Author's notes: Ch. 2 is here! It's taken a while, as moving plans have slowed me up. I've done some thinking on where I want Dulcie to go as a character, and I've decided that she's going to be a sort of doppelganger to House.

Also, Dulcie's flirting and seduction isn't serious. I'm planning on pairing her with Foreman, as the two seem fairly well-tuned for each other.

Also, I am interested in finding someone who can do a read-through of my stuff before future postings. All interested parties can reach me at my email or by reviews.

Okay. Rambling over. Chapter starting now.

Ch. 2 Birds of a Feather Peck at Each Other. Or is it 'Stick Together'?

"You wanted to see me?" Dulcie asked, as she stuck her head into House's office.

House looked up, confused. "No, I didn't."

Dulcie entered the office. "Well, Dr. Cameron said you wanted to see me. Any reason she'd lie?"

"Probably giving Foreman a heads-up as to the ID of our mole."

"Ahhh," Dulcie said, knowingly as she sat down across from House. "Dissention in the ranks. Vogler's good at that. He tell you to fire anyone yet?"

"He's done this before, hasn't he?" House asked, his mind working quickly.

Dulcie nodded. "It's his modus operandi. First he isolates those who are the greatest threat to his authority. Then he breaks them up, and then breaks them down. When they don't tow the line… he destroys them. Not them, personally. He takes away the things that make life worthwhile. That's why I'm here. To stop him."

"Hostile takeover."

"Exactly."

House was quiet for a while then said, "I'm thinking of taking off early. You want to get out of here, go get a drink?"

Dulcie nodded, eagerly. "Yeah. Scotch rocks with a twist sounds like a good order of business."

House grabbed his cane and got up. He grabbed his bag and said, "Let's get out of here, shall we?" He offered his free arm to Dulcie who took it. They left his office and headed down to the parking garage.

When Dulcie saw House's car, she stopped, totally surprised. "Wow. A '65 corvette? This must have set you back some money." She let go of his arm and started walking around the car. "Oh, this is sweet." Looking at House, she smiled. "My father was always working on cars when I was a little girl. His last project was a '66 corvette."

House smiled at her enthusiasm. This girl was something all right. But deep down, he knew: Cameron was still his girl.

The spring evening was perfect for driving in the corvette convertible. House and Dulcie sat in silence until they got to House's apartment. Once House had parked, Dulcie grabbed her things from the trunk and followed him into the building. Once inside, Dulcie saw a pleasantly furnished home, that was kept in a much neater manner that his office. House pointed to a room off of to the right. "Guest room's there." Dulcie nodded and went to drop off her stuff on the sleeper sofa in the room. Closing the door, she decided to change out of her dress-to-impress outfit and into something more comfortable. She chose a red sleeveless shirt underneath a long-sleeved denim shirt. She pulled on a pair of blue jeans and her favorite sneakers and was about to organize the rest of her clothes when she heard the sounds of a piano coming from the living room.

She left the guest room, and looked around for the source of the music. House was sitting at a piano, playing. Dulcie didn't move, but just stood there and watched. Sometimes the notes were soft, delicate, and lingering. Then the notes would become assertive and strong. It took her a long time to finally walk up and stand next to the piano, watching House's face. His eyes were mostly closed, but his fingers flew over the keys, never missing a note. There was a look of peace and calm on his rugged features, and he didn't seem so uptight.

Dulcie didn't have the heart to disturb him. This apparently was one of the few escapes he had, and with Vogler on the loose… How could she disturb House's quiet?

"Are you just going to stand there, or did you want something?" House's voice was so unexpected, Dulcie jumped.

"I… didn't want to bother you."

House stopped playing for a moment. "You're not bothering me." He started up again, and Dulcie leaned against the piano. House went on. "I just haven't had someone around to hear me play in a while. Most nights, I just play for myself."

"When was the last time you played for someone?" House didn't look at her, but asked, "When was the last time you cut yourself?"

"Okay, how did you- Never mind. I…" Dulcie rubbed her face with her right hand. "About a year ago. That was when I had… well, a really bad day." She looked at House. "How did you know?"

"When you offered you hand to Cameron. I saw one of the scars."

Dulcie saw a slight glimmer in House's eye when he mentioned Dr. Cameron's name. "So are you and she… dating?"

"No."

"But you used to. You did go out with her."

House's hands paused for a moment, before resuming the playing. "I asked her to go with me to a monster truck rally. She said yes. That was it." But there was more. He hadn't wanted for that to be it, but that's how it happened. House genuinely liked Cameron. She was kind and gentle, but when she needed to, the gloves came off, and she was a regular spitfire.

"Bad break-up, huh?" Dulcie asked, still watching House's face. His blue eyes met hers and once again, she was captivated.

"Did you tell her you liked her?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't." House stopped playing and stood up. He limped over to the kitchen, and poured himself and Dulcie a scotch, making sure to put a lemon wedge in hers. He handed her the drink and continued. "Because if Vogler finds out, Cameron will be gone. And I can't let that happen."

Dulcie took her drink and sipped. "Well, with some luck, maybe Cameron won't have to leave. Your colleague Dr. Chase, though… Tell me about him." House sat in his favorite chair and Dulcie took the couch. "Why would Vogler select Chase to be his mole?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" House asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

"Vogler's moles are people who like protecting their status. They want to keep their job because it means standing, not necessarily because they're good at it."

House pondered this for a moment. The more he thought on it, the more he realized that Chase fit the criteria. "So what now? Chase is already in Vogler's back pocket."

Dulcie sighed and sipped her drink. "In the words of a philosopher, 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. Keep Chase around, but keep him out of any crucial information."

"How long do you think I can survive Vogler?" House asked, his eyes meeting Dulcie's.

She shrugged. "I don't know. He's… tenacious. He only cares about his money. No thought for who gets in his way. But I think you'll last longer than most."

House sipped his scotch again. The further thought of Vogler was making his stomach clench. Deciding to change the subject, he decided to try to find out more about Dulcie. "So what do you do when you're not saving hospitals from evil business moguls?"

Dulcie looked surprised for a moment, but recovered. "I used to ice skate. I stopped after I dislocated my knee a few years ago. I also like to shop. Specialty food stores, not malls. I only buy clothes when absolutely necessary. And I like to draw. What about you?"

House didn't expect to have the conversation turn on him, but his surprise was easily hidden. "I like playing the piano, monster trucks, and interesting cases."

"Short, sweet, and abbreviated. Interesting. Especially due to the fact that you strike me as a very complex person." Dulcie's gaze was again caught by House's blue eyes. She loved those eyes; piercing, yet calming at the same time. But he was in love with Dr. Cameron. Still, she was interested to know just how devoted to her he was. Maybe she could flirt a little. "So, hypothetically, if you and I-" (She put special emphasis of the 'you and I' part.) "-get rid of Vogler… what do you think will happen with you and Dr. Cameron? Think she'll forgive you? Or are you just going to let her… slip through your fingers?"

House's emotional walls went up faster than gas prices in Michigan. (A/N: any readers from Detroit and its surrounding areas should get the joke here. If not, let's just say I've seen the prices jump $0.12 in the space of about 8 hours.) "Why is that any of your business? What if I pried into your personal life? How would you like it?"

Dulcie smiled. "I'd hate it. That is why I very cleverly have no personal life. So, since I have no personal details for you to pry into, I'll stick with yours."

"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?"

"For tonight, maybe."

House sighed. "I really don't know what I'm going to do about Cameron. Honestly."

Dulcie's eyes twinkled. "I believe you. You're protective and defensive. A very interesting combination. You like to be in control. And when someone evades you, you want to know why. No wonder Vogler hates you. You act like him, but you're not as cutthroat and evil." Dulcie got up from the couch and finished her drink. "I think the best way to solve your problem is to fight fire with fire. Good night."

As House watched Dulcie leave the room, he remembered a phrase in a book he'd once read. 'Deus ex machina'. 'God from a machine'. A solution that appeared out of nowhere just when things seemed most dire. Funny that his would come in the form of a beautiful, intelligent, irritating know-it-all woman with red hair and amazing green eyes. But he wasn't a fan of red-heads. Brunettes were more his thing. Leaning back in his chair, House's thoughts turned to Cameron, and his mouth tweaked up in a smile.

A/N: I loved that 'personal life' line from the episode 'Cursed! I thought that line- coming from Dulcie-would rattle House a little.

Also, the first stage of moving is done as of today, so I should be able to do some more work on 'Inside Out' and 'Dea Ex Machina'. Oh, and if anyone is interested, I need a 'wedding planner' of sorts for 'Inside Out'.

And one more little thing. Since I had so much fun doing 'Hide and Seek', I'm on the hunt for other possible scenes I can do. Suggestions can be sent to the email address in my profile.

Thanks!