Chapter 29

When we arrived at House's office, the other three doctors were already there.

"His BP is falling fast, there's fluid filling his lungs, his creatinine is rising," Dr. Foreman quickly stated as soon as we entered the office.

Separating from House to take a seat in one of the chairs beside the table, I joined the other three doctors while we waited for House to start speaking.

"So..." House said, approaching the board and taking a marker to write the new symptom, kidney failure. "We had six symptoms that didn't add up to anything, now we have seven," he said, turning to the other doctors and me, smiling sarcastically. "Who's excited?"

Ignoring House's joke, Dr. Foreman denied, "I don't think it complicates things. The kidney failure was caused by the antibiotics."

House, giving me a small smile, responded with the same words he had told me a few moments ago when we were alone in the hospital hallway, "Maybe."

"Typically, low blood pressure and abdominal pain mean an infection," Dr. Foreman defended his theory. "An abdominal infection causes sepsis, low blood pressure..." he continued, but Chase calmly interrupted, "Except we checked for abdominal infections."

"I know, but what if it's the other way around?" Dr. Foreman immediately responded. "What if the low blood pressure is causing the abdominal pain?" he asked, trying to defend his idea again.

"Viral heart infection," Cameron theorized. "The intestines aren't getting enough blood, and the result is belly pain," she continued, not entirely sure.

"I know it's not the standard presentation," Dr. Foreman said somewhat hopefully.

"It's a ten million to one shot," Chase joked.

"I thought that's what we dealt with here," Dr. Foreman defended. "It explains the cardiomyopathy, pain, the low BP, the fever," he asserted firmly.

"You read the book, impressive," House joked. "It's a ludicrously long shot that explains every one of those symptoms, except for the cough and the rash," House continued ironically. "Should we just erase those?" he asked, raising the eraser towards the board.

"Well, anything can cause a rash," Foreman quickly defended, downplaying the symptom.

"Okay," House nodded reluctantly, taking one of the colored markers. "Cardiac infection," he said, enclosing all but two symptoms on the board. "Cameron, you thought... allergy?" he continued, leaving the first marker to take another and enclose the symptoms that could be caused by allergy. "Chase, what was it you thought, carcinoid? And then there's hypothyroidism, could be parasites," he continued enclosing conditions. "Finally, sinus infection," he said, enclosing another group of symptoms before taking a step back.

"If you're going to list all the things it can't be, you're gonna need more colors," Foreman sarcastically remarked.

"Cameron was right," House appreciated what she did on the board. "No conditions explain all these symptoms," House affirmed, staring fixedly at the written words. "What do you think, kid?" House asked. "You haven't spoken in a good while," he continued, still looking at the board.

I was somewhat distracted, also contemplating the words on the board, thinking of any other condition that could have all those symptoms that had come up. Being called suddenly into the conversation had put me in a situation where I couldn't respond with anything other than a few stammers.

Stammers that served for Foreman's amusement, who let out a quick laugh of disdain. "Orange and green covers everything," I said quickly, trying to hide my embarrassment for my stammer.

"Yeah," House affirmed without turning, still looking at the board.

"Orange and green? Two conditions, contracted simultaneously?" Chase asked incredulously.

"Occam's Razor," Dr. Foreman proudly said. "The simplest explanation is always the best."

"And you think one is simpler than two," House said sarcastically.

"Pretty sure it is, yeah," Cameron affirmed.

"A baby appears," House said, forming a smile on his face as he leaned slightly toward Cameron. "Chase here tells you it's because two people exchanged fluids," he pointed at Chase with his cane, "I tell you a stork dropped it with a diaper on, which statement do you believe?" he asked with a proud smile.

"I think your argument is deceptive," Foreman interrupted House's question.

"I think your tie is ugly," House immediately responded. "Why is one simpler than two? It's lower, lonelier… is it simpler?" House walked around his office. "Each one of these conditions is about a thousand to one shot. That means that any two of them happening at the same time is a million to one shot," he continued, pretending to calculate in his head. "Chase says that cardiac infection is a 10 million to one shot, which makes my idea 10 times better than yours. Get a calculator, run the numbers," he sarcastically asserted.

"We'll run the tests," Chase argued calmly from his chair.

"Tests take time," House said. "Treatment's quicker," he continued. "Start the kid on Unasyn for the sinus infection and… what was orange?"

"Hypothyroidism," I replied, still focused on the board. Something didn't add up; I had it at my fingertips, I knew it, but I couldn't decipher what it was.

Nodding seriously, House silently instructed the other doctors to continue their work, making them leave the office.

"Now, kid, be a good teenager and get lost in the hospital. You can go watch TV in the obstetrics break room, but knowing you, you'd probably prefer going to the library. I'm sure if you ask nicely, they'll let you watch the bloody operation tapes," House said with amusement as he turned around.

"Aren't we going back to the clinic?" I asked him as I watched him walk to his desk, bending down to retrieve something from one of the drawers.

"I am. I have a date with this," he said, showing me a Gameboy. "I have some unfinished business with Cuddy. If you don't want to go to the library, you can stay here or bother Foreman. I'm sure at least I'll appreciate it," the sarcastic doctor continued as he limped out of his office.

I hadn't visited the hospital library; I might as well do it now. Grabbing my surprisingly heavy backpack, I remembered House's new book. I left the office, heading to the library, following the directions on a building map outside the office.

The hospital library was slightly larger than the school library. There were two sections, one with hundreds of books likely related to medicine and another section with hundreds of VHS tapes. Passing by a few people in lab coats who paid me no attention, probably not expecting someone without authorization to be interested, I reached a small table in the corner.

Taking out my worn and almost completely filled notebook, I flipped through pages full of notes on the books House gave me, along with information I remembered about cellular transplantation in Dr. Donnall Thomas's research.

My contribution to the research couldn't be one hundred percent substantial, as despite having access to this hospital's equipment, I didn't have the specific equipment and licenses needed to experiment with cellular transplantation. All I could do was assist with the 'theory' that I knew was proven, at least in my other life.

Dr. Thomas was too close to publishing the article that would win him the Nobel Prize, so I had to be quick in helping him get there.

Focused on writing what I remembered about hematopoietic stem cell transplantation on a neatly cared-for blank sheet, I didn't notice the swift passage of time. The chair in the library was not comfortable at all, and the fatigue in my shoulders was to blame for snapping me out of the self-induced trance I had fallen into while writing.

Checking my wristwatch, I realized several hours had passed in the library. It was almost time to leave. Packing up my things, I headed back to House's office.

When I entered, I found House behind his desk, grabbing his backpack. "Ah, kid, what was on TV?" he asked, hanging his backpack over his shoulder.

Entering his office, I replied, "It was a movie about a sad and bitter old man," as I took a seat in the available chair.

"Who would've thought, the kid has fangs," House said sarcastically.

"Here, take this," I said, ignoring him as I pulled out the sheets of what I had written today for Dr. Donnall's research, along with a small note greeting the doctor. I handed them to House.

"What's this?" he asked as he took them. "Boring," he said disinterestedly after a quick read, taking an envelope from his desk to store the sheets on top of other letters, waiting for the messenger to arrive. "This reminds me," House continued with a big smile, searching through the pile of sheets on his desk, "a letter arrived for you," he said, annoyingly smiling, handing me a sealed envelope.

"So, you remember now?" I asked ironically.

"What can I say?" House asked sarcastically, raising his hands. "I'm a busy man."

"Yeah," I said without bothering to continue the game, storing the letter in my backpack and getting up. Before I could leave the office, my eyes crossed with the board on the other side. Again, for some reason, I had the feeling that I was missing something. Cough, abdominal pain, fever, rash, nausea, blood pressure not responding to IV fluids, kidney failure.

On the way to the hospital entrance, where Mom was probably already waiting, I continued thinking about the symptoms, listing them in my head, trying to find the cause behind them.

"PJ," I suddenly heard Mom's voice, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?" she asked worriedly as she walked towards me.

"Yeah, just a problem I can't get out of my head. It's nothing, Mom," I replied calmly with a small smile to the woman, bidding farewell to the nurse colleagues of Mom before leaving with her.

As we walked to the car, the woman began to limp strangely on one foot. "What's wrong, are you okay?" it was my turn to ask this time.

"Huh? Oh yes, it's just the shoes, they're killing me," she said as she opened the driver's door.

The pain in her feet immediately reminded me of her pregnancy. "How's everything going with the new baby?" I asked the woman as we drove home. "Good, good, PJ, thanks," she immediately affirmed with a big smile on her face. "Oh!" she exclaimed, raising one of her hands from the steering wheel, apparently remembering something. "Right, on Wednesday, I won't be able to pick you up, PJ. I have the first appointment with the obstetrician," she said quickly.

I had already planned not to go to the hospital on Wednesday. In fact, I had planned to ask Coach Cooper for a ride home because I had to get the money from Meemaw. There couldn't have been a better date for Mom's appointment. Now I didn't have to explain anything about my decision not to go on Wednesday. "Oh, I see. Well, I'll have to inform Dr. House tomorrow," I told the woman calmly.

The mention of the doctor started a conversation about the things I was learning at the hospital under Dr. House. I told Mom about the patients coming to the clinic and the 'recent' ease in diagnosing them.

We arrived home while Mom told me how one of her nurse friends had managed to get a completely drunk man to take a bath by himself.

After helping Teddy with his homework and talking for several minutes about the gossip in his school, mainly she talking non-stop, I entered my room where Gabe was lying down reading a comic book. "Hey buddy," I greeted as I put my things aside on my desk. "Hey," he simply responded, still focused on his reading.

Incredulous and amused by his comic book hobby, I took a seat in my chair to do my homework. As always, it was pretty easy to do. In my past life, I had won several high school-level math contests; any regular assignment wasn't much of a problem.

Again, getting up from my place, stretching my tired muscles—if this continued, I'd have backaches faster than in my past life. If I won the bet, the first thing I'd buy would definitely be an ergonomic chair.

Storing my things again in my backpack, I checked the time, noticing there was still time for dinner. Taking the book House had lent me, along with some sticky notes, I followed my little brother's example and lay down on my bed to start reading and taking notes to stick in the book.

Once again, the book House had loaned me was from a publishing house, nothing as interesting as Dr. Donnall's notes. "Pharmaceutical Encyclopedia," I read aloud before opening the book.

Reading the book and taking notes, I was completely focused on remembering things I had already learned once. Reading the names of the active ingredients of the medications, as well as the recommended indications, was easy for me to recall—like riding a bike, many times I just had to read the name of the active ingredient, and I immediately remembered its main use.

"Kids, dinner!" Mom's sudden shout pulled me out of my study of the book. Folding one of the corners on the page where I stopped, the letter 'd', I closed the book to place it on my bedside table.

Gabe was still reading his comic distractedly. "Mom is calling us," I told him as I threw one of my pillows at him. "Hey!" he yelled annoyed as he put his comic aside to get up irritated from his spot.

After an still somewhat annoyed Gabe left his comic on his own bedside table, he began to walk out of the room still muttering things under his breath. Before he could pass through the door, I caught his head in a sideways hug, squeezing and covering his eyes. "Hey!" the kid yelled, trying to remove my hand. "Stop mumbling, or you'll get an ulcer, shorty," I quickly let go after shaking his head, running out of the room towards the dining room.

"Stop right there!" Gabe yelled while he ran happily after me.

"What's going on?" Bob asked surprised when I arrived running at the dining table. "Nothing," I calmly replied with a smile as I took my seat.

A few seconds later, Gabe arrived running, stopping in front of Mom's suspicious gaze. When he took his seat, he discreetly hit my arm before serving himself food.

Dinner went on like any other day. Bob started talking about his day, while the people at the table unsuccessfully tried to change the conversation from insects and rodents infesting places of interest in the city. Teddy and Gabe discussed the interesting things happening in their respective schools, and Mom shared with others what she had already told me in the car.

"And you, PJ, is there any interesting case Dr. House is working on?" Bob asked as he took a sip from his water glass.

"There's this patient," I began talking about the new case.

"How terrible, kidney failure at such a young age," Mom said, shaking her head. "Usually, it's much older patients with years of alcohol consumption," she continued with sadness.

"What is kidney failure?" Gabe asked, interested, while calmly cutting a piece of steak on his plate.

"The kidneys filter and eliminate waste and excess fluids in the blood, Gabe," I explained quickly. "It's crucial for keeping your blood balanced."

"Then why does he have kidney failure if he hasn't been drinking alcohol for a long time?" Teddy asked this time.

"Well, Mom is right. Usually, chronic alcohol consumers, like many other diseases, are prone to kidney damage," I said, making Mom nod proudly. "But not only alcohol consumption can be harmful; there could be kidney failure after an injury, for example, if the organ doesn't get enough blood, a hereditary disease, or even from taking medication," I quickly explained to my sister as I finished my meal.

"But he doesn't suffer from any of that, right?" Teddy asked again, concerned. "I mean, you would know, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, an injury severe enough to damage the kidney is not easy to ignore. And before we left, they were already treating him for hypothyroidism. Let's hope for good news by tomorrow," I said calmly, trying not to worry the teenager further.

Bob, who had been silent until then, let out a small laugh while shaking his head. "What?" I asked as I watched him amused.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that it will never cease to amaze me to hear you say those professional-sounding words," he said, smiling slightly.

After that, we continued dinner until everyone finished. Teddy helped Mom with the dirty dishes, while Bob, Gabe, and I went to the garage to exercise with weights.

After several minutes of exercising, Bob and I, since Gabe had finished much earlier to take a bath and get ready for bed, left the garage, turning off the lights and closing the door. "Do you really think the kidney kid will get better?" Bob asked suddenly, a bit worried.

Surprised by the sudden question, I took a few seconds to respond, which, to my surprise, deepened Bob's concern. "Yes, House is a great doctor. If it's not hypothyroidism, there are few other things that can cause his symptoms. I'm sure we'll find the cause quickly," I quickly replied with a little harmless lie. I didn't understand why he was so worried. "Are you okay?" I asked, noticing that his concern didn't diminish.

"Oh, yes," he said with a fake smile. "It's just that his age reminded me of your accident," he confessed with a small smile, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Let's hope he gets better," he finished, saying goodbye and going to clean up.

A bit sad because of the man's concern, I walked to the available bathroom to clean myself and get ready for bed.

The warm shower water helped my sudden muscle tension in the back improve, but even when I got out of the shower, I could feel a slight pull due to the position I had been sitting in all day. Taking a weak muscle relaxant from Mom's medicine cabinet, I walked to the kitchen without the upper part of my clothes to get a glass of water to take the medication.

The September nights were starting to be a bit cold, so I wasn't surprised when a gust of cold air made a shiver run down my spine, causing a small sip of water to go down the wrong way, making me cough.

After almost choking on a small sip of water, I took the pill in my hand, wait.

---

Author's Thoughts:

As always, I'm not American, let alone a doctor.

This is the second chapter of which I am less proud. Things didn't flow as planned, which was the result of not having enough time to write. I'm in the final exam season, and with that, there are projects that consume a significant part of my day.

I know last week I promised something special if the novel reached 50 reviews (thank you very much, by the way), but again, I haven't had enough time.

This is not to excuse the lower quality of this chapter or anything. It's just to explain that in the coming weeks, the chapters may be a bit shorter, but I promise it will be compensated during the winter holidays, where possibly—POSSIBLY—there will be two chapters per week.

We'll see.

Another week passed, so new thanks are in order. I would like to thank especially:

keyakedo

RandomPasserby96

Victor_Venegas

That said.

I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.

Thanks for reading! :D

PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW, please.