Another one.

  At the end of this chapter, ihor Thoughts, there are a couple of points I would like you to take a look at (obviously after you finish reading the chapter).

  Enjoy.

  ---

  House and I had to test my theory before House could brag about it to Dr. Cuddy.

  "I warn you, kid, there's a lot of sexual tensioween the nun a might be hard for you to process," House warned me, overly serious, as we walked to the patient's room.

  "I assure you, I'll be fine," I said, unamused by his jokes.

  "Don't say I didn't warn you," House said, shaking his head while opening the patient's room door.

  "Ah, Dr. House," ihe room, there were only two nuns: the patient, Sister Augustine, and the 'pretty nun,' who greeted us kindly as we entered.

  "I told you," House murmured arrogantly, stopping at the doorframe and catg the nun's attention, who hadn't noticed me behind House.

  "Augustiold me you're PJ Dun from the neer. Now I see the resembhe nun said, smiling in surprise as she saw me.

  "Enough of that," House said, taking a few steps forward and interrupting, "I o know what kind of tea you were drinking during the sultation when you arrived," House tinued seriously, taking the nun by surprise.

  "It's just figwort tea," the nun admitted quickly, looking worried.

  "Perfect, I have one of the tea bags?" House asked, smiling broadly.

  Puzzled, the nun took a small tea bag from one of her habit's pockets. "Thank you," House said, taking the tea bag and walking out of the room again, seemingly without any iion of expining anything.

  "We think the tea might have had some rea with the epinephrihat was administered to Sister Augustine. We o iigate further, but for now, it would be prudent for the sister to stop drinking it for a while," I quickly expio the puzzled woman before following House out.

  In one of the hospital corridors, a few steps away from Sister Augustine's room, House and I met the other three doctors from the diagnostic team. "Ah, the other kids from the divorce," House said sarcastically. "How's your mother? Has she brought any man home yet?" he asked, pretending to be annoyed, making the other three doctors shake their heads, especially Dr. Foreman.

  "What are you doing up here?" Chase asked.

  "I have a better one: what did Cuddy order you to do?" House asked, ign Chase's question.

  "We're going to put her on forty pert oxygen until her oxygen levels stabilize and administer a nonsteroidal anti-infmmatory," Cameron quickly said before anyone else could speak.

  "He's off the case; it's uhical to discuss case details," Dr. Foreman said seriously.

  "Oh, rex, that's about to ge," House said sarcastically to Foreman, "cel that," he ordered Cameron, who nodded slightly. "e on, you accuse me to Cuddy with all of us present; I don't think that'll be a problem for you," House tinued, smiling at Dr. Foreman as he walked.

  Fortunately, the other three doctors followed us. Who knows what Cuddy's treatment might do to the underlying dition we now had.

  Wheered Dr. Cuddy's office, she ressing the sides of her head, reading some type of dot. The small crowd caught her attention. "What's this, a boycott? I’d expect it from Cameron, but Foreman?" she asked ironically.

  "Yeah, that's exactly what it is, a boycott," House said before anyone else could speak, throwing the small tea bag.

  "What's this, hemlock?" Dr. Cuddy asked, ign House's joke.

  "I'm going to do you the biggest favor one doctor do another and I'm going to stop you from killing your patient," House expined desdingly. "It's figwort tea, great for that little pick-me-up we're all looking for in the m, opens the lungs, increases blood pressure, stimutes the heart," House said theatrically, as if selling a product. "Unfortunately, if you the ied with even point one cc of epinephrine, instant cardiac arrest," House tinued sinisterly, "but, what the hell? It tastes great."

  Dr. Cuddy seemed about to say something, but House interrupted her, "Sister Augustine has been drinking it religiously, so to speak."

  "And if you take the cardiac arrest out of the equation—" Dr. Foreman said, somewhat defeated, but House interrupted him.

  "All the rest of the symptoms be expined by a severe long-term allergic rea," House tinued, gng at me momentarily.

  "Well, that's what Cameron said in the beginning," Dr. Foreman added.

  "Yes, she did, well done," House said, smiling at Cameron, who also smiled proudly. "But your unwillio stick by your diagnosis almost killed this woman. Take a lesson from Foreman and stand up for what you believe," House tinued, wiping the smile off Cameron's face.

  Dr. Cuddy, who had been sileher by choice or because of interruptions, sighed before nodding, "The case is yain," she said, defeated.

  "I know," House said arrogantly, "okay, let's go figure out how to save a nun," House tinued, walking out of Dr. Cuddy's office.

  "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," Chase said, patting Cameron's shoulder kindly as he followed House along with the other two doctors.

  "PJ," Dr. Cuddy stopped me before I could follow the other doctors, "good job," she said, smiling slightly, and without intending to add more, she tinued with her papers.

  "Because it's been ued for so long, it's gone from a simple 'watery eyes, scratchy throat' allergy... to a whopping 'I'm going to kick your ass' allergy, promising her immune system, diminishing her ability to heal, and breaking down her an systems," House said as we walked to the diagnostic lounge. "So, what's the source?" he asked.

  "The dish soap," Chase offered.

  "No, the symptoms tinued even here in the hospital," I disagreed immediately.

  "It's got to be something she's been exposed to here in the hospital as well as the monastery," House added.

  "What about the tea?" Dr. Foreman asked. "It caused her arrhythmia."

  "Could be, but it's not definitive," House said, undecided.

  "What about where they made the tea?" I said, catg House's attention.

  "Go on," the man with the e said, pointing at me to tinue.

  "They got a donation of saus and pots. The rash on her hands started when she was washing them," I said.

  "I like it," House nodded slowly. "We o test it."

  "We'll ski for allergens," Chase offered.

  "Not yet. She's too reactive," Cameron disagreed this time. "She'll test positive to everything. We o stabilize her, isote her from all possible allergens, give her system a rest."

  "Get her in the room," Chase agreed.

  "Okay, and then gradually introduce allergens and see how she responds," House said. "When she reacts to something, we'll know that's what's killing her. Start with whatever they use to heat the water i."

  The three doctors nodded seriously, preparing to walk back to Sister Augustine's room.

  "Chase," House calmly stopped the Australian doctor.

  "Yeah?" Chase asked.

  "What do you know about the nun?" House asked seriously.

  Puzzled, Chase thought for a few seds. "Her parents died when she was a child, and she's been with the church ever since," he replied, not finding any importan his words.

  "What's she lying about?" House asked.

  "Why do you say that?" Chase asked, strangely offended.

  "I always say that," House said, puzzled by Chase's question.

  "She hasn't been in the church since her parents died, or at least there was a time when she wasn't there pletely," I said, stopping House, who seemed about to say something else.

  "Oh, it looks like the kid knows more about the nun than you do. Watch out, he might steal her from you; he already saved her life once," House said sarcastically, lookiween Chase and me.

  "She has a tattoo on her shoulder," I said, making House stop for a sed, surprised, apparently recalling the same tattoo I saw when we opened her blouse to do CPR.

  "A skunk," House nodded slightly, remembering.

  "I didn't know that," Chase said, puzzled.

  "All right, talk to the nun again, try to get her to tell you the truth, whe that tattoo, and what else she did outside the church that wouldn't look good in God's eyes," House told Chase, who nodded seriously before walking away.

  "Kid," when Chase was far enough, House said seriously, "apany him, find out if the nun is lying ahe truth," he tinued seriously before walking in the opposite dire.

  And how am I supposed to do that?

  I easily caught up with Chase. "You want to e?" the Australian doctor asked, puzzled.

  "Yeah," I replied easily, still thinking about how to get the truth from the nun. Disc if she was lying could be retively easy, but getting someoo tell the truth was a pletely different task.

  When Chase and I reached the nun's room, Dr. Foreman and Cameron had almost everything ready to move the nun to her new room.

  "Ah, Dr. Chase, PJ," Sister Augustine greeted us weakly with a smile. Her breathing was obviously affected, and her body seemed about to give up.

  "Sister," Chase greeted the woman calmly, which I imitated.

  After finishing the necessary preparations for the trahe three doctors carefully moved the sister to the room.

  Outside the room, Dr. Foreman stopped me seriously, "You 't go in; you have to stay outside with the sisters," he said.

  "House told me—" I was saying, but the man stopped me.

  "I don't care, he's not here right now, and I don't allow it," Dr. Foreman, increasingly annoyed, immediately denied.

  "I'd like PJ to be ioo; after all, he saved my life once," Sister Augustine, aiting with a couple of o enter and carry out the ing procedure in the preparation area, said.

  "Sister that doesn't matter, there are procedures—" Dr. Foreman, much calmer when talking to the patient, was saying.

  "I know the procedures inside and out," this time I interrupted the man, fronting him directly.

  "I don't care," clearly offended and annoyed by my audacity, Dr. Foreman said.

  "I say if he knows the procedures, he enter; I'll make sure he follows them correctly," Chase said calmly before Dr. Foreman could tinue.

  "Yeah, me too," Cameron added.

  That was all I needed. Chase, Cameron and Dr. Foreman were basically at the same hierarchical level, and acc to Dr. Cuddy, I only needed one responsible doctor to be present in a surgery; a room was basically the same.

  Uo say anything else, Dr. Foreman, shaking his head, ehe preparation room angrily.

  Several mier, the sister was in her new bed in the room.

  "There you go, no television, no books," Dr. Foreman, showing his professionalism in dealing with patients, said calmly to the sister.

  "Not even my Bible?" the nun asked sadly.

  "I'm afraid not," Dr. Foreman replied. "This room has filtered air, filtered water, you even have silk sheets—very det and hypoallergenic," he tinued, "you should be feelier here."

  With that, Dr. Foreman, cheg the room once more, silently said goodbye to the patient and walked out, apanied by Cameron, not without giving me a hard look on his way out.

  "We'll be ing in regurly to che you," Chase said, gng at me as if preparing to start 'interrogating' the nun.

  " the other sister e in and pray with me?" the sister asked hopefully before Chase could say anything else.

  "It'd be better if you don't have any visitors," Chase denied. "Once we isote what's causing your allergy, then we be a little more x," the Australian doctor kindly added. "I pray with you," he offered, gng at me again with a bit of embarrassment, making the sister nod with a few tears in her eyes.

  "I don't want to die," the woman said, shedding some tears and fog entirely on Chase, seemingly fetting I was also in the room.

  "We'll do everything we to make sure that doesn't happen, so don't think about that," Chase interrupted immediately. "But we o talk about something else—you lied to me," Chase tinued, grabbing the nun's attention.

  "What?" the nun asked, fused.

  "You said that after your parents' death, you lived your entire life in the church," Chase said slowly, looking at the woman seriously.

  Closing her eyes for several seds, the nun nodded. "When I was twelve, I ran away and lived oreet," the nun admitted. "For almost three years, I did many things I regret today—drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity," she tinued, embarrassed.

  "Is that all?" Chase, without showing pt, asked the nun kindly.

  "Yeah," after a sed, the sister responded, avoiding Chase's kind gaze.

  "It's okay, none of that could have sted long enough to affect you," Chase reassured, gently taking the nun's hand, making her smile—a clear sign of relief to anyone except House or me.

  The nun was lying.

  Ign my presen the room, Chase and the nun began to pray quietly. I could feel my hands starting to sweat as I thought of a way to get the truth; I could only think of one, but I didn't like it.

  Taking a deep breath, I ighe disgust I felt about what I was about to do. "There's something I don't uand," I interrupted the calm ritual the two were perf in front of me rudely.

  Surprised for a sed by reizing my presence again, the nun smiled slightly. "I'm sorry?" she asked.

  "How someone who lost their faith in God after three years of living oreet abusing drugs, alcohol, and sex suddenly regain it?" I asked harshly, pretending to do so uninhibitedly, trying to ighe surprise on Chase's face.

  "Wha—" the sister was saying, shocked by the harshness of my words.

  "Yeah, why did you decide tain faith in God after three years of ign him? Did you find him again at the bottom of a bottle?" I asked again, hiding my disdain for my words. Now that I started it I couldn't stop until the woman revealed what she was hiding.

  "PJ," standing up with a frown, obviously angry, Chase excimed, walking towards me. "Foreman was right; you 't be here," he said, trying to push me, but I mao resist for a few more seds.

  "People usually regain their faith in God after a traumatic event; they . What happeo you?" I asked, pushing back against Chase's arms, who was getting more and more annoyed.

  "I don't—" the nun, n, was saying.

  "What did you do, steal? Kill someone?" I asked insistently, seeking a rea from the nuing oh the sed question—I didn't expect that to be the corree.

  "That's enough," taken by surprise by the nun's rea, Chase was able to push me all the way against the room's gss, "What's wrong with you?" pressing me against the rge window, the usually friendly doctor asked me furiously, but I couldn't take my eyes off the nun, who I had apparently finally broken. Meanwhile, Cameron and Dr. Foreman, who were outside witnessing what was happening inside, were quickly preparing to enter.

  "When I was fifteen," with her eyes closed, still g, the nun suddenly said, catg Chase's attention, "I was on every kind of birth trol known to man, and I still gnant," the nun tinued, and I could feel the pressure on my chest from Chase's arm release. "I had an abortion and I bmed God, I hated him for ruining my life," the sister admitted, "But then I realized something. You 't be angry with God and not believe in him at the same time," she tinued, "and that's why I returo the church," she finished, smiling weakly.

  After what seemed like a long, awkward silence, as I absorbed the nun's words and at the same time relived my own words.

  "I'm very sorry for my words, sister," I finally said moving out of Chase's reach without being able to look the woman in the face, embarrassed, quickly walking out of the room with Chase behind me.

  I walked quickly to the diagnostic lounge, feeling disgusted by how I had obtaihe woman's information.

  "What happened in there?" Cameron, who had interrupted her preparation to re-ehe room, asked worriedly when she caught up with me in one of the hallways.

  "You're supposed to only learn medie from House, not to be House," quite angry, grabbing my shoulder to stop me, Chase, who had run part of the way, excimed.

  "I'm sorry, I couldn't think of another way to do it. If I hadn't do this way, there was a ce she would never have said it out of shame," I admitted.

  "That's no excuse—" Chase was saying, but from the hallway, a voiterrupted him.

  "Sounds like the kid got what he wanted, what we needed," House arrived calmly, "Who cares about the method he used," he tinued, "as long as it wasn't torture," he sarcastically added, looking at me with fake .

  "Of course, you would say something like that," Dr. Foreman, who until then had said nothing, simply with a small smile, said with pt.

  "What did you find, kid?" ign Dr. Foreman, House, smiling strangely proudly, asked.

  "It doesn't matter that she's in a room," I said, surprising the three doctors under House's and, "she's always been exposed to her allergen," I tinued. "When she was fifteen, she was on every kind of birth trol known to man—"

  "And so what?" Chase interrupted me.

  "In the eighties, a form of birth trol ulled off the market, an IUD, the copper cross," I said, making House's strange smile widen.

  "She's always had the symptoms, but the truly severe oarted when she was washing the donated saus and pots at her church," I said.

  "Copper allergy, rare but possible", House said, nodding.

  "Wouldn't she know she had an IUD?" Chase, still frowning, asked.

  "She had an abortion; the IUD must have bee in by act," I responded.

  "Order a full body s," House ordered.

  "What if she refuses? I don't think she'll want anything to do with us after we allowed what he did," Dr. Foreman arrogantly asked, pointing at me.

  "Tell her I'm looking for a miracle," House said sarcastically, making the other three doctors leave, with Chase and Dr. Foreman still gring at me.

  "Merry Christmas, PJ," Cameron said before leaving with her colleagues.

  "Great job, I couldn't have do better," House said, strangely proud.

  "I care about the method we use to help people," ign House's words, upset about the whole situation, I practically screamed, "it doesn't feel right to attaeone's feelings to get the truth."

  House remained silent for several seds. "At some point, you'll learn that 'ethics' and 'moral' are sometimes an obstacle to truly helping someoo diagnose" House said seriously. "You have to make a decision: a doctor who saves lives by breaking some rules or one who loses some lives by following the rules to the letter."

  Leaving me alone in the hallway, House walked away, limping with his e, following where the other three doctors had gone earlier.

  ---

  Author Thoughts:

  As always, I'm not Ameri, not a doctor, and not a fighter.

  A few things:

  1. As some of you may have noticed, I ged a feects of this House case's development, skipping some parts, such as House's visit to the monastery or Dr. Cuddy's failed treatment. I believe I mao resolve it satisfactorily, but I would love to hear your opinion.

  2. Also I had this issue of PJ with the diy of Machiavellian thinking—doing whatever it takes to diagnose a patient—pnned almost from the beginning of the novel. House obviously has no problem with the 'end justifies the means' mentality, and it's something I want to explore in more depth with my character. How far is it 'right' to cross that line? And how to apply it to the novel? I'm also eager to read your opinion.

  With that said,

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

  Thank you for reading! :D

  PS: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW.