They got together again the next weekend and several more weekends after that. They either went out somewhere or stayed in at House's, watching videos or playing cards or anything they felt like. They always ended up in bed and Kate always left when they were finished.

House wondered about it. But he loved a mystery and he was determined to figure this one out. His first supposition was that she was married and needed to get home to her husband. He didn't like that idea, but had to pursue it. So he started to call her at odd hours, sometimes late at night. He either got her or an answering machine. The message on the machine was her voice only.

He managed to sneak her address out of her and checked it out one day. She wasn't lying when she told him it was in a bad neighborhood. He couldn't imagine a woman alone living there. But then again, she did carry a gun. The apartment was the third floor above a store. Apparently there were two apartments on that floor and judging by the size of the building, neither could have been very big, really just efficiencies. He attempted to go up to snoop around, but the three flights of stairs put him off. Instead, he went into the little grocery store on the first floor.

He had seen an "apartment for rent" sign on the building next door. He approached the man at the grimy counter.

"Hi, my daughter is looking for a cheap apartment and I saw the sign next door. I wanted to check out the neighborhood a little. Can you tell me who lives in this building?"

"It's a crappy neighborhood." He said. "I wouldn't let my daughter live here. But I own this building, so I can tell you these people are okay. I live on the second floor, alone. The third floor's got two tenants. Front's a guy, back's a woman, both living alone."

"Hmm, single people. Are there lots of visitors? I don't want her in a place where there would be drunken parties all the time."

"Nah, guy's pretty much a geek, does some computer work at home, barely goes out. But okay enough when he does. Pays the rent on time. Lady's a cop, which is good for me, cause nobody messes with my place. She's not home a lot. Works long hours, comes home and goes right in and stays in. No visitors. Though I think she's got a boyfriend lately. Been going out on weekends and coming back late."

"Any chance she's getting it on with your other tenant?"

"Nah, she barely tolerates him. He's not the sharpest tool in the box, if you get my drift. She's too smart for him."

"Wow, you really keep an eye on your tenants."

"Nothing else to do. I'm in here eighteen hours a day. I like to watch the people who come by and who live here."

House found out all he needed at the moment. She wasn't married and didn't seem to have any other relationships, other than him.

House consulted Wilson again: "Remember that hypothetical couple we talked about? They, uh, have some other issues."

Wilson smirked. "Right, the hypothetical man that was trying to sleep with the hypothetical woman, right. If he still hasn't scored, you're, uh, he's more rusty that I thought."

House glared at him. "That's not the problem. They've done the deed, many times. And she's been extremely happy about it. But …" he hesitated.

Wilson looked at him, a question in his eyes. "But…? He's discovered he doesn't like women? He realizes he's too old and cranky to ever completely satisfy a woman? What?"

"Please, this is not a discussion of your inadequacies with the opposite sex." House said. "No, the man's problem is that she's detached from it. They spend time together, they enjoy themselves, they go to bed and again, enjoy themselves. But as soon as it's over, she gets up and leaves."

Wilson considered for a moment. "Maybe she's married."

"No, I've thought of that and checked it out. That's not the issue." He was thinking about Kate and didn't realize he'd used first person.

Wilson caught the slip and smirked again. "Well, if they're getting along well in every other aspect, maybe she just has commitment issues. Staying the night means admitting it's a relationship and maybe all she wants is casual sex."

House considered that. It made sense, and as a man, he should have been content. What man didn't want a woman who only wanted companionship and sex, but no commitment? It was a dream come true. But somehow, it didn't make him happy. Something bothered him about that answer. He didn't quite believe it was the whole story and even if it was, he didn't want it to be. And that was something that bothered him even more.

The next time they were supposed to get together, House had a difficult case that kept him at the hospital. He had to call Kate to cancel. He thought about trying to see her during the week, but so far, they hadn't done that and she hadn't indicated she wanted to. Thinking about Wilson's advice, he held back on asking her, afraid of her answer. He didn't want to know that she didn't want to see him more often. So, he didn't ask her out, although he talked to her on the phone when the case was done. They made plans for the following Saturday.

But when Saturday arrived, he got a call from her instead. This time she had a case and had to work all weekend to try to catch a murderer. He was more disappointed than he ever imagined he would be and spent Saturday night missing her. He didn't know if that was good or bad.

Knowing she was busy with the case and that she would call him when it was finished, he didn't try to contact her. But it had been almost three weeks since he'd seen her and he missed her.

He was with his team discussing some follow-up to a case that needed to be done. He was just browbeating the younger doctors into doing it, when the phone rang. He ignored it as he always did, but Cameron picked it up. She turned to him.

"House, it's ER. They want you down there."

"I never go to ER unless I'm bleeding."

"Apparently there's a patient that's requesting you."

"What's wrong with the doctors there? Can't they take care of their patients without bothering me? Tell them to bandage anything that needs bandaging and leave me alone."

The person on the other end obviously heard House and said something else to Cameron.

She listened, then said to him, "They've tried, but she won't allow them to treat her unless you come down. And her injuries are pretty extensive." She listened again. "Okay. They said to tell you her name is Kate Martin."

The color drained from House's face, as he turned and headed out the door, walking as quickly as he could with his leg. His team, confused, did what they usually did and followed him.

I promise not to leave this hanging and will update soon. Thanks for all the encouraging words.