[OPEN TO ANYONE] Not everyone gets lucky at lunch

[ihavefun]

Cameron stabbed half-heartedly at her limp salad in the plastic container sitting before her. She blew some stray blond strands of hair out of her face and then tucked them behind her ear. Lunches these days were usually spent alone, unless Foreman managed to sync his break with her and they sat together. It was always weird, though. There was no

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[innerthirteen]

For the others life was returning to normal. Sure, when Amber had almost died, they'd agreed that they liked her. But they didn't really, she was still...well, a bitch, the Wicked Witch of the Ward come back to life. But it wasn't the fact that she disliked Amber that was making Thirteen avoid ay section of the hospital the blond was in. It was something she couldn't put her finger on, couldn't put a name to.

Watching her suffer, fighting to save her, even watching House...it had taken its toll, though Thirteen wouldn't admit that. She was supposed to be better than that, right? She was glad Amber was alive, but it reminded her of things she didn't want to think about, couldn't. Not knowing had given her strength, courage, what she needed to really live. Now she felt that slipping away.

Damn House. Why did he have to have the test done without teling her? But she couldn't blame him for the results. Just the fact that she knew them.

She wasn't in the best mood, but a girl had to eat. So she headed to the cafeteria, deciding something chocolate or sweet was just what she needed. It would do until she got off tonight, hopefully in more ways than one.

It was when she was trying to find a seat that she spotted Cameron. She didn't know the woman too well, but she couldn't avoid everyone.

"Is this seat taken?"

[ihavefun]

Cameron looked up and her eyebrows rose slightly when she saw who was standing there. She reached and pulled some of the things she had spread across the table back into her own space and shook her head. "No, go ahead," she told her with a smile. She would lying if she didn't admit she was taken aback that Thirteen had approached her. It wasn't like they had a lot to do with each other up to this point, but inevitably, the crash had affected everyone in different ways and Cameron had shaken some of the resentment towards the new team in the process. "He's letting you have a break," she noted in amusement.

[innerthirteen]

"He doesn't know I'm here," she said, laughter in her eyes. "He hasn't-"

She beeped then and had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. It was from House, of course. He could sense what she was going to say and sent the message just to prove her wrong.

Well, she knew it wasn't true, but she wouldn't have been surprised.

"Never mind," she said, shaking her head. "I have thirty minutes, though," she added, not quite shrugging.

She knew the other woman wasn't overly fond of her or the rest of the team, but Thirteen couldn't blame her for that. She would have felt the same. She wanted to ask her how House was, if he'd always been the way he was now, but she held back.

"So..."

[ihavefun]

Cameron nodded in understand, looking wryly at Thirteen's pager. "He's either biding time to irritate Cuddy or he's up to something he sees is much more important than the case. Probably internet porn," she said, with a shake of her head. She laughed slightly. "So... how are you coping being at House's beck and call? I lost count of the amount of times he made me want to quit in my first year."

[innerthirteen]

"Probably porn," she agreed. She didn't have a problem with it, if anything it amused her, but House did it for shock value as much as anything else. They were still working each other out, she and House, though they had a much better feel now.

"It's not bad if he doesn't have me doing pointless things," she said. The private life that she guarded was not disturbed too much by House's demands. "It's always about actions and reactions with him, isn't it?" She dreaded to think what he would put them through, after Amber's death.

[ihavefun]

Cameron hummed in agreement with a small nod. "It's all about the shock value. At the start, that can be extremely confronting. If I'm honest, it's the pointless things in the early days that drove me up the wall and I found myself looking for things to do, like answering his email and such. The thing with House is, anything he gets you to do is rarely pointless. It usually has a reason, even if it doesn't come to anything because he couldn't be bothered in the start ordering us to do anything unless he wants us to. I think I nearly had a stroke the first time he wanted Chase and me to break into a patient's home," she said with a small laugh.

[innerthirteen]

"Yeah, that was a bit of a shock," she admitted. "All the...less than legal things he has us do." Like digging up a grave. Oh, that had been fun. "Did you object to it? You did it anyway, but did you try not to?" Not that there was much point to that. You did what House wanted, plain and simple. She knew he would likely have a reason, as Cameron pointed it, even if you couldn't see it at first. It was the not seeing the reason that made it harder to do things that could land them in serious trouble.

[ihavefun]

Cameron couldn't help but smirk. "I objected to it repeatedly, and every time he cut me down, it just made me more determined to object again. Could be why I stuck around so long. Getting indignant is just a waste of time, though. He doesn't listen and he'll do what he wants anyway. Then you'll have the rest of th team taking his side so you look like an even bigger idiot for trying to stand your ground and/or come off looking like a simpering girl who should be seen and not heard." She sounded bitter, and she knew it. "Still, I learnt more in the couple of years under House than I probably ever will in the rest of my career, so you just... tolerate it."

[innerthirteen]

Thirteen nodded, trying not to smirk herself. She'd seen Cameron with House, seen her at the differential not too long ago. She didn't have to offer opinions, or get involved, she'd just been there to take care of House's files, but yet...

"You miss it a little, don't you?" she asked. "The...thrill of it all. House can be an ass." She still hadn't forgiven him for doing that test without her knowledge. "But it's still fun. Even if he and the others make you look like an idiot."

[ihavefun]

Cameron looked at her with a faint smile and sigh. "I miss the job," she reluctantly admitted. "The ER doesn't quite have the same... bite as Diagnostics does. It's a forever revolving door of sub-par ailments, and the interesting ones, I pass off onto different department. I miss the substance and puzzles. I miss the real medical enigmas. I've become a medical snob," she snorted, shaking her head. "It's like a drug, though. Once you have a taste, the addiction never really leaves you, it just gets diluted."

[innerthirteen]

Interesting metaphor for working with House. But one that was true, and she knew it. She hadn't been there very long, but she already loved it. Would she want to leave? Most likely not.

There was the fact that House had said he'd fire her if Cameron wanted to come back. She hadn't been too bothered by it, because giving a reaction would have been stupid. But was he serious? They seemed to like each other, not to mention the fact that it seemed she'd more likely than not slept with him. Saying no, while it wouldn't have been fun, would have been simple.

"It certainly keeps you on your feet," Thirteen said. "The job and House. I like the challenge."

[ihavefun]

Cameron looked down at her salad. There was a tiny twist of envy in her gut when she thought of the new team about to take on a case, while she had to head back to the ER and suture drunken head wounds or stick IV fluids into vomiting children. "What made you decide to apply for the job? Or to even keep up with House's Survivor-esque charade to find a new team? I mean, I know holding a position under House is well sought-after, but something inside you must have kept you sticking it out in the end."

[innerthirteen]

"I like challenges as much as he likes puzzles," she said. "I don't like giving up. I knew how he was before I applied, or at least I'd heard. I don't mind the abuse as long as I learn."

That was only half of it, though. House...did the impossible sometimes, and she wanted to be a part of that. She wanted to do good, to help others. Maybe she didn't go about that like Cameron, but it was still there. Everyone wanted to make a difference, and maybe this was her small way. Or maybe she wanted to make a name for herself while she had the chance.

[ihavefun]

"The whole psuedo reality TV program didn't turn you off at all?" Cameron laughed, shaking her head. She was still stunned how House went about finding his new team, but damn thankful she hadn't had to jump through those hoops for her own fellowship. "I don't think any of us could have anticipated who he would actually choose. I'll admit, though, I did expect him to choose Amber, just for the sole reason she was a bitch."

[innerthirteen]

Thirteen shrugged. "It was his way of having fun. It was strange, sure, but he's known for being..." she searched for a way to put it politely. "unorthodox. I kind of expected tests. Granted, nothing like what we had to do. And I can't say any of us expected to be told no that way, either."

She was silent for a moment, pondering that. Amber had certainly thought she'd won it. And her reasoning - eliminate the women and she was a shoe-in - wasn't half bad. And it had worked - just not for her.

"To be honest? So did I. When it came down to just me and her for the women, I thought she'd have it. But maybe she was just too much a female version of House for him to have around."

[ihavefun]

"Do you think you'll stick around to see out your fellowship?" Cameron asked and took a small sip of her coffee. "That question sounds a lot worse than I meant it to. It's just that, sure, the opportunity to work under House is a highly sought after thing, but at the same time, he has always gone through more fellows than underpants. From what I hear, Chase was his fellow that lasted longest and then House turned around and fired him because he apparently learnt all he could learnt... at least, that's what he said. Usually fellows don't last much more than a year or two."

She snickered. "I just don't think he ever anticipated she would stick around to haunt him as Wilson's girlfriend. I thought she might have just been dating Wilson initially as revenge to House."