Thanks to all of you. I got some really great reviews this past week. You guys keep me writing! So... please don't hate me for this chapter. Just trust me. Also don't hate me if I can no longer make weekly updates. I just started classes and I'll be reading two novels a month, plus a ton of other assignments. I will absolutely continue this story, just maybe not as regularly. I wanted to pose another question to all of you: someone asked if I'd be going through the whole season, and I'm not sure. What do you think? Prepare yourselves, now. After this chapter I'm going to shake things up a bit.
A few days later Thirteen was headed to see Rachel again. She approached her door hesitantly and knocked. When Rachel quickly answered a delighted smile sprung to Thirteen's face. "Sorry to stop by unannounced again. I was in the neighborhood," she said.
"It okay. It's good to see you, Remy," Rachel replied. She stepped aside and let Thirteen enter before leading her to the living room.
"I came to bring your stuff back," Thirteen reached into her bag and handed back the books and clothing she had borrowed. "Fresh from the laundry."
"Thanks. Did you find the books helpful?"
"Yeah, I really liked your travel journal. It was nice to read your thoughts on everything," Thirteen smirked. "Listen, I was headed to that trendy little café off Nassau and I thought you might like to join me. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and finalize my travel plans."
"I'd love to, really, but I'm swamped with paperwork," Rachel gestured in the direction of her desk and Thirteen looked to find it covered in files and papers. "Do you need help with anything else? Have you got an actual itinerary this time?"
"I do," Thirteen laughed. "I've got everything booked. The only thing left to do is confirm my flight."
"When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow morning. I think you should come with me," Thirteen said hopefully. She watched as Rachel's eyebrows perked up. "I know it's pretty late to be asking, but I really want you to come with me."
"Remy, I can't."
"I know you won't be able to join me tomorrow, but you could meet me later. You could probably pull some strings with Cuddy and get time off."
"No," Rachel shook her head quickly. "I'm not saying I can't because of work, I'm saying I can't because I don't want to go."
"What the hell is your problem? You keep doing this. You tell me you care about me, you tell me to call you. You kissed me the other day. Did that mean anything to you?"
"I meant something, but it was a mistake."
"How can it be a mistake?" Thirteen cried in frustration. "If you care about me at all, how can you not want to get away from all this shit and come with me?"
"We both know what would happen if I went. All that time together would only bring us closer."
"That's the general idea. Why do you have to make this so complicated?"
"Because it is complicated!" Rachel shouted in exasperation. "Remy, you just lost your job and it's only been days since your split with Foreman. I can't be your rebound."
"You are not my rebound. You're so full of shit! Why can't you be honest and admit that you're scared?"
"You don't listen, Remy," Rachel pleaded. "I'm afraid I'll hurt you. I don't know how many other ways to say that. I can't be anything more than a friend."
"Then I'll wait," Thirteen shrugged. "I have really fallen hard for you, Rachel. I don't want to be just your friend. I'll wait until you're ready."
Rachel crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, "Remy, there is no waiting. I can't be with you. I'm sorry."
Thirteen shook her head in disappointment, "You spend way too much time apologizing to me. I should go. Can we talk again when I get back?"
"It won't make a difference," Rachel sighed. "Just enjoy your trip."
Before Rachel could show her out Thirteen turned and bolted for the door. She headed for her car, grumbling and cursing to herself the whole way. Hastily, she made her way to the café and settled herself at a table.
After she had polished off her dinner, Thirteen pulled out her laptop. When she brought up her web browser, half a dozen saved links opened. She looked through them briefly; most of them had to do with things she'd wanted to experience with Rachel in Thailand. Earlier, she'd been so eager to show Rachel what she had planned for them. She had been certain Rachel would accept her invitation to come along. Now that her hopes had been dashed, Thirteen sullenly looked for activities she could enjoy solo.
Hunched over the table, Thirteen didn't notice a familiar man approaching her. He surreptitiously slipped into the chair behind her and made himself comfortable. "You should try searching for 'Misty May digs for gold,'" he said, turning to face her. "Make sure you put it in quotes."
Thirteen turned to face House and rolled her eyes. Rejected by a friend and potential lover, then forced to suffer House's antics –only she could be this lucky.
"I'm making travel plans," she replied. "Just need to get away, have some time to myself. Getting the hint?"
"So, that's it? You're done with your little experiment with Foreman?"
"It wasn't an experiment, it was a relationship," Thirteen grumbled. "You may want to look into the difference." Thirteen smiled briefly. She had always liked quipping with House this way. It was a shame she wouldn't get to see what was it was like to have these sparring matches without being personally debased. "I'm glad you're better, House. I actually liked working for you, but I'm not coming back."
"Good," House said. "Because if you came back Foreman would try and save the relationship and give up being the boss."
"Are you here to try to save my relationship with Foreman?"
"God no. I'm here to try to save my relationship with Foreman. Right now, I'm Kobe playing the game I love however the hell I want. Phil Jackson has to listen to everyone else bitch about it. Enjoy Cabo," House replied. He pulled himself from his chair and limped towards the exit.
"I'm going to Thailand," Thirteen called after him.
He turned and looked at her curiously, "Really? Interesting."
Thirteen smiled; she had him. She was leaving him with one final facet to obsess over. "Goodbye House."
"Goodbye Thirteen."
The next morning Thirteen was preparing for her flight. She ran down a mental checklist before grabbing her luggage and heading out. Outside her building, a cab waited and the driver quickly helped Thirteen load her things into the trunk. The driver waited until she settled into the back seat, then pulled off. As she watched her apartment become a distant landmark, an idea occurred to Thirteen. She grabbed her phone and quickly called her airline. Feeling unusually patient, she calmly over-enunciated her answers to the airline's automated service, even after it asked her a third time. "Bangkok," Thirteen said slowly. "Flight seven-ninety-nine."
"Wow, Bangkok," the driver chimed in. "That sounds awesome. How long?"
"Not sure yet," Thirteen said without thinking. Realizing how risky it was to let a stranger know her home would be empty for a while, she quickly covered. "Luckily, I have a friend who's staying at my place and taking care of my dog. He's really big, so he needs a lot of exercise." She turned back to her phone and responded to another prompt, "Remy Hadley, H-A-D-L-E-Y."
"What, do you think I'm going to rob the place?" the driver asked.
"No, of course not."
"In case you haven't noticed I have a job."
"Look, I'm sorry. I don't know you. You're either honest or dishonest. I figure the safer choice is to–"
"Is to treat a stranger like an ass? Nice way to live your life," the driver shot. "Bitch."
"I said I'm sorry," Thirteen told the driver genuinely. "Oh! Hello, uh, I was wondering if there are any business class seats open that I could use my miles to upgrade to?"
The driver ignored the apology and continued to harp on the issue. "I don't know you, but I assumed I could trust you, welcomed you into my car."
"Okay, you're a saint," Thirteen snapped. She was quickly becoming annoyed, and suddenly the representative on the line was telling her there was no record of her reservation. "That's impossible, I confirmed my reservation last night." They still had no record of the reservation. "So rebook it." The representative apologized, but their records showed her reservation had been canceled. "Well, obviously it was a mistake on your end, not mine." The representative apologized once more and offered her a seat on a flight three days away. "No, I'm on my way to the airport right now!" Thirteen could only seethe as the representative listed her options; none of them got her on a plane before the end of the week.
"They don't believe you, huh?" The driver asked, a bit too much enjoyment in his voice.
"Can you just turn around, please?" Thirteen asked.
The cab rounded its way back to Thirteen's building. Still arguing with the airline representative, she gathered her bags and paid the driver–sans tip. It took another ten minutes of back and forth, but Thirteen eventually wrangled her way into a new flight reservation and a few hundred thousand frequent flier miles.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Ms. Hadley," the representative asked.
Thirteen thought for a moment before coming to a hesitant decision. "Actually, could you exchange those miles for another seat on that flight?"
That evening Thirteen found herself driving to see House. He had to be responsible for the cancellation of her flight. She marched up to House's door and knocked furiously. "Stay out of my life," she demanded when he finally opened the door.
House glanced around obliviously, "Okay." He began to shut the door, but Thirteen quickly stopped him.
"I know you canceled my reservation. You obviously saw me log in when you were spying on me in the coffee shop."
"I was talking to you. I was spying on the MILF in the running shorts."
"I'm not coming back on the team."
House shrugged, "I don't want you back on the team."
"I cannot work for, with, or around Foreman."
"Which is why I don't want you back on the team," House insisted. "Now that you're out of the picture he's better than ever. Which is going to make me less miserable than ever, which is why neither of us gives a damn how, when, or on what island in the Bahamas you want to get away from it all."
"The Bahamas?"
House narrowed his eyes as he thought of another guess, "Costa Rica?"
"I told you, Thailand."
"I assumed you were lying. Because it would have been idiotic of you to tell me the truth." House began closing the door, but not before delivering one last retort through the dwindling crack, "Yet another reason I have no use for you."
As she headed back to her car, Thirteen punched a number into her phone. "Cuddy? It's Thir–Remy Hadley."
"What can I do for you Dr. Hadley?" Cuddy asked.
"I was wondering if you could help me. I booked a flight using my PPTH email, and someone canceled it. I already asked House, but he said he didn't do it."
"And you believe him?"
"Strangely, I do."
"I can have IT look into it, but it'll take some time. Can I get back to you?"
"That's fine," Thirteen sighed. "I'm grounded for a few days anyway."
A few evenings later, Thirteen was sauntering through the halls of Princeton-Plainsboro. Cuddy had returned her phone call; IT had tracked down the person responsible for holding up her getaway, and she was closing in on his office.
"Thanks," Thirteen called through Wilson's open door.
"You're welcome. For what?" he asked.
"For thinking I was worth breaking the law to keep around," Thirteen crossed the office as she watched Wilson closely.
"That's just the way I am. But still don't know what you're talking about"
"Cuddy had IT trace all the IP addresses who've logged into my email account. There were two, mine and yours."
"Obviously, House decided he needs you more than he's willing–"
Thirteen shook her head, "I already asked House."
"And he'd certainly never lie."
"No, he'd lie, except he wants me gone. And he'd do a lot better job of lying than you just did."
"Really? It was that bad?"
"No, actually. But it doesn't matter anymore. Why? Because of House or Foreman?"
"You're good for both of them, but Foreman's not my best friend."
"House will be fine," Thirteen said.
"Maybe. But with you he'd be better," Wilson countered. "He needs someone who doesn't need him. You're the only one he's never been able to suck into his crazy House vortex. It keeps him grounded, his ego in check."
"Why didn't you just come to me?"
"I figured you'd only stay if House asked and I knew he would. Eventually."
"Bye Wilson." Thirteen pulled herself from Wilson's chair and made her way towards the door.
"This is a great job," Wilson called after her. "Maybe even better now that House is at least trying to have real relationships with people." Thirteen threw him a dubious look and he shrugged, "I said trying."
She brushed it off, quickly shrugging her shoulders, "It doesn't matter."
"A job you love doesn't matter? Don't throw it all away because of a bad breakup."
Thirteen sighed–if only it were that simple. "Bye Wilson," she said again.
She made her way through the halls, headed once again to where she always seemed to end up when she had nothing to do at the hospital. She tried to think of something to say when she saw Rachel, but nothing came. She rummaged furiously through her purse, while continuing to wrack her brain for words, any words. They didn't have to be cute, sexy, or even clever, but she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to get away with simply shoving an airline ticket into Rachel's hands and running away.
As she rounded the corner she collided with Rachel. "I was just coming to see you," Thirteen blurted, finally reclaiming her vocabulary.
"I was just leaving," Rachel said, continuing her exit. She sighed heavily as Thirteen followed her towards the elevator. "I thought you were off to Thailand."
"My flight got screwed up. I thought I'd give you one last chance to come with me. The airline credited me a bunch of miles, so I got you this," Thirteen handed the ticket to Rachel, lingering a little as she pressed it into her hand. She took a step back and shoved her hands in her pockets as Rachel immediately tried to hand the ticket back.
"I'm not coming with you. I meant what I said before, Remy. I don't want to be your rebound." Rachel impatiently pressed the down button, but the elevator showed no signs of reaching her any quicker.
"You're not my rebound. We both know this was brewing long before I broke up with Foreman. I don't care if you can't fly out tomorrow, just please meet me at the airport."
The elevator doors finally opened and Rachel stepped inside, ignoring Thirteen's plea. "Give me a call when you get back. I'll take you out for drinks, and you can tell me about your trip." As the doors closed on Thirteen's sad face, Rachel slammed her hand against the wall in frustration.
Thirteen was completely on edge. The bustling atmosphere around her was beginning to fray her nerves. There were families with screaming children, college students blaring their headphones and practicing profanities in Thai, plus there had been the public striptease that was airport security. Now she sat somewhat calmly in a stiff chair, cradling her head while a migraine set in. She hadn't slept well, and after two cups of coffee her trepidation over Rachel's decision was only getting worse. Her head told her, knew without a doubt, that Rachel wouldn't show. Still, being left unguarded for the first time, her heart desperately hoped that Rachel would arrive soon.
A loud chime sounded overhead and a woman's voice crackled over the loudspeaker, "Now boarding flight eight-twenty-four to Thailand, all rows."
Stubbornly, Thirteen stayed where she was. She continued to wait, even after all the other passengers had boarded.
"Miss," one of the flight attendants called. "I'm going to have to ask you to board the plane now."
Reluctantly, Thirteen headed through the terminal. She walked to entrance of the plane and handed over her boarding pass. She took a final look back, but it was no use; the plane wad fully boarded and the terminal was already being locked down. As she sat down, Thirteen tried to ignore the empty seat next to her. Her eyes betrayed her, glancing towards it sadly. It stood as a glaring omission; a reminder that she was alone again.
