House, M.D. s03e07 Episode Script

See you Tuesday.
How about right now? What? What? You wanna throw in the towel? No, I don't wanna throw in the towel! I thought that's what you said! I'm not upset about anything! Where the are we going? What are you doing down here? I thought you usually had lunch with Coma Guy.
This is Vegetative State Guy.
Better company.
Hey, hey, tell him about those Sherpas you dropped acid with in Saint Patrick's Cathedral.
You stole my prescription pad and you forged my name.
What did you tell the cop? I lied.
They'd have put you away for 10 years, after they took your license to practice medicine.
So, everything's good, then.
I lied.
To the cops.
There is no case unless they can prove that either I got the drugs illegally or I sold them illegally.
I didn't do the second, you lied about the first.
Game over.
Yeah, Tritter's just playing.
He's gonna see how clever you are and then just walk away.
The important thing is that you keep prescribing the same amount of drugs to me or it'll look suspicious.
Here's another way to look at it, having forced me to lie to the police, your first concern is securing your drug connection.
Joining my father for lunch? I should have called ahead for a table.
Dr.
House was just Enjoying a Reuben.
It's okay.
After 10 years, anything that'll get doctors in the same room as What are you doing? Nothing.
What are you doing? Chips? Wanna see something really cool? I saw you leaving last Tuesday.
You practically tripped over two guys on your way out, but you had no problem opening doors.
It's called akinetopsia.
You can't see things when they move.
Now, since you haven't been hit by a bus, I assume that it's intermittent.
It's probably accompanied by seizures, which made me think that I could set one off by flashing the God, I love this family.
I can see fine now.
I've had seizures before.
Most of the time they're small.
Doctors ran me through all the tests.
Couldn't find anything.
Any history of epilepsy in your family? The only things I know that run in my family are a lot of chutzpah and the ability to sleep for 10 years.
Although I'm not really an expert.
Dad never really liked my mother's side of the family, and after she died and he came here I was raised by a guardian.
I wouldn't even know how to get in touch with them.
How about your father's side of the family? Any relatives we could speak with? My father was an only child.
And my grandparents are dead.
Well, who did you put down as the person the hospital should contact in an emergency? I left it blank.
There's gotta be someone, a friend I have plenty of friends.
Just no one that would care if I was here.
Say, do you mind passing me my backpack? Hair of the dog.
Could be infection.
Or a brain tumor.
Says he had a CT.
What's wrong with the simplest explanation? Trauma? He didn't report any injuries.
He didn't report being an alcoholic, either.
Drinking equals falling down equals trauma equals Maybe it's inherited.
How would you jump to genetics from his EEG? All you've got are some vaguely epileptiform waves.
It's not his EEG.
It's his father's.
When it comes to cortical seizures, like father, like son.
Small seizures aren't unheard of in a patient in a vegetative state.
Similarities are interesting, though.
What caused the vegetative state? His house burned down.
Went back in to get his wife, firefighters found him unconscious three feet from the bedroom, asphyxiated.
Not an inherited condition.
Test his DNA.
Start with adrenomyeloneuropathy.
Check out the home.
He has a single bed.
They still make single beds? It could mean he just doesn't have sex, though there were condoms in the apartment.
House asked you to check out the home for toxins.
No mold, no leaks, no pets.
MRI and LP are both inconclusive.
Infection's still possible, tumor's less likely, but DNA? The adrenomyeloneuropathy test was negative.
DNA test again.
Try Unverricht-Lundborg and late-onset Lafora's.
Genetic tests take forever.
You can't just keep testing for every inherited condition you think it might be.
Well, not me.
I'll be leaving early.
But you guys can.
You said no one's been sick but what about delivery people, repair guy? I wouldn't know.
I work from home.
Haven't been to the office in over a month.
Visitors? Haven't had any.
The only person I've seen in the last week was the pizza delivery guy and he looked pretty healthy.
There's gotta be someone you're close to.
Actually, the person I see most often is my father.
He's asleep so he can't stop me.
What is it? I'm just feeling a little nauseous.
I think his liver's failing.
God.
Does that mean that I'm We need a central line kit, two units of packed red blood cells type O Negative.
He's unconscious and heading for a coma.
He's at a four on the RLAS scale.
Stop all treatment.
You think this is a reaction to our meds? Well, they're obviously not helping.
Given the fact that he's an alcoholic, there's a good chance his liver wasn't so hot when he came in.
Anti-seizure drugs could have just pushed him over the edge.
We take him off those meds, what do we put him on? I was hoping you'd know.
It may be academic, I just started him on dialysis.
Kidney and liver failure.
Not too many people come back from that.
Trauma's out of the picture.
Could still be infection.
Or neurological Or genetic.
We need a better history.
Did you miss the part where the patient lost consciousness? L- dopa? You're not waking Kyle.
You're waking his father.
I commend your observational skills.
You have no reason to think any amount of drugs will wake a man from a coma.
Vegetative state.
Much easier.
This guy's no Terry Schiavo, his brain's all there, he moves around, his muscles have barely atrophied.
He's just waiting for a fairy-tale kiss.
After I do that, I'll stick a needle in him.
The amount of amphetamines alone would be dangerous, besides whatever the hell else you've got in there.
There are reports out of South Africa about a pill that would temporarily revive someone in a vegetative state.
You've all seen Awakenings, made me cry.
I wanna cry.
Put the syringe down.
I can outdraw you, mysterious stranger.
We don't experiment on helpless patients.
Be reasonable.
There's no way this is gonna work.
Even if you woke him, it would only be for a few hours.
A day, two at the most.
You're risking his life.
I'm risking getting sued, that's the only objection here.
You'll be torturing him and his family.
Well, good news for Legal, the only family he's got is upstairs dying.
Hey! I want this patient monitored for the next 24 hours.
I want someone with him at all times to make sure you didn't kill him.
I want your ass in my office.
God, I'm starving.
I could really go for a steak.
Do you know your name? Do you know where you are? Gabriel Wozniak.
I don't know the name of this hospital.
How much are three and five? Eight.
Also known as half of 16, a quarter of 32, two to the third power.
Coolest thing ever.
Any history of seizure in your family? No.
Liver disease? No.
How long have I been here? I I got the feeling it's been a long time.
Interesting.
Your internal clock kept ticking.
How deep does that awareness go? Pick up scraps of conversations? Do you have the vague sense that the hospital administrator dresses like a trollop? Or that the new Star Wars movies were a disappointment? I know my wife is dead.
I don't know how long it's been.
Ten years.
What's the last thing you remember? The fire.
My wife was in the bedroom, she had taken a sleeping pill.
I got Kyle out, went back in for her.
I knew I didn't make it.
I'm sorry.
What about your wife's side of the family? Any history of seizures there? Your son Kyle is a patient here.
I'm afraid his condition is serious.
He may be dying.
No seizure issues on my wife's side, either.
What about that steak? Nobody ever answered me.
Rumor in the cafeteria was Caustic Guy was waking up Coma Guy.
Technically, Vegetative State Guy was woken by, yeah, Caustic Guy.
So what happened? I gotta get him a steak before I can ask him any more questions.
He doesn't wanna talk about his son? Didn't seem to emotionally register that his son is sick.
Brain issue? He was asphyxiated, spent 10 years as asparagus, who knows what damage is in there.
It's possible.
Of course there's always the simple explanation.
Maybe he just doesn't like his son.
Only in your world would that be simple.
The delusion that fathering a child installs a permanent geyser of unconditional love Maybe your father's feelings were conditional, not everyone's.
Well, of course, that would play into your romantic vision of human In terms you would understand, we have an evolutionary incentive to sacrifice for our offspring.
Our tribe, our friends.
Keep them safe.
Except for all the people who don't.
Everything is conditional.
You just can't always anticipate the conditions.
Mind if we talk for a few minutes? How many pills would you say Dr.
House takes a day? I'm uncomfortable setting a number.
Well, try.
Six.
A day? Has he ever had you write prescriptions for him? No.
What is it you want me to say? That he takes too many pills and is a danger to the hospital, or he takes too few because he's selling them on the side? Either one is ridiculous.
I meant the former.
You're wrong.
Can I ask what Dr.
House has done to deserve your loyalty? He's not known as a great boss.
He's not even much of a friend.
Look how he left Dr.
Wilson holding the bag.
It's odd.
You don't know about that? You defend him, and he won't even tell you what's happening in his life.
I was paged.
We saw you with the cop.
What'd he want? How many pills does House take, did I ever write him a prescription? That sort of stuff.
I told him six.
A day or in a mouthful? I was just hoping you guys would stay consistent with He wants to talk to us, too? You're next.
We've gotta tell House what's going on.
Tritter says no.
Then no it is.
Cops have a thousand ways to make life difficult for you.
Quick.
What's the kid's status? I gotta get back to our sleeper before he goes looking for the orgasmatron.
See, if that were rhetorical, it would mean that I can just turn around and leave now, which I'm not doing, from which you should deduce He's off all drugs except the antibiotics.
His liver's just managing to hang in there.
He's still sliding into coma.
Your barber sucks.
Hey, Coma Diet, I could make a fortune.
Vegetative State Diet.
Who gave you your clothes? Dr.
Cuddy.
I guess I'll need all new ones, anyway.
Everything went in the fire.
Don't worry about it.
We use recyclable clothes now.
Wear them once, then eat them.
Your son's measles vaccination, do you remember if he had it, what type it was? Man, you're a piece of work, you know that? You weren't gonna tell me, were you? I don't need new clothes.
Dr.
Cuddy says my body will adjust to the drugs, that I'll be a vegetable again by tomorrow.
If I'm really lucky, the day after.
Yeah.
If I've got a day to live, I'm not gonna spend it in a hospital room being grilled.
Come on, where you gonna go? Your house burned down, your wife's dead.
Business was sold off.
The only thing you have left is down the hall, heading for a liver biopsy.
Used to be this little hole in the wall run by a guy named Giancarlo.
Made the best hoagies in the world.
Real Italian rolls, prosciutto, provolone How far is Atlantic City from here? You have one day to live, and you want a sandwich? People on death row get a last meal.
The state provides it.
Who's providing for you? You got a car? Money? You're negotiating with me.
Take out another 100 for me.
And I need your car.
I'm not doing you any favors.
You'll get it back tomorrow.
Two days, max.
Road trip.
This is like trying to control the weather, but I'd prefer it if you didn't eat in the car, I just had it detailed.
I drive.
Oh, the hell he does.
Sure.
Aside from the fact he just woke up from a vegetative state, the guy doesn't have a license.
How about this? Cops stop us, we lie.
You know how to do that.
Chips.
It's all the drugs pumping through his system.
Right now his reflexes are better than Dale Earnhardt Jr's.
What's this? It says ipod.
I'm coming.
So let's talk about toxic exposure.
What was wrong with the old colors? I trusted brown.
Do the purple ones have chocolate inside? Raspberry cocaine.
This house that burned down, where was it? Moorestown, New Jersey.
Listen, I really need to know about the candy because I'm allergic to berries.
You didn't mention that.
Is it significant? No.
So where else did you live? List everywhere, including vacations, start with when your wife got pregnant.
We lived in Jersey.
Then we moved to Jersey, from there, Jersey.
What are you waiting to hear? About the little cottage in the Amazon with the mosquitoes and the lead paint all over the walls? Yes.
You know what? I didn't let you come along so you could suck all the fun out of my one day of life.
Well, you're outta luck, because that's totally why I'm here.
Okay, rule change.
Person with the money makes the rules.
Or in this case, the person who's friends with the person with the money makes the rules.
Well, you want answers more than I want money.
All right, so here's the game.
Ask whatever you want.
But for every question I answer, you have to answer one first.
Why would you care about anything I have to say? The day before I died, I was a successful man.
I had a factory with over 200 employees.
People listened when I talked.
I liked power.
Now, the only power I have left is the power to annoy you.
I took Wilson's assistant for coffee.
Why? Something Tritter said.
She told me the police think that House stole Wilson's prescription pad and forged his name.
You believe it? Do you? Well, absolutely I do.
I'm just checking how naive you are.
He's not gonna steal his best friend's pad, jeopardize his career.
Until his best friend says no to him.
House is a junkie.
Junkies do whatever they have to do to get what they need.
Kyle's down to a three on the RLAS scale.
He's only showing localized response.
I'll call House, tell him we're gonna need an answer soon.
Get in your right lane for 295.
And pass me the Twizzlers.
I'm curious No, you're not.
Why would a man's first instinct be to drive away from the only family he's got? No, this is no time for you to do your thing.
We don't care about his state of mind, we don't care if he's happy.
This factory of yours, what did you make? So ask me a question.
I'm thinking.
Only six left, by the way.
So sign my name.
You don't need a doctor, you need a pen.
What is up with you two? Wilson lied to the bulls to keep me out of the big house.
Are you out of your mind? Well, who's he gonna tell? By tomorrow night he's gonna be a mindless stalk of celery.
Since I answered that one, by the way, my turn.
What did you make in your factory? Luxury boats.
Have you ever been in love? Wow! Going right for the closets with the embarrassing stuff.
Good move.
Yes.
Describe the boats.
Thirty-five to 65-foot hulls, twin engines, parquet floors in the galley, staterooms with queen beds.
How'd you meet? She shot me.
These boats, I assume you used mildew-resistant paint on the hulls? Naturally.
Shot you? Paintball.
Doctors versus lawyers.
Did you ever take your son to the factory? Sure.
He used to run all over the place, but it was perfectly safe.
Ever love anybody else? No more questions, I got my answer.
While Dad's in the office, his son's watching them spray-paint.
And what kid wears a mask? Mercury specifically targets the central nervous system.
You're saying this is my fault? Mercury poisoning explains the seizures and the liver's like a big soup strainer.
The soup runs through, chicken dumplings stay.
For soup, read blood, for chicken I get it, I get it.
Mercury.
Sits more or less idle until your kid pours tequila shooters into his liver.
When the liver goes, takes out the kidneys, explains everything.
Yeah, it's me.
Foreman, draw blood.
Test for mercury poisoning.
Chase, start heavy metal chelation while we're waiting for results.
Chase isn't here.
I'll start the Where is he? The lab.
How many pills does he take a day? It's hard to say, pain levels vary over time Could be six, eight, 10.
Ever write any prescriptions for him? Yes.
Why? Did he tell you to? He asked me to.
Medicine attracts people who are attracted to power.
I know how he hates when he is defied by a patient.
I doubt he handles defiance from his staff any better.
Now you correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Dr.
House asks for anything.
I think he takes it.
And I think that you are stuck lying to the police to cover up something you didn't wanna do.
We have been up and down St.
James like a Monopoly car.
It's not here.
Giancarlo has left the building.
We can still turn around and go back to Princeton.
No.
We've come this far, I'm getting the hoagie.
If your son does have mercury poisoning, there's a good chance he'll respond to the chelation.
You might be able to have a few minutes with him before you lapse.
Why are you so concerned about me? Deep inside Wilson believes that if he cares enough he'll never have to die.
Your behavior isn't normal.
And you would know normal? What could he have done that you won't forgive after 10 years? When this is your last chance? My son is what he is.
His mother's side, all drunken losers.
He's gone the same way.
House told you drinking had damaged your son's liver.
I just said that.
But you didn't hear him say that until after we left the hospital.
So why did you leave? Maybe your son takes after your side.
Seizures and an allergy to emotional connections.
Okay, okay, okay.
Enough.
We're in Atlantic City and my time's not up yet.
We find a hotel with a casino.
BP's starting to drop.
O2-sat's down to 70.
Point-three milligrams of epi in.
What are you trying to do, make him bleed faster? Check the pulse.
It's not his liver.
It's the heart.
I understand he's a French chef but I'm sure he can handle this.
You need a 12-inch Italian roll, oregano vinegar, no, not balsamic vinegar, oregano vinegar.
Quid pro quo, Clarice.
Game's still on.
I thought the answer was mercury poisoning.
What other questions would you care about? If you each had one day to live, you'd look for one last meal and House would look for one last answer.
No, can you just send the ingredients up here and I'll make it myself.
Last 10 years, how much awareness did you have? I don't know, I knew it wasn't the next day.
I knew that I recognized your voice.
How often were you in my room? No, you're wasting a question.
I have a better one.
Why steal my pad? Oh, my God, you're right.
I'm an addict.
Thanks for opening my eyes.
No, I mean why my pad? Foreman, Cameron and Chase's pads are just as convenient.
But their association with you is involuntary, they're employees.
I associate with you through choice and any relationship that involves choice you have to see how far you can push before it breaks.
This is easy.
You ask the questions, answer them and make tasty snacks.
Let's go try the casino.
And one day our friendship will break and that'll just prove your theory that relationships are conditional and you don't need human connection or deserve it, or whatever goes on in that rat-maze of your brain.
Sorry, if I'd known he was gonna be this annoying, I would have stolen Dr.
Cameron's pad and Dr.
Foreman's car.
At least she appreciates my brooding melancholy.
House's House of Whining, state your complaint.
The patient's BP just dropped like a stone.
Do an echo.
Mercury isn't likely to damage the It didn't.
Mercury test was negative.
Do an echo.
I was wrong.
Your son's still dying.
I need to go over every relative you ever had.
Again.
And this time, forget their diseases, just tell me how they died.
And we don't have time to take turns.
You give me the answers, you get a big one at the end.
You can go for whatever you want.
Destroy my privacy, my dignity.
Your grandmother? Heat exhaustion, Fourth of July picnic.
The woman was 92.
Does anyone in the kitchen know the hoagie shop that used to be on St.
James Place? You sister-in-law with the diabetes.
As far as you know, is she still alive? She's not.
She was killed in a traffic accident driving home from a Phillies game.
I'm sure a lot of beer was consumed.
The Phillies lost.
Your father? Old age.
Heart finally gave out.
Your wife's father? Hit-and-run, walking the incontinent dog.
Hi, do you guys deliver? Let me put it this way, if you deliver, there'll be a $100 tip in it for you.
Excellent.
Victory.
The night is finally going my way.
Wilson, toss me a soda.
Shall we go somewhere to talk? House is an ass.
But he obviously needs pain medication, and how much pain one person feels is not a call the government should be making.
So you think I'm a bureaucrat with a badge following some arbitrary guideline.
Yeah, I do.
So you're saying I should just trust him.
Do you? You're not qualified to make that I'm not sure you are, either.
I've been a cop for 20 years.
And not a day goes by that someone doesn't try to sell me some self-serving story.
If you had my job, you'd know.
Everybody lies.
I think you've run out of relatives.
So, it's my turn.
Why did you become a doctor? That's the big question? I give you complete license to humiliate me and that's the best you can do.
Well, okay, let's discuss the wonder of the human body.
No, no, no.
You're a curious guy.
You like to figure things out, why not go into research? Why work with people when you obviously hate people? Oedipal fixation.
I was seeking my mother's love and she thought that Ben Casey was just the dreamiest Okay, fine.
You don't think you'll need any more answers from me? Give me a hard time.
When I was 14, my father was stationed in Japan.
I went rock-climbing with this kid from school.
He fell and got injured and I had to bring him to the hospital.
And we came in through the wrong entrance and passed this guy in the hall.
He was a janitor.
My friend came down with an infection and the doctors didn't know what to do.
So they brought in the janitor.
He was a doctor.
And a buraku.
One of Japan's untouchables.
His ancestors had been slaughterers, gravediggers.
And this guy, he knew that he wasn't accepted by the staff, didn't even try.
He didn't dress well, he didn't pretend to be one of them.
The people around that place, they didn't think he had anything they wanted, except when they needed him.
Because he was right.
Which meant that nothing else mattered.
And they had to listen to him.
Thank you.
Need 20 milligrams of diazepam in a syringe.
Heartbeat's irregular and accelerating.
He's at 200.
He's gonna crash.
Allergic reaction to the diazepam? Better hope so.
It's either that or his heart's done.
What happened on the night of the fire? Yeah.
I'm sure it's a stressful, emotional question.
Suck it up.
My wife had taken a sleeping pill and gone to bed.
It was Christmas Eve.
I let Kyle pop corn in the fireplace.
He managed to knock loose some tinder.
Wrapping paper caught on fire.
It spread so fast.
I got Kyle out and When I went back in for You're a disappointment.
You act as though you don't need anybody, you You just blame your son for what happened.
I don't blame him.
He was a 12-year-old boy.
You don't blame a kid for an accident.
Then what are we doing here? Why aren't you with him? Because it wouldn't matter.
I failed to keep my family safe.
I couldn't stop the fire, I couldn't save my wife, now you want me to stick around watching while I fail to save my son.
Thank you so much for waking me up.
How did your son dislodge the tinder? God He dropped the popcorn tray.
He had been complaining it was too heavy, I should have listened.
And the hit-and-run, walking the pissy dog.
That happen at night? I think so, yeah, why? Car accident after the Phillies lost.
Night game? Ragged-red fiber.
It's an inherited condition.
Dropping things, muscle weakness, poor night vision.
Makes people seem uncoordinated, accident-prone, careless.
It's transmitted in mitochondrial DNA so it only passes through the mother.
Your wife's family weren't drunks, they were sick.
It wouldn't have affected his liver.
The kid is a drunk.
He thinks that he killed his mother and turned his father into a vegetable.
I might have a few shots myself.
Foreman.
Test his DNA for ragged-red fiber.
It's not gonna Here's a thought.
Why don't we not assume that the test is negative until we actually do it? House, the kid has severe cardiomyopathy.
Alcoholic, no shot at a transplant.
So yeah, maybe you figured out why, good for you, but he's gonna die anyway.
I want to give Kyle my heart.
This thing, whatever it is, you said he gets it from the mother.
My heart's fine.
And it could go on being fine for the rest of your life.
Yeah, it's not like he's gonna do anything with it.
Well, you woke him up once, maybe someone'll come up with some other answer.
We've both seen breakthroughs no one expected.
And ragged-red fiber's treatable, but not curable.
Even if he gets your heart, there's no guarantee.
He's my kid.
No! Did you really expect a different answer? We have arranged transplants before when a patient is near death.
Except he isn't near death, he's saying, "Kill me and cut out my heart.
" Are you out of your mind? Fine.
I'll think of something else.
I'm sorry.
Wilson, get out.
No.
You lied to the cops enough for me.
Maybe I don't wanna push this till it breaks.
Pills are the simplest.
Hanging has less chance of damaging the heart.
I'm okay with pain.
Strangulation is better than breaking your neck, which means this'll be slow.
I wouldn't get to see him even if we got in the car right now and broke the speed limit driving back, would I? No.
Tell him I don't know what to tell him.
I think it's my turn to ask a question, isn't it? I don't think so.
'Cause you just asked me that thing about the speed limit.
What do you wanna know? If you could hear one thing from your father, what would it be? It wouldn't help you.
Try me.
I'd want him to say, "You were right.
"You did the right thing.
" Yeah.
It doesn't help.
Hi.
Hi.
I'm Dr.
Wilson.
I'm Mrs.
Schaffer.
I'm from Princeton.
My husband and I and our three children live in Philadelphia.
So, do you like to swing? No.
Well, if you change your mind, I'm in House? House? Is it room 622, 642? Yeah.
Alibi.
I figured.
They found an open bottle of aspirin by the body.
Lucky he had a headache, reduced trauma to the heart in transit.
Lucky.
That can't be all.
Well, you got a heart out of it.
How many organs do you want from the guy? I mean, my father must have said something.
He couldn't just He must have given you some kind of a message for me.
He said you were right.
You did the right thing.
Right about what? What does that mean? How would I know? He's your dad.
You know what I found interesting about this case? That it proved that people can love unconditionally and you can tell yourself it's not true, but you'll just end up in a hotel room in Atlantic City asking someone to cut your heart out? The hoagie.
You thought this guy was emotionally confused, and that the hoagie was just a mask to hide his real feelings toward his son.
It was.
Did you know Tritter was talking to your team while we were away? Yeah.
And yet you moved Heaven and Earth to get him that mask with mustard and prosciutto.
Which one of them told you? All of them.
Which means that none of them said anything I have to worry about.
Back to the hoagie.
You think that my addiction's out of hand.
Your need to be needed is so strong that you'll give people what they want, what they need, what they think they need.
I don't think my enabling is anything you should be complaining about.
Yes, my name is Dr.
James Wilson, account number 835687.
The ATM says I've got zero What does that mean, a hold? Yeah, okay, thanks.
My accounts have been frozen as part of a police investigation.
They can't keep your money forever.
No, they can keep it till I agree to help send you to prison for 10 years.
You're getting dinner.