Title: Forgetting
Pairing: Thirteen/Cuddy
Disclaimer: I own nada.
Prompt: Who said being summoned by your boss was a bad thing?
Summary: Part One of Two. Thirteen tries to deal with her crush, with an unexpected result.
A/N: Written for ithilwenn in the House Femslash Ficathon housefemslash. I've been wanting to write drunk!Thirteen for a while so I used this prompt as an excuse. Hope you guys enjoy!

Sat at her desk in the Diagnostic's Room, Thirteen's boredom was increasing. With no patient to diagnose the team was currently sat with no task to complete and no paperwork to finish, meaning they took this as license to do what they wanted. Kutner was reading a comic book, Taub was reading up on the latest plastic surgery techniques, and House was… well he claimed to be doing "serious medical research" on the internet, but was more than likely surfing porn sites.

On the other hand, at least Thirteen was pretending to work, with her head bent over a previous patient's notes. In actual fact, with no satisfactory way of amusing herself, Thirteen was wrapped up in her own world, doing nothing but daydreaming. She thought of nothing important; choosing to run through her plans for the coming weekend. Nothing special was planned, just a shopping trip and a few drinks with friends. Friends that were more acquaintances than actual friends, but Thirteen didn't allow herself to dwell on this fact. After all, putting distance between herself and others was what she did best.

The moment she heard footsteps approaching the room, Thirteen turned her head to face the direction of the corridor, watching through the glass wall panes. It wasn't long before she caught sight of the Dean of Medicine; Lisa Cuddy. Raising a hand to her mouth, she bit nervously on her nails without carrying a real awareness of what she was doing. If she had, perhaps she would have thought carefully about her actions; especially within the presence of House.

Thirteen watched as Cuddy appeared in her vision, adorning a chic black suit with six inch heels, the Manolos' serving to highlight the length of her legs. Eyes wide open; Thirteen gawped at her boss, her attention fully focused on her. It took several seconds before she was able to gather her thoughts, and conscious that Cuddy would notice her, she averted her eyes hoping that her staring had gone unnoticed.

Having a crush on your boss was damaging to your career, of that much Thirteen was aware. Honestly though, it wasn't the sort of thing that you could easily control, and so Thirteen realised that the best move she could make would be to avoid being anywhere near Cuddy at all times.

Nevertheless, with Cuddy currently blocking the only exit out of the room; Thirteen's options were severely limited. She could wait until Cuddy chose to move, but that would require her to keep glancing in Cuddy's direction. Considering the fact that she was leant against the frame, one hand on her hip and the other clasping the border of the door in a position that not only highlighted her obvious power, but accentuated the hotness of her curves, this was torture for Thirteen. Swallowing hard, she tried to focus on paying attention to what Cuddy was saying. She pinched her thigh in a desperate attempt to maintain professionalism and listen.

"…so I really think it's high time you all started using your time more effectively." Thirteen caught the last few words of Cuddy's lecture.

"General Hospital is… medical research though," House whined. "It's way better than watching kids wipe their snotty noses in a clinic exam room."

Cuddy sighed, trying to remain patient. "Whilst it may be more interesting to you, House, it is not, and I repeat not medical research."

"Errr, excuse me? I saved the life of Dr. Brock Sterling!" House saluted his forehead, adopting the pose of a hero. Or soldier. Thirteen wasn't sure what he was doing, she just knew he looked like a prat.

"That was a fluke!" Cuddy hissed. "Now turn off the damn television and go do something useful! Help Cameron in the ER if the clinic is too boring."

"But Cuuuuddy," House drawled. "I don't want to."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Don't care, House. Just do it."

Pulling a face, House reluctantly got up from his seat. With a low growl towards Cuddy he limped off towards the door, attempting to show he was following her orders; despite the fact he was blatantly going to just annoy Wilson. Thirteen watched him leave, still determinedly looking anywhere except Cuddy. Once House was out of sight, she glanced at her fellows seeing that both Kutner and Taub had risen from their seats, evidently using their "time more effectively" as Cuddy had just ordered.

Thirteen sat up straighter, lowering her gaze back to the patient's notes. She figured that for as long as Cuddy was present she should at least look like she was doing something. As she flicked through the pages she was vaguely aware of everyone leaving the room, and she felt a wave of relief crash over her, knowing she could relax once again.

It was only after she had made a few notes that she was vaguely aware of someone's presence within the room. It wasn't so much that she heard them, more than she sensed them. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she felt eyes on her, and slowly, cautiously, she lowered her pen and raised her head. Seeing that Cuddy was standing before her, hand on hip; her stomach did somersaults, and she swallowed nervously. The expression on the Dean's face was… well to be bluntly honest, Thirteen could only describe it as pissed. Normally it was House that was on the receiving end of the look, though now that it was her turn, Thirteen couldn't understand why it didn't scare him the way it did her.

"Was I talking to myself?" Cuddy eventually spoke, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry?" Thirteen said politely, though she had no idea what she was apologising for.

A frown formed on Cuddy's face. "The clinic."

"What about it?" Thirteen asked, apprehensively.

Cuddy gave a wry laugh. "You weren't listening to a word I said just now; were you?"

Thirteen felt her cheeks flush as she realised she'd been caught out. Knowing that there was no point in lying, she admitted the truth. "I was distracted by… other stuff," She mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"What other stuff?" Cuddy pressed curiously.

Thirteen sighed, brushing her hair back from her face. "I was just thinking about other work related matters," she informed her boss, only half lying. Cuddy was work related; wasn't she? She hoped that her answer would be enough to satisfy Cuddy. However, as she thought this she cringed, making a mental note to herself never to use the words "Cuddy" and "satisfy" in the same sentence again.

Luckily, Cuddy accepted this easily. "Fine," She walked towards Thirteen's desk. "I'll sum it up for you. Whenever you're free I expect you working elsewhere in the hospital. Do your paperwork if you must, but during busy times such as now; help out in the clinic. And in future; pay more attention." She said assertively, before she walked towards the door, exiting the room.

Smacking her head on the desk in front of her, Thirteen cursed herself for acting like such an idiot in front of Cuddy. Knowing she should do as was asked of her, she rose from her seat and headed out to the clinic.

Cuddy was definitely right about it being busy in the clinic. Thirteen was rushed off her feet for the next hour, and didn't have time to stop and chat to anyone in between patients. Nevertheless, the fact that she had so much to do meant that she didn't have to think about how stupid she had looked in front of Cuddy, and therefore she could focus on doing her job. This was definitely made easier by the fact that Cuddy had remained in her office and not made any appearance in the clinic at the same time as Thirteen, other than to quickly speak with a nurse. Even then it had only been for twenty seconds or so before she retreated back into her office, drawing her blinds and shutting the door for total privacy.

Eventually the number of patients in the clinic whittled down, and Thirteen found that she was no longer needed. Writing up her last patient's prescription, she handed it to the young girl and made to leave the exam room. However, before she could reach the exit, the same nurse that Cuddy had spoken to earlier entered.

"Dr. Hadley, I've got a message for you from Dr. Cuddy." The nurse stood still, waiting for Thirteen to reply.

"What is it?" Thirteen sighed.

"She said can you go see her in her office right about…" The nurse glanced at the clock on the wall. "Now."

Thirteen nodded, groaning inwardly. She just knew she was in for another lecture. Figuring it would be better to get it over and done with; she sauntered over towards Cuddy's office, deciding that if she looked confident then at least Cuddy might think she was confident. And looking on the positive side, at least she'd get to ogle Cuddy. Who said being summoned by your boss was a bad thing? Or at least, an entirely bad thing.

Knocking lightly on Cuddy's door, she waited until she heard Cuddy instruct her to enter. Taking a deep breath, she bit the bullet and allowed the door to swing open.

"Ahh, Dr. Hadley," Cuddy said, glancing up at Thirteen as she entered. "Shut the door, please."

Doing as she was told, Thirteen dutifully shut the door, and walked towards her bosses' desk, trying to look anywhere but her cleavage. She might like looking at her, but there was no need to be a complete pervert, was there?

"Take a seat," Cuddy said, gesturing towards the seat opposite her.

Again Thirteen did as was asked, though this time she followed up with a question of her own. "What's this about?"

"I see you're eager to get straight to the point," Cuddy said with a wry smile.

Thirteen felt her pulse quicken at Cuddy's choice of words. Was she making fun of her bisexuality? Her immediate reaction was to feel hurt by this, and then; her defence mode kicked in. "What is that supposed to mean?" She asked harshly.

Cuddy was visibly taken aback by the sudden aggressiveness of Thirteen. "Nothing..." She frowned. "Look, is everything ok, Dr. Hadley?"

"Everything is fine," Thirteen said sharply.

"Really?" Cuddy said disbelievingly. "Because I could swear the atmosphere in here just chilled by about ten degrees."

"Well maybe I don't appreciate having someone make fun of my sexuality," Thirteen snapped, standing back up and defending herself. "I mean I expected it from House, but not you."

Cuddy's mouth dropped open in understanding. "Ok… I think we have our wires crossed here. At no point was I making fun of your sexuality, though I can see how you may have thought that." She too stood up, took a few steps around the desk until she was just a foot or so away from Thirteen. "In fact, I called you in here to see how you were doing? You seemed distracted earlier, and that's not like you. I realise I was short with you, but I was preoccupied with House as usual. I apologise for that."

Thirteen avoided Cuddy's gaze. She knew that the older woman was telling the truth, and once again she felt extremely stupid. She knew that the proper thing to do would be to apologise, and therefore, she forced herself to meet Cuddy's eyes. "I'm sorry," She said remorsefully, returning the apology as she stared into the bright blue eyes that belonged to her boss. "I had no right to speak to you like that, but I'm so used to House making bisexual jokes that I get paranoid everyone else is too."

"It's ok," Cuddy shrugged off Thirteen's apology. "I know all too well how frustrating House can be." She took a step forward, placing a hand on Thirteen's forearm. "But look… are you sure there's nothing I can do for you?"

Thirteen shook her head, not wanting to admit any vulnerability in front of Cuddy. "Completely sure," she lied.

Cuddy sighed, and with a shrug of her shoulders she gave up her interrogation. "Ok then."

Understanding this as her dismissal, Thirteen nodded curtly, spinning around and exiting the room. If she'd been more of a courageous person then she'd have given a better answer, hinted that she'd wanted Cuddy from the moment she had laid eyes on her. As it was she barely had the guts to make eye contact with the older woman. Her attitude, the lack of self-confidence meant that time and time again she missed out on opportunities to be with those she was most attracted to. It was for this reason that with a heavy heart she made her way back to diagnostics.

The moment her shift ended she was going to go out and drink herself into oblivion until she forgot. Because in situations like this; forgetting was the only option.