Thanks for the reviews. :) Here is the next part, so feel free to review or concrit.
Being in work the next day was tiring to say the least. Eventually Thirteen had managed to placate Cameron enough to leave, but it was still gone two in the morning when she'd reached her own apartment. She hadn't been able to face sneaking into Cuddy's home at such a late hour for the second night in a row, and honestly; she didn't want to risk waking Cuddy up once again. Ending what happened with Cameron was her first step towards sorting out her life and making sure that Cuddy didn't get hurt.
She'd been telling the truth when she told Cameron that Cuddy's admission of love for her was what changed everything. However, what she'd failed to say, or rather; chosen not to, was the fact that never before had anyone she'd been in a relationship with told her they loved her. That was probably because she usually didn't stick around long enough to let them and when she did; she'd always been caught cheating. If Cuddy were to find out that she'd been unfaithful there was no way she'd stand for it. If she found out she'd been unfaithful with Cameron... the consequences didn't bear thinking about.
Forcing herself not to think for the moment, Thirteen wrapped herself up in her duvet and attempted to get a few hours sleep before she had to go to work. The more rest she got; the better she would feel in the morning.
Walking through the car park the next day, Thirteen couldn't help yawning. Despite her best efforts she hadn't been able to sleep properly last night, and hadn't been able to stop thinking about what she'd done. Even though she'd now finished the affair, she felt guilty for all the times she had gone to Cameron; most of the time for absolutely no reason. In some ways that made it worse, as there was nothing she could say about Cuddy that made her want to be with someone else. She just felt she had to be, and that alone made her feel revulsion at her behaviour.
"Thirteen!" She heard a call from behind her, and immediately she knew who it was. "Wait up!"
Cameron. Thirteen sighed, stopping and turning on the spot. It was better to get this over and done with now rather than having to deal with being followed around like a lost puppy for the entire day, and therefore having to answer questions from House. "What do you want?" she asked, her tone bored, not wanting to have another fight.
"I just wanted to know if you'd changed your mind?" Cameron smiled charmingly, looking up at Thirteen with a hopeful expression on her face.
"No," Thirteen replied adamantly. "And I'm not going to. Please, just leave me alone."
Cameron's mouth opened, and she quickly began to look angry. "You can't just use me; it's not right. And you're not being fair on Cuddy. How do you think she'd feel if she knew?"
"You're right, what I've done to you isn't right. I'm sorry for that, but I'm not giving up my girlfriend for you," Thirteen retaliated. "If you care so much about this ending then you're obviously not happy with Chase. I suggest that you talk to him about that, but do not fuck with my relationship. I'm happy, and I want to be with Lisa."
"What, you think I'd tell her?" Cameron exclaimed incredulously. "I'm not a heartless bitch like you, I could never hurt someone like that."
Thirteen laughed bitterly. "You are joking right?" She moved towards Cameron, fire blazing in her eyes. "First of all; you're hardly Miss Innocent. You're supposed to be with Chase. And the only reason you wouldn't tell Lisa is the fact that you know she'd tell him. Oh, and you're probably worried about your job as well," She added maliciously, not finding it within her to be nice after Cameron's words, even if there was some truth to them.
Cameron remained silent, returning Thirteen's furious gaze with one of her own. "The reason I don't want my girlfriend to find out is because I don't want her hurt. She'd be devastated, and knowing her selfless nature, blame herself."
"If I'm unhappy with Chase, then why would I care about Lisa," Cameron placed emphasis on Cuddy's name. "Finding out? And with regards to my job; it's not like she can sack me. For God's sake, no one even knows that you're together!"
"To protect her job," Thirteen retorted. "We can only go to the Board if it's serious. Honestly, I'd be happy for the whole world to know she was my girlfriend. She's beautiful."
"And I'm not?" Cameron actually began to look slightly hurt, her true personality shining through. She'd not been herself the past couple of weeks. When Thirteen had started seeing her she had been sweet, kind. Even the sex had been; to a certain extent. But it seemed that the more reluctance Thirteen showed about being with her the more Cameron clung on, and ultimately became a whiny annoyance, for want of a better phrase.
"Not like her," Thirteen whispered, not wanting to lie. "But everyone says that you don't like people hurting, that you're a caring person. Think of all the hurt you'd be causing if you told her about us."
Cameron paused, shutting her eyes and rubbing her forehead. "I'm not going to say anything, Thirteen. I just... I care about you, ok? And you being like this, treating me in this way makes me feel used. Like I mean nothing to you."
"I don't have feelings for you," Thirteen said firmly, but not nastily. "And I didn't want you to feel used, that's the last thing I wanted. But can you understand my position? If you were in love with someone, wouldn't you do anything to protect them?"
"That's exactly what I don't understand though," Cameron announced. "Cuddy says 'I love you' and you decide that you feel the same way. Surely you should have known all along?"
"Maybe," Thirteen admitted. "Maybe I was just in denial, who knows?" She checked her watch, noting that she was late. "Look I have to go; House is going to kill me. Just... forget we ever happened."
Thirteen walked away, not looking back. She really did feel bad for Cameron and the way she felt, but at the same time; her girlfriend was her first priority.
"Afternoon!" House shrieked as Thirteen walked into the Diagnostics Department, taking a seat next to Kutner.
Thirteen rolled her eyes. "Don't exaggerate. I'm five minutes late, House. Get over it."
"Well now that's no way to speak to your handsome catch of a boss, is it?" House flung his head back, striking a pose. "Though I guess only fifty percent of you finds me attractive. The other half would prefer to be in a more... feminine doctors panties, wouldn't it?
Thirteen felt her pulse quicken at House's words. Did he know about her relationship with Cuddy? Oh God. "What does that mean?" she asked apprehensively.
"It means that you were spotted approximately five minutes ago in the car park with a certain blonde who used to work for me." He grinned in Thirteen's direction.
Thirteen breathed a sigh of relief, before she realised that this was possibly worse. If he told Cuddy about his suspicions then she would be bound to call Thirteen on it.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about," Thirteen played dumb. "I had a conversation with Dr. Cameron but contrary to what you might think; I am not sleeping with her."
"Did I say you were?" House threw in. "I was implying that you wanted to be sleeping with her. Seems I'm a little behind with the times though. Tell me, is she any good?"
"I'm not sleeping with her!" Thirteen yelled, her temper surfacing. All she needed was for Cuddy to walk in and she'd have a serious problem on her hands.
"House, lay off her," Kutner piped up, defending her.
"What were you talking about?" House ignored his attempts at sticking up for Thirteen.
Thirteen thought on her feet; the only thing she could do. "A patient in the ER. I covered a shift for one of her doctor's a couple of days ago."
"Sounds reasonable to me," Taub sided with Thirteen, apparently not interested in his colleague's sex life any more than she was interested in his. "Can we work on the case now please?"
"You might as well let him get it out of his system," Foreman mumbled from the corner as he flicked through a magazine. "He won't stop until he's satisfied."
"Exactly like Thirteen!" House took the opportunity to crack a joke.
"Do we suspect what it is yet?" Thirteen asked, glad for the change in subject.
"It's bacterial meningitis," House stated. "Do an LP to confirm." He stood, hobbling over towards the door, cane in hand. "And Thirteen, if you aren't having sex with Cameron, you're having sex with or have had sex with someone you shouldn't have."
"How could you possibly know that?" Thirteen snapped. She knew she shouldn't rise to the bait, but she was tired and now irritable after her argument with Cameron. She couldn't handle House and his nosiness on top of that. She supposed she was lucky that House had obviously been watching from a distance. If he'd been closer he would have been able to read the angriness in both of their expressions, which would have enhanced his interest and curiosity.
"You're being far too defensive," He informed her of his theory, walking outside the door. Two seconds later, he poked his head back around the door. "Oh and you have a love bite on the side of your neck." He disappeared again.
Closing her eyes, Thirteen rested her head in her hands.
Fuck.