Well, it took me some time to find a plausible disease for Cuddy and a lot of time to make some research, but I'm not a doctor, so forgive the possible incoherence... Hope you'll enjoy this chapter
Chapter 22
On the way to the hospital, House and the emergency man with him and Cuddy in the ambulansya try to “wake up” her, but her state worsens. She makes a cardiac arrest and House has to use 4 times the defibrillator before succeeding in restart her heart, but her pulse is still very weak and her blood pressure very low.
-How long before we reach the hospital? he asks worried.
-About 2 minutes.
-Can’t you go faster? Her state worsens!
-I’m doing the best I can, I don’t think it would help her if I crash the ambulance, would it?
House doesn’t answer, Cuddy has just opened her eyes and looks at him.
-Cuddy, don’t worry, you’re gonna be ok, I promise…
-House… she says in a breath, I …, but again she loses consciousness.
-Cuddy! Cuddy! Noooooooo! House shouts and looks at the monitor, her puso beats slowly, but it beats.
Suddenly, the ambulansya stops, the doors open, Cuddy is immediately taken in the intensive care, House at her side and ordering to run several tests. And now one of the most difficult moments is ahead of him: he has to wait the tests results, hoping Cuddy will wake up, smile and give him a lovely glance… If only my team was there… House paces up and down, frantically, in Cuddy’s room, trying to find out what’s wrong with Cuddy, trying to remember how she was during the day… until she collapsed in his bathroom… trying to find a sign which can explain why she’s lying here in this hospital bed…
Without exactly knowing how, he finds himself waiting for Wilson to answer his call. He’s about to hang up when he hears his familiar voice.
-Wilson on phone.
-Wilson, it’s House. I …
-House! What happened? House!
-Wilson, it’s Cuddy…
-What? Did you make something to…
-She collapsed and she’s now at the hospital in the intensive care, she still didn’t regain consciousness…
-Oh my God! House, do you want me to come or to do something? Wilson asks worried. He’s worried about Cuddy, but also about House, the last time Cuddy was ill and House thought she might die, he went back on vicodin and...
-Wilson, I… take care of Rachel.
And House hangs up. He thought he heard Cuddy, but as he nears her, he can see that she’s still unconscious. He slowly holds his hand out shyly, he barely dares to brush Cuddy’s cheek, her skin is so sweet… but it’s warm too, too warm, he looks at the screen above her bed. New symptom: fever. Maybe she has an infection. That would be good news. House rings for a nurse. While waiting, he takes a blood sample from Cuddy.
-She has fever, give her some antipyretic and broad-spectrum antibiotic and bring this to the lab, I want them to test it for an infection…
-And why don’t you go yourself? the nurse ang sumagot kinda harshly. House stares at her and finally says:
-Because I’m the Doctor and you are a nurse! And because the patient here is your boss.
-I do it for her, not for you, she ang sumagot and leaves.
House remains with Cuddy, still trying to analyze her symptoms, to make a diagnostic, without any success. Two hours pass, House is sitting in a chair and holds Cuddy’s hand, just as she held his hand many years ago. But at this time, he didn’t want to admit his feelings for her, he didn’t want to see that she was in pag-ibig with him… no madami than she didn’t tell him what she really felt for him, she hid behind a kind of feeling of friendship, both found it so madami comfortable… both were afraid of losing the little they had, this special bond they shared…. He remembered each time they bantered with each other, each time they flirted even so slightly, each time the sexual tension between them threatened to explode the walls they built around them to protect them… Finally Dr. Davis comes with Cuddy’s tests results.
-Dr. House, I’m Dr. Davis. I’m … sorry, I know that you and Dr. Cuddy…
-Do you find something? House asks trying to keep his mind on his case.
-No, I’m sorry, the blood tests didn’t ipakita much. They’re all negative.
-Show me!
Davis gives House the tests results, House glances through them, he notices that the level of CRP and troponin is slightly high.
-We must have missed something! Or we didn’t look for the right thing… What for infections did you test?
-Well, the traditional infections…
-We have to run other tests! Of what do you think when I tell you: loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest, fever….?
-I … I don’t know… I’m going to run other tests…, Davis answers, surprised and embarrassed. Then he leaves quickly the room.
House takes his head in his hands and rubs his eyes, he’s exhausted but he has no time to waste with sleep, Cuddy’s state seems to be stable at the moment but… WHYYYYY! He suddenly yells and hits the pader with his fist. He can’t lose her now, she has no right to die, to let him and Rachel alone! I need you Cuddy! Rachel needs you! You can’t die now! he tells her and comes to her bed, taking her hand in his. We can have great times together, I have changed, I made a lot of efforts, Cuddy, just for you, because of you I want to be a better man, I want to ipakita you that you were right to believe in me all these years, to trust me, to never let me down… thanks to you I begin to believe I have a right to happiness like everyone on this planet, thanks to you and Rachel I have a goal besides solving medical puzzles…Cuddy, I beg you, don’t die… House sits down on the chair near Cuddy’s bed, still holding her hand, looking at her, some tears begin to fall from his eyes, but he doesn’t care, the only thing he wants is that Cuddy wakes up. He watches over her the whole night and eventually succumbs to the sleep in the first lights of dawn.
-I think you need a coffee, House, says a familiar voice. House jumps and wakes up. He can’t believe it! In front of him, a coffee in the hand, Chase stands, and behind him House sees Foreman, Thirteen, Taub and even Cameron is here! His team is here!
-What … what are you doing here? House finally says. What time is it?
-Well, it’s almost lunch time. And we have some days off to take and Wilson told us Apton is a great town, so…we’re here, ang sumagot Chase.
-I thought you could need your team, so… I called them and…, Wilson adds.
-Thanks, House says in a low voice and lowers the eyes. Then he stands up and asks with a little smile, trying to make a joke: Why don’t you bring me a cookie or something to eat?
-How is she? Foreman asks.
-No apparent evolution: she’s still unconscious, with fever…
-What about the tests? Thirteen says and nears House to look at him straight in the eyes.
-ECG and echocardiography showed no conclusive abnormality, blood tests came back all negative… I … I don’t know what’s wrong with her… House adds and leans against the window. His fellows look at him, he seems exhausted, worried, in pain… he limps madami than usual.
-Why do you think it’s her heart? Cameron asks.
-Well, I … I suppose because it’s the most obvious cause, everything’s normal except that she had a cardiac arrest…, House ang sumagot in a low voice, still looking outside.
-She was also very tired, you know…, Foreman adds. House turns to look at him.
-What? What did you say?
-I sinabi she was very tired and kinda depressed, Foreman repeats and stares at House, but this one remains silent, he just lowers his head, feeling guilty… because he had an idea about why Cuddy was depressed and maybe overstressed too.
Bibip bibip bibip
-She has tachycardia! I give her some xylocaïn, Chase says. They all hold their breath and wait for Cuddy’s puso to react and to get back to a normal rhythm, which it does a few segundos later.
Cameron looks at House, then she takes the file of Cuddy and the tests results. Did you notice that her level of CRP and troponin is high?
-It’s only slightly high, it’s not really a sign…, House ang sumagot staring anxiously at Cuddy and holding her hand. “Cuddy, please, wake up, don’t leave me alone, I need you…” he whispers.
-It can be a sign of puso failure or…, Cameron says.
-Yes or something else! House shouts. That’s why I ran tests for her heart.
-She probably also has an infection, adds Taub.
-Yeah, but which one? asks Chase.
-Foreman and Cameron, go to book the MRI, Chase, make a scan of her abdomen, Thirteen and Taub, run other blood tests and find this infection… House orders in a sad voice, barely audible. His fellows give him a quick look and go to run the tests.
House and Wilson remain alone with Cuddy, none of them speaks. House leans against the pader and looks at Cuddy. I think you should go to Kate and take care of Rachel, House says finally.
-Yes… But I think you should go home, take a shower, change your clothes and eat something. I stay with her, House, and your team will run the tests… she’ll be fine, Wilson ang sumagot and puts one hand on House’s shoulder.
-No… if she wakes up, I want to be here, I want her to see me here sa pamamagitan ng her sides.
-At least go to the locker room, take a shower… if you want I can go tahanan and bring you back some clean clothes…
-Ok, let’s do that, House says and nears Cuddy’s bed. Her fever is gone thanks to the antibiotics, but her state doesn’t really improve.
-I come back soon, Wilson says and leaves.
Meanwhile, Foreman and Cameron finally managed to find a place for the MRI having insisted for a long time and they meet the other team’s members in the hall.
-How do you find him, Cameron? Taub asks.
-I don’t know… I have the impression that something has changed in him, I … I never thought he could ipakita so much care for someone else as himself. What happened to him?
-Yes, he changed, he changed a lot, Thirteen adds. And…
-And? Foreman, Chase and Taub ask at the same time.
-After he picked me up from the jail, we spent a few days together…, she says, and he eventually talked to me about him and Cuddy, what he sinabi wasn’t really relevant, but his voice, his eyes… well, he loves her, I mean he really loves her, it’s as if she was a part of him…
-He was devastated after she broke up, he took a self-destructive road, he behaved dangerously and almost died with his stupid clinical trial, Chase adds.
-And then he ran his car into Cuddy’s dining room…, Foreman completes.
-What a mess between both of them! Cameron says. I mean, it’s obvious they had feelings for each other since many years and…
-And they screwed it up, Taub adds. As you know, House isn’t really good in relationship…
-Cuddy isn’t more, Thirteen adds. However, if they have a chance to get back together, we have to help them, and to begin we have to find what’s wrong with Cuddy.
-You’re right, Chase replies. What about an amyloidosis?
-We have to make a biopsy to prove it, ang sumagot Foreman.
-I’ll do it, Chase replies.
-Why not a lupus? says Taub.
-Has she joint pains? Cameron asks.
-We don’t know…
-Let’s go and run the tests! If any of you has an idea, just text it to the others, ok? Thirteen says. And they agree.
Chapter 22
On the way to the hospital, House and the emergency man with him and Cuddy in the ambulansya try to “wake up” her, but her state worsens. She makes a cardiac arrest and House has to use 4 times the defibrillator before succeeding in restart her heart, but her pulse is still very weak and her blood pressure very low.
-How long before we reach the hospital? he asks worried.
-About 2 minutes.
-Can’t you go faster? Her state worsens!
-I’m doing the best I can, I don’t think it would help her if I crash the ambulance, would it?
House doesn’t answer, Cuddy has just opened her eyes and looks at him.
-Cuddy, don’t worry, you’re gonna be ok, I promise…
-House… she says in a breath, I …, but again she loses consciousness.
-Cuddy! Cuddy! Noooooooo! House shouts and looks at the monitor, her puso beats slowly, but it beats.
Suddenly, the ambulansya stops, the doors open, Cuddy is immediately taken in the intensive care, House at her side and ordering to run several tests. And now one of the most difficult moments is ahead of him: he has to wait the tests results, hoping Cuddy will wake up, smile and give him a lovely glance… If only my team was there… House paces up and down, frantically, in Cuddy’s room, trying to find out what’s wrong with Cuddy, trying to remember how she was during the day… until she collapsed in his bathroom… trying to find a sign which can explain why she’s lying here in this hospital bed…
Without exactly knowing how, he finds himself waiting for Wilson to answer his call. He’s about to hang up when he hears his familiar voice.
-Wilson on phone.
-Wilson, it’s House. I …
-House! What happened? House!
-Wilson, it’s Cuddy…
-What? Did you make something to…
-She collapsed and she’s now at the hospital in the intensive care, she still didn’t regain consciousness…
-Oh my God! House, do you want me to come or to do something? Wilson asks worried. He’s worried about Cuddy, but also about House, the last time Cuddy was ill and House thought she might die, he went back on vicodin and...
-Wilson, I… take care of Rachel.
And House hangs up. He thought he heard Cuddy, but as he nears her, he can see that she’s still unconscious. He slowly holds his hand out shyly, he barely dares to brush Cuddy’s cheek, her skin is so sweet… but it’s warm too, too warm, he looks at the screen above her bed. New symptom: fever. Maybe she has an infection. That would be good news. House rings for a nurse. While waiting, he takes a blood sample from Cuddy.
-She has fever, give her some antipyretic and broad-spectrum antibiotic and bring this to the lab, I want them to test it for an infection…
-And why don’t you go yourself? the nurse ang sumagot kinda harshly. House stares at her and finally says:
-Because I’m the Doctor and you are a nurse! And because the patient here is your boss.
-I do it for her, not for you, she ang sumagot and leaves.
House remains with Cuddy, still trying to analyze her symptoms, to make a diagnostic, without any success. Two hours pass, House is sitting in a chair and holds Cuddy’s hand, just as she held his hand many years ago. But at this time, he didn’t want to admit his feelings for her, he didn’t want to see that she was in pag-ibig with him… no madami than she didn’t tell him what she really felt for him, she hid behind a kind of feeling of friendship, both found it so madami comfortable… both were afraid of losing the little they had, this special bond they shared…. He remembered each time they bantered with each other, each time they flirted even so slightly, each time the sexual tension between them threatened to explode the walls they built around them to protect them… Finally Dr. Davis comes with Cuddy’s tests results.
-Dr. House, I’m Dr. Davis. I’m … sorry, I know that you and Dr. Cuddy…
-Do you find something? House asks trying to keep his mind on his case.
-No, I’m sorry, the blood tests didn’t ipakita much. They’re all negative.
-Show me!
Davis gives House the tests results, House glances through them, he notices that the level of CRP and troponin is slightly high.
-We must have missed something! Or we didn’t look for the right thing… What for infections did you test?
-Well, the traditional infections…
-We have to run other tests! Of what do you think when I tell you: loss of consciousness, cardiac arrest, fever….?
-I … I don’t know… I’m going to run other tests…, Davis answers, surprised and embarrassed. Then he leaves quickly the room.
House takes his head in his hands and rubs his eyes, he’s exhausted but he has no time to waste with sleep, Cuddy’s state seems to be stable at the moment but… WHYYYYY! He suddenly yells and hits the pader with his fist. He can’t lose her now, she has no right to die, to let him and Rachel alone! I need you Cuddy! Rachel needs you! You can’t die now! he tells her and comes to her bed, taking her hand in his. We can have great times together, I have changed, I made a lot of efforts, Cuddy, just for you, because of you I want to be a better man, I want to ipakita you that you were right to believe in me all these years, to trust me, to never let me down… thanks to you I begin to believe I have a right to happiness like everyone on this planet, thanks to you and Rachel I have a goal besides solving medical puzzles…Cuddy, I beg you, don’t die… House sits down on the chair near Cuddy’s bed, still holding her hand, looking at her, some tears begin to fall from his eyes, but he doesn’t care, the only thing he wants is that Cuddy wakes up. He watches over her the whole night and eventually succumbs to the sleep in the first lights of dawn.
-I think you need a coffee, House, says a familiar voice. House jumps and wakes up. He can’t believe it! In front of him, a coffee in the hand, Chase stands, and behind him House sees Foreman, Thirteen, Taub and even Cameron is here! His team is here!
-What … what are you doing here? House finally says. What time is it?
-Well, it’s almost lunch time. And we have some days off to take and Wilson told us Apton is a great town, so…we’re here, ang sumagot Chase.
-I thought you could need your team, so… I called them and…, Wilson adds.
-Thanks, House says in a low voice and lowers the eyes. Then he stands up and asks with a little smile, trying to make a joke: Why don’t you bring me a cookie or something to eat?
-How is she? Foreman asks.
-No apparent evolution: she’s still unconscious, with fever…
-What about the tests? Thirteen says and nears House to look at him straight in the eyes.
-ECG and echocardiography showed no conclusive abnormality, blood tests came back all negative… I … I don’t know what’s wrong with her… House adds and leans against the window. His fellows look at him, he seems exhausted, worried, in pain… he limps madami than usual.
-Why do you think it’s her heart? Cameron asks.
-Well, I … I suppose because it’s the most obvious cause, everything’s normal except that she had a cardiac arrest…, House ang sumagot in a low voice, still looking outside.
-She was also very tired, you know…, Foreman adds. House turns to look at him.
-What? What did you say?
-I sinabi she was very tired and kinda depressed, Foreman repeats and stares at House, but this one remains silent, he just lowers his head, feeling guilty… because he had an idea about why Cuddy was depressed and maybe overstressed too.
Bibip bibip bibip
-She has tachycardia! I give her some xylocaïn, Chase says. They all hold their breath and wait for Cuddy’s puso to react and to get back to a normal rhythm, which it does a few segundos later.
Cameron looks at House, then she takes the file of Cuddy and the tests results. Did you notice that her level of CRP and troponin is high?
-It’s only slightly high, it’s not really a sign…, House ang sumagot staring anxiously at Cuddy and holding her hand. “Cuddy, please, wake up, don’t leave me alone, I need you…” he whispers.
-It can be a sign of puso failure or…, Cameron says.
-Yes or something else! House shouts. That’s why I ran tests for her heart.
-She probably also has an infection, adds Taub.
-Yeah, but which one? asks Chase.
-Foreman and Cameron, go to book the MRI, Chase, make a scan of her abdomen, Thirteen and Taub, run other blood tests and find this infection… House orders in a sad voice, barely audible. His fellows give him a quick look and go to run the tests.
House and Wilson remain alone with Cuddy, none of them speaks. House leans against the pader and looks at Cuddy. I think you should go to Kate and take care of Rachel, House says finally.
-Yes… But I think you should go home, take a shower, change your clothes and eat something. I stay with her, House, and your team will run the tests… she’ll be fine, Wilson ang sumagot and puts one hand on House’s shoulder.
-No… if she wakes up, I want to be here, I want her to see me here sa pamamagitan ng her sides.
-At least go to the locker room, take a shower… if you want I can go tahanan and bring you back some clean clothes…
-Ok, let’s do that, House says and nears Cuddy’s bed. Her fever is gone thanks to the antibiotics, but her state doesn’t really improve.
-I come back soon, Wilson says and leaves.
Meanwhile, Foreman and Cameron finally managed to find a place for the MRI having insisted for a long time and they meet the other team’s members in the hall.
-How do you find him, Cameron? Taub asks.
-I don’t know… I have the impression that something has changed in him, I … I never thought he could ipakita so much care for someone else as himself. What happened to him?
-Yes, he changed, he changed a lot, Thirteen adds. And…
-And? Foreman, Chase and Taub ask at the same time.
-After he picked me up from the jail, we spent a few days together…, she says, and he eventually talked to me about him and Cuddy, what he sinabi wasn’t really relevant, but his voice, his eyes… well, he loves her, I mean he really loves her, it’s as if she was a part of him…
-He was devastated after she broke up, he took a self-destructive road, he behaved dangerously and almost died with his stupid clinical trial, Chase adds.
-And then he ran his car into Cuddy’s dining room…, Foreman completes.
-What a mess between both of them! Cameron says. I mean, it’s obvious they had feelings for each other since many years and…
-And they screwed it up, Taub adds. As you know, House isn’t really good in relationship…
-Cuddy isn’t more, Thirteen adds. However, if they have a chance to get back together, we have to help them, and to begin we have to find what’s wrong with Cuddy.
-You’re right, Chase replies. What about an amyloidosis?
-We have to make a biopsy to prove it, ang sumagot Foreman.
-I’ll do it, Chase replies.
-Why not a lupus? says Taub.
-Has she joint pains? Cameron asks.
-We don’t know…
-Let’s go and run the tests! If any of you has an idea, just text it to the others, ok? Thirteen says. And they agree.