House (2004–2012): Season 8, Episode 3 - Charity Case - full transcript

When Benjamin suddenly collapses after making a rare and generous donation, House and Dr. Chi Park are convinced that his extreme altruistic behavior may indicate a deeper medical disorder. With no definitive explanation for Benjamin's loss of consciousness and unresponsiveness to treatment, House pushes just the right buttons to recruit former prison doctor Jessica Adams to volunteer her time and expertise to the case. Benjamin then makes a bold but life-threatening offer that could save another life, and the team must diagnose his disorder before he puts his own life on the line. Meanwhile, Adams and Park test each other's outlook on generosity and gratitude, and Thirteen's guilt conflicts with her pursuit of personal happiness.

TRINA: If you don't know
how to use a computer,
we will teach you here.

Most jobs require at least
basic word processing skills.

We try to get you up to
50 words per minute.

We also have a course
in how to talk to someone
in an interview.

Stuff like what
employers are looking for,

how to turn
negatives into positives.

We can also provide
clothes for the interview
if you need them.

People donate
shoes and suits
all the time.

What if I had
a history with drugs?

That is nothing
to be ashamed of.

Many of our clients
have struggled
with addiction,



and if you want to get clean,
we'll help you do that.

And what if
I have a kid?

No one to help you?

If I need someone to
watch her while I'm in
a class or on an interview,

could you help with that?

We do not provide
child care.

Actually, it's something
that comes up often.

I would love to
be able to do it.

I just don't
have the resources.

But it's definitely
on the wish list.

Okay.
Okay, uh, thank you.
I'll be back.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)
I have to take this.

Yes, please come back.
We'll get you started.

It was nice to
meet you, Benjamin.



Hey, Oscar.

Ugh! That is too bad.

Did they tell you why?

Yeah.

Mmm-hmm.

Well, look, you know what?
Sometimes you just
don't get the job.

Oscar. I've got to
call you back.

Uh...

Uh, uh...

Benjamin!
Benjamin, wait.

Oh, my God.

Somebody call
an ambulance!

(BUZZING)

(CLICKING)

(BUZZING)

Why am I watching
you cut your hair?

If I do it at home,
I'm the one who
has to clean it up.

I was referring less
to where it's happening
and more to why.

New life, new look.

Does that mean you
like your new life?

If you're asking
if your job is safe,

that depends on
what you have to say about
the file you're holding.

It doesn't seem
like much of a case.

Although,
I'm sure I'm wrong.

You are.
Tell me why.

Guy collapsed after
being on his feet
for hours

on a hot day
without breakfast,
so that's really weird.

ER found nothing wrong,
then I decided
I should test his wallet.

He's rich? That's why
we're taking the case?

No, we're taking
the case because

no one knows
what's wrong with him.

And he's rich.

Dr. Adams.

Give her the file.

This is my only copy.

My MO depends upon
the use of a team.

Definitionally,
that involves more
than one person.

so I really have
no choice.

Give her the file.
You can't afford a team.

Adams is free.

And I'm referring
both to her availability
and her price tag.

New girl meet newer girl,
and vice versa.

You said we were
meeting for coffee.

Well, when someone
asks if you want coffee,

they obviously
don't just mean coffee.

Wait. Did you think
I was referring to sex?

Would you
shut the blinds
on your way out?

I thought you were
referring to talking.

Talking about medicine.

Specifically,
as it refers to the guy
whose name is on the file

she still hasn't
handed you.

I'm not working, House.
I'm in the process of
looking for a paying job.

And in the meantime,
there's no way
a do-gooder like you

isn't volunteering
all over town,

ladling kittens,
spaying soup.

There's a free clinic
in Trenton.

Well, think of this
as today's free clinic.

Only with fewer
bums with herpes.

I don't think
we actually have
much of a case.

I think it's
just dehydration.

What happened
the last time
another doctor

told you I was
wrong about a case?

I lost my job.

But you saved a life.

Is an ultrasound
really necessary?
I'm feeling much better now.

A sudden collapse
at your age can indicate

a deterioration in
the heart muscle,

a pretty serious
condition.

It could also
just be dehydration.

Next time,
you could probably
drop the undercover act.

(CHUCKLES)

I walk in in a suit,
and they're gonna put
their best foot forward.

Also I don't own a suit.

You give away millions,
and you don't own a suit?

I gave those away too.

One day I was writing
a check to my landscaper,

and it suddenly hit me,
(LAUGHS)

$6,000 to take out plants
and put in different plants

so I can look at them.

Shouldn't I use that money
to do something important?

And by money,
you mean
all your money.

I started with
$10 million,

and then I couldn't
think of a reason
not to give 20 or 40.

I figure I can live
on $25,000 a year.

One room apartment,
bus pass, thrift stores,
bare necessities.

I still have
my software company.

And when I make more,
I'll give that away too.

He's nuts.
He's generous.

There's a neurological
issue. He's getting
rid of everything.

His echocardiogram
was negative
for cardiomyopathy.

Head CT showed no signs
of stroke or hemorrhage.

He has one pair of pants!

Most people with
his kind of money

are commissioning
oil paintings of
their Yorkshire terrier.

Benjamin is
sacrificing his own comfort
to help others.

That's 'cause helping others
is his Yorkie oil painting.

That's good, not sick.

That's naive and sick.

You really want to
improve things, you
do it through policy.

This guy
empties his pockets,
what really changes?

That's right.
All those babies with AIDS,
they're just using us.

My parents had
$800 between them
when they got here.

They scraped and
borrowed so we could
go to good schools.

And I worked my ass off.
No one gave me a handout.

It makes me work harder.

Rebuttal.

What's your evil plan?

I object to your cynicism.

It's been earned.
That's what I object to.

New Dean of Medicine
has an ethical
obligation to come in

with a completely open mind
about all employees,

thus letting me
blithely run roughshod
for at least four weeks.

My theory is that
you're running
a battery of tests

to convince him that
you've saved his life,

and then con him
into funding you to
hire back your team.

What?
Your old team?

What?
This is your new reality.

You've got your office,
you've got neighbors,

you've got one employee,
one volunteer

until she finds
actual paid work
or gets sick of you.

I talked to Chase and Taub.
They're willing to come back.

What about Thirteen?

Not a good choice.
She's not a long-term,
because she has no long-term.

Not taking your calls?

She will.

Discharge the patient.

Unexplained loss
of consciousness
could be cardiomyopathy,

global anoxia,
subarachnoid hemorrhage...

Dehydration.
He was given fluids,
and he got better.

And I'm sure your tests
have come up negative,

or you'd have
shut me up already.

Which means he goes home.

CHI: There is a symptom.

Extreme altruism.

You've got
two choices, House.

You can recognize
that your patient is just

a very nice, healthy guy
and send him home.

Or you can consider
altruism a symptom,

in which case,
you cannot take his money.

Send him home.

And check with admitting
for the net worth
of all new patients.

(WOMAN TALKING ON PA)

THIRTEEN: I'm not
coming back, House.

Technically,
you're back right now.

I need you to
stop calling me.

The first 17 messages
were cute, but...

I'm putting
the band back together.

Interesting that
you've never showed up
at my place,

what with your
love of annoying me

and your inability to
take no for an answer.

I'm guessing ankle monitor.

Guilty as charged.
Literally.

I'm not a doctor
any more, House.

The job went away
but not the profession.

You look healthy,
so that's not it.

You met a boy or a girl,

fallen in love,
wanna be happy.

You've decided
to enjoy what
time you have left.

You're going to Thailand.

Girl. And M?konos.

(YAWNING)

Turns out I like boring.

No, you want to
like boring.

But if you
actually liked boring,

you would have figured
that out in fifth grade
when you were bored.

Please, stop calling me.

No.

You showed up to tell me
that you don't
want to hear from me.

That's a mixed signal.

And I'm gonna choose to
listen to your actions
rather than your words,

'cause they're more honest.

BENJAMIN:
I'm a little confused.

The test is
designed to determine
if your nerves are...

No, I meant
you're running a test
and discharging me?

Was I dehydrated or not?

I think so. But out of
an abundance of caution,

my colleague has
taken it upon herself
to do one more test.

All right.

You scare me a little.

(LAUGHS)

Why?

I've been considering applying
to Doctors Without Borders,

going overseas awhile,

and that seems
like a huge sacrifice,
but you...

You don't scare her.
You make her feel guilty.

You like your life
the way it is.

Most people give the minimum
they have to give,

so they can enjoy
what they have left.

I guess my minimum is
just higher than most.

Complete recruitment
and interference pattern.

His leg muscles are fine.

I feel, uh, funny.

Where?
My chest.

CHI: You're tachycardic.
Your heart's beating too fast.

(MONITOR BEEPING RAPIDLY)
Unbelievable.

(GASPING)

Patient got
tachycardic to 185.

We pushed
18 milligrams adenosine.

There's definitely
something wrong with him.

Which is awesome.
Now, there's
something to cure,

which means
there's something to be

disproportionately
financially grateful for.

Morning.
Got you coffee.

Thanks.

Arrhythmia could easily
have caused the collapse

that landed
Father Teresa here
in the first place.

Oh, it's fine.
Keep it.

We looked at
his heart yesterday.

Didn't see any
structural abnormalities.

I'm thinking
occult long QT syndrome?

What about Whipple's?

If it was Whipple's,
there'd be some kind
of neurological involvement.

You don't think
defying human nature
is neurological?

Racing heart,
medical condition.

Bleeding heart,
stupid condition.

Are you saying that
because you believe it,

or because it's
in your financial
best interests

to think his generosity
isn't just temporary?

I'm told that
some people are
just nice.

I'm trying to
embrace that wisdom.

Benjamin's been
taking allergy medication
the last few weeks.

Long QT syndrome
can be medication-induced.

Flush him with saline.
Get rid
of the antihistamines.

Then do an EKG.

No, wait.
I'll do the flushing.

And take
the damn two dollars.

She hasn't even
sipped the coffee.

I just got so angry,
you know?

So I made
a terrible mistake,

and now, I'm trying
to start my life over.

To help people
the way I always wanted.

But my department
got defunded,
and it's my fault.

I just can't stand to
think of all those
patients going untreated

because I don't
have the resources
to do my best work.

How about
I help you out?

How do you mean?

I'll give a million dollars
as an endowment
to the hospital

earmarked for Diagnostics.

Wow.

I'm an opportunistic ex-con
who just gave you
a two-minute sob story

as step three
in my master plan,

and you've offered me
a million dollars.

Which was step 17.

Is that bad?

Ethics are not
my strong suit.

Hypothetical.

If I'm offered
oral sex from a sexaholic,
do I have to decline?

Don't answer yet.
Saying "no" will
cause both of us pain.

Saying "yes" will
cause both of us pleasure.

You can't take sex
from a sexaholic,

you can't give
booze to an alcoholic,

and you can't take
this guy's money.

I could be wrong
about the symptom.
I'm wrong all the time.

Taking money from
a sick person is
ethically suspect at best.

What is this? Canada?
All we do is take money
from sick people.

We work for it.

I'm working.

How much?

$20.

Well, what if it was?
It's the same principle.

$20, a million,
what's the difference?

Actually, the difference
is pretty much
a million dollars.

He came up
with the figure,
not me.

(PAGER BEEPING)

Crap. Got a patient
with end-stage
renal disease.

Her heart can't
support dialysis.

She needs a transplant
but...

You tuned out as soon
as it stopped being
about you., didn't you?

What?
I got to go.

It's all moot.
The patient probably
has long QT.

He's probably just a really,
really decent person.

They exist, right?

You can't take
the money, House.

Is long QT bad?

It's a tough thing
to control.

Is there someone
you want me to call?

There's someone
I would like to call.

She's the same person
who won't take my calls.

My wife.

When I started
giving away the money,

I hoped she'd want
to do it with me.

She didn't.

I miss them.
(INHALES SHARPLY)

I have two little boys.

Having a family
doesn't exempt me
from social responsibility.

But family comes first.

But should it?

I know that sounds weird.

But if someone is
related to you,

does that empirically
make them more special,

more deserving
than anyone else?

Yes, it gives you
a responsibility.

My boys have
a roof over their heads.
They're not starving.

I pay court-ordered
child support.

And frankly,
it's more than they need.

I love them
more than anything.

I can't justify
buying video games
and private schools

when other people's
children are starving.

I hope one day
they'll understand that.

Your hands are trembling.

Is it the electrodes?

Are you in pain?

No. What's happening?

I'm not sure,
but it's not what
we thought it was.

So arrhythmia,
fainting,
muscle tremors.

Plus unfortunately,
mental changes.

I still don't think
it's neurological.

God bless you.

He lost his wife and kids,
'cause he couldn't
stop giving money away.

He lost his wife,
because she couldn't accept
not being filthy rich.

She's not drinking
the coffee either.

Drink it, don't drink it.
The point is I gave it
to you, so we're even.

Even? It was a gift,
an insignificant token.
There was nothing owed.

That was the whole point.

Why?

"Why?"

Yeah. Why?

She's the crazy one.

So a guy gives
everything away
to strangers, sane.

Girl who doesn't
want anything from
strangers, crazy?

You're not a stranger.

And your perverse
view of the world is

making you force
a neurological component

onto an obviously
cardiological...

Your parents
didn't love you enough,

so you need to
prove your superiority.

Or they loved you too much,
so you need to
prove your humility.

Or it's just rich guilt.
I'm betting on the last one.

There's a whole list of
drugs that could have
caused his symptoms.

I doubt the guy would
spend money on drugs

when there are
orphans out there
without cable.

Anyway, he'd be
getting better right now,
not worse.

Could be
polyarteritis nodosa.

That comes with a rash.

Echovirus.

(IMITATES ECHO)
Virus, virus, virus...

Fits his physical symptoms.

And could,
but doesn't necessarily,
cause personality changes.

Works for everyone?

Start him on antivirals.

And, Adams,
when you treat,

and he gets better and
doesn't give Bob Cratchit
Christmas Day off.

you owe me a coffee.

THIRTEEN:
Click the third tab
from the left

and find a box that
says "previous entry."

You get a drop-down
menu that's sorted

by patient name
and department.

Thank you.
I appreciate your help.

You're gonna read
too much into this,
aren't you?

No. Not at all.

We're going to
fundamentally disagree

about what it means
to read too much
into this, aren't we?

Yes, absolutely.

Look, I thought about
what you said, and
I realized you were right.

Great.
See you tomorrow morning.

No, you won't.

Afternoon? I can't think
of another interpretation.

Shut up. Look,
I'm not sure what you
were trying to achieve.

I'm never quite sure,
but you were

actually a friend to me
when I needed it.

l don't want to come
back to work for you.

But I was wrong to try
to push you out of my life.

Everything has gone blue.

That's not supposed
to happen, right?

Stay there.
I'm coming.

No, you don't
have to do that.

Although if you did come,
maybe you could
swing by the Hunan Palace

and get some Lo Mein
and a Szechuan Beef.

That is six miles
out of my way.

Okay, then, I guess
I'll just get something
from the hospital cafeteria,

which is where
I get all of my meals
since I can't go anywhere.

(SIGHING) Fine.
I'll get the food.

You're a peach.

I started the last
round of pleconaril.

Can you do me a favor?

A favor?

You want me to
return these?

Give them to someone?
Wear them
while you masturbate?

I want you to have them.

That's not a favor.

It was a two-for-one sale.
I couldn't resist. I need
to justify buying them.

They're $120.

My car's in the shop.
I'm short on cash
this month.

I can't pay you back.

The first pair were $120.
These were free.

You do know
I punched the last person
that pissed me off?

Was it Santa?

What's your
patient's status?

Better.
We're discharging him.

(SIGHS) Good.

Hey, hey.
Why do you care?

Specifically.
Although, I'm curious
about a general answer too.

Your guy just signed up
to donate a kidney to
my patient with renal failure.

Did he meet your patient
with renal failure?

No. He heard
the nurses talking about her,
that she was short on time.

I was wrong.

Don't say that.
House, she really
needs this kidney.

He's not better.
His mental status
is declining.

Or he's doing
an amazing thing for
another human being.

I thought it was
an ethical no-brainer

that we can't take
stuff from sick people.

I changed my mind.

He's still sick.

His symptoms
have gone away.

Not all of them.
Offering an organ to
a stranger is a symptom.

A couple dozen people
a year make undirected
kidney donations.

How many of them
are also in the process
of pauperizing themselves?

If the guy threw
himself on a grenade,
he'd be a hero.

If it saves a life,
who cares?

You do.
Yesterday when you made
the exact opposite argument.

If there's even
a chance I'm right,

it'd be dangerous
to give his kidney
to someone else.

More dangerous than
complete renal failure?
My patient needs this now.

Why do you want to
give away your kidney?

There are 70,000
people in this country

on the active
waiting list
for a kidney.

and less than
10,000 dead people a year
to give them one.

Yeah, if only
we could kill 60,000
more people a year,

all would be golden.

I'll give you
your money.

See? Crazy.

Being a live donor
has risks.

I looked it up.
The risk is one in 4,000.
I could die during surgery.

Which means
if I don't donate,

I'm valuing my life
at 4,000 times
someone else's.

It's not like
I want to be cut open

and have a part of me
taken out.

but I've got two,
and this woman has none.
She'll die without it.

Perfectly logical.

People with
mental deficiency
can be logical.

Just like sane people
can be illogical.

This kidney thing is
the only evidence
you have that he's sick.

I'm going to
let him be a donor.

Dr. House,
it's not a symptom.

Come back after
you're convinced
that I'm healthy,

and I will give you
your money.

No, you won't.

We have time for
one more test
before we move him.

What test?

Whatever test will prove
that it wasn't echovirus...

(IMITATES ECHO)
Virus, virus... And he's
not cured, obviously.

I've been saying all along
this could be Whipple's.

Causes arrhythmia,
tremor and mental changes.

Bad idea.
There's no joint pain.

Where's Adams?

We thought
the case was over.

She has a job interview.

Why is she here?

HOUSE:
Because I called her.

Bigger question is
why that worked.

I'm here because
I have time, and
you have a crisis and...

We're too busy for
rationalizations.

Patient made a big downgrade
in his personal life.

He's probably not
eating all that healthy.

Magnesium deficiency?

Wait until they take
him back to his room,
draw blood,

and do an expanded
electrolyte profile.

No, he hasn't had anxiety
or any trouble sleeping.

I think it's
Whipple's disease.

Bad idea.
He doesn't have
joint pain.

THIRTEEN:
Joint pain is common
but not definitive.

Whipple's explains
all of his symptoms

including
the personality change.

And it would
respond to antibiotics,

which is why
he started to feel better,

which doesn't mean
he's not still sick.

You were right.
Counts for nothing
if you can't defend it.

Book a procedure room,
do an upper endoscopy,

and run a PCR test
for Whipple's.

Guilt.

You feel guilty
about leaving.

Yes,
I think that little of you
and that much of me.

You're nothing without me.

Not leaving me,
leaving humanity.

I'm going
with my girlfriend,
the woman I love.

To have fun.

You're trying to
make me feel guilty,

because you're
saving lives here.

I think that's great.
I'm proud to have
been a part of it.

But now,
I just want to be happy.

Well, no one's
unhappy in Greece.

CAROL:
It just appeared in
the last few weeks.

He's having
trouble holding a pencil
in school.

Does it itch?

Get anything
different lately,

new baseball glove,
new kitten?

The neighbors put in
a pool,

so he's been spending
a lot of time over there.

But if it were
something in the water

it would be everywhere,
wouldn't it?

It is in the water.

He's allergic to chlorine?

No.

(INHALES DEEPLY)

He's allergic
to Summer Lilac.

That's my lotion,
and it's not in the pool.

No, it's on
the palms of his hands.

In the pool,
is the neighbor's daughter

or the neighbor's
hot wife.

Here's some lube.

Sorry.
Too late for your eyesight.

Endoscopy didn't
reveal any lesions
in the small intestine.

I'm running
the PCR test now.

I found it in my office.
Appears to be a gift.

That can't be good.

Damn it.

You got her
the job interview.

And that was supposed
to be the end of it.
I don't take charity.

Good for you, you loon.

I don't like
owing people things.

So either
you're so insecure

that you feel like
you need to always
have the upper hand,

or you're so arrogant
that the notion of a favor
is insulting to you.

Or it's your family,
some kind of
immigrant pride thing.

I'm betting
on the last one.

I just don't like it.
It makes me feel icky.

That's the reason?
Ickiness?

You never even
tried to analyze this?

That's even crazier
than the gift thing.

House. There's no sign
of tropheryma DNA.

It's not Whipple's.

We did what we could.

(MACHINE BEEPING)

You sure you want
to do this?

Relax. This is gonna
make me very happy.

Dr. Simpson, heart rate's 140,
and pressure's dropping.

(MONITOR BEEPS RAPIDLY)
Get him adenosine, stat.

Patient's unstable.
Surgery's off.

Arrhythmia's back.
He's on heparin
and stable for now,

but this could put him
at risk for
stroke or embolism.

Maybe he got
bit by a spider.

The symptoms can
take up to three days
to manifest.

He'd have localized pain.

LCDD.

Almost always
hits the kidneys.

Ah, Dr. Foreman,
perhaps you can help us.

I can't decide
whether to take out an

I-told-you-so ad in
the New England Journal,

or stay classy
and just spray-paint it
on your car.

You're off the case.

That seems like
an overreaction.

You dosed him.
You couldn't stand
losing him as a patient,

so you faked a symptom
to prove yourself right.

That's idiotic.

Sorry.
HOUSE: Don't apologize.

I don't know
if you're power-crazed

or paranoid,
but I know she's right.

Two lives are in
the balance here.

House, I worked
for you for seven years.
I know how you operate.

So when I see
symptoms magically show up
right when you need them...

HOUSE: And I was your boss
for seven years.

and I know what
a suspicious, micromanaging
hard-ass you are.

Why would I do this now,
knowing you can send me
right back to jail?

What did you give him?

Nothing.

You can't prove otherwise.

So why don't you do
the smart thing here?

You're off the case.
You no longer have
access to this patient.

You can't let him do this.

(SIGHS) He's the boss.

And he's right.

I assume you
dosed the patient

because you're
really certain he has
a neurological condition.

I assume you're
interpreting my actions
in the best possible light

because you
didn't get the job.

What's with
you and Park?

Nothing.

I expect my people to
lie better than that.

Either you're
getting her gifts

because you want
her to like you,

in which case,
I don't like you.

Or you're getting her
gifts to screw with her,

in which case,
I will be teaching you
my secret homie handshake.

I just...
I thought it was
interesting

she couldn't
accept that coffee,

and I wanted to see
how deep it went.

But now?

Oh, now,
I just wanna win.

What was in the box?

Gift certificate.
The spa.

That's not going to do it.
You're up against
a lifetime of training.

If you wanna win,
you've got to do

something she can't
possibly reciprocate.

You've got to push
her neuroses to the point

where even she thinks
that she's crazy.

One more favor,
and I promise I'll
leave you alone forever.

Or I'm lying.

Either way, it's more
interesting than whatever
you're doing now.

Can I help you?

I'm his wife.

We're separated.

I heard he was sick.
I just wanted to see him.

He's giving a kidney
to someone he's never met?

He wants to, yeah.

I know
he's talked about you.

He's been alone
all this time.

I'm sure it would
mean a lot to him
to see you.

I wanted to spend
my life with him,

but I need to feel
like he loves me
more than other people.

Like he loves
our kids more.

Maybe that's selfish.

I should go.

Was that my wife?

I don't know.

Are you the guy,
the kidney donor?

There was a problem,
but I'm gonna try again.

Um...

To give it to
the same lady?

She needs it.

Okay. Never mind.

Wait.

What do you want?

Uh, it's nothing.
It's just...

I have
polycystic kidney disease,
and I need a transplant,

and they say
I don't have much time.

So when I heard
that you were willing,
I just...

But I'm glad
it's going to someone.

I'll give it to you.

But you already
promised it
to someone else.

I have another one.

Saving one life is good,
saving two is better.

You give away two kidneys,
and you die.

I could live on
dialysis for years.

Yes, and then you die.

And then I could
donate my other organs,
heart, lungs.

I could save four
or five more lives.

Foreman's going to
need a diagnostician.

This guy is crazy.

Arrhythmia, muscle tremors,
and yes, mental changes.

If his heart doesn't rupture,
he's liable to rip it out
and give it away.

You know,
the down vibe in here is

totally ruining my
Charlie's Angels fantasy.

(MACHINERY WHIRRING)

And that haircut
isn't helping, either.

Seems like Graves disease
or some other thyroid issue.

Is she on the team now,
like, forever?

His thyroid levels
were within normal range
when he was admitted.

Could be Coxsackie B virus.

No pericarditis.

What about porphyria?
It's a little weird
without the rash.

but it fits all of
his other symptoms.

And if it's acute
intermittent porphyria,

that would explain
why his symptoms
keep recurring.

Unlikely,
but it's possible.
What else?

(MACHINE CONTINUES WHIRRING)

I said, "What else?"

Oh, for crying out loud.

(WHIRRING STOPS)

There, that's better,
Now, what else?

Well, if there's
nothing better
than possible,

then possible gets
upgraded to probable.

I'll start him
on hematin.

No, I'll go.

So what's the answer?

Are you now on the team,
like, forever?

I don't know.

Because I was thinking
of ordering t-shirts.

I don't know, House.
I mean,
what am I supposed to do?

I trained to be a doctor.
I know how to take
someone's pain away.

how to make
a stopped heart
beat again.

We've brought
people's kids back,
their husbands.

So guilt?

Yes, you were right.
You're always right.
I just...

I have the skills
to help people.

Is it okay for me to
walk away from that
because I wanna just have fun?

Obviously not.

(ELEVATOR DINGS)

How's your patient?

She died a few hours ago.

Thirteen's back.

No department,
no money,

and somehow,
you manage to con her
into hanging around.

I have a gift.

What?

It was a con.

The patient was faking?

No, I was.

I brought him in here
under false pretenses
just to get his money.

I ordered
a bunch of random tests
to keep him here.

One of them was a head CT
which uses iodine contrast.

You think he's
allergic to iodine?

No. Again.

Just don't interrupt me.

Thirteen was right.
This is a thyroid issue.

He has Plummer's disease.

He has a nodule
in his thyroid.
It produces excess hormone.

Not enough to test abnormal,
just more than
his brain was used to.

Just enough to make him
irrationally generous,

make him
vulnerable to overheating.

WILSON:
Then you pumped his body
full of iodine

and kicked him
into thyrotoxicosis.

l said don't interrupt.

But yes, you're right.
We take out the nodule.
He'll be fine.

Two days, one surgery.

I now accept that
you are all better.

Where's my money?

You made me sick.

You were already sick.
I just made you much,
much worse.

Seriously, the money.

You're not giving
it to me, are you?

When you're facing death,
some things come into focus...

My wife...

You love your family.
You want them back.

Your altruism was
always a symptom.

No, it wasn't.
I'm still gonna...

Give less?
How much less?

Just enough to
spoil your kids?

No.

But they need it
more than people with TB

or children in Indonesia
with no eyes?

Diagnosticians
with hearts of gold?

I don't want
to give you money
because you're an ass.

I was an ass last week.

I love my family.
I want to be with them.

That doesn't make me
a bad person.

No.

It makes you
a healthy person.

My mechanic called.
Said the work's
been paid for.

You mentioned your
car was in the shop.

That's $4,500.

Smile and say thank you,
or I get you GPS.

You win.

Thank you.

Your car's getting fixed.
You were right.
She went for it.

Good work.

Need a lift tomorrow?
Your car's still in the shop.

I don't take charity.

I'm just glad it's over.

Nothing is ever over.

HOUSE: Thirteen.

Need a minute.

You're fired.

Now what?
House, I'm starving...

I'm not joking.

You're fired.
Don't come in tomorrow.

House...

I can work with people
who've got nowhere else
to go,

people who've got
something to prove,

people who just get off
on weird cases.

Who I can't work with
is someone who's here

so she doesn't
have to feel bad.

You're trying to save me.

Yes,
I think that little of you
and that much of me.

Okay.

Bye, House.