Oh, great. Amber had decided to grace her with her presence. Thirteen let out a silent sigh and sat back a bit. She wasn't going to have the peace she'd wanted to read, or do anything else, as long as Amber was interested in playing nice.

"Yes," she said blandly, focusing on the middle distance so that Amber could see just how disinterested in this conversation. "Maybe I should just go home. Oh, wait--you got me."

She didn't really care why Amber had been late, and considering that House was too, it didn't matter. Later on, Thirteen could drop an innocent comment in House's hearing, not because he would fire Amber over being five minutes late, but because he'd want to know that they were all still at each other's throats.

Amber didn't take the hint, not like that was a surprise. Thirteen slanted a glance at her, setting her book down with the spine facing her, so that Amber couldn't peer at it. "Look, it's okay," she said, halfway between bemusement and matter-of-factness. "You don't have to make small talk." She raised her eyebrows and gave Amber a fake smile. "It's all right, I know you hate me. We can leave it at that until House gets here."