(LEE GRUNTING)
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)
LEE: Hey!
How long have I...
Blunt force trauma to the head did the fatal damage.
Since the accident, he's had a continuous...
LEE: Can't get up. What's wrong with my legs?
Hey, someone talk to me!
Hey, you don't hear me talking to you?
(PEOPLE CHATTERING)
(SIGHS)
Great heart for transplant.
LEE: Who?
My heart? Oh, God. They don't know I'm in here.
HOUSE: Hey, genius. I think it violates certain ethical laws
to rip the organs out of a guy that's still alive.
Possibly certain law laws, too.
LEE: Thank you.
Could you get back in your bed, please, Mr. House?
HOUSE: It's actually Dr. House.
LEE: This guy's a doctor?
There's also a Navy SEAL House,
but you're gonna have to save up for that one.
Really? Well, that's interesting,
but you're here because you crashed your motorcycle,
not because I need a consult, so get back in bed.
HOUSE: Scraped my elbow. Just need a truckload of Vicodin.
- Whereas this guy... - He's brain dead.
LEE: No, I'm not!
So drop it.
HOUSE: See that?
KURTZ: Minimal brain waves don't mean he's alive.
LEE: I am alive. I'm here.
No EEG response to painful stimuli, hot or cold.
What you're seeing is random, barely discernable.
HOUSE: I discerned it.
LEE: Listen to him. Please.
No. That's just the amplifier's internal noise level.
It's on increased sensitivity.
LEE: No, no, no, it's not! It's me.
HOUSE: Then why is his eye following you?
LEE: Exactly.
Following motion is an involuntary reflex.
LEE: No.
You're a doctor,
you should know these things.
LEE: No, no. I'm not dead. I need help. I'm here.
I also know about locked-in syndrome.
And things are either involuntary or voluntary.
Blink if you can hear me.
LEE: I hear you.
Oh. This is gonna be fun.
Eye movement is deliberate.
Can you blink once for yes, twice for no?
LEE: I hope so.
HOUSE: Square root of nine?
He got that faster than you. Brain is fully functional.
LEE: Where's Molly?
You were in an accident.
Lee, hit the brake. Hit the brake. Hit the brake.
You sustained a traumatic injury to your brain stem,
which has cut off your brain's ability
to communicate with the rest of your body.
LEE: Can you fix me? Where's Molly?
You still have movement in your eyes,
so we can get you to a rehab facility
where they can teach you how to communicate.
LEE: No, I can't be stuck like this.
HOUSE: Unless the crash didn't cause the brain damage.
Maybe the brain damage caused the crash.
LEE: Yeah. I couldn't stop. Why couldn't I stop?
Look at his palms. No scrapes.
He didn't even try to protect himself.
Suggests slowed reflexes or no reflexes.
You're not a doctor in this hospital, you are a patient.
LEE: Yeah. And you're the guy who wants to cut out my organs
and he's the guy who doesn't.
Stroke, cancer,
even a simple infection, anything that insults the central pons could do this.
LEE: Then that means I could be fixed.
KURTZ: You're giving him false hope.
He needs to accept what's happened
and work on making the most of it.
LEE: Molly.
Hey.
LEE: Don't look at me like that. That's not making me feel better.
(SNIFFLING) I love you.
I don't know how God is gonna get us through this, but he will.
Stop it, I'm blushing.
KURTZ: What are you doing?
Just looking for some reading material for the crapper.
- These CTs... - Get back in your bed. Come on.
The children are in the waiting area. Can I bring them in?
LEE: No. No, don't.
You don't wanna see them?
LEE: I don't want them having nightmares.
I don't wanna scare them, Molly.
You don't want them to see you?
It's okay. I understand.
(SIGHS)
You're gonna be better soon enough.
LEE: You really that sure?
Why are you so sure, babe? How do you get so sure?
FOREMAN: Are you okay?
HOUSE: Never better.
Here's your burger.
If you can't bring Mohammed to Princeton, bring Princeton to Mohammed.
It's my diagnostics posse.
Hot, dark and darker.
LEE: Talk about getting me better, please.
What are you doing up in Middletown?
LEE: Who cares?
Buying a Gibson '57 Goldtop.
It's the guitar Duane Allman used to play.
FOREMAN: Next to the trauma, the most likely causes of
a sudden onset of locked-in syndrome
are basilar artery stroke and brain hemorrhage.
CT was clean.
LEE: Man, those fries look good.
FOREMAN: Certain circulatory diseases.
Guy's an active bike rider, his heart's fine.
A well-placed tumor could explain it.
LEE: Jeez, is the last thing I ate gonna be the last thing I ate?
It could evade the CT, and still show up on an MRI with contrast.
LEE: It was a melted PowerBar.
She's the smart one.
I just keep dark and darker to fill out the quota.
If we find it, treat it, you can be fine.
LEE: I never thought I'd be praying for a brain tumor,
but please, dear God.
If you're praying in there, stop it right now.
We'll get his doctor to order an MRI.
HOUSE: His doctor's busy teaching him
how to blink out "kill me" in Morse code.
Luckily, I found some forms under the mattress.
KUTNER: Check it out, they have those MRI video goggles.
I heard these were awesome. THIRTEEN: What do you see?
KUTNER: It's a beach.
Oh, look. There's Taub.
Drinking a margarita and mocking us for driving all the way up here
- because House said "jump." - LEE: Easy. I can still feel in here.
Excuse Dr. Kutner. He gets a little excited about new technology.
It can get loud in there, and a little closed off.
These will put you in a quiet place.
You can create a relaxing scenario for yourself.
LEE: I hope they work.
Wow.
You're in my relaxing scenario?
I guess you like me.
Either that or you got sent here.
What, by God?
I'm not sure if I believe in God.
You spend an awful lot of time in church for someone who doesn't.
I don't not believe either.
It's either one or the other.
I go to church mainly to keep my wife happy, but...
I don't know. I've never actually thought that
God could reach out and affect my life.
But getting a brilliant doctor in the bed next to me...
God is also the guy who opened his car door in front of you.
I think Molly was right.
I think you were sent here to make me get better.
I think so.
Hey.
Hey, Dad. Making a volcano.
Yeah. You're making a volcano. Looks like it. What you doing, baby?
(DOOR OPENING)
LEE: What time is it?
Hope you don't mind. My new roommate snores.
And my new room doesn't have you.
Your MRI showed a lesion in the central pons.
LEE: What is that? What does that mean?
See it there?
LEE: No.
Yeah, that's what they said.
But it's there, which means no way head trauma did this.
It's cancer, causing a paraneoplastic syndrome.
Unfortunately, your current doctor thinks
its diffused nature means an infection.
Now, the bad news is the antivirals
he's got you on might kill you.
LEE: I'm not gonna die.
The good news is, if they just almost kill you,
then Dr. Idiot will realize that his name is not a coincidence,
and he'll let me do whatever I want.
LEE: Thank you.
See, the irony here is,
you're kind of fascinating.
So many questions.
But if you could answer any of them,
then you wouldn't be fascinating.
LEE: I get it. You're a little nuts, aren't you?
Your wife is the one getting you through this.
Your wife and me.
Although, frankly, the MRI was a lot more useful
than four hours of hand holding.
I think.
LEE: If he had a wife, he'd know it matters.
You're a good guy. Easy to talk to.
LEE: Wait, something's happening. What's happening to me?
HOUSE: Need some help in here.
Your patient is seizing.
Why would he have a seizure?
HOUSE: Because he has cancer.
His brain stem is compromised.
LEE: Why are you still arguing with this guy? You thought I was dead.
Welcome back. And nicely played.
You almost died, exactly as we planned.
You knew this was gonna happen?
Usually happens when you treat cancer by pretending it's not cancer.
- Right, Doctor? My turn? - It's cancer?
- No, it isn't. - LEE: Yes.
Small tumor in his brain stem causing paraneoplastic syndrome.
- He needs plasmapheresis. - Can you give that to him?
No, no, I'm sorry. I completely disagree with Dr. House.
LEE: Please shut up!
I don't.
Which means I can treat him.
LEE: Let him. Let him.
Is that what you want?
LEE: Absolutely.
Could you send up a couple of bellboys?
(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)
I got the transfer papers, plasmapheresis is all set up.
Are you okay?
Fresh infusion of macho. You like?
LEE: I can't move, and she's worried about his boo-boo?
What were you doing up there anyway?
Antiquing.
Found you a late Victorian corset.
Come by later. I'll tie you up.
LEE: He hitting on her? If she turns around, she's into him, too.
And there you have it.
Sorry, I didn't show up in Middletown. I didn't get the message.
Probably 'cause there was no message.
I decided to accept your resignation.
Uh, I thought we were past this. I decided to stay.
HOUSE: No, you didn't, you had it decided for you.
So now you're stuck here with a boss
who knows that you wanna be somewhere else.
Which means you're no longer motivated to impress me.
Which means you're no longer motivated to come up with good ideas.
Unless I'm wrong.
Save the cheerleader, save your world.
I got it from here.
LEE: I thought you already solved this.
You thinking you might be wrong?
What's going on?
Hey, just curious.
What're you driving up to Middletown for?
Why do you care?
LEE: Why does he care?
Because I'm your friend.
- I was buying a guitar. - Yeah. I heard that.
Used to belong to a guitarist who died in a motorcycle accident.
Just reeks of you screwing with people.
Your crash was 10 miles from the Orange County Progressive Pain Clinic.
You live 10 miles from Mary's Dress Shop.
And yet, that's not even on my list of reasons
that I think you're secretly a transvestite.
If you're going to another state to get more narcotics...
LEE: He's on drugs?
I went to visit your ex-ex-ex wife who lives in Thompson Ridge.
Let her know about the extra money you're making on the lecture circuit,
so she'll be sure to adjust your alimony.
You wouldn't do that.
Yeah, I wouldn't do that.
Would you?
LEE: You guys are friends?
Shouldn't we be entertaining our patient?
I performed Euripides with sock puppets, you just missed it.
House said we should.
The mind is like a muscle.
If you don't exercise it, it'll atrophy, just like anything else.
Whoever's with him needs to talk, keep his mind active.
And it'll show House you still care.
Not sure if I do.
LEE: Jeez, you're my doctor.
KUTNER: Then why don't you just quit?
- Not sure I want to do that, either. - Oh.
Maybe you should figure it out before House figures it out for you.
LEE: Dude, maybe you should have your midlife crisis after I'm better.
Kutner.
We'll be right back.
LEE: Wait. Wait, what did you just see?
Do you drink?
He's a roofer, alcohol hardly proves your theory.
Marchiafava-Bignami disease fits.
LFT's are normal.
LEE: Speak English. Is it fixable? What does that mean?
That hurts.
THIRTEEN: No tremors.
How much do you drink? A six-pack a day?
LEE: I hate beer. I don't even drink beer.
Could mean he drinks more or less,
or maybe something else.
KUTNER: It may not be alcohol at all.
Street opiates could also cause locked-in...
LEE: I don't get high.
...MPPP.
Either we play 20,000 questions with every street drug,
or instead of talking to him, we talk to the lesion.
LEE: Talk to me.
TAUB: We're going to biopsy the brain stem?
For the record, that doesn't count as your inspired idea.
It's sort of where I was heading.
LEE: You're gonna cut into my head? Why?
Stop treating me like a piece of furniture!
I have a right to know what's going on!
Where is that going?
Blood in your urine clogged up your old catheter.
LEE: Peeing blood? That must be what the insecure doctor saw.
Every clue gets us closer to the answer.
LEE: Damn it!
The surgery will get us more clues.
You have visitors.
LEE: No. No, Molly.
You can come in now.
- Daddy. - Daddy.
LEE: I told you not to bring them.
They wanted to see their father.
LEE: I can't even hug them.
They can handle it. It's gonna be all right.
LEE: You're not so sure anymore, are you?
They must have told you that it's dangerous, that I could die.
And that's why you brought them in here.
I got an A plus on my test.
LEE: To see me before I die.
I love you, Daddy.
LEE: Daddy loves you, too.
I want to show my drawings.
LEE: Kids just want a dad. Even if he's just a lump.
Maybe you should go now.
LEE: Oh no, they can stay. Please, let them stay.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Bye, Daddy.
Sorry. You were crying.
LEE: Damn.
We're going to put you out, just so we can drill the hole.
LEE: Oh, that's very thoughtful of you.
Then we'll wake you back up.
We need you to answer some simple "yes" or "no" questions
while we're cutting to make sure
we're not cutting where we shouldn't.
LEE: Seems to be working.
Deep breaths. In about 10 seconds, you will feel light headed.
By now, you should be floating high...
(ALL LAUGHING)
(CHILDREN LAUGHING)
How come I'm not better?
God's not supposed to work in trial and error.
God's mistakes are well documented.
If he'd done everything right the first time,
there'd have been one plague and zero great floods.
Those were because of human mistakes.
You think your doctor has an apartment on Mount Olympus?
God put me with you for a reason.
I'm gonna be all right still, right?
I don't know.
Lee? You with me now?
Easy questions.
You'll be done before you know it.
Is this equation correct?
LEE: What? So if you make a mistake,
I'm not gonna know that anymore?
Are these lines parallel?
Spatial relationship's intact.
Take a look at this circle.
Is more than half of it shaded?
LEE: Of course.
Don't forget to blink. ls more than half of the circle shaded?
LEE: Sorry. Yes.
Look at me, Lee.
Again. ls more than half of this circle shaded?
Blink. Come on, Lee. Blink.
Foreman, back out.
LEE: I can't blink. Cannot blink.
MOLLY: Why aren't his eyes moving?
HOUSE: Two options, my neurologist screwed up,
or else something that the hospital lawyer
is going to have to come up with when you sue us.
FOREMAN: Blinking and eye movements
are controlled by a small cluster of nerves
just millimeters from the biopsy site.
MOLLY: But he's still in there, right? I mean, he just can't communicate?
HOUSE: It's possible.
Also possible is that the surgery caused so much swelling in his brain stem
that he's just gone.
He had one way to communicate and now that's gone. Well played.
Brain biopsy revealed severe damage to the myelin sheath.
The question is why.
Epstein Barr. Picornaviruses. Malaria.
He runs a business, meets a lot of people, could have picked up rotavirus.
Did he report having bloody diarrhea?
Wife's not sure. Says he doesn't complain.
Did you ask him?
THIRTEEN: We prioritized.
He can only blink, a real history would've taken weeks.
If he had Epstein-Barr, he'd have belly pains.
If he had picornavirus, he'd have headaches.
Five other "yes/no" questions,
and maybe we'd know what treatment to give,
and what treatment would kill him.
Unless he's already dead.
Maybe there's another way.
Brain-computer interface, better known as BCI.
The goal is to get you to move that cursor with your mind.
When you think "up", the computer records the pattern.
Think "up" enough times, it eventually learns what you're thinking.
So, start thinking "up."
You in there?
Are you "Yinél?
(SIGHING)
I called the ex-ex-ex-wife.
She was at a sweat lodge in New Mexico last week.
What were you really doing in New York?
Know how you hate it when I meddle in your lies?
(EXCLAIMS) I mean, your life?
Why are you being so evasive?
Unless you have something to evade.
Interesting.
So it's nothing to do with you, your ex-wife, or my pain.
I was heading to the Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill.
One of your hookers arrange a conjugal visit?
It's where Foreman's brother is being held.
(TAUB SIGHING)
This is gonna mean months of sleepless nights wondering
if I could've done something differently.
Maybe it's not that I'm sick of House,
it's that I'm sick of being scared
out of my mind to go to work every day.
Sorry.
(MACHINE BEEPS)
Did that just...
Was that you?
(MACHINE BEEPS)
(CRYING)
Are you really in there?
(LAUGHS)
I knew you were in there.
LEE: I was scared.
Thank God.
(SIGHING)
LEE: I am scared.
Molly, I love you so much.
Have you had any bloody diarrhea in the last two weeks?
(BEEPING "No-q
Rotavirus out.
Any recent joint pain?
(BEEPING "No-q
Epstein-Barr's out.
Have you traveled out of the country lately?
What about inside the country?
(CONTINUES BEEPING "NO")
He was in St. Louis.
Good.
Could be Missouri malaria. We'll start treatment.
(BEEPS "No-q
(STAMMERS) He was there.
The machine must not be working.
Hmm.
Either that or he lied to you about it.
People do that sometimes.
For example, I just lied to him about Missouri malaria.
Did you go to St. Louis?
LEE: I should've told you. Why didn't I just tell you?
Down.
(MACHINE BEEPS "NO")
When you weren't in St. Louis for two days,
I assume you were getting some strange for two days.
LEE: So does she.
You have to tell her I wasn't.
Amazing.
A man who only has two blips at his disposal can still lie.
LEE: I'm not lying.
If you were getting some really strange strange,
you could have contracted neurosyphilis.
Infection went to your brain, froze you right up.
Good news is, it's treatable.
You'll be up and moving in time to sign the divorce papers.
LEE: Why would I tell you the truth about being in St. Louis
and then not tell you the truth about this?
TAUB: He just admitted he wasn't in St. Louis in front of his wife.
And you think he's lying when she's not even in here?
LEE: I'm liking this one more and more. Don't fire him.
Were you out of the state?
LEE: I never left.
Were you within 20 miles of your house?
LEE: Yes.
HOUSE: Were you within five miles?
LEE: Yes.
Within two miles?
Yes.
Did you stay at a hotel?
No.
You had to sleep somewhere. Your car?
No.
A friend's house?
Yes.
That narrows it down, depending on how popular you are.
Tell the wife to stop crying, get in here.
He says that when he was supposed to be in St. Louis,
he was staying at a friend's house.
- Really? - Yes.
Let's assume that you believe him for the moment.
Name your friends within two miles.
Martin and Kim's?
No.
Guess someone who doesn't have a wife.
- Dave? - Yes.
You got an address?
TAUB: If this is where he got sick,
someone else here should have symptoms.
Not if Lee was the only one coming down to the basement.
Furnace is rusty but no gas leaks.
Résumés and cover letters here.
Some are weeks old, he's been spending time here for a while.
Business wasn't going good.
I didn't want you and the kids to worry.
I was trying to protect you.
Molly...
I wish you could hear me.
I wish I could make all of this better.
Looks like he temped a few times.
As a janitor. Factory out on Route 10.
(METALLIC CLANGING)
TAUB: The factory foreman says they make rechargeable batteries,
mostly for cell phones.
Big step down from running your own business to sweeping up.
Doing what I had to do.
KUTNER: Metal filings.
Judging by the color, I'd say cadmium.
Which he'd aerosolize with the broom, then right into his lungs.
Heavy metal poisoning explains everything.
The chelation will scrub the heavy metals out of your blood.
If we're right about the cause,
we should see some movement in about a day or so.
LEE: Can you put this thing on turbo?
Getting a little anxious in here.
Somebody will be here at all times
to irrigate your eyes, keep you company.
Hopefully help make the time go quicker.
LEE: My eyes still feel really dry.
Thank you for thinking "up".
For helping me find you in there.
Man, when you moved that cursor...
(CHUCKLES)
Bought my first girlfriend a necklace, it was silver.
Cost 180 bucks. Had to save for six months.
She hated it.
LEE: Really, seriously, would you tell this story
to someone who could walk away?
Never bought another girlfriend jewelry again.
Until Dr. Hadley.
LEE: You're dating her? You might want to start all your stories with that.
Same thing. She didn't even wear it.
LEE: The diamond thing? She was wearing it the other day.
If she doesn't like it, she doesn't like it.
Apparently, I suck at picking out jewelry,
but at least have the guts to tell me.
LEE: Okay, getting boring again.
How long till we know if this treatment is working?
You lied to me.
LEE: I wasn't having an affair!
So, we needed money, who cares?
LEE: The last time business was slow, you got migraines every day.
Why would you do that to me?
LEE: I'm sorry, I was stupid, I was...
Don't go. Don't... Damn it! Somebody put
"I'm sorry" on this stupid computer.
My eye is killing me.
I want to keep my job.
Great. All you gotta do is come up with a good idea.
How about we hook the guy's brain to a computer so he can communicate?
That's a great idea.
For the guy who invented the computer that can read minds.
Your idea was to use his idea.
You didn't come up with it. No one else came up with it.
If I didn't re-establish communication, we never would have found...
What's interesting is why you're here now.
Not when I gave you the ultimatum.
Was it something the patient said?
I realized that what we do here terrifies me.
And overcoming that
is the only way I can matter.
Kutner found the battery factory,
Kutner came up with cadmium.
Maybe you don't matter.
I'm gonna close your eyes so you can get some sleep.
Hopefully, when you wake up, we'll see some improvement.
LEE: Hope that includes my eye feeling better.
Hand me the fluorescein stain.
LEE: What does that mean?
Epithelium looks torn.
These drops sting.
I'm going to close your left eye to keep it protected.
(LEE GROANING)
I'm gonna blink your eye a few times to distribute the dye.
Ulcerative keratitis.
It means it's not cadmium poisoning.
LEE: Which means you don't know what's wrong.
Again.
When was the last time you changed that dressing?
Judging by the smell of it, I'd say never.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SIGHING)
He's locked-in, his kidneys blew a fuse,
and now his eye's oozing pus.
I assume you went over all that with your team.
Also assume they didn't have any brilliant ideas
or you wouldn't still be muttering to yourself.
This is gonna hurt.
0w!
The way he's losing his myelin
makes an infection most likely.
Could be varicella.
Road debris has come to the surface. I'm gonna have to scrub it out.
And the initial acyclovir would've treated that.
Which pushes me towards an auto-immune disease.
Like Behcet's.
Here, this is gonna hurt even more.
Take two now, two later.
Oops.
(SIGHING)
(EXCLAIMING)
(EXHALING)
Of course, if the varicella was resistant,
it wouldn't matter what they did up in Middletown.
Do an LP.
You've been in the ER too long.
When the patient had a head trauma,
white blood cells only indicate that he had head trauma.
Or you could use the LP for something useful.
If you find polys, it's varicella, lymph's, Behcet's.
Why did I fire you again?
You didn't. I quit.
You weren't visiting Foreman's brother either.
Busy. Kutner's doing an LP so I have to focus.
I had prison security check visitor logs, phone records,
you've never had any contact with anyone at Fishkill.
So I ask again,
what were you doing up in Middletown?
You know what's more interesting than what I was doing?
The reason you are so obsessed with what I was doing.
Stop deflecting, House.
Says the deflector.
(CELL PHONE RINGING)
The reason I was up there is the reason you're scared I was up there.
I was checking out your dirty little secret.
How long have you been sleeping with her?
(EXCLAIMS)
How did you know?
Your only secrets are the girls you find embarrassing.
And the only embarrassing girl you've met recently
is the one at your brother's cuckoo facility.
We've only been out a few times.
She's a caregiver. Like all your other failed exes.
And someone who takes care of your brother.
Who was the last person that took care of your brother?
(LAUGHING)
You think this is oedipal?
Actually I was thinking masturbatory,
but I guess your mom took care of him first.
So the safe course is to gouge your eyes out.
(SIGHING)
LP stands for lumbar puncture.
We use this needle to collect fluid from your spine.
LEE: That's a really big needle.
You're going to feel some extreme pressure in your back.
I already feel pressure in my front. My chest hurts.
...sort of a fetal position...
LEE: Something's wrong.
...the best angle into your spine.
LEE: (SLURS) No, my chest.
Something's wrong. I think I'm...
FOREMAN: Pull the needle out!
LEE: Oh, God, I'm flatlining.
Call a Code.
(DEFIBRILLATOR CHARGING)
There is no God.
You don't know what's wrong with me.
Doesn't seem that way.
So am I dead?
Not yet.
(EKG ALARM BLARING)
But you're about to be.
LEE: Okay.
Charging. Clear.
Again. Clear.
He's back.
LEE: No. No. Let me go.
LEE: You can't fix me.
I've been here for three days. Everything hurts.
We need to get him started on steroids.
LEE: It's okay. Just stop fighting.
LEE: She's gotta go on with her life.
The kids don't need this. I can't do nothing for them. I can't.
God, this foot. Oh, that really, really itches.
So we put in a temporary pacer, it's not gonna...
Shut up! Shut up!
(MACHINE BEEPING)
He's trying to talk.
Something bothering you?
If there's still tightness in your chest, it's expected.
Is it your eye?
(MACHINE BEEPS THREE TIMES)
Why's he saying "no" three times? You only asked one question.
Maybe he's not saying "no".
Maybe he's saying "down"?
Are you saying that the pain is lower?
How low? Your leg?
Your foot?
Left foot?
(MACHINE BEEPS "NO")
Check his... Let me see now. Yeah. His right foot.
No bruises, no rashes, no cuts.
Then there should be no pain.
Is it a tingling sensation?
Is it itching?
(MACHINE BEEPS "YES")
Itchy foot means liver failure.
TAUB: The liver's fine, his enzymes have been normal since we admitted him.
I didn't say failing, I said failure.
Just like you.
Liver's like a cruise ship taking on water.
As it starts to sink, it sends out an SOS.
Only instead of radio waves, it uses enzymes.
The more enzymes in the blood, the worse the liver is.
But once the ship has sunk, there's no more SOS.
You think the liver's fine, but it's already at the bottom of the sea.
So dying liver released toxins,
damaged the nerves, led to locked-in syndrome.
Now we just need to know what's causing the liver failure.
Liver plus eye plus kidney, most likely sclerosing cholangitis.
Oh, God, if only Taub had said that,
it would have been a happy ending.
Do a biopsy to confirm.
I'm gonna numb up the area where we'll go in for the punch biopsy.
Where's the new bracelet?
She was wearing the bracelet?
You didn't notice that I was wearing it?
Because you weren't.
He noticed and you didn't?
If you don't like it, it's fine, it's not a big deal.
THIRTEEN: I like it. That's the point.
I'd rather have it at home in the jewelry box
than getting peed on at work.
You got the patient's urine on that arm?
When I was putting in the catheter. Why?
- You've got a rash. - The bracelet's real.
I figured. So what if the rash
isn't just a rash, what if it's an infection?
If there were rats in that basement,
then the liver failure could be caused by leptospirosis.
Transfers through urine. Rat pee to him. His pee to you.
The infection would need an entry point.
Look for any recent scratches, cuts.
Look. Next to his fingernail.
The infection destroyed your liver,
which released toxins that caused the locked-in syndrome.
You were dying of a paper cut.
LEE: I hope you're right this time.
Let's start him on high dose penicillin G.
We found rats in your buddy Dave's basement.
Tested positive for leptospirosis.
Means we're on the right treatment.
So try moving a finger.
Your brain needs to get used to doing its job again.
Try harder.
I'm sure you've lost hope.
I know we've told you several times that we knew what this was,
but this time we're right.
Concentrate. Move one finger for me.
Welcome back.
(LEE LAUGHS)
LEE: I did it.
Rat pee.
Very nice idea.
Who came up with it?
I did.
Good.
You okay with him claiming the credit?
It was his idea, he saw the rash, he...
If he did, he would have hung
a "Mission Accomplished" banner in my outer office.
Don't toy with him, if you're going to fire him...
Fact that he stole your idea means that he cares enough to lie.
That's all I needed to know.
Rat pee. It's a very nice idea.
House, you left this in my office.
No, I didn't.
So either I have a hole in my pocket...
No, that's right. I remember now. I stole it.
Because if you had gone up there to check out my girlfriend,
you wouldn't have come back here and lied to me about it.
You would have thrown her right in my face.
You underestimate the entertainment value of your obsessions.
And then there were all those calls you weren't taking in front of me.
So I dialed the number of the calls you weren't taking.
You're seeing a psychiatrist.
You had no right to invade my privacy.
- Is that? - Yeah, it's irony.
Hey.
God sent you.
Suddenly, you're not so fascinating.
WILSON: You're spying on your team?
Prioritize, Wilson.
Is that really what you want to torture me about right now?
I don't want to torture you at all.
I think this is a great thing,
not something you have to drive an hour out of town to shroud in mystery.
Yeah, whining on someone's couch
is an excellent use of my time.
Maybe I'll discover that my childhood wasn't perfect.
So your attitude about therapy clearly hasn't changed.
And yet you went.
Which leads me to believe that maybe something else has changed.
Maybe you think you can change. Credit Cuddy with that.
Not much credit to take 'cause I'm not going back.
Oh, House, please.
I assume you went because you're tired of screwing up
every chance you get at happiness.
Delete contact.
Do not let the fact that I found out about it...
(SIGHS) Don't beat yourself up.
I'm not going back because it doesn't work.
You'll end up alone.