Sorry for the delay, folks! Internet problems. As usual, I'll post two chapters to make up for it. Oh, and House isn't mine! Duh!
Previously…
Sera closed her eyes. She did NOT just see Carmela get killed by her own son. She heard Winston say softly, "As you can see, Serenity, I don't need anyone to do my dirty work for me." Sera kept her eyes closed. She had thought she wanted the professor dead. She thought she wouldn't care what happened to the traitor. But as she once again felt the tears in her eyes and heard sobs rising in her throat, she realized that she did care after all.
CHAPTER 28
After Sera got herself together, she slowly opened her eyes. Winston was still standing over by the door, staring at her. She stared back at him for a while then looked away. "Where is Cameron?"
"Don't worry about her."
"Who said I'm worried? I just asked you where she was."
"She's in the other room. I'm afraid she's a bit…under the weather. She's been very poor company. Sleeping all of the time. Screaming. Bleeding all over my carpet. I don't think she'll be invited again."
Sera rolled her eyes and turned her back to him as best she could. The chains dug into her waist but she didn't care. She wanted to show her disdain for him by showing him her back. She felt something hard under her left arm. She glanced down and saw the lock picks that the professor used to open her wrist shackles. Carmela must have dropped them when she was being choked. "Choked by me", Sera thought guiltily. She moved the covers on the bed slightly so that the picks were out of sight. She didn't think Winston would be stupid enough to get that close to her since her hands were free, but she didn't want to take any chances.
Sera knew he was still staring at her. She could feel his eyes on her and it was seriously starting to creep her out. She needed him to stop staring at her and leave the room so she could get out of her leg shackles. She turned back around and met his eyes. His father's eyes. She pushed that thought out of her head and asked him, "So, are you going to kill me?"
Dumas looked at her quizzically. "So blunt and to the point, aren't we?"
Sera eyed him calmly. "I don't believe in playing games or dicking around when I want to know something. Are you going to kill me?"
Dumas tsked at her, shaking his finger in reproach. "'Dicking around'? How vulgar. Really, Serenity, ladies don't speak that way."
He was really starting to tick her off. She snapped sarcastically, "Well aren't you just the prince of propriety and good manners! Hell, you even showed proper etiquette and used the pretty, jewel handled knife to murder your mother. Are you going to kill me?!" She couldn't help but raise her voice a bit.
Winston smiled at her. He moved a bit closer to Serenity until he was just beyond her reach. "You know, I have no idea if I'm going to kill you or not. I haven't planned that far ahead. You see, this is a very fluid situation. Things could change at a moment's notice."
Dumas looked so sincere and earnest, Sera almost smiled. "So, you're just going to keep me here indefinitely until you figure out what to do with me? Well, THAT sounds like a good plan!" Sera ignored his glare. "Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you let Dr. Cameron go? You really don't need her anymore. You have me here."
Dumas snorted. "I don't need her? Have you seen her? She's hot! I'm sure I could find some use for her."
Sera felt a chill go down her spine. There was no previous evidence that Winston had raped his victims, but he was completely deviating from his usual MO, so she realized she couldn't make any assumptions about what he would do next. She threw caution to the wind and decided to try to provoke him into coming closer to her.
"Winston, you are completely insane. You know that? I always did think you were short a few screws, but you've managed to show me that, once again, I've underestimated you. I mean, it takes a special kind of crazy to kill your own mother! And to abuse and rape a helpless woman who's about half your size! Wow! You've far surpassed the level of "nuts" that I had attributed to you."
Sera knew, from previous encounters, that Winston hated to be called crazy. So she wasn't surprised to see the rage that clouded his eyes. She waited as he took two steps towards her. But he surprised her once again when he stopped, backed up, then smiled at her.
"Very clever, Serenity. But then, you always have been bright. Call me anything you want, I don't care. I'm going to visit Dr. Cameron now. Or maybe I should call her Allison, since we are about to become much better acquainted. I'll be sure to leave this door open. I hope you can live with yourself when you hear how I'm going punish her for your insolence."
Sera felt her heart drop to somewhere around her toes. "Winston, NO! Please, don't. Winston? WINSTON!!" She called after him to no avail as he continued out the door, leaving it open as promised. She stopped yelling and listen carefully, taking note of which way he walked and how far down the hall he went. He only took about 6 steps to the right before she heard another door open and Winston's exclamation, "Ah, my dear Dr. Cameron, you're awake!!"
Sera blocked out any other sounds coming from the room. She didn't want to be distracted. She sat up slightly, grabbed the lock picks, and got to work on the locks on her ankles. She had to be careful not to rattle the chains too much since she didn't want that sshole coming back in the room. She got the chains off of her feet and started working on the chains around her waist. This was a bit trickier because it was on the side and she couldn't get a very good angle. After about 5 minutes of unsuccessful attempts, she began to wiggle and slide and press herself into the bed as much as she could to see if she could slide out from under the chains.
After another 5 minutes of careful manipulating, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up carefully. She gave herself a minute to get the kinks and tingles out of her legs before wrapping a length of chain around both hands and slipping quietly down the hall.
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Mitch came into the diagnostic department war room, followed by David and Mum. House glanced at Mitch, then back at David and Mum. "No luck?" Mum shook her head while David looked grim. Mitch glanced at Wilson, raised an eyebrow, then looked at House. "I understand you have an idea that might help?"
House glanced at his "boys" then nodded to Skinner. "Actually, I had the beginnings of an idea. Chase, here, helped me refine it a bit. You see, we think Winston has been here for a while…at least a month."
Chase took over the narrative at a glance from House. "Last month I was in the clinic, doing House's hours as usual, and I saw someone get up from his chair to leave. I thought he was tired of waiting, so I called out to him to see if he could be patient for another 5 minutes. He had the hood on his jacket pulled up, so I couldn't see much of his face. But when he glanced at me, the light caught his eyes and I remember thinking that they reminded me of House's, except they were very cold. He told me he was okay and had to run to the bathroom. But he didn't come back."
Mitch looked at him skeptically. "And you think this man was Winston? Lots of people have blue eyes." Chase shrugged one shoulder. "Lots of people don't have eyes that blue!" House fluttered his eyes, saying, "Why Robert…I didn't know you felt like THAT." Chase rolled his eyes and continued. "It must have also been something else besides the color. Maybe the shape, the way they were set in his face, I dunno. But something about his eyes reminded me of House. And this was long before I knew he had a son or that a psychopath was on the loose. He also referred to me as a wombat when he was on the phone with us earlier. Now, I could be wrong, since I ignore about 90 of the non-medical stuff that comes out of House's mouth, ("Hey!", House exclaimed) but I don't think he's called me that outside of this room in a while."
House picked up the narrative. "So, since he's been here a while, he had to have bought or leased a house or apartment. Can you get a list of recent rentals or home purchases in the area? I'm leaning more towards a rental, since he probably wasn't planning on staying after he got his revenge."
Mitch grunted. "I could find that information if I had a name, since we weren't able to find Carmela." He didn't look at David and Mum, but they both looked down guiltily. House smiled slightly. "Yeah, I have an idea about that, too."
"You're looking for a birth certificate or adoption papers, right? Did you try using Carmela's biological father's last name? She was sixteen when her mother remarried, and she chose to take her stepfather's name, but she might have used her original name when she had the baby. I can imagine a well-known diplomat would want to keep his daughter's "issues" out of the public eye."
Mitch nodded. "We already tried that. There is nothing for Cecilia Carmela St. James." House frowned, thinking. Everyone was quiet for a minute. They could sense that he was onto something. He brightened and snapped his fingers. "When her mother ended her marriage to her biological father, she went back to her maiden name, although Carmela kept her father's name. Maybe she used her mother's maiden name when she had the baby?"
David smiled and started typing on the laptop he had brought in and set up. After a few keystrokes, his eyes widened. He typed some more, then turned around. "Well, I did find something interesting. She didn't use her mother's maiden name when she had the baby, BUT her mother's maiden name is Winston. And her father's first name is Alexander. I don't know where the Dumas came from, but maybe Winston tacked that part on himself. But it looks like his name is either Alexander Winston or Winston Alexander."
House tapped his cane against the floor. "That doesn't necessarily help us find him. I doubt he rented anything under his own name. My guess is that Mommy Dearest did it for him."
Dave tapped away at the computer. "Well, I'm not finding any certificates of live birth for Alexander Winston or Winston Alexander. Or Carmela's name…any version of it."
Robert's eyes snapped up at that comment. Something that David said sparked an idea. A long shot, and probably related to the stint helping out in the NICU that he had to do 2 weeks ago. But still….it was worth a shot.
"David, try death certificates. They fill them out on stillborn babies. It's possible Carmela's diplomat dad wanted there to be no evidence of her indiscretion."
Dave shot Robert an admiring look then got to work. It only took a few minutes. "Oh my God…I found it. Cecilia St. James gave birth to a stillborn baby boy 27 years ago! I never thought to look under death certificates. That's why there are no official adoption papers. Winston doesn't exist!"
Mitch stepped behind David's chair. "See if there are any house's rented under the name Cecilia St. James." He glanced over at House and his boys. "Good job, guys."
Robert barely nodded. He wouldn't accept any kudos until they found Sera, safe and sound.