Author's note: I swear I'm not a review whore, but when I see that I only have 22 reviews for 20 chapters, yet over 9,000 hits…well, it makes a girl feel a bit unloved. Please review when you read. I really do appreciate feedback. One of the reasons I stopped posting regularly, besides all of the drama of real life, was that I didn't think anyone was reading. I got a few reviews that convinced me otherwise, but still…

To those that have reviewed, THANKS!! It does mean a lot. I don't mean to dismiss your reviews at all. I am sincerely grateful for your comments!

Disclaimer: House and Co. are the property of Fox and all of those big shot mucky-mucks.

CHAPTER 21

Sera held out her hand so that he could help her up. Robert looked at her hand skeptically. He had no idea if he was about to go flying across the room or not. He sighed and stood up with the easy grace Sera admired. He reached down and grabbed her hand. If she annihilated him, it was what he deserved. But she simply allowed him to pull her up off the floor.

Sera rubbed her lower back and behind where she'd landed. She said softly, "Ow!" Considering the fact that everyone had been expecting an explosion, the softly spoken interjection caused everyone to start smiling and, in House's case, snickering. Robert came up to her tentatively and put his arms around her waist, rubbing her back for her. He looked into her wide, gray eyes. "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, and I promise, I'll never hurt you again."

Sera smiled at him. "Don't apologize. You did it right. In fact, you did it more than right. You improvised and caught me completely off guard. I underestimated you and I guess I needed this reminder that I'm not invincible and it's never a good idea to underestimate your opponent." She paused for a moment and looked at him curiously. "Where on earth did you get the idea to do that move, anyway?"

He grinned at her. "Last Saturday morning, remember? I had a brief flashback to how you got me down. I didn't do the cartwheel thingy, but I remembered how you kicked my leg. I wasn't going to kick you that hard, of course, but I decided at the last minute that if I kicked the back of your knee instead of your thigh, maybe that would do it. But I don't really think I expected it to actually work."

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself either, sweetie." Sera patted him on the cheek. Robert caught her hand and held it tight. He looked at her very seriously for a moment. "Sera, you have to be careful with Dumas. He probably knows how lethal you can be, so he's not going to just let you walk in and beat the stuffing out of him. He'll have something up his sleeve…something unexpected. Don't miscalculate with him, too. Don't take him lightly."

Sera squeezed his hand gently. "So you're going to let me go?" Robert looked down a minute, thinking. He knew that Sera wasn't really asking for his permission to go. She was going whether he wanted her to or not. But she wanted him to let her go without argument and drama. She wanted to know that even though he didn't like the situation, he supported her 100.

Robert leaned his head against hers. Both of them forgot that they were supposed to be convincing everyone that they hadn't been intimate. In fact, they both forgot anyone else was in the room. Robert whispered to her, "I'm scared to death that I'm going to lose you. I don't want you to be hurt…or worse. I can't imagine you…in pain…" Robert's voice broke. He felt tears coming to his eyes, but he didn't care. He thought back to Cameron's screams when that maniac was cutting her. What if that had been Sera? He put his arms around her and held on tight. "Don't go", he whispered in her ear.

Sera was squeezing him just as tightly. "If we don't figure out where Dumas is, I have no choice. Even if I walk away, he's always going to be out there…following me, tormenting me. I need to do this."

Robert took a deep breath then let her go, taking a step back. "Well, let's get to work. We only have about 10 hours to find Dumas." He looked around the room at everyone. "I just want to tell all of you so-called friends that whatever happened between myself and Sera is our business and no one else's. So no more questions, no more sly innuendos. I don't care what bets you have or what money is at stake. It's none of your damn business! And we have more important things to do."

House smirked. "In other words, you struck out. Shoulda known that you weren't man enough to handle a real woman. The only way you can get someone that hot is if she's stoned out of her mind. Although it appears that our nurse Sera does have a soft spot for you. All those years in hiding must have addled her brain or someth…"

House never finished his sentence. Robert grabbed him from where he was leaning on the arm of the sofa and pulled him up by the front of his shirt until they were eye level. From the sofa, Eric gasped and tried to get up to help. He had never seen Robert look so angry, and he thought House may have just pushed the Aussie a bit too far. Donna laid a gentle, but firm hand on his shoulder, holding him back. She shook her head at him and mouthed, "Wait." Eric sat back to see what would happen next.

Robert's voice was low, but it was so quiet in the room that it sounded like a shout. "You mean-spirited, insensitive, unfeeling, cold-hearted son of a btch! Don't you say anything about Sera. She is about to go into a dangerous situation against someone who's killed 15 people, including her sister and her fiancé. She is the bravest person I've ever known. Did you listen to what happened on the phone? Did you hear what that a$$hole did to Cameron? Sera heard it, and she's still willing to go. You only offered to go yourself because you knew he would say no. You're nothing but a coward. You hide behind your sarcasm and wit. Would you be so smug if Stacey had been the one Dumas took? If he had showed up a few months ago, it might have been Stacey. Would you be making your smart-a$$ comments then? What if you had to listen to Stacey being stabbed over and over and over while she screamed? How would you feel? Would you feel anything at all? Are you even capable of feelings?"

Robert let House go and he dropped back on the arm of the sofa and wobbled a bit to catch his balance. Robert leaned over and got right in his face. "If you make one more disparaging comment about Sera or Cameron or anyone else, so help me God, I will kick your crippled a$$."

Robert stepped back as House squared his shoulders and pulled down his shirt, straightening his clothes. House looked at Robert and sneered, "Well, it's about time you grew some!" Robert growled and raised his fist, about to clobber his boss. Sera grabbed his arm. "Robert, no! Don't. Please don't. He's not worth it." Robert gave House one more glare and stormed into the kitchen.

The silence was heavy after Robert left. Sera leaned over and picked up House's cane from where it had fallen. She looked at him. His face looked unreadable, but his eyes…his eyes were filled with pain and self-loathing. She handed him back his cane and said softly, "Dumas could still kill her, you know. And, although I don't think it's likely, he could kill me. Do you even care?"

House snatched his cane from her and got up. He stood with his back to her. "What the hell kind of question is that?" Sera walked over to him and pulled his arm, jerking him around.

"One that I would like an answer to. I deserve at least that. Would. You. CARE?!!

"YES!! Yes, I care!! Is that what you want to hear?! I care!! It's eating me up inside that Cameron is being tortured because of me. She may die and it will be all my fault! You think I don't realize that? Do you think this is fun for me? I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle that psycho with my bare hands while he was hurting Cameron! I want to duct tape you to a chair tomorrow so that he won't have a chance to hurt you, too! YES, I FKING CARE!!! DAMMIT!!!" House threw his cane across the room, smashing into the lamp that was on the end table. It crashed to the floor, shattering into dozens of pieces.

House was breathing hard. Sera was staring at him with tears in her eyes. Robert had come back into the room when the screaming started and was also staring at House in amazement. Lisa looked shocked as well and Eric was obviously stunned. Mitch and David were just staying ready in case things got out of hand.

House took a couple more breaths and said to Sera, "Is that what you wanted to hear, you annoying pain in the butt?"

Sera went over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. He resisted her at first, but after a few moments he gave in and wrapped his long arms around her, holding her tightly. Sera stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, "Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear, you big jerk."

Everyone turned at the sound of a voice in the doorway leading to the hall where the stairs were. "Well, who knew Princeton had so much drama?"