Chapter 21

The raised voices of Cuddy and House were still echoing throughout the Princeton Plainsborough Teaching Hospital in a manner similar to a Boeing 747 flying over a small country town. The various doctors, nurses and patients that were privy to this historic event were pretending to be annoyed by the interruption of an otherwise peaceful day but not even the most experienced actor amongst them could hide the grin from their faces.

Cameron walked around the rest of the day feeling like David who had finally slew Goliath. She was standing tall, grinning at everyone and rumours were starting to spread that she and Thirteen were behind it all though no one had any proof. She guessed it was in their body language and self satisfied smirks but she didn't care what they thought. They had won. Now there were only a few things left to do. Sort out Jodie and deliver the tape to Amber… and probably report to House after peoples suspicions got back to him but she knew they wouldn't crack.

She walked down the hallway to the E.R and saw Thirteen ahead. She gestured towards her office and Cameron nodded in agreement. She must have something to tell me I guess, she wondered. Walking in she saw a basket with lunch and a bunch of files. She smiled in confusion at the gift.

"Food for celebration and my research on Jodie" Thirteen explained.

"Makes sense. Let's see here. Ah, chocolate. Always a good choice. Ham and Cheese toasties. Delicious. And… Gatorade?" She smiled

"Red cordial. All I could find" She shrugged.

"Haha okay. Thank you, it looks lovely" She nodded and turned to grab the files

"Wait till you see these" She said mysteriously

Thirteen gave them to me and I looked at the blank folder for a second wondering if I really wanted to know what was in here… and if what was in here was obtained illegally. Knowing Thirteen it was a possibility. Eventually I decided that I needed to know. I opened the folder and found some neatly outlined notes and photos. Looking up at Thirteen in an apprehensive kind of way, she took pity on me and began to recite what she'd found.

"Turns out, the reason Jodie's been giving you a hard time was because she has a crush on you."

She waited for a moment to give me a chance to process this and I'm glad she did because… a crush? Really? That's what this whole thing has been about? It didn't make sense. Jodie's been a pain in my side since I met her. At no point were we friends so how did that happen? I had finally concluded that Thirteen was insane still she pointed to the pictures.

"Jodie's locker" She explained

Before me now were pictures of a locker covered in pictures of me. In the locker was a journal which Thirteen said contained "well-worded but sappy poetry describing the confused feelings relatable to a teenager who just didn't know what to do with themselves and thought no one understood them"

I just nodded dumbly. This was strange but I had to accept it… and I had to talk to Jodie.

"Thank you. Not just for this but for everything. If it hadn't have been for you I don't know what I would've done. Thank you"

Thirteen just smiled kindly and said "Sure. Anytime. T'was fun" she drawled

I smiled brightly at her. I think I've definitely made a new friend during this fiasco and I hope she didn't think that just because this whole situation was behind us that we were going to stop talking to each other. Not a chance.

"I should get going. Got some lines to rehearse before House gets out of his 'meeting' with Cuddy" She grinned.

"Heh, yeah. Good luck with that one"

"You too. Guessing you're gonna talk to Jodie?" She inquired

"Have to sort this out sooner or later" I replied "Might as well do it now"

She nodded and waved slightly before heading to the door.

"Well, see ya around I guess" She smiled and left

I smiled back and then she was gone. I walked around to my desk and sat down just contemplating everything that had happened today. I was excited and ecstatic that we finally managed to best House but nervous at the prospect of facing Jodie. The revelation of her having a crush on me has led me to re-think every interaction I've had with her in the two years she's been here but I can't think of any way I might have led her on so I'm still not sure where the cruel behaviour came from. One way to find out I guess…

I get up from my chair and head to the E.R. I find Jodie at the nurses station. She looks over at me with an expression of veiled contempt but somehow it looks less intense than it used to.

"Can I have a word please? In my office?" I say

She looks at me and says "Sure" in a defeated voice.

We walk back to my office and I shut the door after her and take a deep breath. Now or never

"We need to sort some things out. I know what you're doing and now I know why but just because you have a crush on me and you don't know how to deal with that does not make it okay to ruin my life or get me fired from my job." Cameron said sternly

Jodie looked shocked and slightly nervous at these allegations. Cameron could practically see the gears turning in her head, trying to decide how to deal with this.

"I have no idea what you mean and if this is the kind of rumours my colleagues are spreading behind my back, I think that it's best I move on" Jodie said while trying to keep a straight face. Her eyes nervously glancing to the door every few seconds as if someone would overhear them.

Cameron sighed. She didn't want to hurt Jodie, she just wanted her to stop actively trying to ruin her life.

"Look, you don't need to leave. The E.R definitely needs all of the help it can get, but I do want you to stop trying to hurt me. Stop scheming against me and dividing the E.R in half. I don't know what you thought that would accomplish but this animosity is not good for anyone. Let's just… be civil to each other. Okay? See how it goes…"

Jodie looked guilty. She was looking at the floor and breathing deeply, considering this offer. It was hard for her to comprehend that Cameron was willing to forgive her so easily. She realised now that she'd been an idiot to do what she did. To be honest, she wasn't sure why she did it either. She guessed hating Cameron was easier than loving her or the idea of her anyway. Still, she was exhausted from the constant fighting, all it had given her was stress. She accepted the offer and with a few more words, she left.

As soon as the door closed, Cameron sunk into her chair and put her head in her hands. Glad that the conversation was less painful than she though it would be but still not quite sure about how it went. Pulling herself together, she straightened herself up and prepared for another night of work before setting out for the E.R waiting room.

—

The drive to Amber and Wilson's was relatively short for Thirteen who, seeing as House was still being blasted by Cuddy, had decided to go and give the tape of the magnificent performance to the plan's creator. Walking up the driveway, she knocked on the door a few times and was greeted by Amber who had a massive grin on her face as she invited her in.

"Wilson called. He said it was phenomenal. I can't wait to see it" She said as she ushered me into the T.V room.

"It was. He's still on the receiving end of Cuddy's wrath as we speak. I've never seen her go off at anyone like that before" Thirteen contributed

"Well, it's about time he got some of the stuff he likes to dish out"

Thirteen agreed wholeheartedly with that comment and the one that followed.

"Let's watch it"

Thirteen gave the tape to Amber and sat down on one of the seats. Amber had popcorn already waiting on the coffee table and she started to eat it while she watched the events unfold. Thirteen smirked throughout the whole thing. Even though she was there to see it happen, this event would never get old. She was glad she'd made copies for her and Cameron because now they would always have something to cheer them up at the end of a long day. Amber laughed so much she fell off the couch and after it was over Thirteen made to leave.

"By the way" She said "Cameron and I took the liberty of setting up a camera outside of Cuddy's office just now, recording the lecture she's giving him. I'll have Wilson bring it back later on for you"

Amber looked radiant as if Christmas had come early this year. She was so happy she actually hugged Thirteen. Even just for a second, it certainly spoke volumes for the situation.

"Thanks" she said grinning

"No prob. See ya around"

Amber saw her out and she got back into her car and headed back to the hospital. By the time she got there, Cuddy had finished her rant at House who people were whispering was in a thunderously bad mood. She decided to go and check on Cameron instead and give him a chance to cool off. Walking into the E.R, she saw Cameron looking over patient after patient just like usual but Thirteen thought that considering their achievement (and House's bad mood and probability that he would come down here to see her) they should go out for a drink to celebrate.

Walking over to Cameron she smiled and said "I never thought I'd say this but I think I'm going to miss this place"

Cameron looked up with that winning smile of hers and replied "Easily fixed. We always need more hands down here. Stop by anytime!"

"True, very true" Thirteen chuckled "But for today it will have to do with one less. We're going out to celebrate"

Cameron arched an eyebrow at her.

"We are, are we?"

"Yes. We accomplished something incredible today. We slayed Goliath… and now he's tearing up the hospital looking for blood. We really should let him cool off and get out of here"

"Ah, well if you insist"

Thirteen just nodded. She could tell that Cameron had absolutely no objection to this plan at all. They walked together down the hallways to the front doors talking easily with each other and Thirteen knew that this would probably become a regular thing for them but to her surprise, she found that she didn't mind. Opening the door for Cameron they walked out into the car park happier together than either had been in a very long time and wondering what drama tomorrow would bring. After all, it was never quite for long at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

THE END

A/N

There's nothing quite like writing "The End" on a story you haven't been able to forget for years. This has been a massive learning experience for me since this fic started off as a one-shot and ended up being my first multi-chapter fic. The major thing I learned was to not go into a story without a plan! Haha, thank you all so much for reading this story of mine. Your reviews and encouragement along the way have been a tremendous help and confidence boost for me and I can't thank you enough for it. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did writing it and maybe I'll see you guys on another fic one day :)