I decided to upload all the finished one-shots I had in my folders in gratitude for being such great friends and reviewers while I go on a (possibly very long hiatus).
Anonymous Asked You: After the death of Thirteen; Dr Alison Cameron travels to Miami where she runs into her ex-girlfriend Dr Eva Zambrano
AN: I know that the House timeline is off. I know that in the finale he 'dies'. That didn't happen in this story. Obviously. Also, the bar mentioned… I'm not sure if its existent or not. I tried to figure out what bar they go to on 'Miami Medical' but the only thing I could ever make out clearly at the front of it was a picture of a crab, so I cleverly named it 'Crabby's'… Hope you enjoy!
Allison Cameron lived. She knew that she had lived and lived well. She had loved and lost and tried to do it all over again. She found Eva Maria Zambrano in college. It was the most intense relationship she'd ever had. She knew that they were meant to be together. But life kept throwing them curveballs and they couldn't get a hit in.
She moved on to Graham, who died of cancer. From there she knew she was broken. She'd go on the occasional date, but she didn't feel anything for these men and women. Then she met House. She fell in love with him. She didn't know why. So she went for Chase, and while she did love him, she wasn't sure she was ever truly in love with him.
Both men ruined her life; that's what she tried to tell herself at least. She knew that she needed to own up for her own mistakes though. And that's why she came back in person with the divorce papers. She wanted to own up for her own mistakes and she wanted to let it be after she saw him and House for the last time.
Or so she thought.
She came back just so Chase would sign the damn divorce papers and she could say her apologies and leave and be done with it. As it turns out, she had sex with him one last time during the lockdown, she never saw House, and she ran into Remy "Thirteen" Beauregard Hadley afterward…
Remy was laughing at Taub, and Allison could have sworn that she flashed him. Allison caught the brunette's eye unintentionally and Remy waited for her to walk outside before she made her move.
Remy was obviously feeling extra confident that night as she leaned in close and examined the blonde's face, "You know… You look just like this doctor that used to work here… that swore she was never coming back, that was better than the rest of us here."
"I never said I was better than anyone." Allison flashed the other doctor a serious look before smiling and turning to wait on a cab.
"No, I did." Remy stepped in front of her. "You look just like this doctor that, if she had stayed and done the hard divorce in front of everyone and had House ranting and raving down her back… you look like this doctor I know I would have fallen in love with…"
Allison stopped looking at the street eyeing the line of cars, to the brunette's piercing sea green eyes. "That..is quite a line."
"No line." Remy smiled.
"You don't even know me."
"I do though, don't I? Just like you know me."
"We've never had a real conversation."
"Why don't we?" Remy leaned into the blonde.
Allison leaned in flirtatiously almost closing the gap, "If you want to get into my pants?..." she smiled, "I'm afraid your too late." Remy narrowed her brows in question. Allison looked down rather ashamed, "Someone's already got in my pants tonight… Lockdowns are..long. Time consuming. And we were the only two in the room…" She shrugged.
"You had sex with your ex husband?" Remy asked deadpan.
"Officially. Yes." Allison waved the folder in her hand.
"You still gonna do that?"
"That won't be possible any other way seeing as I live in Chicago now…" She shrugged again and once she saw a cab, she pushed from Remy.
"But you're saying that had you not slept with Chase there would be a chance that I could get in your pants?" Remy called loudly after her.
Allison turned back to the brunette swiftly. She blushed appropriately and smiled at passersby before she stalked back over to the grinning brunette. "What the hell?"
Remy shrugged as if what she did should not have been offensive.
"What's your game? What do you want?"
Remy smiled, "I would like you to come back home. And I would like to take you on a date." She scratched her nose in thought, "And I would like to spend my dying days with you."
Allison rolled her eyes and started walking away, "House put you up to this? Nice. Classy. I'd expect more from you."
Remy this time ran after her, grabbing her arm, turning her back to her, "What are you talking about?"
"Don't do that. Don't pretend like you don't know what you just did." Allison stared blankly at the brunette, "Don't tell me you want to spend your dying days with me and pretend like you don't know about my first husband or that I was in love with House. Don't pretend like you don't know that I have an innate need to care and to try to fix the broken."
Remy shook her head, "I wasn't."
Allison was still unimpressed, "Don't be daft, Remy."
"Why do you call me Remy?"
"What?"
"Everyone—even Cuddy calls me 'Thirteen' why have you always called me Remy?"
Allison was thrown off guard by this statement, "I don't know…"
"Come home, go on a date with me and let me finish my life right." Before Allison could open her mouth, Remy continued, "I'll just follow you to Chicago if you don't come home."
"Why? Why now? Why now that you've seen me tonight are you changing all your life plans just to be with me?" Allison wasn't buying it.
"Because I want to. I want you." Remy shrugged, "And I can see the curiosity and the want in your eyes. Don't pretend like your not attracted to me. Don't be daft." She smirked as threw Allison's words back at her.
Allison gave the brunette a playful glare and started walking away.
Remy quickly followed her, "Where are you going?"
"Your car. Where are you parked?"
It hadn't been the first time Allison acted rash over a girl. Girls always made her act rash. Girls and the actual adventure of falling in love. She was a sucker for love. And she knew that.
She came back to the hospital two weeks later, she was given her old job back, she was still unpacking her new place and there was this dying, bisexual, House duckling that was following her around rather than the papa duck.
Her boxes never got put away, nor did she even finish unpacking them before Remy found them a quaint little home in a small town just outside of Princeton. It was this second move that her boxes did get unpacked.
When hospital found out the real reason why Cameron came back—thanks to a snooping House curious why his duckling was changing addresses—they finally started holding hands and being couple-y in the hospital.
Chase tended to harp on them both saying that he didn't need to see it and House loved to point out Remy's impending death when she had a bad day and Cameron came to the rescue, but most everyone else was supportive. Even Foreman.
She and Remy had 8 wonderful years together. Remy had lost control of her body; she'd joined a trial for Huntington's research and that helped with the shaking and the flailing limbs, but her mind started to go faster.
She made the decision. She wanted to die while she was lucid. She wanted to die looking at the one person that ever forgave her for her wrongdoings and stuck by her side.
And Allison did stick by her side. They got the two-doctor consent and they were given a private room. Allison got Remy's favorite meal, a bottle of wine and the pill that would take her lover's life. She made the hospital bed up with their sheets and Remy's favorite blanket. Remy lit some candles and turned on some music. They danced, they ate, they kissed, they cuddled and Remy died.
That was eight months before.
Allison had been back at work for four and a half months. Throughout that first three and a half months, it was all House could do to not make her come back to work numb herself of the pain by focusing on saving the lives of others. He didn't even have to say anything the night he banged on the front door with his cane though.
He saw the door open to Allison dressed in Remy's clothes. He saw her fingering the suspenders she wore; he saw the build up of nasty in her unwashed hair; he saw her red, puffy eyes; he saw how broken she really was. He limped his way inside and opened his arms. Allison fell into his hold.
He didn't have to say anything. But he did. "Remember what Thirteen said to me after Wilson kicked it?" He asked after they had slowly made it to the couch.
"She told you to get up and stop being a pussy; that you were acting like he was your lover not your brother." Allison said with a ragged breath.
"It's time for you to get up." He whispered.
Allison's already quivering lip trembled even more, "But she was my lover."
"She'd want you to get up. She'd want you to save lives."
The tears fell without care as Allison spoke, "I can't. I can't. I've tried. I've tried to leave… I can't. I've tried to get ready. I've tried to get in my car and just go somewhere. Even just the grocery store… I can't."
"You can."
And Allison did. The next day she did. She got up and went to work. That week she saved 13 lives and patched up another 13 people. She stopped after that. Thirteen was going to be the number lives she could work with for a while.
The next week, she decided to start doing things to help her move on. She changed her cell phone plan to only have one number; permanently deleted Remy's number from existence. She decided to start planning an estate sale. She certainly didn't need all of the things she now owned. That though took its toll on her.
So, once the eighth month after Remy's death hit, she decided she needed to delete both hers and Remy's facebooks. She didn't want to tell the world that she was single again. And she didn't want Remy's phone—even though it was supposed to not be working—to get facebook notifications and mentions with people ' 'ing her, saying they were so sad she was gone. She didn't like getting ' 'ed either when the same people 'hoping she was coping alright.'
She was not coping alright. Her life partner, her best friend died.
It was as she got on facebook that night that her newsfeed pulled up a random story from Eva. It was a picture of her in this tiny little piece of fabric that was allegedly a cover-up for her bikini. She was tanned to perfection and laughing at something the guy next to her was saying. There was another girl in the picture laughing just as hard as Eva. They sat together at a table on the deck of a bar. The description of the picture said, "Too much fun with the greatest coworkers and friends at Crabby's!"
"God damn, Eva is beautiful, isn't she?"
Remy's voice came from behind her. She jumped in fear as she saw the woman in the flesh, "Oh my God…" Allison whispered.
"Relax. I'm a coping mechanism, not a brain tumor."
Allison knit her brows, "If you're helping me cope then why are you telling me how hot she is?"
"Because she's drop dead gorgeous. Go see if she's single." Remy took the mouse and clicked on Eva's facebook then on her 'about' section. "Oh! She is!"
Allison did a double take as she looked to see her own hand on the mouse again.
Remy looked where Allison was and back to her, "I told you babe, coping mechanism. You're actually going to be doing everything you see me do."
"Why are you doing this?"
Remy smiled, "I told you long before I died that I wanted you to move on and be happy. And you well know that I believe in fate. That fate brings the good things in life. It was no coincidence that I saw you the night you came back here. And it's no coincidence that Eva's stuff is coming up on your feed again."
"Her stuff isn't coming up on my feed. One story did. Big woo. That means nothing."
"Click 'Home' then." Remy dared her.
Allison accepted the challenge. There were some Upworthy posts, some Huffington Post posts, and Eva Zambrano. No one else. She gasped and looked up at Remy. The brunette wasn't there anymore. She leaned forward and stared at the page a little longer. The ads changed and it was three Nike ads that all read 'JUST DO IT!'
"Do what?" She asked aloud.
The ads changed again saying things like "Florida Vacation Deals" and "Vacation Packaging in Florida" and "Round Trip and One Way Tickets for Florida Vacation CHEAP!"
She rolled her eyes, "This is ridiculous."
"It's not!" Remy's voice was soft but it sounded as if she was yelling.
Allison turned and her mind's Remy was not there. "Remy?" She looked back at the screen in thought. As she did this she could practically feel Remy's hug envelope her as it always did when she was on the computer too long for Remy's liking. "You really want me to go?" She looked at the screen and watched the stories shift down. Eva just shared a youtube video of "Say Something (I'm Giving Up on You)" by A Big World and Christina Aguilera. She clicked play and listened to it. She'd heard the song before, but it didn't hit her like it did this time. The lyrics made Remy's decision clear.
And I will swallow my pride.
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
And I'm sorry I couldn't get to you.
And Anywhere I would have followed you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
Say something, I'm giving up on you.
Say something…
Allison was going to Florida.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Allison walked into Cuddy's office the next morning, she and House had been arguing about something, but they both stopped when they saw who it was that was coming in. They both scrutinized the blonde, waiting for her to talk.
"I'm quitting. Effective immediately."
House scoffed, "To do what?"
"Remy wants me to go to Florida."
"Remy wants this?" Cuddy asked carefully.
"Yes. And don't call anyone from psych down here, I don't need an evaluation. People get messages from loved ones all the time."
"Religious people do. Crazy people do. You're neither." House said simply.
"I believe in fate." Allison shrugged, "Remy got me to believe in fate."
"And fate wants you to go to Florida?" Cuddy asked.
"Yes. It's going to sound crazy if I explain it, so I'll just say that I need a permanent vacation. I can't keep walking these walls. I need to go somewhere distinctly..not-Remy."
~0~0~0~0~0~
She'd easily found the hospital Eva worked at—finding the number one trauma center in the country really wasn't hard—and from there she deduced where Crabby's was. She took an early afternoon flight and got in that evening. She checked in to her hotel—the shwankiest one that she called just had a cancellation.
Imagine that… She thought after getting off the phone with them.
She had a spacious room with a king sized bed, but the bathroom was really something to marvel at. She had a sink and tub with waterfall faucets and the most glorious shower in the world. She should know as it was the first thing she did after she got there.
She took her time as she got ready. She curled her hair to perfection, gave herself lashes she could hide behind, but kept the rest of her make-up light. She wore a pair of black skinnies, a cadet grey button up, and because she wasn't sure she could do this without Remy, she wore Remy's signature suspenders so they dangled at her waist.
She got a drink and sat at a table off in the corner away from everyone but with a perfect view of everything.
She didn't think Eva would actually walk in that night. She really thought she might have a brain tumor and was imagining all of the signs and that Remy was next to her. But Eva did walk in. She walked in four sips into Allison's mojito. Eva and her band of surgeon friends, that was.
Allison was unsure of what to do. Did she go up to the table, wait for them to leave and grab her arm, try to see if she was ever alone? Her mind was thinking so much that she almost didn't notice the fact that Eva quickly stood and walked from her table to the bar.
Allison's legs moved faster than her brain though and she too made her way for the bar. Eva was turned away from her waiting on her drink. Allison, the witty, charming being she was simply scooted in close, setting her mojito down on the bar and went for a classic, "Can I buy you a drink?"
Eva turned with a blank face ready to tell the girl just how much she could pay for her own, but as she locked eyes with all too familiar ones she froze. All she could do was stare.
"Hi, Eva." Allison smiled—her first genuine smile in 8 months.
"Allison…" Eva knit her brows, "What..are you doing here? In Miami? I thought you were up at Princeton or something…?"
Allison nodded, "Yeah. I quit." She looked into her glass, "Decided I needed some sun and some fun…" She chanced a glance to Eva, "If I remember correctly, we had a lot of fun together."
"Al, you were never smooth and you're a terrible liar."
"I'm aware of both of those things."
Eva smirked, "Why are you here?"
"To buy you a drink." Allison smiled.
"And then?"
"And then nothing."
Eva gave her a serious look, "You quit your job and came all this way to buy me a drink?"
Allison looked at the counter; she took a small sip of her mojito and bit on the straw.
Eva eyed the blonde, "You're not going to answer?"
"Pleading the fifth."
They stared hard at one another before Eva rolled her eyes at Allison's growing smile.
"You wanna get out of here?"
Eva didn't let her eyes leave Allison's for a full minute.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Their clothes made a classic trail from the hotel room door to the bed. Their legs were intertwined, naked bodies pressed against one another. Eva took point—as she always did, but as she moved down the blonde's body and nipped at her midriff, she realized that Allison wasn't shaking in anticipation but trying to keep from crying.
"Al…" Eva pushed herself up, moved to the side and stared at the blonde again. "Al, what is it? What's going on?"
Allison covered her face, "I'm sorry." She sobbed, "I'm so sorry!" She turned on her stomach away from the brunette, embarrassed, depressed, angry, and sobbing into the bed.
This wasn't the Allison Cameron she knew and loved…at one point in her life…
Her Allison was strong and charismatic and dynamic. And the girl loved sex! She was not weepy and fragile and weak. Eva stared at Allison's bare back before finally moving behind the blonde and hugging her close. "This isn't exactly how I thought the evening was going to go…"
"I'm sorry." Allison breathed through another sob that racked her body.
"No!" Eva scolded softly, "No. Don't be sorry. When I left the hospital, I thought I'd have a drink and head home to a boring life… But you were there. And now we're here." She kissed Allison's shoulder. "And I don't know what's going on with you, but it's big and it's personal and it sucks because you don't stop sex..ever."
This made Allison laugh through her tears.
Eva smiled, "There's that laugh I've missed for about 15 years." Allison turned and looked at the brunette. They held each other's stare a moment before Allison quickly turned away from her again. Eva sighed and eased down into the bed further, "I'll be here when you're ready to tell me what you're doing here."
A half hour passed. Allison calmed but never turned back around. Eva did eventually pull away to lay on her back. They'd pulled the covers up as they both started to feel a chill. Eva felt her eyes getting heavier and heavier.
The loud drone of the air conditioner went off and the room was completely silent.
"My dead partner told me to come here and spend time with you. She wants me to move on and she thinks you're supposed to be my future." Allison said. Her words stabbed the quiet of the room. She knew she couldn't bring them back either.
Eva moved slowly. She turned, adjusting to look at the blonde, but not trying to make any sudden movements. When her eyes landed on Allison's face, she saw the blonde avoiding her stare. "Well…" She spoke softly, "Don't here that everyday…" She cracked a smiled and a half giggled. She watched Allison's ragged breathing even and the corners of her mouth stand up, "How long?"
"How long what?" Allison kept her stare on the wall.
"How long ago did she die?"
Allison blinked more than a couple times. She swallowed hard, "Eight months."
"That's awfully soon to be going around and picking up ex-girlfriends…" Eva wrapped an arm around the blonde loosely, getting closer to her, "Especially for one Miss Allison Cameron, the girl that cried for six months when our hermit crab died."
Allison broke into another grin, but her voice was soft, "Novalee was a good crab."
"She refused to eat. We gave her everything the internet and the pet store people told us and she wouldn't eat. She would hide in her damn coconut hut and do nothing. You did the sponge thing to give her water and the damn thing would do nothing! It was a stupid pointless pet."
"She was not stupid! She had a Batman shell and purple sand. And one purple claw!"
Eva smirked as she watched the blonde, still refusing to look at her, but get defensive over the damn crab. She decided to try to bring the conversation back around, "Did you have any hermit crabs with uh…?"
"Remy."
"With Remy?"
Allison sat up all of the sudden. She grabbed her underwear and put them on as she made her way to her suitcase. She pulled out a charcoal maniac sweatshirt with the words, "Sarah Lawrence Gryphons" in white and green. She pulled the shirt down as far as it would go, just passed her cotton covered derriere, and sat in the chair at the small table in the corner of the room. She pulled her feet up to the edge of the chair and pulled herself into the table, her legs blocked now by the table's edge. She pulled the sleeves down passed her hands and brought one hand up, biting on the thumb, smelling the shirt.
"We had a couple guinea pigs." She finally said. "They were both male. They were gay. We named them House and Wilson." She smiled a small smile, "Her boss, my former boss and his best friend." She explained.
"That must have…been confusing when either of them would visit…?"
"They never came to our house." Allison shook her head, "Wilson had cancer and House… is House."
"Hmm. Well, where are these guinea pigs? I mean, if you're moving here—"
"They died five years ago." Allison cut her off quickly, "Remy's symptoms were worsening and we decided we shouldn't get anymore pets because of—" the blonde hiccupped as she cut herself off.
"Because of her disease?" Eva sat up on the bed, keeping herself covered by the sheets, "What'd she have?"
"Huntington's." Allison licked her lips before sucking her bottom lip into her mouth, biting it to physically keep her tears at bay.
"Oh god…" Eva stared at her, "I'm so sorry."
Allison shrugged, "It's okay."
Eva gave the blonde a disbelieving look before she made a quick yet effective toga from the top sheet of the bed and walked over to her. She knelt down putting a hand on Allison's knee and another on the blonde's arm, "It's not okay…" Eva said, "It's not okay." She repeated. "You don't deserve that. Not again. Not after Graham."
Allison closed her eyes tight, letting her face scrunch as she squeezed them as tight as they would go. She then put her lips together and looked at the brunette, "Graham. What the hell do you know about Graham?"
"I know that we broke up and two months later you were cleansing yourself of the gay, straightening yourself out with some random guy. I asked some straight friends of mine that ran in your circle who he was, what was going on, if it was serious…" Eva shrugged, "I heard about when he died. I must've started calling you a million times. Must have stared at your name even more." She stared the blonde in the eye, "I didn't know what to do. You were supposed to be my last kiss. We were supposed to have this big amazing life together, then that rough patch came. I was stupid and broke things off and when I wasn't stupid anymore, you were with a man on his deathbed. Then I got stupid again…" She said the last part as she turned away and moved to the chair across from the blonde.
She saw Allison's brain working overdrive, "Then you moved and the only tabs I could keep on you was somewhat stalking you on your facebook or through mutual friends that would make trips out to see you… Then you stopped using your facebook so much and you got too busy with residencies to really spend time with friends that would come visit…"
"You kept tabs on me? Why?"
Eva smiled sadly, "You were supposed to be my last kiss. When I fell for you, I fell completely. I'm not saying that had I actually tried, I would be happy now, but I knew that feelings like the ones I had for you were rare and I could never have them with anyone else, not really anyways. So, I've stayed perpetually single. Had a few repeated affairs with some nurses, one intern—that didn't work out so well, and some lovely women that pick me up or I pick up at the bar… It's all I'm good for."
"Oh." It was all Allison could say.
"So, how did she die?" Eva asked, "I know it's a private, slightly morbid question, but… How?"
"Did you not hear Huntington's?"
"She let her disease take her?"
Allison shook her head, "She wanted to be lucid." Tears automatically fell from her eyes, "We got the two doctor consent for assisted suicide. I got the pill; she did up the room. We ate, we drank some wine, we danced, we kissed, she took it, we cuddled, she died."
Eva nodded slowly, "That's how I would have done it. I mean, not being lucid, not being able to remember you… That would not be my choice if I a debilitating disease."
Allison started breathing heavy, tears falling once more, "I loved her so much. She fixed me." She gave a half shrug as she looked at Eva, "She fixed me. She healed me completely. She fixed all my wounds. Everyone that has ever hurt me, or left me, I'd forgiven because I found her. I'd forgiven House and Chase and Graham…and you. Hell, I even forgave Ruby." She shook her head, "And now she's gone, and I…." she kept shaking her head before she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes and tried to stop herself, collect herself.
Eva stood up. She took the sheet of and started collecting her clothes, putting them on piece by piece.
"What are you doing?"
"You're not ready to be with me. You're grieving and, honestly, I think you should be. I think it's too soon for someone that feels as deeply as you do to try to get with someone else, even if your dead lover told you to do it."
"You don't think I'm crazy? That I might have a tumor or an aneurism in my temporal lobe?"
Eva stared at her, "I think that you probably already got a couple scans of your brain done and found nothing. And I know you're not crazy." After dressing completely, she knelt down again, "I'm not going to lie to you, Al, I told myself that if I ever saw you again, if I ever got to be with you again, I would do it right, I would own up for my shit and try to right what's wrong. And not make the same mistakes. I'm not going to get with you, hook up with you or manipulate you into being with me when you're grieving over a loss, when you find yourself suddenly single. I want you to heal from that, heal from Remy—I know you won't ever fully heal from her, but I do know when it's too soon for a person and it's too soon for you."
She leaned up and kissed Allison's forehead, "There's a house for rent right across the street from me. It's a good neighborhood and I've heard the our Immunologist is being forced to retire. I'll bet if they catch wind that Dr. Allison Cameron, the one who studied under the Dr. Gregory House and published 10 papers in medical journals during that time and another good chunk since, is here with no job… I'll bet they'll throw whatever money they can find at you to be their new head…"
"Don't they have someone that would take this man's place?"
"You're more important and shiny and accomplished."
Allison shrugged not necessarily liking the idea, "I worked the ER after my residency with House."
"Trauma?" Eva looked at her, "Did you ever get that second board certification for trauma surgery?"
"Yeah. My boss asked me to when I started running the department. Just to make PPTH more special."
"You wanna work in the number one trauma center in the states?"
~0~0~0~0~0~
Allison went back to Princeton a week later. But it was only to say her goodbyes and pack her things. She kept her essentials and all of Remy's things with her in their Honda Ridgeline Remy had begged and pleaded for, for no reason whatsoever lest it be to rile Allison, who considered herself a 'not-truck' person. It was really at that point that she knew Remy wasn't going to give up.
She got in and drove. The movers were following her, and after another week or so, all of the big stuff was in her new place right across the street from her new coworker.
Allison's room was a maze of boxes. She knew where everything was, but she was still scrambling as she tried to get ready for her first day at Miami Medical Trauma.
The door sounded just as she grabbed her long sleeve t-shirt.
"Shit." She mumbled as she dumped her box of shorts on the ground and searched for her daisy dukes. Slipped into them, forgetting to fasten them while she ran from her room, down the stairs, to her front door.
Eva stood in a casual, teeny-tiny dress and flip-flops with a couple to-go mugs in her hands, one of which she was sipping. She looked the blonde up and down, "You ready?" She smirked as Allison pulled the shirt over her stomach and noticed her unbuttoned, unzipped pants.
"Yeah. Uh. Hold on just a minute." She ran back up her stairs.
Eva heard a thud and a "God damn it." grunted from the top of the stairs, but she said nothing, though she did bite her lips in amusement.
Allison came out a minute later with a small duffle bag over her shoulder. She took the proffered mug of coffee and looked at the brunette before her, "Hi." She gave a half smile.
"Good morning." Eva smiled, "You ready?"
"Yes."
~0~0~0~0~0~
Allison lost herself in her job. She'd already been there a month and she was no closer to unpacking than she was after the movers left. She'd made herself at home though.
Eva decided to have everyone over for a barbecue during a day off. Everyone had had a few, and laughing and good times definitely ensued. Allison was only just beginning to feel a buzz when she looked into the kitchen from the backyard and saw Remy leaning against the counter smiling at her. She dropped her Mike's and stared at her. It was as Remy saw the bottle fall, and saw Allison's eyes staring at her and not through her that she knew she'd overstayed her welcome.
Allison walked from her place next to Eva into the house. She didn't blink or take her eyes off Remy. Once she was in the kitchen, she couldn't help herself, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm always with you, you know that…"
"No I do not know that. I don't know the rules of the dead…"
"Don't worry, this is not some weird Izzie-Denny 'I'm here for you' thing."
"Good. I would hate to have a 5% chance at staying alive…"
"I don't know why they let me see you..let you see me."
"They?"
Remy smirked, "Nice try." She laughed, but sobered quickly and boldly took a step to the blonde.
Allison and Remy saw the excitement in the other's eyes.
Remy took another step and another. But as soon as she got close enough to touch Allison, she vanished. Allison looked down as all of the many feelings washed through her. She looked out to see Eva staring at her then moved quickly through the house and out the front door.
She'd crossed the street and made it halfway up her driveway when Eva caught up with her. The brunette grabbed her arm and asked silently what was going on. Allison merely shrugged and broke into tears.
Eva held her tight right there in the middle of the driveway in the middle of the night and tried to sooth her. Eventually, they made it inside Allison's house and Allison was free to collapse on the couch.
"I saw her." She cried, "She was in the kitchen."
"Dios mio." Eva said under her breath.
"Now you think I'm crazy, huh?" Allison looked at the brunette after she started to calm.
"No." Eva shook her head. "I believe that she's watching over you. She's your own personal angel."
Allison smiled, "Remy would look good with wings."
"Can I see her? See a picture?"
The blonde stared at the brunette a long, contemplative minute before nodding. She went to hers and Remy's scrapbook and photo albums and brought them over to the brunette.
Eva opened the first photo album to see a picture of Allison hiding behind a hand with the other hand reach up for the camera, a smile hiding on her lips and sleep written on the parts of the eyes that were exposed.
Allison shook her head, "She is the one that put them together. She didn't have a lot to occupy her after she quit. She became obsessed with crafts and photo albums." She turned the page to reveal a picture, a selfie of Remy before working out one day. "Oh my… She'd texted that picture to me and told me she was going to get all sweaty…" She covered her face in embarrassment.
Eva smiled as she stared down at the picture, "She's beautiful."
Allison nodded, "Gorgeous."
Eva flipped the page again to see Remy half naked posing sexy.
Again, the blonde covered her face, "This is the more special private one… She made those for me to 'give me something to remember her by'."
"She's sexy to. Knows how to get your attention, that's for damn sure." Eva smiled again.
They looked through the album, Allison regaling stories and Eva happy to see the blonde a little less numb and a little less sad.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Days turned to weeks turned to months turned to a full year. The boxes finally were unpacked and things were in their places.
Allison thought of Remy each and everyday, but she was healing, she'd healed. She and Eva were best friends.
Eva was completely in love with her.
Allison had gone grocery shopping and Eva decided to stay home alone that afternoon. She pondered ways to ask Allison out then thought better of it and tried to shake the thought from her mind.
She walked into her kitchen where she saw a person—a dead person—sitting at her table reading the paper.
"Dios fucking mio!" Eva grabbed her heart as she took in the fact that Remy Hadley was hanging out in her kitchen like it was nothing.
"Oh good, you're awake." Remy closed the paper and stood up, "Listen up. I don't have a lot of time to hang out here in the flesh." She walked over Eva and slapped the back of the living woman's head, "I healed her, I made her single, I brought her to Florida, brought her to that bar, brought her to you… What more do I have to do for you to just make her happy? Hasn't she been through quite enough?"
Eva glared at the brunette, "I don't care if you are dead. I don't have to listen to you yell at me."
"Oh shut up. Don't even try to start to get defensive. Just listen to me. She's ready for you. She wants you. And everyone knows you want her…"
Eva turned slightly, "Everyone?"
Remy grinned, "Just like Al… listen. Just kiss her. Just walk over to her place and kiss her. It's the easiest most effective way to show you care."
"What if she's not ready?"
"I wouldn't be here if she wasn't."
~0~0~0~0~0~
It had been another two weeks before Eva gathered up the lady balls to kiss Allison. They'd just got off work and neither were feeling the bar, so they went to Allison's house. Just before Allison could get too tired or too comfy and lay on her couch, she grabbed Allison's wrist and pulled her into her hold, and she kissed her.
It was simple, effective and to the point.
Allison kept her eyes closed a moment longer after Eva pulled away. "Wow…"
"Yeah." Eva leaned in again, "Remy was right."
"Remy—Remy?!" Allison pulled from the brunette.
"You know how she sometimes visits you?"
"And I've gotten I don't know how many brain scans because of it? Yeah…"
"She came to me a couple weeks ago. Told me to kiss you. That you were ready, and basically, while she didn't say it in so many words, told me to get off my ass and make you happy."
"She's always a little formal when she first meets someone. Next time she curses like a sailor and turn your ears pink."
"Next time? Why would she visit me again?"
"For when I'm ready to say yes to a proposal…" Allison smiled as she pulled Eva into a kiss.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Eva and Allison lived happily. Neither died despairingly early in life, neither got a debilitating disease. They saved lives until their hands were no longer steady. They had a few dogs and got a bigger place with plenty of land for the dogs to run around. They were best friends. And they loved passionately.
Remy came for them when it was their time. She knew that she wasn't Allison's true love, but that didn't mean she wasn't a great love.
They spent their afterlife happily as well. Remy would come over for weekly dinners and Allison, after all that time finally felt whole.
