Hi. :)

It's Christmas, (well, technically not anymore, but still) and I'm home on vacation, and I have time on my hands with an urge to write. So. Put all those together and you get another Camteen fic. YAY. :D
I don't care what some people say, but I love Christmas, even if it is commercialized. Come to think of it, maybe that's the only part I like. Just kidding. :)

Referenced "A Charlie Brown Christmas", by Charles M. Shultz. (you should watch it. it's cute.)

Don't own House MD and its characters.

Chapter 1: Good Grief, It's Christmas Eve

"Hello in there~...

Drats. Nobody sent me a Christmas card today..."

"Hey. What are you watching?"

The unexpected interruption caused Thirteen to look up from the TV. Cameron had just entered the doctor's lounge with a mug in her hands. Her eyes followed the blonde as she rounded the sofa and sat down right next to her. The strong smell of coffee didn't go unnoticed.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas," the brunette answered softly, tearing her eyes away from the cup of caffeine and gluing them back onto the television screen. She subconsciously wondered what the ER attending was still doing here so late in the evening. Wasn't it going to be Christmas in three hours or something?

"I almost wish there weren't a holiday season... I know nobody likes me. Why do we have to have a holiday season to emphasize it?"

It was Christmas Eve, and for this reason Princeton Plainsboro was pretty quiet. Diagnostics had just wrapped up a case a couple of days ago, "Just in time for the patient to see Santi Claus and subject herself to the overly commercialized aspects of the alleged conception of that dead guy with the beard," as House put it. Thirteen was given the next few days off... but in all honesty, she had no idea how to spend them. It was either bar hopping to get wasted as hell, sulk and mope about alone in her apartment, or simply go to work and try to do something productive. The rest of the team wouldn't be coming in, but she didn't mind. Probably half of the hospital would be off, but who knows, the ER might need an extra hand or two to treat the annual rush of drunken idiots that come in. Interestingly enough, Remy herself was somewhat close to becoming one of those idiots. Well, she had considered it, at least.

But at this time of the night, no one is remotely inebriated yet, their alcohol intake not yet enough for them to need their stomachs pumped. And so Thirteen wandered aimlessly around the Emergency Room and the clinic for a while, searching for things she could possibly do, people she could possibly help and not scare away with her grumpy mood.

Not that she was in a grumpy mood or anything; she wasn't that grumpy. Just...a little bored.

"Thanks for the Christmas card you sent me, Violet."

"I didn't send you a Christmas card, Charlie Brown."

"Don't you know sarcasm when ya hear it?"

A movement to her left – Cameron taking a sip from her mug – reminded her that there was someone else in the room, and that person was sitting right next to her. Feeling a little obligated to speak and break the silence between them, Thirteen cleared her throat.

"Reminds me of myself," she commented without taking her eyes off the screen.

The sudden statement caught Cameron by surprise. Watching the expression on her coworker's face, she wasn't sure whether she was joking or not, not knowing what to make of her tone. She didn't really know Thirteen that well, and never knew what to expect of her. She decided to tread these waters carefully. "Who...? Charlie Brown?"

Sensing her tentativeness in asking, Remy chuckled and smiled at her. The younger doctor observed with amusement as the blonde relaxed noticeably. "So...what are you doing here on this snowy Christmas Eve?"

Cameron set down her drink on the table and turned to face her. "Well..." she thought for a moment for a good answer. "I've...never spent Christmas here in the hospital before. So I just decided, hey, why not?" She shrugged in conclusion, laughing nervously as she did. Remy joined in, knowing fully well that both of them knew that was a pathetic excuse of an answer. But as curious as she was, she didn't want to pry.

They sat in silence for a while, turning their heads back towards the TV, tuning their ears to the children's voices.

"Alright now, what seems to be your trouble?"

"I feel depressed... I know I should be happy, but I'm not."

"Well, as they say on TV, the mere fact that you realize you need help, indicates that you are not too far gone. I think we better pinpoint your fears. If we can find out what you're afraid of, we can label it. Are you afraid of responsibility...?"

"Is it busy downstairs?" Remy asked.

Cameron took another sip of her coffee, making the brunette lick her lips. "Hmm, not really..." she responded.

An air of silence hung between them again as the very same thought entered their minds. Now what? The sense of lostness enveloped the two of them, who, unbeknownst to each other, were about to spend the holidays alone.

"Actually Lucy, my trouble is Christmas. I just don't understand it. Instead of feeling happy, I feel sorta let down..."

The both of them sighed inwardly as they watched Charlie Brown. After a while longer, Remy straightened up and stretched her arms. "Well... I think I'm calling it a night then..." She stood up and grabbed her white lab coat from the armrest.

Her colleague's sudden move to leave panicked Cameron for some inexplicable reason. She looked up at the brunette with a hint of disappointment. "Alright..." She glanced at the television, then turned back to Remy, looking for something appropriate to say. "Umm... Merry Christmas."

On this note, Thirteen froze for a moment. Did she really forget that it was Christmas? She frowned at herself for being such a Scrooge. "Yeah, Merry Christmas..." came her awkward reply.

As the younger doctor headed for the door, she felt her stomach growl. My god I'm starving. She realized that she hadn't eaten since that morning. Hmm...where to eat, where to eat... But wait. Is she really going to eat out alone? Hell, is she really going to spend Christmas alone?

With a hand on the doorknob, a thought hit her. She turned around, and with surprise, saw that Cameron was watching her. Shrugging mentally, she took a step back towards the center of the room. No turning back now. "I'm planning to go grab a bite to eat. Have you had dinner yet?"

The blonde raised her eyebrows as she realized what Thirteen was saying. "I...um... No. I actually haven't."

"Wanna come with?" The duckling asked with a shrug. She had to wait a while before Cameron finally processed the simple question and managed to dig out the right response from her brain. "Sure. I'd like that."

And so the two doctors ditched Charlie Brown and headed for the locker room. As they gathered their things, the both of them silently hoped that the evening would cease to get any more awkward than it already was. Such an interesting turn of events, involving two of the most interesting of persons. And on Christmas Eve too. They couldn't help but imagine what the rest of the night would bring.

Merry Christmas. c: