Season 3 X 09 : Finding Judas
Original Airdate: 11/28/2006
Written by: Sara Hess
Directed by: Deran Serafian
Transcript by: Rahul
[Carnival. Day. Kids scream in delight as they go on the rides. Rob Hartman brings his six-year-old daughter, Alice, up to
a height-measuring sign, to see if she's big enough to go on the rides.]
ROB: Alright, stand here.
[He gently backs her up against the sign and squats to measure. He beams at her.]
ROB: You're just tall enough.
[She turns and looks at the ride that he's interested in. It's called the Kite Flyer. It's like a Whirly-Go-Round.
Kids scream as they whirl. Alice seems afraid.]
ALICE: Uh, I don't- I don't think I am.
ROB: It just goes around. There's nothing to be scared of.
ALICE: I didn't say I was scared.
ROB: You'll be fine. C'mon, when I was a kid, this was my favourite thing [big-eyed] ever!
[He gets up and, taking her hand, starts walking towards the ride. She tries to pull him back.]
ALICE: I don't like rides!
[Rob looks back and seems a bit disappointed. He squats in front of her.]
ROB: Alright, alright, I just thought- I thought it's be fun. I-I shouldn't be making you do this. Uhh, let's-
let's go home, we can have fun at home.
[He gets up and starts to walk in the opposite direction.]
ALICE: [guilty] No, daddy, wait.
[She looks at the ride.]
ALICE: The ride does look like fun.
CUT TO:
[Kite Flyer. The two of them are strapped and held in place, in a prone position, in their places. The rode has
started. Rob is having fun; same cannot be said of Alice, though.]
ROB: Whoa! This is awesome!
[Alice seems nervous and uncomfortable.]
[ALICE'S POV: The ride moving faster as it picks up speed. Screams can be heard.]
[She looks to her left.]
[ALICE'S POV: Things now appear blurred and slow to her.]
[She suddenly starts screaming at high-pitch - for a long time. Rob, figuring something's wrong, looks over to her.]
ROB: Alice? Are you alright?
[She continues screaming, even as the ride comes to a halt. The other riders wonder what's going on.]
ROB: Honey, you alright? Alice! Alice, are you okay?!
[The high-pitched screaming continues as we...]
HARD CUT TO:
[Opening credits.]
[PPTH. Alice's room. Alice is lying in a bed, flanked by her parents. Cameron is there, tending to her.]
ROB: Nothing happened.
EDIE: Something happened.
ROB: [defensive] It was a little kiddie-ride.
EDIE: She hates those rides. I don't understand why you insist on making her...
CAMERON: Okay! I appreciate the fullness of your answers, but I just wanted to know if she'd had any history of
abdominal problems.
ROB: [simultaneously] No.
EDIE: [simultaneously] No.
CAMERON: The admitting doctor noted no family history of...
EDIE: I have an aunt with Crohn's disease. [to Rob] You didn't mention that?
ROB: [shrugging] I-I forgot what it was called. Your aunt, she's got million things wrong with her.
EDIE: If you paid attention for five minutes...
CAMERON: I doubt it's Crohn's. She has none of the other symptoms...
EDIE: [to Rob] You're alone with her for eight hours, she ends up in the hospital.
CAMERON: I'm wondering if we can focus on answering the questions, Mrs. Hartman?
EDIE: [correcting] I'm not Mrs. Hartman. We're divorced.
[Rob smiles wrily.]
CAMERON: [under her breath] I suspected.
[Alice looks at the three of them from her bed.]
CUT TO:
[Cuddy's office. She's at her desk, talking to a couple of prospective financial donors.]
CUDDY: ...And your past generosity made me think of you.
[As she speaks, a big red laser dot appears on her forehead. She's unaware of it, but the donors are perplexed by it.
No prizes for guessing the "sniper". It's House, of course, sitting on the nurse's station counter, flashing a laser
pointer through the door, onto her forehead.]
CUDDY: We're half a million dollars from our goal. Of course, this is a naming opportunity for your foundation.
[The donors look at the dot. Cuddy stops, seeing their nonplussed expressions.]
CUDDY: Is-is there a problem?
FEMALE DONOR: [gesturing] There's something on your, uh, face.
[Cuddy tries to brush the "something" away, only for the "something" to drop down to her cleavage.]
FEMALE DONOR: [awkwardly] It-It's, uh... ahem.
[Cuddy sees the dot and looks up at the "sniper", pretty much guessing who it is. She sees House aiming the laser
pointer at her. The donors look back to see as well.]
CUDDY: [quietly seething] 'Scuse me.
[She gets up, now allowing the dot to aim at her crotch. The female donor gasps at the sight.]
CUDDY: [sighing] Oh, God.
[She walks out with the dot still on her.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH lobby. She opens her door and walks over to the nurse's station, speaking to House.]
CUDDY: I'm sitting in there, hoping it's a sniper, because at least then the sociopath isn't my employee.
[House finally turns off the pointer.]
HOUSE: [holding it up] This baby won me second place in the clinic's weekly "Weirdest Thing Pulled Out An Orifice"
contest.
CUDDY: [mock-pleading, her fingers an inch apart] I am this close to putting a new lab in Oncology.
HOUSE: You do not wanna know what came in first.
CUDDY: [pissed] House...
HOUSE: Rhymes with "fucchini".
[Cuddy walks over to the Pharmacy.]
CUDDY: Gimme his pills.
[House limps over. Cuddy gets the pills in a cup and, smilingly, hands it to House.]
HOUSE: [with a quizzical look] Where's my prescription?
CUDDY: No more free-flowing prescriptions. Princeton PD is already forced Wilson to shut down.
HOUSE: A cop says "Boo", Wilson shuts down.
CUDDY: Every doctor in this place is afraid to make a move, without covering his ass.
HOUSE: You think maybe you're shouting at the wrong person? Tritter's obviously out to get me. He doesn't care...
[Cuddy comes up close to him, whispering conspiratorially.]
CUDDY: You forged prescriptions!
HOUSE: Allegedly.
CUDDY: Your pain has become my pain. From now on, you get reasonable doses at reasonable times.
HOUSE: But I hurt in an unreasonable way.
CUDDY: Then dip into your secret stash.
HOUSE: Tritter took it.
CUDDY: Then move on to your secret-secret stash.
HOUSE: I ran out.
CUDDY: [annoyed, whispering] Then move on to your secret-secret-secret stash!
[She goes back in her office. House looks at the cup and dry-swallows the two Vicodins inside.]
CUT TO:
[House's office. Day. The Ducklings are there, discussing Alice's case. ]
CAMERON: Parents say she's not on any meds.
CHASE: If the pancreatitis wasn't set off by drugs and she hasn't been sick, that leaves trauma. Or some kind of
structural defect. Put up the CT.
[Cameron puts the CT images on the lightboard. She and Chase look at them.]
FOREMAN: [still sitting] What's that density there?
CAMERON: [taking a closer look] Shadow looks normal to me.
[The door opens. House limps inside, dumping his cane on the table.]
CAMERON: We got a referral from...
HOUSE: 'Scuse me!
[Foreman slides his chair out of House's way. House pulls out a textbook and opens it. Cut inside the pages is a
hole, just big enough to hold one bottle of Vicodin. He pulls out the bottle.]
FOREMAN: [almost admiringly] You stash your drugs in a Lupus textbook.
HOUSE: It's never Lupus. [glancing at the CTs] Who's got gallstones, so why do we care?
CAMERON: [huh?] Gallstones?
[She and Chase turn to look for gallstones on the CT.]
HOUSE: The Leery [?] duct is dilated. Probably from a stone lodged in it. Musta caused a nasty case of pancreatitis.
[He sees that there's only one pill in the bottle. Bummer!]
FOREMAN: She's six. Six-year-olds don't get gallstones.
HOUSE: So... she didn't have pancreatitis?
CAMERON: Your theory is an invisible gallstone?
CHASE: His theory correctly predicted the pancreatitis.
FOREMAN: [to Chase] You might wanna wait until he actually tells us his theory, before you start kissing his theory's
ass.
HOUSE: My theory is... vanishing gallstone.
[He puts the pill in his suit breastpocket.]
HOUSE: She had it and it passed. Those things travel in packs. Most of them probably hiding out in her gallbladder.
Do an ultrasound. If I'm right, take out the organ, so we can analyse the stones.
[The Ducklings file out. House peers inside the empty "secret-secret-secret stash" bottle. He rubs his index finger
inside the bottle, trying to grab every crumb of Vicodin, and shoves the finger into his mouth, as if brushing it.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. Alice is unconscious or sleeping. Chase performs an ultrasound on her. Cameron and Foreman are also
there, teasing him.]
CHASE: I wasn't kissing his arse.
FOREMAN: It just looked that way from our angle. You on your knees, House bending over.
CHASE: He predicted the pancreatitis.
CAMERON: It's his dad's fault.
CHASE: My dad was an arse.
CAMERON: But you did everything he wanted you to and, in return, you got everything you wanted.
CHASE: Shyeah! It's that simple.
CAMERON: His strategy worked. Dad got him a cushy job, paid for his cushy life.
CHASE: [a bit resentful] Cut me out of his cushy will.
FOREMAN: I told you, just his nature. Poor guy's hardwired to kiss ass.
CHASE: [looking at the ultrasound] House was right. Gallstones.
[Foreman and Cameron take a look. The gallstones are clearly visible on the monitor.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH waiting area. Chase speaks Alice's parents.]
ROB: I didn't know a kid could get gallstones?
CHASE: It's... unusual. That's why we need to see what's causing it. We'd like to remove Alice's gallbladder and
analyse the stones.
ROB: [straightaway] Sure.
EDIE: No.
ROB: Just 'cause I said "sure"?
EDIE: I am capable...
CHASE: It's a simple procedure. The gallbladder isn't essential...
ROB: The doctor thinks we should do it, we should do it.
EDIE: You think maybe we should get a second opinion, before we start removing our child's organs.
[Rob gives up.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Office. Detective Michael Tritter sits on the floor, poring over files, pulled from boxes. Cuddy walks in.]
CUDDY: 'S an effective use of tax-payers' money.
TRITTER: I'm actually off this week.
CUDDY: I'm guessing you don't have a family.
[Tritter looks up at her.]
CUDDY: Most people have enough going on in their lives that they don't have to personalize every slight.
TRITTER: This isn't personal. Not anymore.
CUDDY: [angry] My Head of Oncology had to shut down. My entire staff are afraid to make a move without covering their
ass.
TRITTER: I think you're angry at the wrong person.
CUDDY: [grimacing] You think Dr. Wilson deserved to have his assets seized? His entire practice ruined?
TRITTER: No.
CUDDY: So, you just... don't care?
TRITTER: [calm] This is how I get what I want. I put pressure... on people. And if it doesn't work on Wilson, it'll
work on you.
CUDDY: [accusingly] You punish the innocent.
[She turns to leave.]
TRITTER: None of you are innocent.
[She turns to face him]
TRITTER: Not one of you.
[He throws down the file he's reading and gets up.]
TRITTER: Not one of you has told me the truth about Dr. House.
CUDDY: The pills allow him to cope with the pain.
TRITTER: [mad] No, the pills... distort... reality. He is an addict.
CUDDY: He's not out robbing a liquor store.Or...
TRITTER: [intensely] Look, he's treating people. He needs to find a different way to cope, before he kills somebody!
If he hasn't done that already.
CUDDY: _If_ you're right, he has a medical problem. It should be dealt with by doctors! Not by the...!
TRITTER: Well, it's not being dealt with by doctors. Doctors are covering it... up.
[She looks at him.]
TRITTER: The whole point of the criminal justice system... is to make things right, when everything else fails. With
all due respect, you have failed.
[She stares at him, almost agreeing with him in that.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. House walks up to the room and slides open the glass door. He juts his head inside. Rob looks up.]
HOUSE: Sorry, didn't know you wanted your kid dead. Although for a couple of G's, I can still make it happen.
ROB: Who the hell are you?
HOUSE: I am a complete stranger, who apparently cares more about whether your kid dies than you do.
[He checks Alice's stomach.]
EDIE: You're Dr. House. [how did she guess?]
HOUSE: You've seen my stage show.
EDIE: She's not dying. She has pancreatitis. Once you've treated that, I'm taking her home.
ROB: And do what? Burn sage? [to House] I want you to do the surgery.
EDIE: My father had gallstones. They were totally harmless. Alice had one bad one, but it passed. Probably know this
is over.
ROB: And for all we know, she could get sick again tomorrow.
EDIE: Then I'll take her to our paediatrician. She's six, Rob. She shouldn't have unnecessary surgery.
HOUSE: Or a moron for a mom. What can you do?
EDIE: You're the doctor. I'm the mother. I outrank you. Live with it.
[House and Rob exchange a look. That was probably not the best thing to say to House.]
CUT TO:
[Courtroom. A judge sits down, behind a desk. Alice's parents sit on a couch on her right. House and Cuddy stand in
front of her.]
JUDGE: I've read the file. You've got fifteen minutes.
HOUSE: [pointing to the parents] 'S people like this who killed Copernicus.
JUDGE: Galileo.
HOUSE: Either way.
JUDGE: And they just locked Galileo up.
HOUSE: They killed his spirit. And nobody likes a showoff.
[The judge humours him with a smile.]
HOUSE: Luckily, Alice Hartman has a dad, who's willing to see reason.
JUDGE: Reason is defined by slavishly deferring to you.
HOUSE: Their doctor.
EDIE: Your Honour, I've had no opportunity to consult my attorney.
HOUSE: There's no time.
EDIE: [peeved] All I want is a second opinion before...
HOUSE: [singsong] No time!
[Edie gives up.]
JUDGE: Your testimony is that their child will die if I don't grant this motion right now.
HOUSE: Am I under oath?
JUDGE: Let's say yes.
HOUSE: [glancing at Cuddy] My testimony is that this child might die if you don't grant this motion right now.
JUDGE: Literally no time for a second opinion.
HOUSE: Won't be as good as the first opinion.
JUDGE: Dr. Cuddy, what do you think?
[Cuddy opens her mouth to speak, but House interrupts.]
HOUSE: She's not a specialist in this area. Her opinion is worthless.
JUDGE: Dr. Cuddy, what do you think of Dr. House? Is he as big a jerk as I think he is?
CUDDY: [loving the judge] Bigger. But he knows what he's talking about.
[The judge looks at House, who raises his eyebrows in question.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Operation Room. The surgery to remove Alice's gallstones is underway.]
CUT TO:
[Aerial shot of PPTH. Day.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. The surgery done, Alice is back in her room. Foreman enters.]
FOREMAN: Got a page.
EDIE: She's complaining about her stitches.
ROB: Nurse just said that's completely normal. [to Foreman] Did you, uh, get the test results for the gallstones?
FOREMAN: Any minute now.
EDIE: There's no time for a second opinion, but the test takes three...
ALICE: My skin hurts.
EDIE: [to Foreman] I know I don't have the right to demand it, but could you please take a look?
FOREMAN: Sure.
ROB: She's pissed, now she's looking for things to go wrong.
EDIE: [cynically] You're right. I'm sooo petty, I hope she dies so it vindicates my opinion.
[Rob chuckles. Edie suddenly turns around to look at her wide-awake daughter, who's staring daggers at her mother.]
EDIE: I didn't mean that, sweetie. Mommy was being sarcastic.
[Foreman is checking up on Alice. He finds blisters and red blotches forming on her midsection, close to the
incision marks.]
ROB: [amused] She's a few years away from grasping the sarcasm, don't you think?
FOREMAN: Guys!
[The parents are shocked to see the rash. They look afraid.]
CUT TO:
[Diagnostics office. All three Ducklings are on their cellphones.]
CHASE: [into phone, frustrated] I already gave you that number.
[House enters.]
HOUSE: Simple surgical procedure turns a little girl into the English patient. What gives?
CAMERON: [covering her cell's mouthpiece, to House] Must be allergic to something we used in the surgery.
[House looks around seeing all three talking on their phones.]
CAMERON: [into phone] Cameron. C-A-M-E-R-O-N.
HOUSE: This is my office, I'm talking, there are people here who work for me, but not listening. Explain this to me.
FOREMAN: [cell to his ear, irritated] Tritter froze my account. They're checking theirs. I'm on hold with the lawyer.
[House grabs Foreman's cell, turns it off and tosses it on the table, increasing Foreman's irritation.]
HOUSE: Call Wilson's lawyer. He'll tell you exactly how and why you're screwed. This kid has no history of allergies.
FOREMAN: [shouting] You gotta talk to Tritter! You gotta make this go away!
CHASE: Yeah, great plan! The man's obviously open to reason.
HOUSE: Here's the plan - we do nothing. We while away the time, diagnosing the patient. Stones were calcium,
bilirubin and pigment stones.
CAMERON: Which are non-conclusive.
HOUSE: Kid presented with low-grade fever, mild anaemia. That plus the stones indicates bacterial infection.
FOREMAN: [still pissed] Bacterial infection don't cause a vesicular rash. And doing nothing is not a plan, it's
specifically a lack of a plan!
HOUSE: We cut into her belly, bad boys escape. They swarm over, colonize the wounds and- Kaplow!- vesicular rash.
[Foreman rolls his eyes.]
CAMERON: Allergic reaction is a hundred times more likely with or without a history. Fever and anaemia could've been
symptoms of pancreatitis. [into phone] Hello?... Thank you for your help.
[She hangs up.]
CAMERON: They froze my accounts.
[She slaps her cell onto the table.]
CHASE: "Thank you for your help"?
CAMERON: It's not her fault.
CHASE: [getting up] He hasn't gotten to mine yet. [getting his jacket] I'm gonna withdraw as much as I can, as fast
as I can, [under his breath] much as I make.
[Chase leaves.]
HOUSE: Do a scratch test, check for allergies. When it comes back negative, start broad-spectrum antibiotics.
[Cameron and Foreman look at House in consternation.]
HOUSE: Bullies bully. They don't get a reaction, they lose interest. [menacingly] Now go do what I ask, before I
stick your heads into toilets.
[Foreman shakes his head, and picks up his cellphone to call his lawyer. Cameron drops her pen onto the table in
exasperation.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. Alice is undergoing the scratch test, administered by Foreman. Alice is holding a teddy-bear, Otto.]
EDIE: How'd Otto get here?
ALICE: Daddy got him last night.
EDIE: He was at the dry-cleaner, they close at six. How'd you get it?
ROB: [proudly] I drove over there and knocked for about ten minutes. Then I begged...
[Edie doesn't seem impressed. Foreman continues his work, despite the tension. Alice flinches.]
ROB: [to Alice] How 'bout some ice-cream for when this is through?
ALICE: My tummy hurts.
ROB: Ginger-ale?
[Alice nods.]
ROB: Yeah?
[He looks at Edie.]
EDIE: I'll take care of her.
ROB: Be right back.
[He leaves. Edie watches his go.]
EDIE: He's always been good with the big, romantic gestures, but ask him to do the dishes or show up for a meal on
time or driver...
FOREMAN: [had enough of her whining] Almost done here.
[She shuts up.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Doctor's lounge. House rests on the couch, playing some racing game on his PSP. Wilson enters, slamming the
door after him. He goes to the snack table.]
HOUSE: [engrossed in his game] What're you doing here?
WILSON: I work here.
[He slaps a slice of bread onto a plate.]
HOUSE: You passively-aggressively gave up your practice.
WILSON: [applying peanut butter on the slice] I've clinic hours.
HOUSE: Now you're passively-aggressively spreading peanut butter. Big sign around your neck saying "Wilson does not
have enough cash for the cafeteria".
WILSON: You know, before Lenny Bruce died of the drug overdose...
HOUSE: Oyyyyeeesh. You're gonna confront me with everyone who's ever used narcotics. Damn, I have to get something
to read.
WILSON: He was arrested on obscenity charges. Went through a series of arrests and trials, because he just couldn't
stop challenging the police.
[House pulls out his "secret-secret-secret stash" single Vicodin from his breastpocket, contemplating using it to
get through this Wilson lecture.]
WILSON: [now applying jelly] He became obsessed with his own legal problems and his act turned into long humourless
rants about fascist cops and the violation of his rights.
[House gets off the couch and walks over to Wilson.]
HOUSE: I get it, I get it, I need to change my nightclub act. Need more props.
[The door opens. Chase enters.]
CHASE: House, scratch test is getting results. A lot of results.
[House looks at the single Vicodin he has and pockets it again. He grabs a half of the PB&J sandwich from Wilson's
plate and puts it on a napkin. He walks off, leaving Wilson wondering which judge would convict him for murdering
House right now.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. House is looking at Alice's back, which now has a large red rash. Chase and Foreman are there, in
addition to the parents.]
ROB: How could she be allergic to everything?
HOUSE: She can't be. Has to be an infection.
FOREMAN: [raising an eyebrow] You see positive allergy tests and decide it's an infection?
HOUSE: Bacteria got into the scratches in her back.
CHASE: Infections radiate. The shape of this isn't...
HOUSE: [picking up the half PB&J sandwich] Eat this.
ALICE: [politely] I don't feel like eating.
HOUSE: Make you better.
EDIE: A sandwich?
HOUSE: Magic sandwich.
ALICE: There's no such thing as...
HOUSE: [snaps] Just take a damn bite, okay, kid?
[Alice takes a bite. House shines his flashlight into her mouth, looking for an allergic reaction. Finally, he stands
straight.]
HOUSE: Amazing how she didn't go into anaphylactic shock.
FOREMAN: It's diagnostically ridiculous.
HOUSE: Right! She's allergic to everything except peanuts.
CHASE: If she is allergic, antibiotics could cause massive systemic reaction.
[Rob doesn't like the sound of that.]
HOUSE: If she's allergic. But she's not.
[House hands Chase an IV bag. Chase takes it.]
FOREMAN: Chase, you're right. The shape indicates allergy, the tests indicate allergy. Just because she's not
allergic to peanuts, doesn't mean she's not allergic to Lidecane [?] or...
HOUSE: [ordering] Chase! Hang the bag! And grow a backbone tomorrow.
[Chase seems conflicted.]
ROB: No, I'm not giving my daughter drugs that can shut her system down.
HOUSE: [angry] You know what else shuts down systems? Death!
[He slides open the door to leave.]
ROB: Sorry! I can't let you do this.
[House looks at him, challengingly.]
CUT TO:
[Courtroom. And we're back! Same judge, same parents, same grouchy doctor, same tired administrator.
Only difference is...]
HOUSE: Luckily, Alice Hartman has a mom who is willing to see reason.
JUDGE: You were in here yesterday, telling me her father's guardianship was best for her.
HOUSE: I honestly figured I'd get a different judge today.
JUDGE: [to Edie] You agree with Dr. House now?
EDIE: Now, my kid actually is sick.
ROB: She was sick yesterday.
EDIE: Her paediatrician doesn't know what's wrong with her, says Dr. House is...
ROB: She loses guardianship and all of a sudden, House is a hero! It's got nothing to do with me deciding...
JUDGE: [had enough] Hey, zip it! I've heard enough.
HOUSE: [side of his mouth, to Cuddy] This lawyering thing is easy.
JUDGE: You shut up too! [stern] Arguing over decision is a waste of her time. And mine. Since her parents can't or
won't agree, I'm awarding temporary guardianship to a doctor. Who will place the health of the child above all else.
CUDDY: I don't think Dr. House is capable of...
JUDGE: Dr. Cuddy.
CUDDY: Yes, your Honour?
JUDGE: No, I was finishing my sentence. The kid's all yours.
[House looks at Cuddy, happy that he can manipulate her better than the squabbling parents.]
CUT TO:
[Courthouse hallway. House and Cuddy walk.]
HOUSE: Three o'clock! Gimme the pills!
CUDDY: [bewildered] I don't even know this kid. How am I supposed to decide what's best for her?
HOUSE: [irritably] Fine! I'll choose. Always side with the angry doctor's opinion. Gimme my pills.
CUDDY: [opening her purse] We're not gonna go broad-spectrum. There's any chance that she's allergic...
HOUSE: There is no chance...
CUDDY: Of course there's a chance.
HOUSE: I'm appealing.
CUDDY: No, you're not. Think of bacterial, pick one antibiotic.
[She gives him a couple of Vicodins.]
HOUSE: Not gonna be enough. Need to go broad-spectrum...
CUDDY: It kills bugs, that's what you want. And go with metronidazole.
[She walks off. House dry-swallows the Vicodins.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH office. Tritter speaks with Foreman.]
TRITTER: You don't have to testify he's broken any laws. Though I'm sure you could. Just how many pills he takes in
a day. 'Cause I'm fairly confident I can prove that he didn't... have that many... legitimate prescriptions.
FOREMAN: [cool] You really hope noone dies while I'm sitting here and not talking to you?
TRITTER: I, uh, I had a, uh, had a buddy at Trenton PD... do some digging. Your brother locked up for drugs. Your
own flesh and blood. Now you don't even visit. But your boss practises medicine on drugs. Time to start lying to the
cops.
FOREMAN: If I went out for coffee, will I get back before you make your point?
TRITTER: You, uhm, you testify. I can make sure that Marcus goes free on parole in less than two months.
FOREMAN: [beat] My brother and I, we grew up in the same home. But I made something of myself. He didn't.
TRITTER: Dr. Foreman, the way you talk, you think you never committed any crimes yourself. Now, you and Dr. House,
you are both cold bastards. You don't give a damn about your brother, and you can't stand House. But I do expect
you to take this deal, because you hate hypocrisy more. House has had a thousand chances. You had two chances. Why
is your brother stuck at one?
[Foreman ponders over the situation. Tritter's words have clearly had an effect on him.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. Alice, asleep, is flanked by her parents and Cuddy.]
CUDDY: Well, if she were allergic to this antibiotic, we would have seen it by now. I think we are out of the woods
as far as that goes.
[She reaches and picks up a pad and writes.]
ROB: [to Edie] Guess I can't shake that one right. [?]
EDIE: [incredulous] You're gonna be glib about this? You almost killed her.
ROB: I made a choice. The same choice that you made yesterday. Only when I make it, I'm an imbecile.
EDIE: Every decision you have made has been wrong. When this is over, I'm suing for sole custody.
ROB: [getting mad] Because I trusted doctors when you didn't?!
[Cuddy notices Alice's heart rate and BP steadily increasing as her parents squabble.]
EDIE: Because... it's not just about the past two days!
ROB: Like you have the hotline on what's best for Alice! She loves me.
EDIE: [angry] She never does her homework when she's with you, she never brushes her hair...
CUDDY: Her heart's racing, pressure's rising! The two of you, get out.
EDIE: What- I'm her mother. You can't just-
[Cuddy gets a syringe and starts filling it from a vial.]
CUDDY: You fight, she has an anxiety attack. The two of you are making her worse. Get-out and don't come back.
[Cuddy injects her. Rob leaves. Alice's heavy breathing slowly subsides.]
CUT TO:
[Diagnostics office. Foreman sits at his desk. Chase enters in street clothes.]
CHASE: How's the kid doing?
FOREMAN: Much better as about two hours ago. Got any money for lunch?
CHASE: If you like parsley and croutons. Tritter finally froze my accounts.
FOREMAN: [suspiciously] Really?
CHASE: You surprised? Why wouldn't he?
FOREMAN: I figured if he was singling you out, you must have done something different.
CHASE: [offended] What? Like talking?
FOREMAN: Yeah. And now that he's frozen your accounts, you probably will. You need the cash, right?
[Chase unhappily tosses some files from his case on the table.]
CHASE: He doesn't freeze my accounts, I'm guilty. He does freeze my accounts, I'm guilty.
[Foreman gives a "Eh, whatta you gonna do" shrug. Edie enters.]
EDIE: Is Alice having some procedure done?
FOREMAN: She's fine. She's resting.
EDIE: Where?
CHASE: In her room. But you're not supposed to...
EDIE: I was just at the window. There's no one in there. Her backpack wasn't there either.
[Chase and Foreman exchange a nervous glance.]
EDIE: You don't think her father could've...?
[Chase jumps up and runs out.]
CHASE: Call security!
[Foreman picks up the phone to dial. Edie looks on in fear.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH lobby. Chase comes into the lobby, by the elevators, looking for Alice and Rob. Seeing something, he starts
to run towards the entrance.]
CHASE: [to nurse's station] Get a gurney!
[Rob is entering, with an unconscious Alice in his arms.]
ROB: [afraid] She's stiff! She can't move! I don't know what happened. I don't know, she seemed fine.
[Chase examines her quickly.]
ROB: [pleading] Help her, please!
[Chase takes Alice in his arms.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. Outside the room, Edie watches House (inside the room) irritably bounce his red fuzzball on a cart
near the window. The Ducklings attend to Alice, while Cuddy stands near the bed.]
HOUSE: On the plus side, she could medal at luge.
FOREMAN: [preparing a syringe] Muscle rigidity is almost exclusively neurological.
CAMERON: Neuroaxonal dystrophy. She's the right age.
CHASE: Except that her liver's starting to shut down. No dystrophy.
HOUSE: [mocking Cuddy] Metronidazole - great idea.
[Cuddy rolls her eyes, in exasperation.]
HOUSE: Let's not go broad-spectrum. Let's not take any chances at actually curing her.
CUDDY: House, can you focus on the case?
HOUSE: [loud] No! 'Cause I'm in pain! 'Cause you think that compromises the answer to everything! I need more pills!
[Cuddy says nothing.]
CHASE: Muscle rigidity plus liver involvement means Wilson's.
FOREMAN: No, no corneal rings, no mental changes.
CAMERON: Then what?
[The Ducklings all turn to House. Cuddy follows suit.]
HOUSE: [at the top of his voice] I need more pills!!
CUDDY: [firm] No! You are on a reasonable...
HOUSE: What the hell does "reasonable" mean?
[Foreman notices Alice's heart rate and BP increasing. The monitor beeps.]
CUDDY: [restraining herself] Keep it quiet. Her BP reacts to stress. And yelling is not go...
[House closes the blinds to the room, blocking Rob and Edie's view of what transpires inside.]
HOUSE: You think that I'm not in pain. Then don't give me anything. Keep me away from the aspirin. If I'm in a
buttload of pain, I need a buttload of pills!
CUDDY: Fine! You need more pills. You're not getting them. You can have all the aspirin you want...
[House thinks about it. Kinda like a mini-epiphany. He opens the blinds and walks out.]
FOREMAN: I say we draw straws. Loser drives out to Trenton, scores him an eight-ball.
CUT TO:
[Outside Alice's room. House limps into the hallway. Rob and Edie come over to him.]
HOUSE: [still irritable] Which one of you two gave her an aspirin?
EDIE: What?
HOUSE: Her symptoms fit Reye's Syndrome. Which doesn't make any sense, unless you took aspirin.
[Of course, "Mom of the Year" Edie immediately looks at "Nightmare Dad" Rob.]
EDIE: [accusing] Rob?
ROB: No way. She's a kid. I've read the eight hundred warning labels.
EDIE: I'm not even angry. I just want her to be okay.
HOUSE: She's lying. She's angry. 'Cause you kidnapped her kid. She'll be angrier if the kid dies.
ROB: [firmly] I didn't.
HOUSE: One aspirin! Combined with the preexisting infections is all it takes to set off an atta...
ROB: I'm not lying.
HOUSE: Well, sure. You certainly earned her trust. [to Edie] Where was Alice the night she came in?
EDIE: W-With me. Well, at my house. I went out, she stayed with the baby-sitter.
[Cuddy comes out into the hallway.]
ROB: [My, how the tables have turned!] Where were you?
EDIE: [annoyed] None of your business.
ROB: You hired someone that might have poisoned our daughter.
EDIE: [checking her purse] She's fifteen. She's very responsible.
HOUSE: She a fifteen-year-old pharmacist? Or is it just some kid from down the street, who needed twenty bucks for
lip gloss and couple of tiger beads?
[Edie takes out her cellphone and dials. House walks away with Cuddy.]
HOUSE: Put your kid on charcoal hemoperfusion.
CUDDY: Shouldn't we hear what the baby-sitter has to say?
HOUSE: I know what she's gonna say. She's gonna lie to save her business. [flapping his palm out at her] Gimme more
pills.
[Cuddy hesitates for a second, then relents. She pulls out a bottle of Vicodin and gives him two. House gives her
a "What? Are you kidding me?" look.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. Later. Cuddy is alone with Alice, explaining the charcoal hemoperfusion.]
CUDDY: We are going to use this machine to clean your blood. It goes out of you and through a filter. You know, like
a filter in a fish-tank.
[Alice only stares.]
CUDDY: It's... kinda cool actually.
[Alice says nothing. Cuddy feels awkward.]
ALICE: [finally] I'm scared.
CUDDY: [trying to be encouraging] It... won't hurt. It takes a while, so it'll be boring, but won't hurt. It's gonna
make you better.
ALICE: [sadly] They hate each other, don't they? Never gonna be together again.
CUDDY: Well, you never know.
[Cuddy prepares to start the procedure.]
FADE TO:
[Aerial shot of PPTH. Night.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Meeting Room. Cameron stands at the door, addressing Tritter.]
CAMERON: Gonna break out the rubber hoses, the bright lights? I'm not gonna testify, just because I have to borrow
lunch money.
TRITTER: I know. Women don't give up guys that... they're in love with.
CAMERON: I'm not in love with House.
TRITTER: A guy as unhinged and unethical, does what he wants with no concern for others. But you stand by him.
CAMERON: That can't just be loyalty and respect?
TRITTER: No.
CAMERON: I'm a girl. So I must be in love with him.
TRITTER: Not because you're a girl. Because ten years ago, you got an A in Calculus, until you ratted yourself out.
Showed your professor a mistake he missed. Because you married a man...
CAMERON: [angrily] Don't go there!
TRITTER: You used to be someone, who did the right thing. House has changed you. D'you think it's all been for the
better?
[With a wry, defiant smirk, Cameron walks away, closing the door on her way.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. The charcoal hemoperfusion is underway. Foreman sits nearby, reading a magazine. Cuddy enters.]
CUDDY: [brightly] How's it going?
ALICE: Bo-o-ring.
CUDDY: Told ya.
FOREMAN: [smiling] So far, so good. Just like five minutes ago, ten minutes before that.
[Suddenly Alice starts crying in pain, rubbing her left arm.
CUDDY: What's the matter?
[Foreman jumps up from his seat. Cuddy pulls back the blanket on Alice's arm. Alice cries out in pain. They
find that her left arm is completely pale.]
FOREMAN: It's from a clot.
CUDDY: [urgently] Let's get her out of here. I'll call the OR.
[Foreman stops the machine. Cuddy rushes to the phone.]
ALICE: [crying, complaining] You said it wouldn't hurt.
[She cries out again. Cuddy calls the OR.]
CUT TO:
[Operating room. A monitor shows catheter threading through Alice's veins. She's unconscious. Foreman performs the
surgery.]
FOREMAN: Found it.
CUDDY: She's burning up.
FOREMAN: In a sec.
CUDDY: Foreman, she is on fire!
FOREMAN: Almost there.
CUDDY: [to nurse] Get me some cooling blankets, now.
NURSE: Right away.
[House and Cameron watch the surgery in the observation deck.]
CAMERON: Everytime we touch this kid, something goes wrong.
[House is fidgeting with his "secret-secret-secret stash" Vicodin.]
HOUSE: Bad mojo is not a diagnosis.
CAMERON: You really have to flash your private stash in front of me?
HOUSE: [irritated] You find it easier to lie for me if it's more subtle? Fine!
[He pockets the pill.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Cafeteria. Tritter and Chase sit at a table.]
TRITTER: You told your associates that, uh, I'd frozen your accounts.
CHASE: Yes.
TRITTER: Smart lie. You figured they'd think there was a reason that you'd been singled out. Like that, uh, you'd
agreed to testify against House.
CHASE: Yeah, I assume that's why you did it.
TRITTER: You have a, uh, reputation as a bit of an opportunist. You already gave your boss up once, from what I've
heard.
CHASE: To save my job. He goes down now, I lose my job.
TRITTER: If you lose your job, you find another one. You get fired, [shakes head] chances don't look so hot.
CHASE: [shaking his head in confusion] Why would he fire me?
TRITTER: Because you rolled on him.
CHASE: I haven't rolled on him.
TRITTER: I think you will. And he's gonna think you already did.
CHASE: As far as he knows, my accounts are frozen, just like everyone else's.
TRITTER: In twenty-four hours, all three of you will have access to your accounts again.
CHASE: Why would you do...?
TRITTER: If I was looking at this, as an outsider [points to the other people in the cafeteria], I would say it was
because Detective Tritter had what appeared to be a very pleasant lunch with Dr, Chase.
[Tritter laughs, almost evilly. Chase, angry at being played, looks around, seeing the people looking at the two of
them, Tritter gets up and walks over to Chase, genially placing his hand on Chase's shoulder.]
TRITTER: The two of them appear to be... working together.
[He pats Chase a few times on the back and with a light squeeze of Chase's shoulder, he leaves. Disgusted, Chase
shrugs off the squeeze.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Operating Room. Alice is still on the operating table, burning up. Cuddy is feverishly trying to find something
to cool her down.]
CUDDY: [frustrated] How the hell are there no ice-packs in the OR?!
[She starts to tear off her scrubs.]
FOREMAN: That's out. Ice packs aren't going to hold it for long. Where are the blankets?
CUDDY: In the ER. They've joined the four car collision.
FOREMAN: [quietly, urgently] We need to cool this kid down before her brain melts.
[Cuddy, sans scrubs, starts to pull out the wires from Alice's body.]
FOREMAN: What're you doing?
[Cuddy takes Alice into her arms.]
CUT TO:
[Observation Deck. Cameron talks to House and Chase, who's just returned from his "very pleasant lunch with Detective
Tritter".]
CAMERON: She got a major dose of heparin to thin her blood for the procedure. Could have induced.
CHASE: That's... unlikely. The charcoal would have absorbed a lot of the heparin. She can be anaemic. Could be a
primary blood disorder.
HOUSE: [in pain, restrained] No wonder we never cured the infection.
CAMERON: Are you saying she never had Reye's? We just put that girl through excruciating pain.
CHASE: Pain wasn't House's fault. Even if the clot was a reaction to what we gave her, we still have to...
HOUSE: [angry] I don't need you to cover my ass! What I need is my Vicodin! [grumbling] Two pills every six hours.
Like I'm on an allowance. She's given the cop leverage over medical decisions! What the hell, why don't we get a
plumber in here, ask his opinion! Hey Cuddy, you know any rodeo clowns who can weigh in...!
[He looks down at the operating table to see that Alice and Cuddy are nowhere to be seen.]
HOUSE: Where the hell is she?
CUT TO:
[Shower room. Cuddy sits on the floor, with Alice in her lap. Cold water falls on them. House throws open the door.
Cuddy looks at him, anxiously and almost in tears.]
CUDDY: Look at her arm.
[Alice's left arm is covered with a rash.]
HOUSE: [venomously] Told you it was an infection.
CUDDY: [snapping] We fixed the infection!
HOUSE: [incensed] Well, apparently not! I asked you for broad-spectrum, you put her on the bare minimum! It's a
good thing you failed to become a mom, 'cause you suck at it!!
[Cuddy is left speechless at House's remark. House walks off. Cuddy looks at Alice and closes her eyes in grief.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Lobby. House is leaning on the first floor balcony, aiming his "orifice" laser pointer around. The Ducklings
walk up to him.]
HOUSE: What's good about this rash?
[He focuses the pointer on a doctor, then on the janitor. The Ducklings remain quiet. He notices the silence.]
HOUSE: Good guesses! But no.
[The Ducklings say nothing.]
HOUSE: It's on parts of her body that we haven't touched. She's got a fever of a hundred-and-three. She's in and out
of consciousness. But it's not a reaction to anything we did. Our mojo is off the table. Which means...?
[He waits for an answer, but gets nothing.]
HOUSE: Oh! So close. Means thanks to Cuddy's candy-ass approach, broad-spectrum antibiotics are no longer an option.
This thing has grown horns and fangs. We gotta figure out what species it is. Go in with a spear to the heart.
[He looks at them, seeing them all look pretty pensive and nervous.]
HOUSE: [sighs] Okay, you guys are sulking. I don't really care why, but apparently I can't do my job without finding
out.
CAMERON: Tritter released our bank accounts.
HOUSE: Horrible, horrible news. Wow! I'm glad we didn't let that fester. If she did have Reye's, then it could be
varicella or associated...
FOREMAN: [persisting] He released our money. You do know what that means?
HOUSE: [irritably] The correct question is "How can it be varicella given that she's not itchy?".
CHASE: Rickettsialpox causes rash, fever and muscle pain.
CAMERON: Pain, not paralysis. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, on the other hand, rash, fever, anaemia, paralysis and
I didn't say anything to Tritter.
FOREMAN: Neither did I.
CHASE: Maybe he wants us to think that one of us talked.
FOREMAN: It worked.
CAMERON: You were with him.
[House, uninterested, goes back to flashing his laser pointer on the ground floor people.]
CHASE: We were all with him.
FOREMAN: _We_ weren't laughing with him.
HOUSE: Maybe he just gave up. Start the kid on chloramphenicol for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
[Cameron and Foreman leave immediately. Chase hangs back.]
CHASE: Can we talk?
HOUSE: Nope.
CHASE: I really think you need...
HOUSE: Either you screwed me and you want absolution, or you didn't and you want applause. Either way, not
interested.
[He goes back to laser flashing. Chase gives up, shrugging, and leaves. House flashes the pointer on Wilson, who
enters the clinic.]
CUT TO:
[Cuddy's office. From outside, Cuddy can be seen sitting on her armchair, with her back to the door. It's obvious
she's upset. Wilson knocks.]
CUDDY: [voice breaking] I'm busy.
[Wilson enters anyway.]
WILSON: You okay?
CUDDY: [waving it off] Yeah, sure.
WILSON: Uhm, what I meant by "Are you okay" is "What the hell did House do"?
CUDDY: Nothing.
WILSON: What did he say?
CUDDY: I've seen House be rude a thousand times, usually to achieve something. I have never seen him be mean just
because he can.
WILSON: Seriously? [beat] What did he say?
[He sits opposite her.]
CUDDY: [sighs] Nothing. Doesn't matter.
WILSON: Well, I've seen House be rude to you a thousand times, but I've never seen it get it you.
CUDDY: People think House has no... inner censor. The fact is he holds himself back, because when he wants to hurt,
he knows just where to poke a sharp stick. [beat, sniffs] I have been trying to get pregnant. And House knew. He
told me I'm a failure as a mother.
WILSON: And you're this upset because... you think he's right?
CUDDY: [eyes closed] I have had three separate implantations - the first two never took, the last one, I... lost.
WILSON: I'm sorry. You didn't fail. Those were physical events.
CUDDY: [agitated] A little girl is... scared and in pain. I was... awkward. Terrified of doing the wrong thing.
WILSON: [shrugging] That's normal. That's...
CUDDY: I didn't hug her. I didn't even... reach out and hold her hand. I told her it was gonna be okay.
WILSON: [reasoning] She needed reassurance.
CUDDY: I told her her folks might get back together. [laughs wrily] When I see people with their kids, it's so
natural. It's like they have an instruction book imprinted on their genes. [voice breaking] Maybe I just didn't get
a copy. Maybe my wanting to be a mother is like a... tone-deaf person wanting sing opera or a paraplegic who wants
to...
[She's getting more and more agitated, and Wilson interrupts.]
WILSON: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! [sighs] Well, I see what you mean about House poking the right spot.
[Cuddy laughs through her tears, feeling a little better now.]
CUT TO:
[Alice's room. A nurse tends to a sleeping Alice and leaves. Alice's left arm and leg are left uncovered by the
blanket, exposing the large rash on both of them.]
CUT TO:
[Diagnostics office. House, now in some serious pain, leans against a bookcase. The Ducklings are around the table.]
FOREMAN: Chloramphenicol isn't working.
[House looks upward and sighs.]
HOUSE: What dose did you give her?
CHASE: [spiteful] Yeah, maybe Chase screwed up.
[House turns around to look at him.]
CHASE: You always end up there, just getting a jump on it.
[House says nothing.]
CHASE: I doubled her up.
HOUSE: [hurting bad] Okay, the infection's morphed. It's moved into her muscle sheath.
FOREMAN: Necrotizing fasciitis?
CAMERON: That's impervious to drugs.
HOUSE: The only treatment is to cut away the infected area. So we amputate.
CAMERON: Arm and leg? We can't cut a six-year-old kid in half without a confirmed diagnosis.
HOUSE: It moves too quickly and we waited too long. We don't have time for a culture.
CAMERON: We can at least observe her for few hours, confirm the rash is spreading.
HOUSE: It spreads, she dies.
[He fingers his "secret-secret-secret stash" Vicodin, looking at it longingly.]
FOREMAN: You're talking about crippling her.
CHASE: We're not even certain this was an infection.
[House has had it and he lets them know it.]
HOUSE: [top of his voice, pissed] Right!! She's sick! She's cute! She can't have flesh-eating bacteria! It's just
wrong! Let's cure her with sunshine and puppies! Cute kids die of terrible illnesses! Innocent doctors go to jail,
just because cowards like you won't stand up and do what's required! You can sit around and moan about who's the
bigger weakling!
[The Ducklings are stunned by this outburst.]
HOUSE: I'm gonna go do my job.
[He dry-swallows the Vicodin (finally!) and storms off.]
CUT TO:
[Hallway outside Alice's room. House and Cuddy stand with Edie and Rob, explaining what must be done. Edie protests
and asks for alternatives. Rob stands there, distressed. House informs them there's no other way.]
FADE TO:
[Alice's room. Alice is prepped for surgery. The surgeon pulls down her collar, exposing her left arm and starts
marking the part to amputate - her entire left arm.]
FADE TO:
[ECU: Cuddy, depressed.]
CUDDY: What kind of quality of life will she have without...?
HOUSE: One thing about life - it's got qualities.
FADE TO:
[ECU: Alice's face, as she stares at the camera.]
FADE TO:
[Alice's room. A doctor removes her finger-monitor.]
ROB: [voice-only] And if we can't agree?
FADE TO:
[ECU: House says nothing.]
CUDDY: [voice-only] I don't know.
FADE TO:
[ECU's of Edie and Rob. On their worried faces.]
FADE TO:
[Alice's room. Cuddy stands by Alice's bed, holding her hand. The surgeon and nurse start to wheel her out.]
FADE TO:
[PPTH hallway. Rob and Edie sit pensively.]
FADE TO:
[ECU: Surgical instruments - the amputating kind. Sterile, metallic, sharp, unforgiving...]
FADE TO:
[Operating room. The surgeon places the anaesthesia mask on Alice's face.]
FADE TO:
[Slow motion - Shot of Alice's left leg, covered in rashes.]
FADE TO:
[Slow motion - Shot of Alice's left arm, also covered in rashes, with markings at the shoulder. The surgeon places
the instruments on the table. He prepares the bone-saw.]
CUT TO:
[Diagnostics office. Cameron and Foreman sit at the table, while Chase sits next to House's office door.]
FOREMAN: He's yelled at us before.
CAMERON: 'Cause he thought our theories were dumb, not because our theories were sending him to jail.
[Chase starts fiddling around with House's "orifice" laser pointer.]
FOREMAN: He's going through withdrawal. Could be causing mild paranoia. It'll pass, we just have to suffer through
it.
CAMERON: We never ruled out allergy.
FOREMAN: We gave her drugs. She had no negative reaction.
CAMERON: We cut open her belly, she got a rash on her belly. We did a scratch test on her back, she had a rash on her
back. I know House ruled out mojo, but it can't be a coincidence...
[Chase starts flashing the laser pointer at Foreman.]
CHASE: [tired] Little late to be playing differential games, isn't it?
FOREMAN: [shielding his eyes] Get that thing away from me! I don't wanna get burned.
CHASE: Laser pointers don't burn you, genius.
FOREMAN: Skin, no. Retina, yes.
CHASE: You don't trust my aim? Maybe you should cover any sensitive...
[He stops. He's had an epiphany (that's a switch)!! He puts off the laser pointer. Cameron and Foreman look at him.]
CHASE: He was wrong about the puppies!
[He jumps up from his seat and races out.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH Lobby. House is leaving for the day. Chase comes down the stairs behind him.]
CHASE: House!
[House turns.]
CHASE: Gotta stop the surgery! She doesn't have necrotizing fasciitis!
HOUSE: [disinterested] Oh good.
[He turns to leave, but Chase gets in front of him, stopping him from walking.]
CHASE: She's got erythropoietic protoporphyria! She's allergic to light. It's genetic. Either parent could have
carried it.
HOUSE: [couldn't care less] I know what it is. Infection fist better.
[He starts to walk, but Chase again gets in his way.]
CHASE: She gets worse everytime she goes under surgical lights! Dad takes her outside...
HOUSE: Liver's shot too. She swallow a flashlight?
[He moves towards the exit. Chase pushes him back.]
CHASE: [insistent] Stop the surgery!
HOUSE: [threatening] Get the hell out of my way.
CHASE: [pushes him back] No! I'm...
[WHAM!! House punches Chase squarely in the jaw. Chase falls to the floor. House looks shocked at what he's done.
Others stop to look at the scene. Chase lets out a cough and sighs. He continues, still on the floor.]
CHASE: Light damages the blood cells. The damaged blood cells contain protoporphyrin. The protoporphyrin builds up in
the liver. That's why the liver's shutting down!
[He feels his jaw. House, still shocked, seems to understand.]
CUT TO:
[Operating room. The surgical lights come on. The surgeon prepares to get started on Alice's left arm. The phone
rings. The nurse answers it. The surgeon's scalpel is just about ready to cut the skin, when the nurse quickly
turns round.]
NURSE: Stop!
[She holds out her hand, motioning to the surgeon to wait, while she listens in the receiver.]
CUT TO:
[PPTH hallway, outside Alice's room. Cuddy is explaining Alice's condition to hr parents.]
EDIE: How can she be allergic to light? She's never had this problem before.
CUDDY: Negative reaction starts at birth. It reaches critical mass right around this age.
[FLASHBACK: Alice going on the ride. The light is bright on her face as she starts to scream.]
[CGI: Zoom into Alice's face. Her bloodstream. Bright light shines above. Red blood cells start to deteriorate as
the light shines on them.]
CUDDY: [voice-only] Her blood cells create chemicals in reaction to the light.
[CGI: Zoom into the liver. Outside, good and bad blood cells travel. In the liver, big mean-looking gallstones
start forming.]
CUDDY: [voice-only] When they reach the liver, it tries to filter out the bad cells. The chemicals damage the liver.
And one by-product is gallstones.
[END OF CGI. Back to Cuddy and the parents.]
EDIE: [worried] So she'll just keep getting worse?
CUDDY: EP can be managed. We'll give her betacarotine. She's gonna need special lightbulbs and filters on the
windows. She's probably gonna need to be home-schooled. Her life will be complicated... but she will live.
ROB: How do you get something like this?
CUDDY: It's genetic.
EDIE: So, one of us...?
[The parents both look at Cuddy to find out who the "guilty" party is. Cuddy takes a while to answer.]
CUDDY: Both of you must be carriers.
[Edie and Rob look at each other.]
CUDDY: She's gonna wanna see you when she wakes up. So... don't screw it up.
[She gets up and leaves. Edie and Rob look pensive. Alice lies asleep in her bed.]
CUT TO:
[Doctor's lounge. Wilson's inside. Chase enters and walks inside, angry. Without a word, he picks up the bread and
pulls out two slices. He's a bit more aggravated when he sees the peanut butter's almost over. Still he picks up
a knife and starts to scrape out as much PB as he can. Wilson watches him as he does this.]
WILSON: [deadpan] So, what's new?
CHASE: [beat] House missed one.
WILSON: It's happened before.
CHASE: [resentfully] He nearly maimed a little girl. I got it right. And I told him, and it didn't matter.
WILSON: Chase, you solved one. You helped a patient. That better be enough for you. Beckett was going to call his
play "Waiting for House's Approval", but thought it was too grim.
CHASE: [forcefully spreading jelly on the bread] Trust me, I'm not waiting any more.
[He turns to get his bag, exposing his left lower jaw, which has turned red after House's punch. Wilson sees it and
frowns, unbelievingly. Chase looks at him and leaves, eating his PB&J. Wilson is left alone, thoughtful.]
CUT TO:
[Aerial shot of PPTH. Night.]
CUT TO:
[Tritter's meeting room. Tritter sits there reading. The door opens and Tritter looks up. Wilson enters, a bit
unsure. However, he enters and closes the door behind him. Tritter waits patiently.]
WILSON: [beat] I'm gonna need thirty pieces of silver.
[Tritter smiles. He's finally found the Judas he wanted. He motions for Wilson to take a seat. Camera holds on
Wilson Iscariot.]
[End]
