The Right Stuff

'Thirteen' wanted to text Cameron so bad. She wanted to tell her everything they were talking about… from Buddy Epson to Cuddy walking in and him taking out an entire row without batting an eye! But she refrained…

Then… as she played with her phone in her pocket, she felt it buzz. 'Heads up.' The text read, 'I just sent a girl to House's office… you're about to get your first real case.'

She kept herself composed as she replied and told her just how much she loved her girlfriend… and what she wanted to do to her that night when they got home. Then… she waited.

She waited and waited and listened to all of the others discussing Buddy until House came back in.

One of the guys in the front started talking. She wasn't sure if it was the guy in the wheelchair or not until House looked directly at him… she was sitting in the back, like she always did.

"The aluminium could have been tainted..."

"Don't care. New patient." House said, cutting him off. "30 year old female, with synaesthesia. New rules." He pulled up the projector screen and then erased the words on the board, "You generate a lab report – You shred it. X-ray - You melt it. No notes, no records, nothing. As far as you're concerned the patient is Osama Bin Laden and everyone not in this room is Delta Force. Any questions?"

"We're protecting Osama Bin Laden?" The same guy asked.

"It's a metaphor. Get used to it. Any more questions?"

"And you're not even going to tell us her name?"

God this guy is asking too many pointless questions… She thought as she started getting a little antsy, but didn't show it.

"You think her name might be connected to what's wrong with her?" He walked over to the door and in the best announcer voice, she said, "Here's Osama!" He let her in and let her take a seat, "You all have numbers so we're going to do this, alphabetically. 8, 15 and 5—"

"Is the synaesthesia new?" The guy next to her asked.

"Yes."

"Any history of similar symptoms or psychiatric..."

"No, nothing."

"Are you on any prescription meds or use any other drugs?"

"No."

He looked to House, "Should we trust her answers?"

"What, you think I'd pull you off Buddy Epson just for a junkie?"

"Can we trust your answers?" The blonde chick in the middle of the room asked.

"You have got to trust someone, right?"

"No." She leaned forward, "Has anyone close to you been sick lately? A family member, a co worker?"

"No, not that I'm aware of."

"Two down, Kitty Carlisle?"

She decided it was time to ask her questions… after her initial observation and everything, "You spend much time above 20,000 feet?"

'Osama' looked over to House in surprise… she knew it.

House tried to play it off, but didn't well… which she knew meant he wasn't actually trying to hide his own surprise, "Why would you ask that?"

She shrugged, "People who fly are immobile for long periods. Could be a leg clot that embolised to the brain through a PFO."

"That's an unusual choice."

"Well like you said, you wouldn't interrupt Buddy with anything that wasn't…" She was content to sit back a little in her chair.

"The patient is a frequent flyer. 13, 32, 39, get Osama an EEG, MRI and an angiogram."

~0~0~0~0~0~

She wasn't really all that surprised when they walked in on… what they walked in on… but it was uncomfortable trying to keep a straight face all the same…

"No evidence of clots and other than elevated red blood cell count, ah, the ah, blood work was unremarkable." The guy that had originally sat next to her said.

He turned around and looked at '39' then got distracted by '32' who was still watching the screen in obvious disgust and fascination, "Got a problem with the naked female form?

"Not at all." She said.

Thirteen decided it was time for a joke, "Maybe she's just not used to seeing it spooning with the naked dolphin form."

House wanted to laugh, but didn't, "That's not a dolphin, it's a porpoise. There is a difference you know." He went back to looking at the screen, "Salary for one thing."

"You want us to give you a minute?" When he gave her a double take, she knew for some reason that she was going to be okay for a while in the running… So she moved on, "A high red blood cell count likely means..."

"Carbon monoxide poisoning." House said as he got up and moved to the door quickly as if on a mission.

"There are a lot of different explanations for elevated red blood cells."

"Yeah well which one fits best with the damaged flue that your competitors found in the gas fireplace in Osama's cave."

That stupid blonde bitch came up to him with his keys, "Car's clean."

"Did you just see a blonde guy with a pretentious accent?"

"Can't see an accent." She said… and that's when Thirteen knew… it was Chase.

~0~0~0~0~0~

As they were back in the classroom, she pulled out her phone and subtly started texting Allison before they started the differential. She told her about the things she said and she got the responses she was hoping for.

As they started the differential and the twins began arguing with each other, she really wanted to start texting her girlfriend again… not to tell her that twins were arguing, but to tell her what he said… because even though she was expecting it, they weren't… and their faces were priceless… and she only saw them in profile. So… eventually, after she was sent off to do another test, she got the time and did just that, 'He told them that they were distracting every male and lesbian here, hahaha! Oh! And I just got picked to do something again!'

~0~0~0~0~0~

She found it rather odd when 'Scooter' decided to let her do the test. She was debating her thoughts on the older man when Cuddy stormed into the room.

"Who is she?" She asked angrily.

How does Al think when that woman is in the room? Thirteen thought to herself as she watched the woman pace the front in her ever sexy business attire, I mean… she told me that the woman was sexy, but… damn…

"Is she okay?" One of the others asked.

"She's stable. Who is she?"

"What did House tell you?" And there she was drawn back to the older man in the room as he asked his question.

"That she is on the run from an international crime syndicate."

"That's what he told us." Oh yes… she definitely like this guy.

"House may be your boss, but I'm House's boss. You want to work here, I better be okay with it."

"Honestly, he didn't tell us anything about who she was, or what she..." The Russian girl started, but was cut off.

"Her name's Greta Cooper. Wants to be an astronaut. Doesn't want NASA to know her brain's getting her ears confused with her eyes. I went through her mail."

It was number 10… she couldn't believe it! Like… What the hell?

~0~0~0~0~0~

After being the medium drinker and after getting Greta to the, she snuck away for a bit and watched her lover work around the busy ER. Allison felt Remy's eyes on her and looked up. She nodded her head, telling her to go to her office and she'd be right there. She finished suturing and ran there, locking her door behind her.

"Hey Baby." Allison grinned and leaned in to kiss her but stopped short. She sniffed and pulled back, "Have you been drinking?"

Remy had a shit-eating grin on her face, "It was a diagnostic test."

"That you volunteered for, I'm sure." Cameron crossed her arms.

"Oh come on, Baby! Kiss me!" She pulled her in and kissed her girlfriend, who gladly kissed back.

She smirked as she pushed her away, "Baby, I swear if people think that I've been drinking because they smell you kiss on my lips.."

Remy gave her a look, "They're not going to think that you've been drinking…" She plopped down on Allison's fancy couch and crossed her legs all sexy like to get her girlfriend's attention.

Allison did give her all the attention she wanted as she plopped down next to her, "How's it going so far?"

"Well… he's definitely already curious… and already trying to figure me out." She smirked.

"Oh yeah?"

Remy nodded, "He asked me if my brother left home, if my mother initiated the divorce, if I'm a Wiccan…" they shared a look, "And then he tried to analyze why I don't have a lot of friends…"

Allison tilted her head and looked at her, "Well… Baby you don't have a lot of friends…"

"I don't need a lot of friends."

"You need someone…"

"I have you."

Allison bit her lip, "And what about when we fight? Then who do you have?" Remy turned away from her, "No. Don't do that." The blonde took her girlfriend's cheek and turned her to face her once more, "I love you." She kissed her, "I just… worry about you."

"I don't like getting attached. You know that."

"I do…"

"I've only ever had one person stay for me, push for me… want me."

"Honey." Allison crawled so that she was straddling Remy, "I love you."

"I love you too." She answered back, looking down.

After a moment, she moved so she could get her girlfriend's eyes on hers, "I think House might have seen me today… I think he's going to come down here sometime…"

Remy nodded then after a moment, "You wanna make out?" Allison laughed and nodded happily.

~0~0~0~0~0~

As they waited for house to come in for their elimination Thirteen thought about Greta's surgery. She thought about how Chase came in and gave them all the answer. Stupid Chase… He really does have a pretentious accent…

But after he came in, her mind was completely focused on getting through, then going home and going to bed.

As she was told she made it through to be abused another day, she started her way secretly to the ER to wait on Allison before they left… separately… not together so that they could be together when they got home at the same time.

But as she started her way there, she saw House limping that way and ducked into a hallway so she wouldn't be seen.

As Cameron was checking a patient's vitals, she felt two pairs of eyes on her… She looked over and saw her girlfriend behind her best friend. She smirked as she saw her girlfriend duck away into an empty bed and walked over to House, "Three weeks." She held up three fingers, "For someone who never misses something small, you missed something big."

"You're an idiot."

"The hair, where I'm working, or both?"

"The hair makes you look like a hooker. I like it. Pulling pieces of windshield out of car accident victims and reattaching fingertips sliced off cutting bagels. At least Chase's move is only one step down."

"I can do good here. Get it out of my system. Why'd you rat your patient out to NASA?"

"I don't know who's been gossiping about ethics instead of sex, but I hope they've already been fired. Which number was it?"

"Greta."

"Number!"

"No number. The patient. How do you think she got your pager number? She came into the E.R. didn't want to talk..."

"I didn't rat her out."

"You-lied?"

"Suppose I should tell her that before she keys my car."

"Why lie?"

"Had to stop some leaky faucets."

"What did it matter?"

"It was no one's business."

"Right."

"She's going to be the safest astronaut up there. Certainly more vigilant than the guy next to her who's got no clue about the aneurysm in his head ready to pop."

"Right." She grinned and started to walk away.

"You got a better reason?"

"You couldn't kill her dream." She walked off to go to her office.

Remy waited for House to duck out before she met up with her girlfriend.