AN: Okay, so this is the chapter a few of you have been waiting for. It's the explanation behind the tattoos, and in Less than 13's words it's showing how they're "not just skin deep." Heehee! Love you girl! Hi-larious! Oh, also, as always, it's rough. You know, once you start not editing, you get in the habit of keeping it that way…

It hadn't even been twelve hours since she left the apartment building that she found herself back debating on pushing Thirteen's button.

The door opened and an older couple was exiting. "Oh, here you are dear." The man hooked his cane on his arm and held the door open.

Cameron smiled and took the door, "Thanks." She said stepping inside. The man nodded and turned to his wife. Cameron couldn't help but smile and think I want that. She headed to the elevator, and when the door closed, she noticed the music. It was very…country. She didn't mind it really; she actually liked it a lot. And she loved Josh Turner's voice. She hummed the verse or two, and started half singing, half saying the chorus. "For my two left feet, and our two hearts beating, nobody's gonna see us go crazy. So, Baby why don't we just dance down the hall, Baby straight up the stairs? Bouncin' off the wall; floatin' on air, Baby. Why don't we just dance?" She hadn't even noticed that she had already gotten off the elevator and had knocked on the door.

"What?" Thirteen scrunched her face at Cameron's words.

"Oh shit!" Cameron got out of her own head quickly. "Sorry, it was playing in the elevator…" She pointed behind her like it would explain everything.

"Okay…" Thirteen leaned against the frame and folded her arms.

There was a rather awkward pause.

"What are you doing here, Cameron?"

"I wanted to give you space, but I want to make sure that we're really okay…" She had gestured with her hands before dropping them to her sides, "I don't know." She looked down, "Maybe I'm here to make myself feel better…" She looked up at the ceiling, "Fuck me." She breathed out in an agitated whisper.

"Okay." Thirteen smirked and pulled her in.

"What?" Cameron scrunched her face and straightened her body as Thirteen grasped her forearm.

"You said 'Fuck me.' I said 'Okay.' Or was there something else you needed? Like embarrassing yourself further?" She suggested sarcastically as she started stripping her partner of her clothes.

Cameron coughed, "No…" she cleared her throat again, "No. Nothing else."

"Okay." Thirteen kissed her. She had analyzed it all day long. Since Cameron had come back—and so soon—she had determined that it really didn't matter since all this was, was sex. If things changed, which she hoped they would, then she'd worry about it then.

After that night, there were no issues. Neither pressed topics the other was closed on, neither really did a lot after work anymore…except for each other.

It was one night about three—maybe four—weeks later that Thirteen started to get personal. She didn't trust a lot of people, hell, she didn't trust anyone…she trusted Cameron. "I hated my mom." She said as she traced the letters on Cameron lower back, a habit she had picked up early on the re-lay me-ship.

"What?" Cameron turned her head to her with interest and…it looked like security to Thirteen.

"I hated my mom." She looked from the letters to Cameron, "For what she had, what she turned into…what she gave me." She looked away from her when the lone threatening tear spilt from her eye.

Cameron looked at her, studying her. "Why a—?"

"Speak of what you know, right? I know that I hated my mom…" She paused for a moment or two, "And that I trust you." She finished. Cameron sat up and wrapped herself around Thirteen. "I know that this is more than sex, and that it has been since the beginning…" She pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Yes?"

Cameron nodded. They lay back down, and held each other a while longer. Thirteen told her more; she told her everything. All her skeletons. She didn't know why, but everything was just spilling from her lips like word vomit…except it felt right. It felt like it was meant to be said and shared with this beautiful blonde enigma that had captured her attention from the very first time she came to the hospital.

They had the rest of the day and all night…and the next day because they had the entire weekend off for once. Thirteen thought that Cameron had fallen asleep; she was moving to get up and get her a quilt when she started talking herself. "Do you think love is desired between us?" Cameron whispered.

"What?" She whispered just as softly.

"Love. Do you think it's desired between you and me; do you think we should awaken it?" She turned so that she could see Thirteen's face.

"Whatever you want, Cam." She didn't look in her eyes so much as follow her hand as she wiped hair from her face.

"No. It's what we want." She said as she took her hand and kissed her fingertips. "I've been in love…truly in love twice." Thirteen didn't say a thing, she knew Cameron was about to open up…something she never thought she'd see. "He was a senior; I was a freshman. I just wanted to be accepted, and he was the quarterback of the football team." She grinned at the memory. "God! When he asked me out, I had never had so many butterflies in my stomach…it was more than just butterflies, it was dragonflies, caterpillars, rabbits, horses..a freaking meadow of nerves, okay?" She looked to see that Thirteen was following the story. "He went to my church too, which was even better because my parents trusted him." She sighed and her face went blank before she continued her story. "He had asked me to the after party of home coming. One of the guys lived in the outskirts of the city. His parents had a lot of land, and the school had a lot of parties there. When we got there, I got this feeling that I needed to leave, but I was so caught up with the fact that I was on a date with him, I chalked it up to jitters. Later in the evening…after had had a few too many drinks, he called me over to him. He told me he wanted to make love to me. Like a fool, I believed him."

She was staring at the ceiling, and her eyes were flooding with tears, making them insanely bright with the lamp and evening sun light bouncing off of them. "He took me to this weeping willow that over looked the clear water pond. It could have been romantic, but he pushed me against the trunk and kept saying 'Love hurts Al. Remember that it's gonna hurt. I know you want it, and I'm gonna give it to you.' He was right." She blinked, letting the tears loose. "It did hurt. But, not as much as when he pulled me up and dragged me back to the party like nothing had just transpired. Not as much as when he asked one of his friends to drive me home. It didn't even hurt as much as when I realized he wasn't only not going to speak to me again, but he wouldn't even look my direction again. And it sure as hell didn't hurt when I learned that I was pregnant…" she bit her lip as she held back the approaching sob, "and he tried to pay me off a-a-an-and act like it wasn't his kid." She wasn't looking at Thirteen. "You know, I had to live with a reputation of being someone I wasn't for my entire high school career?" She shook her head and wiped her eyes. "Anyways," she swallowed the apple-sized lump that had formed in her throat, "That's why love is so difficult for me. It's why I shut down and don't consider the possibility. It's also why I envy the people who are really in love…"

"Is that why you got that tattoo?" Thirteen leaned over to run her finger along the words.

"Yeah. I never told anyone what happened. I just…lived with and sometimes up to the reputation. I wanted to always be reminded that I shouldn't have pushed and pushed for my first love to happen because when it's not ready, it leads to heartache. I've wanted, and have been trying to protect myself ever since. It's why the casual sex works."

"Can I ask a question besides the one I'm asking right now?" Thirteen was holding her, trying to protect her from…the past.

Cameron smiled and kissed her neck, "Yeah." She whispered.

"Where's the baby?" Thirteen asked.

She tensed completely, "It died." She said simply. Thirteen wasn't going to prompt her for more, she just hugged her closer, and when Cameron noticed this, it made her trust her more. It made her want to open up. "I was two and a half months along when I got my period. Since I had never been regular, I thought that I peed on the stick wrong. I went to the doctor anyways, and she told me that it wasn't a period. It was a miscarriage. She didn't have an answer for why it happened. Just that my emotional and mental states affected her too. She told me that something unexplainable happened and she died."

"How did you know it was a girl?" Thirteen asked.

"I just did." She sat up and looked at her. "So, do you want to know the rest?" She grabbed the back of her neck and pointed to her hip.

"Of course I do. But, I'll only listen if you really want to tell me." She sat up and leaned against the headboard of the bed while pulling Cameron between her legs.

"The next one I got was the tramp stamp. I was a junior in college. I was in the library studying for my psychology test with my boyfriend, and this guy came up to me. He was actually the same guy that drove me home…" She wrapped her arms around her thighs, and crossed her hands to hold her ankles. She laid her chin on her knees, "He waltzed right up to me and asked—despite my boyfriend being right there—when his turn was because he never got one in high school. I started to talk, but Brandon stood up, pushed him and told him to back the fuck off. Then Wyatt raised his hands in surrender and laughed. 'Listen Ally.' He said, 'I'm not lying about getting my turn. I want it whenever you're done with him…so tomorrow, right? That's good for me.' I rolled my eyes and stood up to face him. I told him that he didn't know what the fuck he was talking about, and that he needed to know what really happened before he spoke about shit like that. Then I gathered my books and told Brandon that I was going back to my room."

She smiled. "When we got there, I was crying. He was pacing. He hugged me after the two minutes I took to calm down, and he was kneeling in front of me. His hands were holding my arms as he stared into my eyes. He told me that what I said to that asshole were words to live by. He told me that ever since he'd known me, since our freshman year of college…I was the only person that spoke of what I knew. I remembering smiling at him and hugging him. He asked me to marry him. He pulled out a ring, and told me that he loved me and even though his life was cut short, he still wanted to be tied down to that one person…" She leaned against Thirteen. "I couldn't say no. He was my best friend, my boyfriend. He was the only person that had ever defended me, the only person that had loved me since my freshman year of high school…And…I loved him." She licked her lips and looked away as she changed positions so that she was facing her. "Six months later we had rings on our fingers, and six months after that…I was a widow. That conversation had been echoing in my head since the heart monitor went flat. So, the day of his funeral, instead of going to the wake, I went to a tattoo parlor…I didn't want to deal with anybody anyways, and my in-laws knew it. They just didn't expect me to come home with a tattoo. See, we were living with them to make things easier on Brandon. He could have all the help he needed…and hated. Anyways, when I came home they had asked me where I had been, so I turned and lifted my shirt. After explaining, they weren't so angry…they knew about the other one already, so they weren't all that surprised either." She smiled. "Umm, you should know that I consider them my parents…not my parents. I haven't spoken to them since college, maybe."

"Is that why House hasn't quite figured you out?" Thirteen asked with a slight grin.

"I guess so. That and the fact that I took his name, and he thinks he needs my maiden name to find the people I go home to…" She grinned.

Thirteen matched her grin and pushed forward to tackled her into a lying position. "So…" She kissed her neck, "What's the number for?" She kissed her cheek then lips.

Cameron's eyes lit up. "The number. Hmm…the number is—don't make fun cause it'll actually sound kind of silly—the number is actually a quote."

"A quote? A quote from what?" Thirteen propped herself up on her elbows.

"One Tree Hill." Thirteen started to laugh. "Don't make fun!" She warned, and Thirteen sobered quickly. "It was when I had just started fucking Chase. I actually had a night to myself, so I had plopped down in front of the tube and turned to the WB…it was the WB then." She gave her a serious look, which made Thirteen smile. "I had actually been having a debate with myself when I watched the episode about if I should give in and commit to him, or if it would be better to just have sex on tap. Then I heard the quote 'At this moment there 6,470,818,671 people in the world. Some are running scared. Some are coming home. Some are telling lies to make it through the day. Others are just now facing the truth. Some are evil men at war with good, and some are good struggling with evil. Six billion people in the world. Six billion souls. And sometimes…all you need is one.'" She paused, gouging Thirteen's reaction. She gave none because she had looked as though she was in thought as she started reciting it. "It was then that I realized Chase was the one person in that time that I needed, and so I went out and got the number because it was a huge impact…despite where I got it from. But, unfortunately, despite what we think, people change. Usually when we're in a commitment, we try to change for the better or for our significant other, but in Chase's case…he changed for the worse. The Chase I knew died…there's nothing left but House's chewed up remains."

"I could see that." Thirteen still had her thinking face on. Cameron gave her a look. "What? I could!" She laughed slightly, "…so. Do I get to learn about your neck?" She started kissing said area.

"Mmm, well we've gotten this far without so much as a Kleenex box. And, this one's not sad, so I might as well… Flourish—well the dictionary definition is: a bold or extravagant gesture or action, made especially to attract the attention of others." She stopped talking.

"Is that it? Cam, Baby, you already had my, and pretty much everyone else's attention…"

Cameron rolled her eyes, and swatted her arm playfully, "No that isn't really the reason… I just..I don't know. I felt like my life had run right into a rut. I mean, my life—it's textbook. I'm a doctor, so I automatically work long hours. I'm divorced like what? Over half of America now? I do the same thing everyday. I mean, I wouldn't mind that if I liked the hospital I worked at, or if I liked the people I worked with… I just…needed to defy some logical rule. And tattoos were something I had already done, so I wasn't too scared. Aside from the fact that this one will be visible to anyone and everyone when I don't where collared shirts and my hair's tied back. So…it really was rebellion."

"Interesting." Thirteen said.

"You've been around House to much." She nudged her with her shoulder.

"It is though. I mean, sweet and innocent Allison Cameron actually has a sketchy past, and rebels." She started nipping at her neck again. "I think I just fell for you even harder." Freudian Slip!!!! She tensed, but when Cameron didn't reply except with a laugh, she continued what she was doing.

"Hey." She grabbed Thirteen's face and pulled from her neck, "You never answered my question…well I didn't give you an opportunity—sorry about that. But, do you think we're ready? Do you think love's desired between us? Is that even a possibility?"

Thirteen stared into her eyes. "I think that…we are ready. It is desired, and it is more than a possibility. I think it's a reality."

Cameron's face lit up, which in turn, made Remy's light up. "You do?" Cameron was still holding her face.

Remy nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"Oh, Thirteen." She moved to kiss her, but Thirteen pulled away.

"No hospital nicknames, no last names. Allison, Remy. Variations of either…couple nicknames…Okay? Good." She was stating this, but her eyes were giving Camer—Allison a pleading look.

Allison looked like she had an invisible hanger in her mouth she was smiling so big. "That sounds more than 'Okay.'" She kissed her softly.

AN: You should know me by now…I can't do drama..or at least not for very long. I'm a fluffy person, what can I say? Hope you like it…tell me your happy thoughts…or whatever mood you're in thoughts. You guys are awesome!

Oh, and the miscarriage thing? I don't really know if that's true. I mean, we're on childhood development in my psych class, and the professor said that those mental and emotional states can affect the baby, but I don't think they have that much affect…you know what I'm sayin'? Didn't want to give out false info. It was just for the story…