Thirteen stared up at the older woman with such an earnest look of need, painted across her features. She was scared of the storm, more afraid of the darkness, and terrified of being alone. Cuddy had taken all of her fears and vanquished them in a matter of moments. Thirteen was no longer seeing her boss; she was no longer Thirteen. In her place, was the young girl once robbed of both a childhood and a mother.
Cuddy didn't know what to make of the girl's child-like features or her questioning tone, as she asked for her mother. Cuddy rationalized, that she couldn't possibly be calling her momma. She was just shaken from what happened and confused. Hugging the girl closer in her arms, she rested her chin on Thirteen's shoulder.
The warmth of the towel mixed with Cuddy's maternal nature, had Thirteen feeling very secure. She hadn't responded, but she hadn't pushed her away either. Thirteen let the few remaining tears drip down her face, as she allowed herself the comfort of relaxing in the older doctor's embrace. Bit by bit, her body relaxed and she began to drift.
Cuddy sat on her bathroom floor with the slowly calming doctor in her arms. She had Thirteen's back pressed against her chest, where the open part of the towel didn't quite reach. Her arms stayed wrapped around the girl, keeping the dryer-warmed towel wrapped securely around her front.
Thirteen wasn't focusing on anything, other than the slight rock in Cuddy's hold and the security of the towel that was successfully restraining her wild movements. She wasn't sure why, but not being able to move in that moment was comforting. She needed someone else to take control.
Cuddy having rationalized the situation in her head completely, decided that they needed to move and get the younger doctor dressed. The very phrase that had made her stomach drop had to have been nothing more than a slip of the tongue, in a stressful moment. "Come on," she said, rubbing the younger girl's covered arms, "You should get dressed."
Thirteen didn't want to move. She didn't want to be anywhere other than Cuddy's arms. She whined softly and turned her head, trying to nuzzle her face against the older woman's neck. "Don't wanna," she whined, petulantly.
"You're already sick. We're not letting you get a chill," Cuddy said, intentionally denying the child like plea in her employee's voice. Standing to her feet, she practically dragged Thirteen to a standing position.
The girl instantly tried to move back into the warmth of Cuddy's embrace. She didn't want to move and she hadn't been cold until the older woman had let go. "Momma," she whimpered, not understanding why she was being pushed away.
"Dr. Hadley?" Cuddy asked, confused. When she got nothing but a blank stare from the girl, she finally acknowledged the growing worry that had been gnawing at her. "Dr. Hadley…Remy, do you know where you are?"
Thirteen looked up at the woman frustrated and tired. "Home?" she asked, guessing. She didn't care where she was, as long as Cuddy was willing to take care of her.
Cuddy felt her hands begin to tremble. She told herself it was the fever or medicine. Pushing them both towards boundaries she wasn't sure she wanted near, she asked, "Do you know who I am?"
Thirteen grinned up at Cuddy with a child like pride, "Yes momma." That was an easy question she thought and a rather silly one. Why wouldn't she know who she was? "I'm tired," she said, through an uncovered yawn.
Bed was a good idea, Cuddy thought. At least then, she wouldn't be faced with the ever-growing enigma that was Thirteen. "Okay," Cuddy said, trying to sound less terrified than she was, "Let's get you dressed."
"Then bed?" Thirteen asked, eagerly. She looked up at Cuddy with naïve enthusiasm. She wanted nothing more than to be wrapped up, once again, in her mother's warmth.
"Then bed," Cuddy said, gently cupping the girl's cheek and smiling. With an ease that would have fooled anyone into thinking they had done this a thousand times before, Cuddy quickly helped Thirteen get dressed. "Alright come on you," she said playfully, too tired not to warm up to the cuteness of, whom she was beginning to think of as, Remy.
Remy grabbed onto Cuddy's hand and followed her into the bedroom. "Momma?" she asked, already sounding half-asleep.
"Yes honey?" Cuddy asked, tenderly. She decided the best thing to do would be to let the girl be and hope things straightened out by morning. It had to be the trauma from the shower ordeal or the medicine itself. As soon as the girl started feeling better, she reasoned, she would come around as herself once more. A nagging voice, that sounded much like House, told her that was bullshit.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked, looking up at Cuddy from the seat she had taken on the bed. She looked very small and scared at that moment. It wasn't too far from how she felt. She wasn't sure why, but the urge to be near this woman was overpowering.
Cuddy saw the fear of rejection in the girl's eyes and felt herself melt. "Of course you can baby," she said, her voice coated with emotion. It was then she realized the girl standing in front of her was nothing more than a child, seeking out the comfort of her mother. In all fairness, Cuddy had seen it all along, but denial had always been something she had been able to turn to.
Remy fell against her mother once more in a tender embrace. "I don't like storms," she whispered against Cuddy's neck. When she felt one of Cuddy's hands rest against her hair, she gently nuzzled into the older woman's flesh.
"I don't like them either," Cuddy said, as she stroked the girl's hair. "How about we keep each other safe tonight okay?" she asked, pulling down the blankets. As Remy pulled back to grin at her, Cuddy gently pushed the girl towards the bed. "Let me just get changed," Cuddy said, smiling at her softly.
Remy lay in the large bed, already succumbing to the warmth and comfort of Cuddy's down comforter. She tried to watch with wide tired eyes, as Cuddy changed into a spaghetti strap top and shorts, but the urge to sleep was pushing hard.
As Cuddy neared the bed, she grinned at the girl lying there. She watched as the girl's hands reached towards her and clutched at the air making her urgency obvious. "I'm here," Cuddy said, sliding into bed and pulling Remy into her arms in one swift movement. "You're safe baby," she whispered, kissing the girl's temple.
Remy felt instant relief, once she was in Cuddy's arms. "Love you momma," she said, as she burrowed in the woman's arms. Her head rested on Cuddy's chest, listening to the steady rhythm of her heart and breath. Remy's arm rested between her breasts, clutching onto the top of her shirt. The girl's hand had bunched the material into her grasp and she drew her mouth closer. Popping her own thumb into her mouth, she began to suck steadily.
"Love you too baby girl," Cuddy said, near tears. At that moment she didn't care if it wasn't real, there was something that felt incredibly right about what they were doing. The empty spot in her heart had opened and was beaming with the pride and affection. She knew the harsh lights of reality would come raining down on her in the morning, but for now, she wanted nothing more than to indulge. She needed to explore this and Thirteen obviously needed the comfort. Cuddy pulled the covers around them more securely and succumbed to a comfortable sleep herself.