House (2004–2012): Season 8, Episode 6 - Parents - full transcript

Okay, boys and girls.

Guess what kind of animal
Wacky Benny's making now.

Give you a big hint.

(CROWING)

(CHILDREN TITTERING)

Is it a dead animal?

I say we put him
out of his misery
and bring out Emma's cake.

He's so new to this.
How's he gonna learn
if we stop his act?

You're a sucky clown.

And you're
a super-duper audience.

Hey, that is not okay.



Hey, keep your
hands off my son!

Tell him to keep
his hands off me.

I can't move my arm or leg.

So how does a completely
healthy teenager have
a mini-stroke?

Head CT and cerebral
angiogram are normal,

clotting parameters
are normal.

You're forgetting
the wrinkly clump
in the middle of his shirt.

Thought we'd diagnose
the middle-aged clown first.

It's probably
from my seatbelt.

Wrinkle pattern's too varied.

Looks like someone shoved
you. Or grabbed you.

Probably from the diaper bag.
If the patient's using drugs,

cocaine could've caused
an arterial
spasm in his brain...

Tox screen's clean.



I'm gonna say it
was the ex-girlfriend
you cheated on,

not the ex-wife
you cheated with

because if the latter
was prone to violence,

you'd have been scattered
in various
dumpsters years ago.

Seriously?

No one else wants to
talk about the patient?

New office furniture.
Meaty topic.

What's the action
on the ex-wife?

It was Rachel's
boyfriend Phil.

His company's moving
him back to Portland.

He wants me to
change my visitation order

so he can ask
Rachel and my daughter
to move out west with him.

Things got a little heated.

The patient was
punched in the groin,

could've triggered a massive
sympathetic discharge...

Carotid duplex is normal.

And who's better
qualified to be the daddy?

The guy who
spilled a little DNA
in her gene pool,

or the guy
who's gonna be there
day and night

to pass on important values
like not shtupping
Mommy after the divorce?

I am her daddy.
She's staying here.

CHI: House has a point.

A couple nights
a week with each kid
may make you feel better.

It doesn't replace
two round-the-clock parents.

Round-the-clock or not,
parenting's an impossible job.

No way not to mess it up.

Why shouldn't Taub
be the one to do it?

Thank you.
HOUSE: Makes sense.

Park's tiger mom and dad
were so insufferable,

she has to measure
their affection in hours.

Chase's careerist dad
and alcoholic mom
were so indifferent,

he has to believe it's a wash.

Your turn.

What did your
screwed-up parents do

to screw up your
view of parenting?

They were good parents.

That's an oxymoron.

Chase is right..
all parents screw
up all children.

He's also dreamy,
but it's not relevant now.

TAUB: So all parents
screw up all children,

but it makes
some huge difference

if I keep my daughter
here or let her move?

Endocarditis,
flipped a piece of
vegetation into his brain,

which could've broken up
before the angiogram.

Transesophageal
echo to confirm.

And screwed up
is her best-case.

Bouncing between
a philandering, workaholic dad

and an embittered,
sexually-betrayed mom,

it's gonna lead to
screwed-up squared.

Is endocarditis treatable?

Very.

The echo will show us
any growths on
his heart valve.

Most likely meds'll be enough,
he won't even need surgery.

He's just taken up
performing, and it's very
stressful for him.

Could that have caused this?

It's not stressful,
I have fun.

Stress wouldn't be relevant.

But anything that
increases his adrenaline
could have made it worse.

Maybe we find you a new hobby.
One you're a little better at.

I'm gonna get better at it,
and it's not a hobby.

I think I want to
get a job working

as a circus clown,
making people laugh.

Ben, I don't think
that's a good idea.

It was good enough for my dad.

You were a...

His biological father.

Could his dad's
melanoma be a factor here?

That wouldn't be related.

Ben, you barely knew him.

You're such a smart kid,

you could aim a lot higher
than face paint
and seltzer bottles.

I need treatment for
my Type 2 diabetes.

There is absolutely
no part of that
sentence that is true.

I've been
experiencing weight gain,
fatigue and sluggishness.

Weight loss is
a symptom of diabetes.

Fatigue is
a symptom of
thinking you

have a disease you
don't actually have.

And sluggishness is
a synonym of fatigue.

I need insulin. I know it.

Much as I'd like to kill
you by dangerously
lowering your blood sugar,

murder violates my parole.

That blood work
is weeks old.
Test me again.

I am the test.
The test is negative.

The test also thinks
you're a giant
pain in the ass.

That last insult
was your cue to leave.

Test me.

Fine. Wait right here.

Thank you.

Sleep study.
Please make sure he's

not disturbed for
the next eight hours.

We need to talk
about Saturday night.

No, no, no, no, no.

Historians will talk of
Saturday night.. not us.

The legendary
night on which we watch
Santos shatter Rubio's jaw

and you epically pay me $50.

I have a chance
to really watch it.

A patient of mine
has a pair of
tickets he can't use.

And obviously
you're under house
and office arrest,

I just wanted to
make sure you were cool

if I go to
Atlantic City
without you.

No, thanks.

I'm afraid I'm gonna have
to decline your invitation

to not spend
Saturday night with you.

These are ringside seats.

Cameras are ringside, too.

If you want,
I could sweat and spit

and bleed on you
from time to time.

I'd take you if I could.

Well, I'd take me if
either of us could.

See what a tough spot I'm in?

I'm going to that fight.

All right,
I'll take the
other ticket.

Let me worry about logistics.

Patient's heart
valves are normal.
It's not endocarditis.

But he has
a thickened pericardium,
which makes no sense.

He has a heart problem,
but not one that
could've caused his TIA.

Syphilitic vasculitis
would explain the TIA

and the pericardial
inflammation.

Syph test was negative.
Plus, the kid's never
been sexually active.

Yeah, I got that from
the line on his chart
that says "birthday clown".

His late father
was a circus clown.

Histoplasmosis.

HOUSE:
He's not immunocompromised.

And I assume you added
that irrelevant tidbit

because you're moved
by the son's idiotic tribute,

and think it justifies
keeping your daughter
in New Jersey.

But what if he has
a heightened immune system.

I mentioned it because...

Take your time.
We'll continue with medicine.

Sj?gren's could've
given him chronic

pericarditis and
cerebral arteritis.

Sj?gren's it is.
IV immunosuppressants
to treat.

Anything?

This'll calm
your immune system.

You should be out of
here within the week.

My mom'll be
happy to hear that.

I've got an internship
that starts in three weeks.

I take it it's not at
a place with a big top.

It's in my stepdad's
law office.

I know I'm not any
good at being a clown yet,

but when I do get a laugh,

see those kids' eyes light up,

that's how my dad made
me feel when I was a kid.

You need to hang onto that.

(SIGHS)

My mom says he
was a loving father,

but always broke and
always on the road.

It's a stupid way
to make a living.

You're 16.
Plenty of time
to make money.

Wanting to build
a connection with your dad,

pass on some of
the joy that he gave you,

that's not stupid at all.

I got it.

(STUTTERS) Is this because
of the medication?
Is it normal?

It's not normal,
and it's not Sj?gren's.

TIA, thickened
pericardium.. and now

he's bleeding from
his nose and mouth.

What are you doing with her?

"Her"?

Surely this
little bundle of fun
has an actual name.

It's Sophie.

Both your kids are named...

She's Sophie.
The other one's Sophia.

It's different enough.

They actually have
two completely
different derivations.

No, they don't.

I wasn't in a strong
negotiating position.
Why is she here?

Ruby dropped her off.
Seemed pretty upset.

Apparently someone forgot
that it was Daddy's night.

She wasn't even
gonna leave her

till I said that I was
letting you off early.

Damn it. I just
started back on the team.
My schedule's a mess.

If your own kids
are a scheduling item,

maybe you should
let one of them move.

Patient has low platelets,
makes me think DIC.

(BABY SQUEALS)
HOUSE: She doesn't seem
to like that idea.

You're right.
No schistocytes
in his smear.

He also has a low red count.
What if it's
a retroperitoneal bleed?

No Grey-Turner's sign.

She wasn't fussy like that
when I was holding her.

Maybe she likes
the sound of my voice.

Which is weird because
I have no genetic
connection to her.

Could it be she
doesn't know the difference?

So many children of your own,

no wonder you have
such insight into

my relationship
with my babies.

Good point.
How could I comprehend
that you're too despised

to keep them from
having the same name,

too overwhelmed
to remember your own calendar,

and too vain to
admit that at this stage,

you don't matter
to either baby?

Low white count
suggests infection.

What if you're all right?
Low platelets,
plus low red count,

plus low white count equals...

Aplastic anemia.

Kid needs a bone
marrow transplant.

Everyone except
Adams transfuse

his platelets till
you find a match.

You started
college a semester late

because you left high
school a semester late

because you had
five incompletes
in your junior year.

And you're
offering one bad semester

as proof that my
parents screwed me up?

Did okay before that,
straight A's after that.

I went through
a rebellious phase.

Don't tell me.
Mom and Dad were at
each other's throats,

and the academic
crisis was a cry for help.

Sorry to mess
with your world view,
but I'm not messed up.

So my parents
couldn't have
messed me up.

Mom's HLA is only
a 3/6 match.

Maternal
grandmother's
worse than that.

Where'd you
unload the baby?

Maternity ward. Shut up.

You realize you're making
House's argument for him.

The part where he said
any parent who uses day care

should ship their
child across the country?

No, the part where he said
that baby doesn't need you.

You've only got her
a couple days a week,

and most of that's spent
with a rotating
cast of nurses...

That's how Daddy likes
to spend his time, too.

Shut up.
First cousin's also a whiff.

So much for
genetics mattering.
I'll try the marrow registry.

TAUB: Dr. Park is
searching the registry.

Transfusing his platelets
will keep him
healthy while we wait.

You sure there's no one
on the father's
side of the family?

If one of them's a match,
that'd speed things up a lot.

(SIGHS) His parents
died young,
he was an only child.

There's no living
relatives that I know of.

Something will turn up soon.

How soon is soon?
Will he miss a lot of school?

I'm actually thinking
of just getting my GED.

How do you expect
to get into a good college?

I'm gonna take classes
on magic, juggling,
try to make a go of this.

Ben, you keep your grades up,
you can do
anything in the world.

Like what?
Work in some
boring office?

Do you think my
father would have
done that for 10 minutes?

You don't
remember your father.
You don't know...

I want to build
a connection with him.

Pass on some of
the joy that he gave me.

My...

My back hurts.

(MACHINE BEEPING)

His BP's dropping.

MAN: We think we've dealt with
all the liability issues.

I'm in a meeting.

Sorry. Since you paged me,
I didn't want to
keep you waiting.

Yeah. I paged you,
which means you're next.

That's cool. I'll wait.

That's a good start.
Let's go through
it point by point.

First up...

I'll call you back.

Just got this.

The American Association
of Rheumatology

wants you to speak, 9:00,
Saturday, in Atlantic City.

Dr. Neusinger canceled on them
at the last minute.

I hate conferences.

Well, this is a big one.
And it's the premium slot.

I'd like you to do it.

I'll clear it with
your parole officer.

What do I need to do for you?

Halve the clinic hours
that you recently doubled,

and double the hooker budget
that you recently halved.

I think you refer
to it as petty cash.

Fine.

Just one thing.
I'm gonna ask them
to put you on in the morning.

We're doing them a favor.
Why should you have
to spend the night?

But you said that 9:00
was the premium slot.

I want to feel like
I've earned my hookers.

The place'll be a madhouse.

Especially since it's 2 miles
from the Rubio fight,
at the exact same time.

Nice try. You called up,
pretended to be Neusinger,
canceled,

then suggested
yourself as a replacement.

You go to that fight,
you go to prison.

Well, that'd be redundant

when I have an angry black guy
waiting for me to
drop the soap right here.

Better go do some
of those clinic hours
I recently doubled.

Test my urine.

Looks like I was
wrong about my diagnosis.

Yeah. I have diabetes.

No. But you're
not a hypochondriac.

Or you'd have imagined
some new disease

after I shot
down the first one.

So whose urine is that?
Diabetic girlfriend
without health insurance?

It's not a scam, I'm sick.
Now I have swollen ankles.

The medical term is cankles.

Is there some
black market in insulin
that I don't know about?

It's in my genes.

My old man got diabetes at 50,
my older brother got it
at 50, I just turned 50.

Well, that's a great argument
if diabetes was a gold watch.

I've got sciatica
like my dad, class-four
hemorrhoids like him.

I need to get
a jump on this thing.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

We had to stop
the transfusion.

Patient's having
an allergic reaction
to donor platelets.

No one in Mom's
family's a match,

and as far as she knows,
Dad has no living relatives.

It's been years since he died.

If the kid's dad
died young of melanoma,

how come the
overprotective mom

never took him to
a dermatologist?

Are you gonna test
my urine, or what?

Not diabetes.

Use crossmatched platelets,

try to find
the patient some blood
that's closer to his own.

And get the real story
on clown senior's death.

Mom's hiding something.

There's a good bet
that it's medically relevant.

Apple juice.
Easiest way to fake
a spike in blood sugar.

His family history of melanoma
may have affected
his cellular outlook.

If we had more
detail on the exact type
of melanoma his father had...

Otherwise we might not be able
to find a marrow match.

He never had melanoma.

How did he die?

He didn't.

He lives in Pennsauken,
under a different name.
Mitchell Gordon.

How could you
keep this from me?
From Ben?

He really needs
to know his dad

just breezed in
and out of his life,

drunk and incoherent?

It's better to think
the man's dead but decent.

WILSON: You realize I have
to invite someone
else to the Rubio fight.

HOUSE: Nope. No
realization
whatsoever.

You have a LoJack on your leg.

I was happy watching the fight
on pay-per-view.

You're the one who insisted
we go to Atlantic City.

Your biological
father was a decent,
God-fearing minister,

the guy who raised you
was a cold-hearted jerk.

I'm trying to figure out
why you're so convinced

Adams has
parentally-inflicted
damage.

You're trying to deflect.

Now you are.

You have to believe
that every parent
screws up every child,

or you were screwed
out of a decent childhood.

My decent
daddy-of-the-cloth
was also

being indecent
with my married mom.

He probably would've taken
other kids to the playground.

Not my fault, bad parenting.

Mitchell Gordon?

I've already got
a religion. Go away.

We're doctors.

Your son Ben is
in the hospital,

at Princeton-Plainsboro.
He's very sick.

Yeah, well, I don't
have a son. Not anymore.

We know there are
some issues there,

but your bone
marrow could cure him.

There's a hospital
2 miles from here.
It's a simple test...

You said he was at
Princeton-Plainsboro.

His mother feels it's better
to do the tests at
a different hospital.

Like I said,
I don't have
a son anymore.

CHASE: House isn't gonna
give up. Just tell him
about your parents.

Or make up a lie.

I don't want to lie.

And I don't want
to validate his
ridiculous theory.

It's not ridiculous.
Even the best-intentioned

parents end up
damaging their kids.

You're a smart,
successful doctor.

How much damage
could you have?

Know how I got
interested in medicine?

When my mother drank,
she couldn't handle me,

so she locked me in
my father's study.

Only so many hours you can cry
and bang on the door

before you give up,
find something to read.

We all have
family dysfunction.
That's why we're successful.

To fill that hole.

My parents have
a lot of money.

But they didn't
make it legally.

White-collar crime?

Started with card games,
high-stakes poker.

Then my dad got
into narcotics.

At first just selling,

but then using, too.

Or he never would've gotten
into the slave trade.

Children mostly.

Easier to pack
in small crates.

Plus the shipping's
a lot cheaper...

Won't even trust a co-worker.

What did your
parents do to you?

You have to go
see him yourself.

He wouldn't even
come to the door
a second time.

Okay. I'll drive over there.

(MACHINE BEEPING)

(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(GROANING)

It's a pleural effusion.

He had a bleeding
problem earlier,

must be bleeding
into his lungs.

(GASPING FOR BREATH)

Except there's no blood.

What does that mean?

Means you don't have
to make that drive.

The problem isn't his marrow,
it's his liver.

HOUSE: Liver failure
explains everything.

Question is, what
explains the liver failure?

It's not an infection.
We tried antibiotics,
but he's not responding.

More curiously,
what explains the mom lying

about Dad pushing
up squirting daisies?

This is how you plan
to get to that boxing game?

Why are you looking at her?

Because I'm stunned

and I have to
look at something.

Match, bout,
fight, contest,
day, Helena.

Almost anything
works after boxing
except the word game.

Your bigger
problem is the people

who design those
things aren't idiots.

(CHUCKLING)

Can you believe she
used to work in the can?

Nothing is tamper-proof.

TAUB: It's a
synthetic problem.

His liver's not
synthesizing proteins,

so fluid is leaking
out of his blood vessels.

And Mom's a selfish jerk.

She traded up,
married a lawyer,

wants to forget
the lowly circus clown.

HOUSE: You're
defending the father

because you feel like a jerk
for baking buns in
two different ovens.

You want to believe
the mythical biological

connection excuses
being a man-slut... Ow!

I don't know why
I'm starting to
doubt your expertise.

You do have a classified ad
and a piece of metal.

It's temperature that
sets it off, not force.

The rivets go pop,
I slide in the heating pad.
Easy peasy.

More likely the patient
has a hyperammonemic problem.

His liver's not
cleaning out his blood,

the buildup of toxins
is causing everything.

I'm defending the dad
because he got screwed.

After he lost his son,
he lost his job,

been in and out of rehab,
gave up clowning.

Yes, as a parent, I empathize.

I say we tell the kid.

He's a minor,
the mom's his guardian,

and it's not even
medically relevant.

She robbed them of
12 years together.

Or she ripped off
the Band-Aid too late.

That memory she let
Son of Bozo establish

is making him
chase his father's
moronic profession.

When he could be
living the high
life in Portland.

And I mean that
metaphorically, of course.

(LOW BEEPING)

This is where you dazzle me
with your contingency plan.

I see why employers
are reluctant to hire ex-cons.

Well, what about the patient?

Is the problem
hyperammonemic
or synthetic?

CHASE: Can't treat for both.

One requires hemodialysis,
the other a liver transplant

and we couldn't
even get the kid
a marrow match.

Get the mom's consent
to pump him full of protein.

If it's a synthetic
problem, more fluid

will leak into his chest
and his heart will fail.

If it's hyperammonemic,
toxins will

overwhelm his body and
he'll go into a coma.

Do you only like tests
that involve
the risk of death?

There are some slower,
less conclusive tests,
but why take that risk?

(BEEPING)

(STEADY BEEP)

In here.

Oh, my God. The water.

This is completely my fault.

TAUB: There are
very serious risks,

but if we don't
figure out what he has,
we can't treat him at all.

I may be a little
out of bounds here,

but in case there
are complications,

might be a good time
to come clean to your son.

Let his father visit.

A little out of bounds?

I don't know the history,
but everyone makes mistakes.

Your son worships him.

The doctor's right about that.

Yeah?

And when did he learn that?

When he encouraged Ben
to drop out of school?

Mitchell is not Ben's father
any more than a sperm
donor would've been.

Dr. House?

Unless you're
a locksmith or
an electrician

with political
contacts, I'm busy.

My husband saw
you in the clinic.
Wants treatment for diabetes.

My condolences
on your forthcoming divorce.

He keeps imagining symptoms,

and now I have to
make him these awful
anti-diabetic meals.

Since I have no
intention of testing him,

treating him,
or cooking for him...

Could you write
me a fake
prescription for insulin?

The advantage of
fake prescriptions

is you don't have
to be a real doctor
to write one.

Just tell me what's safe
to inject in his thigh.

His symptoms will go away
and then I can show
him he was never sick.

Water?

Imaginary
medicine's not
my specialty.

I do have
an imaginary colleague

who's just sent me
an imaginary page.

Imagine how sorry I am.

Still mad about what
happened in the lab?

I'm not mad,
I'm being professional.

You claim you're
not screwed up,
you may even believe it,

but House doesn't,
and I don't.

So you can wait
till he camps out
on your parents' lawn,

or you can
admit you don't live

on some higher plane
and thank me later.

My... My eye feels weird.

What's happening to me?

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

You look tired.

(SCOFFS) I hate when people
say that. I know, I look bad.

I thought you were gonna
go to bed early last night.

Like an idiot, I went
out with my girlfriends
to pretend I have a life.

When all I did
was flirt with guys

who'd have no
interest in a mom,

and miss the baby
I couldn't wait
to get rid of,

and then get
yelled at by my mom
for staying out too late.

You need your own place.
Yes.

I moved back home because
it was too drafty
at the Four Seasons.

So go back to
work at the hospital.

Day care costs more
than what I earned as a nurse.

Have you considered
sub-standard day care?

Why don't you
stay here tonight?

(SIGHS)

No, I mean in the guest room.

I'll watch the baby
again.. you can get
a real night's sleep.

You'd do that?

(PAGER BEEPING)

Win-win.

Mommy gets a rest,
Daddy gets more time
with his little angel.

There's some
sweats in the closet
in the back.

Lucky girl, gets
another sleepover
with Dada.

Makes a difference,

doesn't it?

Didn't answer
your page last night.

Sorry, battery died.

We got the patient's
eye back in place
with steroid injections.

But a bulging eyeball
means it's not
a liver problem.

And Mom's determination
to keep Dad away,

even as her kid
gets sicker and sicker,
means she's got more to hide.

It's not
diagnostically relevant,
let's let it drop.

You just lost my vote.
You flip-flopped
on parental rights.

I've been trying to
persuade the mother,

but it's her son,
so it's her call.

HOUSE: Well, that's very
evolved of you.

You don't usually
see Darwinian changes
over breakfast.

You made nice-nice with Phil.

You decided that he'd
make a decent father
for Thing Two after all.

I had Sophie again
last night, and Ruby
slept in my guest room.

Which has nothing
to do with Phil,

who will never be
a father to my children.

Angioneurotic edema
can cause rapid swelling.

Hey, we're having
a conversation here.

No abdominal pain.

So that must've
been nice having

Ruby and the baby
under one roof.

Yes, it was nice
having my daughter
in my home.

That's why I
would like her sister
to live near my home.

Anasarca?

Swelling would
have followed gravity.

Isn't that getting this whole
parenting thing ass backwards?

Aren't you
supposed to figure out

what you can sacrifice
to maximize their niceness?

And do you think
I should sacrifice
myself from their lives?

Just one life.
Until the other one's mommy
meets someone nicer than you.

Swelling that
fast and localized

has to come from
the lymph nodes.

Burkitt's lymphoma.

Swelling.

Cankles.

That's not
a symptom of Burkitt's.
Are you saying...

It's Burkitt's.
Prep him for chemo.

I think you should give
House permission to go
to Atlantic City.

We'll stop by
the rheumatology conference.
Everyone's covered.

No.

The guy has earned the right
to go to one boxing match.

He's done
everything you've asked.

Funded and staffed
his own department,

hasn't even broken as
much as a traffic law.

You're right.

So you'll let him go?

No.

I get why he wants
to go to that fight.
I'd love to go myself.

Which is kind of why
I have to stop him.

My job is to be the jerk.

House has to believe
that I have
authority over him.

He can't function
under someone's thumb.

I know. Which means
you can't go either.

Your job is to be his friend.

To stay here and
sit with him and watch
the fight on pay-per-view

while bitching about me.

If we both do
our jobs, we might

actually get him
through his parole.

You're right.

RACHEL:
Sorry to show up
like this.

I was expecting
a battery of lawyers.

No lawyers.

Phil had something
that he would like to say.

So I thought that he
should say it in person.

It was wrong of
me to confront you

about taking
Rachel to Portland.

You don't want to
move to Portland?

Of course I do.

But this is about
your daughter, too,

and I'm not gonna do
something like this
without your support.

So.. you guys are
trying to manipulate me
by playing good cop/good cop?

Is that how little
you think of me?

It's clear you're
back working for House.

I will see you this weekend
when you pick up Sophie.

Sophia.

We actually started
calling her Sophie.

Yeah.

Great.

It's cute.

Cankles.

Is there some
problem with the
prescription you gave me?

I'm faint, I've been
gaining more weight.
I think I need a bigger dose.

If you double his placebo,
he might drown.

Also, you forgot to mention
that your heart rate is slow.

My heart rate's not...

52?

The technical term is slow.

Those awful
anti-diabetic meals you eat,
do they contain bok choy?

A pound of it. Every day.

Bok choy has glucosinolates,

which inhibit thyroid
function and account for
all your symptoms.

So, this isn't diabetes?

You have a bad case of irony.

The food that you're
eating to stop making
you sick is making you sick.

Maybe I don't have
my father's
crummy genes after all.

On the other hand,
maybe you're

fat enough to get
diabetes even without him.

(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR SLAMS SHUT)

I can't believe I have cancer.

We caught it early.
You should be okay.

I could die.
I never went anywhere,
did anything.

If my father had lived,
everything would
have been different.

Your mom and stepdad
love you, they've given
you a great home.

That counts for a lot.

(MACHINE BEEPING)

He's crashing,
everything's shutting down.

CHASE: Renal failure,
lung failure, heart failure,
all before we started chemo.

TAUB: Burkitt's
lymphoma is fast-moving,
but not this fast.

No rush. ICU stands
for "take your time"
in Latin.

Multiple aneurysms.

That would mean every
symptom after his TIA
was a coincidence.

Cholesterol emboli.

Bingo! Fits perfectly.

Check the file, confirm
that we did major
abdominal surgery on him,

and then completely
forgot about it.

TAUB: House.

Hello.

What the hell
are you doing here?

I was told this
might be my last chance
to see my son.

You had no right.
This is none of
your business!

I didn't...
I called him.

This man is Ben's hero.
Let them spend
five minutes together.

No. You get out of here!

Wait.

You sexually
molested your son.

Your walk, tabes dorsalis.

You have late-stage syphilis.

Which you gave to our patient,
presumably 12 years ago.

Which also explains why Mom
is not big on family reunions.

I shouldn't be here.

We tested him for syphilis,
he was negative.

HOUSE: After 12 years,
the active infection
would have died down

everywhere except
the arteries in his brain,

where it could hide
out from our tests.

When that six-year-old
heckler punched him in
his juggling pins,

it kicked up
the dormant bacteria
in his pelvis.

The immunosuppressants
we gave him
sent it into overdrive.

The antibiotics we gave him
actually started
destroying the syphilis.

But like pouring
water on a fire,

led to a trail of
toxic smoke and ash,

which made his immune system
overcompensate.

Severe Jarisch-Herxheimer
reaction.

Is this true?
HOUSE: Yes.

Jarisch-Herxheimer is real.
It sounds silly but...

You mean the... Right.

I found stains on his clothes.

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

He didn't understand
and he didn't
seem traumatized.

I kept trying to talk
to him, but before long,
he'd forgotten.

And he seemed...

He seemed happy,
and he seemed normal.

So you made Daddy
go away, and you made

sure Junior had no
reason to go looking.

I was just
trying to protect him,

like I should have
done from the start.

(SOBS) I'm sorry.

HOUSE: IV penicillin and
anti-TNF antibodies,
he'll be fine.

Apart from the whole
daddy-rape thing.

We're not done.

No, we are not.

Notify the dad's
sexual partners,
notify his employer,

his landlord,
notify the police.

I meant the kid.
We're not gonna tell
him he was molested?

To make him miserable,
or to forfeit your license?

To tell him the truth.

He's a virgin,
how do I explain
the STD?

It's a medical diagnosis.
Screw the parents,
the kid's our patient.

I guess Taub's
got a tough choice
to make when the kid wakes up.

Why is it my choice?

Because you're a dad.

How could the rest of us
possibly understand?

What was wrong with me?

It's called syphilis.

Uh...

You can get that
without having sex?

I didn't tell him.

Your heart said
he needed to know,

your brain knew he's
better off without it.

Following your heart is easy.
Following your brain is tough.

Especially after
years of following

that much smaller,
third organ.

That's why all parents
screw up all children.

Evening.

Clever tactic,
pretending you're not
interested anymore.

How could that
possibly work as a tactic?

The fact is,
once I saw
those incompletes,

I knew your parents
screwed you up.

The details are just gravy.

You're wrong.

The only evidence you have
is proof of something else.

I ran away from home.

Because you had
lousy parents.

Because I didn't.

All my friends'
parents were divorced,
or having affairs,

or barely knew
their kids' birthdays.

You envied
their dysfunction?

I thought it made
them deeper somehow.

It was stupid.

I hitchhiked to Manhattan,
moved in with an older guy.

In two months I
came running home.

Took my parents
years to get over it.

That's when you started
to excel. You were making
it up to them.

Your parents screwed you up
by not screwing you up.

How does briefly
wishing I was screwed up
make me screwed up?

It's normal to be screwed up.
It's really screwed
up to romanticize it.

Guess that's why
you wanted to
work with prisoners.

It's why I wanted
to work with you.

It was a tactic.

Chris.
Yeah.

I need to talk
to you and Phil.

Is everything okay?

Yeah.

I can't let you move.

You drove all
the way out here just

to tell us what
you already told us?

I'm sorry.

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

WILSON: House, open up.
I don't want to
miss the opening bell.

House?

ANNOUNCER:...telecast,
and we expect an electric
atmosphere in the arena

and a sell-out
crowd of about 10,000
for Rubio vs. Santos.

Two great fighters
with illustrious careers

might have been
expected to meet
a long time ago.

As for Santos,
his handlers tell us

that he's done more roadwork
than at any
time in his career,

hoping to prove tonight
that he can box
for 12 full rounds.

Significant,
because Santos
hasn't heard

the final bell in
more than six years.

He comes in with 11
straight knockout wins.

He saw how a power-puncher
with a left hook

was able to cut
Rubio over the right eye

in the 10th round
of that last fight.