Let Them Eat Cake
Remy and Allison were sitting in the waiting room for her first day of treatment in the clinical trial. She was holding Allison's hand and flipping through pages of a magazine mindlessly when a nurse walked in with a patient with an advanced case of Huntington's. She dropped Allison's hand and stared. When she saw this woman… she saw her mother.
Allison knit her brows and looked at Remy's face, and when all she saw was hair she leant back to see Janice as well. She tried to lean a bit more to see Remy's face, but when that failed, she just put her hand on her back and rubbed. Remy turned back to her and smiled a sad smile. Then she took a breath and turned back to the magazine.
When she was called, Foreman told her that Cameron couldn't go with her, but after getting the death glare from both of them, he relented and escorted them both back. Remy couldn't stop running her mouth during all the tests. She knew that she wasn't supposed to, but she couldn't help it.
Then… Foreman told them that she was already showing signs of degeneration. She inhaled deeply and nodded. She already knew that, but it was finally kicking in with someone else saying it out loud. She looked to Allison. Her face was blank. The blonde was obviously waiting on her reaction.
After Foreman left them, Remy turned to her, "Al?"
"What?"
"You absolutely, positively—"
"I swear to God, if you ask me if I still want to be with you I will kill you here and now." She stood from her chair in the far side of the room and walked over to her. She stood between her legs and took Remy's face as the brunette wrapped her arms around her waist, "We're finally getting back on track, Baby…"
"I know. I just—"
"No. No, 'I just's, alright?" Allison pressed their foreheads together and Remy wrapped her arms tighter, "We're gonna get through this." She said resolutely. "Okay?"
Remy grinned, "Okay." She leaned up for a kiss or twelve before Foreman came back in and Cameron had to go to work.
~0~0~0~0~0~
House, Kutner and Taub barged into the trial room, where Foreman was giving Thirteen an IV.
"Cliff notes. Gastric bypass only makes her skinny on the outside. On the inside, we have heart and lung issues not caused by heart and lung issues." House started.
Foreman turned around already annoyed, "Private area, House. It can wait."
Thirteen decided to shrug it off, "You need to consider side effects from her gastric bypass surgery."
Kutner shook his head, "Forget the bypass."
House raised his hand, "Let the dying girl finish." He scolded.
"You said forget the—"
"Ssssh! Dr. Thirteen has the floor."
Thirteen shook her head slightly at House's never dull antics, "Bypass could create malabsorption issues. Leads to low potassium."
"Very stupid. Her potassium's fine."
Kutner knit his brows, "But her intestines aren't. Gastric bypass could cause malabsorption by creating a blind loop of bowel. It ulcerates during exercise. Bacteria get loose in the bloodstream. Migrate to the heart and lungs."
house considered this, "Very not stupid. Bacteria in the bowels means there's bacteria in the poop. Get some and test it."
Taub and Foreman left, grateful that they didn't have to interrupt anymore. They almost ran into a certain, blonde ER head on their way, and then were extra thankful they got out when they could.
Cameron had a break and had come to see how Remy was doing, knowing that she wasn't necessarily liking this part of her life, but doing it because she finally realized that she wanted to live… When she had told her that, Cameron wasn't sure how she reacted. She knew that she cried, but they weren't sad tears or happy tears… they were just overwhelmed tears.
And knowing all of this was exactly the reason she was going to the trial every chance she got… She wasn't expecting her best friend to be hounding her already. She leaned in the doorway after Taub and Kutner left and had listened to the last bit of the conversation…
"He could've come up with SIBO anywhere else in the hospital. You didn't need to come down here and screw with us." Foreman scolded the oldest doctor in the room.
"But her wrong idea led to his right one. It was vital screwing." He said smugly and turned to leave.
When House turned around, he looked like a dear caught in the headlights. Cameron gave him a warning look then looked over to Remy, who only smiled a half smile, letting her know that he wasn't really bothering her, and that she was actually making a mountain out of a molehill.
She looked back at House and stepped aside, letting him limp passed her then she walked over to Remy and place a chaste kiss on her lips, "Everything going okay?"
~0~0~0~0~0~
The next night, Thirteen, Taub, Kutner, House and Foreman were gathered around a hallway corner, not able to go into the office thanks to House and Cuddy playing tricks on each other and the office smelling like boo-nasty. They'd resorted to doing DDs anywhere but the office.
"Ascending numbness means her nerves are breaking down." Thirteen started.
"Or her brain." Taub added.
"Or both." House looked between them.
Foreman looked at his watch, "We've gotta go."
Thirteen gave him a look, "Let me finish. I'll meet you down there."
"You were 15 minutes late yesterday. I don't want you to develop bad habits."
Her look turned hard, "Appreciate the life lesson, but 15 minutes give or take isn't gonna make a difference. Get started on your other patients. I'll be down there when we're done here." He sighed then left to go start.
House watched him go then, as he started turning back to the other three, "Way to know where your bread is buttered, sister." He raised his hand for a hi-five, "Up high!"
Thirteen ignored him, "If the problem's in her brain, it could be MS."
"Or early onset Parkinson's." Kutner added.
"But if it's her nerves, it could be transverse myelitis." Taub said.
"Or a million other things. We're gonna stay in the dark until we can figure out if her electrical problem is in her power station or in the high-tension wires." They all stared blankly, "Power station's the brain. Wires are the nerves. Go run an NCV test."
~0~0~0~0~0~
That afternoon, Remy had asked Allison on their second ever first official date… that of course, got her many, many kisses, which she was all too happy to receive and return. She had picked her up and given her 112 silver and purple open silk roses.
"I know it's corny, and I've done this one before, but then I bought a bouquet of real ones and had one fake one… There are 112 fake roses here…" Remy looked up at Allison's grinning face, "49 of them are purple… one for each day I pushed you away after we learned my diagnosis and 63 which is a rounded guess for the days throughout our relationship that we pushed each other away. 112 in total… 112 too many." She looked up at the blonde, "I love you. I'm gonna love you until these die, or until I do." She shrugged, "This is the first of many apologies for pushing you away."
Allison smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, "I love you too." She kissed her once more, "You don't need to apologize anymore, alright?" She grinned and kissed her cheek a couple times before reaching her lips once more. She pushed away quickly and took the flowers inside her apartment then locked up and took Remy's hand. Remy happily pulled her in so that their arms were wrapped around each other.
Their second first date went phenomenally. Remy asked Allison to come back to her place and Allison happily agreed. As they were walking up to Remy's place, Allison got a text. She couldn't help but laugh at it.
"What?" Remy asked, wanting to peek at the words, but keeping her distance. Allison gave her the phone and let her read the text from House. "A list of symptoms?"
"Kutner started a website under House's name and House knows… he asked me and Chase to help scare the hell out of him." She shrugged, "Chase wanted part of the income, I just wanted to do it for funsies… so, that's what this 'patient' that is really one of House's call girls, is going to be experiencing…" She smirked as Remy opened her door and let her in.
Remy laughed a bit and watched Allison's ass as she walked down the hall to the main living space. She quickly caught up with her and wrapped her arms around her, "Just doing it for funsies?" She grinned.
"Yeah… don't tell me you wouldn't do it if you were me." Allison smirked as Remy's hands ran down her back to her ass, "Why Remy Hadley…" She gave Remy waggled brows before she started for the brunette's neck.
Remy turned her head to give her better access, then quickly pushed her away. When Allison started to complain, she saw Remy's hard stare and turned to see Foreman sitting in the dark. She jumped a bit at the initial shock then knit her brows… Remy gave him a glare that told him to start talking.
"You never showed up."
She shook her head subtly, "Get out of my house."
Foreman looked between Thirteen and Cameron, "I wanted to find proof that you were slipping back into your self-destructive pattern. Confirm you weren't worth my time. Instead, I found this." He held up a notebook and gestured to the many medications laid out with an open pill organizer, obviously filled, "You followed all of my instructions to the letter. Probably better than any patient I have. So why are you the only one who can't show up for appointments?"
Thirteen felt the blonde woman's concern and her scolding look. She looked at her then sighed as she looked to Foreman, "I came down right after I was finished with House. You were in your office with another patient. And there was another patient in the waiting room."
"Janice." Foreman said.
"I'm well-aware of what's gonna happen to my body over the next eight to ten years. I do not need a visual reminder every time I walk into that place."
"That's understandable. It's human. And you need to get over it. Now you show up on time tomorrow, or you don't show up at all." He walked passed them and said goodnight to Cameron as he walked out of the apartment.
Allison looked over to Remy, who was obviously in another world.
Remy had a flashback of her dad trying to get her to come with him to the hospital with her mom. She just sat on her bed and did nothing. She felt Allison's hand on her shoulder and turned to her.
Remy pulled her in for a hug and Allison walked them over to her couch. "It's okay, Honey." She said.
"No…" Remy looked at her, "It's not."
Allison only nodded and pulled her back into her hold. Eventually, they got up and made their way to Remy's bed where they made a cocoon and Remy eventually calmed enough to fall asleep.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Cameron was eating a quick lunch in the cafeteria. She hadn't had a lot of time that day, and her breaks weren't the same as Remy's, which was a little unfortunate. She popped a French fry in her mouth as Chase walked over and sat down across from her. She pulled a foot up on the seat and wrapped her arms around her shin, then took another fry.
They had a bit of a staring contest before he started, "Is it true?"
Cameron stared at him, knowing full well what he was asking. She sighed, "Chase."
"Is it true?" He asked again, urgently.
Cameron couldn't help the grin that came over her face, "Yes. We got back together." Her tone almost triumphant, "Went on our second first date last night." She bit her lip.
"It ended well, then?" Chase asked as neutrally as he could.
"Swell, even." She grinned, "Right up until Foreman crashed the party, that is…" she looked off to the side, "But I can make up for it I think with our second official second date." She looked over at the Australian and his face, which was somewhere between and sad puppy and someone wanting to vomit, "You asked…" She defended her reasoning for gushing like a teenager.
At this moment, Kutner came over and sat down with them. Cameron smirked over to Chase, who couldn't help but give a sly grin back. They went into acting mode and played serious as he started in on a DD.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Thirteen, Taub, and Kutner were sitting next to each other against the wall, in the now furniture-less main office. House was lying on his back, spinning his can like a baton.
"Mood congruent hallucinations." Taub stated.
"Means it's not Guillain-Barré." Kutner shook his head.
"Which means whatever it is, it's now in her brain." She looked at her watch and got up to leave.
"Where are you going?" House looked at her.
"Sorry. Treatment."
"Does Foreman schedule your appointments by numbers on the clock or just by when I'm in the middle of something?"
Thirteen knit her brows and gave him an annoyed look, "Sorry if I'm dying at a bad time for you." She pointed to Kutner and Taub, "Could be CNS lymphoma."
She heard House yelling after her, but mouthed, 'I can't hear you', pointed to her ears, and shrugged her shoulders through the glass as she walked towards the elevator. She smirked as she checked her watch again during the ride down. She had a little bit of time before she needed to meet Foreman and went straight to the ER.
She waited patiently by the nurse's station for Cameron to come out from a curtain and when she did, she saw that bright smile that only made her realize how much more important it was she do the trial now while she's not showing symptoms constantly.
"Hey!" Allison greeted her happily as she almost skipped over to her.
"Hey." Remy grinned back.
Allison looked at her watch, "Aren't you supposed to go get your treatment?"
"Yes…" Remy nodded.
"Then…" Allison cocked her head, "What are you doing here?"
"I was uh…" Remy leaned in and whispered so that the eavesdropping nurse's wouldn't her, "That I could come here and get some good luck lovin' before I went there…"
"Oh, well…" Allison pulled her to her office, "Of course you can." She grinned as she shut the door and locked it.
~0~0~0~0~0~
After getting her 'good luck lovin',' she walked into the waiting room and saw the woman from two days before struggling to get the sleeve of her coat back on. She wanted to bolt, but she felt a presence next to her.
She turned to see Foreman, "I'll keep coming, but can you change my appointment time?"
"Can't. Schedule's full. You're stuck with her. Might as well get to know her." He walked passed her.
Thirteen took a breath as she looked over to Janice. Every time she saw that woman, she saw her mother. She closed her eyes took a deep breath then walked over to her and offered her help.
~0~0~0~0~0~
Than night, Thirteen had text Cameron and asked her to come to the trial area to get her instead of her coming down to the ER. She walked into the conference room that Foreman had been using and stared at him a moment. When he looked back at her, she started speaking.
"I lied to you the other night. That woman in the waiting room, she didn't freak me out about my future. She freaked me out about my past."
"Your mother. Must've been horrible watching her die."
Thirteen looked up at him and said stoically, "I wanted her to die. She just…" She shook her head, "Yelled so much. And for no reason. Just screamed at me in front of my friends. My father tried to explain to me that her brain was literally shrinking, that she didn't mean it. That it was the disease, but I didn't care." She paused, "I hated her. I never said good-bye. And she died with me hating her."
Foreman gave her a sad look, then walked over to her and hugged her.
Cameron pushed the door open, walked in and stopped. She looked at Remy with knit brows and then to Foreman, who waved her over. She came and took his place.
He made sure the blonde had the brunette then mouthed to Cameron, "Her mom."
Cameron nodded then thanked him as he left.
Remy looked up at Allison a few minutes later, "I wanna go home." She said softly.
Allison nodded, "Okay, Honey. Let's get you home."
Remy didn't move though, "You know… it's awful lonely in my apartment…"
"Do you want to go to mine?" She knit her brows.
"I love that place… I really do, Babe… but mine is bigger and newer and less rackety…"
"Wow, thanks. Sorry mine isn't as cool as yours." Allison smirked.
"It could be… You know… if you moved in with me…? We'd actually be able to use everything of both of ours and have nothing in storage…"
"You're ready for me to live with you again?"
"Just because I acted foolish doesn't mean I'm an idiot… of course I want you to live with me again… if you'll let me live with you, that is…"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Well… last time we were just getting together, you wouldn't sleep in my bed because you didn't know who had been there before…" Allison flared her nostrils, "And I'm now realizing that I shouldn't remind you of the fact that I had meaningless sex with multiple partners while we were not together…"
"We're burning your bed and using mine." She said sternly.
Remy smiled and sighed, "Thank God… that one is a hell of a lot more comfortable…" She kissed her cheek, "So…" She started, but didn't know how to form what she wanted to ask.
"We'll get moving this weekend." She leaned into her girlfriend once more, "And this is the last time we move in or out… unless it's together. You hear me?"
Remy nodded, "I hear you, Baby."