Chapter 1
"Okay, rant over, now get back to work," Cuddy began to storm out of the now packed doctors lounge before pausing momentarily and turning back round to point her index finger sternly at one doctor in particular, "And that means ALL of you." House feigned a shocked expression before smirking mischievously as he watched his boss, or rather his boss's ass, carry on down the hallway.
Doctor Cuddy had called an emergency meeting to complain, or in her words 'give structural criticism', towards most of the second floor doctors. Considering the lecture was about the amount of complaints patients had been giving about attitudes from their doctors, It was to no surprise that House and his team were also dragged into the so called 'meeting'.
It was late on a Friday night, so even though their order was to get back to work, most of the doctors had other plans as they started dispersing from the room, thankful that their shifts were now over. This was the case for House's team too; they'd solved yet another case and the good feeling between them all was mutual. None of them could remember the last time they actually got to lay in on a Saturday morning.
Thirteen had been one of the first to arrive so she'd managed to grab a seat on one of the decent sofas, and had remained there the entire time. She'd gotten bored about two minutes in and pulled out her note pad and pen, which may as well be called a sketch pad considering the ratio of notes to drawings on there. She had completely zoned out and only noticed that the meeting was over when she felt movement around her and looked up to see dozens of impatient men and women piling to get out of the only door at the other side of the room.
Allison Cameron was on the opposite side of the room, debating whether or not to join the massive crowd or wait it out for a few minutes. The latter sounded more sensible, but she was already late for a meal with one of her friends and wanted to leave the hospital as soon as possible. Seeing that there was a seemingly easier pathway round the back of the room past the sofa, she made up her mind.
Thirteen looked up momentarily when she saw House out of the corner of her eye, and gazed sceptically at him as she realised he was heading to the back of the room rather than the front. She momentarily tensed up, almost expecting him to come bug her about something, but relaxed when she noticed that he wasn't heading towards her, or at least didn't know he was. She still felt a bit uneasy however when she saw the signature grin spread across his face as he stopped about two metres away from her with his cane twirling in his hand. Curiosity got the better of her as she followed his gaze and was slightly confused at who she found at the end, and even double checked to make sure. He was definitely looking at Cameron, but why? Judging by the grin it wasn't anything that she'd be too pleased about.
House stood still as he watched his target get closer and closer, seemingly unaware of his presence. He twirled his cane for a final time before pushing it out in front of him, right into the blonde doctor's oncoming path. The second she saw the cane slide out Thirteen knew what he had planned, and instinctively jumped out of her seat in order to lunge herself forward and catch Cameron, just as her trailing foot caught on the wooden stick, causing her to tumble forwards.
Cameron threw her hands out almost at once, but rather than falling to the floor, she found herself leant against someone who had steadied her by holding her waist. She looked up to see Thirteen staring down at her with a concerned look across her face.
"Are you okay?" The sudden presence of the other woman caught Cameron off guard and she simply nodded as she continued to watch Thirteen.
She smiled her charming smile, "Good."
They stayed that was for a moment before they heard someone clear their throat next to them, and were both suddenly all too aware at the fact that Thirteen's hands were still firmly gripped around Cameron. House had been sightly disappointed when his plan hadn't worked, but after seeing the two of them interact, his grin was back and he had already thought of a brand new one.
"Maybe you two should sit down until the room has cleared out; wouldn't want the clumsy blonde over here to trip over again," Both women glared at their narcissistic boss.
"Hey! I'm not clumsy, you tri-" Thirteen interrupted her mid-sentence by touching her arm, knowing full well that it was pointless to retaliate and satisfy the man. Cameron knew she was right and went to sit down on the now empty sofa with Thirteen following close behind her. House grinned as he walked away and stood waiting outside of the room.
"Is this yours?" Thirteen glanced beside her as she seen Cameron flick through her 'not so note filled' note pad, smiling as she did so.
"Yeah It is," Thirteen nodded as she watched her turn page after page. "Wow. They're really good; I never pictured you as the drawing type," She looked up to meet Thirteen's gaze, her smile now wider than before.
Thirteen smiled back appreciatively, "Thanks, I've always loved to draw, and times like these are a perfect opportunity."
She watched as Cameron turned to the most current page, a sketch of the room as it was before with all the doctors gathered around. Cameron laughed as she spotted House in the drawing, looking incredibly bored leant awkwardly on his cane. The room was now empty with only the two women left, still sat talking.
"Think you'll be able to get the door without tripping this time?" Thirteen chuckled as she noticed that everyone else had left and sat up, holding her hand out to help Cameron up.
Cameron rolled her eyes playfully and allowed herself to be pulled up. As they were heading towards the door, House stepped out with a key in his hand, smirking at the two women. Both looked at each other with wide eyes before quickly dashing to cover the final distance. They had no such luck. By the time they reached the exit, the door had been slammed shut and they could both hear the sound of a lock clicking into place.
"You'll both thank me later! Or more accurately, tomorrow morning!" House shouted cheerily through the door before they heard his cane make its way down the hallway, with a happy whistle to follow.
