Warning: Spoiler's for Wilson's Heart.

Rating: T for a bit of swearing, I guess.

Author's note: Thanks to anyone who reviewed the last chapter. This one will hopefully be a bit less dark and depressing. Please R&R.

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I own no one from House. They all belong to Fox. And I don't own Kiera Knightley either. Or Robin Williams.

Chapter 2

Thirteen woke up feeling strange and disorientated. She felt heavy with the sudden influx of thoughts, as memories of the previous day began to surface. As her eyes adapted to the surreal morning half-light, and the dappled patterns of grey and white it formed on the ceiling, she passed a hand over her face, rubbing her temples. It took her a full minute to figure out where she was, since it had been a long time since she had slept in someone else's bed. She was a 'stay five minutes and leave' kind of girl. The bed was empty beside her, but she had no time to wonder at where Cameron had gone before the bathroom door opened and Cameron appeared, towel drying her long hair. Thirteen's heart skipped a beat, despite images of last night invading her vision.

"Good morning," Cameron said, smiling warmly, "how long have you been awake?"

"Literally a second," Thirteen replied, smiling in return, and sitting up in the bed. She felt more comfortable now after her initial confusion; Cameron smiling at her in that way certainly helped. She hadn't woken up alone, which was odd, but not in a bad way.

Cameron's face changed a little, the glow that was present with her smile faded as her expression turned to one of concern. "I didn't know. . . if you were planning on going into work today?"

"Yeah, I think I will," Thirteen looked at the floor, a steely determination on her face, "I don't know what else I'd do, to be honest." She glanced up at Cameron, and gave her a small smile, her eyes locked with Cameron's.

"Okay, we can go together then," Cameron suggested, her features relaxing from their worried frown. "Do you want to have a shower?"

"Yes, please, if that's alright?"

"Of course," Cameron replied, "In fact, you can wear some of my clothes if you like."

Cameron made two cups of coffee, and read part of the biomedical journal that had come in the post that morning, her thoughts not entirely on the page. She looked up as Thirteen came out of the bathroom, her hair washed and wearing Cameron's clothes, a white fitted blouse and black pinstriped trousers.

Cameron laughed lightly, "Don't look so self-conscious, you look good! It's nice to have someone to share clothes with actually, I've never really had anyone to do that with."

"Well, I'm glad to be of assistance," Thirteen smiled.

"Coffee?" Cameron asked, "And there's bagels or toast or cereal if you want it?"

"Just coffee, thanks." Thirteen sat down opposite Cameron on the table.

Cameron handed her the cup and put her journal to one side. "So, what do you think you'll be doing today, with House still hospitalised?"

"Probably clinic duty," Thirteen stated, thinking aloud, "unless Cuddy has a patient for us, which I doubt she will. Things will be weird I guess, with Amber. . ." Her voiced trailed to a stop.

"Yeah," Cameron replied, her eyes searching Thirteen's face, "things will probably be different."

"And for me," Thirteen added softly, "I guess." She paused, thinking deeply, before looking into Cameron's eyes. "I want to thank you. . ."

"There's no need, it's been my job for a long time, and more than that, I can't help myself really."

"Well, I want to thank you anyway, yesterday was. . . I don't know how to explain what yesterday was." Thirteen gestured, trying to convey emotions she had never tried to explain before. "I'm grateful because people have always accepted my bullshit about running away, and you're the first person who's tried to stop me, and well, I'm grateful because I needed someone last night, and you cared enough to. . ." her face became exasperated as she lost the words she meant to say.

"You should know that's my label by now," Cameron said, "You can't work for House and not know what he says about me. And honestly, I wasn't going to let you go home like that by yourself."

"Well, to say thank you, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" Thirteen asked.

"Yeah," Cameron replied, "that would be great."

They both smiled shyly, and a current of understanding passed between them. Cameron took both cups over to the sink, and Thirteen prepared her bag. Cameron opened the front door, and the two doctors left to drive to work.

She didn't know why she went there. It wasn't as though she could do anything. He was asleep, his usual piercing stare unable to cut right through her, tell her what she needed to do to carry on, to make it all not about that piece of paper. She needed him to wake up and shout at her and call her useless unless she carried on, to say that everyone died and that it could be tomorrow or in decades. She needed those blue eyes to open and scorch her and remind her that she mattered no more than anyone else. She'd known anyway, she realised, she'd somehow known all those years, some part of her body had been sending silent signals to her for a long time. It was time she stopped and faced the fact that she wasn't invincible, no one ever could be, and running away could never change that.

"You're looking at me as though you'd like to have sex with me more than Kiera Knightley. Which I highly doubt. She's poutilicious."

She didn't laugh.

"So you're positive." It was a statement rather than a question. She didn't reply. "I knew you'd fold." he said. His voice was weaker than usual, less energetic, and less cartoonishly expressive. "If you're going to complain so loudly about the unfairness of life you could at least go and do it in Cuddy's office. Then she might feel sorry for you and ask you to be in her new porno. Which I have pre-ordered."

Thirteen turned away.

"Thirteen," he said, more loudly, looking through her with those dazzling eyes, "it could still be tomorrow."

Her mouth dropped in amazement. She nodded slowly with understanding, almost ironically amused that he may as well have been Robin Williams in that film she'd seen, shouting 'carpe diem' from the top of a school desk. He closed his eyes again. She turned around and walked away.

Cameron felt a complete inability to concentrate on anything all day; she felt as though her mind was drowning like it never had before. She had to ask 3 nurses to repeat what they'd said to her. All she could see was Thirteen's face and the way she'd looked at her with that quiet desperation, and held her hand so tightly as she fell asleep. She cursed herself for thinking it, but she couldn't stop contemplating how brave she was, and how lost she was, and how holding her hand made her feel both more out of her depth and at home than she'd ever felt before.

She was handing a chart to one of the nurses when she saw Thirteen from across the room, walking through the clinic entrance. Thirteen's eyes sought her out, and she came over to Cameron. Thirteen spoke as she approached, "Cuddy just assigned Kutner and Taub to clinic hours and me to the ER until either House is recovered or we get a patient whose life hangs on a thread. Her words exactly."

Cameron smiled, and mentally cursed herself for being momentarily thankful that House was bedridden. "Okay, there's a patient complaining of a headache and abdominal pain in Curtain 4, you wanna take that?"

"Sure," Thirteen replied, "I'll go take a look."

"Okay, I'll just be filling out some paperwork at the nurses station if you need me."

"Okay, and, Cameron?" Thirteen questioned. Cameron looked up. "Are we still on for tonight?"

Cameron felt her smile envelope her whole face. "Of course. And you can call me Allison." she said. Thirteen smiled back, not a brief but lingering smile, so that Cameron was sure she had not imagined it.

Cameron sat down at the nurses desk, her pen hovering above her paper. Her eyes found Thirteen, as she sat down next to the patient, and began to take a history. Thirteen laughed as the man made a joke, and moved her hand to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. Cameron found herself watching, and as she continued to look, she became more unable to draw her eyes away. She knew she had to stop watching. Thirteen's feline eyes darted to and from the man's face as she made notes, her concentration apparent.

Cameron sighed and, just as she was about to look down, Thirteen glanced her way. Their eyes met for a moment, both serious and steady. Then Cameron broke the connection, her face flushed with embarrassment. Her heartbeat was racing and her blood streamed through her body with a hot, tingling intensity. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Thirteen wondered if it was getting increasingly hot in the ER. She had to ask the man to repeat his last sentence.

The next chapter promises some more action. Well, slightly. We'll call it sexual tension, not to get any hopes up.