"Wilson" 6x10

On this week’s episode of House we get a lesson in “Friendship 101” when an old friend and patient of Wilson’s asks him for part of his liver; Wilson asks House for some support and Cuddy asks for help finding a new place for her and Lucas. The first two instances end with a stronger bond between BFF’s House and Wilson, while the last ends with Wilson outbidding Cuddy on a dream loft because he feels she should be punished for hurting his friend. Okay….so only the first two are lessons in “Friendship 101.” The last one is more from the class “How To Get Back At Chicks Harshing On Your Buddy 101.” That’s a real class. Honest.



“Wilson” – House 6x10 recap

We open the episode with Wilson peacefully sleeping in his darkened room. He looks warm and cozy. That lasts for about two seconds and then we hear the acoustic guitar strains of George Micheal’s “Faith” blasting from the living room. As Wilson grumpily opens his eyes and gets out of bed to stop the noise, House begins to sing the song. He stops when he sees Wilson glaring at him. Any chance of us fans getting the extended version? Wow. I’d love to get that version of the song together with some videos of Cuddy and House together. Yes? Anyway, Wilson comments on the new stay of disorder in his living room. It is cluttered with books, boxes and guitars. Lots of guitars. House informs Wilson that he had the urge to play in the middle of the night and went to his apartment to get one. He figured he’d just save himself future trips by bringing over a bunch of stuff now. Besides, House says, it’s 6:33am. Wilson should be flossing and on his way to work by now. Wilson hesitates then informs House that he’s not going to work today. Pause. He’s going hunting. He cringes, as I did, at the thought and then retreats back to his bed to sleep in some more. He doesn’t succeed as House opens the door and asks him if it’s “that time of year” again. Wilson tells him to go away. “He’s a self-important jerk,” House says, completely unaware of the irony of that statement. “He’s my friend,” Wilson responds automatically. “He calls you Jim,” House retorts as though that proves he’s not a true friend. House is really not liking the fact that Wilson has another “friend.” He’s jealous. Wilson wants to just go back to sleep. “It’s short for James,” he says, wiggling lower in the bedcovers. “No go away…Lim.” Hee-hee. He closes his eyes and House reluctantly closes the door.

“Jim” and his buddy, Tucker, are hunting, poorly. Maybe I should call Tucker, “Tuck.” See how he likes it…. The two friends having no luck in the hunting department but at least he’s freezing cold and his new boots are leaking, says Wilson. Tucker takes no offense to this and says he will continue to find new and exciting ways to thank Wilson. For what? And if it’s to thank Wilson shouldn’t Wilson get to pick what they do? Anyway, Tucker says cryptically that it’s almost time. “Got the bag?” he asks Wilson. Wilson then takes an empty Chemo foil bag and stabs it onto a tree trunk. Tucker gives a little speech about how 5 years ago Wilson told him that he had leukemia and that if treatment went well he’d be cured. Six months after that the treatment had gone well and he was cured, thereby making Tucker promise right there and then that he would celebrate those dates every year with “Jim” by his side. How touching. He should totally ask Wilson what he wants to do next time. Well, Wilson writes “5 years” on the chemo bag and steps back so that Tucker can blast it to pieces with his shotgun. He can hit a 10” bag from 10 yards but can’t hit a big ol’ turkey eating some worms off the ground. Hmmmm. I also wonder if the shooting of the bag is part of the ritual, which would dangerous if they chose to go skydiving one year. Tucker sincerely thanks Wilson and the two set off to continue hunting. No wild animal in the immediate area is too concerned. Suddenly, as we watch Wilson walk on ahead, a shotgun goes off. Wilson turns and yells at Tucker, who apologizes but it seems he’s in trouble. He’s lying on the ground with his dropped shotgun next to him. His arm is seizing up and he can’t move it. He asks if it’s the cancer again. Wilson has no idea and begins to look around…for what…the nearest First Aid station. Although that might not be such a bad idea if there are as many poor hunters out there as Wilson and Tucker…and Dick Cheney. Tee-hee. Cut to opening credits. I predict Jennifer Morrison and her image will be in the opening credit sequence until the show ends whether she returns or not.

We are in the ER at PPTH. Wilson is returning to Tucker’s bedside with good news. There is no evidence that Tucker had a stroke. There’s a young, pretty blonde next to Tuckers bed and Wilson begins to comment that he can’t believe how much Emily has grown up in five years. Awkward looks from both Tucker and the girl reveal that the girl is not Emily, Tucker’s daughter. Tucker introduces Ashley, his girlfriend. Wilson is surprised. “New life. New adventures,” Tucker explains matter-of-factly. Wilson is still surprised. The girlfriend, Ashley, is freaking out a bit … probably about all the big words being used. Wilson assures Tucker that it’s not his cancer returning. He then notices Ashley’s mongo cold sore. He has a HOUSE-LIKE EPIPHANYTM and diagnoses Transverse Myelitis. It seems that the virus in the cold sore is messing with Tuckers brain. Wilson says he’ll start him on antibiotics right away.

Wilson goes to the Diagnostics Department and looks disappointed when he can’t find anyone. We see him next entering a restricted area where he does find House and members of his team, 13 and Chase. 13 and Chase are performing an ultrasound on a very large man who is rambling in Spanish about the Mano de Dios. It seems he’s a mariachi band member with searing stomach pain. House is sitting there playing with a new toy, it looks like a PSP. I don’t even text so I’m not sure the make and model. Wilson happily tells House that he just had a House Moment, where he diagnosed Transverse Myelitis through a cold sore the girlfriend had. House is reluctant to issue Wilson a “FINAL EPIPHANYTM CARD” just yet. House insists that Tucker has cancer. It seems he paid a nurse to give all of Wilson’s case files to him to look over. House doesn’t want another of Wilson’s patients to die on him and have Wilson get all sad and want to give a career-ending speech again. “I’m stalking you for you,” he tells a shocked and somewhat ticked Wilson. House then harshes on Wilson some more by telling him that Wilson’s caring nature is clouding the diagnosis of his friend. House tells Wilson that he gets paid big bucks to look for zebras while other doctors are looking for horses. Wilson is one of those other doctors. Wilson is rightfully hurt by the statement and says House is wrong. House bets him $100 that it’s cancer. Wilson is still mad. 13 then approaches them and tells House that the patient’s lactic acid level is 27. I guess that’s either too high or too low because it sets some ideas in motion and House walks over to the large man and tells him, “The fact that you don’t speak English does not eliminate you from being humiliated from what I’m about to say.” Before he can finish Wilson tells him that he will take the bet. House nods and as Wilson leaves tells the mariachi singer that if he had just told them he had been a professional tennis player they would have saved a bunch of time in the diagnosis. What?! I want to hear the rest but we are continuing on with Wilson’s day.

Wilson approaches a nurse who fills him in on Tucker and other patients. Oh, Wilson has an assistant. Cool. He should actually have two assistants: one for dealing with cancer patients and one for dealing with House. Wilson takes a file and goes in to check on Del, who is recovering from his latest round of chemo. Del seems more depressed than usual. He’s not bragging on his grandkids as he usually does and Wilson is concerned. He tells Del that he’s going to run some more tests just to make sure everything is okay. He spends a bit of time talking with Del and then he’s paged to see Tucker.

We are in Tucker’s room and Ashley is weirding out about Tucker’s latest symptom. It seems as though Tucker’s foot is tingling. Both men try to downplay the symptom and Wilson invites Ashley to leave. She does so only after Tucker also nicely kicks her out. Wilson tells Tucker that they may have to increase or add meds, but it’s not the leukemia. Wilson all but guarantees it’s not cancer. Tucker appears calm at Wilson’s assurances, but asks Wilson to call Emily, his daughter. It seems as though they haven’t spoken since Tucker dumped her mom and started dating someone her own age. Wow. Go figure. Wilson reluctantly agrees.

Wilson is on the phone at the nurse’s station outside the patient’s rooms. He’s asking exactly what it will take for Emily to come visit her father. Wilson tells her that he would rather her regret coming than regret not coming. Oh, nice turn of the phrase, Wilson. Smooth. While he’s talking Cuddy comes up beside him and waits until he’s done. She asks about Tucker and then asks what House thinks about Tucker. Wilson is offended. She just smoothes it out by saying that it’s not a good idea to treat friends. Wilson shrugs. Cuddy changes the conversation and asks if Wilson’s ex-wife, Bonnie, is still a real estate agent. She pauses and then drops the bomb. She and Lucas are moving in together and need a bigger space. What? She has a house! With at least three bedrooms. Does not compute. Just then the big mariachi singer is pushed by at breakneck speed on a gurney. Foreman is on top of him performing CPR and yelling “It wasn’t the tennis!” at Wilson and Cuddy when they turn to see him. They don’t even bat an eye. I guess they should be used to those types of scenes when it comes to House’s team. It’s still pretty funny. What the rest of the hospital must think of House’s team. That would be a great episode. Sniff. Sniff. Do I smell a fanfic? Wilson looks at Cuddy and tells her that she’s Bonnie’s friend. Why didn’t she just call Bonnie? Cuddy stammers and Wilson fills in the blanks. He tells her he knows she talked to him because she wants his blessing on Luddy. And if Wilson gives them his blessing then that’s sorta House’s blessing, too. Cuddy denies this but Wilson isn’t listening. He walks off and Cuddy looks very…uncomfortable and confused.

And it’s at this moment that if you could see me you would see me doing my FINAL EPIPHANYTM look because I figured out WHY Cuddy is with Lucas. Excuse me while I go completely off track for a moment. See, Cuddy wanted to get together with House. Right? We all remember last season. But House was mentally and physically incapable of any type of relationship. She gets a bit shaken by House’s hallucination and realizes House’s HIGH level of interest in her. House goes off to an asylum and proceeds to make the changes he needs to be in a relationship, specifically a relationship with Cuddy. Cuddy knows that House is getting better and sees this improvement when he returns. She realizes he’s now 80% ready for a relationship and she freaks out. She’s not sure she wants to deal with all the baggage and make a huge effort to not only work on a relationship with House but make changes in herself to have that relationship work. Now, we don’t know when Cuddy hooked up with Lucas, but I’m thinking it was within the first few weeks of House returning. She thought that if she was in an easier relationship she could avoid the harder relationship that hovered around her all the time. Lucas is House-light, we can all agree, but he has no baggage. No drama. It’s easy and while I think Cuddy is now bored with House-lite, she still realizes that relationship is protecting her and her heart from House Classic. Except now, she’s having buyer’s remorse. Wilson thinks she just wants House to approve of her relationship with Lucas, but I think that Cuddy wants House to get jealous, do something stupid and fight for her. But that’s just the romantic in me. It’ll be interesting to see how this shakes out next year. Okay…back to the recap.

Wilson leaves Cuddy and her confusion and is now in Tucker’s room. Tucker has a bad cough and Ashley, as usual is all drama. Wilson is actually somewhat worried as well and listens to Tucker’s chest. Just then Emily arrives at the room’s door. Melissa, Tucker’s ex-wife is there to. She drove Emily down and says she doesn’t need to stay. She’s very nice about it and not bitter or scorned at all. Tucker invites them all in and Wilson gives them both a hug. He assures Melissa that Tucker is okay, but the Liar Liar Alarm goes off as Tucker starts to cough really bad, followed by the heart alarm going off. Yeah, that’s what the Liar Liar Alarm sounds like usually. Wilson calls for a crash cart as he rushes to attend to his friend.

Wilson enters the Diagnostic Department to find the team surrounding the table. Chase is standing behind them all leaning against the counter and tossing the Tennis Ball of Insight around. He’s so House. Wilson asks where their dying patient is. Foreman says he’s not dying any more. It seems as though Mr. Mariachi was eating 10 bags of microwave popcorn a day and inhaling the fumes from the bags had burned and scarred his lungs. “That’s just…weird,” Wilson states. But that’s Standard Operating Procedure for the Diagnostics Department, my friends. Wilson asks where House is and they blab that he’s hiding from Cuddy so he doesn’t get another case. They offer to page him but he says it’s better he’s not there anyway. Wilson asks if the team wants to help House lose $100 bucks. They are all for it and look through the chart for Wilson. Chase sits down and asks if House suspects it’s cancer, which would have be another “Oh, he’s just like House” moment, except that Chase was there when House initially told Wilson that he thought it was cancer. Whoops. Continuity, kids. They throw out some ideas and Wilson comes up with Fungus Balls. I don’t know how he said that with a straight face. He takes the file back and races out.

Wilson takes his epiphany to Tucker and explains the problem and the cure to him and the three ladies, now all hovering around Tucker in support with a hint of competition. At least from Ashley. Wilson says that they need to go in surgically and shoot the lungs full of antibiotic. Tucker asks Ashley what she thinks and she’s so nervous of the surgery thing that she immediately ixnays it. The Melissa asks Wilson if this is the only option. Wilson confirms that it is and Melissa asks a few more intelligent questions before turning to Tucker and nodding. “You have to do it,” she says gently. Tucker agrees and gives Wilson the go-ahead. Wilson smiles and is happy, not only because Tucker will be getting better but because Tucker and Melissa are working as a team again.

Wilson is back up on his regular oncology floor and tells his assistant to page Chase for a surgery consult for Tucker. The assistant tells Wilson that one of his patients, Saul, wants to see him and only him. She gives him the chart. She also tells him House was looking for him. She’s all proud of herself as she tells Wilson that she told House he was in the clinic. She thinks she totally pulled a fast one on House. Oh, my dear. You are playing with a master on that game. I’d watch your back if I were you. Wilson goes into Saul’s room, where Saul tells the kind doctor that he’s very tired but can’t seem to fall asleep. Wilson smiles and tells Saul, “Well, today’s your lucky day. I happen to be a sleep specialist.” And then he ups Saul’s morphine dose and Saul quietly falls asleep. I think he’s asleep, but if you recall, you can never tell with Wilson and morphine doses these days. He then hears the toilet flush and goes to the bathroom door. He opens it to find House sitting on the toilet lid. See, he totally didn’t fall for the ruse, missy. “Can’t a guy get a little privacy,” asks House, who is still playing with his phone. It must be a new toy. House asks what Cuddy wanted. Wilson just mentions that she was asking about Tucker. “Did she say anything else?” House asks as innocently as he can. “About you perhaps?” Wilson responds. Caught redhanded, House deflects by changing the subject and asking for his $100. He tells Wilson that Tucker does not have a “ball of fungus” and I would have given him his $100 right then if he had said “fungus balls” instead. I bet Mr. Laurie wanted to but couldn’t do it with a straight face. Wilson is amazed that House is so up to date, but he really shouldn’t be. He is House. And I’m actually thinking that he probably kept all the bugs he had Lucas plant everywhere during season 5 up and running. He might even had hire someone to monitor it and put the invoices with his patients. You know, split up the expenses here and there and no one the wiser. Hmmmmm. Wilson is mad and turns to leave the room when Cuddy enters. She has been looking for him to tell him all about the loft in the city that Bonnie found for her and Lucas. Wilson, wanting to avoid stepping in a HUGE heap of steamin’ you-know-what, quickly guides her out of the room and away from House lurking in the bathroom.

Wilson has returned to Tucker’s bedside, reassuring him about the surgery. Tucker tells Wilson that he should maybe go be with Ashley, who’s more freaked out than he is. Wilson correctly assumes that Ashley has never had to deal with anything like this. Wilson asks Tucker why he left Melissa. Tucker starts to make excuses but eventually just shrugs and says, “I don’t know.” Wilson gets a look on his face that I’m sure many a yenta has had before just as she’s realizing a perfect match.

Tucker’s surgery is underway and Wilson is watching it from the observation room. House enters the room. Wilson quickly tells House to keep quiet, he’s not interested. House ignores him and pushes the button to berate Chase. Chase gives it right back so House turns his attentions back to Wilson. But it’s not about Tucker. “You didn’t tell me that Cuddy was moving in with Lucas because you were protecting me,” says House. “Which is odd, since I’ve told you I was fine with their relationship.” Wilson admits that while he thinks House might be okay with the dating thing, the moving in thing is a higher level of commitment. He was afraid that House would react poorly. House, jealous, begins to snark about Cuddy and Lucas. Then he pauses and starts to over-analyze why they’d get a loft and how it looks like less of a commitment with two bedrooms. Blah. Blah. Blah. Wilson tells House to stop torturing himself. House insists that Cuddy’s just having a mid-life crisis. A part of him is still denying that Cuddy and Lucas have a real relationship, and, honestly, I trust House’s opinion on this one. He’s pretty saavy when it comes to reading people, especially Cuddy. Wilson shakes his head. “Yeah, you’re clearly fine with this.” Chase at that moment calls up to the booth to tell them that while Tucker is footloose and fungus-free, his lungs are mincemeat. Tucker has PCP pneumonia. Well, snarks House, there are only three reasons for Tucker’s immune system to be so trashed: HIV; Acquired SCIV (I tried to look that one up for all of you and still couldn’t come up with it using different search engines) and wait for it…CANCER. House tells him to be sure to test for all three.

Wilson and a bunch of other doctors are gathered around a conference table. He’s reviewing Del’s records and history with them. He said that he performed another scan and discovered a small growth. The other doctors are impressed that he put together the depression with a possible cancer growth. They congratulate him. He accepts the praise and wonders if he’s going to show off his “I’m A Zebra Doctor” card to House, but House is suddenly there, breaking in on the meeting. He has bad news. Tucker does indeed have cancer…and he wants his $100. House needs to work on his lack of personal involvement when it comes to work I think. Maybe he can borrow some involvement tokens from Wilson, because he has WAY too many. We go to a commercial and I just want to say that just because we have a few popular reality shows that focus on little people we should not start putting elves in all of our Christmas commercials. A new awareness and acceptance does not make a silly stereotype suddenly okay. Sorry. I’ll give my soapbox back to Cameron.

Back in Tucker’s room Wilson has to tell him and the three girls in his life that he does in fact have cancer, but it’s a new kind. This form of leukemia was probably caused by the huge doses of chemo he received five years ago. Tucker grabs Melissa’s hand at this news. Ashley is less than thrilled and I feel the temperature go down in the room through my television set. Can I mention that it was at this point that I realize that Ashley IS Melissa probably 20 years ago. They look exactly alike down to outfits even. It looks like that Tucker’s little wake-up call five years ago made him decide he needed a newer model of his wife. I can see why Emily was so bitter. It speaks volumes about Melissa that she’s even there supporting that self-important jerk. Wilson explains that the cancer is in Tucker’s brain, which is good because the blood-brain barrier has kept the cancer to that limited area. They should be able to go put in a shunt, drop in some chemo and get rid of the thing. Wilson assures the group that 90% of the people with this form of cancer come out just fine. Melissa asks about the other 10%. Wilson admits that that 10% usually have 6 months or less. Wilson, however, is very reassuring and convinces them all that Tucker will walk out of there. It’s here I realize that Wilson has become too involved. Wilson has given many a lecture about giving too much hope or sugar-coating everything when it comes to telling patients what to expect. He’s forgotten his own advice in trying to make everything okay. And besides, he shouldn’t be so optimistic. He’s still has 30 minutes left in the show.

Wilson and the girls are escorting Tucker down the hall to the OR. Wilson is explaining that Tucker still needs to determine who’s going to be his medical proxy and sign the paperwork. In my vast experience of visiting hospitals (I have four kids, two elderly parents and a husband who plays sports) that medical proxy form was always a part of the admission paperwork, but then again PPTH has always done things a bit different then most hospitals. More drama that way. Tucker tells Melissa that he thinks she should be his proxy. “What?!” says Ashley. “Oh, I don’t think so,”says Melissa at the same time. Just then House’s team literally cuts in front of Tucker’s gurney with a gurney of their own. A patient is on it, holding on for dear life as Foreman and Taub swing that gurney at a hard left turn and through the operating room doors. Man, that took some skill, I’m telling you. “House got a new case!” yells Foreman as explanation for the cutsies. House is limping behind the careening gurney. He tells Wilson that his operation has been bumped. Apparently bleeding from one’s eyes takes higher priority, House says. Wilson points out that House’s patient is NOT bleeding from his eyes. House’s patient is not a higher priority. Well, that’s what the nurse that books the OR thinks, House says as he throws a paper at Wilson and tells him that anyway, Wilson is more patient. He follows his team into the OR. Wilson turns back to his patient and tells them everything is okay. Now they’ll have time to figure out the whole medical proxy thing.

Tucker and Ashley are in the OR prep room. She says he trusts Melissa more than her and Tucker agrees he does, but only because they’ve gone through this together before. Ashley has no experience with these sorts of things. I bet neither did Melissa til five years ago. I guess Tucker wants someone with more life & death experience in his ring when it comes time to pull the plug. Hmmmmm. Kind of self-serving, however, to put you current love in the corner til a crisis is over. Ashley spits out that Tucker still loves Melissa. “Don’t be silly. I love you. Please don’t make this more than it is,” he says, never really denying that he doesn’t love Melissa anymore. Ashley again looks non-sympathetic and ticked off.

The next morning finds Wilson checking Tucker’s progress. He’s still not feeling anything in his arm and leg. Wilson asks where everyone is. Tucker tells him that Melissa and Emily are downstairs getting some breakie. He quickly explains that Ashley had to work. Wilson is confused and says that he thought Ashley had today off. “Well, she didn’t really have to work but she’s pissed at me so she pretended to have work to do. I let her pretend,” explains Tucker. I guess she did make it more than it was. Yeah, Ashley is all about the supportive nature of mature relationships. Tucker still has no movement in his arm and Wilson realizes that Tucker’s leukemia is resistant to the chemo because of the chemo that was pumped into his body years ago. Tucker starts to mentally write out his obituary, but Wilson tells him that there might be a way.

House and Wilson are walking down the hallway. “We took the screw out his lung, but the weird thing is he didn’t get better,” House states matter-of-factly and again I LOVE the randomness of any patient reference he and his team gets this episode. Within an episode around House’s team all this makes perfect sense, but when bits and pieces are taken out of context it becomes really funny. Wilson is not interested in House’s new case. House says that he figures as much, he’s just trying to keep the conversation from going where Wilson wants it to go. There’s a pause. Then House tells Wilson that doubling the chemo dosage on Tucker is stupid and again Wilson appears amazed. He really should be used to this by now. Wilson defends his idea as something that House would have done. House agrees but stops walking to turn and face Wilson. “Yeah, but I’m me and you’re you,” he says. “And a table is a table,” retorts Wilson. House explains that he can handle it when things go badly (except if it’s of a personal nature, my dear Dr. House) and Wilson can’t handle it when things go badly. And House reminds Wilson that things could go very, very badly. Wilson is mad at House and is offended that House seems to be implying he’s a wuss. He storms saying he can handle what happens. Looks like he’s off to make things go badly….

Wilson tells Tucker, Melissa and Emily about the risks. Tucker asks Melissa what she thinks. She thinks Tucker should call Ashley. Tucker shakes it off, “You’re my family,” he says. “I’m sorry I forgot that.” Wilson smiles. Emily then says she thinks her dad should do whatever it takes to keep them together longer. They all clasp hands and Tucker gives Wilson the okie dokie to poison his brain. Wilson puts on the silver bag of chemo. He’s happy. He’s saving lives and healing families. It’s a perfect day for James Wilson.

The next day we see the Tucker, Melissa and Emily happily sharing a laugh in Tucker’s room. They are all happy because Tucker has movement and feeling back. Wilson walks in on the happiness and earns a hug and a thank you from Melissa. As he looks at Tucker, he sees how yellow Tucker’s eyes are. I yell out “Oh, no, he’s got liver failure!” Wilson looks as concerned as I do when he tells them he’s going to have to run some more tests.

In the pathology lab, 13 and Taub are finalizing some tests on their patient. They’ve determined the problem but can’t figure out the cause. “It could be from the fire,” offers 13. “Either way he’s dead,” responds Taub. They turn when House walks in the lab. “We can’t stop the oozing,” Taub informs House. Again! I love the writer (David Foster) on this episode. He’s giving us all the fun weird snippets we usually get but thrown them randomly into the dialog mix. I’m just waiting now for Foreman to run in and tell them their patient has pooped out a lung and then I can die happy. House is not concerned with their patient. He’s there to see what Wilson has found out. Wilson has good and bad news. He’s successfully killed the cancer, but he also killed Tucker’s liver in the process. He needs a transplant. Now. Score one for Dr. Recapper, my friends! Didn’t I call that one. Someone send me my television-based medical license now, please. House is totally mean when he rubs salt into Wilson’s wound and says, “Well, look at the bright side. You can publish this case study and no one will ever double the dose again.” Ouch. Harsh. Nothing ticks House off more, I think, than when he full-out tells people what will happen and they don’t listen to him. Tell me about, House. I deal with it every day of my life! Of course, my warnings usually involve sharp objects or unfinished homework, not double doses of chemo. Oh, well. The feeling of “I told you so” is the same, I’m sure.

Wilson is in Tucker’s room. He’s telling them that Melissa, Emily and Ashley don’t match his blood type so he’ll have to just wait for a donor. Melissa asks if there’s anything they can do. They don’t want to sit around and just wait. There’s nothing, states Wilson, and furthers the stress by saying that Tucker probably has less than 24 hours to live if they don’t find something. Just then House comes limping into the room SOPPING WET! Ha-ha. This is better than someone pooping a lung, I tell ya! “I hope he’s told you you’re gonna die because it’s going to make what I’m about to say more relevant,” House says to Tucker. Wilson asks when it started raining…in the hallway. House shrugs. He explains that he was just in the ER because it’s the only department with a shower large enough for his patient, his team, the cardiac monitors and him to test the patient for autonic dysfunction. He finds it bothersome to have to explain something so obvious so he moves on quickly. House says that what is really relevant is that while he was leaving the ER they brought in the victim of a motorcycle verses a semi. Wilson immediately perks up. House says it’s bad news for the motorcycle but good news for Tucker as the guy has a matching blood type. Wilson asks why no one paged him and House says that the guy doesn’t have a donor card but his next of kin, a sister, lives only 20 minutes away. Wilson is out the door before he can finish the sentence. House races after Wilson, throwing a reassuring smile back at Tucker, et al. I think he’s also just enjoying all this action and change of venue. After all, a guy can only handle so much oozing.

Parked out in front of the sister’s house Wilson is wondering what type of person gets word of her brother’s accident and runs out to get errands done. They are waiting for the accident victim’s sister to arrive. Wilson, who is standing by the passenger side of the car, is not impressed with the sister’s lack of familial bonding. House is sitting in the passenger side with the window partly rolled down. He’s wearing Wilson’s gosh-awful hunting hat. Is this mockery or just a way to keep warm. Knowing House, probably both. House looks away as he ask Wilson if Cuddy bought the place. Wilson isn’t sure. “What are you planning now to ruin her relationship with Lucas?” Wilson asks, suspiciously. “Nothing,” House replies. “I don’t believe you,” Wilson responds. Then more seriously he says, “Are you really okay?” House responds with an immediate and emphatic “No! I am not okay. Not even close.” House shrinks down a bit in form and spirit at this admission. Wilson in surprised, but happy that House opened up to him. “See that’s very adult of you,” Wilson commends him. “No, it’s not,” House counters. “That’s just me accepting the fact that there’s nothing I can do and moving on.” That’s the skill that Nolan taught him. Remember, however, that House realized he can almost always do something before moving on. He’s still working out if that something is good or bad, I think. House looks lost and sad. Please, don’t give up, House. She still wants you. Just read back a few pages for my theory. Wilson nods, “Well, I think that’s the definition of adult hood,” he says. House is resigned but not bitter when he responds with, “Well if it is, being a kid is a lot more fun.” Anyone else want to give a big group hug to House right now? Yeah, join in. Just then a car pulls into the driveway. “Showtime,” House says and climbs out of the car, following Wilson up the driveway.

In the sister’s kitchen, the sister is talking. And talking. And talking. She tells of their history and how they only just reconciled. Being Buddhist she doesn’t believe in defiling the body after death. She tells them if she donates his liver, her brother’s Itai will be harmed. Wilson is trying to be all sensitive in convincing that donating this liver will be the right thing to do, but House finally has had enough. He tells her that he doesn’t have the time to talk her out of her religion, so what if he tells her that technically her brother is still alive and that his last dying act would be to donate a small portion of his liver to save someone else. She finally agrees, but it’s too late. Wilson receives a page informing him that the brother’s liver is too far gone to be used now as a donor organ. Both House and Wilson are disappointed. “Well played,” House says bitterly as he walks out. “Religion just killed another person.” Gosh, tell us how you really feel, House.

“It’s not fair, Jim,” whines Tucker back in the hospital room. “You just helped me get my family back. I want more time.” Tucker proceeds to whine more at Jim for giving him the extra dose of chemo, because before that he had at least six months. Wilson is taken aback at Jim’s petty accusations, but he’s still graceful as he apologizes. Then Tucker pulls the ace from his sleeve and tells Wilson that five years ago Wilson donated blood for him when he needed it. They have matching blood types. Can Wilson give Tucker a piece of his liver? What?! Nice friend. Wilson and Tucker debate about the ethics of being a friend and being a doctor, but ultimately, and rightly Wilson says he can’t do that. Bravo! You have to be careful and tough about this. One day you give them a piece of liver, the next day they want your retinas, after all you have two… Wilson is obviously feeling guilty, sad and manipulated. Thanks heavens we have Mr. Leonard in this cast. He can definitely keep the pace with Mr. Laurie when it comes to conveying meanings beyond using mere words.

Wilson comes home to find House watching some movie that involves sword fighting. At least, that what it sounds like on home theater surround sound. House asks Wilson, “Late night with the pigeon sisters?” I looked that one up and found that it was a reference to the set of sisters that lived in the apartment above Felix and Oscar in the play The Odd Couple by Neil Simon. So appropriate. House soon realizes that Wilson is not in a good mood and may even be slightly tipsy. Wilson sees all his freezer food thawing on the counter. House tells him that he needed to move it so he could put his margarita shots in the freezer. It’s a rather blatant act of a lack of respect. Wilson reveals that Tucker has asked him to donate part of his liver to him. House is outraged. And amazed he’s even considering it. “It’s my fault!” Wilson yells. House tells him that Tucker was explained the risks and still bought the ticket. It’s not Wilson’s responsibility. Not legally, says Wilson, but morally it is. House has heard this song before. “A table is a table, Wilson. Stop being a doormat!” he yells. This totally sets Wilson off. He yells at House for his selfish behavior and calls House a hypocrite, “You already think I’m a doormat,” he screams. “But you’re wrong!” He pulls out House’s margarita shots and dumps them in the trash then he angrily pushes off some of House’s books from the table. He tells House to pack his stuff and get out of the apartment. House is stunned at the tantrum and considers that he is a bad as Tucker. He’s left standing in the middle of the apartment as Wilson storms into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. I think Wilson is not only angry at what House said, but angry that he probably agrees with House.

The next morning finds Wilson walking down the hallway of the Oncology floor. His assistant greets him cheerfully, but Wilson is not having a good day. She tells him that Tucker is still the same. He asks to get word when he takes a turn for the worse. Wilson wants to be there for him at the end. Wilson’s assistant looks at Wilson and tries to cheer him up by telling him that Del is now cancer free. Wilson’s catch saved his life. Wilson doesn’t feel like doing the happy dance right now. He just takes Del’s chart and goes to talk to Del. Wilson’s assistant looks after him, worried.

Wilson is showing Del his lung x-ray. He shows him that the spot he found is now gone. Del thanks him for saving his life. He’s amazed that Wilson could find that little spot from the fact that Del wasn’t talking about his grandkids. Wilson just nods then it looks like he makes a decision. Wilson realizes it’s the little things he does that can make the difference. I think he’s decided to donate part of his liver.

Wilson enters Cuddy’s office. She’s talking to Bonnie on the phone and tells her to just keep looking. Cuddy hangs up and dejectedly tells Wilson that she put an offer on the loft, but the seller turned her down. “I offered exactly what a similar unit sold for three months ago,” she laments. Wilson abruptly shift the conversation by stating that he’s going to donate part of his liver to Tucker. She thinks he’s insane. “You have hundreds of patients!” she says. “And until I run out of excess organs why shouldn’t I do everything I can to help them?” he argues. “You’re a doctor, not a donor,” Cuddy points out. Wilson asks her why she made him head of oncology. “Not because you have the most organs,” she snarks, but she eventually says it’s because he’s a caring individual. Cuddy accuses him of feeling guilty and not being rational, but Wilson simply explains that Tucker is his friend and he’s doing what he can to save a dying friend. It’s what Wilson does. Cuddy realizes this and approves the procedure.

Wilson comes to House’s office where he finds him pouring over a case file. Wilson tells House to mock all he wants, but he’s going to donate part of his liver to Tucker. House stands up and gives the same argument that Cuddy tried. “They’re all dying. They’re all your friends!” But, he gives up too. He knows Wilson all too well. So then House asks if Wilson is there to make sure he called the movers. Wilson smiles, no, he’s there to tell House that his operation is in two hours and he’d like for House to be there. House’s expression visibly softens then begins to melt. There’s a long time of silence before House makes eye contact and answers, “No.” Wilson is surprised, “What-Why?” he asks. Again, House pauses, this time composing his answer and himself. “Because if you die,” he says softly. “I’m alone.” He looks at Wilson for a moment then shifts his gaze self-consciously downward. Wilson is completley shocked at this baring of House’s soul. He’s never experienced this before and isn’t quite sure what to do so he just leaves. House sits back down and pretends to focus on his paperwork. He absent-mindedly rubs his scarred thigh. Once again, House’s emotional pain is manifesting itself physically. Way to go on continuity, kids. You get your Continuity patches back. Wilson hesitates in the door way, but continues to walk on.

The musical montage begins with Wilson coming from behind a screen where he has changed into his stylish hospital gown. He is getting an IV when Tucker is rolled by. Tucker whispers his thanks to Wilson and smiles back, calm and secure in his decision. We then see him on the operating table. He’s being given the knock-out gas. As he begins to drift away he sees a solemn-looking House walk into the observation room above him. He smiles at the knowledge that House, despite his fears, came to support his friend. The last face he sees before going under is House looking down over him. Oh, my heavens, I’m on the verge of happy tears, my fellow House fans. What a great moment for the two of them. How great for House to have come so far that he can show that support even though it scares the crap out of him and how great for Wilson to finally get some support and friendship back from someone, especially House. They are now BFF&E. Best Friends Forever & Ever! What great acting. Yeah. I love this show.

After the commercial we are back in the recovery room at PPTH. Both Wilson and Tucker are asleep on the beds. Melissa and Emily are nowhere to be seen, but House is sitting on the bed next to Wilson waiting for him to wake up. When Wilson groggily opens his eyes the first face he sees is House. Neither smile or frown or make any facial expression of acknowledgement. They just allow the scene to happen, each realizing that they’ve cemented their friendship now. We see them next in Wilson’s hospital room. House is eating some of Wilson’s hospital food. Ha-ha. And they are laughing about some story House is telling. Wilson shows some discomfort as he laughs but ignores the pain to enjoy the moment.

We then see Wilson in a wheelchair wheeling himself into Tucker’s room. He’s looking less yellow so the liver transplant must have worked. Wilson asks how Tucker is feeling, who responds that he can’t complain since Wilson has saved his life…twice. Well, technically, it’s three times, Tuck. Wilson notices Tucker’s bag of clothes on the bed and asks him what’s up. Tucker says he’s being moved to a rehab facility near his new house. Wilson raises an eyebrow. It’s easier for Ashley, Tucker confesses. Wilson looks like he just got punched. Tucker has ditched his family…twice. Tucker doesn’t think it’s a big issue. He thanks Wilson for getting the family back to get together. Melissa was great and all but, he says, “the person you want when you’re dying isn’t the person you want when you’re living.” Wilson, by the look on his face, couldn’t disagree more. It should be the very same person at both times. But Tucker says this very matter-of-factly and Wilson realizes that House was right about this guy, too. He is a self-important jerk. And House, Wilson knows, is not. Contrary to every other scrap of evidence out there. Hee. Ashley walks into the room then, holding a soda for Tucker. “Hi, Jim,” she says. Wilson begins to wheel himself out of the room. He pauses for a moment to tell Ashley, “Actually, it’s James.” I bet he won’t be going on any stupid hunting trips with “Tuck” again.

Wilson is sleeping in his room. House is in the chair nearby, looking through a patient’s file. Wilson wakes up and sees House there. “Are you ready to admit he’s a self-important jerk?” House asks without preamble. See, House still has all those listening bugs. His spy-ring payroll would be outrageous in order to keep that many tabs all over the hospital. Wilson just responds, “I still feel good for what I did.” “You don’t feel angry?” House asks, genuinely interested. “I’m a little disappointed,” Wilson admits. “Disappointment is anger for wimps,” House says, teasing. He checks his pager and begins to load up his stuff. Awww. He had his pager on vibrate so it wouldn’t wake Wilson. See, that’s considerate. House continues the advice column, “You don’t have to be so gentle about everything. It’s okay to get angry sometimes.” Wilson smiles. “You can’t change a table,” he says throwing House’s words back at him. House sits up a bit, “Actually,” he says, “you can. You just need a can of paint and the guts to use it.” He picks up his file and walks out. Wilson lays there thinking for a moment and then picks up his phone from the side table. He dials a number. “Bonnie?”

We are inside the foyer of a swanky apartment. The door opens and a very dapper Wilson enters, followed by a very hesitant House. The camera pulls back as they walk in to reveal a huge great room and kitchen. It’s beautiful with huge window and hardwood floors. They walk into the big area and Wilson admires it. House is still looking at Wilson. “Bonnie told me what Cuddy’s bid was,” he says casually. House looks at him. “So you’re going to outbid her?” House asks incredulously. Wilson doesn’t respond. House just waits as Wilson points out the refrigerator. “We do need a bigger refrigerator.” House has picked up on the “we” part, but still says nothing. This is the unexpected part of Wilson he enjoys so much. He’s waiting to see what “not-boring” thing happens. Wilson finally looks at House and states, “She hurt my friend. She deserves to be punished.” A small grin slowly creases House’s face. “You got mad,” he says. “I’m proud of you.” He’s smiling and so it Wilson. “Cuddy won’t share that sentiment, however,” observes House as he finally starts to look around the loft. Wilson says he’s going to change their address to a P.O. Box. Ha-ha. House points out that Cuddy will find out eventually. Wilson shrugs and gingerly lifts himself on the marble countertop of the kitchen island. “A problem delayed is a problem denied,” he says. I think he got that one out of House’s Guide For Living. He gets out his phone and dials. “Bonnie? I’ll take it,” he says. House looks on like a proud father as he says, “Baby steps.” The last shot is of Wilson, grinning like a Cheshire cat and looking like he can take on the world. HOORAY! FOR! WILSON! Cut to black.

What a wonderful episode. Oh, man. This was classic House and what a great development in not only Wilson’s, but House’s characters. Both men realized what a true friendship is about and then realized that they wanted to make sure their friendship is that way. They each had to open up and make some changes but knew it would be worth it. We saw Wilson realize that although he’s “friends” with all his patients he’s not really “buddies” with them. Yes, it’s all semantics, like anyone can be a “father” but it takes a great guy to be a “dad” kind of thing, but that’s the truth. House has always known that Wilson would be there for him no matter what and House realized he needed to be there equally for Wilson. Wilson’s time and effort and sacrifice finally paid off and he’s rewarded with a lasting friendship with House. Also, if we are to allow the patient storyline to carry over into other storylines in the show, as it usually does, we learn more about Cuddy. Tucker had given up the difficulty and effort of keeping up with Melissa, who seems way too good for him anyway, for a younger, faster model in Ashley and I can’t help but think that’s what Cuddy’s done with Lucas. I’ve mentioned this before that Lucas is House without the baggage, or charm I may add, and I think Cuddy chose the easier path on that one. I hope Cuddy’s smarter than Tucker, however, and realizes that nothings better than the original.

Well, that’s the last original episode until January 11, 2010, my friends. I will miss our dear Doctor, but I’m so glad we are leaving on such a great episode! Maybe I’ll post some more thoughts and predictions during December. So until then, have a Happy Holiday Season, whatever that holiday may be, and enjoy a great New Year! Thanks for reading and commenting. Bye!