"This is a really nice room." "Yeah, it sounds thick." "Too bad he's not coming." "Look, I talked to him myself." "He'll be here." "Right." "You're the one who said that the song could use a horn part, so I got the best" " John Henry." "You think I'm stupid?" "Ofcourse I do, but that's not the point." "He'll be here, okay?" "Take a left up ahead." "South Street?" "I canceled this gig." "You said you didn't want to do any sessions for a while." "For a while." "I called her." "I uncanceled it." " Are you up to it?" " Let's find out." "♪ You lied to me ♪" "♪ John Henry's never gonna show up ♪♪ Will you stop?" "It's been, like, two hours." "And we will keep waiting." "You've heard this guy play, and you know what he does, so can you just shut up, Tommy?" " Oh, my God." " Am I late?" "You need to hear it again?" "Nope." "I get it." "Let's try one." "See what we get." "Let's do it." "John!" "You okay?" "You okay?" "I can't breathe." "I can't breathe." "Call an ambulance!" "Now!" "I want in." " John Henry Giles?" "You a fan of his music?" " He's a musician?" "That paralysis thing-- Guy can't walk for two years." "Nobody knows why." "It seems mildly interesting." " Forget his paralysis." " Tell that to the rest of his bowling team." "As far as this hospital is concerned, this is a simple case of lobar pneumonia." " Boring." " But that not-walking thing-- That could turn into something serious." "Marty Hamilton is his primary physician out in California." "He's dealing with the paralysis." "Know all about it." "Multiple treatments, multiple surgeries" "He's making real progress." "Fixed everything but the legs." "Dr. Hamilton already called and asked for your team." "And by team, I don't mean you." "Like I always say, there's no "I" in team." "There is a "me" though, if you jumble it up." "Foreman did his residency with Hamilton." "I know." "I accidentally glanced at his résumé before I hired him." "He wants someone he can trust." "He must've spoken to Foreman's parole officer." "Someone who will stick to the pneumonia." "John Henry's on an experimental protocol for the paralysis." "I respect that." "I'm not gonna get in his way." "It's Foreman's case." "It's pneumonia." "He can handle it." "Guy's already paralyzed." "How badly can he screw it up?" "So," " what are his sats?" " Staying in the 90s on the nasal cannula." " Coughing up sputum?" " Almost none." "He seems stabilized." " Dr. House, is there anything back from micro?" " Not yet." "You gonna fire me?" " You can make up for it by washing my car." " Oh, this is fun." "Okay." "Let's keep him on the broad-spectrum antibiotics." "And since he's displaying septic physiology, draw blood for adrenal and thyroid function." " What about the paralysis?" " We're sticking to the pneumonia." "Well, you certainly are, boss, like a wet tongue sticks to dry ice." "The paralysis has already been diagnosed by Dr. Hamilton." " It's A.L.S." " Lou Gehrig's disease." "It's a lovely diagnosis." "They make movies about it." "No tests, no treatment-- It's a disease of exclusion." " Because Hamilton has excluded everything else." " I haven't." "What else could it be?" " Guillain-Barré, which would be reversible." " Excellent." "No." "The progression of the paralysis would be symmetric." "His wasn't." " Transverse myelitis." " Hamilton tested for it." "Negative." "And he was negative for masses and A.V.M." " Antibodies could be attacking the nerves." "Multifocal motor neuropathy." " Uncommon, but it fits." "It's also treatable." "Did Hamilton try putting the guy on I.V.I.G.?" " No, because the M.R.I. showed no" " Well, let's do an M.R.I. of our own." "Guys, it's my case." "A.L.S. fits." "It even predicts the pneumonia." "The paralysis is progressive." "It's a death sentence." "That doesn't make it wrong." "So you think the breathing stuff is connected to my A.L.S.?" "It makes sense." "So it's just gonna get worse, huh?" " Well, Dr. Hamilton" " Great guy." "Really smart doctor, and his treatment obviously isn't working." "Do you think I'm gonna die here, or you think I get to go back home first?" "An M.R.I. would give us a better idea-- Oh, an M.R.I. Come on." "For pneumonia?" "Dr. House thinks we should test for other-- House?" "Yeah, I heard about him." "Obsessive son of a bitch?" "That's him." "So who do you think is right, Hamilton or House?" "Hey, they're both excellent physicians." "Come on." "One of 'em says A.L.S. The other one says not A.L.S." "You gotta pick one, son." "Everything points to A.L.S." "Then no M.R.I." "And I want one of them papers that say, uh, I don't want nothing done if something go bad." "A D.N.R.?" "Mr. Giles, you don't want to rush into" "It's been two years." "I ain't rushing'." "I want to sign one." "Now." "While my arm still works." "He signed a D.N.R." "He rhymes with dinner?" "He signed a D.N.R." "Oh." "That makes more sense." " You tell him it might not be A.L.S.?" " No." "Well, no wonder he signed." "Who wouldn't?" "I started him on I.V. steroids and Synthroid." "Great." "If it was my case, I'd be adding a little I.V.I.G. to the mix." " For his pneumonia?" " That's my story, and I'm sticking to it." "He doesn't want anything done." "No treatment." "D.N.R. means "Do not resuscitate", not "Do not treat"." "You do nothing, doesn't matter which one of us is right." "And hang on to that D.N.R." "That signature could be worth a lot of money real soon." "This is Dr. Foreman." "What is Mr. Giles's status?" "Okay." "Increase the steroids to 100 milligrams every 12 hours and, uh-- start him on I.V.I.G." "Yeah." "Yeah, I'm sure." "One gram per kilo." "My nature isn't what it used to be." "The little man has lost some bounce in his step." "He needs to crank it up, have himself some fun this weekend." "He wants the blue pills." "You're taking about your penis in the third person." "Me and him-- two people." "Separate vacations?" "That'd be a drag for one of you." "I don't think you need the pills." "I think you have a conflict in medications." " You need to up your insulin to chocolate chip ice-cream levels." " Insulin?" "Yeah." "You remember." "That's the stuff you take for the diabetes... that you forgot to tell the nurse about." "Your hands" "No hair, which means nerve damage." "And your shoes look about two sizes too small, which means you've lost sensation in your feet." "And then there's your pants." "My pants tell you I have diabetes?" "No." "They tell me you're an idiot." "Powdered sugar on the right pant leg." "Based on the two napkins in your pocket" "I'd bet it's not your first doughnut of the day." "You're giving me the pills?" "Sure." "Why not?" "If you've got heart disease from ignoring the diabetes, they'll kill you." "Otherwise, you two have a fun weekend." "O2 sats are dropping." " Breath sounds?" " Junky." "Mucus plug?" "No, it's our mistake." "Sludging from the I. V.I.G. Blood can't get to his lungs." "Start heparin-- 500 c.c.'s I.V. push." "He won't last long enough for it to work." "We've got to intubate him stat." "We can't." "He's D.N.R." "What?" "Someone likes music." "Oh, yeah." " His sats are in the 70s." "How long's he been like this?" " Ten minutes." " Why aren't you" " The I.V.I.G. put him in respiratory failure." " You put him on I.V.I.G.?" " We did this." "So undo it." "Chase?" " It's too late." "We killed him." " Nobody killed him." "He's not dead." " Chase, intubate him." " He's D.N.R." "What are you doin'?" "You can't do this!" " Bag." " You can't do this." "Bag!" "He had a bad reaction to some medicine we gave him." "What did you just do?" "He saved his life." "He's stable on the ventilator, oxygenating well." "The I.V.I.G. made him worse, which means multifocal motor neuropathy was a bad diagnosis." "Okay, what's really wrong with him?" "What's wrong with you?" "Everyone knows what's wrong with me." "What's wrong with him is more interesting." "You tubed him, and he didn't want to be tubed." "He has a legal paper saying just that." "To intubate or not to intubate-- That is the big ethical question." "Actually, I was hoping we could avoid it and maybe just practice some medicine." "There is no question." "It's the patient's decision." "If the patient is competent to make it." " If his thyroid numbers aren't making him sad." " Oh, my God." "You don't believe that." " His thyroid levels were a little" " It's nothing." "Do not defend him!" " Why did he sign that D.N.R.?" " I-I didn't talk him into" "No." "He signed the D.N.R. 'cause he didn't want a slow, painful death from A.L.S." " What was happening had nothing to do with his A.L.S." " Exactly!" "It's the I.V.I.G." "You screwed up!" "You're not gonna let him die because you screwed up." "Technically, your case." "You screwed up." " Is that what this is about-- looking bad in front of your old boss?" "You assaulted that man." "Fine." "I'll never do it again." "Yes, you will." "All the more reason this debate is pointless." "His lungs are worse." "Any theories?" "Oh, I'm sure he just went to the little boys' room." "Come on, people." " Um, vasculitis?" " Wouldn't likely hit both lungs." "It could be Wegener's granulomatosis." "Dr. House?" "Cuddy sent me a stripper again?" "Love that woman." "So thoughtful." "Sorry." "There are case reports of Wegener's hitting both the lungs and the spine." "Well, it's not great, but it's better than A.L.S. At least it's treatable." "It's a restraining order." "You're not to come within 50 feet of John Henry Giles, and they've asked the D.A. to file criminal charges for battery." "Cameron, test the blood for C-ANCA." "These are criminal charges." "They're not gonna let you take blood to make more tests." "He has blood left in the lab." "Just add on the C-ANCA." " Foreman still got you doing bronchoscopic suctioning for the pneumonia?" " Every four hours." "Well, while you're down in his lungs, grab a biopsy." "We'll need it to confirm Wegener's." " And move the patient to the second floor I.C.U." " Why?" "It's right above the clinic." "I'm pretty sure it's 50 feet in any direction." "It's nice having a court order saying you don't have to work clinic duty." "Dr. Cuddy!" "Excuse me." "You paged me." "Why the yelling?" "His bed is behind that wall-- the plaintiff's." "I can't, you know, come any closer." "It's right over the clinic." "Very cute." "Can we get the lecture over with 'cause I've gotta" "Actually, I've got nothing to do." "Take your time." "You need a lawyer?" "You don't have a problem with what I did?" "When I hired you, I knew you were insane." "I will continue to try and stop you from doing insane things." "But once they're done, trying to convince an insane person not to do insane things is in itself insane." "So when I hired you, I also set aside $50,000 a year for legal expenses." "So far you've come in under budget." "Great." "Any chance you could help me run some tests?" "Dr. Foreman called Dr. Hamilton." "He's flying in from L.A. You can talk to him." "Dr. Hamilton is flying in as a friend of John Henry's... to pull the plug." "Yeah." "I need a lawyer." "Your Honor, on behalf of Gregory House, we have convened an emergency session of this court... to bring a motion requesting that John Henry Giles remain on life support." "Mr. House faces criminal charges for battery against..." "John Henry Giles." "You beat up a guy in a wheelchair?" "Dr. House is alleged to have forced a tube down Mr. Giles's throat against his will." "A medical tube, saving his life." "Dr. House, please let your attorney speak for you." "I'm sorry, Your Honor." "I was way out of line." "So, uh, your client forced the patient into this position, and now he wants a court order to force the patient to stay that way." "Without the tube, there's a high likelihood that Mr. Giles will die." "Well, I assume the patient knows that." "He had a D.N.R." "That's why your client is facing criminal charges, right?" "Exactly." "And Mr. Giles's death will violate my client's Sixth Amendment right." "His right to face his accuser." "That's clever, huh?" "Your Honor, in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Hoselton, the Third District ruled that a defendant may not use that status to rule against" "Why are you doing this?" "It's not gonna keep you out of jail." "No." "Even if you win, the restraining order and battery charge stay in place, so what have you gained?" "Time." "To diagnose him?" "You can't get near him." "I don't want to be near him." "Well, some doctors have the messiah complex." "They need to save the world." "You've got the Rubik's complex." "You need to solve the puzzle." "Are you done?" "Or do you have more references to 1980s' fads?" "I'm trying to listen to this." "That D.N.R. may not be valid." "The patient was suffering from depression brought on by a thyroid imbalance." "The D.N.R. order was witnessed... by Dr. House's own staff, a-- a-- a Dr. Foreman." "My staff are idiots." "I'm sure you know what it's like, Your Honor." "Sit down." "The validity of the D.N.R. is a question of fact." "Dr. House should have the opportunity to make his argument at a full trial." "And this poor guy has got to stay on life support until we can schedule a trial." " Your Honor" " Dr. House," "I will hold you in contempt if you don't sit down." " I have a medical issue." " If it pertains to this case, your attorney" "It doesn't." "Do you have any history of heart disease in your family?" " Your Honor!" " Your fingers" "They show signs of clubbing, which indicates a heart problem." "Remember Bart Giamatti?" "Same thing" " Just dropped dead one day." " Please see your doctor." " He's admitted this isn't relevant." "Can we get back to the motion?" " Ofcourse." "I-I'm sorry." " Your Honor, a person's right to control the treatment of their own body... is fundamental to understanding this case." "A long line of cases, both federal and state, stand to" "Congratulations." "Impressive legal argument." "I watched Matlock last night." "Say no more." "I didn't notice any clubbing on the judge's fingers." "Neither did I." "So the family history thing" "Every family has some history of heart disease." "And mental illness." "Biopsy only shows inflammation." "Start him on Cytoxan." "You're diagnosing Wegener's based on a little inflammation?" "Well, unfortunately, I think we've exhausted all the tests we can do... in our capacity as the doctors that he doesn't want doing tests on him." "Well, you don't" "We'll know I'm right if he starts walking." "We can't do any more tests, but you want me to treat him?" "Medicine's in the pharmacy." "Patient's immobilized in the I.C.U." "Sounds like a simple geography problem." "Are you asking us to jeopardize our medical licenses for this treatment?" "Can I help you?" "Uh, I'm Dr. House." "I" "Greg, right?" "I'm Marty Hamilton, John Henry's doctor." "We should talk." "Appreciate any list of, uh, medications-- anything like that." "I've started him on Cytoxan." "For Wegener's, right?" "Look, Greg." "I checked you out, you know?" "I know you're a good doctor, and you have to appreciate that I'm a good doctor too." "Why?" "Wegener's is one of the first things I looked for." "The biopsy and the blood test were negative, just like yours." "There's an error rate, Marty." "And there's a time to let go." "Look, I'm gonna take him off the ventilator, and John Henry's going to die." "He's accepted that." "Dr. Hamilton." "Hey." "How you doin'?" "Hey, how you doin'?" " I'm sorry." "I should have never put your patient on I.V.I.G." " It's not your fault, Eric." " No, it's mine, Eric." " That's not what I said." " Everybody asks about you out in L.A." " How's the old place doin'?" "Oh, this is wonderful." "But before you guys break out the oil, I should point out that you can't pull the plug." "I have a court order." "You used to, but" "I have the right to face my accuser." "Judge said so." "Not if no one's accusing you." "All the charges have been dropped." "He doesn't have to die." "It's not Wegener's." "If it's Wegener's, his lungs won't be able to handle it." "Soon as they pull that plug, he'll die." "That's why they call it "pulling the plug"." "I'm gonna miss you." " He's still breathing." " His O2 sats are holding." " He's holding his own." " He's still breathing." "It's not Wegener's." "Wrong again." "He's stable, but one of his arms is now paralyzed." "The real question is, why is he still alive?" "Do you think he's just being stubborn?" "He's alive because you were wrong." "It's not Wegener's." "Yeah." "Seem to be doing that a lot lately." "People keep living because of my mistakes." "Progression of the paralysis pretty much confirmed Hamilton was right." "It's A.L.S." " Assuming this is a progression of his paralysis." " He can't move his arm." "Yes, his arm is paralyzed." "Yes, his legs are paralyzed." "Why is everyone so gung ho to connect those two conditions?" "You can think I'm wrong, but that's no reason to stop thinking." " How about this one?" "He's not our patient." " Nope." "Not good enough." "He could've suffered a stroke when he was intubated." "Well, blood clots are common in paralyzed patients." "The inactivity causes-- Not interested in why." " Let's get an M.R. angiogram, check for an embolic stroke." " He doesn't want you treating him." " They dropped the court order." " Yeah, and that girl dropped the charges against Kobe." " Doesn't mean he should call her and see if she's free to get a sundae." " Good point." "But I can go within 50 feet of him now." "You need me, you have 'em page me." "Anytime." "Okay." " Get out of here." " Sure." "That makes sense." "You hate me for saving your life." "Well, in fairness to your side, you were also dying because of me, so" " You knew I didn't want to be saved." " That's what's interesting." "Your thyroid was low, but not enough to cause depression." "So you came here to tell me that even if I can't walk, I can still hear the birds sing, enjoy a rainbow, the feeling of sunshine on my face?" "Those things are fun." "Okay." "Life sucks." "Your life sucks more than most." "It's not as bad as some, which is depressing all by itself." "But do me a favor." "Just let me find out what's wrong with you." "Then if you still want to kill yourself," "I'll give you a hand." " That sound fair?" " Yeah." "Sure." "I'll stick around to indulge your obsession." "It's over." "I lost my air." "The session the other night with those kids" "That was a test to see if I could still play." "I can't." "And that's all you are, a musician?" "I got one thing, same as you." "Really?" "Well, apparently you know me better than I know you." "I know that limp." "I know the empty ring finger." "And that obsessive nature of yours-- That's a big secret." "You don't risk jail and your career to save somebody who doesn't want to be saved... unless you got something-- anything-- one thing." "The reason normal people got wives and kids and hobbies-- whatever" "That's because they ain't got that one thing that-- that hits 'em that hard and that true." "I got music." "You got this-- the thing you think about all the time, thing that keeps you south of normal." "Yeah." "Makes us great." "Makes us the best." "All we miss out on is everything else." "No woman waiting at home after work with the drink and the kiss." "That ain't gonna happen for us." "That's why God made microwaves." "Yeah." "But when it's over, it's over." "Yeah." "What're you doin'?" "It's not over for me." "Either you're gonna call the cops again, or we're doing this." "You want to die, you can do it just as easily inside an M.R.I. machine." "So when I go back to L.A., I'm doing the Dana lectures again this year." "Wow." "Thank you." "Thanks." "That's quite an honor." "It's all political." "Don't be modest." "You've earned it." "I got lucky on a couple studies I was doing." "It all sells tickets." "You remember last year's lectures, don't you?" " I remember the cigar bar afterwards." " The only reason to attend the thing-- cigars and pool." "You enjoy working with Dr. House?" "Not the word I'd use." "We work too hard not to enjoy ourselves, right?" " Mmm." "You seeing anybody?" " Kinda, sorta." " Serious?" " I don't know." "It could be." "You think she'd, uh, enjoy L.A.?" "Hamilton offered me a job." "You gonna take it?" "I haven't decided." "You already have the most prestigious fellowship." "It's a partnership" "Three times the money, car allowance, moving expense, pension plan, the chance to work for a guy who gives a crap what people think." "Why didn't you just tell him yes?" "I made a commitment here." "Right." "House would let you out of it in a heartbeat." "Or he wouldn't, just to jerk me around." "Would you guys have taken the job?" "Don't need the money." "We're not like you." "I don't hate House." "You guys really don't have a problem with him, with what he did?" "He knows we disagree with his choice." "Choice?" "Chase, it's not apples and oranges." "It's right and wrong." "And he does it like he doesn't care." "He assaults the guy... and moves on to the next differential diagnosis like it's nothing." "What do you want from him?" "Hand-wringing?" "Torment?" "You want him to cry himself to sleep at night?" "Yeah!" "Yeah, I want some clue that he knows it's a big deal." "That it scares him, that it matters." "Whoa, whoa." "What's that?" "It was a stroke." " Well done, Cameron." " House called it." "The arm and legs are unrelated." "Oh, you make enough calls, one of them is bound to be right." "Yeah." "He's just a lucky, lucky guy." "Listen, listen." "I just think it wouldn't hurt him to learn a little humility." "So what's the verdict?" "Embolus." "The arm problem was caused by a clot." "There's a good chance we can bust the clot with T.P.A." "Do it." "See what happens to his arm." "We found a blood clot in your brain." "We'd like to start you on heparin." "It's a blood thinner." " What are the side effects?" " Well, your lungs are kind of chewed up from the pneumonia." " Good chance there'll be an effusion." " Bleeding?" "Into his lungs." "It's our best chance to give you back the use of your arm." "I don't need my arm without my air." " The damage would likely be minimal." " No." "It's his call." "Or we could do an embolectomy." "Basically, we go in and pull the clot out." "He's saying no to drugs, and you're recommending brain surgery?" "Bypasses the risk to the lungs." " It'll either help your arm, or" " Or it'll kill me." "From your point of view, it's a win-win." "Okay." "We'll set up the procedure for today." "We're in your carotid artery." "This is gonna take us all the way up into your brain." "You all right?" "Yes." "The sludge is blocking the blood flow to the part of the brain that controls your arm." "All done." "You still okay?" "I think so." "I don't know." "I guess... it's just with Dr. Hamilton here, I-I noticed a difference in styles." "His style involves humility?" "Another difference in our styles" "I don't care much for apologies." "You can go." "I didn't know you were standing there when I said that, okay?" "It was completely rude." "Do you mean genuine humility, you know, with all the self-doubt and the self-questioning, or Hamilton's polite, patronizing, "Aw, shucks" humility?" "You're both excellent doctors." "Thank you." "And humility is an important quality, especially if you're wrong a lot." "You've been wrong every step of the way." "'Course, when you're right, self-doubt doesn't help anybody, does it?" "We gotta go." "Congratulations, Greg." "Congratulations." "Why, Marty?" "John woke up." "He can use his arm." "Thank you." "Now, look, I know we've had our differences, but I think when a person does something well, it ought to be recognized." "The phone works." "Next time you want to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, leave a message." "Don't get me wrong." "I'm overcome with joy." " Doc." " Yeah." " What?" " You just touched my leg." "What, are you gonna charge me with assault again?" "No." "I felt it." "He now has feeling all the way up to the calf." "This is the way medicine evolved." "Patients sometimes get better." "You have no idea why, but unless you give a reason, they won't pay you." "Anybody notice if there's a full moon?" "You're saying he just spontaneously got better?" "No." "I'm saying, let's rule out the lunar god and go from there." "Something he's on is working." "The enzyme replacement protocol is working, reversing the A.L.S." "The timing doesn't seem suspicious to you?" "Do you think Dr. House'll see it that way, figure it's his medication doin' the job?" "I'm sure he will." "It's one of ours." "How do we figure out which drug is doing the trick?" "Easy." "We just stop all of them." " One of those drugs is helping him." " And the rest-- steroids, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories-- They're toxic, if we leave him on all of them." " He'll walk again." " Yeah." "To his own funeral." "But if we stop everything, he'll get worse." "True." "We'll add our medications back one at a time." "When he gets better, we'll have our answer." " And if he doesn't get better?" " Then we're in trouble." "Not as much as he is." "But I suppose that was your point." "I assume you want me to convince Hamilton to stop his treatments too." "Don't care." "At least five of the medications are a part of his protocol." "If his stuff was helping, the guy would be playing tennis months ago." "It's our round of treatment that's helping." "Right." "So that's what you'll stop." "It shouldn't be more than 15 or 20 minutes." "So your philosophy is, if they don't want treatment, they get it shoved down their throat," " but if it might cure their paralysis, whoa, we better slow down." " Yeah." "Yes, Doctor, I love it." "My old philosophy used to be live and let live." "But I'm taking this needlepoint class, and they gave us these really big pillows." " What's your philosophy on employee relations?" " That's a very tiny pillow." "Great." "It sounds like you know what you're doing." "Greg." " Can I have a word?" " Can it wait for the commercial, Marty?" "Say hi to my friend Jimmy." "Pleasure." "Your diagnostic trial" "Seriously, commercial's in about five minutes." " That's a dangerous game." " Only if we're watching in the bathtub." "I need to know exactly what medications you were giving John Henry." "Forget it." "And if Foreman tells you what John Henry used to be on" " You're gonna fire him?" " Nope." "I'll make him live out every day of his two-year contract." " Foreman asked to leave?" " Not yet." " But how do you know I made him" " You're a polite twit, but you're not an idiot." "I need to know what medications you've taken him off of." "Wait a second." "You're not an idiot." "You need to know what medications I've stopped... because" "He's getting worse." "Right now you still work for me." "Come on." "No feeling." "No wiggling." "Bad news is John Henry's back where he started." "Good news is Hamilton looks bad." "Yeah, it's not whether you win or lose." "It's whether the other guy loses." "What was the first thing we put him on?" "Steroids, for the pneumonia." "Well, put him back on them." "Give him 24 hours." "See what happens." "His lungs aren't great." "They might cause another respiratory collapse." "Sure hope not." "I didn't much like that lawyer." "And get an M.R.I. He already got one, and an M.R.A." "Well, obviously something is different now." "Do it again." "Chase, take care of the scan." "Cameron, put him on the steroids." "We should probably talk, huh?" "Thin cuts." "What levels?" "T-9 through the cauda equina, same as the last time." "You really think House would let Foreman out of his contract?" "He has to." "If he doesn't, he's telling Foreman he needs him." "House can't handle that." "Oh, my God." "I checked him out." "He's a great doctor." " You think he's better than I am?" " This about your ego?" "Answer the question." "It's not gonna change how I think about myself." "Might affect my opinion of you, but that shouldn't affect your opinion of yourself." "Now I'm getting confused." "If you think he's a better doctor than I am, then you should take the job." "Otherwise, you should get him to buy you two or three more nostalgic lunches and then politely decline." "It's that simple?" "I should just ignore the mockery and abuse?" " Oh, how do I abuse you?" " How do you not?" " If I make a mistake" " I hold you accountable." "So what?" " Dr. Hamilton forgives." "He's capable of moving on." " That is not what he does." "I screwed up his case." "He told me-- He never said you were forgiven." "I was there." "He said it wasn't your fault." " So?" " So, it was." "You took a chance." "You did something great." "You were wrong, but it was still great." "You should feel great that it was great." "You should feel like crap that it was wrong." "That's the difference between him and me." "He thinks you do your job, and what will be will be." "I think that what I do and what you do matters." "He sleeps better at night." "He shouldn't." " Arteriovenous malformation." " Intradural." "Compressing his spine." "Causing his paralysis." "How could Hamilton have missed an A.V.M.?" "Well, we missed it too, 'cause it wasn't there before." "Are you saying it just grew overnight?" "No." "It was on the spine." "It wasn't on the M.R.I." " Same anatomic location." " It's not there." " Well, what is there?" " Nothing." "Or something that looks like nothing." "Background noise." "Static." " Scar tissue?" "Inflammation?" "If it's inflammation, the steroids would've shrunk it down." "Revealing the A.V.M., which has always been there, hiding behind its own swelling." "We remove that, he'll walk again." "Dr. House." "Cora's meeting me outside with the limo." "I'm bein' discharged." "Fifty bucks says I can beat you to the curb." "Thanks for stickin' with the case." "I can't do anything else." "You're much more easily amused when you can walk." "How bizarre." "I'm guessing that you weren't exactly Mr. Sunshine... even before your leg got messed up." "I want you to have this." "Wow." "You can sell it if you want to." "Just promise me you won't play it." "How many of those pills you takin'?" "I'm in pain." "Yes." "Aren't we all?" "So, uh, where do you buy these things?" "Do they have cane stores?" "Ah, don't worry about it." "You'll be jogging before you need a second one." "See you tomorrow, Eric."