Cameron was laughing as she led her own date into the restaurant. Behind her, Foreman gave their umbrella a shake and closed it before following her inside. They approached the front desk; and while Foreman checked in, a worker flicked on the lights and rushed past them to the dining area. Cameron turned around and her jovial mood dissipated when she saw what the commotion was all about. House and Cuddy were there as well, seated at a table for two. Except she was standing beside him, hugging his head and stroking his hair. He was staring into the distance and his hands were trembling.
Cameron began navigating through the maze of tables and chairs.
"It's okay. She's not there," Cuddy was murmuring.
"She is. She's there, she's...she's melting. God, there's blood everywhere."
"Does he need 911?" the worker asked.
Cuddy looked up at him, spotting Cameron standing by his side. "I'm a doctor. He's in good hands."
House stared at the mirage of Thirteen, watching her look down at her own body. Her skin was falling off, dropping to the floor in clumps and leaving her with limbs of blood and bone. Suddenly Cameron's face blocked out the gory scene and he could feel her cool hands on his face. "House? Take it easy. Focus on my voice, okay? Focus on Cuddy."
His trembling hands curled around Cameron's forearms. His voice was a mutter, barely audible. "You're in my way, she wants me to see. It's new, it means something. Never seen it. You're...blocking it."
"She's not there—" Suddenly House lunged to his feet, pushing her back because he was still holding on.
"You're blocking it!" he snapped.
Cameron stared up at him. The whole room was staring at him. His hands still gripped her arms, jostling them as he wrestled for an authority that went unchallenged.
"House," Cameron said quietly. "All it means is that you're crazy."
"You're going to end up like me."
Foreman looked at Cuddy, who was clearly unsure of what to do. He moved closer and began to pry his hands off Cameron's arms. "House, let go of her."
House obliged, easily. His eyes found Thirteen again and he made a noise of disgust. There wasn't a scrap of skin on her body; now she was all blood and bone, glistening in the restaurant lights. Her eyes bulged from their sockets.
"Come on, House," Cuddy said, stepping closer. "Let's go home."
He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. You know geography's not the problem. Or the cure."
"Our geography is a problem for them." Cuddy gestured to the scared diners, then dug out her keys. "Go wait in the car, I'll take care of our table."
House turned and sighed deeply as he began to limp for the door. Halfway there, he fell, landing on his hands and knees. He sat up on his calves, looking at his hands. Cuddy was there in an instant. "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I slipped. On all the blood."
The little girl at the table beside him leaned over to look. "There isn't any blood."
She watched him wipe his hands off on his pants and struggle to his feet. He looked down at her and nodded curtly. "Thanks," he muttered, and continued on his way. The scared diners slowly resumed their meals.
A man cleared his throat behind Cameron and Foreman. "I can show you to your table now."
"This is shaping up to be a pretty interesting evening," Foreman commented, as he and Cameron sat down.
"Interesting in a good way, I hope."
"Yeah. Now that House is gone." He picked up his menu. "Thanks for asking me out, I needed this."
"Thanks for saying yes. I wanted us to go out for a long time."
Foreman looked up at her smiling face. "You did?"
She nodded.
"When?"
"Oh, not long after Brad," Cameron answered, her voice straining slightly as she swiveled to hang her purse on the back of her chair.
"So when I left your place. Did you want it then?"
"Yes. But things kept getting in the way. So, I waited." She shrugged.
"Huh." Foreman looked down at his menu.
She studied him. "What, what's wrong?"
Foreman hesitated, then put his menu down and leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "When Chase got kicked off Harper's team, I could swear you wanted him back."
Cameron shrugged. "I don't. And even if I did, he's not thinking of me. He's got a date on Saturday."
"He's not thinking of you, but he tells you when he's not available."
"We work together, Foreman. That's it. He wants Adams..." She shrugged. "I want you. I want this."
He raised his eyebrows, amazed by what he'd just heard.
"He's dating Adams?"