Thirteen practically ran out of the conference room and to the elevator. Her heart had been racing for the entire hour and a half long lecture as she thought about Cameron's room key resting safely in her pocket. Even though she was going back to her own room first, she still couldn't resist taking the key with her to the conference room. This way, all she had to do was reach into her pocket, feel the cool plastic, and memories of the time they spent together would consume her. Thirteen had never been the type to think about people endlessly when they weren't around. But she couldn't help herself. She'd been thinking about Cameron since they'd gotten off the plane.
The elevator stopped at her floor and, since no one was around, Thirteen ran all the way to her room. Once inside, she yanked off her clothes, and pulled on the dark blue jeans and loose gray halter that she decided she'd wear while daydreaming during the lecture. She was just touching up her makeup when Cuddy came in.
"Wow, that was fast," Cuddy said, eyeing her new wardrobe. "Where are you going?"
"Oh, um, to Cameron's," Thirteen said with a slight blush. Cuddy smiled.
"Thank God," she said.
"What?"
"Nothing," Cuddy said with a laugh. "I've just been waiting for the two of you to finally give in to your feelings since the plane ride."
"She gave me her key," Thirteen said, unable to resist telling someone. She smiled widely in spite of herself. This girly sharing thing was kind of fun.
"Well, damn, you better get going, then!" Cuddy said. Thirteen quickly applied a new coat of mascara and left the bathroom.
"I just have to grab something from Foreman, first."
()()()
"Knock, knock," Thirteen said, walking into the kitchen, having just used the room key to get into Cameron's suite. Cameron closed her book and jumped off the bed.
"Hey, you," she said. "So I was thinking it's so dumb that we have this kitchen and no one has used it so…" Cameron pointed to a grocery bag on the counter. "I'm going to attempt to cook."
Thirteen laughed. "Sounds like fun, though I warn you, I might not be much help."
"Ah, how hard could it be?" Cameron leaned against the counter, still smiling. "What's that?" she said, pointing at the object in Thirteen's hand.
Suddenly Thirteen felt kind of silly. "IPod and speakers from Foreman. Turns out he has a pretty large collection of Taylor Swift songs. We'll have to interrogate him about that later. Anyway, we can pretend it's our own private concert." She set the speakers and iPod down on the counter. Cameron didn't respond. "What's up?" Thirteen asked.
"You…you remembered. About the Taylor Swift," she said quietly.
"Of course I did."
"Chase wouldn't have."
"There are a lot of differences between me and Robert Chase," Thirteen said, plugging in the iPod and turning it on. Taylor Swift's voice began to issue from the speakers. "Let's cook."
Cameron forced herself to stop staring at Thirteen lovingly and turned to the bag to open it. "I decided to stay simple—pasta, ground beef, tomato sauce in a can. And salad."
"Perfect," Thirteen said. "Pasta, I can do. I'll get the water boiling." She pulled a large pot from a cupboard and filled it with water before setting it on the stove. Cameron got out a pan and dumped the ground beef in.
"I think we have to fry it first before we add the tomato sauce," she said.
"I'll take your word for it," Thirteen said, hoisting herself onto the counter and sitting, watching Cameron poke at the beef with a spoon while humming along to Our Song.
"This one's my favorite," Cameron said. "It always makes me happy."
"Mhm," Thirteen said. She was enjoying watching Cameron attempt to cook, and only partly because her tight pink shirt was held together in the back by only a few thin straps of material. It also made Thirteen feel unusually happy to see someone trying to make dinner for her. Even her own mother hadn't gotten around to doing that.
"The first date, man I didn't kiss her and I should have," Cameron sang. She turned to Thirteen. "Sounds familiar."
"It does, doesn't it?" Thirteen said, smiling coyly. Cameron moved closer to her.
"That was stupid of me. How will I ever make it up to you?" she said, her voice low and filled with desire. Thirteen's heart began to pound. This was it, this was soon going to be their third attempt at a kiss. And this time, there would be no Australian boyfriends or hotel staff with room service to get in their way…
Thirteen slid off the counter, her bare feet hitting the tiled floor softly. Cameron drew nearer and Thirteen reached out, placing her hands on the woman's hips, guiding her, pulling her in. Cameron's eyes were barely open as she closed the final inches between them, reaching up and running her hands through Thirteen's brown, sun kissed hair. Their lips met.
Thirteen snaked her arms around Cameron's waist, leaning hard into the kiss, trying to defy the laws of physics by pulling Cameron even closer. Cameron responded in kind, slipping her tongue into Thirteen's mouth, tasting her. Thirteen couldn't remember ever kissing someone who's rhythm matched so perfectly with her own. There was no awkwardness, no pauses, only swift, fluid motion.
Then there was an odd crackling noise from behind them. Thirteen pulled away quickly. "Shit!" she gasped, reaching for the stove and turning it off. The meat was spitting and sizzling, and looked black.
"Damn," Cameron muttered. She looked at Thirteen. "Sorry!"
"Nah, it was worth it," Thirteen said with a grin. "We'll eat vegetarian tonight."
()()()
Cameron and Thirteen watched the sunset, lying on reclining chairs on the balcony and sipping wine. They had just eaten a romantic dinner of crunchy pasta and salad that was a little too heavy on the dressing. Only the tomato sauce was okay, and that was because it had come from a can.
"I guess cooking is a little different than diagnostics," Thirteen said when they'd finished.
"Yeah," Cameron said with a laugh. "So much for beginners luck, I guess."
"Trust me," Thirteen said. "That was the only part of this night that needed improvement." She looked at Cameron and smiled. Cameron smiled back. They had brought the iPod outside, and had gone through all of Foreman's Taylor Swift. Now the rest of his music was playing on shuffle. Chasing Cars was up next.
"We really need to talk to Foreman about his music preferences," Thirteen said with a laugh.
"Ugh, change it!" Cameron said. "This is the first song Chase and I danced to. A few years ago at a New Year's Party."
"Hm," Thirteen said. She set down her wine glass and stood up, but she did not change the song. Instead, she went over to Cameron's chair, putting one knee on either side of Cameron's outstretched legs. "Why change the song when you can just…change the memory." She leaned down and kissed Cameron deeply.
She pulled away and Cameron looked up at her, breathing heavily. "I want to be your girlfriend, Remy Hadley."
()()()
"House, it's two in the morning. You better have a really good reason for calling," Wilson moaned when he picked up the phone.
"No. It's only eleven. And I slept with Cuddy."
"You WHAT?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about the time difference—"
"House! Are you serious? How the hell did that happen?"
"Well, I took her out to dinner first…and then we went in her hotel room, and things just sort of happened."
"Wow…well, congratulations!"
"I don't want a congratulations, you idiot!" House hissed.
"Then, what? Think you gave her and S.T.D. or something?"
"No. Well at least, I hope not."
"Then what reason could you possibly have for regretting sleeping with Cuddy?" Wilson asked, bewildered.
"I don't regret it…"
"Then what…"
"I think I'm falling in lmshshffhsm."
"Huh?"
House tried again. "I think I fshmhsmfghs."
"House—"
"I think I'm falling in love with her, dammit!" House shouted. Then he looked around nervously. The hallway was still deserted. There was silence on Wilson's end.
"You sure?" Wilson asked finally.
"Yes," House muttered. He suddenly just wanted this conversation to end.
Wilson laughed. "Then just tell her that, House!"
"I can't. What if this is just the lack of Vicoden talking? What if I break her heart or whatever, or what if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"House," Wilson sighed. "You're just like every other person who's afraid to tell the person they're in love with that they're in love. Just say it, get it over with! But," he added, "try to say it without sarcasm. That might not go so well."
"Ugh. Why do people say it, then? It just sounds unbelievably difficult."
"Wait…did you just say the lack of Vicoden talking? How long has it been since you've taken some?"
"The last time I took some was…five."
"Wow, are you in pain?"
"Not especially," House said. "I have to go, if Cuddy wakes up and I'm not there…"
"Okay. Look, House. You love her. You're not even in pain right now, that's how much you love her! So just tell her. It's what she wants to hear, anyway."
"Okay," House sighed. "Maybe I'll tell her in the morning."
"Good," Wilson said, yawning. "Now I'm going to bed. Hey wait, are you spending the whole night in her room?"
"Yes. Why?"
"I didn't know she had a room to herself."
"She doesn't," House said with a smirk. "Thirteen just hasn't come back yet."