House is surprised with himself when he becomes intrigued by a mysterious young woman. Is she flirting with him? Usually he has such strict self control in these matters. Usually…

I am a student and therefore I am bored and frustrated… writing smut is my release. This is one for the girls. It's just a piece of fluff – mostly smut, some romance… all good fun. The further it goes on, the smuttier it gets – you have been warned. I'll put a few (relatively clean) chapters up to start with, and you guys can decide if you want to read more.

There are references to events from various episodes in the first and second season, although they are not in the correct order, and some details may have been altered. I have made them fit into my story. Also, I made House about 5 years younger, just so the two main characters are a little closer in age (not because I want to change him – I like him just the way he is).

Homeostasis

Homeostasis, def: The maintenance of a constant, ideal internal environment, esp. in living organisms; state of internal balance or stability. Equilibrium.

I - Kitten

He first meets her in an elevator. It is seven o'clock on a Friday night. There is a violent storm outside the hospital. The electricity cuts out. The generators kick in, but the elevators are periphery in terms of importance. He knows the generators do not provide enough energy to run the lifts – silly little things like life support machines take precedence. They are trapped inside the mirrored cube. House, Wilson, the redhead. Could be stuck in here for hours, he thinks.

'I told you, you should never take a lift in the middle of a bad storm,' Wilson says.

'Oh yeah, maybe we should have taken the stairs,' he says sarcastically, raising his cane.

They lower themselves to the floor, sitting, waiting. He watches her in the mirrored wall. He thinks, at least I have something to look at. Beside her she has a cardboard box filled with documents. She is reading something from the box. She is stunning, other-worldly. Young – maybe twenty-five, he guesses. Golden red hair glowing under the dim lights. Her skin is like porcelain, almost blue-white with a pink flush. She has a smattering of light freckles across her face, which is soft and classically beautiful. Large dark eyes, long lashes, perfect little upturned ski slope nose, full rose coloured lips. She is like a doll. Small, petite, fragile, with a slight build like a dancer - curves in all the right places. She is wearing faded hipster jeans, a black v-neck sweater and black converse hi-tops.

'New here?' Wilson's voice interrupts the silence.

She smiles, looking up from her document.

'Lee Emerson,' she offers. She has an Australian accent.

'Dr James Wilson,' replies Wilson, smiling his boyish smile.

Here we go again, House thinks, rolling his eyes.

'Let the flirting begin!' he says, under his breath. 'He's married,' he says loudly, pointing at Wilson.

'And this is Dr….' Wilson starts.

'Greg House,' House interrupts, sounding bored, staring at the ceiling.

'You Australian?' Wilson asks.

'Yep, you picked it,' she replies, smiling, 'you have no idea how many Americans think I'm British!'

'We work with an Australian Doctor, don't we Doctor House? Doctor Chase,' Wilson says.

She smiles again. House rolls his eyes again. He continues his discrete inspection of her in the mirror. He thinks she must have been hired as a new receptionist. He thinks she doesn't seem like a doctor, but why all the papers? Maybe she is someone's assistant? The lights brighten. The elevator jolts and starts moving.

'Oh, that wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. I almost lost it at the thought of being confined in a small space with you for several hours,' Wilson says to House.

She organises her documents in preparation for exiting the lift. The bell sounds and the doors open to the car park.

'I'm getting out of this place before it tries to trap me again!' House says as he exits the lift, Wilson at his side.

She follows. He hears her behind him. The two men stop at Wilson's car. House watches as the redhead stops at a black 1960's model Jaguar, unlocking it.

'Sexy,' he says loudly as he watches her lean into the car, throwing the cardboard box onto the back seat.

She turns, looks at him.

'The car,' he adds, feigning innocence.

She smiles and he is impressed that she can take a joke.

'Bet she purrs like a kitten,' he says quietly to Wilson.

'The car?' Wilson asks disapprovingly.

'Yeah, that too,' House replies, bouncing his eyebrows.

'Could she be Mrs Wilson number three?' he says, teasingly, 'she's a cute one. Kylie Minogue's body – wow that ass, crossed with Lindsay Lohan – that girl next door appeal, the red hair and freckles…. but there's definitely a hint of Angelina Jolie, I thinks it's the lips, and she seems like a bit of a bad girl. What do you think Jimmy?'

'I think you watch too much MTV. You really need to get yourself a hobby.'