Okay, this chapter pretty much focuses on Carmen/Benicio and just plain Carmen. Though Cuddy, House and the twins are in it and a new character (woo!) it's not very Huddy at all.

I'm not doing this to be annoying but the sub-plot is in danger of fizzling out so here I am to help it along a bitty.

More Huddy in the next chapter and an explanation, perhaps, of what's going to be coming for Carmen and Ben.

BTW has anybody read 'Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too' by the one and only Wicked Thespian, coz if you haven't you simply MUST. It's absotively fabuloso!

C'est magnifique! mwah air kisses.

Go read it. Right now. Well, not right now, because you want to read this first, right? But once you've finished this, go and read that.

Read and review because I haven't updated in a while.

Chapter 21: Maternal Instinct

"Okay, I got a box here, where do you want it?"

"Benicio, we all have boxes. One usually uses them to hold items when one moves house." Carmen pointed out dryly as she stood inspecting her nails and holding a lamp.

"You don't have a box." Ben pointed out as he shifted the massive cardboard container in his brawny arms and arched a brow at her.

"What? Me? Do heavy lifting?" Carmen looked vaguely surprised behind her large designer sunglasses. "That's what you're for darling." She patted his shoulder affectionately and smirked at him.

He scowled. "I thought we were having one of those grown up relationships that Lisa's always talking about."

"We are. Which is why we're sleeping together, remember?"

"Children!" Lisa cut in before it got really out of hand. If she had thought her friend and her brother couldn't get any worse then she had been so wrong it wasn't even funny. "Box twenty three goes in the kitchen, Benicio, and that lamp goes in the sitting room, Carmen." Lisa cut in smoothly and directed her unwilling helpers in opposite directions.

"You sorted out and numbered what's in each box?" Ben asked as he hefted his load towards the kitchen.

"Yes." Lisa answered with a slight frown on her face. Why wouldn't she do that?

"Most people just throw it all together and unpack as they go." Carmen informed her as she twirled the lamp's cable around her fingers. She held it up to the light. "Is this Tiffany?"

"Yes, and most people end up drinking coffee out of flower vases their first night in a new house."

"This is why I drink wine, no cups, no muss, no fuss." Carmen grinned and set the lamp down on top of boxes one through nine.

"No wine!" Echoed through from the kitchen and Carmen rolled her eyes as she pushed her glasses up over her forehead to tangle in her perfectly curled red-blonde hair. She thought she was looking particularly good today and didn't want to spoil the effect by perspiring.

"You had to tell him the allergic reaction was because of the wine, didn't you?" She accused Lisa and her doctor friend shrugged.

"It was."

"As far as you know." Carmen huffed and dropped down onto the brand new forest green leather corner sofa as the delivery men set it down. All three of the men eyed her appreciatively and she smiled absently at them and watched with vague interest as they all filed out again. There was just something about a man in dirty overalls…she hadn't realised that she had voiced that last thought aloud until a shadow with a distinctly ominous tone fell over her. She sat back and craned her head back to see Benicio standing over her with his arms folded over the expanse of his chest and a thunderous look on his face.

"Hey, beautiful, didn't see you there." She said cheerfully and his scowl deepened.

"Evidently." He gruffed at her and she snorted.

"Go and get another box and work out all that testosterone." She reached up and patted his elbow and sighed when his expression didn't change. "Benicio, I'm just looking, it's a purely aesthetic pleasure, go and ask your sister, she'll tell you all about it."

"Lisa doesn't ogle men." Benicio affirmed and Carmen burst out laughing, sobering only when she realised that Benicio was deadly serious.

"Are you blind? You must have seen the steam between her and Greg." Carmen was beginning to get a kink in her neck from looking up at him like this but she shifted her weight and spread her arms over the back of the couch as she continued to watch him.

"I…" Benicio flushed and Carmen thought it was absolutely adorable, her prude boyfriend with the in-closet dominant streak never failed to entertain her.

"Can you two stop being a couple for a few minutes and actually help?" Lisa asked as she clattered down the ramp and back into the kitchen at the other end of the house.

"I put up with the dreamy looks you give my brother I think a little leniency for myself wouldn't be out of the question." Carmen sniffed but hoisted herself up from the sofa anyway.

"I do not give 'dreamy looks' to…" Lisa trailed off as Carmen laughed long and loud at that one.

"Don't do that, honey, denial doesn't look good on you. Now, show me the master bedroom, I must see this stained glass window." Carmen snagged her friend's hand and dragged her back the way she'd come. "Benicio, be nice to the delivery men." She sing-songed over her shoulder to her lover and he grunted. She supposed she would have to take that as a yes.

Carmen turned back to Lisa with a slight frown. "Where is Greg anyway?"

"Keeping the twins occupied while I get the house sorted." Lisa said as she examined her list again.

"Well, I definitely think he got the better half of that deal." Carmen muttered and shoved the massive double doors open and 'oohed' at the cavernous master bedroom.

"He picked them up from school today. He wants to spend some time with them." Lisa said absently as she flipped to the next page of her list, she stilled when she realised Carmen was staring at her. "What?"

"Wow, there was no guilt when you said that. What a novel concept." Carmen tilted her head on a grin and Lisa had the sudden urge to wipe it from her face.

"So, when are you and Ben moving in together?" Lisa asked innocently as she propped a hand on her hip.

"I…we…did I say we were moving in together?!" There was a very real note of panic in the English woman's voice and Lisa pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

"No, but it's fairly obvious he wants to. Do you?" Lisa asked as she sank down on her new – huge – sleigh bed and bounced on the mattress to test it briefly.

"Do I what?" Carmen hedged as she pretended an inordinate interest in the stained glass rendition of Eros in the high arched window that took up the majority of the eastern wall of the bedroom.

"Want to move in with my brother." Lisa clarified ruthlessly and folded her arms over her chest and pretended a glare.

"You know, it's a lot more intimidating when Benicio does it." Carmen noted but avoided looking at the expression anyway. Lisa arched a brow. "I don't know!" Carmen spread her arms in a silent plea for reprieve. She didn't get it.

"Sure you do, now siddown and confront your feelings like a big girl." Lisa patted the bare mattress beside her and grinned at Carmen. "Denial doesn't look good on you."

Carmen sat on a huff. "Meanie."

"I'm the devil." Lisa nodded in agreement and Carmen chuckled.

"I figured the devil would have been taller."

"You're stalling." Lisa pointed out.

"You're letting me." Carmen shrugged.

"Ugh." Lisa snorted in disgust. "You're so like him it's almost disgusting, you know that?"

"Who? Greg?"

"Being an ass must be a genetic thing."

"They just haven't found the gene for it yet." Carmen said on a grimace as she rubbed at her stomach.

"You alright? What's wrong?" Lisa leaped to her feet prepared for anything as Carmen hung forward and let her hair spill down between her knees as she rested her forehead against them.

"I'm fine. Yeesh, for a bunch of doctors you sure are panicky about health issues." Carmen's reply was slightly muffled by the leather of her trousers. She was silent a beat as she tried to breathe through the sudden wave of nausea that assailed her. "Lisa?"

"Yeah?" Lisa was rubbing a soothing hand over Carmen's back as she sat next to her.

"Where's the bathroom?"

"The en suite's just through that door." Lisa pointed automatically and didn't really think about what this question might entail.

"Oh, good."

Lisa jumped back as Carmen suddenly jack knifed into a standing position, leaped over boxes number thirty two and three and bounded into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Lisa shut her eyes and winced as she heard her friend being violently ill on the other side of the door. Without a further thought she rose to her feet stalked out into the hallway and went to find her brother.

"Fine my ass." She muttered darkly to herself.

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"Hey daddy." Tonio said casually as he sat in his father's office. They had been here for just about an hour after school when House had gotten a call to his case. They had been told to stay in the office while he harassed the patient's family for information and they had obeyed…for the most part.

House's sharp blue gaze fell on the third small boy in the room. He sat between Tonio and Niki, watching his sons with interest as they flipped another record onto the player. Niki held his tongue between his teeth in concentration as he placed the record and then the needle correctly. Tonio took the just listened to record and pushed it back into the sleeve carefully.

"Who's this?"

"Ram, he's our friend." Niki answered absently as he set the record to 'play'.

House's brows rose. "Where did Ram come from?"

"We found him when we went to the vending machines." Tonio said carefully.

"I thought I told you to stay here and wait for me?" House frowned slightly.

"Well, we were hungry and you gave us money." Tonio pointed out, squarely placing the blame on House's own shoulders.

House sighed, they were definitely his kids.

"Hey, Ram, I dub you Sprog 3." House said absently and wound his way past the trio of boys to flop down onto his seat. He stilled slightly as Ram's silver eyes grew wide at his approach, the red haired boy scooted back faster than House would have imagined possible until his slim back slapped against the wall. He stared at House, clearly terrified and then shot a nervous glance at his cane before looking back up at House's face as the older man towered over him. He swallowed hard and his fists clenched until his little knuckles whitened and braced himself as if preparing for a blow.

House tilted his jaw as he moved slowly to his seat and sat. he beckoned to Niki as Tonio yanked his school book out of his bag and opened it on his lap, chatting animatedly to the still mute Ram and showing him the pictures and words in the encyclopaedia that he had 'borrowed' from his class. Niki ambled over to his father and smiled as he tossed his hair out of his eyes.

"Yeah, daddy?"

"Where exactly did you find Ram?" Greg asked quietly and Niki heard the tone that meant he definitely shouldn't lie when he answered. His daddy was more relaxed than his mamma about the rules but he didn't like being lied to some times.

"We were down in the clinic and he was all alone with this strange lady, she wasn't very nice, so we asked him if he wanted to come up here with us."

House shut his eyes and sighed. His son's had kidnapped a kid. Great. He rubbed at his eyes. "Was the lady his mom?" He asked Niki.

Niki shook his head vehemently. "No. She was a…soshal worker."

House shot a glance at Ram. Took in the wild over long hair, the frightened look in his eyes and the way he hugged his knees against his thin chest. His clothes were grubby and ill kempt and he looked almost feral at times when there was a sharp sound that startled him.

"Right, we're going to have to go and find this social worker. You shouldn't have taken Ram away from her." He admonished Niki lightly, but he didn't see that any real harm had been done. Worst case scenario, an obviously traumatised kid got to spend some time with two friendly boys his own age. He was pretty sure he could smooth things over if he turned on the charm.

He looked up as the door swung open. "Hey, brother." Carmen said cheerfully and stooped to hug the twins as they ran to greet her. "Hey guys!" She kissed cheeks and tickled ribs but stilled when her eyes fell on the third little boy in the room. He peered out from behind the cabinet at her and looked as if he wanted to join the twins but was wary of the strange woman.

"Another child? Greg, darling, I think you should talk to Lisa before adopting." Carmen said as she straightened and shot a wry look at her brother.

House rolled his eyes. "Carmen, meet Ram."

"Ram?" Carmen frowned at the odd name. She looked down as Tonio insistently tugged at her hand.

"It's the only word he says." He whispered to her and the smile slipped a notch from her lips.

"Oh." She said and looked a little more kindly on the tattered boy. "Hello, Ram, you going to come and get a hug too?" She gestured to the twins. "You get two and the third one's free." She smiled broadly at him and was gratified when a small hesitant grin pulled at his lips. The twins sauntered back into the room and dropped down to pick up their school books as Ram hesitantly stood and gripped the edge of the cabinet behind which he hid. He bit his lip and Carmen waited patiently, not moving but keeping her smile in place. Suddenly he broke and ran towards her, throwing himself into her arms. Carmen caught him easily and gathered him up. He was skin and bones. He wrapped his arms tightly around her neck and held on as he buried his dirty little face in her hair and smelled clean for the first time in a long time.

"How'd you do that?" Greg asked as he stood and limped towards his sister.

Carmen shushed Ram as he trembled at the sound of Greg's voice. She rubbed her hand soothingly over his back and was able to count the ribs poking through his skin. He was almost dangerously malnourished. "Orphans recognise orphans." Was all she said and House wisely left it at that before going on to explain exactly how Tonio and Niki had come across the young Ram.

The twins watched with interest but were careful not to stare as they took in the sight of their aunt, for once, acting like a mother.

"I was just going to take him back downstairs and try and find that social worker woman." Greg explained and Carmen shook her head.

"He wouldn't have gone with you." She said quietly and rested her cheek against Ram's tousled dirty hair. She didn't seem to care that he was getting dirt all over her clean designer clothes or mussing her hair that she had so carefully styled that day. "He's frightened of you."

"I got that impression when he scooted back from me when I looked at him sideways." House said a little wryly but there was steel in his tone. There were a few things that he couldn't forgive; guys that hit women, idiots and people that abused kids. "He thought I was going to hit him with my cane. I'm sure of it." House tilted his head as he watched Carmen soothe the terrified little boy. "Will you take him down?"

He expected her to protest. To say that she wasn't suited to that kind of task and that he should find someone with a maternal bone in her body to take care of the kid. She said none of those things.

"Alright." She rocked Ram gently back and forth, it took little effort to hold up his light frame.

House frowned as something occurred to him. "What are you doing here? I thought you were helping Lisa move things?"

"I was, but I was sick so I ducked out before they both got all worrisome on me." Carmen answered absently as she hummed softly to Ram. The boy had gone slack in her arms, he had fallen asleep. He must have been exhausted.

"You were sick?"

"I'm fine." She said quickly and sighed when he looked at her sharply. "Must have been something I ate." She shrugged.

"You sure?"

She nodded assertively. "I'm sure." She was quiet a beat further. "Your woman wants you home by the way."

He grinned at that. "Doesn't she always?"

"Stop right there or you'll have me hurling again."

"I didn't know the English could hurl." He teased her and she flipped him two fingers.

"Only on this side of the Atlantic." She turned for the door. "I'm going now, I'll see you later." She waved and disappeared out the door.

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"There you are! I wondered where he'd wandered off to." The social worker gushed as she saw the small boy in Carmen's arms.

"You're responsible for this child?" Carmen's voice was cold enough to stop the woman in her tracks. Her smile frozen on her face as her eyes darted to the livid laser blue eyes of Carmen House.

"Yes, I've been looking everywhere for him."

"You couldn't have looked very far. He was on the third floor. Are you in the habit of turning your back on your charges and letting all sorts happen to them?" Carmen's tone was accusatory. She had been on the receiving end of the blind eye once too often as a child and wouldn't let it happen to another if she could help it.

The woman straightened and a frown settled over her aged features. "I don't know who you think you are but…"

"But nothing, this child has already been neglected to the point of cruelty and you're supposed to be the one helping him, not leaving him so that he can just 'wander off'." Carmen snapped. She softened her voice as Ram jerked awake in her arms and stiffened upon seeing the social worker standing not three feet away from him. He held on tighter to Carmen, his rescuer, and didn't plan on letting go anytime soon. Carmen held him more securely and shifted him against her hip as she glared at the woman. She didn't plan on letting him go any time soon either.

"You don't know anything about how overworked…"

A glare the likes of which had reduced hardened criminals to tears settled itself over Carmen's features. Those sitting in the clinic waiting room that hadn't been watching the interesting drama unfolding before them now took a keen interest. They could practically smell the ozone in the air.

"Overworked?" Carmen's British accent lent a sarcasm and contempt to the single word that an American just couldn't duplicate. "He's a child, not a file of paper you can just shuffle away at the end of the day. Woman, you had better get your superior on the phone right now, because this child isn't going anywhere with you." Carmen took a threatening step and the social worker backed off and blinked rapidly for her cell phone, she didn't get paid enough for this.

Within ten minutes of having the cell phone handed to her, Carmen had reduced the superior social worker to a quivering, stammering wreck and secured Ram in her custody for the time being. He would go home with her tonight and be safely out of the clutches of social services for the mean time. She had no intention of letting him go back there either.

Sometimes it was good to be a lawyer.