Cameron found herself excited to go to lunch the next day. Unsure of the reason for the extra glance in the mirror on her way out of the ER that afternoon, she continued walking down the corridor and decided the elevator was too slow for her. After taking the stairs, she arrived at the cafeteria. Trying to be stealthy, she scanned the room for long brown hair bent over a stack of files. After finding no one matching Thirteen's description, she dropped her head in disappointment and continued to the line for coffee.
"Skipping lunch?" a voice asked in mock surprise. Cameron smiled. "I just thought that actually eating was for all the cool kids." She replied. Thirteen laughed behind her, causing Cameron to turn around and watch her beautiful smile play across a usually cynical face.
"Well what do you think about being a really cool kid and getting real coffee instead of the crappy stuff here? I actually hear Maureen drinks this coffee and she plays the tuba. Couldn't be caught dead drinking that if you want to be Homecoming Queen."
"What what I thinking? How could I even consider the geek coffee? Where are we going?" Cameron shot back playfully. Thirteen smiled mischievously. "Follow me." Came the ominous reply. Turning around and walking off, Thirteen didn't even look back to see if Cameron had followed her.
Though she was following her, Cameron found herself studying her fellow doctor's backside. I t was perfect, even covered in layers of clothes and a lab coat. She could tell; Thirteen took care of herself. Snapping out of it, she found herself thinking something along the lines of, "What the hell?" Shaking it off, she did wonder what was going on.
As they walked down the halls, Cameron finally caught up with Thirteen. "So now that we're out of House's earshot, what is your real name?"
Thirteen let out a short, melodic laugh. "What, you don't find my numerical identification satisfactory?"
"No it's not that," Cameron replied. "It's just that the last time I was really invested in something I called by number, I was playing roulette. And I lost."
"We'll maybe you'll win with me." Thirteen answered back with the raise of a slender brow. "But your chances are about the same... Now, we have arrived. The best coffee this side of Princeton Plainsborough."
Cameron examined her surroundings and found herself standing right in front of the double doors of the dean of medicine, Lisa Cuddy.
"Oh no. No no no. Cuddy will kill us if we mess with her stuff."
"Oh come on. She'll never notice. And even if she does, she'll automatically assume it was House pulling his usual bull." Thirteen said with a sly look blessing her beautiful features. Cameron felt her muscles relax, watching Thirteen enjoy herself so immensely. Sensing the war was almost won, the taller doctor turned her back, and pushed her way easily into the office. Cameron tiptoed her way inside after her.
Thirteen went straight to a drawer under her desk. "You've done this before haven't you?" She asked cynically.
The brunette looked up quickly and forced an expression of innocence. "Of course not. That would be wrong."
Cameron laughed out loud. They waited for the coffee to brew and talked about the latest case House had the "ducklings" working on. It finally came to serve the coffee and Thirteen stopped and tilted her paper cup to Cameron. "To House." She said.
"To House? I thought we were talking about the scale of his ass-ness on a regular day?"
The brunette laughed, revealing perfect teeth. "Agreed. But without him, we wouldn't be here. Both of us together, drinking illegal coffee in Lisa Cuddy's office. Even if the only reason I'm still here is to replace 'the hot doctor'." She ended in air quotes.
"You're right." Cameron said through the smile that was pasted to her face the entire time the younger doctor was talking. "Maybe I should walk up to him and give him a big hug for trying to run me over with a crash cart so I could look like a complete idiot to meet you."
Another laugh.
"Don't worry. That isn't the worst way I've ever seen a stooge of House's. 32 was hosed down in a chemical bath because House told the other interns she had come in contact with 'unknown substances'. She was wearing a white shirt and bra. The only 'substance' she had come into contact with, was a room full of testosterone."
By the time she had finished speaking, both doctors were laughing heavily and struggling not to spill their coffee. Suddenly, Thirteen immediately quieted and cocked her head to the door.
"Do you hear that?" she asked Cameron.
"Hear wha-" Allison trailed off. The sound of heels clicking on linoleum was coming toward the door. Cuddy was coming. Panicking, they turned and looked at each other. Then they whirled away from each other at the same moment. Thirteen grabbing Cameron's coffee and tossing both in the trash, Cameron scooping up the maker and shoving it in the drawer, and ending with both of them trying to hide under Cuddy's desk.