No More Mr. Nice Guy

She couldn't believe she had told Al that she wasn't going to work on any case House may or may not pick up in order to avoid the flue epidemic and the lack of nurses. She couldn't believe that she had ranted on and on about how she 'wasn't going to take his shit and blah, blah, blah'… She couldn't believe that all House had to do was whistle before her ears were perked and she was running to get the treat.

Al looked over at her as soon as House whistled. The blonde didn't hide the knowing grin as she walked by apologetic… if she were a dog, she'd have licked Al's face a bit before going to House for her treat… but she wasn't… she was a doctor addicted to her job… And here she was, sitting through a differential, spouting off ideas, using sarcasm—she already got a good one in that morning as she asked if the patient was happy because of the flu (due to Taub's reasons) and good parenting… she really couldn't help her smirk with that sarcastic line. She also thought about her lover as per usual… it was all too perfect.

When House called for her she got confused, "Thirty…one?" She knit her brows and looked around.

He looked at her with as ecstatic a grin can be coming from House, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought that either way was good with you. Taub and Thirteen, MRI for tumors and EEG for nerve damage. Test whatever comes out of him for everything else."

~0~0~0~0~0~

She knew that she shouldn't have just walked out on Foreman like that… He was a pretty good guy, but she was not going to let him review her… Not after the first like read, 'I think you've shown remarkable strength in a difficult situation'. She was not going to sit there and listen to it… She had other things to do… to worry about…

Like… Taub…? She spotted him over by the nurse's station.

He had been going through a harder time that week, what with House being House. She was not expecting him to pour his heart and soul out, she wasn't even expecting a conversation, but what she got out of him was quite interesting.

He didn't even really look to see who it was when she approached, he seemed to just start talking and know who he was talking to, "It's always the same conversation. They tell you, you must be mistaken, which is why I always run the tests twice, and then they blame the other guy. Which makes sense if they're innocent, but obviously, half of them aren't. They don't seem to get that they're busted. Scientifically proven."

Thirteen bit her lip and nodded, "Unless your spouse cheated too."

He nodded, "Exactly. That's what you're praying for in that moment. That she cheated too. And then if she doesn't kill you, you know that she did, you know she betrayed you. And then, you realize that that sucks worse."

She couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy… She couldn't help but wonder about his relationship that brought him to that point in thinking… then she thanked the high heavens that she really didn't believe in that she wasn't in his boat… which was selfish, but true.

~0~0~0~0~0~

They were all in a stupor… both the old ducklings and new. They were sitting around a table outside, but Cameron stood. They were all trying to put together the fact that House had neurosyphilis.

"So this is why he is who he is?" She bit her lip in that pondering way she had as she looked around the table.

"We don't know." Taub answered first.

"We know. It's not just a coincidence." Foreman looked at him.

"Wilson says he's always been a jerk." Thirteen supplied, trying to make her girlfriend feel better.

"But he got worse." Taub looked over at her.

"After his leg." Cameron supplied.

"The leg was a coincidence." Foreman spoke up once more.

Chase interjected and stared at Cameron, "Did you sleep with him?" He asked seriously.

Cameron glared over at him, and Thirteen took her cue to change the subject, "So what's going to happen? What's going to change?"

"Maybe he'll be less of a jerk." Kutner supplied.

"Or less of a doctor." Cameron, already over Chase's accusation, looked at him.

"You got to be a jerk to be a good doctor?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, maybe House does."

"Why aren't you answering me?" Chase stared at the blonde woman.

Cameron just her jaw to the side, "Because it's none of their business. It's none of your business." She didn't wait for him to even try to respond before she started talking again in anger, "And why do you assume that he and I are more than friends? How many times do I have to tell you that I am gay! I'm gay, Chase! I'm gayer than gay! I'm fucking ecstatic! So why? Why do you always think that I'm sleeping with him when I have consistently told you just how gay I am? Why?"

Chase swallowed and looked down, "First you say it's none of my business then you leap straight for the gay excuse?"

"That's a bit of an oxymoron," Thirteen looked pointedly at Chase, "'Straight for the gay'?" After he glared her direction, she continued, "Humans are complicated."

"Humans are simple." Foreman looked at the new female duckling.

"A million different things make us who we are, you change one, you change everything. If Mozart was better adjusted, decides to play catch one day, maybe there's no magic flute." Cameron defended the other woman.

Chase continued staring at her, "You did, didn't you?... You did and you won't give me the time of day because you're 'gay'." He glanced to Thirteen and back to her, letting her know that despite his words, he had his suspicions… and he still thought for some reason that he had a chance.

Cameron glared at him and walked away. Thirteen turned around and watched her go, "Damn. She really is gay…" She turned back to the boys and looked over to Foreman who was smirking, "What?" She grinned at him, "I didn't full believe my gaydar until the moment she gayed Chase's head off." She turned back around and watched her girlfriend again with a grin.

~0~0~0~0~0~

The next time they met up, they were all in the doctor's lounge… Cameron had gone in there to sulk. Thirteen had gone in there because Cameron went in there, Kutner followed Thirteen, after checking on their patient, in hopes of watching what he thought was going to happen, and Taub and Foreman followed Kutner because they had nowhere better to go after they too checked Mr. Nice Guy out as well.

Cameron was lying in the loveseat and Thirteen was sitting in front of her, leaning against the front of the couch. They were grinning at each other when the three boys walked in. They were almost holding hands, but stopped themselves when they turned to see who exactly was walking in. They smiled pleasantries at each male… that is until Chase came in after he made rounds on his surgical patients.

Kutner started the second conversation, "We gave Van Gogh chelation therapy. Turned him into a house painter."

"Maybe not, maybe we just put Hitler on Ritalin." Taub said.

Cameron looked across the room at him, "Are you comparing House to Hitler?"

"Oh god." Chase scoffed and rolled his eyes.

The blonde female glared daggers, "Just because I don't think he's Hitler doesn't mean I slept with him. I don't sleep with everyone who's better than Hitler."

"Though the world would be a much better place if you did…" Thirteen turned her head from the front and gave her a flirty, cocky smile, "Though I think that if I ever got the pleasure, I'd never be able to let you move on." She continued, making her girlfriend blush of embarrassment and Chase flush in anger.

Foreman moved the conversation back to the topic at hand, "Maybe Taub is right, maybe this is good."

"This is not good." Thirteen stopped staring into her lover's eyes and looked at him.

"Well, he respected our opinions, he mocked himself, he was civil, he shared."

"He didn't care." She pressed.

"He never cares." Foreman looked at her.

"He didn't vote! He always cared about one thing, solving the puzzle but he was irrelevant to that diagnosis. He had no opinion of his own. He now cares about nothing." She looked down.

Chase turned and looked at her, despite his anger, "You had no choice, you had to treat him. What's done is done." He headed for the door and left.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Do you have it?" Allison asked as they got home that night… after they found out that House again switched his blood sample and was playing a big fat prank on them all.

"Do you?" Thirteen cocked a brow.

"Yes." Cameron grinned and sat on one of their couches, Remy laying down on the other, looking at her, "You first." She took a breath to start reading, but got interrupted.

"Why? It was your idea!"

"Yes, but you've already blown off one performance review, you have to sit through this one, so you can give me mine!" She gave her a cocky grin.

"Fine…" Remy nodded and waited.

Allison stood up, "You." She looked to Remy, "Are the world's biggest cuddle bug, but you sometimes pull away too quickly. You know how to bring me up when I am down, and you are sexy as hell. You give me the warm fuzzies with every look and you know exactly what say and when to say it… and you're the best lay I've ever had." She dropped the folder, pen attached in Remy's lap, "Sign here."

Remy laughed, "We need to give Performance Reviews more often." She signed and looked up at the blonde, "Ready?"

Allison nodded, "After almost a decade together, you still make my heart go bomp, bomp." She kept her eyes glued to the paper, "You're the kindest person in the world. You're a teddy bear, and I don't mean that in the way House does. You are the sexiest fucking thing that has ever graced the planet with breath… like one 'I want sex' look and my panties are soaked…. And you're the best lay I've ever had." She looked up at her with a grin, "Sign here." She pointed to the line.

Allison scanned her lover's scrawl, "You really wrote it too! Awe, Boo! We're so meant to be!" She tackled her girlfriend to the couch, "I mean, ending our performance reviews with the same words! Come on!" she kissed all over Remy's face until she reached lips. Then. Then she stayed for a long time. Remy took her hand and laced their fingers together and looked at her in that way that gave her the warm fuzzies… They were so meant to be.