Disclaimer: Fox owns House, Md. and all of its characters. Sera and anyone else you don't recognize belong to me!

CHAPTER 3

Cuddy looked up as Sera walked into her office, shutting the door behind her, and pulled up a chair and sat down. "What's up, Lis? You paged me?" Cuddy closed the file she was looking over and smiled at her best friend. "Yes, I did. I need to talk to you about something, Peace." Sera shook her head. "Lisa, you have GOT to stop calling me that. You might slip up one of these days…"

Cuddy interrupted her. "Sorry – old habits and all that. Although if anyone heard me, they wouldn't really understand the nickname anyway." Sera quirked an eyebrow at her. "Do you really feel like trying to make up a lie about why you call me 'Peace'?" Cuddy chuckled. "No, not really. Listen, I didn't page you to talk about your name. I wanted to give you a heads up about something before you heard it through the grapevine." Sera crossed her arms and glared at Cuddy. "Oh, you mean the position in the diagnostics department that you won't let me take?"

Cuddy took a moment to mentally curse the big mouths of her nurse managers before trying to placate Sera. "Look, sweetie, there really isn't a position, per se…it's just that Elaine and Sonya had this idea that you could be the nurse assigned to care for Dr. House's patients so that he won't…well, so that they wouldn't….uh…" Sera finished her thought for her. "So that big, bad House won't make the nurses cry?" she said bitterly. Cuddy looked at her friend in surprise. "When did you get so…unsympathetic?" Sera smiled ruefully, although her eyes were dead serious. "About the same time that some psycho decided to screw around with my life and send me into hiding."

Cuddy leaned back in her chair and nodded her head once. "Touché. But…not everyone has had to be as tough and resilient as you have. And I haven't seen anyone handle House the way that you do. Hell, I can't handle him as well as you do."

Sera sat forward. "So why on earth aren't you letting me work with the diagnostic team, Lisa? I'm bored to death in that clinic and you know it. I need something to challenge me. If you're trying to protect me from House, don't. He doesn't scare me at all."

Cuddy sighed. "Peace, I'm not worried about him hurting your feelings or irritating you. I know you can give as good as you get. But you don't know House like I do. He's…he's dangerous to you right now. He's weird, almost scary, the way he figures stuff out. During our casino night, he was able to tell what kind of hand I had via telephone. I was playing with Wilson and House was talking to him and the jerk figured out when I was bluffing and when I wasn't."

Sera shrugged. "That doesn't mean anything. You have so many tells, it's ridiculous. You play with your hair when you have a bad hand and you tug on your ear when you have a good hand. You also try too hard not to blink whenever you're bluffing. You also swirl your drink when…"

Cuddy stopped her. "Alright, I get the picture. I'm lousy at poker…I get it. You know, a good friend would have told me these things before I lost a wad of money that night." Sera chuckled. "Yep. A good friend would have also mentioned it to you before we played strip poker with some of those football players in college, too. Of course, a really good friend wouldn't have cheated and stacked the deck in her favor."

Cuddy's mouth dropped open. "You…no way! You did not! I wondered why you were the only person in that room that was almost totally dressed!" By this time both women were chuckling and Sera ducked the pencil that Lisa threw at her. Sera picked up the pencil and tossed it back on Lisa's desk. "Honestly, Lis, you should have figured it out when I got four aces twice and a royal flush in that last hand. Nobody has luck that good!"

Lisa rolled her eyes at Sera. "Ok, so figuring me out in poker apparently isn't that hard. But the man knows my menstrual cycle. I mean, he knows when I'm ovulating and everything! He noticed that I…"

"…ate something sweet and fattening instead of your normal rabbit food? Again, that's not really that hard to figure out." Sera smirked at the surprised look on her friend's face.

Lisa sat back in her chair and stared at Sera. 'Why hadn't I noticed before that my two best friends are just alike?' Lisa thought. Then, she did a mental double-take. 'Wait, did I just refer to House as one of my best friends? Oh my God….he is, isn't he? When the hell did that happen?'

Sera watched Lisa's face run a gamut of emotions, from amused surprise to shock. She grinned at her. "So what just hit you? That House and I are just alike or that you're madly in love with him?" Lisa glared at her and gritted out, "Peas in a pod, actually. And I'm NOT in love with him!" Sera held up her hands in mock surrender. "Whatever you say, amiga, whatever you say."

Lisa continued to glare at her. "Look, maybe you're missing the point here. House is a lot like you with one big, honking exception. You know how to let things go. I don't see you obsess over things much. But House… he won't quit until he has solved the mystery. And right now, YOU are the mystery."

Sera smirked. "Actually, I like to think of myself as more of an enigma…" Sera jumped slightly in her seat when Cuddy slammed her hand against the desk. "Dmnit, Serenity! You need to take this seriously! Do you honestly think you'll be able to keep him from finding out who you are? Are you going to be able to refrain from giving your opinion on a diagnosis, or letting something slip that shows your knowledge? He won't rest until he has searched and brooded and dug around and figured you out. And once he has, do you really think House will keep it quiet?"

Sera looked at her somberly. "If he knew my life depended on his discretion, would he still tell?" Lisa stared at her for a minute then relented, shaking her head. "No, he probably wouldn't. He's not the complete bstard everyone makes him out to be." Sera smiled at her. "Of course he's not. You wouldn't love him if he was."

Lisa opened her mouth to deny what Sera was saying, but closed it again, knowing it was pointless. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "Look, even if House keeps your secret, others are bound to figure it out. You didn't exactly have a low profile before, you know. I don't know why I agreed to let you come here. Hanging out around doctors that might recognize you is a horribly bad idea. Even your name isn't that different. What if…he has been waiting for you to do something like this? Come back to your roots, so to speak. I should never have let you come. If something happens to you…"

Sera leaned over and took Lisa's hand. "Then it will be that ---hole's fault, not yours. And you know what, Lisa? I'm tired of running. I just want my life back. I've worked as a teacher, a waitress, a sales clerk – you name it and, over the past five years, I've done it. I've done everything except work in the medical field. And I miss it. I've felt like a fish out of water for too long. I'm ready to try to get back some part of me. Let me work with House and his team. I'll be careful. And if it looks like House is close to solving his mystery, I'll tell him the truth and try to impress upon him the importance of secrecy. And if he doesn't agree, I'll just kill him. All the nurses would thank me."

Lisa stared at her for a moment then burst out laughing. Sera joined her and soon both women were nearly hysterical. At this moment, House slammed into the room. "What's this crap I hear about me getting another useless person on my team!" House stopped yelling and looked in astonishment at the two women, who's laughter had died out when he stormed into the room, then resumed after he had asked, or rather yelled, his question. Sera was barely able to stand up, but she managed to make her way over to House and say, in between giggles, "I think I'm gonna enjoy working with you, Dr. House!" She gave his cheek a little pinch as she slid past him and out the door, laughing even harder at the look on his face."

House stared after her, then looked at Cuddy in horror. "No." he said in an ominous voice. Cuddy grinned at him and said, "House, Sera is going to be the nurse assigned to work with your team." House looked at the door that Sera went through and then looked back at Cuddy. He said in a quiet voice, "It's official. I. Am in. Hell."

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On Monday morning at 8:45 am, House was headed to the elevator to get to his department. He saw a few surprised faces turn his way, which made him frown. 'What the hell is everyone looking at? I've come to work on time before', he thought grumpily. When he walked past Cuddy, her mouth dropped open, then closed with a snap. She started to say something, but wisely decided to keep quiet when she saw his stormy expression. He stepped onto the elevator and viciously stabbed his floor number with his cane. Wilson slid on the elevator before the doors closed completely.

Wilson glanced at him then looked forward towards the doors. "So, new staff member to break in today, huh?" House merely growled in response. Wilson smiled slightly and continued. "She's very pretty. She's also a bit feisty, isn't she?" House muttered something that sounded like "itch". Wilson leaned forward. "What was that?" House turned to him and said loudly, "I said, she makes me twitch!" Wilson smirked and muttered under his breath, "Sure you did."

House glared at him, but Wilson faced forward and didn't say anything else until they both got off of the elevator on their floor. As they went in opposite directions, Wilson called out in a cheerful, singsong voice, "Have a good daaaayyy!" House gripped his cane tightly to keep from bludgeoning his friend to death and continued on to his office without saying anything. He heard Wilson chuckle as he made his way down the hall, and he had to take a deep breath to attain his neutral face. He smelled the coffee from the hall and made a beeline for the conference room instead of his office.

His team was sitting at the table waiting for him. Well, all of the team except the new one. House glanced at the clock. She had 7 minutes to get here. Chase looked up from the medical journal he was reading and asked, "What's this I hear about us getting a new member on our team?" House looked up from pouring his coffee. "Well…we're getting a new member on our team." Chase shook his head and sighed as House limped over to the whiteboard and leaned against the chair next to it. He took a sip of the coffee and looked up in surprise. "Cameron, you've outdone yourself. This coffee is the bomb!" Foreman rolled his eyes at House and went back to reading the patient file. Cameron frowned at House. "I didn't make the coffee. It was already brewing when I got here." House looked at Foreman and Chase, both of whom shook their heads. House looked at his cup then back to his team. "So did the little elves come and make it this morning?"

Just then the door opened and Sera walked in. She smiled at everyone then looked at House. "Sorry, hope I didn't hold you up. I was here earlier, but Dr. Cuddy called me down to her office to complete some paperwork." House smirked at her. "Oh, don't stand on ceremony on our account. We all know you and Cuddy are like this." House held up two crossed fingers. "Just go ahead and call her Lisa." Sera grinned at him as she took her seat. "Oh, I didn't know you were that casual around here. That's good to know…Greg." Sera put her elbows on the table, folded her hands, and rested her chin on them. She gave House a look that clearly said, "Ball's in your court."

House stared at her for a minute then decided not to volley. She was too unpredictable and he didn't want her to make one of her scathing remarks in front of his team. If she did, he would either have to destroy her or let her win. Considering she was Cuddy's best friend, the first option probably wasn't a good choice. The second option…well, THAT wasn't gonna happen in this lifetime. Cameron would probably let it go, but those other two idiots would never let him hear the end of it. Instead, he decided to play nice and introduce her.

"Cuddy has decided that we need our very own nurse to do our dirty work for us. So, from now on, Lil' Hateful will be sitting in the differential diagnosis meetings with us and taking care of our patients." House paused for a minute to sip his coffee, then he frowned at it and looked at Sera. "Did you make the coffee when you were here earlier?" Sera nodded. House took another sip and smirked at Cameron. "Well, that's one job you don't have to do anymore. Her coffee blows yours out of the water." House looked back at Sera. "Consider making the coffee one of your job duties."

Sera, who didn't miss the look Cameron shot her at House's comment, chuckled a bit and told House, "IF I am the first one here, I'll put the coffee on. It is not, nor will it ever be, one of my assigned duties. I'm not a caffeine junkie, so if someone gets here before I do and waits around for me to make the coffee, he will have a very long wait."

The room got quiet as everyone waited to see what House would say. A full minute passed with Sera and House staring each other down. Sera suddenly heard Lisa's voice in her head, telling her to try not to pss House off too much, especially on the first day. Sera sighed softly and looked away from House, conceding that particular victory to him. She did say, without looking at him, "I will, however, bring in some more of my special blend since you seem to like it so much. Whoever gets here first can use it. Five heaping scoops make a whole pot. It's practically idiot-proof." House snorted and said quietly, "You don't know my idiots like I know my idiots."

Sera turned to the rest of the team to introduce herself. "By the way, my name is Sera. That's what most normal people call me, anyway." She held out her hand to Chase, who was sitting to her right. Chase smiled at her and took her hand. "Robert Chase. You can call me Robert." Sera noticed that he was using the smile that the clinic nurses referred to as 'Chase special #2'. He used that one when meeting an attractive woman for the first time. Sera struggled to keep a straight face as she extradited her hand from his. She turned and looked at Foreman.

Foreman smiled an easy smile and shook her hand firmly. "Eric Foreman. No one around here uses first names, and I think it would be a bit weird, but if you want to call me Eric, I guess it's okay." Sera laughed out loud. "I've heard people call you Foreman, so since that's what you're used to, I'll use it. Wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." She gave him a saucy grin and winked. Eric grinned back at her, charmed by her laughter and her teasing manner.

House watched Cameron carefully during Sera's introduction to the boys. He knew she had been the queen bee of this particular hive for a while and he was interested in seeing how she'd react. So far, both Chase and Foreman were acting like completely besotted idiots, and House could tell Cameron didn't like it one bit. Her eyes were slightly narrowed…had been since he said Sera's coffee was better. House's eyes were shining with unholy glee. 'This might be more fun than I imagined', he thought.

Sera was completely aware of the baleful attention she was getting from Dr. Cameron. Although she had no intention of deliberately antagonizing the woman, she wasn't going to walk on eggshells around her, either. Sera was fully aware that Cameron considered Robert, Foreman, and even House "hers", but she figured the younger woman had better just get over it. She turned to Cameron and held out her hand, giving the other woman a small smile. "It's very nice to meet you." Cameron gave her a tight, little smile in return and told her, "Nice meeting you. I'm Dr. Cameron. It's always good to have a nurse around to help out around here."

Sera sat back in her chair and looked at Cameron speculatively. 'Nice', she thought with approval. 'In one sentence, she's made me sound like little more than a maid and she did it so politely, I could never call her on it. Looks like the kitten has sharper claws than I gave her credit for. And of course, House is just loving this. Well, I won't play into his little mental mud wrestling fantasy, that's for sure.'

Sera gave Cameron her most pleasant look. "Well, Dr. Cameron, I'm so happy to be here. You just let me know what I can do to help. I'm sure I'll learn a lot just by watching you good doctors work your magic in this room."

Everyone turned when they heard the snort of laughter from the doorway. Cuddy was standing there, looking at Sera with barely concealed amusement. Sera returned her gaze, trying to look as innocent as possible. Lisa walked over to stand next to her. "I was just coming to see if everything was going okay…making sure Sera got settled in." Sera gave her a look that spoke volumes and said, "Oh, everything is just peachy, Dr. Cuddy. Greg, Robert, Foreman, and Dr. Cameron have been just swell!"

Cuddy nodded in understanding. From what Sera had said, House was being House, Chase was flirting, Foreman was being cautious, and Cameron was being a pain in the butt. Just as she expected. She looked around at the team, saying, "Well, glad to see things are going well. Carry on." They all watched Cuddy leave with her heels clicking in her wake. House shook his head, muttering, "That was weird" under his breath. He looked around the table and said, "Okay, people, I'm sure the patient would like us to figure out what's wrong with her before she dies…"

"HE", Cameron corrected. House shrugged. "Whatever. Okay, Cameron, what do we have?" House pulled the cap off of the marker and began writing as Cameron listed symptoms. Sera leaned back in her chair and realized that for the first time in a long time, she was happy. She glanced to her right and saw a pair of greenish-grayish eyes looking at her intently. She was surprised to feel a little tingle run up and down her spine. 'Yes', she thought, 'I am definitely feeling good right now!'