House (2004–2012): Season 8, Episode 21 - Holding On - full transcript
A patient's illness has its roots in the body and mind.
(ALARM RINGING)
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Come on in.
I'm not doing any more chemo.
Good plan.
You'll be dead
in five months.
We went for a cure,
it didn't work.
I've thought
about this a lot.
Five more months on
this Earth is reasonable.
A year in the hospital
in excruciating pain is
not.
With two weeks on,
two weeks off of chemo,
you could have way
more than a year.
Maybe two or three.
House.
I'm sorry.
I'm not gonna let you just die.
Hey.
You know, management
research shows that
the best ideas come
from casual contact.
So, one set of season tickets.
I got the seat next to you.
First game is October 8th.
It's about one month
after Wilson's expiration date.
This isn't
an unstructured collaboration.
You're trying to
be the new Wilson.
I'm trying to show you there are
other people who care about you.
Relax. I'm probably
not gonna fall apart.
...five, six, seven, eight. One, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight. Here we go.
Cradle. One...
HOUSE: Put down the pom-poms
and step away from the computer.
46-year-old
oncologist refuses treatment.
JESSICA: Foreman already
gave us a case.
Wants us to keep
things as normal
as possible for as
long as possible.
Wilson is dying, Chase is gone,
how close to normal
do you think we can come?
19-year-old cheerleader,
admitted with
massive nosebleed and dizziness.
Wow, cool, I just completely forgot
that my best friend is dying.
Wait, that just reminded me.
Head CT is clean.
How can we turn Wilson
from a terminal idiot
into an interminable
pain in the ass?
A mini-stroke could
explain our patient's
neuro symptoms and
his butterfingers.
But not his bloody nose.
My best friend is
trying to kill himself.
He just wants to die
with a little dignity.
There's no such thing.
JESSICA: It's not
your choice, House.
Your only choice here
is between acceptance and misery.
It's a midline granuloma.
Get your patient a PET scan.
No lesions along the optic track...
You already covered that.
Maybe we should
get someone else to take this case.
Why? Because someone
somewhere is dying?
(ELECTRONIC BEEP)
Oh, crap! Turn off the mic.
It is off.
Not according to his brain.
His temporal lobe is completely lit up.
Auditory portion.
He's hearing something.
Foreman's trying to date me.
I assume that's
because you called him.
No, I...
Did you put
something in my coffee?
You know how you can be there for me
five months from now?
Don't be dead
five months from now.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Hey, Wilson...
Seriously?
Just a little picker-downer.
I assume this unwanted interruption
means you're looking for me
to discuss
the latest development
in a case I don't
want to discuss.
TAUB: Our patient is hearing voices.
He denies it,
but the PET scan says otherwise.
He's at the right age
for the onset of schizophrenia.
Yeah. You really need me.
Ultrasound his abdomen
to check for schizophrenia.
We already ordered a psych evaluation,
but drugs could also cause...
Tox screen was clean.
Ultrasound his dorm.
(COUGHING)
Whoa! You guys can't just come
busting in here without a warrant.
We're not cops.
We're your roommate's doctors.
Any idea what flavor of drugs would be
making your roommate sick?
Objection. Entrapment.
I'm pro-law.
Derrick doesn't party.
JESSICA: Look at this.
Why would he have
a picture of a little boy?
Maybe it's his
nephew or something?
Hidden in his sock drawer?
Whoa!
Creepy-
JESSICA: We need to talk
to Derrick about some medical matters.
Well, she's my girlfriend.
She can be here for that.
(CLEARS THROAT)
We found this in your dorm room.
Who is that?
Nobody.
JESSICA: Then why was it
hidden in a drawer?
Derrick, what's she talking about?
It's my brother, Christopher.
You never told me
you had a brother.
Well, he's been dead
almost 10 years, so...
Is that the voice
you hear in your head?
(SNORTS)
Mmm!
(GROANING)
And, lo, he is risen.
So now my hair's
gonna fall out next week?
No, all I did was temporarily kill you.
How was it?
Look, I wasn't dead.
I was unconscious.
No dreams or thoughts.
You experience nothing.
Now, imagine that without the waking
up on the couch part.
Just nothing, times infinity.
You didn't just prove death is nothing.
You proved propofol is.
You're saying the end is not the end?
I was expecting, "Nothing is better
than something lousy,"
but not, "The angels
are waiting for me."
I'm not having
this conversation.
Why? Because it
doesn't make sense?
Because I'm not gonna change your
mind, and I don't care.
More importantly,
you're not gonna change mine.
There is no heaven,
there is no hell,
your soul is not gonna
float out of your body
and join some great,
unifying energy force.
The fact that you're dying
is not gonna change that.
Please, just go.
(SIGHS)
House.
I have spent the last 20 years
holding the hands of people as they die.
When I watch that
transformation...
I'm sorry, I don't believe
that we're just a bag of chemicals.
(DOOR CLOSES)
So are we gonna talk about the patient,
or wait for House?
Viral encephalitis.
It's been going on for 10 years.
I'm gonna go in there
and invite him to participate.
I think he'd
welcome the distraction.
Come with me?
Why?
When was the last time
House listened to anything we said
about anything personal?
Maybe you'll feel better,
but sometimes, the truth is,
there's nothing anyone can do.
Temporal lobe epilepsy.
Causes voices, dizziness.
Trauma from a seizure
would explain the nose bleed.
You know about
all of my siblings,
and cousins,
and aunts and uncles, and...
You're overreacting.
Because you don't trust me enough
to tell me about...
Sorry. It's time to
go down for your test.
If you want to wait here,
it'll only take about an hour.
No, she's leaving.
Derrick, come on.
I mean, we should at least talk.
No, I'd rather you just leave.
And you don't need
to come back.
Time. Any odd
tastes or smells?
No. Feel fine.
Things looked
fine on my end, too.
So you won't
admit to your doctors
that you're hearing
your brother's voice,
which is dangerous.
And now, you lost
your girlfriend over it.
Which is stupid.
I assume there's
more to the story?
That's how I was raised.
- Short story.
- Yeah.
My boss is losing his
best friend to cancer.
And instead of
talking about the pain,
he's pretending
there is no pain,
because everything can be fixed.
My father tried to deal with it.
Ironic that he'd drink
himself into oblivion
after my brother was
killed by a drunk driver.
Do you need a tissue?
After Dad left,
my mom moved us away.
She got rid of all the pictures of
Christopher
and never mentioned him again.
It was like he never existed.
And that worked for us.
And, yet, you kept one.
Uh... My right eye...
I was seeing spots, but now I can't
see at all. Is that from the test?
No, this is something else.
Ah! That hurts!
Sorry.
How many fingers?
Two. Fuzzy ones, but two.
It's a clot in the artery behind
your eye. I just broke it up.
Is that bad?
Don't know. Because I don't
know why it happened.
Hey.
Saved us a table.
There are no tables.
I recently hacked
into your old files.
Found a 6-year-old boy
with bilateral retinoblastoma.
Doctors wanted to
take his eyes out
before the cancer
spread to his brain.
But you fought them. Advocated for
a new photon beam radiation.
Saved the kid's vision,
probably saved his life.
That was my first case at PPTH.
Mikey Kimble.
It's Michael, now.
Oh, yeah, this is our table.
Wow.
(STAMMERING)
How are you?
I'm doing great.
Graduating next month.
Already? Little Mikey?
And I got accepted to Princeton.
I'm planning on
going to med school.
(CHUCKLES)
He's going to be a doctor.
Instead of being dead.
Dr. House told me
all about your situation.
That's why I came.
There's just so much
good that you can do,
even in a small
amount of time.
I wonder...
Hey!
Is there anybody else here who's alive
today because of Dr. James Wilson?
Gastric adenocarcinoma.
Fifteen years in remission.
Six grandchildren
that I never would have met.
Thank you, Dr. Wilson.
Squamous cell lung cancer.
Twelve years in remission.
I was able to walk my daughter
down the aisle last May.
Thank you, Dr. Wilson.
HOUSE: I did the math.
Seventy-four children
are alive today because of you.
Fourteen grandchildren.
Mikey Kimble started kindergarten
before the age cut-off.
He would have graduated
high school last year.
I flunked a year?
Was anybody in this room
really a patient of mine?
They're somewhere.
They're giving you
a standing "O" somewhere.
They exist. You saved their lives.
It's actually more impressive
that they're too busy to be here.
What's this?
A glowing letter of recommendation
you just wrote
for me on my laptop.
I noticed it's lacking
your signature at the bottom.
Don't you think you're being a bit
premature predicting House's demise?
Not demise, just implosion.
He's going through a rough time.
But, so far, he's been handling it...
(SLOSHING)
House?
Your shoes are wet.
Glad to see your emotional turmoil
hasn't dulled your
powers of observation.
I know you're responsible.
No, you don't. Because I didn't do it.
Whatever "it" is.
But if I had shoved those
season tickets down some toilets,
I would have done it
because you asked me to.
You wanted to replace Wilson.
I prank Wilson all the time.
Enjoy.
(BELL CHIMING)
I got you three,
but I drank them.
You didn't have to call me,
but I appreciate I made the list.
It wasn't entirely unselfish.
I didn't feel right approaching
any of my terminal patients, but...
What is it like?
Hmm...
Does it ever stop being surreal?
It'll stop in about five or six months,
give or take, in your case.
(CHUCKLES)
You know what
happened to me today?
One of my patients
suddenly started crying.
It can't be your first.
It was the first one
who was crying for me.
It's the human response.
It's either overly saccharine,
because giving sympathy
makes them feel better,
or they ignore you,
because hiding from mortality
makes them feel better.
Well, why can't they just say something
that makes me feel better?
Like what, exactly?
(LAUGHING)
- I don't know.
- No.
Mmm...
You'd be doing what?
Two weeks on, two weeks off?
So maybe do your first round,
see how it goes.
May be not as
horrible as you fear.
Then do the second round,
enjoy your two weeks off,
and revisit the decision.
Rinse, repeat.
I just can't envision
spending my remaining time
in a chemo suite in Princeton.
I want to enjoy myself
with family and friends.
Friends, or friend?
Hi, this is Greg House again.
Third message.
Hopefully indicating
how much I want you to call me back.
I'd say that your son is dying
to increase the urgency,
but you probably already know that.
The fake people who care
that Wilson stays alive didn't work,
so I need the real people
who care about him
to tell him what an idiot he's being.
Where are we going?
Well, I just got paged
to go to the bathroom.
I don't know where
the rest of you are going.
Some of our patient's symptoms
might be physiological
and some might
be psychological.
You think being forced to bury painful
memories is making his symptoms worse?
Grief avoidance can lead
to all sorts of anxiety disorders,
which can manifest
into physical illness.
Let's assume that all his symptoms
are real symptoms.
So we're going to
avoid grief avoidance?
Studies after
September 11th showed that
repression was
actually better for coping
than dwelling in misery.
What about polycythemia vera?
JESSICA: RBC's are slightly
elevated, but not that much.
Hodgkin's lymphoma?
Would have shown
up on the PET scan.
What if our guy
got hurt at practice
and, like everything else,
just didn't tell anyone?
Could have set off DIC.
Would explain everything.
I thought you had to
go to the bathroom.
I didn't say I had to go in.
Need some more mops in here!
What exactly are you looking for?
Blood. If your spinal fluid
is yellow instead of clear,
it means you've had
a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
What does your
brother say to you?
Does he tell you
you're gonna be okay?
It doesn't really work like that.
I think you hear your brother's voice
for a reason.
I thought you guys said
that I hear things because I'm sick.
Yes, but that doesn't explain
why you don't hear a different voice.
I think your mom didn't let you deal
with the grief of
losing your brother properly.
There are people here
who could help you with that.
Okay-
The opening
pressure's way too high.
The prodigal daughter returns.
You taking me up on
my offer to off you?
I think I've still got
some leftover propofol.
I spoke to Wilson.
He's angry because I want him
to live longer. Who wouldn't be?
Friends respect
each other's decisions,
even if they
don't agree with them.
It's called loyalty.
Loyalty is a tool to get people
to do things they don't want to do.
But you do want to.
And you may have
rationalized it 100 different ways,
but the fact is you fired me so that
I'd be forced to
spend the rest of my life
doing exactly what I wanted to do.
It was probably the most selfless thing
anyone has ever done for me.
And you don't even
like me that much.
(DOOR OPENS)
HOUSE: I surrender.
I have been a disloyal,
(DOOR CLOSES)
disrespectful jerk.
I should've listened
to what you wanted.
I'm still not
letting my parents return your call.
I made a reservation
for two at Carmine's. Tonight, 8:00.
No more tricks.
No more manipulations.
Said Machiavelli.
Just two friends enjoying
the time they have left.
- Please, don't...
- I'm not.
I promise.
Just dinner?
That depends on
how much you have to drink.
Sounds nice.
Mom.
I came as soon as
I got your message.
Is he gonna be okay?
We're hoping it's
just excess fluid
on his brain from
an extreme migraine.
Which isn't good,
but it's treatable.
He's scheduled to get an MRI as soon
as these meds start taking effect.
We found that
picture in his dorm room.
I'm not sure what
Derrick's told you,
but he's been hearing Christopher's
voice for the last 10 years.
And it's possible that
repressing all that grief he's felt
is actually causing some of
Derrick's symptoms.
I don't even know if this voice
in my head is something I invented,
or if it's what
Christopher was really like.
With no photos, no video,
my memories,
I really don't have any anymore.
Maybe you could just
tell me a little bit about him?
I'm sorry.
It was a long drive in.
I'm gonna go get a coffee.
Okay-
Seventy-nine years old
and you told her she was pregnant.
(CHUCKLING)
Well, it cured her hiccups.
(WILSON LAUGHING)
I'll say I didn't expect her to cry
for quite so long.
Now, I know that
the tiramisu is great here,
but I actually ordered off menu.
Greg, I told you you didn't hang
the bear bag high enough.
It was a smart bear.
I'm almost certain
he untied my knots.
Well, he wasn't that smart.
He left the Oreos behind.
You hiked for 32 miles
eating nothing but creamy filling.
The black stuff is overrated.
To climbing the hill.
Okay-
If I did decide to stick
around a little longer...
Don't do that to me, Wilson.
No, I'm not. I'm just...
I do feel pretty good,
and maybe I should try it.
For a little while.
I think that's reasonable.
Are you conning me?
You're conning me.
What?
Just because you folded,
that means it must be some evil plan?
Well, that's usually how it works with
you. You drown me in nostalgia,
so I'll think about our friendship
and feel some kind of loyalty,
and agree to more chemo.
That was real nostalgia, it was real
emotion, it's a real decision.
A decision that I just made for you.
I need you, okay.
I want you to be
around as long as possible,
because I don't know
what I'm gonna do without you.
No! No. Don't do that.
I don't owe you anything.
Our entire relationship
has been about you.
My dying is about me.
(sesame)
(SIGHING)
(SNIFFLING)
Look at you. You don't wanna die.
Of course, I don't wanna die.
Then fight.
I did. I tried.
One time.
House, get out of my car.
You don't have to just accept this.
Yes, I do have to accept this.
I have five months to live.
And you're making me
go through this alone?
(sesame)
I'm pissed because I'm dying.
That's not fair.
And I need...
I need a friend.
I need to know that
you're there. I need...
I need you to tell me
that my life was worthwhile.
And I need you to
tell me that you love me.
No.
I'm not gonna tell you
that unless you fight.
Blood vessels are non-reactive.
It's not a migraine.
I'm not feeling so great,
how much longer?
Finishing up.
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
Thank you, Dr. Adams.
(RUMBLING)
It looks like the ceiling might...
(SIRENS WAILING)
(CHATTER OVER POLICE RADIO)
What are you doing back here?
We got a case. I assume the status
is patient's getting worse,
you guys are confused.
You think actually
showing up for work
is enough to make up
for ruining an MRI?
Endangering the patient,
injuring us?
I've got an airtight
alibi that I'm working on.
This isn't about the damage.
You're back
because something's
going on with Wilson.
I'm done with Wilson.
What does that mean,
you're done with Wilson?
If he's not dead,
you're not done with Wilson.
Suddenly, you think
you're gonna make a difference?
You can't just abandon him.
It's in his hands now.
Did you get
any good pictures
before the MRI drowned?
Enough to know it
wasn't a migraine.
And the patient
mistook me for Adams.
Come with me.
Hey.
So what do you think's gonna happen
when I stick
a needle into his eardrum?
You quizzing us?
This is a good quiz.
He'll scream in pain.
HOUSE: Don't listen to her.
Very small needle,
very steady hands.
Now, when I pull
back on the plunger,
what do you think
is gonna come out?
Air.
Boy, that air sure is red.
Persistent Stapedial Artery.
It should disappear
in the embryonic stage.
But just like his dead brother,
he really can't let go.
So the artery's been pressing against
the temporal lobe of his brain,
right above the ear canal.
Explains the voices,
the dizziness, everything.
Now you guys can explain
how we're gonna make him better.
Will my brother's voice go away?
You're being an ass.
I just cured a patient.
How about you?
You can't just give up on Wilson.
You know he needs you.
You know he's making
an impossible choice.
He just doesn't
want to live in pain.
Life is pain.
I wake up every morning and I'm
in pain. I go to work in pain.
You know how many times
I've wanted to just give up?
How many times
I've thought about ending it?
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
You here to yell at me,
or give me hockey tickets?
Had to delay the surgery
because our patient
drank ammonia from
the janitor's cart.
I guess he didn't want to live
without his brother's voice.
Where are you going?
You can't wait to die?
Here, let me help you.
- Hey! Hey!
- House!
House!
See? You wanna live.
He did something stupid.
He's not gonna do it again.
You're resisting me because it's
our human responsibility to stay alive!
You've made your point, House!
Stop!
(GASPING)
You've spent your whole life
looking for the truth.
Well, sometimes,
the truth just sucks.
Um, um...
I'm going to be leaving, uh...
Quite a bit earlier
than we had talked about.
Next day or two.
What happened?
Something
between you and House?
He's not my child.
I cannot be responsible
for the happiness of Gregory House.
(STAMMERING)
I'll give these to Frankel.
Okay, thank you.
And you are responsible.
The past 20 years,
you've had three wives,
hundreds of colleagues,
thousands of patients.
But you've kept
that one best friend.
He wants me to suffer a misery
that I don't want to go through.
Chemo won't make your life any better.
But caring will.
Enduring pain to do some good
for someone you care about.
Isn't that what life is?
(SOMBER PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
Mom.
Yeah?
That picture of Christopher
that I had on the stand,
did you take it?
Yes.
Did you throw it out?
If I agree to get this surgery,
can you bring
that picture back?
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
- Not home.
- WILSON: House.
I'm ready to start
the next round of chemo.
Why?
Because you need me.
And I don't think
that's a bad thing anymore.
No.
You're the only one I listen to.
And the last couple of days, I didn't.
I almost killed my patient.
So I think it's time for me to accept
that you're just
smarter than I am.
Are you really okay that
there's only five months left?
No.
But it's better than nothing.
Um...
How do we start?
Well, I'm not gonna say, "I love you."
Thank God. Got any Oreos?
(FOLK MUSIC PLAYING)
Hey. How you feeling?
The surgery worked.
How can you tell?
Because Christopher's gone.
And this is the peak.
Almost 8,000 feet.
You do realize that my leg situation
has deteriorated a little
since the last
time we went hiking.
So add another day.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
(DOOR OPENS)
This is Matt Johnson,
the hospital lawyer.
Yes, I have decided
not to proceed
with the sexual harassment case.
Are these yours?
The plumber retrieved them
from the hospital outflow pipe.
They caused the sewage back up
that ruined the MRI.
And they have
your name on them.
Gregory Danger House?
It's a very common name.
These apparently have
your finger prints on them also.
Okay, well, why don't you
tell me how many hours
of picking up trash
you want me to do?
House, I tried to
keep this internal.
The fire department
handed the tickets to the police,
who contacted
your parole officer.
It's felony vandalism.
He's gonna revoke your parole.
There's nothing we can do.
You have to report to Mercer
County Jail on Monday
to serve out
the rest of your sentence.
And that's how long?
- I'm sorry.
- How long?
Six months.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Come on in.
I'm not doing any more chemo.
Good plan.
You'll be dead
in five months.
We went for a cure,
it didn't work.
I've thought
about this a lot.
Five more months on
this Earth is reasonable.
A year in the hospital
in excruciating pain is
not.
With two weeks on,
two weeks off of chemo,
you could have way
more than a year.
Maybe two or three.
House.
I'm sorry.
I'm not gonna let you just die.
Hey.
You know, management
research shows that
the best ideas come
from casual contact.
So, one set of season tickets.
I got the seat next to you.
First game is October 8th.
It's about one month
after Wilson's expiration date.
This isn't
an unstructured collaboration.
You're trying to
be the new Wilson.
I'm trying to show you there are
other people who care about you.
Relax. I'm probably
not gonna fall apart.
...five, six, seven, eight. One, two,
three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight. Here we go.
Cradle. One...
HOUSE: Put down the pom-poms
and step away from the computer.
46-year-old
oncologist refuses treatment.
JESSICA: Foreman already
gave us a case.
Wants us to keep
things as normal
as possible for as
long as possible.
Wilson is dying, Chase is gone,
how close to normal
do you think we can come?
19-year-old cheerleader,
admitted with
massive nosebleed and dizziness.
Wow, cool, I just completely forgot
that my best friend is dying.
Wait, that just reminded me.
Head CT is clean.
How can we turn Wilson
from a terminal idiot
into an interminable
pain in the ass?
A mini-stroke could
explain our patient's
neuro symptoms and
his butterfingers.
But not his bloody nose.
My best friend is
trying to kill himself.
He just wants to die
with a little dignity.
There's no such thing.
JESSICA: It's not
your choice, House.
Your only choice here
is between acceptance and misery.
It's a midline granuloma.
Get your patient a PET scan.
No lesions along the optic track...
You already covered that.
Maybe we should
get someone else to take this case.
Why? Because someone
somewhere is dying?
(ELECTRONIC BEEP)
Oh, crap! Turn off the mic.
It is off.
Not according to his brain.
His temporal lobe is completely lit up.
Auditory portion.
He's hearing something.
Foreman's trying to date me.
I assume that's
because you called him.
No, I...
Did you put
something in my coffee?
You know how you can be there for me
five months from now?
Don't be dead
five months from now.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
Hey, Wilson...
Seriously?
Just a little picker-downer.
I assume this unwanted interruption
means you're looking for me
to discuss
the latest development
in a case I don't
want to discuss.
TAUB: Our patient is hearing voices.
He denies it,
but the PET scan says otherwise.
He's at the right age
for the onset of schizophrenia.
Yeah. You really need me.
Ultrasound his abdomen
to check for schizophrenia.
We already ordered a psych evaluation,
but drugs could also cause...
Tox screen was clean.
Ultrasound his dorm.
(COUGHING)
Whoa! You guys can't just come
busting in here without a warrant.
We're not cops.
We're your roommate's doctors.
Any idea what flavor of drugs would be
making your roommate sick?
Objection. Entrapment.
I'm pro-law.
Derrick doesn't party.
JESSICA: Look at this.
Why would he have
a picture of a little boy?
Maybe it's his
nephew or something?
Hidden in his sock drawer?
Whoa!
Creepy-
JESSICA: We need to talk
to Derrick about some medical matters.
Well, she's my girlfriend.
She can be here for that.
(CLEARS THROAT)
We found this in your dorm room.
Who is that?
Nobody.
JESSICA: Then why was it
hidden in a drawer?
Derrick, what's she talking about?
It's my brother, Christopher.
You never told me
you had a brother.
Well, he's been dead
almost 10 years, so...
Is that the voice
you hear in your head?
(SNORTS)
Mmm!
(GROANING)
And, lo, he is risen.
So now my hair's
gonna fall out next week?
No, all I did was temporarily kill you.
How was it?
Look, I wasn't dead.
I was unconscious.
No dreams or thoughts.
You experience nothing.
Now, imagine that without the waking
up on the couch part.
Just nothing, times infinity.
You didn't just prove death is nothing.
You proved propofol is.
You're saying the end is not the end?
I was expecting, "Nothing is better
than something lousy,"
but not, "The angels
are waiting for me."
I'm not having
this conversation.
Why? Because it
doesn't make sense?
Because I'm not gonna change your
mind, and I don't care.
More importantly,
you're not gonna change mine.
There is no heaven,
there is no hell,
your soul is not gonna
float out of your body
and join some great,
unifying energy force.
The fact that you're dying
is not gonna change that.
Please, just go.
(SIGHS)
House.
I have spent the last 20 years
holding the hands of people as they die.
When I watch that
transformation...
I'm sorry, I don't believe
that we're just a bag of chemicals.
(DOOR CLOSES)
So are we gonna talk about the patient,
or wait for House?
Viral encephalitis.
It's been going on for 10 years.
I'm gonna go in there
and invite him to participate.
I think he'd
welcome the distraction.
Come with me?
Why?
When was the last time
House listened to anything we said
about anything personal?
Maybe you'll feel better,
but sometimes, the truth is,
there's nothing anyone can do.
Temporal lobe epilepsy.
Causes voices, dizziness.
Trauma from a seizure
would explain the nose bleed.
You know about
all of my siblings,
and cousins,
and aunts and uncles, and...
You're overreacting.
Because you don't trust me enough
to tell me about...
Sorry. It's time to
go down for your test.
If you want to wait here,
it'll only take about an hour.
No, she's leaving.
Derrick, come on.
I mean, we should at least talk.
No, I'd rather you just leave.
And you don't need
to come back.
Time. Any odd
tastes or smells?
No. Feel fine.
Things looked
fine on my end, too.
So you won't
admit to your doctors
that you're hearing
your brother's voice,
which is dangerous.
And now, you lost
your girlfriend over it.
Which is stupid.
I assume there's
more to the story?
That's how I was raised.
- Short story.
- Yeah.
My boss is losing his
best friend to cancer.
And instead of
talking about the pain,
he's pretending
there is no pain,
because everything can be fixed.
My father tried to deal with it.
Ironic that he'd drink
himself into oblivion
after my brother was
killed by a drunk driver.
Do you need a tissue?
After Dad left,
my mom moved us away.
She got rid of all the pictures of
Christopher
and never mentioned him again.
It was like he never existed.
And that worked for us.
And, yet, you kept one.
Uh... My right eye...
I was seeing spots, but now I can't
see at all. Is that from the test?
No, this is something else.
Ah! That hurts!
Sorry.
How many fingers?
Two. Fuzzy ones, but two.
It's a clot in the artery behind
your eye. I just broke it up.
Is that bad?
Don't know. Because I don't
know why it happened.
Hey.
Saved us a table.
There are no tables.
I recently hacked
into your old files.
Found a 6-year-old boy
with bilateral retinoblastoma.
Doctors wanted to
take his eyes out
before the cancer
spread to his brain.
But you fought them. Advocated for
a new photon beam radiation.
Saved the kid's vision,
probably saved his life.
That was my first case at PPTH.
Mikey Kimble.
It's Michael, now.
Oh, yeah, this is our table.
Wow.
(STAMMERING)
How are you?
I'm doing great.
Graduating next month.
Already? Little Mikey?
And I got accepted to Princeton.
I'm planning on
going to med school.
(CHUCKLES)
He's going to be a doctor.
Instead of being dead.
Dr. House told me
all about your situation.
That's why I came.
There's just so much
good that you can do,
even in a small
amount of time.
I wonder...
Hey!
Is there anybody else here who's alive
today because of Dr. James Wilson?
Gastric adenocarcinoma.
Fifteen years in remission.
Six grandchildren
that I never would have met.
Thank you, Dr. Wilson.
Squamous cell lung cancer.
Twelve years in remission.
I was able to walk my daughter
down the aisle last May.
Thank you, Dr. Wilson.
HOUSE: I did the math.
Seventy-four children
are alive today because of you.
Fourteen grandchildren.
Mikey Kimble started kindergarten
before the age cut-off.
He would have graduated
high school last year.
I flunked a year?
Was anybody in this room
really a patient of mine?
They're somewhere.
They're giving you
a standing "O" somewhere.
They exist. You saved their lives.
It's actually more impressive
that they're too busy to be here.
What's this?
A glowing letter of recommendation
you just wrote
for me on my laptop.
I noticed it's lacking
your signature at the bottom.
Don't you think you're being a bit
premature predicting House's demise?
Not demise, just implosion.
He's going through a rough time.
But, so far, he's been handling it...
(SLOSHING)
House?
Your shoes are wet.
Glad to see your emotional turmoil
hasn't dulled your
powers of observation.
I know you're responsible.
No, you don't. Because I didn't do it.
Whatever "it" is.
But if I had shoved those
season tickets down some toilets,
I would have done it
because you asked me to.
You wanted to replace Wilson.
I prank Wilson all the time.
Enjoy.
(BELL CHIMING)
I got you three,
but I drank them.
You didn't have to call me,
but I appreciate I made the list.
It wasn't entirely unselfish.
I didn't feel right approaching
any of my terminal patients, but...
What is it like?
Hmm...
Does it ever stop being surreal?
It'll stop in about five or six months,
give or take, in your case.
(CHUCKLES)
You know what
happened to me today?
One of my patients
suddenly started crying.
It can't be your first.
It was the first one
who was crying for me.
It's the human response.
It's either overly saccharine,
because giving sympathy
makes them feel better,
or they ignore you,
because hiding from mortality
makes them feel better.
Well, why can't they just say something
that makes me feel better?
Like what, exactly?
(LAUGHING)
- I don't know.
- No.
Mmm...
You'd be doing what?
Two weeks on, two weeks off?
So maybe do your first round,
see how it goes.
May be not as
horrible as you fear.
Then do the second round,
enjoy your two weeks off,
and revisit the decision.
Rinse, repeat.
I just can't envision
spending my remaining time
in a chemo suite in Princeton.
I want to enjoy myself
with family and friends.
Friends, or friend?
Hi, this is Greg House again.
Third message.
Hopefully indicating
how much I want you to call me back.
I'd say that your son is dying
to increase the urgency,
but you probably already know that.
The fake people who care
that Wilson stays alive didn't work,
so I need the real people
who care about him
to tell him what an idiot he's being.
Where are we going?
Well, I just got paged
to go to the bathroom.
I don't know where
the rest of you are going.
Some of our patient's symptoms
might be physiological
and some might
be psychological.
You think being forced to bury painful
memories is making his symptoms worse?
Grief avoidance can lead
to all sorts of anxiety disorders,
which can manifest
into physical illness.
Let's assume that all his symptoms
are real symptoms.
So we're going to
avoid grief avoidance?
Studies after
September 11th showed that
repression was
actually better for coping
than dwelling in misery.
What about polycythemia vera?
JESSICA: RBC's are slightly
elevated, but not that much.
Hodgkin's lymphoma?
Would have shown
up on the PET scan.
What if our guy
got hurt at practice
and, like everything else,
just didn't tell anyone?
Could have set off DIC.
Would explain everything.
I thought you had to
go to the bathroom.
I didn't say I had to go in.
Need some more mops in here!
What exactly are you looking for?
Blood. If your spinal fluid
is yellow instead of clear,
it means you've had
a subarachnoid hemorrhage.
What does your
brother say to you?
Does he tell you
you're gonna be okay?
It doesn't really work like that.
I think you hear your brother's voice
for a reason.
I thought you guys said
that I hear things because I'm sick.
Yes, but that doesn't explain
why you don't hear a different voice.
I think your mom didn't let you deal
with the grief of
losing your brother properly.
There are people here
who could help you with that.
Okay-
The opening
pressure's way too high.
The prodigal daughter returns.
You taking me up on
my offer to off you?
I think I've still got
some leftover propofol.
I spoke to Wilson.
He's angry because I want him
to live longer. Who wouldn't be?
Friends respect
each other's decisions,
even if they
don't agree with them.
It's called loyalty.
Loyalty is a tool to get people
to do things they don't want to do.
But you do want to.
And you may have
rationalized it 100 different ways,
but the fact is you fired me so that
I'd be forced to
spend the rest of my life
doing exactly what I wanted to do.
It was probably the most selfless thing
anyone has ever done for me.
And you don't even
like me that much.
(DOOR OPENS)
HOUSE: I surrender.
I have been a disloyal,
(DOOR CLOSES)
disrespectful jerk.
I should've listened
to what you wanted.
I'm still not
letting my parents return your call.
I made a reservation
for two at Carmine's. Tonight, 8:00.
No more tricks.
No more manipulations.
Said Machiavelli.
Just two friends enjoying
the time they have left.
- Please, don't...
- I'm not.
I promise.
Just dinner?
That depends on
how much you have to drink.
Sounds nice.
Mom.
I came as soon as
I got your message.
Is he gonna be okay?
We're hoping it's
just excess fluid
on his brain from
an extreme migraine.
Which isn't good,
but it's treatable.
He's scheduled to get an MRI as soon
as these meds start taking effect.
We found that
picture in his dorm room.
I'm not sure what
Derrick's told you,
but he's been hearing Christopher's
voice for the last 10 years.
And it's possible that
repressing all that grief he's felt
is actually causing some of
Derrick's symptoms.
I don't even know if this voice
in my head is something I invented,
or if it's what
Christopher was really like.
With no photos, no video,
my memories,
I really don't have any anymore.
Maybe you could just
tell me a little bit about him?
I'm sorry.
It was a long drive in.
I'm gonna go get a coffee.
Okay-
Seventy-nine years old
and you told her she was pregnant.
(CHUCKLING)
Well, it cured her hiccups.
(WILSON LAUGHING)
I'll say I didn't expect her to cry
for quite so long.
Now, I know that
the tiramisu is great here,
but I actually ordered off menu.
Greg, I told you you didn't hang
the bear bag high enough.
It was a smart bear.
I'm almost certain
he untied my knots.
Well, he wasn't that smart.
He left the Oreos behind.
You hiked for 32 miles
eating nothing but creamy filling.
The black stuff is overrated.
To climbing the hill.
Okay-
If I did decide to stick
around a little longer...
Don't do that to me, Wilson.
No, I'm not. I'm just...
I do feel pretty good,
and maybe I should try it.
For a little while.
I think that's reasonable.
Are you conning me?
You're conning me.
What?
Just because you folded,
that means it must be some evil plan?
Well, that's usually how it works with
you. You drown me in nostalgia,
so I'll think about our friendship
and feel some kind of loyalty,
and agree to more chemo.
That was real nostalgia, it was real
emotion, it's a real decision.
A decision that I just made for you.
I need you, okay.
I want you to be
around as long as possible,
because I don't know
what I'm gonna do without you.
No! No. Don't do that.
I don't owe you anything.
Our entire relationship
has been about you.
My dying is about me.
(sesame)
(SIGHING)
(SNIFFLING)
Look at you. You don't wanna die.
Of course, I don't wanna die.
Then fight.
I did. I tried.
One time.
House, get out of my car.
You don't have to just accept this.
Yes, I do have to accept this.
I have five months to live.
And you're making me
go through this alone?
(sesame)
I'm pissed because I'm dying.
That's not fair.
And I need...
I need a friend.
I need to know that
you're there. I need...
I need you to tell me
that my life was worthwhile.
And I need you to
tell me that you love me.
No.
I'm not gonna tell you
that unless you fight.
Blood vessels are non-reactive.
It's not a migraine.
I'm not feeling so great,
how much longer?
Finishing up.
(ELECTRONIC BEEPING)
Thank you, Dr. Adams.
(RUMBLING)
It looks like the ceiling might...
(SIRENS WAILING)
(CHATTER OVER POLICE RADIO)
What are you doing back here?
We got a case. I assume the status
is patient's getting worse,
you guys are confused.
You think actually
showing up for work
is enough to make up
for ruining an MRI?
Endangering the patient,
injuring us?
I've got an airtight
alibi that I'm working on.
This isn't about the damage.
You're back
because something's
going on with Wilson.
I'm done with Wilson.
What does that mean,
you're done with Wilson?
If he's not dead,
you're not done with Wilson.
Suddenly, you think
you're gonna make a difference?
You can't just abandon him.
It's in his hands now.
Did you get
any good pictures
before the MRI drowned?
Enough to know it
wasn't a migraine.
And the patient
mistook me for Adams.
Come with me.
Hey.
So what do you think's gonna happen
when I stick
a needle into his eardrum?
You quizzing us?
This is a good quiz.
He'll scream in pain.
HOUSE: Don't listen to her.
Very small needle,
very steady hands.
Now, when I pull
back on the plunger,
what do you think
is gonna come out?
Air.
Boy, that air sure is red.
Persistent Stapedial Artery.
It should disappear
in the embryonic stage.
But just like his dead brother,
he really can't let go.
So the artery's been pressing against
the temporal lobe of his brain,
right above the ear canal.
Explains the voices,
the dizziness, everything.
Now you guys can explain
how we're gonna make him better.
Will my brother's voice go away?
You're being an ass.
I just cured a patient.
How about you?
You can't just give up on Wilson.
You know he needs you.
You know he's making
an impossible choice.
He just doesn't
want to live in pain.
Life is pain.
I wake up every morning and I'm
in pain. I go to work in pain.
You know how many times
I've wanted to just give up?
How many times
I've thought about ending it?
(ELEVATOR BELL DINGS)
You here to yell at me,
or give me hockey tickets?
Had to delay the surgery
because our patient
drank ammonia from
the janitor's cart.
I guess he didn't want to live
without his brother's voice.
Where are you going?
You can't wait to die?
Here, let me help you.
- Hey! Hey!
- House!
House!
See? You wanna live.
He did something stupid.
He's not gonna do it again.
You're resisting me because it's
our human responsibility to stay alive!
You've made your point, House!
Stop!
(GASPING)
You've spent your whole life
looking for the truth.
Well, sometimes,
the truth just sucks.
Um, um...
I'm going to be leaving, uh...
Quite a bit earlier
than we had talked about.
Next day or two.
What happened?
Something
between you and House?
He's not my child.
I cannot be responsible
for the happiness of Gregory House.
(STAMMERING)
I'll give these to Frankel.
Okay, thank you.
And you are responsible.
The past 20 years,
you've had three wives,
hundreds of colleagues,
thousands of patients.
But you've kept
that one best friend.
He wants me to suffer a misery
that I don't want to go through.
Chemo won't make your life any better.
But caring will.
Enduring pain to do some good
for someone you care about.
Isn't that what life is?
(SOMBER PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)
Mom.
Yeah?
That picture of Christopher
that I had on the stand,
did you take it?
Yes.
Did you throw it out?
If I agree to get this surgery,
can you bring
that picture back?
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
- Not home.
- WILSON: House.
I'm ready to start
the next round of chemo.
Why?
Because you need me.
And I don't think
that's a bad thing anymore.
No.
You're the only one I listen to.
And the last couple of days, I didn't.
I almost killed my patient.
So I think it's time for me to accept
that you're just
smarter than I am.
Are you really okay that
there's only five months left?
No.
But it's better than nothing.
Um...
How do we start?
Well, I'm not gonna say, "I love you."
Thank God. Got any Oreos?
(FOLK MUSIC PLAYING)
Hey. How you feeling?
The surgery worked.
How can you tell?
Because Christopher's gone.
And this is the peak.
Almost 8,000 feet.
You do realize that my leg situation
has deteriorated a little
since the last
time we went hiking.
So add another day.
(KNOCKING AT DOOR)
(DOOR OPENS)
This is Matt Johnson,
the hospital lawyer.
Yes, I have decided
not to proceed
with the sexual harassment case.
Are these yours?
The plumber retrieved them
from the hospital outflow pipe.
They caused the sewage back up
that ruined the MRI.
And they have
your name on them.
Gregory Danger House?
It's a very common name.
These apparently have
your finger prints on them also.
Okay, well, why don't you
tell me how many hours
of picking up trash
you want me to do?
House, I tried to
keep this internal.
The fire department
handed the tickets to the police,
who contacted
your parole officer.
It's felony vandalism.
He's gonna revoke your parole.
There's nothing we can do.
You have to report to Mercer
County Jail on Monday
to serve out
the rest of your sentence.
And that's how long?
- I'm sorry.
- How long?
Six months.