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Cameron sat at the glass table in her scrubs. Flipping through another impossible case, she wondered how a team of only four people could keep someone alive. Between exams, biopsies, differentials and surgeries, she almost had no time for herself. She looked at the empty white board and the black pen resting at the bottom.
She got up, uncapped the pen, and started writing symptoms on the board. After filling half of it, she stepped away and contemplated the probably fatal case on her hands.
It all pointed to cancer, but every test she had done so far in the few hours after getting to know her patient had come back negative. It was frustrating, but she didn’t want to give House the case, because he’d know she was weak and couldn’t handle being in charge of one case.
Immersed in her own thoughts, Cameron didn’t notice the door opening. She turned around and saw one of the newly hired members of House’s team, Thirteen, stand next to her. For a few seconds, Cameron forgot how to breathe, getting lost in beautiful green eyes. The hair was beautiful, too. Long wavy brown locks were wrapped up in a ponytail, with two loose strands framing her face.
Thirteen’s voice interrupted Cameron’s gaze. “I thought you worked in the ER.”
“I do, but this one case is giving me a terrible time. I’ve had a patient for a few hours, and they are getting worse super fast. On the other hand, I don’t wanna ask for House’s help or hand it over to him.”
“Why?”
“It would show he was right about me being dumb.”
“It wouldn’t. You were in his team for a reason.”
“I could also give it to Foreman.”
“Yeah, he’d be less of a pain in the ass.” Thirteen analized the board for a few seconds before speaking again. “Have you tested for leukemia?”
“Yeah, it came back negative. So did the MRI and all the other tests. I think I’ll give it to Foreman. Or you, you seem capable.”
Cameron smiled, so Thirteen smiled too. For a moment, the two women sat on the table, looking at each other like the outside world didn’t exist, and honestly, they didn’t want it to exist.
Someone knocked, drawing their attention to the door and breaking the atmosphere. It was Chase. Of course it was him. After their break up, Cameron had noticed Chase was becoming more passive aggressive, and also just annoying.
“Don’t really mean to bother, but Thirteen, scrub in, Mr. Johnson is having a tumor removed.”
Cameron got a sorry look from Thirteen before she answered Chase “I’m going, we can and I hope we will continue this later.”
Chase shot a puzzled look at Cameron, who just shrugged and smiled. The thought of annoying Chase with the kind of emotions she’d just thought about was enough to give her confidence.
She went through every drawer until she found a piece of scrap paper she could use. She wrote a note that read “Foreman, if you don’t grab this file and take on this case before House, you will suffer”, and left it on top of her patient file.
***
It was Christmas time, so the hospital was filled with decorations. A few corners had decorated trees and wrapped boxes underneath. The pediatric wing had a tree where you could leave presents, so that’s where Cameron was headed before leaving the hospital.
While she was bent down, trying to slide the present underneath the tree, she heard a familiar voice call from the end of the hallway.
“I expected to find you here.”
“I care too much for my own good, huh?”
“I think you care the right amount.”
“Surgery went well?”
“Yeah. He’ll start chemo tomorrow.”
Even though she had recognized the voice, Cameron turned around. She saw Thirteen in something other than her white coat, and to be honest, it was a pleasant sight. Her legs looked really good in those jeans.
“Do you have something for the kids?”
“Yeah, I do.”
Thirteen walked over to where Cameron was now sitting, slid the small wrapped box she was holding under the tree, and sat next to the blonde woman.
Thirteen contemplated the tree, and Cameron contemplated Thirteen. The emotional torture Chase would endure in the future, she was taking it on right now.
“Do you wanna sit next to that couch? I think it would be more comfortable.”
“Sure.”
They scooted over and sat by an orange couch. The silence that was there before returned.
It was very awkward, so Cameron decided to break it. “It feels weird calling you by a number.”
“No, please keep calling me Thirteen, I hate my real name a lot. Cameron’s your first name?”
“No, it’s my surname.”
“Oh. What’s your first name, then?”
“Allison. But if you ever call me that in front of anyone, I will make your death seem like an accident.”
“But can I call you Allison when it’s just the two of us?”
As soon as Cameron heard her name come out of the other woman’s mouth, she knew the answer to the question. “Yeah.”
“Well then, Allison, do you wanna stay here or do you wanna go somewhere else?”
She was comfortable leaning up against the couch, next to the woman. “The kids are asleep, we can stay here a little longer.”
An awkward silence filled the room yet again before Thirteen asked the one question Cameron didn’t want to answer. “Why did you and Chase break up?”
“Apparently, the fact that I once dated a beautiful brunette was terrible for him, and in his words, ‘tarnished our relationship and his reputation for dating someone so promiscuous’. So I said I didn’t wanna continue dating a biphobic piece of shit, and I didn’t. As a result, now I’m here, with nowhere to go on Christmas’ Eve, because my family hates me as much as I hate him.”
Cameron could feel the other woman’s eyes piercing through. She didn’t know why it was so easy to talk to her, but it was.
“I don’t have anywhere else to go but the hospital,” Cameron repeated, “but you probably have plans, right?”
“No, but I do have lots of food in my apartment. Maybe you want to celebrate this meaningless holiday with me? I mean, I don’t want you to feel alone.”
“Yeah.” She got up and slung her bag over her shoulder. “I can’t wait to pass Chase on my way out.”
***
Even without drinking, both women were giddy enough to make police think they shouldn’t be driving. Cameron tripped when trying to get out of the car, and it took Thirteen about five minutes to open her apartment door.
“Wow. Didn’t know you decorated your apartment for this meaningless holiday.”
“Well, I found decorations while cleaning and I didn’t want to throw them out.”
“Cool.”
In complete silence, Cameron put her bag and coat on an armchair, and when she noticed, Thirteen wasn’t in the room anymore.
“Where did you go?” she called out.
“Kitchen, the table is here.”
Trying to navigate a small apartment filled with things was considerably more difficult than Cameron expected. She tripped on boxes and cables, and she opened three or four doors before realizing the kitchen didn’t have one.
“This looks and smells amazing.”
“Thanks, I like to believe that my friend is a good cook.”
“They are, you can tell them that.”
Thirteen slid a tray in the oven and turned around to face Cameron. “You also need a Santa’s hat. I have two more here for a reason I do not understand.”
Cameron, distracted by the smell of food and the view in front of her, was barely able to catch the piece of fabric thrown at her. She put it on her head, making the other woman happy.
“Sit. I bought the expensive comfy chairs for that purpose.”
Cameron smiled. She sat down, but her thumping heart showed no signs of wanting to stop, and it was almost noticeable. Her eyes darted around the room, landing on Thirteen. It still felt weird to call the woman by a number, but if it was what she preferred, Cameron would do it.
Bing. TIIIING. The microwave and oven stopped at the same time
“Want help? I’m feeling useless just sitting here.”
“You’re my guest. But if you really want to, put the plates on the table. Last top cabinet.”
Doing as she was told, Cameron got up and picked up two of the bigger plates inside the cabinet. She put one plate in front of her seat and the other in the seat next to hers. “Done. Now we can eat.”
Thirteen put down the last tray of food and sat down next to Cameron. Cameron twirled her hair around her finger, trying desperately to not look at the woman sitting next to her. Her cheeks were starting to turn a deep shade of red, and there was nothing she could do to hide it.
A nudge brought her back to reality. “Turkey?” Thirteen asked, while balancing a big piece of turkey with a knife and fork.
“Yeah, sure.” She extended her plate, where the piece of meat fell. Cameron got some roast potatoes and a simple salad. Nothing else on the table would be remotely good for her body, and she didn’t like most of it anyways.
“Well, bon appétit , Allison.”
The sound of her own name coming out of Thirteen’s mouth was the gift she needed but never knew she did. Slowly, she took small bites of the food on her plate.
If it had been up to her, she’d be in her pajamas, eating bags of those sweet potato chips, while one of her favorite show played on TV. Basically, if she’d gone home, she’d be repeating her Christmas routine again.
Cameron finished before the other woman, so she got up and put her plate in the sink. Thirteen followed suit shortly after, catching Cameron before she had a chance to sit down.
“Did you like dinner?”
“Better than anything I could’ve cooked. Tell your friend they should be a chef.”
“Will do.”
For a few minutes, a calm filled the room. There wasn’t that awkward silence anymore, Cameron finally felt comfortable in Thirteen’s presence, and she didn’t feel the need to break the silence with some dumb question.
“Wanna watch a Christmas movie?”
“Sure, what are you thinking?”
“‘Love, Actually’, I recorded it and have it on DVD.”
They passed a few chairs and boxes. When they were almost in the living room, Cameron looked up and saw some greenery. At first glance, she didn’t recognize the plant and the fact that someone would hang a single leaf weirded her out. When she tried to understand what it was, though, she saw mistletoe.
Should she take this chance?
“Hey, Thirteen, come here.”
The woman came when called. “Everything okay?”
Cameron had just realized what she was about to do, and shyness took over. Instead of answering verbally, she just pointed at the bundle of mistletoe above them.
“Oh, that.” Thirteen chuckled. “One of my friends must’ve put it there.”
Cameron analized the space between them, and decided to get closer. She took a step forward, and soon their chests were an inch apart.
“I think we should thank that friend,” the blonde woman answered.
She cupped Thirteen’s face and gently caressed her cheeks. The small distance was closed, and soon their lips were together. The world around them faded away, leaving them and their emotions.
Thirteen pulled away, but held Cameron by her waist. “We should really thank my friend.”
Cameron smiled. This was so much better than sitting alone watching TV.