When House came out of the washroom, he was still unshaven and wearing the same clothes. He found himself unable to look them in the eyes as he went to the front door and let himself out. He sat in the nearest chair and waited for Chase to arrive. It looked as though it might rain, but it was better than facing her pity and his condescension. Unfortunately the door opening shattered his solitude, and it surprised him to see that it was Logan who had joined him. He lit up a cigar before offering one to House, who noticed right away that they smoked the same brand. He accepted a cigar and they puffed in silence. At least, for as long as House was able.

"You attack a blonde guy tonight? Gray van?"

"Yep. Didn't know it was your friend."

House continued smoking quietly, as he made the connection that Logan had his back. Blowing out the smoke, he said, "How did you kill all those men? I've seen three guns in the whole place; none of them had been moved, but all the guys you killed still had their weapons on them. Two guns, one taser each."

"I don't have just guns."

"No...you also have knives. And they all died from three or six stab wounds to the chest. Except, for all my snooping, I've never found the knives. And based on human anatomy, it would be damn hard to hold them like that and not drop any."

"You know, some people would be annoyed by constant interrogation." Out of habit, Logan touched the red hot cigar to his palm, quickly making a fist when he remembered that House would see him speed-heal from the burn. He abruptly smashed the cigar into a pulp and went inside. Alone, House turned his eyes to the steep shadows of the untamed forest, unaware that Logan opened the curtain behind his head to make sure the window was closed.

He looked at Kayla. "You need to talk to him."

"I will. Of course I will. You know I won't let anything happen to you."

The man of steel turned around and looked at his petite girlfriend, grinning sardonically at her. She smiled at him, then her eyes flicked past him as the door opened. House reentered the cabin, feeling less shy now that Logan had talked to him about something other than his condition. It had begun to rain, and a draft rushed in before he closed the door. Logan was answering his cell phone.

"Hello?" he asked, and waited a moment, then asked again, "Hello?"

After another few seconds, he hung up. "That's twice that's happened."

"That happened to me yesterday," Kayla answered, and they stared at each other.

Then Logan was going to the guns. "I'm scouting the woods again. You stay close. Hey," he stopped beside House. "Not too close."

He grabbed his gun off the wall and looked briefly at Kayla before letting himself out.

"How many?"

Holding onto five cards, House disposed of all but one. "Four."

"Dealer takes two," she said, and dealt the cards. They looked at their cards, then Kayla lay hers on the table. "Aces over jacks."

He lay out his hand. "Full house."

"It's about time you won," she said, as he began rounding up the cards.

"Luck of the draw."

Their eyes locked as someone knocked on the door; then Kayla got up and crossed the room. She peeked through the window to see a casually-dressed man, who saw her immediately and offered a kind smile. And she recognized him as the asshole who almost killed her and one of her students.

She closed the curtain and huffed a sigh before opening the door.

"Hi. I'm, uh, Robert Chase; I'm here to pick up House."

"Of course. Come on in." She stepped back and allowed him to enter. As he walked past her, she examined him discreetly. He didn't seem to recognize her in turn. He nodded at House, suppressing a smile as he gave a neutral wave.

"Hey, House."

House grabbed his cane and surged to his feet. "It's good to see you."

"Really!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised, too."

Chase scoffed at him while turning his attention to Kayla. "Well, thanks for looking out for 'im. Hope he didn't cause you too much trouble."

"No. He didn't."

Chase thought he could detect a hint of loathing, but surely that was just his imagination. It wasn't like he had ever run into her. He focused again on House. "Got all your stuff?"

"That depends. This rental car...is there any space for my motorcycle?"

Then a person in a large raincoat passed by the window and stopped in the doorway. And Cameron raised her head and smiled at House. "Plenty!"

She grinned into his startled face, and was too impatient to wait for him to speak first. "It's good to see you."

House turned his eyes to Chase. "Why'd you bring her?" he demanded.

"We needed a car, House. And...well, I was kind of traumatized. Needed a friend. I knew you wouldn't suffice. And she was only an hour away, I knew she'd want to see us, so...it just seemed like the most logcial step."

House was quiet, staring at Cameron with his head down.

"House...why?" Cameron begged, and finally lowered the hood of her jacket. He was still unresponsive, looking at her like he wanted to push her out into the rainstorm and close the door. She had seen him do it, and the look on his face was an expression she could understand. She put her hands on her hips and dared to venture closer. "Pseudocide isn't a criminal offense. At the most, all you're going to do is piss a lot of people off."

She smiled sadly into his confusion, then turned to say goodbye to Kayla. Instead, as their eyes locked, she froze. "Oh, my God," she muttered gracefully.

"Allison? Allison—Cameron?" Kayla finished, after a slight pause as she tried to remember her surname.

"Yeah. You live here?"

"Yeah." Kayla gave her a fast hug, then pulled away looking flummoxed. "Uh, please. Have a seat."

Cameron looked hopefully at Chase, who instead turned his attention to Kayla. "I'd prefer to stand. Been a long drive."

Cameron walked eagerly to the table, hesitating when House used the round handle of his cane to pull out a chair. She looked at him, perplexed by the 66-year-old's sudden manners. "Thank you."

"Oh, don't mind me at all. Sit. Talk. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

Kayla shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking at the evil glint in his eye that his smile couldn't suppress. She quickly looked at the first friend she ever had. "Let's start with you, Al. How do you know Greg?"

"I was his fellow, at Princeton-Plainsboro. I studied under him for eight years."

"Did you learn a lot from him?"

"If I'd had a lot to learn, he wouldn't have hired me."

Kayla looked at House, finding it very hard to not smile at his obvious pride.

"I'm not saying he didn't teach me anything," Cameron said. "If you learn something new every day, eight years is a pretty long time."

Chase scoffed then, and muttered, "A very long time."

House's eyes narrowed, but he had the shadow of a smile on his face.

Meanwhile, outside, Logan had discovered the fresh tire tracks running through the mud and dragging it across the rocks towards his home. Covered in blood and dirt, and soaking wet, Logan crouched down as he moved stealthily towards the cabin. Pressing himself up against the log wall, he raised his fist close to his body, prepared to take out his claws and kill some more men.

He was not prepared to hear multiple people laughing. Four...four people laughing. He didn't recognize any of the laughs. So it was rather disheartening when someone said, "It's so great to see you again, Kayla."

"You, too."

There must have been a fifth person. Yeah, Kayla wasn't amused. He couldn't not know her laugh. Dropping his hand, he pushed open the door and stepped into the cabin.

Only two other people had preceded him there.

House and Kayla faced him. Chase turned his head to the left to look at Logan. "Oh, God," he muttered. And, with her back to the front door, Cameron twisted around in her seat. Right hand still elevating her head, she leaned a little to the left to look past the corner. Lightning flashed, illuminating the large, blood-covered man lurking in the doorway.

"My colleagues," House announced. "Chase and Cameron. Guys, this is, uh... Louie."

Chase gave a timid nod and a partial wave. "'Sup?"

Logan was unresponsive, looking at Chase with murderous rage still burning in his eyes. As he began to advance, Chase suddenly recognized him in turn and launched to his feet. But before Logan could tear him apart, suddenly House had planted himself between the two men.

"He said... 'Sup?'"

"Get out of my way."

But again, rather than respect the wishes of his host, House was suddenly examining his arm and his bloodsoaked shirt, even using...physical contact?

Scared for his health, Cameron sat up straight, wondering what drug he was on.

"No scratches. Not even a small one, not a single one. There's got to be an explanation for that," House muttered.

"It's not my blood."

House quickly withdrew his hands. Yep, that explained it.

Kayla looped her arm through Logan's, sparing her visitors an apologetic glance. "Please, excuse us," she said quietly, and tugged Logan away from the table. Nearly halfway across the room, Logan finally broke eye contact with Chase and went willingly up the stairs with her.

House turned, and found himself looking at a frightened Aussie. He scoffed, motioning with a hand as he prepared to defend Logan. But he couldn't. So all he said was, "You should have paid more attention to the road!"

"What?"

"You almost turned his girlfriend into a pancake."

He narrowed his eyes, watching Chase sit down heavily and stare off into space before dropping his head in his hands. "Why else would he hate you?"

Chase looked up at him, eyes wide. After a slight hesitation, he scoffed and leaned back a little. "You don't even know what he is, do you?"

"Do you know what he is?"

Chase shook his head, staring into space again. "No."

House lifted his cane, plunking it onto the table and leaning close to Chase, staring into his eyes. "What did you see?"

"I...doubt you'd believe it. I-I sure as hell can't."

House's voice was a non-negotiable growl. "Try me."

Chase was quiet, looking miserably at the tabletop. Only Cameron's kind words could give him hope. "Chase," she said softly. "You're not a liar. You're not foolish, and you're not crazy. If you need to get it off your chest, I promise we won't laugh. But if he hears you gossiping about it, it might not go over so well."

"Don't influence him, this whole thing is driving me crazy. Tell me what you saw."

Chase's eyes shot up to his; then he sighed and relented with a vague motion of his hand. "He had gigantic spikes, coming out of his fists. They're what he used to wreck my car. I could see them flashing, like..."

"Metal." House grimaced slightly, ignoring the gratitude on his friend's face for his lack of mockery. Then he smiled, shaking his head. "I was right. He is a freak."

Cameron was silent, as she gazed at the two men she loved the most.

Chase sighed again. "I thought for sure you would..." He broke off with a sigh and pressed his knuckles to his mouth. As she reached over and squeezed his hand, he closed his eyes. "Thank you. For believing."

Seeing their shadows on the corner of the stairwell, House swiped his cane off the table and moved further into the kitchen. Logan had dried off his skin and changed into clean clothes, but appeared to be in no better spirits as he accompanied Kayla back to the table. Kayla was smiling as she played it cool. "Can I get anyone anything? Water, coffee, we've got—" Her voice broke off and everyone flinched as House suddenly threw something at Logan.

With several centuries of practice under his belt, Logan barely reined in the most anger he had ever felt as he pulled the magnet off his stomach.