There are three things you need to have if you wanna read this fic: patience, time, and imagination. Patience – because this story is long. Time – because this story is long. Imagination – because you need that because this story is long! LOL. If you have two of those things, then you'll be fine. No, seriously, this fic is looooong. Don't say I didn't warn you. You know the drill. Thoughts are in italics. Some words that aren't thoughts are italicized for emphasis. I wrote this as a Christmas gift for myself (and feel free to consider this as my gift for you), cos I just can't let this Christmas pass without putting 13/Cam/Chase together. So cheers. Merry Christmas.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. And the show.
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Strange Things
The mall is jam-packed at three in the afternoon, and Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's famous couple is happily shopping. By happily, that means only Cameron. Chase has never been one to enjoy this kind of… hobby. While his girlfriend is busy checking out stuff, he is restlessly watching the people around him and relating their actions to physics. You can't blame him – he's bored.
A mob of people is flocking on a shelf of Christmas chocolates on sale. Compressibility. Two people bump into each other. Impenetrability. A short woman is trying to reach for an expensive mug on a high shelf. Elasticity. The mug falls and breaks. Ooh, brittleness. Suddenly, Chase breaks from his thoughts as he gets dragged on the collar by Cameron. Law of inertia!
"What is it?" he asks his girlfriend. He would rather do people-watching than tail on Cameron all day.
Cameron doesn't look fazed. She doesn't realize that Chase is bored. No, she doesn't realize that at all. "Let's go to the clothes section," she says, grabbing her boyfriend's hand.
Oh no. Chase dreads the clothes section. Why? Because the clothes section is the only section he hates – as simple as that. For one strenuous hour, Chase follows Cameron around while she tries on every outfit known to humanity.
"Isn't this coat cute?" Cameron asks, holding up the fur coat she found for Chase to see.
"It's a coat," he answers, indifferent. Coats are cute? Was I sleeping when that happened? It puzzles him how the words coat and cute are even allowed to be in the same sentence. He will never understand stuff like this.
"It's a cute coat," Cameron retorts, dismissing Chase's lack of enthusiasm. She reads the price tag, "400 dollars."
"400 what??" Chase says, trying to pretend not to hear and hoping Cameron actually said cents instead of dollars. But too bad his ears heard her loud and clear. "Don't you think that's a little… extreme?" There's no way he's going to waste 400 dollars for a coat. He'd rather spend it for something like… a stethoscope. Heck, even stethoscopes don't cost 400 dollars.
"Honey!" Cameron pleads to him like a little girl.
She is awfully cute, but Chase is never going to give in. "Allison, darling, you know I love you, but we're not gonna buy something you won't be using all the time. Soon, Christmas will pass. And winter will be over. And that coat will just rot in your closet," he says, trying to be convincing.
Cameron pouts. She can't believe what a skinflint her boyfriend is. It's supposed to be Christmas! She would buy the coat herself, but Chase took away her credit card this morning, saying that he'll pay for everything she buys and eats and whatnot today.
Christmas is definitely in the air. But, apparently, Chase is not breathing it. 400 dollars is not a Christmas treat. It's more like a Christmas two-hour salary bonus. "I'm really sorry. But, hey, you look great. You don't need a new coat to prove that," he adds honestly, hugging his girlfriend when he saw her looking like it's gloomy Sunday. He really is telling the truth. Cameron looks great in whatever she wears. She can even make fashion statements out of winter outfits – even without intentionally doing so.
Silence. Cameron just ignores him and goes back to checking other outfits. She's a little pissed. Chase promised to buy her something for Christmas – and that's why they're here at the mall right now, but he didn't say beforehand that there was supposed to be a price limit. Had she known this was going to happen, she would've preferred spending her time taking care of her patients back in the hospital instead of being stuck in the mall with her bored boyfriend and his broken promises.
Great. She's mad. Chase then realizes what a jerk he is at the moment. He was the one who offered to pay for anything Cameron wants to buy – expensive or not, so him being a skinflint and bored to death right now is like… really stupid. But then again, he never thought that Cameron would actually spend 400 dollars on Christmas. It's so not like her.
"Okay, well, we'll just go and buy another coat. I'm sure there's something that's not worth 400 dollars and is equally as," Chase pauses to choose his words carefully, "cute as that," he finishes, redeeming himself and looking at the fur coat as if it will gobble him whole. He wonders how many animals were killed to make that coat.
For the next thirty minutes, the couple shops in silence. Chase feels like Cameron is giving him the cold shoulder. No, she's not. She's just busy thinking about the patients she left in the hospital and how many are holding on for dear life in the ER right now. She feels guilty for abandoning them.
Cameron opens her mouth to say something – that is, for them to just leave the place and to go to the hospital instead, but Chase interrupts her. "Hon, is it alright if I just wait for you somewhere, uhh… not here? This place is making me uncomfortable. Just call me if you found something," he says.
They are in the ladies' section, and they are surrounded with lingerie. Women (who, apparently, don't shop with their own blokes) are giving Chase funny looks – he's the only guy lurking around this section right now, so he definitely has every right to feel uncomfortable.
Before Cameron could protest, Chase gives her a peck on the cheek and leaves. No, he couldn't have high-tailed faster than he did. A bit peeved, Cameron sighs and goes back to shopping instead.
On his way out of the ladies' clothes section, Chase bumps into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" they say in unison.
Chase looks at her – yes, she's a she – and recognizes the familiar face of his mysterious co-worker.
"Thirteen. Hey," he says, smiling at her.
"Dr. Chase," Thirteen acknowledges, surprised that the surgeon is here.
"You may drop the title."
Thirteen nods.
"So… you're here," he says as if this is something he doesn't see everyday. No, he definitely doesn't see this everyday. Thirteen? Here? What has the world come to? Coats have become cute. Thirteen is in the mall. What's next? House and Cuddy suddenly get married? Dear God, strange things happen on Christmas.
"This is the ladies' section," Thirteen says matter-of-factly.
Chase feels stupid. "Oh. Of course, of course. And you're a, uhh.. lady. Of course." But still, the thought of Thirteen shopping is as uncanny as the thought of cute coats.
"Yeah," Thirteen answers. She can't see something wrong with finding herself standing where she is right now. On the other hand, there is… something wrong with finding Chase standing where he is right now. "And you're a guy. In the ladies' section. Feel free, though," she says, smirking. The thought of Chase lurking in the ladies' section is as uncanny as… well, any other uncanny thought. Chase looks mortified, and Thirteen just had her vengeance without knowing it.
"What? No, actually, I'm with Allison," Chase defends himself.
Oh? She's here? I don't seem to see her. Thirteen restrains herself from saying her sarcastic thoughts out loud as it may come off to Chase as an invitation to flirt. It has never in her lifetime crossed her mind to want to flirt with the hot Aussie surgeon. He's not her type. And besides, he's got Cameron. Thirteen respects Cameron too much.
Silence. They just stand there in awkward silence.
"Allison is, uhh… somewhere around here, probably checking out the lingerie," Chase explains when he saw the look on Thirteen's face that translates to something along the lines of Cameron isn't here, cos I can't see her anywhere. So that means you're alone. Here in the ladies' section. Closet gay. Of course, Thirteen isn't thinking that – her facial expressions just really make you think she's thinking other things. Chase suddenly feels horrible for leaving Cameron alone with her shopping.
Thirteen only nods understandably, although she really doesn't want to know what Cameron is doing around here. Nor does she want to know what Chase is doing around here. She doesn't want to know what everyone else is doing around here. She just wants to go home and live her life in peace – and hopes Chase doesn't want to know what she's doing around here.
"So… you're shopping," Chase says breaking Thirteen's thoughts just when the words doing around here kept ringing in her head.
"Apparently," Thirteen replies casually, but she's actually dreading the small talk. Leave me alone! She secretly wishes Santa Claus would help her avoid people that would remind her of hospitals. Even just for today. Ugh, I don't even believe in Santa Claus.
"Nice to know you indulge yourself in luxuries," Chase says. He wonders if Thirteen is here to buy suspenders then goes on to wonder if suspenders can even be found in the ladies' section. Thirteen is one heck of a complicated girl.
By some strange means, Thirteen is able to read Chase's mind and somehow feels a little hurt. Everyone in the hospital knows she is bisexual and actually prefers women over men, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have the right to shop things other than suspenders. She shrugs the thought off anyway. "No, these are jeans. It's an everyday thing," she answers, showing the pair of jeans in her hands. She was lying, because jeans aren't just an everyday thing when it's True Religion.
"Right. Okay," Chase says before he can say something he might regret.
Thirteen ransacks her brain for an excuse to leave but finds none. But then again, why would she need an excuse? "Uhh, I think I have to go," she says.
"Sure," Chase answers, actually relieved that Thirteen is ending the conversation. He himself has run out of words. It's never easy talking to the mysterious colleague. "See you at the party tonight."
For two seconds, Thirteen hates Chase for reminding her about the party tonight with their other colleagues. She was planning to spend the day at home alone. Yes, last year's party was fun, but… that was last year. And that was before I knew my days are numbered. Thirteen called in sick today and skipped work – though she really isn't sick. She just plans to be alone on her probably tenth (or less) Christmas left instead of being surrounded by people who have an indefinite number of Christmases more to come. The best way to grinch your way to Christmas is to wallow in self-pity.
Thirteen nods to Chase and leaves. Chase watches her walk away and ponders on what to do. He looks around him to see if Cameron is in the vicinity and looks back at Thirteen walking away. He isn't so sure about leaving the ladies' section anymore. Since Cameron is nowhere to be found and since Thirteen is here, now is probably the right time to get some advice.
"Thirteen! Wait!" he calls out, catching up to the brunette as she's just about to go to the counter. Thirteen looks startled and baffled at the same time. "Come," Chase grabs her wrist and drags her almost stealthily back to the place where Cameron showed Chase the fur coat a while ago.
For a while, they just stand there with Chase panning his eyes around nervously for sightings of his girlfriend and Thirteen just observing him suspiciously. "Uhh… is this the part where I run away from you cos I think you're a total psycho?" Thirteen finally blurts out.
"Not really," Chase whispers.
"Why are you whispering?" she asks, not really sure if Chase is sane right now.
"My girlfriend might catch us."
"Are you serious?" came the incredulous reply.
"About Allison catching us?"
"No. Whispering," she responds, indifferent. And what's the matter if your girlfriend finds us here? It's not like we're doing something wrong.
Chase finally grasps the fact that he's being silly with all the whispering he's doing. "Oh," he says, talking with a normal voice again, and gets to business. "Listen, I need your help. Is this cute?" he asks Thirteen as he grabs the coat Cameron wanted to buy earlier.
"What?" Thirteen says, uncertain if she heard him right. She never perceived Chase to be someone who can say the word cute.
She need not worry though, because Chase himself doesn't perceive himself to be that kind of person too. "Cute. Like Allison's definition of cute. Do you think this is cute?" he says.
"I… don't know," she answers honestly. I don't even know Dr. Cameron's definition of cute.
Chase looks disappointed. "Oh. Okay. I just thought that maybe you could help me decide if I should buy this for her." He should've known better than to ask advice from Thirteen. She doesn't look like the type of person who can tell what's cute from what's not. She is that complicated. But still, she's a woman, and it crossed Chase's mind that maybe she knows a thing or two about coats. Guess I was wrong.
"She wants to buy that?" Thirteen asks, eyeing the coat.
Chase is confounded that she is interested in keeping the conversation alive and actually staying on topic. Thirteen is full of surprises. "Yeah. It's 400 bucks," Chase says.
"Wow," Thirteen says, amazed that there actually is a coat worth 400 dollars. Yes, like Chase, she's not a big fan of coats either.
'Wow'? That's all she has to say? Okay, not really a conversation keeper. "I know, right? It's insane!" Chase raves. Then he looks seriously at the younger doctor. "So… if you were Allison's boyfriend, err… girlfriend, would you buy it?"
Thirteen pauses for a while to let the question process in her brain. She isn't sure what to ponder on first: if she is willing to buy a 400-dollar coat for Cameron or if it is even possible for her to become Cameron's girlfriend. She ignores the latter – well, chooses to ignore the latter – since she thinks it's impossible. "Uhh… yes," she says, sticking to answering the real question.
"Why?"
"It's just 400 dollars, but –"
"'Just'?" Chase interrupts. Is that even supposed to make sense?
"A smile on her face is priceless," Thirteen continues, ignoring him. Everyone knows Chase is well-off, and his salary is more than enough to keep himself alive (and Cameron – if they plan on getting married). Thirteen can't see any reason for him to whine over 400 dollars, especially when his reward would be a precious smile from his girlfriend.
Silence. Chase only stares at the brunette as her words start to sink in to him.
"You don't know how many lives in the hospital her smile saves everyday," Thirteen adds. She muses that if she were Cameron's boyfriend – err… girlfriend – and if she were as rich as Chase, she would definitely give anything just to see Cameron smile.
"You're right," Chase admits. "Thank you, you just made me feel like a bad boyfriend," he says sarcastically.
"My pleasure," Thirteen responds wittingly.
Chase grins. "Really, thanks," he says gratefully. Thirteen nods. Although what she did was simply answering his question, her answer has talked him out of buying the coat.
The real reason why Chase is being stingy is because he's secretly saving money. He's planning to buy a house for him and Cameron once they tie the knot. They haven't talked about marriage yet or anything long-term, but he wants everything to be ready and special when that day comes, so right now every penny counts. But then again, no one else knows that, so right now – in the third-person perspective – he comes off as a really insensitive boyfriend.
"Alright, I'm taking this," Chase says, carefully holding the coat. Then he gazes at Thirteen and grins.
Thirteen grimaces. Oh no. I don't like that look. "What now?" she says, containing herself from telling him that he's a total nutcase.
"Thirteen, can you…?" he trails off, looking from Thirteen to the coat.
"What??" she says, although she knows what he wants her to do. He wants her to take the coat to the counter. Is he kidding me?
Unfortunately, no, Chase isn't kidding her. "Please? I just really need you to do the paying on the counter. No, I mean, I'm paying for the coat – my money, but I was thinking if maybe you could do it for me? Use my credit card. Here." He gives her his credit card.
She takes it. "I would do this, why?" she says skeptically, crossing her arms.
"Because I don't want Allison to see me on the counter," Chase explains, hoping that's enough to convince the younger doctor.
Silence.
God, this girl is difficult. He explains some more, "I want to surprise her that I actually bought the coat for her. If you don't wanna do this for me cos you think I'm a bad boyfriend, at least do this for Allison. Please?" He looks imploringly at her and is willing to beg on his knees just to make her do it.
Thirteen thinks it over and figures that it won't hurt. And she's going to do it for Cameron, not for the psycho surgeon standing in front of her right now. "I don't have a choice, do I?"
"Thanks! You're awesome!" Chase exclaims. Thirteen rolls her eyes and tries to remember how she put herself into this mess. Stealthily and with occasional eye-rolling from Thirteen, they go to the farthest counter.
They place their things on the counter. "Alright, I'll go guard while you pay up," Chase says. And just like that, he's gone.
"Wait! Chase!" Thirteen feels a little annoyed. 'Guard'? Is he kidding? What he should do is to find his girlfriend and distract her. Great. If Dr. Cameron comes to this counter, we're all doomed. She then concludes that Chase must've lost the keys to his brain. Truly, strange things happen on Christmas.
And strange things happen on Christmas indeed, because of all the 16 counters in the ladies' section, the last counter – and the same as Thirteen's – is where Cameron decided to pay up.
With wide surprised eyes, Thirteen swallows nervously as Cameron joins next to her on the long line and puts her own things on the counter. She turns her back against the blonde, hoping she won't be recognized.
Maybe it's Thirteen's wavy brown hair, maybe it's her fragrant scent, or maybe it's both, but somehow Cameron knows it's Thirteen in front of her. She touches the brunette's arm to catch her attention and at the same time holds her breath for the humiliation if it isn't who she thinks it is.
Thirteen turns to look at Cameron whose hand is still on her arm. Dammit! I shouldn't have looked!
Cameron feels relieved as soon as her own blue eyes meet Thirteen's blue ones. She can never go wrong with identifying the younger doctor even in a crowd. She has gotten used to seeing her everywhere in the hospital that she has now surprisingly memorized the sense of her aura. How that is so, she doesn't exactly know. "Thirteen! Hey, it's great to see you!" she exclaims, grinning ear-to-ear.
Amused at how Cameron's cheeks are so defined when she beams, Thirteen takes a moment to absorb the blessing of seeing Cameron smile. Thank God for beautiful kindhearted Dr. Allison Cameron who gives people a reason to love life. "Uhh, hey, Dr. Cameron." Thirteen smiles nervously.
"You may drop the title."
For a split second, Thirteen flashes back to Chase telling her the same thing earlier. She almost smiles to herself. They even use the same words. This couple really is one heck of a match made in heaven. "Okay," she says.
"Oh, merry Christmas!" Cameron greets, pulling Thirteen into a hug.
Caught off-guard, Thirteen hugs back awkwardly, dubious about whether she was supposed to do that or not. "Merry Christmas."
They pull away. Cameron brushes away a stray strand of hair from Thirteen's face. The younger doctor blushes, and Cameron just smiles. She's unbelievably sweet today. Thirteen figures it must be a holiday thing – holidays must really put Cameron in a very good mood. She then reminds herself never to be anywhere near Cameron on holidays. Nothing too personal – just trying to avoid weird touchy-feely moments like this.
"What are you buying?" Cameron asks, breaking Thirteen's thoughts.
"What? Oh, uhh… stuff," Thirteen answers, subtly hiding the fur coat under the jeans she's buying. It's actually impossible to do since the coat is bigger and the fur is all over the place.
But Cameron doesn't seem to notice that it's the coat she was planning to buy earlier. "Oh my God, those jeans are great!" she says as she lays her eyes on the pair of jeans on the counter.
Thirteen suddenly perks up when the jeans finally got some compliment. "I know, right? True Religion. That's the last pair on stock with that design. It's great. It fits perfectly on me. And –" she stops when she realizes that she's sounding too excited and feels a little embarrassed. She may be bisexual, but she's still a woman. So, yes, shopping excites her too. It's just too bad no one knows that – and she's perfectly fine with that. Until this very moment.
Silence. Cameron is just smiling at her. She has never seen Thirteen so animated – especially about something like a pair of jeans. Little does Cameron know that she's actually the first to witness that. Thirteen can be really cute sometimes.
"E-hem!" Thirteen clears her throat shamefully in an attempt to erase her own discomfort. "Yeah, uhh… it's great," she says, mortified and avoiding eye contact.
"I bet you'll look even more gorgeous in those jeans," Cameron states. People might have said that the blonde doctor is the most gorgeous doctor in PPTH – but that was way back when Thirteen wasn't in the picture yet. And now that the brunette is there, the Most Gorgeous, Most Beautiful, Most Attractive, Most Whatever-Else Female Doctor Awards are up for debate.
Thirteen meets her eyes. "What?"
"I would so die to have your body," Cameron says honestly.
"I'm sure you would," Thirteen answers, looking away. What with the Huntington's. She can't help feeling sarcastic and sullen by what Cameron said although nothing bad was meant.
Silence. Cameron just studies Thirteen silently. The younger doctor looks like death. That's when Thirteen's last words sink into Cameron. "Aww… sweetheart, you know that's not what I mean," she says, standing beside Thirteen and putting an arm around her waist. It's all so weird since Cameron is like two inches shorter.
Thirteen winces as she remembers to avoid touchy-feely moments with Cameron.
"I'm sorry for what I said. Okay, let me rephrase it. Uhh… I would so love to have your body," Cameron says. "Come on, girl, lighten up! It's Christmas!" she adds, letting go of Thirteen's waist and tapping her cheek gently.
Thirteen winces some more when she sees the other people in their line watch her and Cameron. The looks on their faces are of disgust or of amusement – more of amusement, actually. And some of the guys (who, like Chase, are unfortunately accompanying their own girlfriends in the ladies' section) lining up behind them are grinning like idiots. Who knows what's going on in their perverted minds. Thirteen shoots them a glare. Quite a show huh.
"Oh God, that's the coat!" Cameron exclaims when she realizes that the coat that Thirteen was subtly hiding was actually the same coat she wanted to buy earlier.
"What?" Thirteen says, her attention caught.
"I wanted to buy that. Too bad you want to as well. Lucky you, you don't have a skinflint for a boyfriend."
"Oh. Uhh…" Thirteen trails off. Now what do I do? Where on earth is Chase when he's needed? But then again, Chase is never there when needed, even at the hospital. Slacker doctor, that Aussie.
"But it's okay though. I know you'll look amazing in that coat," Cameron says, but her words aren't convincing. Her voice falls, and her eyes are downcast. She shrugs it off. "Oh, hey, you have to wear those jeans later at the party! I wanna see you in them."
"Uhh… I'll… try." Thirteen is just thankful Cameron didn't stick to the coat issue and actually changed to a new topic – the party. Well, that's equally as bad a topic as the coat but definitely less torturous. Thirteen dreads being reminded about the party again, but that feeling is overshadowed by the guilt of making Cameron assume that someone else beat her to buying the coat.
"You're going to the party, right? I mean, you shouldn't miss out. Last year was fun! You should go."
"Yeah, but –"
"Great! Do you want us to pick you up later?" Cameron asks. Thirteen looks like she's thinking about how Chase would react to that. "He won't mind," Cameron adds as if she's reading Thirteen's mind.
Actually, Thirteen isn't thinking about how Chase would react to picking her up later for the party. She's thinking about how Chase would react to finding Cameron here next to her on the counter. She's also thinking about when Chase will ever appear. And she's also thinking if Chase would even appear at all. I thought he said he was going to guard while I pay up?? Chase sure is giving her a major headache right now. "Uhh, no thanks. I got my car," she declines the offer.
After 525,600 minutes – actually, it's not; it just feels like so – Chase finally appears out of nowhere far behind the line. "Honey!" he calls out to Cameron.
Both ladies look at him. Thirteen sighs in relief that he's finally here. It's about time. Thank God. Chase squeezes his way through the line, earning a handful of complaints from the other people waiting for their turn.
"Where have you been? I called you like 10 minutes ago to meet me here at Counter 16," Cameron tells her boyfriend as soon as he got to where she and Thirteen are standing. "I lined up in advance to avoid wasting time because this line is long. But it's a good thing that it is, or I would've reached the cashier with nothing to pay for my stuff. What took you so long?" she scolds.
"Sorry. I got lost," Chase says, coming up with an alibi and grinning sheepishly. Actually, so far there is only one Counter 16. So I got lost is an excuse marked by psychosis.
"You got lost," Cameron repeats sarcastically, sternly putting her hand on her waist.
"Yeah. I got… lost," he replies nervously.
Thirteen rolls her eyes at him. And, apparently, you were 'guarding' the wrong place too.
To avoid Cameron's scrutinizing eyes, Chase glances at Thirteen and pretends to be surprised. "Oh, hey, Thirteen! You're here too! Wow, what are the chances?" he says, acknowledging her presence. Thirteen fakes a smile. "What a small world!" Chase adds.
"And it's getting smaller," Thirteen deadpans. She glares at the surgeon when Cameron turns her back away from them. Chase holds a finger to his lips to signal shhh. Thirteen rolls her eyes – that's never a good sign when it seems like this has become her habit whenever Chase is around, and she restrains herself from feeling the urge to whack him on the head. Right. I need to shut up, cos a fur coat is capable of putting your relationship with Cameron in jeopardy. Thirteen's occasional sarcasm – not a good sign either. Chase sure is making his way to Thirteen's list of favorite people.
"So, honey, you're done shopping? What have you got there?" Chase asks Cameron, changing the topic.
Cameron looks daggers at her boyfriend and, imitating his Australian accent just for mocking purposes, says, "Something that's not worth 400 dollars and is equally as cute as that." Then she points at the coat Thirteen is buying just to show Chase that someone has beaten her to buying it because of how stingy he is.
Chase freezes. Okaaay. I am so dead.
Thirteen notices his fear-stricken face and thinks fast on how to rescue him. He may not be her most favorite person right now, but she cares for his girlfriend, so she figures she might as well save Cameron from hearing one more explanation as psychotic as I got lost from Chase.
"Actually, this is for you," Thirteen suddenly blurts out to Cameron. Chase looks at her with wide eyes.
"What?" Cameron asks.
Chase shakes his head while Cameron isn't looking. Thirteen gapes at him in amused annoyance. She can't believe Chase wants her to take back what she said and lie to Cameron instead. Well, Mr. Fantastic, there's no other choice but to tell your girlfriend the truth. Anyway, it's not like she's gonna kill you if she knew you were buying her a surprise gift.
Chase mentally converses with Thirteen through the eyes. Well, it wouldn't be a 'surprise' now, would it?
Apparently, they aren't too subtle with their silent eye confabulation, so naturally, Cameron has smelled something fishy. "Guys, what's going on?" she asks, looking from Chase to Thirteen and startling them both. "And don't even try lying to me."
Now she's mad at me too. Thanks a lot, Chase. Thirteen decides to spill the truth. "This coat is for you," she tells Cameron.
"But you're buying it," Cameron says, confused.
"No. Your sweet boyfriend is. But he's letting me do the paying on the counter," Thirteen explains, emphasizing the word sweet and leaving it all to Cameron to interpret that as either sarcastic or true. Thirteen, of course, was being sarcastic.
"Because I didn't want you to see me on the counter! I wanted to surprise you that I actually bought it!" Chase butts in on the conversation to defend himself.
"I… I have his credit card!" Thirteen adds and shows Cameron Chase's credit card for proof that Chase really was buying it.
Cameron just stares at Thirteen and Chase, and Thirteen swears she can almost see laser beams shoot out from her eyes. "Wait a minute, are you guys ganging up on me?" Cameron asks, crossing her arms.
Okay, so I was wrong. She's not completely haloed during holidays. "Uhh, no. We bumped into each other. And he asked me if he should buy the coat," Thirteen explains.
Cameron glowers at Chase. "Oh no, you didn't."
"I just wanted a second opinion! And Thirteen convinced me!" Chase reasons out.
"Okay, you are not going to drag me into this anymore," Thirteen says, fed up of all the trouble he has caused her.
Cameron continues scolding her boyfriend. "So you mean, you bought the coat only because someone told you to? But you really weren't going to buy it had she not talked you out of it, were you?"
"Honey, I…" Chase trails off. "I'm sorry," he says, staring at the ground, ashamed.
"You know, you don't have to force yourself to buy something if you really don't want to," Cameron says, fumed, but in a volume that only Chase and Thirteen can hear. "See, now you have to pay for a coat that you don't want to buy. And you don't seem like you feel good about that. I don't either. Do you know that you're making me feel like an idiot right now? You're the worst boyfriend in the world." Cameron turns her back away from him, irritated.
Silence. There can't be an uglier and a more embarrassing place to fight than the jam-packed mall, but it was a relief Cameron spared Chase from being humiliated and scolded boldly in public. Thirteen suddenly feels bad for him, but she also feels like he deserved what he got. Now Chase has to fix this mess, or he's going to have to live alone in that house he's planning to buy.
Since Cameron isn't someone who normally holds grudges, she – drum roll, please – doesn't hold grudges. She didn't mean it when she said Chase was the worst boyfriend in the world; it just felt like it was the right thing to say on that spur of the moment. Really, Cameron can never stay mad even if she tries. So after 10 minutes of cold-shoulder treatment, she goes back to being her nice angelic Cameron self.
She wasn't mad at Thirteen who absolutely had zero to do with this. But she was a little miffed at Chase for being insensitive, for being the mastermind of this stupid rigmarole, and for including Thirteen in his foolishness.
After the three doctors paid for their stuff on the counter, they slowly head out the mall in silence. Chase takes Cameron's hand, hoping she wouldn't let go. She doesn't. She looks up at him and smiles. Chase smiles back, because he knows he's forgiven. He might have screwed up today, but it can't be denied that what he tried to do for her was still very sweet. For someone who doesn't have an inkling about coats, Chase still does have his way of charming Cameron. And he was really nice to offer to carry Cameron's and Thirteen's shopping bags on their way out. Now there's a gentleman. Who wouldn't love him?
Plus, how can Cameron stay mad when she ended up getting to buy two coats? One was the fur coat that she wanted, and the other was "something that's not worth 400 dollars and is equally as cute as that". This Christmas has been a win-win situation for her. Although it still bugs her conscience for not showing up at the hospital. Cuddy is so going to kill her... and Chase.
The three doctors are finally out of the mall, and it's freezing. They walk back to their cars. Thirteen, feeling like the third wheel, can't wait to get herself away from the two older doctors. "Umm… I think I'll go ahead."
"Are you sure?" Chase asks, handing her the shopping bag containing her newly-bought jeans.
"Yeah. Thanks for carrying my stuff. See you guys later," Thirteen starts to walk away but stops when Cameron grabs her cold mittenless hand.
Cameron doesn't let go of her. "Don't go yet," she says. Thirteen just looks at her questioningly. "Thanks for everything today," Cameron adds, smiling.
"It's nothing," Thirteen says, silently hoping she could have her hand back – just trying to abide by her no-touchy-feely-moments-with-Cameron rule.
Cameron turns to Chase. "Hon, thanks for the attempt at surprising me with the coat. But you know, I have a surprise for you as well," she says, smiling at him playfully.
"Really?" Chase asks, incredulous. What could it be? She didn't buy lingerie for me, did she?
"Yeah. But since you made Thirteen the medium for your Christmas present for me, I will have to give her my present for you. And she will have to give it to you," Cameron narrates. Yes, that came out confusing, and Thirteen and Chase are now crossing their eyebrows and wrinkling their foreheads. "I'm just trying to keep things fair between us," Cameron tells Chase.
"Okay. What is it then?" Chase says.
Cameron looks at Thirteen straight in the eye. Suddenly Thirteen is scared of what's about to happen. Before thoughts are given time to process, Cameron leans in to give the brunette a big fat kiss. No tongues, no tonsil hockey, no groping. Just major steady lip lock.
Silence. Chase almost swears that, like him, time has frozen. He's gobsmacked – actually, he's not gobsmacked, because his gob, in fact, has dropped 50 feet below him. He can't believe his girlfriend can do something like this. The two ladies kissing right now are like making a big fireplace amidst all the snow and cold air. Oh my, this is so hot. Let's not blame the guy for thinking those thoughts. He can't help it.
Cameron and Thirteen pull away slowly and open their eyes. Cameron smiles at Thirteen and looks at Chase. "That kiss is my Christmas present for you. Now you have to grab it from Thirteen," she says, smirking, and walks away.
Too bad Chase will never get to have Cameron's Christmas gift, because Thirteen will never kiss Chase. Not even in a million years. And that's exactly why Cameron did what she did. That's very wise of her to leave her boyfriend empty-handed and giftless on Christmas – that's more than enough punishment for him for screwing up today. Looks like Chase is going to have to stick to Santa Claus to grant his wish list – though it's doubtful Santa will want to kiss him either.
Thirteen and Chase are left there, standing in silent astonishment. Thirteen's cheeks are still burning, and her heart is racing. Whatever happened to her no-touchy-feely rule? She really didn't expect Cameron to be… aggressive and actually be the first one to start a kiss – a kiss with another girl. But then again, that kiss meant nothing. It was just Cameron's evil plan to get back at Chase. That beautiful kindhearted ER doctor is not just a beautiful kindhearted ER doctor after all. She can be way more complicated than Thirteen sometimes.
"So…" Chase breaks the silence after picking up his jaw from the snow-covered ground. Thirteen looks at him. "Are you… going to give me Allison's Christmas present now?" he asks.
Thirteen rolls her eyes at him for the umpteenth time and walks away, the words avoid Cameron on holidays at all costs repeating in her head. Kissing girls isn't a big deal to her. But kissing Cameron? That's a different story. Why that is so, we will never find out. Only Thirteen knows.
"That was a joke!" Chase calls out to her, incredulous that he got ditched by two ladies in one day in one same moment. Oh, what luck he has. Santa Claus better leave him a present in his stocking tonight.
Chase walks away and follows the two ladies to their cars. He smiles to himself as he muses that seeing two gorgeous women kiss is already a Christmas gift in itself. And it sure will be interesting to see what happens the next time Cameron and Thirteen bump into each other. That would be too awkwardly... cute. He can't stop grinning to himself now. Oh, merry Christmas, Chase.
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Let me know what you think. Praise it, flame it – whatever, I'll take it. It's Christmas, no one can bring me down.