House

At a football training session, Daryl is number 77. His mother Glenda talks to a scout in the stands, praising her son, and insists that he deserves a chance in the NFL. Daryl suddenly goes berserk, attacks another player, and then starts smashing in his head with his own helmet.

Wilson wakes up and finds House using his bathtub to soak his leg. He's less than enthused about House doing so.

The team is watching video of their new patient, Daryl, as he goes berserk on the field. He has no memory of what happened, but Chase has run a CT and there's no indication of brain damage. The test for steroids is negative and there's no indication of psychiatric problem. Foreman suggests pituitary damage and everyone agrees. House agrees to the test to confirm but believes that Daryl is taking steroids. As they leave, House tells Foreman that he has something else to do: pick up his older brother Marcus when he gets out of prison later that day. Foreman refuses and walks out.

Taub tests Daryl as Glenda looks on. He describes what they're looking for and both Daryl and Glenda are eager for Daryl to be cured so they can have him ready for the game where the pro scouts will be checking Daryl out. Taub reluctantly says that if the pituitary is the source of Daryl's rage, they can operate and have him ready by Saturday.

House meets with a clinic patient, Jim Dunnagan, who claims he has eye problems. House thinks he's making it up to get out of military service, and the soldier points out that he's being stop-lossed and his wife is pregnant. Jim explains that he chose House because of his limp, figuring he was a Vietnam veteran. House, insulted, jokingly notes that draft dodgers shot themselves in the foot. As he leaves, Taub arrives to inform him that there are no pituitary problems and that the test indicates House must be right about the steroids. Taub tells Daryl, who denies using steroids, and the football player suddenly starts suffering from tachycardia.

Foreman comes to see House… and discovers that Marcus is there already. House is happy to tell Foreman that as part of his parole, Marcus is now working as House's assistant. Foreman tells House about Daryl's condition and then demands to see Marcus in private. He tells his brother that he can't work there but Marcus insists that he wants the chance to prove himself to Foreman. Foreman warns that House is just hiring Marcus to screw with him, and Marcus angrily tells him that it might be better if Marcus working there didn't screw with him. Foreman insists that he leave but Marcus refuses.

The next day, Wilson goes into the bathroom, and finds an opossum in his bathtub. Meanwhile, the team meets and Taub admits that all of the tests of Daryl's heart prove negative. Marcus brings coffee for House. Foreman refuses to let it bother him and tries to discuss the case. House insists on playing with him, relating a story Marcus told him about Foreman wetting the bed. When Marcus brings up a story of a basketball player who collapsed, House seizes on it and suggests hypertropic cardiomyopathy. Wilson arrives and demands to know what House is up to. When House denies everything, Wilson vows revenge and leaves. House seems to have no idea what he's talking about, and orders the team to put Daryl on a treadmill to stress his heart and provoke the condition again.

Foreman goes to Cuddy to object and explains that Marcus stole money from his parents to pay for his drugs. Cuddy sympathizes but refuses to fire Marcus. Meanwhile, Wilson comes back to tell House how much removing the opossum will cost, but House insists that Wilson left the window open and it's his fault. Wilson wonders why House hired Marcus, and finally accuses him of being nice. As he leaves, Taub and Chase arrive and tell House that they were unable to induce an attack in Daryl. House goes to see Daryl and gives him a vasodilator to exercise his heart. As House takes Daryl's hand, he notices that his hands are turning white.

Back in differential, the team tries to figure out what could cause poor blood circulation. Foreman is more worried that House that has provided Marcus with a desk and nameplate. He focuses to the case and suggests removal of the spleen in case it's lymphoma. House orders an ethanol drop since it will confirm or eliminate their two primary diagnoses.

As Foreman and Thirteen come to see Daryl, Marcus arrives and explains that House ordered him to shadow Foreman and record everything he says. When Marcus demands that he wants the chance to prove himself, Foreman notes that he's already had plenty of chances.

Wilson comes to the cafeteria to see House. When he finds out that House is giving Marcus ever more demeaning duties, he suggests that House is doing it so people won't think he's actually doing something nice. House thinks he's nuts, but they're interrupted when Cuddy tells him that the soldier shot himself in the foot. House goes to see him and warns him that it won't keep him out of duty. Jim insists that he's a different man, a father with a wife and a kid on the way, but House is unsympathetic and walks away.

Daryl asks Foreman what they're waiting for, but Foreman refuses to tell him what to expect. The football player realizes that Marcus is Foreman's brother because of the hate-filled looks Foreman keeps giving Marcus. Daryl starts itching and Foreman tells him that confirms lymphoma and they can remove his spleen laparoscopically and have him ready to play for the game.

House gets in the tub to soak his leg, and then grabs the support rail he's had installed. It breaks away, dropping him into the tub. When Wilson comes home later, he finds House waiting for him in the dark. Wilson insists he didn't loosen the rail but House warns him that now it's war.

As Chase removes the spleen, he notices that Daryl's liver is swollen, and they realize that it's not lymphoma. House comes in as the team goes over the new symptom, and starts mocking Foreman with more childhood incidents from Marcus. Foreman refuses to react, and Marcus admits he made the stories up. Taub suggests viral hepatitis caused by a doctor reusing a needle. House orders them to test for hepatitis and then takes Marcus to lunch. He wants Marcus to tell the truth about Foreman and his arrest for grand theft auto. However, Marcus insists that Foreman was a good kid. However, House finally gets him to admit that Foreman was with him when he stole a car. Foreman arrives and tells them that Daryl's blood is clotting rapidly. House tells him to treat with warfarin and sends him away. Marcus describes how Foreman and Marcus got caught, and their mother was disappointed. Foreman vowed to never disappoint his mother again. Marcus notes that their mother is dead, and House realizes that Foreman never told anyone she had died recently. Marcus warns him never to bring it up with Foreman.

Foreman explains that they can treat Daryl for his blood thickening but that it will take several weeks. Glenda and Daryl ask Foreman to wait for the treatment until after the game, but Foreman warns that he could die. They reluctantly agree.

House goes to see Wilson and explains that he's deduced that since they don't have a flat-head screwdriver, Wilson couldn't have sabotaged the guard rail. Further he explains that it must prove he's innocent as well since he's refusing to escalate. House concludes that the opossum was meant for him. The two men wait up all night to see who shows up. Wilson wonders if this isn't House's whole plan to escalate things by keeping him awake, and finally gets up and goes to bed. However, the sprinkler system goes on by itself and ruins their flat screen TV, and Wilson realizes House would never sacrifice it. And House realizes that their nemesis is a genius.

The next day, Cuddy is waiting with the rest of the team, wondering where House is. He comes in, ready to find the guilty party. Wilson explains what has been going on and Cuddy angrily leaves. House then goes through the suspects one at a time. Chase says that he was there monitoring the patient with Thirteen. Taub was with his wife, or so he claims. That brings House to Foreman, who says he isn't interested and doesn't know where they lives. When House says that Foreman's a liar by omission, Marcus tells him to stop. House ignores him and tells everyone that Foreman's mother died. Wilson warns him that he's off-topic but the others wonder why Foreman didn't say anything. Foreman insists that it's no one's business and Marcus snaps at House. He quits and walks away, but Foreman ignores him and goes to give Daryl a fresh IV.

Daryl informs Foreman that he's getting better and the team doctor has cleared him to play. Glenda tries to stop Daryl, but her son says he'll take the medicine after the game. Glenda asks Foreman to go with her son.

House examines Jim's wounded foot and tells him that he's going to lose his toe because the old antibiotics aren't working. Jim is glad to hear it, until House tells him that missing a toe isn't a disqualification. House comments that he'll lose the whole foot if they don't switch him to new antibiotics.

As they arrive at the stadium, Foreman asks Daryl why he's risking everything. Daryl explains that he's doing it so he can take care of his mother, and it's a sacrifice he's willing to make… for family. As Daryl starts to go outside, he goes blind and asks Foreman to take him back to the hospital.

After dropping Daryl off at the hospital, Foreman calls the team and tells them that he drugged Daryl's water bottle to make him temporarily blind and convince him to go back to the hospital. House tells them that they have a new symptom and shows them Daryl's readmittance chart. He only lost a single pound rather than ten or more pounds, and Chase suggests paraneoplastic syndrome. It creates antibodies that battle cancer and act like growth hormones. House tells the team to test Daryl for antibodies that mimic cancer.

Foreman goes to see Marcus at the halfway house and offers to get his job back. Marcus figures that House won't want him back once he realizes it doesn't bother Foreman. When Marcus vows that he won't let him down, Foreman tells him not to promise anything, but invites him to move in with him. Marcus steps forward and embraces his brother.

In the cafeteria, House and Wilson are trying to figure out who is responsible when Lucas trips House and boasts that he's trying to think of something funny to top the fire sprinkler incident. Lucas explains that he knows all about how they bought Cuddy's house out from under her. Further, he tells them that he's stopping all activities. If they seek revenge, he'll tell Cuddy what they did. House and Wilson are stricken speechless as Lucas walks off.

Daryl proves negative for cancer but it's the only thing that can account for all the symptoms. House gets an idea and goes to see Daryl. He explains that he's darker because he has more melanin, and checks Daryl's body.. House notes that most black men get skin cancer on the white parts of their body, and any bruises Daryl took elsewhere would have covered up any moles. House finally finds a tumorous mole on his toe. Daryl wonders what the point of being cured is since he lost his shot at the big time, but House says he'll just have to put up with the same kind of life all the other people in his will have, without the student loans.

Lucas comes to see Cuddy, who suspects that he pranked House and Wilson. When he wonders why she didn't want revenge, he speculates that she feels guilty about hurting House, or guilty about being with Lucas. She insists it's not worth the effort to go to war, and e quickly withdraws his speculation.

Wilson tells House that Foreman and Marcus are together, and accuses him of provoking Marcus to quit to bring him closer to Foreman. House denies it and then says he doesn't plan to get revenge on Lucas. Wilson figures that proves he's right and leaves. House turns and sees Jim leave with his wife… after he's let his foot infection spread so he had to have his lower leg amputated, allowing him to stay with his wife.