[Open on a blue blur. It’s a light. A blurry doctor, wearing a mask, holds an oxygen mask. Blurry people in scrubs can be seen. A forceps is passed across the field of vision. Everything is from Sarah’s point of view and she is giving birth. A newborn baby is in clear focus. A hospital ID which reads “Lozinski” and “Girl,” is put on her ankle. A scale is adjusted. She weighs 5 pounds, 2 ounces, which is duly written on a form. She lets out her first cry.]

Donald : [voice over] How about the name Brooke?

Sarah: [voice over] She just doesn't seem like a Brooke anymore.

Donald: [voice over] Brook Lynn.

[Sarah, who is lying in bed, laughs.]

Sarah: She's a baby, not a city.

[Donald is sitting on a chair, holding the baby. He turns to seven-year-old Walker, who is on the couch.]

Donald: What do you think, bud? Got any suggestions?

Walker: Toadette. I'm hungry.

Donald: [quietly] I'll get you guys something to eat. [He puts Toadette in the bassinette. She fusses a bit.] You're okay. Okay.

[Cut to the lobby. Chase jumps down two stairs and enters. He’s whistling and looking at his pager. He goes to the front desk.]

Chase: I was paged? [The receptionist looks toward the front door. Cameron gets up from the bench where she has been waiting. She hasn’t taken off her coat. She’s holding a large manila envelope.] What are you doing here?

Cameron: Can we talk somewhere?

[Cut to Sarah’s room. It’s dark. Donald comes in, carrying a full tray.]

Donald: I was thinking Doroth — [He realizes everyone is asleep. He puts some food on the table in front of Walker and the rest on Sarah’s bed table. He looks in the bassinette.] Sarah?

[She wakes up.]

Sarah: Um. Yeah.

Donald: Where's the baby?

[As what he said sinks in, Sarah starts sitting up and looks panicky.]

[Cut to a security monitor. Cuddy, flanked by Nurses Maldonado and Smits and followed by two guards is seen striding down the hall. They enter the unit.]

Voice on Walkie Talkie: Attention all units…

Smits: No one saw anyone go in or out, and the baby's not in the nursery.

Cuddy: What was her condition?

Maldonado: Five weeks preterm. C-section because her mom's preeclampsia.

Cuddy: Is that the father? [approaches Donald] Mr. Lozinski. I'm Dr. Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine. How long were you out of the room?

Donald: Um, 15, 20 minutes tops.

Cuddy: [to Smits] Was there a proximity alarm?

Smits: No alarms.

Donald: What's that?

Cuddy: The bracelet on your baby's ankle has a microchip that would set off alarms if she was carried through an exit. [to the staff] Call the police. Shut down all the exits. We are on lockdown. Nobody moves until we find that baby.

[Opening credits]

[Cut to the Clinic. It’s almost dark in the exam room Chase and Cameron are using. They stand as far away from each other as possible in the small room.]

Cameron: Why won't you sign the divorce papers?

Chase: It's been on my to-do list. Sorry.

Cameron: Will you sign them?

Chase: Not until we have a real conversation about our marriage.

Cameron: Okay. I made a mistake coming here. I'm sorry. I'm gonna leave... this copy here.

[She puts the envelope on the exam table and walks out, closing the door behind her. Chase makes a fed-up gesture at the door as it closes. In the Clinic waiting room Cameron stops mid-stride as a security guard locks the door to the clinic. He gestures to her that he’s locking her in on purpose.]

Loud Speaker: Code seven. Code seven. All non-essential personnel and guests please remain where you are. Security personnel should report to their staging areas and await further instructions. All patients, please remain in your rooms, and use call buttons if you need medical assistance. Please remain calm and wait for hospital personnel to come to you. Do not try to leave your room until the code seven has been lifted. Please clear hallways.

[During the instructions, the following can be seen:]

[Cut to the cafeteria. It is almost empty. Wilson is paying for a cup of coffee.]

[Cut to medical records. Basically, it’s a large room with row after row of metal bookshelves. Large boxes are on all the shelves.] Taub has an open file in his hand. He closes it and looks annoyed.]

[In the cafeteria. Wilson and Thirteen see each other. She’s at a table behind the partition. He nods.]

[In medical records, Taub glances at some boxes. A large red sticker is on one. It reads “PPTH Personnel Confidential”]

[On a patient floor, a nurse is getting ready to move a cart. A guard approaches her.]

Guard: Nurse, just leave it. [annoyed] Leave it. You need to get into the room now. [He half pushes her into the room.]

Loud Speaker: Please notify hospital personnel or police immediately if you see anything suspicious.

[House sticks his head around a corner on a patient floor. He starts down the empty hall.]

Loud Speaker: We cannot allow anyone to leave the hospital at this time. All personnel should remain in their staging areas unless otherwise instructed by security.

[A guard comes through the swinging door behind House and clears his throat.]

House: Yeah, yeah, yeah, gotta clear the —

[He slides open a door and steps in.]

Loud Speaker: Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

[As he slides the door closed, the loud speaker can no longer be heard.]

[Cut to Sarah’s room. She’s a mess.]

Another Guard: And did anyone other than your nurses ever come by asking about your daughter?

Sarah: No. No, just those two.

[Cuddy enters, quietly.]

Another Guard: I'll check in soon.

Sarah: Wait.

[Sarah starts to get out of bed. Donald tries to stop her. Walker watches, impassively.]

Donald: What are you doing?

Sarah: No, I need to help them look. [She doubles over.] Ow!

Cuddy: You have to stay in bed. You pulled a stitch. Lay back down. [quietly to Donald] I got it. [to Sarah] Why don't I give you something to help you relax?

Sarah: No, no, I don't want to relax. I want to find my baby.

Cuddy: The police are searching room by room.

Sarah: Who would take her? What if she needs to be fed?

Cuddy: We're gonna find her.

Donald: Why aren't the police talking to our nurse?

[Cuddy turns. Smits is standing at the nurses’ station.]

[Cut to the cafeteria. Wilson has joined Thirteen at her table.]

Thirteen: What now?

Wilson: Truth or dare?

Thirteen: Oh, no, you don't want to mess with me. True or dare queen at Newton North.

Wilson: I was kidding. I'm sure we can find something interesting to talk about without relying on some juvenile game.

Thirteen: Sure.

[Wilson laughs and looks around. There’s a long, awkward pause.]

Wilson: [sighs] Truth.

[Cut to the hallway. Cuddy is talking to Smits.]

Smits: They think I took the kid? Do you think I would do something —

Cuddy: No, I'm just asking questions.

Smits: The dad let the older brother hold the baby for the first time. So I put her in his lap. After a few seconds, she shrieked. I'm pretty sure he pinched her.

Cuddy: I need to know this stuff. Anything out of the ordinary.

Smits: It was sibling rivalry. I thought it was kind of ordinary.

[Cut to medical records. Taub takes the lid off a box. Foreman steps out from between some rows of shelves. He sees Taub.]

Foreman: Hey.

Taub: What are you doing down here?

[He’s sitting on one box with the open one on his lap.]

Foreman: I was looking for McKenna's patient file.

Taub: Oh, you mean this file? [He picks it up off the floor.] The one I said I'd get?

Foreman: Two hours ago?

Taub: Seriously, you don't trust me with the immense responsibility of fetching a file?

Foreman: If you already found it, what are you looking through those for?

Taub: Do you know what these are? The staff credentials files.

Foreman: Those should all be in H.R.

Taub: Down here to be digitized. And we're locked in, and whoever's supposed to be watching 'em is locked out. We could look up anything on anyone. Malpractice records, felony histories —

Foreman: Put them away.

Taub: Come on. We have a tiny window of opportunity to gain some insight into our colleagues. [Foreman gives him a look.] Okay. What if we just snoop on the boss?

[Foreman looks around.]

Foreman: I think I can live with that.

[Cut to the dark patient room. House is standing in front of the TV, using the remote to flip through the channels. As he turns the TV off, he hears a sound behind him. He turns and sees the patient looking at him.]

House: You're on two milligrams of morphine an hour. How the hell are you still awake? No, don't tell me. [He takes the chart from the foot of the bed and glances at it.] Ischemic cardiomyopathy. If the blood's not reaching your gut, you have intestinal hypoperfusion. That'd be stronger than the narcotics.

Nash: The nurse said I might only have a day or two left.

House: She was being kind.

[He puts the chart back and goes to stare out the door.]

Nash: You're Dr. House, aren't you?

House: Oh, God, don't tell me we used to date.

Nash: The limp. Yeah, I read about you. I sent you a letter before they knew what was wrong. Tried to get you to take my case.

House: Yeah, well, you should have kept reading. Heart disease is kind of below my pay grade.

Nash: It started as tooth pain. No one got it that it was a heart problem. Till I had a series of massive heart att*ck —

[He starts choking. He partially sits up and gestures. House gets the emesis basin from the bathroom and tosses it into his lap. Nash throws up in the basin.]

Nash: This doesn't bother you?

House: You talking with your mouth full? A little.

Nash: I meant the fact that you're standing here watching me die because of my – my file bored you.

House: I take maybe 1 in 20 cases. A lot of the people I turn down end up dying. It's really a good argument for there being more than one me when you think about it.

[Nash lies back down. House watches.]

[Cut to the cafeteria.]

Thirteen: Truth.

Wilson: All right. Have you ever had a threesome?

Thirteen: No.

Wilson: [surprised] You haven't?

Thirteen: Wait, just – just because I'm bisexual?

Wilson: Well, yeah.

Thirteen: Do you understand what bisexual means? It doesn't mean you have sex with two people at once. [Wilson chuckles.] And by the way, you didn't ask me if I'd had a foursome. Truth or dare?

Wilson: Wait. You've had a foursome?

Thirteen: No, but now you've asked me two questions, so I get to ask you two. You see why I was the queen.

Wilson: [pumping both fists in] Oh!

[Cut to a hallway. A guard is leading a German Shepherd.]

[Cut to Sarah’s room. She’s in bed, practically shaking. Cuddy is talking to her.]

Sarah: Walker wouldn't do anything. He's my son too.

Cuddy: I don't mean to sound cold, but he's your stepson. We can't ignore any possibility.

Sarah: [after a long pause] Walker's been getting in fights a lot at school lately. Last week, he h*t another kid with a book hard enough to draw blood. If he did something to the baby...

[Cuddy looks and sees Walker at the nurses’ station with one of the guards. He is happily playing.]

[Cut to the Clinic. Chase is leaning on a wall, thinking.]

Chase: We were working on it.

Cameron: And we failed.

[She’s sitting on the desk on the other side of the room. The desk lamp is the only light.]

Chase: No, you had a conversation with House, then came back, informed me I'd been forever poisoned by him, and started packing.

Cameron: It's interesting how your story leaves out the part where you m*rder another human being.

Chase: A dictator who was committing genocide. You thought about doing it yourself.

Cameron: But I didn't.

Chase: Right. Because you're not toxic like I am. [He sneers slightly on the word “toxic.”]

Cameron: What do you think is gonna happen here? You're gonna logic me into coming back?

[Chase leans back, hitting his head lightly against the wall.]

[Cut to medical records. House’s personnel file is open.]

                     Personal Data

Name______House, Gregory M.D._________________________

Address_____519 MOREHALL ST._______________________

Home Phone_______609-555-0200__________________________DOB____

x Male   _ Female                 Dept___________Diagnostics___

Physician’s Name_____James Wilson____________________

Person to contact in case of emergency__James Wilson_

Under Medical Treatment Now?_____No_____

Taub: [flipping through the file] There must be over 30 malpractice settlements in here.

Foreman: [looking at the other side of the file folder] He did a brain biopsy without CT mapping, causing brain herniation and death.

Taub: Look at this one. Patient lost four liters of blood from a botched penisectomy.

Foreman: [looking over Taub’s shoulder] On a patient named Lisa Cuddy? [They both flip through the papers.] Damn it. They're all named Lisa Cuddy.

Taub: He's not even here, and he's screwing with us. [drops the file on a shelf] Where's the joy in that?

Foreman: You really want to get into his head?

Taub: Yeah, but I decided against s*ab myself in the leg or getting addicted to pain pills.

Foreman: [reaching into his pocket] You can, uh... skip the s*ab.

[He gives Taub a pill bottle with a few familiar, white tablets in it.]

Taub: Where did you —

Foreman: Confiscated them from a drug seeker in that clinic. Didn't get a chance to turn 'em in.

Taub: It is after hours. I'll take one. [tips one into his hand] Walk in House's shoes for a night.

Foreman: One? I believe he wears a larger size.

[Taub adds a pill to the one in his hand and passes the bottle back to Foreman. They both swallow the pills.]

[Cut to Nash’s room. House is sitting on a dresser, rubbing his thigh.]

House: No cards, no flowers, not even a phone call. Let me guess. Lighthouse keeper.

Nash: I was a classics professor at Princeton for 26 years. Mostly research.

House: So your closest colleagues died 2,000 years ago. That must be it. Not that you have no friends because, say, you're a miserable bastard.

Nash: What do you care?

House: The next few hours are gonna be grim. There'll be nausea, pain, no company, as soon as I can get myself out of here. I can unlock the regulator. You can put yourself in a narcotic haze, sleep blissfully to the end.

Nash: Oh, is that a favor to me or to you?

House: Win-win.

Nash: [laughs shortly] No, thanks.

House: Are you trying to guilt me for not taking your case?

Nash: You think a classicist doesn't believe in fate?

House: You think Odysseus would lie whimpering like a loser in a hospital bed? [getting up and approaching Nash] Come on, take my offer. Take the drug holiday. Numb yourself out.

Nash: I think you're the one who wants to numb himself out.

[They stare at each other.]

[A helicopter shines a searchlight outside the hospital. Cut to the cafeteria.]

Thirteen: Truth.

Wilson: How did your dad react when you came out to him?

Thirteen: He made me tea. Seriously. Doesn't matter what I tell him. He smiles, tells me he supports me, and makes me some peppermint tea. Truth or dare?

Wilson: Um, truth.

Thirteen: Are you dating anyone?

Wilson: Now? No.

Thirteen: Interesting. You added a modifier. Truth.

Wilson: Um, when you were dating Foreman...

Thirteen: No, no. No.

Wilson: What?

Thirteen: If it was something personal about him or us, I just don't think that's right to answer. We all work together.

Wilson: That's the whole point of this game — something personal, preferably embarrassing.

Thirteen: Just pick something else.

Wilson: You see, this is your problem. You act like you're so liberal and open, but you are the least —

Thirteen: I changed my mind. Dare. Just no nudity.

Wilson: Yes, nudity. I want you to show… your breasts… to Taub.

Thirteen: That is the most idiotic dare ever. Have you ever played this game?

Wilson: Well, I thought showing me your breasts would be a little exploitative.

Thirteen: Your dare is in the future, genius.

Wilson: Hey, if you're saying you won't do it...

Thirteen: No, no, no, no. Of course I'll show my breasts to Taub. Tomorrow, perhaps, or maybe some time next year, you know, because I'm honor-bound. Truth or dare?

[Cut to Sarah’s room. Cuddy is over on the side, talking quietly to Walker.]

Cuddy: It's understandable that you wouldn't be happy right now. Your world is changing. You scared? [He nods.] And how do you feel about your sister?

Walker: I hate her.

[Cuddy nods slightly. On the other side of the room Sarah and Donald both look upset.]

Cuddy: Walker, this is important. Did you do anything to the baby? Did you move her somewhere? Hide her?

Walker: No.

Cuddy: Nobody'd be mad at you.

Walker: I said no, so stop asking me.

[Cut to Nash’s room. House is pacing.]

Nash: Bad pain day?

House: Bad pain month.

Nash: Since I'm not using it... [He gestures toward the morphine pump. House looks annoyed.] Oh, if you don't want the morphine, you must have something of your own, Hmm?

House: I was in rehab. I had a little problem with the something of my own. Now all I take is ibuprofen, and it's two flights up.

Nash: For the whole month?

House: The pain's migrated. I think the arterial wall is damaged.

Nash: What, you don't know?

House: I haven't had an arteriogram yet.

Nash: And you don't want the test. In case the arterial wall is fine. Which would mean that the pain is coming from something else. [slight, smug smile] What's her name?

House: Interesting... That you jump from physical pain to long-lost love. You're projecting. So what's her name?

Nash: What time is it?

House: What does it matter to you? It's "t" minus four hours. [Nash looks at him. House checks his watch.] 8:20. Now tell me who she is and what are the pathetically long odds that she's gonna visit or call. And why that's a reason not to take the morphine.

[Nash shakes his head.]

[Cut to medical records. A Gregorian chant is playing. Taub and Foreman are lying on the floor. Their heads are side by side, their bodies pointing in opposite directions. They are very, very mellow.]

Taub: Dude.

Foreman: Dude.

Taub: Is the room still spinning?

Foreman: Mine is. Maybe we shouldn't have taken so many.

Taub: I'm gonna try to stand up.

Foreman: You be careful.

[Taub scrabbles to his feet grabbing boxes and shelving along the way. He takes a deep breath.]

Taub: Oh, yeah. That's working.

[Tequila and Chocolate begins to play as Foreman rolls onto his side.]

Foreman: I can't feel my face.

Taub: No way.

[Foreman stumbles to his feet, laughing.]

Foreman: Way. h*t me.

Taub: [still leaning on the shelves, laughs too] What?

Foreman: h*t me in the face.

Taub: Seriously?

Foreman: You know you've always wanted to. Now's your chance.

Taub: That's a great idea. We start a fight club. Maybe we... [Foreman punches him lightly. He stays standing. He feels his face with both hands while Foreman makes “come on” gestures.] Oh, my God! You — that is so cool!

Foreman: Okay. [Taub hits him. He goes flying and lands on the floor. Taub holds his wrist.]

Taub: I can still feel my hand.

Foreman: [still on the floor, laughing] I wasn't ready.

Taub: What were you gonna do? [laughs] Flex your goatee muscles? Wait a minute. [Taub stops laughing and takes a folder out of Foreman’s bag.] This is your credentials file?

Foreman: [grabs for it as Taub backs away] Hey, give me that.

Taub: That's why you came down here. Not for the patient file. You wanted... [Foreman grabs for it again. Taub runs off.] You wanted...

[Taub runs down the next aisle with Foreman chasing him.]

[Cut to the clinic. Cameron seems to make a decision and she stands up.]

Cameron: Okay, Robert. I will answer whatever questions you want. But then you're gonna have to sign the papers. [She takes off her coat and puts it aside. She faces him, ready for business.]

Chase: Did you ever love me?

Cameron: [surprised] How can you even ask that?

[As they continue, they each take steps toward the other until they are only a few inches apart.]

Chase: The first time you slept with me was because you were on crystal meth.

Cameron: I was on the drugs because I was emotional. It was the emotions that led to the sex, not the drugs.

Chase: Not true. After that, you refused to let it go further than just sex.

Cameron: Because I knew I was falling for you and I didn't want to.

Chase: And that never changed. You broke off our vacation because I bought you a ring.

Cameron: I got cold feet. I'm not proud.

Chase: And then you almost called off our wedding because —

Cameron: Don’t

Chase: — you couldn't give up the idea —

Cameron: Don’t!

Chase: — of having your d*ad husband's baby.

Cameron: [angry] Don't bring him up!

Chase: Because even then, you weren't sure about me. Maybe if I was dying when you married me, it would have been a bit different.

Cameron: That's not fair.

Chase: It's not only fair, it's exactly the point. He was dying when you met him, and he was gone just a year into the marriage. So it was all a honeymoon with him. And I could never match up to that. The first time reality intruded —

Cameron: Stop this.

Chase: Just tell me the truth.

Cameron: About what?

Chase: Did you ever love me?

Cameron: [almost crying] I don't know!

[They stare at each other. She covers her face with her hands.]

Chase: [calm] Thank you for finally telling me.

[He steps away. She sobs once then brings her hands down.]

[Cut to the cafeteria.]

Wilson: Truth.

Thirteen: You said you weren't dating anyone now. Does that you mean you recently were, or soon will be? [He hesitates, his lips pinched together.] Oh. Look who's guarded now. You had no problem talking about your sex life, but your love life... Fine. Dare it is.

Wilson: [shakes head] No nudity now or in the future.

[She leans back in her chair and contemplates him. He leans back and meets her gaze.]

Thirteen: You're too much of a nice boy, Wilson. Let's let the bad boy out for a bit. You have to go steal one dollar right now.

Wilson: From who? [She looks through the window in the partition. He follows her gaze and sees the cashier.] Oh, come on.

[Cut to medical records. Taub and Foreman are squared off in adjoining aisles, They look at each other through the shelves.]

Taub: [reads] Uh, interned at Hopkins. Old news. [excited] Here we go. Academic probation.

Foreman: I am asking you to please stop reading.

Taub: I'm afraid I can't do that. Faked a lab result. [pseudo-scolding] Very wrong! And you came down to destroy the record before it gets digitized. Permanentized. Even wronger.

Foreman: I... I needed to b*at all those elite, spoiled kids around me, to show no weaknesses, to win at everything. Why'd I just tell you that? I always talk too much when I'm stoned. Why'd I just tell you that?

[Taub comes around the shelves to face Foreman.]

Taub: It was stupid. You had great grades. One lab result shouldn't have mattered.

Foreman: Except I didn't think I deserved to be at a top med school in the first place. [to himself, annoyed at having revealed another secret] Again.

Taub: Faking lab results is one thing. But you needing to come down here to destroy the records 12 years after the fact... This isn't about med school. You don't think you belong here. At the hospital.

Foreman: [reads the cover of a file he’s holding] Dr. Taub, comma, Christopher Michael.

[He runs off as Taub chases him.]

[Cut to Nash’s room. House is standing far from the bed and facing away from Nash. There’s the sound of water running.]

House: So this is what it comes down to in the final hours. Deifying some lost love. Hoping to get her on the phone and make everything perfect. It's pathetic. Either you left her for a reason or she left you for a reason. [He turns and walks toward Nash. He’s holding the emesis basin that he was washing.] A phone call is not —

Nash: It's my daughter.

House: So why isn't she here?

Nash: I left my family... when Gracie was six. I was sort of forced out, actually, after I'd had an affair with a student.

House: For sex or love?

Nash: Neither. I'd only married Gracie's mother because of the baby. But I didn't think I could handle commitment, and, like any decent academic, I proved myself right.

House: And what time it is matters because?

Nash: She's a dance teacher in Atlanta. She gets home from work at 9:00, and I just wanted to speak to her one more time. That's my story. What's yours?

House: Same thing. Pretty much.

Nash: I'm gonna be d*ad in a few hours. Your secrets couldn't be safer. Unless you're keeping them from yourself.

House: I like being alone. At least I convince myself that I'm better off that way. And then I met someone… at a psychiatric hospital, of all places. She changed me. And then she left. We're better off alone. We suffer alone. We die alone. Doesn't matter if you're a model husband or father of the year. Tomorrow will be the same for you.

Nash: But yesterday would have been different.

[Cut to the cafeteria. Wilson walks up to the cashier.]

Wilson: Hey, Dar-Daria. [He read her nametag.]

Daria: Dr. Wilson.

Wilson: Could you cook me up a chicken sandwich?

Daria: Grill's closed.

Wilson: It's important medically. Dr. Hadley needs a high-protein meal right now. She doesn't like to talk about it, but she has hypoproteinemia.

Daria: We got chicken salad.

Wilson: Yeah. That's cold.

Daria: She needs to eat warm protein for this disease?

Wilson: Well, we could give her cold protein whose uptake enzymes haven't been activated, as long as you don't mind her risking liver and kidney failure and eventual death. But, hey, it's worth it so you don't have to flip on the grill.

Daria: You don't have to be obnoxious about it.

[She heads toward the back. Wilson rolls his head and looks at Thirteen who gives him two thumbs up. He steps in front of the cash register and pushes buttons randomly. He jumps when the drawer opens. Thirteen laughs. He pulls a dollar bill out and closes the drawer. A beeeeeeep sounds. Thirteen, still laughing, sinks down so she can barely be seen behind the partition. As the alarm continues, the few other people in the cafeteria sit up and take notice. Daria come to the kitchen door and gives Wilson a look. He makes a big show of putting the dollar on top of the cash register. Shaking his head, he backs away. Thirteen continues laughing and the alarm continues beeping.]

[Cut to the clinic.]

Cameron: [still teary] How do you look so okay?

Chase: I spent months wondering how I made it go bad. If you never loved me, then – then I didn't do anything wrong. [She starts to cry. He gets up and goes to her.] Hey. Allison, come on. It's all right.

Cameron: I still don't know why I said that. It's not even true. I did love you. Just... not in a way that would have ever worked.

Chase: [puzzled] Why not?

Cameron: Because everything you said is true. I'm a mess. I married a man I knew was dying. So God knows how screwed up I already was. Him dying messed me up even more. I pushed you out of my life. And I-I'm unfixable. [She tries to laugh.] Not you.

Chase: [quietly] I'm sorry.

Cameron: I'm sorry too.

[He walks away from her. When he gets to the exam table, he picks up the envelope and opens it. He pulls out the paper Cameron brought and signs it.]

[Cut to the cafeteria.]

Thirteen: Truth.

Wilson: Shut up.

Thirteen: I'm sorry.

Wilson: It's not your fault.

Thirteen: No, I didn't even play fair. You asked me how my dad reacted when I told him I was bisexual. And the Huntington's.

Wilson: No tea party?

Thirteen: I never told him. He's been through enough.

Wilson: So he just visits his heterosexual, healthy daughter, and you go out to dinner and a movie and talk about your garden?

Thirteen: I work late. He's staying at my house. It's easier if I stay elsewhere as much as I can.

Wilson: You can't suppress your life for his convenience.

Thirteen: You don't see a little irony in that? That's exactly what you do for House. When he moved in with you, you bought a bigger place for him. No wonder you're not dating anyone.

Wilson: You're right. That woman, the woman I'm not involved with, her name is Sam Carr. But in 1990 and 1991, it was Sam Wilson.

Thirteen: Your ex-wife?

Wilson: No, my mother. Yes, my ex-wife. Ex number one. She friended me a few weeks ago. We started emailing. It turns out she's recently divorced, and I wanted to ask her out.

Thirteen: You can't take a woman to dinner, or else House will go running straight back to the loony bin? You're not worried about House. You're worried about yourself. Because she's an ex. So even dinner will mean it's immediately serious.

[Wilson thinks about this.]

[Cut to the clinic.]

Cameron: What are your favorite parts that you remember?

Chase: I liked how I would wake up in the middle of the night, you'd put your arm around me, and you wouldn't even wake up. I liked watching you stand up to your dad at Christmas when he yelled at your mom. How you didn't even know you were strong. But you were. What do you miss?

Cameron: I miss a lot. But when I think about missing you, I think about that dance class that we took for the wedding. It's weird. I think, he's never gonna hold me like that again.

[Chase gets up and gets his MP3 player. He turns it on and puts it on the exam table. He walks up to Cameron as Elvis Costello’s Allison begins to play. He holds his arms out in a half-invitation/half-shrug.]

Cameron: [laughs] Oh, God.

[She takes his hand and they slow dance.]

♪♫ Oh, it's so funny to be seeing you after so long, girl

♪♫ and with the way you look

♪♫ I understand that you were not impressed

♪♫ but I heard you let that little friend of mine

Chase: I'm gonna miss this too.

♪♫ Take off your party dress

[Cut to medical records. Foreman reads from Taub’s file as he walks.]

Foreman: Published in The New England Journal at 26?

Taub: [comes around the corner] Finished all the lab work a year earlier. [He lunges for the file and Foreman runs off with it.]

Foreman: Led a group of surgeons to fix cleft palates in Bangladesh?

Taub: What can I say? That concert was very moving to me. I have to take a knee. [He leans over and tries to catch his breath.]

Foreman: I don't get it. This has got to be the most spectacular file down here. Why are pretending to be ashamed?

Taub: I would trade mine for yours in a second. When I was in med school, I thought I'd be House some day. Instead, I am a fellow working with – working for people years younger than me.

Foreman: So… We both have a few regrets.

Taub: You should be proud of yours. Your life's been trending up.

[Cut to Sarah’s room. Cuddy enters.]

Cuddy: No news. How you holding up? [Sarah shrugs.] You let them sedate you?

Sarah: Yeah. Do you have kids?

Cuddy: [sits on the edge of Sarah’s bed] A little girl. I adopted her last year.

Sarah: I adopted Walker right after Donald and I got married. What if I can never love Walker the way I love my daughter? Does that make me a horrible person? [She wipes her eyes on her bedclothes.]

Cuddy: Let me get you some tissues. [She goes into the bathroom and picks up the tissues. Then she looks around.] Did you request some extra towels?

Sarah: No. What — why?

[Cut to Cuddy approaching the nurses’ station.]

Cuddy: There are eight towels in Sarah's room.

Maldonado: Okay.

Cuddy: There should only be four.

Smits: Housekeeping handles towels.

Cuddy: I need you to track down their logs, figure out who was up there and when.

Smits: Because they got extra towels?

Cuddy: Just find the logs. Now. [She picks up the phone as Smits walks past Maldonado who is just standing there. Maldonado looks spacey.] Adrienne, you okay?

Maldonado: Sure.

Smits: [looks at Maldonado] What's wrong?

Cuddy: [hangs up and comes over] Adrienne, give me your arm. [She picks up both of Moldonado arms — she looks like a zombie. Cuddy inspects them.] The hair on her left arm is standing up. Asymmetric neurological function. She's having a pilomotor seizure.

Smits: She seemed fine a minute ago.

Cuddy: She was. [She leads Maldonado to a chair, sits her down and checks her eyes.] She's probably been having complex seizures all day. She would be basically functional, but more or less acting on autopilot. She probably dropped the towels off twice. She could have taken the baby.

[Cut to the clinic. Chase and Cameron are still swaying in each other’s arms.]

Cameron: We never really did have a proper good-bye.

[She holds his head and kisses him on the cheek then clasps her hands behind his neck. Chase hesitates, then kisses her. She pulls him close. After a moment she breaks the embrace and moves away. Chase makes a slight sound of resignation. Cameron goes to the exam room door and locks it. She leans against the door and wiggles suggestively. Chase hurries to her and they kiss passionately.]

[Cut to Nash’s room. House puts the phone on Nash’s stomach and picks up the receiver.]

House: It's 9:00.

[Nash takes the receiver and dials with great difficulty.]

Gracie’s Voice: [faintly] It's Gracie. I can't come to the phone, so please leave a message.

[He hangs up the phone. Every movement is torturous.]

Nash: I guess she's running late.

House: You don't seem that surprised. [Nash looks away from him.] That's what you expected to get. You waited until you knew she'd be out.

Nash: Her aunt said that she starts work late. Every now and then, I just call to hear her voice on the machine. I was never there when she needed me, so... What right do I have to need her now?

House: None. Just means you're a hypocrite. 'Cause apparently you do. [He picks up the phone, hits “redial” and hands Nash the phone.] Forget about rights. Just tell her what you need to tell her.

Gracie’s Voice: It's Gracie. I can't come to the phone, so please leave a message.

Nash: [after a pause] Gracie... This is... your father. I love you.

[He drops the hand holding the phone to the bed. He turns his head away, crying, as House hangs up the receiver.]

[Cut to the laundry storeroom. Cuddy bursts in and turns on the light. She starts searching. Smits follows her in.]

Smits: Anything? We've covered every room on Maldonado's logs. Been everywhere she's been.

Cuddy: [checks the laundry cart] Where's the other cart? Isn't there usually another cart in here?

[She rushes out.]

[Cut to a deserted area. Cuddy pulls open the door, followed by Smits. There’s a canvas laundry cart sitting there. As Cuddy leans over the cart there’s a sound. She pulls a blanket away and there’s Toadette.]

Cuddy: Hey. Okay. [picks up the baby] Okay. [She looks at Smits and smiles.] Hi. Oh.

[Cut to Cuddy handing the baby to Sarah as Birds and Ships by Billy Brag & Wilco featuring Natalie Merchant starts playing.]

♪♫ The birds are singing in your eyes today

♪♫ Sweet flowers blossom in your smile

[Donald and Walker enter. Cuddly leaves, looks back at them and smiles.]

♪♫ But my soul is stormy and my heart blows wild

♪♫ My sweetheart rides a ship on the sea

[Cut to the clinic doorknob being rattled.]

Guard’s Voice: Anyone in there? Lockdown's over.

[Cameron and Chase are lying on the exam table under a blanket. They have post-coital glows.]

♪♫ Where might my lonesome lover be?

Cameron: I should go.

Chase: Yeah.

[She puts her head back down and he wraps his hand around her head.]

[Cut to the cafeteria. Wilson walks up to Thirteen’s table. He has a phone in his hand.]

Wilson: I just asked Sam to dinner.

Thirteen: Little baby's all growed up.

[They start gathering their stuff.]

Wilson: You gonna tell your dad?

Thirteen: I'll stop by his hotel, talk to him.

Wilson: Hotel? You said he was staying at your apartment. Was there any truth in anything you said?

Thirteen: The part about it being a good idea for you to call Sam. That was true.

Wilson: Good night, Remy.

Thirteen: Good night, James.

[Cut to medical records. Foreman and Taub are near the door. The only light comes from the hall.]

Loud Speaker: Code seven has been lifted. Repeat, code seven has been lifted.

Taub: You want your file?

Foreman: Nah.

Taub: [drops file on a table] Good for you.

Loud Speaker: All hospital personnel may leave their staging areas and report back to their departments. Thank you for your cooperation.

Taub: We don't have to tell anybody what we —

Foreman: [shakes his head] mm-mm. You got the patient file?

Taub: I'll grab it.

Foreman: Thanks. See you tomorrow.

[Taub watches him leave. He picks up Foreman’s file again. He opens it and pulls out the second sheet of paper, which he feeds into a shredder, thereby destroying the only evidence in the world of Foreman’s academic probation.]

[Cut to Nash’s room. House sits on his bed, watching him.]

Nash: I think I'm ready to take you up on your offer.

[House opens the morphine pump and pushes a few buttons. He looks at Nash.]

Guard: [enters] Dr. House? Lockdown ended a few minutes ago.

House: Yeah. I know. [to Nash] I'm sorry I didn't take your case.

Nash: Me too. [long pause] Gracie... was the cutest six-year-old you ever saw.

[Once in a Blue Moon by Mabel Mercer plays as House watches Nash drift off. He stays, sitting there.]

♪♫ Once in a blue moon you will find the right one.

♪♫ Once in a blue moon find your dear delight one

♪♫ Then with a thrill you'll know that love is true

[Cut to the front desk. Cuddy hands Taub several messages.]

♪♫ Once in a lifetime

[Thirteen crosses the lobby behind him. He reaches the door.]

Taub: Interesting night, huh? [He holds the door open for her. She opens her shirt, flashes him and leaves without saying a word or breaking her stride.] Interesting night.

♪♫When the moon is blue.
{"type": "series", "show": "House", "episode": "06x17 - Lockdown"}