eyes. It was happening again; I was unable to save a life. Feeling my legs weak, I sat down on one of the free chairs, covering my face and allowing myself to cry while Cameron stood by my side, along with her fellow doctors, completely silent, possibly just as conflicted as I was.
A few minutes later, with dry eyes, we welcomed House back to his office with a stoic expression. "Foreman, with the Hartigs, follow your theory, take her off the Aztreonam," House ordered. "Cameron, the Chan-Lupinos, take him off Vancomycin," he continued seriously.
After a long sigh, Foreman and Cameron left the office, followed by Chase, who also left the office with a downcast expression.
"You have to learn, PJ; sometimes we have to make horrible decisions to save at least one life. That has to be the main job of a doctor," leaning on his cane while still seated in his chair, House said seriously.
Without responding to the man, I quickly followed the doctors out.
In the maternity wing waiting room, at the reception desk, Dr. Wilson was working on some papers while watching Cameron talk to the mothers of some of the babies. Approaching the man after a brief greeting, I nodded my head and accompanied him to watch the news delivery. "Does it ever get easier?" I asked, feeling the knot in my throat again.
"No," Dr. Wilson immediately responded. "But you learn to carry it."
The women strangely seemed relieved as they spoke with Cameron in front of them, which only made me feel ashamed of my behavior in House's office. To add salt to the wound, a small teddy bear was within reach of the two women, now hugging each other in relief. Wait.
Cameron seemed to have finished talking to the two women as she walked towards where Dr. Wilson and I were talking. "What did you tell them?" Dr. Wilson asked the woman, annoyed.
Unable to hear Cameron's response, I quickly approached the relieved women on the couch. "Hello, excuse me, where did you buy the teddy bear?" I asked politely, trying to hide my sudden anxiety. "Oh, hi, a kind lady gave it to us when our baby was born; she has a cart full of them," one of the two women with tears of happiness in her eyes responded.
Without saying anything else, I quickly moved away from the women to where Dr. Wilson and Cameron were looking at me strangely. "PJ, what..." Dr. Wilson was asking, but it was my turn to interrupt. "Where is Foreman with the other family?" I asked anxiously. "What?" Cameron asked, puzzled. "Foreman," much more rudely than I would have liked, I immediately replied to her, catching her off guard.
"There," pointing to one of the hallways, Cameron said, and before they could ask why I was behaving like that again, I ran off.
In front of a fountain and a glass wall, Dr. Foreman was talking to another couple. It seemed that Foreman had been direct with them because unlike Cameron's couple, they seemed defeated and about to cry.
Searching in their arms and around, I couldn't see a teddy bear. Foreman noticed my presence and my strange behavior, furrowing his brow.
Ignoring Foreman's doubt, I quickly approached the sad couple. "Did you receive a teddy bear when your baby was born?" I asked without beating around the bush, surprising the couple and Dr. Foreman.
"Who are you?" the incredulous sad man asked.
"I'm sorry; he's not supposed to be here," emphasizing the last part, Dr. Foreman quickly tried to guide me out of the place.
"When your baby was born, did you receive a teddy bear?" I asked again seriously, dodging Foreman.
"Yes, is this important?" the incredulous sad man with a growing frown asked Foreman. "No, it's not, sorry," Foreman immediately responded to the man, changing his expression when he faced me, obviously angry.
I didn't need more; I quickly moved away from the place again to House's office.
Inside the office, Dr. Wilson, Cameron, and Chase were sitting, apparently discussing something. "They think you've gone mad," House said sarcastically, leaning back in his chair as soon as I entered his office. "What did you find, kid?" he asked with a smirk, leaning forward.
"Common equipment," I said, making House widen his smile even more. "Teddy bear," I said.
A moment later, Foreman arrived behind me, agitated and obviously angry. "I won't allow you to talk to the patients' families again; what the hell were you thinking coming in like that with a couple terrified? House, you have to control this kid!" Foreman practically shouted, pointing at me.
"Foreman, PJ found something," once again today, Dr. Wilson quickly intervened between an adult doctor trying to harm me. "What?" surprised, Foreman stopped, frowning at me.
"The Hartigs and the Chen-Lupino babies had a teddy bear at some point when they were born; I bet the other babies did too," I continued quickly, making all the doctors frown in thought.
"They weren't Wabbits," I joked to House. "It's Bears season."
---
Author Thoughts:
As always, I'm not American and Not a Doctor.
I'm man enough to admit that a stray tear escaped from my eyes in the final stretch of the chapter.
And I know, I know, cliffhanger, don't hate me.
Another chapter has passed, so new thanks are in order. I would like to especially thank:
keyakedo
RandomPasserby96
11332223
That being said,
I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, let me know and I'll correct them immediately.
Thank you for reading! :D
PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.
PS2: Possibly this chapter has more errors than usual. I have to leave my house quickly and I don't have time to read the edited chapter. If you find any annoying errors, I ask you to ignore them for a few hours because I won't be able to correct them.