House, M.D. s05e09 Episode Script

Excuse me.
I've been waiting here for over an hour.
All I need is a refill on my migraine medication.
We'll get to you as soon as we can.
You can get to me now.
It'll only take you two minutes.
You're not an emergency.
This isn't an emergency room.
And it's not gonna go any faster by pissing me off.
Got a minute? No.
Routine check-up can wait.
What else you got? I'm consulting on some clinical trials that involve CNS compounds.
While it's true that "no" sometimes means "yes," in this context One's a new Huntington's drug.
Phase three trials are showing real results in delaying neuronal degeneration.
Probably get you in.
No, thanks.
Are you doing anything about your disease? Following any kind of program? No.
Nor am I looking for a consult.
Excuse me.
I'm looking for Dr.
Cuddy.
She's either not here, or she's under the desk.
Either way you're gonna have to wait outside until I'm finished.
Do you know when she'll be back? Yes, which is why I need you to get out and leave me alone.
Sorry.
Nice try.
Love to help.
Shut up.
You wanted to see I said shut up.
I'm sick, and I want to know why.
I want the best doctor in this hospital, here, now, or I'm gonna start killing people.
What seems to be the problem? Close those blinds.
You, push the sofa in front of that door.
You, move that table in front of the other door.
Now! Okay! Okay.
We'll just move it.
Okay.
You don't have to point the gun, man.
We're gonna do whatever you want.
No, we're not.
House.
That's a bathroom you're barricading.
Might come in handy especially since you've cleverly decided to take a bunch of sick people hostage.
Do it! My medical records.
I need you to read them.
You really think that re-enacting Dog Day Afternoon is the best way to get diagnosed? I'm sure you've been waiting for hours in an uncomfortable chair but you should watch the movie all the way through.
I've been to 16 doctors in the last two years had three full-body CTs and two MRIs seven blood panels, and one homeopathic consult.
And all that was missing was the threat of violence.
What's missing is an answer.
I can't breathe.
I'm tired all the time.
I get skin rashes and heart palpitations and insomnia.
It's a cool constellation of symptoms.
It could be something minor.
At least, compared to life in prison which is what you seem to prefer to seeing 16 more specialists.
Shut up and do your job.
Keep moving.
Keep moving.
You barely looked at the file.
No need.
Symptoms? Those are the things you keep whining about.
Tests? All negative or you wouldn't be here.
History? Shy, quiet kid, kept to himself collected comic books and missing children.
Excuse me.
My wife feels sick to her stomach.
Next time pack some heat, maybe we'll look into it.
I'll be okay.
If you ask me keeping an open line of communication is the best way to resolve conflict.
What kind of breathing problems? Shortness of breath and sharp pain when I inhale.
So you figured your wife left you because you couldn't breathe, right? Me, I rarely kidnap someone unless I got a serious health problem.
And since you're not almost dead, means you're armed because you're blaming something other than your health on your health.
I've never been married.
Got a match? Why? Because I'd rather not stand here while you try and negotiate a hostage trade for an incentive spirometer.
I'll look in Cuddy's desk.
Stay out of the desk.
Cuddy doesn't smoke, but he does.
No, I don't.
Right, you just brush your teeth with coffee grounds.
Look, sir, I've never smoked in my life, okay? Jerk.
You figure that two people snuck weapons into the clinic today? I'm sorry.
I just got a lighter.
Slowly.
Hold it out as far as you can.
Try to blow it out.
Decreased lung volume, heart palpitations, fatigue, stomach pain, intermittent rash Could be a hundred things.
You add on that final symptom and it can only be pulmonary scleroderma.
What final symptom? Those were all my symptoms.
Last one is the 16 doctors who missed it.
Simple alkylating agent, case solved.
See you on visitor's day.
Crime scene.
House, what's going on in there? Is everyone all right? About to be, assuming he's not lying.
But he seems like a pretty straight arrow to me.
I'm gonna need some propofol to prove that it's pulmonary scleroderma and we all get to go home.
Propofol? You sure Have one of the guards bring it in.
No, no guards, no cops.
I'll go get it.
And no one's leaving.
She's not a cop.
Dr.
Cuddy brings in the drugs.
Alone.
She might be armed.
I'd have her deliver it shirtless.
Who is it? Oh, God.
House, maybe we should wait for the Guys with even bigger guns? Who know how to talk to armed Say goodbye or I shoot her.
Pull up your sleeve.
Give it to someone else first.
You're the only one who needs it.
Give it to someone else.
If it goes in okay, you can give a second dose to me.
I don't care who, but just pick someone.
Again, had your brilliant plan included a roomful of hostages who don't have fetuses, bacterial and fungal infections leaving their immune systems too weak to deal with the metabolic strain or who are already on painkillers that have fatal interactions He's not on painkillers.
I heard him tell her in the clinic.
Come on, man.
Don't take it out on us.
You got a problem with doctors, take it out on the doctors.
Give it to her.
She's sick.
And you are a very large creep.
Take off your shirt.
Satisfied? Fine.
Roll up your sleeve.
You think I'm an idiot? That's what you think? Thought I had a little more time with a guy that size.
You're not gonna do anything.
You still need me.
Come on.
What are you doing? He didn't do anything.
You're right.
I need you.
I also need you to know you can't screw with me.
It's for you.
Lieutenant Bowman, Princeton SWAT.
Dr.
Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine.
We just heard a gunshot, but I haven't been able to make contact.
We'll handle that once we secure our perimeter and set up our positions.
By perimeters I assume you mean snipers.
We have to put an end to this.
Got a husband in there, or a loved one? No.
Don't worry.
We'll decide when to start shooting.
House is gonna get someone killed.
Guy's ready to kill for a diagnosis.
I can't think of a better doctor to be trapped in there with him.
How about somebody who's not gonna keep pushing the wackjob's buttons until he cracks? It's House.
Joe's Bar and Grill.
It's Foreman.
And every fellow you've had in the last five years.
What causes low lung volume heart palpitations, fatigue, stomach pain, insomnia and a rash? This is pathetic.
If I strap a bomb to my chest, do I get seven doctors attending to me? Dr.
Robert Chase.
On the off-chance you have some brilliant escape plan and are the vengeful type.
You think he's the only guy in New Jersey with an unsolved illness and a pistol? I'm not playing this game.
Seriously? You're walking out? No, he's just kidding.
He's right here.
Throw me that marker, will you? Chest pain, the lung problems, fatigue, rash, sounds like chronic lung infection.
Heart palpitations and fatigue could be a cancer that's spread from the lungs.
Next.
If his diaphragm's not working, maybe his nerves are freezing up.
I think he's going into shock.
First rule of triage, guys with guns go first.
Next.
Shortest distance between stomach pain and insomnia is bad circulation.
Plus trouble breathing, could be a heart defect.
You needed to write four things down to remember? It's not my wall.
You're gonna get some special deliveries.
Foreman, we're gonna draw blood.
Run a test for infection and cancer.
Cameron, comb through his medical records see if any of his past 900 medications could have screwed up his heart.
Taub and Kutner, go to his apartment, check for neurotoxins.
South Brunswick.
Back window's unlocked.
Giving out your address? Clearly not going back there.
Means you do have an end game.
I'm Lieutenant Bowman.
How's everyone doing in there? Got one lower limb flesh wound, another guy unconscious.
Unfortunately, not the guy we hoped.
We're gonna need someone to deliver his blood.
It's gonna be hard to play doctor Shut up.
Open that blind, just a few inches.
Why me? Just open it.
Open it.
Why me? Anyone can do it.
Why pick me? Get back! Get back! I will kill her unless you back the hell out of there now! Interesting.
Anybody else hear those guys outside? Anybody? He's got hyperacusis.
What does that mean? It means we have a favorite.
It's nerve-related.
Amped-up hearing could be linked to nerve palsy.
Puff out your cheeks.
Come on.
Now, a big mug-shot smile.
Left-side facial weakness.
Seventh-nerve palsy.
Plus intermittent rashes, plus migraines, it's postherpetic neuralgia.
Herpetic? You think I have herpes? I'm not judging here.
This thing is just as likely to be caused by chicken pox.
I need proof now.
There is a test.
It's dangerous and painful while the treatment is safe and painless.
But you make a good point.
You need proof now.
I'll order up the test.
If you have neuralgia, you won't feel it going in.
It only hurts if your diagnosis is wrong.
Win-win.
Jason, don't hang up the phone again.
You're gonna send in Capsaicin, And two syringes this time.
And we'll give you the blood and his records.
No more meds, Jason, and no deliveries without something in return.
You gotta give us a hostage.
You can have two.
Great.
Then I'll send an officer right in with the transfer.
Everything gets brought in by Dr.
Cuddy.
Jason, I'm not gonna let her do that.
First, don't use his name so much.
It doesn't sound reassuring, just sounds creepy.
And second, come on, he's not gonna shoot the one person he trusts to bring in his medication.
He's gonna shoot the hostages if she doesn't bring it in.
I'll get back to you.
The guy's demanding that you do all the transfers.
Okay.
"Okay"? What am I supposed to say? You're supposed to say no, it's not your job.
If you got a conflict here, if you have stakes in this that you're not telling me about, then I can't trust you.
Got it.
I'm okay.
Can you tell him I'm coming in now? Who's taking the first dose? Anybody here got a longstanding case of neuralgia that's killed their nerves so this won't hurt at all? How bad does it hurt? You're looking to be the hero? I've been beaten up a lot, and I can handle pain.
How old are you? Guy's got a gun.
I think that covers the parental consent issue.
And that stuff can also cause nerve and muscle damage.
Uh No way am I taking that crap.
Come on.
You have to.
It's the rules.
I'll do it.
This is a level of risk-taking beyond anonymous girl-on-girl action.
They're patients, I'm a doctor.
With a degenerative, drug-unfriendly illness.
Everything's not some fascinating character flaw.
This is a genetic flaw.
This is your Huntington's speaking.
This is you waving a white flag at the world.
Yes, I have a shortened lifespan.
Another reason why I'm objectively the right choice.
Wow, I would have laid money you had herpes.
Your turn.
So, why are we here? We've ruled out immediate risk of death, lost love.
That just leaves work.
You're defined by your work.
But you kept seeing doctors, kept missing time couldn't focus.
And you made a huge mistake, got fired.
I just want an answer.
I know.
I'm asking why.
Guy knew he wasn't coming back.
Everything's laid out for us.
I'll check for toxins in the kitchen.
He must have $6,000, $7,000 in unpaid medical bills.
I've got debt, too.
You don't see me acting like a lunatic.
There's no excuse for what he's doing but if you've got millions of people thousands of dollars in debt because they're sick, at least one of them is going to do something inexcusable.
Especially if it works.
White blood cell count's normal.
It's not infection.
So either his heart is on the fritz, or he's got cancer.
I found a picture of his mom.
She's got a droopy eye, fat face, thick neck.
Classic signs of an upper-lobe tumor.
Or she's just ugly.
They're also classic signs of an adrenal problem.
It's his heart.
You can't be sure which His neck, distended jugular.
What are you doing? I'm going to try to strangle you faster than you can pull a trigger.
He needs to check your pulse.
It's racing, 160.
We need to get paddles.
Or maybe we could just do nothing.
If I get any weaker and they don't fix it, I'll shoot you.
Don't! He didn't mean to Shut up, all of you.
What are you doing? What are you doing? Carotid massage, it'll slow your heart.
It's 200.
Get the paddles.
The whole point of those things is they make your muscles contract.
They don't discriminate against trigger fingers.
Nobody gets my gun.
Send in paddles! Don't! Get the damn paddles, or I'll shoot you.
Threatening to shoot the guy who's diagnosing you makes a lot of sense.
Actually doing it, not so much.
Give him your gun so he can save you.
Just let him die.
Bill, stop.
We can cardiovert chemically.
If we don't know what kind of heart rhythm it is If we don't try something, he's gonna kill someone.
I'm gonna get the drugs.
No one goes anywhere.
If she doesn't come back, you've got plenty of other people you can shoot.
You, come here.
All right.
Thirty seconds.
She's gonna go.
She's gonna come back.
She should go.
He'll kill him.
But not her.
Is that your version of morality? If you don't think your life is worth more than someone else's sign your donor card and kill yourself.
Shoot me.
You really want Yes.
No! No! She just needs time.
She just needs more time to find you the right drug.
She just needs time to get your It's me.
She takes it first.
Adenosine slows the heart, which is fine, if it's beating fast like yours not fine, if it's normal like hers.
You following the math on this? She takes everything I take.
I don't want anything that cross-reacts.
Martyr's heart is beating dangerously slow.
Are we good to go? Your heart's back to normal.
No tachycardia, no sign of a heart defect at all.
But you're sweating.
I nearly had a heart attack you're surprised I'm sweating? One side of your face, but not the other.
What does that mean? A tumor is pressing on your sympathetic nerves.
You have lung cancer.
Pulse is down below 50.
So is her IQ.
Help her up, get her heart going faster.
I need proof it's cancer.
Of course you do.
It's gotta be a Pancoast tumor.
Patient's got dyspnea, seventh-nerve palsy he's sweating on one side of his face.
Everything okay in there? Take your time.
It's not like I've got a gun to my head.
Lung cancer usually shows up lower than the seventh nerve.
Did you check his throat? Spit on the floor.
What? If I do it, I can't tell Cuddy that it was medically necessary.
I'm gonna ask you to piss on her chair next.
Dry mouth, his parotid glands aren't working.
If there's swelling, it's a Pancoast tumor that's metastasized.
Feel that.
Right there.
If it's cancer, there must be a test.
You just did it.
What about an X-ray or something.
Good idea.
Oh, damn, I left my CT machine in my other pants.
How many hostages do you think it'll cost me for a trip to radiology? So, what made you snap? HMOs? Shut up.
Nah, you saw 16 doctors, how bad could they have been? Shut up.
Humiliation? Doctors treating you like a piece of meat? Too many fingers and tubes up your holes? You hate doctors, you want to take back control.
If so, I apologize for the fact that you are a piece of meat.
I just want an answer.
That's all.
Everyone stays in here with me.
You need anything from in there, get it now.
Move around.
Anyone moves, I fire.
That's not all.
Curiosity is not enough.
There's got to be a deeper reason.
You never did anything just because you had to know? Never shot anyone.
You're not me.
This is my body, this is my life and there's a truth out there.
I'd rather rot in jail knowing than I can't handle not knowing.
Yeah.
Hold that.
You want your answer, you gotta give me the gun.
What's this? Starburst artifact, the metal from the gun is ruining the image.
Show him.
Starburst.
Now, unless you think we pre-arranged that just in case we were ever held hostage by a guy who needs a CT, we're not lying.
So, you have two choices you can give me the gun and get your answer or you can shoot me.
I'm not gonna give you the gun.
Why did he release you? House got him to give up his gun.
We just ran.
Why are you still here? Curious.
It's safe now, right? They're gonna be through that door any moment, just show me the tumor.
There isn't one.
I don't know what you have.
So it's over.
Thanks for trying.
You had four theories, you ruled out four theories.
Maybe no one can cure me.
He overpowered me.
Got the gun back.
You're a coward.
You need to know everything because you're afraid to be wrong.
You're so afraid of being ordinary, of being just another doctor just another human being, that you'll risk other people's lives.
I'm arrogant, you're the coward.
You're terrified of death.
You just want to cheat it by making it come sooner.
It gives you the illusion of control.
Can I go? Sorry.
We might need you.
How do they expect me to think? Is he lying? Why would he do that? Over time, hostages start to root for the captor.
House isn't the rooting kind.
No, he's the obsessive, defiant kind.
Mic the door, get a frame charge.
Hope your boyfriend knows what he's doing.
Are you insane? He's quick for a sick guy.
Dyspnea, anemia, seventh-nerve palsy, tachycardia.
Long passes, anything, go.
I don't believe it.
Chase was right, you're gonna kill someone.
I don't want to be a part of it.
Loa loa filariasis.
You ever been to Cameroon or on the Ogowe River? Next.
Could be Q fever, if he's had exposure to goats.
No goats.
Histiocytosis X explains the lung involvement and You have a new symptom.
He's turning his head, favoring his left ear which means he's partially deaf in the right.
Three hours ago he had superhero hearing.
Cushing's causes fatigue, breathing problems, fluctuating hearing Even increased aggression and risk-taking.
I'm doing this by choice, it's not a symptom.
We'll keep that between us until we talk to your lawyer.
I need dexamethasone and enough time to provoke a respiratory reaction and confirm Cushing's syndrome.
You need more time? House, we're not negotiating with you.
Actually, we're through negotiating.
I've still got three hostages left.
I'll give you one.
And no more testing drugs on the sick doctor.
Fine.
Send in the drugs.
Son, come here, come here.
House, you can't If you have Cushing's, this will slow your breathing.
Give it to her first.
Those were not the terms.
I lied.
These drugs could be fake.
Why would I do that? I gave you back the gun.
You wouldn't, they would.
She has Huntington's.
If these drugs are real, it could screw up her liver Chances are slim.
Chances of him shooting one of us, on the other hand Don't How long do you have to live? Eight, ten years.
Killing her is your chance to get personal? Huntington's doesn't have a cure? No.
So, if we get out of here If she were clinging to hope she wouldn't be standing in line waiting for you to order up more drugs.
Take a deep breath.
Not knowing what was wrong with me made me miserable.
Maybe that's insane, and doing this, yeah, insane.
But I had something to gain.
You can't take risks with no upside at all.
I can't decide which is riskier taking crazy risks, or taking advice on crazy risks from a crazed risk-taker.
Heart's racing.
No fever.
And your breathing's unchanged.
Does that mean she Means I was wrong.
Her kidneys are shutting down because of the meds you made her take.
We have to get her out of here.
The dexamethasone is making Thirteen's kidneys fail but not the patient's, why? This guy's been on 50 different medications maybe his kidneys should be failing, but something's protecting them.
I need to slap you for diagnostic purposes.
Seriously.
If I was jerking you around, I'd say I need to kick you in the groin.
That twitch is Chvostek's sign.
Don't ask me how Chvostek discovered it.
He has calcium deficiency.
Drugs that block calcium tend to shield against kidney damage.
He's been on protein pump inhibitors for years, for his stomach pain.
Those drugs have been protecting his kidneys for years.
He has something that has a long incubation period something that should've wrecked his kidneys something that explains breathing problems, heart problems jumpy nerves and weak blood.
Leishmaniasis.
Would make perfect sense if our patient was an Arabian Bedouin.
Melioidosis.
Bacteria gets into the lungs, spreads to the heart.
It explains everything.
Except that if you'd read the history you'd know that our patient has never been to a tropical climate.
Is he absolutely sure of that? Mexico, Costa Rica You've never been I've never been anywhere south of Florida.
You idiot.
Florida counts? Not to the Supreme Court, but it's warm enough for germs.
You keep blaming doctors.
You can't even give a halfway-decent history.
Negotiation's over.
It will be as soon as you get us three grams of ceftazidime.
He comes out, he gets all the medicine he wants.
You can have Dr.
House.
Why are you getting rid of me? I need to trade you for the answer.
You're gonna give her the meds.
No.
Come on.
Give them to me instead.
She's taken everything I've taken.
The combination of meds could knock me out.
Her kidneys are failing.
You give her those drugs, she'll be dead by the time they get the cuffs on you.
I need my answer.
Your obsession is gonna kill her! Your obsession gave me back the gun.
It is pointless to give her those drugs even if they are screwing with you.
This is your last diagnosis! Only if you're right.
House, get out of here.
Shut up, I'm not leaving.
Who's the martyr now? Either the drugs kill me or he kills me.
Doesn't seem to make a lot of difference.
You really don't feel bad about killing me? Not if you don't feel bad about killing yourself.
I don't want to die.
Yeah, you do.
You just don't have the nerve to actually do it.
You just want it out of your control.
Well, it is.
Because I've got a gun.
Don't do this.
Either I do this with you alive or Please.
Sometimes you just have to trust people.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
Why are you still alive? He didn't make me take it.
A week of temporary dialysis, your kidneys will be okay.
I'm sorry I backed out of the differential.
About that Huntington's drug trial.
Test confirmed melioidosis.
Easy to miss on the stain.
Scans and X-rays vary widely.
Is that all you care about? A moron storms the clinic, bullies his way into life without parole you enabling him at every step.
If he hadn't done what he did, he'd be dead.
Good thing you enabled my every medical move.
You think I handled this differently because you were in here? I don't know.
Let's try it again without me.
This is why you and I can't be a thing.
If you're suggesting that you screwed up because of a non-relationship with me I don't know how I can help you.
Because the only change you can make from a non-relationship is You want a relationship? God, no.
I was just trying to follow your logic.